Hold on, Mattie, he thought. I’m coming for you.
The problem was he had no idea where to look for her. He’d searched the scene thoroughly, but The Jaguar had not left a single clue. Cutter had gotten on the phone and called in favors, but not even his shadier connections knew where The Jaguar’s mountain compound was located.
The only information the MIDNIGHT Agency intelligence people could come up with was that the place was a fortress set on a hundred acres of rugged mountain terrain somewhere in Alberta, an immense province in western Canada. A lot of ground to cover. Without GPS coordinates, searching for her would be futile.
“Damn it!” Cutter slammed his fist down on the tabletop. “Madrid, where the hell are you?”
He glanced at his watch. Almost two hours had passed, and he knew all too well how much could have happened to Mattie by now. Cutter had never been good at waiting, but he honestly felt as if he were about to unravel.
He jolted when his cell phone chirped. Madrid’s cell number appeared on the display. “Talk to me,” he said.
“I got the GPS coordinates.” Madrid rattled off a series of numbers. “I’m en route in the Lear. Backup is on the way. We’ll meet you at the compound in three hours. Your instructions are to not go in alone.”
Cutter made a bitter sound that was part growl, part laugh. “In three hours he’ll have the plans for EDNA and Mattie will be dead.”
“Sean, you need to calm down and think about this.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, damn it.”
“Look, Wolfe briefed me on the situation. Our objective is to take down The Jaguar. We can’t afford to screw this up, Cutter. Come on. Work with me. There are a lot of lives at stake.”
Cutter started for the door. “There’s only one life I’m interested in at the moment.”
“I don’t want her getting hurt any more than you do, but you have to weigh her life against the lives of tens of thousands at risk if that bastard gets his hands on EDNA.”
“I know what’s at stake,” Cutter snapped.
“The scientist is expendable, Sean.”
“Yeah, well, so am I.”
After ending the call, Cutter left the bed and breakfast at a dead run.
THE JAGUAR GAVE HER the grand tour of the compound as if he were the host of some upscale resort. Had it not been for the knot of fear tightening around her throat, Mattie could almost have imagined she was visiting the mansion of some celebrity in Los Angeles or New York or Chicago. But the reality that she was a prisoner in the lair of a killer never left her mind.
The dining rooms were massive and furnished with expensive Italian furniture. The chef’s kitchen gleamed with stainless steel appliances and ornate tiles set into the walls. Antique furniture adorned the six guest bedrooms.
The Jaguar himself was nothing like she envisioned. He was cultured and soft-spoken. But as he went on about the compound and his reasons for having built it, Mattie saw something dark in his eyes. A deep-seated hatred for anyone who did not agree with him. A total disregard for human life. A cruelty that was beyond frightening.
“Are you ready to begin the second phase of the tour?”
The question drew her from her reverie. Mattie looked at him to find his eyes already on her, calculating, probing. She suppressed a shudder. “I want you to let me go,” she said.
“Come now,” he cooed. “You know I can’t do that.”
“You can. Please. I don’t know anything about what you want.”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?”
He wants to hurt me almost as badly as he wants the future plans for EDNA, she thought, shivering with terror.
The Jaguar nodded at one of the two men with them. The man punched numbers into a keypad set into the wall. A heavy door slid open to a murkily lit stairwell. The Jaguar motioned her inside. “Please,” he said.
When Mattie hesitated, one of the other men gave her a shove. Knowing she didn’t have a choice, she went down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, they entered a narrow hall with two doors on either side. The steel doors were equipped with barred windows.
A scream shattered the silence. The sound was so shrill and animalistic, she couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Then a second scream rent the air. The urge to put her hands over her ears to block out the horrific sound was overwhelming, but her hands were secured behind her back.
“In case you’re wondering, this is the interrogation wing.” The Jaguar motioned down the hall. “Shall we?”
“I don’t want to see any more,” Mattie said.
“All of my interrogation equipment is state-of-the-art.” He went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “Much of it was imported from other countries. Some of it I invented myself. You see, I am a master of persuasion. I know how to make people cooperate.”