He wasn’t anywhere.
“Garrett?”
She climbed the steps to the loft where his workout room was. It was dark and empty. She went out onto the front porch, pulling her sweatshirt closer against the cold.
“Garrett?” she yelled louder.
That was when she noticed the truck was gone.
She froze, shock electrifying her body, and then betrayal swept in. “Oh, hell.”
He’d left her.
Since the first day they started this journey together, that had been her single biggest fear. For a multitude of reasons.
Her heart seized up, and she turned to go back in the house.
Just then, Garrett emerged from the door that led to the garage. “Did you call for me?” he asked.
With an effort, she calmed her heartbeat back to a normal pace. “I didn’t know where you were. I thought you’d left me,” she confessed.
He came closer and kissed her forehead before touching her lips with his. “Never.”
His promise was reassuring, but…untrue. Someday he would leave her, and there wasn’t anything either of them could do about that. She watched as he walked back into the garage where he was working on the truck. She tried to imagine what it would feel like to see him walking away that final time.
Her heart would break. That was inevitable.
Something was off when Garrett came in later. He washed his hands quickly and ripped a paper towel from the roll. “Pack up your clothes. We’re going out today.”
“We’re leaving?”
“No, just a trip to the store. We need more food.”
They’d gone through this before. They always packed and took their things with them, in case something happened and they couldn’t get back. Standard operating procedure, he’d said.
She nodded and packed up her clothes. When she picked up the game of Risk they had started and never finished, he stopped her.
“Leave it. We’ll be back. This is only a precaution,” he assured her.
She nodded and took a deep breath. Everything was fine. They just needed food.
Although she knew for a fact they still had food in the freezer.
Doubt began to twist in her stomach as she got in the truck. She put a smile on her face in an effort to quash her suspicions.
They listened to the radio on the hour-long trek to the store. There was a store closer, but he said he didn’t want to stop so close to the safe house. It made sense.
He had a nice singing voice. She smiled as she listened. Every once in a while, he would kiss the back of her hand and smile. Her earlier unease nearly vanished.
Nearly.
Until he leaned over and kissed her, still keeping the truck on the road, and whispered, “You are amazing,” then turned the radio up and started singing louder.
That was when her heart felt like it might burst with happiness. She was still smiling when they stopped for gas.
He circled the gas station, twice looking for cameras before he pulled up to the pump and got out.
“Do you want a drink?” she asked.
“Sure. Something with caffeine.” He unscrewed the fuel cap, his eyes moving around the parking lot, scouting for danger.
The bell on the door dinged as she entered the small store. The place smelled like gas and the hot sausages that were rolling back and forth on a mechanical grill. She used the restroom then headed for the case with the soft drinks in the back of the store.
She took a moment to study the colorful bottles for the one with the most caffeine. The bell dinged again as she made her way to the register by the front entrance. She was halfway up one of the three aisles when she froze.
The cashier was short and skinny with peroxide blonde hair. And she looked terrified.
Sam ducked down at the end of the aisle by the slushy machine, and drew her Glock.
There was another series of dinging, and then talking. There were two men standing at the register, both wearing flannel shirts and ball caps. One man was pointing a gun at the cashier and motioning for her to come out from behind the counter.
From where Sam was crouched, she could see the other man point in her direction and say something to the first guy.
Sam was trapped. She couldn’t get to the door.
Then again, she didn’t necessarily have to. The whole side of the building was glass.
But what about the terrified cashier? The first guy now had her by the throat. Sam couldn’t just leave her.
Now she knew what Garrett must go through, having to look out for her all the time.
She took a steadying breath, and shot the man holding the cashier. He went down. The woman screamed.
Sam ducked behind the rack just as the second man spun and fired at her.
Bullets peppered the glass behind her. But it didn’t explode into the escape route she’d expected. Instead, tiny holes appeared in the glass with a few spidery cracks radiating from them.
Ah, shit.
She heard gunshots coming from outside. A third man? She had to get to Garrett.
Where was guy number two? He was no longer at the counter.
She peeked out from behind the rack in both directions and didn’t see him. The gum and candy aisle was wide open. She stayed low and ran up the aisle.
Right to where the man was waiting.
Chapter Fifty-Three
The man grabbed Sam’s wrist at the same time she grabbed his. Both guns clattered to the floor.
She moved to get away, but he already had his other hand around her throat, gripping hard. She kicked at him while he choked her, but she only managed to piss him off more…and knock both guns out of reach with her flailing.
But she managed to shake herself loose. She elbowed him in the chest and scrambled for her gun. Before she got it up to shoot, she heard a shot.
The man fell to the ground, blood running from his mouth.
“Come on! Hurry up!” Garrett yelled.
They ran to the truck as tires squealed and a black sedan whipped into the parking lot. It quickly swerved back out on the road to follow them as Garrett floored it.
