Undercover Texas

Chapter Twelve



Dawn broke over the mountains. The pink and orange rays of sunlight sliced through the mesquite and pine, highlighting the rocky crevices surrounding Erin like burning fire.

Miller had driven deep into Big Bend National Park, then gone off-road for several miles until they’d reached what he’d called their rendezvous point. “The nearby waterfall will mute a lot of stray sounds,” he said with a smile. The way he said the words made her blood chill.

From the moment she’d witnesses General Miller’s cold-blooded execution of his own men, she’d realized the man wouldn’t leave witnesses behind. She had to find a way to get Brandon away from this monster. She had no idea what he would do next.

Now she sat at the edge of a small clearing, her hands still duct-taped behind her back. The baby was strapped in a harness that Miller had pulled from his vehicle. She was thankful. At least her son was near her.

Brandon was cold, wet, whimpering and desolate. She looked down to comfort him. Even that small movement set her cheek throbbing. Her face was swollen and her right eye barely opened anymore. She tried to keep the circulation going in her shoulders, but the angle they were tied at behind her back made them ache.

On the trip up here, she’d searched the back of the vehicle for at least an hour, hoping to find a sharp edge to cut the tape, but she’d failed. If Miller ever walked far enough away from her, she’d feel for a sharp stick or rock to use to shred the tape.

She had to find a way out, but she simply didn’t know how to get away from this man. And no one knew she and her son were here.

She turned to watch Miller. With more light, maybe she could figure out what the general was doing. Knowledge was power, and she had to hold on to that hope.

Miller rounded the clearing, looking into the woods and listening, his weapon at the ready. He opened a small bag on his shoulder and rounded the clearing again, but this time he stopped every foot or so and stepped into the surrounding brush and trees. He’d crouch down, fiddle with something, then, a moment later, step back and move on to the next spot.

As he came closer to Erin, she studied him very carefully. When he stopped, he pulled a small device from the bag he carried and lined it up with the previous unit.

Oh, God, Miller was setting electronic versions of trip wires. Whoever broke the plane would explode a mine powerful enough to maim...or kill...anyone near it.

If the visitors triggered a mine on either side of where she and Brandon sat, they would be in the blast radius.

Miller glanced at his watch. “It won’t be long now.”

Erin shifted backward slightly so as not to attract Miller’s attention, reaching her hands as far behind her as she could. She sifted through leaves, pine needles, twigs, but found nothing substantial.

Then her left hand brushed something hard. She paused and rubbed her thumb against the jagged edges of a stone.

Although elated, she forced her face to remain impassive. Erin grasped the small rock in her hands, grateful that it wasn’t a smooth stone from the nearby streambed. No, this was hard and sharp and might just cut through the tape that bound her.

Gripping it awkwardly, she bent her wrists as far as they would go to spread the tape. Just a little nick, that’s all she needed to get started. She rubbed the rock’s sharpest edge against the thick tape, but it didn’t give at all. She repeated the motion, over and over again, biting her lip in concentration until she realized Miller had looked her way again.

Erin schooled her expression into one closer to resignation and despair, which wasn’t far from what she was feeling. She wished he’d turn away. She couldn’t let him see that she was doing anything. But Miller needed to believe she’d given up.

She glanced down at her sleeping son. She was all that stood between him and death. And she would never, ever give up.

Miller tensed. He walked over to her and dragged her to her feet. Brandon nearly fell out of the chest harness and he screamed, glaring at their captor.

“Shut him up,” Miller snapped.

“He’s a baby. He’s scared. Let my arms loose. He won’t be quiet unless I hold him.”

The screeching grew even louder. Finally, Miller cursed and sliced the tape between her wrists. “Keep him quiet or I swear I’ll kill him. I’m too close to succeeding to have him blow it.”

Erin jostled Brandon, trying to calm him and herself.

“Don’t think for one moment you can get away from me,” he said. “I’ve already proven everyone is expendable.”

Pain splintered up and down Erin’s arms as the circulation in her shoulders was restored. She gritted her teeth, praying Brandon wouldn’t pick up on her distress and cry more.

