by Mary Alford
Alex could make out voices. More than one and they were almost right on top of them.
“The boss said he saw smoke over this way. I don’t see anything, do you?” There was no mistaking McNamara’s voice.
Alex tugged Rachel closer. Her eyes were filled with an uncertainty that he couldn’t begin to assuage. His own pulse was threatening to explode in his chest.
“Did you hear something?” one of the men asked in a somewhat uneasy tone.
“No, but you two check it out,” McNamara ordered. “We can’t afford to let them get away. Too much is at stake.”
Alex heard footsteps coming toward their hiding spot. One of the men was almost directly in front of them. If he turned slightly, he would see them. If they were found now, his gut told him they wouldn’t walk out of the wilderness alive.
He prayed with all his heart and left the fear in God’s hands.
“There’s nothing here,” the man closest to them grumbled. “Come on, it’s freezing up here. I don’t see anything that resembles a fire, anyway. The boss must have been mistaken.”
The second man stared straight at the tree they were standing behind, then abruptly turned on his heel. He and his partner headed back to where McNamara and another man waited.
“Let’s get out of here. Chances are, they headed back down the mountain another way,” McNamara told them. “We can still head them off before they reach the town and we have men waiting there if they give us the slip.”
Alex clutched Rachel close as the noise of the men’s footsteps slowly disappeared.
When he felt it was safe, he eased out from behind the tree with Rachel still tucked in his arms.
“That was too close,” she whispered, her breath fogging the air between them.
“Yes, but it sounds as if they aren’t expecting us to be here, which means they won’t be looking for us up at the station. That’s something,” he managed without really feeling confident.
“It should give us time to finish the climb without looking back over our shoulder. Either way, let’s keep pushing forward. We’re almost there, Alex. We’re almost there.”
He brushed back some escaping hair from her face and looked into her eyes. There was still a lot of danger between them and getting the answers they wanted. He needed her to listen. He’d been holding these feelings inside for way too long and there was no promise of the future. They faced armed men, the elements of the mountain and physical exhaustion. There were no guarantees.
If they were caught, if they didn’t walk out of this thing alive, he wanted her to know the truth. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. And he’d do whatever it took to convince her he was serious this time.
THIRTEEN
She held her breath, waiting for him to say something. Hoping he did. Praying he wouldn’t. She couldn’t lose her heart to him again.
His hands still rested on her shoulders. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. “Rachel, I know things ended badly between us before because of me. I know I hurt you terribly, but I want you to know that I learned a lot after you left.”
She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. “No, wait.”
She couldn’t do this now and not fall apart. “Alex, please...”
“Rachel, look at me.” Slowly, she did, because in spite of everything her heart desperately wanted to hear what he had to say. “I know I messed things up between us, but I’m not the same person I was back then. I’ve changed. God changed me,” he amended, and she believed him. She’d seen this change in him.
“I’m not asking for you to forget what happened, and I don’t expect you to answer me now, with our lives on the line like this. I just want you to know that I still care about you. I never really stopped caring.”
Tears filled her eyes. She turned away and he let her go. Why now? Why did he have to tell her these things now, after all the heartache and pain she’d gone through? Why couldn’t he have loved her the way she needed him to back then?
“Alex, I can’t do this now.” Her voice was little more than a broken whisper.
When he didn’t respond, she looked at him. Her answer couldn’t be the one he’d hoped for, yet he slowly agreed.
“Okay.” Without another word, he started walking and, after a much-needed moment to regain her composure, Rachel followed, her thoughts disjointed. Her heart was in her throat.
Through the clearing in the trees, she could see the ranger station up ahead. They were almost there.
“Alex, look.” She pointed up ahead and he followed her direction. The relief on his face was easy to read.
Just seeing the station gave them both an extra boost of energy. They were almost to the building when a debilitating thought occurred and she grabbed his arm.
“What if someone is waiting for us in there?” Rachel could tell he hadn’t considered it.
They ducked behind a tree. “I can’t see anything, can you?”
She squinted hard but could see nothing in the twilight of the wilderness. “There’s no movement that I can tell. What do you want to do?” She was grateful that at least they were both armed now.
“Let’s ease up to it. Try to stay in the cover of the trees as much as possible.”
She nodded and waited until he’d made the first move and then she followed. Each step echoed in her ears. So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, they’d been through so much already. What if there were men waiting inside to finish the job?
Still some distance from the station, Alex stopped suddenly.
“Did you hear that?” He barely got the words out when the silence around them was shattered by an assault rifle discharging.
Rachel dove for the cover of the closest tree, with Alex in tow.
They hunkered low as the shots continued to ring out. With the distance between themselves and the person firing on them, it was impossible to make out anything about him.
“I only hear one shooter,” she told him.
He listened for a moment. “You’re right. Whoever it is, they’re alone. Can you cover me? I’ll try to circle around behind the station and go up that way. Maybe I can take him out.”
She nodded, but before he left the protection of the tree, she stopped him. “Alex, wait.”
