I.N.E.T 5

by Brenda Cothern

  “When was the last time you slept?” Lita finally broke the silence with his soft-spoken question.

  Randy had felt his new partner studying him as if the other Marshal was physically running his hands all over his body. The feeling was uncomfortable. He hadn’t really gotten a good look at his new partner other than to note how tall he was and how his long hair was draped over his shoulders.

  If Randy hadn’t been expecting his new partner to speak at any moment, he may have startled when the silence in the car was shattered. The man’s voice was deep and graveled as if he hadn’t used it in a long time or had just woken up. It was just as soft and quiet.

  “I’m fine,” Randy replied just as quietly, but still glanced in the rearview mirror to check on their charge.

  Burke was stretched out and appeared to be sleeping. She had appeared to be asleep at the safe house when he went to get coffee, too. So, Randy wasn’t going to assume that was the case now. His embarrassment she had slipped outside and would have escaped his custody if not for his new partner’s intervention rose to the surface. He pushed it down, but was sure the other Marshal thought less of him because of the incident.

  Lita didn’t counter Connor’s claims right away. However, after Connor drifted toward the shoulder for the third time in twenty minutes, he couldn’t help but dispute the man’s claim.

  “Okay,” Lita began speaking just as quietly as before. “But you do realize you are ping-ponging between the lines enough that if we stumble across a state trooper, they will pull us over.”

  Randy grunted. He hadn’t noticed he was driving like a drunk, but he had no doubt that could be the case since he was beyond exhausted. He needed to get them to Redding, but getting them into a wreck when they were less than an hour from their destination wouldn’t get them there any faster. A sign for a truck stop claimed it was only two miles up the road. He took the exit and pulled into the truck stop. Movement from the backseat caught his attention in the rearview mirror after he stopped at the pumps. He might as well top off the tank while they were here.

  Agent Burke stretched and met his gaze with a smile that Randy would call innocent had he not known better. “I’ve got to pee and I’ve started my period,” Burke informed them without a trace of shame.

  It took everything Randy had not to groan. He had no issues with the natural process women went through monthly, but that didn’t mean he wanted to think or know about it. Plus, the last thing they needed to do was take Burke in the semi crowded truck stop and have her make a scene like she did outside the last safe house. Still, Randy wasn’t so heartless to make Burke suffer in bloody panties until they got her somewhere safe and could get her the supplies she needed.

  “I’ll take her,” Lita offered and got out of the car.

  “You’re going to get what you need, hit the bathroom, then get your ass back in the car,” Randy told her while meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror.

  “Of course,” Burke replied sweetly at the same time his partner opened the back door.

  “Miss Burke.” Lita held out a hand to help her out of the backseat of the car. He pulled Agent Burke from the backseat and the moment she took his hand and cleared the car, he slapped a handcuff on her wrist. Her other hand came up to rest on his chest and she batted her eyes at him.

  “We don’t need the bracelets, surely,” Burke purred in what Lita was sure was her sweetest voice. “I’m not going to go anywhere. Why would I want to now that you’re here to protect me?”

  Lita snorted. “Why, indeed?” Burke pouted at him. “You’re not my type anyway, sweetheart.” Lita watched a frown appear, but it was gone so fast that had he not had years of training reading people he would have missed it.

  “I could be.” Burke leaned closer to him and Lita laid a hand atop hers which still rested on his chest.

  “I sincerely doubt that would ever be a possibility.” Lita grinned down at her at the same time he lowered her free hand from his chest. The other cuff snicked on her wrist and he didn’t miss the flash of anger that flared in her blue eyes.

  “Fine,” Burke grumbled and attempted to storm off toward the truck stop convenience store.

  Lita’s hand on her shoulder stopped her dead in her tracks. He leaned down to her ear from where he stood behind her. He didn’t attempt to keep his next words quiet.

  “Miss Burke, I’d hate to have to cuff your hands behind your back because that would require me to assist you in the bathroom to take care of your personal issue.”

