Red Hot BOX SET: Complete Series 1-4: A Patrick & Steeves Suspense (8 page)

D
al held fast
to Emily’s hand, they moved as quickly as possible over the uneven ground. He scraped his arm on a cactus and cursed the situation he was in. Those two thugs were definitely cartel.

He knew enough about cartel - and suspected Emily did too - to realize that if they found them, there would be no room for negotiations or explanations. Neither he nor Emily would be of any value to them, and since they weren’t useful in any way and had already established themselves as threats, they would simply kill them and move on. It was more efficient that way.

What he couldn’t figure out was why they were pursuing him so aggressively. He’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to, but he had no way to connect the bodies in that truck to anyone. He didn’t understand who they were, why they were dead or who was behind any of it. They could just as easily write him off, let him go back across the border and tell interesting stories to his buddies over beer at his favorite sports bar.

So why spend the time and resources to shut him up? It didn’t make sense. He shot a look over at Emily. Did she know more than she was telling? Why did they even send someone from the Embassy to get him? Was it standard Embassy practice?

Earlier, on their way back to the house, he’d paced off the trail in case they needed it tonight. They were close to the cleft. He took the light from Emily and panned the rock walls until he spotted it. Pulling Emily with him, he scrambled up the slope and leaned his back against the rock next to the opening. “We’ll wait here?”

She nodded. “They may not come this way.”

“Maybe.” He cursed that his voice sounded as unsure as he felt. “They’ll probably keep coming. Let’s be prepared for that.”

“What more can we do?”

“If they know about this tunnel, and I imagine they do, we can hide on the other side of the trail and take them by surprise, instead of waiting for them.”

“Take the offense, instead of the defense.” She peered into the dark toward the other side of the trail. “I like it, but I don’t think we’ll have much cover over there.”

“We won’t. We’ll have to count on them being focused on getting inside and not looking around them.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I’m open to other ideas.”

She rocked against the wall behind them. “We can go down the hole.”

“Not a chance. We have no idea where it goes.”

“Then we’ll have to hide on the other end.”

“If they come that way first—”

“We’ll be prepared for that. If they come that way first, we’ll shoot them.” He was shocked at how dry and matter-of-fact she said this.

The idea of gunfire in so small a space made him sick. There was no telling how it would turn out for them.

“You know I’m right,” she continued. “In that space, we’ll need to shoot them before they shoot us.”

“I have another idea,” he said. “Come on.” He moved into the tunnel with Emily close behind him. He led the way to the hole.

It was pitch black in the cavern; they stood together in a small beam of light. A heavy musky smell permeated everything. Passing her the flashlight, he pulled a pen knife from his pocket and used it to slash one-inch notches in the drop cloth along the edge of the seam. Once the cut was started, he tore long strips from the cloth and threw them at Emily’s feet. “Tie these together.”

She did as he asked while he continued tearing strips. When he was done, he picked up one end of the long rope she was creating and started tying on at that end.

She looked up at him, eyes wide. “So we’re going down?”

He shook his head.

“You’re going down alone? I won’t be able to pull you back up —”

“No.”

“You want me to go down?” Her eyes widened further, and she took a step backwards.

“No, Emily, not that at all.” He tied off the last piece and extended his hand for the flashlight. He tied an end through the metal ring at the end, and started to thread the rope down the hole. “Bait,” he grinned at her. “If they see the light, they’ll try to follow us down there.”

She smiled and he would have sworn there was more than a hint of appreciation in that grin. “That’s an awesome idea.”

The material went slack as the light reached the bottom. He estimated it was about fifty feet deep. “Now, as long as the cloth doesn’t cover the light …” He dropped the end and it fluttered to the bottom, partly covering and diffusing the light so it seemed that it came from the side.

She leaned over beside him. “Perfect.”

“Let’s hope the batteries last.”

They turned away from the hole. Pitch black. Blacker than black. She reached for him and he took her hand. Shuffling back toward the opening, arm outstretched, his hand hit the wall. He felt to the left, then right, until he found the opening. They crept down the tunnel, following the wall. Just as he thought they should be hitting the T-section, they heard voices.

“They’re coming,” he hissed. He pulled her faster, past the T-section.

Light shone in from the opening. It brightened things enough for them to move faster.

“Shut the hell up,” said one man to the other. Their footsteps echoed off the rocks.

