Nautier and Wilder (27 page)

Maybe.

She slipped back inside the room and partly closed the door, giving her mother a report
of what she’d seen. She kept watch over the guards, hoping and praying they’d walk
outside. All she needed was thirty seconds.

Then she heard the loud roar overhead, and the guards went running.

She grabbed her mother’s hand. “Let’s go now!”

FIFTEEN

N
othing like a couple of low-flying fighter jets as a diversion. Jed was thankful Grange
knew people in high places. The flyover should provide enough of a distraction to
get Pete and whoever else was working for him scrambling to figure out what the fuck
was going on.

They beached the Zodiac boat on the back side of the island and leaped out, weapons
drawn, while a helo and the jets hopefully kept Pete busy on the main side. Jed and
Grange ran like hell toward the house, ripping through underbrush, foliage slapping
them in the face and arms as they rushed to get to Elena and her mother.

“You see anything that isn’t Carla and Elena, shoot it,” Grange said, having no problem
keeping up with Jed.

That was already Jed’s plan anyway. He figured every person on this private island
was hostile.

They reached the clearing. Jed didn’t even pause as he ran through the open back door.

“Elena!”

No answer. He checked every room in the small house, but she wasn’t there. Neither
was her mother.

“Front door is open,” Grange said, heaving big gulps of oxygen and dripping sweat
from their extended run. “Maybe they got out.”

“And maybe Pete took them out when the jets flew over.”

Grange nodded. “I’ll go out the back and retrace. You take the front. Check in.”

“You got it.”

Jed ran through the front door, down the steps and onto the path, figuring if Elena
had escaped, she’d go in that direction, hoping to find a way out. Stones marked a
path for about fifty feet, then it was sand and a worn pathway leading through the
jungle.

He lifted his rifle, slowing his pace as the jungle thickened around him. He lifted
his arm and swiped the sweat from his eyes.

The crack of a twig to his left made him crouch down and focus in that direction.
He dropped and rolled when a shot fired at him but missed.

Another shot. He flattened himself on his belly and took aim, looking for the shooter.
He followed him with his sight, tracking his movements as he inched through the jungle.

This guy wasn’t very good. Jed’s finger poised on the trigger, he drew the guy in
his sights, about to pull the trigger when a shot rang out and he dropped, his left
arm burning. A warm trickle of blood slid down his arm. He grabbed a handkerchief
out of his pocket and tied it around his arm to stop the flow of blood, ignoring the
pounding pain.

Motherfucker, they had him pinned on both sides.

He went running deeper into the woods, taking fire from his left and right. But he
got ahead of them, then found a thick tree to hide behind and waited for them to come
get him.

He heard the one on the left first.

Silence wasn’t their forte, so he heard the shooter on the run. Jed aimed and fired,
and the first one went down with a thundering crash.

He changed position right away so the second shooter wouldn’t be able to get a point
on his position.

Catching his breath, he found a spot, belly crawled a few feet, trying not to make
any noise while listening for sounds of others. He didn’t hear anything, so he found
a large rock and tossed it.

That’s when he heard the other one coming up on the position where he’d tossed the
rock.

He rose, moved in behind him, spotted the target creeping through the foliage. He
got him in his sights and took the shot, dropping him.

He dove back into the jungle, keeping watch for other shooters.

Time was wasting and he had to find Elena.

* * *

Elena was lost. Hopelessly lost. She’d started out on the path, then was afraid that
made them an easy target and they’d run into Pete or one of his guards, so she dove
into the jungle, figuring they could hide out if they needed to until Jed and Grange
found them.

And they would find them. She’d heard the jet overhead. It had to be them.

Her mother’s progress was slow. She was tired and weak and mostly blind, so she couldn’t
run. Elena had to tell her mother where to step so she wouldn’t trip over the gnarled
roots sticking up out of the ground.

After they’d walked for a while, she finally settled them against a hollowed-out tree
trunk to take a rest. She didn’t know how long they’d survive out here without food
and water, but she’d figure out a way.

And she hoped they were far enough away from the house. She had no idea how much time
had elapsed, but it was getting close.