She held him close, crooning nonsense words of comfort, and finally he settled against her chest and quieted.

A beep sounded from Miller’s belt. He pressed her back against him and shoved the barrel of a gun against her ribs. “They’re coming,” he whispered in her ear. “Don’t say a word. Follow my lead if you want to live.”

Shock slammed through her. There was a chance? After killing his own men...

He shifted her to face south. A tall, thin man pushed through the bushes. Two men flanked him, their assault rifles pointed directly at her and Miller.

“Lower your weapons, Ali, or Dr. Jamison will be the first to die.”

The man’s eyes narrowed in anger, but he nodded at the men. They immediately turned their weapons to the ground. The three men stepped into the clearing. “You have made the entire transaction difficult from the very beginning, General. However, as you see, I can come and go into your country as I wish across this southern border. I am pleased to see you honored your part of the bargain. I don’t like that my merchandise is damaged, however. Thankfully, Dr. Jamison’s value is not in her beauty. Her skill will shine through her current disfigurement. Otherwise, you’d be dead already.”

The man smiled at Erin, his snakelike eyes sending an icy quiver through her entire body.

Erin stood frozen. Miller was giving her to Akbar Ali? She recognized the psychotic despot from several briefings on terrorism. A ruthless and cunning man, he’d clawed and killed his way up the ranks of a once small-time militant group. The organization had been loosely run, with dozen of factions warring among themselves. Ali, after killing his competitors, had unified the disparate groups under one leadership that no one dared question.

Ali walked toward them. “I want the doctor now.”

“That’s close enough. I haven’t seen any money yet.”

Erin shot an incredulous gaze over her shoulder at Miller. Money? She was being sold to a terrorist for money?

Ali signaled and one of the men moved forward into the clearing. He knelt down and opened a small nondescript suitcase, then turned it around.

It was packed with U.S. dollars.

“Very good,” Miller said. He took another step back.

Ali advanced. “Now for my prize,” he said smoothly. “I have much need of her special expertise. You and I will cause quite a stir to those who doubt the...sincerity...of my intentions, Dr. Jamison.”

Her stomach churned with disgust. Ali’s eyes glowed with the promise of death. Hunter had been right. She never should have been so naive as to not see the weaponization potential of the prototype. The world could make anything good into evil. If good men let them.

Miller tightened his grip on Erin. “I have one more piece of business to finish with you.” His hard voice carried a threat.

Ali smiled. “I doubt that very much, General. You would be a fool to take us on. You are one man. We are three. One shot to the head, and this meeting is over.”

“Then you will never leave this clearing alive,” Miller said. He pulled out a small remote device and pressed a button. “I’ve activated a net surrounding us. If anyone walks through, they will not survive.”

“You’re bluffing,” Ali said.

“Try me.”

Ali nodded to one of his bodyguards. “Go.”

The man gave a slight bow and, without hesitation, walked to the edge of the clearing. He stepped forward. One step. Two steps. Light flashed, and a loud explosion erupted. The man’s body burst into flames, but he didn’t scream.

He was already dead.

* * *

FROM BEHIND THE COVER of a large boulder, Hunter, Noah and Daniel peered through the cottonwoods and watched the plume of smoke billow into the sky. The acrid stench of burning flesh filled the air. Erin’s terror and Brandon’s cries shredded Hunter’s heart.

“Go,” Hunter whispered. “You know what to do.”

Noah crawled on his belly, hidden by bushes until he reach the electronic trip wires. While the standoff in the clearing continued, he dismantled two of the mines with great care, then positioned himself behind Ali, ready to attack. Daniel did the same.

Hunter made his way around to where Miller and Erin stood, and dismantled another setup.

Ali and the bodyguard held their weapons on Miller, Erin and Brandon. “I don’t see a winner for this game, General.”

“It’s not a game. You killed my son, Ali. You’re dying today.” Miller shoved Erin into the lone bodyguard. Erin dove to the side. The bodyguard raised his gun. Miller didn’t flinch. He aimed his weapon and took out Ali with one clean shot to the temple, just as bullets from the bodyguard’s gun strafed Miller’s chest.

