I licked my lips, torn between the urge to run and the need to stay and help out. Running wouldn’t stop these murderers, and it certainly wouldn’t save Rainey’s soul.
And I had less than two days left.
I closed my eyes against the brief surge of panic, then said, “Why did Franco have it marked as un-cleansed on his wall map?”
“How else was he going to set the trap?” He shifted again. “Listen, lady, I’m being helpful here. You could at least make me more comfortable. Undo some ropes or something.”
“Sorry, but I’m not that stupid.”
He swore at me—long, loud, and inventively. I couldn’t help smiling. “An interesting combination of words, but it isn’t going to help. When did Franco contact you?”
“He didn’t actually contact me. He contacted Tomi.”
I rolled my eyes. No wonder no one knew who the head guy was—he was using too many intermediaries. “And Tomi is?”
“The guy who hires the rest of us.”
“So what time did this Tomi contact you?”
“About six thirty. It took us a while to collect everything we needed.”
Then it must have been Seth who’d contacted Tomi, not Leon, because by six thirty, Leon was well on his way to being dumped somewhere deep in the Pacific.
My gaze darted around, and again I saw nothing but darkness. But my unease was growing.
“So you’ve had no personal dealings with Franco—or anybody else?”
He shrugged. This time, the movement jerked the shoelaces against his neck, leaving a red mark. He glared at me balefully. “I heard some guy speaking on the phone a couple of times, when I was with Tomi.”
“Was it Franco?”
“No. Franco’s accent falls in and out. This guy’s didn’t.”
I had no idea what Hannish sounded like, but if he and Seth had known each other for a long time, it was possible that Seth was imitating Hannish’s accent. He’d always aspired to be more than he was.
“Ralph, what the hell are you doing out there?”
The voice was soft but clear. I jerked around, my heart racing and flames leaping across my fingertips before I realized the words were coming from the speaker at his ear. I glanced at my captive. “Who’s that?”
“The boss. Tomi.”
I picked up the speaker microphone. “I want you to answer him. Give me away—or even make me suspect you’ve given me away—and I will kill you.”
His gaze met mine. Judging. Weighing. I have no idea what he saw in my expression, but after a moment, he nodded. I pressed the switch and held the mike near his mouth.
“I’m investigating the engine noise, as ordered,” Ralph said.
“And?”
“Nothing. Must have been just the wind.”
“Then get your ass back into position. The muerte is on his way, apparently.”
“Will do.”
I released the switch, ripped the speaker mike apart, then tossed the separate pieces as far away as I could.
“How long will it be before he starts missing you?”
I didn’t actually expect an honest answer, and I didn’t get one.
“Twenty minutes. Maybe more,” he said, his lie practically staining the air.
Meaning I probably had a few minutes rather than twenty.
“You’ve been extremely helpful,” I said, and with no warning, hit him as hard as I could. His chin snapped back and he was out before he even realized what was happening.
I checked his makeshift ropes a final time to insure they were still all tight, then sucked in the heat of his refueling flames, leaving him with embers and me with another few vital minutes.
Then I rose and made my way down the hill, keeping it between myself and Red Rock. I ran quickly, leaping over rocks and fallen trees, my senses twitching with awareness but finding nothing. Only bugs and silence.
I looped around to the back of the town then stopped, my breath rasping past my lips and sweat beginning to trickle down my spine.
I raised my face to the sky for a moment, letting the distant energy of the dawn yet to come caress my skin.
What the hell was I going to do now?
There were five men out there, and I had no idea where Damon was. I knew he was here, but not much more than that. It was possible that Ralph had been lying, and that Damon was inside and captive—or even dead —and they were all waiting for my arrival. Hell, for all I knew, Ralph had sent a coded message to his boss. His words had seemed innocent enough, but that didn’t mean they actually were.
I blew out a breath, then shrugged the backpacks off my shoulder and tucked them securely into the broken remains of a tree trunk. It wouldn’t hold up to a concerted search, but at least it was hidden from a casual glance. The netbook and the stuff I’d stolen from Leon, were as safe as I could make them.
I glanced toward the top of the hill, feeling like I was about to step into a dark void, then took a deep breath and moved forward. Once near the ridge, I dropped to my knees and crawled until I could once again see the valley below.
Red Rock remained quiet.
No smoke drifted from any of the chimneys, and there was no hint that anyone was down there at all. And for all I knew, there wasn’t. The other five men might have been in the hills like me, watching and waiting.
But I had no choice. I had to go down there and see what was waiting for me, whether that was Damon or a trap.
I scanned the hillside and spotted a line of scrubby trees sweeping most of the way downhill. I wriggled back down the slope and then ran across to those trees, darting from trunk to trunk, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. My heart was racing and my stomach churning, but I made it to the last of the trees without being caught.
Whether I’d been seen was another matter entirely, and it wasn’t something I was going to know until someone actually jumped out at me.
I peeked out from behind the tree trunk. A barren space of about twenty yards separated me from the back of one of the old wooden buildings and deep shadows. And yet it seemed as exposed as a field in bright sunshine.
Nerves—who needed them?
I licked my lips and drew in a breath that remained free of any taint of danger. After a silent count to three, I raced forward. Out of cover, into the open. And it suddenly felt as if the eyes of the world were on me.
With fear giving my feet wings, I flew across the small strip of land separating me from the deeper shadows of the building.
I was almost there, almost safe, when I felt the sting in my neck.
I slapped at it, saw something silver fly sideways, and realized with a sinking sensation that it was a dart.
I reached the building and grabbed at the window frame, my gaze swinging wildly to the left and right, looking for my attackers.
I couldn’t see them. Couldn’t smell them. But they were obviously there.
If I had wings, I could have flown somewhere safe. But I didn’t have wings and I never would, leaving me yet again stuck on land and cursing the lack.
It was a curse that died on my lips as unconsciousness snatched away all awareness.
Chapter Thirteen
