Henson’s furious gaze fixed on Skye. “I remember you. You’re Callie’s sister, Skye. I was hoping my men would deal with both of you in Denver.”
“If you didn’t know,” Skye said, “your man Vasquez is dead, and Mahler is on the run.”
Henson turned back to Edge. “You want money? I’ll pay you. I’ll give you both a percentage of the operation.”
“We don’t want your money,” Edge said.
“And your operation is just about finished,” Skye added.
They bound Daniel’s wrists and duct-taped his mouth and ankles. By the time they were done, Lila was dressed and ready to go.
A sound from outside the house caught Edge’s attention. Hurrying to the window, he looked down to see the guard running toward the bunkhouse.
Time was up.
He looked at Henson. The cops were too far away to get there in time. Daniel would escape again.
“Change of plans,” Edge said, jerking Henson to his feet. Pulling his knife from his boot, Edge cut the duct tape binding Henson’s ankles. “You’re going with us.”
The slack-jawed surprise on Daniel’s face gave Edge a shot of satisfaction.
“That’s right. You’re going down, Henson. You’re going to get what you deserve for what you’ve done.”
Skye moved ahead to clear the way as Edge dragged Daniel barefoot along the hall and down the stairs. Outside the dining room window, Edge spotted the guard and saw two men rush out of the bunkhouse to join him.
Edge hauled Henson through the kitchen and opened the back door.
“Cover me,” he said to Skye, firing a series of shots toward the men, who scattered and ducked out of sight. Edge dragged Henson out of the house, then locked an arm around his neck, jerked the duct tape off his mouth, and pressed the barrel of the Beretta against the side of his head. “Tell them to hold their fire.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Tell them!”
“Stop shooting!” Daniel shouted. “Don’t shoot!”
The gunfire ceased.
“Tell them to stay back or I’ll pull the trigger,” Edge commanded, moving slowly across the yard.
“Stay back or he’ll kill me!” There was a frantic note in Henson’s voice.
Edge kept moving, dragging Daniel along as they headed into the forest. Skye and Lila rushed past them, racing toward the pickup, parked out of sight over the ridge. Henson’s goons dogged their every move, prepared to shoot.
By the time Edge reached the truck, the engine was running, Lila in the front passenger seat, Skye waiting for his arrival, holding open the rear passenger door. Edge shoved Henson into the back seat, and Skye followed him in, jamming her pistol into his ribs, then pointing it down at Henson’s crotch.
Edge managed not to grin as he slid behind the wheel. He shoved the pickup in gear, and the big truck leaped forward. Tires spun and gravel flew as the pickup shot down the narrow lane, slid around the turn onto the dirt road, and raced for Highway 64. A few miles down the highway, he made a sharp right onto Highway 84 and hit the gas, heading for Pagosa Springs, across the state line about forty miles away in Colorado.
“Everybody okay?” Edge asked, keeping his speed as high as possible through the dangerous mountain curves. He checked his rearview mirror for any sign they were being followed. Skye’s glance connected with Lila’s.
“Lila?” Skye asked.
“I’m fine,” she called back.
Edge checked the rearview again. With a Colorado warrant out for Henson’s arrest, his hired goons wouldn’t have much trouble figuring they were headed to the nearest town across the line. But at the speed they were traveling, catching up to them wouldn’t be easy.
As soon as the pickup rolled into cell range, Edge called up his voice-activated contacts and phoned DEA Supervisory Special Agent Derrick Cross.
A groggy voice came through the hands-free speakers. “Logan.” He must have recognized the caller ID. “What the hell do you want at this time of night?”
