One Four All (11 page)

Lira set her book aside. She hadn’t read it anyway. She’d stared at a single page for an hour. Something was wrong. She felt it in the churning of her stomach. Something was very wrong. Pacing might burn off some nervous energy but that would tip off any guards watching her. And where had her maid got to? She hadn’t seen F’yit since breakfast, and the single member of the household staff she’d managed to question had no idea where she was. Head bowed, eyes glued to the floor, the woman said, “No, Mrs. Regnan, I haven’t seen her.”
Where could she be?
To the best of Lira’s knowledge, F’yit had never wandered farther than the kitchen gardens. She needed her maid. The woman was her eyes and ears. Well, if she didn’t appear within the hour, Lira would search for her, guards or no guards.

Perhaps the continued captivity was taking a greater toll on her maid than Lira realized and F’yit simply needed time alone. Without question, it was taking a toll on her. Lira’s skin crawled with the need to be away from this prison. Regnan could fill her suite with luxuries, but it was a prison nonetheless.

Lira needed some activity to settle her mind and occupy her body. She hurried to change into her skintight practice jersey. Barefoot, she stalked into the main room, her one consolation the thought that Red kept a wary eye on her. If he noticed anything amiss, he would crash through the adjoining door in a flash. Trying to slow her racing heart, Lira pressed her palms together and closed her eyes. She began the Kinji Watah, taking several deep, cleansing breaths, repeating her private mantra with each exhalation in an attempt to clear her mind of negative thoughts and emotions.

The sound of a heavy thud against the wall jerked her to full awareness. Lira’s eyes flew open and, throwing caution to the wind, she ran for the door to the adjoining room, ripping it open with one swift movement. Red lay prostrate on the floor in front of her, fresh blood on the side of his head. Two guards stood over him, Uke and another man she didn’t recognize. Uke held a gun in his hand. He glanced up at her and, with a grin that bordered on demonic, pointed the gun at her helpless mate.

Without a second thought, Lira growled and threw herself over Red’s helpless form, landing a vicious kick against Uke’s kneecap. She felt the flat bone crack beneath the sole of her foot, and he crumpled to the floor with a scream. Moving quickly, before the other man recovered from his shock and could unclip his holstered weapon, she downed him with a swift kick to the solar plexus. Unable to inhale, he fell to his knees beside Uke. Quick as a flash, Lira kicked the weapon from Uke’s hand and scooped it up. She’s never participated in true combat before, and she took no pleasure in injuring anyone, even Uke who had laughed as he beat her. However, she couldn’t risk their escape. They would warn the other guards. She saw Uke already dragging himself toward the open door. A swift kick to the side of his head stopped him and he lay still. The other man watched her, his eyes glazing over as he slowly suffocated. Lira took pity on him and stopped his heart with a well-placed strike to his chest.

You will not vomit
, Lira ordered herself as she knelt beside Red. Her fingers sought the pulse point on his neck. His heartbeat felt strong and regular, his breathing was even, but he’d suffered a blow to his temple, and although the man might be tough and hardheaded, this injury could be serious. She had to get him out of the keep.
How?
Lira sat back on her heels. She could perhaps fight her way out, but not if she had to support Red.

Quick as a fox, she stripped the holster from Uke’s prone body. She strapped it about her waist and snapped the gun into the sheath. She took the holster from the other man and wrapped it around one shoulder and over her chest, clipping the weapon belt in place.
Water.
She needed a good look at Red’s injury. Keeping an eye on the doorway, Lira ran to the bathroom and flipped on the spigot. She soaked a towel with ice cold water and returned to Red, pressing the wet cloth to the side of his head. When she heard him groan and saw his eyelids begin to flutter, Lira let out a sigh of relief.

“Red,” she whispered, “Red, it’s me, Lira. We have to get out of here as quick as we can.”

“Lira?”

“Yes, I’m Lira. Red, you were attacked by two of the guards. You were hit on the head. We have to move before anyone else comes. Do you think you can sit up?”

“Yeah, gimme a minute,” groaned the big man. “My head feels like it’s been split in two.”

“Well, it pretty much was,” Lira commented, lifting his head into her lap.

“Did you save me, honey?” Red’s grin was lopsided and when she saw it, she knew he would be all right.

Lira planted a kiss on his forehead. “Yes,” she smiled a weak smile, “I guess I did.”

“You sealed the deal then, darlin’.”

“You are my consort, my beloved. I had no choice, and even if I did, I would choose the same. Can you rise?”

Red sat up with Lira’s help. “That was pretty stupid,” he said, feeling the side of his head. “One man walked in and said something about your maid needing my help, and that was the last thing I knew until I heard your voice. How long was I out?”

“Not long. I heard the thud of your big body…”

“And you came flying to the rescue,” Red interrupted. He stared at the two dead men. “You do this?”

Lira’s face grew warm. She did not want to look at the men she’d killed. “Yes.”

Red must have seen her distress because he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Sweetheart, you did what you had to do. You don’t have to like it. I don’t expect you to like it.”

Tears filled Lira’s eyes. “It is not in my nature to kill a man, even an enemy.”

