Deadly Hunt

by Margaret Daley

  "You said both of those names in your delirium. Is Elena your wife?" She cringed, horrified she'd asked the question that had been plaguing her for days. Did she really want to know?

  "She was. She died four years ago." Neither his expression nor his tone revealed what he was thinking.

  "I'm sorry." She took another bite of her sandwich, and then washed it down with a swallow of her coffee.

  "So am I." He stared off toward the mountains to the east. "She's with the Lord now."

  A moment of silence fell between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The urge to console him swamped Tess, and she gripped the arms of her chair to keep from reaching across the table and covering his hand. "Why are you here?" she finally asked, needing to end this meal and send him on his way.

  "I need your help. When I arranged a bodyguard for Rachel, I checked to see if I could hire you to be my bodyguard. Your employer said you were on vacation and that she wouldn't force you to end your vacation early. So I'm here asking. Will you?"

  This time of year the temperature was cool and only in the seventies with a light breeze blowing, but perspiration coated her upper lip and palms. The idea of guarding him set her nerves on edge. She'd always felt safe at Uncle Jack's ranch, but with Shane here, knowing someone wanted to kill him, she felt very exposed. He'd finished his food, and she couldn't stomach another bite. "Let's go inside."

  As he hobbled toward the back door, Tess cleaned up the trash and then hurried after him. Before entering, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. The hairs on her nape prickled, and a shiver snaked down her spine.

  "Let's go into the office." Probably the safest room downstairs, with its one window. Funny. A few minutes ago, she'd been a gal on vacation. Now, her bodyguard persona had taken over. She pulled the blinds while Shane sank onto a chair in front of the desk. She sat beside him. "I can't do it. I'm not on top of my game. I need a rest."

  "Your employer said that if you take the assignment, she'll extend your vacation after the job. I'll pay for an extra week, too."

  "Why me?"

  "Because I saw you in action, so to speak. You saved my life. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't stumbled upon that cabin. You and I both know that. I had my head of security at DDI check into you, and you have an excellent reputation."

  "Don't you have security at DDI who can help you?"

  "They aren't bodyguards, and I don't want anyone at the company to know I have one. I'm in the middle of some important negotiations, and if word got out that someone is trying to kill me, everything could fall through. I don't want to risk that."

  "So how are you going to explain me?"

  "Since I'm injured, I'm going to work from my house. Everyone will think you're the woman I'm dating. I have a few engagements I must attend, and that way you can go as my date."

  "And the other times?" Why was she asking questions, when she knew she should say no?

  "A concerned girlfriend taking care of me. The head of my security, Neil Compton, has made sure my security is topnotch at my home."

  "You don't have staff at your house?"

  "Yes. A housekeeper and a groundskeeper. They're a couple."

  "Then it might be strange that I'm staying at your place."

  "There might be speculation, but it won't affect the negotiations. When the person who is after me is caught, it won't make any difference. The police are working the case quietly."

  "What have the police learned?"

  "Not much. Both Anthony Revell and Mark Collins have an alibi for the time of the shooting."

  "But they could have hired someone, so that doesn't mean much."

  "I'm pushing to get these negotiations completed. I'm hoping DDI will merge with Virtual Technologies, but the VT's board has been stalling since my accident. I'm going to a dinner at the VT's president's house in three days. We should close the deal shortly after that. But first, I have to prove to them that I'm on top of my game, despite ..." He indicated his bandaged leg and the cane, leaning against Uncle Jack's desk.

  "Are you?"

  "I'm healing, and except for a dull ache in my leg I can tolerate, I'm fine. Nothing vital was damaged. I'm even hoping to give up the cane by then." He tilted his head to the left. "So will you help me? I'm asking for four or five days until the deal is finalized, then I'll hire a different bodyguard to follow me around, if I still need one."

