Page 80 of Hunter

“I never lie,” Hunter said in the same unemotional tone.

And he wasn’t telling a fib, Kathryn realized. But he had done a masterful job of twisting the truth to make it sound like she was dead. Yet even as she admired his resourcefulness, she watched in sick horror as Reid held the gun leveled at his chest.

God, what was she going to do now?

“I bet my pension you’d come here and try to get a car,” he said in a voice that rang with triumph.

“Yes, you are clever,” Hunter complimented him without a trace of admiration.

“That’s right. Like when I told everyone you set off the explosives that killed the broad. That puts me in the clear. It’s all the fault of the clone run amok.”

“Why did you lure Kathryn Kelley to the shack?” Hunter asked.

“I was well paid. And I’m going to do even better when I bring you in.”

“In where? To Colonel Emerson?”

“Not hardly.”

“Swinton? Beckton?”

“Stop asking questions,” Reid growled.

Hunter gave a tight nod.

“Now get moving. And don’t try any sudden moves. I know all the defensive gambits they taught you in those fancy martial arts classes.”

Hunter’s jaw was tight.

“Move. Down the sidewalk along the fence,” Reid clipped out. “I’ll be right behind you. And hope we don’t meet up with one of those search parties out beating the bushes for you. Because if I must, I’ll shoot you in ‘self-defense’.”

Kathryn fought to stand unmoving and silent. Still not glancing in her direction, Hunter followed orders. She watched him and Reid head along the edge of the parking area.

When she tried to take a steadying breath, it rattled in her throat. Hunter had told her to leave Stratford Creek if something happened to him. But she couldn’t do it by herself, she reasoned. More importantly, she wasn’t going to leave him in Reid’s clutches. She had to follow—and to find out where the security man was taking him. Yet that plan was dangerous, too. What if Reid saw her? What if he shot Hunter? Or what if she got caught? Then there was no hope for either of them.

For long moments, she was paralyzed. Then captive and captor turned the corner, and she knew she had only one choice. Leaping from her hiding place, she sprinted along the fence, praying they wouldn’t disappear before she reached the end of the parking lot.

Panic roared in her ears when she thought she was too late. Then she spotted them in the shadows at the edge of an unkempt field that bordered the research center.

Hunter had wondered if Reid was working for Swinton. He must be right, she decided as she followed behind the pair, darting from shadow to shadow.

She was about to step into the light again, when Reid suddenly stopped at the edge of the lawn and spun around, scanning the open area behind him. Kathryn froze in mid-stride. Thank God he hadn’t waited a few seconds longer, she thought as she pressed herself against the wall of the building, hardly daring to breathe.

She sagged back against the wall when Reid issued a gruff command to Hunter and started moving again. She saw now that they were skirting the front door of the research center, aiming for another destination. Building 22, she realized, feeling the blood drain out of her face. Please, not Building 22, she silently mouthed. But her guess was confirmed as they made directly for the low building, with Hunter in the lead and Reid right behind him with the gun.

As she watched in horror, Hunter pushed open the same door she’d entered several nights earlier and stepped inside. Reid followed, pulling the door closed behind them.

For long moments, she was rooted to the spot where she stood, fighting the urge to scream. Her first trip inside that building had been the most terrifying experience of her life. And she’d silently vowed never to go back. Now here she was again.

About thirty yards back, she had passed a telephone box on a utility pole. It wasn’t an outside line, she knew. It was only connected to the base phone system. Uncertainly, she turned and stared at it. She could call for help, and a security team would come on the double. Yet she didn’t need Hunter to tell her she couldn’t trust Emerson. Worse, if Reid was telling the truth, everyone now thought Hunter was a killer. Maybe they had orders to shoot him on sight. For all she knew, they had orders to shoot her, too.

Her only option was to get inside and help Hunter. Clenching her teeth, she forced her legs to carry her toward the building. But when she reached the door and tried the knob, she discovered it wouldn’t turn. The entrance was locked. Reid had shut her out.

For endless moments, she stood making little sounds of distress in her throat as she tried to force the knob. Finally, with a sob, she gave up the futile effort. Stifling the impulse to pound her fist against the door, she straightened and started along the perimeter of the structure, searching for another entrance.

She had almost made a circle of the entire building when she heard someone muttering in a low, angry voice. Freezing in place, she looked wildly around, but there was nowhere to hide.

The voice sounded frustrated, but it grew no louder. Realizing that the speaker was hidden from view around the corner of the building, she crept cautiously forward and peered around the wall. A man was standing hunched over, trying to insert a key into the lock of another door. When he met with no success, he cursed, then switched to another key on the same ring.

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