Again, the toothy smile. “I have plans for you, my dear.”
His words were like mercury in her veins, spreading a deadly poison through her.
She pulled the bookmark from the purse, unfolded the protective case it was in and showed him.
“Very nice.”
What had she ever seen in this man? She was sixteen when she met him. Her mother had had a string of boyfriends. She’d never known her father. Nick had paid attention to her at first, told her she was pretty, bought her gifts, given her the affection she’d craved.
He pointed the gun at her. “Get out of the truck and go over to the stone building.”
She opened the truck door. Wind blew the snow around. Cold settled on her bare skin. Her ball gown had gotten ripped in the struggle. Her exposed arms were goose pimpled from the cold.
Nick trudged behind her, still holding the gun on her. “I have to say. You look so beautiful tonight. When I saw you, it made me think of old times. We could have been something for each other.”
Isabel paused midstride briefly but didn’t respond. Fear made it almost impossible for her to speak anyway. What was he planning?
The door to the large stone lodge had a lock and chain on it that had been cut.
“Go inside,” Nick urged.
She pushed open the door. The main meeting area had a few benches and a large fireplace.
Without a coat, Isabel was shivering.
“Do you like it here? It’s my home away from home. Why don’t you build us a nice romantic fire?”
She pressed her lips together, fighting back the words she wanted to say. How he had ruined her life. How she wanted nothing to do with him or the people he associated with.
He pulled out a phone and stepped over to a corner of the room, still watching her and holding the gun.
Wood and kindling were stacked by the fire.
Nick blocked the door, so there was no way for her to escape. Besides, he had the truck keys. She wouldn’t get far in the cold, not dressed the way she was.
She struck a match to the kindling she had stacked in the grate and tossed in more paper. Flames blackened and ate the paper and tiny pieces of wood.
Though Nick was speaking in a low tone, she gathered enough of the conversation to discern that he was talking to someone about the bookmark. At one point, he patted his chest where he’d placed it.
The fire increased in intensity, and she threw on a small log. She held her hands out to the warmth and then rubbed her arms.
Nick finished his phone call and strode toward her. The look in his eyes turned her stomach.
She rubbed her palms over her arms. “I’m really cold. Can I see if I can find a sweater or something around here?”
“I could keep you warm.” Again, that sick smile.
Repulsed, she took a step back. “I think I’ll try to find a coat or blanket. Maybe some kid left something behind.” She turned, looking for a door that might lead to storage or a closet.
She stepped across the room, swung a door open and found board games and outdoor equipment. A sweatshirt heaped in a box on the floor. She grabbed it, assessed it to be a few sizes too big and put it on. It hung down past her waist.
When she turned around, Nick was watching her. He’d put the gun away in his coat. “You sure looked beautiful tonight. You even look cute with that sweatshirt on. What do you say—join me? This isn’t small-time. We could make a fortune.”
She was struck by how pathetic and desperate he sounded. So that was why he’d dragged her here. He thought he could talk her into being with him.
She shook her head. “I just want to go home, please.”
“Come on, Isabel. Don’t you want to be rich? This isn’t petty stuff for me. I’m connected all the way to the top.”
Her senses went on high alert. Was he telling the truth? Did Nick know who was behind the smuggling, or was he just bragging to try to win her back?
He blocked the door so she couldn’t step back out into the main room. She had to play this thing to the end. “I’m happy with the arrangement I have.”
Rage flared in his eyes and he reached out and grabbed her. “You were meant to be with me.” His hands closed around her wrists.
“Nick, please, you’re hurting me.” She struggled to get away.
He pressed toward her trying to kiss her. She kicked him hard in the shins so he doubled over and got out of her way. She ran toward the door.
Nick was just recovering when she swung the door open and ran outside. She raced toward one of the far cabins hidden in the trees. The snow was of a soft enough texture that she hadn’t left clear footprints. She was glad she’d chosen to wear boots with her dress. At least her feet were warm. He’d find her sooner or later, though. Though she’d gained access to the cabin, she needed to come up with an escape plan.
What could she do? Run to the truck and lock all the doors until he agreed to take her home? No, he would never do that. She could file kidnapping charges against him.
She took out her cell phone. She could tell Jason where she was.
She heard Nick moving through the camp, opening and shutting the cabin doors. No time to make the call.
She slipped out the back door of the cabin and hid behind a tree. His footsteps reached her ears.
“Come on out, Isabel.” He sounded almost whiny. “It can be like old times. You and me.”
She took in a breath, willing her heart to slow down. The only way off this mountain without blowing her cover was to play along. She’d make Nick think she was interested in getting back with him. Acid rose up from her stomach at the thought of having to pretend to like him.
She stepped out, prepared to call to Nick, when a hand went over her mouth.
ELEVEN
For the second time since they’d met, Jason had to subdue Isabel into silence by putting a hand over her mouth. This time, she must have sensed it was him because she stopped struggling right away.
