The contemptible man stepped toward her and stood close enough for her to smell alcohol on his breath.
“You see? I have found a way for us to leave this place…together.” He mocked her too now, his voice barely a whisper for her ears alone. He stroked her cheek with a vile finger and she felt his hot breath on her face. Choking back a sob, she pulled her chin away, finding it hard to take her eyes off the corpse on the gurney.
But her revulsion toward the Russian didn’t shut the man up.
“Once again, you will be with me, just not in a manner you’d prefer.” The arrogant man barely stifled a laugh.
“You’re wrong, you sorry son of a bitch. Being dead is the only way I’d ever be with scum like you.” She didn’t know where she’d gotten the courage to say it, but it felt good. And bonus points, it made the Russian mad.
“Prepare her!” he demanded. “This one I will witness personally.” He thrust a hand at the doctor, punctuating his order with a warning. “I have business to attend to, but don’t start until I return. Call me when you are ready to proceed.”
The egotistical man left the room without a glimmer of remorse or even a glance over his shoulder.
Stunned, with tears blurring her vision, Nikki couldn’t take her eyes off the grotesque and misshapen hull of Britney’s body, pitted with the bloodied hollows left by the surgeon who’d taken her life. A heart-shaped birthmark on a pallid chin was all that remained to identify her.
In her head, Nikki raged against the injustice, and she felt as if she’d aged a thousand years. But she couldn’t force her mouth to speak or convince her legs to move. She imagined the terror of her own scream and what it might feel like to run until she dropped, but that wouldn’t be possible. A guard grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the doctor.
On the order of the smug Russian—who had hijacked her life and now wanted to snuff it out entirely—she’d suffer Britney’s fate and be powerless to stop it.
CHAPTER 29
Northeast Cape
St. Lawrence Island
On Frank’s order, an Alaska State Trooper chopper pilot, Gary Coburn, flew over the site of the deserted Air Force radar station to get a bird’s-eye view before they landed. Jess craned her neck, helping Payton look for any activity, but she saw none from the air.
She knew not to expect much from a facility that had been abandoned over fifty years ago, but this place was in worse shape than the textile factory in the boonies of Chicago. Seeing it brought a backwash of doubts that weighed heavy on her heart. She saw the same misgivings on Payton’s face when he avoided looking in her eyes.
In the dying hours of the day, the facility looked like an old ghost town, gutted for anything of value and left for the wind and other elements to wear it down. Shattered windows, toppled walls, and rooftops that had caved in were all that remained. A small mountain range stood on one side of the old military grounds that had been carved out of a cluster of evergreen trees.
“We won’t fly too low.” Trooper Frank’s voice came over her headset. Noise in the cockpit made it nearly impossible to hear conversation without headgear. “The rotor blade could wipe out evidence of activity. The wind is bad enough out here, but no sense being foolish.” Frank pointed in the distance. “We’ll land beyond the trees and trek back.”
They nodded, and the pilot swung hard right and prepared to land. The maneuver left her feeling like she’d left her stomach at the top of a roller coaster. Once they landed, the foothills at the back of the radar station eclipsed the sun. Although the sunset shed a faint reddish glow onto the scene, visibility wasn’t good at ground level. Soon they’d have to resort to flashlights, and she was thankful the troopers had brought extra gear.
Trooper Gary took point, and Frank walked in silence with them, his complete focus on the path they took toward the old base. At times the trooper stooped down to get a closer look at the ground, but he never said much. The beam from their flashlights drew bugs from the gloom like a magnet, making her wish that she’d applied a liberal dose of repellent. She tried to ignore the insects, but the little buggers made her feel itchy.
Despite being plagued by flying vermin, Jess felt the adrenaline rush of the hunt, though the odds weren’t with them that the trip to the island would pan out. But when they got near the collapsed gate of the old facility, things changed.
“Hey, Frank, check this out,” Trooper Gary called over his shoulder. When they caught up, he shined his light onto the ground. “See these long scrapes on this flat boulder? These marks are new. And along here, something heavy landed in this spot. You can tell by the way the soil and rocks have been disturbed…pressed down.”
“What does that mean?” Payton moved his light around the perimeter of where they stood. Shadows ebbed and flowed with the motion, creating an eerie tableau.
“Another helicopter maybe?” Frank asked, directing his question to the other trooper.
“I’d say more than one, considering how these markings overlap,” Coburn replied. “But what if this is only a government inspection trip? How are we gonna tell the difference?”
She hadn’t thought of that, but it was a damned good question. She despised rain on her parade.
“Actually, you bring up a valid point,” Frank said, “but before I flew to the island, I had an opportunity to contact the officials responsible for the inspection activity here. I found out they haven’t been here in the last three months and hadn’t planned another trip until early next year.”
Frank had withheld information. He’d savored a nice tidbit, waiting to spring it at just the right time.
“You were holding out on us. Why didn’t you say anything about this before now?” Payton pressed.
“I didn’t want to expose any of us to harm. And I didn’t think we’d find anything out here, but this…” He heaved a sigh and shook his head, staring at the markings on the ground. “This is different.”
On the surface, the trooper took the discovery in stride, but Jess could tell he was shaken by it. When he had time to consider his next step, he spoke again.
“Look, Trooper Coburn and I are going through the gate, looking for footprints or some other proof of recent activity. You folks stay here. If we find something more, I’ll call for backup and we’ll wait like we agreed. Is that understood?”
“Yeah, sure. We’ll wait right here.” Payton nodded and grabbed her hand. The sudden gesture surprised her but she went along and smiled at the troopers.
After they took off in the dark, Jess followed their progress by their light beams. When they were far enough away, she whispered to Payton as he let go of her hand.
“I didn’t like the way he said ‘if we find something.’ Frank needs a lesson in the powers of positive thinking. You think they’ll find anything?”
In a bold move, he grabbed her flashlight, but kept his eyes on the other men.
“I’m not waiting to find out.” He doused both their lights, leaving them standing in the dark. “We’ve come too far to give this a casual once-over. I’m going in.”
“Oh no.” She shook her head, still speaking in a hushed voice. “You’re not leaving me out here to be the girl. I’m with you, big guy.”
“Look, it won’t be easy breaking and entering into this dump in the dark.”
“Now you’re talkin’ my language, Archer. Nothing like a little B and E to get the heart pumpin’.”
“It’ll be risky. We can’t use our flashlights until we get past the troopers. Hell, we could get whacked by friendly fire if Frank mistakes us for armed trespassers.” He kept his voice low. “Frank’s gonna be pissed.”
“You said the words ‘we’ and ‘us,’ Archer. I heard them distinctly.” She grinned. “Even your subconscious knows you’re not leavin’ me behind. Embrace the concept.”
She heard his sigh and saw his shoulders slump, a tantalizing silhouette she’d come to recognize.
“No matter what happens, we’re stickin’ together,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Archer. In fact, I like the sound of that.”
She followed Payton through the opening in the gate, careful where she stepped so she wouldn’t fall in the dark and break her neck. She felt the weight of the pendant Alexa had given her, hanging around her neck, and
