Pure Dynamite (41 page)

"Don't move!" Adam shouted.

He recognized the men from pictures he'd seen in the FBI's files: Burt and Tristin McEdwin. The family resemblance was strong. It was like looking at photographs of their father from thirty years ago.

But they didn't know he knew, so Adam kept his gun leveled straight ahead. "Who the hell are you?"

"Jesus Christ!"

"Wrong answer." Adam raised the gun's barrel.

"Don't shoot. I'm Lyle's brother, Burt," one of the men said. "Lyle's pretty sick. Nevin sent us to get the doctor."

"Nevin's next door?"

Burt nodded.

Adam gripped the nine-millimeter tighter. He had two of the McEdwin brothers right in front of him with the other two in the next room. Was it enough? Could he end it right here?

Capturing all four brothers was a hellacious feat. Adam could take them in and leave Willy for another day. Without his sons, the old man would be easier to track down. And if the rumors were true that Willy was retiring and turning the reins over to his sons, then the four brothers were the more dangerous of the bunch.

Except Willy had at least a hundred pounds of plastic explosive, enough to do a lot of damage in retaliation.

Adam was also out-gunned and out-manned. In addition to the McEdwin brothers—and their goddamn pact to not be taken alive—there was at least one of Willy's sympathizers in the motel's office. Maybe more. Those were rotten odds. Especially with Renata to protect.

He lowered his weapon. "What's wrong with Lyle?"

"He's running a fever." Burt stepped forward, angling for a better view of Renata. "And he's puking his guts out."

Acutely aware she was nude beneath the sheet, Adam bared his teeth and leaned up slightly. He felt her hand tighten at his waist. He reached around to draw her even closer behind him, shielding her completely from view. Then he raised his gun again, leveled it at Burt. "Back off."

The other man held up his hands and eased away. "Sorry."

Adam waited a few seconds before lowering his weapon. "How long has Lyle been sick? And why didn't he wake me instead of calling you?"

Tristin grunted. "Lyle didn't call. Nevin found him passed out in the bathroom."

The news about Lyle worried Adam. "We'll meet you over there in a minute."

When they were alone, he pulled Renata into his arms. Holding her tightly against his chest, he pressed his mouth to her ear. "Get dressed."

"What happens now?"

"I'm not sure." Until he knew what the McEdwins' intentions were, he couldn't make alternate plans. Nevin's unannounced return piqued his curiosity.

"Our lives depend on how well we play this game, so remember to play the captive and let me take the lead. Don't take anything I do or say to heart." He kissed her gently, soundly, before releasing her. "I swear I'll get you out of this."

But she stopped him before he moved away. "Swear you'll get us
both
out."

Lyle's room reeked of vomit.

His three older brothers gathered around the bed whispering. Adam moved closer, stopping when he glimpsed Lyle. The younger man was as pale as the sheet, his breathing shallow.

Renata tried to move forward. "Let me see him."

That fast, Nevin pointed his gun at her.

"What the hell happened? Did you do something to make him sicker? He was a lot better last time I saw him."

She didn't move, her eyes glued to the gun.

"I knew it," Nevin swore. "I should have killed you sooner."

"Stop." Adam stepped in front of Renata. "Whatever's wrong, he did to himself. Did he tell you what happened in Colorado?"

Nevin snorted. "He's so fucked up on painkillers I can't get a straight answer out of him."

"He drove the car into a ravine." Adam filled him in on what had happened the night before. "We lost all our supplies, the cell phones, and had to steal a truck. Lyle said he banged up his knee, said his girlfriend would take care of it. Obviously, his injury was worse than he let on."

The McEdwin brothers exchanged glances.

"Well, that explains a lot. The cops are all over the place. Which means all those clues we planted on the East Coast just went up in smoke." Nevin looked at Lyle and shook his head. "Shit. I wish he was better so I could beat his ass."

Lyle groaned, muttering unintelligibly.

"Let her examine him while we talk." Adam pushed her closer to the bed.

Renata drew back the sheets. Lyle was nude. A haphazardly taped, bloodstained bandage covered his wound. Moving quickly, she peeled the gauze back, wrinkling her nose at the putrid smell.

