Dark And Dangerous (14 page)

But surely he wouldn't try
anything in here, she thought, looking around.

 
The men simply kept working, as if they
hadn't seen the gun as they walked past them through the warehouse. Or maybe
the problem was they had seen it too many times, she mused despite the panic
squeezing her throat.

Walking outside, they
stopped in front of their rental car.

 
"I'm just taking the keys," Nathan
said, reaching slowly into his pocket. Pushing the button on the keys, he
unlocked the car and opened the door on the passenger side, before stepping
aside.

 
"You find it,"
Schnyder
said waving the gun at Nathan.

He had been expecting it,
planned on it, and leaned in to rummage through the glove compartment. He took
his time, counting on
Schnyder
to get impatient and
step closer.

He wasn't disappointed.

 
"Where is it?"
Schnyder
stepped forward, trying to look over Nathan's shoulder.

Using his momentary lack
of alertness, Nathan reared back. He knocked the gun out of
Schnyder's
hand and thrust his elbow into his gut, knocking the air out of him.

 
Kayley reacted quickly kicking the gun far
out of reach, then turned back just in time to see Nathan ram a fist into
Schnyder's
face, followed quickly by a hard punch to his
solar plexus.

 
As
Schnyder
crumbled to the ground, Nathan ran around the car. "Get in," he
shouted at Kayley.

 
She jumped into the car and barely had time
to close the door before Nathan drove with screeching tires out through the
gate.

 
Kayley looked back just as a shot rang
through the air like thunder to see
Schnyder
aiming
his gun wildly at them. The shot missed by inches when Nathan speed the car
down the street, and Kayley's heart thundered in her chest.

Nathan drove as fast as he
could within the speed limits, so they wouldn't attract any unwanted attention,
and dialed Troy on his cellphone.

 
"Troy, start the chopper. We're on our
way."

Kayley kept one eye on the
rear view mirror, needing to reassure herself that they weren't followed, and
the other eye on Nathan. He still hadn't said a word to her, except when he had
told her to get in the car, since she had stuck her foot in her mouth. Not even
to tell her where they were going.

 
She glanced at him again out of the corner of
her eyes. He was watching the traffic, his mouth set in a grim line, and didn't
seem to notice she existed.

 
She went back to watching the cars and told
herself what a fool she was for caring. She had known from the beginning that
it would end this way. Well, not exactly this way. She would never have
imagined being held by gunpoint twice in one day, and actually being shot at.

 
But apart from that it had just been a matter
of time before she had offended him in some way. And now she would simply have
to get over it, she told herself. That was what she got for allowing herself to
care for someone else. It was much better this way, she assured herself. The
quicker it happened the easier it would be. And God knew it would be hard
enough as it was.

 
But she would get over it. It certainly
wasn't the first time she had been rejected, and if she could just get back to
her cottage it would all get better, she promised herself. The pain she was
feeling in her chest would go away. She just had to get through this and not
show him that it hurt.
   

 
Relief swept through her when they finally
arrived at the airport, and Nathan parked the car safely away from the whipping
blades of the chopper.

 
They both jumped out and hurried towards the
helicopter as three cars speed towards them and came to a screeching halt
besides their car.

 
Acting quickly Nathan grabbed Kayley, pushing
her behind him when armed men jumped out of the cars.

 
"Freeze, and keep your hands where I can
see them," one of the men yelled pointing a gun at them.

 
Four men ran towards them, grabbing them, and
searched them roughly for any concealed weapons.

 
Kayley heard them scream commands at Troy
until he cut off the engine and jumped out.

 
"Take them with us," the first man
said.

 
"Who are you?" Nathan asked. There
was no answer as he and Kayley were shoved into the back of a black windowless
van, and the door slammed solidly closed behind them.

Pitch black dark
surrounded them as the van started.

Chapter 15

 
They
skidded across the floor as the van took a sharp turn.

 
"Here." Nathan grabbed Kayley,
pulling her up beside him, with her back against one side of the car.
"Place your feet against the other side and lock your legs." He kept
his arm firmly around her so she wouldn't slide around, and felt her shake
wildly against him. Despite his anger, he couldn't prevent himself from pulling
her closer, trying to comfort.
  
He felt
her stiffen against him, and cursed both of them and the situation silently.
But she didn't try to move away and that relieved him. She simply stayed where
she was against him, trying to control the shaking so he wouldn't feel it.

 
The van turned again and they had to braze
themselves against the sides of it as the road suddenly became very bumpy.

