The Bullet

by Iris Johansen

  “Isn’t that basically the same result?”

  Kaskov nodded. “Except that when the composition changes, it becomes acid-based. You can use the ropes as a garrote that will burn through a man’s throat in less than a minute.”

  “Acid.” Her eyes flew to her hands, which were still tingling. “And it won’t hurt me?”

  “You now have a base protective coat. You can handle any of the ropes with no ill effects. But just touching the ropes will cause anyone else to be practically eaten alive.” He smiled. “What a perfectly delicious idea. You may thank me now.”

  “You’re enjoying the idea.”

  “How can I help it? I told you that I’d give you a toy that would put that dagger you conceived in the shade, and I did it. And I like the idea of your having that much power at your disposal. Though you probably won’t appreciate it.”

  “You’re wrong. I will appreciate it.”

  “Good.” He reached out and gently touched her hair. “Because I’ve decided that your life is very much worth preserving. Which probably means I’ll see you later, Cara.” He got to his feet. “And, if you have second thoughts and start becoming softhearted, I believe I should tell you that Copper Flats is infamous because of the number of snakes that make it their home. Most of them are nonpoisonous, but there are also copperheads and rattlesnakes. Very unpleasant and terrifying when one is trussed and helpless as you are. Svardak was willing to risk the possibility of your getting a nasty bite to put you through that unpleasantness.”

  She shivered. “It doesn’t surprise me. I suppose you took care of the problem?”

  He nodded. “That’s why I was in no hurry to bring you here.” His phone pinged as he looked down at the screen. “But you have another reptile to deal with now. Abrams’s truck is cruising the area to make sure he’s not coming into a trap. I’ll bet it will take him about twenty minutes to be reassured.” He strode toward the helicopter. “Good luck, Cara.”

  “Thank you, Kaskov.”

  He looked back at her and smiled. “You thank me? You lie there bound and helpless, in this valley of serpents, waiting for the monsters to come and devour you. Some would say you’re mad.” He got on the helicopter. “But they’d be foolish because I’ve done everything superbly, and I deserve thanks. You’re welcome, Cara.” The door swung shut behind him.

  The next minute, the helicopter was lifting and the lights were casting their blue beams over her body. It made her feel like a sacrifice on a stone altar as the helicopter disappeared into the darkness.

  She was alone in the darkness.

  Don’t be afraid.

  That rustling sound was her imagination, not the serpents with which Svardak had wanted to threaten her. Kaskov had said they were no longer there, and she trusted him. Yes, the monsters were coming, but she had an Excalibur sword to vanquish them.

  It was twenty-five minutes before she heard the sound of a truck roaring up the road.

  She went still, bracing herself. Don’t think of what she was going to face yet.

  Think of Jock.

  Think of the passion and the love and all the memories that were special and golden that they’d woven through the years …

  But the roaring was louder now, and the vehicle’s lights appeared around the curve.

  Then the truck screeched to a halt in front of her, and the headlights were blinding. She heard a laugh as the driver jumped out of the truck and came toward her. There were three other men tumbling out of the bed of the vehicle and surrounding her, but the driver must be Abrams.

  “Well, what have we here?” He squatted beside her, his flashlight almost blinding her. “All gift-wrapped and ready for Svardak.” He put his hand on her breast and rubbed it slowly, sensuously. “And I told him it was probably a trap. I’m tempted to open the package myself.” His voice lowered. “All he wants to do is hurt you, and that’s such a waste. I wanted to have my turn when I was guarding you up in the thicket but he was selfish.”

  She stiffened. No! His hand was moving toward her bare arm. Kaskov had said no one must touch her exposed flesh. Stop him.

  “Bastard!” She spat in his face. “He’ll kill you!”

  He swore, his fist lashing out and striking her cheek. His eyes were blazing down at her. “You’ll think you’re lucky if he kills you, bitch. He’s going to be very happy to see you. He’s been making plans. If you’d been smart, you wouldn’t have left Lost Canyon.” He got to his feet. “Check the ropes, then load her in the backseat, Lacher.” He strode back toward the truck. “I’ll call Svardak and tell him that we have a present for him.”

