Silent Pursuit (7 page)

Racing back into the room, he shifted the pack on his back and snatched a sheet from the bed. He pulled a knife from his belt, making a cut in the middle of the sheet, then ripped it into a long thick strip. With swift, sure movements, he tied one end around his waist.

Back on the balcony with Gina, he tied the other end around her. “Okay, I'm going to go first. Once I'm in the tree, I can help you over and down, got it?”

She nodded, never taking her midnight eyes from his. Trust shone in their depths. Trepidation filled him.
Oh, God, don't let me let her down.

Then he was over the railing and reaching for the tree limb, blinking against the blinding downpour. Once he had a secure hold on it, he swung himself over and onto it. Gina already had one leg over the side of the balcony, her eyes on something back in the room.

Were they already in there?

She scrambled over to the edge, her fingers reaching—and not quite long enough to grasp the limb.

“You'll have to jump, Gina.”

She gasped and turned to look behind her. Whirling back, one hand still on the rail, she took a deep breath and leaped toward the limb. Her fingers curled around the branch, her weight pulling on Ian.

A loud crack echoed through the night and Ian flinched, thinking they'd been spotted and shot at.

Then he felt the limb shift and dip.

Gina eyes went wide, then blinked repeatedly as the rain poured onto her face. Sputtering, she swallowed hard, still
dangling from the tree like a child getting ready to work the monkey bars.

“Don't move,” Ian whispered. He glanced at the doors on the balcony and could see shadowy figures casing the room. Soon, they'd be out on the balcony.

And he and Gina would be trapped.

G
ina gripped the branch and felt every muscle in her shoulders start to scream in protest. As quickly as the rain seemed to have started, it lightened to a drizzle. The limb fell slack against her palm. The cold seeped in. “Ian, I'm going to fall,” she whispered.

“No, you're not. I won't let you. You're tied to me, remember?”

She gave a watery, humorless puff of a chuckle that came out sounding like more of a grunt. The terror shuddered inside her in spite of Ian's reassuring presence and highly trained skills. “That simply means if I fall, you do, too.”

“Just,” he grunted, “give me one more second.”

“What are you doing?”

“Getting you off that limb. Okay, I'm wedged in here, now start coming my way, inch by inch. Now that I'm off the limb, maybe it'll hold for you.”

“Maybe?” she squeaked.

“Move, Gina, we don't have much time.”

She moved. Slowly, ever so slowly, she worked her way over to the sound of his voice. The limb gave another groaning creak and she froze.

Ian's whisper reached her. “Don't stop now—you're almost here.”

She kept going—until she lost her grip. One hand slipped off and she dangled like a monkey, cramped fingers holding on for dear life, the other arm windmilling, trying to grab back onto the limb. A whimper escaped her.

Then a hard hand clasped her flailing wrist and Ian hauled her the rest of the way over and up against his chest's rapidly beating heart.

She stood there, shivering, arms clasping the man who was determined to keep her safe and scare her to death all in one night.

“Ready?”

They still had to get down the tree to the ground—then somehow get to the car.

Suddenly, the cold air hit her and she couldn't stop shaking. How would she make it down the tree? It seemed as if an hour had passed since they'd started this run for their lives, yet in reality she knew it had been only minutes.

“Okay. I'm ready,” she gasped.

“Follow me.”

He started the trek down the tree, one foot gently placed, the other following. Slowly, they worked their way down. Just as they touched the ground, the balcony door opened above them and a uniformed body leaned over the railing. He paused, spotted them, then mimicked Ian's initial move.

He jumped for the tree.

When he hit the limb, it gave another booming snap—and man and limb fell two stories to crash at the base of the tree.

Ian grasped her hand and pulled her after him, her bare feet tickled by the rain-drenched yard and nearly frozen stiff
as the cold wind blew across her. She looked back to see the man lying there, not moving. Was he dead?

There was no time to find out.

Ian led her to the edge of the moat and without hesitation, hit the water, yanking her after him.

