Enemy Infiltration

by Carol Ericson

One of his superiors in the army had agreed to send his decoding request to the CIA. They’d done it. Once Gil’s notes and Lana’s dates landed in front of someone in authority, Lana would be safe. They’d have no reason to go after her.

  He took another gulp of soda and dived back into Gil’s mind—the mind of the man he couldn’t save, the man he’d been ordered not to save—but now he could save that man’s sister, whether she wanted him to or not.

  The office door burst open and Logan jerked his head up. Had Lana seen reason already? Had she forgiven him?

  His shoulders slumped as Angie, Hugh, Cody and Melissa charged into the room, practically tripping over each other.

  Her face white, her dark eyes round, Angie said, “Have you heard from Alexa yet? We can’t locate her.”

  A muscle ticked at the corner of Logan’s mouth. Lana had told him to call Alexa, but he hadn’t done it. “I thought you said she was with Becca.”

  “That’s what she told us.” Hugh’s mouth had a grim twist. “But when Alexa wouldn’t answer Angie’s texts or calls, Angie called Becca. Becca’s in Fort Worth, and she’s not with Alexa.”

  Logan rose from his chair and flicked his tongue over his dry lips. “The Jeep. Have you tracked her Jeep?”

  Cody answered. “She didn’t take her Jeep. She left it at the guesthouse.”

  Angie glanced at the cell phone that dinged with a text message in her hand. “Maybe this is her.”

  “Is it?”

  Logan took a step toward Angie, who looked up from her phone, her face even whiter than before.

  “What’s wrong, Angie? Is it Alexa?”

  “It’s Becca. Her conscience got the better of her—and she’s admitting the truth. Alexa took off with Drew Halliday.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lana swiped the tears from her cheek as she hopped behind the wheel of Alexa’s Jeep, conveniently abandoned in front of the guesthouse. She felt for the keys in the ignition and cranked on the engine. Let Logan’s family think he’d brought another thief into their bosom.

  All the trust she’d invested in him. All her confidence in him. All a big lie.

  How could he have kept that from her? She’d known about the other military units close enough to stage a rescue at the embassy outpost. She’d just never imagined Logan’s unit had been among the cowards who’d refused to respond to the outpost’s requests for assistance. Embassy staff slaughtered. Three marines slaughtered. Her brother slaughtered. And Logan biding his time in comfort and safety.

  She stomped on the gas pedal and the Jeep lurched forward, taking her away from the Double H. Taking her away from Logan.

  As she approached the entrance to the ranch, she slowed to a stop and jumped out to unlock the gate with her keys. Then she roared through, without closing the gate behind her.

  She didn’t even know where she was going. She couldn’t drive the Jeep from Texas to Central California—that really would be theft and she was no thief. And no liar.

  Maybe she’d hitch a ride to Fort Worth in town and trade in her airline ticket for a flight tomorrow. He could have her notes on the journal. He had a better chance of getting it decoded than she did, unless he’d been lying about that, too.

  She couldn’t work with him anymore, couldn’t dishonor Gil like that.

  As Lana tore down the road to the small town of Yellowtail, her phone buzzed in the cup holder. She was not ready to speak to Logan yet...maybe not ever. That’s what she’d told him, anyway. She never wanted to see him again.

  She slid her gaze toward the phone as it buzzed again and she sighed. He hadn’t exactly lied to her. She’d never asked him point-blank if he’d been in a position to help Gil, but then why would she? He should’ve known that was information she’d want to hear.

  She hadn’t been completely truthful with him, either, allowing him to believe she gave up Carla purely from the selflessness in her heart, never mentioning the monetary reward she’d received from Blaine’s parents for selling her baby girl.

  She sniffed and grabbed the phone, at least to keep it from buzzing anymore.

  Steadying her left hand on the steering wheel, she picked up the phone with her right and glanced at the text message coming through. She wrinkled her nose as Alexa’s name popped up.

