Betrayed by Trust (19 page)

The first man said something else. Ringo’s lips formed the word, “No.” Then he stepped aside. The third man relaxed and they entered the house.

Dan pushed a labeled button under the monitor, and the view flipped to the living room. Another button, and the scene switched to the hallway. The three supposed Marshals quickly went in and out of the five bedrooms, then past the kitchen and into the garage before returning to the living room. Dan changed the view again. Two more men stood on the dock, watching the rear of the house.

“We would have walked right into them if you hadn’t warned us,” Dan murmured.

“If I’d felt the warning earlier, we might have gotten away,” I complained. “We barely had time to get in here.”

Dan put an arm around me. “We had as much time as we needed.”

I looked back at the monitor. The three men were surrounding Ringo in the living room, and their body language was not friendly.

“Where are the cameras hidden?” I asked. “I never saw them.”

“That’s the advantage of having a house designed and built to conceal them.”

On the screen, Ringo shook his head, and shrugged, stepping back so no one was behind him. One of the men started to reposition himself, but then the first guy said something. The faux marshals moved to the foyer. Dan pushed another button, and an instant later we watched the three men walk away, leaving Ringo to shut and lock the door.

I drew a deep breath. “Is it over?”

“For now.” Dan wrapped his arms around me, and I realized I was trembling.

The monitors remained empty, but Dan said we should stay put until Ringo gave the all clear. “Always trust your point man,” he said.

Thirty minutes later, Ringo opened the room where we hid. “Sorry I made you wait, but I wanted to make sure all the drapes were closed and that they weren’t coming back for ‘just one more thing.’ I told them you went to L.A., but I’m pretty sure they’re still watching the house. I would.”

“How long do you think they’ll stay out there?” I asked. I hated that my voice came out a little too shrill.

Dan and Ringo exchanged a look. Then Dan said, “Let’s not worry about that for now.”

“Don’t patronize me! Kincaid won’t wait forever. He knows we’re here. And how did he find us in the first place? Even if we can get away with those guys watching the house, they’ll just find us again, won’t they?”

Ringo clucked his tongue. “Damn, Danny. You’re screwed. You went and married a smart woman.”

I turned to glare up at him, and saw amused approval twinkling in his eyes.

That just made me more angry. It shouldn’t be a shock to them that a woman, even a pregnant woman, could see how boxed-in we were.

I wished the guys
could
pull a miracle out of their butts, but I already knew the answer to my questions. Assuming Dan and I could even get away, we’d have to run, and keep running, for the rest of our lives. And Ringo, too. I didn’t think Kincaid would leave him alone after having helped us, and how would someone his size manage to disappear?

Dan frowned, as if he didn’t like what he was about to say. “I have some contacts I trust at a couple of the other chapters. We might be able to get help from one of the other directors.”

“But in the hospital you said we couldn’t trust them. That the more people who knew about Evan, the more risk he’d be in.”

Dan ran both hands through his hair, wincing as he raised his arms. “I know! I know. But I don’t know who else would have enough power to keep Kincaid off our backs.”

“Pitting one dog against another is only a temporary solution. One or the other will eventually bite, and if you’re not careful, they’ll turn on you together,” Ringo said. “Let’s pray about it.”

Dan and I both looked at the big man. Praying wasn’t first on my list of solutions.

“Have you got a better idea?” Ringo asked. When we shook our heads, he reached for our hands. Mine felt tiny in his huge, warm grasp. Dan clasped my free hand with his, completing the circle.

Instead of bowing his head, Ringo lifted his face. “Lord, the forces of evil are arrayed against us, threatening an innocent. We can’t fight them alone. We’d be mighty grateful if You’d lend us a hand down here. May Your will be done. Amen.”

“Amen,” Dan and I both echoed. Ringo squeezed my fingers gently before he let go.

Short and succinct. I liked it.

“I have an idea,” Ringo said. “You remember Marve? He owns a plane. Flies charters down to Mexico.”

“You mean he’s a smuggler,” Dan said.

I’d never heard him sound so cynical.

Ringo shrugged. “Tomayto, tomahto.”

Dan grimaced. “He also thinks we got Johnson killed.”

