Thinking ahead, plotting their escape, Marian approached Agnes and Oliver"s car. Since she couldn"t be sure an alarm wouldn"t go off if she tampered with the doors, she decided on using a simple method to disable the vehicle. After removing the knife from its sheath, she squatted on her haunches and sliced the pa.s.senger side front tire, then she proceeded to inflict similar damage on the other three tires.
Returning to the house, Mariah tried the back door first and to her amazement, it wasn"t locked. Were these people so sure they were safe that they hadn"t even locked the doors? Of course they thought they were safe. No one-other than she and Lester-had known where they were. And since she was supposed to be dead by now, Burgess had probably left the door unlocked for Lester"s return. Well, Lester wouldn"t be returning. Not tonight. Not ever again.
But she was back!
Mariah eased open the door. The soft creak sounded loud to her ears, intensified by her nervousness and fear. Yes, she was afraid. She was scared out of her mind. Afraid that she wouldn"t be able to rescue Jake.
As she made her way silently out of the kitchen, she pa.s.sed the closed bedroom door where she supposed Agnes and Oliver lay sleeping. Just as she headed toward the living room, she heard the rumble of voices. She stopped dead in her tracks. With her heart beating wildly and adrenaline rushing through her body, she realized the voices were coming from the bedroom. Agnes and Oliver were not asleep! d.a.m.n.
She eased over to the bedroom door and listened.
"I believe we should take Jake directly to the compound in the morning and have Gideon brought there as well," Oliver said. "Until he sees his brother and we make him realize we will sacrifice Gideon, if necessary, Jake isn"t likely to cooperate with us."
"I agree with you," Agnes replied. "We should be able to drive to Verde Valley in a few hours. We"ll call ahead to the new compound and make sure they"re expecting us. I"ll tell Willard he can personally sit in on the reunion between Jake and Gideon. He"ll enjoy that."
"Yes, he"ll enjoy it tremendously."
"We"ll have to see that Gideon is moved later tomorrow and brought to Verde Valley so we can facilitate this brotherly reunion very soon. Within the next twenty-four hours. We don"t want to rush it. I believe Jake needs some time to stew."
Verde Valley? They were going to bring Gideon Faulkner to a place called Verde Valley. And it was only a few hours drive from here. But where was here? Mariah had no idea where Verde Valley was or if it was an actual location on the map, a real town in Arizona, or if it was simply the name for the Coalition"s new compound. But she had an idea that the bureau knew about this place, even if they didn"t know the exact location. The first chance she got, she"d contact her superior and report in. She"d trade information with him. What would she do if Jake didn"t want the bureau brought in at this point? Regardless of his reaction, she would have to tell him that she"d already sent out an SOS in the hopes the bureau could nab Agnes and Oliver.
She would just have to figure out all the details later. Right now, she had to get to Jake and set him free without waking Burgess or alerting Agnes and Oliver. Easy as pie, her inner voice told her sarcastically.
Years of training had taught her how to maneuver silently under the worst circ.u.mstances, but to be prepared for the unknown in every situation. She approached the living room, studied the area and its contents, as well as Burgess, snoring where he lay on the sofa, and Jake, head bent and quiet, in the straight-back chair. Quickly, deftly, barely breathing, she went directly to Jake, whose head snapped up when she reached him. Their gazes met and locked in the semidarkness. She recognized the relief in his eyes. And something more. Happiness? Love? His mouth opened, but when she shook her head, he nodded, indicating that he understood the need for absolute silence. She worked hurriedly to untie the rope binding his legs and as the knots loosened, she lowered the rope to the floor. Jake lifted his feet up and over the rope. Then Mariah slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the keys that had freed her from her cuffs, hoping they would also fit Jake"s. She inserted the key in the lock and-presto-the metal restraints opened. With the utmost ease, Jake removed the cuffs and when he stood, he laid them quietly in the seat of the chair.
Burgess snorted. Mariah froze to the spot. Jake stood rigid and unmoving. Burgess sucked in air and began snoring monotonously again. Mariah led Jake toward the kitchen.
She grasped the k.n.o.b and cracked open the door. It squeaked softly as it had when she"d entered the cabin.
"That you, Lester?" Burgess called out, his voice heavy with sleep.
d.a.m.n! Mariah flung open the door. She and Jake broke into a full run, straight down the road. The frigid predawn air cut through her clothing like razor-sharp blades. By the time they were halfway to the main road where the Saturn was parked, her chest ached. From somewhere behind them she heard shouting, voices echoing in the mountain stillness. Burgess had no doubt awakened fully and alerted Agnes and Oliver. But if they followed Jake and her, they"d have to do so on foot. With four slashed tires, their car wasn"t going anywhere.
