Decoded

by Debra Webb

  “But ask yourself this,” he went on as the desperate debate continued inside her.

  She didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. His words and the sound of his voice confused her. She tried to shake him from her head, tried to quiet the questions and doubts spinning out of control in her brain, but he just kept talking.

  “Why did I bring you with me?”

  The sirens were closer now. Just a few yards through those trees. She stared into the darkness, torn between running and facing his question.

  “You have no negotiation value. You’ll only slow me down.”

  Maggie closed her eyes and fought back the tears burning there.

  “She has never gotten this close.”

  Turning slowly to prevent the churning emotions from throwing her off balance, Maggie confronted him. “You want me to believe that you’re protecting me?” The notion was completely ridiculous. She wouldn’t even be here if not for him and his secrets that a master cryptographer couldn’t hope to decode. He had barged into her life, thrown out a baited hook and she had swallowed it without once stepping back and considering the consequences. He had consumed her existence, and his presence had put her in danger. How dare he blame their current dilemma on her! “That you’re doing me a favor?”

  “We’re running out of time, Maggie.”

  She glanced back in the direction they’d come. Part of her wanted to run… Sweet Jesus, why was she hesitating even for a second?

  “I don’t want you to die because of me.”

  Maggie tried to drag in a breath, but the new emotion crowded into her chest wouldn’t allow the air to reach its destination. Somehow his words struck a chord so deep she could not deny the note of sincerity in his voice. How could he possess such power over her?

  Cautiously closing the distance between them, Maggie made her decision. She would do what she had to do in order to ensure her child’s survival. Nothing else mattered. Her shoulders reared back and her chin lifted as the air sharply filled her chest. “I’ll go along with this for now, but as soon as it’s safe I never want to see you again. Is that clear?”

  “Fair enough,” he agreed.

  Slowly, he reached out and took her hand, his strong, warm fingers closing around her cold, trembling ones.

  For a fleeting moment they stood as still as stone. Then they ran.

  4:20 a.m.

  SLADE HAD PUT AS MUCH distance as possible between them and the motel, but Maggie was wearing down. She wouldn’t hold out much longer. The police would call in reinforcements in the form of a search team, if they hadn’t already. The motel clerk wouldn’t be able to provide their names since they hadn’t officially registered, but he could provide descriptions. Each passing second could mean the difference between escape and capture. And capture equated to certain death.

  Yet, the police were the least of his concerns. She wouldn’t back off simply because her two hired guns had failed. Her reinforcements would be close behind the authorities. Even if the police took Maggie into protective custody, they would never be able to protect her from the Dragon if she decided she wanted to hurt Maggie just to get to him.

  No one could…except Slade, and only if he didn’t allow another stupid mistake. He understood this creature who was his mother. Others thought they knew her, but they did not. She was ruthless. Human life meant nothing to her. Nothing was more sacred than the mission.

  Maggie stumbled, and Slade caught her before she hit the ground.

  “I have to stop a minute.” Breathless, she leaned against the nearest tree and wrapped her arms around herself. The wind was cold. Moving had kept them fairly warm so far.

  They needed daylight.

  Or some better luck.

  “Only for a minute.” Slade checked his cell to narrow down their position relative to the interstate. The motel hadn’t been that far from the highway, but their trek through the woods had, out of necessity, taken them in a different direction. If they could reach the on-ramp before the police issued an APB, they might be able to catch a ride with a passing trucker. Every mile they put between them and Chicago increased their chances of survival.

  Slade confirmed the direction they needed to take. “We gotta move.” He held out his hand. After a brief hesitation she placed hers there.

  Keeping her so close would make what he had to do that much more difficult, but, for now, he had no alternative. Her survival was his responsibility.

  The woods were thick, the canopy above scarcely parting here and there to allow a sliver of moonlight. The underbrush made moving forward difficult. Slade cut the path, pushing through the dense growth, allowing Maggie to have an easier go. Chances were she would see this as a thoughtful act when, in fact, it was nothing more than a way to ensure efficiency. If she slowed down or stopped, he would have to, as well.

