Break what must be broken, once for all, that's all, and take the suffering on oneself. – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A catharsis is great, and God knows that I needed one. – Felicity’s Journal, April 5

Midday, March 30

When the crash came, Felicity felt herself pulled back into her mind, Outer-Felicity slapping her feet against the terrain while Inner-Felicity slowed the world to a pace she could handle.

Come back, she tried to upbraid Inner-Felicity, but there was no response. Instead, Felicity found herself watching the trek across the familiar grounds as if already a passenger on the train. Maybe the strange déjà vu of the location had set her off as well. She stared to her left at what resembled an avalanche of stones which could have occurred naturally. Out of the center of the stones flowed a waterfall which tumbled haphazardly between the crevices and pooled into a small pond at the bottom. Though Felicity had spent little time outdoors since arriving in the area, she definitely recognized that fountain.

I stayed here with the husband, Felicity noted without emotion.

Though Outer-Felicity strategized how to skirt the perimeter of the property in a way that put her on the path to town without exposing herself, Inner-Felicity trembled with every step closer to the cabin. Trembling Inner-Felicity unleashed all of her anxieties on her external shell. Jase works for ProtoComm, it warned her. You should never have trusted him. He knew you would come this way. He sent you here.

When she recognized the silhouette of her cabin, Inner-Felicity went silent, finally terrified into a stupor. Felicity’s motion slowed, and she halted easily within sight of the windows. Despite the potential for discovery, she could not move.

Her eyes swept slowly over the sight that had held her last illusion of normalcy, and her haunted mind sought for some revenant remnant of that life. Of course, she would find nothing. Brendon Miller had spent years creating a false reality to sell to Felicity – did she believe that truth would miraculously appear from the midst of that delusion? It was true for me, she lamented, and the emotion managed to carry a semblance of thought back to her rational mind. The moment resonated with reverberating clarity, the moment she had let herself see the reality of her imagined life: He had lied…He lied to her…She would not lie to herself. Never again. She needed to move.

Outer-Felicity lifted her feet again, pressed her way slowly forward, as if through viscous gel rather than air, and around the perimeter of the property. By the time she had reached half way around, she had developed enough presence of mind to obscure herself in the trees.

That was when she heard him.

“Felicity!”

The sound came from a dozen yards away, far enough that the caller had to yell, and Felicity spun dumbly to see what her husband needed.

When her mind processed what she had done, her heart began a thrum of dread. Brendon had called her name. She reached for the non-existent beads at her neck.

Suddenly, the weight of her feet disappeared. Instead, she flew through the air, and she couldn’t imagine how she had made herself move so fast.

That was when she realized the world was upside down.

As the cabin flew out of sight, Felicity pulled herself upright, suddenly aware that her speed was not her own. From nowhere, Jase had appeared and had literally thrown her over his shoulder to carry her away from Brendon.

“So mindless!” he complained, and Felicity winced at herself.

“I’m so sorry,” she squeaked, the sound barely escaping from her vice-gripped lungs. They had started panting the moment she had seen Brendon, vivid terror finally overtaking the strange, death-like fear that had entranced her since she had stepped foot on the property. “I panicked.”

“Not you,” Jase corrected, lowering her as gently to the ground as he could at his rapid rate of speed. Apparently, the fact that she had spoken meant she could also walk on her own. “I didn’t consider what it would do to you.”

“What it would do to me?” Felicity wondered, her voice still hollow.

Jase had to slow to push through some dense brush, and he took the chance to enter a deeper explanation. “I kissed you,” he explained, raising his hand to cup her cheek. “Your world had crashed because of a man, and making you vulnerable to me sent your mind running for cover.”

Finally, up ahead, Felicity saw the light brighten through the trees. Just before they stepped into a clearing, Jase turned and stopped her.

“If I leave you here for a few minutes, do you promise to stay?”

I’m leaving you, she reminded herself, but she knew that her time for that had passed. She would be lucky if she could walk to the other side of the clearing in her current state, so she just stared vapidly into Jase’s eyes and nodded.

“It will just be a few minutes,” he assured her, placing a tender kiss on her cheek. For the first time since she had seen the cabin, she found herself able to breathe. Literally a drug, she smiled back lazily. “I can still get you to the train, so don’t move until I’m back,” he commanded.

After what seemed an hour, Felicity realized that she had waited for much longer than she had anticipated. She spied Jase’s backpack nestled under a nearby bush, and she stepped over to it, pulling the GPS to check the time. 11:20. Not five minutes, she realized. Almost thirty. Nervously biting her cuticles, she began mulling over in her brain what she would do if Jase did not come back. She dug through the backpack to determine her assets. With his backpack, she had the GPS, the compass, and lots of money for the train. But then where would she go? Flexing her leg muscles, she prepared to run.

“What are you doing?”

