In the Shadow of Vengeance (21 page)

“Damn it, Derek, your leg!”

“Give me the knife and get out of here, Elizabeth.”

“No, I'm not leaving you trapped.”

“Where are the kids?”

“I sent them into the trees.” She sliced through the shoulder section of the seat belt. The instant his arm was free, he yanked out his weapon.

“I can do the rest. I'll fire off several shots to cover you.”

The men from the SUV opened fire and several rounds hit the side of the car. The blast clogged her ears, making it hard to even hear her own rapidly beating heart.

An engine roared to life, and the third sedan backed into the other lane, turned around, its rear tires skidding on the wet pavement, and drove back the way they had come.

“Where are they going?”

“I don't know. Maybe to the McNeils' for backup.”

Elizabeth's heart skipped. That left Derek alone. “Can you run on that leg?”

“Yes.” He raised his head and scanned the sky. “I'll catch up with you. Go!”

Derek fired one shot after another while Elizabeth stumbled down the embankment and went through the trees at the same spot the kids took. There wasn't a trail, but she could easily follow the footprints in the mud. The path led out of the trees to a ridge that dropped down about fifty yards into a riverbed. One path wrapped around the top of the ridge while the other led down into the ravine.

The branches behind her rustled, and she dropped behind a tree that barely hid her from view. She searched for something to use as a weapon.
Shit, nothing
.

She could just make out a shoe print on the ridge path. Her only choice was to draw whoever was after her away from her children by taking the path to the river.

A deep, painful groan reached her just as Derek limped onto the trail.

“Please tell me the kids took the ridge path,” Derek asked, his voice coming out in short, raspy breaths.

Elizabeth knelt and lifted his pant leg.

“We don't have time …”

“Shush, Derek. This is something I know about. We have to slow the bleeding.”

She grabbed the knife handle from his left hand, ripped a couple of inches off the hem of her blouse, and wound the fabric around her hand, creating a thick dressing. She then cut another strip and secured the dressing to the wound. “That will help a little, but we need to find you help and soon.”

“Not today,” a man said from behind them. He wrapped his fist around Elizabeth's collar and yanked her up. His arm went around her throat and the barrel of his handgun pressed into the side of her neck.

Derek cocked his weapon. “Let her go.”

The man let out a loud laugh. “Marshal, lower your weapon before you hurt yourself. I will kill you if I have to.”

With her heart in her stomach, she asked, “What do you want?”

“Just you. If you come with me, your friend here will live another day. If not, I will kill him and we get you anyway. I hate to turn you over, but at this point, it has come down to your life or mine. Since I'm holding the bigger gun, how about you get your friend's revolver and toss it over the ridge?”

Hell, now what? There was no way she was taking Derek's only way to defend himself.

“So does your friend live or not? Your choice.”

“I'll come with you.”

“Elizabeth!”

“You know what you have to do, Derek.”

He didn't like it, but there was understanding in his expression. He needed to find Erin and Danny and get them to safety.

Elizabeth was half dragged, half carried backwards through the woods to the road. The rain slammed down on them, but he didn't slow his pace even when the heel of her shoe stuck in the mud. Fear charged her every nerve, but at least Danny and Erin were either well hidden or long gone.

“Who do you work for?”

Instead of answering, the man dug his weapon into her side. At the SUV, he opened the door and tossed her into the back seat, her elbow hitting the middle console hard. Righting herself, she faced the man in the front passenger seat.

“Hello, Elizabeth. You're looking well.”

“Spencer?”

Noah fought the urge to slam his hand through the side panel windows of the front door. He had been staring out at an empty driveway for ten minutes while his niece sat on the first step of the staircase watching him like a hawk. He shoved down the anger crushing his heart and asked, “Is there something you need, Anna?”

“You should have made her stay, Uncle Noah. It's not safe for her away from you.”

Fear pierced through him, erasing the anger. He dropped onto the step beside Anna. He couldn't believe what he was about to ask a six-year-old. “Why do think Elizabeth is not safe?”

“She really likes you. Did you ask her to please stay with you? Sometimes you forget to say please.”