  She hoped Alexa wasn’t going to whine to her about Drew. She had to believe he was a bad guy.

  She balanced the phone on the top of the steering wheel and read the message.

  Please pick me up at Mickey’s and don’t bring Logan. Don’t want to face anyone in my family and their I told you so’s about Drew.

  Lana let out a breath. Good. Alexa knew about Drew and it sounded as if she’d accepted the inevitable.

  Lana swerved to the side of the road and texted back while idling on the shoulder.

  You’re in luck. On my way to Yellowtail in your Jeep and I’m alone.

  She pulled back onto the blacktop and stepped on it. At least the Hess clan couldn’t get her for grand theft auto now since she was delivering the car to its rightful owner.

  Maybe she and Alexa could commiserate together.

  When she hit town, she pulled into the parking lot behind Mickey’s and parked. She scanned the half-empty lot and wondered how Alexa had gotten into town without her car or any of the Double H vehicles. Must’ve caught a ride with Becca.

  Lana pulled open the back door of the dive bar and gagged at the scent of old beer and puke that permeated the hallway. Her father had lived for bars like this and her mother had sent her and Gil out to find him on many occasions.

  She followed the hallway into the bar and squinted at the shapes huddled around the dim room. She bellied up to the bar and rapped her knuckles against the sticky Formica. “Hey, have you seen Alexa Hess?”

  The bartender’s nose above his limp mustache twitched. “I ain’t seen her here today.”

  As Lana turned and surveyed the room, a drunk hanging on the bar sidled up to her.

  “I seen Alexa, that cute little blonde.”

  “You have?” Lana tried not to jerk away from the smell of booze coming off the man in waves.

  He tipped his head to the side. “Just went into the ladies.’”

  “Thanks.” Lana scurried from the room, not sure what kind of ladies’ room this place would have, but anxious to get away from the drunks and the surly bartender.

  She shoved open the bathroom door and stumbled into a small two-stall affair with a grimy sink stuck to the wall, a wavy mirror above it.

  She banged on the door of the occupied stall. “Alexa? Are you in there? God, I hope you’re in there and we can get out of this dump.”

  The lock clicked and the door swung inward but instead of facing Logan’s little sister, she stood nose-to-nose with Drew, as he stuck a gun in her ribs.

  “Good idea, Lana. Let’s get out of this dump.”

  She stiffened her spine. “Where’s Alexa?”

  “She’s not hurt. I want you. I always wanted you, and getting my hands on Alexa and her phone was an opportunity I wasn’t going to pass up. Where’s your watchdog? The D-Boy?”

  So, they’d always known who Logan was. Did they also know why he was so interested in Gil’s journal?

  “H-he’s on his way. Of course, I called him when his sister texted me.”

  “Nice try.” He flashed his boyish smile, but this time she noticed his yellow teeth. “You don’t have any reason to be afraid of me, Lana. Instead of working with Hess to decode your brother’s journal, you’re going to work with us.”

  “Who’s us?”

  Someone rattled the handle from the outside and Drew wedged a shoulder against the door, preventing it from opening, and called out, “Occupied.”

  The woman on the other side of the door cussed him out but left.

  “We’re just another side, L
ana. There are lots of sides in these conflicts—your side, our side, their side. What does it matter? Seems like your side is trying to keep you from finding out what happened to your brother.”

  “And your side is the one that killed him.”

  He shrugged. “Let’s get out of here and get to work before that old harridan tries the door again.”

  Lana’s brain whirred. Alexa’s Jeep. She had Alexa’s Jeep and the older Hess brothers had put a GPS tracker on the car to keep tabs on their wild sister. Would Logan even know to look for the Jeep? They all thought Alexa had gone to town with Becca. Why would they doubt that or go looking for her? And Drew would never drive around with her in Alexa’s Jeep. Once he took her away in his car, Logan would never find her.

  She had to stay as close as possible to that Jeep for as long as possible.

