Once a Rebel (12 page)

Susan wasn't sure what that meant.

A moment later she caught sight of him in another paddock. He looked so familiar, so right in the equine setting. He was dressed in varying shades of denim, with his favorite straw hat seated low on his head.

And even though she couldn't see the amulet around his neck, she knew it was there.

Creating hope.

 

Jason removed the gag, practically ripping the fabric from Lily's mouth.

“Say it,” he said. “Say it out loud.”

Her voice cracked. “I'm sorry.”

“Again,” he snarled. “But with more feeling.”

“I'm sorry.” She swallowed her pride, telling herself this was the only way to survive, to see her family again. “I'll be good from now on.”

“Damn right you will.” He sounded giddy with power, on the verge of demonic euphoria. “Have you figured out yet where you are?”

She shook her head.

“Do you want to see?”

She nodded, praying this wasn't a trick. A way to get her to look into his eyes while he beat her or raped her or tortured her to death.

“Then get ready. Here we go.”

He tore off the blindfold, and the first thing she saw was his face, illuminated by a small lantern. She blinked
and tried to adjust her sight, to take in her surroundings, where a bigger lantern exposed walls and floors.

She was in a cave, with ominous shapes twisting and turning. She knew the formations were beautiful, but in her situation, they seemed haunted and ghostlike.

The leaky faucet she'd imagined didn't exist. The beads of water echoing in the distance were a natural part of the environment, probably forming tiny crystals on the walls.

“It's dark down here all the time,” Jason said. “A place where no one will find you. This cave isn't open to the public anymore. Portions of it collapsed a long time ago.”

“You carried me down here?”

“Yes, and it was quite an effort.” He turned his head, showcasing his profile, the hard angles and cruel lines. “This is almost over.”

“It is?”

“Yes. After I get the money, I'll reveal your whereabouts.” He sat back on his haunches. He was in his thirties, strong and agile. “I have a brilliant escape plan.” He leaned in close. “But your rescue might be a bit of a problem. You might even die.”

No, she thought. She wanted to live. To laugh. To love. To watch her grandchildren grow.

“When?” she asked. “When is this going to happen?”

“Tomorrow. As soon as Ryan receives my next tape.” He put the gag back into place, then covered her eyes, shutting out the golden beams of light.

And leaving her in the dark once again.

M
orning erupted in a blast of energy. Ethan did his damnedest to keep track of everything that was going on around him. Per Patrick's request, he and Susan had gone to the main house. And now they were sweating bullets.

A message had arrived from Jason, giving Ryan cryptic instructions. He was supposed to drive to the Saddle Tramp Motel in the Hill Country, check into a room and wait for further contact.

No cops, no FBI. Except for Emmett Jamison.

Jason was allowing his special agent brother to get involved, to accompany Ryan on the drop.

As for the rest of the team, they were being dispatched in a covert operation, where they would remain in the background, undetected by the kidnapper.

Or at the least that was the plan.

Ethan wasn't familiar with the inner workings of the FBI, but he recognized organized chaos when he saw it. Each and every agent knew his place, his job.

“This is torture,” Patrick said.

“I know.” Ethan glanced at Susan. She was watching Ryan. He was being fitted with a bulletproof vest and a wire that would keep him connected to the group.

Patrick spoke again. “They offered to replace Ryan with a lookalike, but he refused.”

“Can you blame him?” Ethan asked. “If it were my wife, I'd do exactly what he's doing.”

“Me, too. But he just looks so damn frail.”

That was true. Ryan was gaunt, the shadows under his eyes dogging his rugged features. His illness hovered like an open flame, singeing his strength.

“He's going to do just fine.” This came from Susan, who twisted her hands on her lap.

“Of course he is.” Ethan sat next to her on the sofa and stilled her jittery fingers. She turned to look at him, and he felt the weight of her gaze. The depth, the emotion, the connection only lovers could share.

For one stolen moment, for one instant in time, they got lost in the safety net they'd created.

In each other, he thought.

Then reality returned. Voices, footsteps, electronic devices, the lingering aroma of leftover coffee.

Susan took an audible breath, making Ethan want to hold her. He could see that she was struggling to bury her fears.

She came to her feet and approached Ryan. He
reached for her and she embraced him, letting him know that she loved him. That no matter what, she would be waiting.

For him. For Lily. For both of them to come home.

 

The Saddle Tramp was located in a Hill Country town that boasted German roots. But to Ryan, it looked like a typical Texas motel with wood trim and wagon-wheel accents.

With his pulse pounding in his throat, he glanced at Emmett, who sat next to him, manning the SUV. The agent cut the engine and surveyed the parking lot. Ryan wasn't sure what the other man was looking for. But he was glad that Emmett Jamison was on his side.

