Manda pushed herself away so she could focus on Bay’s eyes. “What else?”
He gazed out across the meadow in front of the house. “The ones up in Montana? The guys that went after the babies and their mothers? They’re all from the South Bay. They worked for a bio-engineering lab. Not the same name as the one where you were held, but the way these places change names and ownership…”
“They know about us. They know about the Chanku.” Manda covered her mouth with her fingertips.
“It appears that way. I checked the IDs from the two I killed here. Nothing to tell you where they worked, but one was from Belmont, the other from Oakland, both cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s too great a coincidence, especially since you ID’d two of the three.”
“Have you told Anton?” Manda felt a chill run up her spine when he nodded, and along with that, a huge dose of guilt. They were all in danger because of her.
“When Jake and Shannon get back, we need to find the men’s car. I’ve stashed the bodies of the two guys I killed here, but I want to run the car into one of the old quarry ponds. They won’t be found in our lifetime. We need to see if there’s any evidence in their car, any hint of why they’re after us.”
Manda nodded. She looked absolutely numb. “Bay, we need to do something about Allen’s body. I just left him there in the woods.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll go in the car with the others. We’ve got time. We’ll take care of things once Jake and Shannon are here. I don’t want to leave you alone. Are you okay?” He touched her chin with his fingertips and turned her to face him.
She loved him so much. He’d sacrificed for her. Killed for her. She’d never before realized how difficult that was…killing. But in so doing, Bay had saved her from the worst kind of hell. She felt like such a failure. Manda bowed her head, unwilling to make eye contact. “I didn’t think it would feel this bad.”
“What, sweetheart?” Bay wrapped his fingers lightly around her upper arms and softly rubbed her skin.
“Killing. I feel terrible for killing Allen. Even though he…”
“I’m glad. Killing should make you feel horrible.”
“What?” His grasp on her arms tightened. She raised her head and frowned. “I don’t understand.”
He slid his hands down her arms and wrapped his long fingers around hers. “I don’t kill easily. When I worked for the government, that was pretty much my job, but it’s not something I ever did lightly. There are times…to save my life, to save the life of someone I love or have sworn to protect, that I’ve had to.” His voice dropped even lower. He shook his head slowly, but he smiled at her. “Never for pleasure. Not for sport. Wolves kill to eat or to protect the pack. If you had not killed him, he would have found a way to capture you. You had no choice, but you should feel badly for taking a life, even one as foul as his.”
Manda leaned back against Baylor’s chest and thought about what he’d said. She wondered if Allen had a family, if he had children he’d loved. She finally decided she couldn’t go there and survive intact. He was dead. That ugly part of her childhood was over. It was time to consign him to the past.
Bay’s arms tightened around her waist and she snuggled against his chest while he held her in his lap like a child. They were still sitting there when Jake and Shannon arrived with some very unsettling news. Still there when the phone rang.
It was Anton Cheval. He wanted all of them to come to Montana. Another attempt had been made, this time against Keisha and Xandi when they’d gone to town for groceries. It looked like an all-out attack. Someone wanted the Chanku badly enough to kill for the chance to make a capture.
Wanted them badly enough to die. The question was, who? And why?
It wasn’t until Baylor and Jake retrieved the body of Manda’s rapist that they got their first bit of solid evidence. Allen carried a mobile phone in a small leather holster fastened to his belt.
One loaded with names, phone numbers, and dates. Baylor slipped the phone into his pocket and helped Jake carry the body back to the car.
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