Hell's Highway

by Gerri Hill

  “How is Reynolds? I didn’t even get to talk to him. I thought maybe he’d come by last night...” he said, his voice drifting away.

  “Reynolds was at the rig last night until about nine,” she said. “I’m not sure how he is, really. He’s acting okay, but Cameron said he and Jack had known each other for years. I’d like to say his death has affected him but I’m not sure I really understand,” she said.

  “Understand what?”

  “The military life,” she explained. “It’s almost as if you are totally unaffected by it all.”

  He pulled his eyes away, staring at the ceiling. “We’ve all lost buddies in war, lost men we were close with. I guess in some ways you do get used to it. It’s a part of this life. You don’t ever take the time to grieve. You never know when there’s a bullet—a bomb—with your name on it.” He turned back to her. “Jack knew the risks. Carina too. It’s almost like you’re living on borrowed time as it is. You see a lot of shit when you’re in Special Ops,” he said. “You see a lot of shit, you do a lot of shit. After a while, nothing surprises you anymore. You stop feeling.”

  “You’re still young enough to learn again,” she said with a gentle smile. “Life is...life is precious. We should all enjoy it for what it is, not live each day in fear of dying. That’s something Cameron has had to learn too,” she said. “Mostly fear of me dying, but still.”

  He smiled. “I like you a lot, Andrea. I’m glad you have someone who loves you like that. Someone who you love equally as much.” He sighed. “I will admit I’m jealous though.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “Not like that,” he said. “I’m jealous of the closeness you have with someone. At the end of the day, it would be nice to have that.”

  “Don’t give up on finding it.”

  He nodded. “Maybe some day,” he said wistfully. Then he sighed again. “God, how did we get off on that subject?”

  She stood, then leaned over and kissed him lightly on the mouth, surprising him. “Let me go flash my badge around and see if I can rustle up a doctor.”

  “He’s got a stick up his ass or something,” Cameron said as she slammed the door behind her. Chief Hudley didn’t know anything, didn’t have anything for them, couldn’t even offer a guess as to when lab results would be back. “That was a waste of an hour.”

  “It’s a small department, Ross. They’re all shook up over Burke,” Reynolds said. “Cut him some slack.”

  “Slack? We’re trying to find the goddamn bastard who did this,” she said as she stormed out of the police station. “You’d think he’d bend over backward to help us.”

  “Maybe if you hadn’t pissed him off by going over his head,” he said.

  “Maybe if he’d cooperated I wouldn’t have had to go over his head. And it’s not the fact that I’m FBI,” she said. “It’s because I’m a woman. I’m not stupid.”

  Reynolds laughed. “Little does he know you could kick his ass all over the place.”

  She glanced back at the door, shaking her head. “Well, we don’t need him anyway. We’ve got Rowan,” she said, following Reynolds to the car. She was about to call Andrea when she remembered Andrea’s phone was damaged in the blast. She called Rowan instead.

  “Sorry to interrupt, kid,” she said, then paused. “Unless you have something?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Okay. What about phones?”

  “Oh. I forgot. Yes, you can pick them up. I’ll send you the GPS location of the store.”

  “Good job. Thanks. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from them,” she said.

  “No.”

  She got in beside Reynolds, adjusting the AC vents to hit her in the face. “Damn, how do people live out here,” she murmured as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

  “Where to?”

  Within seconds Rowan had activated the GPS device on her phone, the bright red line indicating the route.

  “How does he do this so fast?” She pointed up ahead. “Take a left up here on East Fredricks Street. We’re going back to West Main.”

  “Rowan’s good,” Reynolds said as he followed her directions. “Although I believe he thinks he works for you and not me.”

  Cameron laughed. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

  “I still don’t like him hacking at will,” he said. “It’s not right. It’s not legal.”

  “Get off your high horse, Reynolds. Why do you think Murdock assigned him?”

