Against the Wind (26 page)

“Why would it matter to you?” Jake took a drink of the coffee he held in one large hand, and Maddy’s mouth watered.

“Because I want to know how you’ll feel this time. This time you won’t be able to turn me in, turn in the men you’ve lived and eaten and slept with for the last ten years. This time you’ll have to watch them go free, praised by the international press, and no one will ever know that three hundred innocent Indians were slaughtered for no very good reason. And I want to know how you’ll feel.”

Jake set the mug down with a thud, and the sturdy pottery broke with the force. “I’ll feel like hell, Carlos. I’ll feel like I’ve betrayed honor, humanity, and any shred of decency. I imagine I’ll feel exactly as I felt after I testified about Den Phui.”

There was a moment of silence. “So you are well and truly caught between a rock and a hard place, my friend,” Carlos said softly.

“Yes,” said Jake. “And you can enjoy yourself, watching me squirm.”

“You and the
gringa
are already providing me with much amusement. Cheer up,
amigo
. Most of the men involved in the Indian village are already dead in the fighting around La Mensa. I don’t expect the rest of us to make it more than another couple of years. You won’t
have to worry about taking care of any more lost souls like El Nabo.” Carlos sighed. “You always had an overwhelming sense of responsibility. It wasn’t your fault that your company went a little crazy in Vietnam. That happens sometimes—I know only too well. And it wasn’t your fault that Ortega is in such a position of power.”

“Isn’t it? You forget, I knew his connections. …”

“We all could have guessed his connections. He rose to power too quickly, arms and ammunition were far too available, for him to have been doing it without help. And now he’s the real head of San Pablo, and Morosa’s only a weak old fool who thinks he’s important. It is in the past,
amigo
. And soon Ortega will also be in the past. Among others.” With that cryptic statement he rose and came to the bedroom door. Maddy quickly shut her eyes again, but it wasn’t fast enough.

“Speaking of which,” Carlos said, “our little captive is awake. Do you suppose you could try some other tactics to persuade her to tell us where the map is?”

“What do you have in mind?” Jake drawled. “I forgot to bring my torture rack and iron maiden.”

“You
norteamericanos.”
Carlos sighed with mock disgust. “Always so dependent on technology. Believe me, a great deal can be discovered with something as simple as a box of matches and an ice cube.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You’ve decided not to be so squeamish after all,
amigo?”
Carlos questioned. “Good. Then I will leave it up to you. I’m going into town. I expect that everything will be taken care of by the time I get back.”

“And when will that be?”

“Oh, I’ll give you plenty of time. I won’t be back before tomorrow morning. That should give you enough leeway to find out what you need to find out and then
finish things up.” He had moved away from the bedroom door, and Maddy opened her eyes a tiny bit. “If you finish sooner you can always meet me down in Budgewell. Otherwise I’ll be back after dawn.”

Jake said nothing, and Maddy couldn’t see him from her position on the bed. She considered moving around, then decided against it. They didn’t know for certain she was awake, and she needed all the time she could manage to decide what she was going to do.

“Unless, of course, you’d rather I—”

“No,” Jake snapped. “Get out.”

“I’m going,
amigo
. I’m going. Give my best to the little
gringa.”

Maddy lay there unmoving in the center of the bed, listening to the sound of a car starting up. It had a deep, throaty rumble, definitely not her Alfa. Maybe there was as little left to her Alfa as there was to her house. She couldn’t count on it to get her out of here especially without the keys. Years ago Stephen had taught her how to hotwire her VW, but that particular talent had vanished from lack of use.

But there was no question in her mind, she had to get out of there, and fast. The conversation between Carlos and Jake had been anything but clear, but one fact had stood out with crystal certainty: Jake was going to kill her.

After all, they didn’t really have any choice, did they? He had said there was no hope for the two of them, and that would have been the only way he could be guaranteed her silence if he seduced her into it. Kidnapping was a federal offense, and only one of many the two of them had doubtless committed, and she knew too much about the Indian massacre to keep her mouth shut. No, Carlos and Jake had been arguing about who was going to kill
her, and Jake had won the toss. Would he make it as painless as Carlos had promised?

