Page 39 of Canyon of Deceit

THIRTY-EIGHT

BLANE

Thanks to FBI Agent Dave Tanner’s call for help, two helos landed with FBI agents, Rangers, and two paramedics.

One aircraft was designated to carry the injured and the other to investigate the bombed cave, including the remains of Chandler’s body.

Therese and I waited inside the medic helo, me flat on my back and she seated beside me.

The paramedics and pilots administered medical care and stabilized the wounded before carrying them to the helo.

The man who’d carried my stretcher down the mountain and talked to me about fly-fishing had taken a bullet to his leg.

The lead man didn’t make it, and his death rocked me with grief and regret.

Paramedics had closed his eyes and covered his face.

The briefing would come once we landed in Hobbs. The lines around Therese’s eyes and her ashen face hinted at her ordeal. Although I shoved away the thought of either of those men abusing her, she shouldn’t bottle up the trauma.

I grasped her hand. “What happened when you left in search of the rescue team?”

Her shoulders lifted and fell. “Hard to sort out, but I will try. I hiked to the meeting spot, but I’d missed them.

From the rail tracks, a helicopter had delivered the team, then left.

I hiked toward a cave I remembered, and on the way found Alina’s clothes and a peregrine falcon feather.

..” She swiped beneath her eye. “I continued and Chandler and Falin stopped me. Chandler said he’d killed you. ”

“I’m sorry. Are you able to go on?”

She told me about the conversation with Chandler and the hike to the cave where he and Falin held Alina.

“What about Alina?”

“Captive but not abused. Incredibly brave, and I think that’s why she’s still alive.

” She covered her mouth and held back a sob.

“That little girl has more courage than most adults. Rurik taught her well. I pray her immediate future holds more than the present.” She stiffened. “Falin is a strange and dangerous man.”

“God’s got Alina,” I said.

She swung her blue-green gaze my way. “What did you say?”

“I had an eventful day, spent a lot of time trying to move and add more kindling to the fire. Once night fell, I found the strength to send smoke signals for help. I was convinced death knocked on my door. The pain and infection had me in and out of consciousness, delirious.” I drew in a sharp breath.

“God called out to me. To forgive myself. Whether I was afraid of dying and going to hell or finally realizing a need for salvation—I have no clue. But here I am alive and a believer.”

She leaned over me, her blonde hair tickling my whiskered chin, and kissed me. Long and hard. “I am so happy. With all that’s gone wrong, this is very right.”

“Thanks. I feel good about my decision. Sad it took a series of tragedies for God to grab my attention. I have lots to learn, and my reputation speaks for my stubbornness.” I attempted to laugh through the agony in my body. “Sergio and his family will have a celebration.”

“You’ve given me so much more anticipation in finding Alina alive,” she said.

“A future for us too?”

She blinked. “I think so.”

“When the dust settles and father and daughter are reunited, I’d like to have a fourth date. Start over on the right foot.”

“We’ll need to take a relationship slow.”

“I look forward to lots of conversation and just being with you.” I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it. “We are a good team.”

“We’ve both survived a sure death.”

I smiled at the most beautiful woman alive, inside and out. I was one lucky man in more ways than one. “Thanks, partner.”

“I should tell you what little I overheard in the cave. Falin requested Rurik to do something, but Rurik refused. It’s wrapped around the critical activation chips Chandler sold Falin. A chip to operate laser weaponry. I wish I had more to report.”

“Sergio will be at the hospital. My first question is to find out what’s developed since we last talked.”

“This horror makes me feel responsible,” Therese said.

“Like if we’d done our jobs, these men wouldn’t be dead and wounded?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“We’re walking the same guilt road, and we’re wrestling with crimes not of our doing. Bad guys behave like bad guys. No mercy. No regard for life. Only greed and selfish motives. You’ve done nothing to bear the blame of it.”

“I promised Rurik I’d find Alina.”

