Hot Zone Read online

  Not really. The sixth man was coming toward their hiding place, unbuckling the belt that held up his drawers.

  She sounded pissed as hell. “What the hell's he going to do?"

  "Looks like he's going to take a dump."

  "Here!"

  "Keep your voice down."

  Fontana gripped his arm. “If he squats here. I'm braining him."

  "Exactly.” Jake hoped braining the guy would be as simple as she made it sound.

  He pulled her closer, and pressed flat to the rough boards of the house, hoping the shadows concealed them.

  Their luck held. The thug farted before dropping his pants.

  Jake cupped his hand over Fontana's mouth while she cussed up a storm.

  "Easy, gorgeous."

  He slowly took his hand away from her mouth and groaned low. “What the hell did that guy eat?"

  She gagged and tried to get away. “I'm beaning him now!"

  "Not unless he sees us."

  She gripped her weapon and pulled her t-shirt neck up to cover her nose. The thin material didn't muffle her groan before she gagged again. This time, the guy enjoying his after dinner squat, heard her too. His head swiveled from left to right, and finally he looked behind him. He made the mistake of trying to stand up.

  "I'm not waiting to see if he's a good shot.” Fontana pulled away from Jake, glancing toward the door. “We have to put him to sleep before he sets off a real warning to the others."

  Before he could grab her arm, Fontana was moving like a stalking tiger toward the distracted goon. Jake clenched his teeth, hoping she got in a clean shot.

  She didn't. Being reviled made her anxious, and her Glock bounced off the side of his skull. Yeah, she'd hit him, but he only growled and tried to lunge at her. He fell back in his own dung and began to scream for the others.

  "Aw, shit!” Jake kicked the yowling thug under the chin, not waiting to see if his alarm had been heard.

  "Fontana. Remind me to tie you up next time I have to hit the latrine."

  Her profile was clean in the glare of moonlight, chiseled with determination to live. “You don't have anything to worry about as long as you squat down wind."

  He couldn't help it, his laugh that followed them to the shiny black RV. “Stay low. I'll look in the truck."

  Jake hurried, urgency choking him as accented voice's drifted from where they had left the guy with the bellyache.

  Holy Moses, there they were. The keys dangled from the ignition, just waiting for him to steal. Fontana covered the rear, her glace at him saying she thought he moved too slow.

  "Hurry up!"

  "Okay, get your butt up here and jump in!"

  She took one step before the pristine silence was torn to hell with the shriek of a car alarm.

  "Jake! The alarm!"

  "Fuck the alarm. Get in."

  She scrambled over him and watched with a look of raw excitement on her face as he twisted the key in the ignition. It wouldn't start.

  "We have to leave it, Fontana. It's set to fail."

  She opened the passenger side door and rolled out while he followed suite on the driver's side. They met in front of the van and sprinted for cover in the roadside brush.

  "Claypool. No more stopovers."

  "Gotcha."

  Jake exhaled heavily, realizing they had no plan now. He didn't like the idea of her crawling like a damned slug through brush.

  No help for that right now. Five men with nothing to do, but kill them, were beating the brush and getting closer.

  She scratched her leg and lifted up on one shoulder to look through the grass. “They've moved off to the other side. I don't want to wait and see if they're smart enough to flush us out like rabbits."

  "You have a point there.” Jake helped her up. “Let's find that road and follow it. Since the mob's out here, we're probably on the right track."

  While she tucked her t-shirt in her pants he watched with appreciation. Fontana was a lot of woman and sexy as hell no matter how scruffy she looked right now. He'd tell her that. Someday.

  * * * *

  Jessica caught his male study of her. Jake was a heartbreaker and she'd let him in the door. Sex with her partner was a stupid move, but now she had to admit to being a cradle robber. He was twenty-nine. She was older than him. She didn't like the ring of that at all.

  She nodded and followed him away from the house. A light breeze carried the last remnants of his cologne back to her. Who was she kidding? The sex had been exactly what she wanted, maybe even more. The little age difference was too small to bicker over.