She wasn’t about to lie here waiting to find out. Even if the Alfa was out of commission, she knew this area far better than they did. They might think they were eighteen miles from the nearest town, Maddy knew otherwise. There was a path that started from the back of the cabin and wound its way down the side of the mountain, some two and a half miles to the highway. She knew it like the back of her hand, but someone unaccustomed to it would become hopelessly lost. If she could just get ten minutes’ start she’d make it.

“Are you hungry?” Jake’s raspy voice came from the doorway. She considered keeping her eyes closed and feigning sleep, but he knew her too well to be fooled by it.

She opened her eyes and sat up, willing herself to be icily calm. “Bean paste and tortillas?” she questioned in a cool voice.

His face didn’t register a change in expression, but she knew she’d gotten a reaction of approval, even of respect. But he just shook his head. “Not much better, I’m afraid. Carlos did the shopping, and he’s a junk food junkie. You’ve got your choice of Twinkies, Yodels, potato chips, or Mallomars. To drink there’s warm beer, warm Tab, warm Coke, or lukewarm instant coffee.”

“That might almost be more effective than a pack of matches and an ice cube,” she said, swinging her long legs off the bed. “Couldn’t you figure out how to turn on the refrigerator?”

“There’s no electricity up here.”

“I know that. That’s why it’s a gas refrigerator,” she said patiently, walking past him into the living room. Maybe she could hit him over the head with something heavy. He was no longer holding the gun, but she could
see it tucked in the back of his jeans. Maybe she could lunge for it. …

As soon as the idea entered her head she dismissed it. Jake’s reflexes were much more professional than hers. If she went for his gun she’d find herself dead a lot faster than she expected. With a completely spurious show of calm she went into the kitchen, picked a warm can of Tab from the counter, and grabbed the Mallomars. Warm Tab was better than no Tab at all.

“Which of you is on a diet?” she questioned, dropping into the chair Carlos had vacated and opening the can. Even at room temperature it tasted wonderful, and Maddy’s returning strength increased.

“I told Carlos to get you some,” Jake said, watching her from his position by the doorway.

“Did you?” She opened the package of Mallomars. “The last meal for the condemned prisoner?” She bit into the cookie, and chocolate bliss swept over her body. Things had come to a pretty pass, she thought ruefully, when Tab and Mallomars stiffened her backbone.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

She met his gaze fearlessly. “You’re going to kill me.”

If his face had been remote before, it became positively glacial. “I am?”

“Don’t lie to me, Jake. I heard you and Carlos talking. You have no choice in the matter. Even if I knew where the map was and gave it to you, even if I promised never to say anything, you can’t take that risk. I know as well as you do that Carlos went off so you could finish me off. I expect you’re supposed to bury me before he gets back. I could suggest several places. The dirt’s pretty loose up by the big rock.”

Jake was standing very still. Then he spoke. “Thanks for being so helpful,” he said in an ironic tone that had
Maddy suddenly wondering whether she was imagining the whole thing. “Do you happen to have a shovel, while we’re at it?”

“I had one, but I don’t remember where I put it. I think I took it back to L.A. with me. You may have to dig my grave with your hands.” She was on her fifth Mallomar by now, and getting reckless.

Jake shrugged. “It’ll have to be a shallow one, then. I hope you don’t have a problem with coyotes up here.”

Maddy found she could shrug too. “We may. I don’t think I’ll be in any condition to notice.” She drained the warm Tab and started on her sixth Mallomar.

He merely looked at her. “No, I suppose not.” He went into the kitchen, returning a moment later with another can of Tab and a can of warm beer for himself.

It had grown hot during the day, and his denim shirt was open halfway down his chest. The silver ring glinted around his neck, and Maddy’s eyes clung to it with a sudden surge of emotion that was almost impossible to control.

“You might bury the ring with me,” she suggested calmly. “It would be a nicely ironic touch, don’t you think?”

“Still trying to get the ring back from me, Maddy?” he queried, tilting his head back and pouring the warm beer down his throat. “Forget it. This ring is my good-luck charm.”

She shouldn’t have succumbed to her curiosity, but she was feeling braver and angrier by the minute. “Is it? Why?”

