Authors: Monica McCabe
They ran, dodging shrubs and rounding trees.
“This way!” Miranda veered off without even looking to see if he followed.
With little choice, he changed course, determined to rattle sense into her when he caught her. She led them straight to a section of the boundary wall under repair. Half the plaster was gone, revealing a six-foot high section of crisscrossed steel rebar, perfect for climbing. How’d he miss that coming in?
She reached the wall, threw the pipe over, and scrambled up. He hit it right behind her, and they’d made the other side when shouts rang out behind them. Matt made a grab for the pipe as they fled into the neighboring woods. Uneven ground caused her to stumble once, but she kept her footing and matched his break-neck pace, jumping fallen logs and skirting thorny brambles as they ran.
By the time the Rover came into view, sounds of pursuit had gained strength and Miranda’s breathing began to labor. Until two shots rang out, spurring a second wind.
It spiked Matt’s heartbeat to a level of crazy in his fear for Miranda. This kind of risk was his to take, and he did it willingly, but she had no business being here. By God, if they got out of this unscathed, he’d make damn sure her involvement went nonexistent.
Another shot whizzed past them as they made the Rover and jumped inside. Matt fired the engine and slammed the accelerator. They hit the roadway with a bone-jarring bounce and squealing tires.
He pushed the Rover to maniac speed and didn’t slow down until twenty miles of twisting and turning separated them from the madness at Glory Hill.
“Where are we going?”
Matt knew exactly what Miranda meant, but the question had more than one answer. Figuratively, she was headed for a dead end where her involvement was concerned.
“We’re going someplace safe for an hour or two. We need to talk.”
His grip on the steering wheel tightened to keep his hands from shaking. Adrenaline had ripped through his nerve endings, leaving pain and rage in its wake. Now, more than ever, he had to get his mind straight. So he headed for the one place that helped him think clearly, thirty-two hectares of land on the southeast side of Gaborone that had his name on the title. He’d broken more than one investigation sitting out there. The untamed nature of the property always helped sort things out.
Right now, he doubted he’d solve a thing. The murdering bastard was still alive. Given the violent nature of his business, the guy should be long dead. That never stopped Matt from searching, however, and seeing that hated face tonight peeled away fifteen years of buried grief. He felt ragged and raw in a way he had never expected.
Regret spiked into the mix as well. He was ten times a fool for allowing Miranda to get involved. The stakes had skyrocketed from plain ugly to coldly brutal, and he needed her out. He needed her safe and untouchable. Narrow escapes came with his job, and this wasn’t the first time he’d been beaten on, shot at, or faced odds against him. Coming out on top was his specialty. This time, though, the first time since his parent’s murder, someone he cared about hovered in the line of fire. The shock wave of panic that caused twisted him inside out, and he hated it.
“Why didn’t they follow us?” Miranda kept glancing behind them, scanning the dark and empty road.
“Because they’re too busy looking at camera footage,” he replied, hoping to scare some sense into her. “We’ll be damn lucky if they don’t make a positive ID.” The very thought made him queasy. If they saw her… Jesus Christ, he didn’t even want to consider the consequences.
“I’m hardly new to surveillance,” she scoffed. “Zoos are full of cameras. I’m careful. The chances of them spotting me are slim.”
He snorted. “You can’t guarantee that. We weren’t exactly careful in our mad dash for freedom.”
“I was,” she argued. “Besides, there wasn’t much for cameras. Pretty foolish considering what goes on around there.”
He agreed, but he wasn’t naive enough to think they’d escaped unscathed. His cuts and bruises were beginning to ache, but that was nothing compared to the fact that Miranda could now be compromised.
Matt downshifted as he rounded a bend into a stand of trees, and he searched the darkness for the cut that marked his driveway. As he steered onto the dirt path, he tossed a glance at his rescuer. In the glow of dashboard lights, he saw a familiar emotion.
Excitement.
Bloody hell. Wouldn’t a zoo dentist get enough thrills working in the wild? Like it or not, she’d have to stick with hippos and crocodiles. They were far tamer than the bastard he saw tonight. “You should’ve listened to me when I said stay with the Rover.”
