No One to Trust (19 page)

He turned toward the house. “I’m going to go through Galen’s personal papers and see if I can come up with anything. Did you check for booby traps?”

Gomez nodded. “It’s safe.”

“Safety is a very fragile thing.” He started up the porch steps. “You might keep that in mind, Gomez.”

“A tall, muscular man, not bad-looking, gray at his temples.” Galen adjusted the powerful binoculars. “Is that Chavez?”

“It sounds like him,” Elena said. “Let me have the binoculars.” She slowly lifted them to her eyes. Jesus, she didn’t want to see him again. She forced herself to look at the man standing on the porch.

Power. Strength. Cruelty.

The mat.

She hurriedly lowered the binoculars. “That’s him.”

“Then you were right: Barry did draw him here,” Galen said. “I wasn’t sure a selfish bastard like him would actually come after the kid.”

“I was sure. Coming after him was all about selfishness. He wants to play God.” Her lips tightened. “Not with my Barry.”

“Easy.” His hand clasped her shoulder. “Your muscles are in knots.”

“How do you expect me to feel?” She drew a deep breath. “When are we going to leave here?”

“Tomorrow morning.” He lifted the binoculars to his eyes again. “I count eight men in those two cars. They seem to be settling down at the house for the night. Remind me to burn the bedsheets when we return. Come on, let’s go back to camp.” He started down the slope. “I’ll check on them again later.”

She took one more glance at the ranch house before she slowly followed him back to the encampment.

Barry was sitting beside Judd Morgan. “Judd’s teaching me how to whittle, Mama. Did you see his big knife?”

She had a memory of that switchblade pressed against Galen’s throat. “Yes, I’ve seen it.”

Judd smiled. “I won’t let him use it. That’s advanced play.” He glanced at Galen. “See anything interesting?”

“What I expected to see. There are a few animals out there. Nothing to worry about, but it wouldn’t hurt for us to take turns on guard.”

“I’ll take first watch,” Elena said.

“I wasn’t going to insult you by leaving you out of it,” Galen said. “But you take second watch. That way you can get Barry to sleep first.” He went over to the cave. “I don’t think we’ll light a fire tonight, so I’ll have to see what I can come up with in the way of cold rations. I’m sure I can concoct something perfectly splendid.”

Galen’s digital phone rang as they were finishing up the meal.

“Where are you, Galen?” A deep voice, heavily accented.

Galen tensed. “Chavez?”

Elena’s gaze flew to his face.

“Yes, I’m getting impatient. I want my son. Give him to me.”

“Screw you.” He got up and moved out of the cave and beyond Barry’s hearing. “You don’t have a son. He belongs to Elena. It’s going to stay that way.”

“It won’t stay that way.” He paused. “I was very angry at your interference and I wanted you punished. But I’m a reasonable man and I know how to cut my losses. I’m willing to pay to have my son turned over to me. Five million dollars. You set up the terms of the drop-off.”

“No way.”

“Ten million.”

“We’re not trading, Chavez.”

“I’ll go higher.”

“And you’ll get the same answer.”

“The bitch isn’t that good a lay.”

“I’m terminating this conversation.”

“Think about it. I’ll give you my phone number.”

Smother the anger. They might be able to use it. He took out his pen and pad. “What is it?”

Chavez rattled off a number. “Be reasonable. I’ll get him anyway. If you hand him over, you become a very rich man.”

“No deal.” He hung up.

“What did he want?”

He turned to see Elena and Judd standing behind him.

“What he’s wanted all along. Only he offered to pay for him.” His lips twisted. “The last offer was ten million, but he would have gone higher.”

Judd gave a low whistle. “That’s impressive money. It would cause a lot of men to turn traitor. You may have a tough time keeping the kid if he’s spreading that kind of money around.”

“You took his phone number down,” Elena said to Galen.

“Oh, for God’s sake, I thought we might need it. Did you think I was hedging my bets?”

