“Over here.” Cody sat at Frank’s desk, flipping through the stack.
Jude hurried over to the pile almost tripping over Red, who had been under his feet since they returned to Frank’s office. He grabbed half of the pile. Did Winter own property in Big Bend, Texas? If he did, then that’s where Kat was. Half way through his pile, the word Texas jumped off the paper. His fingers shook in his haste to pull the sheet.
“Eureka! Here it is. Kat’s in Big Bend, Texas at the Luna de Miel Recurso. Winter purchased it a year ago. Used to be a honeymoon resort.”
Cody jumped out of his chair. He pulled Elizabeth to her feet and twirled her around the room a few times before planting a big kiss on her mouth.
At the astonishment on her face, he grinned. “Never been kissed by a black man? Well, we’re even. First time I’ve ever kissed a Native American woman.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go. Frank, have a tactical team meet us at FortBliss.”
“What about the dog?” Frank asked, warily eyeing Red.
Jude had a moment of indecision. Red panted and gazed at him. “We’ll take him.”
“Jude?” Elizabeth grabbed hold of his sleeve as he started for the door.
He sighed, impatient to be on his way. “What is it?”
“Be careful. Carl is a cruel man.” She dropped her eyes and lowered her voice. “He put me in the hospital once. Because I refused to do something he wanted me to. He’ll hurt Kat, as well.”
“I know.” Kat’s fiery temperament could bring out the worse in a man who abused women. Would she play along with her captor? The phone call gave him hope that she would.
*****
Kat paced the confines of her small room. If her sister understood the message, help should be here in eight or ten hours. She leaned against the windowsill and stared at the sunset. The sun reminded her of a huge, red, and orange hot air balloon against the distant black mountains. A different landscape from Maine, but beautiful all the same.
Excitement at the thought of soon seeing Jude increased her breathing. Would he still feel the same way about her? She loved him, but she wouldn’t be anyone’s yo-yo. The next time he retreated from her would be the last. Why was she thinking so pessimistically? Of course, he still loved her.
The sky was darkening when she lay down on the bed. Shutting thoughts of Jude from her mind, she searched her memory for what she knew about the Big Bend area of Texas. It was a National Park with several mountain ranges and some desert areas. The Rio Grande separated Texas from Mexico. This hacienda must sit close to the border. If she escaped, she could cross the river into Mexico. Even if that were possible, she might find herself in worse trouble than she was in now. She’d be wise to wait for Jude and Cody.
A creak in the floor in the hall outside her room gave her a chill. For several minutes, she strained her ears, but all was silent. Every house had its odd noises. She closed her eyes, feeling her muscles relax as sleep claimed her.
Marunga. Wake up. Now is the time to prepare for battle.
“Grandmother?” Instantly awake, Kat swung her legs from the bed and put her feet on the floor. She hurried to the bathroom and retrieved the can of hairspray. The sound of footsteps in the hall brought a prickly heat to her skin. Just as fast, the heat receded, leaving her cold and clammy. She pulled off her peasant skirt and stuffed it under the covers, before climbing back in bed.
Curled in a fetal position, she feigned sleep when the doorknob turned. As the door creaked open, she peeked through her lashes. Carl walked in. She doubted that he was coming to check on her well-being. The risen moon created shadows across the floor. Carl stopped by the side of bed, staring down at her.
Just as he reached out his hand to touch her, she sprang from the bed, aiming the can of hairspray at his eyes. Her finger depressed the nozzle. The spray hit him square in the face. His scream was as much of outrage as pain.
Clawing at his eyes, he backed toward the door, his head leaning forward. “You bitch. I’ll kill you.”
“Not if I kill you first.” Spurred on by adrenaline, she grabbed two handfuls of hair, yanked his head lower and kneed him in the face. Kat heard the blood gurgle in his nose as he breathed. Carl staggered backwards. She grabbed his shirt, pulled him toward her again and kneed him twice in the groin.