“He thinks
you
got Johnson killed. Me, he likes. And I’m sure I can talk him into flying me and my pregnant girlfriend down to Mexico.”

Mexico?
I’d been there a few times, but only just across the border to shop. My Spanish was minimal. I was being pulled farther and farther away from my family and friends. “What about Dan?” I asked.

“If we pay him enough, Marve will fly anyone, even Dan.”

“We don’t have that kind of money,” I said.

Ringo pursed his lips, clearly weighing options. “Wait here a sec.” He disappeared quickly in the direction of the wine cellar. The only sound was Maisie’s nails clicking on the tile floor as she followed him. It was a little creepy how quietly the big man could move.

A few moments later he reappeared with a grin. One big hand held a thick stack of fifties, the other a heavy looking bank pouch which he dropped into my hand. Curious, I looked inside. I gasped and scooped out several gold coins. I lifted my brows, amazed.

“Uncle Bert is prepared for any emergency,” Ringo answered my unspoken question. “This is an emergency.”

“Now all we have to do is figure out how we’ll get to the airstrip without Kincaid’s guys stopping us.” Dan said.

Ringo grinned. “Leave that to me.”

The delivery truck from Andy’s Appliance arrived early the next morning, and the drivers unloaded a refrigerator and a freezer. Uncle Bertie’s dough, and my chocolate chip cookies, persuaded them to wait around while Dan and Ringo made some modifications to the Sub-Zero combo. Then Ringo and the delivery men re-crated the appliances with Dan and me inside.

Dan had put a linen closet’s worth of towels in the interior to make a nest for me, so I would be as comfortable as a person could be, perched on top of our bags and stuffed into a coffin sized box.

“Just breathe normally through the tube. You’ll have plenty of air,” he said as he helped me scrunch into the narrow space.

Fortunately, I wasn’t claustrophobic. “I’ll be fine. I just hope you can still walk after squeezing that tall body of yours into a mere twenty cubic feet.”

He gave me wink, but I could tell he was worried.

“This will work,” I told him.

“Take this,” he said, pressing his pistol into my hands.

I shook my head. He’d taken me to the firing range several months ago, and I’d done pretty well, but I didn’t like it. “We’ve been over this.” I wouldn’t use a gun where I might accidentally hit him.

The muscles in his jaw jumped.

“Don’t give me that look. You know I’m right. Besides, a person with a gun is more likely to draw fire. Isn’t that what you told me once?”

“Quoting my own words back at me is playing dirty.”

I gave him my best innocent smile and batted my eyelashes at him. He shut the refrigerator door in my face with a solid thunk and the world went black.

The insulated walls of the fridge muted the sound of the drivers resealing the crates. The inky dark and the quiet pressed as tightly as the narrow capsule surrounding me. It was how I imagined being buried alive would feel. With the refrigerator sealed inside the crate I’d never get out without help.

I found the breathing tube and put it in my mouth. Air tasting of plastic and wood flowed freely into my lungs. I consciously slowed my breath and relaxed. This would work. It had to.

A few minutes later I was tipped at an angle as the delivery men maneuvered my ride back out of the house and into the delivery truck. I could barely hear Ringo bitching out the drivers for bringing the wrong appliances. Soon after, the distant vibration of a diesel engine began, and with a lurch, we were on our way.

We couldn’t have gone far when the truck jerked to an abrupt halt. I tried not to be nervous, to keep my breathing steady as I drew air through the short tube stuck in the hole Dan had drilled in the back of the appliance. We’d expected that Kincaid’s men would stop the truck. The only weakness in our plan was whether the drivers could keep their cool well enough to earn the other half of the exorbitant tip Ringo had promised them. If they couldn’t, if they were too nervous or gave us up, there’d be no getting out of this. We’d be caught.

Minutes dragged by. Then a clunk and a vibration. It sounded as if the back gate of the vehicle was being rolled up.

“Open it.” A voice said faintly.

I heard the screech of nails being pulled from wood. The top of my crate being lifted. I held my breath.

Y
ou see? Avocado,” one of the delivery guys complained. “The customer said he ordered Harvest Gold, but it says Avocado right here on the invoice. I think he just changed his mind, and didn’t want to pay for the change order. Cheap bastard.”

I heard someone fumbling at the top. “It won’t open.”

