Saint enjoyed her closeness. The fading notes of her distinctive perfume played over his senses like the soft teasing notes of a jazz tune. “I think you just want to share my scintillating company.”
“I think you’re right.”
Her eyes and sexy voice made him hard as a beam. He needed to find them a bed as soon as possible. Yes, he was on a job, and yes, he was supposed to be on business, but the woman cuddled next to him was making it difficult to concentrate on anything but her. With that in mind, and the realization that taking this off-road had not been a good idea, Saint made another executive decision. “Okay, enough of this drunkard’s path. Let’s find the highway, the GPS says it shouldn’t be far.”
“Hallelujah.”
Saint loved her exuberance. “If the police show up, we’ll deal with it, somehow, and if more cockroaches show up we’ll just step on them.”
“Did you know a cockroach can live a week without its head?”
He laughed. “And you heard that, where?”
“One of my science teachers. She swore it was true.”
Shaking his head, Saint turned his attention to the GPS to plot their course. I need to give you a quick tour of this dashboard just in case something happens to me.” So while he drove he acquainted her with all the bells and whistles. He finished up by showing her how to deploy Lily’s missiles and the red button that set the firing cycle in motion. When he was satisfied that she knew as much about Lily as he did, they drove on.
They reconnected with Interstate 75 just outside of London, Kentucky, which according to all the roadside signs was the gateway to the Daniel Boone National Forest. Because of the late hour, traffic on the highway was light. Narice looked out of the window beside her. The area around the highway was pitch black, but off in the distance were the twinkling lights of towns and cities. She wondered about the people using those lights: who they were, what they did and believed. She doubted any of them would believe the ride she’d been on since burying her daddy; she was finding it hard to believe herself.
Saint looked her way. “Penny for your thoughts.”
“Just thinking about all that’s happened since my father died. You. The Majesty. Cockroaches.”
“It’s been interesting. You’ve been interesting, too. You’re one of a kind, Madam Jordan.”
“That’s probably a good thing. The world doesn’t need more thirty-seven-year-old women driving Cadillacs through store windows.”
“You came through like the cavalry, though.”
The praise in his voice warmed her. “Glad I could help a brother out.”
They rode in silence for the next few miles, but Saint was very aware of her presence. He knew that adrenaline sometimes stoked the libido and he’d be the first to admit that, yes, he’d sampled a few honeys while caught up in dangerous situations more than few times, but being around this Brainiac woman with her curvy body, gorgeous mouth, and fearless ways had his heat turned up like a furnace. “How about some music?”
Narice thought that an excellent idea. Now that they’d left Ridley and that sorry excuse for a road behind, music would be nice. She clicked on the light on her side of the console and looked through the cache of CDs in the console. Seeing a Grover Washington made her smile. The legendary sax player was one of her favorite jazz musicians and always good on a nighttime drive.
Narice leaned forward to put in the CD when out of nowhere came the angry roar of helicopter rotors. Her panicked eyes flew to the windows.
“Can you see it?” Saint yelled while quickly checking his mirrors.
“On my side! Tree high.”
He growled a curse and floored the accelerator. “I should have killed Ridley when I had the chance.” He cursed again.
Narice could see the black chopper flying above the shoulder of the road and parallel to their position. It kept pace; a lurking, ominous presence.
An angry Saint had had enough cockroaches for one day. At this rate, he and Narice were never going to find that bed.
When the helicopter made no move to approach, Narice asked, “Why’s it just laying back like that?”
The reason appeared a heartbeat later. Another helicopter swooped in and showed itself on Saint’s side. “Reinforcements.”
“Then that means they’re scared of us.”
Saint grinned. “I like the way you think, angel mine.”
For a moment, the endearment made Narice forget all about helicopters and cockroaches. Although she knew better than to read anything deep into the words, she was touched just the same. However all that was set aside as the helicopters swung out of position and headed towards the Caddy. “Here they come!”
“I see ’em. Tighten your belt. This baby doesn’t have airbags.”
Her eyes widened. “Why not?!”
“You can’t drive away from the bad guys with an airbag in your face.”
She stared, then because she couldn’t help it, she laughed at his logic. “Remind me to never elope with you again.”
“Hey, you love this.”
What sounded like metal rain began hitting the car. Narice ducked instinctively. “No, I don’t. I don’t like being shot at.” She knew the vehicle was bulletproof, but it didn’t matter to her innate sense of self-preservation.
Saint didn’t like being shot at either. Never had. More bullets strafed Lily’s armored body; others struck vehicles nearby. The chopper pilots didn’t seem to care where their bullets went. In the rearview mirror Saint saw a mustang rolling behind them in the middle lane. The sleek Ford was moving fast, trying to get the hell away from the choppers when suddenly there was an explosion that sent chunks of pavement and the underlying steel rods flying into the air. The road turned into a fireball. The mustang veered crazily and spun out into the median. “That was a missile!”
Narice’s eyes widened. “A missile?”
“Yeah, those bastards are shooting missiles!” Saint knew that Lily was equipped with a variety of built-in weapons; James Bond’s rides had nothing on her, but her guns weren’t meant to bring down a helicopter, let alone two. Lily did have something on board that might even the odds, though. “We’ve got to get off this road!”
