tail.”
“What? A bird?”
“No, more like a rocket.”
“Who in the hell has rockets out here?” Richard demanded.
Zach’s body grew rigid. “Maybe we shouldn’t stand so close to the helicopter and seek some cover. The cartels have this kind of ammunition. Either provided illegally by the black market or stolen from the Mexican Army. Whatever, we’re in hostile territory and should treat it as such.” He grabbed Jacie’s hand and dragged her toward an outcropping.
The woman dug her heels into the rocky soil. “No. We can’t give up the search now. What about the metal reflection? It could be a vehicle. They could be holding Tracie nearby.” She jerked her hand free and headed back the way they’d come in the chopper. “We have to check it out.”
Zach sighed. She was right. Though he didn’t like the idea of being trapped in a canyon with the possibility of being shot at, he had to either catch up with Jacie or risk her being taken as easily as her sister, or killed like the DEA Agents.
“Will you at least wait over there in the shadows until I get some more firepower?”
She frowned. “You can’t go back to the chopper. It might explode.”
He smiled. “I’d rather risk an explosion than walk off into a desert canyon underarmed.”
She bit her bottom lip for a moment. “Okay, but hurry.”
Zach nodded to Richard. “Get her over there, will ya?”
The Big Elk Ranch owner’s brows furrowed. “Let me get the guns. No use you losing it on my chopper.”
“Please, just make sure she’s under cover.”
“I’m coming with you,” Trey insisted.
Zach rushed back to the chopper, grabbed four weapons hooked over the backs of the seat. He tossed two rifles to Trey and checked the other two. Each was fully loaded, safeties on. With the weapons slung over his shoulder, he and Trey ran back to where Richard and Jacie stood in the shadows of the overhanging cliffs.
Zach handed Jacie a rifle. “Know how to use one?”
She snorted. “You have to ask?”
“She’s a better shot than I am,” Richard admitted, taking the rifle Trey handed him. “Let’s go.”
On the alert for any movement, high or low, Zach took point. If they’d been shot down by a rocket, no telling what other armament the cartel had in their arsenal. He didn’t like being at the bottom of the canyon, basically sitting ducks for anyone standing guard on the rim. They didn’t have much choice if they wanted to get to the point where Jacie had spotted the metal reflection.
“Up ahead,” Jacie called out in a husky whisper. “That’s the lower end of the J-shaped crevice. What I spotted was just on the other side of that curve.” She hurried to catch up with Zach.
His arm shot out and clotheslined her at the chest. He pressed a finger to his lips and waited until she made eye contact with him. “I’ll take lead. No use all of us charging in and getting shot. Let me scout ahead and see what’s up there. I’ll whistle if all’s clear.”
“But—”
Zach held up his hand. “One person can move silently. Four have less of a chance.”
Richard’s hands descended on Jacie’s shoulders. “He’s right. In fact, maybe we should wait and let the FBI or DEA go in. They are better trained and equipped to handle a situation like this.”
“I can do this,” Zach reassured him.
Jacie nodded. “Let him. He knows what he’s doing. I’ll stay until you whistle.”
Zach took off, the rifle slung over his shoulder, his handgun in his right hand, safety off, ready for whatever lay ahead.
He eased through the shadows, careful not to disturb the loose rocks and gravel as he rounded the corner of the rocky escarpment. On the ground beside him, he noted tire tracks. Whoever had come this way had come on what looked like an ATV. One larger than the four-wheeler back at the canyon rim.
Zach stopped several times to listen. Not a single noise reached him or echoed off the walls of the canyon. He moved forward and
“What? A bird?”
“No, more like a rocket.”
“Who in the hell has rockets out here?” Richard demanded.
Zach’s body grew rigid. “Maybe we shouldn’t stand so close to the helicopter and seek some cover. The cartels have this kind of ammunition. Either provided illegally by the black market or stolen from the Mexican Army. Whatever, we’re in hostile territory and should treat it as such.” He grabbed Jacie’s hand and dragged her toward an outcropping.
The woman dug her heels into the rocky soil. “No. We can’t give up the search now. What about the metal reflection? It could be a vehicle. They could be holding Tracie nearby.” She jerked her hand free and headed back the way they’d come in the chopper. “We have to check it out.”
Zach sighed. She was right. Though he didn’t like the idea of being trapped in a canyon with the possibility of being shot at, he had to either catch up with Jacie or risk her being taken as easily as her sister, or killed like the DEA Agents.
“Will you at least wait over there in the shadows until I get some more firepower?”
She frowned. “You can’t go back to the chopper. It might explode.”
He smiled. “I’d rather risk an explosion than walk off into a desert canyon underarmed.”
She bit her bottom lip for a moment. “Okay, but hurry.”
Zach nodded to Richard. “Get her over there, will ya?”
The Big Elk Ranch owner’s brows furrowed. “Let me get the guns. No use you losing it on my chopper.”
“Please, just make sure she’s under cover.”
“I’m coming with you,” Trey insisted.
Zach rushed back to the chopper, grabbed four weapons hooked over the backs of the seat. He tossed two rifles to Trey and checked the other two. Each was fully loaded, safeties on. With the weapons slung over his shoulder, he and Trey ran back to where Richard and Jacie stood in the shadows of the overhanging cliffs.
Zach handed Jacie a rifle. “Know how to use one?”
She snorted. “You have to ask?”
“She’s a better shot than I am,” Richard admitted, taking the rifle Trey handed him. “Let’s go.”
On the alert for any movement, high or low, Zach took point. If they’d been shot down by a rocket, no telling what other armament the cartel had in their arsenal. He didn’t like being at the bottom of the canyon, basically sitting ducks for anyone standing guard on the rim. They didn’t have much choice if they wanted to get to the point where Jacie had spotted the metal reflection.
“Up ahead,” Jacie called out in a husky whisper. “That’s the lower end of the J-shaped crevice. What I spotted was just on the other side of that curve.” She hurried to catch up with Zach.
His arm shot out and clotheslined her at the chest. He pressed a finger to his lips and waited until she made eye contact with him. “I’ll take lead. No use all of us charging in and getting shot. Let me scout ahead and see what’s up there. I’ll whistle if all’s clear.”
“But—”
Zach held up his hand. “One person can move silently. Four have less of a chance.”
Richard’s hands descended on Jacie’s shoulders. “He’s right. In fact, maybe we should wait and let the FBI or DEA go in. They are better trained and equipped to handle a situation like this.”
“I can do this,” Zach reassured him.
Jacie nodded. “Let him. He knows what he’s doing. I’ll stay until you whistle.”
Zach took off, the rifle slung over his shoulder, his handgun in his right hand, safety off, ready for whatever lay ahead.
He eased through the shadows, careful not to disturb the loose rocks and gravel as he rounded the corner of the rocky escarpment. On the ground beside him, he noted tire tracks. Whoever had come this way had come on what looked like an ATV. One larger than the four-wheeler back at the canyon rim.
Zach stopped several times to listen. Not a single noise reached him or echoed off the walls of the canyon. He moved forward and
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