Chapter 2
“Every damn day,” Drew replied. “The airport,” he directed the driver. As they pulled away from the hotel, he fought the urge to swivel around and see whether the shooter followed them.
Talbot didn’t have any such reservations. When she’d decided they weren’t being tailed, she turned to him, her hazel eyes cool and steady. “Did you set all of that up to scare me?”
The logical question didn’t make it easier to swallow. “I could ask the same of you.” He could see the wheels turning, the speculation and doubt in her eyes. It mirrored the same feelings coursing through his system along with the adrenaline.
The difference was he didn’t think she’d pull that kind of stunt and she was so damn sure he would. Well, she was right. To a point. Not that he planned to clear up the specific details yet. Having her on edge and a little afraid of him, as well as having her help him evade the bastard they’d just left behind, worked in his favor. He hoped.
“What now?” she asked.
“I figured you’d have some ideas, being from the area.”
“North and South Carolina are different areas, in case you’ve forgotten your domestic geography.”
“Pretty much.” Of course he knew they were different, but the states and capitals lessons from grade school were buried deep in his memory by necessity. Survival took precedence and immediate and thorough immersion into a global community mindset had been essential. He knew his way around Venice and Rome, knew the streets of Morocco and Kabul better than he knew anywhere in the US these days.
“You can’t be serious about the airport. He said your passport was flagged,” she murmured. “They’ll have someone waiting for you.”
He forced himself to meet her gaze. “Someone like you?”
“No. I told you I’m here alone. I came in peace, by the way.”
“But our friend back there knew both of us.”
“Or claims to,” she agreed, her eyebrows knitting in a hard scowl. “He didn’t seem all that worried about following us.”
“Give me your phone.” He extended his palm, but she shook her head. “At least toss it out the window.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I’ll replace it.”
“That’s not the point.”
He wanted to shout and threaten, if only as a release valve for the constant pressure simmering in his blood. But that kind of tantrum would fall on deaf ears. The woman was nothing but ice-cold logic. She hadn’t even flinched when his knife had rested against her skin. Hadn’t batted an eye when he’d disarmed her.
He didn’t like being impressed.
In the years since his less than permanent death, he’d researched the documentation of the mission that irrevocably altered his life. He’d hacked his way into every report and chased the rumors through a maze of bureaucracy and red tape. Drew knew full well Ross Carpenter, the leader of the Special Forces team assisting Drew on the op, blamed him for the casualties. As he’d healed, he’d researched the pertinent players and learned the counterintelligence analyst assigned to review the events, Laura Talbot, had cleared Carpenter of any complicity or fault.
Smart woman.
He’d read the report. The one where she formally held Drew liable, believing he’d somehow fallen victim to his own plans to double-cross an asset and taken three innocent soldiers along with him to the grave. If only it had been that simple.
“I found your cell number and made contact,” he said. “The shooter probably traced the GPS signal on your device. That’s why it needs to go.”
“I’m not giving you any more advantage. Why don’t you toss the phone you used to lead me into your ambush?”
He snorted. “Now who’s being dramatic?”
“Compromise. I’ll turn it off and take out the battery.”
He watched her do both, putting the pieces in separate pockets of her jacket. Away from any immediate threat, he finally noticed she was dressed like a government agent. Dark jacket and slacks, pale blouse, and close-toed shoes. Christ. No wonder they’d been spotted.
“Not good enough.”
“It will have to be. I’m not surrendering my phone before you do.”
“I pitched mine before we got into the cab.” Her eyes narrowed with irritation. “Oh, did you miss that move? Guess you were wrong and my skills are as sharp as ever.”
“Show me,” she said.
“The move? Sure.” He deliberately misunderstood her, holding out his open palm once more. “But I’ll need a phone for effect.”
She rolled her eyes, refusing to cooperate. He could push, take the phone by force, but a display like that would only make them more memorable for the driver. He didn’t want anyone else in the area remembering his face. He definitely didn’t want the blood of any more innocents on his hands.
As they merged with the interstate traffic heading away from Charleston, he relaxed a bit. Giving her a fraction of an inch, he sorted through his dwindling options. “Where were you staying in Charleston?”
“I wasn’t,” she replied. “You?”
He didn’t believe her. She was hedging. Maybe she hadn’t been staying within city limits, but she must have a room close by. “I was at a bed and breakfast on the Battery.”
“How nice for you.”
That sounded almost like envy in her voice. He didn’t peg her as the sort who enjoyed antiques and heirloom recipes or afternoons with cool lemonade on a shady veranda. “It’s paid up for a week if you want to go back and hide out with me,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Be serious.”