Narice agreed. She looked back helplessly at the now burning mustang and then angrily out at the choppers on their tail. What kind of people use missiles on a public interstate? The kind that burned your father in his bed, a voice in her head reminded her.
Saint kept the pedal on the floor while swerving all over the road. Lily was now rolling at plus 100 mph.
Narice watched the choppers flying in and out of their path like deadly dragonflies. They let fly another missile. It missed—barely, but did hit a semi rolling in the right-hand lane. While the trucker fought to keep the rig on the road, the trailer burst into flame.
The choppers’ ammo was now coming at them like something out of a war zone. Narice was tight-lipped as she held on to her seat. Saint was driving like a bat out of hell and Lily didn’t miss a beat. Narice thanked the lord for General Motors and building Lily like a brick house.
Saint knew that with any luck one of the other drivers had already called 911. Ridley’s diplomatic status wasn’t going to matter in this situation; this part of the country was small-town America. The local police were not going to be happy with a helicopter shooting missiles at its citizens, no matter the cause.
For now, though, he and Narice were on their own and the choppers were flying close enough for them to see the pilot’s grin in the dim light of his cockpit. Saint shouted over the din of the rotors. “I’m going to head into those trees. Then I want you to take the wheel.”
“Okay.” At the speed they were traveling she had no idea how such an exchange would be accomplished, but she was sure he had a plan.
Apparently the choppers didn’t want the Caddy to head into the trees and used the machine-gun fire to try and stop it. Saint kept driving. While one copter continued to fire, its companion swooped down and attempted to ram
them. Saint turned the wheel sharply and sped through a fence and towards the safety of the trees. The copter had no option but to increase altitude or collide with the dark branches.
Under the protective canopy of night-shrouded green, Saint stopped the Caddy and threw open his door. “Change places with me. Quick now, angel.”
Narice didn’t have to be told twice. Outside, she ran around, jumped in, and slammed the door. Belt on, she waited and watched him climb into the back. She listened for the choppers while watching Saint lift the lid on a large black footlocker.
“Should I start driving?” Seeing him pull out what looked like military hardware made her ask, “What’s that?”
“Grenade launcher. Let’s see how they like being shot at.”
Narice went still. “Grenade launcher?”
“Yeah. No more questions. Have to work now.”
The work involved putting the weapon together. He did it so quickly and efficiently; it was real obvious he’d done it before. She wondered what other weapons of mass destruction he had on board.
The choppers sounded above. Narice craned her head to try and spot them through the windshield, but saw nothing.
By now Saint was done. He and his piece were ready. The concern on Narice’s face made him pause but he was too well disciplined to be distracted by it. “I want you to take off towards that open field just as fast as you can drive. Stay close to the trees. If anything happens to me, get the hell out of here, okay?”
“Not okay. We’re a team, remember?”
“Not if I’m blown away.”
“Didn’t we already do this rescue thing once tonight?”
He shook his head. “Why are Black women so hard-headed?”
“No idea.”
Amusement and affection shone from behind the dark glasses. “See you in a minute.”
“Be careful.”
He shot her a smile then disappeared into the night.
Narice took off towards the field, bumping over the uneven terrain. There was no way she was going to leave him behind—under any circumstances. She supposed her confidence stemmed from being a novice at this intrigue stuff. If she had more experience maybe she’d be more inclined to follow his orders, but right now, she didn’t know enough to save her own neck.
The sounds of the helicopter swooping down instantly scared Narice back to reality. Driving fast, she careened across the open terrain in front of a low-flying chopper. Its predator lights gave the inside of the Caddy an eerie glow. She was the bait. Prayers went up that a missile wouldn’t blow her to bits, and that Saint wouldn’t miss.
The ground to her left suddenly exploded and she screamed. The aftershock shook the Caddy, but Narice somehow kept herself together enough not to crash into the trees, some of which were now ablaze.
Another explosion shook the world, then another and another, sending fire and chunks of grass and debris into her path. By now, she was a cussing, screaming crying mess, but she swung the wheel hard, doing donuts, one-eighties, and three-sixties in her mad dash to stay out of the way.
Suddenly the biggest explosion yet assaulted her ears, and in her mirror she saw fire in the sky. Her shouts of joy filled the cabin. Pieces of burning and twisted metal began to fall, hitting the roof, the ground. She powered Lily back the way they’d come. Some poor farmer was going to be real mad when he came out in the morning and found tire tracks and dead chopper parts all over his field, but right now he wasn’t on Narice’s list of concerns. All she wanted to do was find Saint and get the hell away from this place.
Saint grimly waited for the second chopper to appear but it instead rose up into the night sky and headed south. Apparently the pilot didn’t want to share the fate of its friend. Saint was glad. There’d been enough mayhem for one night.
When he looked up, Narice had the Caddy’s door open and she was running to him. He swooped her up with one arm and held her close. He could feel her tears wetting his face. He dropped the launcher and hugged her even closer. “You okay?”
She nodded.
He kissed the tears in her eyes. He was so proud of how she’d handled herself. Seeing that she was indeed in one piece was worth every dollar he’d ever made in this business “You sure?”
