by Rebecca Deel
“Inside, Claire,” Zane said, his gaze fixed on one of the two gorillas.
She frowned. Had he noticed something she hadn’t? Deciding she didn’t want him exposed to danger longer than necessary, she scrambled into the vehicle’s interior. A moment later, Zane was safe inside.
Wait. The van belonged to Fortress. Why would they take it? All of her bodyguards were either unemployed or on leave. Wouldn’t Maddox demand the keys and kick them to the curb to make their way home however they could? Something to consider. Things just weren’t adding up in a way that made sense.
Remy drove out of the garage with Eli and Jon close behind. Zane reached for her hand. “Remy, GPS?”
“Disabled. They can’t track us.”
“What about our microchips, Zane?” Lily asked.
“I’ll check on that when we return to the hotel.”
“Should we change locations?” Remy merged with traffic on Harding Place.
“Tomorrow.” He glanced at Claire. “I think we’re safe enough for the night. Claire needs to work and then go to sleep. She only slept two hours last night.”
“I don’t want to put anyone in danger, Zane. If you think we should relocate, I’ll work at the new place.”
“Tomorrow,” he repeated. “I’ll see if Eli and Jon can stick around tonight. No guarantees, though. Dana can’t stay by herself at night. Too many memories and night terrors without Jon beside her.”
“What will she do if Jon is with us?”
“Brenna will stay with her. She knows what to do to help her sister.” He raised his other hand and trailed the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “So soft,” he whispered. “I knew it would be.” Zane’s gaze locked with hers. “Were you serious?”
She didn’t have to ask him what he referred to. “You in the habit of questioning a statement like that?”
He glanced away. “Hasn’t been a problem in two years,” he murmured.
Oh, goodness. What was wrong with the women in this city? Claire cupped his chin and gently turned his head toward her. “I meant every word, Zane,” she said, repeating his own words to her minutes earlier.
He studied her face a moment. “The chair doesn’t bother you?”
She leaned in and gave him a lingering kiss. When Claire pulled back, she said, “I don’t see the chair. I see you.”
Remy’s phone chirped with an incoming call. He tapped the Bluetooth connection. “Doucet.”
“It’s Jon. We’ve got company. They’re coming in hot.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Zane twisted in his seat to look through the back window. At first, all he saw were Eli and Jon in their SUVs. When Remy took a quick left onto the interstate, followed by the two SEALs, he spotted the full-sized black pickup darting across the intersection despite a red light, to the accompaniment of squealing tires and honking horns.
“Traffic is heavy,” Claire said. Her hand trembled in his. “How will we lose them?”
“No worries,” Jon said, his voice coming through the speakers. “Watch and learn. Remy, head for the fast lane.”
Pretty ironic calling it the fast lane since the cars were moving about ten miles an hour. “What do you have in mind?” Zane asked.
“I’ll dive in behind you. Eli will come up on your right. Should keep these guys off your tail until we find a place to lose them or set up an ambush so we can get some answers. Remy, start moving over.”
“Copy that.” He glanced in the mirrors. “Baby, watch the right side. These clowns might try to hit us from that side to force us to pull over.”
She scowled even as she turned in her seat. “They think we’re that stupid? Rats. They must. Here they come.”
“Hang on.” He jerked the wheel to the left and shot into the next lane to the blaring of horns and shouted curses.
Amusement wound through Zane. Nashville drivers weren’t in a good mood today. In truth, they were never in a good mood. Traffic woes seemed to have multiplied like rabbits in recent months. Their pursuers were determined to keep up with them. Even as Remy shifted over another lane, the pickup tried to maneuver to the side of their van.
“Go, Remy,” Jon snapped. “Eli is in position to cover you.”
Another glance in the mirror and the Cajun nosed his way into the fast lane. A second later, Eli jockeyed into position on their right. Within a minute, Jon was on their bumper.
“Did you catch their license plate?” Zane asked.
