Her brother is missing

And she’s the next target

After her CIA operative brother disappears, leaving behind only a cryptic message, armed men target former agent Rachel Simmons for information. But with help from her ex, Agent Alex Booth, Rachel eludes them, trekking into the mountains in search of her brother. Pursued through the wilderness by highly trained—and very familiar—men, can Alex and Rachel expose a conspiracy that goes deeper than they ever imagined?

MARY ALFORD was inspired to become a writer after reading romantic suspense greats Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney. Soon, creating characters and throwing them into dangerous situations that test their faith came naturally for Mary. In 2012 Mary entered the Speed Dating contest hosted by Love Inspired Suspense and later received “the call.” Writing for Love Inspired Suspense has been a dream come true for Mary.

Also By Mary Alford

Love Inspired Suspense

Forgotten Past

Rocky Mountain Pursuit

Deadly Memories

Framed for Murder

Standoff at Midnight Mountain

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Standoff at Midnight Mountain

Mary Alford

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08463-5

STANDOFF AT MIDNIGHT MOUNTAIN

© 2018 Mary Eason

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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“Alex, they’re coming. We have to hurry.”

Alex looped the rope around the tree and started tying it off. Before he’d finished, he heard voices coming from just over the ridge. He took Rachel’s hand and they headed to the edge of the creek.

“You should go ahead of me. I’m positive it will hold your weight. I’m not sure about mine. If they reach me before I can cross, cut the rope and get out of here. Find Liam.”

He didn’t get to finish before she shook her head. “I’m not leaving you behind, Alex. We’re in this together.”

His gaze clung to hers. So many unspoken feelings weighed on his mind. He had to protect her.

“Rachel, I...” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to tell her, only that he needed her to understand that he still cared about her.

She placed her finger over his lips. “No, you’re going to make it and I’m not leaving this area without you. We’re going to find Liam together, and this is all going to be a bad memory someday.”

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

—Psalms 23:4

Dear Reader,

There’s just something about first love stories that warm the heart, especially when a love that was believed lost forever is rekindled once again.

For Alex Booth and Rachel Simmons, their high school romance ended bitterly when their jobs with the CIA got in the way. Rachel wanted to have a normal life and family, but Alex couldn’t imagine living without the adrenaline rush of the job, and so they parted. Rachel left the CIA for good, and Alex always regretted letting her go.

When Rachel’s brother and fellow CIA agent Liam Carlson goes missing in the mountains near Rachel’s Wyoming home of Midnight Mountain, there’s only one person she trusts enough to ask for help. And that’s Alex.

With the two reunited once more, their desperate search to bring Liam home is clouded by old resentments and misunderstanding from the past. Together, Alex and Rachel must find a way to put the past behind them in order to find Liam before the men chasing him finish the job they started and end Liam’s life.

Standoff at Midnight Mountain is a story about forgiveness and second chances. I hope Alex and Rachel’s story will touch your heart and bring a smile to your face. And maybe help you remember your own first love.

I so love hearing from readers. Email me at: maryjalfordauthor@gmail.com or write me c/o Love Inspired, 195 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Visit me at www.maryalford.net and at: https://www.Facebook.com/maryalfordauthor.

Warmest blessings,

Mary Alford

To first loves.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Bible Verse

Dear Reader

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

The still of the peaceful Wyoming morning was broken by the noise of a vehicle approaching. Rachel Simmons breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief. Alex was here. Maybe now, with his help, she could finally get some answers into her brother’s mysterious disappearance.

Outside, the car came to a stop. A door slammed, followed by footsteps, then someone knocked noisily on her door, jarring her spent nerves.

She hurried to answer it. With her hand resting on the door handle, a voice she didn’t recognize spoke, stopping her in her tracks. “Ma’am, I’m sorry to trouble you so early, but my wife and I seem to have lost our way.” A pause followed, almost as if the man was waiting for her response, yet she couldn’t manage a word. Who was this person? “Can you tell me how to get back to the highway?”

Close by, her faithful golden retriever, Callie, growled low, the hackles along the ridge of her back standing at full attention. Callie charged for the door, sniffing and barking her alarm. A chill sped down Rachel’s spine, her internal radar skyrocketed. She’d been living on edge since her brother’s last visit. Now, after trying to reach Liam for more than a week without avail, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad had happened. It was the reason why she’d called in her CIA colleague, Alex Booth.

“Quiet, Callie,” Rachel whispered close to the dog’s ear. Callie stopped her barking and sat back on her haunches, but the ridge didn’t go away.

Nothing but the tiniest rays of light from the woodstove in the great room would be visible through the curtained windows. It was four in the morning. How had this man ended up at her door so early, and why would he believe anyone in the house was awake at such an hour?

What he’d said finally registered through her troubled thoughts and she shivered. Ma’am. He knew she was here alone.

Rachel grabbed her constant companion as of late, the one piece from her past life as a CIA agent she still possessed: her Glock.

Her place was in the middle of forty heavily wooded acres and not even close to a main highway. No one would just happen by here, especially at this hour. She clutched the Glock tighter. The man’s sudden appearance smelled of some type of setup.

“I realize it’s early, ma’am, but we really need some directions and my cell phone has died.” His tone had taken a turn toward sharp. He was growing impatient with her. “Can my wife and I come in and warm up for a bit and maybe use your phone?”

Rachel ticked off every tense beat of her heart while she tried to decide what to do next. Where was Alex? She had expected him some time ago. Did this man’s sudden appearance have anything to do with Alex’s delay? She didn’t want to think about her call being responsible for harm coming to Alex.

One of the front porch boards squeaked as the man shifted his weight. He wasn’t leaving and she had a choice to make. She needed to get rid of him before trying Alex’s cell phone. If this man was up to no good, she could be putting Alex’s life in danger. That is, if she hadn’t already...

Don’t let me make the wrong decision...

Rachel hurried to the window closest to the door and inched the curtains apart. A tall, bulky man dressed in dark clothing, a knit cap pulled over most of the top of his head, stood on her porch.

Callie followed her, growling like crazy. She was picking up on her owner’s unease.

Rachel’s gaze slid to the car parked out front. A woman was seated inside, watching the man. Was she his wife as the man had said, or was there something more going on here? “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a phone,” she called out in answer to his request to borrow hers. “But if you go back the way you came, you’ll run into the main highway without a problem.”

The man took a step closer to the door.

“It’s awfully cold out, ma’am. If we could come inside just for a minute?” He attempted a smile that didn’t come close to reaching his steely eyes.

