He motioned to press the screen. “Any red?”
She tapped the green wave then searched the entire screen twice to make sure. “No red dots.”
In one swift motion, he unhooked the lanyard from the Q40. “You did good.”
“You did better.” She smiled slightly then leaned in the other direction as he hoisted himself onto the Q40. “Don’t you need to get on from the back?”
He pointed beneath the seat. “This is outfitted with some extra grab handles. There’s a lot of advanced technology on OPAQUE’s Q40s.”
The distant sound of gunfire continued from the beach house. Sirens cut through the air. Even she knew that wasn’t good. “Should we go help them?”
“No.” Hard, deep, and barely a whisper, his voice cracked as he handed her one end of the ignition switch lanyard. “Clip that on.”
“Why?”
“If you fall off, the key pulls and kills the engine. Just like walking on a treadmill.”
She clipped it on her shirt. “What about you?”
“I don’t plan to go for another swim tonight.” He cranked the engine and pushed a button, which raised a windshield. “You ever ride a motorcycle?”
“Yeah, on the back.”
He throttled up and they moved across the water. Slow and silent. “It’s like riding a bike. Lean when I lean. Tilt when I tilt.”
Holding onto his sides, she inched closer to him, pressing her breasts tight against the Neoprene top stretched taught across his back. His muscles changed the instant he moved. She could lean. She could tilt. She could do this.
Being with him made her feel safe. Even here. And somewhere in her scared inner self, she knew he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.
Freeing her mind from the thought of being on the water, she imagined she was zooming up Route One in California instead. Rental convertible. Top down. Wind in her hair. Sure, there was wind in her hair now, but so was a misty spray and the smell of fish.
She’d made that trip up the California coastline the summer before her junior year of college. The world, and her dreams, had stretched out before her. Beautiful beach views, along with a stop at a local winery for a glass of pinot noir, were all she’d needed to be at ease with the world. Why had she never found time to take that trip again?
This, on the other hand, was a trip she never planned to take again. Not even if she were on a boat next time…with a life jacket.
She wiped a sudden spray of water from her cheek. Funny thing was, she loved beaches and sand, waves and sea gulls, even loved being in a pool where she could touch the bottom or hold onto the sides. The idea of swimming in water over her head scared her to death. No matter how much her friends had told her of all the beautiful sights lurking beneath the surface, they’d never convinced her to try snorkeling with a life jacket. The idea of scuba diving with air tanks made her blood run cold.
At least she could say she’d ridden a Q40, seated behind one heck of a sexy man. Bossy…but still sexy. If someone wasn’t out to hurt her, or her dad, she’d have missed even that opportunity. What else had she missed in her life?
Maybe Drake had been right years ago, when he’d eaten the entire banana split. What if the next breath never came? What would she regret? When this was all over, that Route One trip would be the first thing on her to-do list.
The ebb and flow of the Q40’s movements gliding across the water lulled her nerves that had skyrocketed with adrenaline. Without meaning to, she felt herself sitting upright, feeling the Q40 motions without needing the help of Mitch’s movements. After a while, she opened her eyes and saw he was following the distant lights of the shoreline. Slowly, his angle changed, and they headed out into the darkness. He throttled up to a faster running speed, but one that still ran quiet.
He whipped to the side as if avoiding an obstacle. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She leaned around him enough to look at the dash screen. “What are the dark blobs?”
“Schools of fish or dolphins. Maybe a…”
“Shark?”
“I was going to say whale.” He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Or, maybe it’s a chunk of coral.”
She doubted that. But the fact he’d tried to make her relax made her feel better.
“Time to kick into high gear. You hold on tight.” The engine grabbed with a ferocious lunge then leveled out to speed. His back and arm muscles hardened beneath her touch.
This was another whole level of running flat-out. The windshield helped, but the spray and wind whipped her skin even though she huddled behind his body. She couldn’t imagine the brunt of force he had to be feeling. He swerved, and she grabbed his sides tighter. They hit a wave and caught air, hit another and flew again. The hard jolt of Q40 against the thud of water as they landed said those had been some big waves. What made waves like that out here?
“What was that?” she yelled toward his ear. Knowing what she faced had always made her feel better.
“Some kind of game fish.” He handed her an earbud and mic. “Here. This will help us communicate better.”
“Okay,” she said, fitting the piece to her ear.
His idea of game fish was probably anything he might be able to eat. To her, game fish covered a whole lot of species out here in the dark. What if the fish were the hunters, and they were the game?
She swallowed to clear the tightening of her throat. “Well, all I know is that was one damn big…whatever.”
He laughed then throttled up again. “Hold on. We need to make up some time.”
Make up time? What did that mean? After rummaging in a tiny compartment on the dash, he’d fitted an earbud back on. Every so often, she’d almost think he was talking to someone. That didn’t make sense. They were in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Headed…she had no idea.
At least leaning and tilting had become second nature to her now, but holding on was still her priority. She stood enough to lean close to his ear then tapped his shoulder, and he glanced backward. “Won’t we run out of gas at some point?”
“Like I said, there are a lot of upgrades to these babies. With the fuel they use, they can run forever.”
