Part 27 (1/2)

Well, that was interesting. If the female Remington Truth was with the bounty hunters, why didn't these guys know about it? Was it possible they didn't know who she was?

”What are you going to do with us?” came a third voice, which sounded thready and frightened.

The man replied, ”Oh, you'll be all right. We're not going to kill you.” He laughed, and even from where he was, Theo felt a chill.

”I'm hungry. Can't we have something to eat?” the scared voice said again, with a little more force.

The man laughed again. ”You don't need to eat. You're gonna be all set in a few hours. Ballard'll take good care of you. G.o.dd.a.m.n, Lisa. What's takin' so long? Want to get on our way now, okay?”

And that, Theo realized, was his cue to move his a.s.s.

But he waited another minute. He wanted to see who the third person was, because he suspected it might be one of the guys missing from Yellow Mountain. He also wanted to search the Humvee and see if there was anything interesting there. Like guns.

Making a quick decision, Theo traced his path back around to where the truck was parked. Ears c.o.c.ked to listen for approach, he opened the door on the far side of the truck and looked in. And smiled.

Just what he wanted. The automatic rifle was in his hands in a moment, along with a pouch of ammo. The sounds of approaching voices raised the hair on the back of his neck, but he took another moment to check around and see if there was anything else worth taking.

And then, when the heat got too close, he shut the door carefully and darted off into the woods, just as they came out of the store. Fifty yards in, he stopped and slung the rifle over his shoulder. Then he scrambled up a tree where he could see the male bounty hunter and his companion, Lisa, dragging out two people behind them.

Yes, definitely Wayne from Yellow Mountain. The red hair gave Wayne away. The red hair gave Wayne away. Probably going to sell them into slavery. We'll have to put a stop to that. Probably going to sell them into slavery. We'll have to put a stop to that.

Theo pulled the gun from his shoulder and tried to get a bead on them, but they were too far away and there were too many trees for a good shot.

That's okay. We'll follow the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

He clambered down the tree and took off back toward Lou.

”Let's go,” he said, jumping into the truck. ”They've got Wayne and Buddy. They're taking them somewhere a couple hours from here.” And he filled his brother in on the rest.

In some ways it was more difficult to shadow the truck during the day, and in some ways it was easier. But using the same process as the night before, they managed to follow Lisa and her companion to their destination.

They knew they'd arrived at the destination when they caught a glimpse through the trees of a ma.s.sive solid metal fence. Theo hopped out of the truck and climbed up the nearest, tallest tree to see what he could find.

Holy s.h.i.+t.

”It looks like the Black Gate of Mordor would have looked if they'd had electricity and our technology,” Theo told his brother when he got back to the ground.

”Instead of magic, you mean?” Lou replied dryly.

Theo ignored him. ”We can't do anything in the daylight, but I'm betting it'll be a piece of cake for two f.u.c.king computer geniuses like us to disarm whatever they have for security. I saw cameras and electric wiring across the top, but I doubt there's much more. Why would they need it? I haven't seen a sign of any settlements or people in the last three days. There's no one around.”

”Could you see anything else behind the wall?”

”It's sheer metal; I can't see through it. There's a main door where the truck went through and a smaller one to the side. I'm betting that's the one we want.”

”Okay, then. Let's see about taking out a couple of the cameras in the mean time.” Lou hefted the rifle Theo had acquired.

After a short time, the truck left through the gate again. Lou and Theo looked at each other. ”I could stay here and you could follow them,” Theo suggested. ”Wouldn't you like to know where they're meeting Seattle? And see what happens to Ian Marck?”

Lou nodded. He looked tempted. ”Could you tell if Wayne and Buddy were in the truck?”

Theo shook his head. ”Windows tinted. Couldn't tell. But my guess is no. They said they were dropping them off.”

”Then let's stay here and wait for nightfall. I don't give a s.h.i.+t what happens to Marck. I want to get those kids back home,” Lou said. ”And in the meantime, I'm going to get a temporary NAP set up and get us into the network-pretty sure we're in range from here-and message back to, uh, Sage and let her know what's up.”

They looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

Remy opened her eyes. For a moment, she didn't move.

Something felt wrong.

Ian was there behind her, his arm locked around her waist as he spooned her. That was the way they'd slept every night since he told her he knew who she was. They slept in their clothes, and tonight they happened to be on the roof of the truck because there weren't any secure buildings nearby.

”It's either this,” he'd murmured in her ear the very first night as he settled behind her, ”or I've got a pair of handcuffs. Your choice. But,” he'd said, s.h.i.+fting his hips nearer to her, ”I have the feeling you'll prefer this.” His hand had moved to cover her breast and his mouth went to her neck, slowly and sensually along that tender line of skin and tendon.

Sometimes they made love first-not that she thought of it as making love. It was s.e.x. Pure, hot, businesslike, but yet toe-curling, liquid-heat, s.e.x. And every time, he seemed to be at war within himself even as he made her body come alive.

And now every time, he made sure he didn't finish inside her.

”The last thing I want is you pregnant,” he said once, even though she hadn't asked.

Dantes had accepted the change in their relations.h.i.+p with unexpected ease. Maybe it was because Remy m.u.f.fled any sounds of pleasure or release-purely out of spite to Ian, who hardly seemed to get out of breath himself. She didn't want him to know how much she enjoyed it.

But she knew he did. It was there in his eyes, amid the self-loathing and the banked violence.

He hadn't said anything to Remy about her grandfather, beyond the fact that he knew who she was. Nor had he told anyone else. He meant to keep it a secret, she supposed, until such time as he would act on it-however that would be. Selling her off. Exchanging her for something valuable. Giving her to the Elite.

If she didn't escape from him first.

And if he noticed the silver-wrapped crystal she wore at her navel, he didn't seem to realize its significance. He'd never even touched it, let alone commented on it.

Now, though, as she lay there, having just sunk into sleep on the thick blanket atop the metal roof, she realized something had awakened her in the early night.

Ian hadn't moved. His lean, strong body lined her from the top of her head to her feet, warming her from behind. His breathing hadn't changed. Not one lanky muscle had twitched.

Remy tried to relax. If there was something amiss, he would react before she even noticed it. He had an animalistic sense about that sort of thing; she ought to know, because he'd kept her from sneaking off to freedom twice in the last week.

Her eyes were just sinking closed again, her breathing evening out, when an explosion splintered the night.

Ian was on his feet, rolling off the truck in an instant, swearing under his breath. Yanking her down with him, he had a gun in his hand before she was even sliding off. She landed on the ground with a terrific jolt. ”Come on,” he said, pulling her in his wake. Toward the explosion.

If Remy had thought this would be her chance for escape, she was disappointed. His grip was iron clad, and he towed her through the underbrush with no care for her lighter weight and shorter legs. She called for Dantes, and Ian whirled around and told her to shut up as he dragged her on.

The forest of trees and the random jut of brick foundations from long-lost houses made their trek rough and painful. Her legs banged into trunks and concrete, and branches whipped back into her face and arms.

He was ahead of her, and that was why, when four shadows leapt out of the dark, he caught the brunt of it. The next thing she knew, she was torn from his grip as three of the shadows pulled him away and bore him to the ground.