Rachel spotted a bulge beneath the man’s jacket. He was armed! Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the woman had opened the car door and was getting out, her hand tucked inside her jacket. Why would two innocent travelers need to be armed?

“How did you know I lived here alone?” Rachel immediately regretted the question. She’d given away too much.

“Must have seen it on your mailbox,” he muttered, not even trying to hide the lie. The only name on the mailbox was Simmons, the alias Rachel had taken when she’d left the life of a spy behind and returned to Midnight Mountain.

Fear settled into the pit of her stomach when the man whipped his gun from its holster. Callie forgot her command of silence and began barking ferociously. The truth became apparent. These two hadn’t just happened by here. They were here deliberately...for her.

Rachel hurried for the door, making sure all the locks were securely in place. Seconds later, the man opened fire, bullets riddling her door.

Rachel automatically hit the floor. Keeping as much out of the line of fire as she possibly could, she crawled on her hands and knees until she reached the kitchen, with Callie close by, growling and shaking with fear.

Behind her, she could hear the man yelling to the woman to cover him while he leveraged his full weight against the locked door, sending it rattling on its hinges.

After her brother’s strange behavior before he had left to meet with his asset more than a week ago and had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth, Rachel was positive that these two intruders were somehow connected to Liam’s disappearance. If she stayed here, she’d be dead before Alex could reach her. She prayed that he was safe and had just been delayed.

If she was going to live, she had to get away now. Her frantic brain tried to come up with an exit strategy, but there was really only one way out.

Once she reached the kitchen, she grabbed her coat from where she kept it close to the back door. Keeping as low as she could, she ran out the door with Callie at her heels, before her only means of escape evaporated. What if there were more men surrounding the house? She could be walking into a trap. Holding on to what was left of her courage, she raced for the woods off to the right.

Once she reached the trees close to the house, Rachel heard the man finally break through her front door. They’d breached the house. It wouldn’t take them long to realize she’d gone out the back.

“Hurry, Callie,” she urged the dog as they forged deeper into the woods.

“There’s no sign of them inside. I’m guessing they were never here.” The man’s voice carried through the still predawn. “They’re both still up on the mountain somewhere. We know one or both are injured. Find her. We need to put a lid on this. Now. Too much is at stake and we don’t know if Carlson told anyone else.”

Reality shot through Rachel like a lightning bolt. He was talking about Liam. If what the man said were true, her brother was hurt...or worse. More than ever, she knew she had to find Liam, which meant she’d need to get out of here alive and before they could capture her.

Callie let out a tense-sounding growl as they continued frantically running through the dense wooded area. Low-slung branches tangled in Rachel’s hair and snagged her face, making it impossible to make much progress. Every step she made jarring. The cold of the early morning chilling her to the bone.

The dog was on edge just as she was. Callie had faced down lots of predators, bears included, but she’d never been involved in a gunfight.

Rachel stopped long enough to gain her bearings. From where she stood, she could just see the back of the house through the trees. Two people emerged from inside, flashlights shining all around. She ducked when the light hit close.

“Over there,” the man yelled, homing in on the area where she stood with his flashlight beam.

Rachel turned on her heel and started running again, her heart thundering in her chest with each step. She’d been out of the game for a long time. She wasn’t used to being hunted.

Callie soon took the lead. They’d barely managed a handful of steps when a round of shots whistled past Rachel’s head. Close enough for her to feel the breeze it kicked up. She tucked closer to the ground, almost doubled over, and ran.

“Hurry—she’s getting away.” The woman spoke for the first time. Rachel didn’t recognize her voice either, but she detected a faint accent that she couldn’t place. Who were these people and how were they connected to Liam?

Some distance behind her, the rustling of brush assured her that her pursuers had now entered the woods. Callie growled at the noise and turned back in a defensive stance, ready to charge the enemy. The dog was overly protective of Rachel, but she couldn’t let her companion get caught in the line of fire.

“Come, Callie. Hurry,” Rachel ordered, and the dog reluctantly abandoned her defense and followed Rachel.

Where was Alex? He should have been here by now. Had something happened to him? Fear shot through her body.

With her thoughts churning in a dozen different directions, Rachel tried to come up with a means of escape on foot. She had the advantage. She knew the area like the back of her hand. If she could make it to her neighbor’s house, she could call for help from there. But if Liam’s suspicions were true? What then? Liam was a seasoned CIA agent. If what he believed proved real, then she could be walking straight into the enemy’s arms by calling in the authorities.

Rachel didn’t dare take a direct path to the Reagans’ place. It wouldn’t be long before her pursuers figured out the direction she’d gone. She’d be bringing her troubles to the Reagans’ doorstep. She couldn’t do that.

“This way,” the woman yelled. “I see her up ahead.” More shots rang out; bullets flew past, one barely missing her shoulder. They were gaining! Would Tom Reagan hear the shots and come to investigate?

Please, God, no.

She had a feeling these people wouldn’t be opposed to killing anyone who got in their way. Even someone as innocent as Tom.

Rachel shoved branches out of her way as she ran blindly through the woods. Just in front of her, Callie suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Rachel almost tripped over the dog in the process. There was just time to sidestep in an attempt to avoid the mishap when she slammed headfirst into something warm and solid. A man! He reached out and grabbed her tight. One thought raced through her head. They’d found her. She had to get away if she wanted to live.

Panicked, Rachel fought with everything she had, but she was no match for the man’s strength. Before she could scream, a hand clasped over her mouth and the man pulled her close.

“Don’t scream, Rachel. It’s me.” Alex! He was alive and he was here.

Relief made her knees weak. She hugged him close and struggled to let go of the panic still electrifying her nervous system.

“I heard the shots from the road and guessed something had gone wrong. We need to get out of here fast. Those shots sounded close. And this place is crawling with men. My car’s just over there.” He pointed up ahead, then glanced in the direction Rachel had come. “They’re almost here. Run for the car. I’ll try to distract them. I’ll be right behind you,” he added when she didn’t budge.

Alex gave her a gentle shove in that direction, but Rachel stood her ground. She might not be part of the CIA anymore, but one thing was still ingrained in her brain: you never left your partner behind.

Alex drew his Glock and opened fire. Rachel didn’t hesitate before doing the same.

A scream of pain rang out. They’d hit one of their pursuers. Rachel didn’t believe it would slow the other down one little bit.

She turned and hurried toward the car with Callie. Alex cleared the woods shortly after her and the dog.

Before they could reach the vehicle, someone opened fire on them. Rachel ducked for cover behind the side of the car. She caught a glimpse of a man holding his shoulder. He was injured but it didn’t stop him from shooting at them. Alex managed to get off several rounds, forcing the man to hide behind a nearby tree to avoid another direct hit. Where was the woman?

