A warning signal blared, joining a blinking red light. The engine sputtered.
“What’s that?” Terra asked, a new fear winding around her heart.
Expletives poured from the man’s mouth. “We’re losing altitude.”
The rotors slowed. “What’s going on?”
“Shut up!”
“Engine failure? We’re going to crash?”
“Not if I can help it. Now shut up!” He pointed the nose of the helicopter downward.
Terra yelped.
They sped toward the ground, rotating as they went. At the last minute, would he pull the helicopter upward to land it?
Except there was no flat ground on which to land.
Only trees below them.
Terra glanced out the side window and looked at the starry night. Were these the last moments of her life? She took in the view below, barely illuminated by the helicopter’s lights. The trees, the ground, were much too close.
She twisted until she was able to open the door with her still-bound hands.
“What are you doing?” Marcus grabbed her. “You have a better chance of surviving inside.”
“But the trees. There’s no place to land.”
“Whatever happens, a crash is survivable. You hear me? I know from experience. I’ve survived both a helicopter crash and a plane crash, so don’t worry. This helicopter was designed to absorb the impact and protect you. That said, you need to brace yourself for a hard landing.”
This man who’d forced her here at gunpoint, who’d shot her father, who thought himself invincible suddenly had a heart?
The helicopter dipped until the rotors chopped trees and a path through them to the ground, screaming and twisting all the way down. Terra squeezed her eyes shut, gritted her teeth, and prayed under her breath, her heart pounding like it would escape her chest.
The impact jarred her. Then she felt nothing. Saw nothing.
“Wake up. Get up.”
Terra fought off the words, the pain. Someone shook her.
She groaned, then opened her eyes. Marcus stood over her. She’d hoped that it had all been a bad dream.
“I told you it was survivable. Now get up.”
“Why do you care if I survive?”
“I need you more than ever now.” He took a step back.
A sound drew her attention. He kicked the box Terra’s father had given him and shined a flashlight into it.
A plastic Darth Vader mask.
Marcus growled.
“It doesn’t look like—”
“It’s not. Your father never had the artifact. I’m an idiot! I should have looked inside. But . . . Argh. I didn’t want the others to see too.” Marcus let loose a string of foul words, shouting them into the night. He gasped for breath, then seemed to calm down. But his eyes narrowed and slid back to Terra. “I’ll keep you with me until I get it back. Get up. We have to leave the crash site.”
Should she fake a twisted ankle or broken leg? No. He’d just kill her. She climbed from the seat. “I’m going to need my hands free. I might need to climb.”
As Marcus shined the flashlight around, Terra recognized this part of the mountain.
“It’s fitting, don’t you think? This is near where my plane crashed fifteen years ago. Where the SAR team rescued me and an avalanche took them out.”
Terra fought to comprehend his words. “What? Are you saying—”
“Yes. It was my plane that crashed. Your mother and her team saved me, and died in the rescue.”
Stumbling, Terra dropped to her knees. Her father’s sudden appearance in her life, his business in all this, and now Marcus/Tony’s connection . . . it was all too much to grasp. And yet, it was starting to make sense. All these secrets buried in the past had been unearthed and were coming to light.
Marcus approached and stared down at her, a twisted smile on his face. “I’d been on my way here to face off with your father for bailing on me back in Iraq. I thought I might even kill him. But I never got to see him. He didn’t even know I was still alive. Nobody did. They all thought Anthony Gray had died in the helicopter crash in Iraq on the way to the court-martial hearing. That reporting mistake was fortuitous for me—and I created a whole new identity in Marcus Briggs.”
Marcus took an audible breath and continued staring at her.
“After the plane crash here and my rescue, I learned Chris had lost his beautiful Sheridan when she’d saved me. Telling him that news would have been sweet revenge before I took his life, but then I realized he was worth more to me alive. He would suffer even more if I put him to work for me. I knew one day I would let him know the truth about who had cost him everything. Revealing that truth to him didn’t unfold like I had planned, what with his plane crash, but Chris knows I was the one behind all his misery. Behind forcing him away from his family. And I shot him, in the end. I got him.”