  Half an hour later the woods started to thin. They were close to the highway. Slade moved faster, anticipation stinging through his veins.

  “Wait.” Maggie tugged against his hold.

  “We can’t stop.” He started forward once more, but Maggie didn’t budge.

  “Go on without me. The police will find me and I’ll swear I don’t know which way you went.”

  Explaining why that wouldn’t work would be complicated. They had to keep moving.

  Rather than argue, he released her hand and swept her off her feet. With her in his arms, he trudged forward.

  “You can’t carry me,” she argued. She squirmed against his chest.

  The feel of her hip grinding into his chest had tension firing in his muscles. “Stop fidgeting and this will go a lot more smoothly.” He tuned out the feel of her body. Just as swiftly he banished the images of all those nights they’d spent together in her bed.

  Five minutes more and endless gritting of teeth to keep the haunting images at bay and they reached the fence that separated the tree line from the expanse of state-owned right-of-way that ran along the side of the road.

  He settled Maggie onto her feet and surveyed the five-foot chain-link wall that stood between them and their destination. Moonlight sifted through the darkness, pooling around their position. The low hum of traffic on the interstate offered the only indication the whole world wasn’t asleep.

  She wouldn’t be asleep. Slade’s jaw tightened. She was out there somewhere assessing the feedback and directing every minor reaction as meticulously as a conductor leading an orchestra.

  “I’ll climb over.” Slade pushed aside what he could not control and focused on what he could. He turned to Maggie and pointed to the diamond shapes the metal fencing formed. “Use the pattern as finger-and toe-holds. Once you’re up and over, I’ll help you down.”

  She drew in a shaky breath. “All right.”

  Slade scanned the highway once more, then scaled the fence. He waited on the other side as Maggie slowly climbed the same path. It wasn’t that high, but she was a lot shorter than he was, so he understood her trepidation.

  When both legs were on his side of the fence, he placed his hands on either side of her waist. “Let go. I’ve got you.”

  There was a hesitation before she followed his instructions. His hands around her waist, he lowered her feet to the ground and she swayed into his chest. He steadied her.

  “Thanks.” She squared her shoulders and stepped away from him. “What now?”

  Slade surveyed the dark highway. “We head toward the on-ramp and flag down a ride.” And watch for the cops, he didn’t add. If they were lucky, an APB hadn’t been issued yet and there wouldn’t be extra patrols.

  “Okay.”

  To his surprise she began walking before he did.

  The motel was only a few miles behind them. The crisscross route they had taken had brought them back around to where they needed to be. He’d kept to the woods until they were near the on-ramp. His instincts nudged him with the urge to run, but he resisted. Maggie couldn’t run anymore. They stayed close to the fence, trudging through the knee-deep w
eeds.

  “If you spot any headlights, get down,” Slade warned.

  “Will the police be looking for us?”

  It sounded like hope in her tone. “Yep.”

  “We can’t explain what happened and get their help?”

  That would seem like the logical thing to do if he were living in a fantasy world. “It’s not the police we need to be afraid of.”

  She hurried a little faster. “If we have nothing to fear from them, why can’t they help us?”

  “The police can’t protect us, Maggie.”

  She stopped. “I need you to explain that part.”

  Slade admitted defeat on the issue and turned around. “Fine. It’s not like we’re in a hurry or anything.” If he hadn’t blown a few critical circuits the last couple of years, he would have pulled his weapon and this discussion would have ended already. But, stupidly, he’d allowed complacency to dull his instincts.

  “First,” he said more loudly and with far more drama than he’d intended, “if I’m not charged with kidnapping and murder, and we’re put in so-called protective custody, she will have us eliminated. No one can protect us from her. Do you get that? No one.” He didn’t wait around for her response.

  “How can anyone be that powerful? Who is this woman?” Maggie hurried to catch up to him.

