Standoff At Midnight Mountain. Mary Alford

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СКАЧАТЬ people were there because of Liam. They thought he’d be at my house.” She turned in her seat so that she could look Alex in the eye. “He’s in serious trouble. He’s up there on Midnight Mountain somewhere...and I’m not sure if he’s still alive.”

      What she said struck like a blow to the gut. “You think Liam may already be dead?” Alex couldn’t allow himself to even contemplate the possibility. He and Liam were closer than friends. They’d grown up together. They were like brothers.

      “I don’t know.” She shook her head, her tone conveying her fear for her brother.

      In spite of what had happened today, one thing bothered Alex a lot. Why was Rachel so convinced that Liam was in trouble with very little to back up the conviction? Was he missing something, or was there more to the story than what she’d told him so far?

      “How do you know for certain that Liam’s not still on a mission? You must have something more to go on than the fact that you haven’t spoken to him in a while and he left his phone and a map at your place. I know the two of you are close, but you realize it’s not uncommon for an agent to go dark for a long time when he or she is working a lead.”

      He barely got the words out before she rejected his theory. “It’s more than that, Alex, and I know it.” Her words wiped away what little bit of hope he still held on to. His heart wouldn’t let him go there. He couldn’t imagine losing Liam.

      “Have you spoken to his handler?” He sure hoped she’d overlooked something. While Alex knew the information the CIA would give out to a civilian was limited, she was different. She’d once been one of them.

      “I’ve tried. Seth isn’t answering. And when I called his boss, he gave me the company line. He said he couldn’t discuss any details concerning Liam’s mission. When I told him I was worried Liam might be in trouble, he pretty much dismissed me. He told me that I, of all people, should know that when an agent is on a mission, they go radio silent.”

      Alex felt his hands were tied as to what to do next. “I need to reach out to Liam’s boss right away. Perhaps he’ll talk to me.”

      He barely finished the sentence. “No, you can’t.”

      Alex stared at her, his eyes wide with surprise. “Why not?”

      Rachel turned away in a defensive manner. There was something she didn’t want him to know. “You just can’t, okay.”

      She didn’t fully trust him yet and that hurt like crazy. Was it because of what happened between them, or who he worked for?

      He blew out a frustrated sigh and agreed to go along with what she wanted for the time being. “All right, I won’t make that call just yet.”

      It would be up to him and Rachel to put the pieces together and bring Liam home alive.

      Alex glanced in the back seat where the dog had finally settled down, although she still kept a close eye on Alex. It was clear the dog was protective of Rachel.

      “Who’s your friend?” He nodded behind them when she looked at him in confusion.

      “Oh. Her name is Callie, and she’s been my good friend for a very long time now.” Something bordering sadness shadowed her eyes. He wondered about her husband. Where was he when all this was happening to Rachel? Why was she alone at her house?

      Alex would give just about anything to ask that and the question foremost in his mind: Did she still hate him for the way he’d ended things between them? He glanced her way. Saw the closed-off expression in her eyes. They weren’t there yet. Emotionally, she was on the other side of the earth from him. She’d put up a wall between them that didn’t encourage him trying to scale it.

      What she didn’t realize was that he had been a different man back then. He hadn’t believed in anything beyond the job. If he were being honest, he’d known she had wanted out of the Agency for a long time. When their relationship had turned serious, her desire for a normal life seemed to have doubled. Five years ago, Alex couldn’t imagine life without the adrenaline rush of the CIA...and so he’d lost her.

      “There’s a driveway coming up on your right. Turn in there.” Rachel’s voice interrupted his chaotic thoughts. She didn’t look at him, and he wondered if she’d read his thoughts.

      He spotted the driveway in question and exited onto a dirt road as dust boiled up in the headlights.

      In front of them, an old farmhouse appeared at the end of the drive some distance from the county road.

      “Whose place is this?” Alex asked as he stopped the car.

      She didn’t answer right away and he turned to her, curious.

      “This was my husband’s family home. He grew up here and I promised him I’d hold on to it after he passed away.”

      Shocked, Alex couldn’t even begin to hide his surprise from her. Nothing prepared him for hearing that Rachel was now a widow. He glanced down at her left ring finger. She still wore her wedding ring. How long had her husband been gone?

      Alex looked from her to the simple white house with its pale gray shutters barely distinguishable in the car’s headlights. Something akin to jealousy seared his heart. He hated thinking of her loving another man.

      Liam had told him she’d gotten married a few years after she’d moved back to Midnight Mountain some five years earlier. After that, well, Alex had just stopped checking in with his friend for a while because it was too painful.

      Which was why the envelope he’d received from Liam days before Rachel’s call had been so concerning. He had no idea what Liam was trying to convey. It contained ramblings about things they’d done in their childhood and some of the places they’d explored growing up. He assumed Liam had written the letter at a low point. There was no sense in telling Rachel about it and alarming her further.

      Alex realized Rachel was staring at him as if she expected him to say something. He pulled himself together and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I had no idea your husband had passed away.” She continued to stare at him with those telling blue eyes. The look in them now reminded him of when he’d told her he wasn’t leaving the CIA with her.

      Was she expecting him to be jealous that she’d gotten married? If so, then she should be happy. She had no idea how hard he’d taken the news of her wedding.

      “Thank you,” she murmured, and looked away. While a thousand questions flew through his head, he could tell she wasn’t ready to discuss any of them with him. “We should probably put the car away and get inside. It’s possible that whoever attacked us will connect this place with me.” She stopped for a breath. “There’s an old garage behind the house. We can hide the car in there.”

      Once they’d stowed the rental car in the rickety old garage that was a little ways from the house, Alex grabbed his gear and followed her while the dog sniffed around the yard for a bit then went after them, keeping close to Rachel.

      Rachel flipped on the lights, illuminating the drop cloths that covered most of the furniture inside the home.

      “Sorry for the mess,” she told him. “It’s just easier to keep clean this way. The place has sat empty for several years now. Brian’s family raised workhorses up here for many years. СКАЧАТЬ