“Okay. Seriously,” he leaned close to her so the driver wouldn’t overhear, “staying in a BB makes it harder for assassins to sneak up on me,” he explained. She smelled good and he wondered if it was shampoo or their escape through the fragrant flowers in the churchyard.
She scooted away from him. “I’ll take your word.”
“You’d be the first in a long while.”
He felt her studying him while he kept his gaze on the view through the windshield. The airport, a rental car, and time and space to regroup. It was the safest play. Safe wasn’t typically his style, but he needed more intel before he could continue.
“Why come to Charleston now?”
“I’ve always heard it’s lovely in June.”
She stared him down.
“My cousin’s getting married,” he said, knowing she wouldn’t believe him.
“Your cousin must be thrilled you’re alive.”
“I plan to watch from a distance.”
“That sounds like a veiled plea for me to take over this unfortunate encounter.”
“You’re welcome to try.” He knew she wanted to. Her exemplary record hadn’t happened by accident. She enjoyed being in control and she had the skills and smarts to get what she wanted from any situation. He couldn’t afford to let down his guard or show the slightest weakness. Given any opportunity, she’d jump on it and he’d find himself on the wrong side of a prison door.
The taxi navigated the traffic and zipped onto the exit ramp for the airport. He had only minutes to convince her to cooperate with him.
“Do me a favor?”
“Do I look like I’m feeling generous?”
“Call it an exercise in good faith. Doesn’t the military get off on exercises?” One of her dark eyebrows dipped low over her eye as she glared at him. “All I want you to do is use your phone to book a rental car.”
“I don’t need a rental.”
Technically, neither did he. Easy enough to steal the right vehicle, but he wanted to see who showed up to intercept her. “I think we’re both in trouble,” he explained. “Test my theory and book the rental.”
“No.”
“Scared I’m right?”
“Hardly.” She slipped one hand into her jacket pocket and he knew she was considering. “No one has any reason to be after me. An intercept proves nothing since they’re looking for you and they’ve seen me with you.”
“They is the key word. We’re at a disadvantage. Even if we don’t yet know who we’re up against, at least we can learn how resourceful they are.” He caught the spark in her eyes and knew she was on the hook. Smiling, he added, “So we separate. If I’m wrong and no one shows up to hassle you, I’ll tell you everything that brought me to Charleston.”
She was so transparent—to him—and he shouldn’t feel so validated watching her brain kick into high gear behind those wide hazel eyes. Whether she believed him… well, he’d burn that bridge when he got there.
When her phone came back on, she booked the car, letting him watch over her shoulder as she stepped through the process. “I’m not stupid, Garner. If we separate, you’ll run.”
“What if I promise to let you catch me again?”
“You’re damned annoying.”
“Been called worse,” he replied with an easy smile as the cab dropped them in front of the terminal. He handed over cash and held the door for her. “Together or apart?”
“This airport doesn’t offer much in the way of cover either way.”
“That’s the point, isn’t it?” The man who’d tailed her to the churchyard had been too confident to be working solo.
Drew had missed a detail along the way. Somehow, he’d underestimated the potential threats, his enemy’s resources, and the most likely responses to his presence stateside. He knew it wasn’t as simple as someone tracking his passport. He’d entered the country by car through Canada. As a woman. He couldn’t wait to see Talbot’s reaction when he told her that.
While he hadn’t bothered reviving his basic knowledge of local geography, he had kept tabs on every person with any ties to that screwed up mission. Following his target into territory so close to Carpenter’s base of operations, he’d expected the threats and bluster if Carpenter or any of his friends spotted him.
Talbot hadn’t disappointed. Armed or not, he knew she wouldn’t have used lethal force against him unless he’d been threatening civilians. But he hadn’t anticipated her being tracked or her communications compromised. He stopped berating himself for the error. There hadn’t been any reason to think Carpenter, or whoever he might send, would be under surveillance.
She thought he was messing with her, but he needed to get a look at the team tracking her to know how damaged his plans were. He could pray it was something unrelated to his purpose here, but the warning bells sounding in his head wouldn’t stop clanging.
They stepped into the terminal and hit the chilly wall of air conditioning. He still wasn’t used to the effect. She headed straight for the car rental desk while he paused to pick up a tour company brochure from a display. Security ignored them. That was a plus.
He admired her for rolling with the situation and was enjoying the view of her sexy stride as she walked away when he spotted the first problem.
