by Cate Noble
He didn’t know how to explain it—but that someone was Erin.
He drove for an hour, then turned and followed a rutted trail as far as he could. No other cars were around, but he sensed that Taz had hitchhiked to a nearby point and come in by foot.
Max parked and started up the trail. That nothing had changed here was rather bittersweet. The sight of the mountains, even the sound of the birds, felt all the same as when he’d last stood here with Stony.
He missed his uncle and was grateful for the time they’d spent together. They had always been on the verge of success, always ready for a new adventure. As Max picked his way through the woods, following a faint trail through the valley, then up an incline, he remembered hoping they’d never find the gold. Because he couldn’t imagine a life any richer than being with Stony in the great outdoors.
A short time later Max crested a rise and saw the cave. The opening was smaller than he remembered, a dark hole hear the ground that looked more like a shadow near the rocky edge of a cliff.
The strip of ground leading up to it was narrow, lined on one side by a steep creek bed. The other side was the sharp drop to a canyon. Erosion had washed away all but one of the massive pines that had once lined that edge, hiding the river at the bottom of the canyon.
Max tried again to sense Taz. But this time the effort only yielded a headache. He moved closer. “Taz?”
There was movement in the shadowy mouth of the cave. Then a man stepped out. Taz looked straight at him, his eyes unfocused. “Hades.”
The clothes Taz wore hung in shreds, bloodied from myriad cuts. A knife was clenched in Taz’s fist, the blade slicing back and forth across his thigh.
“I can’t feel it anymore. He warned me nothing would help,” Taz panted. “Until I found him.”
“Found who?”
“Rufin.” Taz lurched forward. “We gotta go back, mate. If they kill him, we’ll never get free.”
“We are free.” Max concentrated, tried to make a connection. Remember who you are. Max. Logan. “We escaped, Logan. Hades, Taz, aren’t real. They were holograms. Programs. That’s why we could never win. It wasn’t real.”
“You’re wrong. I am Taz.” Logan lurched forward.
Max braced, prepared for Logan’s attack.
A gunshot sounded. Logan stumbled backward, hit—but not by a bullet. A tranquilizer dart.
“Run!” Logan shouted before scrambling back into the cave. Max dropped to the ground and rolled backward over the edge of the creek bed, tracking the man who’d shot Logan. The man had fired the tranq gun, and then dashed behind a boulder, near the cliff.
Staying low, Max followed the creek bed back around toward the man.
A nightmare scene began to replay in Max’s mind and for a moment he was back in the jungle.
They always came at the end of a mission.
Remember who you are.
“I am Max.”
Remember who you are.
Logan. Dante. Rocco. Travis.
“Erin,” Max whispered. Immediately the nightmare cleared.
“Come out with your hands up,” the shooter shouted toward the cave, unaware that Max had slipped closer.
Max looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. Hand-to-hand combat required face-to-face distance. And the tranquilizers gave the man an unfair advantage.
That the man had come armed with tranquilizers meant he wanted them alive. But that didn’t mean the man wouldn’t hesitate to pull a Smith & Wesson and maim them.
“Don’t shoot!” Logan called out.
Max was stunned to see Logan stagger out from the cave, into the open. Logan pitched and stumbled, but didn’t fall.
Max crept closer as the shooter edged around the rocks that hid him and aimed the tranquilizer gun at Logan. Waiting for him to come closer.
Max rushed the shooter from behind.
The man turned and fired, but the shot went wide, missing Max.
Max slammed into the man before he could pull a handgun from his shoulder holster. They crashed to the ground, fighting.
Max wrenched the gun free and tossed it away. Then he slugged the man. Blood spurted from the man’s nose.
Max ignored the man’s yelp of pain and yanked him back to his feet. “You’re not getting off that easy.”
Max punched the man in the stomach, sending him back to the ground.
“Who sent you?” Max demanded.
“Go to hell!”
Before Max could snatch the man up again, a shot fired. A bloodstain appeared on the front of the man’s shirt as he let out a shrill scream.
