Standoff at Midnight Mountain

by Mary Alford

  Alex rounded another curve and the road stretched out in front of them. Even with the bum tire, they were able to put distance between themselves and the men.

  “I’m not sure how much farther we can make it in this thing. The engine’s overheating because of the stress of pushing it so hard.” He glanced behind them. “At least we appear to have lost them for now.” As if in answer to his words, the engine sputtered and coughed several times before dying.

  Alex took the knife from her and cut her free.

  “Let’s get out of here while we still can,” Rachel said.

  Alex shoved the knife and lighter into his pocket and grabbed the flashlight. Once he was by her side, they raced into the woods for their lives.

  * * *

  Alex grabbed her hand and they took cover in the nearby trees. “If we can stay out of sight, we might stand a chance.”

  “What should we do about Deacon?” Rachel asked. “He really needs help, Alex.”

  The men had taken their weapons and phones. They had no way to contact Jase or anyone else to get aid to Deacon. “We can’t go back and risk leading them to him again. Let’s just hope Jase was able to get airborne and will reach us soon.”

  Rachel grabbed his arm. He glanced at her and she pointed to the right. “I hear them,” she whispered.

  Alex froze where he stood. His arm circled her waist, tugging her close. He could hear McNamara yelling at his men.

  “They can’t be far. The SUV’s right there. Search the woods. Find them!”

  “Alex, we can’t get captured again. They’ll kill us.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said, and they headed deeper into the woods at a fast pace, while behind them, Alex heard the men enter the treed area.

  Rachel stopped suddenly and he turned back to her. “Do you remember the summer we discovered that one cave up here?” she asked. It took him a minute to recall what she was talking about.

  “I do. It’s not far from here, if I remember correctly.”

  She nodded. “It is. If we can make it there, we can get out of sight. We’ll disguise the entrance so that they won’t know where we’ve gone.”

  It was a good plan and it just might work. When they’d discovered the cave, they’d spent the day combing through its tunnels and had never reached the end. It would make the perfect hideout. Would they find Liam there?

  They were almost right against the mountainside now. Alex gathered his bearings. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out the direction of the cave.

  “Which way?” he asked, hoping she knew.

  She looked around. “Over there.” She pointed to the right and then glanced behind. He could hear the men coming. They’d be right on top of them soon.

  “They’re almost here.” He took her hand and they ran the rest of the way.

  Finding the entrance after so many years wasn’t easy. It took a few minutes but he finally located it.

  “Here, take the flashlight and go inside. I’ll do my best to cover the entrance before they get here.”

  She took the light from him. “You won’t have much time. Hurry, Alex.”

  Rachel went inside and he gathered armfuls of nearby brush and brought it over. He stepped inside the cave and piled the brush in behind him.

  Please let it be good enough.

  Rachel flashed the light down one of the corridors. “Let’s get as far away from the entrance as we can just in case they spot the opening and check inside.”

  They headed down the corridor together. “Do you remember where this one goes?” he asked, and watched her smile at the memory.

  “I do. There’s that underground pool a little ways from here. Remember, we spent that same summer coming up here to swim. Liam never did figure out where we disappeared to.”

  He remembered that summer as clear as if it were yesterday. It was when he and Rachel had first started dating and they’d wanted to spend time alone. Liam had grumbled, feeling neglected by his best friend and sister.

  “I remember Liam was so mad at us,” he said, and chuckled quietly. As he recalled, there was no way out beyond the pool and he told her this. “We need to go another way. It wouldn’t do to get trapped in here.”

  They backtracked slightly and headed down another path.

  “I was close enough to hear the exchange between McNamara and one of his men. He said they hadn’t found it yet. They’re looking for something other than Liam.”

  It certainly made sense. “I’m guessing this has something to do with what Liam took from them. That’s why they need to find him.”

  “That’d be my guess, too.” She shook her head.

  They’d been walking for a while when Rachel stopped and listened. “Did you hear that?”

  He did. It sounded like wind rustling close by. “Maybe there’s another way out that we never found.” They hurried toward the noise.

  “I sure hope so. We need something to break our way.”

  Alex stopped in front of a small opening in the side of the mountain, barely large enough for them to squeeze through.

  “We should be okay.” Rachel looked up at him. “From what I can tell, we should be on the south side of the mountain. Some distance from where we last saw them.”

  He sure hoped so. Alex eased through the opening and looked around. Nothing stirred beyond the wind. “It’s safe.”

  Rachel followed him out. “Looks like we’ve lost them for now, but they could have other men searching the woods. Alex, this thing is way over our heads.”

  He understood her frustration. He wasn’t sure what the men were after, but he had a feeling it was deadly.

  “We need to get to a phone and try to reach my team. Let them know the woods are crawling with men. They could be flying straight into an ambush.”

  TEN

  Rachel’s unsettled thoughts were torn between making sense of what they’d been through so far and untangling her feelings for Alex.