  LAKE KEDROW

  After Eve left Jock when she reached the pine tree where the canoe was tied, it was to see Michael sitting on the bank beside the boat.

  But Cheknof was standing guard several yards away, with gun drawn.

  “It’s okay, Mom,” Michael said quickly. “Mr. Cheknof was restless and needed something to do. I told him Mr. Kaskov would want him to be on watch to make sure nothing had changed.”

  “Kaskov seems to be the magic word.” She drew a deep breath and braced herself as she reached him. “All right. I’m not going to fight you any longer.” She dropped down to sit beside him. “We don’t have the time. And there are reasons why you could be right about its being better for your dad that you and Cheknof are here.”

  “Cara,” Michael said softly.

  She was not even going to question how he had immediately made the connection. “It’s better if Jock doesn’t have to be the one to help me get your father from the ranger station to the boat, then across the lake. You said Cheknof would be willing and eager to help.” She stared him directly in the eyes. “Listen to me. I’m going to trust you. But I have to be certain. Can I count on him? Can your dad count on him?”

  Michael nodded soberly. “I’ve been talking to him. He knows what he has to do.”

  “That’s more than I do.” Eve shrugged. “Nothing will be going by the book when I go after your dad. It’s clear Cheknof doesn’t have any respect for me. I’ve been worried that he won’t do what I tell him to do.”

  “Use Mr. Kaskov,” Michael said earnestly. “You were right, he’s the magic word. Mr. Cheknof respects him, but he’s mostly afraid of him. Once I found that out, it was easy to reach him.”

  “Reach him?”

  Michael didn’t answer. He only repeated, “Use Mr. Kaskov.” He was looking at the station. “How much time do we have?”

  “We have?” She tensed. “I need Cheknof. You stay here.”

  “I told you that I would.” He paused. “But I haven’t been able to contact Dad yet. I think he’s sicker than he was before.” He moistened his lower lip. “And he’s so hot with that fever. It’s going to be hard for him to understand me.”

  She tried to hide the panic his words brought. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted something, anything, to go right. “We’ll manage if you can’t do it.”

  He shook his head. “You need me. He needs me. I can do it. I just haven’t been able to concentrate because I had to make sure you’d be able to control Mr. Cheknof. How much time?”

  “It will be over an hour before Jock calls me.” She reached out and lovingly touched his cheek that still held the smooth softness of childhood. So young … This weird, bewildering talent that had been catapulted to the forefront must be a thousand times more difficult for him to accept than it was for her. Because he’d had to fight her as well as try to understand what was happening to him. “It will be fine, Michael.” She pulled him into the curve of her arm and leaned back against the tree. “Just relax. I’ll handle it. No one wants anything from you that you can’t give. Not me. Not your dad.”

  “I know,” he whispered as he laid his head against her shoulder. “I like this. I always feel safe and right as long as you’re here. Dad feels like that when he’s with you, too. There’s much more, but he always wants—” He stopped. “Could you just stay here with me for a little while? He
might feel you, and that would make it easier for me to reach him.”

  “Of course. I wasn’t going to leave you until I had to. Whether it helps or not, it will be my pleasure.” She brushed her lips on the top of his head. “Because I may not have your voodoo, but I feel as if there’s not a minute of the day when I’m not with your dad. So being here with you will be like having the two of you home with me again…”

  * * *

  That dark honey darkness was back again, Joe realized. Wrong … It made him uneasy … Even through the heat and pain, he knew that it meant something wasn’t right. It was taking him away from that other darkness that was now his constant companion. Then he remembered why it was wrong. It had signaled that crazy dream that was no dream. The dream of Michael who said he was only in his mind and yet was so sad …

  “At last.” Relief. “Stay with me, Dad.”

  Michael.

  “You’re here again?” Joe asked. “I told you that I didn’t want you. It’s dangerous. Go away, Michael.”

