Betrayal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 4) Read online

  “Someone came into my room a few minutes ago to give me another shot.” He paused for a moment, unsure how much he should tell her. “I overpowered him and took his keys.”

  Her eyes widened slightly upon hearing what he’d done. Patrick was going to explain further when he heard footsteps down the hall.

  “We need to go,” he said.

  Her eyes moistened slightly. “I… I can’t.”

  He put a hand gently on her arm. “Yes, you can.”

  “You don’t understand.” She wiped her eyes. “One of the men told me they’d kill me if I ever tried to escape.”

  “Look, I don’t know what they’ve done to you or what they’re going to do to me.” He touched the cuff that encircled her wrist. “But I think we both know if we stay, this isn’t going to end well.”

  Despite the truth of his words, she hesitated. Truth be told, he couldn’t blame her. There weren’t any perfect choices. If she left with him, they might both be killed trying to escape. If she stayed, she might experience something worse than death.

  “Look, I’m not going to force you to come with me,” he said. “You can stay if you’d like, but I have to go. All I ask is that you don’t call out or let them know. I’ll notify the police as soon as possible.”

  Danielle held his gaze but said nothing.

  He gave her a quick smile then turned to leave.

  A hand grabbed his arm. “No.”

  He stopped and looked back.

  “I want to come with you.” She nodded at her cuffed wrist. “But I’m going to need some help. Can you get me out of these?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  Patrick found the key he’d used before and inserted it in the lock. Thankfully, the mechanism clicked, and the cuff popped open. Seconds later, Danielle was free and sitting on the edge of the gurney. She opened and closed her fist, getting her circulation moving again.

  One hundred twelve. Sixty-seven. Mazarine. The words flashed in Patrick’s mind again. What do they mean? Was it information that would help them escape? He’d have to worry about it later.

  He took her hands and helped her off the gurney. She wobbled slightly as she gained her balance.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded. “I’ll be fine. It always takes me a minute or two to get going.”

  Patrick saw she was wearing a robe and probably little else underneath. He hadn’t even thought about clothing. Her scant attire might pose a problem if it was cold outside. If it was, he could always give her his shirt and the lab coat.

  After making sure she could walk, he led her over to the door. He stuck his head out and checked in both directions. He could still hear voices down the hall, but there was no one in sight.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered.

  He led her quietly down the hall. After arriving at the door, he pushed the bar handle, half expecting an alarm to go off. The only noise was the click of the mechanism as the door swung inward.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Danielle asked.

  “Other than down? No, I don’t.”

  The stairwell was dark, lit only by a sliver of light coming from underneath the doors on each floor. After easing the door back into place, he signaled Danielle to follow him down. When they arrived on the next landing, the sound of footsteps carried up from below.

  Someone was coming.

  He pulled her back against the wall. Should they run back up or stay where they were? Just as he was about to go back up the stairs, he heard a loud click, followed by a brief splash of light. He exhaled in relief. Whoever it was had gotten off on the floor below.

  As they continued down the steps, Patrick found himself counting the number of floors they passed. The task came naturally, as though he was used to monitoring his surroundings. Now that he thought about it, even unlocking the cuffs had been instinctual. Did all of it have something to do with his past?

  They reached the bottom a minute later. He’d hoped to find a door leading directly to the outside, but instead the only door led back into the building. That meant they’d have to go inside and look for another way out.

  Remembering Danielle’s programming, he asked, “Have you been down here before?”

  “They’ve taken me to several different rooms in the building, but I had no idea where I was. Some of the rooms had windows, and others didn’t.”

  At this point, they’d have to hope an exit was close by. Patrick pushed the door open carefully and peeked out. They were at the corner of the building, with a corridor directly ahead and another leading off to the right. A man and woman in lab coats sauntered down the one directly ahead, sipping from Styrofoam cups as they talked. Patrick pulled back slightly so as not to be seen. The two eventually turned down a side hall, disappearing from view.

  Once the voices faded, he eased out again and looked to the right. On the far end of the hall, a sign glowed above a door. He couldn’t read it from where he was standing, but he guessed it marked an exit.

  He pulled back in. “I think I found a way out, but we’re going to be exposed for a minute or so and need to move quickly.”

  She nodded that she understood.

  He looked down the hall again. As best he could tell, it was empty.

  They stepped out and walked briskly toward the exit. Patrick thought about what he’d do if someone came around the corner. If that happened, there was really only one thing he could do. He would grab Danielle’s arm as though escorting her to another part of the building. He’d have to hope that not all employees knew one another.

  They had traversed about half the distance to the exit when a loud chirp came out of a room just ahead. Patrick recognized the sound immediately. A radio.

  They both froze in place and listened.

  Whoever was holding the radio spoke into it with an authoritative voice of someone in charge. “This is A Four. Go ahead.”

  “We have a problem,” someone said through the radio’s speaker.

  “What is it?” the leader asked.

  “Eleven is missing.”

  Patrick’s pulse quickened.

  “What?” The leader’s voice was suddenly gruff. “Where is she? How did it happen?”

