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

guess they wanted to make sure I didn’t have a way to call out for help.” Liam winced in pain as Rachel did her best to secure the wound once more.

Alex had to know what Liam had found out. “Who are these people? Why are they after you?”

Liam seemed to be fighting to keep from losing consciousness. He’d lost a lot of blood and the exertion of trying to defend himself had taken its toll. “Former CIA,” he murmured, before he closed his eyes. “They’re all supposed to be dead.”

The statement pretty much confirmed what he and Rachel had suspected.

Before he could ask another question, Rachel’s worried gaze met his. “He needs immediate medical attention and I can’t even imagine what’s happened to Deacon by now.”

Liam caught what she’d said. “Deacon? You’ve seen him? Is he okay?”

Alex couldn’t lie to his friend. “He’s in pretty bad shape, but he’s hanging on. You were the one who took him to the camp?”

Liam nodded weakly. “We were attacked. I’d been working with Deacon for a while. Through his asset, he found out where the sarin gas was stored and we managed to get it to a secure location. I was supposed to meet with Deacon’s asset, who would give us the names of the people Temple and his men are selling sarin gas to, but we were attacked instead. We were taken hostage. They took our weapons and cell phones. I thought they would kill us, but they demanded to know where we’d moved the sarin. Deacon and I managed to escape, but not before we were both injured.” Liam closed his eyes once more, breathing heavily.

Alex squeezed his friend’s arm. “Rest now. I’m going to see if I can fix the busted radio.”

He got to his feet and motioned to Rachel. She made sure Liam was as comfortable as possible and then she joined him.

“Do you think you can get it working again?” She glanced at the destroyed radio with doubt.

“I don’t know. It’s in pretty bad shape, but it may be our only way to reach Jase before it’s too late.”

“What do you need me to do?” she asked.

“Keep a watch outside. If they’ve been here before, and we have to assume they have because of this—” he pointed to the destroyed radio “—then there’s a good chance they’ll search here again. Especially after hearing the shots.”

A noise behind them captured both their attentions. Something was wrong with Liam. His head slumped to one side. He was unconscious.

They rushed to his side. “Liam, buddy, wake up.” Alex shook his friend gently. After an alarming amount of time had passed, Liam slowly opened his eyes. “Stay awake for me, Liam. I need you to do your best to stay awake.”

Liam managed the smallest of nods. Rachel’s reaction to seeing her brother’s condition worsen was devastating. She was terrified of losing him.

Alex got to his feet and held his hand out to her. She couldn’t take her eyes off her brother.

“Rachel, look at me.” She stood as well, finally focusing on his face. “I need to see if I can fix the radio to get Liam help. I need you to stand guard...okay?”

Slowly, she agreed. She took up her weapon and went over to the opening that faced out to the grounds below. It showed the same path that they’d come up.

Alex went to work on the radio, using all his ham radio knowledge to try to bring the busted machine back to life.

While he worked, he couldn’t help but feel that time was running out. With so many loose ends tangled around each other, they’d need a clear head and safer grounds to understand what was really going on here. He still couldn’t believe former CIA agents who had once been honored for their work in the field were responsible for attacking Liam and Deacon along with himself and Rachel. They clearly had nothing to lose at this point.

He tried to sort through the details he knew so far. Temple and his thugs had sarin gas here in the US, which was unimaginable in itself. Whether or not they’d smuggled it in or produced the gas themselves was uncertain. Both he and Rachel had overheard Temple talking about a meeting with someone. A possible buyer for the weapons here in the US. Alex didn’t like the sound of it.

Something Liam had said troubled him. He’d told them that Deacon was working with him and that they were supposed to meet with Deacon’s asset, presumably someone connected to Temple. Did Liam’s handler know about Deacon?

Alex knew very little about Jamison, other than what Liam had told him. According to his friend, Jamison was a stand-up guy and always had Liam’s back. He trusted the man completely. Had Liam’s trust been his downfall?

FOURTEEN

Trying to keep her focus on the grounds below was an almost impossible task. All she could think about was Liam. His condition was getting worse. She glanced back at her brother. Had they found him again only to lose him to his injuries before they could get him to safety?

Please, God, no.

She’d never seen Liam look so weak. He’d been shot before, but never like this. Liam had been her rock, especially after she’d lost Brian. Now Liam needed her and she felt so helpless.

Something caught her attention below. What looked like a light flashed. She quickly ducked behind the closest wall. She was almost positive it was the reflection of a gun scope.

Alex must have spotted her reaction because he hurried to her side, careful to stay out of sight of the opening. “Did you see something?” Concern creased his brow.

“There’s someone out there. They’re armed.”

“Did you see how many?”

She’d only caught a glimpse. “I’m not sure. I just caught sight of the one person.”

He looked back at Liam. “We need to try to keep him as quiet as possible. Maybe they won’t look here again since they’ve destroyed the radio.”

She so wanted to believe it. She didn’t.