by H. L. Wegley
“There was a third one whom they left at Opal Springs to watch for us. That makes three.”
“Okay. The odds are even. They will have to call my landline to start negotiating for whatever they want.”
“They want me.” Gemma’s stomach churned now. Full-fledged nausea. She was to blame for Lex’s boys being in danger and for what had happened to KC. Somehow, Gemma needed to bring it all to an end. But, with Lex involved, something that was also her fault, resolving the situation had grown more complicated. If there were some way she could free the boys …
It grew quiet in KC’s SUV until they had turned off at Terrebonne and driven to Crooked River Ranch. KC descended the steep hill to the ranch plateau and continued north to the trailhead.
The route seemed unfamiliar to Gemma. When she and Lex had taken it yesterday, they had been chased and shot at.
In a couple of minutes, she sighted Lex’s SUV on the loop at the end of the road.
Someone had closed the doors they had flung open when they started their run. Had those men left any other surprises, like the ones KC mentioned?
KC stopped about fifty yards from Lex’s vehicle. “Check your SUV, Lex. Look for any magnetic devices underneath the dash and underneath the vehicle.”
Lex opened his door.
Gemma reached forward and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Lex … please be careful. I …”
“I will be, Gemma.” He held her gaze for a moment, then got out of KC’s SUV and walked slowly toward his.
KC had studied Lex and Gemma’s interaction and gave Gemma a long look that seemed to say KC knew something was happening between Lex and Gemma. But KC didn’t comment.
After five minutes of crawling under the vehicle, looking inside and under the hood, Lex dusted himself off and walked back to KC’s SUV. “It looks fine. No unexpected gifts or signs of tampering. But the tank was low when we left it yesterday. I think I’ll drive back to Terrebonne and gas up. Meet you two back at KC’s in a half hour or so.”
“But we’re staying here until you’re driving away safely, right KC?”
“Of course we are,” KC said.
Gemma prayed as Lex walked toward his SUV, keys in hand. She prayed it wouldn’t blow up, that Lex would be kept safe, and that she would discover some way to make sure those boys came home safely to Lex, even if it cost Gemma Saint everything.
Five minutes later, after Lex drove safely away toward Terrebonne, two-thirds of Gemma’s prayer had been answered.
She would now work on the third part of her request.
KC pulled into her garage, closed the garage door, and they both got out.
“Gemma, I’m going to check to see if I got any phone calls. At some point, your Fibbies are going to call because that’s the only way they can reach Lex to make their demands.”
Gemma followed her into the house and waited as KC checked the phone in the kitchen.
“No calls yet.”
“KC, once they call, they will be calling the shots and we’ll be responding. They’ll be on offense and we’ll be on defense. But if we could locate them before they call—did they leave any clues about where they were taking the boys?”
“Maybe. I didn’t want to mention it to Lex until we had time to think about it with clear heads. You know, so we could come up with a plan that didn’t put Josh and Caleb in more danger.”
Gemma was formulating her own plan to keep the boys and Lex safe, but she needed more information from KC. “So you saw or heard something when the men were here?”
KC walked into the living room and pointed to a hallway that appeared to lead to the bedrooms. “I struggled with two of them here, before they got me tied and taped into a chair in the study. After I got free …” She pointed down the hallway. “… I found a business card on the floor near where I had fought with one of the men. The card was from a property manager in Sisters. The card had a phone number written in pencil on the back. Just before you called, I looked up the phone number online. For a couple of bucks you can get the address if you have the landline phone number.”
Maybe this was the chance Gemma had prayed for. “You mean you might know where the boys are?”
“Like I said, maybe. The address traced to a vacation rental house out in the boonies north of Sisters, and that property is managed by the person on the card. I’d bet good money that’s where they have the boys.”
KC’s eyes widened when the phone rang. “This might be those men. I hope it isn’t, but I need to answer. We don’t want them getting impatient and doing something rash.”
“Kidnapping two little boys is rash, if you ask me.” And Gemma’s plan might be considered rash too. But if it worked …
KC strode through the living room and headed toward kitchen.
When KC moved out of sight, Gemma hurried into study.
A laptop computer with a mouse attached sat on a desk in the study. A printer sat on one corner of the desk.
Gemma wiggled the mouse and the screensaver ended, leaving an open web browser on the display. Maybe she was in luck.
She clicked to view the browser’s recent history and saw a link to a map. Gemma clicked on the link and got a map showing the house with a red icon. She sent a screen print to the default printer and the printer on the desk came to life.
She tried another link and saw the phone number of the house.
Gemma took the printed map, found a pen on the desk and wrote the phone number on the map. She took a blank sheet of paper from the printer, folded the map and the blank paper, and slipped the papers and the pen into the pocket of her shorts.
She hurried back into the hallway and walked toward the living room.
What had only been a remote possibility now became an actionable plan.
If Gemma got the opportunity to drive away by herself, she could surprise the kidnappers. Then she could offer herself to free the boys, and convince the kidnappers that Lex knew nothing of consequence about the conspiracy.