  “Rachel?” She realized Alex had been trying to get her attention for a while.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Something unreadable crossed his face. It made her wonder what he was thinking. “I said what if Liam actually is hiding at the lodge? We could be leading them straight to him. We need to reach the lodge before they do.”

  She hadn’t considered it when she’d told them about the lodge, but it was possible. Liam loved the old place and there were many times when he went there to seek solitude. “I sure hope not. It depends on whether or not he’s injured.”

  “I’m pretty sure Liam was the one who took care of Deacon. He’d try to get help. If McNamara and his men took Liam’s phone and obviously Deacon didn’t have one on him, then the only option for Liam would be to hike out...unless he couldn’t.”

  They were racing against the clock, unarmed and running for their lives. If they didn’t get help soon, those men back there would quickly catch up with them.

  Rachel struggled not to let the helpless feelings overwhelm her. She’d been in countless situations just as deadly before, but she wasn’t part of that life anymore and going back to it was difficult. She had to stay focused on saving Liam’s life because the thought of losing her brother to these thugs was unimaginable.

  “Hey.” Alex stopped walking and took her hand, tugging her closer. He’d clearly seen all her fears. “Help is on the way and there’s no way on earth we’re giving up on Liam.”

  She forced a smile. “I know. I just feel so frustrated.” She looked up at him. The expression in his eyes made breathing painful.

  Alex gently framed her face. “Rachel,” he whispered so softly and then leaned his head against hers. “I’ve wanted to tell you something for a long time now...” He hesitated, unsure. “I’m sorry for the way things ended between us.”

  She flinched as if he�
��d struck her. His regret was the last thing she wanted. She tried to pull away but he didn’t let her.

  “No, listen.” The urgency in his voice made her want to hear what he had to say. “I should never have let you go,” he whispered with so much passion that she believed him.

  But did it matter anymore?

  “I was messed up back then. I thought my life revolved around the CIA and you wanted me to walk away from all of that.” He shook his head. “I was wrong. So wrong, and I’ve regretted the decision every day since.”

  Five years ago, she would have been thrilled to hear him say that. Now, it was just another reminder of what was lost.

  Rachel moved away. Slowly, he let her go. “It’s okay. Things happen for a reason. Maybe we wouldn’t have worked out. I wouldn’t have met Brian and I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I think our lives turned out the way God wanted them to.”

  She watched him try to cover up the hurt. “I guess you’re right,” he murmured, and then turned away. When the awkward silence between them became too much, Rachel started walking again. Best not to reopen those old wounds again. Especially when their lives and Liam’s were still in danger.

  In the past, she’d tried to hold on to the fond memories of her life with Brian and shove aside the heartache of losing Alex. Although her husband had never questioned her about the relationship with Alex, she’d told him everything.

  “How did you two meet, anyway?” Alex asked after a while, probably to fill the uncomfortable silence between them.

  Rachel didn’t really want to talk about her husband with Alex, but he had asked. “At church,” she told him. “Brian attended the same church as Tom and Jenny. After I’d been home for a while, the Reagans invited me to go to the service with them.” She stopped, remembering that dark time in her life.

  She’d felt so lost. Couldn’t believe it was possible to move forward with her life after losing Alex. Brian had taught her that no matter what circumstances you were going through, you could overcome them with God’s help.

  Brian’s exuberant personality always made her smile. “He had leukemia when we met and yet you would never have known it from the way he presented himself. He was always smiling and happy. He was dying and he knew it but he never let it bring him down. He was an amazing man and I miss him terribly.”

  Rachel hadn’t realized how much she’d loved Brian until he was gone. If his death had taught her anything, it was that it was possible to move on with your life no matter what you faced. She knew Brian wouldn’t want her to be sad forever. In fact, that had been his dying wish—that she not mourn for him too long. He wanted her to get on with her life. Be happy. She’d been trying to fulfill that promise to him ever since his death.

  Seeing Alex again had brought all the old hurt to the surface once more. Was it possible for them to be able to move beyond the pain and regain the friendship they once shared? Could she accept being friends with Alex after everything they’d once had? She still cared for him, there was no doubt about it. Theirs had been a passionate romance. Could she settle for anything less?

  * * *

  Alex swallowed back the ache he felt when he looked at the love in Rachel’s eyes for another man.

  He could see she was still hurting. It was evident whenever the conversation returned to their past. Would there ever come a time when they could talk about what happened? He sure hoped so.

  “We should be getting close to the lodge,” she told him, and he roused himself.

  He managed a nod. “Good. Let’s hope Liam is there and that he’s not injured too badly. We’ll need to get him out as quickly as possible before McNamara and his men show up, which is only a matter of time.”

  “I can’t even imagine what they’re planning.” Rachel shook her head. “And where are Temple and Michelle?”

  He didn’t want to say it aloud, but he believed whatever Temple had planned, it would involve deadly sarin gas.

  “Right now, nothing makes sense and I’m too tired to try to fit the pieces together,” Rachel said. “I’ll leave that up to your team.”

