Standoff At Midnight Mountain. Mary Alford

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.