Decoded

by Debra Webb

  The first man bored the muzzle a little deeper into her skin and spat more ugly words she couldn’t understand.

  “Enough,” the other man repeated. “Get her up.”

  Before the words could fully penetrate the terror swaddling her brain, the man with the gun had hauled her to her feet.

  The second man waited a few feet away. He looked American and spoke English with no distinguishable accent. Unlike the man manacling her who wore jeans and a T-shirt, the one who seemed to be in charge wore a suit. He smiled at Maggie.

  To his comrade, he said, “We need her alive and undamaged.” His attention fixed on Maggie once more. “For now.”

  Chapter Eleven

  4:00 a.m.

  Slade parked the borrowed Jeep in a gulley below the rise overlooking the expanse of rugged terrain that separated his position from the Marek compound. She would be expecting him. The key was to breach the secure perimeter before she was aware of his imminent presence. Not an easy feat. But not impossible.

  He adjusted his night-vision goggles and surveyed the stone wall that rose a full twelve feet high all the way around the main house, wrapping it with a menacing facade guaranteed to deter. He counted the usual three perimeter guards. No, wait, there was a fourth man. Slade tracked the man’s progress as he made his rounds.

  She was definitely expecting company.

  Security would be on high alert.

  There would be at least four more men inside. Various trip-wire and spring-activated traps in the outer perimeter. Motion-activated cameras strategically placed around the wall as well as inside the compound. He’d faced similar challenges many times. It wasn’t the getting in that was the real issue.

  Getting out without neutralizing the entire security force as well as the woman in charge would be unmanageable in the best-case scenario. He lowered the goggles. He was prepared for that risk.

  He’d lived dozens of lives, leaving each one behind like a dead soul, not quite real enough or dead enough to matter in the scheme of things. This time might be his last, but he wasn’t going alone. She was going with him. Straight to hell, if he had anything to say about it.

  No more waiting. He wanted to be inside before sunrise.

  He alternately slid and climbed back down to the Jeep. Mentally, this final confrontation had been coming for a long time. He was ready. Physically, he’d taken the usual preparatory steps. During his last shower he had not used soap or shampoo, and no deodorant. He didn’t want the enemy to smell him coming. She recruited and trained her own security staff. No detail would be left to chance. His shoes had soft leather soles to ensure noiseless movements and his outerwear was black, made of a fabric that created no sound when it rubbed against other materials.

  Outside of blowing up the place—and that was out of the question since Alayna was likely inside—this was the best he could do to ensure success.

  His cell vibrated. He reached into the pocket of his ammo vest, his own internal alert moving to the next level. Only one person had this number besides Alayna. If Maggie was calling, that meant there was trouble back in Mexico City. In that event, he was too far away to help. Unknown Number flashed on the screen. The unfamiliar sting of fear trickled into his veins.

  He slid the phone open, accepting the call, and waited.

  “Tripp, you must listen closely. I don’t have much time.”

  Alayna.

  She was the one person who called him by that name without eliciting fury.

  “I’m listening.” There was always the chance that the Dragon would attempt to set him up. She would use any means to get to him. Nothing was beneath her. A computer re-creation of his sister’s voice was certainly within the realm of possibility. But he knew his sister. She would never give up this number. Not even to avoid death. As much as the Dragon worshipped Alayna, she would execute her for that kind of betrayal if she learned of it. No question. Alayna was taking a huge risk calling him. She had taken many risks on his behalf over the years, but this was the greatest.

  “Lavena and Ramondo are dead.”

  That foreign trickle of fear burst like a crack in a compromised dam, sending adrenaline gushing full force through him. “Maggie?”

  “Two of her security team are bringing Maggie here.” Alayna provided the route and their current position as well as the make of the vehicle. “Hurry, Tripp. If she reaches the compound…”

  She didn’t have to spell it out. The Dragon would torture Maggie mercilessly and she would use her to corner him. She thought she had gotten the jump on him. Slade cleared his mind. “I understand.” He disconnected. Every second Alayna remained on the line was an additional risk. He had what he needed to intercept.