If she could accomplish that, her plan might work, and Gemma could sacrifice herself to save the people she had endangered. Maybe Gemma’s jinx would end today.
But one problem remained. She must not let Lex know what she was doing. In fact, she must distract Lex completely, so he wouldn’t follow her.
Gemma had to make Lex not want to follow her. That meant lying to him about her feelings for him. She needed to give him a message so strong and so painful that Lex would loathe her. Hurting him was the only way. Otherwise, he would follow her.
Only one thought came to mind. She must make Lex think she was another Melissa.
KC walked into the living room.
“KC, was it them?”
“No. And I’m glad. I wasn’t prepared to talk to them. Not until we talk to Lex.”
“I’m going to use your bathroom down the hall, if that’s okay.”
“Whatever you need, Gemma, feel free.”
Gemma nodded, walked down the hall and into the bathroom. She closed and locked the door, took out the blank paper from her pocket, along with the pen, and sought words that would paint Gemma Saint as another Melissa in the life of Lex James.
Chapter 18
4:00 p.m. near Sisters, Oregon
A soft alarm sounded on Blade’s cell. He accessed the app that had opened.
The tracker Blade had carefully hidden on Lex’s SUV had sent a signal indicating the SUV was moving.
Had James survived the RPG from the chopper, or was someone else driving his SUV? On the remote chance that it was Lex driving that vehicle, Blade needed to find it. If it was Lex, they could take him out and either wait for Gemma Saint to surface or, perhaps the boys might lure in Ms. Saint. If both James and Saint were in the SUV, Blade’s mission would soon be over.
“Come on, Walker. James’s SUV is on the move. You and I need to see who’s driving. Kirby, watch those boys. Keep them locked in the master bedroom. It has a bathroom so they don’t need to be let out. Check on them a co
uple of times each hour to make sure they don’t get into mischief.”
“Got it covered, boss,” Kirby said.
Walker had already gone out the front door of the house and headed toward their van. “You driving, Blade?”
“Yes. But see if you can get some local news. I want to hear what they’re saying about the helicopter incident.”
Walker tuned in to a local news station. After they reached Highway 126 near Sisters, the news station had a breaking news alert. A reporter was going to interview a witness who had some new information to share.
“To this time, no bodies have been found, so speculation continues about the fate of the driver of the boat. The boat owner said two people stole the boat at the mouth of the Crooked River. Mr. Thompson, please, tell us what you saw at about 2:30 p.m. today.”
“Well, I got a call from security at Round Butte Dam saying that a man and a young woman had wandered into the restricted area around the dam. They said they’d been stranded on the lake shore and tried to walk out. And they hadn’t intended to violate the restricted area. Security cleared them and asked me to give them a ride to Madras.”
“Did you take them to Madras?”
“Well, the man’s cell phone had gotten wet. They needed a phone. I suggested Wal-Mart. So I drove them to the superstore in Redmond.”
“Can you describe the two, so our listeners can be on the lookout?”
“Yes. But why? They didn’t look dangerous, and the young lady, she was something else. About five-foot-six. Long, curly dark hair. And big brown eyes. Except for her wet, wrinkled clothes, she might have walked off a Hollywood movie set.”
“Gemma Saint!” Blade cursed her and whatever guardian angel had kept her alive three or more times when most people would be in a morgue by now.
“Quiet, Blade. He’s talking about the man.”
“… about six-foot-two. Short, dark hair. Athletic looking. I’m not sure, but I think his eyes were blue.”
“That’s Lex James, Blade. After Drake’s report, I don’t know how that’s possible, but they’re out there, loose in the wild,” Walker said.
“But we still have our ace-in-the-hole … Lex James’s twins.”
Blade’s cell rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. “Great. That’s really great. It’s Max Carr calling for status.”
“You’re driving. You want me to take it, Blade?”
“No. I need to do some fancy footwork. I know Carr better than you. I’ll handle it.”
Blade picked up the call and pressed the phone to his ear. “Sikes.”
“Carr here. You were supposed to give me status before this. What’s up, Blade?”
“Plan A and B are running in parallel. B is on track. But we had a shot at James and Saint. Took it and—”
“You didn’t get them, did you? What is it with you and your team?”
“Don’t you want to hear what happened?”
“No, I’m sure I don’t. But I suppose I need to hear it anyway.”
“We caught the two in a boat on the lake. Called in Drake and the chopper crew. They blew the boat up with an RPG. We used the SMAW. The boat was scattered all over the lake. I don’t know how, but Lex James and Gemma Saint survived, apparently with nothing more than a dip in the lake.”
“Now that you’ve squandered any further use of the chopper, what are the plans?”
“I just located James using a tracker I put on his car. We’re headed to intercept him now. Either we’ll get James or both of them in a few minutes. As security, we have James’s twins.”
“How do the twins help if you get James but not the girl?”
“All indications are James and Ms. Saint are getting pretty tight. His twin boys might bring Gemma Saint to us.”
“If you believe that, Sikes, you’re a fool. When a person’s life is on the line, a stranger’s kids don’t mean anything to them.”
“I’m not sure about that. Both Saint and James call themselves Christians.”