“Hurry, Rachel,” Alex yelled as he opened the driver’s-side door and lunged inside. Rachel yanked her door open. Callie hit the front seat first. She followed seconds later.

“Go, go, go,” she urged in an unsteady voice, reflecting the magnitude of what had just happened.

Alex put the vehicle in Drive and floored it while staying as low as he possibly could and still see where he was going.

Rachel glanced behind them. The man had stepped from his tree coverage and began shooting at them again. Several other men joined him, all firing. The back window shattered. Rachel tucked down low while from the back seat Callie let out a frightened yelp.

“It’s okay, girl. Everything is going to be okay.” She stroked the dog’s fur, trying to reassure them both.

Alex jerked the wheel to the right to avoid another hit. The car veered close to the edge of the road. He quickly corrected and managed to keep them from crashing just in time.

Soon, at least four sets of headlights flashed behind them. The men were coming full force. Alex floored the gas pedal once more in an attempt to lose them.

“What happened back there?” he asked, the tension in his voice evident. He spared her a glance as he continued to push the car to its limit, still unable to shake the vehicles.

Numb from shock, Rachel shook her head. “I don’t know.” It was the truth, but she could see that he didn’t believe it. Not that she could blame him. People just didn’t come to your house and start shooting at you for no reason. “A man and a woman showed up at my door. He said they were lost. I could tell he was armed. When I refused to let him come inside, the man started shooting at me. Alex, I barely got away...” She stopped for a much-needed breath and glanced down at her hands. They were shaking. She’d almost died. Both of them had come close.

“There’s no way they just happened to show up at my front door. This is connected to Liam’s disappearance somehow. What I don’t understand is how they knew where to find me?” Rachel had gone to great lengths to disguise her identity after leaving the Agency. She’d created an alias last name. Even after she’d gotten married, she hadn’t taken her husband’s name simply because there was always the chance that her past might come looking for her. No one would be able to track her by that association.

Rachel cast a suspicious look Alex’s way. “Did you tell anyone you were coming here?”

His response came quick, his tone reflecting his hurt. “Of course not. Rach, you asked me not to tell anyone, so I didn’t. But the woods were crawling with people back there. I’m surprised they didn’t spot me before I was able to reach you. Or hear my car, for that matter.” He shook his head. “You said on the phone you hadn’t spoken to Liam in more than a week. You believe he’s gone missing?” She nodded. She hadn’t said as much when she’d called, but Alex had guessed. “Why do you think that? How does this ambush fit into Liam’s disappearance?”

She’d been brief on the phone. Afraid to tell him her worst fears. “I don’t know how this fits into it, but I know Liam, and I haven’t heard from him in over a week.” She realized how foolish she sounded right now, but she knew if her brother were able to, he would have been in touch by now.

Rachel kept a nervous eye on the vehicles behind them. So far, Alex had been able to keep them at a distance, but they had to find a way to lose them soon if they were going to help Liam.

“We need to get off this road, Alex. It’ll drop us into the town of Midnight Mountain, and who knows how many more men they have waiting for us there.” She pointed up ahead. “There’s a side road coming up on the right, just after we make this next curve around the mountain. Take it.”

Alex nodded and turned his full attention on his driving. When the road in question came into sight, he slowed the car’s speed slightly.

“Hang on,” he warned. Alex was an excellent driver and yet it took all his skills to make the curve at the high rate of speed. Once they’d safely exited, he killed the lights to give them a fighting chance.

With adrenaline pumping through her body like crazy, Rachel spotted the vehicles swerving onto the same road. “They’re still coming.” She racked her brain to recall the layout of this less-traveled road. It had just recently opened after being closed for the winter. Even though it was late March and springtime in other parts of the country, here in the mountains snow still hung around, especially in the high places.

“Hold on. There’s another less-traveled side road just past this next bend. It’s pretty obscured from view. Unless you know it’s there you probably won’t see it. If we can make that, with the lights out, I think we have a chance of getting away undetected.”

Alex slowed just enough to make the turn, then gassed on the accelerator once more. So far, none of the cars appeared to be following.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and then at her. She could tell he believed she knew more than what she’d told him so far and he was waiting for her to talk. Did she dare voice her concerns aloud?

With everything that happened, especially after what Liam had told her, she didn’t know who to trust. But this was Alex. He’d dropped everything to come to her aid simply because she’d asked for help.

“Rachel, please tell me what’s going on,” he asked quietly.

If what she suspected were true, had she put Alex’s career, if not his life, in danger by asking for his help? In spite of everything they’d been through in the past, she still cared for him. They’d grown up here in these mountains, the three of them. She still considered Alex a friend.

“Look, these guys have proven they aren’t about to give up until they get what they’re after. You called me in because you needed my help. You can trust me, Rachel. Let me help you.”

As she looked into his eyes, she knew, no matter what, Alex would never betray her or Liam. She could trust him.

She blew out a breath and shook her head. If it were anyone else, Alex might have thought she was overreacting. But she was former CIA herself. He knew she wasn’t imagining things. That was why he’d come so quickly.

“Liam told me he was scheduled to meet with his asset after he left my place, but I could see he was anxious about something. I’d never seen him look so worried before. He kept checking out the window as if he were expecting someone to show up.” She stopped for a breath, then told Alex what Liam had said about the newest terror threat he’d been chasing. Liam didn’t say how, but he believed the person he was after might be closer than Liam had originally believed. At the time, Rachel hadn’t been sure what to make of Liam’s comments.

She couldn’t read Alex’s opinion of this. “Yesterday, I was putting away some clothes and I found Liam’s phone along with a map that he’d left in my bedroom dresser drawer. The phone was turned off. He’d wanted me to find them after he left. There was a location pinpointed on the map along with an initial and a phone number on the back...” She stopped and realized how little it was to go on. Liam had been trying to tell her something. His warning had been chilling. If only she knew what he was trying to say!

“Did you call the number?” Alex asked, and she nodded.

“Although it took me several hours to work up the nerve.” He smiled at this and clasped her hand for a second.

“I didn’t recognize the voice on the other end. A few hours later, those people showed up at my door. It’s no coincidence.” She shuddered at the thought.

Rachel didn’t understand what was going on, but the couple that came to her house knew about her brother. They’d known Liam had been up on the mountain along with someone else, presumably his asset. They believed he was injured and possibly still there. Would she and Alex be too late? Would they find her brother dead? She couldn’t bear the thought.

Lack of sleep made it hard to keep her thoughts focused, but she had to try. Liam needed her.

