CHAPTER 3 #2
“Eve trusts you. You might keep your word. And once this job is over, you won’t have any other use for me. You can afford to let me go.”
“True. But I can hardly help you if I go at it blind.”
“I’ll tell you when you need to know.”
“And why do you think I can help you?”
“I don’t have the kind of clout I need to get away from him or I’d have done it years ago. Is it a deal?”
Logan slowly nodded. “As long as you give me your best effort, Madden’s out of your life whether we get my man out or not. You have my word on it.”
She felt a flicker of surprise.
“I’m not quite the bastard you think me,” Logan said roughly. “Ask Eve. As you said, she trusts me.”
“She’s prejudiced. You were lovers. You probably behaved differently with her than you do with other people.”
“Yeah, I made a really big effort to treat her like a human being. It was a great strain on me.” He stood up.
“I need to go and make some telephone calls. Why don’t you stretch out on the couch and try to sleep?
We’re going to hit the ground running when we reach Santo Camaro.
” He picked up the list on the table. “Is this all you need?”
“That’s it.”
“I’ll see that you get it,” he said, and strode down the aisle.
She had made him angry and his response had been uncharacteristically vulnerable. Maybe he wasn’t quite the steely man she had thought. But it didn’t matter how hard or soft he was as long as he could get Madden out of her life.
A life without the threat of Madden . . .
The thought brought an unbelievable surge of relief. For years she had lived without hope, and suddenly the possibility was there before her. Win or lose, Madden would be out of her life if she just did her job. Logan had given his word.
Monty whined softly and put his head on her knee, sensing her excitement.
“We’ve got a chance, boy,” she whispered. “If he’s not lying, we may be able to come out of this with something pretty good.”
Nice.
“He’s not nice, but it doesn’t matter if he keeps his word.”
Nice.
Stubborn dog. She got up and moved over to the couch. “Come on, we have to get some sleep. We want to be in top form and get through this fast and get home.”
Monty settled on the floor in front of the couch, but his gaze went to the back of the cabin, where Logan had disappeared.
Nice . . .
“Then you’ve got her?” Margaret asked after Logan had rattled off Sarah’s list to her. “I was hoping maybe you’d strike out.”
“I know you were. You made that pretty clear,” Logan said. “Find out everything you can about Todd Madden. I want a complete report.”
“How complete?”
“I want to know the name of every kid he mugged in kindergarten.”
“Oh, that kind of report. I gather we’re no longer playing on the same team with him?”
“He’s on the funding committee for ATF, but I don’t think that’s how he’s pulling Sarah Patrick’s strings. It’s something else.”
“You’ve got her. What difference does it make?”
“It makes a difference. Any messages?”
“Galen called from Bogotá. He said it’s not urgent, but he wants you to phone him.”
“As soon as I hang up. Did he mention any problems?”
“No, he said to tell you the team was in place.” She paused and then added grudgingly, “You know, I really like him.”
“And that surprises you? Oh, yes, it would. You’re not supposed to like men like Galen. It violates your code.”
“Yes, it does, but Galen is . . . different.”
“That’s indisputable. Nothing from Castleton?”
“No. And it may take a while to get the dirt on Madden. He’s a politician and they bury their skeletons pretty deep.”
“Just get it.”
“How’s the pooch?”
“Easier than Sarah.”
“Well, you can hardly blame her for—”
“I’ll call you when we get to Santo Camaro.” He ended the call and dialed Galen’s number.
“What’s happening?”
“No greeting? No small talk?” Galen drawled. “After all those years in Tokyo, I’d think you’d have learned some manners.”
“Do you have a location?”
“Have I ever failed you? I got a general location, but Sanchez says Rudzak moves camp every few days. And he’s going to set up a decoy camp as bait.”
“We have to find the main camp now. We can’t afford any extra time. We have to get in and out fast or we’ll have a dead hostage. You’re sure you got the truth from Sanchez?”
“I’m truly hurt. Not only a lack of manners, but doubt? I admit Sanchez was stubborn, but eventually his good sense prevailed.”
“Money?”
“No. Sanchez already makes a tremendous amount in the drug trade. There’s millions floating around down here. I had to convince the scumbag he’d be safer running from Rudzak than from me. Can you imagine, he wasn’t taking me seriously?”
“I’m sure that didn’t last long.”
“Almost thirty minutes.”
“You’re slipping.”
“Now insults?” He made a tsk-tsk sound. “And while I was at it, I did that little research project you heaped on me.”
“And?”
“Confirmed.”
Logan’s hand tightened on the phone. “Son of a bitch.”
“Do you want me to take care of it?”
