“I know how crazy this sounds, but you weren’t there when Liam came to see me. He was spooked, and Liam doesn’t spook easily. I think his disappearance is in some way connected to the new threat he’s been chasing. Maybe he uncovered information that connected someone in the CIA as possibly being involved with this terrorist somehow.”
She looked up at him, willing him to understand. “It makes sense, Alex,” she said.
Yet he couldn’t hide his skepticism. After all, Alex was still part of the CIA, and there was a bond between agents that was unbreakable. In his mind, it would be unimaginable to think someone you trusted with your life might betray you in such a deadly way.
Still, she tried to make him understand. “Just think about it. Those people who showed up at my house obviously knew about Liam’s meet location. They managed to connect my name to Liam, even though it’s an alias. They probably knew who he was meeting with as well, and those arrangements are kept confidential for the agent’s safety. So how would they possibly know about it without having some inside information?”
His gaze locked on hers; he was clearly surprised by what she’d said. “What are you talking about? You don’t know that they knew who Liam was meeting.”
Rachel blew out a breath and explained. “I do. I overheard something one of them said. They believe Liam and someone else, probably his asset, are still up on the mountain. Alex, I know you don’t want to think it’s possible, I didn’t either in the beginning, but this is Liam and his life is at stake. We can’t afford to discount anything. If they’re right and he’s somewhere up there still, he could be hurt. He needs our help, because no one else, the CIA included, is going to help him.”
Before he could voice his obvious doubts aloud, a noise in the distance captured both their attentions. It sounded like a car on the gravel road nearby slowly coming to a halt.
“That seems really close.” She turned her anxious gaze to his.
“You’re right. If they’ve found us again, we’d better hurry.” Rachel led the way to the pasture where she kept a couple of mares stalled.
“The horses know this terrain better than I do. They’ll get us out of here, but it will be slow going. Do you still remember how to ride?” she asked with a hint of teasing in her tone.
He shook his head, managing a smile for her. “Don’t worry about me. I think I can remember well enough to keep up.”
The woods expanded into fertile pastureland and Rachel headed toward the barn where the horses were stabled. Behind them, nothing but eerie silence could be heard. Had the car turned around and left already or were they coming after them on foot?
Alex obviously still had concerns. “The sooner we’re saddled and riding, the better.”
“There are a couple of sleeping bags and some camping gear stored at the back of the barn on a shelf there. We’ll need the gear for staying overnight.” She pushed open the barn door and went inside. One of the mares neighed when she spotted Rachel.
“It’s okay, Naomi.” Rachel went over and patted the horse’s head. “You ready for a ride?” Next to Naomi, Esther, the second mare, whinnied.
Alex and Rachel worked quickly to saddle the mares and within no time they were leading them out of the barn.
“Let’s grab the rest of the supplies from inside,” Rachel said. She and Alex went back into the barn and brought out the sleeping bags along with camping gear, then split the load between the two horses. Rachel quickly mounted Naomi and headed down one of the trails behind the house. Alex did the same with Esther.
“There’s a ridge not too far from here. It has a great view of the house and the surrounding area. We can get a better idea of what’s going on down below,” she told him once he’d caught up with her.
Both mares covered the rocky countryside easily enough, with Callie keeping good time behind them. Once they neared the ridge, they dismounted and tied the horses in a treed area some distance from the ridge and hiked the rest of the way up.
Rachel brought out the binoculars that had been part of the camping gear and homed in on the road near the house.
“The vehicle is parked on the edge of the road close to the driveway. There’s no one inside.” She frowned as she studied it. “And it’s not the same one that was at my house.” She handed Alex the binoculars.
“Where are they?” he murmured as he focused on the wooded area between the road and the house. “Wait, I see something.” Alex zeroed in on a particular spot.
“What do you see?” She barely got the words out before he turned and grabbed her around the waist. “Get down.” Alex tugged her into the shelter of his arms and hit the ground as the world around them exploded with gunfire.
Alex’s body protected her from most of the blowback from tree branches splintering and dirt kicking up around them as the bullets hit all around. Close by, Callie whined pitifully and tromped for cover.
“Let’s get out of here. There’s enough firepower down there to take down a small village. They could have snipers anywhere.” The tension in Alex’s voice somehow got through the shock that had kept her immobile.
He got to his knees and took her hand. Together they crept as close to the ground as possible until they’d reached the horses.
“Keep as low as you can,” he told her as they mounted their horses once more and headed in the opposite direction from the shooters.
Both he and Rachel leaned in close to their horses’ necks, almost lying flat against the beasts.
“Can we make it to the base of the mountain riding?” Alex’s tone was strained. He glanced back over his shoulder, as if expecting the enemy to emerge behind them at any moment.
Rachel made sure Callie was able to keep up with them. She wouldn’t leave the dog behind no matter what.
“Yes, but we’ll have to go slower in that rocky terrain, and we will be using up valuable time we don’t have to spare. Alex, we need help.”
The path widened slightly and he rode up beside her. With no sign of the men behind them, they sat up straight once more. “Who do you suggest?”
In her mind, there was only two people she trusted other than Alex. “The Reagans are my neighbors and good friends. I can call Tom and have him meet us someplace. He can pick up the horses and bring a four-wheeler. We’ll make better time with it.”
She could tell Alex wasn’t nearly as confident in the plan.
“Alex, you can trust them, I promise. They moved to the area soon after we all went away to the university. I’ve known them ever since I came back home. They’re like family.”
He slowly nodded. “If you trust them, so do I. Give them a call. The sooner we get to Liam’s meeting location, the faster we’ll be able to figure out what happened to him.”
The problem was that she had no phone to make the call. “I destroyed both my phone and Liam’s right after I called the number he’d written down. I phoned you from my landline. I thought that if what Liam suspected were true, and these