The cold wetness came to her waist and nearly sucked the air from her lungs. Her knees buckled but she pressed on and within seconds was out on the other side, dripping water and shivering like someone struck with a seizure. “Wh-wh-what now?” she stuttered.

Ian pulled a set of keys out of his sopping pants. “Get in.”

He'd moved the car. To the other side of the moat.

“You planned for this?” She crawled in, not worrying about soaking the seat; she just wanted to get away.

“I used to be a Boy Scout.”

Slamming the door, she grabbed the seat belt. Intuition told her this might be a rough ride.

Ian started the car, backed up, put the vehicle in Drive—and came nose-to-nose with headlights. “Duck down!”

Slamming the car into Reverse, he skidded backward, flinging the wheel to the right, then the left.

Then back into Drive.

Gina lifted her head as the wheels squealed on the concrete. “What about the gate?” she panted.

“My guess is it's open—just in case they needed to get out quick. If not, I'll have to figure something else out.”

A minute later his guess proved true. The gates stood wide, beckoning them into the darkness beyond. Ian sped through.

“They're behind us, Ian.” Her heart pounded in her chest, fear clogging her throat. “How did they know where we were? How did they get past Nicholas's security?”

Ian reached over and turned the heat on full blast. “All
good questions that will have answers later. Right now I need to drive. We also need warm clothes and a place to hole up.”

A bullet shattered the rear window, and Gina swallowed a scream as she ducked lower. “Ian?”

“Just hold on. I know this part of Myrtle Beach like the back of my hand. I'll lose them in a few minutes.”

Another shot rang out and a thump sounded in the rear of the car, and Gina prayed as Ian spun the wheel and took the turn for the interstate.

 

Beside him, Gina shivered uncontrollably; Ian knew he needed to do something fast about clothing. They couldn't stay in their thin pajamas. Even with the heater blowing wide open, the cold felt as though it had already seeped through to his bones. She stuttered through chattering teeth, “A-a-are they still behind us?”

“No, I think I managed to lose them.” He'd gone on a wild ride of twists and turns, back roads, then on the highway, then off again, calling Mac and Jase in for reinforcements. “I grabbed my pack with a lot of essentials in it, but nothing much to change into. If we're fast, we can get a change of clothing and find a hotel so we can plan our next move.”

“There's always an open-all-night tourist store along this road. What about stopping at one of those?”

“Fine, but it'll have to be a hit-and-run thing. Grab something, pay for it and get out.”

An hour and a half later, satisfied he'd lost whoever had been chasing them, he pulled into a small oceanfront town on the outskirts of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and found a store.

Pacing from one end of the wooden storefront porch to the other, he checked his watch. He'd handed her a handful of cash and Gina had disappeared into the open-all-night
store five minutes ago. He'd done his best to hide the car in the darkness of the little alley that ran alongside the store, but it wasn't very deep, holding trash cans and other debris blocking his way. He'd just have to pray it would be enough.

Headlights appeared in the distance, amping his adrenaline up a notch.

He slid deeper into the shadows of the wooden porch. If those were the guys after Gina, they'd probably recognize the car.

Of course, if the make and model didn't clue them in, the missing window in the back and several bullet holes around the right taillight probably would—if they saw the car. He prayed they'd miss it.

But if they didn't…

Already-tight shoulders hardened into granite.

“I'm ready,” Gina's breathless voice came from behind his left ear. “I got you some sweats, socks and shoes, too.”

Keeping his eyes on the approaching vehicle, he said out of the corner of his mouth, “Step behind me and stay out of sight.”

“What is it?” He felt her move without hesitation even as she asked the question, the warmth of her hand resting on the small of his back. He ignored the zing up his spine as a result of her touch and focused on the car. How had they been found? He knew he'd lost those who were chasing them and lost them good. There was no way they should have caught up with them this fast. Unless…

They'd planted something on the car.

Ian mentally slapped his head. He should have thought of that. It's what he would have done, but even if it had occurred to him, as fast as they'd had to leave Nicholas's, he would have had no time to sweep the car anyway. Chilled inside and out, Ian realized these guys were good—maybe
better than he. They'd seen the car on their way into Nicholas's and planted the tracker just in case.