  Lita would never do such a thing. Just the thought skived him out, but Burke didn’t know that. She tensed under his hand as he expected she would and thankfully for Lita, was smart enough not to call his bluff.

  The sound of a handcuff snapping closed had Randy turning in his seat so he could watch Burke exit the backseat. He hadn’t expected his new partner to cuff Burke, but was somewhat impressed the other Marshal wasn’t taking any chances. He listened to Burke try unsuccessfully to talk her way out of the handcuffs and wasn’t surprised she tried to flirt with his partner to change his mind.

  What did surprise him, actually shocked was a better description of the emotion that barreled through him, was his partner threatening to actually do for her what she needed done in the bathroom. He wasn’t quiet about it, either, so Randy could only assume he was meant to hear. Just the thought of helping a woman place a pad where it needed to go, or worse a tampon made Randy shudder and bile rise in his throat.

  He stepped out of the car when his new partner closed the back door. Lita (calling the other Marshal by that name was going to take some time to get used to) walked Burke around the back of the car. Randy had opened the gas panel and placed the pump without taking his eyes off his partner and their charge.

  Burke wasn’t happy about being handcuffed, but Randy wasn’t surprised. He didn’t give a shit, either. He wanted to get this pit stop over and done with and prayed Burke didn’t cause a ruckus once Lita escorted her inside.

  His partner still wore his leather jacket and looked nothing like a federal agent. Unlike Randy, whose Marshal badge hung from a chain around his neck, Lita’s badge was nowhere to be seen. Randy was just about to comment on the lack of its visibility when the man walked Burke toward him.

  Lita stopped once Burke was standing between him and Connor. The only thing separating him and Burke from Connor was the gas hose. He removed his hand from Burke’s shoulder without breaking Connor’s gaze. Connor’s eyes were actually hazel as Lita had assumed, but he pushed that detail away and removed his leather jacket. There was no way in hell he was going to take a handcuffed woman in a public store without his badge and weapon exposed. The badge alone, even if it was his INET badge and not a US Marshal’s one, would be enough to ease any civilians concern over his shoulder holster or the cuffed woman he escorted. So, he pulled it from his jacket pocket and slipped the chain over his head.

  Randy reached out a hand around Burke and accepted his partner’s leather jacket. Burke blocked most of his view of the other Marshal, but Lita was so tall that Randy had no problem seeing the straps of his shoulder holster.

  “I’ll walk in with you,” Randy said before he tossed Lita’s jacket into the car through the open driver’s side door. Lita didn’t say anything, but Randy was prompted to explain when his partner raised a questioning brow. “I need coffee and to pay for the gas along with what she needs. No sense in you doing all that while I stand out here freezing and waiting for the pump to kick on.”

  Lita gave Randy a nod and turned Burke to maneuver her around the pump and toward the truck stop door. He felt his partner fall in step behind him before he even reached the double doors. Lita held the door open for Burke and Connor to follow her inside before he entered himself.

  Randy waited for Lita to take his place behind Burke before he turned down the aisle which led to the coffee. He only watched his partner lead Burke down another aisle before he pulled two empty cups from the dispenser. He didn’t waste any
time fixing himself a coffee. The other he left black, but made sure to grab plenty of creamer and several types of sweetener so his partner could fix his however he preferred.

  Lita only spared Connor a glance to ensure he knew the Marshal’s location. Connor was making his coffee as he said he needed. Burke had already grabbed a box of tampons by the time Lita refocused on her.

  “I’m nauseous,” Burke informed him. “I always am at this time of the month. Alka-Seltzer usually helps.”

  Lita had no idea if nausea was a normal thing for a woman when they menstruated. He didn’t trust Burke at her word, but couldn’t see any harm in letting her take some Alka-Seltzer. He maneuvered her further down the aisle and grabbed two single-dose packets from where they dangled from the pegboard display.

  A whistle brought his attention toward the line at the register. Connor was three people away from checking out. Lita held up a hand to indicate they were almost finished. He directed Burke toward the fountain drinks and pulled a small cup from the dispenser. He didn’t immediately give her the cup he filled with water.

