Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Ten minutes later, Harlan adjusted his earpiece as he walked through the trees. "I'm just clearing the tent city. Can everybody read me?"

"Go back to bed," a familiar voice said. It was Belson. "We've got this covered."

Harlan could hear chuckling from several others on their frequency. "But I'm not sleepy," Harlan said.

"Then go back to your tent and broker a few deals or whatever it is you billionaires do," Belson said. "I really don't have time to coach you right now. I'm here with most of your security detail, and the island's security team is out in full force. We got this."

Harlan chuckled. "I'm sure you do. But pardon me if I want to take a look for myself."

"Suit yourself. How about a roll call? Anybody see anything out here?"

A chorus of "negative" rang through the headset as everyone checked in.

"See?" Belson said. "All this for a nest of wild birds or something."

"Hold on!" one of the voices said. "Unidentified aircraft from the island's west side."

Harlan cocked his head. He couldn't hear it. "What does it sound like? A seaplane? A copter?"

After a moment, more of the security officers chimed in. "Drones!" several said at once.

Harlan heard the buzzing overhead. "They're heading for the east!"

"They just crossed over the river," Belson said. "We're heading toward the bridge now. Harlan, I really wish you'd hang back."

"Just when it's getting interesting? You know me better than that." Harlan quickened his pace. "I'll meet you on the other side of the river. Stay sharp, everybody."

Harlan jumped over the boulders that lined the main walking path and made his way toward the suspension bridge. It seemed there were now several drones in the sky, and they were all converging near the housing facilities on the other side of the river.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions in the distance.

Boom!

"What the hell is going on over there?" Harlan shouted.

"Possibly grenades," one of the security men replied. "And maybe some gunshots. We're seeing some flashes up ahead. We're halfway over the bridge right now."

"I'm right behind you. Keep going, I'll see you in a minute."

Harlan saw the flashes and smelled gunpowder in the air. What the hell was happening?

He pulled out his gun and charged onto the bridge. He could just make out the rest of the team thirty or forty yards ahead of him. If he put on an extra burst of speed, he might just be able to—

Boom-boom-boom-boom! A deafening string of explosions rocked the bridge from below. Harlan felt the vibrations beneath his feet, and he looked up just in time to see one of the bridge's two massive towers rocking from side to side.

Oh, shit.

The radio chatter told Harlan that the others on the bridge realized the same thing he did.

"It's going down!"

The bridge's superstructure groaned, and the steel cables snapped and whipped across the railing, slicing it in several places.

Harlan leaped for one of the cables and grabbed tight, hanging on as the bridge's roadway collapsed beneath him. The east tower tumbled into the river, turning the bridge into a one-way ramp into the churning water below.

Barking! Mack was crawling up the ramp trying to get to him. He reached out and grabbed the dog's leash, then pulled the retriever the rest of the way up as screams blasted through his earpiece. Mack fought the way to his side, trying to nudge him away from the abyss.

More screams!

At least half the team had been hurled from the bridge, and the others were still trying to grab hold of something, anything, as the remaining beams buckled.

Harlan felt his hands sliding down the steel cable. They were wet with blood, he realized.

Shit.

He gripped harder and swung his feet toward the railing.

Just short.

He tried again.

Another miss. He slid a few feet toward the yawning crevasse behind him.

He swung his legs out one more time and finally got a foothold on the now twisted railing. He pushed himself up.

He might be able to do this.

He moved his bloody hands across the cable and pulled himself up another few feet.

If he could manage that another couple hundred more times, he might be able to get the hell off this thing.

A voice crackled through his earphones. "Any survivors?"

It was Belson.

"Harlan here. Anyone else?"

Six of the other team members responded. More than he thought possible.

He looked up at what was left of the sloping bridge. Shards of metal and cable fragments rained down on him, some white-hot from the force of their twisting and breaking.

Boom! Boom!

More explosions rocked the bridge's foundations, and a team member lost his grip and plummeted toward the water. Harlan tried to catch him as he slid past, but the man tumbled away from his grasp in the last instant.

