“What the fuck! If you don’t need me now, when the hell will you need me?”

“When I call you back. Until then, wait on the highway someplace to the south of me,” said Jack, before hanging up.

When Jack came to the first bend in the gully, he came upon a waist-high cactus plant. He ripped his back pocket off and was sticking it on the spines of the cactus when he heard the men from Casa Blanca arrive.

Jack saw that it was too far to make it undetected to the next turn in the gully. He grabbed Lily and took cover under a clump of dried brown reeds that hung over the creek embankment. It was only a couple of steps past the cactus plant from which his pants pocket hung, but it was the best spot he could find in the time he had available.

He jammed Lily in a prone position tight to the bank and crouched over her and tried to arrange the reeds to cover them. He knew it would only stand for a cursory glance before he was seen. These men were professionals. His hiding spot might remain undetected from above, but for anyone approaching from below, once they walked alongside them, they would be clearly visible.

If he attacked, he knew he would be shot, but if he succeeded in crushing the skull of even one of them, it would give him some satisfaction. He wrapped his fingers around a rock and waited.

Besides, being shot is better than being taken alive …

chapter forty-four

Adams climbed down from the tower and clamoured over the fence to his car where he updated Rubalcava on the situation as he drove. Moments later, they turned onto the highway and headed west. Several minutes later, Adams spotted a large culvert that ran under the highway. “Ya think this is it?” asked Adams.

“I don’t know,” replied Rubalcava. “Not what I would call a gully. Let’s drive farther.”

A ways down the road, they came to a dip in the highway that crossed a bridge over a more promising gully.

“This has to be it,” muttered Adams as they drove past and scanned the gully below.

“He wants us to wait in the car?”

“The asshole is trying to protect me. I’ll park and go in and find them. You better stay in the car. They don’t know me, but they sure as hell know you and your family.”

Rubalcava sighed and said, “No, wait. I remember a bridge on this highway, but I don’t think this is it. A little farther ahead there is a bigger bridge. Also, there are more gullies after that.”

“Christ.”

Two minutes down the road, Adams discovered that Rubalcava was right.

“What do we do?” asked Rubalcava.

“I don’t know. I guess we wait until we hear from him,” replied Adams bitterly. He found a place to park, opened the windows and shut the car off to listen.

Jack listened to the voices of the men as they looked down over the edge of the gully. He was hoping they would sound excited. Excited people make mistakes, but these men sounded calm. He heard one of the mercenaries give an order. Berto, Eduardo, and the second mercenary scrambled into the gully and he heard them yell back that the vehicle was empty.

Jack did not hear Sanchez and presumed he had been left to guard Casa Blanca. That leaves me with four trained professional killers … and more on the way.

Soon Berto yelled, “This way!” and the three men fanned out and started to move south along the gully toward their hiding place, while the mercenary up above moved along the edge of the gully with them.

Berto was the first man Jack saw come into view, quickly followed by one of the mercenaries. Berto pointed to the piece of cloth on the cactus and the two men approached to look at it. Jack only had a profile view of the mercenary, but Berto faced him directly and he stared into his scowling face.

Jack held his breath and was conscious of Lily doing the same. Berto was close enough that he could see the beads of sweat on his forehead.

The mercenary pulled the piece of cloth off the cactus as Berto took another step closer as his eyes scanned the creek embankment. Jack gripped the rock and tensed his leg muscles, ready to spring forth.

“It’s his back pocket,” said the mercenary. “The turned rocks … this … he has given us a false trail,” he said. He turned and yelled to the other men, “The other way. He has gone north, toward the border!”

Jack waited a full minute after they left before leaving the hiding spot. Any noise, a slip, or stones moving beneath their feet would bring them back. He helped Lily to her feet where she swayed and grabbed a clump of reeds for support.

“I’ll piggy-back you,” he whispered.

“I think I can walk,” she whispered back. “Just give me a minute.”

“In your condition you won’t be able to walk without making noise. Also you’d burn your feet. I’ll piggy-back you. In the meantime, no talking.”

Twenty-five minutes later, Jack lowered Lily to the ground and held his finger to his lips as he gestured to her to be quiet. “I need to rest,” he whispered, while listening intently to see if they were being followed. He did not hear the sound of anyone trailing them, but was rewarded by the sound of a truck passing by somewhere ahead of them.

Adams answered his phone on the first ring.

“We’re close,” said Jack, “and I don’t think we have any company. The problem is we’ve come to a fork in the gully. Tap your horn twice, will you?”

Adams did as requested and asked, “Did you hear it?”

“Yup. Sounds like I need to take the right fork. Shouldn’t be long.”

“I’m parked at the end of a bridge, pretending to change a tire. Hope it’s over the same gully.”

“Guess we’ll find out. I’m hanging up, but give me ten minutes and tap again.”

A few minutes later Jack called again. “Don’t bother to honk, we see you.”

“I’ll be right down,” replied Adams, when he spotted Jack waving at him in the distance.

“Think you should stay there. If we need covering fire you’ll be in a better position. Of course, I’m Canadian, what the hell do I know about gun fights …” Jack knew that humour was a good way to relieve stress and right now he could use a truckload of it.

As soon as he hung up, Lily asked, “Is it okay to talk now?”

“Yeah, I hope so. I think we’ve made it.” Jack knew it was a mistake as soon as he said it. Lily was able to keep her emotions in check when the stress was still on her because she knew she had to. Now she thought she was safe and let her emotions erupt by bursting into tears and sobbing. Jack lowered her and held her in his arms to comfort her.

“Can I phone my mom, now?” she pleaded.

“Sorry, not on this phone. It belongs to a bad guy. I don’t want them knowing your mom’s phone number. Wait until we get to the car and use John’s phone.”

Lily released her embrace and said, “And my boyfriend, Earl. He’s gotta be going out of his mind with worry,” she added, looking closely at Jack’s face.

Jack sighed and said, “Actually, John’s phone isn’t a good idea, either. We’ll need to keep it available. You’ll have to wait until we get you to the hospital.”

Lily stared silently at Jack.

“What is it?” asked Jack.

“He left me, didn’t he?”

“Did who leave you?”

“Please, what I have been through … what we have been through. Tell me the truth. One of the men who raped me said Earl took their dope money and split. He said they killed him a few days later. Is that true?”

Jack sighed and said, “Yes, it’s true.”

“So he was into dealing drugs, just like Marcie warned me,” said Lily, tearfully.