Briel's voice came from so close beside her that Felicity thought she had been found. She immediately relaxed her legs, retracting her command to them to move.

“I'm trying to follow these footprints,” a hushed male voice responded. “They appear to have split up. Look.”

From where Felicity crouched, she had a fairly good view of Briel and her partner. The man pointed to the ground about ten yards from where Felicity hid, and Briel glanced around her, eyes narrowed, as if searching for a clue to Felicity's whereabouts. Though she held her breath, Felicity sensed that her path lay only inches from discovery. She stared, eyes wide with fear, as Briel started toward the copse that obscured Felicity.

Fortunately for Felicity, Briel seemed to find no hint of Felicity's presence. Instead, the determined tracker kept her eyes trained on the ground, examining, Felicity supposed, the trajectory of the footprints.

“Should I follow Jase?” the man interrupted from behind Briel. When Briel turned to answer him, Felicity eased gently backwards, farther into the clutch of trees and bushes. Maybe it would be better to make a break for it when she had the element of surprise. Tensing her legs, Felicity prepared to sprint for her life.

Before she could move, though, an unexpected barrage of bullets sprayed at Briel and her partner from behind the shed and the row of hedges. Felicity darted behind a tree, heart battering violently inside her chest. The noise of the shots seemed to have camouflaged Felicity's movement as Briel's eyes darted toward the bullets' source. Conflicted, Felicity considered running again. Maybe Jase had sent the shots as a desperate attempt to free Felicity. Of course, she’d never seen a gun on Jase. If Briel had to dodge gunfire, it meant Felicity could flee through the confusion. Jase wouldn’t hit Felicity. If someone else had shot at Briel, though, Felicity might get caught in the crossfire. Her mind quickly realized the conundrum.

Why would Brendon’s men shoot at Briel?

“Back here, Liam,” Briel commanded, her voice listing toward Felicity's hiding spot. Felicity tensed, trying covertly to peek from behind the tree in Briel's direction. She spotted Briel and Liam, dashing behind a tree trunk only a few feet from Felicity. Unlike Felicity, however, Briel and Liam slinked along the bushes and toward the danger rather than away from it.

Keeping to the treeline, Briel and Liam darted from tree to tree staying as low to the ground as they could in the space between. Eventually they made it to the thicker forest that abutted the row of hedges from where the shots had rung.

For one moment, Felicity stood frozen, appalled that Briel would purposely approach gunshots. Her instincts wanted to cry out to them in warning. Her reason prevented her, however, and Felicity sprinted in the opposite direction from Briel and Liam as fast as she could, dashing partway across the clearing to another copse of trees. The arms that grasped her from the shadow of the brush nearly brought a scream to her lips, but an iron hand clamped over her mouth, and a familiar voice whispered urgently in her ear.

“It's me,” Jase reassured her. “We've got to get out of here.”

“Who was shooting? Was that you?”

“No, not carrying, remember? Those are hired guards.”

Pulling her along behind him, Jase crashed through the forest on the east side of the property.

“Will we make the train?” Felicity inquired.

“We will, but we'll have to drive to do it. We'll never make it if we try on foot.”

“Drive what?” she worried.

“I found an older-model four-wheeler, the kind I can start without a key.”

“Is that what took you so long?”

“No, I ran into a guard, the one who shot at you.”

“They were shooting at me? It seemed they were shooting at Briel.”

“Maybe,” he acknowledged. “I didn’t stop to ask.”

With her hand in his iron grip, Jase started to run, dragging Felicity behind him. For some inexplicable reason, she turned and stared back at the cabin, and she ended up stumbling as she shuffled backward. Briel and the other man broke into the clearing, the armed guard not far behind.

“Felicity!” Jase commanded her, and she spun back to him.

Awakening as if from a dream, Felicity turned to look into the eyes of Jase, the eyes that had, for the past three weeks, directed her into the path of safety.

“Run!” he insisted urgently. “Run! I'll stall them. You've got to get to that train!”

Slow to process, Felicity hesitated.

“Run!” Jase commanded again.

Felicity turned to comply and tore single-mindedly across the clearing and into the trees on the other side. Briel's voice called out, “Felicity!”

Felicity ignored her.

From behind her, she absorbed a torrent of sounds.

“Forget about me,” she heard Brendon say. “Go after Felicity.”

“Stop them!” Jase commanded to someone; Felicity couldn't imagine who.

The sound of bodies tearing through outstretched branches echoed loudly in her ears. Glancing back, she saw Brendon on her heels, a volley of gunfire following after him. More than any time during her entire ordeal, she felt abject terror. Brendon was after her.

“Stop!” Jase bellowed. “You might hit her. Just stop Brendon!

