Dangerous Sanctuary Page 5

  “Didn’t you tell me that she wasn’t at The Sanctuary? That she’d left to go to a training facility?”

  “Yes, but...”

  That was it. Just “but,” because she couldn’t reconcile the smart, feisty, quick-witted woman she knew with the kind of person she thought would be sucked into a place like Sunrise Spiritual Sanctuary.

  He didn’t press her, didn’t ask her to continue or to explain.

  Which was good, because she couldn’t. She and Mary Alice had been as close as sisters. Maybe closer. If anyone had asked her a month ago, she’d have said she knew everything there was to know about her friend. All the secrets, all the fears, all the hopes and dreams. But Mary Alice had changed since she’d called off her wedding. She’d become quieter, less willing to share. More difficult to contact. As a matter of fact, prior to Mrs. Stevenson calling to ask if Honor had heard from Mary Alice, it had been weeks since they’d spoken.

  She should have called and called and called again until she had finally reached her friend.

  She should have asked hard questions.

  She should have confronted Mary Alice, asked for an explanation for the distance that was growing between them. Two decades of friendship wasn’t something she should have let slide.

  “It’s not your fault,” Radley said.

  “What?”

  “Whatever you’re blaming yourself for. You’re not responsible for the choices Mary Alice made, so don’t waste energy feeling guilty or wishing you’d done something different.”

  “This is the third time you’ve accurately guessed what I was thinking. I feel like you took an extra course during your FBI training. One called How to Read a Person’s Mind.”

  “I’m no mind reader, but I know about guilt. I carried it around for years.”

  “Guilt over what?”

  “It’s a long story. One better shared when we’re not running for our lives.” He stopped, and she realized she could see lights through the trees again. Smaller than the ones on the gate. Higher. Streetlights on tall spindly posts. Jutting up from asphalt.

  “I want you to stay here and stay hidden,” Radley said.

  “I hope you’re kidding.”

  “I don’t kid when I’m working,” he replied. “I don’t think we’re going to make it out of here in the truck, but if I can get the phone, I can call Wren for backup.”

  “Leave the phone. We can find one on our way to town,” she argued, because she didn’t think walking into the parking lot was the safe or the right choice.

  “At one of the houses that are lining the street?” he asked.

  She got his point.

  Of course she did.

  There was nothing out here.

  Except danger.

  “Radley—”

  “Stay hidden. Stay down. I’ll be back soon.”

  He dropped the backpack and duffel near her feet.

  “Promise me, Honor. I can’t concentrate on what I’m doing if I think you’re wandering around putting yourself in danger.”

  There was something about the way he said it, something about the strength in his gaze as he looked into her eyes that made her nod her head and agree to something she didn’t want.

  “I promise,” she heard herself say.

  He walked away before she could take back the words.

  Probably because he’d already realized she’d want to.

  She crouched behind several bushes, watching his progress as he slipped through the trees and approached the clearing that surrounded the parking area.

  She wanted to call him back, but her voice would carry further than his ears, and she couldn’t risk drawing the attention of the guard she knew was stationed at the parking lot entrance.

  There was a little shack there. Made of rough-hewn wood and a thatched roof. Open on all sides so that the guard’s vision wouldn’t be obscured.

  She’d noticed that when she’d arrived.

  It had seemed odd that the owners of the retreat had been so concerned about protecting vehicles parked out in the middle of nowhere. She’d filed that thought away but hadn’t allowed it to sway her decision to enter The Sanctuary.

  She’d been on a mission to find Mary Alice, and she hadn’t been thinking clearly about anything else.

  Too focused. Too determined. Too dogmatic.

  She’d had more than one boyfriend tell her that. Mostly because she’d so often told her boyfriends that she didn’t have time for anything more serious than dinner once a week.

  It wasn’t that she hadn’t appreciated the fact that couples needed to spend time together. It was more that she’d been focused on her goals and her future.

  She’d like to believe that the child in her had wanted to make her parents proud and prove that what they’d been pouring into her when they’d died hadn’t been wasted.

  The reality was, she’d never been interested enough in any of the men she’d dated to want to focus on building a future.

  When something sparked her mind, she could focus every bit of herself on it.

  And, Sunrise Spiritual Sanctuary and Mary Alice’s disappearance into it? That had made her think. It had made her wonder. It had made her determined to find the truth.

  Which was probably why Wren had cautioned her, asked her to wait things out and let the authorities deal with making certain Mary Alice was okay. She’d handpicked each member of the FBI Special Crimes Unit. She knew their strengths, and she knew their weaknesses.

  She knew that Honor was going to get herself in too deep.

  And, of course, she had.

  Which meant Radley had to be sent to rescue her.

  After they got out of this, she’d be sure to tell them both how sorry she was.

  If they got out.

  She frowned, inching out from behind the bushes. She wanted a better view of the parking lot. It looked empty, but she had the odd and horrifying feeling that men with guns were hunkered down between the vehicles, waiting for Radley to appear.

