Free, he couldn’t go upstairs and try to take out as many of their abductors as he could. All any of them would have to do was put a gun to Kate’s head. No, once he was no longer their prisoner, he would be free to pick the time and place to end this.
He thought of Kate and the jeopardy she was already in. Right now they were using him to keep her in line. Without him, they wouldn’t have the insurance they were counting on. But they could still threaten to kill her or hurt her if she didn’t comply. He thought of Collin and what he’d seen in the man’s face when he’d looked at Kate as she’d entered the house earlier. He’d been relieved to see her alive. Which mean Collin did care about her, although Jon was too smart to ever trust that the man might be an ally. But he might be used in a crunch.
Jon turned toward the dusty window at the far end of the room. It was small, but he was slim, and he had no choice. If they caught him, it wouldn’t be Collin taking care of him this time.
* * *
KATE WATCHED THE men out of the corner of her eye as they sat around the table eating. She told herself she couldn’t eat a thing but forced herself to get a few bites down. Just before they sat down to eat, she’d excused herself to use the restroom.
Gerald had ordered Collin to make sure she didn’t go any farther than the bathroom. Once inside, she’d locked the door and quickly put the paring knife she’d pushed up her sleeve into the top of her boot. Then she’d used the facilities, flushed, washed her hands and come out. Collin gave her a suspicious look, making her realize that he might know her a little too well.
“My breakfast is getting cold,” she said as she pushed past him.
Back in the kitchen, Gerald asked if everything was all right. Neither she nor Collin answered. Phil chuckled and then complained that the eggs were too spicy.
“They’re perfect,” Gerald said. “Delicious. Good job, Kate.”
She gave him a nod and ate some of her own. They were spicy. But her insides were already roiling, so it was hard to tell if the eggs added to it.
“Someone is bringing the car over now,” Gerald said as they all finished. Kate rose to gather up the dishes. “Help her,” he said from behind her at the table. She heard Collin’s chair scrape angrily on the floor, and the next thing she knew he was beside her at the sink.
“You can load them in the dishwasher,” she said, handing him a plate she’d rinsed. He growled something under his breath that she couldn’t make out as she opened the dishwasher for him and pulled out the lower rack.
“Collin, you and Kate will cross the border this afternoon right before it gets dark,” Gerald was saying. “I want you to wait until the shift change. I’ll call you and tell you when to cross. That means you will have to stop before the border—just not too far from the crossing. Don’t cross until you get my call. Once you’re safely across, we’ll let your friend Jon Harper go.”
Kate didn’t believe that. She tried to hold her tongue and couldn’t. Turning toward the table and the two men sitting there, she said, “You won’t let him go.”
Gerald seemed surprised that she would argue with him. Beside her, Collin grabbed her arm, but she shook off his hold. Gerald motioned him aside and faced Kate. “I admire the way you handle yourself,” he said. “I will let him go. What is he going to do? Call the cops? Incriminate you? Even if he could prove that you’re Collin’s hostage, the man isn’t going to get involved. He has too much to lose if he does. There is a bounty out on him. One phone call, and he’d be dead within hours. So if I wanted him dead and didn’t want my own hands dirty, which I don’t... What I need to know is if you can do your job?”
She stared back at the man, trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. Either way, she had little control over the situation. “I’ll cross the border with Collin and play my part—but only when I know that Jon is safe.”
With a curse, Gerald slammed his fist down on the counter but quickly got his temper under control. “You don’t really have a lot to bargain with,” he pointed out. She said nothing. “But in order to have you all-in on this, you have a deal. I will release him and let him know he has to call you. So, you’ll be hearing from him by the time you reach the border crossing. I’ll call Collin. Jon will call you.”
Kate doubted all of it. But it was the best she was going to get. She gave him a nod and turned back to the dishes.
“Collin, go check on Jon, then get ready to leave,” Gerald ordered as he walked out of the kitchen. “The car’s here. You and Kate are leaving for the border.”
* * *
COLLIN RINSED HIS hands in the sink, his gaze going to Kate. He couldn’t believe that she’d called Gerald a liar to his face. He shook his head as their gazes met. Didn’t she realize the kind of men she was dealing with? She looked calm, but he saw her fingers tremble a little as she reached for the dish towel to dry her hands.
He took it from her when she’d finished and dried his own, all the time holding her gaze. What was she up to? Something. What made her so brave? Or was she reckless? He felt a jolt. He knew this woman pretty well. She looked as if she knew something he didn’t. As he started to turn away from the sink, he realized what she hadn’t handed him to put in the dishwasher.
Collin grabbed her wrist. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?” she demanded and tried to pull free.
“The paring knife you used to cut up the peppers,” he snapped.
Gerald stepped back into the kitchen, his gaze on the two of them. “Do you have the paring knife, Kate?” he asked in that patronizing tone of his.
She hesitated but only for a moment as if realizing they would find it on her if she refused to give it up. She didn’t need the humiliation of them frisking her. Slowly she nodded, her gaze still locked with Collin’s.
“Would you please give it to Collin,” Gerald said as if talking to an unruly child.
Kate jerked her wrist free of his grasp and bent down to pull the paring knife from her boot. She held it for a moment, the blade pointed at his chest before she tossed it into the sink. “I need to get my purse and my suitcase,” she said and pushed past him and Gerald.
He heard the man laugh. “Nice work, Collin. Now, check on Jon, and let’s get you two on the road,” Gerald said. “I guess I don’t have to tell you to watch her like a hawk. That woman is...” he chuckled appreciatively “...something else, isn’t she?”
Collin couldn’t agree more as he left the kitchen and headed for the basement door. He figured he wouldn’t have to go all the way down the stairs. He should be able to see Jon by just looking through the opening between the ceiling and railing. He entered through the door and snapped on the light. Hadn’t he left it on earlier? He stared down the steps, realizing that he wouldn’t be able to see Jon from here because a beam was in the way. He’d have no choice but to go all the way down.