Chapter Sixteen

God, did I have a killer headache. Why did my wrists and arms hurt so much? I opened my eyes and frowned. This wasn't old Tucson. I tried to move and realized not only was I handcuffed but I was seat-belted in the backseat of a Cessna airplane. I stared groggily out the window. We were flying way too low, and the terrain was covered in pine trees. Crappity, crap, crap. We were heading for the Mogollon Rim, but why?

"She's awake," the Zetos bitch said.

The pilot looked over his shoulder. "Good."

Dread knotted my stomach. The pilot was Xavier Zetos, but everyone called him Grandfather. He was a master thief and the head honcho of the Zetos cartel. Dad had been trying to arrest him for years.

"What do you want?" My voice was a raspy whisper.

"What was taken from us," Xavier answered.

"Let me guess, you think I stole Gilgamesh's Tablet too."

"No, Ichabod is the thief, but he hid the tablet and several Aztec artifacts in the Sinagua people's cliff dwellings."

My temper flared to life. Once again that little bastard had dragged me into his mess. I was going to kick his sorry ass. "Why do you need me? Ichabod knows where the cliff dwellings are."

"He has been unable to lead us there."

I sighed. Ichabod could get lost in his own apartment. All I had to do was stay alive until my family found me. There were several trails leading to the cliff dwellings, I would take them on the longest route. "Why should I help you?"

"We will kill Ichabod, if you don't," Xavier shot back.

"Works for me. That little weasel needs to die."

Xavier's eyes widened in surprise. "He claims you are to be married."

"Like hell. The first chance I get, I'm going to fill him full of lead."

The Zetos bitch laughed.

"You guide us to the treasure, and I'll let you live." Xavier promised.

I snorted. "No, you won't. As soon as you have your treasure back, you'll kill me, which would be a big mistake. My entire family are hunters, and they don't stop until they have captured their prey."

"I have heard of the Alpha Dogs."

"My Dad has lots of friends in low places. Hurt me and you'll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your very short life," I warned.

Xavier laughed. Not a very pleasant sound. "Your father knows of my reputation too."

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

The Cessna dropped lower and lower.

Shit! Xavier was setting the airplane down on a narrow dirt road. Pine tree branches missed the wing tips by less than a foot. I let out a shaky breath when he brought the plane to a stop.

Xavier shut the engines down and unbuckled his seatbelt.

The bitch opened the hatch and lowered the steps.

Two goons entered the aircraft and smiled at me.

I really didn't like the way they eyeballed me.

"Take her to the RV," Xavier ordered. "I need to call her father."

"You won't live to see tomorrow," I snapped.

The bigger goon slapped me viciously with the back of his hand. My head rocked back, and those funny black spots danced across my vision.

Xavier snapped, "I need her healthy, you fool."

"Si, abuelo."

My vision cleared and I watched Xavier take my picture. My busted lip was going to piss off the family. Dante would be on the warpath, literally.

The goons released my seat belt and dragged me down the stairs. I hung in their grip, feigning helplessness. I so looked forward to kicking their asses.

The bitch opened the door to the RV and the stench of a badly maintained outhouse hit me. I dry-heaved.

The bitch shrieked at them in Spanish. The goons dropped me in the dirt and snarled at her.

My Spanish wasn't that good, but I caught bits and pieces of it. Ichabod had lost control of his bowels while they were torturing him, and they hadn't bothered to clean him up.

Did I feel sorry for Ichabod? No. He had brought this on himself. All I wanted was him back behind bars and out of my life. Forever.

Huh? The Zetos crew hadn't once looked down to make sure I was staying put. I wriggled under the RV. Yay, they were still too busy arguing to notice. Making like a snake, I squirmed to the other side, got to my feet and ran like hell. Unfortunately, the aftereffects of whatever drugs they had used on me were slowing me down. A lot.

I kept throwing glances over my shoulder for any sign of pursuit. There was none. Maybe my luck was finally changing. I tripped over a branch and hit the ground with a sickening, bone-jarring thud. Sonovabitch! That hurt.

I lay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath. The drugs were also affecting my ability to think clearly. I had a friggin' handcuff key in my front pocket. Working my cuffs under my butt, I brought my knees to my chest and managed to get my hands in front of me.

Shouts of anger erupted.

