On the Hunt

The dog turned back in the direction of the ranch house.

She turned just in time to catch a glimpse of Taylor near the edge of the porch. He’d circled back! “Go, Mack!”

Mack took off at a dead run toward the bottom of the cliff, heading for the ranch house! Kira followed him, letting Mack set the pace. She caught another swift glimpse of Taylor on the porch.

But the next moment Taylor was gone!

Nowhere to be seen.

An instant later, she realized why.

“Stop and freeze where you are, Kira Drake,” Taylor said with deadly softness from directly behind her. “Don’t make a move except to put your hands up. Particularly don’t reach for the .38 revolver you usually keep in your side pocket or anything else lethal that you might decide to use to take me down.”

Kira raised her hands.

Taylor smiled. “Did you really think I didn’t know you’d tracked me down? I’ve been looking forward to this. How clumsy of you not to know how good I am. Harlan clearly hired the wrong gun for his hunt this time.”

Kira’s heart was beating hard. Taylor was clever; she had to give him that. He’d managed to circle back. She’d figure out how later. Now she needed to get out of this trap he’d sprung. “You knew I was there? I thought perhaps you did. You were too cocky. But Harlan had nothing to do with how I intended to capture you or who I was going to turn you over to when I took charge of the operation. We don’t agree on many things.”

Taylor laughed. “That must have annoyed him.”

She took a cautious sidewise glance over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the metal barrel of the rifle gleaming in the moonlight. How could she get hold of the damn thing? “Not really. He didn’t seem worried about you.”

Taylor muttered a curse. “You’re lying. He should have been very worried. Just as you should be worried right now, bitch!”

Kira gazed cautiously over her shoulder again and then froze as she’d been commanded, but now it was in sheer horror. Because Taylor’s rifle was not aimed at her but straight at Mack on the hill above her! The retriever was dangling from a rope tied around his chest. Muzzled, unable to make a sound, he was caught in the blue floodlights now beaming down from the helicopter. He was obviously helplessly blinded by the lights.

No! Dear God, this was Kira’s worst nightmare. She had to stop Taylor from firing. She instinctively whirled and launched herself at him, striking him in the chest. Too late! Mack yelped as the bullet hit somewhere in his upper body. Kira watched in horror as he pitched off the hillside to lie at Taylor’s feet.

“Bitch!” Taylor swung his rifle and knocked Kira to the ground. Then he kicked her in the ribs.

Kira barely felt the pain. She was too absorbed with gazing at Mack lying on the ground a short distance away. Blood! Was he dead? Please don’t let him be dead, Kira prayed.

And that bastard Taylor was laughing at her. “Look at you. I told Donovan that you’d be in agony if I killed that mutt. He couldn’t understand why I wanted to rely only on the pain factor as a punishment. He didn’t like the idea of just knocking the dog out with a hypodermic gun and then bringing him to me to kill in front of you. He thought it was inefficient.” Taylor’s expression was filled with malice. “But now he’s probably seen the light. You screamed louder than the dog did!”

“You monster,” Kira said through set teeth as she got to her knees. “He’s a helpless animal. If you haven’t killed him, I’ll hunt you down and let Mack tear you apart. Or maybe I’ll do it myself.”

Taylor stopped laughing. “So much venom. Then perhaps I’d better make certain. I told you to put up your hands. Do it now.” He pointed his rifle at Mack. “You might have spoiled my shot by lunging at me. I thought I saw him moving just now. Perhaps Donovan needs another demonstration. I’ve decided to take both of you with us when he lands. I’ve been hearing rumors about you and how clever you are at finding hidden treasure. I think I’ll have you tell me about it. It shouldn’t take me too long to persuade you to do that.”

“Rumors?” she asked scornfully. “You mean lies. What a fool you are.”

“Perhaps. But don’t you think this would show how superior I am to him? Perhaps a little expertly applied torture would also be what you both need. Using a dog and a weak woman was poor strategy anyway—it was not worthy of either me or him. But when they see the condition I leave you in after spending a few hours with you tonight, Harlan will definitely learn a few lessons. And the entire world will know that I’m much more intelligent than some bookish scientist who thought he could outsmart me because of all those medals they gave him.”

Kira was already desperately planning her next move as he shaded his eyes from the glaring blue lights of the descending helicopter. Maybe she could gain a small advantage if she could use that weakness to get to the gun in her pocket or knock the rifle down and away from Mack. Her only hope was that he might not expect another attack from her: She was still kneeling at his feet, and he probably thought she was helpless and defeated now. “I don’t anticipate any problem,” she said. “I was told Harlan almost killed you several times in the past. He just hired me as a backup measure. I don’t need either him or my dog when I have my own plan in mind. I’ve been doing this for years, Taylor. I’ve trained law enforcement agencies all over the world. In return, many of those agencies have also trained me.” She added one additional goad: “This poor, weak woman has had to learn how to handle blowhards like you.”

He scowled. She was walking a tightrope here, hoping to antagonize him enough to throw him off balance but not enrage him to the point that he would immediately put a bullet in her brain. “You don’t think this mountain is crawling with FBI, police, and state troopers right now? You’ve made yourself a famous man, Taylor. You’re the slimeball responsible for the Paris massacre. These mountains are like one hellish fun house.” She paused. “But maybe we can make a deal…”

The helicopter was descending rapidly now.

She had to continue distracting him. She wouldn’t be able to reach her weapon, but the helicopter lights would soon be upon them, and she could wait for a moment when the glare was shining in his eyes. Maybe then she’d be able to lunge for that rifle and keep him from doing more harm to Mack.

His lips twisted. “That has to be a bluff. You have to be lying. If not, then you’re doubly ignorant. You can’t play games or get between Harlan and me. You’re a dead woman right after I kill this hound. Don’t you realize when you’ve met your—” He flinched as the blue beam of light hit him squarely in the eyes, blinding him!

“Yes!” It was what Kira had been waiting for. She spun around to put the blinding light behind her and then tackled Taylor and knocked the rifle from his grasp. The next instant, she had her .38 revolver in her hand and was struggling with him.

Pain!

Hot agony as a bullet tore into the flesh of her shoulder. Where in the hell had that come from? The helicopter?