The open gate lay ahead, only a few yards away. Jake kept pace with her. He didn"t seem to even be breathing hard. When they reached the Saturn, she jumped behind the wheel as Jake slid into the pa.s.senger seat. Just as she inserted the key and started the SUV, a rifle shot rang out, followed by another. The second shot hit the right rear door.
Mariah revved the engine, shoved the gears into drive and raced off, leaving behind a cloud of fresh snow and loose gravel.
Twelve.
"Just what the h.e.l.l happened?" Agnes Payne yelled at the top of her lungs as she glared menacingly at Burgess.
Oliver had seen his wife in a fit of rage on numerous occasions and he usually did his best to steer clear of her. But there was no escape. He sincerely hoped she didn"t kill Burgess on the spot. He"d known her to shoot first and ask questions later.
"h.e.l.l, if I know." Burgess"s deep voice quivered. "I swear I thought I heard Lester coming in and then I realized Ingram was gone and-"
Agnes slapped Burgess soundly. The big man looked at her, slightly dazed, fear in his eyes. "You fool. Do you know what your negligence has cost us? Jake Ingram was the prize-the grand prize. And you"ve allowed him to escape."
"But how was I to know that Dr. Brooks would get away from Lester? She should be dead, shouldn"t she?"
"Yes, she most definitely should be dead," Agnes replied, her tone minacious and condescending. "But my guess is that Lester is the one who"s dead. And you know what that means?"
Burgess shook his head.
Perhaps Burgess didn"t know what Dr. Brooks"s escape from Lester meant, but Oliver suspected he knew. Dr. Brooks was not a psychiatrist, not a loyal Coalition member who"d been swayed by Jake Ingram"s charm. She was probably a government agent of some sort. Highly trained. Not only smarter than Lester and Ingram, but possessing the ability to overpower a man twice her size.
"It means that our Dr. Brooks is probably a federal agent," Agnes said. "Someone trained in self-defense."
"If you thought she might be an agent, why did you think Lester could handle her?" Burgess asked. "Isn"t it partly your fault?"
No, no, Oliver wanted to say, but kept quiet. Burgess had done the wrong thing by trying to shift any part of the blame onto Agnes. As Oliver suspected she would do, she slapped Burgess again. The man glowered at her; his hand tightened around the rifle he held.
"We"re wasting valuable time, my dear." Oliver dared to voice an opinion. "We should contact headquarters and have someone come for us as soon as possible."
The sound of Oliver"s voice-the voice of calm and reason-seemed to soothe her for the moment. She nodded, then said, "Yes, of course. I"ll make the call. We can deal with Burgess later."
The minute Agnes went inside the cabin to contact their new headquarters here in Arizona, Burgess turned to Oliver. "It wasn"t my fault. You know it wasn"t."
"If you"d been alert, it wouldn"t have happened. Therefore, it is your fault."
"But you heard her say that-"
"Never contradict my wife. Your best defense is to admit guilt and beg her forgiveness."
Burgess shifted his feet restlessly, as if he needed to go to the bathroom. It became apparent that the man was more than just nervous because of Agnes"s tongue-lashing.
"Is there something else?" Oliver asked. "Some problem we don"t know about?"
"What-what else could there be?"
"You tell me."
Burgess shrugged.
"If you"re hiding something, you"d better tell me now. If Agnes finds out about whatever it is, you"ll need me on your side if you don"t want her to kill you."
"She"d actually kill me? G.o.d, man, I"d heard rumors about her, but-"
"Never listen to rumors," Oliver told him. "Listen to a man who"s been at her side for over thirty years. You do not screw around with Agnes Payne."
"Look, it was Lester"s idea to take the d.a.m.n thing when we picked up Ingram at Redcom."
"What thing did you pick up?"
"The laptop. I knew I shouldn"t have listened to that idiot, but he said we could sell it and make a few extra bucks."
"A laptop computer? You stole a computer from Redcom?"
"It was in the room with Ingram when we picked him up for transport. It was just sitting there on the desk and Lester grabbed it while I hoisted Ingram over my shoulder."
The blood ran cold in Oliver"s veins. He suspected that Lester had stolen one of the laptops used throughout the complex in Oregon-a direct link to the Coalition"s main computer system.
"Where is that computer now?" Oliver asked. "Is it back at the cabin where you first took Ingram?"
Burgess shook his head.