The khakis and loud Hawaiian shirt did nothing to make the man built like a fire plug less threatening as he followed in Talbot’s wake. A phone to his ear and a wheeled bag at his heels, he wasn’t fooling Drew.
One down. At least one to go.
No, the airport didn’t offer much cover, but it made it easier to sort friend from foe. He chatted about the weather while he purchased a bottle of Coke and the latest issue of Time magazine.
“You know you can’t take that through security,” the clerk said, with a nod to the plastic bottle.
Drew grinned. “No problem, I’m just picking up a friend today.”
“In for Spoleto?”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“Oh, good, there’s so much going on these days. I hope y’all have a nice visit.”
“Will do,” he replied, walking out as if he had all the time in the world. He’d done everything short of doing the smile and wave at a security camera and no one had given him a second look.
Who had hired a team to follow Talbot? It should’ve been comforting that his target and plans didn’t appear to be the focus of the attack in the churchyard, except that the man had called them both by name. So few people knew who he’d been, and fewer knew who he was on any given day now. Drew had made a career of skulking around the world and he’d been a frequent witness to how low people could sink for money and power.
Talbot was at the counter signing for a car, with Fire Plug in line at the neighboring rental agency. Drew took a seat near baggage claim, the magazine in one hand, bottle of Coke in the other. He nearly laughed when the doors parted at baggage claim and in walked their unexpected friend from the churchyard.
The cocky jerk didn’t even try to hide his purpose, turning directly for Talbot. Drew willed her to look up, to notice, to give some indication she was ready for what was coming. Come on, he thought, show me your field skills aren’t as rusty as they seem.
He could move in, take out the new arrival, but he had to believe she understood they’d followed her. Surely this involved some kind of connection to him, but even that was up in the air right now since neither of the men flanking her seemed remotely curious and he was sitting here in plain sight. It was almost offensive how they ignored him.
In their place, he’d take her out in the rental car parking lot, despite the security cameras. Fewer witnesses, a bit longer response time with the gates and angles, and more getaway options on that side of the airport.
Talbot took her paperwork and moved on toward the lot. Drew watched Fire Plug time it so he could hold the door open for her.
Be smart, Talbot. If she moved the wrong way, Fire Plug could disable her as she walked by. But Drew shouldn’t have worried. She dropped the paperwork, crouching to retrieve it. First hurdle cleared with flying colors. Now, with two armed men closing in behind her, she had the benefit of space and a bright sunny day along with rows of cars for cover.
Drew left his chair and strolled over to the displays showing flight arrivals. He checked his watch and then joined the parade trailing Talbot through the rental car lot.
She walked with purpose toward the end of the middle row. Yeah, the woman was good, but seeing the shooter draw his weapon, the worst case scenario flashed across Drew’s vision: she’d go down, a bullet or two in the base of her skull, and the men would be on their way out of the lot before security noticed a problem.
Not today, gentlemen. With perfect aim, he threw the Coke bottle at Shooter’s head and raced after it, rolling the magazine into a tight cylinder as he advanced.
Shooter swore and turned. Fire Plug dropped his luggage and charged after Talbot. She glanced over her shoulder and then started running for the nearest car.
Now, one on one, it was almost a fair fight. Too bad Shooter hadn’t chosen a normal opponent. Expecting the bite of a bullet any second, Drew closed in, knocking the gun up and away with his forearm. He aimed the rolled magazine into the soft tissue at Shooter’s throat, but the blow glanced off as the other man twisted.
Drew quickly adjusted, blocking and dodging strikes aimed to take him down. This pair either wanted Talbot alive, or else didn’t want to kill her in broad daylight in front of half a dozen security cameras and a witness. He took advantage, guiding the fight and pressing Shooter closer to Talbot and Fire Plug. If they could get the men under control and into her rental, they might start figuring this out.
He heard shouts from security, but ignored them. Talbot’s credentials would get them out of any hot water, along with the video evidence proving they weren’t instigating but simply defending themselves.
Better if they could put an end to the scuffle without any crappy red tape. A formal report would blow his chance at justice for weeks if not years. He didn’t have that much time left. Not now that Carpenter and Talbot knew he was alive. As if each second had stretched out into a high-definition minute, Drew saw the opening and clotheslined Shooter, letting the man drop to the pavement with only a glossy blue SUV to ease the fall.
Dropping into a crouch, Drew moved with little crab-like steps behind the cover of vehicles to assist Talbot with Fire Plug, but he was too late. She had a small revolver to the man’s head, barrel to the base of his skull. He should’ve known she had a backup piece.
Drew cringed, certain she’d shoot, but with an impressive show of dexterity, she turned the revolver and used the grip to knock out Fire Plug.
