by Debra Webb
Reinforcements would come like panthers after prey. Until then, they needed to put as much distance between them and this location as possible. Prentiss would send his team of trackers and they would bring the dogs. Time was of the essence.
Smith knew these woods. He had grown up here and he’d spent most of his time cutting paths through this dense foliage. Over the past two years he had planned for this very moment. There was never any doubt about this moment. It would come and he would need an emergency egress. He just hadn’t expected to be bringing two others along with him.
There were answers he would need eventually but there was no time for that now.
“Where exactly are we headed?”
Buchanan pushed up behind him. She was strong, fit. The only good thing about the additional luggage with which he was saddled.
“You’ll know when we get there.”
“Those were your friends back there, right?”
Before he bothered with an answer, she fell back a few steps. “Hang in there, Levi. We have to keep going.”
“Why the hell are we following him?” Winters shouted. “He’s one of them.”
“That’s a good point.”
It was the total lack of sound after Buchanan’s statement that warned Smith the two had stopped.
He did the same and swung around to face the latest hurdle in this unfortunate turn of events. He visually measured Buchanan before shifting his focus to Winters. “Do you know your way out of here?” He waved an arm to the junglelike growth around them. “We’re a lot of miles from the nearest house. You’ll need water. I have water. A limited supply, but I have it.”
Buchanan glanced at Winters, who now stood beside her. Then she looked up, probably searching for enough of the sky to see in which direction the sun was rising.
“We’re heading south,” Smith advised. “And we have a long way to go. When my friends back there—assuming there are survivors—get a call through to Prentiss... Even without survivors, he’ll be expecting a check-in. When that call doesn’t come, they’ll pour out in droves to find us and they’ll bring the dogs. We have to move as fast and as far as possible before that happens.”
“Why should we trust you?” Buchanan asked.
She was no fool. She was ready to go but she held out, no doubt to prove to Winters that she was ultimately on his side. She hoped her support would gain his cooperation. If rescuing him had been her original mission, she likely wanted to make that happen. Understandable.
Smith shrugged. “You have no reason to trust me. But I’m going. I know the way. I have the necessary supplies. You can either follow me or you can find your own way. Makes no difference to me.”
He pivoted and continued his trek through the shoulder-deep underbrush.
Fifteen seconds later he heard the two coming behind him. They were moving fast, trying to catch up. Whatever Buchanan had said to Winters, she had lit a fire under him. Good. Smith had no desire to end up dead before he’d finished his own mission.
* * *
They walked for another three hours before he felt comfortable allowing a water break. There was a small overhang of rocks just up ahead. They would duck under there. It would be cooler close to the earth beneath the outcropping and their position would be hidden from anyone who might be catching up to them. So far he hadn’t heard the dogs but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t out there on the trail. Prentiss would use every method available to him. Losing more control was not an option. Smith almost wished he could see the bastard’s face.
He had his doubts about the physical condition of the three who had gone over the mountainside in the other SUV. He doubted any one of them would be capable of giving chase. A call for backup would require time. Forty minutes to an hour to prepare and reach the point where the three of them had abandoned the SUV.
He scanned the trees beyond their hidden position and listened intently. By now, it was more likely than not that search parties were out there. The dogs would ensure they moved in the right direction. The head start Smith had gained was the one thing he had on his side.
Smith downed the last of his water and tucked the empty bottle back into his pack.
“Where are we going?” Buchanan asked.
“To the river. The water is low this time of year but that will work to our advantage. We’ll use the water to throw the dogs off our scent.”
“I haven’t heard any dogs,” Winters argued. “Wouldn’t they be after us by now?”
“When you hear them,” Smith warned, “it’ll be too late.” He pushed up from the rock he’d used as a seat. “Let’s get moving.”
He held out his hand for their water bottles. He tucked each one into his pack and headed out. Buchanan didn’t hesitate. Winters did but not for long.
Rested, Smith pushed a little faster. He wanted over this ridge and to the water’s edge within the hour. He wouldn’t rest easy until they’d put a mile or so wading through the water behind them.
Mosquitoes swarmed when he pushed through the foliage. He ignored the occasional bite. Behind him he heard his followers swatting at the irritating insects. The ground was rockier here, making him less sure-footed. Still he pushed as fast as he dared.
By dark he would reach the safe place where he would be able to use the emergency device that would summon backup. Smith had nothing against local law enforcement in Franklin County, or the neighboring counties, for that matter, but he had an obligation to ensure there was no breach in security. The only way to do that was to use the communication device he had hidden and to call his contact and no one else.
The rumble of curt conversation droned behind him. He didn’t slow down or bother to look back. He couldn’t force either of them to follow him. More important, he could not share who he was or his mission with either of them, either. If they were captured, Buchanan might survive torture without talking but Winters would not.