“I told you. It’s got a vacuum seal, and it’s wrapped with plastic at the factory to protect the finish,” the delivery guy said. “You won’t be openin’ it with no little finger tug.”

“Open the other one,” a different voice demanded.

“Man, it’s the same as this one. Wrapped at the factory.”

“Do it!”

More screeching of nails.

“See? I told you. Avocado.”

“Shut up.” And then footsteps walked away and the truck’s gate rattled down with a heavy thud.

I wanted to call to Dan, to make sure he was all right, but any noise now might give us away when we were almost clear. I clenched my fingernails into my palms and remained silent.

A few minutes later the harsh rumble of the diesel kicked into gear, and we started to move again.

I rode along in the blackness, breathing through a two foot length of garden hose. I was as comfortable as Dan had been able to make me, but I was still cramped and my back ached. Ten months ago, when I agreed to have Conrad’s firstborn, I never imagined I’d be inside a kitchen appliance hiding from fake Marshals. At least I’d have a great story to hold over Evan’s head when he was a teenager.
I hid in a refrigerator for you, kid. Clean your room!

No, I couldn’t say that. But I’d be thinking it.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed when the truck lurched to a stop a second time. Were we at the airstrip? Or had the phony marshals stopped us again? Once more I held my breath as my heart hammered in my chest. Then I heard Ringo say, “This one first.”

Someone pulled off the front of the crate, and a moment later the insulated door opened. Ringo peered in at me. “You okay?” he asked as Maisie snuffled me.

I needed the arm he offered to exit and unfold myself. “I’m great, now that I’m out of that thing.” I leaned against the side of the truck. “Get Dan out.”

A few minutes later we were all on the tarmac of the Lake Havasu City International Airport near the private hangars. A medium-sized man with thinning brown hair strode purposefully toward us. He didn’t slow when he reached us. Instead, he walked right up to Dan and landed a solid blow to his mid-section. Dan didn’t even try to avoid it. He doubled over with a sharp groan.

I reacted without thinking and tried to grab the man’s arm to prevent another punch. “Hey!”

The guy spun on me with his arm raised, but Ringo was there before the guy’s eyes could widen as he took in the fact that I was a small woman with a huge belly.

“Stop,” Ringo said. “Be very careful what you do next, Marve.”

Marve stepped back, both hands raised. “I don’t hurt women. And I have no beef with you, either. But I’ve been waiting six years to give Collier what he deserves for getting Johnson killed.”

I stepped to Dan’s side. “Are you all right?”

He nodded, but kept his hands braced on his knees.

“Man, you have one thick skull,” Ringo said. “If he deserves it, so do I. And neither of us had a choice about what happened.”

“He was in command!”

“He was second, and following orders,
and
we were ambushed.”

“I heard that same song six years ago.
He
was the one who chose Johnson for that detail. He’s responsible.”

“
You
were the one who left a hole in our squad! If you hadn’t gotten your ass thrown in the stockade—”

“Are you going to fly us to Mexico, or not?” Dan straightened, holding his side.

“I agreed to take Ringo and his girl. Not you.”

“I’m not going without Dan,” I said.

Dan’s expression grew rigid. “You will.”

“I will not!”

Marve glared at Ringo. “She’s not your girl, is she? She’s his.”

“It doesn’t matter who she’s with, you’re flying us down to San Corazon,” Ringo said.

Marve turned to me. “You don’t know what kind of man you’ve hooked up with, lady. You should be glad to shake loose of him.”

Fury and fear made me snarl. “I know
exactly
what kind of man Dan is. And he’s worth ten of you!”

“Fine. Then you can stay here with him. Ringo, I’ll take you.”

“Let’s all calm down,” Dan said in an amazingly mild tone. “Ringo, take Marianne on the plane. I’ll catch the bus. I can be there in a day.”

A bubble of panic rose in my throat. I didn’t want to be separated from Dan. “No!”

He took my face between his hands. “You’re the one they’re after. You and Evan. You have to get out of here, and you have to do it now. Ringo will make sure nothing happens to you or the baby.”

“But what about you? What if they catch you at the border? They could hurt you to get to me.” My vision blurred, and I realized I was crying.