  She rose and crossed to the window to peek out between the slats in the blinds. Charlie exited the barn leading a chestnut horse. Uncle Jack's cowhand wasn't much younger than her uncle. She'd always enjoyed the time she'd spent with him riding over the rugged terrain checking on the fences and the couple of hundred head of cattle. If she took the job, she'd miss that this vacation.

  The scrape of a chair against the tile floor sounded behind her. She sensed Shane bridging the distance between them, but she didn't look at him. Part of her wanted to help him. Heaven knows he needed it. But the other part demanded she refuse—and not because she couldn't do it. She didn't understand this hesitation. She rarely turned down work, but ...

  Only inches away from her, Shane leaned toward her and said, "Please. I'll make it worth your time."

  It wasn't about money. No, it was about the way her heartbeat sped up even now. How was she going to keep this relationship professional when her body went all haywire at his very nearness? She breathed in his scent of sandalwood, and was filled with a sudden fear for this man. Her mouth went dry. He needed to be protected, and she didn't know if she could do it. She had to swallow several times before she could deny him.

  But she made the mistake of sweeping around and stepping back to allow more room between them. Their gazes fused, and she felt bound to him, responsible for his safety. He was only there now because she'd saved his life.

  The corner of his mouth quirked. "Will you, Tess?"

  Her name on his lips was like the comfort of a soft, warm blanket. Chills raced up and down her arms, leaving goose bumps.

  "Yes."

  His grin weakened her knees. She sank against the windowsill, drinking in his smile.

  "Can you start right now?"

  Right. Work. She shook off the feelings and gathered her professional façade. This was a mistake, but if anything happened to him, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. God, I'm going to need You on this assignment.

  "I'll wait for you to pack something. You can follow me, if you want."

  "No, I'll be going in your car."

  "But—"

  She held up her hand, palm toward him. "If I'm going to guard you, you have to agree to do everything I say. No questions. There may come a time when there won't be any time for debate."

  "Okay."

  "You driving here by yourself was a stupid thing to do. You exposed yourself, and for all you know, your killer is right outside, waiting for you to walk out."

  "You didn't give me a choice, Tess. You never came to the hospital."

  "I hate hospitals." And I was avoiding you.

  "Like me."

  Another thing they had in common. She hated them because, as a teenager, she'd spent four days in one after those thugs had broken into her home and beaten her senseless. What was his reason? No, she didn't want to know. Business only—nothing personal. "Remember, you do as I say," she said in her no-nonsense voice.

  "I've already agreed to that."

  She wasn't totally convinced she should take this job, and she wouldn't continue if he didn't listen to her. She'd dealt with men like Shane, men who were leaders, not followers, and they always felt capable of protecting themselves. Their arrogance made them vulnerable. "Wait in here. I'll be back in a little bit, and then we can leave."

  #

  Shane watched her walk away, finally letting down the pretense that he was all right. His wounded leg throbbed, and this excursion had exhausted him. A little blood loss and he felt woozy. Okay, it was more than a little blood loss, but he'd never been a good patient.

  The only reason
he'd agreed to this arrangement was because his head of security had insisted that he have a bodyguard and that he curtail his activities. Rachel had concurred and said she would behave if he hired a bodyguard, too. He couldn't take a risk with his daughter. He'd lost his wife to a reaction to an antibiotic that caused her body to dump her sodium. Rachel was his whole world.

  After Elena died four years earlier, he'd thrown his energy into his company. But in the past few days, with his near death, he'd realized he had a lot to make up for with Rachel. And he would, once the person trying to kill him was caught.

  "Are you ready?" Tess asked from the doorway into the office. She clutched a bag in her hand.

  "That was fast."

  "Clothes, weapons, ammo. I've got all I need."

  "Weapons?"

  "I carry several in case I need them. I always have two with me. Right now, one's in my holster. The other's in my purse. Do you know how to shoot?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you have a gun?"

  "I lost my rifle when I fell from the cliff."

  She started toward the foyer. "Do you hunt? Was that why you were in the mountains?"

  "No. My daughter would disown me. I carry it for protection in case I come upon a mountain lion or a bear."