She ran her hand down his bearded cheek. “Yes. Are you?”
“Now I am.”
He pulled her in against him again and the kiss that followed was inevitable and wonderful and oh-so-welcome. Off in the distance sirens could be heard. Saint eased his lips from hers and murmured against her ear. “Time to go, angel.”
She responded by kissing him again with such sweetness, he groaned and whispered, “Stop it woman. We need to split.”
But he couldn’t fit actions to words. The taste of her lips, the feel of her soft body pressed against him made him want to stand there until sunrise. That was out of the question, though, so he placed his hands on her waist, lifted her bodily and gently set her down a few inches away. “Let’s go.”
She grinned. He grabbed up the launcher and they raced back to the Caddy.
Saint shot the stick into first. Leaving behind the burning carcass of the crashed helicopter, they headed out of the field. Once Lily had pavement under the wheels again, he took the speed up.
In Narice’s door mirror she could see dozens of flashing red and blue lights pulsating in the darkness behind them. “Here come the cavalry.”
Saint took the speedometer up to eighty-five. “And we’re getting out of Dodge.”
Saint looked over at Narice. No words could describe how impressed he was by her. With her elegant and unorthodox ways, she’d already stolen a big chunk of his heart. When the time came for them to go their separate ways he would miss her a lot. The thought of never seeing her again didn’t sit well, he realized. Usually he had no problem cutting ties to people he met on the job. “You did real good back there.”
“I was scared stupid. I never want to do that again. Ever.” Memories of the earth exploding around her made her fight off a shiver of delayed reaction. “I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life.”
He chuckled in the darkness. “Lean over here a minute.”
When she did, he kissed her softly, fully. “Damn good.”
He went back to driving. She settled in and enjoyed the way his praise warmed her insides, but the darkness of the last hour hovered on the edges of her consciousness like the copters hovering over the highway. She hoped the driver of the Mustang had gotten out before the fire, but she was less charitable about the chopper pilot.
A while later, they drove past a large highway sign that welcomed them to the State of Tennessee. “Are we going to stop?” She was hoping for a nice soft bed.
“Just for gas. I want to be in Atlanta by morning.”
“Then what?”
“Get a room, lose ourselves for a day or so, get our bearings, grab some sleep….”
The tone of his voice on the word sleep piqued Narice’s interest. “Sleep, huh?”
“Yeah, you know—like in a bed.”
“I thought cheetahs slept in trees?”
He gave her a slow grin. “Not when there’s a lioness around.”
Even in the dark that smile of his stroked her. “Do you know where this bed in Atlanta is going to be?”
“How about something five-star for the lady?”
Narice liked that idea. She was so tired and sleepy she’d almost trade the grenade launcher for a good meal and a long hot soak in a tub filled with scented bubbles. “Shouldn’t we be in some hole in-the-wall hotel keeping it on the down low?”
“Yes, and it’ll be the first place Ridley will look. By the time he and his people figure it out and run us down, we should be checked out and on our way to the Okefenokee.”
Narice didn’t know if she agreed with that logic, but since he was the secret agent, she deferred to his expertise. “Well, we should share the drive. Atlanta’s almost three hundred miles from here.”
Saint look
ed at the numbers on the map she’d brought up on the green scope of the GPS. “I can handle it,” he said easily. “I’ll set the cruise and we’ll be there in no time.
Narice was again skeptical, after all they were both too tired for words, but she didn’t argue.
Saint wasn’t worried at all. He had driven longer distances on less sleep hundreds of times. He appreciated Narice’s offer to help with the drive, but with flying cockroaches on their trail he needed to be behind the wheel. Narice was a damned good driver, but he was trained. That the choppers were carrying missiles still blew him away. Ridley and his crew were playing hardball, which meant this chess game was only going to get uglier. The rocket launcher caught them with their pants down, though, just like he’d hoped. The knowledge that the chopper had flown off in a southerly direction did not bode well.
As the night hours passed, Saint drove from Jellico to Knoxville and then through the mountains to Chattanooga. One hundred and eight miles after leaving Chattanooga, they rolled into Atlanta.
The fact that she and Saint were still in one piece was cause for champagne, Narice decided, and planned to order some just as soon as they got to where they were going. It was early morning in Atlanta and the city was just waking up. She on the other hand wanted to sleep so badly she didn’t care if it was on a street corner, but as he’d promised, Saint drove the scarred and battered Lily up to the gold and glass doors of one of the city’s most prestigious hotels. She looked the place over and smiled. “I’ve stayed here before. Very classy choice, Cyclops.”
“How about the best suite in the house?”
“Fine with me. Can we afford it?”
“Yep.”
“Will they give us a room, though? We’re not exactly freshly dressed.” With her travel-wrinkled shorts and blouse, and him in that coat, they’d be lucky to get a room at the Y.
He cut the engine and turned her way. “Quit worrying.”
“Okay,” she said skeptically.
While a blue-uniformed doorman waited patiently by the Caddy’s closed doors, Saint ran his eyes over her lips and thought about the kisses he planned on enjoying later on.
The Edge of Dawn Page 19
