“Laney, move it!” Riser increased his speed, pulling Laney along behind him. She was struggling to keep up with his longer stride, but her face was all determination. She’d do it for her daughter. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. “Just a little bit farther.”
They rounded the last corner and shoved past a doctor standing outside a patient room with a clipboard in hand, inadvertently knocking him into the wall.
Riser didn’t slow down to apologize; he pounded toward the double doors at the end of the hallway, stuck his arm out straight, and shoved through them into the warm, summer air. Thank God, the moon was tucked behind the clouds, and there were only a couple of streetlights in the rear parking lot to light the path. He needed to get around front to his truck, but he didn’t want the path to be any easier for the people following them.
The hospital doors slammed open and the heavy cop came running out, struggling to get his sidearm out of his holster. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
The man fumbled the gun like he’d never held it and lifted it in the air with a one arm move classic for rookies. Shit. The cop didn’t have a clue what he was doing. He’d accidentally fire off a round if he didn’t get his grip under control.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Riser didn’t think; he didn’t feel; he just reacted.
He threw Laney to the ground. The bullets chinked into the pavement a few feet from their heads. Laney screamed. Riser jumped to his feet, and charged. The cop’s determined, sweaty expression morphed into one of shock.
Before the man could pull the trigger again, Riser tackled him to the pavement and wrestled his gun free. As much as he wanted to shoot the bastard for daring to fire a weapon in their direction, he emptied the clip and threw the gun as far as he could across the parking lot. “Don’t follow us,” Riser said in a dark voice that had the cop nodding his head instantly in agreement.
“Yes, sir.”
He ran back to Laney, snatched her up, and took off around the side of the hospital. “We’ve got to hurry. Run for my truck, it’s the black four door in the corner.”
A cop car came squealing around the corner, lights flashing, sirens blaring. Riser shoved Laney down between a couple of vehicles until the car blasted past them, and they took off again.
Moments later, they were in Riser’s truck, both of them breathing heavily. “Laney, buckle your seat belt,” Riser said, as he cranked his truck.
“All—all right.” Laney fumbled with the seat belt, unsuccessfully trying to get it to latch. Riser threw his truck into reverse, slammed on the gas, and then shoved it into drive. He floored the pedal and squealed out of the parking lot, just in time to see the first cop come running around the corner, waving his arms frantically to his fellow officers, pointing in their direction.
“Shit, hold on.” They still had quite a way to go before they reached the safety of his cabin, and they had to make it out of town without being followed.
Laney gave up her battle with the seat belt and grabbed the door handle, jamming her feet into the floorboard.
It was going to be a bumpy ride.
A pair of bright headlights arced through the rear window and the cop’s siren wailed through the sleepy small town. Riser accelerated, two handing the wheel, speeding straight down the next few blocks as he searched for the best turn off.
If this was a high-speed chase by a drug lord or terrorist or something he’d slam on the breaks, do a one-eighty and pump that car full of lead. But he couldn’t do that to the local law enforcement considering they thought they were in pursuit of a criminal. He’d have to evade and escape without tearing up the town.
A small road, divided down the middle with cute trees, appeared just ahead to the right. “Hold on, Laney.”
He down shifted, yanked the wheel and then screeched around the corner at the last minute, clipping a low hanging limb with the tail end of his truck.
Laney slid across the bench seat, her gasp drowned out by the roar of his pipes as he accelerated forward. She started to scoot away immediately, but he hooked another right, slamming her right back up against his rib cage, forcing her to straddle the stick shift.
She trembled and like it had a mind of its own, his arm fell around her shoulders. Damn, she smelled good. Like fresh flowers and honey. “I’ve got you.”
She stared up at him, her big brown eyes sucking him in, and for the moment he completely forgot where he was. How could he have never noticed how striking she was? Even in the crumpled and stained baggy T-shirt she made his chest squeeze tight.
