Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (35 page)

“That's a pity.”

He looked up at her again, and smiled, making it clear from his arrogant expression he planned to make good on every one of his threats.

SIXTEEN

G
rant glanced at his watch. Trying not to worry had become impossible. Maddie had been in there too long. On top of that, Colton would be arriving in the next thirty minutes, and he had no way of letting his friend know that they once again weren't going to make it to the rendezvous site.

Which meant their odds of escaping this island anytime soon had just dropped substantially, and Reid now knew where to find them.

I'm not sure how, God, but we really need You to step in and fix this mess.

Grant glanced across the room at Antonio, who was leaning back against the wall in one of the wooden chairs on two of its legs, his eyes shut. “How can you sleep right now?”

Antonio opened his eyes, but didn't move. “Someone once taught me the importance of managing my emotions in a crisis. And how remaining calm under pressure was essential to performance. Like when deactivating a land mine, for example.”

“Funny.” Grant frowned. “This is different.”

“Different how?” Antonio let the chair fall forward. “Because Maddie's involved?”

Grant pointed to the door where Sam had placed an armed guard on the other side. “She's out there—more than likely with Reid—a man who was probably involved not only in her abduction, but also at least two other deaths.”

“I was right,” Antonio said. “You're falling for her. And while I'm not sure why, I think she likes you, too.”

Grant pressed his hands against the wall and stared doing a round of pushups. Anything to keep him occupied. “You've always been too perceptive. And far too nosy for your own good.”

“But I am right, aren't I?”

“Maybe. And if we make it out of here I might even get the chance to find out.”

“
When
we make it. Not if we make it. Reid doesn't have anything on her, or either of us, for that matter.”

“You know even better than I do that doesn't matter. Not when you're dealing with corrupt officials. They make the rules.” He finished two dozen pushups, took a step back and then shook out his arms. “She's been gone for twenty minutes.”

“There is nothing you can do right now.”

“There's nothing I can do about a lot of things right now.”

“Like with Maddie?”

“I have this gut feeling that in the end she's not going to want a relationship with someone who puts himself in danger so often. And I don't blame her. Because let's face it. Relationships don't always work out like they did for you and Catia.”

“Not always,” Antonio said. “And maybe you're right. Maybe she's not the one for you, but I've learned that sometimes you have to fight for a happy ending. It wasn't always easy for Catia and I. Her family had expectations. My family had expectations...”

“What made it work?”

“I guess a combination of our stubbornness and our faith. I was lucky to have a couple good examples while I was in the university of relationships that showed me what I wanted.”

Antonio had reminded him family was worth the time and the risk. And if Grant was honest with himself, it was what he wanted as well. Because Maddie was the first person in a long time who he could actually imagine building something with. He knew relationships were tough. He knew you had to fight for them. And while he might not have had the examples Antonio had, he knew he wanted something different than his own parents.

Antonio caught his gaze. “I know I'm going out on a limb here, but if you really care about Maddie and think there's a future for the two of you, it might be time for you to move on with your life—even if it means leaving the demining program. One day, you're going to have to face the fact that you're still here because you're still trying to atone for Darren's death.”

A seed of anger sprouted. Grant started another set of pushups, wanting to ignore his friend's pointed advice. “This isn't about Darren.”

“Isn't it? I might not have been there the day he died, but I do know that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, there's simply nothing you can do to change a situation. And you're never going to be able to go back and change that moment.”

Grant had discovered the hard way what horrible twists life could throw at you. Seven months in Somalia had changed them both. But then Grant had returned home alive. And Darren had returned in a coffin.

“It should have been me who died that day.”

Grant took a step back from the wall and stopped, surprised by his own words. He'd never admitted to anyone, not even Maddie's parents when he shared what happened the day Darren died, how deep his guilt ran.

“Why?”

He turned around slowly to face Antonio. “If I hadn't pushed him to choose the Marines over his high school girlfriend, Darren would probably be alive right now, happily married with a bunch of kids.”

“You don't know that. And it was his choice. Not yours.”

His eyes darkened. “Maybe, but I watched him die. And at that moment, I promised myself I would find a way to make up for his death. I finished up my time with the Marines and used my experience to do what I do now.”

“Setting out to cleanse yourself from the guilt for being the one who wasn't hurt.”

After all the years they'd spent working together, Antonio knew him too well. He didn't know how to walk away from the hold the past had on him. And maybe Antonio was right. In order for there to be any chance of a relationship between he and Maddie—or anyone, for that matter—he was going to have to find a way to let go of the past. And somehow accept the fact that, for whatever reason, God had saved him and allowed Darren to die.

The door opened and Maddie slipped into the room.

“Maddie?” Grant walked across the room, trying to read her expression. “Are you okay?”

She stopped in front of him and rubbed her temples. “Reid accused me of using my position to secure drug mules.”

“You've got to be kidding,” Grant said.

“He's planning to make us disappear and make it look like an accident.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing,” she said, “but that doesn't matter. He knows from Alistair that we accessed a flash drive. What he still doesn't have is the person who gave it to Sam.”

“So either way, we're still loose ends,” Grant said.

“We need a way out of this building,” Antonio said. “Is there a guard still outside our door?”

Maddie nodded. “But except for a secretary out front, the place is pretty quiet.”

“And Reid? Where's he?”

“I heard him tell Sambe he needed to go make a phone call. I think he might have left.”

Antonio stood up and folded his arms across his chest. “Reid might have connections on this island, but so do I.”

“What do you mean?” Grant asked.

“That taxi driver I had come pick us up at the hotel is actually an old friend of mine,” Antonio said. “He's already picked up Ana and is waiting a couple blocks away to take us to the landing strip. But we only get one shot at this.”

