by Mary Alford
He framed her face with his hands and kissed her tenderly. When he looked at her the way he was right now, she was so afraid. She had so much to look forward to in life, and it might quite possibly be taken from her again.
“I’m not going to let that happen, Rachel,” he said, reading her worried thoughts. “We will make it out of here, and when we do, we will have a lot to talk about. Do not give up on us.” The sincerity in his eyes made her want to keep fighting with all her might.
She managed a smile for him. “I won’t. I’ll never give up on you again.” With one final kiss, they both eased to the opening once more. The men had stopped. They appeared to be assessing the station carefully. She could see them talking, then one of the men slipped closer to the station.
“He’s coming inside. If we can take him out, it might force the others to search for him. It will give us some leverage.”
Rachel understood. She would act as bait for the man to draw his attention away from Alex, who would take the man down. She heard the first step below creak, followed by another. She’d been in situations like this hundreds of times in the past, yet the adrenaline rush of the life-and-death situation was always there.
A shadow fell across the door to the building. Rachel kept her hand on her gun. This was it. Their lives—their future—came down to her not losing her cool. The door slowly opened. She saw the barrel of the gun first. She waited for the man to enter. Her thoughts screamed that she didn’t want to die here along with Liam and Alex without knowing what their sacrifice was all about.
* * *
Alex waited behind the door as the man eased through it. He barely cleared it when he spotted Rachel. Before he had the chance to fire off a single round to warn his comrades, Alex grabbed the man from behind in a choke hold. The man struggled like a wild animal. Alex tightened his hold around the man’s neck. After what felt like forever, his struggles grew weaker. The weapon slipped from his hand. Rachel rushed to grab it before it could hit the floor. Once the man was unconscious, Alex eased him down to the floor.
“That didn’t go as quietly as I’d hoped.” He went to the opening and glanced down at the two men. They were definitely on alert.
Rachel joined him. “I’m not sure they heard him, but it won’t be long before they come looking. At least for now, it’s two against two.”
It was something, he guessed, but how long before the rest of Temple’s goons came after them?
Alex went back to the man and checked his pocket. He had a cell phone. “Thank You, God,” he said in a grateful tone, before he punched in Jase’s number. “Jase, it’s me, Alex. I don’t have much time.” Alex knew his commander wouldn’t recognize the number. As quickly as he could, he told Jase what was happening.
“We’re still an hour out at best,” Jase told him. “We ran into some sketchy weather. We’ll head for the ranger station. In the meantime, I’m calling in the state troopers. I know you don’t trust the local authorities, but these guys are state. Hang in there. This is almost over.”
Alex ended the call with Jase’s assurances running through his head.
He turned to Rachel and smiled. “They’re close. He’s calling in backup, too.”
She went into his arms and held him tight. “I’m so grateful. I’m not sure how much more of this we can take on our own.”
He kissed her temple and let her go. “I’ll keep an eye on the guys below. You watch this one in case he wakes up.”
Alex went over to the opening. One of the men had disappeared. He searched the area below. Where had he gone?
“What’s wrong?” Rachel had noticed him looking around.
“One of them is missing. He may be heading this way.”
She moved closer to the door. With the butt of the weapon ready, she waited, but nothing happened. After what felt like an eternity, she glanced over at Alex.
He shook his head. The man still hadn’t appeared again. His buddy was standing behind a tree, partially visible. “I don’t see him. Maybe he got worried about his missing comrade and went for help.” If he had, then Alex wasn’t sure they could hold the men off until Jase arrived.
“We can’t afford to make a run for it with Liam’s condition so serious.”
Liam opened his eyes as if he’d heard her say his name. When he spotted the man lying by the door he tried to stand, but Rachel hurried over, trying to quiet him. “Liam, it’s okay. Try to stay as still as possible. Help is almost here.”
“That’s one of the men who took Deacon and me hostage,” Liam managed in a whisper. He glanced up at Alex. “There are others out there still, aren’t there?”
Alex had to tell him the truth. “There are. Two more that we know of. I see the one, but the second is missing. He could be anywhere. Can you keep an eye on this guy?”
Liam didn’t hesitate. “I can.”
Alex smiled in spite of the situation. It had been years since he and Liam had worked together. He’d missed his companion.
Rachel clearly wasn’t sure. “He’s too weak, Alex,” she whispered so that only he could hear. “He won’t be able to withstand a firefight. Is there still no visual of the other one?”
Alex shook his head. He didn’t like it. “They’re definitely up to something.”
He had barely gotten the words out when the second man appeared again next to his friend. “Where was he?”
“Something’s wrong.” Rachel looked through the scope of the weapon of the man she’d disarmed. “He has something in his hand.”
Before she finished talking, the man’s companion opened fire and they were forced away from the opening.
After the first round of shots whizzed past them, Alex aimed at the man who’d fired on them, forcing him back behind the coverage of the tree.
“Where’s his friend again?” Rachel asked. Alex glanced below. The man had vanished again.
