by Cherry Adair
The dog was gone.
"I was trying to be civilized about this." Lurch motioned to his goons.
The scene unfolded before her eyes with the speed of a supersonic jet. Horrified, Marnie watched them race over to Jake, each grabbing an arm in a death lock. She dug her fingernails into her palms and bit her lip until she tasted blood.
Jake braced for the assault.
Lurch's fist shot out and ground into his chin. To the midriff, to the chest, to the face again. He felt the warmth of blood run from his nose as his wrist strained against the plastic handcuffs, drawing them tighter until they cut off the circulation in his hands.
Pain, like a hot knife, sliced into him as Lurch struck his wounded shoulder. The impact reverberated throughout his body, causing his stomach to heave. Lurch punched him in the stomach again. Several times. His fist landed on Jake's cheekbone with a dull crack that jerked his head back.
Lurch danced in front of him. Psyched. Manic. Enjoying the power.
Jake managed to dodge a pile-driver left to his face by quick footwork. Instead of retreating, Jake closed in, brought up his leg fast, and kneed Lurch in the groin. The other man spun aside as the goons pulled Jake out of range. But it was still a hit. Lurch doubled over, cursing a blue streak.
"You always were a miserable, sniveling coward," Jake taunted as Lurch slowly straightened, eyes watering and glittering wildly. "Need two men to hold me? What kind of man can't fight his own battles? Come on, you weaseling, two-faced bastard. Come and get me. Easy target, huh, Lurch? Cuffed, your muscle restraining me? Hell, even a kid could beat me up like this. Where's the sport?"
With a jerk of his head, Lurch called the goons off. Jake rolled his shoulders, not shifting his focus.
"You're not going to taunt me into losing control. I know how you operate."
Pain showed in the radiating lines beside Lurch's eyes. He clasped his groin in both hands, staying well back although no one was holding Jake any longer.
"No. You knew how I operated. A lot has changed in six years," Jake told him flatly.
Someone was behind him. Someone who didn't want to be seen or heard. While Lurch circled him, Jake casually took a step back, then another as Lurch paced, so filled with his own dramatics he didn't notice. Jake's gaze shot to the tangos who'd moved back and now stood closer to the fire. Their focus was on their boss while they warmed their asses.
Another gentle rustle behind the concealing bushes.
Who the hell was it? Lurch's man? The one who'd peeled off before they'd come into the clearing? Unlikely. The man wouldn't be skulking in the shrubbery. But where was he? Had he gone off to find the rest of the team? And who the hell was behind him?
Damn. Could it be the dog? He'd forgotten about Duchess.
Lurch stormed toward the smoking cabin, turned around, and glared at Jake. His two lieutenants flanked him and kept their weapons trained at Jake's heart. Neither had moved from his position.
"Thing is, Lurch, or rather Dancer," Jake said quietly while casually stepping another pace back toward the dense bushes behind him. An overhanging tree put him partially in shadow. "It's no biggie to take my eye. But you'd have what? Five minutes, tops, to use it to scan? Not great odds when you still don't know where the scanner device is, is it?"
"Shut up. Just shut up."
Jake backed up another step. Whoever was behind him stopped breathing.
Afraid of him? Or for him?
A man? Or the dog?
"The problem won't matter soon," Jake said loudly. "We're all going to freeze our asses off out here. In case you hadn't noticed, we're in for a mother of a snowstorm."
"I told you to shut the hell up!"
Lurch was losing his cool, Jake thought with satisfaction. He felt the sharp prick of a pine needle against his wrist as he came flush against the foliage.
"Why, Lurch? Why'd you do this? I thought we were friends." Jake almost flinched when something icy cold touched his wrist.
"I wanted to be on the winning side for a change." Lurch rubbed his hands together above a burning chunk of wood. He spoke as if they were chatting over a beer in front of a cozy fire instead of high on a snowy mountain in the dead of night with the embers of the cabin glowing in the darkness and two goons with Uzis trained on his heart.
"We couldn't win," Lurch said. "We never could win. The tangos had all the power. All the money. All the glory. There were a handful of us and a never-ending supply of them. I was sick of working for the losing team. And I was fucking sick of always being on your team. T-FLAC's golden boy. Jake Dolan, boy wonder.
