The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2)

by Diana Ryan

  “Get down!” Adam screamed.

  When I turned back around to look at him, he was standing in a rigid position, pointing a gun into the darkness.

  Where the hell did that come from?

  I hit the floor as he fired several shots into the back of the kitchen. It was so incredibly loud; I screamed but couldn’t even hear myself. I fearfully covered my head and neck with my arms as kitchen appliances broke and shattered all around me.

  The shots stopped momentarily, and I felt Adam grab my arm. “Run!”

  I followed him out of the kitchen and into a hallway through a door on the other side. My ears were ringing so loudly, I could barely hear the music from the party still blasting, everyone apparently unaware of the shooting in the kitchen. At the door Adam held me back with his arm while he took a quick survey of the scene and then told me to run down the hallway to our left. I did as I was told and ran as fast as I could, but while I rushed I heard two more gunshots from the hallway behind us. As he ran after me, Adam turned and shot a few shots in response.

  I came to a service door and slammed my hands into it, trying to emerge as quickly as possible into the alleyway behind the student center. We ran down the length of the brick wall until we came to a loading dock area. It was freezing outside and I wished I was wearing something over my strapless dress.

  “Hide behind this corner and don’t speak.”

  I nervously nodded my head. Although I was afraid, Adam seemed to be calm and steady. I trusted him. I knew he’d keep me safe.

  Footsteps sounded from the right. Someone was quickly approaching. Adam stood in front of me as I tucked in around the corner. I half expected Adam to take a bullet for me right then and there, dropping dead to the ground at my feet, but the approaching stranger didn’t shoot.

  “God, Adam, what the hell were you thinking? You were supposed to get her out of here hours ago!” I couldn’t see the person but his voice sounded familiar. He was getting closer.

  “I know, I know, sorry. Where are they now?” Adam stayed in front of me, blocking my view from the business at hand.

  “We took out a bunch inside but the rest have retreated through a side door. We have a chance if we move quickly.” There was a silence for a few long seconds and then the stranger said, “Wait, is she back there?”

  Adam shook his head, but the stranger didn’t believe him. “Get out of the way, Greene. I’ve waited long enough.”

  “No.” Adam held his ground.

  “What do you mean, ‘no’? Let me see her!” The stranger was annoyed and forceful.

  “She’s not ready. Give me more time.”

  I pulled back a little further into the loading dock. Adam moved his hand and found mine. He held on tight. A few more seconds of silence preceded one strong word: “Move.”

  The stranger’s arm pushed Adam aside, but he continued to hold my hand and stood off to my left.

  I gasped. It was the gorgeous man from my visions. He was a real person, not just some made-up character my brain imagined! He was a million times more handsome in person than he was in my mind. My heart sped up, my breathing was shallow, and my jaw dropped open in shock.

  “Ava. My sweet, sweet, Ava. I never thought I could, but I had forgotten how very beautiful you are. My dreams don’t do you justice.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He knew me?

  “I’ve missed you so horribly.” He made a move to hug me.

  Did he have a gun? I drew a sharp breath and moved into Adam like a shy child.

  Adam grabbed me around the waist and shoved me behind his back. “She’s not ready, Nolan.”

  I peeked my head around his torso and repeated the word, “Nolan?” Saying his name aloud sent a shiver up my spine and sharp knife into my brain. “Ow!” I screamed, grabbing my head.

  “Ava? Are you okay?” Nolan took a step forward, but Adam stayed between us, blocking my view. I couldn’t see anyway, my eyes were flooded with stars, and I felt dizzy.

  “Ava, come back to the present.” Adam’s soothing voice coaxed my brain to drop the stars and release the pain. He kissed my forehead and his smooth lips sent a blanket of calm through my head. He slowly stepped aside, ready to pull me off in a different direction, but I stood my ground.

  “Do you remember me?” Nolan meekly asked, looking concerned and hopeful at the same time.

  Risking another episode, I carefully studied his face, his eyes, his lips. They all seemed vaguely familiar, but I just couldn’t put it all together. I wrinkled my forehead in confusion, and instinctively raised a hand to rub my temple. I said nothing. Nolan was disappointed.

