by Vicki Hinze
“Her black belt isn’t a match for a seasoned assassin.” Dark thoughts and fear swelled in Mark, threatened to take him down.
“She knows that too.” Joe snagged Selene’s arm. “You stay with me.”
“Gladly.” She frowned. “Lisa will do something, Mark. She always comes up with something.”
“You’re right. She will.” He nodded. “She will.”
“Be right back.” Roxy nodded toward her team. “I’m going to get a quick briefing and disseminate the word on Lisa. We’ll have everyone looking for her. In the meantime, Mark, you guys need to get back to Crossroads and Annie. After we upset this deal for NINA, you know they’ll want payback. She’ll be the target.”
“Annie.” Mark stiffened. “I need a plane.”
Joe kept hold on Selene. “We’ve got Ben’s jet. Let’s go.”
“Roxy, if you need anything from us—”
“I know where to find you. Go.” She motioned. “Do you need backup in Seagrove Village?”
“I’ll check with Jeff Meyers and let you know.” Mark looked at Selene. “Where’s Gwen? When we find Lisa, she’ll want to see you and Gwen for herself to know you’re okay.”
Joe nodded at Sam. “Second bus. Pull her off. Gwen and Selene will be with us. We’ll have Jeff video in their statements and report their cars stolen, though I expect they’ve either been chopped up, shipped out of the country, or are resting at the bottom of some lake—maybe dumped in the Gulf as a fishing reef.”
“You’re probably right on the cars. There’s no way NINA would leave them behind.” Roxy addressed Juan. “One of my men will take you to your family. We’ll get the rest of what we need after you’ve seen them. I know you’re worried.”
“Sí, muy worried.”
Mark shook Juan’s hand. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, Señor Taylor. I will pray for your Lisa and for her mother.”
“I appreciate that.”
Roxy touched Mark’s sleeve. “Lisa is resourceful. She took the lead and we all made it. Only she would have thought of prayer in that circumstance, but it worked better than anything else could have. She’ll take care of herself too. I won’t say don’t worry. Only a fool wouldn’t. But remember who she is and what she’s been through. She’ll find a way.”
“I hope you’re right.” Mark took off after Joe, following him, Selene, Gwen, and Sam to the plane.
Lisa awakened to the faint sound of lapping water.
She started, remembered, and forced herself to be still and not open her eyes. The smells were different. Nothing like they had been in Mexico. She took stock, slotted her perceptions. Wet and humid, not as warm. Tangy. Pungent rotting vegetation, brackish water, and … and … Dutch’s foul cologne.
Her heart skipped a beat and then sped, banging against her ribs. Wherever she was, Dutch was here. Dutch.
That ignited a battle inside her. Part of her wanted to beat him to a pulp for what he’d done to her mother and her, and part of her wanted to hurt him even more. God, he deserves the worst. Help me control my emotions and keep my head. I need to think smart to come out of this alive. Think steel. Yes. Yes.
Forcing herself to focus, she blocked emotion and absorbed physical details. The floor beneath her felt hard, slatted wood. It pressed against her hip, her side, and her face. Gritty, and dust tickled her nose, musty and dank. She was indoors but somewhere that hadn’t been occupied in a long while. The urge to look burned strong, making her fingertips tingle, but she squelched it and listened. Night sounds. Frogs and crickets. Some nightlife she couldn’t identify. A light and humid breeze rustled through the leaves in the distance outside, and lapping water.
She opened one eye, dared to peek, and saw Dutch and another man seated on straight-back chairs staring right at her.
“You can stop pretending you’re still out, Lisa.” The man’s voice sliced through the silence. “I know you’re awake.”
She opened her eyes and recognized the man from a photo of the artist’s sketch Kelly Walker had shown everyone at the center. Karl Masson. The man determined to kill Kelly. The NINA operative.
“Ah, I see my reputation precedes me.” Masson smiled. “You know who I am.”
She didn’t dare answer.
“It’s all right, Lisa. Your reaction was clear. You know me, though I suspect you didn’t know I was involved in your abduction, and you clearly didn’t expect to see me here.” He chuckled. “Frankly, I didn’t expect to be here, so we’re both a little surprised.”
