Betrayed by Trust

by Frankie Robertson

  I found the breathing tube and put it in my mouth. Air tasting of plastic and wood flowed freely into my lungs. I consciously slowed my breath and relaxed. This would work. It had to.

  A few minutes later I was tipped at an angle as the delivery men maneuvered my ride back out of the house and into the delivery truck. I could barely hear Ringo bitching out the drivers for bringing the wrong appliances. Soon after, the distant vibration of a diesel engine began, and with a lurch, we were on our way.

  We couldn’t have gone far when the truck jerked to an abrupt halt. I tried not to be nervous, to keep my breathing steady as I drew air through the short tube stuck in the hole Dan had drilled in the back of the appliance. We’d expected that Kincaid’s men would stop the truck. The only weakness in our plan was whether the drivers could keep their cool well enough to earn the other half of the exorbitant tip Ringo had promised them. If they couldn’t, if they were too nervous or gave us up, there’d be no getting out of this. We’d be caught.

  Minutes dragged by. Then a clunk and a vibration. It sounded as if the back gate of the vehicle was being rolled up.

  “Open it.” A voice said faintly.

  I heard the screech of nails being pulled from wood. The top of my crate being lifted. I held my breath.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  MARIANNE

  You see? Avocado,” one of the delivery guys complained. “The customer said he ordered Harvest Gold, but it says Avocado right here on the invoice. I think he just changed his mind, and didn’t want to pay for the change order. Cheap bastard.”

  I heard someone fumbling at the top. “It won’t open.”

  “I told you. It’s got a vacuum seal, and it’s wrapped with plastic at the factory to protect the finish,” the delivery guy said. “You won’t be openin’ it with no little finger tug.”

  “Open the other one,” a different voice demanded.

  “Man, it’s the same as this one. Wrapped at the factory.”

  “Do it!”

  More screeching of nails.

  “See? I told you. Avocado.”

  “Shut up.” And then footsteps walked away and the truck’s gate rattled down with a heavy thud.

  I wanted to call to Dan, to make sure he was all right, but any noise now might give us away when we were almost clear. I clenched my fingernails into my palms and remained silent.

  A few minutes later the harsh rumble of the diesel kicked into gear, and we started to move again.

  I rode along in the blackness, breathing through a two foot length of garden hose. I was as comfortable as Dan had been able to make me, but I was still cramped and my back ached. Ten months ago, when I agreed to have Conrad’s firstborn, I never imagined I’d be inside a kitchen appliance hiding from fake Marshals. At least I’d have a great story to hold over Evan’s head when he was a teenager. I hid in a refrigerator for you, kid. Clean your room!

  No, I couldn’t say that. But I’d be thinking it.

  It was hard to tell how much time had passed when the truck lurched to a stop a second time. Were we at the airstrip? Or had the phony marshals stopped us again? Once more I held my breath as my heart hammered in my chest. Then I heard Ringo say, “This one first.”

  Someone pulled off the front of the crate, and a moment later the insulated door opened. Ringo peered in at me. “You okay?” he asked as Maisie snuffled me.

  I needed the arm he offered to exit and unfold myself. “I’m great, now that I’m out of that thing.” I leaned against the side of the truck. “Get Dan out.”

  A few minutes later we were all on the tarmac of the Lake Havasu City International Airport near the private hangars. A medium-sized man with thinning brown hair strode purposefully toward us. He didn’t slow when he reached us. Instead, he walked right up to Dan and landed a solid blow to his mid-section. Dan didn’t even try to avoid it. He doubled over with a sharp groan.

  I reacted without thinking and tried to grab the man’s arm to prevent another punch. “Hey!”

  The guy spun on me with his arm raised, but Ringo was there before the guy’s eyes could widen as he took in the fact that I was a small woman with a huge belly.

  “Stop,” Ringo said. “Be very careful what you do next, Marve.”

  Marve stepped back, both hands raised. “I don’t hurt women. And I have no beef with you, either. But I’ve been waiting six years to give Collier what he deserves for getting Johnson killed.”

  I stepped to Dan’s side. “Are you all right?”

  He nodded, but kept his hands braced on his knees.

