Taking her hand, he led her to the Dobermans. “Irish, meet Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Dani said, absurdly, biting back a giggle. This day had been so nerve wracking and strange, why not talk to four killer dogs named after Jesus’s disciples?
“Friend,” he said, and held her hand out to them. Each one sniffed her and then looked expectantly at Eli. He slashed his hand through the air.
“Why’d you do that?”
“I just told them not to bark. We’d best be going. They’re going to miss us any minute. Surprised they haven’t yet.”
“I’m all for that. Lead on.”
“Heel,” Eli said, and they took off again, four Dobermans trotting along beside them.
In another few minutes, they came to a locked gate. Eli twirled the combination lock and opened it. After they were through, he closed the lock and spun the dial. Imagination or not, the air on this side of the fence seemed fresher, more welcoming. They turned to go and a loud horn blared.
Eli lifted his head and looked back the way they’d come. “That took longer than I thought. Let’s haul ass, Irish.”
Logan’s cell buzzed. “Kincaid.”
“Hey, boss, our bad guy just took off across the back of the compound with Mrs. Prescott,” Reynolds, the lookout, said.
“Going where?” Logan demanded.
“Not sure. They disappeared into the woods on the north side of the compound, running like a pair of agitated rabbits. Looked like the evil twin was dragging her along.”
“Keep watching and report anything you think I need to know.”
Logan slammed his finger onto the END icon and grabbed the satellite photo out of Barbie’s hands. There was nothing on the north side but woods. “Who’s the closest to here?” he asked, jabbing his finger at the area where Eli and Dani had disappeared.
With only a quick glance at where he pointed, she tapped a key on her computer. “Decourdeau. It’s where he asked to be, why?”
The man really was beyond spooky the way he seemed to sense the perfect spot. No wonder his teammates had nicknamed him The Seer. “Looks like Eli’s gone rogue. Question is, is that good or bad? Cancel the plane. We won’t be parachuting in. Get Buchanan back here to take command. I want this compound surrounded, and under no circumstances is Dani to be taken back inside. Tell him I’ll keep in touch.”
She handed him two fully charged satellite phones. He put one in his pants pocket, the other in a backpack along with several bottles of water and some protein bars.
“May God be with you, boss.”
Logan nodded, his mind already on finding Dani, and find her he would. There was no other option. He set off to search for Decourdeau. It took two hours. He’d had to evade men from the compound with the same goal as his. They wanted her back, but not nearly as much as he did. He’d kill every one of them if need be. No one but him was ever again putting his hands on her.
“Andre,” Logan hissed.
“Heard ya coming a mile away, mon ami. What took so long?”
Logan emerged from behind a pile of rocks. “Fuck you. Where is she?”
Decourdeau lifted his chin. Logan looked up at the mountain. She was up there, but where? And what was Eli up to? The sun was setting fast, but fortunately, the night was clear and the half-moon would give them some decent light. “Let’s rock while we still have some daylight.”
The heavy wheezing of men sounded behind them. Andre did his disappearing act, and Logan followed suit. Three men—hunting rifles slung over their shoulders—stopped and began arguing only feet away from where Logan had burrowed next to Andre under leaves and dead branches. Every minute their argument lasted was time away from finding Dani. If they didn’t settle it soon, Logan was going to do it for them.
“I ain’t gonna get ate by no mountain lion or get bit by a rattlesnake I can’t see in the dark. I say we go back down and hole up ’til morning.”
“Blessed Son said we’re not to come back without the lady.”
“Then you go tramping around in the dark, Joe, acting like mountain lion bait. We don’t even know if they came this way. As for me, I don’t care what Blessed Son says. ’Sides, he don’t gotta know. Come to think about it, if he wants the woman so bad, why ain’t he out here looking for her? What ’bout you, Richard, you gonna go with him?”
Logan narrowed his eyes at Richard. Make up your mind, man. Decourdeau nudged him, and Logan gave a slight shake of his head, holding up three fingers. He’d give the assholes three minutes before he and Andre settled the discussion for them.
