In her mind, she pictured him still hanging on the cross. His head slanted in grisly detail, exposing a gash so deep it nearly severed his head. The image spawned a waking nightmare. The dead man's face warped into her own reflection, her throat slashed. The smell of blood threatened to smother her. Dazed and numb, she blocked out the horror until a hand grabbed her, hoisting her up by the hair. Her scalp throbbed in pain. From the sound of it, Father Antonio fought alongside her.
In shock, she cried out. "Damn it! Let go."
Even with the blackness around her, she knew who held her firm, yanking her up with little effort. Only one man possessed hatred that ran so deep.
"In the end, I promised it would be you and me, sweet meat." His raspy whisper taunted her. "I told you my voice would be the last thing you hear. I just hope your daddy is watching."
The man yanked her to his chest. His stench filled her nostrils. She knew it was only a matter of time. Who would investigate her murder—stare into her glazed eyes? Despite the hopelessness of her situation, Raven would not give in to death. She pitched and rocked her body, straining to free her arms.
Then the weight of cold steel pressed against her temple—killing any hope for escape. She would die at the hand of Logan McBride. It had come to this.
CHAPTER 17
Once again, McBride had her bound and gagged with duct tape. She and the priest were hauled to the center of the maze by two of his men. Their deaths would be made a spectacle. She wanted to scream at the injustice.
But why had they restrained her again? Raven thought back to the Blair case. The man had no evidence of tape on his body. This didn't make sense.
She heard McBride's voice through the dark, a fleeting sound, giving instructions to his two mercenaries. ". .. stay hidden . . . gonna draw him out."
She could make out only fragments of his words. She tried to eavesdrop on the huddled men, their voices too low to hear. Then his demented disciples scurried off into the darkest crevices, like roaches running for cover. But from the sounds of it, his men didn't stray far. Whatever was about to happen would take place center stage.
It was obvious. A trap had been set.
With the men gone, Logan knelt by her side, pulling up the night-vision gear to rest on his forehead. The intimacy of his cruel whisper sent a shiver across her skin.
"Let's put out a little cheese for our rat, give him the proper motivation."
Whom were they going to ambush? Raven didn't like the sound of this conspiracy. She held her breath, gathering courage for what would follow. Suddenly, a beam of light flickered into her eyes, blinding her. After she'd been in the dark for so long, the brightness shot through her brain like needles. She squinted and turned to shield her eyes. McBride yanked her head back and held his gun to her temple. The loudness of his voice took her by surprise.
"You wanted to play. I got a game for you," he shouted into the void. His insanity pierced her eardrums. "Show yourself. Or I splatter gray matter dead center. Your choice."
Whom was he talking to? Raven wondered. The man had finally lost it. With a sideways glance, she shot a questioning look to the priest. Father Antonio stared into the darkness, his eyes a mix of fear and hope. She followed his lead, searching the gloom.
One voice broke the stalemate. A man lingered beyond the narrow circle of light. McBride strafed the emptiness with his flashlight.
"Let her and the priest go and I'll stay. Just you and me."
The breath caught in her throat. She swallowed hard. It was Christian.
How did he—? It didn't matter. The sound of his voice filled her with expectation for only an instant. Then reality hit. Christian would walk into McBride's trap, putting himself at risk. And she could do nothing to stop it. Now they'd all die together.
She couldn't contain her raw emotion. Raven screamed through the gag, shaking her head, trying to warn him.
Logan laughed at her feeble attempt, an insulting cackle. "You got nothing to bargain with, my friend. I'm holding a royal flush, ace high. All you got is a pair of twos." Logan set his flashlight onto a burlap sack, shining the beam into the shadows. He jerked her head back hard. Sweat trailed down her cheek as he jammed the gun under her chin. "Come out so I can see you. No weapons, hands up."
Slowly, Christian stood, squinting into the light with his hands raised. He carefully shrugged out of his coat, then held out his knife in surrender.
"Toss the knife over the wall. Then turn around, real slow."
The knife clattered on the cement floor outside the labyrinth wall. And with a slow turn, to show he carried no other weapons, Christian kept his eyes on McBride. Yet as he stepped closer, Raven detected something else—a fierce determination. She'd seen it the first day they met when he surfaced from the war room.
The predator had emerged.
Given McBride's ego, she suspected the man believed he had everything under control. And she conceded the odds were stacked in his favor. But Raven wouldn't count Delacorte out. If she were a betting girl, her money would be on Christian.
And she hoped Logan McBride would soon find out why.
The Asian woman was nowhere in sight. He expected as much. She'd never take on his fight. Still, he could have used her help.
The meager glow of the flashlight left much of the warehouse in shadow, but it was enough to bring his plan to a screeching halt. As he stepped into the light, he knew one thing. He'd lost his edge. And now he had no weapon. Yet his eyes remained focused on the man holding Raven. Her life would depend upon his instincts—and his ability to manipulate a sociopath.
"What's your name?" Christian kept his hands raised, his tone even. "I gotta know who would wage war on a priest."
The smug look on the man's face faded, twisting into something more sinister. "Logan McBride. And while we're on the subject, care to share?"
"Delacorte, Christian Delacorte."
"Ahhh. Seek the truth, Christian." The man laughed. "So we finally meet. Blue Blood will be ticked off when he finds out what I'm gonna do to you."
"Don't know a man named Blue Blood, but maybe I can help you with your dilemma." His voice low, threatening. "Dead men don't have to answer to anyone."
"You're a cocky son of a bitch." The stare of McBride wavered, his irritation showing. "I see you don't carry a gun."
"The bigger the gun, the smaller the— Well, you know the old saying." A lazy smile spread across Christian's face. His gaze drifted to the Glock in McBride's thigh holster. "Let's just say I have nothing to prove."
Silence.
Christian knew the man would have something to prove to the men standing in the rafters. He taunted him with his insolence, daring the man to take up his challenge. McBride would figure that only one alpha male would leave the maze. All he had to do was stall long enough for the police to arrive. Whether he had to kill or not, Christian was determined—Raven would make it out alive.
He knew McBride had had enough. The man glared; his jaw tightened. His hands clutched Raven's hair. Her eyes filled with pain.
It hurt Christian to see her suffer. Yet he kept his face unreadable, for her sake. Maybe he went too far with the taunts, but McBride would smell weakness and take it out on her. So he decided to push it even further by using the man's ego as a weapon against him, redirecting his hostility.
He lowered his hands and crossed his arms over his chest in open defiance, mirroring the mercenary's arrogant expression. By the look in his eye, McBride couldn't resist the pissing match.
"You look like a guy who enjoys dangerous games. How about we play one?" A menacing sneer twisted McBride's face. "Just you and me."
"And you look like a coward, the kind of guy who'd prefer to tip the odds in his favor. Your men won't interfere?"