“Probably Ward’s guys, even though they moved more like muscle than trained operatives. He was connected enough to have good eyes on Vegas and would have found out by now if we were there. Those guys seemed more second string. I can see them sending a few lackeys back to make sure we didn’t do exactly what we did. We simply got lucky our hostess doesn’t like assholes.”
So he’d seen the woman’s wave as well.
The afternoon was headed toward evening now, which is what they got for spending most of the morning in bed. Just the thought of it warmed her cheeks, her body. “So tonight we camp again?”
He nodded ruefully. “At least we got one night in a real bed.” He made a production of lifting one eyebrow, trying to look salacious and made her laugh in response. Just as he’d intended. Just as he seemed to do whenever she needed it.
She shook a finger at him. “I’m game for many things, Ethan Masters, but I’m too old to shag on the ground or in the back of a Jeep.”
He grinned in return. “Well, it’s totally your loss, but I guess we’ll just have to cuddle.”
She snorted, and, with the mood lightened, spread the map they’d bought what seemed like forever ago across the hood of the Jeep. “So where to?”
He stood behind her, caging her in as he braced his hands on the hood.
She leaned back into the warmth, the solidity of his body as they scanned the terrain.
“Are we agreed on Albuquerque?” he asked, his voice a rumble against her ear that sent chills through her body.
“Yeah,” she said. “Even if they figure it out, they’ll think we went straight there, rather than pit stopping somewhere else.”
He leaned in more, pressing her against the grill, pressing against her with his hips and unmistakable erection. She had a flash of them christening the hood of the Jeep and turned her head so her mouth grazed his ear. “Behave.”
He chuckled until she caught the lobe of his ear in her teeth, making him groan. “No fair, woman.”
She pressed a palm to his chest and he stepped back a pace, still keeping her within the loop of his arms.
“What do you think of Corona?” he asked, all business now, as he pointed to it on the map. “Looks like there’s forested areas here as well, just like in Capitan. And it’s close enough to a town that we can get cell service if we need it.”
She nodded. “Let’s do it. And then tomorrow morning, we both call in. After that we can ditch the burner, just in case.” After folding the map, she turned in his arms. “Kiss for good luck?”
He obliged and more than made her afternoon.
Just like two nights ago, it was dark by the time they found their foresty haven. The road was more well-traveled than he’d thought it would be, and then he saw the signs for UFO crash sites and realized that these were Fest attendees from Roswell heading for the forties crash sites, hoping for a glimpse in the here and now.
He and Natalie couldn’t have planned for better cover.
They repeated their actions from two nights ago, setting up the sleeping bags, putting together a light meal, but this time as a team, and it was flawless. So simple and smooth that, just like this morning, he wished it could go on forever.
But it couldn’t. Their relationship, so to speak, had an expiration date, and it was fast approaching. He could feel it in his bones.
So when they slipped into the doubled-up sleeping bag together and he spooned her from behind, he savored every second of feeling her long, lithe body against his, and prayed for the night to last a little longer.
Morning came too quickly, and with it the aches and pains of sleeping in the back of the Jeep. It didn’t matter how much padding you put on it, metal was still metal.
While Natalie took care of her morning business, he surveyed the last remnants of food in the cooler. It had seemed like so much at the time, enough to get them through days and days on the road.
The almost-empty Coleman was like a sign. That he’d been right, and he needed to go the rest of this alone. But it chafed at him. He liked partnering with her. They were good together in more ways than one, and in her mind, that was still more valuable than going solo. But her father could take better care of her than he ever could, so finding a way to reconnect with the man now that someone had found them seemed like the right thing to do.
It all depended on what her father and Rob had to say this morning.
Natalie emerged from the trees, and the sight of her made something inside him settle in contentment. She moved with that innate grace she’d had since the moment he saw her on the helideck, but know he knew the strength of her body, the core of integrity that ran so deep within.
