“I’m going to bring him down,” she said quietly.
Kevin started to cry until Gideon ripped off another length of duct tape.
“Can’t have you shouting out a warning,” Gideon said, sealing Kevin’s mouth. He tossed Kevin’s phone on the ground out of reach. “Soon as we can, we’ll contact the cops and let them know where you are.”
Kevin tried to say something, but Gideon pushed him into the back seat and taped his hands around the driver’s headrest. “Then again, maybe you’ll be able to get free, but not until we’re clear.”
Kevin was trying to shout something, but Gideon slammed the door.
Mackenzie felt like screaming. Another reversal in a dizzying game of survival. “We have to get out of here.”
He didn’t seem inclined to want to move away.
“Gideon? What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking,” he said, a muscle in his jaw twitching, “that I’m going to get my Jeep back.”
Twelve
Mackenziehadn’t rallied muchof an argument against his plan to reclaim his Jeep, and he wouldn’t have listened anyway. The freedom Bullseye had to terrorize people into complying was out of bounds, and like Mackenzie, Gideon was tired. His muscles ached, his shoulder was screaming at him, and he was cold down to his core. One guy or three, didn’t matter. He was going to retrieve his property one way or the other.
He explained how he intended to go about it.
Mackenzie grinned. “I like it. Am I the carrot or the stick?”
Either would carry risks, and he wished she didn’t have to be involved at all, but it would take both of them to pull it off.
“What do you prefer?”
“Carrot,” she said after a moment. “They won’t kill me until they’re certain you’re apprehended too.”
“I agree, but it’s not comforting somehow.”
“You’ll live with it.”
He sighed. “I should have figured out Kevin sooner.”
“Me too. At least he’s got a good reason for his betrayal, and he did fish us out of the river without any coercion, so he gets points for that. Unless he’d been assigned to stay on the bank and watch Jerry and Al run us off the bridge, but that doesn’t seem likely, does it?”
“No. I think he intervened not knowing we were wanted people. I’m sure he’s a regular stand-up guy underneath the cowardice. We’ll send him a Christmas card.” The leaves skimmed their shoulders as they pressed through the foliage that bordered the trail, not concerned that their progress would be overheard by the scout since the river was roaring.
Their pace slowed until they were moving at a crawl, practically on their heels due to the decline as they squelched their way to the bottom. The flattened mud trail led to gravel and finally the asphalt road. Just before they reached the paved part, they stopped. One remaining thicket was all that stood between them and the Jeep. Once they committed, there would be no going back. A careful search with the binoculars didn’t reveal any other watchers besides the one Mackenzie had already identified. If he was wrong, the consequences would be quick and deadly. One last chance to walk away ... but he wouldn’t, and neither would she. The rhythm of the rain was frenetic.
“You sure you want to be the carrot?” Gideon whispered, his cheek grazing hers, causing him to pine for all kinds of strange things. He wished it was all a game, a survival exercise he was enjoying with her. In his imagination, they didn’t have to be adversaries or vulnerable, isolated personnel. If he had his way, it would be a funadventure like they’d experienced in their teen years with Aaron, hiking in the woods, scouring the rocks for hidden caves, fishing in secluded pools. Reality soured his daydream. This was anything but playtime. If they were wrong and the guy reacted by shooting first, Mackenzie could be dead in minutes.
She combed her wet hair from her face. “I’m the carrot. Ready?”
“Hold a minute.” He looked again, panning the binoculars slowly, making sure there was no detectable gleam to give them away. He caught the scent of tobacco smoke. Rookie move. Gideon continued to scan patiently.
The watcher was barely visible in the branches, palm cupped over a cigarette as he tried to keep it alight in the rain and exhaling a stream of smoke while he waited for his prey. He wasn’t a professional, by any means, but he looked fit and there was a bulge in his jacket pocket that indicated a weapon.
“Zee, I changed my mind,” he said. “Let’s—”
But she’d already stepped out from the shrubbery, tiptoeing, shoulders hunched. Tentative steps took her to the bridge approach as if she was making her way covertly, intending to cross the bridge on foot.
He watched the man, who he could now see had red hair under a black baseball cap. The instant he saw Mackenzie, the stranger erupted from his hiding place and yanked out a revolver. Gideon bit back a curse and wormed his way around the shrubs toward his attacker’s flank.
“Stop right there!” the man shouted, completely focused on Mackenzie, the cigarette slipping from his mouth to the ground.