"You got the accolades when we made a bust. You got the pats on the back. You had everyone's admiration and respect. And when we had a piss-willy little bit of glory, when we had a victory, you were the one who stepped up to the plate and took it. Oh, yeah, you always made sure the powers that be knew who was on your team, but bottom line, you were the hero.
"Nobody saw that I was smarter than you could ever hope to be. Me. Not you. I was the one smart enough to be working for both sides. Nobody knew. Not even the brilliant Tin Man." Lurch giggled.
Whoever the hell was behind him was either too cold or too nervous to be efficient. Come on, pal. Cut the damn thing. Jake tried to spread his wrists a little to make the job easier. The knife nicked his wrist.
"You might invent stuff, but I'm the one on the winning team now. Me. Don't you know nice guys finish last? You played by the book, you stupid asshole, and look where you are now." Lurch laughed, eyes wild with delight at his own cleverness.
"I came up with half the stuff you invented. You have the money. It isn't fair. I want my share."
The knife finally sliced through the plastic handcuffs, and the pressure on Jake's wrists immediately released. Blood pounded through his hands in a welcome rush. With a flex of his wrists he was free.
"If you were instrumental in any of the inventions going to market, then of course you should have your share," Jake told him calmly, flexing his fingers. "However, you're going to have a hard time proving anything, since all my patents are filed and dated years after your death."
When Jake and Ross had been partners and friends there had been no down time. They'd been busy fighting the good fight. It had been two years after the Musketeers' deaths when Jake came up with a small device used in a weapon's laser sight. The part, invented out of necessity, had been patented and had netted Jake a nice chunk of change. He'd taken it from there. An amusing little hobby had turned into a lucrative business.
"Who the hell will believe that?" Lurch demanded, straightening from the burning embers at his feet. "I'll have proof. I'll make sure I do." Lurch shot him a smug look. "I've got people who'll mickey the paperwork to make it look like I was the inventor. I'll have all the money, and I didn't have to do a damn thing other than be smarter than you!"
Jake looked at his old friend dispassionately, keeping his hands behind his back. He stepped away from the bushes to give his rescuer time to move, and heard a muttered curse behind him.
"We were never in competition, Lurch. Never. We were best friends. The four of us." Jake watched him. "Did you have Britt and Skully killed?"
"Skully knew I was still alive. He saw me after I 'died.' Britt was expendable. You always told us to be sure we tied up loose ends. I tied up loose ends. Just like you told us. I did that. Tied up loose ends. I—" He cut himself off abruptly, realizing, Jake thought, that he was losing it.
"You always got the girl. Didn't you? Always got the girl." He stalked forward, his usually graceful gait jerky with unsuppressed anger.
"I'm glad she cut you. Glad. We laughed about your piss-poor technique in the sack, Soledad and me. We'd lie in bed and she'd tell me how much you loomed her. Stupid sap. She was mine first. Mine."
Jake stared at him. "You were in love with Soledad, and yet you sent her to sleep with me?"
"I wanted you to trust her. I wanted you to fall for her. And you did, didn't you? I manipulated you through her
. You were thinking with your dick, and I could control you like a pull toy." Lurch laughed, delighted with his cleverness.
He thumped his chest, then sneered. "I told you, remember? I told you after the bitch shot me that she was the tango's main squeeze. Remember? I told you. I was the tango, man. I was the tango!" Lurch roared with manic laughter.
"I was sent in to help you find me! Shit, that was funny. Skulking around, watching your back, when all along I was right there behind you. Oh, man. I loved that."
"And what did Soledad have to do with any of that? Were you in love with her? Is that it, Lurch, you were fighting for her cause?"
"Love had zip to do with it," Lurch snorted. "She was fighting for my cause. The almighty dollar. And the point, Jake, ol' pal of mine, was that I got her first. In love? Don't be ridiculous. I wasn't in love with her."
"Then what difference does it make?"
"Because"—Lurch came right up to him—"She. Was. Mine."
"You wasted her."
"She forgot who she belonged to. She didn't finish the job I sent her to do."
