Protecting Their Child (12 page)

Chapter Eighteen

“You are one smart man,” Serna told him, slapping him on the shoulder and tucking his phone in his pants pocket.

He hated the slap. And hated the fake camaraderie he tolerated from Serna. He wasn’t like these men. He had really begun hating the so-called man walking around the empty bunkhouse. He wished he could get rid of him, but he was an important part of the Danver downfall. A downfall that would only happen if the idiot’s people could catch Kate and Cord.

“Since your boys haven’t checked in, they probably went head-to-head with McCrea.” He leaned against his favorite post near the door. “I told you the only place those two could be headed was toward the observatory. They’re smart.”

Serna appeared to be high again. Pacing the room, stumbling over his own toes. “How long will it take to get there?”

“From here?” He rubbed his chin, contemplating. “The roads are going to be slick. On a normal day it might be a couple of hours. With the snowfall? Add another hour or so.”

“I can’t wait that long,” Serna hissed through a broken tooth he’d received in prison. “Take me to the chopper.”

“You’re going to fly? Visibility is almost nil and the DEA is all over our asses.”

Serna pulled his gun quickly for a man with such shaky hands. “Go for it,
amigo
. It saves me a lot of trouble later, I’m thinking.”

His own gun was still behind his back and not a risk he wanted to take at the moment. “I can drive you to the chopper. No one will miss me.”

“No. They won’t.” Serna dialed, talking in Spanish, most likely to his pilot.

Maybe they’d crash into a mountain.

* * *

I
T
TOOK
A
few minutes before the men in the white car stopped shooting. Cord could hear them driving back and forth along the road. “The bastards are too lazy to look for us down here.”

“And I’m very grateful they are,” Kate said, breathing hard and resting by leaning on her knees. “I’m
so
tired.”

“How are your socks?” he teased. They were both soaked again, making their legs weigh a ton, making the walk through the water runoff even more difficult.

“Wet.” She smiled and started picking her way through the brush. “Come on, Ranger Boy.”

“That’s my girl,” he muttered to himself. Kate never gave up.

He knew she was exhausted. Heck, he could barely move. Even though they were wet, starving, aching and ready to sleep for a week, she didn’t complain, didn’t whine and just kept pushing forward. Those nachos—processed cheese and all—were looking pretty darn good to him, too.

The ravine followed the direction of the road fairly closely and they’d completed another turn. It should be the last before it straightened out and they could head straight for the parking lot.

Time to check things out. He stopped and watched Kate bend forward, stretching her back. He knew that sign of pain all too well. He pulled her within his arms, massaging her lower back muscles through her coat.

“I think it’s been a bit longer than fifteen minutes.”

“I haven’t heard the car in a while and need to check our bearings. I need you to wait here,” he whispered. “Take the pistol. I’ll call like a dove when I come back. Shoot anything else that moves.”

She nodded and he let her go. He saw a dead log and helped Kate climb halfway up the hill. She took the gun and he left. He didn’t like leaving her alone. She was shivering and they needed shelter, so he couldn’t delay. Down to their last option. No food, more snow and just plain exhaustion were almost worse enemies than Serna.

The men in the car were parked at the entrance and waiting on the warm hood. They all seemed underdressed and ill prepared for the cold weather. A note for the investigator in him. These men had come from a warmer climate and hadn’t planned on staying long. Perhaps chasing him hadn’t been in their plans, either. More important, why had two men apparently so unfamiliar with the terrain been waiting for them on the observatory road?

If Kate weren’t with him, it would be the first question he’d ask after he took them into custody. Someone local was helping them. Burke? Juan? It had to be a local rancher who knew about the lodge. Someone who knew the Danvers weren’t utilizing that section of their land. He knew Juan, and the more he’d thought about it, he just didn’t have the spending habits of someone trafficking drugs. So what was really going on?

He stored the information for later. His first priority was getting Kate and the baby to safety. Then he’d come back and seek the answers to his questions. He followed the path to his ex-wife—a status that was getting harder and harder to remember—and whistled like a dove. He didn’t need to be shot again.

