“Oops, sorry. This is Jessie McAllister. Open!”
There was a rusty creak, the sound of metal against metal, and the door slid open.
“We did it! Sterling, we did it.”
“Yes, we’re somewhere. Can you find a light switch?”
“This is Jessie McAllister. Lights on!”
The lights responded, revealing a large room filled with what looked like road equipment, trucks, and … “A car,” Sterling said, almost reverently. “Thank you, Jessie. I’ll take it from here.”
“Take it from where? I’m coming with you.”
“No way. Your father’s life is at stake. I’m not about to put you in danger.”
“And you’re going to drive?”
“Drive? Of course I am. I know how to drive.” But could she? Conner provided a driver for her on the rare occasions when she left her apartment or the office. She hadn’t tried to drive since she’d been shot. And she wasn’t certain that her muscles would work fast enough to operate the brake and the gas pedal. Still, she had no choice.
“Sterling, the drive down the mountain is dangerous in the daytime. It’s still dark out there and you aren’t operating at full steam. Get in the car. I’ll drive.”
“And how much experience have you had, driving a car?”
“Just because I don’t go anywhere doesn’t mean I can’t. I’ll have you know it’s sixteen miles around the perimeter of the airfield. At one end there’s even a space to parallel park. I may not know the road, but I can handle the car. Just call me Mario Andretti.”
Sterling wanted to argue with Jessie, but she was losing time. Mac’s life was at stake. “All right. But when we get almost there, I want you to drop me off, turn the car around, and go back inside the mountain.”
Jessie didn’t answer. Instead, she pushed Sterling to the passenger side of a Blazer, opened the door, and waited.
Sterling forced herself to her feet. She couldn’t hold back a moan. She had no choice. Jessie would have to drive. “So, how do we get out of the building?”
She closed the door behind Sterling then moved to the driver’s side. Reaching for the switch, her fingertips hit and jingled the keys. “Well, I suppose we could crash through like they do in one of those action movies. On the other hand, maybe there’s a garage-door opener.”
There wasn’t.
But when she turned on the lights in the vehicle, she saw the computer built into the console. “What do you think?”
Sterling studied the piece of equipment. “Turn on the switch.” As soon as Jessie did, the engine caught and the lights came on. After a few mistakes Sterling punched in the right combination, and like the window on the world in Mac’s office, the wall opened.
“All right, Jessie. Let’s go.”
Jessie drove through the opening and stopped. Sterling waited, assuming that she was studying the road that wound around the rocks and disappeared from sight. But she didn’t move. The darkness above was growing faintly lighter.
“We have to go, Jessie. It’s almost dawn.”
“I—I’m trying.”
Sterling turned. Even in the darkness she could see Jessie’s hands clutching the wheel. The sound of her breath was growing shallower and faster.
“Jessie! You can do this. I know you can. Mac is down there and he needs us.”
“I thought I could, but I can’t. Don’t you understand. I can’t leave. I’ll die.”
Sterling had to think quickly and divert Jessie’s attention so that she could somehow gain Jessie’s trust and confidence. “Jessie. I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I’m in love with your father. Because I love him, I can do this. Because you love him, too, you can help me. Do you understand?”
The breathing became rougher.
“You aren’t responsible for what happened to your mother.”
“I should—have—stopped her.”
“You couldn’t have. I may not be able to save Mac, but I’m going to try and you have to help me. We can do this, together. Jessie, drive!”
Slowly, an inch at a time, the vehicle moved forward.
“That’s it, a little faster,” Sterling encouraged.
They rounded the big rocks and the enormity of what she was asking came clear. The drive curved around the mountain, narrow, winding. Sterling didn’t need sunlight to know that the drop-off on her side plunged, sheer and vertical, straight into nothingness.
“I’m going to swap myself for your father,” Sterling said, trying to keep her voice calm when she was almost as scared as Jessie. “The kidnapper has no use for Mac. I’m the one he wants. Then I’ll explain that I can’t identify the killer. He was wearing a mask. I never really saw his face.”
