by Lakes, Lynde
“The shots came from up there,” Greene said.
“Remember, we want to capture him, not kill him,” Tukaha shouted.
“Then we’d better split up and surround him,” Greene said.
Rad touched Toni’s shoulder. “Wait behind these rocks,” he said. Before she could protest, he added, “We need you here to block this passage to keep Taureka from escaping into the maze of tunnels inside.”
She nodded and crouched low.
“Koa, stay with her,” Tukaha told his youngest son.
Koa made a thumbs up sign. In seconds, the group reached the wall, and the men spread out in a fan, each finding his own toeholds to scale the wall to surround the well-concealed sniper.
Not wanting to let Rad out of her sight, Toni stood, took a step forward and leaned sideways around the spears of stalagmites that obscured part of her view.
Suddenly, Koa’s body slumped to the stony floor, bumping her heel. Toni thought he’d been hit by a ricocheting bullet. Her attempt to get to him out of the line of fire was interrupted as hairy arms grabbed her. She screamed; her piercing cry for help echoed through the cave.
Someone wrestled the gun out of her hand, and dragged her kicking and struggling into the tunnel. During the struggle she’d caught a glimpse of the feathered bird mask, cape, and a swishing wolf’s tail. It wasn’t Taureka up there shooting down at them, because he was the one pulling her deeper into the tunnel. Her heart beat so fast she found it hard to breathe.
****
Rad had heard Toni’s scream and jumped from a height greater than he’d ever tried before, racing after her and the madman dragging her away. Tukaha followed, but considerably more slowly. Since he was too old for a jump such as the one Rad made, he slid down the incline on the seat of his pants.
The deputy and Tukaha’s other two son’s were too involved returning fire to stop. “There’re two snipers up there.” the deputy shouted.
No longer concerned about that, Rad’s heartbeat thudded in his ears. He headed deeper into the cave. His deep breathing echoed like a windstorm through the narrow tunnel. The footfalls ahead spurred him on faster and faster. Nothing was more important than getting to Toni. She was all that really mattered to him. Only nonsense and inflexible pride had kept him from telling her that. Holy Atua, don’t let it be too late.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The last curve in the tunnel brought Rad into the tapa ruma. He squinted at the brightness from the flames leaping high above the wall sconces. Toni’s auburn hair flipped about as she and Taureka struggled. Rad eased closer slowly to avoid provoking the birdman into a rash act.
Toni’s jacket fell open, exposing the damp sweater clinging to her breasts, rising and falling with each labored breath. She jerked a hand free and reached up and yanked off Taureka’s bird mask. He locked another choke hold on her and dragged her backwards up the four stone steps to the raised platform. She kicked backwards, the heels of her boots catching him in the shins. Taureka shouted out in pain and gripped her tighter. Suddenly Toni went still. Had he cut off her air? No, thank Atua, her chest was moving. Being strongly attuned to her, Rad believed her stillness was a change in tactic perhaps meant to calm Taureka.
Rad met Taureka’s desperate gaze. Dealing with an insane man was tricky. He couldn’t make a mistake.
“Stay away,” the birdman shouted. He kept his hairy arm around Toni’s neck as he shifted her in front of him and used her as a shield. “You shouldn’t have come back.”
“It’ll be all right, Taureka. Just let her go.”
“No,” Taureka said, insanity in his tone. “She must die.”
“You’re surrounded,” Rad said with all the calmness he could muster. “You haven’t hurt anyone up to now. Don’t make it worse for yourself.”
With his free arm, Taureka drew a knife from his belt, and gestured in a wide outward sweep with the glinting steel. “No one is taking my percentage from me.”
“You can have it all. Just let her go.”
“Not possible,” Taureka said.
He held the shiny steel knife above her heart. Toni swallowed and pressed her lips together tightly as if to stifle a scream. Her green eyes widened to the size of silver dollars. Rad fought the panic rising in him.
He hadn’t noticed Tukaha enter the room and started when his kindly foreman shouted, “Taureka, don’t!”
Taureka squinted at Tukaha. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to help you.”
