Eighteen
Bennett saw the flash of lighter skin the militia member had missed with the body paint. With a feral grin, Bennett ran toward that bare patch of neck, trying to stay as soundless as possible as he darted from tree to tree. His blood sang with the thrill of the chase, and he couldn’t believe it was less than a month ago that he’d felt burned out and constantly numb.
Then he’d seen her , and his world had lit up.
Focusing on his quarry, he firmly reined in his thoughts. If he started thinking about Felicity, his concentration would be shot, and he’d be useless for anything except staring into space with a goofy smile.
The pale-necked militia member crouched next to an evergreen, breathing hard enough for Bennett to hear the wheezes twenty-five feet away. The way the bomber’s gaze was frantically darting around made Bennett fairly certain that they hadn’t spotted him.
Sticking to the blackest shadows, Bennett closed in. Last time you’ll try blowing up my wife , he thought with grim determination. His heart had almost stopped when she’d pulled Dino to the floor and he realized what was about to happen. When he tried to cover her with his body, she’d done her best to cover him right back.
The goofy-smile thing was starting to happen again, and Bennett quickly sobered. He didn’t need a flash of his teeth to catch the light and give him away at this point. Slowing his pace, he crept up behind his quarry and then exploded into action, grabbing the militia member from behind and shoving them face-first to the ground.
“Get off me!” a feminine voice shrieked, but Bennett didn’t hesitate.
Pulling her hands behind her back, he had her secured with his spare pair of cuffs within seconds. Zip ties worked to restrain her ankles and then connect the two to finish the hog-tie.
“C’mon.” Her tone had changed drastically, become coaxing, even flirtatious. She tried to toss her hair, but it didn’t work very well with it hidden in her beanie. “Untie me. I’ll walk back with you, turn myself in. You don’t think I’ll give you any trouble, do you? Not when you’re so big and strong.”
Ignoring her pleas, he stood, noting the location to let the sheriff know where he could find her, and then he went back into hunting mode.
The bound woman on the ground was still trying to convince him to let her go, but her voice rose to a frustrated shriek as he walked away.
“Kelsey?” a male voice shouted. “Are you okay?”
Bennett blinked. Apparently, his second quarry wasn’t going to be much of a challenge. Slipping through the shadows once again, he made his way toward where the calls originated.
“He tied me up!” Kelsey yelled back. “You have to come rescue me, Trey!”
There was a long moment of silence that Bennett used to close the distance between him and Trey, followed by the sound of someone running while trying to keep it quiet. The snapping of twigs and scuffling of leaves were getting fainter, and Bennett held in a snort when he realized that rather than rescuing his partner, the second bomber was running away.
Kelsey seemed to realize this as well. “Trey! Don’t you dare leave! Get back here right now and help me, or I swear to God, I will tell Clint you were the one who forgot to lock the armory that night. Trey!”
Bennett pursued the running man, moving faster now that silence wasn’t required. Between the crashing sounds Trey was making as he plowed through the underbrush and his heaving breaths, there was no way he was hearing anything else.
When Trey broke through the trees into a clearing and sprinted for the perimeter fence, Bennett allowed himself to grin. This was it. He sped up, lengthening his strides until he was just a few feet behind Trey. Glancing over his shoulder, Trey gave a panicked yelp before sprinting faster, obviously hoping to reach the fence before Bennett could catch him.
A motion-sensor light flashed on, bright as the sun, and Trey put on the brakes, coming to a screeching halt. Momentarily blinded, Bennett didn’t see the man in front of him had stopped until he crashed into him, sending both of them to the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, Bennett immediately grabbed Trey’s wrists and secured them behind him with a zip tie, going more by feel than anything, since white spots still covered his vision. By the time he had Trey hog-tied just like Kelsey, his eyes had adjusted, and he was able to see clearly.
Straightening, he wondered where Felicity was. He’d half expected her to be right behind him after she’d secured Dino with his cuffs. As fast as she was, she would’ve had no problem catching up to these two slow yahoos. Pulling out his phone, he tried calling her, but it went to voicemail. Next, he tried Callum.
“Watched you take down the guy just now on the monitor—nice job. Got the other one secured?” Callum asked as soon as he answered.
“Yeah. Felicity?”
“Disabling the van, just in case you let one of them get past you.”
