No Time to Hide (7 page)

***

Kerry knew Cutter took the long way, which in reality was the only way, onto the reservation, following state and county roads where the houses grew farther and farther apart.

They entered the tiny Tuscarora reservation with little fanfare. In fact, if she hadn’t been diligently watching, she would have missed the small green roadside sign welcoming them to the reservation.

In this part of the state, far away from the Niagara Gorge and the river that had carved it, the land flattened into mile after mile of prairie-like farmland.

“Can you tell me something about the Native Americans in this region?” she asked breaking into the silence of their drive.

“Sure,” he replied. “The Tuscaroras are a tribe of about one thousand residents, who manage to hang onto their financial sovereignty by their fingertips selling tax-free gasoline and cigarettes to New York State residents.”

“Were they part of the Mohegans?”

Cutter shook his head. “No. I believe they were historically a southern tribe and became part of the Six Nations of the Iroquois after fleeing North Carolina early in the history of the United States.”

“Are they part of the group that built the casino in Niagara Falls and are building another one in Buffalo?” Kerry asked.

Cutter shook his head. “No. That’s the Seneca Nation. Many of the other tribes that had formed the Six Nations confederacy have moved into the highly profitable area of gambling casinos. The Tuscaroras haven’t been able to cash in.”

“You told me you were going to be coaching next year. Are you doing it for the Tuscaroras?”

He squirmed a bit in his seat behind the wheel. “Yeah. They’re good people. My wife was part of the tribe.”

She could hear the pride and the traces of grief in his voice. The Indians were focused on making their lives better and he wanted to help. Kerry empathized with that. She had visited their website and the pictures there, geared for small children, had triggered a few ideas for a story. She had been working on a few rough drawings. Not that she’d ever have the confidence to show them to someone. Still, she was thankful she had gotten into the habit of carrying her sketch pad in her purse. Even though she was doubtful she’d see any of the things she’d left in her apartment that morning, the sketch pad was the only thing she couldn’t stand leaving behind.

Kerry could tell Cutter was still tense as he watched closely for any signs of a tail following them. Even though he appeared calm on the outside, she knew he was worried. She also figured he wouldn’t tell her his concerns. In her experience, government agents had a lot in common with the military. Despite his relaxed appearance and protestations that he was really a baseball coach, Cutter Snead was government through and through.

Kerry turned away from looking at Cutter’s rough-hewn profile to face the landscape whizzing by. She had to stop obsessing about this man.

His looks and demeanor were diametrically opposed to any man she’d ever known before. Part of her wanted to let go of her fears and trust this man. Part of her desperately needed to trust him.

But there was no doubting he was a government employee. Kerry wasn’t sure she could trust any government man to protect her from Dom.

That brought another thought. It didn’t seem possible that Dom had been able to find her three times in just over a year on his own. Granted, he had the family network and seemingly all the money in the world, but it was almost getting to the point she felt like she was wearing a large X on her forehead.

If Dom wasn’t finding her on his own, that meant someone was helping him. Kerry knew of only one source the information could be coming from. She looked over at Cutter again. Was he her rescuer or her terminator?

***

Saturday, 8 P.M.

“Phone call for Dominic Giancarlo.”

Dom strode to the area beside the guard’s gatehouse to accept the call. The other inmates opened as if parting the Red Sea for him. He smiled grimly. The incident with Billy Joe was still fresh in his mind. That was fine. He was sorry the man had been dead by the time they got him to the prison infirmary, but that was the breaks. It wasn’t like Billy Joe was of use to anyone—other than as a killing machine, that is.

Dom shrugged mentally. No loss. Billy Joe was just a victim of circumstance. One of the other prisoners had already stepped forward and accepted the blame for the incident. There had even been witnesses to testify the other prisoner was the guilty party. All it had taken was a few well-placed bribes and promises. Promises the Giancarlo family would honor.

“You have a call for me?” he asked the guard.

“Yeah. Says he’s your lawyer.” The way the man looked at Dom was completely disrespectful.

“Fine. Thank you.”

The guard nodded and folded his arms, standing in his way to keep him from getting to the phone. Dom sighed. “How much?”

“Oh, I think about three thousand.”

“Three thousand dollars just to do your job?” Dom shook his head. “It’ll be added to your next month’s pay.”
Imbecile. He won’t see next month.

The guard stepped away and Dom went into the cubicle and picked up the phone. “Hello.”

“Did you hear?”

The voice wasn’t his lawyer’s. But Dom hadn’t expected it to be. A real call from his attorney would have been free.

“I heard I’ve employed idiots and incompetents.”

“You get what you pay for,” the voice replied.

“Are you trying to teach me a lesson, Agent?”

“No. I save that for the prison priest. Or your Papa.”

Dom frowned. “That sounded like a threat.”

“No, you’ll know for certain when I threaten you.”

Dom fumed. He had been counting the days until he was free of this place. He had a lot of business to take care. Now he had one more job to add to the list.

“What can you tell me?” he asked, tamping down his fury.

“We think they’re heading onto the reservation.”

“You
think
?”

“Well, he’s gone to ground. No more reports.”

“I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to know.”

“I will know in about twenty-four hours. Forty-eight at the tops.”

Dom thought for a moment. “I’ll expect a call from you in fifteen hours. And I’ll expect the correct answers.”

He hung up the phone and left the cubicle. In twenty-four hours, his revenge would be complete.

***

Saturday, 9 P.M.

Although the late August sun clung to the sky like a small child battling sleep, there were more than a few stars visible when Cutter finally braked the Celebrity to a stop. Although Cutter had warned her what was to come, the cabin was worse than she’d expected.