“Humph. Don’t need you,” Taureka said. “I am Manu-wuruhi-tane, the only off-spring of the mating of a hawk and a wolf.”
“Cut the crazy act,” Tukaha said. “It won’t get you out of this jam. Just let Toni go.”
Rad inched closer while Tukaha distracted Taureka.
“Think, Taureka,” Tukaha pleaded. “No amount of money is worth this. Lay down the knife, and I’ll see that they go easy on you.”
Love glowed in Tukaha’s eyes. The old man deserved a chance to try to capture his twin brother without hurting him.
“Good twin to the rescue, ae?” Taureka said. “Forget it. I’m in charge, not you. Never again you.”
As Rad edged closer, turmoil raged in him. Even if he managed to position himself where he could get a clear shot at Taureka, how could he face Tukaha if he killed his brother? Rad clenched his jaw. He wanted to spare Tukaha the loss, yet if he didn’t shoot, he would lose the woman he loved to the thrust of Taureka’s knife.
Toni’s body trembled, but she remained courageously silent. Taureka brought the knife closer to her breast. The tip disappeared into the soft wool of her sweater. Rad’s throat tightened. Any second Taureka would drive the
gleaming point into her heart. “No!” he moaned and aimed.
Before he could squeeze his trigger, a shot rang out. Taureka fell to the floor, blood oozing from his chest. Puzzled, Rad looked in the direction of the gunfire. Tears rolled down Tukaha’s leathered cheeks as he dropped his gun to the floor. He rushed to his brother’s side and gathered him into his arms.
“I couldn’t let you hurt our Toa Mumu,” Tukaha cried. “I just couldn’t let you do that.”
Rad touched Tukaha’s shoulder, then enfolded Toni’s trembling body tightly to his chest. The fierce way she hugged his waist told him the physical and emotional intensity of her ordeal had taken its toll.
“You’re safe,” he whispered against her hair. He wanted to continue holding her, forever. She looked down at the blood soaking Taureka’s shirt.
“He’s hurt badly,” she said.
“Ae,” Rad said. “We have to stop the bleeding and get him to a hospital. Are you steady enough to make it on your own?”
She nodded.
He kissed her forehead then went into action. Tukaha’s face had crumpled to a mask of regret and sorrow. The old man held his twin, rocking him, kissing his cheek and lamenting in haunting Maori words.
Rad bent and pressed his handkerchief to Taureka’s wound. He spoke softly to Tukaha. “Come on, old friend, buck up. We’ll save him.” Atua willing, he thought.
****
Toni stood close by, ready to help. Rad moved fast and skillfully. Once he stopped the bleeding, he stripped to the waist. The glow from the flaming sconces sent golden highlights to his well-muscled upper body. No work of art had ever looked more magnificent.
Rad tore his shirt in half and handed a piece to her. “Tear this into strips.”
When she finished ripping the cloth, her eyes sought him. He met her gaze briefly with stoic brown eyes as he took the soft cotton strips. With quick movements, he bandaged Taureka’s wound. Next he fashioned a stretcher out of old wooden beams and Taureka’s feathered cape. Sweat broke out on his back, and it glistened like oiled bronze. Watching him took her breath away. He was wonderful in emergencies, wonderful in so many ways.
Deputy Greene rounded the corner and entered the tapa ruma.
“I heard shots. Is everyone all right?” The deput
y held his gun on the snipers he’d handcuffed together. Tinihanga and his henchman, Ghost, stared at the ground. Tinihanga’s face was dark and sullen, while Ghost’s was gray and emotionless. Tinihanga lifted his head, and his gaze met Rad’s. “Put in a good word for me, boss. Remember, I didn’t kill you when I could have.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” There wasn’t any bitterness in Rad’s voice, only disappointment.
“Listen, boss,” Tinihanga said. “we didn’t want to hurt anyone. This shoot-out was a mistake.” His wide nose flattened, and his nostrils flared slightly. “Ghost and I thought you were after us. We just wanted to lie low in here until things cooled down, then slip out of the country.”
“How do we find Duke?”