Ali fell back into a mine. Another explosion shot debris and body parts into the sky.

Hunter raced through the shrapnel and flames and tackled the surviving bodyguard to the ground. The man slammed his gun into Hunter’s head and turned his weapon on Erin.

With one sharp move Hunter twisted the terrorist’s neck.

The man lay still.

“Erin?” Hunter shouted, peering through the smoke

“Hunter!”

He saw her then, Brandon cradled in her arms. Behind her, Miller rose, the Kevlar of his bulletproof vest showing through his shredded clothing. He grabbed Erin when she tried to get up and pulled her to his chest.

“No,” Hunter shouted. “Let them go. You got what you wanted. Ali is dead.”

Miller gripped Erin close. “Damn it, Hunter. I didn’t want you here. It wasn’t supposed to go down this way. I don’t leave witnesses. You know that.”

“General, please don’t.” Hunter eased closer, his gaze on Daniel’s and Noah’s movements behind Miller. He had to keep the man’s attention.

Hunter stared into Erin’s eyes, trying desperately to convey that he had a plan, that he would save her. No matter what.

“What happened to you, General?” Hunter asked. “I thought I knew the man you were. You would never have sacrificed an innocent mother and child.”

“You know nothing. Did you realize they were going to take away the organization I built from scratch? They said I was too old. That I should enjoy my golden years after all my exemplary service. No one was ever going to catch this bastard. He killed my son, beheaded him like an animal at the slaughter, and no one was going to do anything about it.”

“Miller, I’m sorry—”

“Don’t. Our company was fighting the good fight and those pansy-assed politicians were taking that away from me, too. Who would be left to make these murderers pay? They killed my son. They were going to destroy the company, and you...you were going to leave me, too. After all I did for you.”

“What?”

“Matt didn’t have to go back overseas on that last tour. He volunteered. Four times he went to that hellhole and came back alive. I wanted him to stay home and work for me, but then he met you. He admired you, Graham. Wanted to be like you. Save the world. So he returned and fell into Ali’s hands, and you didn’t save him.”

Hunter felt the blood drain from his face. “Is that why you chose Erin?”

“Serendipity. The moment the information on her prototype came over my desk, I knew Ali would want it—and her. He came all the way to me.”

Hunter stared at his mentor. “You were the leak? You told the terrorists about her prototype?”

“I needed to get Ali here. Kill him on my turf. I had it all planned out.” He glared at Erin. “She screwed it up. With her and the baby gone, you wouldn’t be distracted anymore. Ali would be dead. The team would get the credit. The politicians would reinstate the funds. Sure, there’d be collateral damage, but I’d explain away your name on those lists as part of our plan, and you’d stay on as my lead operative. Since I took out Exley, your stupid lawyer, your identity would be safe again. We would have done great things.”

The general had truly lost his mind. “That’s never gonna happen, Miller. This op is over.”

Miller stared hard at Erin, then at Brandon. “I guess it is.”

He aimed his weapon at Brandon.

“No!” Hunter grabbed the gun. They fought for control, knocking Erin and the baby to the dirt. She scooted backward toward one of the remaining booby traps at the clearing’s edge.

“Erin, don’t move,” Hunter yelled.

Miller stared into Hunter’s eyes and smiled, a sickly dead smile. Oh, God. Hunter glanced at Erin.

The general yanked hard against the gun, then with a sudden shift of weight forced Hunter off balance. He stumbled. In that instant, Miller rolled and lifted the weapon. “There’ll be no witnesses!”

Hunter didn’t hesitate. He leaped between Miller and his family, using his body to protect them. A spray of bullets slapped Hunter. He grunted and hit his knees.

Miller let out a deranged scream. He laughed at them. Hunter scooped Erin and Brandon and shoved them away from the clearing’s edge. Miller couldn’t stop his momentum. He tumbled into the trees.

The force of the explosion left nothing behind.

Hunter rolled onto his back, struggling for breath.

Erin crawled to him, crying. “Oh, my God, Hunter. Don’t die. Please, don’t die. I love you.”