Birds were starting to chirp in the trees, signaling the beginning of a new day.
“You ready for this?” Ethan asked and as he said the words he was tempted to say to hell with it, that they should just hit the road for a few more days. But at the very least they needed to make contact.
“Sure. Your boss first?”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’ll put it on speaker. But after we talk to both of them, I want to strategize for us. They’re just giving us advice, okay?”
She nodded, a short, sharp dip of her head, and knew they were on the same page.
He dialed Rob. “It’s Masters. You’re on speaker with Natalie and me. We’re in a safe location. What do you have for me?”
The voice that answered wasn’t Rob’s perpetual growl. Instead it was his former partner Cristine O’Connor. “Dude, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?”
“Cris,” he said, a smile on his face. She’d recently gone through a hellish situation of her own, come out of it on top, with her past exorcized and a new man in her life. She was happier than he’d ever seen her. He looked at Natalie. “Cris is my former partner and served with the Texas Rangers.” He paused. “Cris, Natalie Flynn is here with me. I’m going to assume that Rob’s read you in on everything.”
“He has,” Cris answered, “and is in the room right now with me and so is Linc.”
“Understood, give us a minute and I’ll call you back.” He disconnected the call, turned his attention to Natalie. “Cris is my former partner. Linc is the head of the Oklahoma City office of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and Cris’ mentor. I’m not totally thrilled to have him in on this, but I trust Cris’ judgement. If she thinks he can help us, it’s legit.”
Natalie pondered his words, then nodded. “He may have avenues we don’t. Different contacts than Arrow.”
“About that,” he added, “Cris’ father is Christian O’Connor,” he clarified. Cris’ father was a Texas state senator and had more pull than anyone Ethan had ever met. Including Greg Flynn.
“Well shit,” Natalie replied. “He’s probably working with my father on this, then. Dad has people in the legislatures in every state in the union. It’s how we operate.” She shook her head. “I’m not so sure about this.”
“Cris is solid,” he reiterated, “but I understand your concern. Just like before, we won’t tell them where we are, and we’ll keep calls as short as possible. That’s why I hung up rather than muting, okay?”
She blew out a breath. Nodded. “It’s worth a shot.”
“Okay. Now let’s see what Cris and crew have to say.”
He redialed, put the phone on speaker again. “We’re back. What do you have?”
“You two are very, very popular right now. There was some chatter that you kidnapped Ms. Flynn, but that got beaten back pretty quickly, by the Marshals, no less. Not sure what they saw or heard, but now you’re just the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Congrats.”
Jesus. Ethan met Natalie’s gaze, and as he did, knew what had turned the Marshals against the kidnapping concept. Their kiss. They’d interviewed everyone in the campground and been told about their kiss on the picnic bench. The RV had been clean, no signs of a struggle, no restraints, none of the things that might point to him taking Natalie hostage.
From the slight quirk t
o her lips, she’d come to the same conclusion.
“So nothing has changed,” he quipped. “We had visitors at our crash pad yesterday. Probably Ward’s goons making a sweep, but we got out anyway.” He paused, looked at Natalie. “We’re calling Greg Flynn after this, to see what intel he has before we make a decision.”
“About that,” Rob said, speaking up for the first time. “You’re going to love this, and it’s definitely info you need. The Dauphin landed in Santa Rosa, New Mexico in the wee hours last night. I put out feelers in the region when this all started, asked my contacts to spread the word. We got a hit about fifteen minutes ago. Seems this airport manager doesn’t want a helicopter that expensive sitting on his tarmac without an owner. He wants it gone as soon as possible.”
“That’s bullshit and probably a trap,” Ethan said. “All he had to do was run the tail number and he’d know it was Ward’s bird. With Ward being murdered, he should have called the cops right away, not you or one of your contacts.”
“True,” Rob replied, “but apparently there’s an airstrip not too far away that’s been known to have infrequent, non-logged flights coming in. The less the manager involves the feds, the happier all of his customers are going to be.”