“You think he’ll believe you?”
Sterling didn’t know, but it was the only chance Mac had. “Of course,” she said confidently.
They moved slowly down the mountain. Sterling spoke to Jessie as if she were addressing the five year old child that she was when her mother had driven the car wildly down this same road.
Sterling glanced at her watch and back at the sky. It was almost daybreak, dawn, the appointed hour. Then the lake came into view, a smear of dark against the sky.
“We’re almost there, Jessie. Look, there’s the chapel. When we reach it, I want you to turn around and drive back. Alert Burt and Joseph.”
Jessie still didn’t speak, but color seemed to be returning to her knuckles.
“There, in the churchyard, there’s enough room for you to let me out and turn around.”
“No,” Jessie finally said, in a low whisper. “I won’t leave you. I won’t let you die too.”
Then they’d reached the chapel. The sun lightened the sky enough that Sterling could see there were no other cars. There was only a dock and maybe a boat at the end of it.
Jessie stopped. Sterling took a deep breath and opened the door. Jessie started to get out.
“Drive away, Jessie. Let them think that you’ve gone.”
“What good will that do? This man will know that someone else knows what’s going on.”
“I’m guessing that he expected that and has made plans. Just go far enough that he’ll think you’ve left.”
“I am not letting you go down there alone.”
“Please, Jessie. We don’t know what to expect. You may have to drive your father away. Please, Jessie. I need you to do this.”
“All right,” she whispered. “But I’ll wait just around those rocks—for now.”
Sterling got out of the car, cursing her weak legs, determined to walk as far as she had to in order to save Mac. The area around the chapel was paved, and the door was wide open. She walked in slowly, fighting the pain pulsing in her legs. A dim light beckoned from within.
Candles behind the altar were burning. But there was no one inside.
TWELVE
“Mac?”
Sterling’s voice echoed through the chapel, bouncing off the walls and fading into the distance.
She took several steps into the church, listening, waiting, then stopped and took a deep breath. The pain in her legs now stretched from her knees to her neck, intensifying with every move. Pain was nothing new. Of late, she’d taken the easy way out and not forced herself to walk. Now pain became a welcome reminder that she was alive and ready for her mission.
There was no point in being subtle. She had come to exchange herself for Mac and that was what she had to do.
“Mac? Are you here?”
But she didn’t have to go any farther to know that she was alone. Where was Jonah? There was no one in the church. But, obviously someone had been there. Someone had lit candles that barely brought any light to the room. Where was he?
She tried calling again “Jonah? Show yourself. I came alone, unarmed.” She held up her arms. “Surely you’re not afraid of a woman.”
Nothing.
A heavy sensation settled in her stomach. Suppose she’d made a mistake in coming? Where was Mac
? And how long would Jessie remain quietly in the truck before chasing after her?
Sterling turned and made her way back to the courtyard. The moon had set, the sunrise casting faint shimmerings of light against the horizon. Beyond the chapel the lake was becoming clearer. She could see it now and hear the water lapping against the stony shore. How did he get here, this Jonah who killed people for money?
If he’d come by car, someone would have known. A plane was out of the question. Boat. He must have come across the lake. Sterling started toward the water, saying a silent prayer that Jessie would stay put.
Then she saw it, at the end of the dock, a pale ghost of an object, undulating in the water. Jonah had arrived in a speedboat. Past a tall evergreen tree that had found enough soil to put down roots, she moved forward, pausing at every other plank in the dock to listen. There was nothing but the sound of the boat knocking a piling.
From across the water a bird called out, its eerie cry sending prickles up her spine. The wind swept across the water and caught her hair, ruffling it across her face. She drew in an icy breath and shivered.
“Jonah? I’ve done what you wanted. Now show yourself.”
There was a muffled sound and a thump.
Why hadn’t he just told her to come to the dock? Because by doing it this way, he could see whether or not she was by herself.
