“What happened to your wife, Jacobson?” Victoria couldn’t help asking. She sensed the younger man was hurting and she wanted to help if she could.
Ian bowed his head, but finally answered. “She died of ovarian cancer, Victoria. She was diagnosed and less than three months later she was gone. Julia was only twenty-five years old at the time.”
“I’m so sorry,” Victoria told him, reaching over to touch his hand.
“We loved each other as intensely as the two of you love each other.”
“And when you heard us last night, it caused you to remember… and that’s why you couldn’t sleep,” she deduced.
He merely nodded, and then turned his attention to breakfast by giving her another compliment. “These potatoes are delicious. Would you show me how to make them while we’re here?”
“I’d be happy to.”
“I think we need to leave this place,” Griffin suddenly stated.
“No! I am not riding in that van today! I couldn’t tolerate it, and I told you that last night!” Victoria was adamant.
“I don’t have a good feeling about staying here,” he insisted, and in the next instant they heard a gunshot!
Chapter Six
Xavier had the two agents brought to him, having come to the only conclusion he could. “You are both working for General Weatherby and you both played a part in killing his granddaughter.” One of the agents pulled a gun and motioned for Xavier to stay where he was. When the other man moved in his direction, he shot him dead.
“Graves wasn’t your partner, Oscar?” Xavier knew he had to keep the other man talking or he would be as dead as Graves and Angela.
“He fancied himself in love with me, and I will admit I encouraged the fool. Pretending to be gay brought about a level of trust and loyalty that I couldn’t have achieved in any other way.” He leveled his gray eyes on Xavier. “Where is the woman, Xavier?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me. General Weatherby wants answers and he wants them now. You might tell yourself you are giving in to a man’s dying request.”
“Not when the man is General Weatherby. Tell me, Oscar, why are you working for someone of his reputation?”
“Very simple… Money.”
“Okay, I’ll give you even more money. I’ll double what he is offering.”
“Nice try, Xavier, but I accepted General Weatherby’s offer. If I switched sides now I would lose my credibility and my value would be greatly reduced to whomever wishes to hire my services next. Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” Xavier lied.
“Too bad, Xavier. I will have to test you to see if you are speaking the truth.”
Xavier knew he was in deep trouble.
* * *
The gunshot was followed by another and Griff quickly pulled Victoria down and placed his body in front of hers. “Griff, you are blocking any shot I might have!” she complained.
“Hush!” Jacobson ordered in a harsh whisper. “I’m going to try and get a focus on where the shots are originating, Griff. Keep Victoria down.”
There were two more shots, and then they heard excited shouting outside.
“Hunters,” Jacobson whispered in relief. “Just hunters.”
“Hey, look at this neat cabin. Oops, we might be trespassing, guys.”
“Let’s go inside and check it out. No one will ever know.” Victoria felt Griff tense, and Jacobson gave him a solemn look before he made a decision he didn’t know if he was going to regret.
“What the hell is going on out here so early?” he growled, mussing his hair and trying to look like he’d just crawled out of bed. He fumbled with the locks on the door and stepped out into the early morning sunlight to see three hunters standing there. One look told him that they weren’t really hunters. “Could you guys keep it down? Too much partying last night and my head is pounding.” He made an effort to look miserable.
“Sounds like you need a hair of the dog, friend.” One of the men tried to get closer to him and Ian reacted immediately. Two of them were dead before the third realized they were in trouble. Ian dispatched of him, too, and he hurried inside and locked the door.
“You were right, Griff. We need to haul ass, pronto. General Weatherby knows where we are and he’s probably sending more people this way as we speak.”
“Noooo! I don’t want to ride in a car again today,” Victoria complained. “Won’t they expect us to run when these bozos don’t call in to say they don’t have us?”
“Victoria, this is not the time to argue. We are leaving right now. End of discussion.” Griff took her hand and pulled her toward the front door and where they’d left the vehicle.
“Let’s go this way, Griff and Victoria,” Jacobson called to them, pointing to the back door. “I’m sure they disabled the van just in case something went wrong.”
Griff instantly nodded, his respect for the younger man growing with each passing moment. It seemed as though he thought of everything. “Let’s go,” he said.
Victoria was not happy. She had a very sore butt and she was very tired of these people trying to kill her. General Weatherby was pure scum of the worst kind, and she was tempted to allow herself to be captured so she could go there and put an end to him. The world would be a much better place. She resented his fixation on her, and she hated that Griff was in danger because of her. “Griffin, stop.” She plated her feet and refused to budge. “I want you to let them capture me and take me to General Weatherby. I will find a way to take him down. I cannot bear for you to be in danger because of something I did. And, I don’t like it that Jacobson is in jeopardy, too. I can get in and do the job; I know I can. Running from the man is not my style.”