  She covered her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  Drew narrowed his eyes, and then dragged her into the stall with him. In this close proximity, she smelled his cologne or aftershave and wondered how she could’ve ever thought he was Logan—Logan whom she’d foolishly run away from.

  He kicked shut the stall door and pushed her toward the dirty toilet. “Get it over with.”

  She crouched over the toilet seat, the putrid smells doing a good job of getting her to gag. She choked a few times and spit up in the water before he yanked her head back by her hair.

  “That’s enough. You’re not sick.”

  As she staggered to her feet, she grabbed a bunch of toilet paper and dabbed her eyes and nose.

  He opened the stall door and shoved her through, the weapon at her back.

  When she stopped at the sink, he jabbed her with the butt of the gun. “What are you doing?”

  “I want to rinse my mouth.” She cranked on the faucet before he could jerk her away.

  She cupped some water in her hand and slurped it from her palm. She swished it in her mouth and spit.

  As she reached for another handful of water, Drew knocked the back of her head. “Enough. Do you really think one of these drunks in this joint is going to come to your rescue? I was able to pay off one of them with a twenty for telling you Alexa was in the bathroom.”

  With a shaky hand, Lana reached for the paper towel dispenser, realized it was empty and wiped her hand on her jeans.

  Drew prodded her with the gun and she shuffled toward the door. He reached around her, opened it and stuck his head in the hallway. “All clear.”

  She could try to make a run for it, scream for help, make a commotion.

  He pointed the gun at her back. “Make a move and you’re dead.”

  He probably planned to kill her, anyway, once she’d helped with the decoding, but she still harbored a ridiculous hope that Logan would find her.

  He had to. She hadn’t had a chance to apologize to him yet. He must feel guilty enough for not coming to the aid of those marines. She knew deep down he had to follow orders, always knew that, just as Gil had to follow orders.

  They hadn’t had a chance to make love yet. It couldn’t be the end for them.

  “Move.” Drew elbowed her between the shoulder blades and she almost collapsed from the force of his blow.

  She grabbed on to the doorjamb. “Tell me what you did with Alexa, or I’ll never help you.”

  “I’ll show you a picture I took of her. She’s tied up, but safe. But I’m not doing it here. My car’s in the back.”

  She dragged her feet down the hallway, Drew urging her on with the gun at her back. When they stepped outside, Lana blinked. Even though the sun was setting and the clouds were rolling across the sky, it was still lighter outside than in the dreary bar where nobody could help her.

  Drew grabbed her arm and marched her toward a black, nondescript sedan.

  She dug her boot heels into the asphalt. “Wait.”

  “What now?”

  “You want me to help you decode my brother’s journal, don’t you?”

  “That’s why we’re both here in this godforsaken hick town.”

  “I have the notes in the Jeep. I’ve already started working on my brother’s code.”

  “Hurry up.” He pushed her toward Alexa’s car and she frantically stabbed at the remote. What could she grab in there that might look like a sheaf of papers or notes?

  As she opened the driver’s-side door and buried her head inside, Drew hovered behind her and she could feel the gun by her right ear. One false move and he could blow out her brains. Even if they never decoded Gil’s journal, they could be sure nobody else would, either.

  Thank God, Alexa kept a bunch of junk in her car and Lana was able to gather some receipts and papers in her hand. She waved them as she popped out of the car. “Got ’em.”

  Drew scowled at the collection of trash in her hand, but didn’t examine it too closely. A sheen of sweat had broken out across his forehead despite the chill in the air.

  This was not his thing. He’d had help kidnapping Dale from a private home. Now he was exposed; they were exposed in the middle of a parking lot of a small town where everyone pretty much knew everyone else.

  She stopped again and swung the keys from her hand. “What do you want me to do with the keys? Should I leave them in the ignition?”

  “I don’t give a damn what you do with them. I can’t wait until I shut you up.”