He turned to her, those piercing eyes undoubtedly seeing what she could no longer hide. “I still care about you, too. I always have... I always will.”
The joy on his face sent her heart soaring. Alex took her hand and slowly raised it to his lips. He held it for just a second longer and then slowly let it go.
She was more fearful than ever before. She had so much to lose. “Be careful,” she urged, and he smiled down at her.
“I will.”
She watched Alex run for the next tree up. The person firing on them was quick to spot his movements and another round of bullets kicked up the dirt near where Alex stood.
Keeping as flat as she could, Rachel edged around the tree and opened fire. She caught a glimpse of a man standing in the open station window before they ducked out of sight.
Alex took advantage of the down time and rushed to the back of the building. Once he was in place, Rachel would draw the shooter’s attention away from him.
She aimed for the opening and fired off several rounds. She could see Alex slowly easing up the stairs. If she could keep the man’s attention on her, Alex might be able to take him by surprise.
Rachel fired off several more rounds, giving Alex the time he needed to charge the station. She heard a brief scuffle, then silence. Alex! He needed her. She ran as fast as she could to give aid.
With her heart pounding out the rhythm of her footsteps, she took the steps two at a time.
Once she reached the landing, she was boosted by adrenaline every step of the way to the open door. The station consisted of one circular ro
om that afforded a three-hundred-sixty-degree view around them.
Through the filtered light, she saw two men standing close. Something was wrong. There were no weapons drawn. Alex jerked toward her. As she drew near, the look on his face was one of sheer disbelief.
“What is it?” She barely managed to force the words out.
And then the second man slowly turned to her. Two things quickly became apparent. He was injured, his shirt covered in blood. She couldn’t tell the extent of his wounds, but he’d obviously lost a lot of blood. The man staring back at her had Rachel dropping her weapon and running into his arms.
This was her brother. They’d finally found Liam and he was alive.
* * *
Alex watched as Rachel hugged Liam, and his exhausted mind struggled to take it all in. Liam was here. He was alive.
Liam staggered under Rachel’s embrace and she pulled away, somehow managing to catch her six-foot, one-hundred-seventy-pound brother before he could fall.
“You’re hurt.” She slowly eased him to the floor. The amount of blood on his shirt was alarming.
Alex tucked his weapon behind his back and knelt next to Rachel as she carefully unbuttoned Liam’s shirt.
“I’m okay. I bandaged it up, but we need to get out of here as soon as possible. They can’t find it.” Liam tried to get up but slumped back onto the floor.
Alex tried to quiet his friend. “We will. Help is on the way. I just need to let them know where to find us.” He glanced around the circular room, looking for the radio. He spotted a flare gun and quickly pocketed it. But then he saw something that threatened to take away his last bit of hope. Someone had deliberately smashed the machine. His spirits sank.
“What happened to the radio?” he asked Liam.
Liam shook his head. “It was like that when I arrived. They must have beat me here. I guess they wanted to make sure I didn’t have a way to call out for help.” Liam winced in pain as Rachel did her best to secure the wound once more.
Alex had to know what Liam had found out. “Who are these people? Why are they after you?”
Liam seemed to be fighting to keep from losing consciousness. He’d lost a lot of blood and the exertion of trying to defend himself had taken its toll. “Former CIA,” he murmured, before he closed his eyes. “They’re all supposed to be dead.”
The statement pretty much confirmed what he and Rachel had suspected.
Before he could ask another question, Rachel’s worried gaze met his. “He needs immediate medical attention and I can’t even imagine what’s happened to Deacon by now.”
Liam caught what she’d said. “Deacon? You’ve seen him? Is he okay?”
Alex couldn’t lie to his friend. “He’s in pretty bad shape, but he’s hanging on. You were the one who took him to the camp?”
Liam nodded weakly. “We were attacked. I’d been working with Deacon for a while. Through his asset, he found out where the sarin gas was stored and we managed to get it to a secure location. I was supposed to meet with Deacon’s asset, who would give us the names of the people Temple and his men are selling sarin gas to, but we were attacked instead. We were taken hostage. They took our weapons and cell phones. I thought they would kill us, but they demanded to know where we’d moved the sarin. Deacon and I managed to escape, but not before we were both injured.” Liam closed his eyes once more, breathing heavily.
Alex squeezed his friend’s arm. “Rest now. I’m going to see if I can fix the busted radio.”
He got to his feet and motioned to Rachel. She made sure Liam was as comfortable as possible and then she joined him.
“Do you think you can get it working again?” She glanced at the destroyed radio with doubt.
“I don’t know. It’s in pretty bad shape, but it may be our only way to reach Jase before it’s too late.”
“What do you need me to do?” she asked.
“Keep a watch outside. If they’ve been here before, and we have to assume they have because of this—” he pointed to the destroyed radio “—then there’s a good chance they’ll search here again. Especially after hearing the shots.”
A noise behind them captured both their attentions. Something was wrong with Liam. His head slumped to one side. He was unconscious.