The bridge shook again.

Harlan dodged the falling debris and pulled himself higher, dragging Mack's leash with him.

Focus. Stay alive. Just fight the hell raining down on him and make it up to the other side.

He moved up five feet, then ten…

The water roared louder in his ears.

He was getting closer.

He could do this.

He crawled over one of the expansion joints, now pulled and twisted almost beyond recognition. Through the gap he could see burning brush along the riverbank below, blazing from the explosions.

He pulled himself higher. Another few feet, and he should be…

A strong hand grabbed his wrist. "Now will you start listening to me?"

Harlan looked up. It was Belson!

"You know, you didn't have to do all this just to get my attention," he said.

"Shut up and keep climbing."

With Belson's help, Harlan half crawled, half climbed the remaining few feet off the bridge. The five remaining team members were there, most nursing bleeding arms and torsos.

"Are we the only survivors?" Harlan asked as he dragged Mack off the bridge to safety.

"Two more checked in from the riverbank below," Belson said. "Hopefully there will be more."

Harlan turned toward the destroyed bridge. "They used the drones to lure us. The charges went off only after we were all on the bridge."

Belson nodded. "That's the way I see it."

Harlan pointed into the distance, where the night sky was lit with a vibrant orange glow. "It's the housing section. They'll be going after that now." He grabbed a rifle from one of the team members. "I'll get rid of a few of them to see if I can discourage their enthusiasm." He pitched Mack's leash to Belson. "Take Mack back to the tent area and turn him over to Kira. Make certain they stay safe. Then go and see what you can do about that housing section. Get going!" He was aiming at the nearest drone as he spoke. "And now let's see what I can do about you dirty sons of bitches."

Kira stood outside her tent with a pair of binoculars trained on the flashes of light coming from the other side of the island.

"Anything?" Sarah was suddenly standing beside her, holding her phone at her ear.

"Nothing since that series of explosions. Have you made contact with your security force?"

Sarah shook her head. "No. I think the cell service has been knocked out all over the island." She was frowning, troubled. "But I need to take these two guards and go to the labs. If we don't protect them from damage, we could lose years of research. Do you want to come with me?"

Kira looked back toward the orange sky. "You go ahead. I'll go toward the boarding section and make sure the dogs there are okay."

"Good idea. We have two staffers, Dane and Cathy, down there overnight, and I'm sure they can use any help you can give them. But take the ground path. It looks like the bridge may have taken a direct hit."

"Right." Kira sprinted toward the trees. "See you at the lab!" She followed the jungle path down to the riverbank and continued for a quarter mile. She rounded the bend and stopped short.

A direct hit indeed. There was little left of the once beautiful bridge, with the still-crumpling superstructure and pockets of flames marking the site.

She whispered a curse and moved through the wreckage. There were two corpses on the riverbank, still wearing their security uniforms and terrified facial expressions.

Keep moving. There was nothing she could do for them now.

She made her way down the riverbank until she reached a footbridge that would take her to the other side. She climbed the bank and moved through the trees until she finally spied the complex of buildings that made up the island's animal boarding facilities.

One of the buildings was on fire!

She ran toward it, even though she knew that the island's attackers could still be nearby.

"Dane! Cathy!" she shouted.

No answer.

Dogs barked inside the burning structure.

No!

She ran for the building's main entrance and yelled for Dane and Cathy again. She pulled on the door. Locked. The dogs' barking grew louder.

She had to get them out of there!

Kira ran around the building until she finally saw a large floor-to-ceiling picture window. She grabbed a beach chair and hurled it at the window.

It bounced away.

Shit.

She grabbed it and swung it at the window again. And again, over and over until a crack finally appeared.

Thank God.

The dogs were barking louder now.

She swung the chair again, and the window shattered. Over a dozen dogs leaped through the opening, still barking and circling her. Kira ducked low and moved inside, checking to make sure there were no dogs in the private rooms. There were none.

Kira ran back and jumped through the window, where the dogs were still barking and whining. She clapped her hands. "This way. Come on!"

