Wild Suspicions (Romantic Suspense) (16 page)

“
You think he was with her?” pressed Parker.

“
That’s sure how it looked to me.”

“
Where’s Garrett now?”

“
In the barn.”

“
Go check it out.”

Paco opened a plastic tub in the corner. He grabbed two holsters, each
holding a gun, and tossed one to Jerry.

Parker
thought about Garrett and their past two trips together. The guy could fight and fly. He was also better company than the other two. It would be a huge loss.

He
stopped the two men before they left the cabin. “Don’t kill him,” ordered Parker. “I want to know what he’s up to first.”

I
f it was just a matter of Liddie, they still had that deal. Parker would prefer not to threaten the pact.

After she’d left Parker, Liddie grabbed a banana from the top of the fridge and sat on a chair to watch the office from a cabin window. She’d have to get the computer before Parker got back. If she could keep Parker busy, preparing the transport forms and paperwork, Garrett might have a chance to get to the radio.

The door of the cabin across the way opened
, and Liddie saw Paco and Jerry come out. A bolt of anxiety ripped through her. Both men had holsters strapped to their waists.

They must have seen Garrett and her together because they were walking toward the barns.
She threw the banana down and tried to think about what to do.

Garrett had to be warned.

If she went out the front door, Parker would probably see her. Instead, she ran toward the back and climbed out the bedroom window. She’d be able to make it halfway to the barn with the cover of the cabins, after that she’d have to veer into the woods to keep from being seen.

T
he laziness of Parker’s two thugs gave her the advantage. They didn’t appear to be in any great hurry to confront Garrett, and she knew they had good reason to be cautious. However, with the element of surprise on their side, Liddie feared what would happen if she failed to warn him.

She made
her way to the back of the first barn by sticking to the perimeter of the camp and staying out of sight. The animals were agitated, but not shrieking like before. She had no doubt that the heat and lack of food was sapping their energy and killing them slowly.

When she got to the back of the b
uilding, Liddie looked between the wood slats. She could see the flashes coming from Garrett’s camera. She pounded on the back wall, pulling on different boards to find a loose one.

Garrett ran to her.

“What are you doing here, Liddie?” He looked to see if anyone was coming into the barn. “You need to go back.”

“
They’re coming for you, Garrett,” she said quickly. “They’ve got guns.”

Without a
nother word, Garrett pulled on the board until there was a big enough gap to pass her the camera. Liddie clutched it to her chest. The door opened, and Garrett pushed her back into the grasses.

Liddie
stayed low, placing the leather strap of the camera around her neck.

“
What are you doing in here, Wade?” demanded Jerry.

Liddie felt her heart jump into her throat. Please
, she prayed, don’t let anything happen to him.

“
I’m admiring the tigers,” replied Garrett. “Might make Maxon an offer on one.”

Liddie could tell he was walking, leading their attention away from the back of the barn
and away from her.

Paco laughed.
“You couldn’t afford it. What’s a pilot make these days, anyway?”

“
A pilot for Maxon? Are you kidding me?” replied Garrett. “I don’t know what you guys make, but I do pretty damn well.”

Paco looked at Jerry.
“We…”

“
Boss wants you out,” interrupted Jerry. Paco shut up.

“
Fine,” answered Garrett with a casual shrug.

As they exited the building,
Liddie made her way back to her cabin, tucking the camera into her shirt and holding it securely against her body.

If anything should happen to Garrett… the thought brought a rush of tears to her eyes
, and she blinked quickly to hold them back.

It would be up to her
to make sure that the photographs got to the proper authorities. Liddie swore to herself that she would do so.

O
r die trying.

As soon as Liddie told him that Jerry and Paco had put on their guns, Garrett knew the situation had spiraled. Parker had stopped the men from wearing holsters a year ago, when they shot another of his thugs in a drunken fight. No. They didn’t put guns on unless they were told to do so, and Parker was considering that they use them.

“
What were you doing in the woods with Liddie?” asked Parker as soon as Garrett walked in the door.

So h
e knew. Garrett had an answer ready. “I followed her.”

“
Why?”

Garrett laughed.
“I heard that following a fox into the woods was good luck. Why the hell do ya think?” It was better if Parker believed that Garrett was after Liddie, than after his business.

“
I don’t think that’s funny, Wade. I hadn’t planned to share her yet. I told you that.”