“Did Liam ever mention knowing someone whose name starts with the initial D? A friend maybe?”

She watched as Alex tried to recollect any such name. He shook his head. “No, never. But one thing’s clear. Liam would never have left those things behind if he wasn’t worried about something. He wanted you to have them in case...”

He left the rest unsaid but she knew what he meant. In case Liam didn’t make it down from the mountain.

“Did you check Liam’s phone for calls? Maybe someone he called can help us figure out where he’s at?”

She had checked, and the results were disappointing. “I did. It was as if he’d deliberately cleared out all the numbers.”

Rachel could tell this didn’t sit well with Alex, yet he tried to reassure her. “Maybe he was afraid the phone might fall into the wrong hands. He could have been expecting those people to show up at your place.”

None of these options helped ease her fears any, and he must have seen it.

“First things first. We need to get out of sight as quickly as possible. Once we have a chance to breathe, we can come up with a plan to locate Liam.” Alex smiled and then turned his attention to the road ahead while uneasy thoughts churned through Rachel’s mind.

Who was this new player Liam had uncovered and how were they connected to her brother’s vanishing? There had to be more to the story than what Rachel knew, because right now, all she had to go on were bits and pieces of a puzzle that might well lead them to a deadly conclusion. And every minute they didn’t know the answer, Liam’s life was in danger.

* * *

Alex was still shell-shocked by the things that had happened since he’d returned to his hometown of Midnight Mountain; his head burst with unanswered questions. His fear for Liam’s safety wasn’t eased one little bit by what Rachel had told him.

While they might have lost the men chasing them for now, they weren’t out of the woods yet. Without knowing why those men were coming after Rachel and Liam so mercilessly, he had no idea what they were up against. There could be more armed men saturating the surrounding countryside and staked out in town waiting to ambush them.

Alex made several more evasive turns as a precaution before they shot out onto the outskirts of town in the opposite direction from the house where Rachel was living.

A quick glance in the rearview mirror assured him they weren’t being followed—yet.

He slowed the car’s speed and glanced over at Rachel. “They’ll be looking for this car. It’s not safe to be out in the open like this for long.”

Alex tried to recall some of the back roads they’d once used as shortcuts when they were younger, but he’d been gone from the area since his parents passed away in a car wreck his senior year. He’d graduated high school and went away to college. After that, he’d joined the CIA and his work had taken him around the world. He hadn’t been home since.

Rachel pointed up ahead. “There’s a county road a little ways from here. And I know where we can hide out for a while. Maybe they’ll think we’ve left the area and they’ll move on if they can’t find us right away.”

Alex turned onto a less-maintained road filled with potholes. As much as he wanted to believe it, these men had proven themselves ruthless.

“At least we’ve lost them for now.” He sounded much calmer than he felt inside. In the space of a less than eight hours, his life had been turned upside down. His friend was missing, and he and Rachel were working together again to try to figure out what had happened.

There was little doubt in his mind that Rachel’s worry for Liam’s safety was valid. She wasn’t the type to jump at shadows.

“Those people were there because of Liam. They thought he’d be at my house.” She turned in her seat so that she could look Alex in the eye. “He’s in serious trouble. He’s up there on Midnight Mountain somewhere...and I’m not sure if he’s still alive.”

What she said struck like a blow to the gut. “You think Liam may already be dead?” Alex couldn’t allow himself to even contemplate the possibility. He and Liam were closer than friends. They’d grown up together. They were like brothers.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head, her tone conveying her fear for her brother.

In spite of what had happened today, one thing bothered Alex a lot. Why was Rachel so convinced that Liam was in trouble with very little to back up the conviction? Was he missing something, or was there more to the story than what she’d told him so far?

“How do you know for certain that Liam’s not still on a mission? You must have something more to go on than the fact that you haven’t spoken to him in a while and he left his phone and a map at your place. I know the two of you are close, but you realize it’s not uncommon for an agent to go dark for a long time when he or she is working a lead.”

He barely got the words out before she rejected his theory. “It’s more than that, Alex, and I know it.” Her words wiped away what little bit of hope he still held on to. His heart wouldn’t let him go there. He couldn’t imagine losing Liam.

“Have you spoken to his handler?” He sure hoped she’d overlooked something. While Alex knew the information the CIA would give out to a civilian was limited, she was different. She’d once been one of them.

“I’ve tried. Seth isn’t answering. And when I called his boss, he gave me the company line. He said he couldn’t discuss any details concerning Liam’s mission. When I told him I was worried Liam might be in trouble, he pretty much dismissed me. He told me that I, of all people, should know that when an agent is on a mission, they go radio silent.”

Alex felt his hands were tied as to what to do next. “I need to reach out to Liam’s boss right away. Perhaps he’ll talk to me.”

He barely finished the sentence. “No, you can’t.”

Alex stared at her, his eyes wide with surprise. “Why not?”

Rachel turned away in a defensive manner. There was something she didn’t want him to know. “You just can’t, okay.”

She didn’t fully trust him yet and that hurt like crazy. Was it because of what happened between them, or who he worked for?

He blew out a frustrated sigh and agreed to go along with what she wanted for the time being. “All right, I won’t make that call just yet.”

It would be up to him and Rachel to put the pieces together and bring Liam home alive.

Alex glanced in the back seat where the dog had finally settled down, although she still kept a close eye on Alex. It was clear the dog was protective of Rachel.

“Who’s your friend?” He nodded behind them when she looked at him in confusion.

“Oh. Her name is Callie, and she’s been my good friend for a very long time now.” Something bordering sadness shadowed her eyes. He wondered about her husband. Where was he when all this was happening to Rachel? Why was she alone at her house?

Alex would give just about anything to ask that and the question foremost in his mind: Did she still hate him for the way he’d ended things between them? He glanced her way. Saw the closed-off expression in her eyes. They weren’t there yet. Emotionally, she was on the other side of the earth from him. She’d put up a wall between them that didn’t encourage him trying to scale it.

What she didn’t realize was that he had been a different man back then. He hadn’t believed in anything beyond the job. If he were being honest, he’d known she had wanted out of the Agency for a long time. When their relationship had turned serious, her desire for a normal life seemed to have doubled. Five years ago, Alex couldn’t imagine life without the adrenaline rush of the CIA...and so he’d lost her.

“There’s a driveway coming up on your right. Turn in there.” Rachel’s voice interrupted his chaotic thoughts. She didn’t look at him, and he wondered if she’d read his thoughts.

He spotted the driveway in question and exited onto a dirt road as dust boiled up in the headlights.