  She’d promised to stay down and stay hidden.

  She hadn’t promised to stay put.

  She left the backpack and duffel and belly-crawled through dirt and dead leaves. The scent of dark rich earth filled her nose and clung to her skin, the quiet sounds of forest life whispering around her. The night seemed peaceful, content and quiet. No traffic noises. No airplanes zipping overhead. No voices out on the streets or raucous laughter in the dead of night. City life had its perks, but it also had its detriments. After living in the suburbs most of her life, she’d been able to appreciate the boisterous, energetic city vibe.

  She thought she could get use to rural living, too. The velvety quiet, the subtle noises, the rustle of leaves and grasses. Nature, exposed and beautiful, waiting to be discovered again.

  How many times had Dotty told her to slow down and look around and appreciate God’s creation?

  Now she had no choice. Lying stomach-down in the dirt, bare feet pressed into cool earth and damp leaves, heart pounding against decayed vegetation, she used her elbows, knees and toes to push through the woods and to the edge of the clearing. She could see better there.

  Long grass swayed as a cold breeze swept through, sending leaves skittering across the parking lot. There were no trees nearby. The area had been thoroughly cleared. She could see the guard shack and the metal chain strung between two posts at the entrance of the lot. She’d arrived at midday, but she’d parked beneath a streetlight. She could see her Ford Explorer and the old truck parked beside it. That had to be Radley’s vehicle. Funny, she’d have pegged him as more the sports car type.

  He’d disappeared, and she tried to find him, scanning the lot and probing the shadows.

  She knew he was there, but she couldn’t find him. Not slithering across the asphalt on his belly or hunkered down
near a vehicle.

  Good. If she couldn’t see him when she knew he was there, the guard couldn’t either.

  She counted the seconds, praying silently that he’d make it to his truck, find the phone and return. She needed to believe that things would work out, because if they didn’t, there’d be no one to blame but herself.

  Something moved near the edge of the lot, the grasses seeming to sway more vigorously. Radley?

  It had to be. The grasses stilled, the night went silent.

  And, her mind jumped in another direction and to other possibilities.

  One of Absalom’s men could be there—moving in closer, watching from the shadows, waiting, like a viper, to strike.

  She shuddered.

  There were a few vehicles close to the area where the grass had swayed. She’d guess there were dozens of eyes watching the lot, several armed men waiting for a shadow to move.

  They needed a distraction, something that would draw their attention away from the parking area.

  She planned to be it. But, not while dressed in clothes that nearly glowed in the dark.

  She crawled back to her pack and dug through it, pulling out black leggings and a dark-colored T-shirt. Her hands hurt enough to steal her breath and make her eyes burn, but she still managed to yank on dark socks and a lightweight pair of black tennis shoes. Her feet hurt, too.

  Running barefoot through the woods hadn’t been a great idea.

  None of this had been.

  But she’d made her decisions.

  She’d deal with the consequences.

  She just wished she hadn’t dragged someone else in on it with her.

  She frowned, eyeing the area where the grass had moved. Still nothing. She crawled through the foliage, staying close to the tree line, afraid she’d lose her way if she couldn’t see the street lights.

  When she was perpendicular to where she thought Radley might be, she dropped the bags into thick underbrush, tossing leaves and pine needles over them. Then, she searched the ground for sticks and rocks, collected enough to make some noise, tied them into the hem of her shirt and climbed as far up into a pine tree as she could.

  Her palms were bloody, her eyes tearing with pain, but she had a good vantage point, and she was high enough to avoid any bullets that flew her way.

  She hadn’t stayed down, but she was still hidden. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep them both safe.

  * * *

  The grass was long enough to hide in.

  A big mistake if a person were concerned about securing the area. Radley was certain Absalom was. He didn’t know what exactly was being hidden from the world. Maybe just the fact that a spiritual leader and his cult following were living on a posh resort. Maybe something darker.

  Radley planned to find out.

  Eventually.

  Right now, he wanted to get to the truck, retrieve his spare phone and get back to Honor. She’d promised to stay hidden. He hoped she’d follow through. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in the crosshair of a sniper’s bullet. And he had a feeling there were snipers stationed at the guard shack and behind the vehicles that were parked close to it.

  He’d give them credit for staying still and silent.

  But he could feel their presence like the cold wind, like the moisture in the air.

  He waited at the edge of the lot, hidden by grass that was weeks past needing to be mowed. Thick and dry from the autumn sun, it swished in the wind, creating its own haunting melody.

  There were several cars parked nearby. Fancy BMWs, Cadillacs and sports cars. He could use them as cover. If he could get to them without being seen.

  The wind had picked up and clouds skittered across the sky, obliterating starlight and moonglow. The streetlights illuminated the lot, though. He’d need to clear several feet without being spotted.