“You did, and you will report she is alive. Those words will comfort him until she’s returned to him.”

“I’m the one who claims to have faith and trust while Alina and Rurik are suffering.”

I squeezed her hand. “No need to apologize for being human.”

“You’re wise, Blane.”

“Not really, but I’ve spent years negotiating and studying human behavior.”

“I think God’s been chasing you a long time.”

I nodded. “Certainly a birthday I’ll never forget.

I wish I’d listened before falling off a cliff.

Some of the bloodshed today might have been prevented.

” I wanted to continue the investigation.

Would I be ordered off the case or assigned to a boring desk job?

But my negotiator self and trigger finger worked just fine.

Many scenarios about the ROC and Rurik chased my thoughts like a huge boulder rolling down a mountain on my heels.

My worst suspicion stayed affixed intact.

.. Had Rurik double-crossed us at the expense of murdering his wife and jeopardizing his daughter’s life?

The high stakes of blackmail caused people to sink to incredible depths.

The helicopter lifted into the air. I’d never forget the courageous men around me—their sacrifice and the incredible loss.

—

At Covenant Health Hospital in Hobbs, emergency personnel awaited us. Triage started treatment, and those much worse than me had priority. I lay on a gurney in the ER hallway with Therese seated beside me.

“You need to rest,” I said.

“I am, right here in this chair.”

“With any luck, we’ll be briefed while we wait.”

She stared up at me through sleep-laden eyes. “Luck? I suppose the time might go by faster.”

As if on cue, a broad-shouldered figure strolled down the hallway, his Stetson cocked in his familiar Texas Ranger style and carrying a pair of jeans and a shirt. “Rusty, I recall warning you this mission might get you killed.”

I grinned and swung my gaze to Sergio. Not a large man but incredibly muscular. He wore his uniform like he’d stepped out of the tailor’s storefront. “I’ve been in dangerous situations many times.”

“And one more time you avoided death by the skin of your teeth.”

“Glad you came,” I said. “Wouldn’t be much of a party without you.”

Sergio blew out his frustration—for my sake. “I bought jeans and a super-large shirt to fit over your cast.”

“You do have my back. Thanks. Mine are a little dirty and ripped.”

He laughed and placed the clothes on my gurney. “Ms. Palmer, how are you holding up?”

“I’m all right, sir. Tired and full of questions.”

“You and Rusty are two of a kind.”

In more ways than one, but I’d reserve the conversation for later. “Try convincing her to rest.”

“I doubt if any of us will until Alina Ivanov is returned, and we have those responsible in custody,” Sergio said.

“Chandler’s dead and Falin got away with Alina. The ROC can now activate laser weapons in their possession.” I spit out the words like spoiled food.

“Yep, Rusty, I got the news. The only good thing Falin accomplished was ridding the world of a ruthless killer.”

“Replaced by another.” Therese’s dry tone told me her emotions hadn’t changed since Dog Canyon.

“Therese and I haven’t heard any news. Has Rurik offered more information? Any updates on the ROC? Daria Ivanov’s murder? Edik Baranov? We’re ready.”

Sergio crossed his arms over his chest. “Park rangers found the bodies of two hikers in the western corridor of Dog Canyon, throats cut.”

Therese drew in a sob. “Chandler admitted to their murders. I feel sick about the many dead and wounded.”

“I feel the same,” I said. “No respect for human life continues to play out.”

She took a few moments to stabilize herself. “Prior to running into Chandler and Falin, I saw smoke in that direction. At the time, I wrestled with investigating it, but other issues held my attention.”

I drew in a ragged breath. “The rental Jeep? The keys are in my backpack at the bottom of a canyon. Chandler stole our handguns.”

“We got the Jeep. Lack of keys never stopped a good Ranger. Don’t think twice about phones or guns. They can be replaced.”

But not the lives of those who’d suffered and died. “You said last Friday that things had come to your attention.”

Sergio lifted his chin. “This investigation is like juggling chain saws.”