“When we get out of this damned mess, remind me to spank you until you have no butt left to spank, Mrs. Conway. The answer is no. NO! Do you hear me?” he hissed. “The only way that sick bastard is going to get his hands on you is if I am dead. Now you move your sweet butt before I lose what little control I have right now and take the time to paddle your ass in front of God, Jacobson, and any birds and wildlife that wants to watch. This is not an idle threat, woman. Move your tush.” Griff was furious. More furious than he could recall ever being with his sweet little wife. She was trying again to protect him, and he wasn’t worthy of that. She was his woman and it was his right and duty to protect her. “Damn it, Victoria. Don’t you even think that way!” he scolded as Jacobson led them as a brisk pace through the woods behind the cabin.
“Griff, you need to shut up,” Ian told the other man. “I can’t hear with you ranting at Victoria.”
Victoria felt like crying. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, reaching up to touch him. “I love you just as much as you love me, and…”
“I know, honey. God, I know. Don’t you even think of giving yourself to them. Promise me?” he begged.
“I promise,” she said the only words that could give him peace of mind. She loved him, and if it came down to her life for his, she would gladly pay the price.
Ian made them run another three miles through the wooded area around the lake before he came to a van that had seen better days. “Get in,” he ordered. “We need to get out of here before those three are spotted.” Once they were in the van, he started the engine and drove through the maze of gravel roads around the lake until they were on paved road.
“Stop the van in that gas station, Jacobson,” Griffin ordered in a tone of voice that commanded instant obedience. Once the van stopped, Griff hopped out and searched every inch of the underneath. He found what he was looking for, and then found another… and still another. He put all three tracking devices on a semi and then got back in the van and said, “I think I found all of them.”
“Whose?” Ian demanded.
“One was ours, two belonged to someone else, so they spotted the van when they hiked back to the cabin. General Weatherby is taking no chances and sparing no expense. I think we need to rack our brains and go
somewhere he won’t know to look for us.”
“I have a place that no one knows about,” Victoria spoke up from the back seat.
“Where is it, honey, and how can you be sure no one knows?”
“It doesn’t belong to me, for one thing. My hairdresser’s boyfriend owns it. I was a guest there one weekend, and I know where the key is. Liz wouldn’t mind if we borrowed it.”
“Where is it, Victoria?”
She answered and Ian quickly calculated the distance. “It will take us a couple of hours to get there, but I’m out of safe places. What do you think, Griff?”
“I say we go for it. We should get there before that son of a bitch floods the area with more of his hired mercenaries.”
“They keep the cabin stocked with supplies, so will be fine in the food department.” Victoria didn’t know how on earth her poor butt was going to survive sitting for the next couple of hours, and this van featured just four captain’s chairs. They might lean back, but that did not relieve her sore backside.
“Victoria? Did you hear me?”
“I’m sorry, Griff. My mind was elsewhere.”
“Don’t be afraid. I will keep you safe; I promise.”
“I’m not afraid,” she insisted. “I am angry. The man is dying; he should be spending time with his family… If he has any family who wants to be with him… Not focusing all his energy on killing me for putting him in prison. I would love the opportunity to put him back there.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
“This is the last time I run, Griff.” She meant the words and something in her voice conveyed that message to Griffin. He turned to look at her and the set of her jaw and the look in her eyes told him she was serious. She would take a stand if it came down to it, and he prayed that Xavier caught the old man soon.
* * *
“Are you ready to talk yet, Xavier?” Oscar asked. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Xavier continued to lie. Oscar broke another of his fingers. Xavier refused to cry out, using the pain to strengthen his resolve. Just as suddenly as the torture started it was ended. Two of Xavier’s operatives realized something was terribly wrong when they didn’t hear from their boss when they should have, and they arrived and quickly pinned Oscar to the floor.
“Don’t kill him,” Xavier managed to give instructions through the haze of pain that engulfed him as he allowed himself to feel once more. “He knows where General Weatherby is hiding.”
“Don’t expect any mercy from us, Oscar. You are a traitor!” The female operative made sure he was securely tied to the other chair in the interrogation room. She was devastated to learn the man she’d had an affair with was such a piece of work. She’d thought herself in love.
“Come here, Sabrina,” Xavier called to her. When she was close, he whispered, “Let Zane handle this.”
“No… He tried to use me!”
“Yes, but we need to concentrate on the main issue here, which is protecting Griff and Victoria Conway. Please don’t force me to make it an order, Sabrina.”
She flashed a heated look at the man who was already sniveling in fear. “Yes, Xavier. He is not worth a kick in the teeth.” She looked down and said, “I will get Doc for you. You are in terrible pain.”
“I will live, thanks to you,” he smiled, even though it hurt to do so. He looked through swollen eyes at Oscar. Where is he, Oscar?”
“I can’t tell you, Xavier. He will kill me just like he killed Angela; he is crazy and obsessed.”
“I already know this. Make it easy on yourself, Oscar. I do not have time to waste and I will make you wish you’d never been born if I have to.”
* * *
The atmosphere in the car was tense. Victoria knew better than ask them to stop for coffee, just so she could get out of the car for a few minutes. Griff wouldn’t hear of it; he was too busy watching each car and truck that came close to them, a gun in his hand and ready to fire if necessary. By the same token Jacobson kept both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes on the road and mentally planning their escape at any second should it be necessary. Neither man said much, and she was left to feel sorry for herself because sitting was beyond uncomfortable. “Are we close to Tiemery yet?” she finally asked when the squirming told her she needed to get up.
