Chapter Seven
The two burliest dudes pulled their doors open and dragged them out of the car. Alayah yelped when he dropped her to the ground, fear lancing through her when her ankle sent a jolt of pain up her leg. She was dead if she couldn’t run.
“Be careful!” Derek yelled at one of them. “You could hurt her!”
If she hadn’t been so terrified, she might have smiled at his protectiveness, but there was nothing to smile about when there was a gun pointed at her face. Besides, she doubted that these guys cared who they hurt.
“She has nothing to do with this,” Derek went on. “I’m the one you want. Just let her go.”
“Not happening,” the guy with the gun growled. “You’re both coming with us.”
He reached for her, but she scrambled away, afraid if he grabbed her arm, he might break it, rendering her useless in helping Derek. “I’ll get up!” she yelled, pushing herself to standing. She wanted to inch closer to Derek, but too many guns were trained at her.
“Toss the gun,” the guy holding one on Derek said. “And don’t make any sudden moves. You’re surrounded, so I promise you, you’ll both be dead if you do.”
“Feel free to take it,” Derek said, turning his back to the guy holding him at gunpoint. “We’re all friends here.”
Alayah grimaced when the guy took the gun from the waistband of Derek’s pants and then shoved him from behind. He went flying and sprawled out in the gravel beside her. He popped back up almost immediately and brushed off his hands.
“We’re not friends,” the guy snarled. “You wouldn’t have lied to a friend about where the information was that he wanted.”
“I didn’t lie,” Derek said, posturing until he managed to block her with his body. “I told you where the files were.”
Alayah noticed one of the men touch the giant bandage on his face and she got a little satisfaction knowing he was the one Derek had stabbed.
The bandage had blood seeping through it, and he probably needed a hospital, but they were too determined to finish the job.
Since they were standing just off a populated highway, even if it was dark, they took the risk of someone seeing them.
The thought hit her in the gut. They weren’t worried about collateral damage, and that terrified her.
As though one guy read her thoughts, he opened the back hatch of the Suburban. “We can’t stand here all night. Get in.”
The guys herded them toward the back of the SUV.
Alayah limped toward it but knew getting in meant certain death.
What choice did she have? Four guys with guns trumped two people without them.
Especially when one was nothing more than an ankle-biter in a fight.
When they reached the back of the SUV, Derek held his hands up.
“She can’t get in herself. I’m going to lift her. I’m not trying anything.”
“Boss,” one of the other guys said. “We ain’t gotta kidnap them. We just gotta get the files. Ain’t nobody said nothing about kidnapping no one.”
Those few sentences told Alayah that these guys were flying by the seat of their pants rather than following a set plan.
“Ain’t nobody asked for your opinion,” the boss said, turning away from them to argue with the other guy.
“Can you run?” Derek whisper-asked and she glanced up to meet his gaze. His eyes told her he’d try anything to save them, and she suspected hers reflected the same level of desperation.
“Not on this terrain or with my ankle throbbing the way it is,” she whispered as the guys behind them started to argue among themselves.
They listened, hoping for some piece of information they could use once they got out of the situation. Alayah refused to believe that they wouldn’t, because if she gave up fighting, she’d be dead.
“We don’t have time for this!” the boss yelled, and all the other guys stopped talking, which made it easier for them to hear. “Our job is to get the information. Once we do that, we’re out of here. Now shut up, get back in your car, and let’s get out of here.”
In the second of silence that followed, a twig snapped. “What was that?” the boss asked as they all turned to the woods.
“Probably an animal. I think there are wolves and bears around here,” one of them said, and Alayah heard the skitter in his voice.
Something told her it wasn’t a wolf or a bear.
She glanced up at Derek. Put me in the car, she mouthed.
Without question, he lifted her carefully by the hips up and into the back of the SUV before she motioned him in.
He lowered the hatch while the guys were facing the woods, looking for a threat on four legs.
Alayah suspected they’d be surprised to discover the animals they were about to meet only used two.
“What’s going on?” Derek asked.
“Do you still have the jump drive?”
He shook his head. “No, I shoved it down in the seats of your SUV. No way will I hand that over willingly to these guys. I’d run while they are distracted, but I’m afraid we’d end up with bullets in our backs.”
“Running won’t be necessary,” she said with a smirk just as the first grunt of pain hit their ears.
“Secure One, Romeo,” a voice called out, and Alayah did an internal fist pump.
“Secure Watch, Alpha!” she called when Derek pushed the hatch open. She threw herself at Roman, who caught her, lifting her from the car and setting her down on the road. “I’m so happy to see you!”