  “I’m not sure, but she somehow managed to get her cuffs off.”

  After a short pause, the leader spoke again. “How long has she been gone?”

  “A few minutes at most.”

  “Are the others in their rooms?”

  “We’re in the process of determining that now.”

  “Begin a search of her floor. We’ll come up to you.”

  “Roger that.”

  After signing off, the leader ordered the others in the room with him to gather their weapons.

  Danielle grabbed Patrick’s arm with a trembling hand. “We have to go back up.”

  As much as he wanted to, that wasn’t an option. Even if they sprinted, they probably didn’t have time to make it back to the stairwell.

  Boots thumped and weapons clanged in the room ahead. The guards would be coming out at any moment.

  His heart racing, Patrick glanced around. There was a door on their right he hadn’t seen before. He turned the handle and opened it. A utility closet.

  It would have to do. He shoved Danielle inside then slipped in behind her and closed the door, leaving a small crack to look through. They were just in time. Boots sounded in the hall, and dark figures moved quickly past the sliver of light. As best Patrick could tell, there were at least six or eight guards in black fatigues.

  A few seconds later, the stairwell door groaned open, and the leader addressed one of his men. “I want you to stay here and make sure she doesn’t come down the stairs. The rest of you, follow me up. We’re going to search the upper floors one at a time. Remember, she must be taken alive. That’s a…”

  His voice was cut off as the door clanged shut.

  Patrick counted to thirty then peeked out. The hallway was empty. He knew one of the guards was waiting i
n the stairwell, so he gestured for Danielle to be quiet and follow him toward the exit.

  As they slipped down the hall, excited voices echoed out of a nearby corridor. That wasn’t good news. The entire building was coming to life. Patrick sprinted the remaining distance and pushed the exit door open. When he did, a high-pitched whistle blared throughout the building. An alarm.

  Patrick cursed under his breath as they fled outside. They could throw stealth out the window. From this point forward, it would be a footrace to the woods. Assuming the guards didn’t have dogs, it was still possible he and Danielle could get far enough away to escape. The key was to get out of sight before their pursuers came outside.

  After running down the steps, he turned right toward the trees, but Danielle tugged his arm and pointed in the other direction. “This way.”

  What was she doing? They needed to get to the woods as quickly as possible. It was their only hope of getting away.

  “I know where to go,” she said. “Please, trust me.”

  Her eyes flashed with confidence. She knew something he didn’t. Reluctantly, he nodded.

  “Where are we going?” he asked as they ran to the left, across the lawn.

  “You’ll see.”

  As they neared the corner of the building, a loud clank sounded behind them. Patrick glanced back and saw beams of light crisscrossing the front lawn. The guards were already outside.

  “There they are!” someone shouted.

  Patrick and Danielle picked up speed as they ran toward a parking lot. Is she going to steal a car? That was a good idea, as long as there were keys inside.

  Much to his surprise, she continued through the lot, eventually turning down a grassy slope on the other side. He marveled at Danielle’s ability to run in bare feet. It was amazing what the human body was capable of doing when fueled by heavy amounts of adrenaline.

  When they reached the bottom, Patrick saw glistening waters in the moonlight about twenty yards away. A broad river ran parallel to the facility. As they drew near, he saw several boats moored along a wooden dock.

  So that’s what she’s doing.

  “I saw the dock from one of the rooms they took me to,” she said as they arrived. “Boats coming and going at all hours of the day. I think they leave the keys—”

  The crack of a gunshot cut her off. Patrick looked back and saw two guards at the top of the hill. How had they missed? Even an average marksman could hit a target from that distance. Then he remembered what the man had said about Danielle being taken alive. For now, they would use that to their advantage.

  Danielle ran to a boat at the end of the dock. He liked her choice. They could launch it without having to maneuver around any other boats. Patrick hopped over the gunwale and made his way to the front, where he settled into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  Apparently, I can drive boats too.

  Boots thumped down the dock.

  Thankfully, the engine roared to life. He opened the throttle, and the bow lifted in response. Nice. She’s got some power.

  As they shot away, Patrick turned and saw their pursuers boarding one of the other boats. Hopefully, it didn’t have more speed than the one they were in. At least they had a head start.

  Patrick faced forward then froze when his gaze rested on the control panel.

  They were almost out of fuel.

  Chapter Three

  “WE’RE ALMOST out of gas?” Danielle asked over his shoulder.

  “As far as I can tell.”

  “How far can we go?”

  Patrick examined the gauge again, this time more closely. There wasn’t even a sliver of space between the needle and the empty indicator. That meant they might be able to travel another mile or two. Then again, the engine might begin to sputter in less than a minute. Like the fuel gauge on a car, they were all calibrated differently.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” he replied

  “Well, I hope we have something in the tank, because we’ve got company.”

  Patrick turned and saw what she was referring to. Another boat carved out into the river behind them, throwing a fountain of water in its wake. Maybe it was his imagination, but the other craft looked sleeker, faster. He hoped the urgency of the situation made things seem worse than they really were.

  “Do you know where we’re at?” he shouted at her over the roar of the engine. Maybe she knew more than he did. After all, she’d known about the boats.