“We have at least another forty minutes, Victoria. You need to put your seatbelt back on,” Griff bossed.
“No,” she replied, giving him to know she wasn’t going to be ordered around. She pulled her knees up under her and knelt on the seat, giving her aching bottom some relief.
“Victoria, you know that isn’t safe. Sit down and put on your seatbelt. If we need to make a run for it, you could be thrown.”
“I am too sore to sit, Griff.”
“You will be even sorer if I have to ask Jacobson to stop this van so I can seat you and put the seat belt around you myself!”
“Do not threaten me, Griffin Conway! It is your fault I am so sore. If I fly out the window, then I will accept the responsibility for it, but I am NOT going to sit right now.”
“You are making a target of yourself, Victoria,” Ian tried to reason with the woman, but she was too upset to be sensible.
“So, drive faster… Or better yet, pull over and let me walk!” she demanded with a show of temper.
“Victoria Conway, you are asking for another spanking.”
“No, Griffin Conway, I am certainly NOT asking for another spanking. In fact, I am adamantly opposed to a spanking of any kind for at least the next six months! Now please, get back to securitizing the traffic and ignore me. I am not bratting; I am impossibly sore and in terrible pain.”
“If I had a pillow I would give it to you, Victoria, but I don’t,” Griff shocked her by saying. “Now stop behaving like a whining child and sit down and buckle up. You are drawing attention, and that is the last thing we want.”
Victoria cursed fluently, cursing Griff in several different languages, but she did as she was told, knowing that if she attracted the wrong attention it could get them all killed. Tears ran down her face as she was once again trapped on the seat, her bottom pressed against the leather. She was not one bit comfortable, and she hated the fact that she was so miserable she couldn’t keep from crying, even though the tears made her feel weak. She steadfastly turned her head so that she was looking out the window on her right side.
Griff heard Victoria’s tantrum and it was all he could do to keep himself from telling Jacobson to stop the vehicle so he could paddle her rump until she calmed down. It wasn’t like her to act like such a brat, and he wasn’t going to put up with it now. She needed to keep a cool head just in case there was trouble and she had to act quickly. Right now she was so emotional that it wouldn’t take but two seconds for someone or anyone to set her off like a stick of dynamite. He clamped his lips tightly shut to keep from scolding her in front of Jacobson.
Victoria cried silently, scolding herself for behaving so badly. It certainly wasn’t Jacobson’s or Griff’s fault they had to flee the cabin, and it wasn’t their fault that Liz and Cal’s cabin was so far away. She’d known that Griff would spank her soundly the moment she opened the door to Jacobson when Griff wasn’t there. She was in pain, and she was taking it out on everyone. She had to pull herself together and get over herself. If there was trouble of any kind, they would have to trust each other. She slowly pulled herself together and forced herself to endure sitting. Yes, it did hurt, but they were safe, and that was all that mattered. She waited a few more minutes and then said, “Griff, I’m sorry for losing my temper and acting like an idiot. I am alright now. Jacobson, I know none of this is your fault. Please forgive me for being so rude.”
“There is nothing to forgive, Victoria. I’m glad you are feeling better,” Ian said quietly.
“We will discuss your behavior when we are alone, Mrs. Conway,” Griff said quietly. “Right now we all need to keep our eyes peeled on this road and other cars.”
“Do you think we should change this van out for something else?” Ian asked the other man. He knew Griff removed all the bugs he could see, but Ian couldn’t shake the feeling that they were in serious trouble.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Griff answered. “Why don’t we stop in the next town and get a paper and buy something from a local, not a dealer. It will be harder for anyone to trace that way.”
“I don’t think all three of us should approach anyone,” Victoria said, adding her opinion. “I think only one of us should see to buying a car, and it should be me. I can disguise myself easier than either of you can, and they wouldn’t expect that I would be the one to buy a car.”
“Victoria has a point,” Ian said to Griff.
“I agree. We’ll drop Victoria off; she can buy the car; then come and get us wherever we decide to leave the van… You don’t want to make the car owners suspicious, honey, so you’ll need to haggle the price down as much as possible. Then you’ll call your father to get his opinion. I want you to appear as young as possible, Victoria, and act like this is the first car you are buying yourself.”
“I can do that,” she said, nodding. She loved playing roles, and it would be fun to do something that the guys couldn’t do as well as she could. She took her hair and pulled it into two pony tails, and took her shirt and unbuttoned the buttons and tied the shirttails into a knot below her breasts. While she didn’t look like a high school kid, she knew she could pass for a young adult. They stopped and bought a paper out of a machine, and while Griff scanned the ads, Jacobson ran into a WalMart and got a throw away phone. He activated it, and gave the phone to Victoria to make a call about a car. She had enough in cash with her to pay for it, but of course, she would try to get the car for less. The two men dropped her off at the house, and she was to buy the car and come and pick them up in the WalMart parking lot when she was done.
Of All the Luck! Page 7