  Instead, he looked back at Connor. He held up the cup, the two small single-dose Alka-Seltzer packets, and the miniature box of tampons. He kept Burke next to him in front of the fountain drinks until Connor reached the register and pointed in their direction. Once Connor turned back to the register and it was clear he paid for their items, Lita pointed Burke toward the restrooms. He didn’t pause before pushing her through the ladies room door. He didn’t pause before following her in, either.

  “Really?” Burke sputtered. “A little privacy?”

  Lita ignored Burke as he surveyed the restroom. There was no one else present and no windows in sight. However, that didn’t stop him from dragging Burke along with him as he banged open each stall, though.

  “Satisfied?” Burke sniped.

  Lita thrust the cup of water he held toward her. She accepted it and pointedly looked at the Alka-Seltzer. He put the packet to his lips and used his teeth to tear it open. Dumping the contents into the cup she held resulted in the plop plop, fizz fizz, the commercials emphasized.

  “You gonna stand here or what? Fucking pervert,” Burke spat out and glared at him as if any look she gave him would faze him at all.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart.” Lita smirked. “I’ll be right outside the door when you’re done.”

  ##~~##

  Chapter Four

  Lita had been walking Burke back to the car when he spotted the SUV. The damn thing stood out like a sore thumb with its tinted windows. He didn’t wait to hear its engine rev before he started running toward Conner. The SUV gunned it and at first it seemed like the vehicle was aiming for Conner and the passenger side of their car.

  Burke initially resisted him when he broke into a run. She didn’t have the strength to do much more than annoy him. She didn’t resist any longer once the SUV swerved and it was clear the vehicle was aiming for them. For that, he was relieved because they didn’t have time for him to throw her over his shoulder.

  Randy was keeping an eye on the convenience store door. He figured if Burke was going to make a break for it then when she and Lita came outside that would be the time. They were halfway across the parking lot when he was forced to look away to replace the gas nozzle back in the pump. They had almost reached him when Lita started running toward him dragging Burke behind him. At the same time, Randy heard the distinct squeal of tires.

  Instantly, he drew his gun and turned toward the noise. A black SUV was hauling ass toward him. It swerved at the last second toward Lita and Burke. Randy didn’t hesitate to open fire. He didn’t aim for the tires, but instead what he could see of the windshield. Only one shot hit before his next shot hit the driver’s side window. Neither bullet did anything more than crack the glass.

  “Son of a bitch,” Randy cursed. He’d had enough experience to recognize bullet resistant glass when his shots didn’t do more than ricochet away.

  Randy was already laying down cover fire by the time Lita shoved Burke between the pumps toward the car. He heard her hands hit the side of the car to stop her momentum. Heard, not saw because he was already aiming at the SUV which had made a sharp turn and was heading back toward them.

  Lita stood by the rear bumper, legs spread, and gun cupped in his palms. He wasn’t concerned over Burke any longer because he knew she was boxed in between the car, the pump, him, and Conner. Conner’s shots echoed his as they fired in an attempt to either slow the SUV or at least cause them to think twice about running them down. Of course, dissuading them wasn’t likely to happen.

  The SUV hit their high beams and Lita promptly shot out a headlight. If Randy wasn’t concentrating on the oncoming SUV in an attempt to place a cluster of shots in the windshield to get it to shatter, he would have appreciated his partner’s aim. As it was, they barely had time to take cover behind the car when an asshole in the SUV started returning fire.

  They needed to get the hell away from the pumps. All it would take to blow them to smithereens was one bullet in the pump. Randy glanced quickly over his shoulder from his crouched position behind the car. There wasn’t a damn place they could run to before the SUV made another pass on the other side of the pumps.

  “Get in the car!” Lita yelled as he stood to fire on the back of the SUV. A taillight shattered, but he was sure the fuckers didn’t care.