  “Come on, Nolan. You said it yourself; we need to get out of here.”

  “You’re right. Ava, go with Adam. I’ll catch up with you two at the rendezvous point.” Then he took a slow step toward me with his hands defensively up in the air. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  He inched in a little closer and placed his mouth close to my ear, sending me out of my mind. Nolan whispered, “You smell like coconuts and it’s wonderful.”

  His smell was absolutely intoxicating. I instantly felt drunk with dizziness.

  Then he backed up, smiled the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen in my entire life, and ran off into the darkness.

  The second he left I wanted him back.

  Chapter Eleven

  “That cocky, son of a—Who does he think he is?” Adam left me at the wall and began walking in the opposite direction of my apartment, obviously pissed off. “Come on, Ava. We’ve got to keep moving.”

  “Who is he?” I said, following Adam into the street. “Why are you shooting people in the service kitchen, and for God’s sake, where are we going?”

  Adam said nothing but kept walking. I caught up to his side and grabbed his elbow.

  “Adam! Stop! I deserve answers right now! What is going on?”

  He finally halted, turned around, and took a nice long look at my face. He let out a loud sigh and changed his demeanor. “I’m sorry, Ava. I’m sorry it has all come to this. I will explain everything, I promise, but for now, my job is to keep you safe. We need to get back to your house, immediately.”

  He stared deep into my eyes, waiting for me to accept his plea.

  “Fine. But I live the other way,” I said, pointing toward College Avenue.

  “Yes, but we might be tracked. It’ll be safer to enter through the backyard behind the garage.” He grabbed my hand and walked off into the darkness of someone’s yard.

  “Who might be tracking us? Can you at least tell me that?”

  “Ethan Myers’s men.” We snuck through a backyard and turned into an alley.

  Who the hell is Ethan Myers?

  “Is my life in danger?” Silly question considering bullets were flying by my head only a few minutes before.

  “Possibly. But not if I have anything to do with it.” We had arrived in the backyard directly behind my house.

  “And who is—” Why was it so hard to say? “—Nolan?”

  Adam ignored my question as he led me around the back of the unattached four-car garage behind our house. He stopped and pinned me up against the wall. He leaned in close, brushing his face only inches from my cheek.

  He whispered in my ear. “Ava, it’s time for me to defend for you. Time for me to prove my loyalty and show you how much you mean to me. But for me to do those things, you have to listen very carefully and do as I say.” He paused for a moment and I nodded yes, even though I had no idea what he was talking about. “I have to look for something inside your apartment, and while I do that, you need to pack a few days’ clothes, and then we need to get out of there as fast as we can. No leaving notes for your friends, no stopping to pack your makeup.”

  “Adam, I’m scared,” I confessed.

  He replied with a kiss laced with sweet intentions and strong emotions. My knees went weak and my head spun. After half a minute he rested his forehead on mine, eyes closed, breathing heavy.<
br />
  “Trust me Ava. Just trust me,” he whispered.

  I let out a breathy moan and opened my eyes. “I do. I trust you.”

  That was it. I was crazy. Officially insane. I shouldn’t trust Adam. I barely knew him, but something inside me told me to believe in him.

  Adam smiled, took the gun out of his belt and held it with the barrel facing up. “Let’s go.”

  He looked both ways and then we carefully snuck to the back door. I stuck my head in and listened intently. There was absolutely no noise coming from any of the floors inside the house—everyone was out.

  I quietly led Adam past the shared laundry area and down the stairs to the rear, inside entrance of our apartment. I took the key from the hiding place above the door jam and slowly slid the door open, my heart pounding uncontrollably.

  Were we going to open the door to bullets flying at our heads again?

  Nothing happened as I turned the knob, so Adam and I walked through the door and took the first right into my bedroom. I moved my hand for the light switch, but Adam whispered for me to keep it off. He turned on the flashlight app on his cell, and I quickly got to work.