  Lana froze, curling her fingers around the keys until they cut into her palm. “What does that mean? You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

  “If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead. We could’ve planted explosives in that house of yours on that other ranch. I could’ve slipped you something stronger in your beer last night or left you to die in the fire. They want you alive to work on this journal.”

  “What did you mean about shutting me up?”

  He’d taken her arm and was propelling her toward the dark car. “I have a little something to relax you. You didn’t think I’d be driving along, holding you at gunpoint at the same time, did you?”

  “I—I don’t want to be drugged.”

  “Would you rather be dead?”

  “You just said they want me alive.”

  “Alive, but dead rather than free to continue decoding the journal with Hess. Do you understand that, Lana?”

  She swallowed. “Yes.”

  “Then let’s get this over with.” He unlocked the car with his remote. “Get in the passenger seat.”

  She opened the door and as she began to ease into the seat, she caught sight of Logan peeking around the corner of the building that housed the bar.

  She almost cried out in relief, but sank to the passenger seat instead and stared out the front windshield. She needed to get out of Drew’s line of fire to give Logan a chance.

  Drew held the gun with his left hand, pointing it at her head, and fumbled in his pocket with his right. He pulled out a syringe and flicked the cap off with his thumb.

  Lana smacked his hand with hers and the needle fell to the ground.

  “Damn it, Lana. That’s not going to stop anything. Now bend down and pick that up.”

  Gladly.

  Lana twisted to the side and folded her body over, nearly touching her forehead to the ground.

  That’s all Logan needed. The shot exploded and Drew pitched forward, his warm blood spraying her back.

  She screamed and before the echo of it cleared, Logan had her by the arm and pulled her free of the car and Drew’s dead body.

  Hugh and Cody rushed forward and kicked the gun from Drew’s hand, but they needn’t have bothered.

  Lana clung to Logan’s shirt. “Alexa. He has Alexa somewhere, but he claimed she was safe and he has a picture of her.”

  Cody had rummaged through Drew’s pockets and held up two phones. “This one is Alexa’s.”

  Logan st
roked Lana’s hair and spoke to his brother over her head. “Look at the photos on Alexa’s phone.”

  Cody smacked it against his hand. “It’s password protected.”

  Hugh snorted. “You don’t think I know her password?”

  He rattled it off to Cody, who entered it and accessed Alexa’s photos. “Here. He took her picture with her phone. Recognize the background?”

  Hugh took the phone from his brother and blew up the image. “She’s at the Yellowtail Lodge. Can’t tell you which room number, but there aren’t that many to search. I’ll call the lodge right now, and I’ll alert the deputies to head over there.”

  “Better call the sheriff, too.” Logan jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the crowd of people forming at the corner of Mickey’s.

  Almost thirty minutes later after the questions and the medical examiner had arrived, Lana smoothed her hand against Logan’s cheek. “I remembered Alexa’s Jeep had a GPS tracker on it and I was stalling and just hoping to God that you’d know somehow I was in trouble, just like you always have from the minute I met you.”

  Logan kissed the top of her head. “Alexa’s friend Becca called Angie to tell her Alexa never went with her but took off with Drew instead. Drew had gotten to Alexa before any of us could and someone had already seen the Jeep at the guesthouse, so when it was missing I figured you took it.”

  “It was such a stupid thing to do. Drew texted me from Alexa’s phone posing as Alexa to lure me to Mickey’s. I was still so fired up about...you, I didn’t even stop to think about any danger, although it did occur to me that I could be charged with grand theft auto.”

  He hugged her even tighter. “I’ve never been so happy to introduce a car thief to the family in my life.”

  As much as Lana didn’t want to leave the circle of warmth and safety, she stepped back from Logan. “I’m not sorry you killed Drew, but we’re not out of the woods yet. He has accomplices. They’ll be coming at me again.”

  “They’re too late. In fact, all of Drew’s efforts were a waste of time.”

  “Why is that?”

  “That email you peeked at?”

  “Yeah.”