Standoff At Midnight Mountain. Mary Alford
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shivered at the implication. Had Liam tracked the identity of the person and found out it was one of his own people?
As they rode along, a tree branch snapped close to the edge of the trail, immediately drawing Rachel’s attention back to the moment. Was it just an innocent animal roaming the woods nearby? Or had an enemy found them and was closing in quickly?
* * *
Alex reined in his mare and listened carefully. Nothing but silence followed. The sound had come from just up ahead. Slowly, he dismounted and drew his weapon. Rachel did the same.
Close by, the dog growled and headed for the woods in the direction of the sound, sniffing the air.
“Stay, Callie,” Rachel ordered and stopped the dog with that verbal command. Callie sat back on her haunches, her guard up.
“Stay behind me,” Alex said and then eased into the treed area. Once inside, he stopped for a second to take stock. At one time, he had known these woods like the back of his hand. He and Liam had hunted just about everything the forest provided since they were kids. Alex could recognize the different sounds made by animals that roamed the mountains, and the noise he’d just heard earlier didn’t belong to any of those animals.
To the right, another twig snapped, riveting both their attentions that way. A mule deer stood frozen in place not far from the spot, staring at them. Rachel let go of a breath, relieved. Yet Alex couldn’t share in it, because he was positive the previous sound hadn’t come from the deer.
Rachel turned to look at him and saw the truth in his eyes. He barely had time to shake his head before something charged from the bushes nearby and right for them.
A man dressed completely in black, with a ski mask covering his face, hit Alex full force before he had time to react.
The momentum of the man broadsiding him sent both of them sprawling across the rocky ground. Alex’s weapon flew from his hand. The man had slung an assault rifle behind his back.
As Alex struggled for control, his attacker temporarily gained the upper hand, and they wrestled back and forth. In the hand-to-hand combat that ensued, the man’s assault rifle slipped off his arm. They were now both unarmed. Alex was relying on physical strength alone.
Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Rachel struggling to get a clear shot off. With them grappling back and forth, there was no opportunity.
Alex managed to free one hand and he slugged his attacker hard. The man’s head spun sideways and he yelped in pain. The fury in his eyes was pure evil as he clutched Alex around the throat, trying to strangle him. Alex fought free and punched the man hard once more. This time, he slumped to the side, stunned by the blow. It was enough for Alex to get away. Jumping to his feet, he searched the ground for his Glock. He recalled the general direction it had landed, but it was nowhere in sight.
Rachel fired off a warning shot as Alex’s attacker regained his senses. “Stay where you are,” she ordered. The man didn’t listen.
Before Alex located the weapon, the man lunged for him once more. This time Alex was prepared. He set his feet and grabbed hold of the man’s arms.
His assailant was yelling at the top of his lungs. It wouldn’t be long before his buddies zeroed in on the direction of the noise and came to his aid.
Before Alex could slug the man again, Rachel slammed the stock of her gun hard against the man’s temple. He didn’t have time to register what had happened before he slumped to the ground at Alex’s feet.
It took a second for Alex to gather his breath and then he knelt next to the man. Yanking the mask off, he recoiled when he got a good look at him. He recognized the man from somewhere.
“Do you know him?” Rachel asked in amazement, seeing his reaction.
“I’m not sure.” A quick search of his pockets produced a driver’s license with the man’s name on it. Alex wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. Certainly not that something about the man’s face would be familiar. The name, on the other hand, was elusive. He stared down at the man, racking his brain to come up with how he might know him, but he just couldn’t place it.
Alex handed the ID to Rachel. “It says his name is Victor McNamara. Does it ring a bell to you?”
She studied the photo for a second, then shook her head and handed it back to Alex. He shoved it in his pocket and then slung the assault rifle over his shoulder.
“Let’s go. The way he was carrying on, everyone within a two-mile radius will have heard him.”
They hurried past the waiting dog, who leaped to her feet. Once they were both back in the saddle, Rachel nudged the mare forward, and Alex followed.
While the horses made their way across the uneven countryside, Alex tried to make sense of what had just taken place. Why did this man look familiar? He was positive he recognized him from somewhere. He needed to figure out where and soon. Their lives and Liam’s depended on it.
The fact that they were coming after Rachel with such force gave him some hope that Liam might still be alive and had gotten away somehow. They’d need her to find her brother. Yet if Liam were still up on Midnight Mountain and if he was hurt, he could be in danger from more than just the men hunting him. The temperature at night up at the higher altitude could plunge well below freezing.
On the back of the capable mare Esther, Alex took in the passing countryside as they steadily climbed. It amazed him that through it all, Callie kept a careful stride behind them. The dog reminded him a lot of a mutt he’d had as a kid. He’d loved that dog until the day she’d passed away.
Alex took a second to gain his bearings. They were almost to the top of Plume Mountain, one of the many mountains neighboring Midnight Mountain.
He couldn’t figure out how Victor McNamara or any of the events that had taken place related to Liam’s disappearance. He was positive the name was a fake.
Frustrated, Alex shook his head. It was beyond him at the moment. Right now, with the steady climb, it took all his skills and concentration to keep on the mare.
After they’d put sufficient distance between themselves and the men hunting them, Rachel slowed the horse’s speed and Alex caught up to her.
Her brown hair was windblown. Her cheeks flushed from the ride. And she had never looked more beautiful to him...or more worried.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked when he got a good look at her expression.
She shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. What was that about back there, Alex? Why do these people want us dead? And why is someone trying to kill Liam? Liam is a patriot. He would never compromise his loyalty to our country for anything. So, if those men are CIA, why do they want him dead?”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of Liam compromising his values, but someone else compromising theirs. That man back there, to name one. I’m not sure what Liam uncovered, but he’s in serious danger because of it.” He hesitated before voicing his concerns. “Rachel, we can’t do this alone, especially when we really don’t know what we’re up against. We could both end up dead. Let me call in my team.” He pressed when she didn’t answer. “I promise we can trust them.”
She stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “We can’t. Even if we can trust your team, who’s to say that someone won’t mention what’s happening here to a colleague? We could all end up dead because of it. Please, we can’t reach out to anyone connected to the CIA.”
He understood her reluctance was because of what Liam had scribbled on the back of the map, but that didn’t change the fact that they were grossly outnumbered.
“All right, I’ll go along with it for now, but the sooner we get some breathing room between us and those thugs back there, the better.” He expelled a weary sigh.
She smiled over at him and squeezed his arm. “Thank you, Alex. And thank you for coming