“Is that why this Q40 balances so well?” She’d seen others ride watercraft, and they’d had more difficulty in side-to-side stability.
“That, and the fact I know how to handle one of these machines.”
Now that was something she could agree with. In fact, he seemed to handle a lot of things well. She should do a magazine article on him and the Q40 when this was all over. “So, is this the beginning of an around-the-world trip?”
“Nope. But it’s time for us to move on.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Let’s just say I’ve been circling larger and larger, trying to pick up a sign from Keith. Or OPAQUE. Nothing yet. Means things are too hot to chance contact. So, at this point, we’re running solo.” His tone suggested that was the end of the conversation.
She had more questions. One in particular. “Is that…uh…overly dangerous?”
“Depends on what you call dangerous.” The way he maneuvered the Q40, he must know exactly where he was and where he planned to go. He jerked his head for her to lean against his back. “You should get some rest. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
Doing what he said seemed like a good idea at the moment. But she wasn’t ready to chance falling asleep and falling off. Besides, she was a journalist. She asked questions. So, for now, she approached this as research for a story and kept talking.
“Where are we headed?” she asked.
“Straight across the Gulf of Mexico. At a little spot on the GPS, I’ll veer toward the Florida Panhandle. Then we cruise and wait for contact from OPAQUE.” He stretched his neck from side to side then did quick arm pumps after rolling his fingers in and out. He stretched his legs and stood up. The Q40 ran straight and true.
“You sound like this is just another day at the office. Do you do things like this
all the time?”
He sighed loud enough she figured he wanted to stop the chitchat. Too bad.
“Did you hear me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I heard you. This is my job. I like what I do. Love the water. And yesterday, I finished up a month-long assignment in South America. Today, Drake sent me to Ft. Myers to pick you up. Never even made it home.” He made a noise deep in his throat, a sound of almost laughter. “The future is history just waiting to be made.”
She laughed at his joke.
On the right, she saw a glimmer of lights in the far, far distance. Maybe he’d change his mind and stop. After all, he was right—she was tired. She’d even consider sharing a room with him as long as there was a warm bath, food, and a soft bed. Make that two beds.
Instead, he steered them away from shore. Back out into the dark. Darker than dark darkness. He didn’t even have running lights on.
She jerked her head upright after bumping his back with her nodding forehead. “So, tell me—”
“Why don’t you tell me about yourself? Might help with the case,” Mitch said.
Well, that had certainly been a smooth way of saying “I’m done talking.” But she was okay with the transition. He felt like someone she could tell anything personal to, and it would never be revealed again.
She sucked in a deep breath along with courage to tell her most personal life stories. The ones that carved her childhood into one she never wanted her future children to live.
“I’ve never had many people I could trust. Never had one best friend. Never even one serious boyfriend who lasted more than a few dates.
“Sure, there were groups I became part of…in a way. You see, I was always trying to fit in. Find my place in school. Got worse, the older I got. In high school, I partied…not hard, but I did have fun.” She laughed. “Even did a few things I’d never want to share with my own kids.”
He made a noise. “Haven’t we all?”
Made her feel good he was actually listening, not just tuning her out for silence. “Then there got to be times when friends stopped talking when I walked up. Groups set to head some place suddenly didn’t have room for me in the car. Once, a guy I liked told me he couldn’t come around anymore. My dad scared him. And someone I thought of as a close friend turned out not to be.”
“What made you think that?”
Pausing a moment, she swiped a bit of moisture from the corner of her eye. “She stopped inviting me to her house because I wasn’t allowed to have friends over. I never had a birthday party at my house. No sleepovers. No relatives dropping by for the holidays. Just me and my mother…and my dad.”
Bringing back the pain of adolescence had brought up memories she’d locked away once she went off to college. Maybe she needed to concentrate on making new memories. Close-up and personal ones with the sexy man seated in front of her. Her fantasy teased her thoughts. Stoked her what-ifs. Would he like slow or fast? Top or bottom? Lights on or off? Fingers or— Like getting zapped with a small electrical shock, her insides tingled.
Her sensibility yanked her back to the present. The danger. The reality of the situation.
“I guess I can understand why my life was like that. But it doesn’t change the world I had to make for myself growing up.” She nodded and jerked awake again. “A world of listening, more than talking.”
“Makes sense. Being a journalist is a perfect profession for you, though,” Mitch said.
“I guess.” Now she was tired of answering. “Hey, why did you give Keith your tech-band thingy?”
Mitch laughed out loud. “Don’t let Drake hear you call his expensive high-tech gadget a thingy. That tech-band can do about anything a computer can do. And more.”
“Sorry.” Once this was over, she’d call it a thingy just to see Drake’s reaction. “But that gets me back to my question. Why give yours to Keith?”
“His broke during the fight and he needed one to be able to tie into us one-on-one.” He swerved at something on his sonar screen. “I knew where I was headed, because I know the Gulf like the back of my hand. Should have been no problem. But I can’t hang around waiting for him any longer. We’ll be running solo till we hear from OPAQUE.”
“Shouldn’t we have heard from Keith by now?” she asked.
“Yeah, we should have.” Mitch’s words were hesitant. “You really do need to get some rest.”