Blue lights swept through the window, dragging back to the present. Shit, what the hell was wrong with him?
Riser forced his gaze to the rearview mirror, anything to distract his mind from Laney and her soft skin touching his. He needed to let go of her and focus on driving, but damn him if he could pull his arm from her shoulders, especially with her trembling in his grip.
Then her body lost some of her rigidity and she folded into him, her small arm going around his waist. Forget letting her go, he pulled her closer. The sirens screamed closer and Riser tightened his grip on the wheel. Right now, he felt like he could fly.
“I’ve gotta lose this tail.”
She nodded against him. “I’m all right. Go.”
No more words needed, Riser let go of her shoulder and shifted into over drive. The small town mainstreet blurred past, the streets empty at this time of night. Thank God. The last thing he needed was having to worry about avoiding innocent bystanders as well as the cops.
The buildings fell away and the cop car lagged behind, further away but not gone. They’d left the camoflauge of the buildings and now sped past fields and the occasional farm house.
Nowhere to cut corners and hide.
Laney’s fingers dug into his waist. “What are we going to do?”
He scanned the horizon ahead. Without the streetlights from town, darkness prevailed, only broken from his head lights. They took a long curve, flanked on the left by a thick patch of trees and the cop disappeared for a few seconds. The trees gave way to another corn field. Inspiration struck.
Riser killed the headlights, shifted down to first and turned off the road. Laney let out a squeal as the cab of the truck dipped into a ditch, rocked up and then they were bumping into the cornfield in the dark. “What are you doing?!”
He braked and killed the truck, letting his hand slide from the stick to her knee. “Hiding from the cops,” he said with a smirk, “Did this once when I was a teenager.”
The sound of cicadas and crickets permeated the cab. Laney licked her lips and his gaze honed in on her mouth.
“So, you made it a habit to break the law?”
He could practically feel the energy thrumming off her now, the burn off of a mad dash of adrenaline. He had the same rush, only his was shifting into over drive from being so near her. “Na, just a little cow tipping.”
She chuckled and the sound was sweet music to his ears. “Somehow, I don’t have any trouble imagining you doing something like that.”
“I was a little bit of a prankster,” he said with a grin. His imagination wasn’t on tipping cows, however, it was on her lips and how good she would taste. She blinked, fanning her thick eyelashes over flushed cheeks, each innocent move stoking his need. His fingers dug into her knee, itching to move up her thigh.
What the hell was wrong with him? He had to get her to safety and call Bo, save her from her ex, but all he could focus on right now was her satiny skin practically glowing in the moonlight. If he didn’t get some distance between them soon, he’d be laying her down on his bench seat right here in the middle of nowhere. His throat clamped down and heat filled his groin. She’d be so beautiful with her hair fanned out beneath her…
The cop car roared past. Riser blinked. Fuck.
He threw her to the bench out of sight, their harsh breaths mingling. She went all stiff beneath him, but there wasn’t any fear on her face – just raw desire. The same edgy need gun
ning through his veins and heating his skin. He dropped his forehead to hers, grasping at the last threads of his control. “We need to go.”
Her whispered response caressed his face, “You’re right.”
Let her go, man. You’re getting distracted again – he couldn’t afford another bungled mission. Another Caroline Cotter.
He sat up, ignoring the quaking want shaking his frame and grabbed the keys. He cranked the truck and craned his head around, backing out of the field in the dark. He couldn’t stop his gaze from cutting to Laney as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, her lush lips locked into a shakey, but firm, line. She stared straight ahead with a shattered expression. He’d hurt her somehow.
How much more of a bastard could he be than to basically take advantage of her in her situation?
Chapter Six
She was suspended in a state of part anger, part shock, and about 90% full-blown terror, like one of those hanging wall clouds that had yet to decide if it was just going to give a little gust of wind or transform into the kind of full-blown tornado that ripped people’s lives apart.