“I’ve got the car down the road,” Jason whispered.
Nick cried out. “Isabel. Blondie.” He shone the flashlight in her direction. Both of them got caught in the light just as they turned to run.
Isabel scrambled down the snowy hill, slowed by her dress. When she looked over her shoulder, the flashlight was moving away from them. Nick was probably going to get his truck so he could chase them.
Jason jumped into the car and revved the engine. She swung the passenger-side door open and scooted in beside him, snapping her seat belt on.
“How did you find me?”
“I saw the smoke from the chimney.” He pressed the accelerator and burst forward on the snow-covered road. “When I lost you, I called our friends at the Bureau. Couple agents are out looking for you.” Affection and relief collided inside him. “I’m glad I’m the one who found you.”
“Me too.” Nuances of affection permeated her words. Isabel brushed a stray strand of hair off her face. When he thought he’d lost her at the party, he’d felt a chasm inside him he didn’t understand.
“Nice outfit.” Even after all she’d been through, she looked beautiful.
She stared down at the sweatshirt. “It’s what all the divas are wearing these days.”
He caught the levity in her voice, grateful that she could have a sense of humor even while they were still in danger. The guy who had taken her was bound to come after them.
“What’s that guy’s game, anyway? Why didn’t he just take the bookmark?”
“Let’s just say he’s someone I would rather not associate with.”
“But he knows you?”
“He’s the reason I have a record.” Her voice dropped half an octave and she turned slightly away from him.
Jason knew from what the Bureau had told him that Isabel’s old boyfriend was named Nick Solomon. “Th
e past is in the past.” He hoped his words communicated that he still believed in her.
Headlights loomed behind them.
Jason stared in the rearview mirror. “Didn’t take him long to catch up.”
Nick closed the distance between the two vehicles.
Jason pressed the accelerator, feeling a surge of excitement in his veins. Danger did that for him. But he had Isabel to think of now. He needed to get her to a safe place.
Both vehicles slipped on the icy road.
Isabel braced an arm on the dashboard.
Jason righted the car and watched the speedometer nudge toward forty, a dangerous speed in these conditions. Nick was right on his bumper.
They entered a section of the road that was switchback curves. Jason stayed close to the inside as he maneuvered the car around the tight turns.
Nick tapped their bumper. Their car lurched. Jason gripped the wheel, bringing the car back under control.
Headlights filled the rearview mirror. “Hold on.” Jason pressed the accelerator to the floor.
Nick’s headlights got smaller.
“I think we’re going too fast,” Isabel said breathlessly as her hand clasped the armrest.
“We just need to put a little distance between us,” Jason said.
Visibility was reduced in the darkness. A curve came up without warning. The car slid sideways. Jason turned the wheel in the direction of the skid, hoping to straighten the car.
They continued to slide. The car came to a stop. The engine had quit. Jason turned the key in the ignition.
Nick’s truck barreled toward them, ramming them in the side by the back door. The whole car shook.
Jason tried to start the car again and the motor revved to life. Nick backed up, preparing to ram them again. Illumination from Nick’s headlights filled the car, making it hard to see.
“He’s trying to push us in the ditch.” Isabel’s voice filled with terror.
“Not if I can help it.” Jason pressed the gas. The back wheels spun.
Nick’s truck loomed toward them a second time. He rammed them hard enough that the car slid down the hillside and then tilted on its side. Metal creaked and groaned.
The driver’s side of the car was closest to the ground. “Crawl out,” Jason said as he unbuckled his seat belt.
He heard Isabel struggling in the darkness. “I can’t get the door open. It’s too heavy.”
“Out the back, then.” Nick was probably waiting for them. “Let me go first.” He crawled through the car and pushed open the back hatch. His feet touched the snowy ground, and he reached a hand out for Isabel.
About fifteen feet above them, Nick’s headlights glared down at them. He didn’t see Nick anywhere.
Isabel wasn’t dressed for running in the snow, but it was the only choice they had. If they could escape Nick’s clutches, Jason could call for help. The other agents out looking for Isabel were in the area.
They took off running as gunshots exploded close to their feet.
Jason ran blindly, unable to make out what was in front of them. Isabel stumbled. He helped her to her feet. He heard footsteps behind them but saw no light.
They came to a cluster of evergreens. Jason and Isabel wove through them while Nick’s footfalls seemed to surround them. If Jason could just get to a hiding place... Isabel’s dress made swishing noises as they ran that could give them away.
He came to a spot where the trees were clustered close together and pulled her behind a tree with a thick trunk. Isabel’s back was pressed against the tree and he stood facing her. Their breathing seemed augmented by the darkness and the silence.
Nick’s footsteps drew near, slowed, stopped altogether.
Jason held his breath.
The footfalls were slower but very near. Nick seemed to be doing a circle around them, stopping every four or five steps.
As close as Jason was standing to Isabel, he could sense her body tensing.