"To kill me." The scar on Jake's neck throbbed.
Beyond the circle of trees and the glow of the still smoldering cabin, the night was an impenetrable inky black as the moon shifted behind the clouds. The topmost branches of the tall trees danced in the icy wind. Bright sparks danced wildly in the current.
From the shrubbery came a violent rustle of branches and leaves. Then silence.
Run like hell, Jake thought.
Lurch jerked his head toward the trees, and one of the goons lumbered off to investigate.
Jake stared at the man he'd thought he knew so well. His gaze flickered to the muscle standing well back, weapon trained on him.
He calculated the odds of taking Lurch down before he was shot himself. Lurch was still pacing. Jake waited for him to close the distance. Move a little farther away from his—
A high-pitched scream. A gunshot. Another long screech.
God. For a moment he thought… Jake immediately reined in his leap of imagination but couldn't still the surge of blood that pumped through his heart and increased his rate of breathing. No, of course it wasn't. Couldn't be.
Men had been known to scream like a woman when terrified.
Another strangled shriek. The rustle of shrubbery being pushed aside. Lurch's lieutenant staggered into the clearing, his arms in a stranglehold about a struggling woman. He had her around the waist like a sack of corn. Even with her back toward him, he wasn't having an easy time containing her. She screamed and flailed, fighting him for all she was worth, arms and legs thrashing wildly, and wielding a grubby white athletic sock.
Marnie.
She had a black eye. Her pale face was filthy, her hair spiked with pine needles and mud, her jacket ripped.
He'd never seen a more beautiful sight in his life.
Jake closed his eyes as a multitude of raw emotions swept through him. Blood rushed from his head, and he felt a leap of joy so intense, so profound, he almost forgot where the hell they were.
Lurch roared with laughter and clapped his hands as he strolled toward Marnie. "Well done, Price, well done."
He grabbed Marnie by her hair, pulling her head up. With his other hand he snatched her weapon out of her hand and tossed it aside. Still enraged, she couldn't cry out because of the unnatural arch of her throat. Her legs and arms struck out uselessly.
"Hello, darling," Lurch purred, then bent his head and kissed her hard on the mouth.
Jake locked his knees, gritted his teeth, and stayed exactly where he was. He ruthlessly kept his hands behind his back, even though all he wanted to do was rip out Lurch's heart. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. Rage rose in a blinding wave. He pushed it aside to center himself, focusing on the cold core deep inside.
Marnie jerked her head away, glared at Lurch, who still held her hair caveman style, and said in icy tones, "Your technique leaves a lot to be desired. Tell your goon to let me go, he's cutting off my circulation."
Grinning, Lurch asked the man behind her drolly, "Any weapons? Beside the sock?"
"No, sir. She had a gun. The little bitch tried to shoot me. I took it from her."
"Good. Let her go. Don't move, Miss Wright, or my men will shoot your boyfriend."
Marnie staggered as she was released. She rubbed her wrist and looked at each man with cool blue eyes. The hauteur of her expression was not diminished by either her black eye or the condition of her sodden, mud-stained clothing. Her gaze skimmed briefly over Jake and the other men, then back to Lurch.
"Which one of these Neanderthals is supposed to be my boyfriend?"
Lurch flung an arm about her shoulders and walked her toward Jake. "Here he is, darling, your sweetheart, Jake the Magnificent."
Jake's jaw ached from gritting his teeth. While Lurch was holding her casually, his fingers gripped her shoulder so tightly the fabric bunched beneath his hand. Despite the situation, she was as cool as a cucumber. His estimation of her climbed another dozen notches.
Good girl. Hang in there.
Jake watched them dispassionately as they came closer. He fixed his attention solely on Lurch, knowing that if he saw terror in Marnie's eyes, he'd lose it.
She didn't sound scared at all as she laughed a fake, brittle little laugh. "You must be joking. This guy? Oh, please. We don't even know each other. He let me spend the night in his cabin when a tree crushed mine to bits." She shot Jake a disdainful glance. "I don't associate with uncouth mountain men, even if they are the only game in town, thank you very much."