“No.” She looked away. “I don’t know what to think.”

But she had doubted him for that moment. What else could he expect? From the moment she had learned Chavez was on his way, she had changed. She had gone back into the battle mode she had learned from childhood—wary, tense, trusting no one.

It hurt, dammit. “No, I’m not going to take the damn money.”

Judd glanced from one to the other and changed the subject. “Who takes first watch?”

“I do,” Galen said curtly. “I need some space.”

He walked away.

Elena could see only one guard circling the house.

She crawled slowly, silently, grasping the rifle with her left hand.

There wasn’t much brush in this level meadowland, and she had to keep low and move with painstaking care.

The lights in the office were burning. Chavez was probably trying to find a way to trace them.

Once she reached the barn, it would shelter her until she had a look around. She would have to take out the first guard, and she’d already spotted another man at the corral. If she took him out too, then she might be able to get to the house.

Her gaze was fixed on the window of the study as she crawled forward.

I’m coming, Chavez. Do you feel it?

She could imagine him in her sights, sitting at the desk shuffling papers. No, don’t think about it. Just do it. She had to distance herself, as her father had taught her. Just do the job and the—

A heavy weight dropped on her.

She struggled over onto her back, reaching for her pistol.

“No,” Galen whispered, pinning her down. “You shoot me and Chavez’s men will all run out here, and Barry won’t have a mother. Is that what you want?”

She froze. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to stop you from getting yourself killed.”

“Get off me. I’m not going to get myself killed. I know how to do this. My father sent me out to—”

“You’ve told me. But that doesn’t mean you can take down Chavez when he’s being guarded by fifteen men.”

“There are only eight men.”

“That’s what I thought. The others must have arrived after dark. Where were you headed? The study? There’s a man around the corner and one inside with Chavez. They’re all over the place, and they’re pretty good. I almost got caught when I was scouting the area.”

“Scouting? When?”

“When I was supposed to be on watch. Do you suppose you’re the only one who hoped we could end this thing with one bullet? It’s no good, Elena. I was going to tell you the chances were nil, but when I came back to camp you’d already left.”

“Let me go.”

“Not until you tell me you’ll go back to camp.”

“The only thing I’ll tell you is that if you don’t get off me, I’m going to break your ribs and then crush your nuts.”

“Oh.” He studied her face for a moment. “What a persuasive woman you are.” He released her. “Now what?”

“We go back to camp. I’m not stupid.” She turned and started crawling across the meadow. “But don’t you ever strong-arm me again, Galen.”

“It seemed the only way to catch your attention. Now I suggest we shut up until we get back to the hills.”

It was several hundred yards before they came to the first straggly trees that signaled the start of the foothills. Galen pulled her to her feet. “Where did you get that rifle?”

“I took it from Judd’s truck. I thought he’d have one. I wasn’t sure I could get close enough to use my thirty-eight.”

“You were planning this ever since you knew we were staying here tonight.”

“Evidently you were too. I was wondering why you didn’t want to leave the minute you found out Chavez was really here.”

“And I knew you’d jump at any chance to get to Chavez. I wanted to beat you to it.” His lips twisted. “We think too much alike. Like Forbes said, the private club.”

“Privacy isn’t a bad thing,” Judd said as he stepped out of the trees. He held out his hand to Elena. “My property, please.”

She handed him the rifle. “Sorry. I needed it.”

“You could have asked.”

“Would you have loaned it to me?”

“No.” His hand moved caressingly over the barrel. “I have a very special relationship with this rifle.”

“It’s a Heckler and Koch PSG1, right? Specially modified?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t think you would lend it to me. That’s why I didn’t ask you.”

“Makes sense. But don’t do it again or you’ll regret it. I don’t give second warnings.” He turned and strode ahead of them in the direction of their camp.

“He meant it,” Galen said. “That rifle has been part of him for a long time.”

