Read Online And Then You Die by Iris Johansen - Free Book Online

take what she could get.
     
    Darkness was falling. They could no longer see to track the Grady woman. She would be safe for the night.
    Esteban clenched his hands into fists as he gazed up at the hills.
    Four days. Those fools had been searching for four days and they still hadn't found her. Kaldak had vanished without a trace, but there was no reason his men should not have been able to capture the woman. He could almost imagine the bitch laughing at them.
    No, they had pushed her too hard for her to be amused by the hunt. They had found blood on the rocks that afternoon.
    Why would she not give up?
     
    A hand clamped over Bess's mouth, jarring her awake.
    Someone was astride her. Sweat. Musk. A man . . .
    Esteban's soldiers. They had found the cave. . . .
    She rolled to the side and struck upward with her fist. She connected with flesh.
    “Be
still
. I won't hurt you.”
    Kaldak!
    She struck out again.
    “Dammit, I'm here to help you.”
    Josie let out a shrill wail from the pallet Bess had made for her against the cave wall.
    Kaldak stiffened. “What the hell?”
    He had relaxed his hold. Bess heaved up and to the side, dislodging him, and jumped to her feet.
    Do it right, she told herself. Do it right.
    She whirled, her fist punching at his stomach as he got to his feet. She grabbed his arm, swiveled, and flipped him over her shoulder to the ground.
    She heard him swearing as she snatched up Josie and took off for the cave entrance.
    He brought her down with a tackle. She fell on her left side, instinctively protecting Josie, and rolled the baby away from her. Her knee sliced up into Kaldak's groin.
    He grunted with pain but flipped her over and straddled her. His hands closed on her throat.
    He was going to kill her. Oh, God, she didn't want to die. Her fingernails dug viciously into the backs of his hands.
    “Stop it,” he said through his teeth. “I'm not used to pulling back. I could break your neck without––” He drew a deep breath and slowly loosened his grasp. “Listen to me, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to hurt Josie. I'm trying to help you.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “Then run away. Be stupid. In one day, maybe two, Esteban will catch up with you. He's camped not four miles from here right now.”
    She glared up at him. “How do you know that if you aren't with him?”
    “He tracked you. I tracked him. He was easier than you.”
    She shook her head. “When I lost you, you called out the soldiers.”
    “I didn't have to call them. They were pouring through these hills eight hours after you took off from Tenajo. If I'd joined Esteban, wouldn't they be here right now?”
    Josie let out another wail.
    “She needs you,” Kaldak said. “And we need her to be quiet. I'll let you up if you promise to hear me out.”
    “Would you trust me?”
    “No, but I think you're an intelligent woman who will weigh the consequences. I can get you out of these hills.”
    “I can get myself out.”
    “Maybe. But you can't radio a helicopter in for a pickup. Do you want to dodge Esteban for the next week and risk getting Josie captured again?”
    She went still. A helicopter.
    “Get off me.”
    “Will you listen?”
    “I'll listen.”
    His heavy bulk was lifted off her and she sat up and reached for Josie.
    The baby wailed again.
    “She has to be quiet,” Kaldak said. “There are guards around the perimeter of Esteban's camp.”
    The warning caused her suspicions to ease a little. “What do you expect? You scared her.” She cuddled the baby closer. “And she's hungry and probably wet again.” She felt Josie's diaper. Damp. “I'm out of diapers. I was able to snatch only a few when I left Tenajo, and I had no time or way to keep them clean. Do you have anything I can use?”
    “Maybe. I'll look in my backpack.” He shrugged the pack off his back. “I wasn't prepared for this.”
    “Neither was I,” she said dryly.
    Kaldak switched on the flashlight he had taken out of his backpack.
    “Turn