She led the dogs down the path toward the clinic, and before long, she realized they were leading her toward the clinic. The dogs' daily walks had obviously given them a working knowledge of the area. Kira turned back toward the burning building. Where were Dane and Cathy? Not in there, she was sure. Had they headed for—

"Thank the Lord!" It was Cathy, coming toward her from the direction of the clinic. And Dane was right behind her. "You got the dogs out. We ran down here to the clinic to get help from the soldiers, but they were already on their way to try to fight the fire. That's where everyone must have gone. The clinic was deserted."

Which meant that must be where Harlan had gone, too, Kira thought. "I'll go check." She was already turning around. "Look, can you and Dane take the dogs back and get them settled in the clinic for me? I'll send someone to help you as soon as possible."

"Sure," Cathy said. "That's our job. We'll take care of it."

"Thanks!" She was running back up the hill, heading toward the housing area. "I have to find Harlan and my dog, Mack…"

Kira found Mack almost immediately, but he wasn't at the fire. She found him tied securely to a pine tree right outside her tent and howling in desolation.

"Mack? What are you doing here? And where the hell is Harlan?" She untied him, and when she did, she saw the blood on his paws. Not Mack's blood. She stiffened. Mack appeared to be fine. Harlan's blood? What had happened to Harlan? She felt a chill run through her. It was absurd to feel this sense of panic. No one could take better care of himself than Harlan, with his military background and keen mind and sheer brilliance.

But none of those qualities could prevent a bullet from killing someone if the circumstances were just right.

And there had been bullets and explosives going off tonight.

Perhaps he'd gotten shot after he'd brought Mack back to the tent. It could be that he was lying somewhere in these hills bleeding. Helpless…

What the hell. Why stand here worrying when she had to do something. When she had to find him.

She ducked inside Harlan's tent and grabbed a khaki shirt she'd seen him wearing earlier in the day. She stepped out, untied Mack, and let him sniff the shirt. He lowered his head, turned, and started back through the woods, hot on Harlan's trail!

Damn Harlan! After miles of tracking, he was now just ahead of her, Kira realized. One more turn up ahead on the trail and she'd have him. And she just might kill the bastard. She was almost angry enough to do it. Just one more turn and she'd—

"Got you!"

Two strong hands grabbed her throat and threw her to the ground!

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. Who in the hell was this monster? Her throat was throbbing. Was it Taylor who—

"Kira? Son of a bitch. What are you doing here?"

It was Harlan ! Indeed. Yes, she might kill him. She was coughing and still struggling for breath…

In the next instant, Mack had his sleeve in his teeth and shook it from side to side. Harlan finally released his grip on her throat.

Kira raised her palm. "Mack, down!"

Mack immediately released him.

Harlan backed away. "Why the hell are you—? Sorry, are you okay?"

She rolled away and clutched her throbbing neck. "Barely. No thanks to you."

"You shouldn't be here. This place could be crawling with Taylor's thugs. I thought someone was sneaking up on me. I could have broken your neck."

"You almost did, you idiot. And someone was sneaking up on you. It was me ."

"Why on earth?"

"You didn't come back." She was trying to catch her breath as she pushed his arm away and struggled to a sitting position. "And then I heard the sounds coming from the bridge."

"So you came running straight for trouble," he growled as he pushed the hair away from her forehead and checked her for any wounds. "Not smart, Kira. Why didn't you stay put like I told you?"

"I tried. Because it seemed the most efficient thing to do. But then when you didn't come back right away, I decided to do what I thought best."

"It wasn't best." His fingers were moving over her face, and he stiffened as he felt the dampness. "That's not blood. Tears? You said you weren't hurt."

"I wasn't. But you were, and you bled all over Mack."

Harlan looked down as the dog gently licked his hand.

"Do you think I'd let you do that to me?" Kira said. "I told you that I did what I thought best. I had to free those dogs from a housing unit and take them down to the clinic where they'd be safe. You just got in my way."

"My apologies. But it definitely wasn't best in this case."

"Then you'd better start keeping your word so that I won't have to make decisions based on lies."