“Yeah, I said please. Again, why do you believe it's not safe for her to be away from me?”

She lifted her hands and shrugged, her gaze growing serious. “I just know it. There's a mean man after her like the one who was after my daddy. He's getting closer.”

Shit. Now what?

Simple, he was going after her. It was a stupid-ass idea allowing Elizabeth and the kids to leave in the first place. Reaching into his pocket, he yanked out his cell phone.

Jason picked up on the first ring. “What's wrong now? Sarah is packing for Maryland.”

“I need her. Is she close?”

Sarah came on the line. “I'm here, Noah.”

“Elizabeth is still wearing the cross. Is the GPS activated?”

“Yes. I know she's being relocated. I can deactivate from here—”

“No, don't. Track her moves and send her location to my phone. I'm going after her.”

“You're what?” Jared said, storming into the foyer. “Like hell you are. You mess with the Marshals Service, you might as well hand in your badge.”

Noah said a quick goodbye to Sarah and pocketed his phone. “Anna said they are not safe.”

Jared knelt next to their niece. They had a special bond that Noah couldn't help being a little jealous over.

“This is serious, sweet pea. Are you sure the Merlots are in danger?”

“I know what I know, Uncle Jared. I really like Danny and Erin. They are scared and all alone.”

Noah's stomach clenched hard. “I don't care how crazy this seems. I'm going after them.” He gave his niece a quick hug. “I'll get them back.”

“I know, Uncle Noah.”

Noah lifted his head and eyed his twin. “I'll take Adam. You and Father Anthony stay here.”

“No, if you're going after Elizabeth, I'm your backup.”

“Jared, this whole damn thing is fucked up. Nash reached out to Danny”—he lowered his voice to a whisper; Anna was no doubt hanging on every word—“and now we have Adam's mother warning Anna. We can't leave Calista and Jennie here with just Father Anthony. I don't care that he trained Adam. Mendoza—”

“Is finally roasting in hell. He's dead, Noah.”

“No, he's not. He's behind all of this.” Noah paused, trying to erase the roaring heartbeat between his ears. He had to figure out this puzzle because he was running out of time.

“The DNA will be in any time now.”

“And if Mendoza did fake his death, he's been missing for hours. Plenty of time for him to make his way here.”

“Coming after us would be crazy, Noah. If he went to all the trouble and expense to escape prison, why wouldn't he go underground? He has resources we have never been able to find. He could come after us next week, next year.”

“He is fueled by vengeance. That bastard's every thought for the last three years has been getting back at those responsible for taking him down, and Jennie is on the top of that list. You're number two. Mendoza doesn't know about Evan Nash. That scary-ass ghost connected with Danny because Elizabeth somehow is in the middle of all this. I can't figure out the missing puzzle piece until I know who is working with Mendoza, but I think it's her ex-husband.”

“Who is also dead,” Jared shot back.

“Presumed dead.” He raked a hand over the back of his neck. “I'm crazy about her. I should have told her how I felt … used the words. I just never said them out loud to a woman before.”

The intimate hours they had shared felt like a lifetime ago, except that Elizabeth's scent and taste were all over him.

Jared stepped in his path. “I know. I'm not stupid or blind. Can you contact Marshal Ramon?”

“No. Elizabeth didn't want me going into the program or having any contact once they were settled.”

Noah headed down the hallway toward the kitchen. He checked his Glock and holstered it at his waist. “I don't know who is after Elizabeth, but Mendoza is coming. I feel it here,” he said, placing a fist over his abdomen. “Adam and I can take care of the Merlots.”

“Listen to him, Jared,” Adam said, coming in from the outside deck. His voice was hard as ice. Father Anthony stood at his side, but there was no sign of the man of the cloth. His posture matched Adam's. Pure soldier. Noah hated bringing him back into one of their battles, but damn, knowing he was there took a ton of weight off his shoulders.

His phone dinged and he answered it before the second ring. “What do you got, Sarah?”

“Elizabeth's position came to a complete stop for several minutes. She is now heading in the opposite direction. There are no cameras out there that will do me any good.”