"Then where is it?"
"It"s in the Saturn. Under the front seat."
"d.a.m.n!" Oliver grabbed Burgess by the coat lapels and shook him, disregarding the fact that the man was half a foot taller and outweighed him by more than fifty pounds.
"Dr. Brooks might not find it," Burgess said as he freed himself from Oliver"s tenacious hold. "Why would she look under the front seat?"
"Because, you fool, if she is a trained agent, as we suspect, she"ll go over that SUV with a fine-tooth comb." Oliver turned and headed toward the house.
"Do you have to tell Dr. Payne?"
"Of course I have to tell her. If that laptop is what I suspect it is, it is most likely linked directly to our computer at both the Oregon compound and the new compound at Verde Valley."
"Holy sh- I screwed up big time, huh?"
"Yes, Mr. Burgess, you most certainly screwed up big time."
About a mile down the road, Jake caught his breath enough to actually talk. Everything had happened so fast that he hadn"t had time to think, only to act and react. He"d been so sure Mariah was dead, certain that Lester had raped and then killed her. But he should have known that if any woman could escape, Mariah could. Remember, she"s a highly trained federal agent, he told himself. And you"ve witnessed, firsthand, what an expert she is at martial arts. She probably outsmarted Lester and took the first opportunity to overpower the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Jake hoped like h.e.l.l that the man was dead.
"Want to tell me what happened?" Jake stared at Mariah, her dark silhouette clearly visible within the SUV.
"Lester"s orders were to kill me. Naturally, he tried to rape me first. I decided he wasn"t going to do either. I got the upper hand and shot him. Twice. He"s dead."
"And instead of going for help, you decided to come to my rescue on your own, huh?"
"Something like that. I knew Agnes and Oliver were planning on moving you first thing in the morning. I couldn"t risk waiting. If they"d moved you, we might not have been able to track you."
"Stop for a few minutes, will you?"
Mariah hazarded a glance at Jake while driving at top speed down the icy mountain road. "What?"
"Stop the truck. Just for two minutes."
Mariah slowed the SUV, then stopped right in the middle of the desolate road, shifting into idle and leaving the motor running. When she turned to him, expecting him to say something, she got quite a surprise. Jake reached across the console and grabbed her face with his open palms, then brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her. He kept kissing her until they were both breathless. Then he lifted his head, caressed her cheek and smiled.
"Lady, I thought you were dead. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?"
"Sad?"
"Devastated."
"Really?" Tears glistened in her eyes.
"Mariah Daley, when this crazy business is all over-"
She put two fingers to his lips. "I thought we weren"t going to make any promises."
"No promises. Not yet. h.e.l.l, we don"t know if either one of us will come out of this mess alive. But you need to know... I need to tell you... When I thought Lester had killed you, I realized exactly how much you mean to me. More than anything or anyone. More than my own life."
"Oh, Jake. Dammit."
Using his fingertip, he wiped away the lone tear that escaped from her eye. "Now, let"s get moving again. We can talk while you drive."
"Hey, who"s the federal agent around here anyway? I"m the one who"s supposed to be in charge."
"With us, it"ll always be a toss-up as to who"s the boss. Maybe we should just agree right now to take turns."
Mariah shifted gears and put her foot on the gas. "Today is my turn," she told him.
"Any particular reason you want to be the boss today?"
"Because I want to call my superior at the bureau and-"
"No way! If I hadn"t been so d.a.m.n relieved to see you alive, I"d have questioned you before we high-tailed it out of there. Just how do you propose we find Gideon now that we"ve escaped?"
"You left with me because you knew that if Agnes and Oliver caught me, they would kill me. You put my safety above everything else. Don"t you think I know-"
"You come first, Mariah," he told her. "Is that what you wanted to hear? But that doesn"t mean I"ve given up on finding Gideon or on recovering the computer disk."
"I didn"t think that"s what it meant. However, we"re going to need the bureau to help us. I know where the new compound is and I overheard Agnes and Oliver discussing bringing Gideon there to set up a reunion between you two brothers."
"When did you hear this? Where"s the compound?"
"I overheard them talking right before I freed you. The Arizona compound is somewhere near a place called Verde Valley."
"Is that a town?" Jake asked.
"I have no idea. That"s why I have to get in touch with Johnson, my immediate superior. He can help us. I have a feeling they already know about this place and if they don"t, then they have the equipment and manpower to locate it before we can. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless a certain laptop computer stashed away under my seat might be able to give us the information we need."
"And just where did this laptop come from?" Jake asked.