Derek climbed out behind her and looked around in confusion. “How?” he asked, taking in the four guys already zip-tied on the ground. Zac and Declan stood with their hands on their hips and frowns on their faces as they stared her down.
“Everyone, this is—”
“Derek Benjamin,” Roman finished, but didn’t take Derek’s outstretched hand. “We’ve been looking for you. I will say I’m a bit surprised to find you with one of our technicians.” He turned to her. “Is this your deer?”
Shame filled her and she willed her body to be still, but she was shaking too much from relief. “I promise I’ll explain everything, but we need to get out of here,” she said. “How did you get here so quickly?”
“We managed to track down Derek’s cabin earlier tonight,” Roman explained.
“That was fast,” Derek said, obviously shocked.
“The head of Secure Watch, my wife,” Roman added, “worked for the FBI. Finding your cabin was child’s play for someone like Mina.”
Alayah heard so much pride in Roman’s voice whenever he spoke of Mina.
She dreamed about hearing that come from a man who loved her, but she knew that was a long shot at best. She might be little, but she was a lot to love for so many reasons.
Thus far, she hadn’t found anyone willing to do it for long.
Her gaze drifted to Derek, but she shook her head at herself.
Never going to happen. Besides, he might be wanted for murder.
Zac walked up to them. “We were ready to let the cops know about it when Cal got that tingly sense he gets about a team member in trouble. We could see all your starts and stops that, frankly, didn’t make much sense.
He called Kieran, who thought you were a little squirrelly when you met up, so Cal sent us out here to check out the cabin and ensure you were okay.
We were at the cabin when your SOS button went off. Who are these guys?”
“SOS button?” Derek asked, turning to her.
“We all wear one. I didn’t have time to mention it, but I activated it before we left the SUV. I figured at least Secure Inc. could track us down if they took us.”
“More likely they were going to leave you here dead,” Declan called from where he stood by the bound guys. “They’re not talking, but these guns look good and deadly.”
Derek turned to Zac. “I don’t know who they are either,” he explained.
“Though, I had a run-in with them earlier.” He pointed to his face, and Roman snapped on a flashlight, only to shut it off immediately with a grimace.
“They didn’t tell me who had sent them, just that they wanted files.
I assumed they were talking about the app that Hugo was working on.
I didn’t even know that Hugo was dead until just about an hour ago. ”
Declan glanced up from his phone. “Cal’s been updated. He wants us to return to Duluth, and he’ll meet us at the station.”
“Roger that,” Roman said. “I want you and Zac to take Alayah and Derek back to Duluth in her SUV. I’ll wait here for the police and then double back to where we parked ours.”
“Cal wants everyone to return to Duluth together,” Declan clarified, which made Alayah bite her lip.
She didn’t know too many people who didn’t follow an order from Roman Jacobs.
As Cal’s foster brother, and a former FBI agent, he was second in command of the ship.
Especially when Cal wasn’t on site to assess the situation.
“Since he’s not on the ground and I am, that decision falls to me.
These guys are going to be in that SUV when the police arrive,” he said, jabbing at the one behind her.
“If we leave the vehicles unattended, someone else could swoop in and take them. I’d rather that didn’t happen as I’m sure the police would as well.
The faster we know who’s signing their paychecks, the faster we get this solved so we can go home.
Time is money and this is costing a lot of both right now. ”
“Yes, sir,” Declan answered. Alayah was glad he was smart enough not to argue with him.
“All due respect, Roman,” Zac said, to which Roman frowned. “If Zac and I go with Alayah and Derek, that leaves you alone and vulnerable. That’s unacceptable. We all stay or we all go.”
Roman dropped a hand on his hip as he glanced between the group. “Then we all stay. I’ll have Cal send the circus to us. Might as well get comfy. We’re going to be here for a while.”
He walked off while Zac returned to help Declan with the guys coming around after taking a knock on the head. Weren’t they in for a surprise?
Alayah turned to Derek. “When the cops arrive, I’m afraid they’ll arrest you. I’m sorry.”
“No apology needed,” he promised, taking her hand gently.
Now that the terror had drained away and their lives weren’t at risk, she allowed herself a moment to bask in the warmth of his hand and the gentle way he caressed the back of hers.
“You’ve gone above and beyond to help me tonight.
If anything, I should apologize to you. It was wrong of me to involve you in my problems. You could have gotten hurt or killed. I didn’t use my best judgment tonight.”
“You’re right,” Declan said, walking up to them.
“But neither did Alayah, even if her heart was in the right place. You have about ten minutes or less before the cops arrive. If I were you, I’d be sure your stories match.
No lies. No half-truths. Just the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Got it?”
“Roger that,” Alayah muttered as he walked away. Something told her this was going to be a long night.