“Yeah, I’m with Joe,” Richard finally said, although Logan thought he sounded reluctant.
Too bad. It would’ve been better if the three had called off the search until morning. Now, with the two idiots stumbling around in the dark, he and Decourdeau would have to do something about it. At least one of them had eliminated himself from the game.
The unnamed man shrugged and turned to go.
“I’m going to have to report you to Blessed Son when I see him,” Joe said.
The man turned around. “Know what, Joe? I don’t rightly care ’cause I’m tired of this crazy place anyhow. I’m thinking I’m gonna walk myself down this mountain and just keep a’going. Wish I could say it’s been fun.”
Smart man. Logan listened to him blundering his way down, half-tripping over rocks and bushes, until the sound of his mutterings ceased.
“Ignorant heathen,” Joe said. “He was never a true believer anyway, so no loss.”
Richard remained quiet. Logan had the impression he envied the heathen and longed to join him. The clock was ticking. The remaining two had less than a minute before they got the surprise of their life. Next to him, Andre shifted like a cat gathering his leg muscles under him, getting ready to spring.
Joe and Richard received a reprieve when they walked off. “Damn, mon ami, why you be wanting to spoil all my fun?”
Logan chuckled. “You’ll get your fun. I’d just rather sneak up on them. Safer that way.” He sat up, pulled the satellite phone out of his pocket, and called Buchanan.
“There’s a man headed back down,” he said, and gave a description when Jake answered. “Claims he’s leaving the cult. Pull him in and if he’s serious, get him out of the area. Then send word to the teams to start rounding up any of these clowns they come across. They’re stumbling around here like a bunch of idiots. Find a place to keep them until we’re done.”
“Got it, boss. You be careful out there.”
“No need to worry, I’m with Decourdeau.”
“Ah, you’re with the demon. In that case, you rule the night.”
“Let’s go put those two out of their misery,” Logan said after hanging up the phone.
He and Andre tracked the cultists for about a half mile. Finally, Richard collapsed onto a rock.
“Hold up, Joe. I need to rest a minute.”
Joe came back and sat next to Richard. He took a canteen off his shoulder, opened it, and drank deep, then handed it to Richard. “You think Eli came this way?”
“Who knows with that boy,” Richard said, handing the canteen back.
Logan walked his fingers in the air, telling Andre to circle behind them, and then watched the Cajun fade away into the dark. Careful where he put his feet, Logan slipped close to the men, taking a position behind the trunk of a tree. When he heard the hoot of an owl, he lifted his gun and screwed a silencer to the end.
“If either one of you moves so much as a finger, you’re a dead man,” he said quietly.
The fools jumped up from the rock, grabbing for their rifles. Logan took aim and shot the barrel of Joe’s rifle, the silencer keeping the noise to a minimum. Both men froze. “Going on the assumption you’re both hard of hearing, I’ll say it one more time. You move, you die.”
“Who’s there?” Joe said, his voice trembling.
“Me, I’m the good guy. It’s the devil behind you that you need to worry about.”
Their heads swiveled. Logan sighed loud enough for them to hear. “Are you boys just stupid or what? My gun’s aimed right between the eyes of one of you. The question is, which of you is going to die first?” That had the desired effect. “Now, here’s how we’re going to do this. While you stand there all nice and quiet, my friend’s going to step up behind you. All you have to do is remember the rule. You move, you die.”
Decourdeau slid behind them like a thief in the night. Both men startled when he put a hand on each of their shoulders and gave them a demonic laugh. Richard peed in his pants. Andre confiscated the rifles and put them on the ground, then pulled plastic ties out of his pocket.
Once Joe and Richard were bound, gagged, and tied to separate trees, Logan called Buchanan, gave him the GPS coordinates, and told him to send two men to retrieve the dumbasses. Taking the rifles with them, he and Andre started up the mountain. When they were a short distance away from the prisoners, Logan pushed the busted rifle underneath a fallen tree.