She kept the gun pointing in his direction, looking past him to verify he was alone.
Yep, that’s my girl.
“Getting around the bozos checking their cell phones won’t be all that difficult.”

“But?”

“But I couldn’t see any cars in the parking lot. Activities have probably been canceled due to the weather,” he answered, and sat on the log next to her.

“It’s probably a skeleton crew here tonight and there are a lot of telescopes farther up the mountain,” she finished on a long sigh.

“Right.”

“So I hide.”

“Take my coat.” He pulled off her father’s coat and pushed it in her hands.

“It’s snowing again.”

“I’ll run faster and work up a sweat. Don’t worry about me being warm. You two are the ones who will be stuck in a wet drainage pipe.”

Her hands went protectively over the baby. He helped get her father’s coat on over her own, tucked some stray blond wisps inside her cap and wrapped her in his arms.

“We can do this, right?” Her voice sounded small and uncertain, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye.

It hurt to see her cry. “No doubts.”

But he did have doubts. The McDonald Observatory had worked hard to keep the man-made light to a minimum for the telescopes. With no moon there was no way to see where a car might be. He had to physically check out all the parking lots until he found a person on duty.

They stood and his back protested with a stab of pain. He wanted to cry out with each step. He bit his lip—hard—to keep his mouth from admitting something was wrong. Kate couldn’t know.

Running. Lord give him strength.

He led the way uphill and around the buffoons still sitting on the car hood, waiting. Not the brightest bulbs in the pack. He and Kate had just hiked country that included a mountain range, and successfully avoided these nimrods by walking through the rain runoff. They entered the facility on the south side. No cars in the lot. No cover to protect them.

“How long do you think they’ll sit there waiting for us to stroll up the drive?”

“Head that way.” She pointed east. “There’s an eight-foot brick wall by the visitor center that will hide us if they drive into the parking lot. Or we can head around back.”

“That’s not toward your hiding place.”

“I’ve got a deal for you, Ranger.” She darted in front of him, clearly with a second wind, heading to the back of the visitor center.

“And I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Cord followed. They were behind the wall. Kate led him directly to an employee entrance door. A glass door.

He pulled on the door. Locked. Just as he suspected.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Cord. Stop thinking like a law-abiding citizen.” She flipped him around and took the rifle from its spot on the side of the pack. “Step back.”

She waited for him and used the butt of the rifle against the glass.

“What are you doing?”

“Going inside.”

“They’ll hear the alarms.”

“Yes, everyone will, including the staff.”

Kathleen Danver McCrea would always be smarter than him.

* * *

“A
H
,
GOT
IT
. Everyone hears and I don’t have to waste time running all over the mountain looking for nachos—or a phone.”

Cord made her laugh. Now. Freezing, stranded in the snow, starving, men trying to kill them, and Cord made her laugh. And the thought of those nachos just made her want them all the more.

“Okay. Let’s get this door open so you don’t have to run all over the mountain looking for food.” She swung back to hit the door again and he raised his hand to stop her.

“Wait. Let’s think about what’s going to happen.”

“You want to make a plan?” she asked, excited that he’d made more than one with her over the past several days.

“I know, I know. Don’t fall over. Our plans seem to be working out. I just think this is one of those times we need to walk through all the possibilities.” He walked to the end of the wall.

“I agree. Can you see them?”

“No. Serna’s men will get here before the staff. Stay inside until the sheriff gets here. Then call Paul Maddox and ask for an immediate evac.”

“Got it. What will you be doing?”

“Getting rid of Serna’s men. If I can get above them, I should be able to keep them out of the building. But if they get past me, we need to check the other entrances and see if this is the best to defend. We’ll also have to deal with any staff who come down to check out the alarm.”

“We’ll need to make certain they can’t be used as hostages. You’ll need your coat back.” She lifted her arm, indicating for him to tug the sleeve.