“Where is here?” Lisa asked. Dutch was tied up, as was she, and Masson knew how to tie to restrain; there’d be no quick fix at getting the ropes loose. It was dark outside and the little room—a fishing camp—was built on stilts above the water. The back door was open. Light from within fanned out. Dead stumps protruded from the water. “I’ve never been to this place.”
“No, it’s new,” Masson said. “But it’s important to you.”
“Why?”
“It’s where you’re going to die.” Masson stood and looked down at Dutch, sprawled on his chair. The hems of Masson’s jeans were wet, and his sneakers squished, leaving little puddles of water on the dusty wooden floor. “Blame your stepfather. This is yet another of his many sins against you. He’s accumulated a considerable list, I have to say.” Masson pivoted to look at Dutch. “Lisa might forgive you. I don’t. You lied to me. Big mistake.” Masson headed for the door.
“Wait.” Lisa raised her voice. “You can’t just leave us here.”
Masson spared her a glance back over his shoulder. “I can do anything I like. I could when you were seven and I can now. I’m not the one tied up.”
She stilled, studied his face. Saw it at the window in that motel room, telling her it was time for her to be a shrub—which she now knew was Mr. Phen’s pet name for the girls and women he controlled. Saw him crash through the door, shoot her father, snatch her. Saw him look back at her from the driver’s seat in the van and peer through the glass door of the dress shop where she’d found refuge.
He was the Spider who had originally abducted her.
“You do remember me.” Masson took another step and then glowered at Lisa. “I could shoot you. This place is closed down for winter; no one is around to notice. But you’ve both caused me a lot of trouble, so I’ve decided to savor your exits. I am leaving you here. You’ll die slowly. You’re surrounded by water, Lisa, and if you should manage to untie yourself, you still can’t get away. Just wanted to make that clear.”
He hitched his pants. “With no food or water, I give you about a week. Plenty of time, Lisa, for you to rail at Dutch for all his crimes.” Respect sparked in Masson’s eyes. “I’ve seen you fight. You can definitely take him. I wouldn’t mind seeing it, but I have places to go and things to do.”
Dutch glared at Lisa, loaded with hatred. “This is all your fault.”
Without a word, she twisted and kicked his chair leg. It cracked. The chair collapsed and Dutch hit the floor hard.
Masson laughed. “I do hate to miss this entertainment.”
Lisa ignored him. “I’ve had all I’m taking from you, Dutch. I used to be afraid of you, but I’ve gotten your worst and it wasn’t so bad. I don’t fear you anymore.”
But he did fear her. She saw it in his eyes.
And maybe that’s what God had intended. That Dutch feel what he’d inflicted.
“Impressive, Lisa. He deserves far worse. Who knows? Maybe you’ll give it to him before you both die, eh?” Masson hiked a shoulder. “For the record, I would have let you live, but wrecking my mission on that stage was a mistake too big to forget. Still, spare me a kind thought. I did restart your mother’s heart to give her a chance to live.” He opened the door and stepped outside. “Have a nice death.”
He left the door open, which proved one disturbing fact.
Karl Masson felt confident that even untied, neither Lisa nor Dutch would leave alive.
Mark hit the hospital elev
ator button twice. When the door failed to open, he told Joe, Selene, and Gwen, “You wait. I’ll take the steps.”
He double-timed it upstairs. Ben, Kelly, Peggy, Harvey, and Clyde stood in the little waiting room. They looked excited, and that could mean really good or really bad news. At this point, he was afraid to ask.
Kelly ran out to meet him. “Annie’s awake. She’s talking and everything, Mark—and asking for Lisa.”
Relief had his eyes burning. But how would he tell her about Lisa?
He rushed through the heavy wooden doors into the unit. Jessie stood at the hub, smiling. “She’s okay?”
Jessie nodded. “Asking for Lisa and you.”
A knot in his throat, he stepped up behind Nora.
“Here’s our boy.” She brushed a firm hand over his shoulder and moved aside so he could get closer to Annie’s bedside.