“That was too easy, mon ami. You gotta let me have a little playtime before we’re done.”
“The night’s not over yet, my friend. Where do you think Eli’s headed?”
“Got no idea where the boy and your woman are. It’s the dogs I’m tracking.”
“I don’t follow.”
“The kid took his Dobies with him. Smart thinking on his part. If he’d left ’em behind, they would’ve led everyone right to Eli and your woman.”
What was Eli up to? He’d stolen Dani, and Logan wanted to hate him for it, but he was Evan’s twin, raised in a warped environment. Until he found out whether he had been brainwashed, he’d give Eli the benefit of a doubt. God help him if he so much as put a scratch on her.
“How do you track the dogs?” Logan ignored Decourdeau’s rolling eyes. It was a good question. He saw nothing that indicated the passing of any canines.
“I can smell ’em.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“I shit you not, and you take one more step, mon ami, you’re gonna smell ’em, too.”
Logan looked down at where his foot hovered. Right, dog shit. He stepped carefully around the pile. “Consider me a convert. Lead on, spooky man.”
Andre grunted and took point.
Dani tripped over a dead branch. “Sorry,” she said when Eli caught her arm, keeping her from falling on her face. She searched behind them, but all she saw was the outline of trees.
Eli had said the dogs were agitated, which meant someone was probably following them. She’d considered leaving a trail, breaking off branches, dragging her feet whenever they were on dirt, anything to make it easier for Logan to find her. That would also lead the men from the compound right to them, so she’d discarded the idea.
“I think it’s okay to rest for a minute,” Eli said.
Thank God. She started to lean back on a boulder, but he stopped her.
“Wait. Let me check for snakes.” He pulled a small flashlight out of his back pocket and holding his hand around the light, he squatted and surveyed the crevices of the rock.
Right. Snakes. Just one more thing she hadn’t thought to worry about. Note to self. No leaning against rocks, no sitting on rocks, no turning one over to see what crawls out.
Eli finished his inspection and turned the light off. “It’s safe.”
Ha. Those suckers were good hiders. He could’ve missed seeing one. “No thanks. I’ll just stand here.” The Dobermans sat in a circle surrounding them. If anything long and sneaky crawled out, the dogs would surely warn her.
He shrugged, then started unbuttoning his shirt. Okay. Time out. Why was he stripping? Granted it was summer, but once the sun had set, it had turned a little chilly. “What are you doing, Eli?”
His fingers paused on a button. “I’ve got something for you.” He pushed his hand into his shirt and pulled out a cell.
Squinting, she leaned forward to see better. Hers? Dani grabbed it. Hot damn, it was. “Awesome.” Logan better have his phone on him. She flipped it open and the disappointment of seeing no bars was almost too much to bear. “No service. Maybe if we go higher?”
“I don’t know, maybe. I’m sorry I got you into this mess, Irish. Somehow I’ll make it up to you.”
“Just get me back home, that’s all I want.”
“I’m gonna do my best.” He reached into his shirt again and brought out her wallet. “Papa Herbert would’ve noticed if your purse was gone, so I took out the phone and wallet. I didn’t think you’d want them having your credit cards or personal information.”
That was an understatement. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
Back his hand went, this time pulling out a bottle of water. “Don’t drink it all, it’s the only one we have.”
“Jeez, you’re like a magician. You going to pull out a rabbit next?”
That got a grin. “That’s it, nothing else. Wish I’d thought to grab some cookies or something.” He held up her wallet. “You want me to hang on to this for now?”
“Sure, but I’m keeping the phone. Do you have a particular place in mind, or are we just going to keep moving all night?”
“I’ve got a place. It’s not much farther. Hold on to the back of my belt and I’ll pull you the rest of the way up.”
“Did you know you’d make a wonderful tour guide, Eli?” She grabbed ahold of him. “Let’s get to it, then.” Curious about his change of mind, she said, “You surprised me when you agreed to take me out of that place. Why? I mean, one minute you’re going to take me to that evil man you call a stepfather and the next we’re running for our lives.”
