by H. L. Wegley
Gemma Saint, you’ve read too many romance novels.
But didn’t someone say the Bible was the greatest romantic suspense story ever written?
Great! Now she was a schizophrenic, having an argument with herself.
She drew a sharp breath when Kirby approached and hovered over her. He squinted and blinked his eyes as if trying to focus on her … on all of her.
Though he couldn’t see clearly, even those attempts brought a sickening sense of defilement. And then, they brought anger.
Gemma pulled her knees to her chest and kicked.
Her feet caught Kirby in the chest and sent him stumbling backward. He crashed into the wall. His breath blasted from his mouth. Now he lay on the floor wheezing like an asthmatic.
She had knocked the breath out of him.
What would he do to her when he recovered? She was too angry to be frightened about it.
The bedroom door flew open.
Walker stood in the doorway. “What’s going on in here, Kirby?”
Still trying to suck in a breath, Kirby couldn’t reply.
Gemma glared at Walker. “Nobody does that to me. Walker, take off these ties and I’ll kill him!”
Cool, self-controlled Gemma had lost it, but she didn’t care.
“As much as I would like to see that,” Walker pulled something on his rifle and it made a metallic click.
Gemma jumped as three shots left her ears ringing. She sat up on the edge of the bed.
Kirby stopped trying to catch his breath. He was beyond breathing now.
Blood pooled on the hardwood floors near his chest.
Walker had murdered Kirby in front of her.
Gemma had said she wanted to kill Kirby. But after seeing the reality of violent death, she couldn’t do that to another human being.
Gemma glared at Walker again. “You murdered him.”
“That’s not how I interpret it. I—”
Blade appeared in the doorway. “I was afraid of that.”
“Look, Blade,” Walker said. “I had to—”
“Walker, I agree. Kirby was a liability.”
Gemma met Blade’s searing glare. She broke eye contact and stared at the floor.
“Ms. Saint, the minute you become a liability—well, you get the picture, I’m sure. So you have a strong incentive to cooperate.”
That depends.
The first inkling that her cooperation endangered Lex or the boys and Gemma would attack Walker, Blade, whoever was nearest. And she would not stop her kicking, screaming assault on them until they shot her like they did Kirby. And that would free Lex and the twins.
She looked into Blade’s threatening eyes and tried to project her feelings about him and Walker.
Blade cut into Gemma with his searing gaze. “I’m concerned about your attitude, Ms. Saint. You’re giving me a real Gemma dilemma.”
“She’s trouble, boss,” Walker said.
“The first time she acts like trouble, you have my permission to be my trouble shooter.” Blade’s mouth curled into a sneer.
Gemma shouldn’t provoke them. She looked at Kirby’s body face up on the bedroom floor. Then she looked away from his haunting, lifeless eyes.
“Drag him out of here, Walker.”
“Where?”
“To the garage. I’m going back to the living room to watch for our visitors hiding in the trees.”
“What about her?”
Blade shot Gemma a piercing glance. “I’m going to lock you in. I would advise you to try living up to your name, Ms. Saint.” He shoved her back onto the center of the bed.
Before the door closed, Gemma was already scanning the room for anything that might cut through the ties on her hands or the tape around her ankles.
She rolled off the bed onto the floor and looked under the dresser.
Nothing.
Then under the bed.
Two objects lay about three feet back under the bed. One was short, the other long.
She rolled over and positioned her head to look under the bed.
Caleb’s squirt gun and something that looked like a golf club.
Had the boys used these to get away? They’d at least used the squirt gun. Knowing those two, they may have used the gun and the club and hid them on their way out.
Maybe they had saved Gemma Saint’s life. At a minimum, they had given her a way to go down fighting.
But first she had to free her hands.
Chapter 29
“KC, those three gunshots from the house … could they have shot Gemma?” It was the third time he had asked her in the last forty-five minutes, but it was the question driving Lex crazy, threatening to make him do something crazy.
“I don’t think they would do that. If they had, they would have immediately made a move to get you before you could get away.”
“The sun’s been down for a while. It’s getting dark here in the trees.” Lex looked at KC’s shadowy face.
She nodded.
“KC, they haven’t tried to come out of the house or tried anything.”
“That’s right.”
“Why?”
“I barely missed the last guy who tried to come out of the house. They’re not anxious to face automatic weapon fire.”
“Then what are they doing in there?” Lex peered through the trees at the faint light from the house.
“Waiting?”
He turned to face KC. “You think they’re waiting for help, don’t you?”
“That’s why you should have let me take the boys to Benjie’s grandparents’ house like I suggested over an hour ago.”
“But if I can work my way to that bedroom window and free Gemma, the stalemate’s over.”
“Over? If you try that and make one little slip, it’ll be your life that’s over. Then they would kill Gemma, because there would be no reason to hesitate. Lex and Gemma dead. Mission accomplished. Is that what you want?”
He didn’t reply.
“If they try anything, your boys in the SUV may not be safe. I think we should—”
“Don’t move!” A raspy voice came from behind them.
KC froze beside him.
Lex whispered to her. “The boys. I have to take these guys out before—”
“Stop talking and drop your guns. Now!”