Then a large shadow slipped out of the darkness. “Good of you to come, Ms. Lindsey.” The voice was slightly foreign, with no characteristics distinct enough to identify the country. “But you didn’t come alone. Someone came with you.”
“Yes. I couldn’t drive down the mountain. You see, I’m usually in a wheelchair. I had to have someone drive me because my legs aren’t that strong or reliable. Don’t worry. She won’t interfere.”
“Oh, I’m not worried. Mac is my guarantee that nobody will interfere.”
Sterling’s heart hammered in her throat.
“Where’s Mr. McAllister?”
The muffled sound continued and her shadowman laughed. “Let’s just say he’s tied up at the moment. Come closer.”
“Not until I see Mac. Where is he?”
“In the boat.”
“Let me see Mac.” She swallowed her fear and moved forward. “Step aside, please.”
As she moved closer she saw that Jonah was a black man, a large black man with handsome features and a bald head.
“I must say, I’m surprised at how easy you’re making this,” another voice said as a second man came out of the cabin. “I wasn’t certain you would.”
“I was told to come,” she said in surprise. “Now let Mac go.”
“I don’t think so, babe. You got in the way. Now you’ve got to be dealt with.”
“You’re going to kill us both, aren’t you?”
“Technically, Jonah will do it. But the end result is the same.”
“But you don’t understand. That’s why I came. I can’t identify you or anyone else. I’ve already been through this with the police. They actually thought I was your accomplice. They didn’t believe me before, they certainly won’t believe me now. So you can just let us both go.”
“I don’t think so.”
She was getting frantic. She hadn’t planned on Vince being here. She and Mac might be able to handle one man, but not two. “How can you be certain I’m really alone? There might be ten men in the back of the Blazer.”
“But those ten men don’t want Mr. McAllister to die, do they? And if Jonah doesn’t get back into the boat and reset the timer, a bomb will go off in approximately five minutes.”
“What do you intend to blow up?” she asked, trying to peer past the man blocking her view.
“I believe it’s called Shangri-la?”
“No! You can’t. You told me to come. I did. No one other than my driver knows what you’re doing. For God’s sake, Mr. Dawson, you’ve got what you want, I’m here. Let Mac go.” She walked toward him.
“So you do know me.”
“I didn’t know ten years ago, but I know now.”
“And you can walk. You’re recovered.”
“Not really. Your bullet saw to that. If you want me to come closer, someone will have to help me. I can’t get myself into that boat alone. My legs are growing weaker by the minute.”
“Do it,” Dawson ordered.
Jonah stepped into the boat, reached out, and lifted Sterling inside. With the added weight, the craft dipped dangerously and Jonah staggered, almost dropping Sterling. As she grabbed him she felt something stuck in his belt. A knife. Faking a stumble, she pulled it from beneath his shirt and slid it up her sleeve.
“Be still, woman!” he growled, his eyes wide with something almost like fear. He was afraid. Of what? Certainly not her. The boat? No. The water! Yes, that was it … Jonah was afraid of the water. Vincent might have devised the plan to lure her out and take her across the lake because it was the only chance he had, but she was beginning to believe that perhaps Jonah couldn’t swim.
Finally, he deposited her on the middle seat. Then she saw Mac. He was tied up on the front seat, tape plastered across his mouth. Something wasn’t right. He was too still.
“What have you done to him.” She started toward Mac.
“Stay put, lady,” Jonah snapped as he moved to the back of the craft where the engine was clamped on.
“He’s just a little sleepy,” Dawson said. “You see, he got up earlier than you did.”
“All right,” she said to her captors. “You have me. Let him go.”
Vince laughed. “Not yet. You might not have alerted the others to your mission, but I don’t think I’ll take any chances.”
“Are you going to disconnect the timer on the bomb now?” she asked.
“Not just yet. Maybe when we get to the middle of the lake. I wouldn’t want you to jump overboard.”