Noah lowered the phone and shot a glare at Adam. “We have to go now!”

Noah didn't wait for a reply but stormed down the hallway and out the front door. The sky opened up, drenching him to the bone before he reached his truck.

Jared yanked his elbow just as he reached the driver's door handle. “There are reasons the caravan changed direction, Noah. They could have found a better location or—”

“Or they have a leak and now Elizabeth and the kids are in the hands of the people who placed a large price tag on her head.”

“If she is in danger, she needs your focus, that ability you have to take the most minor detail and fill in the missing pieces. Cut off your emotions.”

“I have to know she is okay.” Noah climbed into the cab.

“And when you do, respect her wishes and back off.”

Jared slammed the driver door as Adam jumped into the passenger seat.

“Keep your guard up,” Noah said to his twin.

“And you use your head. Don't make this harder on her than it has to be.”

“No promises there, bro,” he said, and sped out of the circular driveway.

With visibility low, he eased his foot off the accelerator as he maneuvered the narrow, winding lane. Jared was right about one thing. His emotions were controlling him and that had to change. The last thing Elizabeth needed was for him to skid off the wet pavement into a ditch.

Once on the main road, he called Sarah back. “Can you pinpoint a destination where Marshal Ramon would have taken her?”

“There is nothing that stands out. Adam chose to build the cabin in a low-populated area surrounded by state forest. If there is an airstrip, I'm not seeing it. I'll keep track and update your phone.”

“Thanks.”

He ended the call and brought up the map of Elizabeth's position. Being able to see the red dot on the screen that should be Elizabeth eased the dread crushing his heart.

He didn't know when it happened, but he wanted with Elizabeth what his brothers had found. His job forced him to keep a large part of himself protected from the world. But that wasn't why he was still alone. He'd never believed there was one woman out there for him. That changed the instant Elizabeth lowered her shields and he got a glimpse of who she really was. Hell, she was breathtaking, strong, vibrant, and what he began to feel for her was so explosive, it knocked him on his ass. To hell with witness protection. He would find her, and this time, he would tell her the truth and see if she could still walk away.

He took the bend and slammed on the brakes. Pinpricks scattered over his skin.

“What the hell?” he said as he drew his weapon and exited the truck. One of the vehicles escorting Elizabeth stood crushed against a tree in the ditch, while the other was positioned sideways across the road riddled with bullet holes.

“Where's the third vehicle?” Adam asked, checking the pulse of one of the two men lying on the shoulder. “These guys are dead.” He jogged over to the sedan against the tree. “The driver has a clean shot to the head.” He stalked back to the middle of the road. “And I have tread marks in the other lane. There was a vehicle here. It looks like it skidded in front of the lead sedan. Noah, we have two missing vehicles—the third sedan and from these tread marks, a truck or SUV.”

“None of our dead marshals is Derek Ramon.” Noah's stomach churned as his blood began to boil in his veins. He crossed the road and checked the car against the tree. “This was their car,” he said, lifting a light rose sweater. “Erin's.” He moved around the back of the vehicle. The grass of the embankment was wet. “Adam, there are fresh footprints into the trees. I know where Elizabeth is,” he said, his voice coming out in a hoarse whisper. “Danny and Erin aren't with her.”

“How good are your tracking skills?”

“You just witnessed what I know about tracking.”

“Then I'd better see where these footprints go.”

Adam set out into the woods in an easy jog, stopping when the trail broke through the trees. “What's your take on Marshal Ramon?”

“I don't like him, but that may be personal. Can't decide. Elizabeth trusts him. Why?”

“I think this is where our mystery guy took Elizabeth.”

“And?”

Adam knelt to the ground. “There are three sets of prints. One is an adult.”

Elizabeth glared at Spencer as the SUV sped through the rain. For a short span in her life, he'd been her everything—her husband, her partner—and she thought she would love him for the rest of her life. At one time there was good in him. He could have become a wonderful surgeon, a healer, a humanitarian. Now she was repulsed by the monster he'd allowed himself to become. What could have driven him to sacrifice his soul?