In front of them, an old farmhouse appeared at the end of the drive some distance from the county road.

“Whose place is this?” Alex asked as he stopped the car.

She didn’t answer right away and he turned to her, curious.

“This was my husband’s family home. He grew up here and I promised him I’d hold on to it after he passed away.”

Shocked, Alex couldn’t even begin to hide his surprise from her. Nothing prepared him for hearing that Rachel was now a widow. He glanced down at her left ring finger. She still wore her wedding ring. How long had her husband been gone?

Alex looked from her to the simple white house with its pale gray shutters barely distinguishable in the car’s headlights. Something akin to jealousy seared his heart. He hated thinking of her loving another man.

Liam had told him she’d gotten married a few years after she’d moved back to Midnight Mountain some five years earlier. After that, well, Alex had just stopped checking in with his friend for a while because it was too painful.

Which was why the envelope he’d received from Liam days before Rachel’s call had been so concerning. He had no idea what Liam was trying to convey. It contained ramblings about things they’d done in their childhood and some of the places they’d explored growing up. He assumed Liam had written the letter at a low point. There was no sense in telling Rachel about it and alarming her further.

Alex realized Rachel was staring at him as if she expected him to say something. He pulled himself together and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I had no idea your husband had passed away.” She continued to stare at him with those telling blue eyes. The look in them now reminded him of when he’d told her he wasn’t leaving the CIA with her.

Was she expecting him to be jealous that she’d gotten married? If so, then she should be happy. She had no idea how hard he’d taken the news of her wedding.

“Thank you,” she murmured, and looked away. While a thousand questions flew through his head, he could tell she wasn’t ready to discuss any of them with him. “We should probably put the car away and get inside. It’s possible that whoever attacked us will connect this place with me.” She stopped for a breath. “There’s an old garage behind the house. We can hide the car in there.”

Once they’d stowed the rental car in the rickety old garage that was a little ways from the house, Alex grabbed his gear and followed her while the dog sniffed around the yard for a bit then went after them, keeping close to Rachel.

Rachel flipped on the lights, illuminating the drop cloths that covered most of the furniture inside the home.

“Sorry for the mess,” she told him. “It’s just easier to keep clean this way. The place has sat empty for several years now. Brian’s family raised workhorses up here for many years. I still keep a few pastured out back because he loved working with them so much. There’s a neighbor who stops by each day to care for them.”

He managed an awkward nod and dropped his backpack by the door. “I’ll take a quick look around just to be safe.” He could see she hadn’t considered the possibility that the place might not be secure. She’d been away from the spy game too long.

She shook her head and smiled at him for the first time since their reunion. It stopped him dead in his tracks. “I never even considered someone might have already been here.”

He loved her smile. He’d almost forgotten just how beautiful she was, especially when she smiled. She wore her golden brown hair longer now. She’d braided it and it hung halfway down her back, the overhead light catching the gold highlights. Dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, she reminded him of the young girl he’d fallen for all those years ago. Only her midnight blue eyes held a hint of the things she’d endured. There was a sadness in them that appeared embedded there.

Alex collected his straying thoughts. “Not looking over your shoulder all the time sounds like a good thing. I’ll be right back.” He excused himself and went upstairs, grateful for the chance to get control of his emotions. He thought he’d left Midnight Mountain behind for good when he went away to college, yet so many of his childhood memories were tied to this place. And to this woman...

After he finished checking the upstairs rooms, he was more ready to join her again. At the foot of the stairs, he noticed that the dog had settled down close to Rachel’s feet.

“There’s no sign anyone’s been up there in a while...” He stopped when he noticed her staring strangely at the desk in the corner of the room. “What is it?”

Rachel visibly shivered. “Even though it’s a half hour drive from my home, I still come here every couple of days to make sure the place is okay. I’m pretty sure that drawer was closed when I was here yesterday.”

He stared at the desk and then at her. “Someone’s been here.” He stated the obvious. “What was in there?”

She shook her head. “That’s just it. Nothing was in there. There isn’t anything of value here besides the horses.”

“But they weren’t looking for something valuable.” Their gazes locked and a new fear entangled him in its clutches. “Whoever was here was looking for something connected to Liam.”

No doubt the people behind Liam’s disappearance had known about his connection to Rachel all along, including this house.

“You said you keep horses on the property?” Alex’s thoughts snarled together. What she’d told him about Liam was disturbing. That Liam had left her the location where he was scheduled to meet his asset seemed to indicate he had been concerned something might happen to him up there.

“That’s right. Why?” she asked innocently enough.

“Because they may be our only way out of here.” Alex glanced out the front window at the breaking dawn. They’d need to keep moving. Get up on the mountain as soon as possible.

“The stalls are behind the house a little ways down near the south pasture.”

“Good. Then we should probably head out. Are you ready for this?” She didn’t hesitate. Rachel had been one of the best agents he’d had the pleasure of working with. She might be a little rusty, but she was more than capable.

If something had happened to Liam, each day that passed whittled away at his chances of survival. Rachel said she’d had no word from her brother in more than a week. As a former CIA agent herself, she would know that it was common practice for agents to carry burner phones as a means of communicating without being tracked. If Liam hadn’t reached out to her by now, then something bad was wrong.

It bothered Alex that Liam seemed worried about something. It wasn’t like his friend to show fear, but from Rachel’s account, he’d definitely been concerned when he showed up at her place. He had told her he was close to bringing down a new player in the terror field. He’d mentioned something similar the last time he and Alex had talked.

Did Liam’s disappearance have anything to do with what he’d uncovered about the terrorist threat? If so, then whomever he was chasing seemed determined to silence anyone who got in their way or attempted to uncover their identity.

As he and Rachel headed out into the new day dawning, with Callie at their heels, Alex could almost feel her uneasiness growing.

He touched her arm and she slowed her steps and faced him. “We’ll find him, I promise. And don’t forget, Liam’s tough. He’s been through much worse than this.”

She smiled without answering. Did she believe him?

He needed to get a look at the map. It would give some indication as to where exactly on the mountain they’d be heading. “Do you have the map Liam left you handy?” he asked, and she dug it out of her pocket and handed it to him.

Once he’d opened it, he recognized the location right away. It was more than a twenty-four hike under the best of conditions and over some very rugged terrain.

“This is where Liam was going to meet with his asset?” he asked with a sense of foreboding.

She nodded. “I think so.”

Even if they headed straight there, they’d still have to find a place to make camp for the night before hiking the rest of the way up. Darkness came early to the mountains. They’d never make it to the site before nightfall. The weather would definitely play a factor, especially with the mountains making their own conditions. It might be early spring, but snow and ice weren’t unexpected this time of year. Up on the mountain several feet of snow still clung to the crevasses.