Who could Jase be talking to? Felicity’s mind spun with confusion, but she couldn’t let herself slow to figure it out. Not with guns at her heels. Not with Brendon after her. She ran full tilt toward the town, oblivious to anything around her. Eventually, the noise of breaking bracken that pursued her faded into the distance. She hadn't known she could run as swiftly as she did, but adrenaline had, no doubt, shot though her with the fear. The noonday sun beating upon her, she burst through the cover of the trees into the relative exposure of the street.

When the forest spit Felicity, exposed, into the street, she at first thought she would duck into a shop and ask for directions to the train station, perhaps hiding until Brendon or Briel and Liam passed her. The sun beat down on her more directly than it had since she had arrived in Banff, where she had spent the majority of her time under the cover of trees, and she had no time to play around with the GPS. Unfortunately, asking directions would leave a witness for whoever would come after her. Felicity decided to try her hand at the complicated handheld device.

Glancing around as she started forward, she headed toward what looked like a more populated section of the street. After several minutes of plodding up the pavement, Felicity spied what she had sought. A sign announced the presence of a gift shop ahead of her to the left. Having glimpsed behind her for pursuit, Felicity slipped into the shop and immediately threw her backpack on the ground.

First thing, she pulled out the GPS and looked at the time. 12:22. Felicity had next to no time to cross town and arrive at the train station before the train left at 12:45. According to her map, the gift shop stood almost a mile south of the train station. She needed to get to the main thoroughfare, and head so she could cross the bridge toward the station. Sensing someone's presence, Felicity looked up to see the proprietor of the shop eyeing her suspiciously. So much for avoiding potential witnesses.

“Hi,” she said weakly.

“May I help you?” he offered, skeptical.

“Um,” To plan B, then, she shrugged silently. “I'm trying to get to the train station. Do you know the best way?”

“Another lost tourist,” she heard him mutter, though his volume made her think he hadn't intended her to hear.

“Well, the fastest way is to, once you cross the bridge, head west on Buffalo and straight north on Lynx. You’ll run into the station after about a mile and a half.”

“Thank you so much,” Felicity gushed sincerely. Better than a GPS, she thought wryly.

As she exited, she heard the owner muttering again, “Wish they'd buy somethin' sometime. Can't make a livin' handin' out free advice. Maybe-”

She couldn't hear the rest because the door swung shut behind her. Glancing up and down the street, Felicity still saw no sign of Briel or her companion. Had they given up so easily? The streets of Banff were not exactly complicated. Surely, they would have known how few options she had for hiding on the south side of town. Felicity remembered Jase's saying that Briel could find their trail in the woods. Not likely the streets would prove more difficult to navigate.

Still, Felicity didn't wait to figure it out. At her best, she had run an eight-minute mile in high school, and she had been in peak condition at the time. She knew she could run a mile at home, but it took her twelve minutes there, though she never ran for speed, and the air in Banff felt considerably thinner than at home. She had to try.

Setting a steady pace, Felicity jogged hurriedly up the road, trying to run as fast as she could while breathing normally. She remembered the time she had collapsed during a race in school because she hadn't paced herself. It's hard to pace yourself when you're running for your life, she realized with defeat.

The road she navigated proved even and straight, only zagging slightly west then east as it approached the station. By the time she reached the bend in the road, she could easily see the train station, and she could breathe more easily in spite of her exertion. As she approached the station, Felicity swept her eyes over the small crowd that had gathered on the deck. No sign of any of her pursuers.

Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Felicity slowed to a brisk walk, skirting the building across the street from the quaint railway building. If Briel were anywhere near, Felicity would see her. Just as Felicity started for the building, a small cluster of what appeared to be tourists began crossing the street as well. Felicity hid behind them, smiling gregariously when they shot her confused glances. She felt grateful that the dry mountain air had minimized her perspiration. As group entered the train station coffee shop, Felicity stepped directly to the train counter and pulled out a wad of bills.

“Can I still make the train?” she asked desperately.

“Well, hurry. You got two minutes to spare.”

“Thank you!” Felicity gushed, throwing down the money without seeing how much she gave. She had ten times more in the backpack.

Running, Felicity hurdled herself onto the train just a few seconds before it started to move.

Rather than fall into the first seat she found, Felicity climbed a short flight of steps, searching out isolation. She found a seat and breathed a sigh of relief. Though she had no security of her future, she felt an abatement of the agonizing tension that had followed her since she had awakened before the sun.

Felicity would not have purposely picked the train for travel, she realized. Though she had no experience with motion sickness outside of her earlier drive, she decided the train's rocking could easily have turned her stomach. Above her, glass windows spread all along the train, opening expansive views of the blurring landscape as it flashed by. Still, though visually open to the scenery, the car felt confined. Crisscrossed metal supports that resembled spider's legs stretched just out of reach of her raised hand. A low wide beam split the ceiling down the middle, and it seemed like her head would touch it if she stood.