  I took a backpack out of the closet and threw in a handful of panties and bras, four pairs of socks, a few long-sleeved T-shirts, a pair of jeans, and a pair of pajama pants. My hands were shaking so much I could barely zip up the bag. What if this was my last time in this bedroom? What if I never went to class at UWSP ever again? I started to feel sick to my stomach.

  Adam had woken up my computer and typed something into it. The screen was black with some type of green code running across the screen.

  How did he know how to do that?

  “When’s the last time you were on your computer?” Adam said while typing.

  “Um…this morning I think. Don’t turn around, I’m going to change.”

  “Okay, but hurry. We probably have only ninety more seconds.” He was typing wildly again.

  I unzipped my dress and let it drop to the floor. Then I grabbed a pair of jeans and threw on a T-shirt and my favorite UWSP grey hoodie. I pulled on some white socks and slid my feet into my tennies.

  I loudly released a nervous deep breath. “I’m ready,” I said, anxiously waiting for my next instruction.

  Adam turned off the computer, took one look at me, and said, “You’re doing great. We’re almost in the clear now. Come on.”

  He led me by the hand out the bedroom, up the stairs, and to the back door of the house. He carefully slid the door open and glanced around the driveway and garage. Then he leaned back toward me and whispered, “We’re going to run like bloody hell through the driveway and back behind the garage the same way we came in. Ready?”

  I nodded, although I felt like my feet were going to fail me and I was going to throw up on the gravel.

  He kissed my forehead and whispered, “Now!”

  I ran as fast as I could down the same path we had come, past the garage and through the neighbor’s backyard. We raced all the way through that yard and onto the next street over. Adam took a right and led us running down the street.

  We hadn’t made it all the way to the next block before I heard a loud BOOM and saw an explosion rise above the trees behind us. I screamed loudly, stopped in my tracks and turned around toward my house. I was in complete shock watching the flames and smoke rising from what remained of my house.

  “We just…we could…we could have been…” I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. “My house!”

  Adam grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me to face him. “You’re fine. You’re fine.” He kissed my head but I didn’t respond. He shook my shoulders to try to snap me out of my shocked state.

  “Ava. Come on, sweetheart, my house is just around the corner. We have to keep going.” He pulled my hand and my feet finally moved, joining his sprint down to the end of the street and around the corner. “Two more blocks,” he reassured me.

  I could hear sirens approaching my house. My mind raced, picturing my room up in flames, my things burnt to a crisp, and my roommates out front, homeless. That was the second time a bomb went off while I was within blocks of it.

  Adam turned us around the corner and I saw the large, white, two-story house with two big, black Greek letters nailed to the siding come into view.

  He slowed down to a walk. “Act normal.”

  The Theta Sigs were hosting a house party and a steady stream of costumed collegiates were pouring in and out of the back door. A handful of guys were sitting on the porch, probably on cop watch. Adam’s car was parked in front and he hit the unlock button as we approached.

  The guys on the porch were obviously drunk and were loudly yelling Adam’s name.

  “Did you guys see the fireworks?” one of them slurred.

  “Hi guys,” Adam yelled back, barely making eye contact. Crazy Blond was straddling the porch railing clearly intoxicated. I stilled burned with rage for these people and wanted desperately to run the other way.

  “Hey, Ava!” She let out a loud hiccup. “You forgave him! Sorry about my little joke.” She loudly belched and waved a beer bottle toward me, spilling little bits on her slutty nurse costume without noticing. “Hope you didn’t take it personally—you’re kinda cute.” Then she tipped herself right over the railing and landed with a light thud in the bushes, legs spread-eagled up in the air. The whole porch erupted with laughter and I couldn’t help but join in. She popped up quickly, yelling, “I’m okay! I’m okay!” before she stumbled onto the lawn.

  Adam quickly opened the passenger side door for me and I got in. As he walked around the back of the car I could hear the guys on the porch yelling something to Adam. He opened the driver’s side door laughing and said, “Okay guys, I will.” Then he pushed the ignition button on the dash and loudly peeled out away from the house.

  Before I had the chance to ask anything, Adam pulled his phone and dialed a number. “This is Agent Greene, identification number 670121.”