"They weren't lies. The situation just changed, and I had to change with it."

"You mean there was an opportunity and you decided to take advantage of it," she asked shakily. "Was it Taylor?"

"No, only a few of his men were using drones to attack us. I wanted to show them we're able to fight back."

"And enjoyed every minute, I'm sure." She got to her feet. "I could see how restless you were when you left."

He stood and grabbed her by the shoulders when she tried to turn away. "Yes, as a matter of fact I did. But I was also tending to what needed to be done."

"I understand that." Her voice was suddenly fierce, her eyes glittering with anger as well as tears as she looked up at him. "But never again, Harlan. It was my fight, too, and I won't be left behind again. The next time you decide to ‘tend' to business, you'll know I'm right behind you. I brought you into this and I won't let you do it alone. We're partners. I'm not going to have you risk your life if I'm not there to watch your back."

"Shh." His hands were suddenly gentle as they moved up from her shoulders to cup her cheekbones and brush a tear away. "We'll talk about it later. Heaven forbid I turn down a tough ally like you when I may need all the help I can get. I still have to meet your friend Kalim."

"No, we've already discussed that." She cleared her throat. "I just wanted you to know I accept my responsibilities where you're concerned. We're in this together."

"Whatever you say." He was pushing her gently toward the tents. "Now will you go to bed? I don't believe I'm going to need anyone to watch my back for the rest of the night."

"You can never tell." She was trying to smile. "I owe you. I'll be there for you if I think it's necessary."

He shook his head. "Kira, you might have heard I'm trained to take care of myself."

"So I understand. All that SEAL stuff that everyone raves about. I got to see it firsthand when Taylor closed in on me on those cliffs in Colorado. I pay my debts, Harlan." She looked down at Mack. "You're lucky he didn't tear you apart. Mack is usually very protective. I think he realized it was you before I did, and he thinks of you as his buddy."

"I am his buddy."

Mack barked and wagged his tail.

Kira shook her head. "He probably thought we were playing a game. He's used to that here on the island."

"Not the kind of play I appreciate," he said. "Not with you, Kira."

"As you say, I'm tough." She didn't wait for him to reply. "I'll see you in the morning."

But she didn't move. She just stood there staring at him, somehow not wanting to leave him yet. She only wanted him to touch her once again.

And then he did touch her, reaching out to gently brush his hand against her neck. She flinched, and he jerked his hand away. "I did hurt you."

"No, you were the one bleeding. Maybe I should bandage it. Let me see it."

"It's nothing. I'll get a bandage when I get back to camp. It will give Belson something to do while I set up the work crews to help clear the bridge debris. You're the one who's going to have bruises." He touched her throat again.

Heat tingled through her this time. She inhaled sharply.

"I like that," he said softly. "Do you?"

She didn't answer directly. "I'm not sure. It was… unexpected." She went into her tent and whistled for Mack to come to her before she zipped it. "Good night, Harlan."

"Will you at least call me next time you decide you need to come to my rescue?" he asked gently. "If I promise to invite you along on all the fun and games?"

"That seems fair. But sometimes lately you've taken over all the action. Can I trust you?"

"You can trust me. I wouldn't dare do anything else. I need you to be where I can keep an eye on you at all times. Nothing could make this more clear than that moment tonight when I was on the verge of breaking your neck. I don't want to ever come that close again. Good night, Kira."

She heard his footsteps as he headed for his own tent and found herself smiling. She reached up and brushed her hand over her damp cheek and throat where he had touched her. It had been a wild, exciting, and upsetting evening, and she should want to forget it. But somehow she didn't. That moment had been special in a strange way, and she had wanted to keep it and Harlan with her for a little longer. It might change tomorrow, but right now she liked that feeling of closeness that had surrounded them and believed him when he'd said she could trust him…

Mack was nestling next to her because he had sensed her restlessness and wanted contact. She reached out and stroked him. "Did you have a good time tonight? I bet you did. I would have liked to have gone with you. Harlan is probably a good partner, but it wasn't fair to me. Next time, I get to go along…"