Target on the Mountain by Elizabeth Goddard (best thriller books to read .TXT) 📗

had brought Deacon to the cabin and then he’d disappeared into thin air.

With no answers coming, she shifted her attention to what they’d overheard. “Temple said he wanted McNamara to let someone know that things were going according to schedule. He had to be talking about selling whatever Liam had taken from him. My guess would be sarin gas. Yet I don’t understand how they managed to get it here in the US?”

They had to figure out who Temple’s buyer was before it was too late. She was out of breath and running on her last ounces of energy. Thinking clearly was a near impossible task.

Alex looked about as worn-out as she was. Once they reached the ranger station, they could radio for help, but if Temple’s men tracked them, there was nothing but a sheer drop-off behind the station. She didn’t want to think about that possibility.

“What if they didn’t bring the gas here?” Alex’s voice interrupted her burdened thoughts. “What if they made it themselves?”

The possibility of Temple manufacturing the gas himself hadn’t crossed her mind. She remembered Alex had told her that Temple and his men had been chasing the Chemist, the person responsible for manufacturing sarin gas.

“What if they found the Chemist and killed him? Decided to take over his business? They’d have his recipe for creating it,” Alex said.

A shiver ran down her spine. “It’s unimaginable that someone who is sworn to protect would do such a horrific thing.”

“Yes, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Temple and his goons are dirty. They’ve been doing who-knows-what unimaginable things since they faked their deaths. They’re capable of this and a whole lot more.”

She didn’t doubt it for a second. “How do you think Liam got turned onto their crimes?”

Alex stopped for a breath. “Probably through his investigation of the new terror threat. That led him to these guys. I’m guessing Deacon may have been responsible for bringing them together.”

It was beginning to add up. Liam had been searching for a link to tie the gas to his new threat. Deacon might have been working undercover with the Chemist or even with Temple.

“What about Michelle? Where does she factor into all of this?” Rachel asked as they started walking again. It was hard just putting one foot in front of the other.

Alex ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Her I can’t figure out. I felt as if she was frightened of Temple and yet when she had the chance, she didn’t accept our help. In other words, I don’t know.” He barely managed a shrug.

Guilt tore at her. He’d put his life on the line and they were still no closer to understanding what was happening than when they’d started on his mission. She touched his arm and he stopped, looking at her curiously. “I’m so sorry I got you involved in this. I didn’t know who else to trust. Liam’s note scared me.”

His handsome face twisted in pain. “No, Rachel, don’t apologize. Liam is my family...and so are you.” His green eyes softened as they swept over her face, the look in them reminding her of the man she’d once loved...the one she still loved.

You never forget your first love...

She swallowed back the hurt that realization brought. He stepped closer. She did, too. He was going to kiss her. She so wanted to feel his lips against hers again, but she was barely hanging on as it was. She wasn’t ready to face the truth just yet. She stepped away. Saw his wounded reaction, but she couldn’t go there. Not now. Not yet. She wasn’t even sure they would survive the day, much less if she could survive Alex’s leaving her again.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in a broken tone. “Are you okay?”

She couldn’t look at him. “I’m fine. It’s just...working with you again has brought up some old feelings I thought I’d dealt with.”

He didn’t say anything. The uncertainty in his eyes had her full attention. This was not Alex. He had never seemed so unsure before. “What is it?” she asked.

His gaze held hers. The pain she saw there was real. “Being with you again has made me realize what I lost when I lost you.”

With her heart breaking, she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying. “We both made mistakes, but that’s all in the past. We can’t go back and fix it now, can we?” She loved him, but she couldn’t open her heart up to that much hurt again. She’d lost too much in her life.

“I guess you’re right.” Regret hung in his voice. She understood. She had regrets, too. “We still have a long ways to go. At least we’ll have decent cover at the ranger station. It’ll get us out of the elements for a while.”

Rachel couldn’t answer for the longest time. It was a struggle to keep back the tears. It felt as if they were saying goodbye to each other all over again. “I guess you’re right,” she managed, and they both started walking again.

The farther they climbed up the mountain, the more the snow piled up. Little sunlight got through the denseness of the wilderness up here.

Exhausted and barely hanging on, Rachel lost her footing on what appeared to be a downed tree. She started to slide back down the mountain but Alex caught her.

Without the proper hiking gear, they were at the mercy of the mountain. Yet one thing working in their favor was that the men chasing them didn’t seem any better equipped for the hike than they were.

She looked behind her to see what she’d stumbled over and somehow managed to stifle the scream before it could escape. It wasn’t a log. It was a man.

He’d been shot in the back of the head. There was a gaping hole there where his skull had once been.

Alex knelt and rolled the man over. Rachel recognized him. “That’s Seth Jamison. Liam’s handler. Alex, they killed Liam’s handler. Which explains