Rest? How was she supposed to get any rest? What with the holding on, the leaning, the tilting, the chill from the spray in the night air, rest was far from possible even though her body was tired. Plus, the combination of stress and fear had released an overload of endorphins, sending them spiraling straight to her brain and— She sighed. Nope, stress and fear had nothing to do with what she was feeling.
Ever since she’d first encountered Mitch back at the Mariner’s, her hormones had pulsed with his attraction. Totally—totally—unlike her…ever. Now, sitting behind him, brushing against him when waves jostled the Q40, feeling the sides of his hips and legs against her inner thighs, her libido had shifted into overdrive.
She sighed again. Yawned. Tried to shove his aura out of her mind. Impossible. Tried to calculate all the reasons they could never be involved. Somewhere between none and a million. Tried to figure out what about him tripped her switch. Everything. Every. Damn. Thing.
Here she was out in the middle of the Gulf. No life jacket. Riding on the back of a high-powered special-equipped Q40. In the dark. Running from some group called CT as the life she’d always known crumbled around her. And trusting her future to a man she’d met less than five hours ago. Yet all she could think about was tangling naked with him, in soft silky sheets, until they were both covered in sweat and sated. Then cuddling against his back as they both drifted asleep…sleep…sleep…sleep—
Her eyes jerked open wide as she grabbed to get a hold on Mitch’s waist. Dug her nails into his sides. The realization she’d dozed off, nearly fallen in the water, sucked the breath right out of her. Scared her to hell and back all in one second. She clutched him tighter and tighter.
“I’ve got you, Liz. I’ve got you.” He covered her hands with his as he powered down the machine. Looked over his shoulder. Locked his gaze on hers.
She stared into his eyes, pleading for help in the only way she could at the moment. Her heartbeat picked up—faster and faster. Her skin felt clammy. Like a full-body facial mask ready to come off. Shaking uncontrollably, she gasped for the next breath…and the next. She could have died. Could have drowned.
He quickly turned sideways, pushing himself to a stand on one of the footrests. Reaching out, he pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. Held her close. “You’re okay. Take a breath. In. Out. In. Out. Come on. Steady your breathing for me. I’m right here.”
Shaking uncontrollably, she fought against the panic. This wasn’t a locked room. And the dark was open to the sky. Why couldn’t she get control of herself? She’d been in worse places. Under worse circumstances. Still the panic threatened.
“Shhhhh, I’m…right…here, Liz.” Mitch gently stroked her face. Her hair. Her shoulders. “You’re doing good.”
His words were soothing. Lips right beside her ear. Arms holding her with a promise of not letting anything bad happen to her. She focused on his voice. His arms. Only him.
Slowly, she calmed herself and nodded. Loosened her hold. “I’ll be okay now. Sorry if I hurt you.”
“Anytime. Don’t worry about it.”
The concerned frown that had covered his face faded with the miniscule lift of the corners of his mouth. After a few seconds, he turned toward the darkness in front of them and straddled the seat as she settled in behind him. He gripped the handles once again and, gradually, shifted the Q40 back up to speed.
Determined to stay alert, she focused on the past month. Wasn’t just her body that was tired. Evidently, her mind was tired, too.
She couldn’t believe this time last week she’d been in the hot, dry heat of Arizona t
rying to arrange another meeting with an informant on the story she’d been assigned. The next day, she’d been called back to Chicago, accused of being rude to one of the people she’d interviewed, and fired on the spot by the publisher. That had been the lowest point in her life.
Looking back, that had been nothing compared to today. Today she was living the lowest point.
She felt safe for now. Still, she was scared. Not of Mitch, but of what he’d do to someone else if her life were on the line. What would that cost him physically? Emotionally? Psychologically? What had all the assignments already cost him? She didn’t want to be the cause of pain to anyone. Yet, none of this was her fault. At least none that she knew of.
And how could her dad have kept the Witness Protection aspect of their life secret for all these years? Why? If he thought he was protecting her, that would be one thing. However, the way he’d made sure Drake and she were acquainted meant he’d tried to stay in the WPP but not give up his real-world past.
Maybe CT had caught wind of where her dad was living. Figured he might be hungering for his old life. They might even have wanted him to work for them again. Or, they might have roughed him up and left him to die, just to make him an example to others turning on CT. Her eyes flooded with tears. She couldn’t bear the thought that he’d be hurt.
Oh, Daddy, don’t let them catch you. Please, please, please stay hidden.
Mitch had mentioned hostage and leverage as Coercion Ten’s tactics. She could see why Coercion Ten wanted her now. If they had her, they’d have an edge on luring her dad out of hiding. She shuddered and leaned a little closer to Mitch’s back.
But her dad’s testimony had sent a couple of their operatives to prison. From everything she’d ever read on mob-type entities, they didn’t take kindly to their people being ratted out. A bullet, or worse, was the usual payment. So, if they’d known his location… She sighed. That didn’t make sense, either. Nothing made sense.
What if Mitch was right? What if CT viewed her position as a journalist lucrative to their organization? What if the only way to keep her dad alive would be to work for them?
Dangerous Lies (Shades of Leverage) Page 6