Max whirled and found Logan standing close by with the gun still pointed at the man.
“Thanks,” Max said to Logan. Then he turned back to the wounded man.
The injured man drew a breath, seeming to realize he wasn’t mortally wounded.
“My buddy didn’t like your answer,” Max said. “I bet you work for Abe Caldwell; you probably have a tracking device like Allen did.”
“Yes. And we were grateful you took Allen’s device.”
“You tracked me via Allen’s unit,” Max said.
The man sneered. “Then I followed you here. We watched you leave alone and figured you’d lead us to John Doe.”
“You followed me from the motel?”
Erin!
“That’s right,” the man said. “Dr. Houston is with my partner. And by now Allen’s probably with them, too. If you don’t want to see her harmed, I suggest you cooperate. Convince your friend to drop the gun and both of you back off.”
“You mean me, mate?” Logan fired again, permanently erasing the wounded man’s smirk.
“No!” Max spoke too late. He closed his eyes, then turned back to Logan. “I’ve got to go back and find Erin.”
Logan pointed the gun at Max’s chest now. “We have to find Rufin.”
Max recognized that Logan was no longer rational. On top of that, he was fighting the tranquilizer. “Easy. We’ll find Rufin. I swear.”
“You’re lying.” Logan swung around and for a moment seemed to struggle with an unseen force within himself.
Max lunged forward, knocking Logan to the ground. Immediately he realized he’d underestimated Logan’s strength.
They rolled across the ground, their hands locked together on the gun in Logan’s grip.
“Rufin’s a bastard. He was using both of us.” Max squeezed the bones of Logan’s wrist, but Logan retaliated with a head butt to Max’s temple. He saw stars.
The men started to roll, tumbling down the incline, picking up speed, neither one willing to relinquish his hold on the weapon.
Max tried to judge how close they were to the cliff and steered them toward the lone fir tree at the edge. They slammed into it. Logan was on top and moved to straddle Max.
But Max kicked up, bowing his back and flipping Logan off. Logan hit the tree and spun sideways. Off balance, he grabbed for a tree limb. There was an awful crack as the limb split and Logan went over the side of the cliff.
“Logan! No!” Max rushed forward, but was unable to stop Logan’s fall. He peered over the edge. Three hundred feet down, Logan’s body lay unmoving, caught on a narrow rocky ledge. His legs and neck were at odd angles. He was dead.
Max pushed back to his feet and stumbled back over to the shooter’s body. Searching his pockets, he yanked out a wallet and cell phone.
Tommy Groene had a Massachusetts driver’s license with a Boston address. His cell phone flashed SERVICE UNAVAILABLE.
Cursing, Max took off down the mountain. That Abe Caldwell had Erin was all Max’s fault. If anything happened to her…
I’m coming, sweetheart!
Chapter 31
The harder Max tried to make a connection with Erin, the worse his head ached. When his vision started to tunnel, he knew he had to stop. If he went into a seizure, he’d be no help to her.
He silently vowed to go to a hospital as Erin had begged after he found her. And
he would find her.
As soon as Max reached the stolen cargo van, Tommy’s phone vibrated once briefly. He looked at the display. Two bars of service signal flickered. One missed call.
Max hit redial.
A man answered on the second ring. “Yes.”
Max played his hunch. “Tommy’s unavailable, Abe.”
Silence.
“Duncan? Damn it! What have you done? He better be okay.”
A little late for that. “Where’s Erin?”
“Resting comfortably. And before you start with the threats, let me cut to the chase. She has value as a pawn. Period. I’ll release her when Tommy brings you and your pal, John Doe, to me.”
“I want to talk to her.”
Abe ignored the demand. “Both you and Doe will need to be drugged. Now put Tommy on the line.”
“Tommy’s dead.”
“Shit!” The line went quiet, making Max think he had disconnected.
“Hello?” Max said.
“Shut up! Is John Doe with you?”
“No.” Max knew he needed to buy time. “He spotted Tommy and took off. I’ll have to go after him later.”