Her heart pounded in her chest, much like the roaring engine in Riser’s huge four by four as he accelerated down the empty stretch of highway. She kept her eyes glued to the rearview mirror and her hand wrapped around the handle on the door, her fight or flight at war inside her. If she told Riser to stop the car and let her out, he probably would. She could make it back in time to see her baby girl wheeled safely from the operating room… Except, she wouldn’t, would she? They’d put her in cuffs and keep her in custody until her ex could take her and do…whatever he wanted to her. If she sucked it up and held out for at least a day, she might be able to put the Mark problem to rest once and for all.
Riser had given her hope, for the first time in these months of running, that she might actually shake free of her ex for good. That he might be forced to leave her and Lily alone.
What would it be like to no longer live in fear? To be able to let Lily play outside, without constantly watching her through the window on the porch. To live in the sunlight, free of the shadows that had tracked her every move these last years.
“Laney, are you all right?”
She nodded even though she wasn’t. She’d just abandoned her only child into the hands of strangers, and she’d awakened the beast who had been searching for her.
“You cold?” Riser slid her a sidelong glance, his right hand hovering over the air conditioner knob, as if to adjust it.
“No, fine.” Not so convincing when digging her nails into her thighs so deeply blood should be spilling onto the car seat while her other hand still clutched the door handle.
Laney forced her fingers to uncurl slightly, at least enough to let the blood flow back into her extremities, and focused on leaning back against the seat instead of hunching over like a ninety-year-old woman with a bad case of arthritis.
Riser exhaled a long, exasperated sigh.
So much for her attempts to appear relaxed.
He took to drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel and started fiddling with the radio, even though the music was so low she couldn't make out if it was country or rock, or whatever the hell this man listened to.
Riser put on his blinker, slowed and turned right onto what could only be described as a paved road trying to turn into gravel. The trees crowded the edge of the road and they hit a few potholes, but not enough to throw her out of her seat. Not the smooth-paved city roads she was used to driving.
Nothing looked familiar, but that wasn’t any great surprise. Not for a girl who stayed close to her little one bedroom, hiding, unless she had to go to work. Made her Saturday outings to The Dollar-Mart store to stock up on groceries and new pairs of socks a special treat and covert operation all in one.
Thank God Lily wasn’t old enough to realize it wasn’t exactly normal for mommy to have three deadbolts on the doors or to resent her because all of their clothes were bought secondhand from yard sales.
Riser hooked a left, down shifted, and accelerated onto a new highway, yellow lines flashing as they sped up. He kept darting glances her way like he was scared she was gonna jump out the window or something. “Need me to slow down?”
Yep, he was worried she was going to go brain splatter on the pavement. “No, speed up.”
That statement got her an arched eyebrow, but he didn’t question her response. He hit the clutch, shifted, and the engine roared. Laney flew back against her seat, adrenaline pumping through her veins, warring with the choking anxiety and guilt. If only he could see inside her now, see the knots twisting her stomach into tiny choked-off chunks of flesh full of regret and fear.
“Care if I turn up the radio?” Anything to distract her brain from the death spiral she was headed down as quickly as Riser was speeding.
“It’s all yours.” He went back to drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel, glancing at the rearview mirror and then back at her. Laney pretended not to notice his hot perusal, clicked the knob for the volume, and turned it to the right. A country hit blared through the speakers, “You're going to regret this. You're gonna want this one back.”
Crap. Was fate trying to tell her something? She hit the power button and flung herself back in the seat.
What was she thinking putting her life, and Lily’s, into the hands of an almost stranger? What did she know about Riser anyway, other than he came to a bar every so many months for a night or two? He wasn’t a heavy drinker. Mostly kept to himself, but always left with a girl. And not the same one either. He didn’t pick fights; he didn’t scream or yell. Didn’t do much of anything but consume a couple of beers. But he did tip well. And he had a smile that summoned women to him like the pied piper’s music. “Why are you doing this?”