 
This can't be good, she thought. Bumpy rugged
terrain could only mean the men were going to kill them, and bury them
somewhere isolated where no one would ever find them.

 
The van pulled to a halt, and she felt panic
spurt through her. It clawed at her throat as she heard the front doors open
and felt the van shift when the men jumped out.

Nathan shifted to a crouch
and took her arm.

 
"Get behind me," he whispered
harshly.

She managed to fight back
the panic that suddenly gripped her, and did as he said, just in time before
the door opened.

 
Nathan prepared to jump forward the minute
the door swung open, but he had time to see that they were completely
surrounded by armed men. Trying anything would be suicide.

 
"Get out slowly," one of the men
said, keeping his gun trained on them. "And keep your hands where I can
see them."

He kept a safe distance as
Nathan stepped out first, before turning to help Kayley.

 
"Now, follow Jim and don't try
anything," he told them, gesturing with his gun towards another man. At
his words the other man turned and walked towards what appeared to be a large
auto camper.

 
Nathan led the way, and Kayley kept close
behind him as they followed the man named Jim through the door of the camper.

 
This wasn't exactly how she had imagined they
would kill them, Kayley thought. But of course they were going to interrogate
them about her brother first, she realized. And then they would take them
outside and kill them. She was sure of it.

 
She followed Nathan inside the camper and
looked around cautiously. Two men got up as they entered.

 
"Thanks," one of the men said. He
was taller than the other one, with graying hair that had probably been black
once, brown eyes and a
days worth
of beard growth
covering his angular face.
 

 
Jim walked out of the camper and closed the
door, leaving them alone with the two men.

 
"Take a seat," the tallest of the
men said pointing at a nook consisting of two benches and a table.

Kayley slid onto the bench
first, followed by Nathan.

The other man slid onto
the bench across from them. He was younger, with sharp features and piercing
eyes.

 
"I'm special agent Thomas Klein, and
that's special agent Christopher Brown," the oldest said and remained
standing.

 
Kayley felt her mouth drop open. They were
police. Or federal agents, she corrected herself. Either way they weren't going
to kill them. Relief swept through her, making her nearly light headed.

 
"What do you want from us?" Nathan
asked. "Did we break any traffic laws?"

The man who had called
himself Klein smiled. "We've been staking out Smith Imports for the past
month. So when my men called to inform me that two new faces showed up at the
warehouse, I was intrigued. And when they reported ten minutes later that you
came out of the warehouse held at gunpoint by Colin
Schnyder
,
I was even more interested. And let's just say your exit didn't exactly lessen
my interest." He rubbed his beard stubble. "So tell me, why were you
meeting with
Schnyder
?"

 
"We had personal business to discuss
with him," Nathan said simply. "Why have you been staking out Smith
Imports?"

 
Klein smiled amused. "What kind of
business can a hotel owner have with a man like
Schnyder
?"

 
"So you know who I am," Nathan
stated unaffected.

 
"We ran the plates on your car and found
out it was a rental," the man called Brown said.

 
"The rental company was very forthcoming
with the information we needed," Klein added. "But you didn't answer
my question."

 
"And you didn't answer mine,"
Nathan said coolly.

Klein stepped forward
putting his hands on the table, and leaned down. "It would be in your best
interest to tell me what I want to know."

 
"As far as I know we're free to walk out
whenever we want to, unless you plan to charge us with anything. And in that
case we have the right to request an attorney."

 
"You may know your rights, rich
boy," Klein said, "but believe me you don't want to obstruct with a
federal investigation." He straightened again. "So I'll ask you
again, why were you meeting with
Schnyder
?"

 
Kayley watched as Klein loomed over Nathan
and shifted. "It's-"

 
"It's private," Nathan said cutting
her off quickly, before she could say anything that might implicate her.

 
Klein shifted his gaze to Kayley. "Our
information didn't tell us who you are."

 
"And that's irrelevant," Nathan cut
in. "She's just a woman who caught my eye a couple of days ago." He
squeezed Kayley's leg under the table, silently telling her to play along.

 
"And you took her with you to see
Schnyder
? That's hardly a very good decision. His
reputation with the ladies isn't exactly fine," Klein said unconvinced.

 
"A miscalculation," Nathan said
smoothly. "I told her to stay in the car, but you know women. They never
listen, and don't know what's best for them."

 
Klein watched as red flares of anger stained
Kayley's cheeks. The man was in big trouble, he thought. "That's a nice
little story, except your woman doesn't appear to be the type for easy
affairs," he stated. "And believe me I know my women. I've been
married for twenty years and have four daughters. Not to mention my three
sisters."