Bennett grinned. Of course she was. “Rory got eyes on her?”
Callum relayed the question, and there was a muffled response. “Rory last saw a glimpse of her a minute ago at the gate, but—and this is a quote from Lou—‘your wife is pretty sneaky.’”
The glow of pride he felt—both because she was indeed sneaky and because she was his wife—was doused by a pang of worry. “Where’s the van?”
“In the trees next to the main gate.”
“Quickest route?”
Callum again consulted Rory and then reported back. “Follow the fence to the next gate. There’s a golf cart parked there. Take it and keep following the fence to the main gate. We’ll let you know if we spot her.”
Bennett gave an acknowledging grunt, already running along the fence as he ended the call. A curdled feeling in his gut warned him that something was wrong. It would’ve only taken a few seconds for her to disable the van, and then she would’ve found Bennett. Despite the short length of their relationship, he knew his wife—his brave, beautiful, incredible wife. If she wasn’t with him, watching his back, there was something preventing her from fighting by his side.
His fear for Felicity built as he swung into the golf cart. It wasn’t the fastest mode of transport, but it was quiet—just an electric whir—and it did beat his best sprinting speed, especially when he pushed down on the accelerator and discovered that Rory had made a few alterations. Zipping along at a solid twenty-five miles an hour, the cart carried him toward the main gate as his apprehension grew. The night wind blew over him, whistling by his ears and making it hard to hear anything else. He pressed harder on the accelerator, even though he knew he’d already maxed out the speed.
The fence posts whipped by, and he finally saw the open main gate ahead. Peering through the trees, he searched for any sign of the van or Felicity, but the trees and brush were packed too closely together, and his vision was hampered by the lights on the security fence next to him.
Suddenly, a gas engine roared to life on the other side of the fence. Bennett’s heart took off at a gallop as his lips tightened into a straight line and a pulse throbbed in his jaw. Immediately, he knew in his gut that she was in that van, and he tried to wring a bit more speed out of the straining golf cart.
Barely slowing as he reached the gate, he turned the cart, the small, fat wheels sending out a spray of gravel. It fishtailed as he fought to straighten it, the boxy body not made to go the speeds Rory had rigged it up for. The van shot forward, angling toward the driveway. Without headlights or any interior illumination, it looked like a dark beast, a blocky dragon bursting from the trees and barreling down the drive.
Wishing for his SUV—or any actual car —he grimly set his gaze on the back of the van and pushed the golf cart to its top speed.
***
Felicity was already regretting her decision not to fight back immediately, and the van hadn’t even gone a block. Telling herself there was nothing she could do about it now, she carefully sat up to spare her poor bruised hands. After checking to make sure neither man in the front was watching her, she scooted her way closer to the back of Clint’s seat, feet first.
“What’s that?” Finn grumbled, looking in his side mirror.
“What?” Clint was instantly alert.
“Something’s behind us, but it’s too small to be a car. Deer, maybe?” Finn rolled down his window so he could crane his head out and look behind him. There was a loud crack of a gunshot, and Finn yanked his head back inside the van, swearing and flattening his hand over his ear. When he released it to pull a black handgun out of the glove compartment, Felicity saw the dark gleam she assumed was blood streaking down the right side of his neck.
“Deer don’t shoot guns,” Clint said grimly, and the van engine roared as it sped up.
“Slow down.” Finn moved to lean out the window again, this time with the gun, but hesitated, making Felicity smirk. She wasn’t sure who was following them, but her money was on Bennett. “He’s dropping back too far behind us. I want to take him out.” From his bitter tone, he’d been rather fond of his now-mutilated ear.
Not liking the idea of Finn shooting at Bennett, much less “taking him out,” she carefully shifted until she was behind his seat. Despite the amount of adrenaline flowing through her, her head still throbbed with pain, making it hard to come up with a coherent plan.
The van slowed, and Finn leaned out the window, aiming behind them. In her new position, Felicity saw the moonlight reflect off his teeth as he smiled in anticipation. “Come closer, you asshole,” he muttered, and Clint let the van slow even more. “Closer…” His smile widened as he braced his right elbow on the seat back, steadying his grip as his finger settled gently on the trigger.