“Keep it for now. Keeping them from grabbing hostages means taking Serna’s men out first.”

“Cord?”

“Hmm?” He led the way around the building.

“Both of those men were checking their cell phones. Do you think they’ve already told Serna where we are?”

He didn’t need to answer. The look on his face said it all. “We can do this, Kate.”

“So he’s on his way then. You can’t be certain. They may try to take us to him.”

“Either way, this ends tonight. The two idiots who expect us to cross the street in front of them seem to be waiting on reinforcements.”

“We can’t endanger anyone working here.” She grabbed his upper arm and spun toward him. “And if we break into this building we’ll be doing just that.”

“I’ll have an advantage from the roof that I can’t get anywhere else. I could catch these guys while they’re still in their car. We can barricade the door and wait on reinforcements.”

“And if you can’t eliminate all your targets? What then? Can you guarantee they won’t grab the staff who will show up when the alarm sounds? What if they’re caught in the crossfire?”

“So we’re back to the original plan. You hide. I find the staff and get a phone.”

“Or we work together to take out those two men and use their car to find help.”

“That’s too risky.”

“We can do this, Cord. It’s the best solution. The only way we can control what those men do is to take them out of the equation.” She saw in his eyes that he was weighing the possible outcomes. “We work well together. We always have.”

And it wasn’t hard to recognize that he’d included her in the decision-making process. A first. He’d listened.

“Same as before. You stay back. Cover me with the rifle.”

“If we’re lucky, they’re still waiting.”

* * *

I
F
THERE
WAS
one thing Cord could count on it was not being lucky. Luck hadn’t really been on their side for the past three years.

They made the decision to take the two men out quietly at the main road, but as they began to move, the car circled through the parking lot with its lights off. They heard the muffler and ran back to the brick wall to find where they were stopping.

“They’re patrolling? Why?” he asked.

“Maybe we should just hide? Together. It will take Serna a couple of hours to get here. We could make it back to the tree line and—”

Cord took her by the shoulders and shook his head. “You’re forgetting he has access to a chopper. Our friends are probably driving around. They want to look busy because he’s almost here.”

“Then we definitely need to find the staff and call—”

“It’s too late. We’re it. Hear that?” He pointed to the sky. “Not thunder. It’s a chopper.”

He paced. Three steps away from her and three steps back. All the while shoving the snow off his head, tugging at his short hair. Worried. And if she didn’t know him so well, she probably wouldn’t have seen the fright in his eyes he was attempting to hide.

“Which plan do you want to go with?” she asked, reaching out and grabbing his hand. The strength she needed flowed into her even through their gloved fingers.

“We head back to the woods. Circle around and take the car when they’re not looking.”

“Sounds good. Just wish it included a good steak and cheesy potatoes.”

“That kid must love cheese,” he teased.

“Naw, this is all me. You know I’m a meat-and-potatoes gal.”

“I’ve seen you eat your fair share of crab legs.”

“Oh, my gosh, those were good crab legs,” she whispered, gaining a crooked smile from her ex-husband.

They waited for the car to head to the north side of the facility before they ran. Blending into the trees toward the south, the sounds of the helicopter grew louder.

“We need to warn the staff.”

“I’ll do my best, Kate, but I haven’t got many options.” His low, soft voice shook through her as he checked the weapons and palmed the remaining bullets for his pistol.

He was right. They were low on ammo and if it came down to a fistfight, Cord was injured and exhausted. His upper-body strength was amazing, but in his current state, she just didn’t know how long he’d last.

“You need to go Rambo on these guys.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cull them from the herd and take ’em out one by one.”

“This isn’t a movie, babe. I can be prosecuted for something like that.”

She could see the possibilities crowding his brain. Normally she’d think he was cute raising one corner of his mouth and barely shaking off a bad idea, then processing another. Today she was glad he was considering it. Not stating aloud how he planned to eliminate the men determined to kill them was just fine with her. He handed her the rifle again.