by Dale Mayer
“Right. So maybe give it to the source that might be able to help.”
She sent him a wry glance. “You mean the government.”
He shrugged. “I know they have a bad rap in many ways but they aren’t all bad, and they are trying to save lives. Our soldiers’ lives.”
“I’m not sure what I’m allowed to do,” she said quietly. “I’ll need to talk to my Ph.D. committee and see what their understanding is with Tenesco.” She rubbed her temple.
“I can’t see Tenesco liking any government interference.” Then his voice changed as he added, “Unless it’s a government contract as their money is good and the contracts lucrative.”
She blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“But we’d have to make sure the company isn’t behind the deaths or the espionage.”
“Lord, I hope not. I’ve really enjoyed working here. Thought they were honorable. But there are always a few people who are much less so. But maybe the old owners were and after the takeover, not so much.”
“Or the reverse. Nothing can be determined right now. In fact, I think we’ve been here long enough.” He stopped and cocked his head. “Is there a back way out of the building?”
“Actually there is,” she said in surprise. “I used to use it to avoid a coworker.”
He stilled. “What coworker?”
“Dave. He had a thing for me and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Why haven’t we heard about Dave before?” He tried to tone down the harsh tone, but it was damn hard when he was only just now getting this information. Cell phone in hand, he was already texting his team. “What was Dave’s last name, when did he work here, what was his relationship with the rest of the company?”
Startled, she gave a half laugh. “It was nothing, honest. I have no idea what his relationship was here, but he was gone months and months ago.”
“Before the day is over, we’ll know,” he said. “Let’s grab what you need and leave. We’re late.”
“Late for what,” she asked in bewilderment. “Where are we going?”
“Out. We’ve been here too long.” And instinct was screaming at him to run. Now. He peered into the hallway while she packed up her laptop.
“We need to go,” he snapped, turning back to find out what was taking her so long.
She was back at her desk and clicking buttons. Then she pulled out drawers to collect her belongings. She grabbed up the pages she’d collected off the floor and stuffed them into her bag.
“Hurry.”
“I’m almost done,” she cried softly. “It needs another minute.” She stared up at him, her eyes huge orbs. “What’s wrong and why the panic now?”
“Instinct,” he said in a clipped voice. “And we’re going, now.” He grabbed her arm and led her out the door still protesting. “Which way to the back exit?”
Finally, as if understanding the urgency driving him, she turned to the right, the opposite direction Candice had gone and said, “This way.”
Chapter 21
HER HEART POUNDING from his urgency, she almost ran down the hallway, her large bag with her laptop and papers under one arm and her purse slung over her other arm. This day was not turning out the way she’d expected it to. Not that she had much of an inkling of the day ahead except running away from bad guys was not it. Why would they be here? Again the stupid information was on the computer system. Any decent hacker would be able to get it.
She took the stairs and led Dane down to the maintenance level. With any chemical research there were huge HVAC systems and the maintenance room was a decent size. With a small back door. Thankfully the room was empty. She led him to the door and opened it, only to have him abruptly drag her back. She glared at him but he wasn’t watching. He peered around the corner of the door to check that it was safe.
Because of that she ignored his high-handedness. It was hard to get upset when the man was protecting her.
“Okay, let’s go.”
He reached behind for her and together, holding hands they raced out. They had another corner to navigate before they reached the parking lot. He’d parked at the very back where it was hidden by large trees. Smart man.
No – experienced man in shitty situations. Did he ever turn off? Could he ever? Or did he live a life of constant danger? Of always being under attack. That had to be wearing. And hard mentally.
Not an easy way to live for any of them.
“Are you okay?” she asked him.
He turned and looked at her. Was that surprise lighting those so very magnetic eyes. “Of course. Why?”
How to explain? “It just seems like you’re never relaxed. You’re always on guard. Always looking for enemies out there.”
“I am,” he said gently. “There are people after you, remember.”
She smiled. “And thank you for taking such good care of me.” In a quick shift of mood, she reached up and kissed his cheek. “I mean that.”
“How about you thank me again later,” he said, his voice low and velvety soft. “And I’ll show you how much I want to keep you alive.”
She grinned. “You’ve got a deal.” She laughed. “I guess that means I’ll be alive for a little while longer then if you have any say in it.”
He laughed. “Now if that were only so easy.” He froze, his arm shooting out and shoving her behind him. She waited, crouched against the wall, her heart beating like an imprisoned butterfly.
Then suddenly, her hand was grabbed. He whispered, “Run, now.” And together they raced straight ahead. She didn’t dare look at what had bothered him, afraid that if she saw someone they’d see her too. There was a long line of trees at the parking lot. He pulled her to a stop in the middle of the greenbelt and studied the surroundings.
“Wait.”
She gasped to catch her breath, her heart still slamming against her rib cage. All she wanted now was to be back in the safe house. This was not how she wanted to live.
