“This is your final warning, Gable!” shouted the man next to my door, a beefy man with a shaved head and a pug-ugly mug. “Get out of the car before we do something that you’re gonna regret!”
“Justin!” I yelled, now frantic with fear. “Please, tell me what’s going on!”
He narrowed his eyes hard for a long moment as if trying to make a decision between two very difficult choices. Finally, he spoke.
“Shit!” he yelled, reaching down and clicking the safety on his gun before raising his hands.
Then he turned to me.
“Listen—you need to do whatever these guys say. Don’t make any sudden moves. Don’t try anything. Got it?”
“But what the hell is going on?” I asked. “Who are you?”
“I’ll explain what I can in a moment,” he said. “But for now, you’re going to have to trust me.”
Tears stinging my eyes, I nodded. I didn’t know what else to do.
“Okay!” shouted Justin. “We’re coming out! Just don’t do anything stupid!”
My eyes shot around at the men, moving from one gun to another. I’d never had a weapon pointed at me before, and the feeling was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I felt helpless and terrified.
“I could say the same for you!” shouted the pug-ugly man. “Open the doors, and we’ll do the rest!”
I glanced at Justin, waiting for some kind of instruction.
“Do it,” he said. “Open the door. These guys are professionals. They won’t do anything unless they have to.”
I nodded, grabbing my purse before placing my hand on the door handle and pulling it open. The instant the door flung open, two of the men rushed toward me and put their hands on my arms. With a hard tug, they yanked me out of the car and onto my feet.
“There she is,” said the man, his eyes moving up and down my body, a pleased smile on his lips. “There’s the billion-dollar girl.”
“What?” I asked, now totally confused in addition to being scared out of my mind.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Justin was in the same position, having been pulled out of his side of the car, his arms restrained behind his back.
“Don’t play stupid,” said the man. “We know you’re the girl Gable’s looking after.”
“What the hell are they talking about, Justin?” I asked.
“You guys have the wrong girl,” Justin said shaking his head. “She’s just someone I met in town—she’s not my client.”
“Client?” What was going on?
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” said the man. “You say she’s not the girl—we let her go, and she gets picked up on the roadside twenty minutes later. Not falling for it, Gable. Now, get these two in the back of the van. We’ve got a long goddamn drive ahead of us.”
Without another word, the men brought Justin and me to the van behind us, popped open the back, and tossed us in. Once we were in the back, one of the men reached in and fastened some zip ties around our wrists. Then the doors shut, and we were alone. Soon after, the car rumbled, and we were off.
For several moments, I was too scared and shaken to say anything. My heart wouldn’t stop thump-thump-thumping in my chest, and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.
“You need to breathe,” said Justin after we’d been on our way for a few minutes. “You’re taking shallow breaths, and you’re going to hyperventilate.”
“I…can’t,” I said, my head feeling woozy.
“Hold your breath for a second, close your eyes, and let the air out of your lungs.”
I did.
“Now, hold for another second, then take a slow, deep breath.”
I did this too. And now I was finally able to fill my lungs.
“Got it?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
I took in several more breaths, feeling a little less like I was going to pass out at any second. Once the light-headedness went away, I became keenly aware of just what kind of an insane situation we were in.
“Justin,” I said. “Assuming that’s your real name. You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Justin looked away for a moment as if carefully considering his next words.
“I’m not in the logging industry.”
“Figured that much out myself,” I said. “If your story wasn’t already flimsy as hell, I don’t think logging consultants have too many issues with masked men trying to kidnap them.”
He flashed me an expression that seemed to say: “Are you done yet?” I closed my mouth and let him go on.
“I used to be a Navy SEAL,” he said. “I retired a few years back, and now I work as a bodyguard for high-profile clients.”
It all seemed like another wild story. But believing him was all I could do.
“And these guys?”
“No idea,” he said. “I know my next client’s been running with some…sketchy types, to say the least. Might be people she owes money to, might be some people looking to kidnap her for a ransom—no idea. All I can say is that they’re the exact types she’s paying me to keep her safe from.”
“Then why did they kidnap the both of us?” I asked.
“You haven’t figured it out?” he asked. “They think you’re the client. She’s young like you, pretty, well-dressed—all that. They must’ve been following me for a while and figured that I was meeting you in Longbridge to keep a low profile.”
“And now what do they want to do with us?”
“Probably planning on keeping you for a ransom,” he said. “Me, they’re likely planning on putting a bullet in my head, kicking me out of the car, and letting the sundry critters of the outback take care of the rest.”
“But they’ll figure out that I’m not the client, right?” I asked. “Then what?”
“That, I can’t say. But it’s not looking too good for the both of us.”
My heart sank, and fear took hold of me once again.
Chapter 7
Delaney
The car rumbled on. I took breath after breath, doing my best to not pass out from fright. My hands shook, and beads of sweat zipped down my face. I couldn’t believe how scared I was.
