Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-Up\Force of Nature\Yuletide Jeopardy\Wilderness Peril (73 page)

Gold.

They'd struck gold. And by the sounds of it, they'd found a lot.

Rick closed the door behind him and jogged down the steps. He fled around the corner, hoping to stay in the cover of darkness and yet look as if he were just another one of the guys about his business. He walked like a man with someplace important to go and glanced into every window of every building he passed.

Ignoring the unending pain. Pressing through the dizziness. He was reliving a scene from his past and this time, he would get the people he cared about to safety.

An ATV rolled up to the mess hall. Rick slinked into the shadows, then crept along the edge of the woods to the kitchen. Maybe Shay was in there. They'd seen the sat phone there with Kemp several times.

“God, please, don't let me mess this up. Please, let me get her out of here. Let her be where I can get her. Let me find Aiden. Please...make a way.”

Light flooded out of the window in the back of the kitchen and Rick pressed against the wall, determined to peek through cautiously. Someone might be standing at the sink doing dishes, so he didn't want to be seen. He watched the shadows and light and when he was sure it was safe, he edged closer and looked inside.

Shay!

Kemp suddenly appeared and slapped her across an already bruised face. She faced off with him, defiant to the last. Defiant in spite of her tears. The woman had fire and guts.

But rage boiled up inside of Rick at the sight of what Kemp was doing to her. All because Rick hadn't been there to protect her. He couldn't just stand here and watch as Kemp grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, hurting her. He gripped the doorknob, ready to burst into the kitchen, but held himself back from entering. Wait...he had to do this right.

God, help me.

He looked through the window again to count the men inside, easily seen in the room's electric light. Not so easy for them to see him outside in the darkness.

Someone entered the mess hall, clomping inside. A voice called for Kemp. One of the two men Rick had seen arriving on the ATV?

Whoever it was, his arrival made Kemp go pale.

He shoved Shay against the counter before turning his attention to someone he feared. Rick saw it in his eyes.

Was this the chance he and Shay needed to get away? Or did the new arrivals herald a disaster that would engulf them with no chance of escape?

EIGHTEEN

S
hay clutched the counter, grateful that Kemp had let her go. He'd turned a few shades of pale when someone had ground out his name. Had she seen terror in his eyes?

“So you thought you could outwit us, did you?” The man had a hateful, growling voice.

A familiar voice.

Kemp left the kitchen for the dining hall, but Shay could still see him through the serving window. She kept her head down, wishing she had longer hair to cover her eyes, and watched the scene play out, while her mind scrambled with how to get out of here.

When the man took his hat off, Shay froze. He was one of the men who had tried to kill her and Rick in the truck. Who'd
thought
he'd succeeded in killing her and Rick by shoving their Jeep over the side of a cliff. They'd wanted to keep her and Rick from making the trip to the mining claim, and now she understood why. They feared Kemp was a flight risk if he could get a mechanic to the claim. Or maybe they just didn't want to split the gold with any more people?

Her heart thrummed erratically, turning her breaths into gasps. She was sure the man would hear her and look straight at her.

Kill her right then.

One of the miners stood from the table, the chair scraping the floor in the dead silence. “What's going on, Kemp? Who are these men?”

“None of your concern.” Kemp had regained some of his bristle. “Leave us.”

Suspicious, the miner narrowed his eyes.

She had to get out of here. Find Rick. She fumbled around with a pan on the stove, pretending to be working in the kitchen, but no one was paying any attention to her. Everyone was too focused on the face-off between Kemp and this new threat.

He'd double-crossed someone else and they were here to collect.

“We want what's owed us. You can have the rest, if there's anything left.” They guffawed as if they'd played a real joke on Kemp. And maybe they had.

Shay eyed the back door to the kitchen. How could a few inches seem so far? Easing along the counter, she studied the seasonings on the spice rack, reminding herself to just act normal. As soon as she was near the door, she drew in a breath, worked up the nerve then quietly slipped out, closing it softly behind her, praying no one had noticed.

She took one step into the shadows and came face to face with a man.

Her mouth opened to scream, but his hand clamped over it. At the same moment, recognition flooded her.

Rick!