Nope. Not on my watch. Felicity slid her leg between his seat and the door, using her heel to press the seat lever as she leaned back, ignoring the pain when her bound hands pressed against the van floor. The seat back reclined completely, almost smacking her in the face. A yelp from Finn made her hopeful, but then the gun fired, and she could only hope that her maneuver worked to throw off his aim.
Without pausing, she pushed off the base of the seat, ignoring the carpet burning her hands as she shoved herself clear of the reclined seat. Rolling to her feet but staying low, she saw Finn had recovered and was turning toward her, his teeth bared and the gun in his grip.
Hunched over so she didn’t bump her already aching head on the ceiling, Felicity kicked him twice in quick succession—first his face and then, when his head was knocked back, the wrist of his right hand. The gun went off again as it flew from Finn’s hand, and Clint roared, but Felicity was too focused on Finn to check whether he’d been hit or was just enraged that she was fighting back.
Finn’s right wrist hung, limp and useless, but he grabbed at her with his left as she kicked again, catching her boot in his hand. She’d seen it coming but had already committed to the kick, so she used his grip to push off as she hammered him with her other boot heel, right in the bridge of his nose.
There was a loud crack of breaking bone as he dropped, releasing her right foot. Felicity fell back, cringing in anticipation of her full weight landing on her bound hands, crushing them. Pulling in her knees at the last moment, she managed to tuck her body and land on her shoulders and the back of her head. The additional thump on her skull didn’t feel great, but at least she spared her hands.
Using her momentum, she finished her backward roll and popped into a crouch. The van floor lurched beneath her feet, and she thought her concussion was acting up for a second but then realized the uneven bumping was because one of the rear tires was flat. She grinned. Bennett had done her job for her—a little later than ideal, but she’d take it.
Clint swore as he struggled to steer the lurching van with his left hand, his right scrambling for the gun Finn had dropped by his seat. An unconscious Finn slumped sideways off his seat, blocking Clint’s reach. Felicity launched herself toward the gun.
Abandoning the steering wheel completely, Clint shoved Finn out of the way and grabbed the gun just a fraction of a second before Felicity. She switched gears, scrambling back to get in a position to kick it out of his hands, but the van veered off the road and bumped over a large rock, the bounce knocking her off balance.
She managed not to fall, but the effort took time she didn’t have, and Clint grabbed a handful of her shirt, yanking her toward him. Flipping her around, he ripped the tape from her mouth in one cruel motion while his other hand pressed the gun to her temple. Even though she went still, he wrapped his free arm around her throat.
“Interfering bitch,” he snarled. “The trouble you’ve caused me… I’m going to enjoy hearing you scream as I kill you.”
“What trouble?” It was hard to get the words out with the pressure he was putting on her trachea, especially with the van tossing them around as it slowly decelerated over the rough ground, but she was determined. She’d always really hated being blamed for things she didn’t do. “I wasn’t even after you. You don’t have any warrants.” Yet. After tonight, he’ll be racking up a whole slew of them. “Why’d you even bring Dino with you to Vegas if you didn’t want me coming after you?”
“The Vegas buyer likes him,” he admitted before stiffening behind her. “None of your business. You’re going to help me get away from your PI out there, and then I’m going to kill you…slowly.”
“That’s not a great motivator for me,” she muttered, but he wasn’t listening.
Releasing her throat, he reached over to open the driver’s door without moving the gun from her head. The van hit an extra-big bump, and the jounce tossed Felicity forward. She caught the side of Finn’s seat back with her shoulder, which kept her from landing on his unconscious body. Turning in the same motion, she hoped to take Clint down with a well-placed kick now that the gun wasn’t pressed against her temple. He’d recovered too quickly, however, and was aiming the pistol at her face. Deciding a face shot wasn’t any better than a temple shot, she reluctantly kept her feet on the ground.
With an annoyed grunt, Clint twisted so he could stomp on the brake, bringing the van to a lurching halt before he slammed it into park and turned off the ignition, keeping the gun pointed at her the whole time.
Fear twisted inside her, but she mashed it down, knowing it would take over if she let it. When fear was in charge, there was no making smart decisions, so she just told herself she’d gotten out of worse situations before, ignoring the tiny voice inside her brain that insisted this was probably the worst situation she’d been in.
