Pure Dynamite (37 page)

"Evidently, not enough. I suspect he set me up from the beginning."

Adam knew Ethan had targeted him for the job. Since Adam had worked overseas, he wasn't a familiar face. He was also a seasoned undercover agent—even if his last assignment had turned sour. Thanks to his tainted promotability, Ethan had no doubt considered him expendable.

And Adam's desperation to get his career back on track had blinded him. He'd have agreed to anything.

"You weren't the only one. It looks like Stan suspected he was being set up as well. Guess Ethan had something incriminating on him," Zach said. "So Stan started compiling some interesting data of his own. Seems Ethan had some ties to Willy McEdwin years ago. Back when Ethan was still with the FBI himself."

"What kind of ties?"

"Financial ones. Ethan used covert government funds to finance several antigovernment groups, including the one McEdwin belonged to."

Adam pressed the phone closer to his ear. "Are you saying Ethan supported their doctrine?"

"Only to the extent it gave him job security. Ethan anonymously created a formidable enemy that he then controlled via the purse strings. It made him look damn good in Washington. Nobody had his knack for getting the inside track on these groups. I haven't read through all of it yet, but it looks like Stan has connected all the bodies and bank accounts, and traced them back to Ethan."

"Jesus Christ."

"It gets better. Apparently Willy has spent the last several years tracing the origins of that money. I guess he got real close once, which has made Ethan nervous."

"Because it could end his political aspirations," Adam finished.

"Ethan knew you and Stan were planning to bring Willy the rest of the C-4," Zach said. "You two would have died in the bust, and been eulogized as heroes."

"Wait. Did you say 'the rest of the C-4??”

"Yeah. Only one shipment was seized. Half of it got through."

Adam closed his eyes. Willy already had a hundred pounds of C-4 and wanted more. What exactly did he have planned?

"I still have a shot at stopping the McEdwins. But I need to get Renata out before our next stop."

"You can't take them down alone."

"But I'm not sure who I can trust at the Bureau. On paper, it looks like I resigned to join Ethan's Task Force." Adam checked the time. He'd been gone nearly fifteen minutes. "I need to go. You got a map handy? We need to find a rendezvous spot."

He told Zach where they were headed.

"You'll be close to Flaming Gorge National Park, just across the Utah state line. I can be there by late morning," Zach said.

"Do it. I'll be in touch."

Tire jack in hand, Adam started jogging back uphill. His mind whirled. All Ethan's inconsistencies made sense now. He'd played Adam like an old country fiddle, finding his weak spot—his career blights, his brother's checkered past—then dangling a carrot in front of him.

Adam's temper simmered. Taking Ethan down would be a pleasure.

He slowed, having reached the pull-over. But where was the car? He flipped on the flashlight, caught sight of the mangled section of guardrail. He sprinted forward. The gouged ground and flattened bushes told him the car had gone over the edge.

He shone the flashlight down, calling their names.

A voice answered. Weak. Male. "Adam! Help!"

He angled the light, saw Lyle clinging to a bent sapling about twenty feet to one side.

"Hold on." He made his way down to the other man. "Where's Renata?"

"Down ... there." Lyle pressed a hand to his stomach and winced.

"What the hell happened?"

"The car slid over the edge and just kept going. I tried to get her out, but it happened too fast."

And he'd left her handcuffed.
Turning, Adam scrambled downhill.

"Leave her!" Lyle called. "She's probably halfway to China by now. We were going to dump her anyway. I just saved you a bullet."

Lyle's last remark chilled Adam. While he didn't know what had happened—yet—he wondered if Lyle had caused the accident on purpose. Had the other man decided to get rid of Renata himself?

"I've got my own plans for her."

Adam kept going, grabbing a branch to slow his descent. He swept the area with his light. The ground was smooth, slippery, the vegetation scraped flat by the car.

How far down had it traveled? His gut tightened as he thought about what he would find at the bottom. His foot kicked metal. He bent and picked up a side mirror that had been ripped off.