  At the moment, more important issues were at hand. Now, if she could stay on her feet. Running track at the WMCA was one thing. Jumping deep ruts and tangled roots meant getting out of a bad situation alive.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jake couldn't believe how messed up his sense of direction had become. Something about being under a canopy of leaves and maneuvering at night screwed with his brain.

  Fontana was limping more noticeably and guilt forced him to slow down. “Take five."

  She sank down on the log he'd found and rubbed her lower back. “I'm going to have go to the powder room before I move another step."

  "Be quiet about it,” he reminded her. “We'd better pick up the pace and get out of this area."

  "Right."

  He thought about telling her to do her job right there, but knew she wouldn't go for that. She wouldn't go far, not in the dark.

  She surprised him by coming back in a different direction. He'd missed hearing her moving around in the bushes. Either she was part cat, or he was slipping.

  "Claypool.” Her voice was soft and clear. If she was nervous, she didn't show it. “I hear music."

  "The sex was that good?” He laughed softly at her huffing sound of derision.

  She leaned against him and touched his mouth. “I'm not being romantic, cowboy. Listen."

  He did listen while nibbling her fingertips. “By damn. I think you're right.” He held her hand as they walked on, the pleasant sound gaining in volume. Gypsy music?

  Lanterns on posts led the way to the soirée, where they must have been cooking. A haze of smoke filtered through the trees, almost reminding him of backyard BBQ's.

  Fontana pointed in the direction of the happy sound. “A wedding or birthday probably.” She ran her fingers through her gnarled hair. “Do I look like a party girl?"

  He wondered if she'd become self-conscious about her rumpled appearance.

  "I'd party with you anytime.” He looked up to gauge the time left until daybreak. “Let's go see what we can steal."

  She grinned mischievously. “I like it."

  Too bad not everyone agreed with his idea. They had gone to the edge of a huge gathering of party guest's, and practically ran into a pair of teenage lovers getting it on against a tree.

  Jake groaned and held Jessica back. The young girl's eyes were saucer sized when she saw him. The gangly young man finished his business before she could get his attention. He turned around and probably pissed himself.

  Jake went for the tried and true routine. “I won't tell your parents if you give me the keys to your car."

  Jessica went into a routine of shock and indignation. “Holy Mary, Mother of God.” She covered her mouth as she browbeat them. “Shame! You must go to confession immediately. God is very angry right now. Animals!"

  The boy's voice squeaked like a rubber toy, and he dug in his pants pocket, pulling out condoms with a set of keys.

  "Here. Take them.” He shrank back, just out of Jake's reach.

  "I don't want your rubbers.” Jake scooped up the keys then smacked the youth's shaking hand aside. “The car. Show me the car. Now!"

  Looking as if he was swallowing his Adam's apple, the boy hurried to a fairly decent looking red muscle car parked under a tree.

  He growled a warning at the boy. “If you say a word before an hour is up, I'll come back and cut off that pecker of your
s."

  Jessica jumped in the car and stared at the weeping girl, offering some solace. “Don't worry. You may not be pregnant. This time."

  Jake slid in the seat beside her and laughed. “You're a real comfort. She'll probably be frigid from now on."

  "She needs the crap scared out of her, screwing in the jungle like an animal."

  "We'll talk about that later.” He put the car in gear and drove out of the party area, heading for the narrow road. With any luck, they'd get to Azizi's place before he took a powder.

  He held out no hope for the Ambassador.

  * * * *

  Gripping the armrest to stay in the seat, Jessica shouted at her driver. “Claypool! You're supposed to try and keep us alive. Remember?"

  He glanced her way as if she were a pesky child and then ignored her, pressing the gas peddle down to the floorboard.

  The road was nothing more than an alleyway in tall weeds, rutted deep enough to hide a water buffalo and leave room for his brother. Of course, it would have been frightening if one could see something other than a green blur

  He only slowed at river fords and still the car created a six-foot spray on either side. The engine was grinding and threatening to die on the spot, but Claypool kept his foot on the gas.