  “I doubt it was to hack other law enforcement’s systems, which I’m quite sure he’s doing now to San Bernardino’s lab.”

  “The quicker we get information, the better,” she justified. No, Murdock hadn’t given them carte blanche privileges, but she knew he’d back her if someone complained. Not that she expected Rowan to get caught snooping around. He was very good.

  “Oh, my God. Will you quit complaining? You’re worse than Cameron,” Andrea said as she pulled into the hotel’s parking lot.

  “I’m in a hospital gown, for God’s sake,” he said, pulling it tightly around his legs.

  “And I’m going to get you some clothes.” She grinned. “You’ve got nice legs. You should show them off more often.”

  He glared at her. “I hate you.”

  She patted his leg. “You told me you loved me earlier.”

  “Yeah, well, I was having a weak moment.”

  She laughed as she got out. “That’s because you were planning your escape and you needed my help.” She leaned on the door, a smile still on her face. “So, just bring you some jeans or what? I’m guessing you want to go up for a shower,” she said.

  “Definitely. Just bring down some shorts and a T-shirt.”

  “Okay. Be right back.”

  She didn’t anticipate having a problem getting a keycard and she didn’t. The hotel staff knew the FBI had the string of five rooms on the third floor. She rode the elevator alone, her thoughts going to Cameron more often than not. Mentally, she was feeling much better today. Last night had been nearly magical and Cameron had loved her to the point of exhaustion. So despite having to function on only a few hours sleep, she felt sharp and alert today. More focused, at least. Like the others, she was trying to put yesterday’s blast behind her. They’d lost two agents. Whether it was negligence or just bad luck, that was to be determined.

  Eric’s room was tidy and it was evident that no one had slept there last night. She rummaged through the drawers, finding a pair of running shorts and a plain white T-shirt. She ignored the underwear there, knowing he would be coming up for a shower anyway. His running shoes were in the closet and she grabbed them as well.

  Out in the hallway, she glanced at the door to Carina’s room, wondering if Reynolds had already packed her belongings, shipping them off to her family as if that would make a difference to them. Surprisingly, her mother’s face flashed through her mind. Maybe it was time to call her, let her know where she was, how she was.

  Then she shook her head. No. Her mother wouldn’t want to know what she was doing. The last time they spoke, she seemed almost relieved that Andrea was in Sedona, away from the city and its crime. Their relationship would never get back to the way it was before her father was killed, but at least they had talked. Now, if she knew Andrea was with the FBI, doing these types of cases...well, that would probably sever their ties completely.

  Back outside, the desert heat attacked quickly and she hurried to the truck, finding Eric anxiously waiting for her.

  “Turn around,” he said as he took the shorts from her.

  “Trust me, you have nothing I’m interested in seeing,” she said.

  He grinned mischievously. “You never know. One look and I might steal you away.”

  “Don’t think so, big guy.”

  He laughed. “Big being the operative word,” he said as he lifted his hips to slip on the shorts.

  She dutifully turned her head away as his hospital gown slipped open, causing him to laugh again.

  “
You’re evil,” she said.

  “Oh, just having a little fun.”

  She watched as he tossed the gown aside, his chest hairless and well defined. He was a very handsome man. She couldn’t believe some woman hadn’t latched on to him yet.

  “What?”

  “Just admiring your physique.”

  “Told you so.”

  It was her turn to laugh. “Not like that. But it does make me wonder why you don’t have women falling all over you.”

  “Who says I don’t?”

  She only smiled. “Come on, stud. Let’s go in. You need a shower.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  “I refuse to eat pizza again,” Reynolds said. He glanced at Andrea. “How do you put up with her?”

  “Hey,” Cameron said. “I was just offering a quick solution to an early dinner. That bag of chips you fed me for lunch just didn’t cut it.”

  “I could go for some Mexican food,” Eric said.

  “Chinese,” Reynolds countered.

  “Pizza,” she said with a smirk. “Andi?”