Outside, the world whizzed past her at a dizzying speed. As the train pulled out of the station, Felicity stared back at the expanding distance between herself and her home of the past several weeks. She did not know what might happen now, but she felt two conflicting emotions. She felt both the lightness of throwing off her shackles, and the terror of the infinite possibility for new troubles. With uninterrupted time to scrutinize her surroundings, however, the emotions needed to take second chair to planning. She couldn’t make herself do it, though. Not think. Not when she was so tired and had left Jase to whatever fate he faced behind her. Her only hope lay in the fact that he seemed to have encountered help in the end.

Exhausted, Felicity couldn’t help but notice the astonishing speed with which the landscape near her blurred past. The mild nausea returned. She tried to concentrate on the vast mountains which stretched along the horizon; their size and distance rendered them relatively motionless, and their immovability stemmed some of her disorientation. When she finally felt settled, Felicity closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep. She had, at no time in the past few weeks, felt so assured of her personal safety, and the sprint through the forest had sapped her strength. For the first time in too long, Felicity slept in security.

While the gentle motion of the train should have relaxed her, it instead focused her attention inward, and images stirred in her mind that her sleep couldn’t filter out. She saw Brendon, emerging as a specter from the murky shadows in the forest. His eyes filled her vision, green and alive. Furious. Desperate. She had almost forgotten how badly it hurt that he had thrown her away, literally. Once the dream disturbed her sleep, the next jostle of the train wrenched her from slumber.

She sat up, stretched, and pulled her backpack from under her seat. She glanced at the GPS: Four o'clock. Time held no real import at the moment, but she felt hungry. Since the sun had risen, she had eaten nothing. She scrounged in the bag for an energy bar, but thought better of it – she might need those when she did not have access to other food. Rising gingerly from her seat, she stretched again and turned to take in the rail car. She had hoped she would see an attendant, but she saw none.

Sighing exasperatedly, she turned to her left to descend the stairs. Surely, a train that traveled for hours had food of some sort. People have to eat, she reasoned.

As she started down the stairs, a familiar voice froze her in her steps.

Briel.

How could Briel have made the train? Felicity asked herself as she re-climbed the few steps she had descended. Felicity herself had barely made it, and she had left Briel behind in the woods. For one moment, Felicity could not move, but she gathered herself quickly. Though her heart still stuttered in her chest, her mind grew clear. She needed to find a way out.

Moving to the other end of the car, Felicity searched for a second set of steps. She did not find any. Instead, she found nothing but seats, though some sort of small door blended in with the metal panel at the bottom half of the wall. What would happen if she opened it? Would an alarm sound and give her away? Then again, maybe an alarm would bring attendants to the car and keep Briel out.

The next moment decided her. Glancing behind her, Felicity spied a mousy blond head of hair break the surface of the stairs. Felicity crouched down, and her fingers searched frantically for a handle of some sort on the door. She spied a panel, about three inches square in size, with a groove in it. Placing her fingers in the groove, she slid it to the right and revealed a circular mechanism. She had seen similar in movies or hospitals.

Since the door sat at the far left side of the railcar, the seats blocked the center aisle from her view, but she thought she heard quiet footsteps gliding her direction. Her fingers quaking, Felicity fumbled with the handle until it finally turned, and she quickly yanked the small door open. The rush of wind slapped her in the face, and her courage faltered.

Gulping, she braced herself firmly and stuck her head out the opening. Medal rungs, soldered to the side of the car, descended in steep intervals from the tiny door to a platform below. As long as she could remember, she had suffered from only one true phobia: fear of heights. Though the distance wasn't far, the speed of the ground beneath her compounded the effect and fifteen feet to the platform seemed twice as high. She recoiled from the possibility, and pulled her head back into the car.

“Felicity!” she heard Briel's voice. Turning toward the sound, Felicity spied Briel, only a few feet from her. The sight decided Felicity. Spinning quickly, she lowered her legs out the narrow opening and felt for the nearest rung. Don’t look down, she quoted too many movies to count. She hoped the advice was wise.

“Wait, Felicity,” Briel pleaded.

For one dizzying second, Felicity hung, suspended blindly over the speeding earth below. Then her foot found the rung. As Briel lunged for her, Felicity lowered herself out the door and scuttled heedlessly to the platform below. She gazed up into the horrified eyes of Briel.

“Felicity, stop! You'll kill yourself.”

“Like you care!” Felicity spat back, turning to view the span to the other railcar.

Felicity knew that if she stopped as requested Briel would most likely kill her, or at least imprison her. Felicity had no intention of making the job easy. Her temporary sense of victory evaporated as she took in her surroundings. No door to the next railcar graced the facing wall, only another set of metal rungs. Felicity groaned. She would have to climb back up to the top of the other car. Still, she saw no alternative. Hesitantly, she began to traverse the expanse. Even though the train was not moving too rapidly as of yet, the wind whipped wildly against her on the open platform, tearing at her sense of balance. She doubted whether she could stay upright long enough to cross the eight feet between herself and escape, but she forced her feet to move forward.

