Читать книгу Hard Target - Barb Han - Страница 11

Chapter Four

Pain rippled through Emily’s bruised and battered body as she crouched low and hugged her knees into her chest, making herself as small as possible in the floorboard. One of her ribs had to be cracked. The sharp pain in her chest sliced through her thoughts. Being run through a cheese grater would hurt less than the bruises on her face and body.

The agent, Reed, had said she could trust him. He’d said the magic words—he wasn’t hauling her butt in to Homeland Security. And yet, her internal alarm system was still set to red alert. Why? What was it about him that had her wanting to run? Was it the alarming comfort his presence brought?

Sporadic turns and the sound of another shotgun blast said they still had company. Emily didn’t dare try to peek even though her tightly coiled nerves might break at any moment if she didn’t know what was happening. Even so, she doubted her body would be able to respond to her brain’s command to get up.

Reed swerved the car left and then made a hard right. “Wish I’d been alone when I found you. That would make things less complicated.”

“Would you have believed me?”

His compressed frown said it all. No, he wouldn’t have. “I owe you an apology for that.”

“I don’t blame you. I’m sure you deal with all kinds of crazy people in your work.”

“Most have nothing to lose when they run into me. And I’ve learned logic is a better resource than instinct.”

He was used to being shot at? That revelation shouldn’t reassure her. Oddly enough, that’s exactly what it did. Maybe because she had no clues how to escape armed men or dodge bullets and there was no way she’d still be alive without his expertise. Her world had been catapulted into a whole new stratosphere of danger. Having a man around who knew how to use a gun and was on her side didn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen.

Yet, depending on anyone was foreign to her. Thoughts of too many hours of her childhood spent crouched low in the corner behind her bed while her mother experienced “free love” in the next room assaulted Emily. She’d been old enough to remember what it was like to live in a suburb with a normal family and a father whom she believed loved her. Her fairy-tale world had ended the day he left. Emily squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to block out the memory.

Emily slowly counted to a hundred to keep her mind busy, refusing to let fear seize her when more bullets came at them. They pinged by her head tat-tat-tat style, and she knew by the sound difference that whoever was chasing them had changed weapons.

“I can lose them around this bend or when I get on this highway. This turn is going to get hairy, so hang on.”

Chancing a glance at Reed, seeing someone who wasn’t afraid, held her nerves a notch below panic. However, the contents of her stomach retaliated at the high rate of speed combined with sharp turns. She’d probably eaten too fast because the burger and milkshake churned. “Are they still back there?”

“Get back in the seat belt. The threat has tripled, and we’re going to sustain a hit.” The authority in his voice sent a trill of worry through her.

“Okay.” She struggled to move, wincing as she planted one hand on the glove compartment and the other on the seat, praying she could gain enough leverage to push herself up from her awkward position on the floorboard. Her arms gave out and she landed hard, racking up another bruise on her hip.

A glance at Reed said they were almost out of time.

“Brace yourself for impact.” He tapped the brake and swerved.

Emily lurched forward, her head caught by Reed’s right hand moments before it hit the dash. Pushing through the pain, she pressed up to the seat and quickly fastened the belt over her shoulder.

Large SUVs pulled on each side of them as the truck she recognized from earlier roared up from behind.

The quick look Reed shot her next said whatever was about to happen wasn’t going to be good. He floored the gas pedal, shooting out front. Temporarily.

On the right, the SUV hit the brakes. The one on the left barreled beside them, keeping pace.

The window of opportunity to hop onto the freeway and lose these guys was closing with the SUV on the left blocking the on-ramp.

A bumper crunched against the back of the Jeep. Emily’s head whipped forward.

Dueño’s reach had long arms. Just as he had promised. Could Emily envision a life on the run? No. She’d fought too hard to put down roots. She’d found a new city, bought a town house and worked her butt off to be next in line for her boss’s job. Dueño was forcing her into a different direction. Anger burned through her.

Another hard jerk of the steering wheel and Emily felt herself tumbling, spinning.

Reed’s rich timbre penetrated the out-of-control Ferris wheel. “Relax as much as you can.”

Time temporarily suspended. Emily drifted out of her own body as the spinning slowed, and then stopped.

Everything went black, but she still could hear shouting. Someone was yelling at her. A deeply masculine voice called. She coughed and blinked her eyes open.

Smoke was everywhere.

Everything burned. Her nose. Her eyes. Her throat.

Her body might’ve stopped spinning, but her head hadn’t.

“Emily. Stay with me.” The voice came from a tunnel filled with light.

Or did it?

There was something comforting about the large physical presence near her.

“Emily. I need you to try to move.” A sense of urgency tinged the apologetic tone.

Her response came out as a croak. She tried harder to open her eyes and gain her bearings.

Sirens sounded in the distance a few moments after she heard another pop of gunfire. The men. Oh, no. All at once she remembered being on the run. Their car had been forced off the road, while speeding, and thrown into a dangerous spin. The Jeep had rolled. And that voice calling her belonged to Border Patrol Agent Reed Campbell.

Her eyes shot open.