The rest of the FBI, the team that was trailing them, was nowhere to be seen. But Ryan knew they were out there somewhere, ready to take orders, to close in if the situation demanded it.

“Let's go,” Emmett said.

Ryan nodded, wishing his stomach wasn't cramping, jumping in nervous spasms. Was Lily here? Was she hurt? Drugged? Alive? Dead?

“Keep it together,” the agent told him.

“I am.” He walked toward the front desk. Beside him, Emmett seemed cool and calm. No outward signs of adrenaline. No indication that their luggage consisted of a two-million-dollar ransom.

They rented a room and waited, just as they'd been instructed to do. And within no time, a bouquet of lilies arrived at their door.

Lily. Lilies. Ryan almost wept.

Emmett tipped the delivery person, closed the door, then opened the card, reading it out loud. “Canyon Caverns at one o'clock. Don't be late.”

The agent glanced at his watch and cursed.

Ryan checked the time, too. Canyon Caverns was a group of caves deep in the hills. They had to get on the road as quickly as possible or they'd never make it by one.

On the way Emmett contacted the other agents. He told them that they needed to find an experienced caver, someone who knew the area. And they needed equipment for everyone on the team—lights, ropes, harnesses, pulleys, helmets, cable ladders, underwater gear.

“Just in case,” he said to Ryan.

“I understand.” Although his stomach was still cramping, Ryan trusted Emmett Jamison. Especially now, while they were chasing shadows, following Jason's every move. Emmett, of all people, should be able to delve into Jason's mind.

To predict what came next.

 

The inner courtyard smelled of herbs and flowers and mint-flavored tea. Susan sat in the swing, surrounded by a vine-covered arbor, steam rising from the cup in her hand.

Rosita was in the kitchen, preparing lunch, making food for people who would only pretend to eat. The housekeeper didn't live with Ryan and Lily. She and her husband had their own home on the Double Crown.

Ethan came outside, and Susan said the first words
that came to mind, “If Rosita and Ruben lived here, do you think Jason would have gotten away with kidnapping Lily?”

He frowned and sat next to her, rocking the ancient swing, making the hinges creak. “Don't do this to yourself.”

“But if there were more people sleeping here that night. If someone—”

He touched his finger to her lips, silencing her. In the background a fountain bubbled, like a well without wishes. No shiny coins. No dreams.

“It's over,” he said. “There's no such thing as going back in time.”

She snared his gaze. “We did it.”

“Who? You and me?” He spoke softly, slowly, the way he used to when they were young. A slight drawl. A boyish slant. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“No, we didn't.” He took her tea and set it on the ground. The delicate saucer rattled. “We started over. We started fresh.”

She looked at him. Really looked at him. Close enough to see every pore, every whisker he'd neglected to shave that morning. There was so much she didn't know about him, so much she still had to learn. “Sometimes it feels the same. You're so elusive, Ethan. So hard to grasp.”

He put his hand on her knee. “That's the sadness talking. The fear. The worry.”

Was it? At this point, she couldn't be sure. Memories were tumbling in her mind, making her homesick
for Lily and Ryan, for seeing them together. “I'm so scared for them.”

“I know. But it will be over soon. The FBI will bring Lily home.”

“And what about Jason?” she asked. “Are they going to catch him?”

“They have to,” he told her. “It can't end any other way.”

Silent, she looked at Ethan again. Strands of hair fell across his eyebrows, jagged yet straight, like marks of lightning. “When this is over, will you make love with me?”

He slid his fingers through hers. “You know I will.”

“Outside? In the wind? In the rain?”

He glanced up, but the sky wasn't visible, not through the arbor. “Is it supposed to rain tonight?”

She nodded, filling her lungs with air. She knew her emotions were out of sync. That this was an inopportune time to crave him, to seek passion, to let her heart run away with her.

But somewhere deep down she thought Ryan and Lily would approve. That they would understand.

 

At precisely one o'clock, Ryan spotted Lily's truck parked on the side of the narrow road that led to Canyon Caverns. The license plate was different, the custom wheels were gone, and there were deliberate dents that made the vehicle look old and beat-up. But Ryan knew it was his wife's brand-new Dodge.

“Jason must have another mode of transportation now,” Emmett said. “Probably a stolen motorcycle that
he hauled to this location in Lily's truck.” He looked out the windshield, at the hilly terrain. “The bike is probably hidden in the brush somewhere.”

Ryan's pulse jumped. “Maybe Lily is in the Dodge.”

Emmett shook his head. “He's not going to turn her over to us until he gets the money.” He parked behind the truck. “This is where he left our next instructions.”

“I have a key. I always keep an extra set on me.” Ryan fumbled, digging his keys out of his pocket and dropping them in the process. His hands were trembling.

The agent touched his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, offering silent support.

They searched the Dodge from top to bottom and found the instructions, along with a portable GPS, a global positioning system.