But more than that, I couldn’t believe Justin’s calm. He sat as still as a stone, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
“Please,” I said. “Say something. Anything.”
A small smile crossed his face, and he spoke.
“Did you know that eucalyptus trees are actually a terrible source of nutrients?”
I opened my mouth slightly and shook my head as if I’d misheard him.
“I’m sorry?” I asked.
“Just about no nutritional value. And on top of that, they’re mildly poisonous. So if you or I tried to eat a handful, it’d likely put us in the hospital. Not to mention not fill us up.”
“There a reason why you’re telling me this?”
“But that didn’t stop koalas from evolving to live off of them almost exclusively. Over time, koalas developed a resistance to the toxin in the leaves, and they’re totally adept at hanging out in the branches, shoving down the leaves by the handful.”
Then he turned to me.
“You like koalas?”
“I mean…I guess they’re pretty cute.”
“I think so, too,” he said. “But they’re mean little things. Catch one on a bad day and they’ll go right for the eyes.”
“Okay,” I said. “You have to tell me what this has to do with anything.”
A smile formed on Justin’s mouth.
“Just thought you needed something to take your mind off of all this,” he said.
I started to speak but caught myself. He was right—I’d totally forgotten about our predicament.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing one before I left,” he said. “I mean, I know I can go to the zoo, but it’s not the same.”
“Maybe you’ll spot one here in the outback when these assholes send us off on a little walkabout.”
“Oh,
these guys?” he asked. “Don’t worry about them.”
“Don’t worry about the half-dozen men armed with guns?” I asked. “Those are the guys you don’t want me to worry about?”
“Listen, this isn’t my first rodeo,” he said. “I’ve gotten out of worse scrapes than this. But I need you to do something first.”
“And that is?”
“Put your foot on my ankle and push up the pants. I’ve got a multi-tool they didn’t see.”
I did as he asked, pushing up the cuff of his jeans with the bottom of my foot. Sure enough, I hit the hard, rectangular form of a tool of some sort.
“Now,” he said, “give it a little push, and you should be able to get it out of there.”
I did. The tool fell out of the leather pouch and landed on the floor of the van with a dull thud. Both of us looked around after the sound, making sure that none of the men up front heard anything. A few moments passed, and we were in the clear.
“So you get out of those bindings and then what?” I asked. “You take out all of those guys?”
His response didn’t miss a beat.
“Yep.”
I couldn’t believe his confidence. But something told me that he wasn’t blowing smoke. Justin’s body was calm and relaxed, as though he’d been in countless situations like this before, and this was just a minor setback to deal with before he got on with the rest of his job.
“Listen,” he said. “I know you didn’t ask to get involved with any of this, but know that I’ll keep you safe. Just do what I say, and I’ll make sure you get through this alive—you have my word. Got it?”
Something about his calm and confidence eased my mind instantly. I felt safe in his hands, despite the insanity of everything happening.
“Got it,” I said.
“Now,” Justin went on. “This van is a gas-guzzler, and we’re going to have to be stopping before too long.”
“We can call for help when we stop for gas, right?” I asked.
“Nope,” he said. “You saw all of the stations on the way into Longbridge—they’re automated. Besides, I wouldn’t want to get some station attendant involved in all of this crap. These guys don’t exactly take kindly to witnesses.”
That all made sense, and I said nothing as he went on.
“By my estimation, we’re going to be stopping here any minute. They’ll be popping those doors open to check up on us, and when they do, I want you to get out of the way as fast as possible. Understood?”
“So, the plan is for me to get out of the way while you pull off the plan.”
“More or less.”
I felt the car slow down and turn slightly.
“That’s it,” he said. “We’re stopping. Get ready.”
A few moments later, the van came to a halt. My heart started to beat faster again, my body tensing up in fear as we prepared for what was next. I watched as Justin grabbed the multi-tool, flicked it open, and effortlessly snipped the white plastic of both of our zip ties. Outside of the van, the doors opened and shut, and the sounds of boots crunching on gravel sounded out.
“Here we go,” said Justin.
Sure enough, the doors opened. What happened next took place so quickly that I could barely comprehend.
Sunlight flooded the back of the van as the doors flew open. I pressed my back against the interior wall just in time to watch Justin’s boot fly past my face and connect with the chin of one of the thugs. A crack sounded out, and the man dropped like a sack of sand as Justin hurtled through the air past him.
Justin landed on the gravel in a squatting position, the dirt kicking up into the air around him. The other thug stood shocked, clearly unable to believe what had just happened. Justin stood up straight, driving his fist into the man’s face in an uppercut that sent him flying. The thug landed hard on the ground and went still.
I couldn’t believe how fast Justin moved. His body was like a finely tuned instrument—a weapon, almost.
“What the hell’s going on back there?” called out a voice from the other car.
“Remember when I told you to stay down?” asked Justin, turning his attention back to me.