He let out a cough and shoved himself up onto his elbows. “Okay, I won’t. You said the magic words.”

Erin ran her fingers over his torso, shocked. “But he shot you.”

“He’s not the only one with a bulletproof vest, honey. Company rules for every op.”

Erin burst into tears and he drew her close.

Brandon crawled into Hunter’s lap.

“Da,” he sniffled, exhausted and unhappy.

“Hey, sport.” Hunter wiped the tears from his son’s eyes, ignoring his own. “You’ve had yourself a rough day for a one-year-old.”

Hunter hugged Brandon close, kissing his soft locks. “If I lost you like Miller did his son, I’m not sure I would survive with my sanity intact, either,” Hunter whispered.

“But you wouldn’t risk innocent people for revenge,” Erin said. She clung to Hunter’s arm. “Is it over? Can I have my life back?”

Hunter looked over at Noah and Daniel. They wouldn’t meet his gaze. They all knew.

“I’m sorry, Erin. Ali has been bragging about the prototype, and others want it, too. The chatter has gone wild. Your name’s everywhere.” He stroked his finger down her cheek. “You’re the prototype’s creator, and they want you. You’ll have to stay dead or be hunted the rest of your life.”

* * *

ERIN HELD BRANDON in her lap and listened to the roar of the cascading waterfall. The stream danced over the rocks and ended in a pool. If she’d had the energy, she would have washed the dirt and smoke from her skin, but nothing seemed to matter anymore.

If she was a normal woman, this would have been a beautiful place to camp, to lie under the stars or to make love beneath the cascading sheets of water.

Instead, Hunter, Noah and Daniel were still sifting through the scene. Hunter had ushered her out of the clearing as fast as he could, but he hadn’t been able to hide the smoldering body of General Miller.

This would be a tough situation to explain, especially since she and Brandon were supposedly dead. No trace evidence of their being here could remain.

She kissed her son’s head and laid her cheek against his soft hair. Everything inside her just wanted to shatter. Even breathing hurt.

Trees parted, the bushes shaking. Erin tensed, waiting as Hunter walked over to her. “Daniel and Noah will be set to go soon. They’ll take you to Logan’s plane and stop at various places to confuse where you’re going. You’ll be safe until you reach your new home.”

“Where will that be?” She looked up at Hunter.

“I don’t know. I asked them not to tell me,” he said. He knelt beside the rock and cupped her uninjured cheek. “If I knew where you were, I don’t know if I could stay away from you.”

Erin wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch. “But you’re sending us away anyway. Ali is dead. Miller is dead.”

“With my ties to Miller and my past ops, I’m on more assassination lists than I can name. I won’t risk you or our son.”

She clutched at his shirt. “Find a way to be with me. I know you can.”

“If I do—” he kissed her nose “—I’ll find you. Somehow, I will. I promise, Erin.”

Daniel and Noah pushed their way through the trees. “It’s time.”

Erin’s eyes filled. “I love you, Hunter. I always will.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, but didn’t say the words back to her. He’d never actually said the words.

The realization made her entire body freeze.

She held Brandon close and stood. “I understand,” she lied. “I was fine before. I’ll be fine again. Just me and my son. The way it’s always been.”

Hunter simply stared, the anguish in his eyes devastating. But he remained silent.

Her heart breaking, Erin followed Noah and Daniel back to an SUV standing in wait. They loaded what little she had collected with Hunter over the past few days into the back.

Hunter opened the door and placed Brandon in the car seat. He rested his lips on his son’s hair. “Goodbye,” he whispered.

She slid into the backseat and rolled up the window. She couldn’t stop the tears flowing down her cheeks as the car pulled away. She didn’t look back, just whispered one last time, “Goodbye, my love. You will always have my heart.”

* * *

“RANSOM!” LEONA’S VOICE called out from the next room at Logan’s ranch.

Hunter was securing some equipment in the bunker, and he bumped his head trying to get out from beneath the desk.

“Ransom!” she called again.