“I suggest you find him sooner rather than later. Here’s why.”
Max heard muffled sounds come across the line, indistinct voices in the background. Then he heard a loud crashing noise, followed by bloodcurdling screaming. Erin!
“There’s your proof of life,” Abe snapped. “Any more fuckups and she screams longer. Now, you find Doe. Be prepared to bring him to me. I’ll call back in two hours.”
“Make it four,” Max said. “It’ll take me an hour and a half just to get back up the mountain.”
“You got three. Better get running, Max.”
This time the phone did go dead.
Max turned off Tommy’s cell phone and loosened the battery to preserve power as well as to ensure it couldn’t be traced. Firing up the van, he spun out of the parking lot and raced off.
Abe was likely still in the area, and could close in on Max, if Tommy had reported in his location.
And as much as Max wanted to get to Erin, he had to react with his brain, not his heart. Going in to rescue her alone would sign her death warrant. Abe would never release a witness.
After zigzagging onto another county road and assuring himself he wasn’t being followed, Max pulled into a gas station and used the pay phone to call Dante.
“Hello?”
“It’s Max.”
“I figured it was either you or Erin when the caller ID said PAY PHONE.”
“Look, I need…help.”
Dante was instantly serious. “Anything. Where are you?”
“Colorado.”
“I’m in Salt Lake City, following a lead on Taz. I can get there in a few hours.”
Max kept scanning the horizon. “I don’t have that much time. They’ve got Erin. I need help getting her back.”
“They who?”
Max filled Dante in on his search for Taz and Abe Caldwell’s involvement. “You were right. I had a beacon in my arm, and they found us using that damn tracking unit. I’ve got less than three hours before they call back. Caldwell claims he’ll trade me and Taz for Erin. I don’t mind walking into a trap, but I need to be sure Erin gets out.”
“We’re not the only ones looking for Taz,” Dante said. “Have you seen the news? He’s the subject of a manhunt.”
“I know. And Taz is dead. Nobody else will be hurt.”
Dante swore. “I’m sorry. I know he was your friend. There’s something else you should know. Rocco found Dr. Rufin. Apparently Rufin embedded microchips beneath Taz’s skin. Taz is—was—a research gold mine. Rufin actually had all of the experiments done on both of you, plus Zadovsky’s note, on a chip as well.”
“That’s why Abe Caldwell wants Taz. I need to get his body—but the place he died—I can’t recover the body alone.”
“Look, a private jet will get me there in an hour. We’ll figure it out, buddy. Do you have a cell phone I can call you back on?”
“Not one I can keep powered up.”
“Then call me back in ten minutes. Let me check on the closest airstrip and I’ll give you my ETA.”
“Fine. But Dante, one more thing. Nobody but you. Someone’s leaking a lot of info. Abe knows more than he should.”
“Not even Travis?”
“Not even Travis,” Max said.
“Fair enough. I’ll let you call the shots. Get back to me in ten.”
Max hung up and rubbed his head. It felt ready to burst. Hang on, Erin. I’m coming.
Abe stubbed out a cigarette and immediately lit up another. Screw what the doctor said about cutting back, he had never felt this anxious before. If his luck would just hold a little longer.
Allen getting free before the cops came in was a godsend. At first Abe had been irate that Allen had let Max get him. Had thought it served him right to get his damn wrist snapped. Now…well, even with a cast, Allen could shoot a gun.
He and Allen had been driving around for the past hour, waiting until it was time to call Max Duncan.
That Tommy was dead had sealed Duncan’s fate. Abe had toyed with trying to capture both men alive but John Doe was who they needed. With Allen’s broken wrist, one person was as much as they could manage.
Abe glanced at the backseat. Erin Houston was bound, gagged, and blindfolded. She’d been easy enough to handle but now she, too, was a liability.
Temporarily at least. In the process of trying to bargain for Max’s safety, she’d given away that she and Max had feelings for each other. This could be exploited.