Tinihanga shrugged. “Don’t know.”
Rad clenched his fist. “You’re lucky I’m too busy to pound it out of you.”
Toni admired Rad’s restraint and his loyalty to Tukaha. He believed he owed his friend his wholehearted effort to save his twin’s life.
“Maybe your memory will improve after a few days in a jail cell.” Rad turned to the deputy. “Get them out of my sight.”
Toni knew Rad hurt from the lost friendship and betrayal.
The deputy waved his gun at the two men. “Let’s go, gentlemen.”
Rad slipped on his sweater and jacket, tied the last knot on the makeshift stretcher, then gently lifted Taureka onto it.
“All set,” he told Tukaha.
They each took an end, and Toni followed them out of the cave. The ride to the station was slow, solemn and silent. Rad dragged the stretcher behind his horse, and Tukaha rode beside his brother, vigilant and tense-faced.
Deputy Greene and his prisoners took the lead. Rad called to the deputy to use his cell phone to request a medical evacuation helicopter to meet them at the ranch.
“They have better things to do than save criminals,” Greene said before obliging.
Toni frowned. The deputy’s comment probably hurt Tukaha. Good or bad, Taureka was his brother. The injured man’s ash-gray face looked grave; he needed medical attention now. She prayed the med-evac wouldn’t be busy with another emergency and that Taureka would live. Neither she nor Tukaha could face his death. Their guilt would be too painful, his for shooting his own brother, and hers for being the reason he shot him.
The dark, cloudy sky threatened rain. She hoped the downpour waited until they got Taureka to shelter.
Rad rode tall and proud in his saddle. Did he regret not being the one to take Taureka down? He may have preferred to spare Tukaha the guilt.
He was gentle with Taureka for Tukaha’s sake. She remembered Tukaha telling her Rad was tough as steel when necessary, but he could be gentle as a breeze while birthing a lamb.
Few men could be both tough and gentle. But that’s how Rad had been when they’d made love, strong, vital, virile and wonderfully tender. He was a giving, passionate man. And kind. Perhaps too kind to tell her that now that they were free, the old rules applied.
Toni reined her roan alongside Rad’s stallion, needing the closeness. After tasting his love, it’d be difficult to return to a professional relationship. How would they respond to each other now that they were safe? What did she want? Right now it didn’t matter. She had to quit agonizing over the situation and consentrate on uncovering the identity of Duke.
A landing helicopter drew her attention. She hadn’t been aware of the distance they’d come until the ranch house appeared ahead. A stirring in her chest swelled until it was unbearable. It was as though she’d come home, as if this was where she belonged.
The feeling grew stronger as Rad helped her dismount. His warm, firm touch on her hips was nearly more than she could stand. With effort, Toni forced down her desire to call this place home. And her desire for him.
“Go get some rest,” Rad said. His hand was on the small of her back, applying gentle pressure. Her heart beat faster.
Rad returned his attention to Taureka. Exactly what she wanted him to do, what he needed to do. So why did she stand there, feeling empty? She paid little attention to the deputy as he loaded his prisoners into his car and left. Instead, she watched the gentle way Rad and Tukaha lifted the makeshift stretcher into the medical-evacuation helicopter. Rad’s friendship for Tukaha had allowed him to forgive a man who had almost killed them.
“Koa,” Rad told Tukaha’s son, “I won’t be able to rest until I’m sure my men and dogs have recovered from the drugs Tinihanga put in their water. Would you check on them and see they get whatever they need?”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Koa said. “I’ll handle everything. Until the men are strong again we’ll all help with the work, me, my brothers, and our friends.”
Rad nodded; his eyes glistened with gratitude.
Toni felt left out. Everyone had an important job to do except her. She touched Rad’s arm. “I want to go to the hospital with you.”
“No room,” he said. “Besides, you’ve been through enough stress for one day. We’ll probably be there all night.”
Toni looked up at him, needing to be a part of all this. But she could see he was right. The stretcher, Tukaha, the pilot, and the two paramedics took up most of the space. Once Rad climbed in, all the space would be taken. She shoved her hands into her pockets. “Call me if there’s anything I can do,” she said, feeling useless. If only he would take her in his arms and hold her close for a second, give her that moment of reassurance. But there was no time. He had to get a dying man to the hospital before it was too late.
