Chapter 14

Trevor rushed into the cabin, rummaged through his bag, pulled out the iPad and threw it to the floor. He stood there watching as the screen spider webbed and he knew that it was dead.

“Tre! What are you doing?”

Turning, he looked to Chloe where she stood framed in the door of their bedroom. Kirk stood just behind her, eyes narrowed and assessing. “They’re tracking the damn thing, you were right. I should have listened to you.” He turned away, fingers diving through his hair in frustration. It was his fault the FBI had found them, because he had been insane enough to believe he was smarter than the big bad FBI.

“And you don’t think the moment they lose the signal from that iPad they’ll realize that you are in fact Trevor Madison? After all, how else would Trevor Madison know to destroy it unless he was at that meeting you just left?” Kirk’s voice reached him from across the room.

Trevor cursed, spun around, and lifted the device in his hands, watching as it ‘healed’. He lifted his head and looked at Kirk. “Right, so now what Sensei? I can’t hang on to it; they already know that it’s here! It’s only a matter of time before they get impatient and come storming in looking for me. They won’t let us blow them off for long.”

Kirk moved past Chloe into the room, holding his hand out for the iPad. “You ever been to Mexico?”

Trevor’s brow wrinkled. “No.”

An answering smile lifted the corners of Kirk’s lips, but as usual, his eyes remained cold, empty of emotion. “Well, you’re still not going. However, your iPad will enjoy the trip I’m sure. I’ve got some friends who will be quite happy to take it on a little vacation.”

Trevor blinked at him, frowned, and then slowly realized what it was Kirk was saying. “They’ll follow the signal, thinking I’m making a run for it because of the meeting, except only the iPad will be doing the running.”

“Bingo cuz. Now, you stay here, keep acting as you are, and I’ll take care of this little problem.” He said no more about it, simply turned around and left, carrying the little device with him, tucked under his arm.

“Tre why wasn’t that still hidden away where I put it?”

“Because I’m a fool. I’m sorry Chloe. This is my fault. I should have listened to you.”

She came forward, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. “It’s all right; you’re a stubborn male so I’ll allow you this one mistake.”

Slate began barking wildly from the other room. The sound was low, intense, with and added snarl here and there. It wasn’t a friendly greeting; it was a warning of danger. Trevor shoved Chloe aside, went to the nightstand, and pulled out the gun that Snaf had given him.

“Stay here and stay hidden,” he told her before rushing from the room.

He allowed Slate to continue barking. Why shut him up, let whoever it is know the dog was there and he wasn’t happy with intruders. Slipping through the darkened kitchen, he crouched down beside one of the windows, lifted his head just enough to peer out and stare at the dark trees that surrounded the backside of the cabin.

Waiting there in the darkness, staring out into the night, he wondered if he ever would have guessed that he would be doing something like this. Sitting in the dark waiting for an intruder, holding a 45-caliber gun clutched in his hand. It was funny, the paths one’s life took, how it could change in the blink of an eye.

His only concern at the moment, the only thing that mattered to him: keep Chloe safe.

She had become the most important thing in his life in such a short period of time. And in that moment, sitting there in the shadows, eyes flicking back and forth over the forest outside, he knew that if they survived this, he would never let her go.

Because he couldn’t. He loved her.

There was a sudden flicker of movement in the trees. A low growl issued from Slate where he stood just inside the kitchen where he’d followed Trevor. Well it was definitely someone unfriendly. He glanced at Slate with a small grin lifting the corners of his lips.

“Wanna go say hello to our visitors boy?”

Slate slunk over to the door, emitting another low snarl as he did. Trevor took that as a resounding yes. Following the dog, he reached up, unlocked the door, and pulled it open just enough for Slate to slip outside into the night. “Go get ’em boy, but be careful, Chloe will kill me if you get injured.”

He closed the door quietly behind the dog and returned to the window.

“Tre?”

He slipped to the floor, pressing his back into the wall. “Chloe I told you to stay in the bedroom and stay hidden!”

“What’s going on?” she whispered at him.

Frustration edged through him. He opened his mouth to snap out an answer at her, but snapped it shut when an ear-splitting howl split the air, followed by some serious snarling and growling.

Chloe gasped and even in the darkness, he could see the glare she sent him across the room. “You let Slate go out there? Are you insane! How do you know they don’t have guns?”

Before he could, answer there was a small tapping at the door. He flashed a smile at Chloe and moved to open the door. Slate trotted through it as if he had just defeated an entire army of invaders.

Trevor scratched his head and smiled. “Chased them off did you boy?” Slate licked his hand before trotting off and heading into the living room where he flopped down in front of the couch.

He chuckled and shook his head, then stood and stretched. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Chloe shot him a glare before stomping off to the bedroom.

He sighed and shook his head; it looked as if he was in the doghouse for the time being.

***

Durn cursed and hauled Sawicki along beside him. Goddamned mutt, Brooks should have warned him about that monster dog. Grunting with effort, he pushed Sawicki into the back of the SUV. He’d had to haul the other agent through the frickin’ forest after that giant mongrel took a chunk out of his leg. Brooks had better appreciate this s**t. If Madison was in that cabin there was no way they were going to get close enough to find out without that dog chowing down on them like they were a giant Milk-Bone dog biscuit.

He rounded the back of the truck, opened it, and rummaged around until he found the field medical kit. This wasn’t going to be pretty and he wasn’t looking forward to doing it. Heading back to the open rear door where Sawicki’s feet stuck out, he set the kit on the ground and opened it.

“Right, Paul this is probably going to hurt. I’ll give you a painkiller, it will help, but I doubt it will make this any easier.” Picking through the kit he found the morphine, filled a syringe, and gave the other agent the shot, waited, pacing, giving the morphine time to kick in. After several minutes, he pulled the scissors from the kit and cut away the other man’s pant leg, revealing the bite on his leg.