  “I can’t do that, Dad. And you can’t go away either. You have to stay with me.”

  “It’s harder … now.”

  “I know. It took me a long time to get through to you. But now you’re awake, and you have to stay awake.”

  “I’m not awake. Or maybe I am, but only for the next minute or two. Go away, Michael.”

  “No, you have to stay awake!” Joe could sense his son’s panic. “If you don’t, you’ll hurt Mom. You don’t want to do that.”

  Those words jarred Joe into opening his eyes. “Eve? Before you said she wasn’t here. She can’t be here, Michael. Get her out!”

  “She’s not here now, but she will be soon. And it won’t be a dream, it will be real. I can’t stop her. Only you’ll be able to get her out. But only if you stay awake and help her. She won’t leave here without you.”

  “Make her go.”

  “I’m only a kid. What can I do? You’d never leave her, would you?”

  Leave Eve, his partner, his love, his center?

  “She won’t leave you either. You can either go back to sleep and leave her or help her get away from this place.”

  Go back to sleep? How could he do that? Eve …

  He was trying desperately to fight the fire in his head, the searing that was beginning through his entire body. “Where? When is she…”

  “Soon. But you’ll have to stay awake and keep talking to me until she gets here. Then it gets harder. You’ll have to try to walk for a little while until you can get Mom to the lake, where she’ll be safe. But I’ll be with you all the time, Dad. Just listen to me, and we’ll go step by step.”

  “That will be the day. Why should I listen to you, when you shouldn’t even be here? Keep yourself safe. I’ll handle everything.”

  Silence. “Mom just said something like that to me.” He cleared his throat. “Sure, you handle everything, Dad. But since I’m here already, suppose I stick around and help Mom, too. Is that okay?”

  “No.” There was something basically wrong with Michael’s still being here, but the fever was blurring Joe’s reasoning processes. “I’m very annoyed with you, Michael. This is probably a dream, but I can’t take a chance, can I? Not with Eve. I have to stay awake, dammit.”

  “No, you can’t take a chance. But you can close your eyes until she gets here. I’ll still be around, keeping you awake. But it’s better that Svardak doesn’t know how well you’re doing.”

  “I’m not doing well. Let’s face it. I might be dying.”

  Another silence. “You can’t die. Mom needs you. I need you.”

  “Yeah, I keep forgetting about that. This fever…”

  “You mustn’t forget that, Dad. Not ever. Maybe the fever will go away for a little while. I’ll concentrate and try to help…”

  * * *

  “We’re almost there, Svardak,” Abrams said into his phone. “No sign of anyone following.” He glanced at Cara lying on the backseat. “She’s been docile as a lamb the entire trip. Though I might have had something to do with it. I told her how eager you’ve been to see her again. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “By all means. I want to tell her myself.”

  Abrams turned on the speaker and handed the phone to Lacher in the passenger seat. “Hold it and let Svardak welcome her.”

  Lacher grinned and turned around to extended the phone to within a couple feet of Cara in the backseat.

  “Hello, Cara,” Svardak said mockingly. “It appears that Kaskov doesn’t have any family feeling for you at all. I wasn’t sure that he’d actually go through with it.”

  “Neither was I,” Cara said. “I actually thought he might help me. I didn’t have anyone else.”

  “Kaskov has never cared for anyone but himself. Anna could have told you how he hunted her down. How he hunted my father and brother. He was never like us. He doesn’t know the meaning of family.”

  “And you do? I guess you’re right, you nearly crippled him because of your ‘family’ feeling. Maybe you taught him not to feel anything for anyone. So here I am.”

  “And I’m so happy you are.” His voice lowered to soft malice. “I was looking forward to killing you where I could watch you join your friend Marian Napier, but Joe Quinn is much better. He’s very sick, and just a few minutes ago, I kept hearing him mutter in his sleep. I can do so much with a helpless man that will wrench that soft heart of yours. I can hardly wait.”

  She felt sick. “I’ve already told you that you never really won anything from Marian. And Joe is so strong and good that he’s way beyond what you’ll ever be.”

