"What the hell goes on?"
Brick ran from the cabin yelling the words with gun in hand. Niko didn't take time to explain. He could hear the big man's footfalls behind him, keeping pace on the narrow path.
"Stop, God damn it," Brick yelled, grabbing Niko's arm from behind. "What's going on?"
"It's Camille," Niko said, panting. "She got upset and ran off."
"Fucking women," Brick muttered. "Ain't she got a brain? I told you idiots not to wander off. The whole place is wired to blow."
"
I know, God damn it!
Why do you think I'm going after her?"
"Christ, let's go--"
An explosion rocked the mountain, sending a plume of debris and smoke over the trees. Niko flinched, staggering back a step as he looked in the direction of the detonation. With a roar of feral emotion, his feet took flight only to be stopped by Brick's big arms surrounding him and holding him fast.
"Get hold of yourself," Brick ordered. "Did Camille take the path?"
Niko fought him, even trying to use the back of his head to smash Brick's face. The giant was impossible to overpower.
"Which way did she go?" Brick demanded again.
Finally calming enough for the words to register, Niko stopped struggling. "The path."
"Your woman may be fleet-footed, but no one's that fast," Brick said. "That explosion was about a half mile down stream from where the path ends. Either she sprouted wings, or..."
"Or we got company," Niko finished as Brick turned him loose. "Jesus. I have to find her."
"I ain't leavin' Lorette."
"You see to her," Niko said. He pulled his gun from its holster at the small of his back. "I'll find my wife. Get Lorette out of here."
Brick headed back to the cabin with a speed that belied his big frame. Niko didn't take time to think about it. His mind centered on finding his wife and protecting her from whatever was out there. Years of experience and training in stealth tactics came to the surface. He made his way at a fast clip, his feet making almost no sound on the narrow pathway.
There was a second explosion, this one from somewhere on the other side of the cabin. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he picked up the pace. He had little doubt they were surrounded. Fearing discovery, he left the path.
A twig snapped to his left. He took cover in the undergrowth, careful to avoid what appeared to be one of Brick's traps. The small mound of dirt looked as if it might be a landmine. Crouched near it, he could see the shadow of a man as it wound its way through the forest.
Holstering his gun, he drew a knife from his boot. He let the man pass by his position before standing. Quick as lightning, he grabbed the guy from behind, clamping a hand over his mouth and dragging the blade from beneath his left ear, across the jugular vein. Blood sprayed the side of a tree as the man dropped the gun he carried.
Niko let the man fall to the ground. He paid no mind to the twitching, gagging body as he bent to take the M-16 the bad guy had dropped. Examining the assault rifle, he discovered that it was a military weapon, made in the good old USA. He took a moment to look at the dying body at his feet. The guy definitely didn't look like military. His hair was too long and his style of dress was anything but government issue.
After searching the body to find two extra clips in the man's pockets, he once again set out to find his wife. A picture of Oleander formed in his mind, of the man taking Camille again, of her being hurt. There was no question to whom these men belonged—and they made enough noise to wake the dead. He could hear another one crashing through the brush at some distance to his right. A rabbit darted in front of him, heading away from the sound.
He was near enough now to hear the babbling of the stream. Another fifty yards, he knew, and he'd find her—if he could just get there before they did.
"Let me go!"
Her scream was full of terror, eating into his brain like acid.
***
Brick made it back to the cabin just in time to hear the detonation of one of his many traps out front. The scream of its victim was cut short, much like a flame being snuffed out. He heard Lorette's cry a second later and kicked through the door to the cabin. She was alone, her arms protecting her head as she ducked in the far corner.
He ran to her only to stop short of touching her quivering form. "We gotta go, Angel."
She launched herself at him, reaching up to throw her arms about his neck. Her frame shivered against his, seeking something he didn't understand. What he did understand was the soft feel of her body and the scent of her that filled his mind. She smelled of wild flowers and mountain rains. It was enough to make a man forget his life was in danger.
A distant gunshot snapped him out of his reverie. He forced himself to set her away, to take her hand and head for the door. That was when he saw Rafe at the edge of the trees, his hackles raised, his posture defensive. Brick's senses—honed from years of surviving the hell of the path his life had taken—told him exiting the cabin now would be suicide. They were trapped.
Emitting a shrill whistle, he called the wolf inside before forcing the broken door shut and pushing the table in front of it. Lorette shivered near the fireplace, her eyes wide and unseeing with terror. After shuttering the two windows, he moved the narrow cabinet at the back of the cabin, dragging it off a trapdoor in the floor.
"Angel," he said as he pulled the door open. "Angel, listen to me."
She didn't respond, only continued to stare into space, seeing nothing. He could only guess she was reliving the nightmare of her life in captivity. Thinking of his own experiences, he knew she had been through hell. If she had been anyone else, he'd let her rot, but the need to protect her out-weighed his need to save his own skin. In three short steps, he was in front of her, taking each of her fine-boned arms in his hands.