“If I had, you’d be in a world of trouble right now.”
“I’ve been in tighter scrapes and managed to survive without your help.”
“Well, that’s just downright ungrateful.” She sounded annoyed. “How ridiculous of me to expect a thank you.”
His jaw tightened at her words. She was right. She had helped. But acknowledging her contribution would only encourage her. And after what he saw tonight, he didn’t want her anywhere near this investigation.
“Listen, Miranda, the danger isn’t over. Either one of us could be on camera. I can handle the exposure—it’s my job. But what if you are identified? What happens then? You are risking your life, your career. You have to stop.”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
“Wrong,” he snapped. “If I have to, I can use my contacts to end your time at Katanga and send you home.”
She didn’t have an immediate comeback, but he wasn’t fooled into thinking the argument was over. No doubt she was planning her next tactic, something he should do. He needed a different angle, arguing with her wouldn’t gain her cooperation.
They bounced over the rutted track, and Matt winced. He suffered more than one hard blow tonight and now, drained of adrenaline, he sorely felt the consequences. Pain from a fight he could handle, but the festering emotional wound left him stunned.
“Where are we?” Miranda asked as the Rover’s headlights pierced the darkness, illuminating overgrown vegetation and rocky outcroppings.
“You’ll see in about a minute.”
They rounded a jumbled pile of stone and pulled over just before the land began its gradual downward slope. He parked, shut everything down, and waited. A second of silence passed, then two.
Miranda gasped.
That little reaction triggered a sense of pride. “What do you think?”
“It’s magnificent!” She sat frozen, just like he had the first time he saw it.
Ten miles southeast of the city and elevated on a winding plateau, the city lights of Gaborone spread out before them, fading into a darkened landscape that stretched into a sparkling sky, heavy with starlight. It was just as breathtaking by day.
He climbed out of the Rover and walked to the front where he leaned against the warm grill. Miranda joined him.
“This is where I’m building my house.”
“You own this land?”
“Bought it two years ago.”
She looked at him strangely for a second, then glanced back to the city lights. In the ensuing silence, Mother Nature shifted to the forefront. Bush crickets droned, bat-eared fox scratched for a nocturnal meal, and above it all, a soft wind whispered across the veldt, rustling the high grass.
“You surprise me,” she said quietly.
He surprised her? More like the other way around. He should’ve known a woman used to dealing with the planet’s largest predators would keep her head in a time of crisis. She showed courage, coming after him and braving a man twice her size. She hadn’t even appeared fazed by gunfire. He’d admire her nerve if their situation weren’t so life threatening.
Still, he had to ask. “How so?”
“Buying property hints at placing roots. You don’t strike me as the type.”
That made him frown. What type did she think he was? He felt a push to ask but refrained, afraid he wouldn’t like the answer. “When my parents died, I went to live with my uncle in Arizona. I vowed to come back, and everything I did aimed at that goal. What I didn’t count on was the desire to stay. That came much later.”
“I imagine it feels like home.”
He shrugged in the darkness. “If you can call an endless stream of bush villages in Botswana home, then yes.”
“What matters is, were you happy growing up here?”
“For the most part. The freedom I enjoyed was every kid’s dream.”
“That’s the tie that binds.”
He pushed off the front grill and took three steps away from the bittersweet memories. Anger was more familiar and far easier to deal with. “I came back for much different reasons.”
“To avenge your parent’s death.”
He didn’t answer her, didn’t need to. They both knew the truth.
“What would they say about your goal?” She’d stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his arm. Her words and her tone smacked of sympathy.
He hadn’t wanted it years ago, and he didn’t want it now. “Doesn’t matter, the choice was made long ago. But no, I doubt they’d want it. Fighting black-market diamonds and weapon smuggling isn’t exactly the Peace Corps, nor is it conducive to long life.”
“Neither is missionary work. Traveling to poor and repressed lands in the name of charity can be dangerous. Life is about risk. It’s inherent with every choice you make.”
“Nice spin.” He shrugged off her hand. “Truth is, they didn’t deserve their fate. Truth is, I put bad guys behind bars and get guns off the streets.”