  Randy agreed with Lita’s plan. They had to get away from the pumps. How far they would get didn’t matter just like how they would be sitting ducks in the car didn’t, either. Hell, they were sitting ducks where they currently were, but at least the car would provide some metal between them and the flying bullets. It would also allow them to get as far away from the pumps as possible in the event the asshole’s tried to blow them up. He didn’t think that was their end goal since they apparently wanted Burke alive if the past attacks were anything to go by.

  Still, shit happened.

  Randy pulled the door to the back seat open and was relieved when Burke scrambled the hell in. He didn’t close it behind her since Lita needed to get his ass in the car, too.

  “Get in,” Randy told Lita who was targeting the SUV again. He wasn’t firing yet and it was clear to Randy the man was waiting for the SUV to get closer.

  “Start the car,” Lita ordered without taking his eyes off the approaching SUV.

  “Get in,” Randy repeated after he opened his door.

  “Start the fucking car,” Lita growled out as he steadied his aim.

  Randy wasn’t about to let another partner die on him. He felt enough guilt over Greene’s death, so he sure as hell wasn’t about to let another partner die while he took off again with Burke. He’d almost rather let her be taken then try to survive with the death of two partners on his conscious. So, instead of listening, he started firing on the SUV again. He was still aiming for the cracks he’d already caused in the windshield.

  Two things happened at once: Randy shots finally punched a hole in the windshield and steam from the radiator seemed to explode from the front of the SUV.

  Randy knew it wasn’t his shots that hit the radiator, but didn’t waste time complementing his partner’s marksmanship. The SUV was still barreling toward them, but was clearly starting to swerve as it drove by them on the other side of the pumps.

  “In,” Lita said and followed his own order.

  His huge body landed on Burke and she made a pain-filled sound. Lita didn’t give a shit if he’d hurt the petite woman or not. At the moment all he cared about as he slammed the door to the back seat behind him was Conner jumping into the front seat and starting the car.

  They had barely peeled out away from the pumps when Lita turned to look out the back window. He wanted to be prepared for pursuit even though he knew the SUV wouldn’t get far with the shot-up radiator. He needn’t have worried because he only had a moment to see the black SUV before it careened into another set of pumps. There was no instant explosion like Hollywood displayed.
That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be an explosion, though. Lita subconsciously counted the seconds. By the time he reached five, the pumps exploded as if they’d been hit by a rocket launcher.

  Randy jumped in his seat when the pumps exploded. He had been glancing in the rearview mirror, but seeing the explosion didn’t stop his body from reacting. It didn’t stop him from swerving, either. He jerked the wheel hard and got the car back on the road. Randy finally spared a glance in his rearview mirror to look at his partner after they were several miles down the interstate. Lita didn’t look rattled even though Randy was sure the man’s adrenaline was just as high as his.

  Lita finally lifted his ass up enough to allow Burke to move her legs out from beneath him. He didn’t spare her a glance, but instead watched what he could see of Conner’s face in the rearview mirror. Conner didn’t seem shaken, but Lita thought the man’s constitution had more to do with being a Marine then experiencing a lot of shootouts as a US Marshal. Whatever the reason, though, Lita was grateful the guy hadn’t lost his shit when they were being shot at or having a break down now that their adrenaline rush was coming down.

  Randy glanced at Lita in the mirror and met his gaze. “You good?” Randy inquired before he forced his focus back to the road. His brief look at Lita showed the guy to be calm.

  “Peachy fucking keen,” Lita replied and gave Conner a smirk when he met the man’s gaze again in the mirror. “Hand me my jacket.”

  Lita’s request made Randy realize his ass was sitting on half of his partner’s leather jacket. He lifted his hips and pulled the jacket from beneath him before holding it up over the front seat. The heater was blasting and Randy was covered in adrenaline sweat. There was no way his partner could be cold. The sound of the clip being released and another locking into place explained Lita’s request.

  “That your only spare?” Randy asked because his extra clip was in his duffel bag in the trunk. A glance in the rearview mirror showed the man smirking at him again. Randy wasn’t sure if he found that smirk more frustrating and annoying or attractive. Regardless, now was not the time to decide.