KC lowered her rifle to the ground.
Lex jumped when a gun behind him cracked. He flinched when dirt from the bullet stung his bare leg. His gun was in his hand near his stomach, hidden from the men behind. He flipped it toward the trunk of a big pine tree.
The small gun slid into a thick bed of pine needles.
Had they seen it?
“Hands on your head.”
Lex complied.
A flashlight beam hit his face. “Well, well, if it isn’t the elusive Lex James,” raspy voice said.
“Drake … “ A deeper voice came from trees to Lex’s right. “Hit Ms. M4 with the light.”
The beam moved to KC’s head.
“Now, turn around … really slow.”
“It’s her, Drake,” deep voice said.
“Well who did you expect, Ensley? They’ve got Gemma Saint inside.”
“I didn’t expect KC Daniels,” Ensley said.
Someone whistled a soft wolf whistle.
“Don’t even think about it, Petrelli,” Drake said. “She’s like your thermobaric grenade. When she goes off, somebody’s going to get burned. We’ll let Sikes decide what to do with her.”
“Would you like to tell us how you and Ms. Saint survived our visit on the lake?”
“Sure. You and your crew are just like your friend, Kirby, the dufus that my four-year-old sons took out.”
“What in blazes are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you.”
“Lex, no …” KC said. “Don’t provoke them.”
“My son Caleb took out Kirby. You’re nothing but a bunch of liars and idiots. Didn’t that oath you took mean an
ything to you?”
“Lex?”
“Keep talking, James,” the raspy voice said. “My reasons for keeping you alive until we get to the house are evaporating like water on the Sahara.”
KC elbowed him.
“I agree with the sentiment, Ms. Daniels. But keep your distance, or I’ll kill you here and let Blade worry about it later. In fact, I think I’ll tell him about you now.”
Drake slung his gun over his shoulder, pulled out his phone, and placed a call.
“Blade, Drake here. We caught some prowlers … Yes, we got both of them … You thought there were more? … The boys? What boys? … Okay, we’ll look for them, then bring Lex James and KC Daniels in … Yes, we’re sure it’s Daniels … And, Blade, she was carrying an M4 like she knows how to use it … See you in about five.”
Drake ended the call.
Petrelli backed away from the other four and moved closer to the SUV.
Lex looked at KC and pointed one of the thumbs on his head at the SUV where the boys were hidden, then looked at Drake, who was tucking his cell in its holster.
KC dipped her head enough for him to notice. She understood and she was in.
As Lex turned to face Drake, he sought something to provoke the man. He did know the genus and species for the most populous drake in the area. “Hey, Mallard.”
Drake looked up. “You talking to me, dead man?”
“Yeah. To you, the anas platyryunchos.”
“What did you just call me?”
Lex slid his right foot back a few inches.
Drake stepped in front of Lex.
Ensley stiffened and raised his rifle.
Lex stepped into his punch and landed it on Drake’s nose, splattering blood across the man’s face.
KC grabbed the barrel of Ensley’s gun with both hands and used her weight to take the barrel to the ground.
Ensley’s finger had been on the trigger.
KC’s weight pulled down on the gun.
It fired a burst at the ground.
Ensley yelled, at first, unintelligible, then it turned to a vile description of what bullets feel like when they hit a person’s toes.
As Drake caught his balance, Lex swung a foot around into the side of the leg Drake had planted.
He hit Drake’s knee.
The knee gave.
Drake cried out and crumpled to the ground, holding his knee.
Petrelli jammed the barrel of his gun into KC’s head. “Stop! Everybody! Or Daniels is dead.”
In about five seconds, they had done more damage than Lex thought possible. But, most importantly, Petrelli had not gone to the SUV to look for the boys.
Lex prayed the twins had heard the conversation and snuck into the woods. But now, he and KC had to face the wrath of two injured men. Lex and KC had put a big hurt on them physically and on their pride. They could expect brutality in return.
Ensley sat on the ground with blood soaking the toe of his left boot.
Drake struggled to his feet, unable to put weight on his left leg.
Petrelli still held his gun to KC’s head.
Lex glared at Drake. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Yes, I can. You’re dead and I’m going to be the one to make that happen … right after Sikes finishes his enhanced interrogation.”
“Drake, we need to get these two inside the house before they force us to kill them. That would make Sikes unhappy. You don’t want to see him un—”
“I know, Petrelli.” Drake unslung his gun. “Did you check out the SUV for the kids?”
“I took a look inside just before the excitement—”
“You mean before the stupidity, Petrelli! The gross stupidity.” Drake lifted his left foot off the ground and leaned against a tree, cursing Lex’s lineage until Drake ran out of ancestors and words.
Lex glanced down at KC and gave her a brief smile. The boys were safe, for now. Lex’s prayer had been answered.
KC dipped her head and then stood after Petrelli goaded her with his gun barrel.
Drake’s phone rang. He swore again. “I can’t believe this. We’re supposed to be the elite of the FBI.”
“Hard to believe isn’t it?” Lex said in a mocking tone.
KC shook her head at him, her cease and desist signal.