“I’m on it. Just drive,” she said as she slid between the seats. She ducked when the back window was shot. Damn it, more safety glass! She punched at the crackled window with her fist, making a hole to shoot through.
“Sam?”
“Still with you. Drive faster.”
The sedan passenger took another shot that lodged in the seat next to her.
“I’m going as fast as I can. Stay down.”
She couldn’t stay down and shoot bad guys. She popped up, took aim, and shot the passenger. His arm fell slack.
She aimed for the driver and fired. The car veered off the road, and rolled end over end into the ditch.
“Good job,” Garrett said as she climbed back into the passenger seat and checked her clip. “Are you okay?” He slowed the truck. With one hand on the wheel, he patted her down for injuries while sparing glances at the road. “Your neck is bleeding. How bad is it?”
“Just a cut. Damn window.” She examined it in the visor mirror, feeling around her throat. “Keep going.” Suddenly, she gasped.
“What is it?” His voice was frantic.
“My necklace! It’s gone.”
He took a breath. “I’ll get you a new one. Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked again, still only half paying attention to the road.
There was a dark wet spot on his jacket sleeve.
“I’m fine,” she said, and frowned. “What’s with your arm?”
“Can you believe I got shot again, in the same place as before?”
Alarm swept through her. “Are you okay to drive?”
“Yeah, it’s not as bad as the last time.”
“Unbelievable.” She reached in her bag and grabbed a shirt to tie around the wound. “Where did they come from?”
“My guess is they have a lot of people looking. Congressman Howe has access to a lot of re
sources. Some of the same ones I have. No one is safe.”
“How am I ever going to make it to the trial like this?”
“We’ll keep moving you. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I promised, remember?” He offered a strained smile. “You did good back there. Really good.”
He probably thought she was about to start crying. She wasn’t. The constant flow of adrenaline was beginning to feel normal.
“We can’t go back to the house,” she said. Not a question.
“No.”
Now she really wished she’d packed his game and her book. And her necklace was gone, too.
“All of our presents to each other—” She shook her head as the trees along the road flashed by.
“They were only things, Sam. Things don’t matter as much as people.”
“I know. But when you’re gone…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“When I’m gone, you’ll have memories.”
She nodded as he ran his hand over her hair. “I guess.”
“You’re okay. That’s the only thing that matters. Everything else is replaceable.”
It took them two hours to get to the next garage where he had another vehicle waiting, this one a white sedan. She stitched him up again, not doing much better than she had the last time.
As they got in the new car and headed off again, she realized something. She was comfortable and happy, despite all the craziness and uncertainty. She was happier than she had ever been. She didn’t even care that people were chasing her—not as long as she had Garrett there beside her.
The way her hand naturally slipped into his, the way she knew what snack he wanted when they fueled up. The way she knew without a doubt that she loved him. It all told her they were not even close to being casual anymore.
They were partners in this. His life and her life were a package deal.
“Try not to get ambushed,” Garrett joked as she walked into the store at their next fuel stop. She stuck out her tongue at him and he laughed.
She got him a soda and a disgusting stick of beef jerky from the tub on the counter, and with a content smile and her gun in her waistband, she walked back to the car. He was sitting in the driver’s seat waiting for her.
He leaned over, kissed her, and snagged the jerky from her hand with his teeth, then started the car and pulled out.
“I don’t know how you can eat that stuff. Room temperature meat? Something about that is so wrong,” she teased as he took another bite.
“You should try it,” he mumbled with his mouth full.
“I’m in love with you,” she said.
She slapped a hand over her mouth. The words had just popped out of nowhere, like a cork from a bottle of shaken champagne.
He stopped chewing for a long moment as her words sank in. Then he pulled over along the side of the highway.
“Sam.” He swallowed. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”
She wasn’t surprised by his response, just saddened. “I know you don’t feel the same way,” she said. “I understand you are better at casual than I am. I just…thought you should know. I had to tell you, in case I lose more than my necklace at the next gas station. I want you to know how I feel about you.”
Several moments ticked by. Finally, he said, “I realize it seems like we have this great thing because we’ve basically been playing house all this time. But what you’re feeling—it’s not real.”
She looked over at him. If he believed that, he was lying to himself as much as to her. “Are you looking forward to going on to your next assignment?” she asked.
He sighed and shook his head. “No. My next assignment could be even worse.” He laughed once and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
He obviously didn’t want to talk about this.
Fine. She wouldn’t make him. She’d told him what she wanted him to know. “I don’t see how that’s possible,” she said quietly, then leaned over and took a bite of his jerky. “Hmm. Not bad.” She winked at him and he laughed again before pulling out on the road.
A little while later, he reached over and took her hand. She loved him, and now he knew it.