“Give me a minute, Leona,” Hunter groused. He still didn’t know when he’d get used to his new name, but it broke his heart every time he heard it. He’d thought of changing it again, but it was the last bond he had with Erin and his son. Fictitious names for a fictitious family. In his heart, it was all real.

Leona had worked her magic. Even the company believed he was dead. “Hunter Graham” had been killed in an automobile accident in New Orleans not far from his home. “Clay Griffin” had met his Maker in a small plane crash over the Mediterranean. Now only Ransom Grainger existed. A broken man with a shattered past. He wondered if he’d ever be okay again.

He wiped his face with a rag and crawled out from beneath the console.

Logan had called and as of two weeks ago, Clay’s name had been scrubbed from the assassin watch lists. Ali’s terrorist organization had taken credit for the hit. One last act in honor of their fallen leader.

Trace Padgett had let him know that the terrorist group had scattered. At least for now.

Hunter had been fantasizing about finding Erin. Maybe, if things continued the way they were, he could finally do that in a year or so.

If he was lucky, it might not be too late.

Frustrated, Hunter straightened and surveyed Logan’s underground bunker. It looked better now. It had taken a month of dirty, intensive work to clean up, but the generator had been repaired, the new electronics installed and Hunter had just put up the last of Erin’s camera design at the front gate for testing.

Damn it, he missed her. He missed her brainy observations, her beautiful smile, her love for their son.

If Erin’s loss had shattered Hunter’s heart, Brandon’s loss had eviscerated him. He wanted to teach his little boy to ride and rope and have fun on a ranch. He wanted to teach him to have solid convictions and stand by them. He wanted to have that talk with him about girls.

None of it would happen.

Was there any worse feeling than what might have been?

“Ransom. You have a phone call. It’s Logan.” Leona looked down at him from the escape hatch and tossed him the secure satellite phone.

“What’s up, Your Highness?” Hunter smiled for the first time in days.

“Stow it, Ransom,” Logan countered. “Are you used to it yet?”

“It’ll come.”

“I may never get used to your new name, but I’ll try.”

Hunter sat back in a folding chair and stared at the open hatch. The July sun beat down on him through the opening. “What’s going on? I know we’re spending a lot of money—”

“That’s not the issue.” Logan took a deep breath. “Kat and I have been talking. While we’d like to visit the ranch to get the kids away from this crazy palace life, I won’t have the time to commit to the company. Not like we discussed.” He lowered his voice. “Kat’s pregnant, and I need to be here for her. She needs me to take on more responsibilities in Bellevaux. I have to bow out, Hunter.”

Hunter’s stomach dropped. “I understand. Family is the most important thing, Logan. I learned that the hard way. Do you want me to stop work?”

“No way. Covert Technology Confidential, Incorporated, is needed. Just not with me at the helm. People like Annie need us. I want you to run CTC, Hunter.”

Hunter fell back in his chair and hit his head on the concrete floor. He blinked. “You can’t be serious. What about Daniel?”

“He’s AWOL at the moment. He needs time. When he’s ready we’ll bring him back in, if he wants to be part of CTC.” Logan paused. “You’ve been ready for this a long time, Hunter. With Leona and Chuck to help you, I don’t see how you won’t succeed.”

Hunter picked himself off the floor and paced back and forth, his mind whirling with ideas. CTC would be a way to give back, to help those who couldn’t help themselves. The organization would give people like Annie and Erin a chance at a life when there seemed to be nowhere to turn. And his life would have purpose again. Even if his heart was broken. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he agreed. “Partner.”

He ended the call, stunned, and looked around the room. Empty. No one here with whom to share his new life. What he wouldn’t give to have Erin next to him.

An alarm sounded at the console he’d just hooked up. The front gate. He activated the camera.

A black SUV sat parked in front of the newly erected barrier. Hunter tensed, his hand reaching for a weapon. He wasn’t expecting anyone.

The door opened and a dark-haired woman with long, slim legs stepped into the sun.

She looked into the camera and smiled.

She was beautiful, and his stomach gave a jolt. There was something familiar...

She reached into the backseat and pulled out a baby carrier. She lifted a small boy into her arms, pointed up to the camera and waved.

The baby let out a big grin.

