DeliciousDanger (29 page)

The long driveway was heavy with trees, standing almost like
sentinels, which was good for his purpose. He’d parked down the road and crept
through the woods as close as he could get earlier, waiting and watching the
activity with his binoculars. During the day the weather was actually pleasant,
so he hadn’t minded the long wait.

He watched the place all day but nobody went in or out.
Funny. Maybe the place was closed. The boss hadn’t said it was, though. It
would be good if it was. He drew the line at killing animals. Finally the sun
began its slow descent to the horizon. He waited another hour, hoping to catch
a glimpse of the woman who owned the place, see her for himself. Be able to
report that she was here but no such luck. He’d been told she most likely
wasn’t on the premises. If she was, all well and good. If not, well, this would
bring her running and hopefully Latrobe with her. That’s what the boss really
wanted. Then he could nail both of them.

“I know she’s still with him,” the man who hired him
insisted. “No telling what he’s told her, so if you can make it a clean sweep,
I’ll double your fee.”

Denny waited until long past midnight to return to his spot.
Now he drew his special goggles out of the canvas bag and slipped them on.
These enabled him to spot alarm sensors and other electronics set up around the
property. Sometimes people had two or three different systems but this one, he
discovered, was pretty basic.

Stepping carefully around the sensitive areas, he made his
way to the buildings and took care of business, making sure everything outside
the house and kennels was properly set. By the time he finished, stopping
frequently to listen in case someone showed up unexpectedly, he was sweating
heavily inside his jacket, despite the cold.

At last he was back in the truck and out on the road. When
he was a mile away he took a small black box out of his pocket and pushed a
button.

Kaboom!

* * * * *

She was very hot and a loud noise was disturbing her.
Something wet pushed against her face.

“Go away,” Kelly mumbled, tossing the covers off her
overheated body and pushing at whatever was annoying her.

But the noise continued and a heavy shove finally woke her
up.

Xena had a large paw resting on her body, pushing hard at
her while growling in her ear. She shoved at the dog and sat up in bed.

“What is it, Xena?” She locked eyes with the dog, fanning
herself at the same time. For a moment she thought she could see the images of
flames dancing in her eyes. “What’s the matter? Be quiet or you’ll wake Rick.”

“Rick’s already awake,” came a voice thick with sleep from
beside her. “Does she need to go out?”

“No, I don’t think so. She’s trying to tell me something and
I can’t figure out what her problem is. And why it’s so hot in here. I’m
burning up, aren’t you? Is there a heater in this room?”

“Yes,” Rick mumbled, “but I forgot to turn it on last night.
And yes, I’m hot too but the room’s freezing. Let me turn the heater on now
before we get chilled.” Groaning, he levered himself to a sitting position.

“I’m sweating.” Kelly plucked at the sleepshirt.
“Something’s wrong.” She looked at Xena again. “What is it, girl? Is something
wrong in the cabin?”

The room heater looked like a small old-fashioned stove.
Rick turned the switch even as he pulled his t-shirt away from his sticky skin.
He bent down to Xena, locking his eyes on hers.

“God.” He sounded stunned. “You aren’t going to believe
this.”

“What? What is it? Is she telling you something?

“I think so. I’m getting pretty good at deciphering her
code, Red. I’d say either there’s fire somewhere or we’re about to be put on
the hot seat again.” He looked at Xena. “So, girl, can you tell us which one?”

Xena moved back to Kelly and grabbed a piece of her nightshirt
in her teeth and pulled at it, trying to tug her toward where she’d tossed her
clothes the night before.

“All right, all right. You want me to get dressed? I’m
coming but this better be damn good. And why are we so hot? Rick, I think you
may be right about some kind of fire. But where? And why is she pulling us?”

Kelly yanked on jeans and her shirt and started toward the
door but Xena threw herself in front of it, butting Kelly with her head.

“What now?”She threw up her hands. “You want me to be dressed
but not go outside? What is it, Xena?”

“Let me go take a look,” Rick told her.

He reached for his own clothes and had his jeans pulled on
when the satellite phone on the bedside table rang.

