Dead End

by Susan Sleeman

  But time was running out.

  She couldn’t wait for rescue any longer. She had to act. She leaned close to Eddie and whispered, “When he stops, I’m going to bail. Go for help. I’m sorry to leave you behind.”

  “Go. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Shut up,” Kuznetsov said.

  She placed her hand on the door handle and prayed he hadn’t clicked on the child lock so she couldn’t get out.

  He took the circular drive by the cabin and pointed the vehicle to face the road, leaving her direct access to the wooded area surrounding the cabin. He planted a foot hard on the brakes.

  The car rocked. She squeezed Eddie’s leg then jerked the handle.

  The door latch released.

  She bolted out, got her footing, and barreled straight into the woods. She heard Kuznetsov yelling at his men. “After her.”

  Loud footfalls sounded behind her. Panic exploded in her chest, but she kept going.

  Branches snapped at her face. Grabbed at her clothes, reaching out to take her down. The dark nearly blinded her.

  She crouched behind a tree to listen. The men were tromping closer.

  Fear nearly paralyzed her.

  God, please.

  She bolted to her feet and took off in a different direction. She wanted to race, to plow ahead, but she couldn’t make a sound or they would find her.

  She swallowed to calm her fear, but her mouth was dry. Bone dry.

  She glanced up at the endless sky and prayed. Prayed hard that they didn’t find her, because if they did, they would kill her.

  “Got her GPS,” Nick said from the passenger seat in Reed’s SUV. “She’s on the move. South on I-205. Ten miles from here.”

  “Plug the address into my navigation system.” Reed turned on lights and siren, then shifted into gear and floored the gas in his SUV to get them onto the interstate heading south. He cruised past the traffic, thankful that cars actually got out of his way and pulled over.

  “She still moving?” he asked.

  “Not since I last looked.”

  Fear pounded through Reed, and his hands were sweating on the wheel. He had to gain control of his emotions if he was going to be any good to Sierra when they reached her. But God help him, his brain was spinning, and he couldn’t seem to control the terrible thoughts peppering him.

  “Moving?” he asked again.

  “No,” Nick said. “I promise I’ll tell you when she does.”

  “We’ll get to her,” Grady said from the backseat where he sat with Maya.

  They left Sam and Riley behind in case Sierra returned, but right now Reed was wishing for more firepower in the group. At least more skilled firepower.

  The GPS voice told him to take the next exit which would lead them into a rural area. He careened down the ramp and hung a right.

  “Hey, slow down,” Maya chastised. “We’re no good to her if we don’t make it there alive.”

  Reed knew his driving capabilities, and there was no way he was going to slow down. Not until they reached Sierra’s location.

  He swerved around cars that refused to get out of his way and pressed the gas harder on straightaways. They were making good time, but was it good enough?

  Sierra kept heading west, knowing she would eventually reach the main road. She hadn’t heard the goons in a while and had picked up her speed. Running full out now, ignoring the branches clawing at her skin. Scratching. Ripping. Her mind was a mass of worry and thoughts.

  She thought about Kuznetsov and the careless way he killed Tricia and then Caulfield just so he wouldn’t leave town. He was a cold-blooded killer who was used to getting his way.

  Had she made a mistake in running? Would it make him so mad that he would take it out on Eddie?

  Fear for Eddie tightened her chest already straining under the exertion.

  She had to stop. Take a quick breather. Give Reed a call. Or call one of her partners. She dropped to the ground and called Reed first because it was his voice she wanted to hear. It was him she wanted to come for her. Him she wanted for more than a day. Or a week. For a lifetime. She knew that now. Knew he was the man who could change her mind about marriage.

  “Sierra,” he rasped out her name. “Where are you?”

  “Reed! Thank God you answered.”

  A gun came out of the dark and pressed against her head. She jolted, nearly dropping the phone. She clutched it tighter but otherwise didn’t move.

  “End the call before I end it for you,” one of the thugs said from behind.

  He was smarter than she expected. He must have been silently tailing her. Of course. Kuznetsov wouldn’t hire idiots. He was too smart for that.