“I hate going into a situation blind like this, and we don’t know for sure what’s really happened to Liam. Maybe something went wrong with the meet and he was injured. Or maybe his asset sold him out.” Alex glanced around, expecting trouble.

Rachel hesitated a second too long. Right away he could tell something was wrong.

“What is it?” He almost dreaded her answer.

“There’s something else I haven’t showed you, Alex. It’s on the back of the map.”

He turned it over and saw the phone number and initial Rachel had mention previously. But it was the words that were scribbled below them that increased his concern for Liam’s well-being tenfold.

Agency. Dirty. Trust no one. Especially anyone in authority. It was a message Liam had intended for Rachel alone.

Alex stared at it and then her. If true, the magnitude of what they now faced had grown beyond anything he could have imagined.

Rachel dragged in a breath before she delivered the worst news possible.

“Alex, I think the person Liam was chasing, this new terrorist threat that he’d uncovered...I think it involves someone from the CIA.”

TWO

The expression of shock on his face told her how hard it was for him to wrap his head around the idea that someone from the CIA, both her brother and Alex’s own team, might be responsible for harming Liam.

“Rachel...” Her name came out on a frustrated-sounding sigh. Alex couldn’t hide his doubts. She certainly understood. As an agent, his head wouldn’t let him go there.

“I know how crazy this sounds, but you weren’t there when Liam came to see me. He was spooked, and Liam doesn’t spook easily. I think his disappearance is in some way connected to the new threat he’s been chasing. Maybe he uncovered information that connected someone in the CIA as possibly being involved with this terrorist somehow.”

She looked up at him, willing him to understand. “It makes sense, Alex,” she said.

Yet he couldn’t hide his skepticism. After all, Alex was still part of the CIA, and there was a bond between agents that was unbreakable. In his mind, it would be unimaginable to think someone you trusted with your life might betray you in such a deadly way.

Still, she tried to make him understand. “Just think about it. Those people who showed up at my house obviously knew about Liam’s meet location. They managed to connect my name to Liam, even though it’s an alias. They probably knew who he was meeting with as well, and those arrangements are kept confidential for the agent’s safety. So how would they possibly know about it without having some inside information?”

His gaze locked on hers; he was clearly surprised by what she’d said. “What are you talking about? You don’t know that they knew who Liam was meeting.”

Rachel blew out a breath and explained. “I do. I overheard something one of them said. They believe Liam and someone else, probably his asset, are still up on the mountain. Alex, I know you don’t want to think it’s possible, I didn’t either in the beginning, but this is Liam and his life is at stake. We can’t afford to discount anything. If they’re right and he’s somewhere up there still, he could be hurt. He needs our help, because no one else, the CIA included, is going to help him.”

Before he could voice his obvious doubts aloud, a noise in the distance captured both their attentions. It sounded like a car on the gravel road nearby slowly coming to a halt.

“That seems really close.” She turned her anxious gaze to his.

“You’re right. If they’ve found us again, we’d better hurry.” Rachel led the way to the pasture where she kept a couple of mares stalled.

“The horses know this terrain better than I do. They’ll get us out of here, but it will be slow going. Do you still remember how to ride?” she asked with a hint of teasing in her tone.

He shook his head, managing a smile for her. “Don’t worry about me. I think I can remember well enough to keep up.”

The woods expanded into fertile pastureland and Rachel headed toward the barn where the horses were stabled. Behind them, nothing but eerie silence could be heard. Had the car turned around and left already or were they coming after them on foot?

Alex obviously still had concerns. “The sooner we’re saddled and riding, the better.”

“There are a couple of sleeping bags and some camping gear stored at the back of the barn on a shelf there. We’ll need the gear for staying overnight.” She pushed open the barn door and went inside. One of the mares neighed when she spotted Rachel.

“It’s okay, Naomi.” Rachel went over and patted the horse’s head. “You ready for a ride?” Next to Naomi, Esther, the second mare, whinnied.

Alex and Rachel worked quickly to saddle the mares and within no time they were leading them out of the barn.

“Let’s grab the rest of the supplies from inside,” Rachel said. She and Alex went back into the barn and brought out the sleeping bags along with camping gear, then split the load between the two horses. Rachel quickly mounted Naomi and headed down one of the trails behind the house. Alex did the same with Esther.

“There’s a ridge not too far from here. It has a great view of the house and the surrounding area. We can get a better idea of what’s going on down below,” she told him once he’d caught up with her.

Both mares covered the rocky countryside easily enough, with Callie keeping good time behind them. Once they neared the ridge, they dismounted and tied the horses in a treed area some distance from the ridge and hiked the rest of the way up.

Rachel brought out the binoculars that had been part of the camping gear and homed in on the road near the house.

“The vehicle is parked on the edge of the road close to the driveway. There’s no one inside.” She frowned as she studied it. “And it’s not the same one that was at my house.” She handed Alex the binoculars.

“Where are they?” he murmured as he focused on the wooded area between the road and the house. “Wait, I see something.” Alex zeroed in on a particular spot.

“What do you see?” She barely got the words out before he turned and grabbed her around the waist. “Get down.” Alex tugged her into the shelter of his arms and hit the ground as the world around them exploded with gunfire.

Alex’s body protected her from most of the blowback from tree branches splintering and dirt kicking up around them as the bullets hit all around. Close by, Callie whined pitifully and tromped for cover.

“Let’s get out of here. There’s enough firepower down there to take down a small village. They could have snipers anywhere.” The tension in Alex’s voice somehow got through the shock that had kept her immobile.

He got to his knees and took her hand. Together they crept as close to the ground as possible until they’d reached the horses.

“Keep as low as you can,” he told her as they mounted their horses once more and headed in the opposite direction from the shooters.

Both he and Rachel leaned in close to their horses’ necks, almost lying flat against the beasts.

“Can we make it to the base of the mountain riding?” Alex’s tone was strained. He glanced back over his shoulder, as if expecting the enemy to emerge behind them at any moment.

Rachel made sure Callie was able to keep up with them. She wouldn’t leave the dog behind no matter what.

“Yes, but we’ll have to go slower in that rocky terrain, and we will be using up valuable time we don’t have to spare. Alex, we need help.”

The path widened slightly and he rode up beside her. With no sign of the men behind them, they sat up straight once more. “Who do you suggest?”

In her mind, there was only two people she trusted other than Alex. “The Reagans are my neighbors and good friends. I can call Tom and have him meet us someplace. He can pick up the horses and bring a four-wheeler. We’ll make better time with it.”