 
"I'm not," Kayley said, anger
clearly evident in her eyes. "I'm Kayley Hamilton, and the reason we went
to see
Schnyder
was because we were trying to find my
brother." She avoided Nathan's eyes as she talked, only looking directly
at Klein.

 
"What's your
brothers
name?" Brown asked.

 
"Joseph Hamilton."

 
"You could learn something from your
lady here. And save yourself and us a lot of trouble," Klein told Nathan.

 
"Why are you looking for your
brother?" Brown asked.

 
"I had a break-in at my cottage, by men
claiming I had something my brother sent me that belonged to them."

 
"And they were
Schnyder's
men?" Klein asked.

 
"Yes," Nathan said.

 
"So you decided to pay him a
visit?" Klein guessed.

 
"Yes, but not before we went by Joe's
apartment, and found more of
Schnyder's
men waiting
for us," Nathan commented ironically.

 
"What happened?" Brown asked.

 
"We had a confrontation and they told us
Schnyder
had given them orders to bring us to
him," Nathan told them. He might as well tell them everything now that
Kayley had told them Joe was her brother.

Klein and Brown exchanged
looks, and couldn't prevent hard smiles from spreading.

 
"I'm sure they were very forthcoming
with that information," Klein said. "And what did
Schnyder
tell you when you went to see him?"

 
"He said Joe had betrayed him,"
Kayley said.

 
"Your brother hasn't been in contact
with you?" Brown asked, his eyes sharp on her face.

 
"We're not that close," Kayley
murmured, ignoring the pain it brought her.

 
"When is the last time you heard from
him?" Klein asked.

 
"Two years ago."

 
"We've been very helpful," Nathan
cut in.
" Now
I think it's time you answered some
of our questions in return."

 
"I don't recall us making any
deals," Klein said. "But since I like you, I'll make an
exception."

Brown stood up and walked
over to a small kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee.

 
"Anyone want something?" he asked,
taking a deep swallow.

 
"I'll have some," Klein said.
"You?" he asked looking at them.

 
"No, thanks," Nathan said as Kayley
shook her head.

Klein took his coffee from
Brown, and slipped onto the bench across from them. "Okay, so what do you
want to know?"

 
"Why are you staking out Smith
Imports?" Nathan asked again.

Klein stroked his stubble
and considered how much he could tell them. "We have known for some time
that Colin
Schnyder
was involved in illegal
importing. We believed that he was smuggling in stolen Russian jewelry, hidden
in cheap statues. We just haven't been able to prove it yet." He took
another sip from his coffee. "Then we caught a break. One of
Schnyder's
new men made a mistake. He was caught with a
stolen necklace from Russia, and claimed to have stolen it from Colin
Schnyder
. He was willing to work for us and set up
Schnyder
, if in return we would drop all charges against
him." Klein looked apologizing at Kayley. "That man was Joseph
Hamilton."

 
She felt the blood drain from her face at his
words.

Nathan looked at her
carefully expressionless face. He took her hand under the table, and found it
curled in a tight fist, her nails digging into flesh as she tried to control
her feelings. He smoothed out her fist and held her hand in his, trying to warm
her cold and stiff fingers.

 
"It was all going as planned until about
a week ago. I got a call in the middle of the night from Joe, telling me he had
the evidence we needed. But
Schnyder
was on to him
and he had to get out right away. He said he would be in touch and hung up
before I had a chance to respond. That was the last I heard from him,"
Klein continued.

 
"He was working for you?" Kayley
said through stiff lips.

 
"Yes. And now we have lost all of our
evidence and our only witness. We have searched everywhere for Joe, but he
appears to have vanished into thin air."

 
"Maybe not completely," Nathan
said. "Kayley did receive a package from her brother."

Both Klein and Brown
straightened with attention.

 
"It was a memory stick. However, I'm not
sure how that will help you," Nathan continued. "We looked at the
images, and they didn't reveal anything important."

 
"Do you have it with you?" Browns
eyes sharpened.

 
"Yes." Nathan reached into his
pocket and pulled out the stick.

Taking the stick Klein
stood up. "Come into the back room."

Kayley followed after
Nathan through the camper, stopping briefly in front of a door as Klein punched
in a number at a panel beside the door. A distinct click of a lock opening
sounded, and the door slid open.

 
Walking into the room, Kayley looked around.
There were different machines and computers everywhere, lining every wall in
the window-less room.