Dan wiped my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m not that easy to catch.”

“Is that so?” Marve sneered. “I thought the Khmer caught you in an ambush. Or was that just another lie to cover up the fact that you ran?”

“Shut it,” Ringo growled.

Dan went on as if Marve hadn’t spoken. “I can be pretty nimble when I’m not dodging cars. I’ll be okay.” He tilted my face so I had to meet his gaze. “Will you go with Ringo? Please?”

I sniffed. I couldn’t say no to him. “All right.”

“Good girl.”

I glared at him, and he laughed. “Woman. Good
woman
. Is that better?”

I groaned, and turned sideways to hug him. His arms surrounded my shoulders, making me feel as safe as being in a fortress. It didn’t last.

“If we’re gonna go, let’s go,” Marve said, stalking off toward the hangar.

Dan pushed me back from him, and Ringo guided me with one huge hand on my shoulder. Several minutes later I was strapped into an eight seat Piper Chieftain with Maisie beside me. Marve sat at the controls, his pre-flight check complete. Ringo more than filled the space beside him in the co-pilot’s seat. The engine rumbled to life.

The plane cleared the hangar doors, and I stared out the window, hoping for one more glimpse of Dan.

I saw him, standing beside the truck, hand raised.

A horrible pressure grew in my chest as my heart thrashed like a frightened bird in a too-small cage.

“Stop!” I spoke with all the authority I could.

Ringo turned, brow raised. “Did you say something?”

They couldn’t hear me over the noise of the engine. I unbuckled and moved forward.

Ringo tapped Marve on the shoulder, and gestured at me.

The pilot slowed the plane, and scowled at me. “Get back in your seat!”

I gripped the backs of the pilots’ seats to steady myself. “Stop, and let Dan aboard.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Marve said. “Now strap in so we can get this show on the road.”

“Listen to the lady,” Ringo’s deep tone commanded.

“Why the hell would I do that?” Marve asked.

“Because it’s the right thing to do. You know in your heart that Johnson’s death wasn’t Dan’s fault. And
I
know you’re a good man,” Ringo said.

“Give me a break!”

“You are.”

“I’m a smuggler!”

Ringo waved a hand dismissively. “What has that got to do with who you are?”

Marve stared, his eyes narrowed skeptically. “What happened to you, Ringo? Did you go all New Age or something?”

Ringo laughed. “No. But I do know you want to do the right thing.”

“What makes you so sure?”

Ringo nodded. “Only good men get that angry about injustice to others. And you feel guilty that your actions put Johnson in harm’s way.”

I fully expected Marve to laugh, or sneer, but he just swallowed hard and sat there, very still.

“God knows what’s in your heart,” Ringo insisted.

“God? Where was God when Johnson was killed?”

Ringo just sat there, waiting.

“Please,” I shouted. “Let Dan on board. I need him.”

Marve glanced at me. My protruding belly was at his eye level and he quickly looked away. He remained silent, as the engine thrummed. Several moments later he shook his head, conveying his disgust. “You’re a fucking nut-job, you know that, Starkinski? I’m not sure I should let you have that C-4 you paid for.” Then he got out of his seat and let down the stairs.

Six hours later, Dan and I were lounging on the balcony of a hillside condo in San Corazon, enjoying the view of the Pacific. Ringo had rented the place with cash. The white-washed apartments were tiered backward, matching the slope of the hill, making it easy for us to see anyone approaching. Our unit had deep terraces off both the main bedroom and the living room. They were a little too close to the neighbors’, but since the condos were vacation rentals and most of them were empty, the guys decided they could tolerate the risk. It saddened me, that I now needed to think in terms of defensible positions and security.

My back had been aching since I’d crawled out of the refrigerator, but the sun and the warm breeze took my mind off it. Maisie lay between me and Dan, sprawled on the tile. Ringo had gone out, shopping for dinner.

Marve had complained the entire flight, but in the end he’d gotten us where we needed to go. He’d accepted Ringo’s outrageously high payment, too.

“Remember, the guys looking for the lady don’t play nice,” Ringo warned as he placed a wad of cash in Marve’s hand. “Be careful.”

Marve had glared back at Ringo, but nodded sharply. “This ain’t my first rodeo, big guy. I don’t blab, and I don’t get caught. I have a reputation to protect, after all.”

