Standoff At Midnight Mountain. Mary Alford

      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.