  Slade tucked the phone away. Rage simmered deep in his gut. The Dragon had finally gotten Lavena. Ramondo, too. The stakes were set. The Dragon wanted him terminated this time as much as he wanted her dead. There would be no attempts at negotiation as there had been in the past. No surprise, really.

  This was the endgame.

  He would not allow Maggie to be collateral damage. The Dragon had already taken far too much from him.

  6:05 a.m.

  MAGGIE HAD LOST ALL TRACK of time. The black bag that had been placed over her head prevented her from seeing anything at all. One of the men had tossed her into the cargo area of an SUV just before tying her up and covering her head. Her pitiful attempts to fight him off had done nothing but made him laugh. She had no idea in which direction they had gone, and accurately measuring the passage of time was impossible. The road had grown bumpier after that last turn, but she had no idea if that meant they were nearing their destination or simply taking a lot of back roads.

  She had cried silently at first. Mostly for her baby. These men were taking her to that evil woman—Slade’s mother. No doubt she wanted to use Maggie to lure Slade to her. The two captors hadn’t said as much but she knew. There was no other reason to allow her to live. Maggie would be just as dead as Lavena and Ramondo if there wasn’t a need to keep her alive.

  Images of their lifeless bodies kept bobbing to the surface of the confusion, fear and exhaustion whirling in her head. Maggie tried to keep the images at bay, but she no longer had the fortitude to keep up the effort.

  The bindings around her wrists had cut into her flesh. She’d tried for what felt like forever to wiggle her hands loose. All she had succeeded in doing was chafing her already raw skin even worse. Her feet hadn’t been bound. She supposed they weren’t afraid of her running if the opportunity presented itself, when she couldn’t see where she was going.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed again for her life to be spared so her baby would be safe. Each time she prayed, she asked for Slade’s protection, as well. What this evil woman had put him through as a child was unspeakable. She didn’t deserve to live. What kind of woman did such horrific things to her child? Slaughtered an old woman and her grandson, and no telling how many others?

  Slade had warned Maggie that she couldn’t possibly comprehend and she now knew for a certainty that he was all too right. This was far beyond her scope of comprehension. She would never be able to assimilate such a tragedy.

  If she had only been able to get to a phone before these scumbags had arrived, she could have called the Colby Agency for help. If anyone had the ability to help her and Slade, Victoria and Lucas did. But it was too late for that now. Their chances of rescue were a big fat zero.

  Maggie’s family would be devastated. She had told them a little about Slade. Each time she’d visited for holidays he had been too busy to go. Always an excuse. Her sisters had gotten a little suspicious in the last couple of months. Maggie had insisted everything was fine. She had lied to herself and to them.

  Her family would be forced to suffer this nightmare all because Maggie had been too blind to see. The positive pregnancy tests would be found in the bathroom of her apartment, giving her family an additional lost life to mourn. That would be the most devastating blow of all. H
er sisters, with whom she shared everything, would be hurt that she hadn’t told them. If only there had been time… She wanted so desperately to share that wondrous news with her family.

  And with Slade. But she wasn’t at all sure if that was the right decision. Too much had happened to explore the concept as she should have.

  The SUV slowed. Maggie’s heart seemed to pound hard enough to crack her ribs. The men spoke in Spanish, though she knew both spoke English, as well. Apparently they had recognized that she couldn’t understand the language and wanted to ensure she was kept off guard. She listened intently, tried to pick up on a word here and there.

  Gas. She was pretty sure she heard something about gas or gasoline. As if to confirm her assessment, the vehicle rolled to a stop. A door opened, then slammed shut. Then another opened and closed.

  The urge to act swam in her brain. If they were at a gas station, was there anyone out there to hear her if she screamed? What time was it?

  The cargo door opened, the shift in the air made her breath catch. Something hard nudged her head. “Make a sound and I will ensure you regret it.”