I dug the key out and unlocked the cuffs.

"Find her," Xavier roared.

Scrambling on my hands and knees down a dry creek bed, I crawled over to a thicket of Aspen trees, and took a quick peek. The goons were armed with AK47 rifles. As soon as I made a run for it, they would see me.

I looked around for a hiding place. There! Behind two big boulders was a small cave. A half-dead sagebrush hung over the opening. I scrambled inside and prayed they wouldn't see me.

"With the ketamine in her system, she can't have gotten far," Xavier snarled.

I cringed. He was standing right above me.

The distant whomp-whomp of helicopter blades caught my attention. It sure sounded like Mom's Huey. But that was impossible, or was it? Had Dad tracked Xavier's cell phone location?

"Heja de puta," Grandfather spat when his cell phone rang. "Zetos. What? I will never surrender, Stone!" With a loud crack, his cell phone bounced off the boulder and landed by my cave.

I grinned. Dad had that effect on people.

"Heja de puta," Grandfather yelled again and fired off his assault rifle. Bullets pinged against the rocks. "This is not over, deputy."

Xavier's cell phone crackled to life, "Oh, but it is." Dad's menacing voice gave me the chills.

Ululating battle cries erupted around me.

Huh? It almost sounded like an Apache raiding party.

Gunfire erupted.

A goon shrieked, "Apaches!"

Julie's distinctive banshee scream added to the chaos.

They had found me. I sagged against the dirt floor in utter relief. God, I loved my family.

Dante, still wearing his Apache warrior costume and warpaint, peered at me. "Are you hurt, querida?"

"Just a bit drowsy." I crawled over to him. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

Dante scooped me up and gently kissed my cheek. "Who hit you?"

"The big one." I laid my head on his shoulder. "I need a nap."

"This one, Gemma?" Julie shook my foot.

I opened my eyes. Xavier, the bitch and the goons were handcuffed and on their knees in the dirt.

Julie pointed to the bigger goon. "Him?"

"Yep."

Julie drew her foot back and kicked him in the balls. "No one smacks around my partner. No one."

The goon curled into a ball and moaned.

Xavier eyed Julie in alarm.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kick you." Julie jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "But she is."

Mom smiled at him. "And I'm wearing combat boots." She delivered a roundhouse kick to his face.

Crack! Xavier landed flat on his back with blood running down his face.

Whoa! She had broken his nose.

"Way to go, Mom," Nate hooted.

That's when I noticed that Dad and my brothers were all wearing Apache warpaint. I started laughing.

An ambulance pulled up next to the RV.

Wearing a gas mask, Frank motioned to them.

My laughter died. "Did you find Ichabod?"

"We did," Julie said grimly. "He's in bad shape."

"The idiot couldn't or wouldn't guide them to the cliff dwellings."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Probably couldn't. His sense of direction is screwy."

Three black SUVs pulled up. "Who called the Feds?"

"Sheriff Maxwell," Lucas said.

Dad checked my eyes. "Do you know what drug they used on you?"

"Ketamine." I yawned. "How did you find me so fast?"

Dante looked everywhere but at me.

"Yeah, how did you find Gemma so fast?" Julie asked.

Devon shrugged.

"I need to talk to the Feds," Jacob said. Poof. He was gone.

Logan's fixed his gaze on the RV. "It's probably a good idea to check the motorhome for explosives." He rushed off.

"Mom, what's going on?"

"Well, so many people have been after you lately…"

Dad interjected, "We put a subcutaneous tracker in your left shoulder."

"What? You microchipped me like a dog!"

"Yes, and it saved your life," Dad said without an ounce of remorse.

Dante tightened his grip on me. "I agreed with their decision."

"Oh, my God! Put me down."

"No. As soon as Xavier got his hands on the treasure, he would have killed you. I will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe."

I noticed the guilty look Mom shot Julie. "Holy hell, you put one in Julie too."

"We did," Mom said.

Julie stared at my parents for a long moment. "The Alpha Dogs are good, but we would have never found you in time, Gemma."

"Okay, okay, I forgive you, but you're taking it out today."

Dad stroked my cheek. "Let's get you checked out, kitten, then we'll discuss it when we get to the Refuge."

"Okay, fine." My eyelids drooped. I was so sleepy.

"You're safe now, querida. Go to sleep."

And I did.