That night, they stayed at a motel. He crawled in bed next to her after she checked his arm. The wound was more like a cut than a huge ravine like the last time.
She lay next to him, staring up at the water damage on the ceiling and thinking about the day.
He must have been thinking about what happened, too. Just a different part. “Hey,” he said quietly and pulled her to him. He kissed her slowly, then leaned his forehead against hers. “I enjoy being with you.” His eyes twinkled in that way they did before he said something funny. “Except for being shot twice.”
She smiled. “Me, too.”
He turned serious again. “I don’t want you to think this happens with everyone I’m hired to extract.” He ran his hand up her back softly.
“But?” She could tell by the tone of his voice there was one coming.
He’d told her before she was special. But special clearly wasn’t enough.
He shook his head. “No buts for tonight.” He wound his fingers into her hair and kissed her deeply. “Tonight, it’s just us. We can pretend everything is perfect,” he said, and rolled on top of her.
Maybe he wasn’t able to tell her how he felt in words, but she could feel it in his urgent kisses and desperate touches as they made love. Slow and burning, as though they were saying goodbye for forever.
She clung to him like life itself. They shared breath and looked into each other’s eyes, submersed in this moment of raw emotion. He called out her name as he fell on top of her, holding her so close she could barely breathe.
It wasn’t close enough.
They didn’t say anything. They just lay there, studying one another. She memorized every detail, so when memories were all she had, they would be exact. She thought maybe he was doing the same.
Sometime early in the morning, she woke to the sound of a cellphone. She blinked and looked around. Garrett wasn’t in bed, and the shower was running.
The ringing stopped, and a few moments later a single beep indicated he had a voicemail. She fought the urge to look to see if it said howe, or maybe a woman’s name.
God. What if he was married in his real life?
He came out of the bathroom with a white fluffy towel around his waist, and she quickly pushed away that disturbing thought. Not that she actually thought he might have a wife. He’d made it clear he wasn’t the type to settle down.
Rain pounded on the roof, and she could see it through the crack in the curtains. A great morning to stay in bed with someone, naked.
She smiled and reached for him, but his phone beeped again.
He snatched it up with a frown. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be back soon,” he said as he shrugged on some jeans and pulled on a hoodie and a jacket.
She closed her eyes, but as soon as he was out the door, she hopped up and pressed her ear to the door to listen. Since it was raining, he’d stayed on the porch right outside their room.
It took a moment for her hearing to adjust. She missed the first sentence.
“We were attacked at a gas station yesterday. We’re moving again.” His voice changed direction as he paced in the small space under the roof. “She wasn’t harmed. She was shaken up, that’s all. She handled it really well. She’s a good shot,” he shared with whomever was on the phone.
His boss, maybe?
“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” All humor left his voice. “I don’t feel comfortable with that.” There was a pause. “I know. But you need to think about what’s best—”
Wow. He really sounded angry.
“Fine. If that’s how you want it to go down, I’ll bring her in tomorrow.”
She ran to the bed, jumped in, and tried to moderate her breathing before he came back. Fortunately, it was a few minutes before the door closed.
“What’s up?” she murmured.
&
nbsp; “Go back to sleep, it’s not even six.” He slipped off his jacket and kicked off his shoes before climbing in bed with her.
She snuggled next to him and he wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. He kissed her hair and traced his fingers up and down her arm. She relaxed as sleep returned. They often fell asleep like this.
Despite the disturbing conversation she’d overheard, she told herself she needed to trust him. He was the only one in the world she could trust right now. He was her safe harbor.
“Sam?” he whispered so quietly she wasn’t sure he’d actually spoken.
She held her breath.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. She felt his breath in her hair as he kissed her head again. “I don’t have a choice.” He nestled his face in her hair, and eventually fell asleep.
But Sam couldn’t go back to sleep.
What was going on? Why was he so upset? What didn’t he have a choice about?
Her mind buzzed with possible answers. None of them good.
Damn. She wasn’t ready to deal with this crap. If she couldn’t trust Garrett, she might as well turn herself over to Howe.
She shook the thought away. No. Whatever it was, she couldn’t believe Garrett would ever betray her. He wouldn’t do that.
Would he…?
He was standing next to the bed watching her when she woke up later in the morning. There was a strange, detached expression on his face.
“Get dressed,” he said stiffly. “We’re leaving.”
And that was when she knew.
Something was very, very wrong.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Sam didn’t feel actual danger was imminent. But Garrett was not acting like himself. He was cold and distant, like a total stranger. He was cutting himself off from her.
After the overheard conversation last night, that worried her.
She gathered her things and wiped down the room as usual. “The room’s clean.”
“Thanks.” He sat on the edge of the bed and lowered his head. “We need to stop on the way and get supplies.”
“Okay.” She had expected that since they were changing houses and had no food. She wasn’t sure why he needed to make an announcement.
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