At his motion, they walked quickly to the SUV. He unlocked it and walked to the driver’s side. Casual and unconcerned. She tried to match it but it was damn hard. The sun was shining and the blue sky above made her wonder how such darkness could lie undetected in the world that seemed so nice otherwise.
Once inside, he started up the engine and pulled the big rig out of the parking lot. He made a strangled sound then made a sharp left and quickly picked up speed. She stared behind them, trying to see what bothered him.
“What was wrong back there?”
“One of the men we saw in Germany was speaking with another man out front.”
She slowly digested that news. “The offices are closed.”
“Right, but the one man appeared to be in a business suit so whether it was a private meeting or an accidental meeting I don’t know, but…”
“I’m not a big believer in coincidences,” she said. Twisting back around she studied his hard jaw. “I gather neither are you?”
“No, I’m not and I don’t like to leave anything to chance.”
Right. Of course not. She loved that he was so take charge, never leave anything to chance type of guy. It made her feel safe. Secure. “Where are we going?”
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Not home, that’s for sure.”
She spun again and looked behind her. “Are we being followed?”
“That black car has been on our tail since we pulled out of the parking lot.”
“I didn’t see it there.”
“It wasn’t. It was parked out front.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice. “I never noticed.”
“Well, it saw us, whether it has identified you or me I can’t say, but they are staying wonderfully close.”
“As in making a mistake of staying too close?”
“No, they are used to this. As in pros.”
Pros. Oh shit. Then another thought occurred to her. “Any chance they are on our side?”
He grinned. “Yes, actually
, a good one. But I’m not going to get a chance to find out.” He took a sudden turn to the left and pulled into a huge mall. He whipped into a covered parking roundabout and then up several levels before pulling into an empty spot and parked. Then he tugged her down so they couldn’t be seen from the back.
“That’s a little too simple, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but they are going to be whipping up here pretty damn fast too.”
Sure enough, another vehicle came racing up behind them, tires squealing, and past them before they were seen.
Dane, a feral grin on his face, said, “Got him.”
*
DANE REVERSED THE big SUV back down two turns to the exit on the far side. He whipped across, down and back out onto the street. It happened so fast, he wondered if she understood what he’d done. He was in the middle of the traffic and bearing right then left and out onto the highway where he needed to go. And still weaving until he figured he was safe again, only then did he slow.
“Are you done?” she asked in a shaky voice.
He glanced over at Marielle, surprised to see her gripping the door as if she was afraid she’d be launched out of the vehicle. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
She shook her head. The motion too fast, too strong and a little too wild. Reaching across, he held out his hand, waiting for her to place her hand in it. She did slowly. He squeezed her hand gently then laced his fingers with hers. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. At least now you know we were being followed.”
“Hmmm.” He checked out the rearview mirror followed by another look at the side mirror. No one was on their tail. “It looks like we’re clear.”
“Ya think?” She snorted and took a quick look out the back window. “I couldn’t follow you, and I’m inside the vehicle, so I can’t imagine anyone else being able to.”
He laughed. “Dodging a tail is not exactly something we’re taught to do, but over time we’ve gotten good at it.” He glanced behind and laughed. “Besides, Hawk and Shadow, are still with us – what a piece of work he is.”
“You’re really close to the team, aren’t you?” She smiled at him as she looked for Hawk behind them.
“Team, squad, brothers, we’ve been called a lot of names.” He changed lanes, using only one hand, the other still holding hers. “They are my brothers in every way that counts. We’ve been together for a long time. I’ve never trusted anyone as much as I trust them. There are others in our group, but I love working with these guys.”
“You all have an obvious bond.”
“We’ve been through a lot together,” he admitted. “But we’re stronger for it.”
“And I appreciate it. You’ve all done a lot for me. I’m grateful.”
Hell, gratitude was the last thing he wanted from her. She fascinated him. He wanted her in a big way but so far outside of a chaste kiss, she’d shown no real interest. No, that wasn’t true. She’d shown interest. He was the one holding back in that he didn’t want her to be another one night stand. He wanted what his buddies had. Someone special. For life.
He hated to admit it but for the first time, he was jealous of his buddies. And hated to feel that way. They were all good men and deserved to have the woman of their dreams. That each had that special woman fall into his lap just added to his mixed feelings.
In his world, there were always women, waiting and willing on a nightly basis. Sometimes more than one at a time. He’d never lacked for sexual partners. In a way, sex had turned into a sport. It was only now he realized he was tired of the same game.
He didn’t want it to be a game anymore. He didn’t want to play at it anymore. Or even have sex, he wanted to make love. Have the person he was with be the best thing that had ever happened to him and wake up to her every day for the rest of his life. When he’d entered the military, just the thought of all the willing women had made his day. He’d taken full advantage of it. Way more than his share. They all had.
But it wasn’t the same anymore.
He wanted more. So much more.