Seconds before the men hit the T, Dal found the depression in the rock and Emily wedged herself in beside him. He took a deep breath, willing his large body to be out of the way.

“Right first,” hissed the man.

“There’s nothing down that way,” his companion said.

“Still, we should look.” Unsteady light bobbed in their direction. Dal’s finger twitched on the gun he was holding. The air he took in felt like liquid fire and he prayed he wouldn’t have another coughing fit. He held his breath. Beside him, Emily was still as a mouse.

“Asshole, get back here with that light. We’re going this way - that tunnel dead ends.”

The light swung in the other direction and the two men moved away from them down the tunnel to the left.

“
T
hey’re not here
, Miguel.” The short, pudgy man swept the inside of the room with the light.

“I have eyes, Rico. I can see for myself.” The taller man strode to the edge of the hole and looked down. “But they are down there.” He gestured to the hole.

“Jesus. We’ve got them.” Rico looked into the hole. “I can see their light - they’re down there. What d’ya wanna do boss? Wait for them to come back up?”

“Why would they come back up, knowing we’re waiting for them?”

Rico crinkled his brow, straining to puzzle out a solution.

Miguel jutted his chin toward the shaft. “You go down after them.”

“Now wait a minute,” Rico said, backing away. “If they have a gun, it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“So keep your head down and be sure to shoot them first.” Miguel pushed him roughly toward the hole. “Time’s wasting - get the fuck going.”

“You go.”

Miguel drew himself to his full height and stared at Rico, eyes dark and narrowed.

“Okay, Jesus, I’ll go.” Rico took off his jacket and threw it to the side. He tucked his gun into the belt of his jeans, and edged into the hole, feet feeling for the rungs. Taking his gun out, he shot one last dirty look at Miguel and climbed down into the hole.

Miguel watched his progress. It was slow going. The hole was not that wide and Rico was. Plus, the coward kept his body pushed out from the rungs as far as possible so he could see downward. Hopefully they didn’t have guns, but the quick look he’d taken into the weapons room told him they were well-armed and had stocked up on ammo, too.

He paced the room. This was not going well. First the fuck up with the American last night trying to be a fucking hero.
Cabrón
. Then they’d missed them at the hospital. Then the hotel. The boss was losing patience - he’d already sent someone by Maria’s work and she’d called him terrified. Miguel knew el jefe wouldn’t hesitate to use his wife as leverage. They had one last chance tonight to get things right. He strode back to the hole and looked down. Rico was nowhere in sight. Both his light, and the light at the bottom of the tunnel were gone. He looked into total darkness. “Rico.”

Nothing. “Oye, que pasa?”

Silence closed around him. What the hell? He hadn’t heard anything. How could that asshole just no longer be there? Gunshots he could understand. Even a large thump as the fat fucker plummeted to the bottom, but nothing? He shone the light into the hole, but it was too deep. Beyond the halo of his light, there was only darkness. He threw off his jacket and stepped into the hole, huffing in resignation. Finding his footing on the rungs, he made his way down into the hole, rung by rung. Every few steps, he stopped to check with the light. Still nothing.

Twenty feet. Thirty feet. He didn’t like small spaces. He clung to the rungs and cursed Rico again. He took deep breaths and continued down. Forty feet. This time his light caught something. Rico’s back. He was slumped into the floor, half on his side. What the hell? He couldn’t see anything beyond the bottom of the ladder. “Rico,” he yelled. “Rico.” His voice bounced off the narrow shaft, he shuddered as he felt the walls closing in on him. He took another deep breath, then his vision blurred, his hands relaxed and he felt himself falling to the floor.

E
mily let out a measured breath
. Beside her, Dal’s breathing was jagged. If he didn’t start coughing any second, it would be a miracle. She had to get him out of here. Placing her mouth close to his ear, she whispered, “Now what?”

“We wait.”

She stayed in place. From the other end of the tunnel, the voices were louder, edged with excitement. The men thought they had them trapped. Things fell silent for several minutes. She leaned forward, straining to hear. The tunnel was dark, except for a halo of light at the other end. She nudged Dal. “Let’s move up to the T-section. We can still be out of sight but we’ll have better air.”

He nodded, hand over his mouth, and edged his way back down the tunnel. Emily’s heart pounded in her ears, drowning out all other sound. If the men at the other end turned the light in this direction, they’d be caught. They moved as quickly as possible without making noise and slid into the outer tunnel.