* * * * *

Mike had angled out over the ocean, then turned back in to
follow the coastline as he headed south. He lifted the traveler mug that Kelly
had fixed for him and sipped at the good, strong coffee. Far from being sleepy,
his mind was spinning in a dozen different directions.

The media was having a field day with the story about the
stolen weapons and their possible sale to the enemy by Phoenix. Like his
partners, Mike was so angry he could barely keep his temper reined in. The
agency had built a strong reputation since its inception, not a breath of
scandal of any kind ever touching it.

Now arrows were coming at them from every angle. Government
agencies wanted to comb through their records. The DOJ was issuing a subpoena
for Rick. Rick’s life was in danger. Even calm, levelheaded Matt Caldwell was
wondering if Rick hadn’t gone rogue and pulled this stunt. In his quiet voice
he’d pointed out how it made sense if only they’d take an objective look at it.

Objective, my ass.

Mike snorted. Anyone who knew Rick Latrobe would know he
would never, ever do something like this. No, he’d have to get his brain
cranking in the cabin while the rest of them did their thing and try to put the
pieces of this puzzle together. He just hoped Xena, the wonder dog, could keep
the man alive until they got to the bottom of this.

Sitting in the darkness he pulled his cell phone from his
pocket. He rarely turned the phone off but he’d wanted to be able to focus
complete on Kelly and Rick. Now he scrolled through his messages, thankful
there was nothing urgent and returning the calls that couldn’t wait until
morning. Finally he cranked up the helo, listing off into the darkness and
heading south. He was just passing the lights of Bangor when he saw what looked
like an explosion off to the north of the city. Vibrations shimmied their way
up through the air.

Swearing, he banked the helo and turned back the way he’d
come, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He flew over the spot three
times, double-checking the coordinates just to make sure, before he picked up
the sat phone and punched the button for Rick.

The nightmare had just gotten worse.

Chapter Twelve

Rick put the phone down and walked around to where Kelly was
still tussling with Xena, rubbing the grit from her sleep-deprived eyes. When
he crouched down next to her, taking one of her hands in his, her stomach
knotted. This wasn’t good.

“What? Who was that? It’s something bad, isn’t it?”

“That was Mike.”

Xena had stopped pulling at Kelly and now rested her head on
Rick’s knees. The sound she made was one of great distress. Rick rubbed the
huge head. “Yeah, sweetheart, I know,” he told the animal.“You knew about it,
right? That’s what was bothering you.”

Kelly rubbed at her arm with her free hand. Now, instead of
being overheated she was suddenly chilled. “What’s going on? It’s bad, isn’t
it? I can tell by the look on your face.”

Rick squeezed her hand. “Don’t freak, okay? Yes, it’s bad,
but we’ll take care of it.”

“Please tell me what he said,” she cried.

“He was just flying over Bangor when there was an explosion
north of him. He circled over it several times just to make sure he knew what
he was seeing. Kelly, I know where the heat is coming from. It’s generating
from Xena. I get her message. I’m sorry, Red, but someone blew up your farm and
the whole place is on fire.”

She felt every bit of blood leave her head and dizziness
wash over her. She tried to say something but no words would come out of her
mouth. Her farm? The only home she’d ever known? The farm her great-grandfather
had built? Gone? That would be like erasing most of her life.

“This is a joke, right?” she asked when she could make her
throat muscles work. “It’s a mistake.” She grabbed his arm and forced him to
look at her. “Tell me it’s a mistake.”

Wincing slightly, Rick pried her fingers off and curved his
arm around her, drawing her against him. “I wish it was, honey. Believe me. I’m
so sorry. And I hate the fact that this is all our fault. Every bit of it. We
never should have gotten you involved.”

She pinched back the tears that stung her eyes and her nose.
“Your fault? Did you blow it up?”

“No but if you weren’t mixed up with me—with us—this
probably wouldn’t have happened.”

She shifted slightly so she could look at him. “You think
someone did this because I’m here with you? Xena and me?”

“I can’t think of any other reason.” He forked his fingers
through his sleep-disheveled hair. “Damn it, I wish I could. But I’d bet money
they either wanted to draw the two of you away from me or maybe get you and me
out in the open and have another chance at us.”

