"Vane is still alive."
Awan looked at him.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Near the eastern border."
Caleb stood.
"I have to go."
Mara grabbed his arm.
"You cannot."
"Why?"
"Because he knows about you."
Caleb froze.
"How?"
Mara pointed toward the horizon.
"Three riders came yesterday."
"Soldiers?"
"Men wearing blue coats."
Caleb's blood went cold.
"They were asking about the spring."
"Why?"
"They wanted to know who found it."
Caleb looked toward the village.
The water.
The people.
The children.
His cattle had not been stolen randomly.
Someone wanted this valley.
And the spring was the reason.
Caleb understood then.
The cattle were bait.
His disappearance had been expected.
The men who had stolen his herd wanted him to follow.
They had known he would chase them west.
They had known he would eventually discover the hidden valley.
And once he found the water, they could take it.
The next morning, Caleb and Nakoa rode toward the western ridge.
Mara came with them.
Caleb objected.
"You stay here."
"No."
"It's dangerous."
"So is staying."
Awan gave them three horses.
Before they left, the chief pulled Caleb aside.
"Your father saved my people once."
Caleb looked at him.
"Now you have saved them."
"I only found water."
Awan shook his head.
"Water is never only water."
They found the cattle two days later.
The herd was hidden in a canyon.
Forty-three animals.
Alive.
But guarded.
Six men.
All wearing pieces of military clothing.
Caleb watched from the ridge.
Nakoa whispered:
"Do we attack?"
Caleb shook his head.
"Not yet."
He recognized one of the guards.
Sergeant Rusk.
A man who had served under Colonel Vane.
Caleb had known him years earlier.
Rusk was cruel.
He was also careless.
Caleb waited until night.
Then he crawled through the rocks.
Nakoa circled from the opposite side.
Mara stayed behind with the horses.
They freed the cattle without firing a shot.
But as Caleb reached the final guard, a rifle clicked behind him.
"Don't move."
Caleb recognized the voice.
Rusk.
The sergeant stepped into the moonlight.
"You should have stayed dead, Mercer."
Caleb turned slowly.
"My father?"
Rusk smiled.
"You finally found out."
"Vane killed him."
"Vane ordered it."
"Why?"
Rusk's smile disappeared.
"Because your father wouldn't keep his mouth shut."
Caleb stepped closer.
"About the weapons?"
"About everything."
Rusk told him the truth.
Vane had been selling army rifles to ranchers and smugglers for years.
The profits were enormous.
Jonas Mercer discovered the scheme.
He threatened to expose it.
Vane ordered him arrested.
Jonas escaped.
He returned to the Apache valley because Elena was pregnant.
He intended to take her and the child away.
Vane found him.
Jonas never reached the valley.
He was killed on the road.
But before he died, he had hidden evidence.
Evidence that had never been found.
"Where?"
Caleb demanded.
Rusk laughed.
"Ask your sister."
Caleb's blood froze.