He grabbed his crotch and whimpered like a baby. Kat felled him with a fast, powerful side-thrust kick to his knee.
He went down hard, his head hitting the floor with a loud crack. Instinct told her the bastard was down for the count, but she approached his prone form with caution. His breathing was shallow, but he was alive. She frisked him, finding an automatic Glock, his cell phone and a single key. She took everything.
She pulled on her skirt, ripped the left side seam and tied a knot, making it shorter so it wouldn’t interfere with her movement. Tucking the Glock in her waistband, she left the room without a backward glance at the unconscious man on the floor.
Chapter 16
Kat crept down the hallway, stealing from shadow to shadow. This part of the hacienda appeared deserted, but she passed each open door fully prepared to takeout anyone who emerged. At the first closed door, she stopped and turned the knob. It was locked, so she used the key she’d taken from Carl’s pocket. Bingo.
She quickly scanned the room flooded by moonlight. A huge roll-top desk on the other side of the room caught her attention. Moving swiftly to it, she made herself comfortable in a chair. The lemon scent was strong and the wood felt oily. Must have been cleaning day. A small reading lamp strategically sat on top of the desk. Kat turned it on.
The roll top was open. Pens, pads of paper, some loose paper clips and two unopened cigars littered the desktop. No notes were written on the pads. On one side sat a laptop. No sense fooling around with that. Hacking into computers was not on her repertoire of talents.
The first drawer she opened contained nothing but normal odds and ends, scotch tape, duct tape, pens and pencils, a box of thumbtacks. Carl didn’t appear to be an organized individual. She looked in three drawers and found nothing. The last drawer she tried was locked. Her heart raced. She tried to pry the lock with a letter opener, but it wouldn’t budge.
Think, Kat. The key hadn’t been Carl’s pocket. Where would he leave the key? It had to be somewhere in this room. Her father had taped the key to his desk on the underside of a drawer. She felt inside and underneath all drawers. Nothing.
Where would she hide a key? Somewhere obvious. Hidden, but in plain sight. The paper clips? Her hands trembled as she retrieved the box and dumped it on the oak desktop. Mixed in with the one hundred paper clips was a small silver colored key.
She inserted the key in the lock and turned. The drawer opened. Her heart thundered in anticipation. Several packets of papers neatly held together by rubber bands were stacked on top of one another. She removed the top packet and leafed through. A pile of birth certificates. All with official looking seals from various states. At a quick glance, she guessed there to be at least fifty birth certificates.
The second pile consisted of manila envelopes bound together. She opened the first envelope. Her breath caught in her throat.
With shaking fingers, she pulled out passports and driver licenses, all sporting pictures of men of mid eastern descent. She opened a second envelope. Same type of documents, different men. On each envelope a date was handwritten on the outside. The top one was dated today. A group of terrorists were entering through Mexico tonight.
Her discovery made drug smuggling a petty misdemeanor. How could any American be so sleazy as to bring potential terrorists to their own country?
Kat’s throat went dry at a muffled noise in the hallway. She replaced the documents, locked the drawer and tucked the key in the knot of her skirt. She readied the Glock and waited.
The door opened, and Carl stumbled into the room, then stopped and hung onto the doorjamb for support. “You’re dead meat,” he rasped. The hatred in his eyes could cause
nightmares.
She laughed softly and aimed the Glock at his chest. “I don’t think so. I should have killed you when I had the opportunity.” She gestured with the gun. “Get over here and sit down.”
“Not likely.”
Kat shrugged, and released the safety. “Your choice. Makes no difference to me.”
“You’re crazy,” he whispered hoarsely and wobbled to the chair. “You’ll never leave here alive.”
“You’re not the first to tell me I’m crazy. I doubt you’ll be the last. Getting out of here is my worry, not yours.” She kept her eyes on him and opened a drawer with her free hand. Duct tape–no home should be without it. She unrolled a large piece and secured it around the open drawer.