Emmett read the handwritten note. “Follow the coordinates programmed in the GPS. It will take you to the opening of the Crystal Night cave. Be there at one-twenty. Bring the money.”

While Ryan and Emmett drove farther up the mountain, using the GPS, the agent contacted his team.

Ryan listened to the preparations the FBI was making. The equipment was on its way, and a park ranger who was a member of a national cave rescue association was being escorted to the site. He knew the layout of Canyon Caverns and could familiarize the team with the terrain.

When Ryan and Emmett came to a stretch of land that was no longer accessible by car, they continued on foot, using the GPS and carrying duffel bags filled with cash. Ryan knew he was a hindrance. A tired, sick old
man trying to keep up. But he refused to stop, to rest. They only had five minutes to reach the opening of the Crystal Night cave.

 

Susan, Ethan and Patrick ate lunch in the dining room, with Rosita clucking around them like a nervous hen, trying to comfort them with food, with the only help she knew how to give.

Susan tasted the roast, forcing herself to take a bite. Ethan sat next to her, and when their gazes locked, her heartbeat tumbled. He was there for her, right there—her friend, her protector, her lover.

The man Ryan thought she was going marry.

She studied the rosebud pattern on her plate, the tiny flowers and gold-tipped leaves. She could almost imagine walking down the aisle with him. Yet she knew it was a crazy thought. Unrealistic. Dreamy. Dangerous.

Patrick gazed out the window. “It's getting cloudy out there.”

Ethan caught Susan's gaze again, repeating what she'd told him earlier. “It's supposed to rain.”

The older man continued to look out the window. “When?”

“Tonight,” Ethan responded.

“I wish I could have gone with them.” Patrick paused, picked up his butter knife, gripping the silver handle so hard, his knuckles turned white. “I can't stand waiting around. Sitting here. Doing nothing.”

“Neither can I.” Susan found her voice, shaky as it was. “But we don't have a choice.”

Ethan broke eye contact and reached for his water.
Susan's thoughts drifted to Ryan and Lily, to the difficulties they'd endured. The decades they'd spent apart. The lost years. The other marriages.

She stole a glance at her lover and saw that he'd barely touched his food. He noticed her watching him, then reached for her hand.

Susan held tight. Too tight, she thought.

Anxious, she released a choppy breath. Was she falling in love? Tripping over her heart? Over the ache in her chest?

Yes, she thought. She was.

She loved Ethan Eldridge, a man she was sure to lose.

And now, more than ever, she wanted Ryan to find his wife, to be with her for as long as he could.

No matter what the odds.

 

The opening of the cave was a narrow hole that led to a pitch-black drop in what looked like the center of the earth.

Emmett couldn't see Jason. He couldn't see a damn thing. But he knew his brother was down there.

He turned to look at Ryan. The older man stood back, away from the opening, from the danger of falling. Emmett could tell that Ryan was dizzy, overexerted from their short hike.

“This is it,” Emmett said.

Ryan nodded, then cleared his throat, waiting, it seemed, for what came next.

Emmett remained a safe distance from the opening, too. Then he took a step forward, just one step and called his brother's name.

“Jason!” His voice echoed in the chamber. “It's me.”

“Is Ryan with you?” a voice echoed back, as if it were coming from the depths of hell.

Emmett glanced at his companion. “Yes.”

“Who else is out there?” his brother wanted to know.

“No one.”

“Liar,” Jason challenged. “I'll bet you've got other agents with you. Hiding like the federal slugs they are. But it doesn't matter. They won't catch me.”

Yes, they will, Emmett thought. As soon as the caving equipment arrived, they would beat Jason at his own game.

Ryan yelled into the hole, his words straining with the effort. “We brought what you asked for. We followed your instructions. Now let me talk to my wife.”

“Not yet. Make the drop first.”

“Just let the bags go?” Emmett asked.

“Drop them into the cave. One at a time.”

Emmett couldn't gauge the exact distance. He couldn't tell how far it was. But Jason knew. His brother had probably tested the results of a similar plunge.

He did as he was told, then waited for a response. In the silence he stepped back and contacted the team, letting them know what was happening, keeping them informed.

A small light flashed from the cave, and he realized Jason was scanning the contents of the duffel bags, checking to see if they were filled with cash, making sure there were no tracking devices attached.

“We did our part,” Emmett called out. “Now let us talk to Lily.”

“She isn't here,” came the echoed reply. “She's in another cave.”

“Which one? Give us the GPS coordinates.”

“No way! She's my ticket out of here. I strapped a bomb to her. It's not powerful enough to take down the whole mountain, but it will destroy the cave she's in, killing her and anyone else who's near it.”

Emmett glanced at Ryan. The old man's face had gone pale, as white as a ghost on Halloween.