She wanted to get farther, like out to the beach, but she didn’t want to get into
a clearing. Maybe they’d be safe here.

She heard the crackle of leaves, the snap of wood.

And maybe they weren’t safe here after all.

Then again, it might be Jed and Grange, and if she stayed silent, she might miss them.

Tension knotted in her stomach. She didn’t know what to do.

“Elena.”

She silenced her mother with her hand, and took a peek around the edge of the tree.

The gun pressed against her cheek.

“There you are, Elena. I was wondering where you and your mother had disappeared to.”

Pete.

Her heart sank.

“Get up.”

She couldn’t move. He did, though, coming around to yank her mother up by the hair.
Her mother cried out.

“Stop it!” Elena screamed. “I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t hurt her.”

Pete smiled, and she’d never seen anything more vicious, or more insane.

“Good girl. We’re going back to the house.”

Elena shook her head. “No.”

“Oh, yes.”

“We’re not going back there with you. There’s a bomb in the house.”

Her mother turned her head. “What? A bomb?”

“That’s right, Carla.” Pete caressed her face with the gun, his hand still holding
her hair tight. “A bomb. I’m going to blow up you and your precious daughter. Grange
is here somewhere. He’s going to watch and there’s nothing he’s going to be able to
do to save you. Just like I had to watch my Dina die and could do nothing to save
her. And once again it’s going to be all his fault.”

“You’re mad,” her mother said.

He laughed. “Oh, I’m beyond mad. I’m getting my vengeance. Finally.”

“Please let my mother go, Pete. Just take me,” Elena pleaded.

“You come with me or I’ll shoot her right now, leave her here and take you to the
house.” He motioned with his rifle.

Defeated, she had no choice but to lead the way, figuring as long as they were both
alive, they still had a chance.

She’d figure something out. This bastard wasn’t going to win.

* * *

Jed had sights on Pete, Elena and Carla. But he had Elena in the front blocking his
way, goddamit. He didn’t have a clear shot.

He’d climbed into a tree, hoping it would give him an advantage, but he still didn’t
have the shot.

Then Grange stepped into the path and Pete stopped.

Now there were even more people in his way. But Jed set up. All he needed was a fraction
of a second on his target, and he’d be able to take Pete down.

Come on, Grange. Give me what I need.

* * *

Elena stopped cold in her tracks when Grange appeared in front of them.

Shock, relief and utter terror left her immobile. But something in Grange’s eyes calmed
her, too.

He knew what he was doing. He only glanced at her for a fraction of a second before
turning his attention on Pete, but it was something.

“Pete. What are you doing?” Grange asked.

Pete laughed. “Grange, my old pal. Glad you joined us. You’re just in time. Let’s
go to the house and have a beer.”

“I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with you. Let them go and then we’ll talk.”

Pete tightened his grip on Carla’s hair. She winced and Grange took a step forward.
Pete put the gun to Carla’s temple.

“I wouldn’t do that. You know how good I am with a gun.”

Grange raised his hands. “Fine. Then tell me what this is all about.”

“You know what this is about.”

“Dina.”

Pete nodded. “You need to pay for what you did to her.”

“You know how sorry I am about that. But what happened to Dina was circumstance and
terrorists.”

“Your fault. If you’d been on time, she wouldn’t have been there. She wouldn’t have
died.”

Grange nodded. “And I’ll live with that guilt the rest of my life. So if you want
to blame someone, if you want to kill someone, then kill me. Not Carla or Elena.”

“No, they have to pay. They’re innocent, and they have to pay. Just like Dina.”

Grange turned his attention on Elena. “Come here.”

“No,” Pete said.

Grange ignored him. “If we’re going to die, I want to hug my niece.” He reached for
the gun on his hip with two fingers, took it out of its holster and threw it to the
ground. “Look, no weapons. No tricks. I surrender.”

Grange turned his gaze back on Pete. “Now let me hug my niece. I spent my whole life
separated from her because I thought I was keeping her safe. Now we’re all going to
die. At least let me have this.”

Pete grinned, obviously sensing triumph. He nodded. “Fine. Then we go in the house,
I lock you all up and then you blow up. But hurry, because time’s running out.”

Elena walked over to Grange.