  Under the best of conditions, the hike up Midnight Mountain was a physically challenging test. Having to run for their lives tripled the strain of the journey.

  Alex stopped when he spotted the full round-log lodge in the clearing up ahead. “There it is.” It had been years since he’d last been up here. Even back then, the place had been showing signs of decay.

  They hurried past the overgrown parking area and stepped up on the porch. It had more boards missing than were still intact. Alex peered through one of the grimy windows. Years of dust and cobwebs blanketed the floor and the remaining furniture inside. He tried the door. Locked. The windows, as well. Were they wrong about Liam being here?

  The temperature outside had dropped considerably with the growing cloud coverage, and the threat of snow loomed. It had to be well below freezing.

  He and Rachel trudged through piled-up snow on the north side of the lodge around to the back and tried the doors and windows. All locked, yet someone had broken one of the windows.

  Please let it be Liam.

  Alex carefully removed the remaining slivers of glass and crawled through the broken window. It was only slightly warmer inside but at least it offered protection from the wind and snow. Several hours had passed without any sign of the men who’d taken them hostage, and yet he didn’t doubt for a minute that they were still coming.

  Alex unlocked the door and opened it for Rachel. “We need to search the place quickly. We won’t have much time before they get here.”

  She glanced around. “There are so many rooms. We’ll need to split up.”

  Rachel was right. They’d never get through the place otherwise.

  “I’ll take the upstairs. You search down here.” She started to leave, but he reached for her hand, holding her there. All of her uncertainties were reflected on her face. “Be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you, too.”

  She swallowed visibly and then slowly smiled. “I will. You be careful, too.”

  While she began the downstairs search, Alex took the crumbling stairs two at a time. He and Rachel and Liam had been here many times in the past, so he knew there were only guest rooms up here. The time sitting vacant had taken its toll on the place, even more since the last time he’d visited it. Everything was showing signs of deterioration, and there were patches in the ceiling where Alex could see the sky. The weather and the elements were slowly reclaiming the place. A few more years and there wouldn’t be much left.

  After a thorough search of the rooms, there was no sign that anyone had been up there in a while. Was he wrong about the broken glass? It might have been broken years ago. Maybe Liam never made it this far?

  Alex hurried back downstairs to help Rachel finish the search. He’d reached the kitchen area when he heard it. A footstep!

  He found Rachel. Before she could say a word, he held his finger up to his mouth then pointed outside. She understood and frantically looked around for someplace they could hide. An enormous stone bar covered the length of the room, dividing it from the great room. She indicated the bar and they ducked below it. Someone stepped up on the front porch. Liam? Another set of footsteps proved him wrong.

  “I’m not so sure they’d come here,” McNamara growled. “I think they were bluffing, trying to throw us off.”

  After a moment of silence, the second man said, “Looks like someone’s been in there. They broke out the window.”

  McNamara said something unintelligible, then, “Hang on. The boss wants us to stand guard. The rest of the team is on their way. They have something.”

  If he and Rachel wanted to stay alive, they had to find another way out before the other men arrived.

  Alex pointed to the hallway and Rachel nodded. They crept as low to the floor as they could while head
ing down the long passage. He opened the first door he came to as quietly as possible. It was a small bathroom with only a slatted window above the sink. Not enough room to escape.

  Rachel opened another door. It led to what appeared to have once been the laundry room. There had to be another way out beyond one of the remaining doors. There was no way he was letting these men take them again.

  Alex tried the final door on their left. It opened up to a large bedroom suite with French doors leading out to a wraparound deck outside. If his bearings were correct, they should be at the south side of the lodge facing the woods. Opposite from the men on the porch.

  They moved to the doors and looked out. Alex couldn’t see anyone. He said a quick prayer for their safe passage and slowly unlocked the door. It creaked as he opened it and he froze for a second.

  Alex listened to make sure McNamara and the second man hadn’t heard the door. He could hear them talking quietly. A good sign. He hoped it stayed that way.

  ELEVEN

  Rachel eased out behind Alex and around to the side of the lodge. She peered around the corner. Not a sound could be heard beyond the sporadic conversation from McNamara and his goon.

  “We’ll have to go slow, otherwise they’ll hear us,” she whispered.

  Rachel stepped off the porch and Alex did the same. The snow lay deep in the woods behind the lodge, making the going slow. There would be no way to cover their tracks should someone happen this way, but the white blanket helped muffle the sound of their footsteps.

  They’d barely covered any distance when the noise of an engine broke the silence of their surroundings. They stopped long enough to catch their breath.

  Rachel’s lungs burned from the cold air. “That must be the rest of McNamara’s people.”

  “This place will be crawling with men in a few minutes.” He looked at her, seeing the exhaustion she couldn’t hide. “We have to go faster. Are you up to it?”

  She wasn’t so sure she was, but the alternative was impossible. “Yes, I’m up to it.”