An upward glance strengthened her resolve as Briel's nimble feet began the descent toward Felicity. Concentrating on the rungs across from her and ignoring the rushing ground, Felicity leaped across the distance. Her fingers gratefully found a metal brace.

Without looking behind her, she pushed off of the platform with all her strength, skipping the bottom three rungs altogether. The sound of Briel's landing behind her prodded Felicity to unexpected agility. Glancing below, Felicity saw Briel reach the bottom rung and begin her ascent. Felicity had just cleared the top rung and scurried over the top edge of the car.

In front of her lay a smooth silver surface, easily navigated, but with no comforting braces for her hands. Fortunately, the car did not have the elevated glass compartment, so it was a good eight feet closer to the ground. Plus no one would notice her trek across to the other side.

She instinctively sensed the drag that crawling would be. Still, she couldn't risk standing. Her acrophobia wouldn't allow it. A scream ripped from her throat as she felt Briel's fingers close on her left foot. Without looking back, Felicity scrambled as quickly as she could toward the other end of the car. Here, she could see, was the protected platform intended for passenger use. How could she penetrate that barrier? She didn't let herself waste time wondering. Briel would be slowed by her climb over the top rung, as Felicity had been, but Felicity couldn't delay. By the time Briel hoisted herself onto the top of the train, Felicity had reached the other side of the car.

No easy metal rungs offered themselves on this end of the car. Felicity's stomach clutched in unbridled fear. Behind her, Briel crept closer with every breath. Below her, an impossibly narrow lip extended from either side of the flexible gangway between cars. She started to lower herself, unsupported, toward the platform.

“Felicity, don't be stupid.” Briel's accent thickened with some distress. “I don't want to have to tell Jase that I dropped you under a train. Please.” She held out her hand.

For a suspended moment, Felicity stared at the hand, willing herself to reject the lifeline and take her risks on her own ability. Something in Briel's expression restrained Felicity, however. When Felicity focused on the intense concern in Briel's eyes, she remembered her own doubts – doubts that Jase had allowed based on his knowledge. That Briel leaned toward the ethical. Faced with almost certain catastrophe if she continued forward, Felicity chose the temporary refuge of captivity with Briel. Surely, I can find some way to survive, Felicity reasoned. She just needed time. After glancing at the speeding ground one last time, she turned back to accept Briel's outstretched hand.

Once back in the railcar, Felicity perched herself, fuming, into the first seat available. She glared at Briel, perhaps not the best way to endear herself to her captor, but Felicity couldn't bring herself to kowtow to someone who worked for Brendon. Briel pulled a cell phone from a pouch on her hip and pressed a button. A second later, the phone beeped at her.

“What?” the voice demanded.

“I've got her. We're in the observation car.”

Turning to face Felicity, Briel seated herself and stared, eyes narrowed, into Felicity's face. “Felicity,” she drawled slowly. “I can honestly say you have surprised me these past few weeks.” Briel wore a marked expression of irritation, and Felicity couldn’t imagine the reason behind it.

Still, Felicity would not try to assuage her curiosity because that would require talking. She wouldn’t give the operative any more information than she could manage.

“We have a problem,” Briel's phone interrupted whatever she had planned to say to Felicity.

“Go ahead.”

“One of them made it on the train.”

An exasperated sigh escaped Briel's lips. “Can you make it up here?”

“Not without exposing us. Do you want me to risk it?”

Briel's eyes narrowed in thought. “No,” she decided. “Felicity's not going anywhere until we get to Prince George. Better not to let him see us. If he heads this way, create a diversion.”

Briel turned back to Felicity, and Felicity decided she could risk some minor communication.

“How did you get to the train in time?” she demanded.

Briel laughed. “Four-wheelers. While you plodded at a snail's pace down the roads of Banff on foot, we sped through on wheels in under ten minutes. We were settled on the train before you even arrived.”

“Why didn't you just capture me in Banff?”

“And risk running into Jase again?” Briel huffed. “No thank you. We wanted to put some space between you two. He really mucked things up for us. Until he came, we were frustratingly close to our objective.”

“He was important to my objective!” Felicity exclaimed. “Jase was the only thing that kept me alive!”

“He’s quite the piece of work,” Briel asserted, and Felicity decided not to reply. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

“Can I have something to eat?” Felicity sulked, ignoring the insult. “I haven't eaten since before sunrise.” She had her own backpack, but she didn’t want to reveal its presence to Briel.

Briel pulled an energy bar from some hidden pocket. “Here,” she said, and tossed it to Felicity.

Probably crumbled, Felicity complained to herself. Wryly, she noted that Briel had the same brand of bars as Jase. Must be spy fodder, she thought ironically.

“Thanks,” Felicity finally muttered, sarcasm flattening her tone.