“I needed a rifle. And I’d do it again. But it didn’t do me any good anyway. I was hoping …” She shrugged. “It didn’t happen. So we might as well pull up stakes and head out. I want to get Barry somewhere safe.”

“He won’t be safe anywhere now, Elena.”

She knew that was true. Now that Chavez was here in the United States, it would be only a matter of time until he found them. “Safer. Do you have any suggestions?”

“He’s probably been tipped off about my place in New Orleans. I have an idea of a place that might work for us, but I don’t want to involve any of my friends directly, because it’s going to get nasty.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’re going to leave it up to me? Amazing.” His tone was faintly sarcastic.

“I’m a stranger in this country.”

“You seem to want to do everything else on your own.”

She whirled on him. “What do you want me to say? I did what I had to do.”

“And you did it alone,” he said through his teeth. “You couldn’t ask for help. You couldn’t ask me to go with you.”

“I’m not used to asking for help.”

“That’s pretty clear. What have I got to do to get through to you?” He grasped her shoulders and shook her. “You are
not
alone. Do you hear me? Let me help. You’re not alone.”

He didn’t understand. There had been moments since they left the ranch when she’d been too terrified to think. She had been alone too long, and she was afraid to act except in the way experience had taught her.

“Trust
me, Elena.”

“I trust you.”

“Not enough. Not enough to break through that glacier you’ve had around you since Chavez appeared on the scene.”

She stared at him helplessly.

He shook his head and his hands loosened. “Lost cause.”

“I’m … sorry.”

“Me too. It’s going to make everything a hell of a lot harder.” He checked his watch. “I have to make a few phone calls and see what I can do about finding a safe haven. I’ve already set tentative plans in motion in case this happened. There’s a small airport near here where we can get a hop to Portland and then a jet from there.” His lips twisted. “After all, I have to live up to my reputation as the great provider.”

She had hurt him. He was being flip, but the pain was there. She wanted to reach out and comfort him as she did
Barry, but she couldn’t seem to move. “Thank you. I know it’s difficult for—”

“For God’s sake, shut up.” He drew a deep breath and tried to temper his tone. “We’ll let everyone sleep for another hour or two while I make sure we have a place to go.”

“You didn’t tell me where we’re going.”

He turned away. “Atlanta.”

The cottage on the lake was rustic but spacious, and the surroundings were absolutely beautiful, Elena thought. The hills and woods and the lake itself were spectacular.

“Hey, come back here.”

She turned to see Judd running after Barry as he streaked toward the lake. “Barry!”

“I’ve got him.” Judd scooped Barry up and tucked the giggling child under his arm. “Come on, brat. If you’re so set on jumping in the lake, I’ll see if I can find something you can wear for a swimsuit. Does he swim, Elena?”

“Like a fish,” Dominic said. “I taught him in the creek a short distance from our house.”

“Then you’d better come along and keep him in line,” Judd said as he set Barry down and started unloading the car.

Judd seemed to be doing a good job, Elena thought. He’d kept Barry cheerful and busy on the long cross-country flight that brought them here. In fact, it surprised her that such a
solitary man as Judd had made so much effort to care for Barry.

He looked up and caught her gaze. “I like kids,” he said quietly, as if he had read her mind. He took a duffel and grabbed Barry’s hand. “Come on, let’s get you unpacked.”

She turned to Galen. “Whose house is this?”

“Joe Quinn. He and Eve Duncan took their kid to Hawaii for a couple months. They said I could use the house while they were gone. It’s secluded, and I thought Barry would like the lake.” He picked up the other two suitcases and closed the trunk. “I’m sure you can’t wait to scout around and make sure it’s safe, but be back by dinner.” He turned toward the house. “I’ve already contacted David Hughes, who provided the security people I’ve used before in Atlanta; they’ll show up tomorrow morning for you to vet. I wouldn’t want you to take one of them down by mistake. Hughes would be most upset. I figure Judd and I can handle the security of the cottage, but we need some good men to patrol the woods and lake. They won’t be obtrusive.”