Chapter 7 #2
“I finished it an hour ago. I thought you might have lost your way.” He paused as he focused the beam of his flashlight on the thick stand of pines near the creek where she was standing.
“Did you find something? It’s getting so dark I can’t see what you’re doing down there. Should I come down and take a look?”
“No,” Kendra called quickly. “You were right when you told me this area was completely uninteresting, but I had to check it out. I told you before, that’s the way I work.
I’m coming back up now. I wasn’t ready to leave until I was sure.
” She started quickly climbing up the hill toward where he was standing.
She might have already spent too much time—and that would be a mistake, too.
There was such a thing as overkill. She reached for her phone and speed-dialed Jessie.
No answer. She left a quick whispered message for her.
“We’re returning to the airport now. Things not working quite as planned with Cambry.
Would be glad to find a quick exit waiting when we arrive.
If you’re not there, I’ll do whatever I can to get away from him.
” She hung up and drew a deep breath, then returned the phone to her pocket.
She was almost at the top of the hill, and she turned off her own flashlight as she reached Cambry.
“Hello. I’m ready to go.” She turned down the path where he had landed the helicopter.
“I suppose I should be happy that I didn’t run into that Vlad Korkil person and his gang of thugs that you were so kind to warn me about.
” She added slyly, “I know how worried you were about me. And then I had the nerve to waste your time combing through all these hills. That was another truly terrible cardinal sin.”
“Maybe it wasn’t all a waste,” Cambry growled as they reached the helicopter. “I’ve been having second thoughts. Get in the damn helicopter and let’s get out of here.”
She was already climbing into the passenger seat. “Anything I can do to cooperate. I wouldn’t want to offend you,” she said mockingly.
Cambry muttered a vile curse as he started the engines and took off. He’d barely reached cruising altitude when he shot her a poisonous glance and asked, “Well, are you going to let me know what you found out there?”
“Nothing to speak of.”
“What does that mean? Why don’t you tell me now and save me from coming back here and searching the area for myself again?”
No mention of the boulders or the cave, she noticed with relief. “Why would you want to do that? You evidently struck out when you were searching before,” she said mockingly. “Are you hinting that I might actually be of use to you?”
“I told you that I knew your reputation. Everyone tells me that you’re some kind of freak who can track and see things in a crime scene that no one else can,” he grated through set teeth.
“I was willing to take a chance it might be at least partially true. But you’re not being at all helpful. We made a deal, dammit!”
“And I’ll keep to the exact terms of it.
But you seem to be a little confused about what they were.
You were supposed to bring me here because I wanted to see if I could find any clue what happened to Lynch.
In return I agreed to give you the location of Lynch’s safe house in London.
But now you’re getting greedy.” Her lips tightened.
“It’s my choice whether I want to share any skill I might possess that might lead me to Lynch.
After all, you’re the one who told me I was wasting your time. ”
He muttered a curse. “Do you think that I’m going to let you get away with this? I’m with Justice. It’s my job to find Lynch. It’s your duty to cooperate.”
“And you’ve failed to show me that you actually want to keep him alive.
” She added fiercely, “Why should I put any evidence in your hands if I don’t trust you?
So just take me back to the airport and I’ll give you that address you want.
” She paused. “And if you work very hard and show me some proof that you’re anything but a selfish asshole who doesn’t deserve being on the same planet as Lynch, I might let you help me find him.
But so far you haven’t impressed me.” Her voice was starting to shake with anger now.
“Though I think you destroyed whatever chance you had of convincing me to trust you when you were so kind and comforting right before you sent me into that forest.”
His eyes narrowed almost hungrily on her expression. “Good. I wanted to frighten you. I didn’t like all the back talk I was getting from you.”
“You didn’t frighten me. You made me angry.
I knew what you were doing.” She leaned forward, glaring at him.
“Because I could tell you were a bully almost from the instant I met you. Do you think I’d let a bully intimidate me?
Screw you, Cambry,” she hissed. “Never in this lifetime.” She curled up on her seat with her back to him.