“Hands behind the chair.” She made several circles around his chest, taping him to the chair before taping his wrists together. Bringing the tape around the front of the chair she made six loops around his feet before wrapping it around the leg of the chair. For good measure she ripped a piece off and put it across his mouth. Satisfied with the result, she left the room, locked the door and continued down the hall.
She arrived in the dining room and hurried to the door Maria had used during the evening meal. It brought her to the kitchen. A nightlight over the sink enabled her to scout for another weapon. A quiet one. From the drawer that held a wide assortment of knives, she chose a fierce-looking carving blade.
At the far end of the room she found a door that led outdoors. She opened it just wide enough to squeeze through and moved into the night. No guards were visible in the immediate vicinity. She sniffed, but the night air held no smells. All was quiet. With the bright moon, visibility wasn’t a problem. She’d be more comfortable if her blouse wasn’t white.
With her back against the building, she sidestepped toward one end of the hacienda. She needed to know how many guards were posted around the building, before she chose her escape route.
She stopped under her bedroom window at the back of the house. From her room window, she’d seen what looked like a drop off at the end of the lawn. Scratch that as an escape route. She inched along, listening for danger.
The carving knife poised in striking position, she stepped around the end of the stucco structure into a professionally landscaped garden. Jesus. The nooks and crannies on the outside were as confusing as the inside. Staying low, she crept through the ornamental bushes and plants until she reached another outside wall of the hacienda.
Cigar smoke carried by a breeze slid under her nose. A guard enjoying a smoke while on duty? As the scent became stronger, so did her vigilance. The smoker must be close.
At the end of the side wall Kat turned, placing the front of her body against the hacienda. She hugged the building and continued inching along to the end. She cautiously peered around the corner. Her luck held. A lone guard stood with his back to her. He leaned against the hacienda, enjoying a cigar. As if he sensed her presence, he turned, saw her and immediately raised his rifle. She leaped forward and plowed into knees, knocking him to the ground. For a large man, he was quick. He rolled and grabbed a handful of her hair, dragging her upwards. She pressed the knife blade against his stomach, hoping to convince him to let go of her hair.
Instead, he twisted his fist in her hair, yanking her head back. She pushed the knife into his lung. He dropped to the ground. She withdrew the knife and wiped the blood on his shirt.
Adrenaline pumped through her blood. Would this nightmare ever end? Even though she was in a kill or be killed situation, thoughts of this man’s family already haunted her. Did he leave a wife to grieve? Children?
The sound of voices raised the hair on her arms. The front of the hacienda must be around the next corner.
“Is everything in place?” The voice seemed vaguely familiar.
“Yeah, but the boss isn’t answering his cell.”
“What? He knows the shipment’s arriving at four o’clock tomorrow morning.”
She’d shut Carl’s cell phone off and left it in his office. She ditched the knife, and untied the knot in her skirt. Then she pulled her blouse over the waistband, concealing the Glock. What should she do with the key to the desk? She heaved it into the bushes.
She messed up her hair and pinched her cheeks hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. Gulping several deep breaths, she rushed around the corner straight into the two men standing at the front entrance to the hacienda.
“Help me. Please.” She panted, sounding out-of-breath and grabbed the arm of the nearest guard. “Carl’s been attacked. I barely managed to escape. I think…I think the intruders are still in my room.”
The guard seized her by both arms, dragging her towards him. The smell of sweat and nicotine oozed from his skin. “What are you talking about? What are you doing running around the grounds?”
“I told you,” she stammered breathlessly, “two men burst into my room. Carl and I were…” She dropped her eyes as if in embarrassed. “They seized him and beat on…it was terrible…I ran to find help.”
“You’re coming with me.” The grip on her arm tightened, giving her no choice but to either walk or be dragged along.
As they entered the foyer, she slumped against her captor. “Oh no, I’m going to be sick.” She gagged and slid toward the floor. “Help me.”