“Of course, I do!” I said. “It was only a minute ago!”
“Okay, well, now’s the time to do it.”
“What are you—”
The dry pop of gunshots cut through the air. I let out a scream as Justin dropped to the ground and took cover behind the car.
“They’re shooting at you?” I asked, my voice frantic.
“That would explain the bullets,” he deadpanned.
“Holy shit, holy shit,” I repeated, unable to believe that I was in the middle of a gunfight.
Metallic pangs rang out as bullets slammed into the side of the van. Justin scrambled toward one of the downed goons, pulling the unconscious man’s gun out of his holster. Then, he disappeared around the side of the car.
I knew that Justin wanted me to stay put, and I knew that would be the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t help it—I needed to see what was going on. Taking a deep breath, I scooched out of the car, throwing my legs over the side of the exit and dropping down to the ground. More gunshots sounded out, the soft pops shifting the otherwise still air.
Filling my lungs with one more deep breath, I peeked around the back of the van. Up ahead, Justin was a wild blur of movement. With incredible skill and speed, he took out the thugs one-by-one, bringing them to the ground with swift punches and smacks to the back of the head with the handle of the gun. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Justin moved so quickly and precisely that it was almost inhuman.
And what’s more, I couldn’t help but feel…a little something at this brilliant display of skill. I knew that I shouldn’t have, but a tingling spread out from below my waist, a small, excited smile taking shape on my lips. As Justin stood among the downed guards, his large chest expanding and contracting, his large hands in square fists, part of me wanted to spring out from behind the van and jump him right then and there.
“Delaney!” he called out. “Where are you?”
“I’m here!” I said, running out from behind the van.
I rushed up to Justin and threw my arms around him. His body was solid and warm, and the feeling of intense arousal only grew as I stood pressed against him. I forced my eyes open, afraid to look down at the scene of violence spread out around me. But as I glanced from body to body, I didn’t spot any sign that Justin had used his gun.
“Are they still alive?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I don’t like to kill unless I have to. Luckily, whoever hired these goons sent their B-team. I didn’t even really break a sweat.”
“Aren’t we humble?” I asked, a smirk on my face.
Justin looked down at the bodies.
“We need to get out of here before they wake up,” he said. “Here.”
He took the multi-tool out of his pocket, withdrew the knife, and handed the thing over to me.
“Put holes in these tires. That should give us more than enough time to put some distance between us and these assholes.”
“Sounds good.”
Trotting up to the front tire of the van, I aimed the blade at the dusty black rubber and drove it in deep. Air began to rush out of the tire instantly. Behind me, Justin went to the back tires and put a round in each.
“Now, let’s get the hell out of here,” he said, nodding toward the SUV.
“Can’t imagine anything I’d like better,” I said. I ran back to the van and grabbed my purse.
Moments later, we were in the cool interior of the car. Justin, having taken the keys off of one of the thugs, started the engine and pulled us back toward the road.
“Now,” I said, once we were back on track. “You want to tell me why the hell you thought it was appropriate to lie to me about your damn job?”
“Are you kidding?” he asked, flicking his eyes over to me for a moment. “What the hell was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, my name’s
Justin. I beat the hell out of people for a living. Nice to meet you’?”
“Why is that so outlandish?” I asked. “Maybe that way I would’ve known to stay the hell away from you.”
“Trust me, in my experience telling women that I was a SEAL only makes them more interested. I did you a favor.”
He flashed me another one of those cocky smiles. I wanted to tear into him, but deep down I knew that he was probably right—meeting a mercenary was the most exciting thing to happen to me in a while, by a long shot.
“Besides,” he went on, “my work is top-secret. I provide bodyguard services for elite, high-value individuals. They’re the types who aren’t too keen on their hires running around blabbing out information like that.”
“It’s still bullshit,” I said. “I could’ve died back there. And you know it.”
“Trust me, you weren’t in any danger.”
“Easy for you to say now.”
A beat passed.
“Shit,” he said.
“Oh God, what now?” I asked. “More of them following us?”
“Nope,” he said. “One of those stray rounds must’ve hit the gas tank. We’re leaking like crazy.”
“Are you serious? How much longer before we run out?”
“If the rate that the dial’s going down is any indication…looks like about five minutes.”
Right as he finished, however, a sputter sounded out from the engine as it stopped and the dashboard went dark. We began to slow down, eventually coming to a halt.
“Five minutes, huh?” I asked.
“It was a rough estimate.”
“Well, what now?”
Justin popped open the driver’s-side door and stepped out.
“Now, we walk.”
Chapter 8
Delaney
“What’ve we got?”
I looked through the small duffel I’d taken from the backseat of the SUV.
“We’ve got,” I said, shifting through the contents, “two bottles of warm water, a gun, and that’s it.”
“That all they had back there?”
Hot Pursuit - A Marooned with the SEAL Romance Page 5