“It still doesn’t track. It’s been four days since Petra lifted the chopper. Where the hell has she been?”
“No idea, Masters.” Rob replied, his voice a bit terse. “All I know is that your target is sitting on the tarmac, just waiting for someone to pick it up.”
Ethan could almost hear him shrug over the phone. “Your choice.”
He looked at Natalie, who was watching him steadily. “I’ll let you know what we decide,” he replied. “And thank you for everything, all of you.” Unfamiliar emotion clogged his throat. As much as he’d tried to hold himself apart from the Red River crew, when the chips were down, they’d come through.
“Take care, Ethan, and let me know if you need anything,” Cris said, and then Ethan terminated the call. He handed the phone over to Natalie. “Now let’s find out what Greg has to say.”
Chapter 12
Natalie held the phone for a moment. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear from her father. In a perfect world, it would be to hear that suspicion had been lifted from both of them, that the manhunt had been called off, that Petra had been found and it was all over.
But she knew it wasn’t going to happen. She so very rarely actually got what she wanted.
She dialed, put the phone on speaker. Knew the Arrow servers would begin tracing the call as soon as it went through, just like they had with the others. This time she’d stay on long enough for them to work.
“Flynn,” her father answered shortly, as well he should, since he didn’t know the number.
“It’s me,” she said. “We’re safe but had to move from our last location. I need an update.”
“Where are you?” he demanded.
“Safe, with Ethan,” she repeated. “What’s the situation?” She shouldn’t have to ask for a sitrep a second time, so something was going on.
“You’re anything but safe with him,” Greg growled. “He’s a degenerate gambler and alcoholic who rolled through almost a quarter of a mil in casinos and still owes his boss twenty-five grand. Who’s to say he’s not going to hold you hostage when it suits him?”
She watched Ethan’s face pale at the words, knew they were true, remembered he hadn’t touched a drink the entire time they’d been together, even though she’d had wine. Remembered his oh-so brief hesitation on going to Las Vegas.
And she knew, without him saying a word, what had driven him to that point.
That day in the desert where he’d followed orders and betrayed his own principles in doing so. The mission Ward and her father had hired him to perform.
Her stomach bottomed out. Not because she feared him. But because she could see every bit of those fateful moments playing out on his face. Saw the moment when he shut down. When he shut her out. And it made her so very cold inside.
“Natalie, are you there?” Greg’s tone was stern, but he also sounded…worried.
“I’m here. Before you say another word, I trust Ethan intrinsically. He could have betrayed me at almost any time in the last ninety-six hours and didn’t. At this point, I trust him more than I trust you, after the tracking incident.”
“It was for your safety,” he replied stiffly.
“Bullshit, it was for your convenience. Just like everything has been on this op. You sent me in to extract an assassin, so don’t even talk about my safety. Was there even a government contract for Ward’s info, or did I really commit corporate espionage?
Silence met her words.
So she filled it. With cold competency. Just like he’d taught her.
“None of that matters right now. What I need is a sitrep.”
Natalie reached out her free hand, twined her fingers through Ethan’s, gave them a squeeze.
He looked down at their hands, then back up at her, his face still expressionless, although his eyes were haunted. Then he squeezed back and part of her unclenched.
“Fine,” Greg said, all hints of fatherly love gone, if they’d ever truly been there. “You’re both still on most news stations, but it’s a rinse and repeat cycle. The Marshals have pulled back, but aren’t talking, which makes me think they’re still looking for you, but maybe not as suspects.”
“Material witnesses,” Ethan said, his voice positively frosty. “If Ward had cameras in his office, you can damn well bet the perv had them in his bedroom as well. It’s been long enough, they probably have Petra on camera killing him. Natalie and I are accessories, but since we didn’t pull the trigger, they’ve likely shifted to trying to find Petra before she flees the country.”