Besides, Smith saw no reason to share that information until absolutely necessary for his own protection, as well.
“Why did my sister send you to find me?” Winters asked the woman two or three steps in front of him.
Evidently, Winters had decided to question all aspects of his good fortune. Some people just couldn’t be satisfied by merely being rescued from certain death.
Buchanan kept her voice low as she answered the question. Smith didn’t catch all that she told the ungrateful man. Something about his sister being worried and the local police being concerned that the Resurrection group were a more considerable threat than they had estimated.
Smith could tell them exactly how big the threat was, but he had to get out of this situation first.
“Why you?” was Winters’s next question.
Smith slowed, diminishing the distance between them. He would like to hear the answer to that one.
“That’s what I do,” Buchanan said, practically under her breath. “I rescue other agents or assets who get themselves into trouble.”
Well, well, he’d known the lady wasn’t the average federal agent. Interesting that she was a rescue and retrieval specialist.
“I guess this time isn’t working out so well,” Winters said with a dry laugh. “Just my luck.”
“We’re not beaten yet,” she protested. “I’ve never failed before. I don’t intend to start now.”
Smith hoped the lady was right.
Failure would mean a very bad end for all of them.
Chapter 9
They had been walking for most of the day. Her sneakers were still wet from the slog through a mile or more in that narrow river. The water level had been low but hopefully it was enough to throw the trackers and their dogs off their scent.
The sun was going down and the trees were thick but it was still as hot as hell. Sweat beaded on Sadie’s forehead. Her legs ached. She was in damned good physical conditio
n but this went way beyond her usual workout. This was grueling. They’d been going uphill until the past hour. The downhill journey wasn’t much better, just used a different muscle group. The under-canopy brush remained thick and the landscape was rocky.
She had tried to keep Levi calm and focused on moving forward but he was resisting more and more the farther they went on the desperate journey. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep him cooperative. His misgivings were understandable, reasonable even. But they had little choice. Keeping ahead of the enemy had to be their priority.
So far they hadn’t heard any sign of the dogs Flynn had worried about. Thank God. Their stoic leader had stopped several times and listened for anyone who might be following them. He hadn’t heard or spotted anyone yet. She hadn’t, either, and she was keeping her eyes and ears tuned in as keenly as possible. She did not want to be captured by those bastards. Chances of surviving beyond the trip back to the compound were way less than zero.
If they were caught, they were dead.
“How far now to the destination you’ve targeted?” She had to admit, she was damned tired, not only physically but of blindly following orders. But she would keep going until they reached some semblance of safety or until she found reason to do otherwise.
“It’s a ways yet.”
Flynn said this without looking back.
Something about his nonchalance bugged the hell out of her. “Define a ways.”
He stopped. She almost bumped into his broad back. He wheeled around, his glare arrowing in on her and she stumbled back a step.
“We’ve been lucky so far, let’s not screw that up now. We’ll get there when we get there. Just keep moving and stay quiet.”
He gave her his back and started forward again.
So much for getting an update. Sadie trudged after him.
“I’m done.” Levi glanced covertly at her. “I know where we are now. I just want to go home.” He jerked his head toward the faint path Flynn left in his wake. “We can’t be sure what he’s got planned. I’d feel better taking my chances on my own from here. I can do it. You should go with me.”
Sadie slowed, keeping pace with Levi. She glanced at the man disappearing deeper into the woods. “You sure about that, Levi? If they catch us, it’s doubtful we would survive. Let’s get through this night and we can decide how we want to move forward in the morning.”
“Just let me go.” He started backing away from her. “Hell, the best I can tell, he’s leading us away from Winchester. My sister and the people I trust are that way.” He jerked a thumb to his left.
“Let’s catch up with him and confront him about your concerns.” She had a bad, bad feeling about this. “We’ll figure out the best option. We’re safer in a group.”
Levi shook his head and took off in another direction. West, Sadie decided. She went after him. As curious as she was about whatever Flynn had in mind, Levi was the one she’d come to rescue. She had a duty to keep him safe, even when he made it difficult.
She wanted to call out to Levi but she couldn’t risk that the enemy was close. The last thing she wanted was to draw Prentiss’s people.
She pushed harder to catch up with him. All this time he’d dragged behind. Apparently he’d gotten his second wind. They hadn’t made it far when she heard someone behind them. Adrenaline fired through her veins. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted Flynn.
Levi ran harder. Sadie did the same. But Flynn was gaining on them.
In the next moment Sadie had to decide whether to keep going with Levi or to distract Flynn, giving the younger man an opportunity to reach his sister and help. If Flynn had no real interest in what happened to them, why come after them? Why not just let them go?
