Читать книгу Cornered - ХеленКей Даймон, HelenKay Dimon - Страница 8

Chapter Two

Cam slid his body up along the wall and stood up. With his back covered, he peeked outside again. The men outside hadn’t moved, which struck him as pretty bad planning. If he were in charge of the attack party, they’d be surrounding the house and moving in by now.

Thank goodness for amateurs.

His gaze bounced back to Julia. He couldn’t help being impressed with the way she held it together. He’d rushed her, touched her and forced his way inside her house. Acted in a way that he begged to be punched. He’d watched the fear come over her, and before he could calm her, she’d controlled it. Taken the energy pinging around inside her and focused.

It was sexy as hell. So was the long wavy brown hair and then there were those big chocolate-brown eyes. Not that he had the time to notice...but he did.

He reeled those thoughts in because he had no plans to die today. He’d just made a vow to Julia, so now he had to figure out a way out of this mess without too much bloodshed. He’d brought the firefight to her door by accident. Even if it meant taking a bullet, he’d get her out.

She peeked around the windowsill, then ducked her head again. “Why are they just standing out there?”

“Good question.” Cam kept his focus on the men. If he flinched they could move out of his sight, and he could not let that happen. Three of them, one dressed as the police chief and two in flannel shirts, which made them stand out in summer.

“I have another question,” she said.

This time he glanced over at her. Seeing the pale face and the way her hand shook as she brushed the hair out of her eyes sent a shot of guilt through him. Still, he wasn’t used to a lot of conversation in the middle of a shoot-out. “Now might not be the best time.”

She checked the weapon before looking up again. “Why did you think they were police?”

Looked as though she talked when she got nervous. He tried to contain the adrenaline coursing through him enough to keep up the harsh whispering. “The uniform, plus the other two were at the police station. The chief knew I was coming. The usual.”

She frowned. “That’s the usual for you?”

“Uh, yeah.” It all made sense to him, but in hindsight he’d played it too safe in the minutes leading up to his meeting. He could have checked identities through facial recognition, but that wasn’t standard operating procedure for a job like this. It was supposed to be an easy witness pickup, not a death match.

Her attention did not waver. It stayed locked on him. “Who are you and what do you do?”

They absolutely didn’t have time for that discussion. “Later.”

And really, there was no easy way to tell her he worked for an undercover operation hired out to corporations and governments to handle kidnapping and threat situations. It was the kind of line that sounded like nonsense during a pickup in a bar. In real life it meant he lived in a web of secrets, lies and death. Not exactly the kind of information that was going to put her at ease right now.

“I don’t think so.” Her tone suggested she might turn that gun on him at any moment. “How about now or I’ll go out there with them?”

“You think you’ll be safe with a guy pretending to be police?” She’d already proven she was smart and quick on her feet. He didn’t doubt she’d reason this through and agree...at least, he hoped so.

“Probably not,” she mumbled.

“Then maybe we can take care of the attackers before exchanging personal info?” Seemed logical to him. He was about to point that out when the banging started again.

His hand went to her head. He pushed her toward the floor with his body covering hers. Glass shattered and rained over them. Edges clipped the back of his hands, but his long-sleeved shirt protected the rest. Drywall kicked up and a lamp exploded to his left.

The rapid volley gave way to another sharp silence. His head shot up and he took another look. The men outside still hadn’t moved. Other than holding weapons at the ready and the glass shower, nothing had changed. When he looked down, Julia was already moving.

She visibly swallowed as she sat up. “Okay, we’ll talk later.”

He liked her style. “Exactly.”

“Now what?”

“That was a warning shot.” If they wanted to do real damage, to shoot their way inside, they would have. For some reason they stalled out there, and Cam couldn’t figure out why.

He’d deal with that later. Now he needed an exit strategy, and the options appeared pretty limited. Running out the back door might work if she hadn’t been wearing a bright red shirt. That would stick out with her streaking through the woods. Which led to the other issue—she lived in the middle of nowhere.

This part of Calapan consisted of lush greenery, dirt roads and little else. Her cabin sat with the water on one side and towering trees on the other three. That made running for help problematic. So shooting their way out won as the best scenario. And that was not good news.

“What exactly did you do to them?” The hand with the gun fell on her lap as some of the color seeped back into her cheeks.

Anger and blame—good. He could handle those. “My job.”

“Could you be more specific?” The demand for information was right there in her tone and the flat line of her mouth.

He ignored both. “No.” When she started to talk again he put a finger to his mouth. “Do not move.”

“Where would I go?”

He decided to wait until later to explain hand gestures and go over the definition of the word quiet. Making sure he was dealing with three men and not more trumped everything. He could take them down one by one, but only if another line didn’t loom behind this one.