They rushed to his side. “Liam, buddy, wake up.” Alex shook his friend gently. After an alarming amount of time had passed, Liam slowly opened his eyes. “Stay awake for me, Liam. I need you to do your best to stay awake.”
Liam managed the smallest of nods. Rachel’s reaction to seeing her brother’s condition worsen was devastating. She was terrified of losing him.
Alex got to his feet and held his hand out to her. She couldn’t take her eyes off her brother.
“Rachel, look at me.” She stood as well, finally focusing on his face. “I need to see if I can fix the radio to get Liam help. I need you to stand guard...okay?”
Slowly, she agreed. She took up her weapon and went over to the opening that faced out to the grounds below. It showed the same path that they’d come up.
Alex went to work on the radio, using all his ham radio knowledge to try to bring the busted machine back to life.
While he worked, he couldn’t help but feel that time was running out. With so many loose ends tangled around each other, they’d need a clear head and safer grounds to understand what was really going on here. He still couldn’t believe former CIA agents who had once been honored for their work in the field were responsible for attacking Liam and Deacon along with himself and Rachel. They clearly had nothing to lose at this point.
He tried to sort through the details he knew so far. Temple and his thugs had sarin gas here in the US, which was unimaginable in itself. Whether or not they’d smuggled it in or produced the gas themselves was uncertain. Both he and Rachel had overheard Temple talking about a meeting with someone. A possible buyer for the weapons here in the US. Alex didn’t like the sound of it.
Something Liam had said troubled him. He’d told them that Deacon was working with him and that they were supposed to meet with Deacon’s asset, presumably someone connected to Temple. Did Liam’s handler know about Deacon?
Alex knew very little about Jamison, other than what Liam had told him. According to his friend, Jamison was a stand-up guy and always had Liam’s back. He trusted the man completely. Had Liam’s trust been his downfall?
FOURTEEN
Trying to keep her focus on the grounds below was an almost impossible task. All she could think about was Liam. His condition was getting worse. She glanced back at her brother. Had they found him again only to lose him to his injuries before they could get him to safety?
Please, God, no.
She’d never seen Liam look so weak. He’d been shot before, but never like this. Liam had been her rock, especially after she’d lost Brian. Now Liam needed her and she felt so helpless.
Something caught her attention below. What looked like a light flashed. She quickly ducked behind the closest wall. She was almost positive it was the reflection of a gun scope.
Alex must have spotted her reaction because he hurried to her side, careful to stay out of sight of the opening. “Did you see something?” Concern creased his brow.
“There’s someone out there. They’re armed.”
“Did you see how many?”
She’d only caught a glimpse. “I’m not sure. I just caught sight of the one person.”
He looked back at Liam. “We need to try to keep him as quiet as possible. Maybe they won’t look here again since they’ve destroyed the radio.”
She so wanted to believe it. She didn’t. These men were ruthless and they had everything to lose. They would have heard the shots from earlier. They’d know the direction they came from.
Rachel eased to the opposite side of the opening, careful to keep out of sight. Alex follo
wed. She peered out. She could no longer see anything, including the rifle scope. Had she been wrong?
She watched as Alex searched the area below them then shook his head.
“I don’t see the person anymore, either. I could have been wrong.” She didn’t believe it, though. There was someone out there. The only question remaining was how many of them there were.
He didn’t answer. His focus was trained on something below. “Wait, I see something. There’s at least three men coming this way.”
She looked in the direction he indicated and spotted them. “We can hold our ground against them for a little while until we run out of ammo, but it’s going to call a lot of attention to us. The rest of Temple’s men will be here before your team has a chance to find us. There will be no escaping then.”
Alex hurried across the room and looked down below. “Nothing but a sheer drop-off back here. There’s a small ledge, which barely has room to stand and no room for error.”
She understood what that meant. They’d have to try to hold off Temple’s team until the Scorpions arrived.
Rachel grabbed Liam’s weapon and checked the clip. He was almost out of rounds. Hers wasn’t much better. It was only a matter of time before they were overthrown.
If they were going to die here, she wasn’t letting that happen without telling Alex how she felt about him.
Alex headed for the opening where he’d seen the men, but she stopped him. “Alex, wait.”
He turned back to her, searching her face.
Rachel slowly found the courage she needed. “Alex, we may not make it out of here and I can’t die without telling you...how I feel about you.”
She’d never seen him look so uncertain. He reached for her and tugged her close. His arms were everything that she remembered, but she needed to tell him everything.
“No, I need to say this.”
He waited for her to go on.
“When you chose the job over me, well, it was crippling. I thought we would have a future together and then it just ended.” She shrugged. She couldn’t lose control now. “When I got back home, I was a wreck. I couldn’t function for the longest time, but slowly, with Liam’s help and the Reagans, I moved on. I married Brian because I cared about him. He knew all about you and me, but it didn’t matter to him.” She stopped for a breath. “I’ll always be grateful for him, but I never stopped loving you, Alex. And I never will.”