  "Or a person trying to kill you."

  He reached around her and opened the front door. "Or that."

  "You're taking this pretty calmly." She held up her hand to halt him from coming outside, then she scanned the area before motioning him to leave her uncle's house.

  "In the business world, especially when conducting negotiations, I've learned to keep my feelings private." Probably too much. Elena had complained she didn't know what he was thinking half the time, even though they'd been married twelve years when she died.

  He stored her duffel bag in the trunk of his Lexus. While Tess slid into the front passenger seat, he climbed behind the steering wheel and slanted a look toward Tess. She surveyed the landscape, and by the alert expression on her face, she had slipped into her protective mode while packing—actually even before that. In that second, he knew he was in capable hands, and that thought relaxed him.

  As he drove away from the ranch, he played through what he'd discovered about Tess when he asked his head of security to investigate her and Jack Miller. Her credentials were impeccable, and her uncle had been a police officer in New York for decades before he retired. As far as he could tell, Tess devoted herself to work. He could identify with that. Actually, there was something about Tess that made him feel comfortable—the same as he had with Elena when he'd first met her at college.

  "Do the police have any idea who is after you?"

  Her question dragged him away from the past. "I gave them all the names I could think of. Until this happened, I never thought there could be someone who'd want me dead. But I have to be honest with myself. I've made a few enemies in my work. I've taken over companies that resented it, although they are better off under my management."

  "Some people can't stand not to be in control. Anyone in particular or connected to this most recent merger?"

  "There's one guy on the board of Virtual Technologies who has been vocal. He's trying to get the votes to stop the merger."

  "Who?"

  "Chase Temple and he has a few allies supporting him." Shane turned onto the curvy part of the two-lane road between the ranch and the outskirts of Phoenix. "I don't know that I would like to travel this road at night. It must be pitch black except for your headlights."

  "Yeah, I've told Uncle Jack that a couple of times, especially the time I encountered a deer leaping across the highway. I swerved to miss it and ran off the road into the cacti. But my uncle loves the quiet and isolation."

  "And he lived in New York City for years?"

  "I think he loves the isolation because he did live there."

  As Shane took another sharp curve, he saw something on the side of the highway.

  Tess held up her hand. "There's something across the road."

  Chapter Five

  Shane stomped on the brakes while Tess swiveled her attention to the roadside. Tension whipped down her body as she drew her gun from the holster at her side. Two men dressed in black, faces covered with ski masks, ducked into the brush on the left. But not before she glimpsed their weapons.

  The tires thumped as the Lexus drove over a barbed chain that had been thrown across the road. The car slowed, coming to a stop a few yards away from the spiked roadblock.

  Tess yelled, "Get down," as a shot hit the driver side window. "Stay put and call 911."

  Tess, hunkered down below the window, opened her door and slipped out of the car. Adrenaline surged through her as she low walked toward the front of the hood. When another shot blasted the air, she popped up and returned fire, sending the masked thugs into a ditch. Tess scrambled toward the rear of the Lexus to keep the two assailants guessing.

  As she got off another round, in the car Shane poked his head up and squeezed off a shot. He must've grabbed the spare weapon in her purse. Tess gritted her teeth. What part of stay put did he not understand?

  A bullet whizzed by her head, then another shattered the side window behind Shane. Their assailants continued raining bullets down on them as though they had an endless supply of ammunition. Tess didn't. On her, she had one extra clip while the rest of her ammo was in the duffel bag in the trunk.

  She heard a distant siren coming from the south and thanked God that help had been close by. Suddenly, the two men burst from their hiding place and, with guns firing repeatedly, made a mad dash toward a dirt road a hundred feet north of their position. Tess wanted to go after them and put an end to this, but her primary job was to protect Shane. After getting off a couple more shots, she squatted by the hood of the Lexus until finally, silence reigned.

