Her captor huffed and shifted his step to ease her toward the bed of the pickup, the shorter way around.
But as they stepped sideways, the man spun and threw a sudden punch, knocking her abductor’s grip from her. Before Ashley could even gasp, the newcomer had shoved her through the open back door of the truck and onto the floor then dived in behind her. “Stay down!” His shout was nearly drowned out by the thwack of bullets hitting metal as the vehicle squealed tires and roared forward.
Ashley’s entire body screamed from the tension and rough treatment. Glass shattered and small pieces showered them. Fighting the weight that pinned her to the wide floorboard, she found her voice and screamed.
“Make her stop. I can’t think,” the driver called.
“Drive. And have a little sympathy.” The new threat slowly hefted himself off of her and onto the seat. “I think you got us out of there. Nice driving.” He looked at Ashley. “You’re safe...for now. But don’t get off the floor.”
Rolling to her side, Ashley prepared to scream again, but a hand lay gently across her mouth. “You’re okay. Look at me.” The voice was low and...familiar?
A whole new kind of adrenaline rocketed through her as her green eyes met brown ones she’d never forgotten. She sucked in a gasp, choking on the leftover scream in her throat, and buried her face in her hands, certain now this was all a bad dream. Ethan?
Sean’s last words swirled. “I’ve sent—”
Ethan Kincaid. Sean had sent Ethan Kincaid. The man who, five years ago, had nearly cost her her life.
* * *
Fear, resentment, confusion... Ashley’s expression shifted so quickly Ethan could hardly track it all. When she hid her face, it was all he could do not to pull her close and tell her he’d protect her.
Not that she’d believe him, and he didn’t have time to convince her now.
Peeking over the backseat of the truck, he scanned the road behind them. “We’re not being followed. Yet. But with shots fired at an airport, it won’t be long.”
“And with our rear end shot up, we’re a little obvious. Smart guy to use a silencer, but I doubt this whole little adventure went unnoticed.”
Ethan noted Mitchum’s jaw was set so tight it had to hurt. He looked grim, angry. Likely because it was his truck sporting a new series of ventilation holes.
Ethan caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “Told you to let me drive.”
“Shut up, Kincaid. Where do we go from here?”
Ethan watched Ashley, mind racing for a plan. She still hadn’t moved, the only indication she was alive being the rapid rise and fall of her shoulders as she came dangerously close to hyperventilating. His practiced eyes scanned for wounds but didn’t see anything to concern him. Not like the last time.
He laid a hand on her shoulder, fingers brushing the soft blond hair that slipped forward with every breath she took. There was no way five years had passed since he’d last seen her. She hadn’t changed a bit. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Over time he’d managed to convince himself he’d done the right thing by leaving her to Sean, but now, in her presence, his decision reeked of stupidity and selfishness.
She worked her jaw from side to side then looked up, meeting his eyes with those improbable green ones. Even strangers had stopped her to comment. She swallowed hard. “What is going on here?” The words barely made it out through her tight jaw.
“Are you okay?”
Her nostrils flared, but she only nodded.
There was no telling what she really wanted to say to him. Right now, they were probably all blessed by her speechlessness.
Ethan tore his gaze from hers and pulled his hand to his side, the warmth of her lingering on his palm. He never should have touched her. She was Sean’s. Always would be. Their engagement might have been short-lived, but whenever Sean talked about her, the strength of his feelings bled into the words.
“Kincaid? Direction here?” Mitchum needed an answer.
There was work to do and God bless his partner for pulling him back to it. Ashley might be...well, Ashley, but she was also an assignment, and she should be treated as such. Shoving the past into a box and mentally securing the lock, he leaned forward. “Call local law enforcement and tell them to step back, but don’t give them a clue why. Take me to my truck, then ditch yours and get another vehicle, one our kidnapper won’t recognize.”
Mitchum’s eyes met his in the mirror. “You think it’s wise to split up?”
“I think getting Ashley to safety is priority number one. Getting the evidence is number two.”
“Let me handle picking up the—”
“No. We get her safe. We link up. We move forward.” One thing at a time. As long as they were in this vehicle, it wouldn’t be long before the network after Ashley found them again or local law enforcement tied them up in more red tape than they had time for. While separating from his partner was normally foolhardy, there wasn’t time for them to do everything and get Ashley to the safe house fast enough.
Mitchum exhaled so hard the picture of Ashley on the dash fluttered. His eye twitched. “I don’t think—”
“I’m ordering you.”
Ethan’s voice was so firm, Ashley flinched.
She cleared her throat. “Start explaining. Now.” She moved to ease up to the seat, but a sharp shake of Ethan’s head sank her to the floor again. “Is Sean okay?”
There it was. The question he’d been dreading. The question with no good answer.
“We don’t know.” Mitchum’s voice cut in from the front.
Ethan wanted to punch his partner’s seat. The last thing Ashley needed right now was more uncertainty and fear. When they’d linked up for this mission, Sean had updated Ethan on Ashley’s recovery, so he already knew her fear was a ticking time bomb. The post-traumatic stress following her shooting had derailed her military career and shattered her future.
Ashley’s eyes slipped closed as she momentarily withdrew, sitting back against the door. Rather than fall apart the way Ethan had feared, Ashley’s posture stiffened, almost stone-like in its lack of emotion. “Why did he send you, of all people?”