Shay almost collapsed with relief, but Rick supported her. He ushered her away from the kitchen and deeper into the shadows, into the woods behind the buildings. A place they could talk without being seen or heard. Shay leaned into him, fearing she might actually crumple as the terror drained from her body.

“Oh, Rick,” she choked in a sob against his shirt. All that mattered right now was just that he was here.

“Shh.” He wrapped his arms around her, his voice calming. “You're safe.”

She'd never thought he could be so tender, but through all of this, he'd shown her that and much more. Was it any wonder she'd fallen in love with him?

“It's okay,” he said, and released her to look in her eyes. “We have to get out of here. Quick. Tell me what happened. What's going on?”

“Okay, well...” She started to shake and hated herself for it. “They found gold. A lot of it. And then just now in the kitchen, those two men who ran us off the cliff showed up wanting to collect what Kemp owes them.”

Rick frowned. “What about the sat phone? I specifically told you not to go look for it. So did you?”

“Yes... I...” Shay nodded. “I found it and made the call but didn't get to finish it.”

Gripping her shoulders, Rick drew her closer. “Is help coming?”

“It should be. I told Connor we were in trouble. I didn't get it all out, but he knows we're at the mine. He has Reg, his FBI brother, working security detail and he has connections, doesn't he?”

“Yes. You did good.” Rick gently touched the bruise around her eye. “Did Kemp do this to you?”

“It doesn't matter now. Let's go.”

Rick pulled his hand away. “Aiden. I have to find him. Then we'll head for the airplane. If that doesn't work, we'll wait these guys out in the wilderness until Connor sends help for us.”

“I agree we should find him if we can. But, Rick, be careful. Those men in there. I think they're going to kill Kemp and then everyone else. They didn't say it in so many words, but they're not going to get the gold without a battle.”

Machine-gun fire rattled off in the distance.

Rick tensed, a faraway look sweeping over his features. “Let's go.”

He tugged Shay behind him along the edge of the woods, listening as commotion and fury spread through the camp.

Men scrambled from the dig and picked up their arms, understanding all too well that someone had come to take their gold. Pushing through the edges of the camp, Rick stopped at a boulder and turned to Shay.

He held her face in his hands. “I need you to stay here. I'm going to find Aiden. I'll come back for you.”

“Wait. Rick, are you crazy? No. You can't.” Shay couldn't wait for him here, not knowing if he'd return. Not knowing what was happening.

“Shay, this is a war zone now. You know how to fix your planes. This is what I know how to do. Trust me, okay? It's easier for me to find him if I go on my own. No one is going to see you or look for you out here. Just duck down in the shadows of this rock. Don't worry. I'm not going far.”

Rick angled his head, looking at her lips. Then he kissed her hard and quick.

The next thing Shay knew, he'd disappeared, leaving her there stunned from his kiss and hiding behind a rock.

* * *

The bomb went off in Rick's mind.

He felt the concussion of air again, his past propelling him, tossing him forward as he bolted for the building.

This was Afghanistan all over again. His mission all over again. And once again, he knew that people would die.

But last time, there wasn't a woman he loved waiting in the shadows for him to return. Waiting for him to take her to safety. This time, he'd have to get it right—he wouldn't accept any other option.

The rapid-fire shots of an automatic weapon belted out, resounding throughout the camp. They drowned out all other sounds except Rick's long, hard breaths, gasps for air as he shoved away the flashbacks.

Shay was counting on him.

Keeping to the shadows, he crept to one of the buildings, hoping to find a clue to his brother's location.

The shadow of a man carrying a rifle drew long in front of the building, approaching Rick's position. His cadence and posture were familiar, and after a minute of thinking, Rick remembered the guy—he'd been the one to shoot the four-point buck.

Rick pressed against the wall.

Wait for it.

The man hesitated at the corner, but Rick had the advantage of seeing his shadow. The man could see nothing of Rick. Didn't even know he was there.

Rick had to be quick. Catch the man before he whipped his weapon around.

Sensing someone waiting, the rifleman aimed his weapon into the darkness. But Rick reached out and knocked the rifle down, then drove the butt of the weapon up into the man's jaw, disarming him in one fell swoop.