Crouched and keeping out of sight, he shifted with quick movements around the cottage. Checked the side yards and the one in back where he’d found her a few minutes ago. It took about a minute thanks to the size of her place.

By the time he made it back to the window with Julia, he knew they were in serious trouble. “They’re getting smarter.”

She shifted her weight and sat up with her knees tucked under her. “Meaning?”

“They’re spreading out.” They’d finally mobilized. There was no reason to do that unless an attack came next. Cam still didn’t know what was happening on this island, but it wasn’t good. “They’ll likely come in firing.”

With her palms on the hardwood floor, she leaned forward. “You brought these guys to my door. Take them away.”

If only it were that simple. But he did have a plan, and it involved taking her out of the cross fire. “Is there an attic?”

She made a face. “What?”

“Julia, I need you to focus.” She could be angry and frustrated later. Now he needed her with him, because when the quiet broke this time he sensed it wouldn’t stop until bodies littered the floor. “An attic?”

She shook her head. “There’s only a crawl space.”

He’d make that work. “We need to get you in it.”

“Where will you be?”

He liked that she didn’t balk or question what he wanted her to do. “You go up and I’ll cover the downstairs.”

“One against three?” She sounded appalled at the idea.

“I’ve beaten worse odds.”

“Cal—”

“Cam.” His temper flared unexpectedly. For some reason her not remembering his name dug at him, but he pushed the feelings aside. “Do you really know how to shoot?”

He’d handed her a gun, which was a risk. Now he needed to make sure she wouldn’t shoot him in the head by accident.

“Of course,” she said.

“Anyone but me comes near you, you shoot.” He heard a noise. Faint but there. The attackers were closing in. No question about it. “That attic space?”

“Right.” She crawled on her hands and knees until she cleared the sight line from the window, and he followed.

Smart woman with skills. She became more intriguing by the second.

They got to the short hall leading to the bedroom and bathroom and she pointed up. No string, but there was a small handle. He rose to his feet, nice and slow, while waiting for a new round of shooting to start. When that didn’t happen, he went the rest of the way. He lifted his hand and felt nothing but air. On the second try, he jumped and his fingers brushed the handle. Grabbing it, he brought the door down.

Before she could argue, he took her by the waist and lifted. Her feet left the floor and she let out a half yelp before clamping her mouth shut again.

With only the rustling of clothing as noise, her body and then her legs disappeared into the dark hole above. A second later her face popped into the space. “Be careful.”

He shut the door before she could say anything else. Now to bury the obvious entry. After a short mental countdown, he jumped, using the wall as leverage, and grabbed the handle. The yank pressed the hard metal into his palm but didn’t come off. He only managed to knock the handle loose.

The second lunge cut his palm but did the trick. With a crack the handle fell off. He stuffed it into his pocket and hoped the shadowed hallway would do the rest to provide cover.

Then he moved. The corner at the end of the hall qualified as the perfect place. He could squat down and wait for the inevitable. Problem was, Julia sat right above. A stray bullet could ricochet and hit her, and he couldn’t let that happen. That meant moving into the open, being more vulnerable, but he’d take the chance.

The kitchen worked as an alternative. He pivoted around the edge of the small island and hunkered down by the stove. Now began the game to see who would flinch first.

These guys didn’t disappoint. One kicked in the front door and another stormed in the back. With the size of the house, they could have run right into each other if they hadn’t stopped their momentum. They whispered and traded theories on his location. Cam heard it all.

Not seeing them, he had to concentrate on the voices and the footsteps to plot their positions. He had two in the small family room and one unaccounted for. Close enough.

When one came within range of the kitchen, Cam still held his position. Not moving. The preference was to take them alive. Much easier to question a breathing man than a dead one. Then the one who acted like the sidekick almost stepped on Cam’s hand.

He sprang to his feet with an arm wrapped around the guy’s throat as he faced down the one dressed as the police chief. The one who had all the facts and who’d sat in the office, pretending to be the police chief, which raised a lot of questions.

“Put the gun down.” Cam issued the order as he backed his hostage into the family room and away from the hallway where Julia hid above.

The fake chief wore a smile that could only be described as feral. “You have been a problem.”

No kidding. That was exactly what Cam got paid to handle. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.”

“Lower the weapon and we’ll let the woman live.” One gave the orders while the other tightened his hold on Cam’s arm to keep from being choked.

They’d seen her or guessed. Either way, them knowing limited Cam’s options even further. Pretty soon he’d be down to about one.

Still, there was no reason to make it easy for them. “What woman?”

“Don’t play dumb, Mr. Roth.” That sick smile widened. “Yes, I know your real name.”

That wasn’t good at all. That wasn’t the name he’d given as cover for the witness pickup. If the guy knew who he really was, he likely knew that the Corcoran Team was on the island. The mission could be blown. The same mission that was supposed to be exploratory only and not combat.