Uneasiness coiled into the pit of Alex’s stomach. The shooter opened up on them again, forcing their attention from the opening.
Alex and Rachel returned his shots, but they were using up valuable ammo they didn’t have to use.
“Hold your fire,” Alex told Rachel. “They could be trying to run us out of ammo then charge the station.”
She did as he suggested but kept a careful eye on the man behind the tree. “He’s just standing there. Almost as if he’s waiting on something.”
“Or someone...” Alex’s gaze latched with hers. She shivered visibly.
With the silent standoff continuing, Alex kept listening for any sound of the missing man approaching. What was he up to?
The thought had barely cleared his head when something came hurling through the opening. Alex ducked to keep it from hitting him; the smell of gasoline was pungent.
Seconds later, the station exploded in fire. The man had thrown a Molotov cocktail into the building. The station went up like a tinderbox, filling the room with acrid smoke. Alex hurried to Liam’s side and helped him to his feet. Their once-unconscious assailant was beginning to come to.
Alex pointed his weapon at him. “If you try anything, I’ll shoot you. Do you understand?”
Coughing from smoke inhalation, the man glared at him.
“There’s only three of them! You can take them!” the man yelled, trying to warn his buddies.
Alex took a step closer and he quickly shut up.
With the station now becoming a raging inferno, they could no longer go through the entrance. “We’ll have to go out the back window.” Alex headed for the opening that faced the valley below.
Their only plan of escape was at the edge of the mountain with no way down.
FIFTEEN
Rachel looked below them at the sheer drop that was now their only escape.
“I’ll lower you down first,” Alex told her. “Then Liam. Then this guy. Once you’re o
n the ground, head right.” Alex’s love for her was shining in his eyes. She smiled up at him, trying her best to reassure him and herself that everything would work out, in spite of what her gut was screaming.
She tucked her weapon behind her back and climbed through the opening, trusting Alex with her life. He grabbed hold of her arms and slowly lowered her down. There was still a three-foot jump. With her heartbeat threatening to drown out all other sound, she nodded and Alex let go. She dropped to the ground and stumbled on the uneven footing. Somehow she managed to catch herself before she slid over the edge and plunged to her death.
Rachel blew out a huge sigh and stood on unsteady legs. Alex was as pale as a sheet, clearly terrified by what he’d just witnessed. “I’m okay,” she quickly reassured him.
Liam’s descent wasn’t nearly as easy. He landed on his injured side, the pain causing him to scream. Rachel rushed to his aid and helped him rise to his feet. They carefully made their way to the safe area. She lowered Liam against a nearby tree and went to help Alex.
The building appeared close to collapsing. “Hurry, Alex, the station won’t last much longer!” she called out. Once the captured man dropped down, Rachel kept her weapon pointed at him as he headed over to Liam. Behind her she could hear parts of the station collapsing upon itself.
Alex!
“Keep an eye on him, Liam.” Rachel didn’t wait for his answer. She had to get to Alex. She couldn’t lose him again.
“Alex!” she called out. She couldn’t see anything but fire and smoke coming from the rapidly disintegrating station.
Please, be okay.
“Alex!” She screamed in panic. She watched in horror as the station crumbled to the ground. The heat from the blaze so intense that she was forced to look away. Was he inside? Had she lost him? The pain that thought brought shot through her, leaving a path of destruction like a bullet’s wound.
The smallest of sounds close by had her whirling around. Alex! Singed and bloody, he emerged from the firestorm raging behind him. She ran to him. “You’re hurt.”
He winced as she held him close. “Just a few cuts and scrapes is all. I barely managed to jump out the window before the place went down. Let’s hurry. We can use the fire and smoke as a distraction to get away.”
They went back to where Liam had managed to stand and was keeping a close eye on his prisoner.
“Can you walk?” Rachel asked. She could see he was in a lot of pain.
Liam nodded. “I’ll keep up. Let’s get out of here while we still have a chance.”
Rachel motioned to their prisoner to start walking. “You go first.”
He tossed her an evil look. “You’ll never get away. He has people everywhere up here.”
“Just start walking.” She wasn’t letting him get in her head.
The man headed in the direction she indicated. Liam moved close so that only Rachel and Alex could hear. “He’s right. They have dozens of men out here.”
Alex nodded. “How did you get turned onto these guys, anyway?”
“Through Deacon.” Liam confirmed what they’d suspected. “He’s been deep undercover with someone close to Temple’s crew for a while. That’s how we crossed paths. Temple is the one I’ve been tracking for a while.”
Rachel started to ask her brother where the sarin was hidden. Before she got the question out, they were ambushed by gunfire.
“Take cover,” she yelled, and they ducked behind a small grove of trees barely wide enough to cover them. Their prisoner went running in the direction of the shots while yelling for his buddies not to shoot him.
Rachel peered around the tree. A round of gunshots sounded a little ways from them. Someone screamed. She had no idea what was happening. She turned to Liam. He was slumped against the tree next to her. “Liam!” She could see that he’d reopened his wound and was losing blood again.