“You’re right. The heat was transference from Xena.”Kelly
swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, then suddenly leaped off the bed.
“I have to get down there. My god, I have to check everything out. I have to
get down there. Right now.” She cursed under her breath in frustration as she
fumbled with the buttons on her blouse.

“Stop.” Rick’s hand was firm on her arm.“Red, stop right now
and listen to me. You can’t go down there.”

“No, I have to. Please.” She tried to shove his hands away
but her own hands were shaking too badly. “Oh god, I don’t even have a car here
to get there.” She looked up at Rick, feeling completely helpless.

He gripped her shoulders in his big hand and turned her to
face him. “Take a deep breath, Red, and listen to what I’m going to say. I told
you. This is exactly what they want. To draw you out so they can get to you.
And me.”

She tried to steady herself but her breath was coming so
fast she felt lightheaded.

Rick sat her down on the bed, his hands firm on her arms.

“I’d say there are three options to their plan,” he went
on.“None of them acceptable as far as I’m concerned. One, you show up and they
pick you off. Maybe they think that will drag me out into the open so they have
another chance at me. Second, you don’t show up but you get the message. Stay
away from Rick Latrobe. Or third, we both show up and they get rid of both of
us, me especially.”

“This is all to keep me and Xena away from you? Or make you
leave your hiding place?”

He nodded. “That’s about the size of it. Somehow they’ve
found out about you and done their research or they wouldn’t have targeted the
farm. That means they probably know about Xena too. Whoever was casing my house
obviously took pictures and they searched you out.”

“But how could they know about Xena’s special abilities?”
Her voice held a plaintive note.

“Ever been interviewed? Ever talked about her? Not to
mention the fact that the internet is full of information about Ovcharkas.
Whoever is running this show is smart enough to put two and two together.”

“That place is my life, Rick.” She sniffed back the tears
stinging her nose. “It’s my family’s legacy. I can’t
not
go down there.”

Shoving her feet into her shoes, Kelly headed for the door,
only to be stopped by Xena’s enormous bulk. The dog punctuated her displeasure
with three loud barks.

“She wants you up and dressed but not out of the cabin,”
Rick pointed out. “Like I said, they’ve obviously Googled the dog. Read stories
about the Psi abilities. They may not believe in them but Xena’s thwarted them
twice now and they can’t afford any more screw-ups. Even if this doesn’t bring
me out into target range, Red, if they can eliminate you, or shake you up badly
enough to walk away, they’ll take away one of my safeguards. And a big one at
that.”

Kelly dropped into the chair, stunned. Her pulse was racing
and she still couldn’t seem to get her breathing under control.“I guess they
don’t know me too well. I don’t run away from things.”

“Maybe not but we ought to take another look at the danger
we’ve put you in.”

“My choice,” she insisted and Xena, now sitting next to
Rick, gave an approving bark.

Rick shook his head. “We’ll discuss it when Mike gets back
here.” Visibly ignoring his pain, Rick squatted down in front of Kelly and took
her hands. “Listen, Red, he’ll be here in a minute. He called 9-1-1. They know
him. This cabin was his grandfather’s and he used to come up here a lot in the
summer. It won’t set off any alarms if he tells them he was flying up here and
saw the explosion.”

“But what about my people? Graham and Sandy will hear the
sirens and know where they’re headed. There isn’t much out on this road, as you
well know.”

Rick handed her the sat phone. “Call them. Tell them a
friend was in the area and called to let you know what was happening.
Everything’s under control. They should just stay away.”

“They won’t want to do that,” she protested. “This place
means almost as much to them as it does to me. Anyway, you know this is a small
town. The police and fire department will think it’s weird if they don’t show
up.”

Rick threw up his hands. “Okay. Call them. Tell them what I
said about things being under control. If they need to take a look, fine. But
they should then go home and wait for you to call them.” He pressed the phone
into her hand. “Make them understand. You can do that.”

She took the phone from him and gave him a watery smile.
“Thanks. Then I guess I’d better make some fresh coffee. I hear the chopper
right now.”