Heat from a fire blazed toward her. Flames licked at her skin. Thick smoke filled her lungs.

She was trapped in a burning car while men shot at her. It took another few precious seconds for her to realize she was upside down. At least the inferno kept the men at bay, except for Reed. He was right by her side. An unfamiliar feeling stuck in her chest at the thought someone actually had her back for a change. Emily wanted to gravitate toward the pleasant emotion, except she couldn’t move. She wiggled her hips, hoping to break free. No luck.

The seat belt must be stuck.

There was no feeling in her legs. She tamped down panic, knowing full well that couldn’t be good. Even if she could work the belt free, which she was trying with both hands, how would she run?

She’d have to solve that puzzle when she came to it.

“Take this.” A shiny metal object was being thrust at her through the thick wall of smoke separating her from the agent.

Reed’s face was covered in ashes and worry lines. Blood dripped down his cheek from a cut on his forehead. There was compassion in his clear brown eyes and what appeared to be fear.

She took the offering, a knife.

“Cut yourself free.” His arms cradled her shoulders.

“Okay.” She shot him a scared look.

“I’ll catch you. I won’t let you get hurt.”

Her gaze widened at the figure moving toward them. “Behind you.”

The agent turned and fired his weapon.

She worked the knife against the fabric, wanting to be ready, knowing they were out of time.

Sirens split the air.

Reed turned his attention back to her as soon as the man disappeared. “I’m ready. Go.”

The last patch of thread cut easily. Emily didn’t want to think about how good his hands felt on her as he pulled her from the burning Jeep across the hard, unforgiving earth. Or how nice it was to have someone in her corner.

The head of the House believed placing labels on people degraded them, so he simply called her girl. Her mom soon followed his lead.

Growing up in a house full of free love and short on anything meaningful, like her mother’s laughter, had made Emily wary and distrustful of people. Watching her mom adopt the long hair and threadbare clothes everyone in the House wore made Emily feel even more distanced from everything familiar.

In the twelve years Emily had lived there, her mom had six children by various housemates. It had been like living in a time warp. Apparently, the label “Father” was also degrading because no one stepped up to help care for the little ones, save for Emily. She’d taken care of the children until one of the men had decided that at seventeen she was old enough to learn about free love. She’d fought back, escaped and then ran.

Emily had learned quickly the outside world could be harsh, too.

With no friends on the streets, she’d had to fight off men who confused her homelessness for prostitution. Her first stroke of luck had come when she found a flier for a shelter that handed out free breakfast. A worker there had told her about the nearby shelter for teens. For the first time since leaving Texas as a child, Emily had her own room.

All her life savings, money she’d made from her job at the local movie theater, was hidden in the House. Emily had saved every penny. Needing a fresh start, she’d slipped into the House, took her life savings and then bought a bus ticket to Dallas, where she could return home and put down roots.

By the time she’d finished a few college courses and gotten a decent job, her half siblings had scattered across the country, and she heard from her mother mostly when she needed something.

No matter how honest and pure the agent looked, Emily knew not to get too comfortable.

Feeling vulnerable out in the open, she searched for the men. Where were they?

She glanced around, half expecting more gunfire. Instead, EMTs ran toward them and all she could hear was the glorious thunder of their footsteps.

But, where was Reed?

Then she saw him. He lay flat on his back and her chest squeezed when she saw how much blood soaked his shirt. One set of EMTs rushed to him, blocking her view. Another went to work on her as firemen put out the blaze.

The cavalry had arrived.

But how long before Dueño’s men returned to finish the job?

Emily needed a plan.

Heaven knew she could never rely on her mother. The woman had shattered when Emily’s father left. Even then, Emily knew she needed to help her mother. The woman couldn’t do much for herself in the broken state she was in. When she’d finally forced herself out of bed, a neighbor introduced her to “a new way of thinking.”

It wasn’t long before Emily’s mom packed the pair of them up and moved to California to live in the House. Emily had been excited about the promise of perpetual sunshine, but her enthusiasm was short-lived when she figured out no one ever left the grounds except in groups to shop for food.

Which was why she couldn’t afford to rely on the agent much longer. Especially not the way he stirred confusing feelings inside her that had no business surfacing. She knew where that would end up.

* * *

REED STRIPPED OFF the oxygen mask covering his face. “I’m fine.”

“Can you tell me what day it is?” the young EMT asked.

“Monday. And I know I’ve been in an accident. I was forced off the road by another vehicle. I have to call local police to file a report.” He reached for his phone, needing an excuse to step away and make eye contact with Emily. He wanted to know she’d be okay. Men were huddled around her, working on her. Reed tamped down the unexpected jolt of anxiety tensing his shoulders. “What’s going on with my witness? She’ll be okay, right?”

“We’ll know in a few minutes.”

Not good enough. Reed had to know now. He pushed off the back of the truck.

The EMT stepped in front of Reed. “Sir, that’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? Is she hurt badly?” The young guy was big, worked out, but Reed had no doubts he could take the guy down if necessary. Reed’s hands fisted. His jaw muscle twitched.