Alex hurried to help her. “Liam, are you able to walk?”
Rachel shook her head. “He can’t go anywhere, Alex.”
Liam flinched in pain as she did her best to secure the wound once more.
“No, it’s okay, Rachel. I can keep up. We have to get out of here. We’ll be trapped if we stick around.” Liam words slurred. He barely had the strength to get them out.
Before she could answer, a noise close by sent her whirling toward it. One of the men from earlier had his gun pointed straight at them and was ready to fire. Before she could draw her weapon, a shot rang out. The man’s startled expression was the last thing she saw before he dropped to the ground dead.
Rachel searched in the direction from where the shot had come and saw Michelle standing there with a gun in her hand. Before Rachel could fully comprehend what had happened, Michelle dropped her weapon on the ground.
“I can’t believe she did that,” Rachel murmured to Alex and then said, “Get your hands in the air.”
Michelle obeyed and Alex grabbed her weapon. “You saved our lives,” Alex said in amazement. “Why would you do that?”
But Rachel believed she knew. “You’re the asset who is working with Deacon, aren’t you?” Michelle managed a frightened nod. “You did the right thing. You’re better off with us. Temple will kill you if he discovers you helped us out.”
* * *
“Where are the others?” Alex asked, wondering how she’d managed to get away from Temple and his men.
“The two that were here are dead. I shot them. Your prisoner got away. The rest of Temple’s crew will have heard the shots. They’ll be here soon. We need to get out of here before that happens.”
“How do you fit into all this, Michelle?” Rachel asked. She appeared just as confused by what happened as he was. “You had your chance to get away before and you didn’t take it. Why help us now?”
“I couldn’t before. I didn’t trust you...and I was scared of him. He threatened me. But I can’t let him go through with what he has planned. It’s too horrible.”
Rachel’s gaze collided with Alex’s. “Who are you talking about?”
“Peter... Blake Temple,” she amended. “He’s not who he says he is. He’s a monster. Please, you have to stop him.”
“What’s he planning with the sarin gas?” Alex asked.
“How did you know about that?” Michelle looked at Alex in surprise.
“Let’s just say we put two and two together. We know Temple and the rest of his men faked their deaths,” added Rachel.
Michelle looked from one to the other. “Who are you people?”
Alex wondered how much they could trust her. But she had saved their lives. “I’m CIA, just like Deacon. You can trust us.”
Michelle appeared unconvinced. “You’ll understand if I don’t. Temple said he was CIA, too, and he did terrible things. He forced me to work for him.”
Before she could say anything more, another round of shots rang out close by.
“Duck,” Alex yelled, and they slipped back behind their tree coverage.
“That’s him.” Michelle’s eyes grew wide with fear. “He’ll kill me. He’ll kill all of us.”
“We’re not going to let that happen,” Alex assured her.
Before Michelle could respond, the woods around them detonated with gunfire.
Rachel glanced over at him. “We can’t hold them off much longer.”
Alex searched their surrounding woods. “We’ll have to make a run for it. Liam, can you make it?”
Liam was barely hanging on, but he was quick to assure him. “I can.” Alex slid a look Rachel’s way. He could read all of her skepticism, yet they were out of options.
He pointed deeper into the wilderness behind them. “That’s our only way. Go, Rachel.”
Rachel grabbed Liam around the waist and took off running with Michelle following. Alex covered them as best he could until he was certain they were sa
fe, then he left his hiding spot and ran as fast as possible while shots flew past him, barely missing him several times.
Alex caught up with them. “We bought ourselves some time. I just hope Jase and the team get here soon. We can’t hold Temple’s men off for long.”
As they hurried through the woods, Alex kept a careful eye behind them. So far, no one was following. His gut told him it was only a matter of time before that changed.
SIXTEEN
It felt like the nightmare would never end. Rachel could hear the men tramping through the woods at a fast click.
Alex glanced over his shoulder. “I see them. We are way outnumbered.”
With her heart threatening to explode against her chest, Rachel could feel each breath as it burned her lungs.
She was barely hanging on. She couldn’t imagine how difficult the trek had been for Liam. He looked as if he was ready to drop. Her brother stumbled and almost took her with him. “Alex, we have to find a place to hide. Liam can’t take much more.”
She glanced around, searching for anyplace where they might take cover to wait it out until the Scorpion team arrived.
“Over there.” She spotted a thick grove of trees off to the right where it was impossible to see inside. “It’s worth a try.”
The four of them headed for the grove. If their plan worked, Temple’s men would keep going straight.
As they entered the wooded area, Rachel could barely see a few inches in front of her.
With Alex’s help, she slowly eased Liam down to the ground. She could see he was close to losing consciousness again. Please let help arrive soon.
Next to her Rachel could feel Michelle trembling. If Temple and his men realized she had been helping Deacon all along, they would kill her without asking questions.