  The sound of another siren, further away, came from the north. She peered around the front and saw a black pickup truck. It looked like the one that had been parked next to Uncle Jack's Jeep when she'd hiked down from the cabin. The truck zoomed out of the dirt road and sped north. She tried to read the license number, but mud obscured it. All she could see was that it was a New Mexico plate. As the pickup disappeared from view, she checked on Shane. When she climbed into the front seat of the Lexus, her heartbeat pulsated against her skull from the gunfire exchange.

  Shane slowly straightened from a slouch, her Glock still in his hand, shattered glass sliding off him. He looked at her, his face pale. She took her gun from him and stuffed it back in her open purse.

  She had a few words for Shane, but she clamped her lips together as one of the sheriff's cars arrived from the south. She stepped out of the Lexus, holstered her weapon, and walked around the car. All four tires were flat. Bullet holes riddled the white finish. If there'd been any doubt about someone wanting Shane dead, it was gone now.

  Shane exited his Lexus as a deputy walked toward them. Tess relaxed for the first time. She knew the man.

  "Are you Mr. Burkhart?" the officer asked as he took in the Lexus as if it had been in a war zone.

  "Yes." Shane took out his wallet and showed the deputy his license.

  "You called 911?" When Shane nodded, the deputy continued. "What happened?"

  Shane pointed at the spiked roadblock stretched across the pavement. "I couldn't stop in time. Two men over there," he indicated the area, "fired on us. When they heard your siren, they ran off that way." He pointed north to the dirt road, obscured partially by the vegetation. "Got into a black pickup and took off north."

  "Good thing I was nearby when I received the call." The deputy, a friend from high school named Brady, shifted his attention to Tess and smiled. "Are you on a job?"

  "Yes. He hired me today. We were leaving Uncle Jack's and going to his house."

  "Is Jack at the ranch? You aren't going anywhere in that car." Brady blew out a slow whistle as he inspected the Lexus again.

  "No, he's in the mountains."

  A second patrol car fr
om the north pulled up, and Captain Paul Daniels exited his vehicle. He was a good friend of Uncle Jack's, but then he knew a lot of the law enforcement officers in the area, especially Maricopa County's District Six.

  "Maybe you or Paul could give us a ride back to the ranch. I can use my uncle's truck." She nodded toward the captain, who stopped next to her.

  "I'll do that, Brady, while you process the crime scene." Paul pushed his cowboy hat up on his forehead and examined the Lexus. "Tess Miller, trouble follows you everywhere. It's good to see no harm was done to you two. Not from lack of trying, from the looks of this car."

  "Tess, did you or Mr. Burkhart get a look at the assailants?" Brady moved toward the area where the attackers had hidden.

  "They had ski masks on, but one was about six feet and the other five nine or ten. Both had a stocky build. Paul, you should have passed the black truck as you came down the road."

  The captain squinted north. "Nope, but there are several other dirt roads they could have turned onto. I'll have another deputy check them out. Did you get a license number?"

  "No, but it was a New Mexico plate. The numbers were covered except"—Tess visualized the speeding truck—"the last number was nine, I think."

  "At least that's something to go on." The captain pulled out his cell phone and placed a call.

  Brady continued his trek toward the area where the two assailants had hunkered down in a ditch that had offered them some protection from Tess's return fire.

  While Shane talked with Captain Daniels, giving him more details of what went down, Tess followed Brady. Her friend examined the ground, careful not to disturb any evidence, while Tess stood back on the pavement.

  Brady crouched down even further. "Looks like blood. Did you hit one?"

  "I don't know. Everything happened fast. Most of the time I was pinned down. But if that's human blood, it's most likely one of the assailants."

  Brady grinned up at her. "Then we may be able to track him down. If he's in the system."

  Tess looked to where the two thugs had first hidden before she exchanged fire with them. A cigarette butt, leaning against a bush and partially in the dirt caught Tess's attention. "Look at that, Brady. It might belong to one of the assailants. This isn't the first time someone tried to kill Shane." Brady sat back on his heels and looked at her, his eyebrows raised. She told him the story of what had happened on the mountain.