She opened the foil wrapper; inside, the bar was intact. Felicity inhaled it hungrily.

Without being asked, Briel pulled a bottle of water from a harness on her back and handed it to Felicity.

“Um, thanks,” Felicity allowed. She hadn't realized how thirsty she had grown.

The pregnant silence filled the car, and Felicity wondered if Briel knew how it grated on Felicity's nerves. Probably, Felicity hissed silently as she glared at Briel's face reflected in the window. Her physical needs subdued, Felicity began to slump in her seat. Despite her precarious situation, she felt no imminent danger, and her fatigue finally crashed onto her. At first, she fought the sleep, but remembering Briel's words that nothing would happen until Prince George convinced Felicity that a nap would be relatively safe. At least it would be better than the anxiety of being awake and trying not to stare at Briel. They were four hours from their next destination.

As sleep gripped her, Felicity had a brief recognition of Liam's words over the phone. “One of them made it on the train,” he had said. One of whom? Who made it on the train? Not Jase – the man would have just said that. Not Brendon. One of Brendon's guards? The thugs with guns? Why would that bother Briel? Felicity shivered as she faded into slumber.

Mumbled voices aroused her from her repose – she had no idea how long she had slept. For a moment she considered opening her eyes, but her mind clicked, and she remembered her circumstances. She pressed her lids shut.

“How will we get her off of the train?” a male voice asked.

The now familiar murmur of Briel's voice responded, “It shouldn't be too difficult. I've noticed that she can usually be persuaded to follow.” Amazing how different this voice sounded than it had when Briel cared for Felicity's children. In Phoenix, Briel had somehow adopted a sing-song voice, pleasant and lilting. Though still smooth, Briel's voice had fallen to a low, serious pitch, more monotone and intense.

“Yes, but persuaded how?”

Felicity wondered that they could have this conversation in such a public place, but she stifled her curiosity.

“Relax, Liam. We have no need for your methods. I am sure she will cooperate.”

“But we have no leverage against her. Maybe she's a sucker for a hot guy,” the male voice leered. “I wouldn't mind trying to persuade her like Jase did.”

Felicity wanted to punch the man, but she kept her breathing even and restrained herself from movement.

“No need, Liam, and she wouldn't respond to that kind of persuasion anyway, not from you. You’re not her type. She apparently goes for the hopeless romantic. Jase almost got himself shot – almost got me shot – when he started barking orders at us at the cabin. No, the only way to get her to comply is to mention her children. Mention them, and she will cave to any demand we make. I have watched this technique work for months when her husband used it.”

Felicity tried hard not to betray her awareness. In her mind, however, a tempest raged. Brendon had manipulated her using their children? To think that he would use Alex and the boys to redirect her for his sleight of hand! Felicity had intended, when compelled to leave with Briel, simply to refuse. What would they do in front of so many people? Nothing. Still, Briel was right. Mention Felicity's children, and Felicity grew fully compliant. Not fully, she tried to disagree with herself, but then she could think of literally nothing she wouldn't do to spare her children from harm. Although uncertain of what Briel could threaten, Felicity would go with her if pressured. At least she now thought she understood what had happened back at the cabin; though, why Jase would appeal to Briel seemed inconceivable.

Briel and Liam lulled into silence. Unsure of how long she should wait, Felicity began counting seconds in her head, waiting for what she hoped would be a long enough time. She wondered idly how Liam had made it past the guard they had wanted to avoid. Fortunately for her, after about five minutes, Liam began murmuring to Briel again. Though Felicity could not hear the words they spoke, Liam erupted in a harsh laugh after a couple of exchanges between them. The clamor would be a good excuse to wake up.

Groaning, Felicity stretched and raised her head. She blinked confusedly out the window beside her and slowly looked around, trying to appear puzzled.

“You awoke just in time,” Briel declared, seemingly convinced by Felicity's deception.

“Where are we?” Felicity replied, feigning disorientation.

“We are almost to Prince George. We have someone waiting there to escort us back to Banff.”

The revelation surprised Felicity. Why not just kill her, or deliver her directly to Mexico? She didn't want to go anywhere near Brendon. If she could live until her dying breath with her last glimpse of Brendon's face in her mind, it would be more than enough.

When she returned to Banff and Brendon, she would have new visions to replace the old, pictures of him in his implacable cruelty. As if the trauma of the past few weeks wasn’t enough.

“Don't even consider resisting us,” Briel threatened. “If you cooperate, we may have you back in time to see your children return home. If not, they will find no parents when they come home.”

Felicity's mind burned with perplexity. What did Briel mean? Had Brendon changed his mind? Would he let her live and continue caring for their children? But Briel had said they would have no parents? Had Brendon decided to abandon the children completely? Felicity chewed her lip in her anxiety.

Under her feet, Felicity could feel the train slowing. Suddenly, she remembered about the man that Briel and Liam had spoken of, the one who “made it to the train.” How would they pass him without initiating an altercation?