“Stupid puta,” he spat the words and roughly pushed her. “Come,” he ordered his cohort. “We must find Mr. Winter.” Turning abruptly, the two men hurried down the hall.
The moment they rounded the corner, Kat sprang to her feet. She held up the skirt and raced down the driveway, oblivious to the rocks and pebbles bruising her bare feet. Several hundred feet later, she ducked into the woods and ran parallel to the pea stone driveway.
Soon they’d begin searching for her. Every second counted. Her breathing was labored when she came to the main road. She veered to the right into the woods, backtracked a short distance, and then walked briskly in the direction she believed to be parallel to the main road. While walking, she searched for a secure place to hide and wait. About a mile from the driveway and at least three hundred feet from the main road, she hunkered down under an old blow-down. The tree had been huge, and its roots provided plenty of cover.
Moonlight spread a path in front of her. Although hidden, she heard a vehicle heading toward the hacienda. Jude and Cody should be arriving soon. She prayed they’d come by the road and not by helicopter. She huddled into herself and waited, the Glock readied in her hand. Only ten shots, but she could hit her mark with each one if the need arose.
*****
Jude’s nerves were fried by the time the Jeep crossed onto Winter’s property. He’d studied the topo map on the flight to FortBliss. The entrance to the hacienda would be coming up on the left.
Cody shut off the headlights. “Are we approaching the hacienda on foot? “
Jude laughed. “I doubt we’d get a welcoming reception if we drove up and knocked on the door.”
Red had been content to sit in the back, hanging his head out the window. Now he started to whine. His whining turned to small yelps, and he paced back and forth on the seat.
“What got into him?” Jude wondered aloud.
“Probably has to take a leak. When’s the last time you gave him the opportunity? You know, Callahan, you’re not the best dog sitter.”
“Pull over, and I’ll let him out.”
Jude stepped out of the vehicle. Red jumped into the front seat and bolted out through the open door.
“Jesus. Where’s he going? Kat will have my head if I lose her dog.” Jude chased Red through the thick brush into the dark woods.
*****
Fear raced through Kat at the sound of a vehicle slowing down on the road. Muscles tensed when the headlights went out and a door slammed. The sound of something running through the woods increased the hammering of her heart. Had Carl’s men found her already? She positioned her Glock, ready to open fire, wishing she had a night scope. Her life would be over if she were recaptu
red. Carl wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.
The rustle of leaves grew louder, and she heard panting. Were they using dogs to find her?
Her finger on the trigger, she prepared to squeeze off a shot. Then she identified her target. “Red!” she whispered, the blood draining from her head. The dog knocked her over and washed her face. “Stop it. Sit.” Now was not the time for games.
The dog obeyed. “Good boy. Where’s the rest of the cavalry?”
Red whined, and looked back the way he’d come. “Let’s go.” Kat made the decision to follow him, rather than wait. She trusted the dog.
They’d walked only a short distance before Red performed his tail-wagging dance. He ran ahead, and she heard Jude talking to the dog.
“What are you trying to pull? If we’re going to find Kat, we don’t have time to play games.”
“I’m right here. What took you so long?” She walked closer to him and bit the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. The astonishment on his face was priceless. She moved closer, wanting to be in his arms, but a guarded expression replaced his astonishment warning her to keep her distance.
Didn’t he know she needed him? She ached to bury her face in his neck, smell him and taste the saltiness of his skin. Didn’t he feel the same way? She waited for that special look, letting her know he loved her. Her spirit plummeted. What had happened to make him change his mind yet again?
*****
The eager, loving expression on Kat’s face made Jude feel small. Those green eyes blazed in the moonlight with the love and hunger she’d never tried to hide. Kat needed to hear his confession, but now was not the time.
“Are you okay?” His voice was hoarse. He looked her over closely and saw no injuries. Rumpled and dirty, she still looked sexy. His fingers itched to touch her.
“I’m fine, but I think we’d best move before they come looking for me.”
“Follow me.” With a curt nod, he spun and started out of the woods.
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