Nate followed. Could he take a chance on his swiftness and accuracy? he wondered. If his life alone depended upon the outcome, he'd take the risk, but Cyn's life hung in the balance. Ryker's instincts could warn him if Nate tried to use the M16. But what about the boot knife? Nate asked himself. Could he remove it from his hiding place and strike Ryker in the back before the other man killed Cyn?
Once on the beach, Ryker fell to his knees, taking Cyn with him. Nate stopped a few yards away near the old cypress tree.
'You'll never make it,' Nate shouted. 'You're going to pass out.'
'It won't matter.' Ryker flung his handless arm around his wound. 'My friends will take care of me, and they'll keep both of you safe and secure until I'm ready to dispose of you.'
All three people on the beach heard the sound of the automobile as it pulled to a stop on the road in front of Nate's house. Three startled gazes watched while an enormous mountain of a man emerged from the driver's side.
Pulling Cyn tightly against him and placing the dagger's tip over her heart, Ryker shouted at Nate. 'I told you to come alone.'
'I did come alone. I swear.'
'Then who's our company?' Ryker asked, nodding toward the two men who stood beside the limo.
What the hell was going on? Nate wondered. Having Carranza show up wasn't too surprising, but Ryker pre tending he had no idea who the man was didn't make any sense.
'I don't know who the bloody hell you are, but you can stop right there or I'll kill her,' Ryker said.
'I suggest that if you want to live you should release Senora Porter. There are three of us, you see, and if you harm her, one of us is bound to kill you,' Ramon Carranza said, never slowing his stride as he neared the beach.
Ryker laughed, the sound shrilly hysterical as it carried on the night air. 'There may be three of you, but I've got friends coming. A small army of friends who'll be carrying weapons. I suggest that you get back in that big limo of yours and leave, old man.'
Carranza continued moving closer and closer to Ryker. Nate wanted to reach out and grab him, but he was too far away. Carranza avoided getting anywhere near Nate.
'I'm warning you to stop.' Ryker's hand trembled. Cyn could feel the knife pressing into her flesh.
'What are you doing here?' Nate, bewildered by Ryker and Carranza's conversation, knew he couldn't allow his own confusion to dull his senses or make him any less alert. This whole scene could be some elaborate hoax on Carranza's part. It was obvious the old man liked to play games. Just because Ryker didn't recognize him didn't mean they weren't on the same side in this battle.
Carranza spoke to Nate, but he never removed his gaze from Ian Ryker. 'I had some important news for Senor Ryker. News that could not wait.'
'What kind of crap is this?' Ryker asked. 'Who are you? What sort of news have you got for me?'
'I am Ramon Rafael Carranza.'
Ryker blanched, his face contorting into a frown. 'What... what's the news you have for me?'
The sound in Nate's ears began as a loud buzzing, then quickly escalated into a thunderous roar. The old man had said his name was Ramon Rafael Carranza.
'My good friend, Carlos Marquez, regrets that he must sever his relationship with you,' Carranza said. 'He sends his apologies that he cannot assist you in this little kidnapping and murder scheme.'
'You're lying. Marquez owes me. He's sending a chopper for me.' Ryker's gaze searched the predawn sky as he cocked his head, listening to the silence.
Carranza took several steps forward. He was within a few feet of Ryker and Cyn. 'Such a pity. In our business, a man cannot afford to put his trust in the wrong people. Marquez may, as you say, owe you, but his debt to me was far larger and much older.'
Nate moved away from the trees. Good God, Carranza was going to try to jump Ryker. Was he a fool? Nate knew he had to intercede. If he didn't, Cyn would die. His nightmare would come true.
'Don't move, either of you.' Ryker cursed Marquez, then dropped the dagger on the sand as he grabbed the Uzi and opened fire.
With trained instincts, Nate dropped to his belly as the shots rang out over his head. Suddenly, the Uzi's menacing roar quietened. Nate raised his head slightly and glanced around. Ramon Carranza lay on the sandy ground, blood pouring from his wounds. Ryker's lifeless body lay only a few feet away.
Nate jumped to his feet as Cyn struggled to hers, tears streaming down her face. Grabbing her, he jerked the gag out of her mouth.
'Oh, Nate.'
He pulled her into his arms as he stroked her hair, kissed her face, and worked frantically to untie her bound wrists. Once Cyn was free, Nate looked down at Ryker. A small round bullet hole marred his smooth forehead. Nate could well imagine what the back of his head looked like. He didn't want Cyn to see it.
'Senor Carranza,' Cyn said, her voice ragged and hoarse. 'He's hurt.' She tugged on Nate's arm, the gesture pleading.
Together they knelt down beside Carranza. Cyn took his head into her lap as she brushed back the strands of white hair that had fallen into his eyes. 'You're going to be all right, Ramon,' Cyn said. 'We're not going to let you die.'
Ramon Carranza looked up at Cyn as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. 'You will take care of him,' he said as he gazed up at Nate.
Nate saw Emilio standing over them, the revolver that had killed Ian Ryker still in his hand.
'We must get him to a hospital,' Emilio said, dropping the gun onto the sand, then reaching down to lift his employer up into his arms.
Nate helped Cyn to her feet and walked her toward the black limousine. Cyn got in first, then Nate helped Emilio place Ramon across the seat, his head resting in Cyn's lap.
Once Emilio started the engine and turned the big Cadillac around, Cyn looked over at Nate. 'He saved our lives.'
'I know,' Nate said.
Cyn sat beside Nate on the orange vinyl sofa. His head was thrown back, his eyes were closed, and his big arms were crossed over his chest. She wished he would allow her to comfort him as he had comforted her when they had first arrived at the hospital. While the emergency room staff had gone to work on Ramon, Nate had insisted that Cyn's scrapes and bruises needed immediate attention.
He had held her when the reality of what they'd lived through finally hit her. The nightmare was over. Ian Ryker was dead. Cyn and Nate were alive.
Cyn glanced around the surgery waiting room. A plump, middle-aged woman stood at the pay telephone, her voice hushed as she told the listener that her mother was still in surgery. In the corner chair, a teenaged boy flipped through the pages of a magazine with bored indifference. A young couple stood by the windows, his arm draped around her shoulders as he wiped her tears with a handkerchief and promised her that their little girl was going to be all right.
Two coffee machines sat on a metal table by the doorway. One glass pot was empty, the other contained no more than a cup of liquid. The wastepaper basket beneath the table was littered with dozens of foam cups, plastic spoons and empty sugar and creamer packs.
Emilio Rivera stood outside in the hallway, his back braced against the wall. No one had given comfort to the big, quiet man, whose silent eyes and hard face gave away none of his emotions. Cyn wondered how long Emilio had worked for Ramon, how close their relationship was.
'I'm going to talk to Emilio,' she told Nate. 'I'll be right back.'
Nate grunted an acknowledgment, but didn't open his eyes or move a muscle. Seeing Nate like this, so cold and withdrawn, broke Cyn's heart. It was as if he'd closed himself off from her, from the whole world, and refused to allow anyone near. Perhaps it was the only way he knew how to deal with everything that had happened, Cyn thought. Her kidnapping. Ryker's death. The knowledge that Ramon Carranza had risked his life to save them.
Emilio gave her a welcoming glance when she approached him. 'How is Nathan?'