  “I mean it.” He pressed the gun harder, the cold metal biting into her skin. “End the call.”

  “Sierra,” she heard Reed’s terrified voice calling out to her, and she couldn’t sever the connection. She’d wait. Make the man grab her phone and disconnect the call.

  He clocked her over the head with the butt of the gun. Pain ripped through her skull. Her hand relaxed. Her fingers opened. She saw the phone fall in slow motion. It tumbled. End over end and thumped onto the thick layer of fir needles.

  She felt the darkness come for her.

  Take her.

  She dropped to the ground. As the strong woodsy scent of the forest floor engulfed her, a question ran through her mind. Would she ever see Reed again?

  28

  The phone went dead.

  Reed slammed his fist against the wheel. “How far? For the love of God, tell me how far.”

  “In the woods, a mile on the right, but she’s moving deeper into the woods.”

  “Do you think she got away from the creep who was yelling at her?” he asked.

  “No.” Nick’s tone had such a finality to it that Reed felt like hurling on the spot.

  Instead, he floored the gas.

  “Up ahead,” Nick said. “Two hundred feet.”

  Reed slowed and whipped the SUV off the road. He bolted out before it stopped rocking and ran to the back. He ripped the liftgate open. Shoved a box of ammo into his pocket and grabbed his rifle. The others had piled out but he didn’t care. He had to move. Now!

  He raced off the road and scrambled down the ditch. He ran hard. Fast. Hurdled fallen logs. Ducked low branches. Forced his feet through knee-high grass and weeds. Inhaled the fresh evergreen scent as he gulped in deep breaths.

  A gunshot sounded ahead. Maybe fifty yards.

  No-o-o! Sierra?

  Was he too late?

  His heart nearly stopped. He halted. Listened. Heard nothing but the team coming up behind him. He signaled for them to cover him, and he cautiously advanced. He skirted several large trees, and then he saw her. In a small clearing with the moon shining down on her.

  She stood over a man. Handgun in hand. The huge man lay unmoving.

  “Sierra,” Reed said her name softly.

  She looked up, her eyes wide and tortured. She lifted the gun, looked at it, and dropped it at her feet.

  Reed raced forward, picked up the gun, then checked the man. He was alive but had a gunshot to his gut.

  “What happened?” Reed asked.

  She dropped to the ground and started crying. Reed went to her, knelt, and circled his arms around her. He saw crusted blood in her hair, and he wanted to pummel something. But he swallowed it down to tend to her.

  “Shh, honey. Don’t cry.”

  “He-e-e hit me over the he-ead. Knocked me out.” She gulped in a breath. “I came to. He didn’t know. I grabbed his gun. It went off. The gun was in my hand. I ki…ki…” Her crying ramped up.

  “Shh. Shh.” He tightened his arms around her trembling body. “He’s still alive.”

  He was vaguely aware of the others coming up to them.

  Maya dropped down by the man and wiggled out of her jacket to press it on his wound.

  “I’ll call an ambulance,” Nick said. “And Blake to get some backup out here.�
��

  Sierra looked up, and her eyes cleared. “Eddie! Kuznetsov and the other bodyguard have Eddie! A cabin. Deeper in the woods. We have to go.” She tried to stand, but fell back down.

  “I’ll stay with her,” Maya said. “You all go for Eddie.”

  Reed couldn’t fathom leaving Sierra behind, but he knew she would want him to rescue her father.

  “Nick, you stay here, too,” Reed said not willing to risk Sierra’s life with Maya alone. “Grady and I’ll go after Barnes.”

  “Hurry!” Sierra said.

  Reed kissed her on the forehead and got up. He hurried ahead, Grady at his side. They silently made their way through the forest of trees and thick undergrowth until they could see the silhouette of a cabin in the murky light ahead. They both took a knee.

  Grady lifted his rifle and looked through his scope. “Guy at the door. I can take him from here if you want.”

  Yes—Reed wanted him to, but he wouldn’t just kill a man when they might not have to. “Can you skirt around the building and create a distraction to lead him away? I’ll come up behind him and get the drop on him.”