“The others are working on her. I’m talking about you. I’d like to finish my exam, if that’s okay.”

The guy seemed to know Reed could take him down in a heartbeat. He reminded himself to stay cool. The EMT was only doing his job. No point in making it any harder for him.

Reed fished his wallet out of his pocket and produced his identification. “Name’s Reed Campbell. I’m a Border Patrol agent. I have two brothers and two sisters. It’s Monday at...” He checked his watch. “Four o’clock.”

“Good. I think it’s safe to say you didn’t suffer a concussion. Will you let me patch up your forehead before you go, and let me take a look at what’s causing all that blood on your shirt?” the young guy asked, resigned.

“Can’t hurt.” He sat still long enough for his gashes to be cleaned and bandaged.

“I still think it’s a good idea for you to go to the hospital.”

“I plan to.” His gaze fixed on the team working on Emily.

“As a patient.”

“I promise to get checked out if I take a turn for the worse.”

“No changing your mind?”

“I appreciate all you’re doing for me, but I’m more worried about her.”

Reluctantly, the EMT produced papers. “Then I need your autograph on these. They say you received basic treatment at the scene and refused to be taken in for further medical evaluation.”

Reed took them and signed off, uneasy that Emily was still surrounded by a busy team of workers. If someone on the inside of his agency was helping Dueño, Reed couldn’t chance his phone being hacked. His best bet was to play it cool with the EMT and pretend his had taken a hit. “Any chance I can borrow your phone? Mine’s a casualty of the wreck, and I need to check in with my boss.”

The worker nodded, handing over his cell.

They needed transportation, and Reed trusted a handful of people right now—most of whom shared his last name. His brothers were in North Texas, too far to catch a ride. His boss was his best bet. After being shot in the line of duty, Reed knew he could trust Gil. And with any luck, no one would be listening in on his boss’s phone, either. Reed would play it cool just in case.

Gil picked up on the second ring.

“It’s Reed. I had to borrow a phone. I don’t have time to explain, but I need a car.” There’d be a mountain of paperwork to deal with when this was settled.

“Where are you?”

“My Jeep’s been totaled. I was chased off the road. This is big, Gil. Fingers are reaching out from over the border.” Reed kept the name to himself to be on the safe side.

Gil muttered a curse.

“We need to be careful here,” Reed warned. “We might have another Cal situation on our hands.”

Gil grunted. “I’ll have transportation waiting for you... Wait, let me think.”

“How about the little place you like to visit on special Thursdays?” The Pelican restaurant in Galveston was Gil’s wife’s favorite seafood spot. He took her there every anniversary and occasionally on Thursday nights for their catfish special. Gil didn’t go out on Fridays. Said it was too crowded. Few people knew Gil’s habits the way Reed did. He’d learned a lot about his boss during the man’s visits to the hospital after Reed was shot.

“Got it.”

“Leave the keys so I can find them. The usual spot.”

“Okay.”

Keys would be under the sink in the bathroom. Reed glanced at Emily. The EMTs were still surrounding her. They’d want to take her to the hospital. With the amount of smoke she’d inhaled and the possible swelling, it was probably a good idea. “Can you get ahold of the local police chief? I’d like a fresh set of eyes on us at the hospital.”

“I’ll make the call myself from Vickie’s personal cell.”

His admin’s number should be safe. “Appreciate it.”

“You need a place to stay in the meantime?”

“I’ll figure it out. Besides, the less I involve the department, the better. Probably best if I branch out on my own for this one.” And he had no intention of leaving Emily for a second. These guys were relentless and she was scared. Not a good combination. If she made one mistake it’d be game over. The thought sent a lead fireball swirling down Reed’s chest. Didn’t need to get inside his head about why his reaction to the thought of anything happening to her was so strong. Reed passed it off as needing to keep his promises.

Gil paused. “Be careful.”

“You know it.” Reed ended the call. Now all he had to figure out was how to get to the bank and withdraw enough money to get by for a while. Then he’d need transportation from the hospital to The Pelican. No way could Emily walk in her current condition. She’d need time to rest and heal.

They didn’t have the luxury of either.

Whoever was after her meant business.

The EMTs loaded her into the ambulance. Reed pushed through and took the step in an easy stride.

He was instantly pulled back.

“Sorry. It’s policy. No one rides in back except us,” one of the men said. He was older than the guy who’d worked on Reed.

“No exceptions?”

“Afraid not. How about you take a seat up front? We’ve already called a tow truck for your vehicle.”

Reed nodded, not really liking the thought of being separated from Emily. Anything could happen to her in the back if those men were waiting, or worse yet, ambushed the ambulance.

Climbing into the cab, he told himself he cared only for professional reasons. The chance to nab a jerk who would do this to a woman fueled his need to protect her. And that it had nothing at all to do with the fact those hazel eyes of hers would haunt him in his sleep if he walked away.

Now that he knew her story had merit, he wanted to know more about her. It had everything to do with arming himself with knowledge that might just save both of their lives and nothing to do with the place in his heart she stirred, he lied.