  Light flickered.

  “Down.” Slade crouched, tugging Maggie with him.

  The headlights grew closer. Not a car. A truck. A big one.

  “Go to the side of the road and wave. Maybe the driver will stop. You get the ride and I’ll catch up.”

  Maggie searched his face a moment, then shot to her feet and rushed forward, quickly wading from the knee-deep grass to the recently mowed roadside. She waved her arms, moving closer to the pavement.

  There was the possibility that if the driver stopped she could use the opportunity to escape. It was a risk he had to take. Any driver was far more likely to stop for a woman alone.

  The truck’s air brakes whined as it slowed. As soon as the tractor-trailer came to a complete stop, Maggie rushed to the passenger-side door. She stepped up onto the running board and the window powered down.

  Slade braced to run.

  Her usually calm voice sounded a little high-pitched. He couldn’t make out what she was saying. She did a lot of gesturing.

  “Hurry, Maggie,” he muttered to himself.

  She reached for the door handle. He moved forward, staying low enough to use the landscape as cover.

  As he neared, he heard Maggie saying, “I really appreciate this. I didn’t know how much farther I could make it.”

  Slade dashed across the final expanse of shorter grass and lunged up onto the running board just as Maggie settled into the seat. He had his weapon in his hand before the driver could grab the one stored under his seat.

  “We don’t want any trouble,” Slade advised. “We just need a ride.”

  The driver glared at him. “What’s the gun for, then?”

  “Same thing as the one under your seat.”

  “Can we just go?” Maggie pleaded. “We really do need a ride. That’s all.”

  Slade knew those shimmering green eyes of hers almost as well as he knew his own. He didn’t have to see her face as she appealed to the driver; he was well aware just how persuasive those jewel beauties could be. The driver didn’t stand a chance.

  The man jerked his head toward Slade. “If he puts his gun away, I’ll take you as far as St. Louis.”

  Maggie turned to Slade. He nodded and tucked the weapon into his waistband.

  “Let’s go,” the driver said, turning his attention to the road. “I’ve got a deadline.”

  Maggie scooted over, making room for Slade. He slid in next to her and closed the door. The driver let out on the clutch and the big rig roared forward.

  Slade monitored the side mirror as they climbed the on-ramp to the interstate. Now all he had to worry about were roadblocks.

  “You’re the couple the cops are looking for,” the man suggested.

  Maggie turned to Slade, her eyes wide, her face pale.

  “Unfortunately,” Slade admitted. Denying the accusation would be a waste of energy.

  “Those men tried to kill us,” Maggie offered. “They just started shooting.” Her words warbled. “We tried to run away, but they came after us.”

  The driver sent a sideways look at Slade. His sympathies lay solely with Maggie. “I guess you were in too big a hurry to explain things to the police.”

  Slade put one arm around Maggie’s shoulders and rested his other hand at his waist. The truck was gaining speed, which indicated the driver had no plans to try to force them out of the truck. Still, he was making no bones about his suspicions.

  “Something like that.” Slade exchanged another look with the guy. “Is that going to be a problem?”

  The driver shook his head. “As long as there’s no trickle-down effect, I got no issue with it.”

  When the driver had turned his full attention to the road, Slade relaxed.

  His contact was compromised, but St. Louis was a big city. He would figure out a new route to his destination.

  He wasn’t bested yet.

  Chapter Five

  St. Louis, 10:00 a.m.

  Maggie roused from a fretful sleep. Where was she? Memories flooded her lethargic brain. Cognizance rocketed into full focus as the details from the passing landscape assimilated in her brain. Streets. Buildings. The beastly sound of the big truck. They’d reached the city. She blinked a couple times and tried to spot something familiar. This had to be St. Louis. Where were they going from here? In reality, she was terrified of what came next. Worry for her baby twisted painfully in her stomach. She ordered herself to try to stay calm. All these crazy emotions couldn’t be good for the tiny life just beginning inside her.