A precaution that had paid off for the bad guys.

More questions hit him. Then again, if they'd planned to kill them in the house, why had they planted a tracking device? Why not just dismantle it? Had they wanted them to get away?

 

Ian took the bag of clothes from her hand—and the lead—and pulled her along behind him at a fast clip through the parking lot. Christmas brought loads of people to the beach for the lights and just the pleasure of spending the holidays on the water. Fortunately, even at this late hour, there were a fair number of people and cars all around them. Probably due in part to the all-night bar open two doors down.

One store led to the next. Staying in the shadows proved to be nearly impossible in the well-lit areas they had to pass through in order to get to the next building. As a result, they hurried, heads ducked, Ian on the outside.

She suddenly realized why he'd done that. He was protecting her. A bullet would have to go through him to get to her.

Something to think about later.

Ian jerked her arm and she found herself in another alley, her back against the wall, with Ian's hand pressed over her mouth. Startled, she stared up into those electrifying blue eyes. He removed his hand and placed a finger against his lips in the universal symbol for silence.

She nodded.

Satisfied she'd stay quiet, he moved away and for a moment she felt bereft. His large presence made her feel safe, protected.

But she couldn't rely totally on him. She had to use her
brain, stay calm, keep her terror under control. Because if she didn't, she'd make some stupid mistake that could get her—and Ian—killed.

He returned, his jaw tight, eyes narrowed.

“What is it?” she asked.

“They're gone. They must have decided they'd lost us.”

She blinked. “Do you think they'll be back?”

“Maybe. I'm hoping they've given up for the night.”

“Do you think they found your car?”

“No doubt. I feel sure they put a tracking device on it. And they're going to realize because of where I parked it, we deserted it and are now on foot. They'll regroup and form a plan on how to find us.” He looked back over at the car. “I'm sure they searched that vehicle, though, which is why I've got to call the police and report this. If they left any kind of evidence behind, a strand of hair, anything, I want it documented. We need crime-scene people out here. Not only because the rental company would have it investigated anyway, but also because it'll give us the protection of a distraction.”

Fear immediately swamped her as the only word that registered was
police.

Her fingers reached up to toy with the heavy locket she'd placed back around her neck. “No, you can't. It's not the police I'm really worried about—it's the fact that once they've finished their part, they'll turn it over to the army to investigate. And I think that'll cause more problems than we want.” She shook her head. “And I know for a fact that Mario didn't want the army investigating this.”

“All right.” He blew out a breath. “Then I'll call Mac back. He can handle this himself, but we're not hanging around. We're getting out of here before those guys come back.”

“And you're positive you can trust Mac?”

“He's the best option we've got right now. The man knew Mario, had a lot of respect for him.”

“I know. He was a pallbearer at the funeral,” she whispered.

“Yeah, I saw him.”

She thought about that day, the look on his face when she'd turned and walked away without a word. “I didn't expect to see you there.”

Pain darkened his blue eyes to stormy seas. “Of course I would be there. He was my friend.”

Gina swallowed and looked away. “I know he was. I'm sorry.” She was also sorry for the way she'd treated him that day. He'd been hurting, too, in spite of the fact that she'd believed him to be something akin to a traitor.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Me, too.”

“All right, I trust you. Call him if you think that's what we need to do.”

“I think it is.”

Within minutes, Ian had his former commanding officer on the phone and explained their current situation. He hung up and turned to her. “He'll be out here shortly. He said to get out of sight while he contacts the local police and requests a crime-scene unit to be dispatched to go over the car. I'm reporting it as a civilian. I've kept your name out of it. Mac will, too.”

Worry filled her. She prayed it was the right thing to do.

“All right. But won't the police wonder why this car was shot up and where we went?”

“Yep, but I'm not going to worry about that right now. I've put in a request to my supervisor allowing me to be assigned to finding the people responsible.”

“And they're going to let you do that?”

“It's either that or I continue my personal leave. I have
about ten weeks' worth I can use. Don't worry about it, Gina. I'm going to take care of it, all right?”