“Help me get him in the car,” she said.
“Leave him for security,” Drew countered, heading for the driver’s side of the next vehicle in the row. “We need to get moving.”
Her nostrils flared and she pushed her unconscious assailant to the pavement. “We need to properly report the attack.”
“Bull. I’m not sticking around for the next team to take a shot—or worse, to get arrested.” He started once more for the nearest car.
“This close to the Air Force base, you’ll be a fugitive in less than a minute.”
That’s what he’d been for far too long. “So what?” It’s what he knew better than anything else. “Come on. It’s our last chance to escape.”
“Stay put.” She jerked her chin toward the authorities closing in. “Would you trust me?” Her hand landed gently, but firmly on his arm. “I trusted you.”
Logic sucked when every gut instinct he had told him to bolt, leave her to clean it up, and he could go do the job as planned. They’d hail him as a hero if he could expose the truth. In the split second he hesitated, she tucked her weapon back into the ankle holster and called out to the responding security team for help. “We’re over here!”
Damn. He was stuck now.
“What’s the problem?” The two-man team gave the unconscious men a wide berth. The leader spoke with Talbot and examined her credentials while the other man called in more help.
Drew stood back, assessing his escape routes while she did the talking. “I’m in town with a friend and we were attacked by these two,” she explained.
“Business or pleasure?” the leader asked.
“Pleasure. I love the Spoleto festival.”
“It’s a good time.” He scowled down at Fire Plug. “Usually. Did your assailants say anything or make a threat?”
“No. I was headed for the car and heard someone rush up behind me. Naturally, I turned around and saw this guy. Then I noticed the other man had a gun aimed this direction. My best guess is we managed to get in the middle of some problem between the two of them.”
“All right.” The officer looked around as if mentally reconstructing a traffic accident. “We’ll look into that. You don’t know either man?”
She shook her head.
“And what about you, sir?”
“I’ve never seen either of them before.” Drew put on his most neutral, non-threatening face. “I’d stopped by the men’s room while she picked up the car. I came out, saw the gun and tried to distract him.”
The security team accepted Talbot’s explanation as she took over the story. Amazing what the right badge and the voice of authority can accomplish, Drew thought. But he wanted out of here. Now. They were too exposed. His gaze swept across the nearest rooftops, seeing movements from sniper nests that probably weren’t there.
Probably.
His ears buzzed and his pulse raced. Not good. Needing to calm down, he took a deep breath, but it stuttered and stalled in his chest. They were safe, the attack failed. No one would shoot at them while they were dealing with security. Not here. But his memories clawed to the surface, dominating his thoughts, irrational but all too real. He’d seen evidence to the contrary in the recent past, assassins and thugs that cared about the payoff rather than the presence of witnesses and authorities. But that was over there, and this was Charleston. South Carolina. The United States of America.
“Drew?”
“Huh?” He stared at where she’d linked her hand with his. Cool and soft, her touch grounded him to the present. The safe-for-the-moment present. “Sorry.” He tried to smile. “Lost in thought,” he improvised.
“Do you have anything to add?”
He shook his head, memorizing the details as Talbot gave her contact information in town and at home. The security team apologized for the trouble and sent them on their way after she agreed to give a formal statement if necessary.
A small crowd had gathered by the door near the terminal and around the fence. Drew could only be grateful there weren’t more civilians around. “We need to go.”
Thanks to her appearance at the market this morning, he’d missed his best chance at intercepting his target. While he couldn’t be sure who the fire plug and shooter were working for, standing out here waiting for someone else to catch up wasn’t a good idea. Why the hell were they so bent on capturing Talbot?
“See?” she asked when they were buckling into a mid-sized SUV. “Wasn’t that easier than the alternative?”
“Don’t know yet.” His hands fisted on the steering wheel, he exercised his considerable self-control as he left the rental lot and aimed for the airport exit. He braced for sirens, arrest orders, or worse. But nothing worse happened and they left the airport behind without any problems.
“Now what?” she asked.
Good question. He couldn’t keep her with him and accomplish his goals. But he couldn’t, in good conscience, leave her to deal with an assassination attempt on her own. “I’d take you back to your car or hotel, but I don’t think that’s smart.”
“That’s not an option, Garner. I haven’t forgotten why I came to Charleston and I’m not letting you shake me off.”
“No surprise there.” And thank God he’d been right about someone tailing her specifically. She might not have tossed him to the authorities, but he wasn’t ready to confess the whole story just yet.