  Anger roared. “What’re you going to do? Kill me? I don’t think so.” She braced to push upright, but the muzzle jammed into her skull hard enough to leave a mark. She ignored it, tried to sit up.

  “There are far worse things than death, lady. Don’t make me prove my point.”

  Her anger wilted like a pansy in the hot summer sun. As much as she wanted to take the risk and scream at the top of her lungs, she couldn’t. She had no way of knowing if anyone was outside to hear her. Protecting the baby had to be her first priority.

  The vehicle shifted with the weight of first one, then the second man getting back into the SUV. Doors slammed and the engine started. Her flimsy hope of rescue died an instantaneous death.

  Defeat crushed down on her. No. Stop it. She would not think that way. As long as she was breathing there was hope. To distract herself, she pondered baby names. For a girl, Madelyn like her mother. That was a given. For a boy, maybe…Slade? But she didn’t know if that was his real name. He’d mentioned something about using lots of different names. Was Slade a name he liked since he had chosen it? Would naming a son after him be smart since he wouldn’t be a part of their lives?

  Look at the facts, Maggie. Slade, the only name she knew him by, was the father of this child. Every aspect of him that she had fallen in love with was what made him Slade Keaton to her. She certainly wasn’t going to tell her child that his father had been…a killer and yet somehow a protector. A ruthless man who had burrowed his way into her life to get close to the Colby Agency for reasons she still didn’t understand.

  No. She would tell her child about the good she had seen in Slade. How he had helped the Colby Agency a couple of times. How he had made Maggie feel special as no one else ever had. Those were the things she would tell her child when the time came.

  Maggie closed her eyes and thought of all the nursery rhymes her mother used to tell her and her sisters. And the ones she’d heard her sisters tell their children. She smiled as the singsong voices whispered through her mind. Whatever happened at the end of this journey, she wanted her last thoughts to be of home and family. Slade’s image loomed amid the others.

  Him, too. He would always be a part of her.

  SLADE LAY IN THE DITCH AND waited. According to his calculations the SUV would be passing this position within the next three minutes. A rifle would have served this purpose better, but he didn’t have that luxury. The handgun would have to do.

  He’d hidden his Jeep well off the road behind an abandoned gas station. The cover it provided had been the determining factor in choosing this location. On this leg of the road there were little options for cover. He had been in place long enough for any dust his arrival had stirred to settle.

  Sunrise was a full half hour away, but that would work to his advantage. He needed every possible advantage.

  A sound tagged his attention. He cocked his head and listened. The distant roar of an engine warned that a vehicle approached from the west. It had to be them. This remote section of road had few travelers, particularly at this hour.

  His muscles tensed in preparation for battle. The headlights came into view over a distant rise. His finger snugged against the trigger.

  The SUV grew closer. Slade had to aim carefully. His guess was that Maggie would be restrained in the backseat or the cargo area. Keeping gunfire away from those areas was imperative.

  Closer. Don’t act yet. Hold your position.

  He pulled the night-vision goggles into place and avoided looking directly at the headlights. The glare made wearing the goggles uncomfortable.

  Closer.

  He pressed the trigger, putting a bullet through the driver’s window, hopefully into the bastard’s head. The SUV swerved right. He took out the front driver’s-side tire, then the rear tire on the same side. The SUV bumped over the rough terrain on the other side of the road, then jolted to a stop.

  Slade moved. If the other guy had a chance to get behind the wheel, he would take off.

  He rushed across the road, his dark clothing allowing him to move unseen.

  Activity in the vehicle snagged his attention. He couldn’t make out what was happening, but he felt confident the driver’s sidekick was attempting to take control of the SUV.

  A scream rent the air.

  Maggie!

  Slade ran harder.

  A shot hit the ground next to him and he dived for the dirt and rolled.

  More shots puffed in the air, the silenced weapon taking potshots at the threat the shooter couldn’t quite see. These men were skilled marksmen. The darkness was all the advantage Slade had.