She could tell Alex wasn’t nearly as confident in the plan.

“Alex, you can trust them, I promise. They moved to the area soon after we all went away to the university. I’ve known them ever since I came back home. They’re like family.”

He slowly nodded. “If you trust them, so do I. Give them a call. The sooner we get to Liam’s meeting location, the faster we’ll be able to figure out what happened to him.”

The problem was that she had no phone to make the call. “I destroyed both my phone and Liam’s right after I called the number he’d written down. I phoned you from my landline. I thought that if what Liam suspected were true, and these people are somehow connected to the CIA, a rogue group of agents perhaps, they’d pull apart my life piece by piece. Probably track his cell or mine. Or both. I couldn’t take the chance.”

Admiration shone in Alex’s eyes. She’d put a lot of thought into destroying the phones, but then, some of her CIA training was still useful.

“Good thinking. Hang on.” He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her. “Use this one. It’s a burner phone and no one knows the number.”

She smiled her gratitude and dialed her friend’s number while praying that whoever was chasing them hadn’t contacted her neighbor already.

The short amount of time it took Tom to answer did little to settle her nerves.

“Tom, it’s Rachel. I need you to meet me at Willow Creek as soon as possible. And bring the four-wheeler.”

“I should be able to do that,” Tom said in an evasive tone that made her wonder if someone was listening in on the conversation.

Rachel glanced uneasily at Alex. “I’ll meet you there in a couple of hours, then.” After a second of silence on his end, she told Tom goodbye and then ended the call. She handed the phone back to Alex while praying she wasn’t leading the enemy right to them.

“He’s on his way. Willow Creek is due north of here. There’s some pretty hilly areas between, but we should be able to make it in an hour.” She hesitated. “Alex, Tom sounded strange, almost as if someone were there and he couldn’t talk.”

Rachel could see right away that he didn’t like it. “You think they’re watching him?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know, but we’d better check out the area around Willow Creek very carefully when we get there. We could have unwanted company.”

The trail was just wide enough for the two of them to ride side by side for a bit and, thankfully, it was mostly level.

“Where will this trail take us?” Alex asked, keeping a careful eye on the surrounding woods.

“It will dump us out at Willow Creek after we summit Plume Mountain.”

She couldn’t help it; she had to look at him. His gaze tangled with hers. She could see that he remembered the place, as well. They’d once spent a lot of time hiking the valley below Plume Mountain and fishing back when it had been her, Liam and Alex. Before life got complicated and their career paths took them through troubled waters.

“When was the last time you spoke to Liam?” Rachel asked, mostly because she needed a distraction to get his attention off her so that she could reclaim some of her equilibrium.

There was something in Alex’s gaze that drew her in and made her wonder if he, too, was remembering their time here together. Back then their romance was just beginning. They had skirted around the edges of their feelings since they were teens. She’d often wondered what her younger self would have done if only she’d known the outcome.

“Too long ago, I’m afraid.” He clearly regretted the lapse. “I’d like to say we both got busy, but I guess in truth it was just too hard.” He spared her a look and she swallowed with difficulty and looked away, her heart going crazy with possibilities. Did Alex have regrets about their parting? He certainly hadn’t showed it all those years ago.

When Rachel had made up her mind to get out, she hadn’t realized how hard it would be. Hadn’t known she’d be walking away from Alex along with the Agency. She’d been a broken person when she came back to her hometown of Midnight Mountain. She’d spent weeks crying. Liam had tried his best to console her, but Liam was cut from the same cloth as Alex. They both ate, breathed and slept the CIA.

For a long time, Rachel hadn’t known what to do to move on beyond Alex. She’d gone to church with the Reagans one Sunday. She had felt a sense of peace that day, realizing that she wasn’t alone in her pain. Knowing that God was with her no matter what happened in her life. It was because of this that her heart had begun to mend.

“To tell you the truth—” Alex’s familiar voice interrupted her unsettled thoughts “—I’ve missed working with Liam...and you.”

Her heart contracted painfully and she struggled to keep from showing how hard it was to hear him say those things. Why was he telling her this now?

She’d buried how handsome he was deep in her heart. Now it was a painful reminder of the dreams she’d given up. He was tall and fit; his dark brown hair now almost touched his collar. Those piercing green eyes still held a hint of mischief in them whenever he smiled, as they had when they were kids growing up together. Yet the years and the job had left their mark on him. Fine lines fanned out around his eyes and mouth. She’d witnessed enough horror in her years on the job to know the reason behind those lines.

Rachel shoved those dark memories back into the recesses of her heart. She needed to keep her focus on her brother.

“I called Liam a couple of months back,” Alex said, surprising her. “He didn’t answer, but he called me back a little after from a phone number I didn’t recognize. For some reason, the number stuck in my head.”

He gave it to her. She didn’t recognize it, either. She shook her head. “I’ve never heard him use that number before.”

Alex nodded. “Anyway, we talked for a bit. He sounded...tired. Distracted, maybe. He said he was getting ready to leave on a mission to Iraq.”

She remembered the time. “You’re right. Liam was distracted back then. Actually, for a while. At first, I wasn’t so worried. You know how Liam throws himself into his mission to the point of being consumed by it. But his behavior became increasingly more withdrawn as the weeks went by. Then he showed up at my house...and you know the rest.” She shrugged. “I think Iraq was just a staging location, though. He was heading behind enemy lines.”

“It makes sense. The fewer people who know about where an agent is going, the better chance they have of surviving. The last time we talked, he told me a little of the same things he told you. About this new player coming onto his radar. He seemed really worried and alluded to the fact that if they couldn’t find out his identity soon, it could have deadly consequences.”

Rachel 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 so soon. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

To be honest, he hadn’t even thought about it. He’d just come. Her call had left him shaken. He’d gone against every instinct screaming inside of him that told him he was making a bad decision by not looping in his CIA Scorpion commander, Jase Bradford. He’d simply left Jase in the dark as to why he needed a few days off for personal time. Then he’d borrowed his buddy Aaron Foster’s plane and left Colorado right away, because something had happened to Liam and Rachel needed him.

“You know I’d do anything for Liam and for you. You guys are like family.” He watched her draw in a breath, her eyes clouding with some unnamed emotion he’d give anything to understand. There was a time when he knew what her every little expression meant. Back before he’d screwed things up.

“We should probably keep going. They could have men stationed farther up this mountain,” she murmured, looking away, breaking the spell.