“I’m calling Ross,” she announced as he merged onto the interstate headed back toward the city.
He wanted to ask her not to, but figured that would only spur her on. It was likely whoever was on their tail was still using her phone to track them. They’d know soon enough. “Any chance you’ll tell him I’m not a threat?”
“Not much. I’m hoping he can use his connections to find out what the police discover about the men who jumped us.”
More logic. He should appreciate that. He listened while she left a message for her friend, managing to smother his jealousy that she had a trustworthy friend. Drew had gone years without anyone like that in his life. Loner was an understatement. The worst part of staying dead and living under the radar was maintaining the necessary distance from people with real lives.
For a few months it had been all right. Manageable. He’d always been more of an introvert anyway. Lately, the closer he got to the sliver of light at the end of this God-forsaken tunnel, the more he found it unbearable. Solitary confinement, without the steel box and bars.
When she ended the call, he resisted the urge to ask her to take the phone apart or throw it out the window.
He glanced at her, caught her biting her lip. “What are you thinking?”
“You should tell me what’s really going on.”
“That wasn’t the deal. Those two were after you, which means I was right and don’t owe you an explanation.” Yet.
“You’re an ass.”
“More like a scapegoat.” He felt like an ass just saying it aloud. “What have you been doing that made you a target?”
“Nothing I can talk about,” she said, rubbing her hands across her thighs.
He laughed at the standard reply and focused on the road, wishing for a serious distraction. “Now do you believe me that you were the one they followed downtown? That you’re the target?”
“They called you by name too.”
She didn’t have to remind him. He noticed the flashing lights of a highway patrol car coming up fast and he accelerated around a lumbering semi tractor-trailer hauling a shipping container.
Talbot sat up straight, glaring at him. “What’s your problem?”
“Didn’t you choose the full coverage insurance option?” He squeezed through a narrow gap in traffic, managed not to clip any other vehicles, and took the exit with more speed than wisdom. If they were lucky, the flashing lights weren’t searching for him.
“You won’t think it’s funny when I send you the bill.”
“Just an FYI,” he replied, rolling through the stop sign at the end of the off ramp, “dead men don’t pay bills.”
She muttered something he was sure he was better off not hearing. “I’ll allow that the team at the airport must have used me somehow, but this has to be about you.”
“Denial never solved anything,” he said, with an easy smile. For all of two minutes, he thought they were in the clear, but then the flashing lights appeared once more. “Damn it.”
“What now?”
“Someone has serious pull.” And he was pretty sure he knew who that someone was.
She twisted around in the seat to look. “Pull over and let me talk us out of this.”
“No, thanks.”
“I’m not going to railroad you.”
He zipped in and out of traffic with ease. “No, thanks.” Where the hell was the next interstate junction when he needed it?
“You asked me to trust you,” she said. “And I did. Now it’s your turn to trust me.”
Drew swore. He didn’t want to deal with reasonable arguments right now. He’d been running for so long and he was too close to his real target to give up now. He kept driving. The lights kept following them. “You researched me before you came to Charleston.”
“Are you suggesting someone hacked the government system, learned I was reviewing your old file, and had me followed?”
Another car with flashing lights joined the first. “It’s a logical conclusion based on what we’re dealing with here.”
“Enough is enough. Pull over. I can explain this is a misunderstanding.”
“I don’t think so. They had eyes on me in the airport and didn’t care.” He checked his mirrors, changed lanes again to make another turn, and began working his way away north and west, away from his real goal. “Those two had orders to deal with you.” He took his eyes off the road long enough to see the frown on her face.
“That makes no sense.” She grunted when he made a hard left and she slammed against the door. “I don’t have any enemies. No one knows me here. No one knew I was coming here.”
“Bull. I know who you are, Talbot. I’ve accessed your personnel file. I knew it was possible, being this close to Carpenter, that either of you might come poking around.”
“Impossible.”
“The Army would like you to think so.” He scanned the road, searching for the right diversion to lose the trail of flashing lights and sirens. He pulled around a slowing panel truck and did an illegal U-turn. “But we both know better.” When he was behind the state troopers on their tail, he pulled another left and eased into the delivery area behind a strip mall.
“What are you doing?”
“There’s no real cover out here and we need an escape route.”
“You’re paranoid. I can make this go away.”
“Next time I might let you try. This is just too coincidental for my comfort. Are you going to help here, or just let us get caught?”
“I’ve offered to talk it out. What more do you want from me?”
“Right now, I want directions. Options. Use the phone and find some place safe away from misinformed law enforcement and the assassins that are surely using them.”