Tears surged. Oh, God, please let Dad live. Please don’t let him die. How she hated the man who stood over her now, who had disrupted her life from afar all these years. But she couldn’t hold on to hate. Somehow, she had to let it go.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who destroyed the memorial. You targeted Mom’s plaque.” As if at this juncture, any of that even mattered, but she had to know the truth—all of it.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but that wasn’t me. Now get up. We have to go.”
“You’re a sick, sick man.” If held on to long enough, bitterness, grudges, and regrets created monsters.
She’d already lost too much on this mountain, and now she was here with a monster.
SIXTY-TWO
Discarding his sling, Jack ignored the pain and climbed onto Lilly, one of Owen’s horses.
When he’d heard the crash on the mountain, his heart felt as though it had been ripped from his chest. But he’d learned how to push past the debilitating pain of loss, and he would again in order to find Terra.
She couldn’t die like this. She had to be alive. He would hang on to that hope. It was the only thing that kept him going.
The pain he felt over Sarah’s death and his inability to get to her in time clawed at him but also drove him forward. Compelled him to find Terra, the woman he . . . loved.
Owen groaned. “I had no idea he was going to take her, or I never would have rigged a slow oil leak to cause engine failure in his helo. I returned early from a meeting in Bozeman, so he wasn’t expecting me. I simply wanted to stop a madman from destroying more lives. I didn’t think I could get into the house to get my gun without drawing Marcus’s—”
Jack held up his hand, signaling for Owen to stop. “You didn’t know. It’s okay.”
“I only meant to prevent him from flying away and escaping.”
“There’s no time for regret. We can hope they survived. Let’s go find her. Let’s get our Terra back.”
After he and Nathan had left Ruby’s, they headed straight for Robert Vandine’s ranch while Jack tried to reach both Terra and Robert. Neither of them responded. Jack and Nathan were already on their way when they got the message from dispatch—Owen had called to report trouble.
Now Owen urged his horse forward, and Jack followed. At some point they’d have to get off the animals. The area was stony and treacherous, and the horses could slip on the rocks. He’d left Nathan behind at the ranch to wait with Robert and Terra’s father for an ambulance and backup. Jack had grabbed some climbing gear from Nathan’s vehicle, just in case the helicopter dropped in a precarious place on the mountain.
He urged Lilly up and forward, behind Owen’s horse on the trail. “How much farther?”
“I’d say a mile,” Owen said. “I can’t be sure about the location of the crash.”
“I heard it go down.”
Anguish filled Owen’s voice. “I was in the barn looking for a potential weapon when I saw him drawing her out to the helicopter and forcing her on. I shouted and ran after them, but I don’t think Marcus heard me over the rotor wa
sh.” Owen slowed his horse to a stop, then got off. “I think we’re headed the right way. Let’s go in on foot now. The horses could twist an ankle.”
Jack got off Lilly and handed the reins to Owen, who simply dropped the lead ropes to the ground. “I’m leaving them ground tied in case we need them. They’re trained to wait unless otherwise directed, and they’ll come to me on command. Now, let’s go get my sister.”
Jack appreciated that Owen spoke about her as if she was still alive.
Just hang in there, Terra . . . We’re coming.
Jack and Owen hurried through the trees, their flashlights set to wide angles. Despite his prosthetic, Owen appeared to keep up with Jack just fine, though Jack was moving slower because of his injury. The bright eyes of wild animals reflected back to him now and then. Jack’s panicked gasps for breath echoed around him, along with his own footfalls.
The pain in his arm stabbed through him, and he stumbled as Owen moved ahead of him. The pain didn’t matter. Only Terra mattered—and getting to that dirtbag Marcus Briggs, or rather, Tony Gray.