“And help innocent people in the long run. Something your parents were obviously passionate about.”
“My reasons aren’t so noble. I want revenge. I want to send the bastard that killed them straight into eternal hell.”
“Understandable, given the circumstances. I’d feel the same way. But going it alone isn’t necessary. Why not accept help when it’s offered?”
“Not if the help comes from you.”
“Why?”
“Because what I do is personal, and the risk is mine to take. It’s absolutely
not
a weekend diversion for visiting zoo dentists.”
“Even if the help is freely given?”
He heard sympathy and compassion in her tone, and it scared him. Her nature was to protect. He admired that, but her involvement tonight put her on the radar of some very bad people. That unnerved him to the point of near panic.
“Forget it, Miranda.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Exasperation began to ruffle her composure. “I’m perfectly capable and you know it. My determination to protect Katanga should be something you understand.”
She wouldn’t quit. She’d dig, take chances, and land herself smack in the middle of a ruthless game. Hell, she was already there. Cold fingers of dread traced his spine. Unless he stopped her, she’d face the same fate as his parents. The thought hit him like another blow to the gut.
“You know what I saw tonight?” He began pacing, short jerky steps that matched his agitation. “Guns. Big ones. The kind that fuel civil war and kill innocent people. These men have no mercy, and you are the last person I want involved.”
He stopped right in front of her and glared with Nik’s best intimidation tactic. “If by some miracle we manage to escape tonight’s fiasco undetected, you’re done. No more playing detective, no more hiding in barns. You got that?”
She didn’t seem the least bit fazed. “Why am I the last person you want involved?”
The stubborn little… “A hundred reasons! You’re a visiting dignitary. You have an impulsive nature. Because for some crazy stupid reason I care and don’t want you hurt.”
She blinked at him. “You care?”
He closed his eyes and rubbed at the ache in his temples. “Stick to the facts, Miranda. This is a high stakes game. It’s dangerous ground we’re mucking around on. You need to stop.”
“The problem is that I care, too.” She blew her breath out in a long sigh. “There’s so much at stake. People, animals, Katanga. You. How can I sit back and do nothing?”
“Because those bullets tonight were real. Did they teach you nothing?”
“It taught me the extent of the danger you’re in.”
“Listen to yourself, Miranda. What about the danger you’re in? Have you no sense of self-preservation?”
“Of course I do!” She sounded as heated as him now. “But I’m beginning to wonder about you.”
“I’m used to dealing with criminals. I’m trained for the job. You’re
not
.”
“Is that so?” Her hands landed on her hips in a classic don’t-tell-me-what-to-do stance. “Then tell me how you managed to get caught tonight.”
His eyes narrowed. She wasn’t going to be reasonable. “It happens. I’d have taken care of it in short order. Now I’ve got to worry if you were spotted on camera. All because you left the Rover. Something I told you not to do!”
“You know what I think?” She poked him in the shoulder with her finger. “You’re a man on a vendetta, and sooner or later the danger will catch up with you.”
He didn’t answer her. The last thing she needed was more ammunition.
“What happened tonight?” she asked. “What did you see that distracted you enough to get caught?”
He began pacing again, debating what to say. He struggled against a desperate need to keep old pain at bay or use the truth to scare sense into her.
“You might as well tell me,” she said. “I’m going to keep asking until you do.”
“Anybody ever tell you that you are a royal pain in the—”
“You wouldn’t be the first. Just answer the question, please.”
He stopped pacing and turned to stare out at the city lights in resignation. Dragging her in deeper was the last thing he wanted, but it was too late to prevent it now.
“Talk to me, Matt.”
Her tenaciousness pushed the dark memories forward, and he heaved a sigh of inevitability. “I saw him.” Saying it out loud, even at a whisper, felt alien and surreal. “The man I’ve hunted over fifteen years.”
“By that you mean the man who killed your parents,” she replied softly.
“He’s still running guns.”
“And you intend on doing something about it.”
“Damn right I am.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, forcing his circulation to move again and give life to his numb brain. “I’m going to nail the son of a bitch to the wall. And Graham is going to lead me to him.”