  She’d finally drifted off before daylight this morning. Her body ached. Her neck was stiff. Tension rippled through her. She’d leaned her head against Slade’s shoulder and his arm was around her. As if this recognition had signaled all her senses, she became aware of his scent, the feel of his strong arm, the heat of his body. Every part of her that made her woman wanted to stay right there. To feel safe and protected.

  But she was not safe. Maggie straightened, drew away from him as much as she dared without alerting the driver to the tension. “Are we—” she cleared her throat “—in St. Louis?”

  “You got it, Red,” the driver announced.

  His comment helped to ease the renewed apprehension ramping up. Maggie couldn’t begin to count the times she’d been called Red. She’d hated it in school, but, as an adult, she’d finally gotten over it and embraced the overture for what it was—more often friendliness than rudeness.

  The driver’s name was Pete. Once he’d gotten started talking this morning, he’d poured out his life story. Maggie had fallen asleep at the part where he and his fourth wife had divorced. The man had kids in three states.

  As wild as that all sounded, it carried a refreshing normalcy about it.

  “I need to fuel up,” Pete said as he changed lanes and slowed for the next exit.

  Not a hundred yards from the exit ramp, Pete made a right into the parking lot of a massive fuel station. In addition to selling fuel, the truck stop offered a restaurant and showers.

  Who knew?

  Pete parked the truck in the sprawling lot alongside dozens of other similar rigs. He shut down the engine, heralding a stark quiet that rang in her ears. “I think I might just fuel up myself first. You folks interested in breakfast?”

  Slade thrust his hand at the man. “We appreciate the ride, Pete, but we’ll keep moving. You understand, I’m sure, our need to cover more ground.”

  Pete nodded. “Got it. Keep your heads down.” He flashed a smile for Maggie. “Take care of your wife. She must love you a lot to go through all this and stick by your side.”

  “She’s one of a kind,” Slade agreed before climbing out of
the big cab.

  “Thanks, Pete.” Maggie returned his smile. She wanted to say more, but the right words escaped her. Instead, she climbed out of the massive truck and turned to the man who had flipped her world upside down.

  Slade placed his hand at her elbow and urged her forward. Maggie hated to say anything, but she really needed to use the ladies’ room, and her stomach was out of sorts. Several gas stations and no shortage of restaurants, mostly fast food, lined the street. Surely they could make a quick dash into one of them. The smell of food wafting in the air should have been appealing, but the thick odors were anything but this morning.

  “Can we get coffee?” She and Slade had been sleeping together for nearly two years. It was foolish of her to be embarrassed about mentioning her personal needs to him, but she was, nonetheless.

  “As soon as we’re out of eyesight from our friend Pete we’ll have breakfast and a break.”

  Maggie wanted to ask him what came next, but she decided to wait until she had relieved herself and gotten some food into her stomach—if she could manage the latter. She didn’t feel well. Prompting additional stress wouldn’t be smart right now, she reminded herself. Her hand went instinctively to her belly.

  Guilt that she wasn’t adequately protecting her child roiled inside her. She wasn’t sure how far along she was. This month’s skipped cycle would indicate about six or seven weeks. But last month’s had been off, almost nonexistent. If she had actually missed two cycles, she would be ten or eleven weeks along. If she survived this scene right out of an action flick, she had only about seven months to go.

  The same old questions logjammed in her brain. How had this happened? Did she need to be concerned that she’d taken her pills for some amount of time after conception? She needed to set up a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible. There were so many steps that needed to be taken. Assuming she survived this.

  She stole a glance at the man beside her. What in the world was she going to do?

  He chose a familiar chain restaurant for breakfast. As they entered, the smells of pancakes, eggs and bacon made her stomach rumble, this time in anticipation. Maybe food was all she needed to settle that unpleasant feeling plaguing her. The hostess seated them and promised that a waitress would be with them soon. Maggie excused herself and hurried to the ladies’ room.