Rain Shadow(40)

I glanced over at him. “That would be pretty fucking funny if this thing pitched backward and you died with me.”

He didn’t answer. I stared out the window. The landscape was just as harsh as the desert below only with steeper climbs and more rocks. Nothing friendly about it except shade . . . and water. Dreygon had mentioned the river, and we were driving toward it. It was where Cash would toss my dead body. I saw no way out of this, and all I could think about was Dex. Now I knew how those last hours must have felt. It was a mixture of terror and a strange feeling of resignation. You knew the end was coming and death was always a damn scary notion, but when there was no way to avoid it, it was best to embrace it.

I shook my head. “I promised to help her.” The anger I felt at myself for letting Angel down was almost more overwhelming than the prospect of a violent death. I kicked the floorboards but Cash barely flinched. “I fucking promised her, and now she’s stuck in that goddamned fortress.” I turned to him. “Fuck all of you assholes. When I meet you in hell, I’m kicking everyone of your asses.”

He seemed to consider my threat. “I believe it.”

“I’d always thought Gunner was the biggest prick at the compound, but you look completely at ease in the role of executioner.”

“Gunner likes to think he’s the biggest prick, but he’s a clown.” He pulled the jeep up onto a solid, flat piece of ground.

I couldn’t see the river, but I could hear it. He got out, came around to my side and opened the door. He was definitely on the defense this time.

I looked at him. “Sorry, you’re going to have to carry me like a newly wed bride. I’m not getting out.”

He shrugged. “If you hadn’t been such a cocky sonavabitch then we might have been friends, Reno.”

I looked at him. “It’s Barringer. Special Agent Luke Barringer. And we would never have been friends.”

He reached in and grabbed hold of my arm. I fell out of the jeep, but it didn’t stop him. He dragged me over the rocks and pine needles to the bank of the river. He yanked me to my knees. “Stay still.”

I stared down at the water. It wasn’t a roaring rapid, but it wasn’t a tranquil stream either. I wondered how far I could stay afloat with my arms and legs tied. Cash pulled off his shirt and threw it into the water. Then he peeled off his pants.

I glanced at him over my shoulder. “What the fuck?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” He stuck his gun in the band on his boxers and pulled out a switchblade. He sawed through the rope on my hands. I moved my arms in a circle to get the circulation back in my hands. “I’m going to let you cut the rope on your feet, but if you try and use it on me, I will go back to the original plan and shoot you in the head.”

A hundred questions flew through my mind, but I didn’t open my mouth. I sat down and cut through the rope around my ankles.



Cash threw his jeans into the river. “Dreygon is going to expect to see blood splattered on my clothes. I’ll tell him that I ditched them to hide evidence.”

I was free of my bindings. I pushed to my feet.

“You’re not out of the woods yet. Literally. Follow this river for as long as you can. It’s a good twenty-five miles until the road.”

“Don’t know how to thank you,” I said completely stunned.

“I do. When you get to Reno, you find Detective Scoffield and tell him I’m ready to get out. I’ll tell him everything he needs to know, but he needs to get me out cleanly.”

“So you’re turning on Dreygon?”

“It’s not about him. Dreygon used to be a different man. He pulled me off the streets. Basically saved my life. But I’m ready to get out. A few years back I witnessed two club members beat a bar owner to death. Detective Scoffield needs my testimony to get the guys. I’m done being loyal to these murderers. I’m just done with all of it. So talk to Scoffield for me.”

“You’ve got it. Will you be all right in the mean time?”

He lifted his gun in the air and fired. Birds were shocked out of their perches and several squirrels ran from their holes. “I’ll be fine. I just killed a DEA agent for Dreygon. Don’t think he’ll question my loyalty. Just don’t get caught, or we’ll both be floating face down in that river.”

“Can you—”

I didn’t need to finish my question. “She hates me now, which is the worst part of all this, but I’ll keep an eye on her. You need to get her out of there and soon. Dreygon is getting crazier each day. Don’t know if it’s the drugs or what, but he’s going out of his fucking mind. And as he loses control and the club falls apart, he gets more dangerous.” He glanced up to the sky. “You’ve only got a few hours of daylight left, so you’d better move it.”