Owen slowed. “I see the helo up ahead. Looks like the rotors separated from the fuselage. One’s stuck in a tree. The good news is, the fuselage appears relatively intact. I’m betting the trees slowed the descent, but then he wasn’t able to pull up at the last moment to land using the autorotation maneuver.”
Jack huffed. “English, please.”
“It was still a hard landing, and they could be injured or dead. I suggest a slow approach because he could still be dangerous. Oh, right, you wanted me to speak English. I’m saying he could put a bullet in both of us.”
Jack readied his gun, and Owen did the same. They spread out, each approaching the helicopter from opposite sides, Jack sending prayers up for Terra’s safety.
He crept forward, his heart pounding and breath quickening. He shined his flashlight on the cockpit.
Empty.
Terra could have been thrown from the helicopter. No, no, no, no . . .
He flashed the light around. “Terra!”
She could be hurt and dying. He rushed around the crash site, taking in the helicopter parts sprawled throughout this part of the forest.
“Terra!” Jack called as he searched.
In his heart, he would still keep hoping, still keep believing Terra was alive.
A box lay opened next to the body of the helicopter. Robert had explained that Terra’s father had brought the artifact to negotiate. Was this it? But the only thing Jack saw in the box was a plastic Darth Vader mask.
“Looks like dear old dad didn’t have the artifact, after all,” Owen said.
“So that means, if they both survived, Tony has her. He’ll keep her as ransom for it.”
Owen rubbed his whole face, as if wiping away the anguish twisting his features. “Which way do you think Briggs would go?” Owen asked. “What do you think would be his best escape?”
“I vote for heading east. He could make his way down. Maybe steal a vehicle. Search and rescue would take a different path, but we should split up, just in case. We can’t lose her.”
“Agreed. And Jack?” Owen hesitated.
“Yeah.”
“Watch your back. Stay alive.”
“You do the same. We’ll find her.”
Jack relied on the flashlight to light his path but remained cautious that he didn’t head off a cliff. A gust of wind foretold of the arctic winter to come, blasting a strong hint of bitter cold he could feel to his bones.
Outside the ring of light from the flashlight, darkness felt like it closed in around him.
Where are you, Terra?
Be alive. Just be alive.
The hair on the back of his neck rose. He stiffened, bracing for danger. Wind rushed over him milliseconds before a form slammed into him, knocking him into a granite boulder and bumping the flashlight from his grip. His gun flew from his hand as the breath whooshed from his lungs.
The beam of light flickered and went out, leaving him in darkness. Sensing movement again, he rolled out of the way. A fist caught the side of his jaw. Jack landed on his bum arm, and he swallowed a cry of pain.
His pulse roared in his ears. He refused to let panic get the best of him, but where was the gun?
“Briggs. Give it up. I know who you are.” Slowly standing, Jack calmed his breaths. Evened his tone. “The cops know you’re Tony Gray. Your mother saw you in her house last night. She thought she was seeing a ghost. My guess is you were worried that Leif had gotten to her.”
Jack listened and waited. Where was Briggs?
A crack sounded behind him. Jack ducked as he whirled and rushed forward. He caught Briggs in the waist and shoved forward with all his strength, tackling until the man stumbled backward. Jack forced Briggs to the ground as they neared a cliff, mere feet away from the ledge.
Jack knew where he was. He’d scaled that granite wall before.
Then Jack straddled Briggs, resisting the desire to pound his face. “Where is she?”
Briggs gasped for breath. Jack could make out blood spilling from his nose in the moonlight that broke through the clouds. He had been injured in the crash but still fought like he had no pain.
“What did you do with her?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
“You’re lying.” Jack raised his fist. “You know I can kill you with one move.”
The man coughed up blood and laughed. “She got away.”
If Jack got up, Briggs could attack him or run into the woods and Jack would lose him. To subdue him, he needed his gun.
