Leonard missed. Before he could reacquire, the sand in front of his target erupted, obscuring his view. He heard five quick pops, like firecrackers going off, and knew his mark had fired a handgun into the sand to provide a smoke-like screen. Clever move. In combination with his motion and the irregularly shaped ghillie suit, it worked. Estimating where he thought his target would be, Leonard sent another bullet before pulling back to relocate.

* * *

Harvey heard the report of the rifle roll down the canyon in a crackling reverberation that lasted for nearly five seconds. Then he heard five quick handgun shots. A few seconds later, he heard a second rifle shot. What the hell was going on?

The tiny speaker in his ear went off. “Five-by-five, Harv. Stay down, he’s on the south rim. I’m coming to you.”

“Copy.”

* * *

As Nathan made his way upstream along the tree-covered bank toward Harv’s position, the small speaker in his ear came to life. “That was some trick with the mountain lion. How’d you manage it?”

Nathan instantly knew who it was. “The money’s not worth it. Walk away.”

“Fat chance.” A short pause, then, “You leaving her there to die?”

Nathan saw no point in responding to that.

“The shot isn’t immediately fatal,” said Leonard. “But the longer she lies there…. Well, you get the picture. I guess you have a decision to make, don’t you?”

Nathan clenched his teeth and felt rage begin to boil again. Leonard Bridgestone had purposely gut-shot Grangeland. He couldn’t let Leonard know how much saving her

life meant. He had to play it cool. If he showed even the slightest concern, it would both embolden and empower his enemy. Choosing his words carefully and grateful Grangeland no longer had her radio, he called Leonard’s bluff.

“She’s nothing to me. I’ll sacrifice her before I let you walk.”

“Bullshit. She’s a looker. I can’t imagine you didn’t notice that.”

Nathan could feel the tension building. He had to turn it back on Leonard. “Speaking of sacrifices, why’d you serve Ernie up?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know damned well what I’m talking about. You placed him where you knew I’d nail him.”

Leonard didn’t respond right away. “Was it that obvious?”

“He was your brother. How could you do it?”

“He gave me up, I could never trust him again.”

“He gave you up under torture. But that’s not the real reason, is it?”

“Do tell.”

“Is your love of money so perverse that you’d feed your own brother to the wolves to keep it all yourself?”

“The way I figure it, you did him a favor. Did the world a favor.”

“What’s the matter, Lenny, you don’t have the balls to clean up your own mess?”