While adrenaline coursed through his body, he no longer felt the pain of his gunshot wound. Rick squeezed the man's throat as he pressed him against the building. “Where's my brother?”

The man struggled to speak. “I...don't...know...”

Rick punched him in the gut. “I don't have time for this. Where would Kemp keep someone hidden?”

The rifleman shook his head, the whites of his eyes showing his fear, stirring up far too many memories of past battlefields.

Focus. He had to focus. “This is your last chance,” Rick warned.

“Kemp held someone up in the old mining shaft. Told us to leave him alone.”

“Mining shaft?” Realization rocked him—why hadn't he thought of that? Of course! This had been a hard-rock mine before it had turned placer—there were plenty of shafts sitting empty.

“Where is it?”

Rifleman motioned with his head. “Just southeast of the camp.”

“You'd better not be lying, or I'll find you.”

The guy nodded, pleading with his eyes for mercy. “You're not going to kill me?”

Now, if he'd really thought that Rick would kill him anyway, why had he given up the information? He didn't bother to answer, just slammed the butt of the weapon against the rifleman's head again, this time knocking him unconscious. Didn't need anyone giving away their plans. The man might actually survive the war zone if he stayed unconscious, away from the fray.

Rick turned his attention to the building to his right, which kept him in the shadows. The same building where Rick had treated the wounded man. Where Rick himself had been taken for Shay to treat his own wound.

He made his way inside and grabbed as much ammo as he could, along with a couple of extra coats someone had left behind. Aiden and Shay would need them. He slipped one on, then slung the other two over his shoulder. After peering through the window, he crept out and into the shadows again.

Armed and in his element, Rick maneuvered back to Shay under cover of darkness. He had no idea who was winning the fight behind him, but it wasn't his battle. His only thought was to get Shay and Aiden to safety.

The floodlights zapped, sparked and finally popped out completely, leaving the night bathed in darkness. For a moment, he couldn't see, which was good because that meant no one else could see, either. But his eyes quickly adjusted and the moonlight was enough to illuminate the few yards between the building where he remained pressed against the wall and the place where he'd left Shay.

A feeling of anxiety crawled over him, leaving him unhappily certain that Shay was no longer beside the rock where he'd left her. Where he'd
told
her to stay so he could find her. From the shadows, he crept low to the ground until he made the cover of the trees. With stealth, he edged closer to the rock and froze. He'd been right to worry—she wasn't there.

He listened for night sounds, but animal life and insects had gone silent in the wake of gunfire. The men were still positioning themselves, the rattle of automatic weapons spraying with abandon every few seconds.

All else was quiet around him. He bent down and found a pebble, then tossed it. He heard the small rock hit the ground a few yards away and hoped he would hear Shay react.

Nothing.

Disappointment and alarm twisted inside. Had she left willingly, disregarding his request that she remain here? No. She'd understood how important it was to remain hidden where Rick could find her. But he didn't like to think of the other possible reason she was gone. He'd only been a few yards away from her. How could this happen?

Gruff and threatening, a man's voice drifted on the breeze from somewhere deeper in the woods. Weapon at the ready, Rick felt as if he were in the war zone again, wearing his fatigues, creeping between the buildings of the small Afghan village. He'd been a marine helicopter pilot but had plenty of experience in ground operations, as well.

His eyes adjusting to the darkness, he inched forward, searching for the man. And for Shay.

A rustling of leaves up ahead drew Rick's attention. Looking through the scope, Rick stole silently through the woods.
Where are you, Shay? Show yourself.

Then he saw the half-drunk hulking form leaning against a tree. Rick fingered the trigger guard. Had he been the one to chase Shay off? If so, where was she now? Rick remained still, listening to every sound, waiting for any movement.

From behind a tree, Shay's form came into a sliver of moonlight breaking through the thick forest. A rock in her hand, she tiptoed toward the man.

Rick considered his options. He couldn't let Shay try to take him down with the rock. But if Rick gave his position away and it turned out the man had a weapon, he might not be fast enough to keep the man from turning the gun on him, or on Shay. Indecision squeezed his gut. Sweat trickled down his back.

But even as Rick was frozen in place, Shay made her move, and when she lifted the rock, the man turned, revealing the gun in his hand.