Maybe I should initiate an altercation, Felicity pondered. Though the prospect of returning safely to her children enticed her, she worried that returning with Briel's or Brendon's help would hold stipulations that she wouldn't accept. Felicity would not agree to raise her children in the shadow of a criminal. No, if she could gain her freedom, she would contact Nick immediately and make him clear out their parents and her children. As resourceful as Nick could prove, Felicity felt certain that he could accomplish such a task even with ProtoComm at his heels. She hated to uproot everyone she loved, but if she didn't insist that they leave Phoenix, Brendon would no doubt use them to manipulate Felicity. Nick was single and brilliant – he would have no trouble relocating. Though Felicity's parents would resist leaving their home, they had both retired and could easily move if persuaded.

The sudden jolting jerk of the train aroused her from her considerations, and Felicity's mind went into overdrive. Briel gripped her by the shoulder and raised her to her feet, heading with Liam toward the staircase. With every step, Felicity scoured her surroundings for an opportunity to escape.

“Should we wait until the train clears?” Liam queried to Briel.

“It might otherwise have been easier, but not with Bill's man here. He would just wait outside and find us when we exited the train. We should blend in with the crowd while he is still hindered by them.”

Bill's man?

Felicity closed her eyes for a brief moment to gather her thoughts. Briel worked for Brendon. Brendon worked with Bill. Briel wanted to avoid Bill's man. But weren’t Briel and Bill’s man working for the same side?

When Felicity's mind wandered back to the forest by the cabin, her confidence faltered. Her mind replayed the events in slow motion, and she could not make sense of what she saw. Briel and Brendon had exchanged glances, as Felicity would expect, and Briel had subsequently pursued Felicity with a vengeance. But Felicity had commented how Bill’s men had shot at Briel, and Jase had allowed the possibility. What if Briel didn’t work for Brendon anymore? What if Nick was right all along?

Still, as she reached the bottom step, Felicity's questions lost their priority. Suddenly alert, Felicity recognized an opportunity for escape. Briel still gripped Felicity's shoulder, but more lightly than she had a moment before. Instead of focusing on Felicity, Briel seemed preoccupied by scanning the cabin, no doubt for “Bill's man.” Twisting her body, Felicity stumbled across the aisle at the bottom step and cried out in mock pain, as if she had lost her footing.

Briel eyed her warily and opened her mouth to reprimand Felicity, but a middle-aged woman had stopped, concern apparent on her face.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” the woman asked.

Felicity glanced at Briel's expression, petulantly amused. Briel snapped her mouth shut, her nostrils flaring in a furious breath.

“I've twisted my ankle,” Felicity complained in her best helpless manner. “Those steps were so steep.” She reached down and began rubbing the offending ankle. A young man squeezed into the seat in front of her.

“Would you like me to get you some ice? And a steward, too. I imagine they have a wheelchair or crutches.”

“Would you?” Felicity batted her eyes at him hopefully. “That is so kind of you.” She was laying it on thick, using the drama to draw even more attention to herself.

Risking a glance at Briel, Felicity took in a red face and clenched jaw. Briel glared meaningfully at Liam who made his way behind Felicity. Felicity's heart sped. Where was the man they wanted to avoid? Surely, he had to come by eventually! When he did, Felicity would make her move.

The pain in her neck was instantaneous and intense as Liam’s hand clamped down, but it did not cause her to cry out. Instead, it took her breath away. Behind her, Liam began to murmur in a low voice.

“Why don't you let me carry you out?” he recommended, his finger pressed firmly on a point between her shoulder and neck.

Though the pain was intense, Felicity refused to budge. Liam dropped his hand, glaring at her with significance. “Don't make me do it again,” he seemed to say. I've been through childbirth, Felicity challenged silently. You'll have to do better than that.

As if he had heard her, Liam raised his hand and placed it menacingly on her shoulder again. To any passersby it would seem a comforting gesture. Felicity closed her eyes, preparing for agony. Though she determined not to buckle to his pressure, she did not relish the thought of the pain. She held her breath.

Before the pain had erupted, Felicity heard Briel hiss at Liam.

“Watch out,” she warned, darting her eyes once over Liam's shoulder.

Felicity smiled. Her plan had worked.

Without first looking behind her to see the man, Felicity dove across the aisle and scrambled to the seats on the other side of the stairwell. She didn't wait to see the expressions of the startled passengers. As quickly as she could, she clambered over the seats, moving to the back of the train, against the flow of passengers. She disregarded the pulling of her muscles and the bumps against the frames of the seats. To her left, the unknown assailant began pursuit, his progress frustrated by the oncoming passengers.

A collective scream broke out behind Felicity, and glancing over her shoulder, she spied a raised gun in the hands of a large, muscled man. She didn't take time to assess his appearance beyond his size and his gun. Had she been foolish to leave the relative safety of Briel? Too late now, she concluded.