Finally, the footfalls retreated and then faded in the distance. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t turn around and come back.
Jason pulled out his phone, praying he would get a signal. He stared at the screen. Nothing.
Isabel gripped his arm just above the elbow. “We can get back up the hill and take Nick’s truck.”
“Yes. Good.” He took off running with Isabel right behind him. Had Nick doubled back or had he gone deeper into the trees? There was no way to know.
They scrambled up the hill. Her hand slipped into his as he pushed toward the top. Isabel had no gloves. Her hands were probably icicles by now. They ran past their overturned car.
Nick’s headlights were no longer on. If Nick had taken the keys, Jason knew how to hot-wire a car, but it would cost them precious seconds.
Isabel hurried around to the passenger side of the truck. Jason reached for the handle of the driver’s-side door. Cold metal pressed into his temple.
“I think someone here needs to die tonight.” Nick’s voice was menacing.
“No,” Isabel shouted from the other side of the truck. She hurried around to face the two men. “You don’t want to do that, Nick. You’ll go back to prison.”
“You should be with me, Isabel. You’re my soul mate.”
“You don’t have to kill him.” The silence surrounded them like a heavy blanket.
Nick pressed the gun barrel deeper into Jason’s temple.
“Leave him out here in the cold. He’ll freeze. Then you won’t be charged with his death.” Isabel took a step toward the two men.
“He deserves to die,” Nick said.
“No, Nick. I’ll go with you. You’re right—we were meant to be together. But just leave him here. He won’t make it back.”
The pressure of the gun let up a little on Jason’s skin.
“You’ll go with me?”
“Yes.”
What was she saying? This guy was a nutjob. How could she sacrifice her life like this? Or did she have something else in mind?
Nick pushed on Jason’s back. “Get down the hill by your wrecked car. Don’t try anything.”
Jason took a step. Nick held the gun on him. Jason brushed by Isabel. In the darkness, she reached out, touching his fingers only briefly. Was that her way of saying she was going to be okay, she had a plan, or was it just a goodbye?
He turned, thinking he could grab her. They could run again.
She shook her head.
“Keep moving!” Nick shouted.
He had to fight for her. He wasn’t about to give up so easily. He reached out for her arm, prepared to run.
“Jason, no.”
A gunshot cracked the air around him. He felt a stinging sensation on his upper arm. He’d been grazed by a bullet.
“The next one goes straight through your heart,” Nick said.
“It will be okay, Jason. This is what I want. I want to be with Nick.” Agitation colored every syllable she uttered.
His heart squeezed down to the size of a walnut as an invisible weight pressed on his chest. She was putting herself in so much danger...to save him, to help the investigation?
“Please,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jason made his way down the hill and stood beside the overturned car.
“Now lie down on the ground on your stomach and don’t move until we’re gone.”
Jason’s hands curled into tight fists. He really hated this guy.
He lay down in the snow, a chill seeping through his layers of clothes. He squeezed his eyes shut, listening to truck doors slamming and an engine fading into the distance in the cold dark night.
What had he allowed to happen? He rose to his feet, vowing to rescue Isabel before it was too late.
* * *
Once again, Nick had forced Isabel to sit behind t
he wheel, pointing the gun at her.
“If we’re going to be partners, don’t you think you should quit pointing that thing at me?”
Nick leaned close and brushed a finger down her cheek. “You got to prove yourself to me. Show your loyalty, Blondie.”
She steeled herself against his touch, not giving away how much he repulsed her.
For a moment, she listened to the sound of the car’s tires rolling over packed snow. She stared out into the lonely dark night.
Nick would have killed Jason. She knew that much. Her life was only at risk if he figured out she was undercover or if his rage got out of control. She had to choose her moves carefully.
Jason had a cell phone. If he could get to a place where he had a signal, he’d be picked up. The other agents might even find him. She had to trust his survival skills. He’d be all right.
Somehow, she’d have to find a way to communicate with Jason. Nick had taken her phone. He’d hinted he knew who was behind the smuggling operation. This was the connection they needed to take this thing apart.
Saving Jason’s life had been only part of the reason she’d made the choice she had. What she wanted even more than to help the investigation was to see to it that Nick Solomon went to prison for a long time.
Nick leaned so close to her she could feel his hot breath on her cheek.
“Show my loyalty? What do you want me to do, Nick?”
“There’s a pickup tonight at a property Sun and Ski manages. The cabin on Old Fort Road.”
“Yes, I know it.” She took in a breath to steady her nerves as she stared out at the road ahead. “What time?”
“Midnight. We’ll have time to go to your place so you can change into something that isn’t so noisy.”
Her neck muscles tensed. The ball had started at eight. Midnight had to be maybe an hour from now. How was she going to get in touch with Jason before then? Nick would watch her like a hawk.
He leaned back in the seat and chuckled. “You play this right, and it could be the start of a great partnership.” He kissed her cheek. “In so many ways.”
Mountain Secrets Page 27