Parker had his feet up on the table, trying to act
casual, yet tough. Garrett knew, however, that if not for Jerry, Paco, and their guns, the so-called grand adventurer wouldn’t have the guts for such a confrontation.

“
Don’t worry about it, Parker. She turned me down flat, and I didn’t push it.”

Parker got up
, and Garrett could tell he was nervous. He looked out the screen door toward the other cabin. “Not surprised to hear it.”

Garrett smiled.
“Guess I don’t have your charm.”

Parker wasn
’t buying the story. Garrett eyed the radio now sitting in the corner. It must have been hidden in an ice chest.

“
Search him,” said Parker without turning from the door.

Jerry drew hi
s gun, and Paco stepped forward. He motioned for Garrett to lift his arms.

“
No problem.” Garrett obliged by raising his hands to shoulder level. As Paco patted him down, he pulled out whatever Garrett had in his pockets. When Garrett saw his Beret knife go on the table, a spark of combat surged within him. They were taking away his primary weapon, and it was like losing a valued limb.

Paco continued to throw items on the table.
Keychain, passport, sunglasses, and his wallet. That, Garrett knew, could bury him. There hadn’t been enough time to toss it to Liddie.

Paco grabbed the wallet and took it to Parker.

Garrett held his breath. After pulling it out to show Liddie, he’d put the identification card in backward, behind various fake business and credit cards. What he should have done was slip it into the liner where he’d had it before. This was specifically why he refused to carry a badge while working undercover. The meeting with Liddie had thrown him off his game, and he’d made a major misstep with the I.D.

The table was two feet in front of him. Garrett stepped forward and gently kicked out one of the chairs, taking a seat across from Parker.
He pretended not to care about the wallet.

T
he ruse didn’t last for long.

J
ust when it looked like Parker had tired of it, the employer pulled out the I.D. card and froze. Garrett watched the color drain from his face.

It provided
some satisfaction.

“
You’re an agent?” asked Parker, at first with disgust, then fury. “He’s a fuckin’ wildlife agent!” He yelled to the men before throwing the wallet against the wall.

Jerry and Paco were just as surprised and
turned to Parker for instructions. “Answer me, Garrett,” he banged on the table. “You’ve been screwing with me all this time?”

Garrett laughed.
“More with you than your girlfriend.”

“
Take him out,” ordered Parker, kicking the table and sending chairs tumbling across the room.

Garrett felt Jerry grab at his shoulders and stood up.

Game on.

H
e’d have to work fast if he was going to get to Liddie in time.

As
he walked with the men out of the cabin, Garrett could only think of how he’d kill Parker if he did anything to harm her.

Before climbing back into
the bedroom window, Liddie placed the camera under the foliage with the laptop. It was beginning to rain again, and she was thankful that the large leaves of the tropical plant protected the two items from the heavy drops.

Her shoes were tracking dirt
so she took them off as soon as she got back in the room. Grabbing a shirt from her suitcase, she used it to wipe the fresh mud off the window and floor. The items from her shopping trip had fast become a collection of expensive rags, yet it didn’t bother her. None of it meant anything to her now.

She turned to address the screening on the window. Parker would notice it pulled away from the staple. She opened
a tiny closet built into the corner of the room to see if any tools were stored inside. An open padlock hung from its latch. With any luck, she’d be able to find the stapler they’d used to put up the screen.

O
f course, that was asking too much. The closet held only a broom and a few hardcover books stacked on one side of the floor.

She returned to the w
indow. The screening was ripped, but she tried to get a tiny part of it hooked back on the original staple, still stuck in the wood. It took a moment or two before she finally got it to stay.

Liddie stood back. As long as that corner was taut, no one should notice.

She ran to the front and looked out the door but didn’t see anyone. She assumed the men had taken Garrett inside to Parker.

S
he thought about going over to the cabin, but quickly determined that it probably wasn’t a good idea. The less Parker saw of her and Garrett together, the better. She couldn’t trust herself to pretend indifference anymore.

Instead, she
paced nervously around the cabin, trying to decide what to do. If all went well, Garrett was still undercover. If not…

A door slammed
somewhere in the camp.

Liddie ran to the front of the cabin and saw
Parker crossing the dirt, straight toward her. His face was contorted with anger, and Liddie knew she was in for trouble.

Then she
saw the other two men walk out of the cabin with Garrett. Liddie gasped. Jerry had his gun drawn, and Paco was pushing Garrett toward the barns. Why hadn’t Garrett given her some kind of weapon? She backed away from the door and ran to the bed.

