Damn. She shook her head in disbelief. In this vast desert, it was as if they knew exactly where to look.
Waldridge was muttering a curse. He was obviously thinking the same thing. “I believe it might be time to find a place to hide.”
Her gaze was frantically scanning up the rock wall. “Just on the other side of this ridge is our best bet. Can you make it?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not unless those guys decide to pack up and call it a day.”
“I don’t think that will happen. Of course, I’ll make it.”
Dyle’s helicopter moved even closer. Vegetation rustled on the hillside. The wind was suddenly filled with blowing sand.
Waldridge whirled and was scrambling over the ridge. Kendra was two seconds behind.
Light.
Her breath left her body as she cleared the rim.
She and Waldridge were suddenly bathed in white, blinding light.
Pinned.
Stabbed by light.
“Shit,” Waldridge murmured.
As her eyes adjusted, she realized what she was seeing.
A trap.
Dyle, Jaden, and two other of his uniformed security men stood next to a Range Rover and a Hummer. Dyle had not been in the helicopter, as she’d assumed, but one of the vehicles. Each vehicle had roof-mounted arc lights trained on the ridge, clearly waiting for Waldridge and Kendra to make their appearance.
The two security men had their automatic rifles trained on them.
Dyle smiled. “Careful. I wouldn’t want you to fall.”
Kendra looked up. The helicopter was now overhead with its intense search beams trained directly on them. She and Waldridge looked at each other.
Frustration.
Defeat.
No place to go.
They made their way down the short incline until they found themselves face-to-face with Dyle and Jaden.
Dyle frowned and stepped toward Kendra. “First things first. Give me the tracking device.”
“Biers took it from me, remember?”
“And you took it back from him. Give it to me.”
The realization hit her. “You picked up the signal. That’s how you knew where we were. Your helicopter was steering us right to you.”
“Enough stalling. Give it to me.”
Kendra pulled the tracker from her pocket and placed it in Dyle’s extended palm. Dyle immediately dropped it on the ground and smashed it with his heel.
“It’s over,” Kendra said. “They know who you are and what you’ve done. No matter what you do to us, it’s over for you.”
Dyle raised his voice to be heard over the sound of the hovering helicopter. “You don’t think I’ve made preparations? You don’t think there are scores of countries that will deny extradition for a man of my generous nature? Particularly if they can also reap the benefit that I’ll bring with Waldridge.”
Waldridge shook his head. “You’ve already gone down that path.”
“I’ll get there yet. I just need some more time with you.”
“You’ve already lost,” Kendra said, shielding her eyes from the blowing sand. “Even if you won’t admit it.”
“Why admit what doesn’t exist? I won. You lost. Now all I have to do is rake in the pot and head for Mexico. In a few minutes, you’ll both be on that helicopter, and we’ll begin the new game.” He smiled. “But perhaps with a few of the same inducements I used—”
A series of short pops sounded above them.
“What the hell…” Dyle was gazing up at the helicopter. “What’s happening?”
More short pops sounded.
The helicopter whined. It sharply banked away from the ridge!
Kendra’s gaze flew to the helicopter as it moved erratically off the ridge. The tall wing and rear motor were wobbling, sending the helicopter spinning on a lateral trajectory toward the desert floor.
“It’s crashing,” Dyle said, stunned. “What’s Koppel doing? How could it be—” Dyle was quickly raising his walkie-talkie, but he froze as he saw the answer above them.
Kendra looked up and saw it, too.
Another helicopter, silhouetted by the first orange rays of dawn, rose from behind the ridge.
Pow-pow-pow-pow.
The same sharp pops they had heard earlier, blasted from the helicopter. As the aircraft swung around, she saw Lynch leaning out the open door, wielding an automatic rifle. But the target was not the crippled helicopter this time. He was aiming at something or someone on the ground.
A scream!
Kendra spun back around. Dyle’s two security men were down, their heads shattered by Lynch’s gunshots. Dyle and Jaden had grabbed Waldridge and were trying to take cover behind a row of boulders.
Lynch leaned back inside the helicopter as it was buffeted by the strong desert winds.
Jaden lifted his gun toward Lynch, but Waldridge leaped over and struck his arm as Lynch’s helicopter turned and descended behind the rim. “Son of a bitch!” Jaden turned and struck Waldridge with the butt of his automatic rifle.
“No!” Kendra screamed, as Waldridge slid down the embankment, unconscious.
Or dead? Pray God he wasn’t dead.