“Now get me to that airport so that I can start trying to decipher this so-called mysterious information you believe I’m hiding from you. ”
“I notice you’re not denying you might have information needed by a U.S.
government agent to conduct his investigation,” he snarled.
“And as soon as we get back to that airport, you’ll see that I won’t permit you to get away with it.
Do you think that because you have that gun you showed me, you can find a way to avoid me doing what I’ve been hired to do?
You’re going to spend a long and uncomfortable time answering those questions.
I’ll take you to one of our local offices while I spend hours probing until you give me what I need, Kendra Michaels. ”
She gazed at him incredulously. “More threats? Bullying again? You’re trying to trump up some idiotic weapons charge against me?
That sounds fairly desperate,” she said caustically.
“I’ve already told you all you’re going to get from me until I make a decision about you.
” She turned away. “Don’t try to force me.
Now, let me alone while I try to ignore you until we get back to the airport. I’ve had enough of you.”
She heard him mutter a curse, but she kept her eyes determinedly closed.
The situation was becoming a bit dicey, but she wasn’t going to let him browbeat her or get in her way.
If she felt she needed any help from the law, she’d contact someone she trusted like Metcalf.
But she realized she’d need much more info to involve anyone other than the Justice Department, which had been on the spot when Lynch disappeared.
Which meant she’d have go back and try to locate more evidence than she’d found in those woods today.
Evidence . . .
Her hand closed on the glove-wrapped object she had hurriedly stuffed in her backpack.
Dammit, she had to find out just what the hell this was, because she had a hunch it might be the evidence she was looking for.
Maybe another clue Lynch left, as he’d done with that package in the San Diego safe house?
If she followed this clue, would that prove to be the case?
Maybe. Hopefully. Because that would mean Lynch might still be alive.
Of course he was alive. She wouldn’t accept anything else. They just had to discover what had happened in London and these hills and not let Cambry get in their way.
And hope that Jessie found a way to help her escape Cambry when they landed at that blasted airport.
She didn’t like those thinly veiled threats Cambry had been tossing at her, and she wanted to put a safe distance between them while she tried to figure out just what she’d found in that cave.
Work on it, Jessie. This is one time you won’t get any argument from me about offering a bit of help. I couldn’t need it more . . .
FIFTY MINUTES LATER
MACGREGOR AIRPORT
“You can still change your mind.” Cambry shot Kendra a glance as the helicopter started its descent. “I guarantee that if you do, we’ll just have a cozy chat and you’ll let me know what you might have found out while you were searching in those hills.”
“And if I don’t, what will be different?” She lifted her chin. “I can hardly wait to hear. You keep stressing that you’re such a law-abiding officer. If that’s true, I can’t believe that your superiors would approve of you interrogating me, a U.S. citizen, without cause.”
He shook his head. “You forget that Lynch is very important to them. As long as I get results, I believe they’d look the other way.
” He added mockingly, “It’s not as if I’m going to torture you.
The most I’ll do is take that gun away from you.
As long as I don’t do actual physical damage, they’ll accept that it was necessary to make you a little uncomfortable to give them what they want.
” His lips twisted. “Of course, I can’t speak for the other agents who will be watching you for the next couple of days while I wait for you to cooperate.
They can get a bit rough. It would be much better if you give in now.
” His voice lowered. “As soon as I land this copter we’ll be met by Daniel Wyatt, one of my drivers, who will take us to a cabin near here where the interrogation will begin.
” He glanced out the window and smiled. “As a matter of fact, I think I see him down there now coming in the north entrance of the airport grounds. I recognize that black Nissan. Daniel is always so eager to please me.”
Kendra’s gaze followed his own to the headlights of the approaching car, trying to keep him from noticing the tension she was beginning to feel. “Then he has extremely bad judgment,” she said. “And you’re a very poor bluffer. Go to hell, Cambry.”
His lips tightened. “How very rude. Have it your way. I just wanted to make it easier for you. We both know I’m doing the right thing.”