As he straightened, he caught the heavy smell
of
gasoline.

Renata spotted the small orange glow near the driver's door. Lyle's cigarette was wedged against the frame, smoldering in the carpet. She stretched toward the driver's side, but couldn't reach it. And the movement caused the car to shift.

She held her breath until it stopped. But when she inhaled she caught the whiff of gas. Mother of God ... fire!

She struggled to release her seatbelt, but the mechanism was jammed. The gas fumes grew more noxious, filling her with a choking panic. She'd worked the burn unit, heard victims' agonized screams as they were wheeled in, their frantic pleas for relief. For death.

She thought of her family. Her last words with her mother had been rushed, angry. Then she thought of her colleagues at the clinic. All those goddamned unfinished reports. And Adam.

Calm down. Think.
She bit her lip hard tasted blood. She welcomed the pain. The clarity made her choices chillingly simple: Get out or die.

She focused on freeing the seatbelt. Rocking the metal tab, she pressed the button over and over. "Come on."

With a jolt, it released. Whispering a prayer of gratitude, she moved clumsily to the driver's side. The handcuff chain clinked the sound overly loud.

She pressed against the door. A low whine of metal from beneath warned that the car was going to slide again. Frantic, she shoved the door as hard as she could with her shoulder. The door gave way spilling
her onto the ground. The car tipped, swayed, then skidded a few feet.

"Renata!" Adam's voice sounded far away.

"I'm here!" She waited but didn't hear a response. Had she imagined his voice? A burst of light broke through the dark. A flashlight.

Seconds later, Adam hurried to her side. "Take my hand."

Before she could react, a shredding noise filled the air. The car lurched, unbalanced, and shot further down the ravine. Sparks flew as metal scraped rock.

Without warning, Adam speared her, tucking her between his frame and the ground just as the car exploded.

Flames shot high into the air, torching the surrounding pines. A dozen small fires popped to life as embers sparked the forest's dry undergrowth.

Searing bits of fragmented metal rained down on Adam's back. He huddled his arms tightly around Renata, shielding her.

When it stopped, he rolled away. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not
okay.
I could have been killed." She thrust her hands forward. "Take these off. Now!"

He unlocked the handcuffs, tossed them in the dirt.

He pushed to his feet, helped her stand. "Can you walk?"

"Just let me catch my breath."

"No time. This area will be swarming with firefighters as soon as the observer in the closest fire tower reports the flames."

He stomped out a fire close to them, but with the trees in flames, he had no chance at extinguishing the blaze. And already it was spreading, growing.

"Let's get out of here."

When they reached the top, Lyle ducked out from the shadows. "I thought you were toast, man! I saw the fucking car blow and—"

Adam gave vent to his fury, grabbed the front of Lyle's shirt. "And what? Did you think beyond that? Like how will we get away without a car? Cops, firemen, will be here any minute."

"It wasn't my—"

"Save it. We need to find a hiding spot. Then you can call your brother."

Lyle shook his head. "The phone was in the car."

Adam reached into his pocket, only to find he'd lost Renata's phone as well.

"There was a forest service road, about a tenth of a mile back. We'll have to hide in the brush until I figure something out."

"I won't be able to keep up," Lyle said. "I hurt my knee."

Adam moved forward. "I'll carry you. Just hope to hell we make it before a car comes along."

They had only hiked a few minutes, when headlights flashed on the far horizon, disappearing and reappearing as the vehicle ascended the mountain. Another curve or two and the car would be right on top of them.

"Here!" Adam tugged Renata toward a shadowy notch in the woods where a steel post marked an un- paved road.

He ducked behind a large bush, helped Lyle sit up. Then he counted seconds until the vehicle, a forestry service fire truck, zoomed past. It would only be moments before others arrived.

Adam ran a hand through his hair. That they had
made it this far was a miracle. Lyle had groaned the entire time. What little strength the kid had built up in the last day or two had probably been shot climbing out of that ravine.

Yet when Renata offered to check him, Lyle snarled. "It's nothing.
I'm
fine."