Something was wrong with this scenario.
And if Levi was familiar with the area and knew the way home, why not give him a chance to make it?
Decision made, she zigzagged, heading south once more. She held her breath until Flynn shifted his direction and came after her.
She ran harder still, determined not to make it easy for him to catch her.
She sidled between two trees; her shoulder scraped hard against one. She cringed. That would leave a mark.
Keep going.
Maintaining her balance at this speed and along this rough terrain as she plowed through brush and dodged the bigger trees was not an easy task, especially downhill.
No slowing down! He was close. Only steps behind her. She could hear him breathing.
Damn, she needed to go faster.
Fingers grabbed the back of her sweatshirt. Yanked her off her feet.
They went down together, rolled in the brush. A limb poked her cheek. She grimaced.
Flynn landed on top of her, his bigger body grinding her into the brush and dirt.
“What the hell are you trying to do? Guarantee we end up dead?”
She tried to scramble away. Screaming was not an option. If there was anyone out there on their trail, they would hear.
Better the devil she knew...
“Get off me,” she growled.
He glared at her for a long moment, those silver eyes icy with fury.
Then he got up, pulled her up with him and kept a death grip on her arm. He had no intention of allowing her to run again.
“That little move you pulled back there, allowing your friend—your rescue target—a chance to run, likely put a bullet in his brain or worse.”
Uncertainty trickled into her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. “He knows how to get home from here. He said you’re taking us in the wrong direction. Is that true?”
Frustration hardened his face. “That depends on where you think the right direction is. He’s going home to Winchester? To his friends?” He laughed, shook his head. “I hope he makes it, but that’s highly unlikely. They have watchers in town. Those watchers will be on the lookout for all of us. The possibility that he’ll make it to help before someone nabs him right off the street is about the same as Santa paying him a visit early this year. He won’t make it. Do you hear me? He. Will. Not. Make. It. Which is why we’re not going directly to Winchester. I have a safe place to wait for help.”
That trickle of uncertainty turned into a river. “Then I have to go after him.”
When she would have headed back in the direction she’d come, he held on to her more tightly.
“You’re going to draw them right to us. We have to go. We’ve wasted too much time already. The only way you can help Levi now is by doing exactly what I say.”
She stared at him, tried to see beyond that iron mask of his. “Who are you?” She had no real reason to trust this man and yet every instinct screamed at her to do exactly that.
“You already know the answer to that question. Right now, I’m the man who’s trying his best to save your life.”
“How can I be sure?”
She waited for an answer, held his gaze. He needed to give her something concrete. Why would a man so high up the food chain in the Resurrection organization suddenly throw everything away and run just to save her or anyone else?
“You answer a question for me and I’ll answer one for you,” he countered.
“Quid pro quo,” she suggested.
He gave a succinct nod.
She could do that. He pretty much already knew all there was to know about her anyway. She’d owned being a federal agent. She’d made the mistake of spilling her true mission to Levi. Beyond her last boyfriend, this guy probably knew everything there was to know about her, including her favorite college professor’s name.
“All right.” She braced for his question.
“Why did you use the Trenton Pollard cover story? Where did you get that name?”
“That’s actually two questions,” she pointed out.
He gave her a look th
at said he was running out of patience.
“That was the name I was told to toss out if I needed more leverage in a dicey situation.”
“Who gave you the name?”
“My point of contact.”
More of that frustration tightened on his face. “He or she has a name?”
She nodded. “But I’m not giving that name to you until I see where this journey ends.”
He shrugged. “Fine. Let’s get moving.”
“Wait a minute. I get a question, too.”
“So ask your question so we can go.”
“Why does the Pollard name mean so much to you?”
“He’s a friend of mine and I don’t see how you or your point of contact could know him.”
Done talking, he started forward again. She glanced over her shoulder. Hoped like hell Levi knew what he was doing. She followed Flynn. If Flynn was truly on the run, her money was on Prentiss and his people coming after him first. Finding him and Sadie was likely far higher on their priority list than finding Levi.
Hopefully that would work in his favor until he reached help.
Either way, he’d made his decision and she’d done the only thing she could: helped him escape an unknown situation.
* * *
They were close. Smith was relieved. He wasn’t sure how much longer Buchanan would last. She’d held up far longer than he’d expected as it was. She was strong but they were both tired.
The safe place he’d prepared wasn’t far now.
“Give me a minute.”
Smith stopped, sized her up as she leaned against a tree. He shrugged off the pack and removed the last bottle of water. “We can share this one,” he offered, passing the bottle to her.
This last one would have been for Winters but he’d cut out on them without any supplies. Smith wondered how far he would get before a member of Prentiss’s posse caught him. Not all the way into town for sure.