So after I survive today, I’ll use this as my worst situation I’ve survived before , she shot back, ignoring the fact that she was once again arguing with herself.
Clint pushed open the door and stepped out of the van, the gun continuously trained on her. “Get out.”
She shot a quick glance at the dark form of a still-unmoving Finn. “Are you just leaving your buddy?”
“He was a traitor anyway.”
“You’re really good at tossing your own guys under the bus, aren’t you?” she muttered.
“No, just the…” He caught himself. “None of your business. Get out. You should be glad anyway. He’s the one who tipped me off about you, and he got his cousin to kick you out of her motel.”
“Finn’s cousin…” Her hazy thoughts were working against her again, and it took a moment for her to make the connections. “Marian?”
“Of course, Marian,” he scoffed. “You get kicked out of some other motel too? Now move!”
It was a struggle to maneuver around the driver’s seat without the use of her hands, but she somehow managed to get her feet on the ground. Immediately, Clint grabbed her again, turning her away from him so he could wrap one arm around her neck and rest the muzzle of his gun right above her ear.
There was full darkness now, only a hint of moonlight keeping the inky blackness from being impenetrable. Felicity looked around as well as she could without being able to move her head, but she didn’t see any sign of Bennett, which sent a surge of relief through her. The wind had died down for a moment, so the only sounds were the ticking of the van engine as it cooled and the sigh of the breeze as it rippled softly through the trees’ branches.
She realized in that moment that she was glad to be the one with the gun pointed at her head if it meant Bennett was safe. Felicity blinked, processing the thought. The only other people she’d ever felt that way about were her sisters.
So I guess I do love him?
She stiffened in Clint’s hold, and his arm tightened around her neck.
“What? What is it? You see something?”
“I just realized I love my husband.”
There was a long beat of silence before he asked, “You’re married?”
“Is that really important right now?”
He huffed. “You started it! Never mind. Let’s go.” He started walking, but the position was too awkward to move quickly, and he soon released the hold around her throat. “Walk. You even think about acting up, and there’ll be a bullet in the back of your head.”
She led the way, scuffling her feet along the rough ground to both feel her way and also delay them. He’d already told her she was dead once they reached wherever he was taking her, so she wasn’t in any hurry to reach it. With a huge effort of will, she kept herself from looking around for Bennett.
You don’t need a knight in shining armor to rescue you , her brain scolded. You’re pretty good at rescuing yourself.
Felicity raised a mental eyebrow at the voice. Any ideas on how to accomplish that last part?
The voice was silent.
“Faster,” Clint ordered, giving her back a hard enough push to make her stumble forward.
“Watch it!” she snapped. If she fell, she’d land on her face without her hands to catch her and not enough forward momentum for a dive roll.
“Don’t speak to me like that,” Clint growled, grabbing her hair where it was coiled in a bun at the base of her neck and yanking back as he pressed the gun muzzle hard against her temple. “I have the power here. I can end you in a second—and will. So watch your mouth.”
Felicity bit back the response she wanted to give him and gave a very short nod, all she could manage with his grip on her hair.
“Now walk.” He shoved her forward as he released her.
It was very hard not to respond. When she was scared or stressed, snarky comebacks were what steadied her. She hated feeling helpless. Hated it. In her frustration—and also her fear of getting a bullet in the back—she strode forward, disregarding the footing. A firefly flashed in the darkness ahead of her, and then another, their presence oddly comforting.
A strange, quiet whir filled the air around them. It took Felicity a moment to recognize the sound, and when she did, she couldn’t hold back her grin. Here comes the cavalry.
“What is that?” Clint asked, nerves showing in his voice.
“Fireflies,” she improvised. The wind picked up just in time, the howling loud enough to cover any other sounds.
“There aren’t any fireflies in Colorado,” he scoffed, having to raise his voice to almost a shout for her to hear it over the wind. “Besides, they don’t make any noise.”
“Sure there are.” She smiled wider as she snuck a peek to their right, getting just a glimpse of a faint white shape before she hurried to face forward, not wanting Clint to look that way. To keep his attention focused on her, she shouted over the noisy wind, “There’s even a species specific to Colorado. Their wings make that sound.”
“That’s bull—”
A white golf cart sped out of the darkness to their right and slammed into Clint, sending him flying in the middle of his rebuttal.