Before he could answer, Rachel nudged the mare and headed up the trail once more. After a moment, he followed, while rebuking himself over letting his emotions get the better of him. He had to stay focused. The past was over and done. He was here for Liam.

So far, it didn’t appear that anyone was following them, but Rachel was right. They could have men everywhere. Until they had a better handle on what they faced, they needed to stay on the move. They’d be harder to track that way.

It took more than a heart-pounding hour before they summited the top of Plume Mountain, one of the lesser mountains that was part of a chain of them stretching through the area. There was still a long ways to travel before they reached their destination of Midnight Mountain. Rachel reined to a stop and took out the binoculars once more to scan the area below them where Willow Creek was located before handing them to him.

“I don’t see anything. Not even Tom.” She got off the horse and stretched out the kinks in her back.

After he’d checked the area and was satisfied they were safe for the moment, he did the same back stretches. He had finally gotten a sense of where he was again. He’d been away for years. It took a while to reacquaint.

“He should have been here long before us. I don’t see his truck and trailer.” She turned to Alex. “I don’t like it. What if he was being held hostage? What if they followed him here?”

He went over to where she stood and placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her grow tense in reaction to his touch and he hid his hurt with difficulty.

“Hey, we don’t know anything’s happened yet,” he said, and yet as much as he tried to reassure her, Rachel was right. By vehicle, the drive shouldn’t take more than a half hour.

“Where would he normally park?” he asked while trying not to show his concern. If these people were somehow CIA, they’d have the full resources of the Agency at their disposal. They could make people disappear...for good.

She pointed to some trees close to a trailhead. “Tom and his wife come here quite often. When my husband was alive, he and I would ride horses with them up here. Tom always parked over there.”

The mention of her husband was a painful reminder of the things that could have been his. He found himself being jealous of a dead man. Pitiful.

“Let’s not think the worst until we know for sure. Anything could have happened. A flat tire. Maybe it took him longer to load the four-wheeler than usual.” Alex tried to sound positive, but his worst fear was that the men coming after them had gotten to Rachel’s friend.

“Wait, I see something.” She pointed down below, then took up the binoculars once more. “That’s him. But he’s riding the four-wheeler... I thought he would pull it on a trailer behind his truck,” she said with a bewildered frown. “Something’s not right.”

Rachel headed back to the horses, ready to ride down into the valley, but he stopped her.

“Hang on a second. We still don’t know if he’s here alone or by his own will, for that matter. Like you said, something’s not right.”

She stared at him for the longest time. “There’s no way Tom would set us up.”

He didn’t break eye contact. “Maybe not willingly, but he may not have had a choice.”

She drew in a breath. “All right. What do you suggest we do?”

He scanned the area below them once again. “Let’s leave the horses up here and go the rest of the way down on foot.” Alex pointed to the left. “There’s plenty of tree coverage through there. If there’s someone else with him, we’ll be better able to take them by surprise.”

“Okay,” she agreed, and then led the mares into the woods to find a location where they could tie them off with plenty of grass for grazing.

Once they’d strapped on their backpacks, with Callie glued to their heels, Alex took the lead. “Stay close to me and if anything happens, get back here and ride out as fast as you can,” he told her, knowing she wouldn’t do any of those things. She was a soldier at heart and a soldier would never leave a fellow comrade behind.

The hike down the opposite side of the mountain proved just as treacherous as the summit had. All the while, Alex couldn’t get the man who had attacked him out of his head. Was he CIA? They were sworn to protect, but it wouldn’t be unheard of for one of their own to go rogue. Still, why come after Liam unless he’d uncovered the traitorous threat? Was it possible this new terrorist had gotten Liam involved in something way over his head?

Once they reached the valley, Alex stopped long enough to bring out the binoculars and scan the area. There didn’t appear to be anyone else around but the man who had dismounted the four-wheeler and stood looking around with a rifle in his hand.

The dog had stuck close to them the whole way down, as if sensing something was off.

“I don’t see anyone but your friend.” He drew his weapon and turned to her. “Just in case,” he said in response to her raised brow.

They stepped from the cover of the trees close to the man with the four-wheeler who stood at full alert. His body language alone seemed to confirm something had gone wrong.

Callie spotted Tom and galloped toward him, tail wagging. A twig snapped beneath the dog’s paw and the man whirled at the sound, shotgun ready to fire.

The moment he spotted Rachel, he visibly relaxed, then reached down and patted the dog’s head. When he saw Alex with a gun in his hand, his demeanor changed immediately. He clutched the rifle tighter. Alex had no doubt he was skilled at using it.

“It’s okay, Tom. He’s my friend,” Rachel said, and then rushed over to give the man a heartfelt hug.

Alex watched her with the older man and it was easy to see that she loved him.

She stepped back and turned to Alex. “Tom, this is Alex Booth. We grew up here together. He and Liam are good friends.”

Alex tucked the Glock behind his back and shook the man’s hand. “Good to meet you, sir.”

“You, too,” Tom said with a firm handshake. He watched as the dog went to explore a nearby plant. Alex could tell the man seemed distracted by something.

“Has something happened, Tom?” Rachel obviously saw the same thing he did.

After a moment or two of silence, Tom looked at Rachel. “I wasn’t able to bring the truck. I used the four-wheeler to slip out the back way.” The man shook his head. “I’m not really sure what to make of it, but it scared me. I haven’t seen anything like it in my seventy-plus years.”

He paused for a breath and Rachel shot Alex a worried glance.

“Right before you called, a couple of men showed up at my place asking a whole bunch of questions about Liam and you.” The concern in Tom’s eyes was real enough. “They had IDs.” He shook his head. “They said they worked for the CIA... Rachel, they said Liam did something terrible. They said he wants to hurt a lot of people.”

All the color drained from Rachel’s face. “That’s not true. Tom, you know it’s not true. Liam would never hurt anyone.”

Tom’s expression softened and he managed a smile for her. “I know that. I’d trust Liam with my life. Jenny, too. But these men seemed determined to lay the blame on him for something. They said he betrayed his country.” Tom spat the words out and shook his head. “Jenny was in the kitchen when they showed up. I wasn’t going to let them inside, but they pretty much forced their way in. Something about them just worried me. When you called, I went in the other room. That’s why I couldn’t talk much.”

He stopped for a second. “Anyway, Jenny told me after they’d gone that she’s pretty sure she saw at least a half dozen more men in the woods surrounding the house. They were coming from the direction of your place. She said they were armed to the teeth.”

He blew out an uneven breath. “They’re coming after you, too, Rachel. And they’re not going to stop until they find you and Liam. And I don’t think they care if that’s dead or alive.”

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