Within seconds, Parker
’s boots were crossing the planked floors.

“
Hey, Parker,” said Liddie casually. She sat on the bed, paging through one of the books that were in the closet. Appropriately enough, it was a criminal fiction novel with a photograph of a gun featured prominently on the cover. The image wasn’t lost on Liddie, who wished she could peel it off the book cover and use it on Parker.

“
What were you doing with Garrett in the jungle?” he asked bluntly. He stood with hands wringing at both sides.

The question shook Liddie, but she tried not to show it.
“He followed me. I told you what he did on the plane, why are you so surprised?”

Parker waited for more.

“He tried to take advantage of me, and I threatened to scream. He backed off real fast.” She pushed the book aside. “You know I didn’t come here for him, Parker. Nothing happened, I swear.”

He was quiet for a moment, but Liddie resisted the urge to
say more.

“
Well,” he finally began, walking closer to the bed. “Perhaps it’s time to make something happen.” He started pulling at the polo shirt that had been tucked neatly into clean jeans.

Liddie held her p
lace, trying to ignore the fear building within. “What about the work? I thought we had a bunch of work to get done.”

Parker
snorted. “Liddie, I don’t need you to do the work. Never have.”

“
What are you saying?”

“
Oh, come on, Liddie. Stop playing the innocent.” He came closer to the bed. “I’m going to ask you again. What were you doing out there with Garrett?”

“
He followed me. I told you. He tried to mess with me.” She was thinking as fast as she could. “I called for you, Parker, but you didn’t hear.”

“
No,” he repeated sarcastically, “I didn’t hear. Nobody heard.”

Liddie ignored his tone.
“He grabbed me, and I hit him and he left me alone. I told him I would tell you, and he left me alone.”

“
Was that before or after he told you who he was?”

Liddie
’s heart stopped. Parker knew.

“
Answer me, Liddie,” he demanded. “Was that before or after he told you what was going on here?”

Parker reached forward, grabbed the book and
tossed it on the floor.

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Parker took off
his shirt and whipped it across the room. As he did so, Liddie moved to cross the bed. He grabbed an ankle and yanked her back.

“
Where do you think you’re going?”

“
You’re scaring me, Parker.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t want to argue with you.”

Parker fell on top of her on the bed. Liddie brought her arms up
, and he quickly worked to pin them down. His knees pushed painfully against her thighs.

“
I’m tired of playing around, Liddie.” He let go of one arm and brought a hand up to push her hair back. “No more games.”

He kissed her neck,
pushing his hand quickly up her shirt. Liddie began to wiggle uncomfortably. In response, Parker moved more of his body on top of her.

Liddie
couldn’t decide what to do. If she fought Parker, he’d fight back. How could she help Garrett then? If, however, she went along with this, and let Parker have his way, maybe he’d forget about Garrett, maybe he’d…

A gunshot
.

Liddie looked at Parker, who
cocked his head to listen and then smiled back at her.

“
Sounds like Wade fell on his gun.” He pulled hard on the strap of her tank top and pulled the fabric down, burying his face between her breasts.

Liddie felt
the balloon of panic burst inside her.

Garrett dead?

The thought of it made her weak. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt a sob, a cry rising from within.

Parker lifted his face to take her lips
with his.

W
ith every ounce of strength she could muster, Liddie formed a ball with her fist and punched him in the throat, just like she’d been taught in that self-defense class.

Garrett saw Parker make a determined beeline toward Liddie’s cabin. It concerned him far more than Parker’s two thugs guiding him toward the barn.

Liddie had only one option. She had to deny all knowledge
, profess great hate for Garrett and then do whatever Parker desired.

The thought of Liddie in Parker
’s arms disgusted Garrett, but it was her only option now. If she tried to fight back, Garrett knew that Parker would first rape her and then find a way to get rid of her. He was not a weak man. Thin, yes, but tall and athletic as well. If Liddie tried to mess with him, she’d get hurt.

M
en like Parker could be vicious, but unlike the wildlife they destroyed, there was nothing natural about it. The thought of Liddie writhing in fear and anger beneath Maxon made Garrett’s chest ache with anger. He had to protect her. It was as simple as that. First, though, he’d have to get rid of the two stooges.

“
You really think this is going to happen?” he asked Jerry as they approached the door of the first barn.