  Careening around a sharp curve, they met their possible doom. Logs had been thrown across the roadway, and Jessica knew they hadn't gotten there on their own.

  She screamed in surprise when Jake gunned the tired automobile into action, driving around the barrier and back onto the road. He pointed ahead.

  "I figure we'll have company anytime. I'm dropping you off up here and you hightail it to the nearest phone."

  She stared at him in amazement. “Are you nuts? I was sent here, kill or be killed. Don't talk down to me anymore!"

  Her remarks had not made a dent in his determination. “Yeah, yeah. I said get out. I need you to do your part, Fontana. This is it. An order."

  He stopped the car and leaned over to open her door.

  Jessica couldn't even swallow her outrage. She was too thirsty. “Damn you, Claypool.” She rolled out of her seat and stumbled to the sandy soil. “Go ahead by yourself. Stubborn horses rear."

  He kissed his fingertips and waved as he roared off in that crappy car.

  Jessica took off after the car and quickly got a reminder that her hip was injured. Pain, sharp and lingering, shot down all her aspirations of being a heroine.

  Hunkering down in the roadside weeds, she mentally drew up her plan of action. Stay on the road as much as possible, follow his tracks, and you have to be on the right trail. Sure, and he'd leave breadcrumbs, showing her the way.

  In the distance, she heard the car backfire and snorted with derision. He'd blow the engine within another mile. With that in mind, she took off running, hoping someone would have aspirin.

  The car had lost its muffler system as well if she read the awful sound in the distance correctly.

  The next sounds chilled her blood and froze her to the spot. Gunfire!

  Blazing a trail through the brush was taking its toll on her. What the hell? They wouldn't be looking for her yet. She had to take the chance. Out on the uncluttered road, she sprinted off toward the sounds that meant her partner was in deep trouble.

  They were a lot further away than she'd calculated, sounds hovering to the ground and intensified in the heavily foliaged place.

  Out of breath and now out of hope, Jessica dropped into the tall grass again. The car was sitting where he'd run it into a tree. Jake was gone.

  Straining to hear any threatening sound, she got up and checked the area out. There was blood on the steering wheel and seat. There were drops on the hard packed sand and on the door.

  Her heart pummeled her ribs when she pieced together the events that had recently happened here. Azizi's watchdogs had been waiting to stop them, using several big SUVs to block the way.

  Shots had been fired, and the blood meant someone had been injured. Or killed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The demolished car refused to start for Jessica. That meant she would have to hike. Something under the left front fender caught her eye. She picked up Jakes weapon, not prepared for the stab of fear to find it empty and sticky with blood.

  Bursting with worry, she forced herself to stop crying inside and concentrate on taking Azizi to justice. There was a cloth shopping bag in the backseat, and she grabbed it, stuffing the Glock inside. She was duty bound to carry out the mission, with or without him.

  If she had any luck at all, the ambassador would be alive along with Jake.

  Throwing the shopping bags strap over her head, she headed off down the road, moving smoothly as possible in spite of the increasing pain in her hip.

  Thirst drove her to do the forbidden after hearing the trickle of water just off the road. She quickly located a tiny waterfall that spilled from a crevice in the rocks.

  The water looked pure but probably had a dozen different bacteria to kill her. What the hell? She'd risk it and hit the nearest infirmary when she got the chance.

  Jessica drank her fill, hoping in the back of her mind that Jake wasn't suffering if he was still alive. Some thing dark and sinister hovered around in these woods and she shivered with dread.

  Getting back on the tail was simply mind over matter now. If she stopped again, it would be over for both of them. Groaning in increasing despair, she forced herself ahead.

  The tire tracks appeared intermittently, depending on the road condition. They were from several big vehicles, the kind Azizi's boys drove.

  Realizing she'd heard nothing for almost an hour, Jessica admitted to herself, she'd lost them. She slumped to the ground in defeat and misery, vowing to stand and fight when the goons found her. And they would.