Jake’s long fingers touched the silver at his neck, and unbidden the memory of those long fingers on her skin came soaring back. “There was a time when holding on
to this ring was the only thing that kept me alive. I’ve become very fond of it.”

She wasn’t going to ask him any more, she thought. If he wanted to be cryptic, that was his choice. She wouldn’t believe anything he told her, anyway.

Once more she shrugged, diving into the Mallomar package again. They were making her sick, but what the hell. She’d need the sugared energy if she was going to make it down that trail in the dark that was beginning to close around them. She had no idea how long she’d spent in that tomb of a closet.

“How long did you leave me in the closet?” she asked.

“Half an hour.”

It had seemed an eternity before she fell asleep. “Who got me out, you or Carlos?”

“If it had been Carlos you wouldn’t have been placed so neatly and carefully on the bed,
mi amor.”

“Don’t call me that!” she snapped.

Jake smiled, a sinister smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t think you are in any position to give orders,
mi amor.”

Maddy set the almost-empty cookie package on the floor beside her. “You don’t even need the matches and ice, do you?”

Jake’s mouth tightened, almost imperceptibly, but it was the first sign of emotion she’d been able to elicit from him, and it was a small triumph. Her triumph was short-lived however, when Jake leaned back against the sofa opposite her and fixed that too-bright gaze on her. “How would you like me to do it, Maddy?” he asked in a conversational tone of voice. “Since you’ve decided I’m going to kill you, you may as well pick how I do it. Would you like me to strangle you with my bare hands? Or I could always use a scarf or a rope.”

“Charming,” she said, ignoring the icy fingers of fear that ran down her spine.

“I suppose I could use a knife,” he mused, taking another swig of his beer. “But I’m not nearly as good as Carlos. I’m afraid it might … take some time. And hurt quite a bit.

“I think the gun will be the best bet,” he continued idly. “It would be fast. A bit noisy, perhaps, but you won’t mind that. And it would be much neater. They taught me quite well, years ago, when I was in basic training. I know how to kill very quickly and efficiently and you wouldn’t bleed much. If someone came up to the cabin they’d probably never find any trace of what went on. That is, if we can count on the coyotes to leave you alone.”

The Mallomars were rising swiftly, but Maddy was damned if she was going to throw up twice in twenty-four hours. Bravely she swallowed, fixing a cold, furious gaze on Jake’s bland expression. “You can do it any damned way you please,” she said. “Just spare me the details.”

“But, Maddy,” he protested in a gentle voice, “that’s half of the fun.”

The Mallomars would no longer listen to reason. Maddy lurched to her feet. “Excuse me,” she mumbled, and ran for the door.

Not that the outhouse was the most appetizing place to vomit. The wave of nausea had passed, but she still made convincing noises in her throat as she headed toward the back of the cabin. If she made a run for it now, when it was almost dark, it might take him a moment or two to realize …

An iron hand clamped down on her shoulder. “Not that I think there’s any danger of your getting away,
mi amor,”
Jake said, “but I’ve had a long twenty-four hours,
and I don’t fancy hunting you down like a frightened doe. Come back inside.”

“But I—I have to …”

“For mercy sake, Maddy, don’t be so damned coy!” Finally he was angry. “If you have to use the outhouse, tell me.”

“I have to use the outhouse!” Now that she thought of it she did, and quite badly. The Tab had washed right through her.

“Well, go ahead,” he snapped.

“I’ll be back inside in a minute.” It was worth a try.

“No, you won’t. I’ll wait right here for you just in case you get lost in the dark. We both know there’s nothing around here for almost twenty miles, but I’m not into taking chances.”

That little piece of information was enough to cheer her. “All right,” she said pertly. “But you’ll have a long wait.” She slammed the wooden door of the homemade convenience as loudly as she could.

At least he didn’t know about the highway that ran so close to the cabin. And there was a half moon, bright in the sky that night. It would give her more than enough light to find her way down there. If she could just immobilize him long enough …

“Come out, Maddy.” Jake’s voice filtered through the door. “Or I’ll come in and get you.”

She stomped out, slamming the door behind her. “Someday, Jake Murphy, I will pay you back for this,” she said fiercely.