Dal gulped in fresh air and put his hand on her shoulder. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she whispered.

“Rico.” The man called his partner. “Rico,” he yelled louder.

“Only one went down,” Dal whispered in her ear. She nodded and looked around the corner, but there was nothing to see. “He might go down after him.”

The silence was oppressive. Seconds ticked by stretching into minutes. She turned back to Dal. “Think he went down, too?”

“Remember I mentioned the toxic gas?”

Her eyes widened. “You think they’re dead?”

“Unconscious.” He squeezed her arm. “Wait here. I’ll go see what happened.”

“I’m coming with you.” Damned if she was staying on her own. They could be waiting for them. They would shoot him on sight and it would be her fault. It wasn’t going to happen on her watch if she could help it. She grabbed the back of his t-shirt and they inched down the tunnel. What had seemed a short walk earlier now stretched forever. Even behind Dal, she felt horribly exposed. There was nowhere to hide.

Emily cocked her head and grabbed Dal’s arm. He turned and listened. A man’s voice, but it wasn’t coming from down the tunnel. It was coming from outside and growing louder. She turned and Dal followed her back past the T-section and into their cubby.

A light shone against the wall, they were on their way in. She listened intently. “It’s Jack,” she whispered, out of habit. She stepped away from the wall, ready to call out, but Dal grabbed her back, his hand over his mouth. Frustrated, she swatted his hand away from her mouth but let him hold her back. It was his life on the line, after all.

The first voice was definitely Jack’s, but she didn’t recognize the second voice. He’d brought reinforcements. She’d known he would get her out of this. As they came further in the outer tunnel, she started to make out some of the words. They were arguing. Jack spoke harshly while the other man defended himself.

“They were gone too quickly …” he said, just as they came up to the T-section.

“… were supposed to clean this up at the hospital … gave you the information …” came Jack’s voice.

“…. Only missed them by a few minutes…”

“…. Should have been able to clean it up at the hotel… comedy of errors…”

Emily dug her fingers into Dal’s palm. It didn’t sound like Jack was here to help them. It had to be some kind of set-up. Maybe he was working both sides, leading the bad guys on some kind of wild goose chase.

Dal squeezed her hand. “We’re on our own.”

She bit her lip. Something didn’t line up. No way was Jack involved with the cartel. It didn’t make any sense. But the words had been clear. Her heart sank as she battled her thoughts. Logic won. For now, she’d have to err on the side of caution even though there had to be a reasonable explanation - she’d known the man most of her life. Later tonight, or tomorrow, she and Jack would laugh about it over drinks. Or more likely, over a mountain of administrative reports she’d surely have to fill out.

Wedged in place, Emily followed their movements by the sound of their voices as they proceeded down the tunnel. Jack’s voice came louder over the other man’s grumbling and then … silence. She turned to Dal. “He sent him down the hole.”

Dal put his lips next to her ear. “Do you think Jack will follow him down if he doesn’t come back up?”

Emily’s stomach clenched. Right now, she didn’t know anything. Her entire world had been tipped on its axis. Everything was upside down. She drew in a breath, chasing calmness and the ability to think clearly, strategically. It felt like trying to catch smoke. “I don’t think so. I think he’ll call for reinforcement.”

Dal leaned forward to look down the tunnel. “We need to make a move.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here.” She had no idea where to go, or who they could trust now, but getting out seemed like the best idea. The rest she could figure out as they went.

“We need to disable Jack,” Dal said.

“What do you mean, disable? I can’t kill him.”

“Contain him somehow. Maybe tie him up. We need a head start to get out of here.” His voice was tight. She struggled to come up with an argument, but couldn’t, because he was right.

She gripped his forearm. “Okay, but … we can’t hurt him.”

“At this point, it’s him or us. I’d rather gamble with his life than either of ours.” He grabbed her hand and moved down the tunnel toward the room again, taking care not to make noise. Jack’s voice rang out as he called repeatedly for the other man. As they got closer, Dal slowed, they plastered themselves against the rock wall and edged forward in the shadows.

Emily’s hand was moist around the handle of the gun. Shooting enemies under order was one thing, shooting her father’s best friend - a man she considered family - was another. Especially since she wasn’t entirely sure he deserved it.

Dal peeked around the edge of the rock wall. He stepped forward, pulling her with him.