  “On it,” Grady said and slipped away, moving quietly as only a sniper could.

  Reed made his way around the building, and when Grady made a noise to catch the guard’s attention, Reed moved in and came up from behind. He pressed his rifle barrel into the man’s back. “Drop your weapon.”

  The guy stilled and didn’t try anything but let his gun fall. Reed whistled for Grady, and when he arrived to cover Reed, he cuffed the man and shoved him to his knees.

  “Keep an eye on him,” Reed said. “I’m going for Barnes.”

  Reed turned back to the cabin. A dull light spilled from the back window. Reed crept onto the small porch and twisted the knob. It turned under his hand, and he slowly pushed it open.

  He saw a bearded and unkempt man sitting in a chair in the room ahead. Had to be Barnes. Kuznetsov was standing over him, weapon in hand.

  He shook his gun, his face turning red. “Where’s the stupid log?”

  Could he be talking about the ledger Sierra found?

  Barnes clamped his mouth closed and lifted his shoulders.

  “Then I guess the secret is going to die with you.” Kuznetsov dropped his finger to the trigger. “Last chance.”

  “Is it going to die with me?” Barnes asked. “Or did I tell Sierra where it was before she took off?”

  “You think you can buy time while my guy finds her? And find her he will. Then if she can’t tell me where the log is, I will kill her too.”

  “No, I…” Barnes’s voice fell off.

  Reed had to get Kuznetsov away from Eddie.

  He reached into his pocket. Grabbed a coin and hurled it at the corner. Kuznetsov spun. Barnes lurched into Kuznetsov, knocking him down, and his gun skittered across the floor. Kuznetsov tried to scramble forward.

  Reed raced into the room. He planted a boot on Kuznetsov’s arm and the barrel of his rifle on the man’s temple.

  “Don’t move! Don’t even breathe!” Reed’s fury came out.

  Kuznetsov didn’t move. Probably expected his bodyguard to rescue him. Or waited for a chance to escape.

  Reed calmed himself down. “Hello, Mr. Barnes,” he said to Sierra’s father who smelled like he hadn’t bathed the entire time he’d been missing. “FBI Agent Reed Rice. Sierra is fine. Her partners are with her.”

  Barnes sat up, but his shoulders sagged.

  “Hold tight, and I’ll get an ambulance out here to look after you,” Reed said.

  “No need. Some water and food will put me right.”

  Reed made the call, but he didn’t have a second set of handcuffs so he remained in place until he heard sirens and saw lights through the window. Footfalls approached the front door and it soon swung open.

  “FBI Agent Reed Rice here,” he called out. “Suspect detained.”

  A deputy poked his head into the room for a quick look then shot back.

  “We’re clear,” Reed called out.

  The guy took a longer look and then entered. Reed got it. The deputy was being careful.

  Reed made sure the deputy saw the FBI logo on his shirt. “I used my cuffs on the guy outside. Mind taking care of this one for me?”

  The deputy nodded and holstered his weapon to cuff Kuznetsov. Reed lowered his rifle and got out his phone to call Nick.

  “Put Sierra on,” Reed demanded.

  “Hello,” she answered, her voice still trembling.

  “Your father is fine. Kuznetsov is in cuffs and so is his other bodyguard. I’ll head over there as soon as—”

  “No. I’m coming there. I have to see Eddie.”

  He didn’t like the thought of her traipsing through the woods with the head injury, but he knew that tone. She wouldn’t be talked out of it.

  “Put Nick on the phone again please.”

  “Yeah,” Nick said.

  “You clear to bring Sierra to the cabin?”

  “All clear.”

  “She’s in no shape to make the trip, so carry her if you have to.”

  “Understood,” Nick said. “But man, you know how independent she is, and you’re gonna owe me if it comes to that.”

  Sierra’s head pounded, and her legs felt weak, but nothing was going to stop her from getting back to Eddie. And back to Reed. She had to tell him about Caulfield stealing the money. And as important, she had to apologize to Reed for breaking her promise and hope he would forgive her.

