with bacon. They selected a Silver Oak cabernet from Napa Valley as Katie recounted how her skill with a fly rod had put their dinner on the table.
As what was one of her best days in memory came to a close, Katie’s eyes once again took in the room and came to rest on her suitor’s back right hip. It had not gone unnoticed that Reece was never out of arm’s reach of a weapon.
CHAPTER 32
Flathead Valley, Montana
AFTER TWO COLD NIGHTS spent in the mountains, Dimitry’s men were beginning to bitch. Despite their training, he had to remember that these men were street thugs, not soldiers, and were unfamiliar with prolonged physical suffering and hardship. He cursed Ivan for not figuring out a way to bring professionals in to handle the hit. They had camped in a patch of thick timber without even the luxury of a fire. Each morning he had led them to their overwatch position and waited for the call from Vitya that would initiate the second phase of the operation, the elimination of Raife Hastings.
They were four hundred yards from the Land Rover and its sole occupant, Raife Hastings. They watched him climb a ridge and stare through his telescope at some distant object. Dimitry studied the man through binoculars, careful not to risk any lens glare that would give away his position. He moved like one of the mountain lions that were known to inhabit the area, light on his feet yet powerful, covering rough ground swiftly and efficiently. Still, he only carried a handgun, a short-range weapon against a half-dozen men with rifles. Add in the element of surprise and their advantage of holding the high ground, and it wouldn’t even be a contest. Even if their target got lucky and took out one or two of them, Dimitry’s team would overwhelm him with sheer firepower. It was the Russian way.
Dimitry suppressed a smile, thinking of Stalin’s adage, Quantity has a quality all its own. All they needed now was the signal to execute.
Dimitry checked the sat phone for the hundredth time that morning, ensuring it was powered up and had a strong signal. He resisted the temptation to call the other team and see what the holdup was, but the rules were clear: his team was not to engage until it was confirmed the first target had been terminated.
What had he heard in one of the American movies he was so fond of? Terminate with extreme prejudice. Dimitry liked that.
He watched the disappointment on his men’s faces as their target collapsed the legs of his tripod, strapped the optic back onto his day pack, and moved toward his vehicle. It was the second day in a row that they’d had him in their sights, completely unaware of their presence, and were forced to let him slip away. How long could their luck hold out?
As the Rover’s 2.5-liter turbo diesel engine grunted to life, Dimitry signaled the men to move back, pulling them to the concealment and relative security of the thick evergreen forest. If the signal came before tomorrow morning, they would move as quickly as possible overland and hit him at home. Doing so would give up many of their tactical advantages, but it would be their only option.
The order to kill would come soon enough.
CHAPTER 33
Kumba Ranch, Flathead Valley, Montana
IT WAS SUNDAY BEFORE Reece was finally willing to share Katie Buranek with the Hastings family. Raife’s mother, Caroline, had arranged a lunch to welcome Reece’s friend to the ranch and attendance was nonnegotiable. Reece and Katie went on a long hike that morning and Katie, who was raised to never show up at someone’s home empty-handed, took the opportunity to gather wildflowers that she’d assembled into an impressive arrangement of glacier lily, clematis, and purple asters upon their return to the cabin.
“Awful quiet over there,” Reece said as they made the short drive up to the main house.
“After all you’ve told me about this family, from the Rhodesian Bush Wars to the Selous Scouts and everything they’ve accomplished in this country, I’m more excited than anything else. And Raife’s father-in-law is Senator Tim Thornton, of all people! I feel like we are going to meet royalty.”
“They will be more intrigued by you and your family’s story. Nothing to worry about. Besides, Jonathan is probably already drunk.”
“Ha! Okay, my kind of people.”
As they rounded the corner toward the homestead, the lake and dock came into view, the Grumman Albatross rocking gently at