More than the words, the tone tore at him with serrated edges. It was a moment before he could answer. He shot Mitchum a warning glance in the rearview, then looked at her. He’d expected a panic attack, a loss of control, but she’d become a statue, an impassive observer.
The question was tougher to answer than she realized. Ethan’s plan included a lot of things from shoot-outs to fistfights, but how to explain his sudden reappearance wasn’t one he’d dwelled on.
“Sean’s in trouble.” Resignation gave Ashley’s words a dull edge.
Ethan’s hand twitched, the drive to comfort her overwhelming. Ashley and Sean had grown up together, even joined the army together after their parents were killed in a car accident on frozen New York roads. While Sean went infantry, Ashley joined the military police—where Ethan had fallen for her the very first time he’d seen her.
From the moment the army stationed the three of them together at Fort Carson, Colorado, they were a team, inseparable even after Ethan and Ashley moved on to Fort Drum in her home state. The hard truth was, though Ethan had fallen hard, Sean had always been the one Ashley gravitated to, the one closest to her heart.
Now her heart was in danger.
“Why would you say that?” Ethan asked, trying to gauge exactly what she knew, to stall as he worked out a plan to proceed.
Ashley didn’t answer. Instead, she dug her fingers into the back of her neck, elbows locking as she pulled tight.
Ethan recognized the move. He’d seen it in the past. She was fighting a swell of panic that threatened to drown her. More than anything, he wanted to reach down and touch her, but he’d given up any right
five years ago.
He turned his focus to the road behind them, wind from the broken window fluttering against his face, to let her fight her battle in peace.
It took a minute before she spoke. “He left me several messages. The last one...” The words strangled out. She pulled in a deep breath and held it before continuing. “The man at the airport let me know this was all about Sean. Now you and your buddy kidnap me and—”
“We did not kidnap you.” Mitchum’s voice was laced with insult.
“Really?” Ashley addressed the question to Ethan. “Then take me to my car and let me go home.”
“Can’t.” In fact, it would be the worst thing they could do, driving a bullet-riddled vehicle straight onto airport property. Their whole operation would be upended faster than any of them could even state their names. The answers were so close, Ethan could see them on the horizon, and there was no way he was going to risk a run-in with local law enforcement that could jeopardize everything.
The panic must have passed, because Ashley dropped her hands and shifted her posture. “Then you’re taking me against my will. Tell me this... It’s been five years since I last saw you, since I last heard even one word from you. What makes you think I want anything to do with you? What makes you worthy of my trust?”
Mitchum snickered as he pulled into the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, easing into the space next to Ethan’s black, four-wheel-drive pickup.
Ethan winced. He’d deserved the question. It forced him to pull out the one fact he knew would make her believe he could be trusted, even though it was the last thing he wanted to talk about. “Yes, Sean sent me. He also told me if it ever came to this I should tell you something no one but the two of you would know, something he promised you he’d never tell me.”
“Go on.”
Ethan really didn’t want to, but he had bigger fish frying than any past issues with her. “Mitchum, check your truck and pull security.”
“We’re wide open here. You sure you want to risk sitting still long enough for—”
“Just do it. Two minutes.”
Mitchum’s displeasure escaped in shades of blue as he climbed out and slammed the truck door so hard the entire vehicle rocked.
Ethan fired a silent reprimand through the window before he turned his attention to Ashley. Better to say it and get it over with than to drag it out. “Sean was about to deploy for the first time. He came to Fort Drum to see us and took you to that little steak house near post for dinner.”
“Stop.”
“He asked you to marry him. You said no. You got up and left him on one knee while the entire restaurant watched.”
There it was. The guilt grew stronger every time he felt just a little bit relieved she’d turned Sean down the first time.
“You didn’t tell him yes until later.”
“I said stop.” Ashley pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face. “He was never supposed to tell anybody. It was...”
When she didn’t finish, Ethan finished it for her. “Humiliating for both of you. I know.” As hard as any of the rest of it had been, now came the hardest part, the part she’d likely hate both him and Sean for until the day she died. “He knew telling me would prove he trusted me, and you should, too. You have to. That man didn’t just want to take you.” She had to understand the seriousness of her situation. “He’s part of a group that wants to use you as a pawn against Sean, to see if they can get him to talk and compromise an entire military operation.”
Ashley shook her head from side to side. “No.”
“Sean sent me because he knew you were in danger and I was the only one who could get to you in time.” He fought to keep his face impassive, to not let her see he was telling her half of the story. “He’s gotten into some hot water over in Afghanistan, and the bad guys are looking for any way to get to him. Including you. He doesn’t have any family, and you’re the closest thing he’s got. It didn’t take them long to track you down.” Not to mention, Sean and Ethan had inadvertently pointed them right to her. It was a bad idea from the start. Right now, he just needed her to trust him enough to get them both to safety. And if he told her everything up front, there was no telling what Ashley would do. She for sure wouldn’t trust him to get her out of this situation, and she’d probably never turn over the evidence she didn’t even know she held.
Copyright © 2015 by Jodie Bailey
ISBN-13: 9781460389089
Fugitive at Large
Copyright © 2015 by Sandra Robbins
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