I smell alcohol and feel something soft and cold on my temple. It burns, and I bite down as Ford told me to, both hands clutching handfuls of the bedspread.
“Done,” Ford says. “Now I’m gonna thread the needle to stitch you up.”
I wait, my body stiff with tension.
“I need to hear you breathing, Sarina,” Ford says. “Don’t hold your breath.”
As I exhale, I feel the needle entering my skin. Grinding my teeth against the washcloth, I will myself not to make a sound. I don’t want Ford to think I’m a wimp.
“Four stitches will do it,” he says. “I’m halfway done.”
I think about breathing in and out, and soon I feel him tying off the end of whatever he stitched me up with. Scissors snip and he says, “Done.”
“That wasn’t so bad,” I say, sitting up.
He packs items back into the first aid kit. “You can take a shower if you want. I’ve got some work to do. I’ll order dinner, too.”
I nod. “So what happens now? Will you take me to an FBI office somewhere?”
“No. We’re staying off the grid.”
“What does that mean, though? Can I leave if I want to?”
He shakes his head. “You’re not safe. Those people who bombed your lab today were trying to kill you.”
“But why? If they wanted to destroy the vaccine, they succeeded. I have nothing now.”
“They don’t know that.”
Panic fills my chest as it sinks in that a terrorist group wants me dead. “But what…? How will I ever be safe? Do I have to leave the country or something?”
“There’s nowhere you can go. You can’t touch your bank accounts or use your passport.”
“For how long?” My voice rises with worry.
“I don’t know. There are agents working the case, so we’re going to lay low at my cabin in Iowa for now.”
I shake my head. “I want to go through what’s left of the lab. Maybe things can be saved.”
“You can’t go back there.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re holding me against my will. I have rights.”
He scoffs. “What, the right to get your head blown off?”
“Let me decide how to keep myself safe. I never asked for your help.”
“Listen. I know you don’t get this, but you’re damned lucky to have me. You don’t get what these guys are capable of, but I’ve fought them before.”
“In the Navy?”
“Yeah. I was a SEAL.”
“I’m sure you’re good at this, but—”
“The US government wants you safe. The work you’ve been doing has caught the attention of people in high places.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s—” A wave of lightheadedness hits and I reach a hand out, searching for something to steady myself.
Ford is there in an instant, wrapping an arm around my back. “I’ve got you. You feeling dizzy?”
“Just…really tired. And thirsty.”
“Let’s get you changed into a clean shirt and into bed. You can take a shower in the morning.”
I nod numbly. I don’t have anything with me, so he digs a clean white T-shirt out of his own bag.
“Turn so your back’s facing me,” he says in the no-nonsense tone I’m starting to get used to.
“I can change my own shirt,” I say with as much bite as I can muster.
He puts a knee on the mattress behind my back. “Take off the one you’ve got on.”
“I’d rather sleep in a bloody shirt than let you—”
He takes the sides of my pale blue linen shirt and pulls it over my head, then puts the T-shirt on me, helping me get my arms through the armholes.
“You’re an asshole,” I mumble as he pulls back the bed covers.
“Yeah, I’m the asshole who saved your life today.”
“That doesn’t mean I wanted you to take my shirt off.” I lie down, my eyelids closing against my will.
“I caught a glimpse of your bra strap, that’s about it.”
I want to talk, but my lips won’t move. A groan is all I can manage right now.
“Sarina,” Ford says from next to me. “Wake up.”
“Mmm.”
“Sit up and drink this water, then you can sleep.”
He puts a hand between my shoulders and steers me into a sitting position, then puts a bottle of water to my lips and tips it up. I drink half of the huge bottle, then sink back down to the bed and fall into a deep sleep.
Chapter 6
Ford
I’m woken up the next morning by a pissed off groan from Sarina.
“What the hell is this?” she demands, pulling her arm up.
It’s all she can do to get it off the bed since her wrist is handcuffed to my much larger one.
I rub a hand over my eyes and the stubble on my face, squinting as I adjust to the bright light.
“Ford, why am I handcuffed to you?”
“Can’t have you trying to run,” I say, yawning.
“You’re holding me prisoner against my will.”
“More like saving your life against your will.” I reach over to the nightstand and pick up my phone, looking at the screen. “Damn, woman. It’s not even seven o’clock.”
“Well, it’s hard to go back to sleep when you realize you’ve been handcuffed to someone.”
I yawn again. “I was up ‘til three working. Let’s sleep a couple more hours.”
“Unlock me first.”
“No.” I pull on the blankets, trying to get enough to cover up with.
“I will not be handcuffed to you.”
“It’s a little late for that,” I say, closing my eyes.
“What kind of a soldier are you?”
I open my eyes and scowl. “I’ve never been a soldier. That’s the Army. I was a sailor.”
“Whatever. Does the Navy teach sailors to handcuff unarmed people?”
“I was a SEAL, sweetheart. Handcuffing people is tame compared to some of the shit I’ve done. And I’m a freelancer now.”
