“Ah, maybethisone will work,” she said.
He looked up as she set one of the burner phones on the table. Her chin took on a defiant tilt. “Don’t be mad. I was frustrated yesterday when you wouldn’t share much information. I took it when you were standing on the road talking to… Esteban.”
“When?” His voice was slightly hoarse as he tried to keep his anger from showing. He cleared his throat before continuing in a calmer tone. “When did you use it? Who did you call?” He took her phone and checked for cell service.
“Last night, right before bed after we snacked on peanut butter crackers.”
He shook his head and checked the phone she’d given him. No bars on the screen. No service. He grabbed one more burner from the bag, the last of the three he had, and turned it on.
“Who did you call?” he repeated as the phone came to life. “Esteban?”
“Of course not. I don’t know what phone number he’s using after faking his death. I, uh…” She tapped her fingers on the table, broadcasting her nervousness. “I called Rafael, my other biological brother.”
He jerked his head up, swearing.
“It was a quick call,” she insisted. “I had to tell him not to worry if he heard anything on the grapevine about me. I didn’t want him sending someone to look for me and getting in the middle of whatever is going on.” Her chin raised again, her eyes flashing with resentment. “And I told him what you didn’t tell me, that Esteban is alive.”
Beau checked the screen, then tossed the phone into the bag with the others. He strode to the front windows and flipped open the blinds.
Sierra hurried after him. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” He didn’t even spare her a glance as he studied the tree line fifty yards from the front of the cabin. “What’s wrong is that by calling Rafael, you compromised our location. Which might not be a catastrophe except that I have no cell service this morning but had it last night. Sound familiar?”
Her eyes widened. She glanced past him outside. “You don’t think—”
“Yesterday Esteban used a jamming device to block the cell service, preventing me from calling for backup. I’d bet every last penny I have that he’s out there, right now, doing it again. He’s here. His men are here.”
Her eyes widened. “He jammed the service? He told you that?”
He gave her a curt nod. “Did you tell Rafael about the tunnel, the one we used to get to this cabin?”
“What? No, of course not.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “Calling my brother may have been a mistake. But I didn’t do anything to compromise our location. Not purposely or knowingly, anyway.”
He didn’t respond as he peered out the blinds again.
She looked back and forth. “I don’t see anything. I don’t see anyone.”
“I don’t either. I also don’t hear anything. When I started cooking breakfast you mentioned the birds chirping, that they’d woken you up. Do you hear them now?”
Her hand shook as she pressed it to her chest. “No. Nothing. It’s totally silent.”
“Exactly. Something out there is scaring the birds. We’re leaving.” He strode to the table and grabbed the laptop. “Get one of the empty backpacks from the bedroom closet and stuff it with whatever clothing and toiletries you’ll need if we have to camp out a few days. I’ll give you two minutes.”
“C-camp? Two minutes? Don’t you think you’re overreacting? There could be a bear out there scaring the birds. Or, or a—I don’t know—some other animal that—”
Bam! Bam! Bam!Gunshots sounded from the woods, strafing against the windows.
She let out a startled gasp.
Beau yanked her behind the log wall.
“That glass might be calledbulletproof,” he said, “but it won’t hold forever, especially if they use something more high-powered. Hurry. Get what you need.”
She tore off through the cabin, almost colliding with the wall as she rounded the corner into the bedroom.
Beau flipped the front window blinds closed and then shut the ones over the kitchen sink. It was quiet again outside, no more shots. But that didn’t mean the shooters were giving up. Whoever was outside the cabin meant business and was probably moving into position to flank them, surround them, if they hadn’t already.
He grabbed his go bag from beside the couch and dropped it on the kitchen table beside his backpack. From the small pantry, he grabbed some of the energy bars and other snacks and shoved them into the pack. After tossing in some bottles of water, he zipped it closed.