“Then it's a chance we have to take,” Grant said.

Maddie dropped her hands to her sides. “Is Colton still planning to fly us to Dakar?”

“He's got connections there—”

“So does Reid,” she countered.

Grant grabbed her fingertips and squeezed them gently. “We're not going to let Reid win.”

“How?” she asked.

“How much time do you think we have till they come get us?”

“I don't know, but I can't imagine Reid wanting to draw this out.”

Grant glanced at her backpack, his mind running through their limited options. They had no way to communicate with the outside world, no weapons and they needed a way out. Their only real supplies lay with her medical kit that contained painkillers, gauze, burn creams, cold packs...

Cold packs.

He smiled. “Do you have one of those instant cold packs with your medical stuff?”

“Reid dumped out my stuff searching for the flash drive, but yes... I've still got one.”

“Good. Let me have that and a pair of your latex gloves.”

“Gloves?” Maddie set down her backpack on the desk and unzipped it. “What are you planning to do? Build a bomb?”

“He's the explosive expert,” Antonio said.

“Not a bomb per se,” Grant said, taking the cold pack from her. “But if we're going to get out of here, we're going to need a distraction.”

* * *

Maddie watched while Grant and Antonio worked in silence. Her adrenaline pumped, heart pounding as she wondered if this crazy plan of theirs was actually going to work. Grant might know what he was doing, but time was not on their side. Reid would be back any minute. And when he came back, it was going to be over for all of them.

“Explain what you're doing?” she asked.

“It's basic chemistry. Cold packs are made with ammonium nitrate,” Grant began. “And while they're not extremely toxic, when prepared properly, they can produce thick plumes of white smoke.”

“You're making a smoke bomb.” Apparently she'd slept through that part of Chemistry 101.

“Exactly,” he said, working quickly. “I grew up making these things. Guess it was inevitable I ended up working with explosives one day.”

Folded sheets of newspaper that had been dipped into the ammonium nitrate solution now lay drying in a patch of morning sunlight on the floor.

“I've got some matches in my backpack,” Grant instructed her. “They're in a small, waterproof container in one of the side pockets.”

“Okay...” She pulled out the matches and handed them to him. “What else?”

“We need some string.” Grant said as he rolled up one of the sheets of newspaper. “Anything that I can wrap around this to hold it together.”

Maddie thought quickly. “I've got a roll of gauze.”

“Perfect.”

Two minutes later they were ready. Grant flung open the door and threw five lit smoke bombs into the narrow hallway in both directions. Through the thick smoke, they hurried out the side door of the small police station.

It might be the distraction they needed, but even in the surrounding chaos, Maddie didn't miss the fact that they were running—again. And she wasn't completely convinced this was going to be enough to get them out of here without getting caught.

She could hear at least one officer was on their tail. She followed Grant and Antonio onto the narrow dirt road, wondering how they were going to make it to the plane. And when she was ever going to feel safe again.

I know You're out there, God. And I know I shouldn't be afraid, but I am.

Because the only way for them to stay alive was to get off this island.

A weapon fired as they skirted around the side of the run-down building following Antonio's lead.

“They're still behind us,” Antonio said.

Grant quickly lit the last of the smoke bombs and tossed them toward their pursuers. Maddie's lungs fought for air, both from the smoke and the excursion. They should have stayed. Corruption or not, surely there was no way Reid could get away with his plan. They could have found someone to help them. Someone who would help them stop Reid. Now they'd escaped police custody, the authorities had something valid to pin on them.

But who could they go to? They didn't even know everyone who was involved.

They have money, rifles, ammunition and know every inch of this country's remote areas. They can literally buy the government and do what they want.

Antonio's assessment had been spot-on. The cartel's pockets ran deep, and she wasn't foolish enough to believe Reid was the only one enjoying the benefits.

“We're almost there,” Antonio said.

She couldn't hear anyone following them, but that didn't mean they weren't still there, or that Reid couldn't still find a way to stop them.

She glanced at Grant and a new wave of panic hit full force. Blood seeped through his T-shirt across his shoulder.

“Grant... You've been shot.”

“It doesn't matter. We've got to keep moving.”

But it did matter. She felt as if she'd just gotten socked in the stomach and couldn't breathe. The past few days had been like a row of dominoes falling in rapid succession, pushing them on toward that ultimate dark moment she knew was coming.

And now she just wanted out.

She could see the car up ahead, but Grant was slowing down. She wrapped her arm around his waist, with Antonio on the other side. At the car, their driver was opening the doors. She slid into the backseat with Grant so she could assess the situation.

Antonio banged on the dash as soon as the last door had shut. “Get out of here now.”

“You okay, Ana?” she asked before giving her full attention to Grant.

Ana nodded, eyes wide with fear as another bullet ricocheted off the back of the car.

Whoever had been behind them wouldn't be able to follow them on foot, but she also knew it wouldn't be hard to track them down. There were only two ways off this island. By boat and by air, and Reid knew that.

“So, you think this gunshot wound is life-threatening, doc?” Grant asked.

“It could be worse,” she said. “He could have had better aim.”

He chuckled, but she could see the pain in his eyes.

She went through her assessment on autopilot. Airway management, respiratory rate, pulse...

Hollywood loved firepower. Villains could get blown away with a single shot, while main characters easily walked away from a bullet wound like it was simply an inconvenience. But in real life, there was no safe place to be shot. Just because the shoulder didn't contain any vital organs didn't mean there couldn't be serious complications. For starters, the subclavian artery that fed the main artery of the arm was there, along with nerve bundles.

And that wasn't the only problem she was facing.