Drake pointed his finger at Lex. “I get you, Mr. James. Do you wanna know how I’m going to do it?”
“Surprise me,” Lex said.
“Cut it out, Lex. You’ve made your point.” KC glared at him.
Drake answered the ringing phone, but he must have bumped the speaker button. His call was on the local PA system.
“Drake, what in blazes is going on out there?”
“James and Daniels tried something.”
“I heard shots. Are they still alive?”
“Yeah. They’re alive, but …”
“But what? I don’t like buts.”
Silence.
“Drake?”
“I blew out my knee and Ensley shot off his toes.”
“I cannot believe—first you blow up an empty boat, then you let Saint and James get away, and you let a journalist and a woman, unarmed, nearly take all three of you out. Who was it I picked for this elite team, the Keystone Cops?”
“Sikes, you can rant all you want, but we’ve got to get them inside. Ensley’s got a puddle of blood under his shoe. He can’t walk and neither can I. Can you—”
“I can. I’m sending Walker out now to get you sorry excuses for undercover FBI agents.”
“When it’s time, I want James all to myself.”
“You mean you want a hogtied, completely helpless Lex James.”
“Mock me all you want, but I want James. He has a debt to pay.”
“As does Gemma Saint to me. We’ll see, Drake. Bring in your crew and the prisoners.”
“Blade, Ensley can’t walk at all. He—”
“He deserved what he got. Either he walks in or I send Walker out to shoot off more than his toes.”
Blade ended the call.
Drake looked from the phone to Lex. It was too dark to tell, but the expression on his face said he’d just realized that his entire conversation with Blade went out over the speaker phone.
It’s funny what a blown-out knee will make a person forget. Not so funny what it will force them to remember, especially if the memory includes a desire to kill Lex James.
Drake, the person with that desire, glared at Lex with a seething, boiling anger the shadows could not hide.
It sent a tingling sensation up the back of Lex’s neck.
Drake had more than a desire to kill Lex. It had become an obsession.
Chapter 30
The moment Marshall Cody Cottrell had discovered the danger to Gemma Saint, he had violated several U.S. Marshal policies, and probably U.S. Code, by having a local member of the FBI’s Cyber Task Force, a person Cody trusted, plant a variant of The Finder app on Gemma’s phone. Unless she took the batteries out, her cell would be tracked, even if she turned it off.
When Cody snuck out of University Hospital six and a half hours ago, the app had displayed the phone’s location as the north end of Crooked River Ranch, Oregon. Cody had zoomed in on the map and learned that the location was the Otter Bench Trailhead.
That raised both questions and concerns. Gemma had not gone on a recreational outing. So, was she hiking a trail in a remote area to hide, or was she running for her life?
By the time Cody landed in Redmond, Oregon, forty-five minutes ago, Gemma’s phone had moved to a house north of Sisters, Oregon, nearly forty miles from its previous location. How long had it been there? Was Gemma even there?
The sun had long since dropped below the Cascade Mountains to the west. Dusk had begun its transition to darkness as Cody drove his rental car down a small road lined with ponderosa pine trees.
According to the GPS, the house in the woods lay only a couple of miles ahead. Gemma could be in serious trouble. If so, Cod
y, arriving under cover of darkness, could help her. But what if he were badly outnumbered?
The situation justified calling in outside help and Cody had a friend who might be able to do just that.
He pulled his rental car off the road at a mailbox turnout and took out his cell. He found Deputy Ramirez in his contact list.
Cody had met Matt Ramirez when they attended the FBI Academy several years ago. The two had hit it off and remained in contact since. But this call, coming out of the blue, may not get the response Cody hoped for.
He placed the call. After five rings it went through to voice mail. Maybe a text would get a better response.
Cody spoke his message into the text box.
Matt, this is Cody Cottrell. Wish this was a friendly chat, but I’m in your neck of the woods and have a problem. Someone outed one of my people in WITSEC. Now rogue FBI agents are trying to kill this person. Can you provide back up? I’m going in cautiously in a few minutes. Once I see what’s happening, I’ll wait as long as I can for your help. I think this calls for a SWAT team and, with bad cops involved, it could get ugly for anyone involved. Thought you ought to know that before you commit. Here are the GPS coords: 44.370306 -121.58062999999999 It’s a vacation house near Sisters. Please pray for me and my charge.
Cody sent the message, put his cell on vibrate, fired a short prayer heavenward, then pulled back onto the road.
The map he had studied showed the house almost a quarter of a mile off the road at the end of a long driveway. That should allow him to park off the road and move through trees to assess the situation.
According to the GPS on his rental car, the driveway was just ahead. Cody spotted the mailbox and then the driveway. He cut his headlights, rolled his window down, turned in, and stopped.
Far ahead, through a gap in the trees, dim lights marked the location of the house.
He pulled off the driveway and rolled across the relatively flat terrain until trees hid his car.
Cody got out and worked his way toward the house by moving parallel to the driveway. After going about two-hundred yards, he spotted two SUVs blocking the driveway.
A hundred yards beyond the vehicles, the lights of the house became visible through the trees. The curtains were drawn. Nothing visible inside the house.