“Yep. I’m betting it’s stolen, but we’ll check when the principal is safe.”
“Any idea what’s going on with Maddox?”
“Some. We’ll talk.”
Guess he’d be job hunting once Claire was safe and Adam was on U.S. soil in the unemployment line. Zane didn’t doubt Claire would do exactly as she’d told Maddox and persuade her brother to walk away from Fortress.
He sighed. It was one thing for Maddox to kick him to the curb, however unjustified the charge of espionage. The thing he regretted most was that he’d cost Remy and Lily jobs they loved and would be the reason Adam quit. Maybe Eli and Jon, too, despite their ties to Maddox. They were infuriated by the boss’s behavior and the last thing you wanted to do was get on Jon and Eli’s bad side. His lips twitched. Making those two mad wasn’t safe.
A spark of humor lifted a sliver of the gloom weighing on him. Maybe Eli and Jon could use his skills in their private investigation business. Provided, of course, Dana was comfortable with his presence in the office. She worked in their business as receptionist and research assistant. According to Jon, she was the only assistant they had hired who tolerated his grumpy attitude. Of course, it helped she was madly in love with the cantankerous SEAL.
He was under no illusions about Eli and Jon having enough business coming in to hire Remy, Lily, and Adam. They didn’t. Most of their money for operations came in from Fortress. The two SEALs ran their private investigation side business to honor their mentor who’d been murdered the year before.
Zane could always write computer programs on the side to pay the bills, but what about Remy and Lily? He supposed Remy could return to his law enforcement roots and apply to one of the many police departments around the country. He’d spent ten years in the NYPD, and had earned his detective shield. He doubted his friend would go too far from his family. The Doucet clan was tight knit.
With Lily’s spotty history with law enforcement, she wouldn’t be a good candidate for a cop job despite her solid skills. Ironic that she married one.
“Remy, head for the Bell Road exit,” Jon said. “Lots of places to lose a tail around there.”
“Copy.” Within a couple minutes, he said, “Tell Eli I’m ready to shift lanes.”
“Roger that. Zane?”
“What do you need?”
“Next time we do this, we need to be wired with a comm system.”
“Agreed.” His mouth twisted. Wonder if Maddox would sell Jon and Eli the system at cost? Maddox wouldn’t be willing to sell anything to him. In fact, he suspected his former boss wouldn’t spit on him if he was on fire. There were no words to describe how betrayed he felt, though he would stuff the emotions deep inside to deal with when he was alone. After everything they’d been through, how could Maddox believe he would do something that would hurt his teammates? That’s how he felt about all the operatives he’d provided intelligence to during the time he’d been employed at Fortress. It went against everything he believed. What hurt the worst? Maddox knew that and still he believed this so-called evidence over Zane’s word.
Remy glanced at the rearview mirror and nosed into the space in front of Eli. Jon closed rank on their left to prevent the pursuing truck from slipping into the gap and trying to get at them from that side.
Claire drew in a ragged breath, her hand tightening around his.
He glanced over, noted her pallor. “You okay?”
“Ask me when we’ve been in the hotel room for a while.”
“We’ll be fine.”
“How can
you say that?” she whispered. “We have a truck with who knows how many people after us. How do we know who’s in there?”
“We don’t,” he admitted.
“What if it’s Fortress?”
“Doubtful. Maddox has no reason to send the troops after us at this time.”
Her head whipped his direction. “But he will?”
Man, he hated to add to her fear, but what choice did he have? “At some point soon, he’ll come.”
“How do you know?” Claire’s body vibrated with tension.
Zane released her hand, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and tugged her closer. With a soft sigh, she relaxed against him. The ball of ice in his stomach melted. Being needed by someone felt…nice. Lame word. But it was the true. He’d needed many people over the past two years. The Fortress operatives had needed his skills, which was gratifying. No one, though, had needed just him. Until now. Zane could get used to this, fast. “Word must have gotten around that Maddox tasked me with finding the traitor. He wanted me gone and set me up to get me out of the way.” Did a good job of it, too, if Maddox had fallen for it. “The traitor will want me gone, permanently. On the outside, I’m just as much a threat as I was inside the organization.”