The
dirt bag laughed. “You know it’s going to happen, Wade. Hell, we’re all sick of you anyway.”

“
Did you tell her who you are?” asked Paco. “Do we have to kill her, too?”

Jerry slapped Paco on the back
and laughed. “Oh, I hope so.”

Garrett stopped and faced the hairier of the two.
“You don’t want to be talking like that.”

“
You ain’t in no position, Garrett,” said Jerry. “You don’t have to worry about that bitch no more. You don’t have to worry about nothing.”

“
Yeah,” Paco continued. “Jerry’s got it all planned out. Without you around…”

Garrett made his move
. If he’d waited until they were in the barn, it would’ve been too late. As Paco made his smart-ass remark, Garrett swung around and kicked him in the head.

Jerry lifted
his gun and shot, but Garrett was already tackling him to the ground, the bullet rocketed past his left ear and hit Paco, who spun around, away from the door.

Paco yelled in pain, but Garrett was too busy on
the ground flipping Jerry over and cracking him in the skull with the butt of the gun. When he was sure the man wouldn’t move, he turned his attention to Paco.

It looked like the bullet
grazed his right side. The injury didn’t stop Paco from reaching for his gun.

Garrett could hear the tigers. The
sound of the shot had agitated them, and their roars were desperate. The violence was not lost on the animals. The monkeys were screeching, their cages rattling with fear.

When Paco lifted
his weapon, Garrett kicked the wounded thug’s shin, pushing him off balance. Then he moved forward and punched the thug in the face.

Paco
stumbled, but recovered quickly. He brought the gun up and tried to hold steady. A bullet flew to the right of Garrett. He kicked Paco in the stomach and grabbed the gun. Within the next few seconds he had cracked Paco in the head with the butt of it and kicked him over to lie beside Jerry.

Garrett stood aside for a moment and caught his breath.
He couldn’t leave the two thugs lying where Parker could see them.

He
dragged one, and then the other, into the barn. There was rope in a corner and he quickly used it to restrain them. When Paco began to move, Garrett simply smacked him. He left both of them to their injuries, hogtied inside the barn door.

Neither one would die, of that Garrett was sure.
Better they should live, if only for the testimony they’d be able to provide in court.

Now
Garrett had to find Liddie. Then he had to get to that radio, or there’d be no animals left to save.

He
didn’t want to think about what might be taking place in the cabin. If Parker thought Liddie knew – if he even suspected that Liddie was pretending – it wouldn’t end well for her. Garrett didn’t even want to speculate on what she might be going through.

He
cracked open the barn door and looked out, surprised to see Parker walking toward him. Liddie was nowhere in sight.

T
here wasn’t time to worry about her now. He’d have to take care of Parker first. Perhaps, thought Garrett, he was merely saving her for later.

C
’mon Maxon. Let’s see how tough you really are.

Liddie’s punch landed on the side of Parker’s head, and he fell off to the side in pain. She moved to slide off the bed and kicked Parker when he tried to hold her back.

“
You fuckin’ bitch.” He tried to jump on top of her again, but Liddie kept kicking. When her feet finally hit the floor, she tried to pull away and run, but Parker grabbed her arm and held tight. He slid off the bed and then pushed her up against a wall.

“
Stop it, Parker!”

“
Where’s the laptop, Liddie?” he suddenly demanded, shaking her violently against the wood. She could feel the splintered slats rubbing into her back.

Liddie gave a look around.
“I don’t know where it is. Someone must have taken it.”

Parker
’s blue eyes lost all warmth. Frustration turned his mouth into a deformed smirk.

“
You know, Liddie, I was trying to make this all fun for you.” He pinned her arms against the wall and brought his mouth to her ear. “But you had to screw it all up.”

Liddie struggled to push him away. Parker grabbed her
hair and pulled her across the floor to the closet, throwing her in with a grunt.

The door closed as Liddie fell against the back wall. She heard
the click of the padlock.

“
You’re either going to live here, Liddie, or die here,” said Parker slowly. “But I can guarantee you’re not leaving.”

Liddie could hear him breathing hard on the other side of the door. She pressed against it to look through one of the cracks.

Parker was putting on his shirt. He grabbed a pillow and wiped the sweat from his face.

He was nothing like the man who
’d worked with her. For a moment, she wondered how long it would take for this cruel and pathetic puddle of a man to slip back into the Parker Maxon, successful businessman persona.