  “Man, you have one thick skull,” Ringo said. “If he deserves it, so do I. And neither of us had a choice about what happened.”

  “He was in command!”

  “He was second, and following orders, and we were ambushed.”

  “I heard that same song six years ago. He was the one who chose Johnson for that detail. He’s responsible.”

  “You were the one who left a hole in our squad! If you hadn’t gotten your ass thrown in the stockade—”

  “Are you going to fly us to Mexico, or not?” Dan straightened, holding his side.

  “I agreed to take Ringo and his girl. Not you.”

  “I’m not going without Dan,” I said.

  Dan’s expression grew rigid. “You will.”

  “I will not!”

  Marve glared at Ringo. “She’s not your girl, is she? She’s his.”

  “It doesn’t matter who she’s with, you’re flying us down to San Corazon,” Ringo said.

  Marve turned to me. “You don’t know what kind of man you’ve hooked up with, lady. You should be glad to shake loose of him.”

  Fury and fear made me snarl. “I know exactly what kind of man Dan is. And he’s worth ten of you!”

  “Fine. Then you can stay here with him. Ringo, I’ll take you.”

  “Let’s all calm down,” Dan said in an amazingly mild tone. “Ringo, take Marianne on the plane. I’ll catch the bus. I can be there in a day.”

  A bubble of panic rose in my throat. I didn’t want to be separated from Dan. “No!”

  He took my face between his hands. “You’re the one they’re after. You and Evan. You have to get out of here, and you have to do it now. Ringo will make sure nothing happens to you or the baby.”

  “But what about you? What if they catch you at the border? They could hurt you to get to me.” My vision blurred, and I realized I was crying.

  Dan wiped my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m not that easy to catch.”

  “Is that so?” Marve sneered. “I thought the Khmer caught you in an ambush. Or was that just another lie to cover up the fact that you ran?”

  “Shut it,” Ringo growled.

  Dan went on as if Marve hadn’t spoken. “I can be pretty nimble when I’m not dodging cars. I’ll be okay.” He tilted my face so I had to meet his gaze. “Will you go with Ringo? Please?”

  I sniffed. I couldn’t say no to him. “All right.”

  “Good girl.”

  I glared at him, and he laughed. “Woman. Good woman. Is that better?”

  I groaned, and turned sideways to hug him. His arms surrounded my shoulders, making me feel as safe as being in a fortress. It didn’t last.

  “If we’re gonna go, let’s go,” Marve said, stalking off toward the hangar.

  Dan pushed me back from him, and Ringo guided me with one huge hand on my shoulder. Several minutes later I was strapped into an eight seat Piper Chieftain with Maisie beside me. Marve sat at the controls, his pre-flight check complete. Ringo more than filled the space beside him in the co-pilot’s seat. The engine rumbled to life.

  The plane cleared the hangar doors, and I stared out the window, hoping for one more glimpse of Dan.

  I saw him, standing beside the truck, hand raised.

  A horrible pressure grew in my chest as my heart thrashed like a frightened bird in a too-small cage.

  “Stop!” I spoke with all the authority I could.


  Ringo turned, brow raised. “Did you say something?”

  They couldn’t hear me over the noise of the engine. I unbuckled and moved forward.

  Ringo tapped Marve on the shoulder, and gestured at me.

  The pilot slowed the plane, and scowled at me. “Get back in your seat!”

  I gripped the backs of the pilots’ seats to steady myself. “Stop, and let Dan aboard.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Marve said. “Now strap in so we can get this show on the road.”

  “Listen to the lady,” Ringo’s deep tone commanded.

  “Why the hell would I do that?” Marve asked.

  “Because it’s the right thing to do. You know in your heart that Johnson’s death wasn’t Dan’s fault. And I know you’re a good man,” Ringo said.

  “Give me a break!”

  “You are.”

  “I’m a smuggler!”

  Ringo waved a hand dismissively. “What has that got to do with who you are?”

  Marve stared, his eyes narrowed skeptically. “What happened to you, Ringo? Did you go all New Age or something?”

