At least I’m armed. It gave him a sense of control that was likely unwarranted. Except that he was a better shot than Ephraim. If Amos was with an Eden hunting party, they came back with something – a deer, a goose, quail . . . something. Ephraim rarely hit where he aimed, but no one in the compound knew that. Only trusted members were allowed to join the hunt because hunting meant possession of a firearm, even if only for a short time. The Elders had positioned it as not wanting anyone to be inadvertently hurt by the weapons, but now Amos knew it was because they feared an uprising.
Amos wished he’d known then. I would have shown them a damn uprising.
‘Have they found Burton?’ Rafe quietly asked Schumacher.
‘Not yet,’ she said brusquely, and then her tone softened. ‘They will be all right. Molina’s SWAT team is nearby. Try not to worry, Mercy. It’ll be f—’
The gunshot splintered the tension in the SUV, and everyone moved at once. Amos and Rafe both pushed Mercy to the floorboard and Daisy had her rifle aimed at the back window before Amos could draw a breath.
‘Farrah,’ Mercy whispered hoarsely. ‘He’s shot her. Or André or Damien. He’s shooting them.’
‘You don’t know that.’ Schumacher tried to soothe, but she’d also drawn her firearm. ‘I’m going to check the immediate area. Stay here.’
She slipped from the driver’s seat and crept around to the other side of the SUV. The forest was on the passenger side, thick and dark, despite the sun still shining overhead. Someone could hide in the trees and never be seen.
But the action wasn’t happening in the forest, at least not on that side of the road. This was nearly what Mercy had dreaded, but at least her friend was still alive.
‘Rafe,’ Amos muttered, pointing through the SUV window to the forest across the road. ‘Through there.’
Ephraim had a rifle pressed into Farrah Romero’s back and she walked briskly, her hands bound in front of her with what looked like duct tape. Tape also covered her mouth, and tears streaked down her face.
I can’t allow him to kill that woman. I let him kill too many already.
‘What’s happening?’ Mercy whispered.
Rafe drew a breath. ‘He’s got Farrah, but she’s alive.’
‘He wants to trade,’ Mercy said numbly.
‘That’s not going to happen,’ Rafe snarled, saving Amos from having to do so. ‘You promised me, Mercy.’
‘I’m not going to trade myself,’ she hissed back. ‘I’m just saying that’s what he wants to happen.’
Amos was suddenly calm. He wasn’t going to sacrifice himself, either. He finally had all of his children together. But he wasn’t going to allow Farrah to be harmed. ‘We can take him. He might think Mercy is here, but he doesn’t know that I am.’
‘Or me,’ Daisy added. ‘He hasn’t seen us yet. We still have the advantage.’
Rafe’s door opened, revealing Schumacher, who was crouched below the window line. ‘Reynolds and Hunter are headed back, so I’ll have backup. I’m going to circle around behind Burton and get the drop on him. Don’t worry, Miss Callahan. We’ll get your friend out of this.’
Still sitting on the floor, Mercy gave Schumacher a stiff nod and they watched as the agent took off at a run into the woods behind them.
Amos glanced back, blinking when he saw no Ephraim. No Farrah. ‘They’re gone.’
‘Back into the woods,’ Daisy said. ‘Let me out. I want a better angle.’
Rafe complied, opening his door and slowly sliding down and out, staying out of sight of the window as Schumacher had done. ‘Come on,’ he said to Daisy, then frowned when Mercy moved to join them. ‘Not you.’
Mercy glared at him but stayed put, even when Amos followed the others out of the vehicle.
Rafe had his handgun and Daisy a rifle, which she handled like an extension of her own arm. Gideon’s chosen one apparently had many skills. Daisy knelt behind the front tire of Hunter’s SUV, positioning the rifle on her shoulder.
Satisfied that she knew what she was doing, Amos lifted his gaze to search for Ephraim.
‘He couldn’t have seen us yet,’ Rafe murmured.
‘Probably just the SUVs,’ Daisy murmured back. ‘He stole your dad’s Tahoe back in Snowbush to escape. Maybe he’s planning to get away using one of these Fed-mobiles.’
‘There he is,’ Amos said quietly. Grimly.
Because Ephraim had reemerged from the forest, the rifle now slung over his shoulder by its strap, a pistol in his right hand pressed into Farrah’s temple. His left forearm was clamped over her chest and that hand held a revolver, the muzzle shoved up under Farrah’s chin. He shoved the woman forward until he was ten yards from where they stood.
At least he’d removed the duct tape from her mouth. Farrah was sobbing now, a heartbreaking sight. She wasn’t moving a muscle, her fear tangible. But even through her tears she showed a defiance that made Amos glad this woman was his daughter’s best friend.
And made Amos determined to save her.
‘I just want to get away,’ Ephraim called. ‘Nobody needs to get hurt. Step away from the SUVs and I’ll let her go.’
‘We can’t shoot him now,’ Daisy murmured, ‘and neither can Schumacher. He’s got fingers on both triggers. One wrong twitch and he’ll kill her.’
‘I know,’ Rafe growled under his breath, then raised his voice. ‘Let her go first. Then we’ll talk.’
Ephraim edged closer. ‘I’ll tell you where to find your brother, Sokolov. You might want to get to him quickly. He’s already lost a lot of blood. You know, from the crash this morning and the bullets I pumped into his gut. You can still save him, though. Every second counts. Get out of my way and you can save him.’
Dunsmuir, California
Wednesday, 19 April, 4.50 P.M.
Rafe’s heart skipped a beat, fear for his brother nearly overwhelming him. In that moment, he was tempted to do as Ephraim demanded, but he knew the man was lying. Ephraim would try to kill them all. Except for Mercy. She would be taken back to Eden and made an example. Rafe’s blood ran cold at the very thought.
Of course, Ephraim couldn’t succeed. He was too outnumbered. But Rafe wasn’t willing to risk even one of them for this monster. They just needed to get Burton’s guns away from Farrah’s head. Daisy was right. One wrong twitch of Ephraim’s finger and Farrah would be dead. Rafe hoped that Schumacher was fully aware of the situation. He hoped that she was somewhere behind Ephraim, ready to shoot but waiting for the right moment.