  Andrea laughed. “You’re insane if you think I’m voting with you.” She walked beside Eric, rubbing his back. “I’d vote with Reynolds because Chinese would be a quick take out, but I’ll have to go with Eric on this one.”

  “How did I guess that?” Cameron said with a smile. “Your fondness for Mexican food nearly matches my love of pizza.”

  “Hardly. I can actually go a week without it. You, on the other hand, get very, very cranky if you don’t get your pizza fix.”

  “That’s because—”

  “I got it!” Rowan said excitedly as he rushed into the room. “I know where he is.”

  They all stared at him, waiting. His hands were shaking as he tried to hold up his laptop.

  “Slow down, Rowan,” she said. “Take your time.”

  He visibly took several deep breaths, then grinned. “Jason is a genius,” he said.

  “Yes, you’ve mentioned that several times.” She pointed at his laptop. “What do you have?”

  “Well, you know I’ve already run every program with the hot spots—his grandparents’ place, and the other property—and we got our hits. But now, there’s no new data really. So I started a list of abandoned properties and included data like how long they’d been vacant, what structures were on the property, access to a major highway, that sort of thing.” He took another deep breath. “Nothing stood out. They all registered about the same. Then Jason suggested—”

  “Wait a minute,” she said. “How often do you talk to him?”

  Rowan’s face turned red. “We email a couple...well, several times a day. He’s very nice.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “I’m not bothering him. I promise.”

  “Okay. Continue.”

  “Jason suggested I put in another variable. Distance between occupied dwellings.”

  “Meaning?” Reynolds asked.

  “Meaning an abandoned building in town is less likely to be used since there would be occupied buildings in close proximity. Same as a vacant house might have a close neighbor. That would also be less likely to be used. In other words, I started looking for abandoned properties that were also isolated from occupied properties.”

  “And?”

  “The abandoned water park,” he said with a grin. “Eighty-nine percent.”

  “The water park,” she stated skeptically. “I didn’t get a good look at it, but didn’t it have a fence around it? Everything locked up?”

  “It’s got a fence but it’s not secure. Years ago, they used to have guard dogs patrolling it but not any longer. It’s got a multitude of buildings, good for hiding,” he said.

  “But if there is a fence, secure or not, he stands the chance of getting cornered,” Andrea said. “Would he take that chance?”

  “Only if he’s got an escape route,” Reynolds said. “Like at the shack, he had the tunnel.”

  “That’s where it’s interesting,” Rowan said, bringing his laptop closer for them to see. He had a satellite image up. “Here, behind the park, is a desert road. This,” he said, pointing to a couple of smaller structures, “is private property, but there is no residence. Outbuildings only. This is Cherokee Road. If he’s on a motorcycle or a dirt bike—like you suspect—then all he has to do is hop over this little hill here and he’s on the road. Then he’s got options. Swing around and head back to I-15 or go north farther into the desert.”

  She felt everyone looking at her. “It’s worth checking out. It’s not like we have a lot of options.”

  Reynolds stood. “We can be there in what? Twenty minutes?”

  “No, no, no,” Cameron said. “We wait for nightfall. We’re not going to just show up there. We’d be sitting ducks. We know he’s got Burke’s gun and he knows how to use it, obviously.” She motioned to the loveseat. “Sit. Let’s go over our options.”

  “What kind of equipment do you have?” Eric asked.

  “One pair of night vision goggles,” she said. “And a new toy that we used in Utah. I’ve got a thermal infrared imaging camera. Not quite as high-tech as the military, but it should serve us well here. I have a couple of assault rifles but I’d like to think we could manage this without using the big guns.”

  “We could always do long range,” Reynolds said quietly, his eyes questioning.

  She shook her head, surprised at Reynolds’s subtle suggestion. “I’m not a sniper any longer,” she said. “Besides, we need to at least make this appear to be a police mission and not military.”