  She stumbled, and Nick caught her by the elbow.

  “Hey, slow down,” he said. “You could already have a concussion, and you don’t want to add to that.”

  “I’m fine.” She looked up at the guy she often took for granted. “But thanks for coming for me. And for being there for me and the rest of the team. We can always count on you.”

  He waved it off, and she knew if she could see his face clearly, she would see him blushing. “It’s Reed you need to thank. He’s the one who discovered you were missing. Might’ve taken the rest of us days before we noticed you were gone.” He laughed.

  She swatted a hand at him as they made their way into the clearing. Two patrol cars sat behind Kuznetsov’s car, and Grady was settling the other bodyguard into the back of one of them under a deputy’s watchful eye.

  The guy she shot came to mind, and guilt hit her like a tsunami. The medic said the wounded man would be fine, but still, she shot someone. Accidentally, sure, but she shot him. Maybe it was time she learned to at least handle a firearm safely. And she knew the perfect man to teach her. If he could forgive her.

  They climbed the cabin stairs just as a deputy hauled out a scowling Kuznetsov.

  She stepped aside. “Glad to see you’re in good hands, Kuznetsov. May you spend the rest of your life in prison.”

  Reed exited behind them. “Barnes told me all about Kuznetsov’s confession and about Caulfield’s theft.”

  She was so happy to see Reed that she could hardly stop from throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him, but she didn’t know how he would take that. “Does that mean you believe Eddie’s innocent?”

  Reed nodded. “But we’ll need evidence to back that up. Like the log he claims to have.”

  “It’s in my closet.” Eddie stepped up to the door. “False wall.”

  “A ledger book?” Sierra asked. “I found that already.”

  “Good,” Eddie said as he dropped into an old wooden rocking chair.

  “And I found a gun.”

  “Yeah, I swiped it from Caulfield after I found out about Kuznetsov.”

  “So you don’t know where the rest of the bullets in the magazine were fired.”

  He shook his head. “Honestly, I didn’t even pop out the magazine. I’m not a gun guy and figured Caulfield had it loaded.”

  “You called a burner phone several times,” Reed said. “Why was that necessary?”

  He shrugged. “Must’ve been the PI I hired to look into Kuznet
sov. He was a pretty paranoid guy.”

  Reed’s phone rang, and he answered. She watched him standing strong in the doorway. She finally noticed he wasn’t wearing a suit but was dressed in khaki tactical pants, a navy shirt with a gold FBI logo embroidered on this chest, and black tactical boots.

  If she thought a suit made her heart pump, this attire made it beat triple time. He looked so darkly dangerous that she felt short of breath.

  She searched for something to say or do to keep her emotions under control. She noticed his sidearm. If he hadn’t been required to turn it in, she was extremely happy for him. Though, with his earlier comment about getting a new job, she didn’t know how bothered he was at the thought of losing this one. She’d never met a guy who seemed to love his job, was very good at it, and yet, didn’t care if he lost it. This man truly had his priorities right.

  He ended his call and shoved his phone into one of the big cargo pockets.

  She pointed at the gun. “You’re still carrying. Does that mean you’re still working?”

  He nodded. “Adair replaced my Glock with a fresh one.”

  “So you’re in the clear?”

  “Not fully, but I doubt there’ll be any blowback from the shooting.”

  Surprised at his casual response, she looked at him hoping to find an explanation, but found nothing in his expression to help. “Why don’t you sound happy about it?”

  “I am. It’s just that I have to write up a report on the shooting and one to update Adair on the Barnes investigation. Which, after this, will likely take until morning when I want to—” His phone rang again, cutting him off.

  She watched him dig it out and answer. He listened and quickly ended the call. “The detective wants to talk to us, and the ambulance is here for your father.”

  Eddie raised his chin. “Said I didn’t need one. Just some food and water.”

  “Come on, Eddie.” Sierra took his arm. “You need to be checked out. I’ll walk you out there.”

  “You gonna be that bossy all the time?” He poked his chin out further.