I wasn’t sure if Marve could be trusted to keep his word, but it was out of my hands. Besides, I didn’t think the guys planned for us to stay here very long. The more times we changed location, the harder it would be for Kincaid to find us again. We’d gone through every item we’d brought with us. There were no more tracking devices. If Kincaid was going to find us, it would have to be through old-fashioned sleuthing.

I dozed in the late afternoon warmth, and when I woke again, the last sliver of sun was turning the twilight sea and sky purple and gold. The air had taken on a slight chill and Dan draped a light throw over me. He smiled as I stirred, and took my hand in his. “Have a nice nap?”

“Perfect.”

The lock rattled in the condo’s front door, on the far side of the living area. I froze. Dan rolled to a crouch beside the chaise lounge he’d been lying on, a gun in his hand, aimed at the entrance. I realized he’d positioned his chaise carefully for just this reason.

A second later he relaxed and rose to his feet as Ringo entered.

Was this what our lives were going to be like? Always on a hair trigger, waiting for trouble to find us? For how long? I threw the blanket aside, and Dan helped me to my feet. We joined Ringo in the kitchen. He paused only long enough to drop his bundles on the counter, then he turned to face us, a grim expression tightening his jaw.

“They’re here,” Ringo said. “I saw one of our bloodhounds on the far side of the market place.”

I drew in a sharp breath. “Already? No way!”

“Damn it! How the hell did they
ID
our position so quickly?” Dan asked.

Ringo shook his head, clearly at a loss. “I don’t think he saw me, but it won’t take much for him to track us down.”

The doorbell rang and we all jumped.

Dan and Ringo both drew weapons from their waistbands. Dan pushed me around the corner and against the wall. I felt no warning. What I did feel was the presence of something familiar and calming, though I couldn’t identify where I knew the feeling from.

“I think whoever’s at the door is okay,” I whispered as I edged around the corner.

Dan turned a fierce look on me, and pointed, directing me to get back into the hall. I retreated a little, then leaned around again.

Ringo peeked quickly thought the peep-hole. “Just one,” he said, then asked me, “What do you mean, ‘okay?’ Like ‘he’s not going to kill us,’ okay?”

I eased a little further out. “Something like that.”

Ringo spared a glance at Dan, who had just taken a look through the peep-hole. “He seems familiar.”

“Good familiar, or bad familiar?” The big man demanded.

Dan grimaced. “Not bad.”

Ringo shouted through the door. “Who are you? What do you want?”

The man outside shouted back. “I’m Gideon. I’m here to help.”

His voice, even muffled through the heavy wood, rang a bell, but I couldn’t place it.

“What makes you think we need your help?”

“You do, don’t you?”

Again his voice reminded me of someone. I still wasn’t sure where I knew it from, but I was sure he meant us no harm. “He’s okay. Let him in.”

Ringo frowned and looked at Dan for confirmation. Dan’s brow furrowed as if he was trying hard to remember where he knew Gideon from. “His voice is familiar.” Dan shook his head. “Damn! It’s just out of reach!”

“Let him in,” I repeated. “At worst, he’s just one guy.”

Dan nodded, and gestured for me to go down the hall. “Get out of sight,” he said. “I don’t want you in the line of fire.”

I took a few steps back, but that was as far as I was going to go. Dan glared at me, then he returned his attention to the door as Ringo opened it.

The porch light created a halo effect on Gideon’s blond hair. “May I come in?”

Ringo stepped aside and the other man walked in, past me, and on into the house, apparently unconcerned that two large men were aiming guns at him. He was tall, blond, handsome, and wearing an impeccably tailored suit. His posture was relaxed and his hands were empty. Ringo shut the door and we all followed Gideon into the living room.

While Ringo patted Gideon down for weapons, Dan tried to redirect me with a light push. “Wait in the kitchen,” he commanded quietly. “If there’s trouble—”

Wait in the kitchen? I was already pregnant. Should I take off my shoes, too?
I shook my head. “No way. If there’s trouble, I want to be with you. There’s nowhere I’d be safe, anyway.”

The muscles in Dan’s jaw jumped, and his mouth tightened in an angry line. “Marianne—”