Her sense of emptiness grew stronger as the helicopter lifted off and faded into the dark, gray clouds.
Something brushed against her shins and she glanced down. “Hi, Hero.” She bent and scratched the dog’s neck. “Guess it’s just you and me, fella. I never would have dreamed you and I could become buddies.”
A steady buzz came from the shearing barn. That meant that even though she didn’t see anyone at the moment, the station hands were cropping through their daily quota. Apparently not all of Rad’s men were too sick to work. She admired those sheepmen. They were a hardworking, sturdy lot. Rad didn’t have to worry about them.
She dashed for the house as the fine mist turned to rain. It started coming down in slanting sheets. Hero ran alongside her.
Toni stepped inside the house. The feeling of being home grew overpowering. She leaned against the closed door to catch her breath. Being trapped in a cave had woven a spell over her. She assured herself that after some rest she’d have her city-woman perspective back.
Hero barked, and she glanced down. Puddles formed around them. “Okay, fellow-drowned-rat, follow me.” She took him by the collar. He left puddles all the way to the bathroom. She wrapped a towel around her dripping hair and dried him with another.
“Hungry?” He barked twice and romped on her heels into the kitchen.
“I’ll feed you first.” She held the can of dog food to the sharp rotating edge of the electric opener and raised her voice above the grinding. “Then I have to call the security company Deputy Greene recommended.”
Toni laughed at herself. It was a big change from being terrified of dogs to becoming one of those people who talks to them. She looked down into Hero’s glistening, dark eyes. He tilted his head to the side. “You understand, don’t you, fella?” He barked. “I thought so,” she said, as she scooped the dog food into his bowl.
With Hero taken care of, she changed out of her wet clothes, showered, put a bandage on the knife prick and slipped on a pair of slacks and a sweater. She remembered seeing a phone book in the kitchen. It only took her a moment to find the number for the security firm. She had no problem engaging their services to guard both entrances of the Mutunga-iho Cave. “Just keep everyone out,” she told the man. “Hazardous waste.” She lied to protect the gold.
Thinking of the cave made her shudder. She’d never ignore her mother’s predictions again. Manu-wuruhi-tane holding the knife to her heart was exactly t
he way her mom had described it. When she felt its sharp tip prick her flesh, she’d expected to die.
Toni rubbed her arms to fend off the lingering fear and chill in the room. She remembered Rad kept tea in a clay container on the sink. While waiting for the water to heat, she looked out the window. Shivering, she watched puddles overflow and become narrow winding rivulets. Lightning zig-zagged across the sky. The distant hills disappeared in a rainy, gray haze. It wasn’t safe to be in a helicopter in this storm.
Please, God, don’t let anything happen to them.
Worry made it difficult to move ahead. But she had to. Duke was still out there. She got a pen and pad from the desk drawer. Now, what did she already know about him?
The telephone rang, shattering the quiet. Toni jumped, then hurried to answer it. She gripped the receiver tightly.
“Taureka is hanging on,” Rad said in a worry-edged tone.
Toni relaxed her hold on the receiver at the sound of his deep, familiar voice. He’d landed safely. And Taureka was alive. “Thank God,” she said softly.
“We’re staying as long as he’s in critical condition.” Rad paused, as though trying to think of something else to say. “Tukaha is holding up well.”
“Tell him my prayers are with his brother.”
“I will, but he knows that.” There was silence again. “Listen, I have to go. The doctor just came out, and he’s talking to Tukaha. Get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She whispered goodbye, then sat staring at the telephone. Even though Rad was safe, an unsettled feeling remained.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The following morning dawned sunny and bright. The storm had passed. Toni felt energetic and ready to tackle the case. She called Deputy Greene to see if he’d gotten any information out of Tinihanga or Ghost.
“They aren’t talking,” he said. “Apparently they’re more frightened of this Duke fellow than jail.”