  “All I know is that we’re somewhere in France.”

  France. That would explain the euros he took from the man’s pocket. But if they were in France, why had all the men at the facility spoken English? Something didn’t add up. He looked at Danielle. “How do you know?”

  “One of the few things I remember is flying over here. It’s weird because I remember that and my name but almost nothing else.”

  Patrick thought of the words that had flashed in his mind before: One hundred twelve. Sixty-seven. Mazarine. Mazarine sounded French, but what did it mean? Maybe it was a nearby town.

  “They’re gaining,” Danielle shouted.

  Patrick clenched his jaw. Not only were they almost out of gas, but apparently they’d taken a slower craft. At this point, he wondered if there was anything they could do to get some separation. One option was to go ashore now, while there was still some distance between the two boats. He looked to his right, trying to judge the wisdom of that idea. A thick mass of trees towered over the river’s shore. Like the ones around the facility, they were thick, dark, and foreboding. Yes, they’d have a head start, but Danielle’s bare feet would surely be cut to ribbons.

  “I think there’s something ahead,” Danielle called out.

  Lights blinked through the trees around the next bend. As they continued on, the outline of buildings began to appear. Maybe they were nearing a village in the French countryside. Their fuel was almost out, but there might be enough to get them there. And if there were places to hide, it just might be their way out.

  If only he could find a way to slow their pursuers down. Maybe they could…

  He turned and pointed at the port and starboard sides of the craft. “Open those compartments.”

  She moved toward the nearest one. “What am I looking for?”

  “A flare gun. Do you know what one looks like?”

  “I think so.”

  As she opened the compartment door, Patrick marveled at how quickly he’d come up with the idea. Apparently, he was used to thinking on his feet while under duress.

  Who am I?

  “Found it!” Danielle held up a flare gun, which looked like a red-and-black revolver.

  “How about flares?”

  “There’s a whole box back here.”

  They needed to move quickly in order for this to work. “Perfect. Now pop the barrel open and stick one in.”

  She did as told. “Do you really think anyone will see—”

  “Just do it.”

  As they rounded the bend in the river, lighted homes appeared. It was a suburban neighborhood, with a park along the shore and houses beyond. Perfect. If they could manage to get a little more separation, they just might be able to pull this off.

  He looked at Danielle, who had just snapped the barrel back into place. “Ready?”

  She nodded.

  A beach ran along the edge of the park. It was the perfect place to run the boat ashore, but Patrick couldn’t let the guards know what he had in mind. For all they knew, both boats had plenty of gas. That was where the flare came in. “Listen to me. I want you to fire directly at the boat then load another flare and fire again.”

  “You want me to do it now?” she asked.

  “Yes. Hurry!”

  She bit her lower lip, lifted the gun, and took aim. Patrick faced forward, preparing to turn the boat as soon as she fired. Everything would have to happen in quick succession. One-two-three.

  Not hearing anything, he looked back and saw Danielle trying to aim wi
th precision. “Just fire it!”

  She squeezed the trigger, and a loud pop rang out. The flare hissed toward the pursuing boat, causing the driver to veer toward the middle of the river. It was exactly what Patrick had hoped for.

  “Do it again,” he yelled as he turned the craft toward the shore. “Quick!”

  Danielle loaded another flare and fired a second time.

  “Grab onto something,” Patrick shouted.

  Danielle tossed the firearm aside and grabbed the gunwale. Seeing she was secure, he focused on the task ahead. The thin white strip of beach filled the view. About ten yards out, he let off the throttle, and the boat lurched violently as it glided up onto the sand, sending him tumbling backward. When the craft came to a stop, he slowly pushed himself up. As best he could tell, he hadn’t broken anything. His elbow throbbed with pain, but he wasn’t going to let that slow him down.

  Danielle rushed over and helped him to his feet. With no time to lose, the two jumped off the boat, sprinted across the sand, and scaled a low chain-link fence. As they dropped down on the other side, two more shots were fired from the incoming boat. Patrick didn’t even bother to look back this time. Danielle was untouchable, so the gunfire was just meant to slow them down.

  They sprinted across the park, weaving through a maze of bushes, sandboxes, and swing sets. Little light was left, but somehow they managed to make it across without tripping or running into anything. After passing through the park entrance, Patrick came to a halt. The neighborhood across the street stood dark and quiet, which meant it was probably well after midnight. He had hoped there would be people out and about who could call the police. Instead, the streets were eerily empty.

  He glanced over his shoulder. Dark figures ran through the park, their gun-mounted lights waving back and forth like the eyes of dragons. At most, they had about a minute to get out of sight.

  “What now?” Danielle asked as she caught her breath.

  “We find a place to hide.”

  Patrick motioned for her to follow him across the street. He had no plan in mind, but he knew they needed to keep moving. When they reached the other side, he saw a flash of red in his peripheral vision. A sign rose in front of the house on the left. He could read it from where they were standing: POUR LOUER. For Rent, he translated in his mind. So I speak French. The mystery of his past deepened. Unfortunately, he’d have to solve it later when he had more time.