Page 25 of Storm Surge

Mark grew quiet.

“Mark?” His silence scared her. “What have you found out?”

“It’s bad.”

Jamie rubbed her hand across her eyes. “Just say it.”

He did and then some. “Your grandfather killed your grandmother and was convicted of murder and went to prison. He was supposed to be there for the rest of his life.”

Supposed to. “What do you mean he was supposed to be there.”

“He escaped from prison. And he disappeared into thin air. No one has seen him since.”

Until now.

The man who evoked such terror in her had done so for good reason. He was a killer. He’d killed his own wife. Had he killed others? Had he tried to kill her?

Chapter Seven

Aplane approached. Hours had passed since they’d spoken. Collins hurried to the window as the plane landed on the rudimentary landing strip carved from the woods.

There was no doubt who was in the plane even before he emerged. Almost seventy years old, Ezekiel Hardeman still remained a formidable presence.

Collins stepped from the logging cabin at his approach.

The older man spotted him, and his look of determination shifted to disgust. His former commander at the CIA had been Collins’s mentor for most of his career there. Hardeman never believed the attack that was supposed to have killed Collins and his team. Collins had no idea Hardeman had launched his own private investigation into the attack. When Hardeman had tracked him down in Afghanistan, he could have turned Collins in.

But he didn’t.

“Sir, thank you for this,” Collins said over the plane’s noise.

Hardeman didn’t answer. He stared long and hard at Collins before he turned to the pilot and motioned for him to kill the engines. “You really messed things up, Martin.” Hardeman was as tough as iron and had broken many a new recruit. But he was no match for Collins whose anger rose, although he was smart enough to realize he needed Hardeman’s help.

“I guess I have.”

Hardeman motioned toward the cabin. “There are things we need to discuss.”

Once they reached the living space, Collins opened the door and let the senior man step inside. He followed and closed the door.

Hardeman whirled on him. “Do you know they’re asking about Sofia?”

Collins’s eyes widened. “Sofia. Why?”

Color crept up Hardeman’s neck. “Apparently, they found her body on your family property. It won’t take them long to figure out how she died.” Hardeman stepped closer. “I told you when this happened, I wouldn’t take the fall for you. And I won’t. If they tie Sofia’s disappearance to me, I’ll make you pay, Martin. You can count on that.”

Collins’s mind raced over the information he had. No doubt Grayson and his Strike Force team had been crawling all over his family’s land looking for any clue that might lead them to Collins’s hiding place. He should have known at some point the truth about Sofia’s disappearance would come out, but he’d buried her in the best possible place.

This was all her fault. Sofia had always been cutthroat, but he believed she loved him as he did her. She’d understand his vision and fall into line. He hadn’t counted on anything different. “There is no way they can know you helped me bury my wife.” He had to believe it. Collins still recalled the frantic phone conversation with his commander. There was no one else he could turn to in the US, and he couldn’t let Jamie know about her mother’s death. And so, with Hardeman’s help, they’d buried Sofia deep in the woods. Hardeman had helped for one reason only. He wanted to have another bargaining chip to use against Collins.

“You’d better hope so,” Hardeman spewed the words out. “This is such a mess.” He looked around the one-room cabin with disgust. “Why am I here, Martin? The whole world is looking for you. What do you think I can do?”

Collins had enough of Hardeman’s berating. “Don’t play coy, Zeke. You know what I want. I need to disappear for a while until I have time to regroup.”

“Regroup?” Hardeman’s mouth curled into a nasty smile. “There’s no regrouping for you. You’re done.”

Something snapped inside Collins and he moved to within a few inches of Hardeman’s face. “Done? I’m not done by a longshot. And if I go down, you’d better believe I’m taking you with me.”

The cockiness left Hardeman’s eyes. Fear replaced it. “You wouldn’t dare.”

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