Nora was the only one who called him boy, and it always sounded good. Almost like an endearment. He smiled and gingerly hooked his pinkie with Annie’s. “I’m glad you decided to wake up, Annie Harper.”
“Mark.” She rubbed his hand with her thumb, smiled with her eyes. “Where’s my daughter?”
He cleared his throat and tried to keep his fear buried. “She’s quite a hero, Annie.” He went on to explain all that had happened.
Annie took it all in stride, and he saw firsthand where Lisa had gotten the trait. It was amazing how much like her mother Lisa was. “Masson took her. I don’t know where, but I’m betting Dutch is with her.”
“Why?”
“He needs someone to blame. Dutch is the logical choice, and apparently he thinks so too. He’s dropped out of sight. Do you know where he’d go to hide out?”
“I don’t.” Annie paused a long second. “Dutch is a man with a lot of secrets.”
Nora blew out a sharp breath. “You can bet he was right in the middle of it, whatever it is. Ain’t he the nervy one?” She sniffed. “Having the gall to call my cell phone not three hours ago.”
An unseen hand nudged Mark to pay attention to that. “Dutch called you?”
“Sure as spit did. I talked to him myself,” Nora said. “The man’s got more nerve than sense, my boy. He said to tell Annie he had nothing to do with any of this.”
Annie nixed that. “His friend Karl attacked me. He’s Karl Masson, Mark. I didn’t know his last name, but Kelly Walker showed me a picture the police artist sketched. It was him.”
Nora grumbled. “Kelly says he came back here to kill her.”
So Dutch had paid Karl Masson to attack Annie and abduct Lisa. “He might have, but if so, that plan’s been interrupted. He’s got more immediate challenges now.”
“Well, that’s good news for Kelly.” Annie tugged at the edge of her sheet. “But if he’s got my daughter, that’s not good.”
“Where’s your phone, Nora?”
She pulled it out of her pocket and passed it to him. “It’s turned off because it messes up the machines in here.”
“Turn it on.” Annie frowned. “I’m fine without these machines. I am not fine without Lisa Marie.”
Mark looked at the number. “Area code 504.” He must have used a public phone. Definitely not his cell.
“That’s Louisiana,” Nora said. “My twin sister lives in New Orleans and that’s her area code.”
“Where would Dutch be in Louisiana, Annie?”
“He could be checking his stores or down in the French Quarter, I suppose. He likes the Vieux Carré.”
“He’s hiding. He’s got Lisa—I know it.” Mark couldn’t explain it, but he was as certain as if he’d seen Dutch snatch her. “Where would he hide with Lisa?”
She gasped. “Lafitte. The fishing camp!”
“Where’s that?”
“Near New Orleans. You cross the Mississippi River over to the west bank. Head down to Marrero and then down Barataria Boulevard to Lafitte.”
“Have you been there with him?”
“No, he hasn’t been there for a while—at least as far as I know. But I bought him one of those GPS devices and he stored it. I saw it a hundred times. I don’t know why he stored it. It’s not as if there’s a road to the camp. It’s on a little bayou—you have to park your car and take a boat to it.”
“Is there anywhere else you think he’d be more likely to take her?”
“No. The fishing camp is isolated. If Lisa got away from him, she still wouldn’t be able to find her way out of there.” Annie’s worry shone on her face. “Go get my baby, Mark. You promised. I remember it.”
When she’d been in a coma, he had promised. “You heard me?”
“I heard all of it. I know you love her. And I know she loves you too.”
His throat went thick. “Annie, I-I—”
“Have faith.” She squeezed his hand. “You won’t fail.”
She had heard and remembered everything. “I might. I’ll do everything I can,” he swallowed hard, “but I might.”
“You won’t. I know it.”
He glanced from her to Nora, who nodded her agreement. “You won’t, my boy. We believe in you.”
“We do.” Annie sniffed. “Now you go get my Lisa.”
“She might not be there. I’ll go, but if she calls—”
“We’ll let you know,” Nora said.
“She’s there, Nora.” Annie shifted on the sheets.
“I know, dearie. I feel it too.”
Mark left the unit and joined the others in the waiting room. He caught them up on what he’d learned from Annie and Nora.