  Ringo laughed. “No. But I do know you want to do the right thing.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  Ringo nodded. “Only good men get that angry about injustice to others. And you feel guilty that your actions put Johnson in harm’s way.”

  I fully expected Marve to laugh, or sneer, but he just swallowed hard and sat there, very still.

  “God knows what’s in your heart,” Ringo insisted.

  “God? Where was God when Johnson was killed?”

  Ringo just sat there, waiting.

  “Please,” I shouted. “Let Dan on board. I need him.”

  Marve glanced at me. My protruding belly was at his eye level and he quickly looked away. He remained silent, as the engine thrummed. Several moments later he shook his head, conveying his disgust. “You’re a fucking nut-job, you know that, Starkinski? I’m not sure I should let you have that C-4 you paid for.” Then he got out of his seat and let down the stairs.

  Six hours later, Dan and I were lounging on the balcony of a hillside condo in San Corazon, enjoying the view of the Pacific. Ringo had rented the place with cash. The white-washed apartments were tiered backward, matching the slope of the hill, making it easy for us to see anyone approaching. Our unit had deep terraces off both the main bedroom and the living room. They were a little too close to the neighbors’, but since the condos were vacation rentals and most of them were empty, the guys decided they could tolerate the risk. It saddened me, that I now needed to think in terms of defensible positions and security.

  My back had been aching since I’d crawled out of the refrigerator, but the sun and the warm breeze took my mind off it. Maisie lay between me and Dan, sprawled on the tile. Ringo had gone out, shopping for dinner.

  Marve had complained the entire flight, but in the end he’d gotten us where we needed to go. He’d accepted Ringo’s outrageously high payment, too.

  “Remember, the guys looking for the lady don’t play nice,” Ringo warned as he placed a wad of cash in Marve’s hand. “Be careful.”

  Marve had glared back at Ringo, but nodded sharply. “This ain’t my first rodeo, big guy. I don’t blab, and I don’t get caught. I have a reputation to protect, after all.”

  I wasn’t sure if Marve could be trusted to keep his word, but it was out of my hands. Besides, I didn’t think the guys planned for us to stay here very long. The more times we changed location, the harder it would be for Kincaid to find us again. We’d gone through every item we’d brought with us. There were no more tracking devices. If Kincaid was going to find us, it would have to be through old-fashioned sleuthing.

  I dozed in the late afternoon warmth, and when I woke again, the last sliver of sun was turning the twilight sea and sky purple and gold. The air had taken on a slight chill and Dan draped a light throw over me. He smiled as I stirred, and took my hand in his. “Have a nice nap?”

  “Perfect.”

  The lock rattled in the condo’s front door, on the far side of the living area. I froze. Dan rolled to a crouch beside the chaise lounge he’d been lying on, a gun in his hand, aimed at the entrance. I realized he’d positioned his chaise carefully for just this reason.

  A second later he relaxed and rose to his feet as Ringo entered.

  Was this what our lives were going to be like? Always on a hair trigger, waiting for trouble to find us? For how long? I threw the blanket aside, and Dan helped me to my feet. We joined Ringo in the kitchen. He paused only long enough to drop his bundles on the counter, then he turned to face us, a grim expression tightening his jaw.

  “They’re here,” Ringo said. “I saw one of our bloodhounds on the far side of the market place.”

  I drew in a sharp breath. “Already? No way!”

  “Damn it! How the hell did they ID our position so quickly?” Dan asked.

  Ringo shook his head, clearly at a loss. “I don’t think he saw me, but it won’t take much for him to track us down.”

  The doorbell rang and we all jumped.

  Dan and Ringo both drew weapons from their waistbands. Dan pushed me around the corner and against the wall. I felt no warning. What I did feel was the presence of something familiar and calming, though I couldn’t identify where I knew the feeling from.

  “I think whoever’s at the door is okay,” I whispered as I edged around the corner.

  Dan turned a fierce look on me, and pointed, directing me to get back into the hall. I retreated a little, then leaned around again.

  Ringo peeked quickly thought the peep-hole. “Just one,” he said, then asked me, “What do you mean, ‘okay?’ Like ‘he’s not going to kill us,’ okay?”

  I eased a little further out. “Something like that.”

