"Who were you talking to outside?" she asked, her voice steady despite her ravaged nerves.
"Curious little girl, aren't you?" Ryker smiled. His mouth was broad, his lips thick and his big teeth had a wide space between the front two. "I have powerful friends who are...assisting me. As soon as the Conquistador arrives, we will be taking a little helicopter ride to a safe place where I can kill you both, very slowly."
She knew that his powerful friends must be the Marquez family, men to whom killing was as commonplace as breathing. And perhaps Ramon Carranza was another friend. If rumors were true, the charming old Cuban could be as deadly as a poisonous snake. "Nate has powerful friends, too. He has the United States government behind him."
She hated the sickening smile on Ryker's face, as if he could taste her fear and was gaining strength from it. "Nathan Hodges will come alone. He knows that I will kill you if he does not. My friends are keeping watch, even now, for any sign of betrayal."
"Nate isn't stupid. He knows you'll kill me regardless of what he does." Why are you trying to reason with a madman? she asked herself. There was no answer.
"Ah, yes, but he will play the game by my rules because he thinks he can outsmart me and keep you alive."
Ryker moved toward her. Her body hugged the wall. Cyn stared at him, trying not to react to his nauseatingly sweet smile. Reaching out, he ran his index finger over her chin, down her throat and into her blouse, stopping between her breasts. When he popped open the top button of her blouse, Cyn glared at him, reaching deep inside herself for courage. Acting on the revolt she felt, Cyn spat in his face.
Wiping away the spit with a large white handkerchief he had slipped out of his pocket, Ryker laughed, then reached out and grabbed Cyn by the shoulders. He dragged her across the room and flung her into a rickety cane-bottomed chair that Bedford had set upright.
"Tie our little hellcat down," Ryker said. "Tie her hands behind her back and secure her feet to the chair legs."
Bedford obeyed, manhandling Cyn when she tried to resist. Within minutes, Cyn was bound. Fighting the overwhelming fear of helplessness, she opened her mouth on a terrified scream.
Ryker ripped his handkerchief in two pieces and tossed them to Bedford. "Here. Shut her up."
Bending down, Bedford stuck half the moist handkerchief inside Cyn's mouth. He laughed when she gagged on the cloth. After spreading the remaining material across her lips and knotting it behind her head, Bedford looked down at her, his eyes filled with such lust that Cyn shuddered. He covered her breasts with his fat hands, squeezing painfully with his thick, pudgy fingers. Cyn squirmed, emitting hoarse groans beneath her tight gag.
"It's time for you to leave," Ryker said, coming over to where Bedford still clutched at Cyn's breasts. "If you're horny, go buy yourself a woman. As a matter of fact, I've given you enough money to buy yourself a harem."
Bedford released Cyn and stood up, facing Ryker. "Want her all to yourself, huh?"
Ryker nodded toward the open doorway, then he and Bedford went outside, closing the door behind them. Alone and uncertain, Cyn prayed. She asked for the strength to endure whatever might happen and requested, with her whole heart, that she be allowed to help Nate survive his battle with Ryker.
Please, dear Lord, watch over Nate, and, if he has a guardian angel, please send him to us now.
Suddenly Ryker burst through the door, an Uzi strapped across his chest. Cyn watched, spellbound, as he neared her. Unable to do anything except groan at his touch, Cyn had to endure the humiliation as he ripped open her blouse, exposing her lace-covered breasts.
Terrified, she closed her eyes against his nearness, against the sight of his smile. But she could not escape the shrill, menacing sound of his laughter.
"You and I, my lovely, will wait for the Conquistador." He pulled a knife from a shoulder sheath and ran the sharp tip of the blade across Cyn's breasts, from nipple to nipple. "I regret, for your sake, that I cannot kill you quickly, but I will not deprive myself of the pleasure I will derive from watching Nathan Hodges's face. Your lover will suffer the agonies of hell as he watches what I'm going to do to you." * * *
Crouched atop the roof, Nate secured the rope to a wide, sturdy beam. Overhead, the night sky closed in around him as he dropped the other end of the rope into the gaping hole in the back storage room ceiling. He checked the sheath on his belt and the hidden one in his boot, then hoisted the M16 to his shoulder. Grasping the rope, he slid downward with silent ease.
His feet landed soundlessly onto the stone floor. Moonlight poured through the roof opening, illuminating the cluttered room. With sleek, superior, trained movements, Nate made his way to the closed wooden door that connected the two storage areas. Like a jungle cat on a hunt for nourishment, he sought out the sound of Ryker's voice.
Nate grabbed the tarnished metal handle, gave the door a tiny push and waited for any hint of sound. Silence. He nudged the door again, a bit harder. With a minute squeak, it opened wider. Leaning back against the wall, Nate peered around the corner. A bright gas lantern lit the adjacent storage room. Ian Ryker stood, cowering over Cyn where she sat, tied to a wooden chair.
Nate knew he couldn't allow himself to think about how she looked, about what Ryker might have done to her. He had to keep a cool head if he were to have any chance of saving her.
Nate slipped his Fairbairn-Sykes dagger from its sheath, and pushed the door open, listening to the ominous creaking. Ryker jerked his head around, his one blue eye glaring at the doorway where Nate stood. Swinging his Uzi around, Ryker clutched the sinister weapon. Nate lifted his hand back, released the commando dagger, then jumped behind the safety of the thick coquina wall just as Ryker opened fire. Bullets riddled the wall.
Suddenly, with swift and deadly accuracy, Nate's dagger delved into Ryker's gut. Clutching his stomach with the stub of his left hand, he continued to spray the back wall with repeated shots. Finally, he slumped over, releasing the Uzi, and spreading his fingers into the blood dripping from his wound.
"Did you see her?" Ryker screamed as he fell to his knees in front of Cyn and grabbed her by the back of her head, twisting her hair around his hand. "You should come out and take a good look. She has blood on her face. Her pretty little mouth is all swollen and her soft knees are badly scraped."
Nate listened, his heart racing with outrage and torment. Wait. Wait, his instincts told him as he listened to Ryker's labored breathing.
Cyn wished that she could call out to Nate, to tell him that she was all right and not to let Ryker's taunts get to him. She glanced at the open doorway leading into the back storage room. How had Nate gotten in? she wondered, then remembered the roof. When she heard Ryker's harsh groans, she looked down at him just in time to see him jerk the long dagger from his stomach. Blood oozed out, turning his white shirt crimson. He held the knife up toward the heavens in a gesture Cyn knew he considered triumphant.
"I have your dagger, Conquistador." Ryker's voice held a hint of pain disguised beneath his victorious shout. "Come on out and see how I intend to use it on your beautiful lover."
Nate, his M16 on his shoulder, came through the doorway, putting himself in full view of the man sitting on the floor. Ryker held the dagger up to Cyn's chest, slicing through the sheer material of her bra. Red-hot fury seared Nate, branding every nerve within his body. Wild with the need to destroy the inhuman creature who was threatening his woman, Nate willed himself to stay in control.
Nate dragged his gaze away from Cyn's battered face, away from the look of sheer panic in her brown eyes. He studied Ryker, taking in every inch of the wounded man, noticing how profusely he was bleeding. At the rate he was losing blood, it was only a matter of time before he passed out. But Ian Ryker had the stamina of a battle-hardened soldier, and Nate knew he would fight to the bitter end. Given his strength of purpose, Ryker could well remain conscious long enough to kill Cyn.