43. The Cave

FORTY-THREE

The Cave

Rus was focused.

So, unlike Jace and Jess, who stared at Kleo with surprise and respect at the no-nonsense, practiced way she strapped up, checked her weapon, gave them a nod and rolled out, Rus was too busy trying to talk himself out of killing a man with his bare hands to appreciate her obvious skills.

The twins bumped fists and rolled out too, in different directions.

Rus checked his watch and tracked the second hand as it dialed around the face five times in order to give his team what they needed to take the long way around quietly and without being seen so they could get into position.

He did this thinking of Lucinda’s face when she’d run to him and thrown herself in his arms after they’d left the conference room.

She wasn’t holding in her emotion now.

It choked the entire space.

It tore at Rus’s flesh.

And he’d looked in her terrified eyes and made a promise he hoped like fuck he’d be keeping.

“I’ll bring her back to you, baby.”

Now, it was go time to do that.

Their five minutes were up, and Rus began to move in, a heavy backpack that looked like he carried the money on his back.

Unlike the others, he was going to take the direct route to the cave.

Turner and his bud were out there somewhere, he didn’t know where. He just knew they wouldn’t screw the pooch, so he didn’t care, as long as they were there.

Backup.

Moran and Stoll and two FBI agents were at the base of this mountain forming a roadblock should something go wrong and Ezra had his vehicle stashed, or got one of theirs and tried to get away. Wilkins, Dickerson, McGill and another deputy were at the top of the road, cutting off his exit that way.

Before he and Moran had made it to the station from the sex shop, Bohannan had called a man named Paddy Tremayne. He did this because Tremayne knew every inch of the woods around Misted Pines, and the entirety of Fret County.

So when Ezra gave Rus his instructions and he’d given up his surprising location, even though no one else knew of it, Paddy knew exactly what Ezra was talking about, and standing over a map, he gave them everything they needed.

Ezra’s instructions?

To bring the money.

Ezra would then take Rus and Madden with him as insurance as he started his getaway.

Once he felt safe, he’d let Madden go. Once he was wherever he intended to go to make his final escape (Rus’s guess, even though Canada was not even an hour away, they were driving to Mexico), he’d release Rus.

If this went wrong in any way, Madden would get the hammer.

Rus knew why he threatened that and not the gun.

Because he wasn’t a killer, but he did like to inflict pain, and he knew Rus would be just as worried that he’d harm Madden in some way that couldn’t be tended as he was that Ezra would kill her.

They’d heard no tell of him having guns, but since, for fucked-up reasons, any piece of shit could get a gun in this country, Rus didn’t disbelieve he had one. Ezra was a piece of shit. He also had twenty thousand and a day to figure things out. They had a ten-day waiting period in Washington state, but a private sale would take five minutes.

Rus agreed with Ezra’s plan.

That was the deal.

But that wasn’t what was going to happen.

Rus was certain he could take him out before any of this shit would go down. The key was Kleo getting Madden free with Jace and Jess covering her while Rus set about doing that.

Rus liked to think he had a cool head.

But he couldn’t wait to get his hands on this fucking guy.

He took his time and he kept alert because he was very well aware there was a wildcard out there who could fuck this up in a way that could make him break his promise to Lucinda.

A promise he’d also made to Madden.

And Indira. Porter. Darragh. Keyleigh.

And everyone else who loved her.

So he hoped like fuck, if he was there, that CK liked him enough not to fuck this up.

With each step, his breath grew shallower. Even though the intel from Tremayne said he had a good half mile to hike in from the road, and he had to keep sharp and stick to the route, because the cave was small, well-hidden and Ezra thought he had half a million dollars in his backpack he could just take if he shot Rus, he moved sideways in a half crouch, making himself less of a target.

He was maybe halfway there when he heard the crashing in the trees.

His heart spiked, he crouched and lifted his gun in that direction.

The sky was gray, the wood was dense, he didn’t have a ton of light, and he’d been praying the rain would keep at bay until this was done.

But he saw her.

Racing through the woods, right his way.

His focus went beyond her.

Nothing. No visual. No sound.

No one chasing her.

He didn’t question this.

He stood, holstered his gun, then crouched again, catching Madden on the fly.

Without a word, he pivoted, holding her in his arms, hers locked around his neck, and he sprinted back to the vehicles.

At the side of his SUV, he put her down in front of him, did a quick check of his margins, saw no one there, then he went back to her.

He ran his hands over her head, neck, shoulders, cupping her jaw and forcing her to look up at him while taking in the rest of her.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, full body shaking.

Shock might be setting in.

He let her go, beeped the locks, reached in the back, grabbed a blanket and pulled it around her.

He picked her up, put her on the seat and made a decision he hated to make, but not knowing what the fuck was going on with her getting loose, and with the pieces that could be in play on the gameboard, he had to get her as safe as he could as fast as he could while figuring it the fuck out.

“Get on the floor, sweetheart. Stay down. Don’t look up for anybody, except me, or if someone comes and they say, ‘Cruella.’ That means they’re with me and they’re coming to get you and take you to your mom. Yes?”

She nodded.

“Somebody’s going to be here soon. Five minutes, tops. Okay?”

She kept nodding.

“What are they going to say?”

“Cruella,” she whispered.

He kissed her hard on the forehead and watched as she tucked herself on the floor.

“Stay bound up tight in that blanket, honey. Keep yourself warm.”

She nodded again.

He shut the door, locked the car, and was shrugging off the backpack, making a decision of who to call in to take her home—one of the twins, Kleo or Turner—when he spun, yanking his gun out of the holster and aiming it.

The guy came out of the trees, hands up, fingers splayed, but still holding a weapon in one.

Very tall. Handsome.

Kai Mason. Turner’s boss.

Rus re-holstered his weapon and beeped the locks before he tossed the key fob to Mason.

He again yanked open the door. “Mr. Mason is here already to take care of you. He’s gonna take you right to your mom. Okay?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes were huge in her face, and she was still nodding mechanically. “Yeah, Mr. Lazarus.”

“Rus, baby. Call me Rus. Quick hug?” he asked.

Struggling slightly with the blanket, she came at him, but he helped, pulling her to him.

He held her tight.

“You’re okay now, right? We got you.”

“O-okay,” she whispered in his ear.

He set her on the seat, made sure the blanket was again tight around her and belted her in.

Mason was already in the driver’s seat.

“Let’s get you home, darlin’,” Mason said.

Rus winked at Madden, shut the door, and locked eyes with Mason before he started a three-point turn.

Rus sent a quick text to Moran so he’d let them through.

They were on their way down the mountain when Rus took off, racing through the trees.

He slowed as he closed in on it, again with slinking movements, legs bent, arms up, gun aimed at the mouth of the cave.

He took cover behind a tree and shouted, “We got her, Ezra. She’s on her way home. So let’s not make this bloody.”

Kleo heard him, he knew because she crept into the open from the terrain over the cave, her gun pointed down to the mouth of it.

He sensed Jace and Jess taking positions to either side of him.

“Ezra, it’s over! Come out, hands linked behind your head!” Rus shouted.

He saw movement in the cave.

He focused on easing his finger on the trigger so he didn’t do something stupid.

A tall man came out, hands linked behind his head.

He walked into the small clearing in front of the cave, and without being asked, he dropped to his knees.

Rus’s heart was hammering in his chest.

Carefully, he moved forward.

Jace moved in from his left.

Jess from his right.

Kleo covered them from above.

Rus stopped five feet in front of him.

His head was tipped back, his eyes on Rus.

And he said, “Hello, Zachariah.”

Rus holstered his gun.

And he replied, “Hello, Pastor Richard.”