  If he knew how many guards were watching, he could have weighed the risk. Instead, he was working blind. No fellow team members doing reconnaissance or gathering information. No radio contact with a backup team.

  He was on his own.

  His mother would have chided him for thinking that.

  God is always with you, she’d have said.

  And she’d have been right.

  Of course, she’d also have told him he was an idiot for getting himself into this situation. Ronda Tumberg never pulled her punches. She was the kind of mother everyone should have—funny, smart, quirky and tough. If he acted like a fool, then she told him he was doing it. If he did something idiotic, she didn’t hesitate to say so.

  In this case, she’d have been right. Again.

  The fact was, he could have said no when Wren asked him to make the trip to Vermont. He could have asked her to send one of the other team members, but he’d just closed the file on a sting operation that he’d been working for a year. He’d sent ten people to prison, and he’d been able to look into the eyes of several of their victims, knowing that they finally had a small sense of closure.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  Nothing was ever enough to undo the damage they’d suffered.

  He loved his job. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

  But sometimes it got to him.

  This last case had been one of those times.

  Maybe Wren had known it. Maybe she’d realized how much he’d needed a break from human sickness and filth and sin. He couldn’t think of any other reasons she’d have asked him to check on Honor. He certainly wasn’t the most diplomatic or empathetic of the team. He’d never spent time with Honor outside of work. Aside from what he’d noticed during meetings and in the office, he knew nothing about her.

  As far as he was concerned, he should have been Wren’s last resort. But she’d asked him, and he’d said yes. He’d needed a change of pace.

  He’d gotten one, but it wasn’t anything like what he’d expected. It was too late to back out. He was in things deep, and there was nothing to do but press forward.

  He just wasn’t sure how to do that without getting killed or captured. Neither was high on his list of things he wanted to accomplish. Either would mean trouble for Honor.

  He needed a distraction. Something to draw the guard’s attention away from the parking area. He had the gun in hand, and he could fire a shot, but that would draw them to his hiding place. Whether he liked it or not, making a break for the nearest vehicle was his only option. He eased forward, the rustling grass camouflaged by the cold wind that was blowing through.

  He hoped.

  He was about to break free of his cover when something crashed through the trees on the western edge of the lot. It skittered and jumped through the leaves and clattered against wood.

  He almost popped up to take a look.

  If he hadn’t been so well trained, he probably would have.

  Someone shouted. Feet pounded on pavement. Men rushed from behind cars parked near the guard station, racing toward the trees and away from Radley.

  And he suddenly knew what had made the sounds.

  Who had made them.

  Honor.

  She hadn’t stayed down. She hadn’t stayed quiet, and she hadn’t kept her promise.

  But she’d provided a distraction. He could use it to their advantage, or he could go after the men who were running toward her.

  He hesitated for a split second, praying he’d make the right choice. The sounds came again. This time, further away, deeper in the woods.

  He stayed low, darted to the closest car and then under it. No bullets flying. No guards running in his direction. Honor had created a clear path between him and the truck.

  He moved from vehicle to vehicle as quickly and cautiously as possible. He didn’t want to waste the opportunity she’d handed him. Men were shouting, crashing through the wooded area. If he were them, he’d be callin
g for the bloodhound, requesting backup. The compound’s main gate was across a paved road. Not far from the guard shack, and not far enough for Radley’s liking.

  It wouldn’t take long for men to come streaming across the street.

  He reached the truck, slid under it. He’d had a small lockbox drilled into the chassis. Invisible unless a person was under the vehicle, it was just large enough to keep a spare key, a spare cell phone, and in this case, his wallet and correct ID.

  He unlocked the box, pulled everything out and closed it again. Voices were coming from several directions now, and he thought that guards were arriving from the compound.

  He considered climbing into the truck and leading them away, but he couldn’t leave Honor behind. Not with a small army of men chasing her through the woods.

  He tucked the wallet, key and phone into his interior jacket pocket and slid out from beneath the truck. Even the arriving guards seemed focused on the area the noise had come from. They might be trained paramilitary, but they weren’t very good at their jobs.

  That wasn’t going to work out well for Absalom, but it was working very well for Radley.

  He made his way back in the direction he’d come, moving swiftly, the clatter of boots on pavement hiding the sound of his departure. He made it to the grass and headed west. He needed to find Honor before the guards did.

  He’d save the lecture he planned to give her until after they were safely away.

  FIVE

  Obviously, Honor hadn’t thought her plan through carefully enough. Climbing a tree and tossing things as far away from her hiding place as she could had seemed like a good idea until right around the time Absalom’s men had raced toward her. She could see them, pounding across the grassy field, heading straight in her direction.

  She braced herself for discovery, wishing she’d kept one of the rocks as a weapon. Instead, the only thing she had were pine needles and bleeding hands.

  A guard crashed through the bushes below her, so close to the backpack and duffel she’d abandoned that she was certain he’d trip over them. He missed by inches, his focus on the forest ahead rather than the canopy of trees above.