He shrugged. It was a move that would have looked casual on a normal man; on him, it only drew attention to the thick muscles that looked like they’d been chiseled from a granite rock face. This man was pure power.
Power that could be dangerous.
And hot.
Laney dragged her eyes from his perfect physique and pinched her nose. Hard. She was losing it. How could she be noticing Riser’s muscles when her daughter’s life was at risk? When she’d promised herself never, ever to let another man in.
“Call it penance.”
Wait, what? Penance? She was nobody’s charity project. “Excuse me?”
“That pissed you off, huh?” He drummed his thumbs faster on the wheel, the constant thump, thump, thump grating on her nerves until she was about ready to scream.
She clenched her teeth and fisted her hands in her lap. “Could you not do that?”
“Do what?”
“Bang your steering wheel like a drum. It’s not a musical instrument, it’s a device for controlling your car.”
His eyes widened and his thumbs stopped moving. He was quiet for a minute or two before he spoke again. “Last year, I was assigned to guard a target. She was under threat. I got distracted. She was kidnapped. No one’s seen her since.”
Guilt washed over Laney. She’d just been a total witch to him and here he was helping her while going through a personal hell of his own. Endangering himself and going out of his way to ensure she was safe. “Oh, Riser. I had no idea.”
“No biggie. Lesson learned.” His casual answer couldn’t hide the pain in his voice. She ached to reach out to him.
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
The silence stretched out, thick as molasses and just as suffocating. She cleared her throat and cast about for any subject to talk about. “You have a nice truck.”
She could only see the right side of his face, but she caught enough to see his lips lift into a small smile. “Is that your way of apologizing?”
Laney shrugged and turned her attention back to the passenger window. While she was sorry, she wasn’t really in the mood for social niceties. She needed to find out exactly how Riser was going to do what he had
promised. “So, what branch of the military are you in?”
“Army.”
Laney rolled her eyes, letting him see the utter disbelief on her face. “You’re not army.”
“Says who?”
“Says me,” she answered simply.
“And how would you know?”
Laney lifted her hand and kicked off the points on her fingers. “You always sit with your back to the wall facing the door. You never drink more than one or two beers. You never stop scanning the crowd, like you’re always looking for threats. And you moved like James Bond tonight in the hospital, not Private First Class Riser.”
Riser started drumming on the steering wheel again. “You a private detective or something?”
“Do I look like one?”
“Nope. You look like a woman who’s learned how to read men the hard way.”
His blunt answer took the wind straight out of her sails. She dropped her hands to her lap and twisted her fingers together.
Riser blew out his second sigh of the night, this one full of resignation. “Shit, Laney, I’m sorry. I’m not used to being around women that much. And when I am, we’re not usually talking.”
“What are you doing?”
He slid her a sidelong glance, “What do you think we’re doing?”
Heat flooded her cheeks and she glanced away. Yeah, what else would a man like Riser be doing with a woman if they weren’t talking?
The cobwebs growing in her cotton undies was evidence enough of her lack of horizontal sheet time with any man. For a long time, she’d thought she’d never desire a man’s touch again—after Mark, the thought of sex had brought her as much pleasure as laying in a coffin full of spikes—but Riser awakened something in her. Something that had lain dormant for a long, long time. Heat rushed to the surface of her skin beneath the touch of his calloused but surprisingly gentle fingers, and she’d found herself making excuses to touch him. Drawing circles on his hot skin. Imagining what it would be like if she touched him in other places. Or if he touched her.
Truth was, she’d been attracted to him for a while, though she hadn’t let herself admit it. She’d looked at him looking at Cheri at the bar, and wished his eyes would linger on her instead. Dangerous thoughts to have about someone like Riser, who was clearly a flavor-of-the-week kind of guy, no matter how sensitive and helpful and honorable he seemed to be.
Brotherhood Protectors: Riser's Resolve: Men of Mercy (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