“No, I’ll do it myself.” Dammit, he had known it. “But I can’t have Sanchez ratting to Rudzak.”
“He won’t. I sent him out of the country with a suitcase of Rudzak’s money he was laundering. He’s neatly boxed.”
“Good,” Logan said. “We’ll be arriving in Santo Camaro shortly.”
“I’m already on my way. I should be there in about an hour, and I’ll contact Castleton to pick you up at the airport.”
Logan hung up. Everything was in motion. As usual, Galen had succeeded and had the information he needed. Logan had Sarah and Monty in hand and had found a way to get Sarah to voluntarily work with him.
Yeah, sure. Actually Sarah had taken control. She’d turned a situation that made her a victim to one in which she had control. How many times had she had to do that with her life on the line?
Christ, what was he doing? He had made his decision and it was no time for regrets. He shoved his phone in his pocket, left his office, and started back up the aisle toward the cockpit.
Sarah was asleep on the couch and didn’t stir as he stopped beside her. Monty opened one eye and his tail thumped lazily.
“Shh.”
But Sarah didn’t wake, and even in slumber she was curled up in a defensive position, her muscles locked and stiff.
Search and rescue. What made anyone embrace a career that involved not only danger but constant despair?
All the dossiers and reports in the world never really told you what made a person tick.
Logan knew Sarah was strong, smart, streetwise, and had a wicked sense of humor with everyone but him.
But he was beginning to realize that there might be a whole lot more beneath that tough facade. What kind of woman was Sarah Patrick?
Well, he was not likely to find out. She was wary and he had established himself firmly in the enemy camp.
What the hell. It didn’t matter. He didn’t have to know her.
It was better if he didn’t. He had learned a long time ago that it was dangerous to get close to people in dangerous situations. It hurt too much if you lost them.
Chen Li.
He shunted the thought back into the darkness, where it belonged. He had been younger, less experienced then. This situation didn’t have to end as that one had. Sarah Patrick wasn’t Chen Li.
He could keep Sarah alive.
Santo Camaro
“This is Sarah Patrick,” Logan told Castleton at the airport. “Ron Castleton. He works for me.”
“Don’t we all,” she murmured. She gestured and Monty jumped into Castleton’s car. “How do you do, Mr. Castleton. This is Monty. I don’t have any health papers for him. Are we going to have any trouble with the authorities?”
Castleton was staring wide-eyed at the dog. “What’s happening here? If I’d had any warning, I could have—”
“We won’t need papers,” Logan said. “We’ll be in and out before anyone knows we’ve arrived.”
“And what if we aren’t?”
“I’ll take care of it.” Logan got into the front passenger seat. “Have you heard from Galen?”
“He’s at the facility. He said you’d want to start out right away.”
“He’s right.” He looked at the sky, which was already darkening to twilight. “But we should probably wait until morning. Did you hear any more from Rudzak?”
“Not since I left the money where he told me.” He glanced sideways at Logan. “But he has informants everywhere. He’s probably got someone watching us now.”
“Then let’s get moving.”
Castleton started the car. “The dog’s a dead giveaway. He’ll know you’re trying to find Bassett. He has contacts who can trace—”
“That’s why we have to move quickly.”
“Did you get the supplies on the list I made out?” Sarah asked.
Castleton frowned. “What supplies? I didn’t receive any list.”
“Galen has the supplies, Sarah,” Logan said. “I had Margaret call him while he was on the road and give him your list.”
“I don’t like bringing a woman into this.” Castleton looked over his shoulder at Sarah. “Has Logan explained how dangerous this situation is? I hope you know what you’re getting into.”
She didn’t really know anything, dammit.
“Thanks for your concern, but we’ll be okay.
” Although Castleton wasn’t making her feel any better.
And the heat . . . it was going to make the search twice as difficult.
It was hard to breathe and Monty was already panting.
She reached down and stroked Monty’s head. “I think it’s time for a clip, boy.”
“We don’t have time,” Logan said.
“I’m not suggesting taking him to a groomer. I’ll do it myself.” Her lips thinned. “I won’t take him into the jungle until he’s more comfortable. He’s a long-haired dog and we don’t know how much time this search will take.”
“If it takes enough time for the heat to cause him a problem, then we’re in trouble.”
“It’s causing him trouble now. I’m clipping him.”
Logan opened his mouth to protest and then thought better of it. “Okay, we’ll work around it.”
“You bet we will.” She looked out the window. They’d turned onto a bumpy dirt road and the jungle foliage was crawling over the road, encroaching on both sides of the car. It was not only the weather that was oppressive. “Who is this Galen? Another employee?”
Logan nodded. “Sort of a freelance agent.”
“Sort of?”