“Get out of my way,” the man with the gun demanded.

Felicity heard his lumbering footsteps pounding behind her. The cleared aisle opened up for her as well as for him.

“Don't let him get her,” Felicity heard Briel's furious command. “He'll kill her.”

Felicity sprinted out the back door of the car and rapidly entered the next. It was almost empty.

“Watch out,” she screamed as she tore past the few passenger's startled faces. Behind her, she heard the door bang open and the renewed screaming as her pursuer entered the car.

“Stop now,” the familiar voice of Liam commanded.

Felicity couldn't tell if he spoke to her or her pursuer, but she didn't wait to find out. The next car was an open platform, and she would risk the five-foot jump to the ground if she could make it out the door. The sound of an ensuing scuffle lasted the few seconds that it took her to reach the door to the open gangway, and Felicity sighed in relief as the door began to close behind her.

“No, you don't,” a gruff voice assailed her, and she suddenly felt her shirt cinched tightly around her torso. Her breath fled her, and her scream choked impotently in her throat.

“Please don't,” she begged as her unknown pursuer wrenched her around to face him. Her voice came out weak and small.

Instead of answering, the man grabbed her around the waist, almost stashed her under his arm like a package, and whirled to face the approaching Liam. She wondered tacitly why the man didn't pull his weapon. For one moment, Felicity stayed obediently beneath the man's arm, but the second Liam raised his hand to strike, Felicity began squirming violently, trying to free herself from the brawny man's grasp. Liam was forced by her unpredictable struggle to attack his enemy with caution. If I can just break free for a moment, Felicity lamented.

The man grew irritated, tired of trying to hold on to Felicity. He felled a blow directly to Liam's jaw which caused Briel's companion to stumble a step back. With lightning speed, the man released Felicity from under his arm, grasped her by the hair, and swiped her, open-handed, across the face. She recoiled from the pain, unable to move for at least a minute while her mind processed the sensation. Her jaw pulsed an agonizing throb.

In that moment, the man replaced her, stunned into immobility, under his arm and laid more viciously into Liam. For several long minutes, Felicity thought that her captor would prevail over Liam, until abruptly, Briel burst through the door.

Without pausing his attack, Liam spat a reprimand at Briel, “Where have you been?”

A definite note of amusement colored Briel's tone when she responded, “I went to get this.”

Felicity gasped as Briel lowered a large, black handgun into her view.

“Let her go,” Briel demanded.

Instead of the calm assent that Felicity hoped for, the man pushed her violently to the edge of the platform. Her scream burst from her lips and seemed to echo in her ears as she hung, suspended, from Liam's outstretched hand. Seeing the man's intention, Liam had grabbed her by the wrist.

The man seemed to guess at Briel's reluctance to use her gun. Despite his marked disadvantage, he wrapped his arms constrictingly around Liam, using him as a shield to defer Briel's shots. Felicity's scream had drawn a small crowd from the deck below, and they watched with shocked faces as she dangled precariously from the gangway. Using all her strength, Felicity turned to grasp Liam's hand with her other and walked herself up his arm as if using a rope until she stood securely on the platform.

Finally, all that held her to her captivity was Liam's outstretched hand. She had never, to her knowledge, injured another human being, and the thought bothered her greatly, but Felicity would not let Liam's iron grip rob her of her impending liberty. Leaning down, she sunk her teeth as firmly as she could into the flesh on the back of his hand. He howled in pain. “Briel, I can't hold on!” he warned. Felicity sunk her teeth a millimeter farther, and his hand retracted from her wrist involuntarily. She was free.

Turning quickly, Felicity leaped from the platform she had been so afraid to fall from, not looking as she spat the taste of Liam from her mouth. The rising ground jarred her teeth and caused her bones to collide painfully with one another, but Felicity didn't pause. Standing as quickly as she could, she sprinted from her landing place and dashed across the tracks toward another motionless train.

Briel was upon her at once. Stumbling over the tracks, Felicity fought to right herself before she fell completely. Briel needed no such caution. Adeptly, Briel dashed toward Felicity, drawing her gun as she closed the distance. Though she did not look behind her again, Felicity could hear the footsteps almost upon her. She made one last, desperate search for an escape, but to no avail. If she had possessed the strength, Felicity would have cried.

“Stop, Felicity,” Briel warned dangerously. Behind the threat, Felicity noted that inexplicable tone of compassion.

Felicity could not continue. She could not outrun Briel. The adrenaline that had carried her away from the man on the train had faded, sucked from her by her extended exertion and uncontrolled fear. Without turning, Felicity tripped forward a few more steps before coming to a halt.

“Felicity, please,” Briel begged.

Her best efforts exhausted, Felicity succumbed, despondent, to her renewed captivity and turned back to face her captor.