  She retied her dirty hair into a ponytail and wiped at the dust in her eyes, looking off in the distance at a stone wall. A wall? Out here? Getting to her feet, Jessica smiled with elation.

  The bricks were new and had been laid by craftsmen, not done by the locals. Who would pay for that extravagance in the outback? A man with a huge ego and tons of cash. Azizi!

  After taking several deep breaths, she stood, priming her weapon before shoving it back in its holster.

  Blessed with a quiet step, she moved to the entry gate to peer around the gate of the brick wall. There was nothing to worry about, except the parrots in the woods having a dispute. She took an anxious look behind her, hoping the fuss wasn't because some of Aziz's men moved around out there.

  No guard. They were expecting her. Probably just not the way she planned to show up.

  Several SUV's and trucks were parked under a fancy striped, canvas tent. She looked them over, choosing a big black workhorse truck. They needed a dependable getaway car that wouldn't fizzle out on rough roads and water. Plus it was big enough for her, Jake, and the ambassador. Pulling the keys from her borrowed ride, she dropped them in her pants pocket.

  One thing bothered her. No guards, anywhere. They weren't stupid. They expected his partner. Just maybe not a female or the way she'd come in.

  She ran on the graveled road for a few yards and then veered off to take cover under the dense growth of ornamental trees. They were still holding onto their fading white flowers.

  Yes, it was still there, but Jessica had given up the pain in her leg to the higher power. This mission now held major importance to her personally.

  You're not important. Take the pain.

  That took every ounce of her will power. Skirting off the smooth roadway, she moved cautiously, camouflaging herself as well as possible. Thankfully, her clothing, or what was left of it blended into the greens and other winter somber hues of the area.

  Peering down on the back yard of the estate style home, she pinpointed several large brindle mastiffs having their dinner in a closed in dog run. All the same, it chilled her enthusiasm. Her nerves uncoiled a bit when she thought they might not be so eager to chew on her with their belly's f
ull.

  She pulled back in the shadows, closing her eyes for a few seconds.

  Think Jessica. Hurry. Hurry!

  Grabbing a huge breath of air, she duck walked down to the stream, holding her weapon up in her right hand. She was sure her breathing would alert anything within a mile of her.

  Quiet! You have to be quiet. Jake's depending on you.

  Tricking men was nothing. Dogs weren't so easy. Pulling herself along the streambed was excruciatingly slow and painful. Rough stones and sharp sticks underwater felt like shrapnel in her elbows.

  Taking a chance, she crawled back to the top of the stream bank, keeping low. Her smile was fixed in cold discovery.

  So that's where their ambush was set up. Squatting like chickens on nests, near the front entrance of the house, several men with handguns and assault weapons tried to appear alert.

  The building in the rear caught her eye. Beautiful Spanish colonial architecture and windows covered with some kind of black material. The extra attempt at security made it all the more interesting.

  Her breath caught in her chest, fear crystallizing in her veins. One of the guards must have gotten bored and was heading for her hiding place. He turned back when another guard yelled at him.

  The second he left, she stood, picking her way to the rear of the building, hitting the ground whenever things didn't sound right to her.

  The final few feet, she belly crawled to a utility cart and rolled under it. For the next ten minutes, she sorted out the number of men and where they were posted. Ten and every one strapped, carrying firepower enough to knock a plane out of the sky.

  She shrugged, finding wry humor in the fact she wouldn't suffer if they hit her.

  Rolling from her cover, Jessica stood and pressed her face to the dark shield on the rear window. One bare bulb had been left on. Damn. She couldn't make out anything but canvas-covered mounds around the room.

  Stop wasting precious time. Break in there and check it out.

  She took off her long sleeved shirt and wrapped it around her arm, then hit the window hard as she could. Whatever the dark stuff was didn't hold up well.

  Glass flew into the storage shed, hitting the floor with minimum noise. She said a silent prayer of thanks for all the tarps that muffled the sound.