Just what they needed—more danger.

Cam’s heel hit the back of the sofa and he stopped. “Where’s the real police chief?”

“You need to stop asking questions and listen.” The guy used a man-to-man tone, as if they were having a chat about everyday things. “You have five seconds before me and my men tear this place apart and grab the woman. Then we’ll see how fast you talk.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing that.” The third man stepped in from a room in the back.

Cam guessed he had found a window. Didn’t really matter how he got there. Problem was, the odds had just switched to three against one. Not impossible but not his favorite. It meant he’d have to kill two and take his chances with the third.

He had to stop the chief first. “One more step and I snap your man’s neck.”

“You think I care?” He brought up his gun and fired.

The shot exploded in front of Cam. He felt a jerk and then the man he was holding fell at full weight against Cam’s chest. He dropped him with a thud to the floor and came up firing. He nailed the one in the hallway in the shoulder and knocked him back. The chief dived to the side and Cam dropped down as he scrambled around the couch.

The scene moved in slow motion, but Cam knew it took only a few deafening seconds. As shots continued to ring out, he blocked the hammering of adrenaline through his body and the grunts and heavy breathing filling the room.

He turned to get off a covering shot and took a quick inventory: one dead guy on the floor and the chief missing. The wounded shooter stood in that back room and fired random shots into the family room that kept Cam ducking. He was about to take a diving shot when he saw the crawl-space door drop. Not the whole way but enough to be noticed if anyone was looking.

The creak of the hinges had the shooter looking up. It was the distraction Cam needed. The guy shifted just enough to aim his gun into the dark hole, and Cam fired. Nailed him in the head this time and sent him crashing into the wall and then sprawling to the floor.

Cam jumped to his feet and searched the family room and kitchen. The place looked like a war zone. Shot-up walls and broken glass. A shredded curtain and papers scattered everywhere. He didn’t even know where half the stuff came from.

But a clear inside didn’t mean they were safe. He checked the porch and scanned the front of the property for any signs of the fake chief fleeing into the woods but didn’t see anything, including the truck that had been out there a few minutes ago.

“Julia?” He didn’t bother whispering or covering. The men knew she was there and now all but the fake chief lay dead on her floor. “Talk to me.”

When she didn’t say anything he stalked to the end of the hall and looked up. The gun appeared first, then her face. “That was pretty awful.”

Her voice shook, but she wasn’t throwing up, so he took that as a good sign. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so.”

The shaking grew stronger and he worried about shock. “Any chance you could be more definitive?”

“My legs are never going to hold me to come down again. Maybe I’ll just live up here.” She glanced down at the guy lying below her, and her eyes widened. “Did you... Is he dead?”

“Very.” And Cam didn’t want her staring at the guy. Nothing good could come out of that. He tucked his gun into his waistband and picked a position that had her looking at him and away from the still body.

But she was already glancing over his head. “You killed two?”

“One. The guy in uniform took out his own guy and got away. So much for loyalty.” Cam lifted his hands and caught her, easing her to the floor and not letting go until she found her equilibrium. “You need to grab a bag and change your clothes, or at least your shirt.”

“Why?”

“You can’t stay here.” He pointed around the room. “This is a mess and I don’t know why the guy was shooting, so I need you off Calapan.”

“Normally I’d get indignant and tell you not to order me around, but I’m okay with it this time.” She handed his gun back to him.

He slipped it into the back waistband of his pants. “I knew you were smart.”

“We need to get to the ferry.” She wiped her hands on her thighs and blew out a long breath. “We can take my truck.”

Looked as though she had more bad news in front of her. He winced. “Was it blue?”

“Was?”

Cam didn’t see a vehicle outside. Unless she had a secret hiding place, they could add another criminal charge to the fake chief’s list. “The one who got away took it.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding?”

In light of the past few minutes, the response struck him as overblown. Probably had something to do with the reaction to violence. She didn’t double over or hide in a corner, but she did latch on to odd things. He could handle that. “I’m thinking a stolen car is not the worst thing to happen to you today.”

“It’s a two-mile walk to the ferry and we only have four a day. We miss it and we’re trapped here. On this island.”

The bad news just kept coming. He pushed aside his plans to hunt the shooter down and focused on this problem. There was only one solution—call in the cavalry.

He glanced at his watch and pushed the button. The one that sent an emergency signal out to the rest of the men. “We’ll rendezvous with my team and get you to safety.”

“Alive?” She managed to load that one word with a heap of sarcasm.

He didn’t let her tone derail him. “My promise to do everything to keep you safe still stands.”

“I’m holding you to it.” She stared at him as if needing further reassurance.

He didn’t have anything other than his word, which was pretty damn solid, so he nodded. “Good.”