“Hope that frickin’ mutt has his shots,” he grumbled as he began cleaning the wound.

Halfway through the process, Sawicki passed out due to the pain and for that, he was grateful. Listing to the man hiss in pain every time he dug into the wound to clean it, had his hands shaking. Tossing aside the astringent, he reached for the needle he’d already set aside earlier.

He took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do. Giving his head a shake, he leaned in, steadied his hand, and began making the precise stitches needed to close the wound.

When he’d finally finished he was grateful. He could have sworn hours had passed, yet when he looked at his watch, it had only been forty-five minutes. He cleaned everything up, packed the kit, and shoved it back into the rear of the SUV. After making Sawicki more comfortable, he pulled his phone out, hitting speed dial button number one.

It rang only once before Brooks answered. “Is it Madison?”

Durn tightened his grip on the phone. “You didn’t warn us about the f*****g dog!”

He heard a muttered curse from Brooks before the other man answered. “I had no idea the dog was there. The beast belongs to the woman, not Madison. What happened?”

“The thing took a bite out of Sawiki’s leg. I’m now down an agent. You should have filled us in on everything, all the information you had, not what you thought we needed to know!” he snapped out.

“You know enough to get the job done. Stay out of sight and find out if Treacy Maher is Trevor Madison! Find the girl, if the dog is there then so is the girl! I’m betting if you can get your hands on her we can control Madison.”

The phone disconnected before Durn could form a reply. He cursed Brooks and stomped around in a circled. That maniacal little twerp. He was convinced Brooks had lost his mind long ago; it was the only explanation for his brand of insanity. The emotionless prick did what he had to in order to get the job done and the consequences be damned. Didn’t matter who he hurt, got killed, or stomped over to get the deed done, Brooks did it with no regrets.

There were rumors at the bureau that he’d killed his own father to get ahead. To be fair, it was also rumored that the elder Agent Brooks was just as sinister as the junior Agent Brooks. Durn hadn’t known the father but he couldn’t feel sorry for the man. Right now, he’d take a goddamned bullet to the head to escape Brooks too.

Raking his finger through his hair, letting the blond waves fall back into place he made one last call�"a call to the other agents he’d kept with him when Brooks had left. He asked for two to come out to the location, one to fetch Sawiki and another to stay and help him with the surveillance.

Hanging up he turned to stare off in the general direction of the cabin, where the man they believed Trevor Madison was. Brooks had revealed nothing about the reason they were seeking Trevor Madison, only that he was wanted. It irked him that Brooks called the information ‘need to know’ and left them in the dark.

He was beginning to have the feeling that there was perhaps more to this than he really wished to know. That, perhaps, there was a hidden agenda here he should be seeing that was eluding him. Whatever it was that was bugging him about this, one thing he was certain about, he was beginning to have serious doubts about whether or not Trevor Madison had actually done anything that made it worth bringing him in.

***

Brooks tossed his cell down on the desk, cursing Trevor Madison and that woman. Shoving his chair back, he stood with his palms flat against the surface of his desk. He stared down at the files spread across the surface. Nothing. Not one damn thing. He hadn’t been able to find anything on Chloe-whoever-the-hell-she-was.

No one in that goddamned town would tell him a f*****g thing about her. They were closed mouthed as hell. Guarding the secret of who she was. If they even knew. Sweeping his arm out, he brushed the papers from the surface. “I’ll find you Madison! You can’t hide forever you little s**t.”

A knock sounded on the door. He glanced at the scattered papers with a sigh. He didn’t need anyone seeing the results of his little temper tantrum. He made his way to the door, pulling it open only far enough to look upon the agent standing outside.    

“Yes, what is it?”

“Sir, Madison’s iPad is on the move.”

“Well, are you tracking it?”

The woman shifted slightly, looking nervous. “Yes sir, but …” she trailed off.

“Yes, get on with it. But what?” He gestured at her impatiently to spit it out already.

“He seems to be heading for Mexico sir.”

“Mexico? Does he honestly think we can’t bring him back if he crosses the border? Get some people on his butt and do it five minutes ago!”

She scrambled off down the hallway yelling as she ran off, “Yes sir, right away!”

He slammed the door shut and stood there fuming in silence. Releasing a pent up breath, he moved across the room back to his desk, where he stopped to stare at the scattered papers that littered the floor like so many leaves scattered by an angry wind.

He snorted at the comparison. He was no poet and now was not the time to start spouting crap like that. As he gathered up the scattered reports, he thought about Durn, he believed what he’d told the agent. If they could get their hands on this Chloe woman, they may have a chance to control Trevor Madison.

A man only kept a woman in his life for one of a few reasons: he was married to her, using her for her money, getting laid, or he was foolish enough to believe he was in love with the woman.

Madison and the woman weren’t married and as far as he could tell, she had no money. He paused and grinned, he supposed Madison could be getting a little somethin’ somethin’ from the woman in bed, but he doubted that was the reason he kept her hanging around. He’d read up on Madison, he wasn’t the sort to hop into bed with every woman he met.  

No, Madison was in love with the girl. He felt it in his gut. And rarely was his gut wrong.

So yes, he’d send agents running after the signal Madison’s iPad was giving off, but he was leaving Durn in Utah.

Because he was certain, Madison was there. And where Trevor Madison was, Chloe would be.

If Madison were going to make it difficult by hiding himself in plain sight, by acting as if he were this Treacy Maher person, then he would make the decision easy for the boy.

He’d grab Chloe and then Madison would have no choice but to surrender to him.