“Oh, God.” Sandy looked away and doubled over like she was going to throw up.
Ben’s nausea quickly turned to disgust and then anger as he pulled his hands away from the blood-stained counter. It was impossible for him to think any less of these people, but this was a new low, even for them. If they were capable of eating people’s household pets, it wasn’t a stretch to think that somewhere in the more desperate future the captured people might have made their way onto the menu as well.
Ben’s thoughts turned to Rita and her husband. It was time to get them out of their enclosure. And maybe even the guy who didn’t want them talking. That was if he could agree to go along with their plans. As long as Ben could recover the gear and food that originally belonged to them, he didn’t care about the rest of the stuff here. Rita and Carlos could have it all if they wanted—if there was anything left.
Chapter Thirteen
“Let’s not mention this to the kids.” Ben leered at the collars once more before making himself turn away.
“Yeah.” Sandy regained her composure but stayed crouched down to rub Bajer. Jealousy got the better of the other two dogs, and before long, Sandy was surrounded by all three of them demanding her attention.
Ben did a quick three-sixty and made sure there was no one around. If his count was right, that made a total of ten moonshiners that could be accounted for, all dead. The other guy who had been here when Ben first found the dogs could have been among the bodies out there, but he couldn’t be sure. Still, there should have been a couple more women, and didn’t Rita say something about kids? Great, just what I want to deal with. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, they needed to get back.
Cautiously, Ben and Sandy made their way toward the kids, but with all of the dogs in tow, the journey was less than stealthy. After the initial excitement, Bajer fell into sync with the other dogs and followed along like she’d been with them for the entire trip. The biggest problem Ben had with the sweet-mannered dog was that every time he crouched down to take cover, she would come straight to him and nuzzle him for attention.
Emma was going to love this dog; there was no denying that. Ben really hoped that Bajer belonged to Rita and Carlos. The last thing they needed was another dog crammed into the Blazer with them. Did they even have enough room? What about the food? These were all good points, but they would be invalid arguments as far as his daughter was concerned.
They crossed the last hundred yards or so through the open center of the camp, where the bulk of the fighting had occurred. Ben couldn’t stop himself from eyeing the old man’s body once more as they passed. He was still slumped over in the recliner where Ben had ended his days of terrorizing people and God knew what else. He took satisfaction in knowing that, regardless of what else happened here, the horrors forced onto unsuspecting travelers unlucky enough to pass this way ended tonight, and it ended because of them.
The dogs passed by each of the bodies they encountered with indifference and barely gave them a second sniff. Once the cars were in sight, Ben whistled out a signal as loud as he dared. Joel returned his call a few seconds later with a similar noise, and the dogs zeroed in on the kids’ location.
Gunner led the pack in a full-speed charge as soon as he worked out exactly where the sound had come from. He knew it was the kids right away and closed the last fifty yards in a matter of seconds. By the time Ben and Sandy reached the kids, Bajer had found her way to Emma and was reaping the rewards of a girl who couldn’t say no. Emma had her arms wrapped around Bajer’s neck so tightly that it made Ben envious.
He had to smile and even laugh a little. “Don’t get too attached. She might be Rita’s dog,” he warned.
“And if she isn’t?” Emma asked.
“Let’s talk about that later.” Ben shook his head and pursed his lips. Emma already knew the answer and smiled even bigger as she gave Bajer a kiss on the head. It was good to see her smile, even if it was just for a moment.
“What do we do now?” Joel asked.
“We have to assume that there are a couple of them left and maybe a few kids as well. But I think it’s time to let Rita and Carlos out. Maybe they can ID some of the moonshiners and give us a better idea of who’s left,” Ben said.
“Maybe they ran away.” Allie shrugged as she looked around at the carnage.
“Maybe, but we need to stay alert. Until we clear these houses, we won’t be sure.”
After the dogs finished making their rounds to each of the kids, they were finally able to head for the containers where they had been held captive. Ben hated to travel in such a large group, but it was good to have them all together right now so he could keep an eye on everyone.
Once they knew if Rita and Carlos could be trusted or not, he’d figure out a new plan of attack for dealing with any remaining moonshiners. Neither one of the couple was in great shape physically, so Ben wasn’t planning