“Well,” said Red, climbing by slow degrees to his feet, “it was them or me, so I can’t say I’m all that conflicted.” Digging into one of his pockets, he leaned on Lira. When he opened his hand, Lira saw a small communications device. “It’s a perdi,” Red volunteered, pressing a small tab. “It’s like an emergency buzzer, and it can be used as a beacon if necessary. I’m buzzing Kepp and Wat. You haven’t seen them, have you?”

“No, and my maid, F’yit, is missing. Perhaps the guards realized she was not what she seemed and they’ve taken her away, or worse.”

“Maybe,” Red replied. “But we can’t worry about that right now. Right now we’re going to get rid of those bodies, grab Wat’s bag, and get the hell out of here. I know where Kepp and Wat went, I just hope to God they’re all right.” He and Lira dragged the bodies into the bathroom and locked the door from the inside, closing it behind them. At least there was no blood trail.

“Which is Wat’s bag?” Lira asked.

“The big, black one, over there.” He pointed to the farthest bed.

She helped Red to lean against the desk. She retrieved the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

“That sucker’s heavy,” commented Red. “I should carry it.”

“No.” Lira shook her head. “You concentrate on walking. I’ll carry the bag.”

“Give me one of those pistols, at least,” said Red. “Even if I can’t see straight, I can still shoot straight.”

Lira unclipped the safety strap and handed Red one of the guns.

“Can you fire that if necessary?” he asked, pointing to the other gun.

“Of course. My training also included marksmanship. I’m a very good shot.” She tried hard to keep the hint of pride out of her voice. She must have failed because Red flashed that grin of his.

“Then let’s be on our way, sharpshooter wife of mine, before there’s a reason for you to show me exactly how well you can shoot.”

* * * *

Lira and Red stumbled along the dark passageway. Lacking night vision goggles, each kept a hand on the dripping, wet, slimy wall. Lira wondered a bit about bats and rats and spiders, but she decided she’d killed two men. Bats and rats and spiders paled in comparison. Red managed to remain conscious, but the farther they went, the more of his weight she was forced to support. Her only hope was that they could manage to find an exit before he collapsed. She prayed he’d suffered nothing worse than a concussion, and every few minutes she asked him a question to make certain he still knew who and where he was.

“I’m okay, Lira,” he said. “I’m counting our steps in case we need to backtrack. I’m not gonna pass out on you if that’s what you’re worried about. Just have a nasty headache.”

“Are you sure we’ll find Tanner and Wat down here?”

“Not one hundred percent, but I think this is our best shot. They were looking for a way out, and they found this. It’s probably how Regnan slipped you into the compound.”

Eventually, they reached a point where the single path they followed divided into two. Lira led the way down to the right. The air seemed to be fresher in that direction. The tunnel narrowed, and Lira went in front, dragging one hand along the wall, Red followed, gripping her shoulder as if his life depended upon it. The sooner she could get Red some medical attention, the better she would feel. He might have a skull fracture. Even if they managed to get away, where were they going to find a doctor? And she couldn’t leave Tanner and Wat behind.

At last the darkness lifted, and Lira found herself standing at the top of a long staircase cut into the rock wall. She stopped short, and Red bumped into her, nearly knocking them both over the edge. She shoved him back, and he sat down, hard, on the floor of the passage. From far below they heard the low hum of voices.

Lira knelt beside Red. “There are men down there. I can hear them talking, but I can’t tell who it is.” One look at Red’s face and Lira put her hand over his mouth. She shook her head. “Be reasonable. You can barely stand upright. I’m going down there. If anyone comes up these stairs or down that passage besides Tanner, Wat, or me, you shoot them.”

Red flashed her that winning grin of his. “You sure know how to make a man feel like a man.”

Lira choked back her laughter. “I felt you last night, remember? I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

Red grabbed her by the hair and pressed his lips to hers. When he let her go at last, he said, “You be careful, woman, you hear me? It could be Kepp and Wat, but Speth could just as easily be down there.” He took her hand and rubbed her palm over the front of his trousers, letting Lira feel his hard-on through the rough material. “I’ve gotten quite attached to you, and when my head stops pounding, I plan to use this.”

“Promise?”

“I swear it.”

Lira watched as Red slid farther back into the shadowed passageway and propped himself against the wall, using Wat’s bag as a cushion. She pulled the holster over her head and, despite his protests, handed him the other gun. Keeping quiet was her primary concern. She didn’t expect to shoot anyone. She hoped to reconnoiter and get back to Red as quick as possible. After taking one last look at him to reassure herself his seat was secure if he lost consciousness, she began to climb down. She was glad of her bare feet, for they made no sound on the cold, wet stone.

The closer she got to the opening, the more distinct the voices became. Lira stopped beside a small alcove just inside the exit. She could make out two figures pacing back and forth on the small beach. One man she readily identified as Speth, the other a man she’d never seen before. He wasn’t dressed as a servant. He wore a sailor’s uniform.

“Uke should have brought her here by now,” Speth was saying. “She was alone, with only one of them watching.”

“Maybe he ran into the other two men,” the man commented.

“Not possible,” replied Speth. “They would have raised the alarm and, as head guard, I would have been the first person notified.”

“Let me go back up. I can find out what’s happened.”

That’s F’yit’s voice. They must have grabbed F’yit
. Lira bit her lip to stop herself from yelling the maid’s name.
Send her to look for me
, she willed the men.
Send her this way so I can save her
.

“You think you can get her to follow you down here?”
Speth’s voice
.