Not slowing his uphill jog, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “Did you know I’d never watched TV until I went to Asheville to find you?”
“There’s no way I could have known that, Eli, but what does that have to do with now?”
He stopped, grabbed her hand, and pulled her alongside him. “Hard to talk when I’m running, so we’ll walk the rest of the way. I’m not sure you’ll understand, but when you grow up the way I did, closed off from everything, I had no reason to doubt Papa Herbert. Then all of a sudden, I’m out in the world for the first time and things aren’t the way he said. At first, I didn’t know what to think. Was the whole world a lie and Papa Herbert the truth, or was it the other way around?”
Dani couldn’t imagine how it must have been for him. “Are you saying you learned the truth from watching TV?”
“Papa Herbert says TV is the devil’s instrument, so at first I didn’t turn on the one in my motel room.”
“And then you did?”
The same grin she’d seen on her husband’s face so often appeared on Eli’s. “And then I did. Have you ever been to Disney World, Irish?”
“Yeah, it’s a fun place.”
“I watched a show about it one night. I want to go there sometime.”
Although he’d veered off track from what she wanted to know, Dani couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. “You get me back to Asheville, and I’ll take you there.”
“Promise?”
“You have my word. I still don’t understand, though, how TV made you see the truth.”
“I guess things Papa Herbert said just started not adding up. Have you ever watched Dr. Phil?”
Dani stumbled over a root and he steadied her. “Thanks, didn’t see that. I have. Why?”
“One day, he had this girl on who had been raised in a cult. She was confused and sad, and I saw myself. Some things Dr. Phil said got me to thinking. There were other shows, too, that made me wonder if Papa Herbert had been lying all these years. Aside from all that, it was what you said about Evan, that he’d want me to protect y
ou. I thought Papa Herbert meant for me to marry you, but he lied about that, didn’t he?”
“Yes, Eli, that was just another one of his lies.”
He stopped, and troubled eyes turned to her. “I don’t want you to hate me, Irish. Even if Papa Herbert’s a liar, I still believe in God and heaven. That means my brother’s looking down on me, needing me to do right by you.” His eyes watered. “I’m sorry I made such a mess of everything.”
If the men in her life didn’t stop breaking her heart, Dani thought she just might join a nunnery. “Oh, Eli,” she said, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “When we get out of this, you and I are booking a flight to Disney.”
“Without your soldier? He won’t like that.”
Dani laughed. “I daresay he’ll insist on coming with us. Come on, brother, let’s haul ass.”
Dani held the flashlight Eli had left her and scanned the small cave for snakes and bats. Leaving two of the dogs behind to guard her, he’d gone out with the other two, telling her he wanted to scout around and make sure no one had followed them. Keeping up hadn’t been easy as they’d climbed the mountain. Even in tennis shoes, her feet were screaming in protest at the trek he’d forced on them.
Once her vermin search was satisfied, she checked her phone for the sixth time. Still no signal. With nothing else to do, she curled into a corner and waited for Eli to return. The dogs, Luke and John, she thought, came and sat in front of her, their eyes focused expectantly on the entrance to the cave. She’d seen Eli give them a hand signal. He must have told them to guard her, and she had no complaints with that.
She was dozing off when low feral growls from both dogs had her pushing up against the rock wall. She shone the flashlight on them, saw the razor-sharp hair on their backs, and raised the flashlight to illuminate the entrance.
Mean Eyes slowly grinned. “Well, well, what have we here?”
Smirk Face poked his head around his companion’s shoulder and smirked. “Hello, little girl. Blessed Son’s not very happy with you right now.”
The dogs stood and bared their teeth. Mean Eyes pulled the rifle off his shoulder and lifted it, aiming the gun at Luke, or was it John? It didn’t matter, she refused to give him the chance to hurt either one. Dani scrambled forward and grabbed their collars, pulling them in front of her. “You shoot one of them, you risk shooting me. What’s BS going to say about that?”
Crazy for Her (A K2 Team Novel) Page 25