The question now was – who was Marielle to him? Besides someone he already cared about – what did she want? Did what she want have anything to do with him longer than a one night stand?
Lord, he hoped so.
Chapter 22
“YOU’VE GONE SO quiet,” Marielle said, her fingers still linked in his. She loved the contact. “Did I say something wrong?”
He laughed. “Not at all.” He squeezed her fingers then let go so he could turn on the radio. She settled back to listen to the country twang that filled the inside of the vehicle. He was a country music lover? Interesting. She wished he’d hold her hand again though. The world didn’t seem as scary when she had him.
She shifted slightly closer, gaining comfort in his presence. He was a good man.
She was due something special in her life. But was he going to be the one to fit the job? She’d never been that lucky before. Her boyfriends had been average, not knockouts like Dane. Hell, the whole team were that same alpha male that women went nuts over. She’d always backed away from thinking that there’d be a way she could compete so now she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to compete – she wanted there to be no competition. Just him and her. And that was a dream of all dreams. And so not happening.
She gave a slight snicker at the thought.
He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Hey, what was that for?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me,” he said quietly. “Everything you do matters.”
“Really?” She looked over at him hopefully then realized what he meant. “Of course it matters. It might pertain to our current nightmare.”
“Not just that,” he said. “I care.”
But he wouldn’t say anymore.
She was desperate to push but knew better. She backed off completely. The SUV moved at a steady pace and for the second time she realized she had no idea where she was in a city she knew well. She tried to read the road signs, but they were moving at such a fast clip it was hard to do. Instead of putting a crick in her neck she leaned back and closed her eyes.
She was still so damn tired. This mad panic then calm then panic, it was wearing her down.
“Have a nap. We’re still fifteen to twenty minutes from the house.”
“That far still?”
“Yes, when I was evading the tail I ended up going in the opposite direction for a bit. By the time we backtracked we’re still out a good fifteen miles or so.”
“Interesting. I couldn’t place where we were and I’m still lost.” She yawned. “And I’m still so damn tired.”
“Sleep,” he encouraged. “You don’t need to do anything right now but rest. As we never know when we’ll have to run again, you need to power nap to keep up your strength.”
“Or we could just go home and have this all go away.” She watched as a huge stand of popular trees flashed by. “Everything out there looks so normal. How can that be?”
“For ninety-nine percent of the world, it is normal. Just your normal isn’t theirs. Right now your world has flipped. It will right itself but could take a little longer than you’d like.”
“It already has.”
She closed her eyes for several minutes and forced herself to think of pleasant things. Her eyes popped open. “Would someone remember to feed Masters?” Then she realized what she’d said and giggled. “Considering that no one has been texting you like mad over a psycho cat wanting food, I guess all is fine at home.”
He laughed. “That tomcat is just fine. Besides, you’ll see him in a few minutes.” He turned the SUV to the left and then a quick right.
She recognized the street and the long line of pretty maple trees lining the block. “The trees here are beautiful.”
“They are.” He pulled the SUV into the driveway and turned off the engine.
“We’re home.”
“If that’s what you call it.” She hopp
ed out, grabbed her bag and walked to the front door. And found the door ever so slightly open. She backed up one step then another. “Dane?”
“Get behind me,” he snapped, pulling his gun out from behind his back.
A gun she just now noticed. He pushed the door open and took a half step inside, gun at the ready. She tucked in behind him. Surely with all the men here nothing could have gone wrong. Masters. Oh no. She’d left him behind. If anyone had seen him they’d know she was here.
Was Masters okay? She wanted to race inside and find him but knew she had to let Dane go first. She needed to take some self-defense courses if she survived.
And that was what she’d just wanted to explain to Dane. Under the curtain of normalcy this nightmare continued. Life was so normal looking. And at times normal feeling – but in reality her world was a long way from normal. It was a light veneer of normality that was fake. She’d get comfortable and think the danger was over then something else would happen and she’d be caught up in the same damn terror.
Panic, calm, panic. Her body was ready to stay in panic mode and that couldn’t be a good thing.
“Psst.”
Startled she looked over at Dane. He was motioning for her to come behind him. She took several steps, her heart in her throat. She didn’t want to know what was inside, but could hardly stay outside. She took a deep breath and ran up to him. He reached out and grabbed her hand and tugged her up against him. He crept around the corner. She followed.
An odd noise sounded from deep inside the house. She swallowed. Had Hawk returned with them? Was he back up in the tree where he’d been earlier? She hoped so but where were the others? Always watching. Always on guard. Shadow and Hawk had taken those roles more often than not, but then who was here now?
Then she heard a sound that chilled her heart.
A loud meow. She went to race past Dane, but he grabbed her and tugged her backwards. “Stay here.”
She glared at him, but he forced her behind him as he did a thorough sweep of the downstairs. No one and nothing. In the kitchen Masters was sitting on the counter, his tail flicking in irritation. “Oh, I think he’s hungry.”