That was what she was afraid of. “They’re walking into an ambush.”
Mel shook his head and chuckled a little. “No, Cal, they’re walking into what we used to call a cluster fuck in the Marines. Excuse my language. You see, these boys didn’t think this out at all. There are far too many places here to come up on a man. Why do you think I chose this spot? You have to know it intimately to know its hidey holes. Otherwise, you’re a sitting duck. Those boys are sitting ducks. I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
“I screwed up their plans. They intended to steal twenty million dollars, and I overheard them talking. Do you see them?”
Mel was still for a moment. “No. They’re quiet, too.” His voice went down a notch. “I heard someone coming up the road though. They stopped a little way back. I think your men are here.”
Callie let her eyes close and sent a silent prayer to anyone who would listen. She’d done her part. They wouldn’t be able to use her to pull Zane and Nate in. Now it was up to them to save themselves. A sudden thought occurred to her. “Mel, I need a shotgun.”
“There’s a flashlight about ten feet to your right. When you find it, move back another ten feet, and you’ll find a stash of guns.”
Callie started crawling, feeling her way along the stone floor. If it came to it, she would do whatever it took. She wasn’t going to lose them.
Nate cut off the engine about a half a mile from where he needed to be. He had no intention of walking into an ambush. What Zane didn’t seem to understand was that he had no intention of losing either of the most important people in his life. He needed Callie, and he needed Zane, and he wasn’t willing to let either of them die.
His hand curled around the gun he carried. “Stef, you take the long way around. I want you coming up on their backs. If they’re where they say they are, Zane and I are going to come out of the forest in front of them.”
Nate was watching Stef through the rearview mirror. His jaw tightened. “I won’t let them hurt, Callie.”
Zane turned quickly. “They won’t get the chance.”
“They won’t.” Nate wouldn’t let it happen. He wouldn’t even allow himself to think about it happening. “We’re going to have them in a circle. If I can’t take them out, the Harpers will. If you get a decent shot, you take it.”
Stef slid out of the car and into the woods like a wraith. Zane held his rifle to his chest.
“Let’s go,” Nate said. “You stay close to me.”
Nate got out of the car. He let his mind roam and remembered everything about the day he and Callie had come here. The place where he was supposed to go was just inside the clearing. If he and Zane were quiet, they should be able to sneak up on them.
There was the loud report of a rifle, and Nate felt his heart speed up. Zane took off, and Nate ran to keep up. He pumped his legs, adrenaline flowing through his body. There was another shot, this one sounded like a handgun. Had Max and Rye already made it into position? Why would they have started shooting without the signal? Callie. They would have started shooting to save Callie. Nate forced himself to go cold, to push the panic and terror that threatened to engulf him down. A fleeting image of Callie’s body on the ground flashed across his mind, but he pushed that down, too. He couldn’t afford to panic, and he couldn’t let Zane panic, either. He pushed himself, trying to keep up with Zane, but the big bastard was fast and had longer legs.
“Damn it, Zane, stop.” He tried to keep his voice down, but Zane either didn’t hear him or ignored him. Desperate, Nate launched himself at Zane and tackled him, pulling him to the ground. “Calm down.”
“She could be dead right now.” Zane’s low whisper sounded tortured.
“You think I don’t know that?” God, he was right back where he’d been that day when the Barbarians had Zane. His heart hurt, but he was going to do the same thing he’d done that day. He would have done anything to spare Zane the pain, but he would rather have Zane hurt than dead. Whatever they had done to Callie, he and Zane would heal her. And if those bastards had killed her, then it didn’t matter. His badge would mean nothing. He would kill them, and slowly. “We follow the plan. Any deviation could mean her life. We have no idea what we’re going into. Please trust me, Zane.”
Zane got to his knees. In the gloom of the forest, Nate could see Zane’s nod. “All right, Nate. This is your show.”
Nate got to his feet. He leaned down and helped Zane up. “You go left and stay in the trees. I’m going out to the right. When we get sight of them, we’re going to surround them. Once we’re all in place, they won’t have anywhere to go. We’ll take ‘em out from the high positions if they won’t give up Callie.”
Zane’s eyes suddenly went wide, and his gun came up.
Something cold and hard pressed into the back of Nate’s skull.
“Or we could just have it out here and now, Wright. Drop the weapon.” There was a nasty lilt to Worthington’s voice as he put a hand on Nate’s shirt.
Nate ran through a hundred possibilities. None of them worked. They all ended in his head getting blown off his body. He let the rifle fall out of his hands.
“If you want to live, I would let him go.” Zane was much calmer now, to Nate’s everlasting gratitude. His training seemed to have come back on line. Zane had been a damn fine agent, despite the fact it didn’t come naturally to him.
Nate let his eyes search the woods in front of him. He glanced behind Zane’s back, praying he didn’t see Leander walking out from the trees. So far the woods were quiet, with the exception of the tense standoff they were in. Where had those shots come from? Rifles weren’t standard issue DEA weapons. Nate doubted either of the agents was using a rifle. That meant someone else was out there, or had been.
“Where’s Callie?” Nate asked.
“Leander has her.” There was the slightest tremble in his voice that scared the shit out of Nate. If Leander didn’t actually have her, what had happened? “If you want her to live, you’ll put down that fucking gun, Hollister.”
Zane shook his head. “I need proof of life, asshole. You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. You produce her, and I’ll think about not taking your head off.”
Nate kept his voice calm, even as his heart raced. “You better listen to him. He’ll let you kill me, you know. He’s still mad because I left him in El Paso. Now that he knows you’re the one who gave him up, I think he just might rather have his revenge on you. Producing Callie is the only thing that will keep you alive.”
Nate’s heart nearly stopped as Leander came out of the forest behind Zane. Then he got a look at the agent’s face. It was stark white, and his hands were empty and in the air. Stefan Talbot was behind him.
“I caught your friend,” Stef said. “You’re about to be surrounded. Give up your weapon, or I’ll blow his head off.”
Calmly, Worthington pulled Nate close, lifted his gun, and fired. The report nearly took Nate’s ear off. His head rang as Leander’s body slumped forward. He looked down at the hole in his chest, and then the light in his eyes died.
Worthington’s hold on his shirt became vicious. “I never meant to leave that idiot alive. He’s served his purpose. And I don’t buy the crap you’re selling, Sheriff. Hollister would never hurt his fuck buddy. He ‘loves’ you. Bunch of queers. Now here’s how it’s going to go down. Hollister, you’ll put the rifle down, and so will that other asshole. You’ll let your friend there cuff you and put you in the trunk of my car, then you and me and Wright will take a ride. Otherwise, I can just kill Wright now.”
“You kill him, and I kill you.” Zane held his position.
Worthington’s laughter was an ugly sound. “You won’t do anything to put him in danger. I saw the way the two of you were looking at each other in that pathetic excuse for a meeting. You would never hurt your partner. Now, put the gun down, Hollister, or I start taking your boy’s body parts off. I’ll start with his dick and see how you like that.”