  “We shall see. I’ve been thinking about crucifixion. You must tell me your view on it when I see you in the next several minutes. I can hardly wait. I believe I’ll go out on the porch to wait so I’ll be the first person you’ll see when I welcome you home.” He cut the connection.

  Lacher was laughing as he handed the phone back to Abrams. “You can’t say he’s not imaginative. Have you ever seen a crucifixion, Abrams?”

  “No, but I hope he was talking about the bitch and not Quinn.” He glanced over his shoulder at Cara. “I’d be glad to help.”

  “Several minutes,” Cara said. “We’re that close?”

  “The turn off the main road is about five miles ahead,” Abrams said. “Nervous?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t care that the admission brought him pleasure. He could take that any way he wanted. She was nervous, and she was desperately trying to wrap her mind around the coming scenario. Abrams in the driver’s seat. Lacher in the passenger seat. The other two guards in the truck bed. Any way she looked at it, there was probably going to be a collision with one of those tall trees that lined the road if she used that rope on Abrams or Lacher.

  Hell yes, she was nervous.

  * * *

  Jock wiped the blood off his knife on a shrub beside the trail. Then he rolled the body of the guard he’d just taken out down the incline, where he wouldn’t be readily seen.

  Not that it would likely matter. He’d been the last of the men guarding the woods bordering the lake. Jock had taken out the others with no trouble, and it wasn’t likely that anyone from the station would be checking on them in the next fifteen or twenty minutes.

  And Cara would have arrived by that time.

  Don’t think about her now. It would disturb his concentration, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.

  And don’t take anything for granted. Climb up to the ridge and see if he could see Abrams’s headlights before he went to meet Eve and Cheknof. He turned and started trotting up the slope.

  His phone vibrated before he reached the top of the ridge.

  He went still as he saw the ID. He punched the access. “Why are you calling, Kaskov? I already know that you delivered her to Abrams.” He had to ask it. “Was she … okay the last time you saw her?”

  “As good as could be expected. No, better, she’s extraordinary. It must be my blood. I’d like to expound on
that theory, but I don’t have time.” His voice became brusque. “She should be arriving at that exit off the main road in about fifteen minutes according to the GPS I had Nikolai install in Abrams’s truck while they were gathered around her congratulating themselves. I thought you’d appreciate advance notice. We’ll be seeing Abrams’s headlights before that.”

  He stiffened. “We? Did you decide to bring Nikolai and your band of goons to help her? It’s a little late. You could get both her and Joe killed if anyone makes a false step.”

  “I’m not a fool, Gavin. Don’t insult me. I’m well aware how delicately this has to be handled. Cara made it clear that Quinn must not be harmed. Which puts me in a difficult and awkward situation. If I brought in Nikolai or any other of my men, it would be too obvious.” He paused. “But I found I couldn’t bear that Svardak might get the better of me. So I decided that I’d come and finish up the matter myself and, at least, make certain that you don’t get Cara killed.”

  “How?”

  “I have no idea. Because of the circumstances, Cara is having to play this all by ear. I could only furnish her with an interesting and lethal weapon. However, with my invaluable help, that could make all the difference. We both know how brilliant I am. It shouldn’t be that difficult.”

  “You’re here at the station?”

  “And moving around the property…” He added softly, “As you are. I’ve counted five of Svardak’s men that you’ve taken out so far. There are probably more since you’re so good at what you do. I just thought it time that I tell you that I’m here in case you get tired of the blood and gore and offer you my possible assistance.”

  “On your terms,” Jock said curtly.

  “Of course. Otherwise, we handle this on our own. Which I’d prefer anyway.”

  “I’ll let you know if I need you.” Jock cut the connection. He started back up the slope, then stopped. If Kaskov said fifteen minutes, then it would be an accurate time frame. He turned around and started back down the slope. No matter how arrogant Kaskov could be, he was every bit as brilliant and skilled as he claimed. Jock could rely on that about him, and in a life-or-death situation like this, he’d take whatever he could get.