  What?

  He was driving crazy fast and I slammed into the passenger side window as he took a corner.

  “Yes. I barely extracted the Carrier. Awaiting an emergency transport order…. No, we cannot meet Agent Hill at the rendezvous point…. We need…absolutely… Yes, thank you.” Then he hung up.

  My jaw hung open in shock, eyes wide. Suddenly I felt overcome with panic. I had trouble taking a full breath and found myself gasping for air.

  “Take a deep breath, Ava.”

  Who is this guy? I thought as I forced myself to breathe in and out.

  “Adam…?” My lips quivered, my eyes threatening tears.

  “It’s still me.” He reached his hand across the console and placed it on my thigh, but I slapped it away quickly and retracted towards the window.

  “‘Still you’? Who the hell are you?” Rage was quickly creeping up from my stomach and into my heart. How could he have deceived me?

  “Trust me,” he began, but I cut him off.

  “Trust you?” I yelled, anger now overriding any other lingering feelings. “Pull over, I’m getting out.”

  “Don’t overreact, Princess Ava.”

  “Don’t call me that!” I clawed for the door handle, but it was locked. “You don’t get to call me that!”

  “Wait, Ava. Just wait!” He pulled onto the interstate and accelerated. There was no way I could jump from the car.

  “I can’t tell you everything right now.” He looked over at me. “But please know I am essentially the same guy you’ve been getting to know this past month.”

  “How dare you!” I said, tears streaming down my face. “I have no idea who you are, or if I can trust you.” The angry fire continued to burn deep within my heart, but fear came to the front of the flames.

  “Sweetheart. I know you’re freaked out, but please believe me, I’m here to keep you safe.”

  His sincere words twisted my heart in confusion. “You have to give me something. If you want me to t
rust you, you have to tell me what’s going on.”

  Adam exhaled loudly and kept his eyes on the road. “My name is Adam Greene. I am from Britain. I’m in love with you.” His eyes pleaded with mine.

  “Not enough. Let me out.”

  “Where? Right here in the middle of the interstate?”

  “Yes.” I knew I was being stubborn, but I was riding on my raw emotions. I blew my nose loudly into a Kleenex from a box Adam kept on the floor.

  “Do you really want to be out there alone? Need I remind you someone was shooting at you in the student center kitchen and then blew up your house?”

  Crap. He was right.

  “I hate Halloween. Always have.” Still crying, I cynically laughed between an agonizing whimper, and looked out the window at the passing Wisconsin pines zooming by. This whole thing was too unbelievable.

  “At least tell me where we are going. Will my friends be okay?”

  Adam said nothing.

  “They have to be worried sick about what happened to me. They’re probably assuming I was inside the house when—” And then an uncontrollable sob took over my voice and I couldn’t finish my sentence.

  “Shhhhh….Oh, Ava, honey. I know you have a million questions for me. But I’m also sure you’re exhausted.” Adam tried again to put his hand on my leg, but I brushed it off, less violently this time. “Why don’t you close your eyes and take a nap before we get to where we’re going. I promise you you’re safe now. And I’ll be able to explain more tomorrow. Just sleep now.”

  I was exhausted—emotionally and physically. The sounds of the road beneath us and the motion of the car lulled me to sleep like a baby. There would be time for tons of questions tomorrow, if I was still alive. So I closed my eyes and tried to let myself drift off to sleep.

  * * * *

  I woke up what seemed like hours later to the sound of Adam talking quietly on the phone. He was still driving, and I was slumped up against the passenger side door. I kept my eyes closed so I could eavesdrop on what he was saying.

  “Yes, I’ve extracted the Carrier and am transporting her south to headquarters… No, I didn’t have to administer the Methohexital.” He paused. “Of course I will, if necessary….Not sure….I searched her computer before the house was destroyed but was unable to find the Schematics. Perhaps he passed it to Agent Hill.” He paused again. “Thank you, Agent Harper. I will report when we arrive.” He hung up the phone and set it down on the console, letting out a lungful of air.