“We’re coming with you.” Nick motioned to Tim, who was on the phone. “I think you guys better stay here in case Masson makes another attempt on Kelly or Annie.”
Kelly shuddered and Ben Brandt slipped a protective arm around her shoulder. “Do you think he will?”
“Honestly? I think he’ll disappear and stay so far underground he’ll be beyond the reach of light—at least until things cool down. But he’s probably not thinking clearly at the moment so we need to be prepared.”
“Some of us should go with you, bro.” Joe frowned. “You’ve got no idea what’s going on there.”
“Maybe nothing. I could be wrong, and this is NINA, remember? And, well, this is—”
“Something you need to do yourself.” Joe got it. Joe always got it.
“Yeah.”
“We’ll get you an exact location and radio it to you.”
“Thanks.”
Ben put his cell away. “The plane’s waiting, and Mel will have a car waiting for you at the airport in New Orleans.”
“Thanks.” Mark looked at the faces of the people he’d come to know, depend on, and love. Selene and Gwen seemed to fit right in. “Pray.”
Peggy Crane stepped forward. “The prayer warriors are all over that, Mark. Don’t you doubt it for a second.”
“Keep me posted on Annie.” He turned and left the hospital.
28
J ust stop lying, Dutch.” Lisa contorted and finally got her feet through her bound looped arms, so her wrists were in front of her body rather than secured at her back. “You hire NINA to kill my mother and abduct me for a fate even worse than death, and you’re going to tell me you didn’t have Masson bring me here?”
“I didn’t.”
Lisa paused to catch her breath and glared at him. “I don’t believe—” She stopped midsentence. “You were already here, hiding. You knew Masson would come after you. Why would he do that?”
“After the fiasco in Mexico?” Dutch harrumphed. “You don’t think he’s going to take the fall for that, do you? NINA lost millions on that botched operation. I paid in money. NINA wants blood. Whose do you think it’s going to be? Masson’s? No way. That leaves me—especially since you and your Shadow Watcher friends were responsible for the fiasco.”
“What’s a Shadow Watcher?”
“Spies, you idiot.”
“That’s crazy.” He knew Mark and his team were spies? Oh no. “You’re bla
ming me for Mexico? Me?” She curled up her knees, sitting on the floor, and began to work at untying the ropes binding her feet. They weren’t budging. Masson tied impossible knots. If she could get free of the ropes, she could get to the drawer for a knife and unbind her hands.
If he tied them, then they could be untied. She studied the knots, then found what she thought was the weakest point to start. “I’m a victim—your victim. You did this, and you’re not dropping the blame for any of it on me. You own it.”
“You were going to take Annie.”
“I still am,” Lisa shot back at him. “You’ve abused her for the last time, Dutch. I promise you that.”
“She’s my wife.”
Lisa gave the rope a hard jerk. The knot broke free. “She’s your prisoner.”
“I took care of her. She’d have been on the street with nothing if not for me.”
“She would have had me. I’m not nothing.” The rope fell slack. Lisa began unwinding it from her ankles. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You twist things. You always did. You’re a mean, vicious man, Dutch. And my mom and I are through with you.”
“You’ve always been in the way. Nothing but trouble.”
Lisa ignored him and pulled herself to her feet. Stiff and sore, she moved to the open kitchen area and began pulling open drawers, looking for a knife.
“You think you’ve got all the answers, don’t you? Untying yourself, slamming drawers in there. But I’ll tell you a secret, Dr. Harper. You’ll never leave here alive.”
“Watch me.” She glared at him over her shoulder. Why wasn’t he trying to get free? “Are you planning on dying here?”
He lay still on the floor where he’d fallen when she’d knocked the chair out from under him. He hadn’t moved at all. “We’re both going to die here.”
“No, we’re not.” She shoved the second drawer closed and then opened the third. “I’m going to get us out.”
He laughed. “Right. You’re going to give me my freedom. Spare my life. That’s rich.”
“I never said anything about your freedom.” Inside the third drawer she spotted several knives. She reached in and grabbed one, then leaned over the countertop so if her precarious hold on the handle slipped, she wouldn’t stab herself.