  “In looking at the images,” Rowan said, “my suggestion would be to come in from the back on Cherokee Road. You won’t have a vehicle that can cross the desert without a road, but the hike in wouldn’t be very far.”

  “I don’t want us with only one option. We’ll go in with two teams, one from the front and one in the back,” she said. “We’ll have open communication again.” She glanced at Rowan. “Right?”

  “Yes. Not a problem.”

  “Eric? Are you up for it?”

  “Got a little headache, nothing more.”

  He looked a little pale but she said nothing. They needed him to go. Hell, if she thought Rowan could pull it off, she’d put him out in the field too.

  “What about the locals?” Andrea asked. “Do we want backup again?”

  “No. We do it alone. This bastard is ours.”

  “I’ll be prepared to call them on a moment’s notice,” Rowan said. “What would you like my role to be in this?”

  Cameron knew he was speaking to her and not Reynolds, confirming Reynolds’s assertion that Rowan thought she was his boss. She glanced at Reynolds and couldn’t keep the smirk off her face.

  “Get us a good satellite image of the place, the back road you want us to take, the escape routes. A layout of the buildings and names of each, if you can find that. Make sure Andrea’s and Eric’s new phones are up to speed so we can all link up again.”

  “Will do.” He turned to leave, then stopped, glancing at Reynolds. “Anything else?”

  Reynolds actually laughed. “Oh, let’s don’t pretend I have any say in this Rowan. You’re doing fine.”

  Rowan nodded then fled back to the office, leaving the four of them alone again.

  “So? Dinner?” Eric asked.

  “I think Mexican food is out, buddy,” Andrea said.

  Cameron nodded. “No time for a sit-down meal. You two,” she said, pointing at Reynolds and Eric, “need some proper clothes for this mission. No damn suit, Reynolds. And wear your vests. On your way back, why don’t you pick up something.”

  “Chinese it is then,” he said. “And I don’t have military fatigues, so don’t expect that.”

  “It would shock me if you did.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  They sat around the small living area much like the night before, Chinese food cartons replacing the pizza boxes. Andrea and Cameron shared an amused smile as Reynolds looked com
pletely uncomfortable in jeans, even though they were starched so heavily they probably would have stood up on their own. Eric looked every bit the military operative he used to be with his dark fatigues and boots, a weapon secured to each thigh. His bulletproof vest was military issued—a tactical vest, Cameron called it. Her own vest was run-of-the-mill police standard. She and Cameron were dressed much the same in jeans and dark T-shirts under their vests.

  “I think Andi and I will take the back road,” Cameron said. “No offense, Eric, but I don’t think you need to be hiking across the desert. You and Reynolds can take the easy route from the road.”

  “My head feels fine,” he said, “but I won’t fight you for it. You guys have fun out there.”

  Andrea knew he was lying. She could see the pain in his eyes. No doubt Cameron and Reynolds saw it too, but he couldn’t sit this one out. They needed him.

  “We’ll take the night vision goggles. We’ll need them to cross the desert in the dark,” Cameron said. “There’s no moon so we should have good cover. You get the thermal imaging camera. Your job will be to locate him. We’ll come in from the north,” she said, pointing to the satellite image. “These are the offices. Here are the restrooms and the locker rooms. Around the side is the old arcade. There is no power or water,” she said. “Unless, of course, he’s got something rigged up.”

  Andrea watched Cameron as she spoke, watched her hands and fingers as they pointed and gestured. Her hands were strong, yet elegant. Sure hands. Andrea knew that from their touch. She brought her gaze to Cameron’s face, loving the strength Cameron showed as she took them through the steps they would take in a few hours.

  “And you’re sure you don’t want backup?” Reynolds asked.

  “No. This has to be precise. It has to be quick and quiet. Less chance for a mishap if it’s just us,” Cameron said.

  “Okay,” Reynolds said with a nod. “I agree.”

  Cameron leaned back, her eyes moving from one to the other. “Questions? Concerns?”

  “I’m good,” Eric said.