Grange wrapped his arm around her. She squeezed him tight, but lost her balance when
he jerked her to the ground and knocked the very breath from her.

A shot rang out. Carla screamed.

“Mom!” Elena cried out.

Grange rolled her over. She pushed at him and he let go of her.

“It’s all right, Elena. He’s dead.”

She jumped up and saw her mother shoving away from Pete’s body. Elena ran over to
her mother and threw her arms around her.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, I think so. What happened? Is he dead?

“He is.” She turned to Grange, who came over to help his sister.

“How?” Elena asked.

“Jed,” Grange said, motioning to Jed, who swung out of a nearby tree and started toward
them, rifle flung over his shoulder. “He’s a damn fine sniper. I just had to get you
and me out of the way so he could take the shot.”

“Jed,” Elena said. She ran toward him and threw her arms around him, then pulled back
when she saw the red stain on his arm. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.” He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her.

“Plenty of time for that later,” Grange said. “There’s a bomb about to go off. Let’s
get the hell out of here.”

Jed grabbed her hand and they ran. Grange scooped Carla up in his arms and they made
a wild dash to the boat, pushing off just as the explosion occurred, throwing up flames
and smoke they could see long after they’d left the island. The Coast Guard and the
military swarmed the island, searching for survivors.

“That’s a hell of a lot of C-4,” Jed said as the Zodiac zipped away toward the mainland,
the Coast Guard as their escorts.

Elena leaned back against Jed’s chest, listening to Grange and her mother talk.

She couldn’t believe they’d survived. With a little luck and because of Jed and Grange,
they were alive.

She and her mother could have been in that house when it went up.

She grasped Jed’s hand tightly, never so grateful to feel the warm sun and sea spray
on her face.

* * *

“All these years I spent trying to keep you two safe by staying out of your lives,
when all this time the fucking enemy was in my own backyard.”

Grange paced back and forth in Elena’s living room, hands clasped behind his back,
rigid military bearing so evident in the way he held himself.

Elena couldn’t help being totally in love with her uncle. He’d helped save her life
and her mother’s life.

“I think you did what you thought was best. But I have to tell you, if you think I’m
going to allow you to disappear from my life ever again, you’re wrong.”

He took a moment to stop pacing and graced her with that smile that was so much like
her mother’s it made her heart squeeze.

Her mother sat next to her on the sofa, her vision restored. In the past week she
had been to the hospital, had been given I.V. fluids, antibiotics for an infection
and all the rest she’d needed. She’d been sprung a few days ago and was more than
ready to get on with her life.

“I agree with Elena. It’s time I had my brother in my life again, and not just a few
phone calls and visits here and there.”

Grange crouched down in front of Elena’s mother and took her hands in his. “I almost
lost you.” He looked at Elena. “Both of you. That would have been unforgivable. It’s
time I make some changes in my life. I’m retiring.”

Jed, who was sitting in the chair across from Elena, arched a brow. “General?”

“You heard me. I’ve been at this long enough, and it’s time to interject some young
blood into the Wild Riders. With Mac and Lily getting ready to have a baby, I know
Mac is ready to get out of the line of fire, so I think he’s ready to take over the
helm of the Wild Riders with Lily at his side. The two of them can run the organization
as well as I ever did. I’m ready for fishing and more time on the boat. And maybe
it’s time I settle down and find a woman to spend my life with.”

Carla laughed. “It’s about time, old man. But do you think you can find a woman willing
to put up with you?”

He arched a brow. “Are you saying I’m unreasonable, domineering, rigid and hard to
live with?”

Jed coughed.

“Didn’t ask you, smart-ass.”

“Didn’t comment, General.”

Carla swept her hand across his cheek. “I think any woman would be lucky to have you.
And I’d love it if you retired down here. You can help me finish that degree in psychology
I’ve been spending the past few years working on, help me find a house, and help me
settle down and become a good mother to my daughter.”

Elena warmed. “You’re already a good mother.”

Her mother turned to her. “Not yet, but I intend to work on it every day for the rest
of my life.”

“You had all these plans I didn’t know anything about. I’m sorry, Mom. I never took
the time to ask you about your life. That changes now.”