The wound had torn open again. It was also packed with dirt, probably from climbing out of the ravine. She wondered if any attempt had been made to clean
it...
or had Lyle just instructed his girlfriend to "throw a bandage on it."

The skin all around was red, swollen, and oozing with pus. She pressed lightly, knew by his reaction that it was tender to the touch.

She glanced at Adam. "I need supplies from next door."

Nevin moved up and glanced over her shoulder, scowling when he saw the condition of Lyle's wound. "Tell Tristin what you need. Burt, we'll be right back. Watch her every move."

Adam followed Nevin outside. "I was told we weren't meeting up until day after tomorrow."

"We got word the Feds are headed this way," Nevin said. "Four agents are on a flight landing in Salt Lake at 8:08
p.m
. And I've got a list a mile long of others they're meeting. ATF, Marshals—Christ, they're all involved."

That the McEdwins had access to that level of detailed information exasperated Adam. It also meant the
leaks were even more extensive than he'd been told which made Adam's position trickier.

"So what's the plan?"

Nevin shook his head. "My first priority is to get Lyle out of here. Fast. Pa's got more antibiotics and other medical supplies on standby. And if that doctor needs anything else, we can get it on short notice."

"Wait... we're taking her with us?" Adam tried to think of a legitimate excuse to leave her without jeopardizing her welfare. If he couldn't deliver her to a safe spot personally, then leaving her here, at the motel with one of the McEdwins' cronies, was out of the question. They'd kill her.

"We don't have a choice with Lyle this sick again. We'll worry about getting rid of her later."

"Fine. As long as we're straight on one thing: We don't get rid of her until I say so. Got it?" Adam met the other man's eye. "She's a nice diversion. Or at least I think she'll be nice, when we're not getting interrupted. I've had to put up with a lot of her bullshit, so she owes me, big time. So does Lyle."

"Fair enough. But we leave in five minutes."

"Five minutes? I'm supposed to meet my partner today."

Nevin handed him a cell phone. "Call and postpone. Tell him I'll arrange to have him picked up later."

Picked up?
Adam tried to think of other options. "If I blow him off again—"

"Tell him whatever you need to, just assure him we're still very interested. Right now, I've got my hands full with Lyle sick and the cops swarming like locusts. Trust me—you're not the only one having to change plans."

It was obvious by Nevin's tone that some of his plans had been foiled as well. Adam wondered if it had
to do with the explosives the McEdwins had already acquired.

After all the delays and setbacks, the news that they were finally joining Willy should have pleased Adam. It didn't.

Taking Renata along had never been part of the plan. Neither had getting his brother involved. He needed someone he could trust to pose as his partner, Daniel Montague, and his brother was his only choice. The only good thing about Nevin's suggestion that Adam's partner remain close by was that it could work to his advantage in freeing Renata.

He took the cell phone from Nevin. "How far are we going? Another car trip could kill Lyle."

"Not far. Not far, at all."

Tension encased the motel room like thick coils of rope, heavy and restrictive, as five minutes turned into an hour. It was nearly 3
p.m
. Burt and Tristin took turns watching at the window, weapons drawn at all times. Habit? Or did they expect more trouble?

Nevin made two calls, but Adam was unable to determine much beyond the fact that they were waiting on transportation. He had contacted Zach while outside, but with Nevin listening, he'd kept the conversation brief.

Zach played along. Of course, if he'd been reading all the files on Stan's computer, he probably knew as much about the case as Adam. Maybe more.

A vehicle pulled up outside, brakes squeaking. Tristin peeked out, then nodded at Nevin. At the single knock, he opened the door. Adam recognized the man from the motel office.

The man yanked a baseball cap off and wiped sweat
from his brow. "Bad news. Sheriff's deputy found that forest service truck about sixty miles south of here."

Nevin shot to his feet. "How in the hell did that happen?"

"Bunch of damn kids stole it from Pruett's Garage and went joyriding." The man replaced his cap. "Police and FBI are setting up roadblocks at the state line."

"Let's move." Nevin made a terse phone call, then tilted his head toward Renata. "She needs to be bound and blindfolded."