“Why? Maddox fired you. What danger could you be to the traitor now?” She rubbed her forehead. “Sorry. The stupids are setting in from lack of sleep. You’ll go after the traitor anyway. Now it’s about restoring your reputation as much as protecting your friends and teammates.”
“I’ll take down the traitor. He hasn’t had time to drop the next piece of incriminating evidence, the one to convince Maddox that I’m still a danger to Fortress and its operatives.”
Claire frowned. “So who’s in the truck?”
“Probably more people after you. Seems like someone wants you pretty bad, sweetheart.”
“I don’t understand why. I don’t know anything. If I’m supposed to be leverage against Adam, then why haven’t we heard anything from Collins or his people?”
He rested his cheek against the top of her head, breathing in the apple scent of her shampoo. “We’ll have to talk about what you know or don’t know soon. The kidnapping may not have anything to do with your brother.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I believe we need more information,” Zane hedged. “It’s possible Adam’s tracker stopped working.” His eyes narrowed as a new possibility occurred to him. “It’s also possible the traitor masked his signal so it appears the signal disappeared.”
“So why hasn’t he called to check in?”
“Like I said, we need more information.”
“Maddox is a jerk.”
“You’ll get no argument from me on that score.”
Another call, this time from Eli. “Remy, when you get off the Bell Road exit, go toward Cane Ridge. Lots of roadway, fewer dense population areas.”
“Got it.”
“Is that a good plan?” Claire whispered to Zane.
He squeezed her shoulders. “Yeah, it is. Eli and Jon will run interference and try cornering the truck. If we nab one of the occupants, Jon will get answers.”
“I thought Jon was a sniper.”
“He is. He’s also cross trained in interrogation. The only operative better at interrogation is Nate Armstrong, a member of the Durango team.”
Claire tilted her head back to look at Zane in the face. “Adam mentioned him once. Said he was scary good at getting answers.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth. Well, it started out that way, but quickly turned into a lingering caress. He forced himself to pull back, aware it wouldn’t take much to become addicted to her taste. Claire Walker was a serious distraction, one he couldn’t afford in their current situation. Once she was safe, though, all bets were off. “The SEALs don’t skimp on training.”
“Was Nate a SEAL?”
He shook his head. “Delta. Durango served together in the Army as a unit.”
Claire was silent a moment, then said, “Zane?”
He closed his eyes. Please, he begged silently, don’t ask about my team. Not yet. Not here. Not now. “What is it, sweetheart?”
“What will you do for work?”
The tension faded away. “I’ll find something else. What choice do I have?” To sit at home with nothing to do would drive him insane. He had money to survive for quite a while. He needed a purpose, though, to get up in the mornings and slog through the hardships of just living with his uncooperative body each day.
“You have skills. Market them.”
“You think so?”
“Please. Adam sings your praises. He said you saved many lives because of your skills at the keyboard. He must have believed that if he kept in such close contact with you.”
“I was doing my job, Claire.”
She shook her head. “If my brother didn’t trust you with his life, he would have asked to speak to someone else whenever you answered his phone calls.”
Remy maneuvered off the interstate and onto Bell Road. He took a fast left onto Cane Ridge and sped along the asphalt road.
“He wouldn’t have a choice. Many times I was the only communications tech on duty.”
“Adam trusts you, Zane, not only your skills. He told me to call you if I ran into trouble while he was deployed. You, not Fortress.”
He stilled. “When did he tell you that?”
“Before he left for this latest assignment.”
Why would he do that? He and her brother were friends. More like acquaintances. Sharing a few slices of pizza and hurried thirty-second conversations didn’t build a friendship like Zane shared with Remy and Lily.