“So that means you don’t have to follow any rules?”
“It means I get the job done at any cost. And the job is keeping you safe.”
She can’t argue that, so she just glares at me. Seeing her this close again reminds me of the night we met. I just want to keep looking at all the shades of brown and green and gold in her eyes, and the dark lashes framing them.
Turning to lie on her back, she sighs and stares up at the ceiling.
“Yesterday at this time, I was getting ready for work and thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for my meeting with the CDC people. And twenty-four hours later, my lab is destroyed and I’m handcuffed to a stranger who stitched my head up last night.”
“Stranger? You’ve had your tongue down my throat.”
She scoffs. “Don’t flatter yourself. You kissed me and I kissed you back.”
“And you wanted me to fuck your brains out that night, but I said no.”
She turns her head to face me, her lips parted with surprise. “No, you wanted to fuck me, and I—”
“Said yes,” I remind her.
“After you gave me a sob story about going to prison for five years. Which was a lie.”
“I didn’t go through with it, did I?”
“No.”
“And you were disappointed.”
“Get over yourself, Ford.”
So much for more sleep. I reach for the handcuff keys on the nightstand, meeting her eyes before putting the key in the lock.
“Remember when you told me you find me attractive?” I say, grinning. “Or was it really attractive? Yeah, I think that was it.”
“That was before you handcuffed yourself to me.”
I shrug. “Handcuffs can be sexy. Want me to show you?”
“No. I want to pee. Alone.”
I unlock the cuffs and she slides out of bed. Her hair is a mess of loose brown waves and the khakis she’s
been wearing since yesterday are wrinkled. She still looks good, though, and I like seeing her in my shirt.
“I’m taking a shower,” she says.
“You need help washing your back?”
“Definitely not.”
“Hey,” I say.
She turns to look at me. “What?”
“Don’t get the stitches wet. Cover them with a towel if you need to wash your hair.”
“Okay.” She looks over at the room’s mini fridge. “Is there any food left from dinner last night?”
“Yeah, but we can stop for breakfast on the way. Our car was switched out during the night, so we need to hit the road after you shower.”
“What about you? Don’t you want to shower?”
Her hopeful tone makes me smile. She must think I’m pretty damned gullible, and I’ll just jump in the shower and let her slip out of the room.
“I showered last night.”
“Oh.” She walks toward the bathroom, but then turns around again. “Why can’t we use the same car?”
“The blood. I don’t want to get pulled over driving a car with blood splatters all over the interior. The agents who picked it up will have it sanitized.”
She nods and then goes into the bathroom.
I grab my phone and scroll through news headlines, looking forward to a less eventful day today. The surveillance Matt put on us overnight showed no one’s following us. That’s a good thing. Sarina needs time to heal without worrying about people chasing after us.
Chapter 7
Sarina
After another long day of driving, this time in a dark SUV, Ford parks in front of a small cabin deep in the woods.
The dirt road leading a couple miles into the forest wasn’t well traveled. It’s clear I’m completely alone with Ford here, and I hope I made the right call about him.
He’s had multiple chances to kill me and still hasn’t, so I’m pretty sure he is who he says he is. And I’m still so shell-shocked over the loss of the lab that it’s kind of nice having someone else do the thinking and planning.
If he hadn’t pulled me into the woods before the bomb went off, I’d be dead. And as aggravated as I am by my gruff, cocky protector, I’m grateful for that. He saved my life.
It’s chillier in Iowa than it was in Arizona. The late October air is so brisk that I wish I had a jacket with me.
“Is this where you live?” I ask Ford.
He shrugs. “Pretty much, but I don’t have much down time from work. Haven’t been here for about eight months.”
It’s a simple log cabin nestled into the forest, the tree cover so dense and tall that hardly any light peeks through. A covered porch runs the whole length of the front of the cabin, and there are two rocking chairs on it.
Ford unlocks the front door and opens it for me, then bends down to pick up two boxes from the porch floor.
It’s no warmer inside the cabin than outside. In fact, it may be a little colder. I rub my hands together as I look around at the large, one-room space.
In the corners on either side of the front door, there’s a kitchen and a worn green couch with a rustic coffee table in front of it. One of the back corners has a queen-size bed angled in it and the other has a large wood desk. There’s a fireplace between the bed and desk. I silently hope the door near the desk leads to a bathroom. The cabin’s floors are wood planked, with throw rugs scattered around.
“I’ll chop some wood and get a fire going,” Ford says.
He sets the boxes on the coffee table and opens one, pulling out cans of soup, a box of tea bags, coffee, shampoo, soap and more nonperishable food.
“I ordered some stuff to get started, but I’ll have more delivered. Just let me know what you want.”
“How long do you think we’ll be here?”
Ford shrugs. “Hard to say. I read in a report this morning that a couple guys were caught by a surveillance team trying to break into your apartment last night. Hopefully the interrogators will get somewhere with them.”