  Ringo spared a glance at Dan, who had just taken a look through the peep-hole. “He seems familiar.”

  “Good familiar, or bad familiar?” The big man demanded.

  Dan grimaced. “Not bad.”

  Ringo shouted through the door. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  The man outside shouted back. “I’m Gideon. I’m here to help.”

  His voice, even muffled through the heavy wood, rang a bell, but I couldn’t place it.

  “What makes you think we need your help?”

  “You do, don’t you?”

  Again his voice reminded me of someone. I still wasn’t sure where I knew it from, but I was sure he meant us no harm. “He’s okay. Let him in.”

  Ringo frowned and looked at Dan for confirmation. Dan’s brow furrowed as if he was trying hard to remember where he knew Gideon from. “His voice is familiar.” Dan shook his head. “Damn! It’s just out of reach!”

  “Let him in,” I repeated. “At worst, he’s just one guy.”

  Dan nodded, and gestured for me to go down the hall. “Get out of sight,” he said. “I don’t want you in the line of fire.”

  I took a few steps back, but that was as far as I was going to go. Dan glared at me, then he returned his attention to the door as Ringo opened it.

  The porch light created a halo effect on Gideon’s blond hair. “May I come in?”

  Ringo stepped aside and the other man walked in, past me, and on into the house, apparently unconcerned that two large men were aiming guns at him. He was tall, blond, handsome, and wearing an impeccably tailored suit. His posture was relaxed and his hands were empty. Ringo shut the door and we all followed Gideon into the living room.

  While Ringo patted Gideon down for weapons, Dan tried to redirect me with a light push. “Wait in the kitchen,” he commanded quietly. “If there’s trouble—”

  Wait in the kitchen? I was already pregnant. Should I take off my shoes, too? I shook my head. “No way. If there’s trouble, I want to be with you. There’s nowhere I’d be safe, anyway.”

  The muscles in Dan’s jaw jumped, and his mouth tightened in an angry line. “Marianne—”

&nbs
p; “She is at the center of this.” Gideon interrupted. “She should be here.”

  Dan turned, keeping his body between me and the stranger. His tone was almost a snarl. “She’s my wife.”

  “And that is a sacred bond. But she is not your possession, no more than the special child she carries is.”

  I slipped around Dan. “What do you know about my child?”

  Gideon’s expression softened with warmth as he stepped closer. Dan pulled me back as Ringo stepped between me and the other man and growled, “Keep your distance.”

  Gideon seemed unperturbed by the threat, but didn’t try to come any closer. “I know you’ve given your body and your life for the sake of freeing Aldwyn from slavery. I know that the child in your womb is sought by those who would force him into their service. And I know that you will never escape them unless you allow me to advise you.”

  I didn’t even try to hide my surprise. “You know about Aldwyn?”

  “Yes. And I know that George Kincaid has succumbed to the desire to control Aldwyn’s power.”

  “What if we take him out?” Ringo asked.

  Kill Kincaid? That would certainly be direct. But not at all what I expected from a man whom I’d prayed with.

  Dan raised his brows, too.

  “Self-defense, or the defense of those who can’t protect themselves, isn’t murder,” Ringo said. “This is war, and Kincaid is a threat. A rabid dog.” There wasn’t a shred of self-doubt in his voice.

  Gideon shook his head. “Sometimes ending a life serves a higher purpose, but you shouldn’t take that stain upon you unnecessarily. Even if Kincaid falls, there are others waiting to take his place and pursue his agenda.” He strolled over to the wicker sofa and made himself comfortable on it, unbuttoning his jacket and spreading his arms across the back. He had the face of an angel, and was as lean and fit as Dan, but the sex appeal just wasn’t there, at least not for me.

  I stood off to the side, behind the love seat, where I could see Gideon’s expression. “You sound like you know who can’t be trusted. That must mean you know which directors can be.”

  Gideon nodded. “I do. And if you insist, I will tell you who they are. But the directors who would be willing to protect you are not strong enough to do so. If you ask them to, the Trust will fracture, and fail to balance the Golden Path. The Path will then act unopposed, causing great harm and sorrow.”