Carr laughed. “Then you’re about to see just how big a hypocrite most Christians are. Jesus supposedly gave his life for them. Ms. Saint wont’ reciprocate for someone else’s twin boys no matter how cute they are.”
“In about fifteen minutes, we’ll take out whoever’s in that SUV. But, to make that happen, I need to get off this call and take a short cut through some back roads.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go. But, Sikes, I’m warning you, if this attempt fails, or if you get Lex James but not Gemma Saint, I’m going to pull you from this mission. Then you’ll find your career going to blazes in a basket. Do you understand?”
“I heard you, Carr.” Blade ended the call and glanced at Walker.
Walker nodded. “I heard most of it. If Carr pulls our team, we can say goodbye to our cushy DC assignments, complete with all those delightful perks.”
“If we catch that SUV, everything will work out fine.”
“Uh … Blade, the GPS display on the van just went flakey.”
“You sure?”
“Look at it. It’s showing gibberish.”
“Turn it off then back on.”
“I already tried that.”
Blade swore at the defective device. “Do you remember which roads go through to Crooked River Ranch or Lower Bridge Road?”
“No,” Walker said. “You were driving when we came through here.”
“Great. I’ll have to try to navigate this maze of roads using that crude map on the tracking app. Here, Walker, take it and guide me through to where that SUV is headed.”
“It looks like Mr. James is going to Terrebonne.”
“Then get me there, Walker. When we catch Mr. James, use your M4 and don’t be particular about who you shoot. We can’t let anyone in that SUV survive.”
Chapter 19
The bathroom clock said 4:30 p.m.
Gemma stood at the bathroom counter and read her note one more time to make sure she’d said what she needed to tell Lex.
A car drove up and stopped in front of KC’s house.
Lex.
She signed the note and wiped the tears from her eyes. If there were only some other way to sacrifice herself without hurting Lex. He had been hurt enough already—losing his sister, then losing the woman who might have helped him raise the twins. And now, the boys were in danger.
Lex might never find happiness after reading this note. But he could be a good father to Josh and Caleb. He already had been, and he hadn’t needed Gemma Saint’s help to do that. He would be fine. And the disasters that followed her would no longer bother Lex and the twins.
Gemma studied her face in the bathroom mirror then washed all the tear tracks from her cheeks. She couldn’t do anything about her red eyes, so she painted a smile on her face and left the bathroom just as the front door opened.
She walked down the hallway toward the living room, where Lex and KC stood.
Gemma met KC’s gaze. “Did they call yet?”
KC shook her head.
What would KC would say next? It could impact Gemma’s plan.
“Lex, we do have one clue about where they took the boys.”
“Then we need to go, now. Where are they, KC?”
“What do you plan to do? Just walk in and let them kill you? That won’t help Josh and Caleb. We need a plan before we go anywhere.”
“Okay. Show me where this place is.”
“It’s out in the country not too far from Sisters.”
“I have a map.” KC turned and headed into the kitchen.
Lex followed.
Gemma stopped at the edge of the kitchen.
KC spread a printed map out on the kitchen table. We need to decide what we want to accomplish. Then we’ll take an inventory of the weapons we have and come up with a plan that makes sense. First, do you think we should call for help from law enforcement?”
Lex shook his head. “If we call the wrong person, it’s all over. Remember, these guys are FBI agents. They can
show their badges and bluff the police. Maybe bluff us right into their custody and get local police’s blessing on the whole procedure.”
“If we take them on, I still have my M4 from several years ago. It’s military issue. The first time we shoot, they won’t be expecting automatic weapon fire. That may surprise them and give us a momentary edge.”
“That’s great, KC.”
“Lex, like you said, these are FBI agents. It won’t be like a shooting gallery. They shoot back and they have your boys.”
If they went through with a plan to attack the Fibbies, it could go badly. But, if Lex had left the keys in his car, this was Gemma’s chance. She had nothing to contribute to the plan, but maybe she could make the plan unnecessary. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
She could feel KC’s eyes on her back as Gemma walked into the living room.
Please. Don’t let KC suspect anything.
“Gemma’s been really down since she heard about the boys. Probably blaming herself.” KC spoke softly, but not softly enough.
Gemma angled toward the hallway leading to the bathroom. She left the note on the counter and walked softly back to the living room.
While KC and Lex studied the map, Gemma slipped quietly out the front door.
Lex’s keys were in the ignition.
She opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. Once she started the car, they might come to stop her. But if she didn’t rev the engine, they may not hear from the kitchen, especially if the two were engrossed in the map and their plan.
Gemma buckled in and hit the ignition.
The engine started more quietly than she anticipated. Gemma slipped the transmission into gear and drove slowly around the circle drive to the street.
She turned onto Rim Road and, in a couple of minutes, turned onto Chinook Drive. As she approached Terrebonne-Lower Bridge Road, she turned into a pull-out and took the map from her pocket. She unfolded the page, got her bearings and memorized the route she would take to the house near Sisters.
If she could get the men to release the boys while Gemma surrendered, Josh and Caleb could hide in the woods until Lex and KC arrived.