“What?” I cry. “My apartment? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Just didn’t think about it, I guess. They broke down the front door and then surveillance moved in. Nothing was taken.”
“Yeah, but…if my front door is broken down, that’s bad.”
He starts stacking the soup cans on the kitchen counter as he talks. “They boarded it up, don’t worry.”
“My landlord will be thrilled.”
“And they took your cat to a local animal shelter to be taken care of ‘til you get back.”
“Tigger!” I put a hand on my heart. “Oh my God, I completely forgot about him. How could I forget my own cat?”
“Cats are pretty self-sufficient. Give ‘em food, water, and a place to shit and they don’t really need anything else.”
I lean against the kitchen counter. “Which shelter?”
“I have no idea.”
“You need to find out. I want him taken to the no-kill shelter I volunteer at.”
He looks over at me. “I’ll take care of it. Figured we’d call the AED after I get a fire going and I’ll let her know.”
“AED?”
“Assistant Executive Director. Her name’s Nancy McKenna. She runs the FBI program I was hired by to protect you. You can ask her any questions you have to make sure I’m legit.”
“Oh. Okay, thanks.”
“I’m gonna go cut some wood.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Just so you know, I’ve got alarms on the windows and I’ll be watching the front door.”
“Ford.” I arch my brows and give him an are you kidding me look. “If I wanted to get away, I would have screamed into the speaker at the drive-thru we went through that I had been kidnapped.”
He considers this, then nods. “Let me have a look at those stitches before I go out.”
I walk over to him and incline my head so he can see my stitched up temple.
“Looks good,” he says. “Take it easy while I’m outside, though.”
“Is there a vacuum? I was thinking I might clean in here.”
He furrows his brow, lips twitching with a smile. “You bitching about my cabin?”
“It’s a little dusty. I mean, eight months and all.”
“There’s a vacuum in the linen closet in the bathroom. Have at it, Snow White. Just be careful.”
He reaches for an ax hanging up beside the front door and goes outside.
An hour later, his T-shirt is soaked through with sweat as he walks in with an armful of firewood. I’ve vacuumed out the whole cabin and wiped down the kitchen counters with a towel I found.
“Is the water here okay to drink?” I ask Ford as he piles wood into the fireplace.
“Yep. It’s on a well, but it’s been tested.”
“How long have you had this place?”
“A long time. My dad built it.”
I sit down on the bed and watch him start the fire. He does so with the ease of someone who’s done it many times.
“Really? That’s impressive.”
“He saved up for the land when he joined the Navy and then spent his leave time building the cabin. Planned on having a bachelor pad to spend his leave time at. But then he met my mom and they got married. They lived here for the first couple years they were married.”
“That’s so romantic.”
Ford says nothing, focusing his attention on the fire now crackling in the fireplace. Maybe he realized he just said more to me right now than he has since carrying me off into the woods behind the lab.
“So you may have been conceived right here,” I say, patting the bed.
He turns my way, grinning. “It’s very likely.”
“Are your parents still around?”
“No. My mom died of ovarian cancer seven years ago. My dad died fifteen years ago on a mission.”
“I’m so sorry. What kind of mission do you mean?”
“He was a SEAL.”
“Wow. Is that why you
wanted to be one, too?”
“Yep.” He stands up. “Hey Chatty Kathy, you ready to talk to McKenna?”
“Sure.”
I get up from the bed and follow Ford to the couch. He takes his laptop from the coffee table and opens it.
“You have Internet service out here?” I ask.
“I have to use a signal booster and my cell phone.”
He types in a web address, then looks up at me. “I’d ask about your parents, but I read in your file that they passed away.”
“Yeah.” I knit my brows together with worry. “What else is in your file?”
“Just the usual. Background information, bra size, nude photos.”
“What?” I turn to him, mouth open, just as a woman’s face appears on the computer screen.
“Hello, Ford,” she says. She’s a middle-aged woman with perfect cocoa skin and dark glasses.
“Assistant Director McKenna,” he says, nodding.
“How are things going? I assume you’ve moved Miss Ross to a secure location.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turns the computer to face me so the webcam captures my face. “Assistant Director McKenna, this is Sarina Ross.”
The woman on the screen smiles. “Hello, Sarina.”
“Hi.” I tuck my hair behind my ear nervously.
“I apologize for the way we took you by surprise. We didn’t think the terror cell that was watching you planned to move so quickly.”
“I’m just glad to be alive right now.”
“We’re glad, too. You’re in good hands with Ford. Even though he isn’t one of our agents, he’s been thoroughly vetted and his record is exemplary.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Ford sets the computer on the table, allowing the assistant director to see both of us.
“Sarina, we’ve been to the site of the lab and I’m afraid it’s a total loss. Only a few old books could be salvaged.”
Tears flood my eyes. “Books? Those are my uncle’s. Can you save them for me, please? It’s all I have left of him. And I’d like my cat Tigger moved to the Friends of Animals shelter a few miles from the lab. Or…the former lab, I guess.”
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Sarina (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