  He crawled forward, moving quickly toward the opposite side of the vehicle.

  A door slammed on the other side of the vehicle. Maggie screamed again.

  He’d dragged her out of the SUV.

  Damn.

  Slade curled into a ball behind the rear driver’s-side wheel. Maggie was pleading with the guy to let her go. Slade tuned out the fear in her voice.

  “Come out where I can see you,” the man shouted, “or I’ll kill her.”

  Maggie cried out in pain.

  Fury tightened Slade’s jaw. His instincts told him that the guy wouldn’t dare kill her. That he likely had very specific orders about Maggie. But assuming that the man wouldn’t panic was a dicey approach.

  Slade took the risk. “Let her go and I’ll let you live.”

  His enemy laughed. “I’ve heard that from more than one man before he died.”

  Slade leaned past the wheel and fired a shot. He hit the gunman in the ankle thanks to the night-vision goggles. The next scream wasn’t Maggie’s.

  Moving quickly, Slade rounded the vehicle and leveled a bead on the guy wrestling to keep Maggie from escaping.

  Damn. She needed to be still.

  The guy sensed Slade’s presence, let go of Maggie and pulled off a shot. Slade fired back and dropped him in one shot. Maggie scrambled away.

  “It’s okay now,” he assured her. He checked the man on the ground. He was dead. Slade pushed up the goggles and went to Maggie.

  She screamed when he touched her. His chest ached at the sound. “It’s okay. It’s me.” He untied the bag and pulled it from her head. She trembled. He helped her to her feet. “Hold on and I’ll cut your hands free.” He fished the knife from his pocket and carefully, using his fingers to check before sliding the blade between her skin and the ropes, cut the bindings. Dawn had broken but it was still damn dark.

  Maggie swayed as she faced him, then dived into his arms. She sobbed against his shoulder. She whispered over and over that she’d been afraid he was dead.

  He tucked her hair behind one ear and manufactured a smile, whether she could see it or not. “We have to get out of here.”

  She nodded her understanding.

  “You injured?” He held her at arm’s length and tried to check he
r for injury, but there wasn’t enough light.

  “I’m okay.” She scrubbed her hands over her face, then pressed one to her stomach. “I’m okay.”

  She might not be injured, but she was far from okay. Slade shoved his weapon into his waistband and draped an arm around her shoulder to usher her forward. The sooner they were in that Jeep and out of here, the better.

  A distinct hiss dislocated the silence. Hot metal sliced through his left biceps.

  Slade pushed Maggie to the ground, simultaneously reaching for his weapon and whirling to face the threat. He fired into the SUV three times.

  The report of his weapon echoed in the distance, then silence reigned once more.

  No return fire. Moving cautiously, he approached the vehicle and peered inside. This time the driver was done. Slade swore. He should have checked after putting the other guy down. Another mistake. His arm burned like hell.

  No time to deal with that right now.

  Maggie was already back on her feet by the time he reached her.

  She gasped at the tear in his sleeve that revealed the slash in his flesh.

  “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

  At the rate he was going, he wasn’t going to live to take down the Dragon.

  MAGGIE ALLOWED HIM TO USHER her away from the SUV. Her head spun with all the questions she wanted to ask. How had he found her? How had he learned that she had been abducted? Did he know about Lavena and Ramondo? She couldn’t find her voice or the brainpower to put the questions into words.

  He ushered her across the road and in the direction of a long-closed gas station. Dawn crept across the desert, garishly highlighting the boarded-up windows and graffiti of the abandoned business. Behind the building a Jeep waited.

  Slade helped her into the passenger side of the Jeep, then climbed behind the wheel. “Do you need me to drive?” She’d finally stopped shaking. Her brain was attempting to function once more. He had to be in pain.

  “I’m good.”

  She didn’t argue with him. Even she recognized that putting as much distance as possible between them and here was imperative.