They had driven on paved roads until he had turned off on what amounted to a dirt track that followed a small stream. They had wound around the track for over a mile, the almost nonexistent springs of the car bouncing Kerry around as if she weighed nothing. Finally, he turned off the road and drove over a field for another half-mile. The cabin rose up out of nowhere, dark, empty and—Kerry shuddered—strangely menacing.

“This is your cabin?” she asked.

“Yes.” As he left the car idling, its headlights illuminated a sagging front porch. “I haven’t been here in a while.”

“Oh.”

“Look, I know it doesn’t look like much from outside, but it has everything we need inside.”

Kerry gulped. “I’m sure it’s fine. What are we going to do about food and stuff?” She glanced in the backseat. They had stopped at a large chain drugstore and gotten some bandages and antiseptic cream for her shoulder. While he was inside, Cutter had also purchased some bottles of water and snacks. But she couldn’t imagine surviving on that for long.

“First thing tomorrow, I’ll go to Smokin’ Bob’s. I’ll get everything we need there.”

“Is that dangerous? I mean for you to be seen?”

“No, as long as I’m alone, it won’t raise any questions. And I can put the word in a few people’s ears. Let them know to be on the lookout should anyone come asking questions.”

“Can Dom track us here?”

“No. I told you, this cabin is unknown to anyone except my family.”

“I thought you didn’t have any family.”

“I have a sister but we’re not close anymore. I meant my wife’s family. No one else knows anything about it. What I meant is someone asking about is the Celebrity. We stole this car. That’s the only thing that can bring us troubles here.”

Kerry rocked. “Okay. Let’s go.”

She opened her door and went into the cabin. She breathed a relieved sigh once she was inside. She found a light switch and flipped it on. Although the wattage was low, it brightened the dark interior considerably.

Cutter was right. It wasn’t as bad inside as on the outside. It was small, with one large room dominated by a stone fireplace and sagging furniture.

To the left was a tiny kitchen. She walked to it and turned on the spigot over the single basin sink. Running water. She sighed with relief. Next to the sink sat a small, old-fashioned refrigerator and a two-eyed gas stove. If they got some staples, they could do very well here. She opened the refrigerator door and frowned when the light didn’t come on. Probably unplugged. Since they didn’t need refrigeration for anything yet, it wasn’t important.

She turned and looked over the main living area. There was a thick furred rug on the wooden floor in front of the couch.

To the right of the living room was a miniscule bathroom with a toilet and shower stall.

Well, maybe it wasn’t all the comforts of home, not even all the comforts of the safe house they’d fled from, but it was all they needed.

She was turning as Cutter came in the door when the thought hit her—there was no bed.

***

Cutter reached for their supplies after Kerry entered the house. He shook his head. The lady had guts. He’d give her that. No matter what situation he threw her into, she hung tight, even when everything had gone from sugar to shit with a vengeance that made even a veteran like himself grit his teeth in frustration. But this daughter of the mob, this woman who had lived a life where she was treated like royalty, merely rocked a little, chewed on her fingernail, and adapted. Yes, Kerry was much more than he’d expected. As he watched her shapely backside move with unconscious grace, he admitted he didn’t want to start feeling respect for her. Just because she adapted like a marine didn’t mean she still wasn’t a snake in the grass.

He couldn’t forget she was still a big piece of the puzzle he had to solve before this whole mess would be over and he could get on with his life.

Sure, she acted like she hated the thought of her fiancé finding her, but witnesses in the program had been known to turn and blow their own covers before. Usually it was from stupidity, but sometimes it was because the witnesses so missed their old lives that risking death was preferable.

Kerry didn’t act like she fit that mold, but his history in the service had taught him one thing—never, ever let emotions or gut feelings rule his actions.

He turned all her actions over in his mind again. She hadn’t done anything since he had known her that would indicate she would welcome the return to her ex, but he couldn’t shake one glaring question. Why had she gotten involved with him in the first place?

Putting that in one compartment of his brain to simmer for a while, he walked into the cabin. Her sudden stillness hit him like a hammer.

“What’s wrong?” He grunted, shifting the bags to free his gun hand. He quickly gazed around the room searching for any problems.

“Where are we supposed to sleep?”

“Damn, don’t do that. You scared me,” he said as he continued walking into the kitchen area, then placed their stuff on the table. “This should get us through the night. I’ll get real food and other things tomorrow. The power is a little low. The generator has probably been on idle. I’ll go pump it up a little. That’ll help.”

“Cutter…”

“Go take a shower, and when I get the generator going again, I’ll take a look at your shoulder. Don’t worry about the sleeping arrangement. The couch pulls out into a bed. I keep a sleeping bag in the closet. I’ll bed down snug as a bug in a rug in front of the fireplace. I’ve dealt with a lot worse than a little dirt. Satisfied?”

He turned and left. For one moment, one agonizingly precious moment, he had wanted to tell her they had to sleep together. The thought had brought a picture to his mind that had been vivid and extremely erotic. Being here was going to be hard. Check that. It was going to be impossible. They were alone, and for the first time in years, he was lonely for female companionship. This was not where he needed to be. He went back outside, leaving her alone in the home he’d shared with only one other person—and that woman was dead.

***

Kerry listened to Cutter’s footsteps as they thudded against the hollow floor of the sagging porch. She rubbed her hands against her arms, feeling chilled to the bone.

She was so confused she was getting a headache. Was he really who he said he was? Yes, he had shown her a badge. Wait a minute… He’d never shown her his badge. Kerry rubbed her hand over her face as the events of the last ten hours rolled past like a slow-motion slide show.