Hunter swayed.

Brandon.

He vaulted out of the exit and sprinted to the gate. When he reached the edge of the property, he skidded to a halt.

A stranger stood before him. But not a stranger.

He studied her features, then stared into her eyes. Emerald-green, with a smile hidden behind them. Maybe not so innocent anymore, but honest and forthright.

He knew those eyes, only her face and hair color were different.

“Erin....”

She tilted her head. “So, what do you think of my new look? The color is still in the experimental stage, but this one’s not bad.”

Hunter swallowed, unable to believe she was standing there.

He pressed the release button, and the gate swung open. He stepped through. His shaking hand hovered over her high cheekbones, traveled across her narrowed nose and down to her fuller lips. “What did you do?”

She bit her lip, that nervous habit that made him want to hold her and make everything better.

“My cheekbone was shattered. They had to do reconstructive surgery, so I decided if I couldn’t be Erin Jamison anymore, the least I could do was start over completely. I don’t want to look over my shoulder all the time. And, I hoped, if no one could recognize me, maybe...maybe I could have what I really want.”

He held his breath, afraid to hope.

“More than any career as a scientist, more than fame or accolades, I want you, Hunter. I think you love me. I hope I’m not wrong.”

His chest tightened. He drank in her presence. She was everything he ever wanted. She made his life complete. “I love you more than life itself. You and Brandon.”

The words tumbled out of him, words he’d longed to say for nearly two years.

She threw herself into Hunter’s arms.

Noah exited the SUV and dropped two suitcases at Hunter’s feet. “Don’t screw this up, Ransom. I wish I could find a woman who loves me like she does you.”

His friend jumped into the SUV and took off toward the highway leading away from the CTC Ranch.

She looked over Hunter’s shoulder. “I see you installed my camera design.”

He smiled. “It’s brilliant. Why wouldn’t I use it?”

She clutched his shirt, her expression earnest. “Let me be a part of this. Noah told me about CTC. I can help. Let me use my talents to save people. Let me be what I was meant to be. Here, with you. As Marina Grainger. We make a great team.”

Was he dreaming? “Are you sure?”

Erin gripped his fingers. “This is my choice, Clay, Hunter, Ransom...or whoever you are today. I love you. I go to sleep dreaming of you. My heart misses you. My mind misses you. No one else makes me feel the way you do. I watched you fight to save our lives. Now I’m fighting for your heart. You’re my son’s father, and I won’t let you go. Not again.”

She held his face in her hands. “Do you truly love me?”

Hunter couldn’t stop the indescribable joy welling inside of him. His heart burst from within. He wouldn’t let his dream slip through his fingers, not again.

“I fell in love with you the moment I saw you on that beach in Santorini and you started lecturing me about that shell. You were so alive. So excited. I’d never known what hope was until I found you. I love you, Erin.”

“Marina,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. “No matter what our names, our hearts will always know each other.”

“Da!” Brandon called out.

“Good thing that name still works.” Hunter released Erin, and looked down at his son. He picked him up and cuddled the boy.

“Da...da...da.”

With a sigh, he pulled Erin close into his arms. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect you both. I promise.”

She laid her head against his shoulder. “No. This time, my love, we’ll protect each other.”

He tugged her dark hair. “It’s the same color as Brandon’s now. Do I need a disguise? Do you think I’d look good as a blond? Or I could shave my head?”

“Or, Mr. Grainger—” she kissed Hunter “—you could take me up to the cabin and make love to me all night long.”

He could feel the passion and the love through every caress of her lips. Hunter held her close, relishing the feel of her body against his. These curves, he remembered. He spun her around. “I like your ideas so much better than mine, Marina. You are a genius. Now

let’s go be a family.”

Her eyes shining, she gazed up at him. “Does this mean we have to get remarried, Mr. Grainger?”

Her tear-filled eyes held such hope and such love, he couldn’t breathe. He hugged his family close and closed his eyes, sending a prayer to heaven. He would never let them go.

“It most assuredly does, Mrs. Grainger. And I know the perfect beach in Santorini for a honeymoon.”

* * * * *