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* * *
Jerry Trotter sat on a log across the road from the fenced property. Damn place looked like a prison camp with the guards and that unscalable fence. He kept his binoculars trained on the buildings. Alex was in there somewhere. With his files. And a lot of his money.
The guy she’d been with was in there, too. Was it the hitman he hired? Since Jerry’d seen the guy at that hotel in Livingston, the odds were pretty good that it was.
What was that about? Getting Alex to trust him so he could kill her and make it look like an accident?
Might work. A long con, but that was good. Alex had a suspicious streak. Always thought the worst of people. Like when she’d accused him of cheating. How was he supposed to know she hadn’t had any proof?
But that didn’t solve the problem of the files. He needed them so he could strike a deal with the FBI. If he could grab Alex, he could get his files back. Make an exchange -- her for the files. But he had to do it before the hitman actually killed her.
These damn Russians had ruined everything. They’d followed his car from Livingston. Hung back on that country road into Helena. Finally forced him off the road after the two idiots fired on Alex’s car in the compound. Once they dragged him out of his car, Sergei and Yuri had explained how things would be -- he got them their money, or they’d kill him. Slowly.
God! No finesse. Brute force was all they knew.
He desperately needed those files, but brute force wouldn’t get them. Or the money Alex had taken from his safe. And Alex was out of his reach right now. Locked behind an impenetrable barrier.
He stomped his feet, which he could barely feel. Damn, after sitting in one place for hours, he was cold to his bones. He couldn’t feel his ass on this frickin’ log. But he didn’t dare leave. Sergei and Yuri had told him to stay there and watch the place, so that’s what he was doing. He was supposed to find a weakness in that compound’s defenses. A way into the place. But Jerry had nothing. As far as he could tell, the gate was the only way inside that fence.
The two Russians were somewhere else, doing the same thing Jerry was doing -- looking for a way in. Trying to sniff out a crack in the compound’s defenses. But the people who owned this place were good. They weren’t likely to make a mistake with their security. They were a damn security business, after all.
He’d been here for hours, and the only action he’d seen was when a car pulled up at the gate. Two men came out, nodded at the driver and opened the back door for a look. Opened the hatchback. Then they’d unlocked the gate and let her drive inside. The car disappeared around a corner.
God, this was boring. If he knew where the two Russians were hiding, and thought he could leave without them knowing, he’d run to his car and take off. Disappear somewhere they’d never find him.
But chances were, they had eyes on him. He was their ticket to a big payoff, as long as they could kill Alex. And to make a deal with the FBI and escape into Witness Protection, Jerry needed the files Alex had.
So for now, he’d sit on this damn log and watch the place across the street. Try to figure out how they could get in and get those files. And kill Alex. There was no insurance money for him without a body. With three people working on a plan, someone was bound to come up with something.
Fifteen minutes later, his phone chirped with a text message.
He pulled it out of his pocket with frozen fingers. The text was from Sergei. Short and to the point, just like those Russians. ‘Go back to the motel. We’ll follow you.’
Jerry shoved the phone back into his pocket with a sigh. No chance now to sneak away.
* * *
When they emerged from the gym, Alex spotted the SUV parked near the office. As she watched, a noticeably pregnant woman emerged from the office building, noticed them and waved. Gideon waved back. “Lainey has an office in town, but she lives down the road a few miles, at the Flying J ranch with her husband Brody and their daughter and son. Her husband owns the ranch.” He smiled. “Mel and Dev got to know Lainey and Brody when they were rehabbing the compound. Went to their wedding, in fact. So Lainey always stops here instead of making Mel go into town.”
“The compound has ties with the people in the area, then?” Alex asked.
“I think so,” Gideon said. “We get all of our supplies from Helena. According to Mel, Brody and his ranch hands helped rebuild the compound after Mel and Dev bought it. There’d been a fire.”
Alex stared at the car. “The guards know all the drivers?”
“Yeah,” Gideon said. “And if a company needs to use a new driver, they call ahead of time. Give the guards their name and send them a picture. The guards run a background check. If there’s anything hinky, new driver doesn’t get in. If the name and picture don’t match, new driver doesn’t get in.”
Alex relaxed a little more. “Your level of security is impressive. Makes me feel safe.”
“That’s the point,” he said with a nod. “It’s good to feel safe, but in reality, no one’s ever completely safe. When you’re the hunted, the hunters always have the advantage. The hunted is always playing catch-up. Always one step behind.”
He must have read the fear on her face, because he said, “C’mon. I’ll show you the fence. You can try to climb it, so you’ll know it can’t be breached. Unless someone brings a bulldozer, and that’d make it hard to sneak in.”
“Good,” Alex said, bumping her hip into Gideon’s. “I need to be distracted until it’s time for dinner.”
* * *
That evening, after dinner, Alex took a deep breath as Gideon opened the apartment door, followed her inside then locked it behind them.
