Page 108 of One Final Target

JODIE KNELT AND TRIED TO HELP JONAH.Up close she could see a bone sticking out of the open fracture.

He pushed her away. “Leave me. Call a doctor. Moron broke my leg.” He rocked back and forth, moaning.

She stood back and looked at Sam, who shook his head.

“Nothing we can do.”

Collins sat against a boulder, pulled his knees up with his arms wrapped around them. He said nothing.

They waited about thirty minutes before the first members of the rescue party arrived. They were roughly in the middle between Green Valley Lake and Fawnskin. The help came from a forest ranger and two GVL deputies who arrived in a four-wheel drive.Once the location was pinpointed, they radioed for medical assistance. By then, Jonah had passed out.

“Can anyone tell me if there was an explosion in Green Valley Lake?” Sam asked.

He was worried about the booby trap. So was Jodie.

One of the deputies nodded. “A patrol car ran over an explosive device. Two deputies were injured, but they’ll be okay.”

“Thanks, glad to hear it,” he said, casting a glance at Jodie.

She was glad Mike hadn’t been hurt, but the accusations Jonah made had her unsettled.

Jodie and Sam were taken back to GVL. In the back of the rig Jodie relaxed for the first time in a long while and leaned against Sam. He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. It was a bumpy ride but Jodie didn’t mind it a bit.

They found everyone staged at the fire station there. Mike and Tara rushed to greet them as they got out of the rig. Mike hugged her first; then he shook Sam’s hand.

“George is going to make it,” he said.

Jodie saw the relief in Sam’s face.

“Oh, Jodie, I’m so glad you’re okay. When your call disconnected, I feared the worst.” Tara looked ragged and sleep-deprived.

“What were you ready to tell me?”

Tara glanced at Mike, who looked away.

“I knew it was Jonah. I’d been investigating him on the sly. I, well... I’d decided Mike wouldn’t go for it. Detective Fenton learned about some locals who got arrested by the ATF for stealing C-4 from a National Guard facility.” She turned to Sam. “The night I told you I had a spare room, I wanted to bring you in on my side invest, but away from the station.”

“Really? As it turns out, I’m glad I was free for Jodie when she called.”

“Good point. Anyway, the thieves sold the stuff but gave a description of the buyer to the ATF. I took a six-pack of photos to them. They picked Jonah out.”

“Somehow Jonah guessed you were on to him,” Jodie said. “He told me you messed up his plans.”

“Yeah, we all found out too late,” Mike said, bitterness dripping from his tone. “He’d cloned all of our phones. He could follow everything we were up to in real time. I want to talk to him. I’m heading up with the paramedics.”

He left before Jodie could say anything. Smiley met him at the 4x4.

Jodie watched him go. Mike hurt as much or more than she did. Asking about what Jonah had accused him of would have to wait.

Sam handed her a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” she said before drinking a good bit.

“The medics want to check us out,” Sam told her.

“Okay, I’ll meet you over there.”

He nodded and walked to where a medic waited. Two had gone with Mike to get Jonah; the third had stayed behind.

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