Damn, he was brilliant. And very likely correct.
“Did you have someone looking for us in Roswell?” Ethan asked before Natalie had even thought to go there.
“No. We’ve got people in Vegas, Albuquerque and Odessa actively looking for you, but we left Roswell after that first night.
“Can you have someone meet us in Santa Rosa, New Mexico in the next hour or so?” Ethan asked.
Natalie studied him through narrowed eyes. Why was he telling her father about the Dauphin?
“Natalie will be safer with Arrow assets than with me. Once I go it solo, I can start looking for Petra on my own.”
“Consider it done. And if you decide to come in with Natalie, we’ll cover you as well,” her father promised.
“I’ll pass,” Ethan replied, his voice still glacier cold.
Natalie extracted her fingers, stood and started to pace.
Damn him. He’d done this without talking it through with her. He’d made a decision for her, and it made him no better than her father.
She strode toward Ethan and the phone, cut it off without saying goodbye. Picked up the device and extracted the battery, then wheeled on him, her anger growing with each second.
“How could you do that?” she ground out, barely keeping herself from shouting. His betrayal stung. It didn’t matter if he thought it was safer or the better decision. He’d done it without her consent.
He stood, placed his hands on her shoulders, left them hovering for a long moment when she shrugged them off. “He’s not wrong, Natalie,” he said, his voice cold, that slow caramel accent gone hard. “I am an alcoholic, I am a gambler and I do owe twenty five thousand dollars to Rob. I did blow through almost a quarter of a million dollars. And I can’t take any of it back. Can’t do anything but put one foot in front of the other and try not to make the same mistakes again.
“I don’t want your future to hinge on my decisions. Especially if I make the wrong call again.”
As pissed as she was, her heart ached at his words. He was an operator at heart, just like her, and she knew she’d probably do the same thing he had if she doubted her own judgement.
But in this case she didn’t. She trusted him, his rock-solid d
emeanor, his sensibility, his safekeeping.
“We’re not splitting up in Santa Rosa. Either you come in with me, or we disappear together.” She made her tone no-nonsense. She still hadn’t forgiven him, but she could understand where he was coming from.
This time when he rested his hands on her shoulders she let him keep them there. “I need to do this, Natalie. I need you to be safe. Go with the Arrow assets and turn yourself in to the Marshals when the time is right. We don’t know who else is out there looking for us. The guys who showed up in Roswell weren’t your father’s men and they sure as hell weren’t Marshals or feds of any kind. They add unknown variables to this. They could be Ward’s men. Could be bounty hunters, could be Russian mob for all we know.” He ran his hands down her arms, clasped her hands. “You’ve got a life to live. That cushy job in the corner office whether it’s with Arrow or another company. You’ve done the work. Would be an asset to anyone as an operator.” His mouth quirked up in a ghost of a grin. “Don’t squander that life by sticking this out because you’re stubborn.”
She stepped back, stung by his words. Mostly because they made sense and she didn’t want them to. Even worse, she could feel him withdrawing with every word.
“We’ll see,” she said. “Now let’s go find your helicopter.”
Ethan knew he hadn’t swayed Natalie with his words, but dammit, he meant every single one of them. She had a future. He had a mountain of debt, a tragic credit rating and a studio apartment in a semi-shitty section of Oklahoma City. Them getting together over the course of this had been nature. Two strong personalities with an attraction that was off the charts. With the danger and adrenaline, it was to be expected. And he did have feelings for her, but they couldn’t be anything other than true affection. He couldn’t afford the distraction she’d make as he got back on his feet. And she couldn’t afford being attached to someone like him, not when her life had so many possibilities. So much potential, with or without her father’s company.
But saying the words was so damned hard that he struggled with them almost the entire way to Santa Rosa. The drive had been filled with staticky news and country music and not a whole lot of talking between the two of them. Maybe neither could find the words.
Broken Wings Page 12
