PEDRO AMADOS AIRPORT

OUTSIDE GUATEMALA CITY

“We’re landing.” Cameron came out of the cockpit and handed her a manila envelope. “Documents. You’re Narda Seldano. Memorize the rest of the info before we get on the ground.”

“Not much time,” Catherine said. “If you had these documents before we got on this plane, why didn’t you give them to me before this?”

“I’m sure you’re a quick study. I had to make sure that they were authentic and not traceable. I told Dario to verify and get back to me before we landed. He came through just in the nick of time.”

“Dario?”

“Rafael Dario. He runs the group that is going to spearhead our search for Montez.”

“Well, it was more of a close shave than the nick of time.” She was already scanning the documents. They seemed fairly good, including the passport photo and driver’s license. “I’m not sure I’d have much faith in Dario.”

“He’s a good man.” He was buckling his seat belt. “A little unusual, but nothing wrong with that. I’d rather he take his time than give me bad service.”

“And no one can say that you’re not a little unusual yourself,” she said dryly. “No wonder you’re comfortable with him.”

“You’ll be comfortable, too.” He was looking out the window as the Gulfstream’s wheels touched down. “I see him waiting by that hangar. See how reliable he is?” His eyes widened as he saw the tall man he’d just indicated was now running across the tarmac toward the plane. “Maybe…” He tore off his seat belt and ran toward the passenger door and called to the pilot in the cockpit. “Stop the damn plane!” The plane had barely stopped moving when Cameron threw the door open. “What the hell are you doing, Dario?”

“Being inventive and brilliant.” Dario threw himself into the plane. “And trying to save the life of the beautiful Catherine Ling. You can take care of yourself, Cameron, but it would hurt me to see her go down. Get this plane back in the air.” He was breathing hard. “Not a safe airport, Cameron.” He got to his feet. “And if you’d gotten off the plane at that hangar, anyone would have been able to get a shot at you from those foothills. Right here, the plane is out of range of any sniper bullet. At the hangar, you’d be vulnerable. And my information is that a shot would have a 92 percent chance of occurring at present. Someone knows that you’re in town and doesn’t like you.”

Cameron headed for the cockpit. “You told me this would be a safe airport, dammit. What changed?”

“Situations ebb and flow. This one overflowed.” He turned to Catherine. “I’m Rafael Dario. I’m delighted to meet you. You should also be delighted to meet me since I risked my life to save you.”

“Should I? So far I’m not impressed by you, Senor Dario.” It wasn’t the truth. She might not be impressed by Rafael Dario’s actions, but there was no way not to be impressed by his appearance. He was literally larger than life, standing nearly six-foot-five and as muscular as he was graceful. His dark hair was meticulously barbered, and his features were regular except for a nose that was long, hooked, and somehow made his face appear all the more appealing. “I’m sure that Cameron paid you very well to do that.”

“Fantastically well.” He grinned. “But I always have a choice. I believe I would have chosen your life even if the money had been a mere pittance. When I saw your photo in the dossier Cameron sent me to help in getting your documents, you reminded me of my mother.”

“What?”

He nodded as he sat down and buckled his seat belt. “She was very beautiful, too. And I always felt safe with her. Not many people felt that way about her since she fought with the rebels in Colombia, and she was very, very good. And then, too, beauty often gets in the way. Don’t you find that?”

“No.”

“I think you’re wrong. My mother had a lot to overcome.”

“And did she succeed?”

“Yes, until the very end. She was ambushed. It took twelve men to take her down.” The words were spoken with no expression. “But I regard that as also a success.”

“So would I.”

He smiled. “You see, that’s why you remind me of my mother. I sensed it would be so. You understand that the—”

“Okay, we’ll be out of here in a few minutes,” Cameron said as he came out of the cockpit. “So where the hell are we going, Dario?”

“North. The hills. There’s another private airport near the border at San Esposito that will accommodate jets. I wanted not to be too obvious about our destination, but now it’s just a question of getting you to Montez in time.” He got to his feet. “I’ll go up with the pilot and give him directions.”

“What do you mean, getting us to Montez in time?” Catherine asked. “In time for what?”

“In time to make sure he’s still alive for him to do you any good.” He was heading for the cockpit. “His sister, Lena, was tortured and butchered last night. If she knew where Eduardo is hiding, then Santos probably does, too.”

“And is he hiding?”

“Yes, he took off for the hills with his brother when Nagoles was on the hunt for them. His brother was caught and killed, but Eduardo escaped. It’s been presumed he’s been hiding out in the rain forests ever since. No sign of anyone in pursuit.”

“Until now,” Catherine said.

“As you say,” Dario said. “It seems you stirred up a hornet’s nest. When Cameron engaged me to find Montez, I sent out men in all directions and found that there was a recent call out to capture him.”

“Kill him?” Cameron asked.

“No, capture, underlined and very definite. I have an idea that Santos might have had a general idea where to find him but it wasn’t a priority.” His lips twisted. “But I lost a man at Montez’s sister Lena’s place. Alfredo Ruiz was shot when he ran into Santos’s men searching her house. Montez’s sister and my man, Ruiz, were killed without a second thought. Only Eduardo evidently was to be spared.” He paused. “I liked Ruiz. I believe that I’ll have to do something about evening that particular score.”

“You said that Santos might know where Montez is hiding,” Cameron said. “Do you?”

“Of course.” Dario looked at him in surprise. “You said you wanted to know. I make my living by acquiring information, then acting on it.” He looked at Catherine. “Like you. Your dossier said that you sold information in Hong Kong when you were very young. It’s another sign of our kinship.”

“I sold. I didn’t act.”

“But you would have if it had become necessary.” He opened the cockpit door. “I will get you to Montez, Cameron. And then you will give me permission to kill the man who killed Ruiz. Agreed?”

“If we don’t need him for bargaining,” Cameron said. “If there’s a problem, we’ll negotiate.”

“I find it hard to negotiate when one of my men has been killed. I choose them, I train them, I become close to them. They are mine.”

Catherine chuckled. “That sounds familiar, Cameron. You should understand that philosophy.”

“I do. That’s why I hired you, Dario. But in the end, I’m the only one who gives the orders.”

He shrugged. “We will see.” He went into the cockpit.

“Not your usual obedient drone,” Catherine said mockingly. “Clearly, Dario didn’t get the memo about the committee or your being all-powerful when you hired him. I’ve seen how you’re usually treated by the people who work for you. Lots of bowing and scraping.”

“And you think I like it?”

“No, I think it exasperates you.” The plane was starting to roll down the runway, and she looked out the window at the distant hills. Had there really been a possible shooter in that mass of green vegetation? “But I don’t believe you’re going to have to worry about it with Dario. You may have trouble controlling him.”

“Then I’ll get rid of him. But I’ve always found independent thought is better than a ‘drone’ mentality. If I can work with him, I’ll do it.” He glanced at her. “Have you changed your mind about him?”