He glanced over at Grayson. “Get Reynolds on the radio.” Where the hell was that man going? No one stopped searching, not until Stone was dead and Mercer’s daughter was contained.
Lee’s life was on the damn line.
No one stopped.
* * *
TINA STARED AT the small radio cradled in Drew’s hand. It had crackled to life a moment before.
“Report!” a man’s voice demanded.
Drew glanced over at her. One hand was on the wheel. The other was tightening around the radio. “Clear,” he barked. Only that wasn’t his normal voice. He’d responded in a voice that was harder, sharper.
“Any—” more crackling “—sign?”
“Not there. Checking to the east. Interference—” Then he slammed the radio into the dashboard.
It splintered into several big chunks.
“Like I said,” he muttered, “interference.”
She couldn’t pull in a deep enough breath. She was trying hard to stay calm, but the panic wanted to rise. Did Drew know? He’d heard her deep, heaving breaths back at the abandoned ranch. Did he realize just how much of a risk she posed to him?
Breathe. Relax. Picture the air sliding deep into your lungs.
“You think...they bought that?”
“If the chopper lands in front of us, then they didn’t.”
The chopper was about fifty yards away and it was—
Leaving.
Tina finally got that deep breath.
“Any signal on the cell?”
She glanced down. “Not yet.”
“When we get to Lightning, we’ll call in my backup. They can pick up the men we left back at the ranch, and they can get you out of here.”
“Lightning?”
“A speck on the map. One of the tiniest towns you’ve never seen.” His lips hitched as he glanced toward her. “As far as rest stops go, it’s the only option we have.”
“But...but won’t those men be looking for us there?”
“Yeah, they will be, and that’s why we have to make sure they don’t find us.” He gave a grim nod. “It’s also my backup plan.”
“Good to know you have a plan,” she said as her fingers curved around the cell phone.
“My team has eyes in that town. They’ll be able to back us up. Doc, you may even be on your way to your D.C. apartment by dawn.”
That sounded like heaven to her. Going to New Orleans had been such a horrible mistake. And to think, she’d originally believed it would be the perfect, easy assignment. A way to get out of D.C. for a while.
If only she’d known about the danger that awaited in the Big Easy.
But Drew was right. Soon she would be going home once more.
She just had to get through a few more hours of hell first.
* * *
DREW HAD BEEN RIGHT. The town of Lightning was so small that if she’d blinked, Tina was sure she would have missed the place. When they drove in, a rumble of thunder followed them.
They passed boarded-up buildings. Two empty gas stations. She saw a diner to the right that looked as though it hadn’t been open in years.
“Storms come in here like clockwork,” Drew told her as he fired a quick check into the rearview mirror. So far, there had been no sign of company. “Lightning messes up all the electrical equipment in town. Most folks don’t like the storms, so they don’t stay here long.”
Well, that would sure explain the town’s name.
He eased off the main road. Well, what passed for the main road anyway. He parked the vehicle behind the diner. “No sense leaving it too close,” he said as he took her hand. He’d taken the cowboy hat and a shirt from one of the thugs back at the old ranch. The shirt was a little too small and it stretched over his wide shoulders.
His fingers curled around hers. “Come on. Another storm will be hitting soon.”
The sky was pitch-black. More thunder rumbled. She’d just taken a few steps with Drew when the first raindrops hit her.
Then the dark clouds really opened up. The rain pelted them, hard and fast, as they ran down narrow streets toward an old motel.
The orange Vacancy sign glowed brightly.
It sure was a beautiful sight.
Drew pushed open the motel’s office door. A little bell jingled overhead.
No one was inside. No one waited behind the narrow counter. Tina shoved back her wet hair. Her shirt clung to her like a second skin and—
“Good thing you two are here.” A woman’s voice came from the back corner of the office, making Tina jump. “No one should be out in weather like this.”
Tina realized that she’d put her hand over her heart. She was ready to stop having so many scares.
“Hi, ma’am.” Drew flashed the woman a smile and tipped back his wet hat. “My wife and I need a room.” He pushed some cash across the counter. More than enough cash to cover a room.
And enough to stop any questions?
But the woman—her white hair and the deep lines near her eyes put her in her seventies—was staring at Tina’s hand. No. At the dark circle on Tina’s wrist.
Frowning, the lady asked, “You okay, miss?”
Tina dropped her hand and forced a big smile. “I’m fine. Just had a little...accident.” With a pair of handcuffs.
The woman’s gaze slid toward Drew. Now she was looking suspicious. A small name tag on her left breast-pocket indicated the woman’s name was Sarah.
“Maverick,” he said softly.
And, just like that, the woman’s face cleared of all emotion. She handed Drew a room key. “Room six. Last one on the end.” She turned around and headed into the back room.
Tina blinked. What was that about?
Drew reached for Tina’s hand. His fingers stroked her wrist. “We’ll get some ice for that.”
A bruised wrist wasn’t especially high on her list of worries right then.
They had to run back into the rain to get to their room. But, less than three blessed minutes later, they were inside room number six. The place was small but clean, so wonderfully clean, and dry.
Lightning flashed outside the window. Thunder rumbled and the window glass trembled.
Drew locked the door behind her.
Tina wrapped her hands around her stomach. “There’s a phone on the nightstand.” A landline. She’d never been so happy to see one of those before. “Are you going to call Mercer now?”
“I don’t need to.” He tossed away his hat and wiped his hand over his hair. The hat hadn’t exactly kept his dark hair dry. Droplets of water fell around him. “Sarah knows the score. She’s already made contact with the base group.”