She stuffed her hand in her pocket and turned her head to look up at Lurch. "Look, I don't want to get involved in whatever you're doing. I don't even want to know what you guys are doing here. Just let me go."
"I'd never let a lady wander around alone in the dark," Lurch told her gallantly, giving her shoulder another squeeze. Then he grabbed her by her hair again and tilted her head back. "Let's see how my old pal the Tin Man likes it when I get the girl."
Jake choked back a snarl of fury, and Marnie's eyes narrowed as Lurch lowered his head to kiss her again.
Oh, shit, Jake thought, a second before she punched Lurch in the stomach with the full force of her weight behind it. Lurch staggered, looking stunned.
Her face was set, her eyes glittering. "Don't manhandle me. I don't like it." She forcibly pushed away from Lurch, and in doing so, bumped hard into Jake.
He almost put his hands out to catch her, then remembered he was supposed to be secured. Her clothing and hair were wet; she smelled like mud and wet dog. He wanted to wrap his arms about her and bury his face against her soft, sweet skin. He had to get her the hell away from these lunatics and—
"Fall down, damnit," she snarled under her breath, her body pressing hard against his.
Jake allowed her slight weight to tip him over. They fell to the ground. He heard the air rush from her lungs as she landed on top of him with a thud. She winced—and pushed a gun under his shoulder.
"The woman is nuts. Get her off me," he demanded when Lurch stood there laughing at the two of them.
Marnie rolled off him and glared at Lurch. "Well? Don't just stand there. Help me up." She stuck out her hand, expecting to be assisted.
While she made a production of getting up on her own, brushing at the clumps of mud and debris on her jacket and complaining bitterly, Jake rose, the weapon now in his hand behind his back.
"I don't know what you people are doing," Marnie said furiously. "But I want no part of it."
She walked toward the cabin and the men who stood there, still talking to Lurch over her shoulder, trying to get Lurch's attention away from Jake and on herself instead.
"If you persist in detaining me, I'm afraid I'll have to—to contact my congressman and complain. This is an outrage."
Oh, for goodness sake, Marnie thought desperately. Dancer would shoot her for being a blithering idiot. Beyond him she glimpsed Jake, utterly still, hi
s attention focused on Lurch, ignoring her completely. He appeared deceptively calm, like a panther contemplating when to move in for the kill. Not a good sign for the bad guys, she thought with a frightened hitch in her breath. Unfortunately, there were three men just waiting for Jake to twitch.
She had to keep talking, distracting Lurch and his men until Jake made his move. Come on big guy, do something. I'm running out of steam here.
"My father is Geoffrey Wright. Of Wright Computers. You do know who he is, don't you?" She started finger-combing her wet hair, primping and fluffing as she talked. Out of the corner of her eye, she observed the soldiers avidly watching her every move. She fixed her gaze on Lurch. "Daddy's a millionaire. I know he'll pay a handsome reward for returning me home safely. The bridges are flooded. I presume you've figured how to get off this stupid mountain in this ridiculous weather?"
Lurch strode up to her and grabbed her by the collar. "Where is the lair?" he demanded furiously, not the least bit distracted by her nonsensical chatter.
She looked at him blankly for a second. "Oh, my God! You mean there are wild animals up here?"
She should have expected it, she really should, but the backhanded slap took her completely unaware. Her head snapped sharply, and the entire left side of her face went numb from the blow as she staggered several feet to keep her balance.
That's it! Fury, raw and powerful, surged through her like molten lava. With a shriek, she launched herself at Lurch with nails and teeth bared.
Chapter Sixteen
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Jake brought his weapon up. In his peripheral vision he confirmed that Marnie was straddling Lurch as she attempted to pummel his head into the ground.
He got off a shot before the soldiers even knew what hit them. One fell where he stood. The second spun away from ogling the spectacle and fumbled his weapon in Jake's general direction.
No contest. Jake squeezed off another shot and dropped him before he could fire.
Where the hell was the third guy?
He spun around in time to see Lurch grab Marnie by the hair, roll, and come up in one fluid motion to haul her to her feet. She yelped, then bit her lower lip, her gaze flying to meet Jake's as Lurch wrapped an arm about her throat.
