Page 29 of Canyon of Deceit

TWENTY-EIGHT

Rifle fire split the afternoon air, jarring me into alert mode. Then another crack. Given the terrain and the wind, the shot had originated from the west. The sound hadn’t come from Blane’s direction, and I breathed out my relief. Had the rescue team found Chandler?

My knife had pointless inscribed on the blade.

No more rifle fire sounded. Only wind and high desert quietness greeted me. I’d come this far to check out a secluded site, and I’d not leave until I was sure Chandler hadn’t taken Alina there.

I followed a trail toward a deserted cave I’d stumbled onto about three years ago.

Behind thick brush and rock, it offered protection from the elements.

The way wasn’t noted on any trail guides, and none of my park ranger friends talked about it, especially with the unspoken agreement with the Apache nation to keep the caves sacred and unmarked.

If Chandler and other men were in the cave, Alina would have found it difficult to climb the steep slope.

Who was I fooling? I doubted she lived. Still, I’d given my word to Rurik, and I’d find her and bring her home—no matter the condition of her body.

I hiked to higher ground and studied the area behind me where I’d left Blane.

In about an hour, I’d be down and across the canyon floor, then up to the cave’s entrance.

If my idea didn’t pan out, I’d hurry back to Blane even in the dark.

As much as I wanted to investigate the smoke seen earlier in the west, I wouldn’t risk Blane spending too much time alone, especially in his physical condition.

He’d done his best to cover the excruciating pain, and I fretted about internal injuries.

Once I made it to the cave, I’d send up a flare.

Should have done so early this morning, but like Blane had pointed out, we risked alerting Chandler to our latest position and without a gun.

.. Most likely he watched every move we made.

That theory struck terror as much as finding Alina dead. Or both she and Blane dead.

Something poked me in the small of my back. I whirled around to the grizzled Chandler scowling at me under the brim of a tattered hat. He’d grown a beard that matched his wiry and graying hair. He glared at me through dark, beady eyes over a hooked nose.

Horror washed over me... the monster in my nightmares. With the rifle braced against his shoulder and aimed at me, the skull tattoos on his sleeveless upper arm grinned like demons. He resembled a bull from my girlhood days.

A shorter second man, whom I recognized as Jurg Falin, stood with him. He had a rectangular face, dark-blue eyes, bald head, and a rounded body—more like a harmless neighbor than a killer.

“Look who we have here, Falin.” Chandler smirked. “Miss Survival Expert.”

I tamped down my fear and lifted my chin, trying to recall every word of my crash course in negotiation. “Hello, Tom, how are you this beautiful day?”

“Much better now that you’re at the other end of my rifle barrel.” His glare stayed fixed on me.

“How can I help you?” Keep yourself calm.

“You already have. Made my day.”

“Maybe you can help me.” I smiled. “I’m looking for Alina Ivanov.”

“Really? I saw you found her clothes.”

“Thanks. Was that intentional?”

“What do you think?” Chandler’s dark eyes hardened. “Worked, didn’t it?”

Act like you care about him. “I’m trying to find Alina. What can I do to ensure she’s reunited with her father?”

“Not a thing.”

“Is she alive?”

“She’s headed in the same direction you are.”

He planned to kill us. “I understand. She’s just a child. Is there something else going on here? How can I convince you to release her?”

“Only money. Lots of it.”

“How much do you need? I have five hundred thousand in my backpack, and Rurik paid the ransom. Looks like you have a bonus.”

He yanked the pack off my shoulders. “Ivanov gave you this?”

“Yes, he desperately wants his daughter returned.”

“It’s not enough money. My trouble is worth more than this.”

“If you want more, I can call him.”

“How? You don’t have a phone.”

Jerk . “Let me use yours and arrange a drop-off or—”

“Shut up. If he wanted his daughter back, why didn’t he follow through with Falin’s demands?”

“I’ll talk to him again. What can I do to convince you to let Alina go?”

“Not a thing.” He sneered and stuck his rifle barrel under my chin.

“Why this remote area? I assumed you’d operate from a Mexican resort.”

“I admit to having friends where it counts.”

“Tom, are you working with the cartels and the ROC?”

“Both pay the bills.”

“If you’re afraid, I will do what I can for your protection.”

He scoffed at me. “I’m sure you heard the rifle fire. Let me set you at ease. The Texas Ranger? He has two holes in his chest. What’s left of him.”

Nausea swept over me, and I tossed Blane’s advice about pretending to be Chandler’s friend. Those tactics spit into the wind. “The rifle fire didn’t come from where I left him.”

“You made a stupid mistake, and I thought you were better trained.”

“Takes a big man to shoot an unarmed, wounded one.”

He took aim. “Care to join him?”

Calm down. “Looks to me like you haven’t given me much of a choice. Have you been carrying a grudge since we first met?”

“Time to even the score.” He snorted. “I told Falin you’re a worthy opponent. Gives me a lot of satisfaction to have you look down the barrel of my rifle.”

I’d taken a gamble by calling him out. I waited to see if he pulled the trigger, or if I’d bought some time.

“I’ve planned about how you’d pay,” he said. “Sure would be easy to blow your head off, but not my plan.” He pointed the barrel in the direction of the hidden cave. I wanted Alina to be there alive and unharmed.

“One more thing,” I said. “I saw smoke west of here.”

“Not me. A couple of hikers. But they are no longer a problem with their throats cut.” He laughed an evil, low-throated sound and spun me around to poke his rifle barrel in my back. “Walk and don’t try a thing.”

I made my way several feet and searched my survival skills on how I’d escape him. Then Chandler took the lead. I walked between him and Falin across a stretch of canyon floor to a strenuous climb extending up to brush and the rock-hidden cave. I’d been right about their location. Dead right.

Falin grunted and groaned with every step. He had no hiking skills, body strength, or endurance. Doubtful Chandler planned to keep him alive much longer.

Bringing Alina here made little sense and was too elaborate for a basic kidnapping. What had Blane and I missed? The one drawback of me giving Falin a shove backward was the odds of Chandler sending me right down those rocks with Falin.

Chandler’s boasting that he’d killed Blane clawed at my unspoken feelings... as if I’d fired the shots. He’d lied about Blane to defeat me, but Chandler had no idea about my God’s power.

Poor Alina. What hideous ordeals tortured her?

I’d learned from my own experiences that the loss of innocence stalked a person—like a hungry predator.

Often healing came at the price of mental pain that became physical, and the two formed an emotional dependence that filled the victim with lies and doubts about themselves.

They believed they couldn’t survive without the familiar hurt.

I should know... it had walked with me for twenty years.

My faith offered a glimmer of light—rescue might happen. I longed to pray, but only three words repeated. God, help us.