Once Abe had John Doe in his custody, Max and Erin would be killed. Staging it as a murder/suicide should wrap the case. Sure the CIA would continue searching for John Doe—but Abe would have Doe out of the country, where they could safely harvest the data that had been implanted by Dr. Rufin.
Abe expected to confirm a rendezvous point with Harry Gambrel and Rufin within a day or two. And once Abe had Rufin, he technically had no use for Harry.
In fact Harry was another liability. Dealing with him would be a little trickier.
Funny to think they were in the same boat. Harry was as desperate as Abe. Each looked at the other as a weight around his neck, but necessary to get what he wanted.
“It’s time,” Allen said.
Abe dialed Tommy’s cell phone.
Max answered on the first ring. “Let me talk to Erin.”
“Tell me whether you’ve located John Doe.”
“He’s here. I had to knock him out to convince him to come.”
“He better be alive! How close are you to Buena Vista?”
“We’re within a couple miles.”
“Head back to Saint Elmo on County Road 162. About ten miles out, watch for an electrical tower on the right. An unmarked access road is at the base of the tower. Follow it in and park at the locked gate. Then walk halfway back to the main road. I want John Doe’s hands tied in front, where I can see them. And remember. The lovely Dr. Houston will pay for your screwups.”
Max followed Abe Caldwell’s directions, parking at the gate. Then he pulled Dante out of the back of the van. Dante’s disguise, a short dark blond wig and a baseball cap, wasn’t the best, but it was all they could do on such short notice.
The rope bindings at Dante’s wrists were merely glued in place, allowing him easy access to the various guns and knives he had hidden beneath the baggy plaid shirt and jeans. The bulletproof vest he wore also bulked him up to resemble Taz even more.
Max’s head was pounding so badly he could hardly walk. Trying to contact Erin, or read anyone’s mind, was completely out of the question at this point.
Be safe, Erin. Be safe, repeated in his head like a mantra.
To keep up the appearance that Taz was being forced to accompany him, Max carried the handgun he’d taken from Tommy and held it on Dante, who pretended to resist. Just in case anyone watched.
“Walk!�
�� Max ordered.
“Fuck you, asshole.” Dante’s imitation of Taz’s accent was passable.
They’d walked only a short distance down the road when headlights appeared, heading straight for them. Max stopped and pulled Dante close, shifting the gun to Dante’s head where the people in the car could see it.
The car stopped about thirty feet away. The passenger and driver’s doors swung open simultaneously. Since Max recognized Allen, the driver, he assumed the man with the ponytail was Abe Caldwell.
Abe moved to the back door and tugged Erin out. Her clothes were disheveled and her hands were tied, but still she fought. When Abe pressed a gun to her temple, she froze. She was blindfolded and gagged, so she didn’t know Max was there.
Watching Abe manhandle her enraged Max. He willed himself to inhale deeply, to remain calm.
Allen had a cast on one wrist, a Beretta nine-millimeter in the other one. “Drop the gun,” Allen ordered.
“Tommy mentioned that there was something special about my friend here,” Max said. “Something that you needed him alive for. If you want to keep him breathing, send Erin over first.”
Abe dragged Erin out in front of him, the gun still at her head. “Get rid of your gun first and she can start walking forward.” Abe looked at John Doe. “Mr. Doe. Or is it…Taz? We’re here to help you. Dr. Rufin is waiting for you.”
Dante pretended to react at Rufin’s name, jerking away from Max, but Max quickly stopped him.
Then Max held his gun out and threw it off to the side. “Send her forward.”
Abe tugged Erin’s blindfold off and shoved her forward. Max saw recognition flash across her features at seeing Dante, but she hid it. He caught her thoughts of concern, for him, and prayed he could send her a message that would be crucial in pulling off his next step.
Be ready to drop, sweetheart.
The moment she stepped away from Abe, Max pushed Dante forward, grabbing the gun hidden at Dante’s back.
“Drop, Erin!” Max shouted.
Allen got off the first shot. Max took a bullet in the shoulder as he fired back, hitting Allen squarely in the forehead. He rounded on Abe Caldwell, but Dante already had his weapon on Abe.