Sterling’s mind went to fast forward. What on earth was she going to do? She could see Mac’s eyes now. Though his body gave every indication that he was drugged, his eyes were frantically blinking. A quick glance at Jonah’s grim expression told her that he was as ready to get this settled as she was. They just had different ideas about the outcome.
Neither Jonah nor Dawson was wearing a life jacket.
She didn’t doubt that they’d planted a bomb, maybe more than one, somewhere in the rocks at the base of the mountain. If she didn’t find a way to stop them, everyone inside would be killed. The sanctuary would be destroyed.
She’d brought all this terror to Shangri-la. She’d put the man she loved at risk and he’d never know how she felt. “Mac,” she said, “there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Don’t move!” Dawson barked.
The engine started with a roar, and the boat backed slowly around, then shot forward. Sterling guessed that by now they had less than a minute left before the bomb would explode. She didn’t fool herself. Vince had already killed one man. He wasn’t going to let Mac go. And the lake would make a lovely place for a drowning. Was that the plan?
“Mr. Dawson,” she said hesitantly. “I’ve done just what you asked. Nobody is chasing you and I’m willing to go with you. Will you do something for me?”
“What?”
“Let me remove Mac’s gag. What harm can it do? I know you’re going to kill us and I’d like to kiss him good-bye.”
“So, my contact was right. There is something going on between you. Personally, I didn’t believe the great Lincoln McAllister would go for a woman physically handicapped like you, but different strokes for different folks.”
“I know. It came as a surprise to me too. But I love him and he loves me. Surely there’s someone, somewhere, you care about. What harm can it do? He’s in no condition to do anything.”
Mac’s eyes closed and he moaned.
“Please?” she asked again.
“Why not? Do it, Jonah,” Dawson ordered, and took the wheel. Jonah glanced at his watch, then moved quickly toward Mac, stripping the tape from
his mouth.
“I’m sorry, Mac,” Sterling said, “but I’m not going to die without you knowing how I feel.” She stood. “I love you, darling.” She stumbled, rocking the boat.
Jonah panicked and reached for Sterling. “You aren’t going to turn us over, lady. Drowning me ain’t part of the plan. I only got half the money now. You ain’t gonna cheat me out of the rest. Not as long as I have this little device in my hand.”
“Forget about her! Set off the charge, Jonah,” Dawson yelled. “Here’s as good a place as any.”
“Jump, Sterling!” Mac suddenly said in a low, controlled voice.
She stumbled, and her weight combined with Mac’s tilted one side of the boat dangerously. “Good idea,” she agreed, and pushed Mac overboard, jumping in behind him.
The water was like ice and as black as night. With Mac’s feet and hands tied, he couldn’t swim. It was up to her to save him.
“Mac?”
“Over here,” he sputtered.
Both she and Mac went under as the pressure of the water slammed against them. The rope around his wrists was tight but thin. She sawed frantically with the stolen knife, felt one rope snap, then the other. Mac began to move his arms, propelling them to the surface.
Sterling sucked in a breath of air, then dived back into the water, cutting the ropes from his feet. Pain shot through her as the cold turned her limbs numb, forcing her to move slower and slower.
“Mac, get on your back and relax.” As she started toward shore she heard a scream of terror. “Let go of me, man!”
Only a few yards away, the boat began to rock. “Give me the control,” Dawson was yelling.
“No way, man. You’ll just push me overboard and I’ll die out here.”
“You’re going to die anyway,” Dawson yelled, grabbing for the little black device. The struggle ended abruptly when Jonah plunged into the water, flinging the control unit over his shoulder as he fell. Sterling began to swim frantically, tugging at Mac as she tried to move them away. She expected any second to be caught up in the blast of the explosion. But it didn’t happen.
Without the control box, Dawson couldn’t detonate the bomb. He revved the engine, made a circle, and turned the boat. Though he was having difficulty piloting the craft, he had one goal in mind and was going to finish things once and for all. They were going to be run down.
Mac's Angels: The Last Dance: A Loveswept Classic Romance Page 14