“You looking for this?” Terra hobbled forward and pointed the gun at Briggs.
Jack got up and took the weapon from her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to look her over, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the man behind it all. Though, if he understood correctly, Leif was the one who killed Jim and Neva on his mission to find the man behind his sister’s murder, gutting Briggs’s trafficking network in the process.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.
“More or less.”
“What happened?”
“He had to untie me so I could make it down the boulders. Before we even tried, I fought him. Got the gun, but it misfired. So I ran. I heard you shouting. I knew you’d run into Briggs, so I came back to help you.”
He handed his cell over.
“See if you can get a signal and call for backup.”
“You didn’t already?”
“Yes. But they need to know where we are. Top of Stone Wolf Canyon. Call your brother. He’s out there somewhere looking for you.”
“I’m here.” Owen emerged from the trees and pointed his gun at Briggs too.
“It’s okay, Owen,” Terra said. “You can put your gun down. Detective Tanner has it under control.”
Owen’s eyes blazed with anger as he continued forward.
“Owen? What are you doing?” Jack feared he would shoot Briggs. “Owen, stand down.”
“Leif’s sister is dead because of you. That’s why he was searching for the man behind moving the artifacts. The man his sister had worked for.”
“Well, he found me.” Briggs spat.
“And you killed Leif.” Owen edged closer. “You deserve to die.”
“Don’t let him take you from me, Owen.” Terra rushed forward. “You’ve come back to me. I can’t lose you again. You kill him, you’ll go to prison.”
The tension rolling off Owen was palpable. Jack edged closer too, hoping to take the gun from him before he did something crazy and Terra got caught in the crossfire.
“Owen, please.” Terra pressed Owen’s arm until he lowered the gun.
Rotors thrummed in the distance, the sound growing louder. Terra snatched the flashlight and waved it toward the sky to signal their location.
Briggs kicked out his leg, knocking Owen over.
“Terra, shine the light on them,” Jack said. “I can’t see.”
She flashed the light on the
fighting men. Marcus had Owen pinned.
“Owen!” Terra rushed forward.
“Terra, watch out!” Jack called.
Marcus pushed her away, and she teetered on the edge of the cliff.
“Briggs,” Jack said, “you have two seconds to get away from Owen before I shoot you.”
Briggs tore the gun from Owen and rolled, then aimed at Terra, knowing he would inflict the most pain on both Jack and Owen by killing her.
“Noooooo!” Jack pulled the trigger at the same moment Briggs fired at Terra.
Briggs went limp and dropped the gun, just as Terra disappeared over the cliff.
SIXTY-THREE
Heart pounding, eyes squeezed shut, Terra clung to the tree root bursting from the bedrock. Her breaths quickened as fear snaked around her throat and tightened.
She forced back the screams that threatened to erupt. The whimpers from her anguished soul.
Just hang on. You can do this.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Briggs’s aim had been off, and she hadn’t taken a bullet. She was still alive. But she could very well die anyway. The root she clung to for dear life hung precariously over a drop of hundreds of feet.
Terra tried again to calm her breaths—she needed to think clearly.
When I am weak, you are strong, God. I couldn’t be any weaker than I am at this moment. Be strong for me.
Terra worked to stave off the panic. She waited and listened. The only sound other than her pounding heart was the river’s roar from below as it echoed against the granite-faced cliff. But the sound failed to soothe her nerves.
Her arms started cramping. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on to the root. Had Jack been shot? Owen hurt?
Terra would have to get herself out of this. She attempted to climb up the root, but it shifted as if it would break away from the bedrock. Dirt and pebbles poured over her. Squeezing her eyes shut again, she pressed her forehead against the root.
A few minutes had passed already, though it seemed like hours, and she knew she couldn’t stay like this forever—the root wasn’t going to last much longer, even if she could.
God, where are you?
“It’s okay, Terra. I’m here.” Jack’s calm voice washed over her from a few feet above.
Present Danger Page 29