“Adam told me to contact you if something happened to Nana, that you would know how to get him a message. My brother is a great judge of character. He didn’t make a mistake in sending me to you for protection. You saved my life when I was kidnapped and put your own life on the line to protect me when the bullets were flying at my house. Adam made the right choice.”
Another phone call came through the sound system. This time it was Jon. “Remy, Eli and I will split off, make it look as if you’re on your own. Work your way around to Thomas Road. We’ll set up an ambush there. Don’t let these clowns run you off the road.”
“Cut me a break, Smith,” Remy groused. “I used to be a cop. I know how to drive.”
“A friendly reminder.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re all talk, buddy. Get off the phone and quit distracting me.”
A soft laugh from the other man and then he was gone.
Zane glanced over his shoulder in time to see the two vehicles following them peel off and head in opposite directions. Headlights behind them continued to keep pace with Remy.
“Hang on.” Remy hung a right and raced along the road. Within two minutes, the truck turned to follow them. “Oh, yeah. We’re going to snare these guys. They’re too focused on trying to run us down, not paying attention to their surroundings.”
“Why do you say that?” Lily asked.
“Anybody who lives around here knows all these streets intersect with Thomas Road. It’s a perfect place for an ambush.”
The truck put on a sudden burst of speed. “I think they’ve figured that out,” Zane said. “The question is how badly they want Claire.”
“Or how much money is being offered as a reward for her capture.” Remy accelerated on the straightaway.
“Reward?” Claire echoed. “There’s a reward out for me?”
“Makes sense,” Lily said. “Whoever sent these guys after you knows by now you’ve got help.”
Zane planned to chase the money. Somebody on the Internet was bound to talk if the reward was high enough. “I’ll try to run that down. Maybe Collins’ people will mention it online.”
“That would be a pretty good indication of who wants her, wouldn’t it?” Remy kept glancing in the rearview mirror. “They’re crawling up on us. Apparently, they don’t have the same regard for neighborh
ood safety as we do.” He pressed the accelerator a little harder. The van leaped forward.
Zane checked the truck’s position. “They have something more than the standard engine under that hood, Remy. They’re keeping pace with us.”
“Yep.” As soon as they turned onto another road, this one more of a country lane with very few houses, Remy said, “Slow them down a little, baby.”
She lowered the window, unhooked her seatbelt, and fired off a few warning shots. Immediately the other vehicle backed off. “Won’t hold them long. Pretty soon, those two are going to think I can’t shoot worth anything and come at us full speed.”
“That would be a mistake on their part. Another couple minutes, and we’ll be on Thomas Road,” Zane said.
Remy activated the Bluetooth to call Jon. “These clowns are becoming aggressive. We’re putting people in danger zipping down these roads at high speed. You guys ready?”
“Oh, yeah. Bring them to me.”
One left turn followed by a couple of right turns, and they were barreling down Thomas Road toward Eli and Jon. As the van passed Magnolia, the black SUV idling at the corner with the lights off darted into the road blocking the truck’s progress.
Zane twisted in time to see the truck slam on its breaks to keep from broadsiding the SUV. The second Fortress operative parked behind the truck, blocking it in. As one, Eli and Jon swept from their vehicles, weapons drawn.
“Do we stop or keep going?” Remy asked.
“They don’t need us. Claire’s safety is our priority. Let Eli and Jon handle these guys.” Unless Zane missed his guess, Taylor would be receiving another phone call by the time the night was over. He just hoped Jon was able to gather some much needed answers.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Claire sank onto the couch in the hotel room and covered her face with her hands. Tremors wracked her body, ticking her off. Didn’t look like Remy, Lily, or Zane were having the same problem. Then again, they had faced adrenaline dumps for years. She couldn’t begin to guess how many of these her Navy SEAL had dealt with while he was active duty. Maybe he could tell her how to stop the shakes.
