The EOD had already run a full background check on Veronica, and, yes, the woman was as innocent as she looked. No skeletons in her closet. Just a desperate woman looking for her brother. A woman who is about to trust the wrong man.
Outside he saw Veronica hop into a small blue sedan. Nothing fancy or particularly noticeable about it. Her taillights flashed on, and she quickly reversed.
Then she pulled away from Last Chance.
He watched her, his gaze lingering and...
Another pair of headlights flashed on in the parking lot. His gaze shot to the right just as a vehicle’s motor growled and a car lurched forward. When it reached the parking lot’s exit, the vehicle turned to the left and headed in the same direction that Veronica had just taken.
Just another bar patron, leaving for the night.
Only Jasper hadn’t seen anyone get in that vehicle. So the driver had been sitting inside for a while, doing what? Talking on his phone? Yeah, maybe.
Waiting for Veronica?
That made no sense. So the driver had taken the same road that Veronica had taken.
It didn’t mean anything, despite the kick in his gut.
He was seeing danger where there was none. A definite downside of his job. After so many missions, so many deaths, he saw danger everywhere.
Jasper turned back toward Last Chance.
Sometimes a car was just a car.
He looked over his shoulder at the darkness, unable to shake the tension that had tightened his body. Because sometimes danger could really be anyplace.
* * *
SHE HAD THE radio blaring. The loud music helped to keep Veronica’s mind off the fact that it was after midnight and she was on one long, lonely stretch of Texas road.
There were no streetlights. Streetlights weren’t exactly a priority on this seldom-traveled highway. Darkness surrounded her, a pitch-black night cut only by the flash of her headlights.
The music kept blaring, and she gripped the steering wheel tightly. Thirty more minutes, and she’d turn off this road and head back toward the ranch.
She’d done it. She’d gotten Jasper to help her and—
Bright lights suddenly filled her rearview mirror. The whole interior of her car lit up, and her eyes had to squint against that strong glare.
Guess I’m not alone anymore.
The other vehicle came up behind her, driving fast. Going far faster than she was.
Veronica eased her foot off the gas. If the other vehicle wanted to pass her, that was fine. She wasn’t about to try to race anyone in the dark.
The vehicle came closer and closer, eating up the miles between them. It was hard to tell what kind of car was behind her. The driver had on his bright lights, too, and that vehicle was right on her tail now.
She lifted her hand, waving vaguely to indicate that the other vehicle should pass her.
A motor revved behind her. Then the other car shot into the left lane. Her breath eased out and she slowed down even more. He was going to pass her. Good. That was—
The other vehicle was right beside her. Only the driver wasn’t going so fast now. He’d lowered his speed to match hers.
A shiver slid over her, and Veronica glanced over at the other vehicle. She couldn’t see anyone inside. Too dark. She just had the impression of a long, heavy car.
The other car seemed to be coming closer to her. Coming closer—
She slammed on her brakes.
The other car kept going.
Her breath eased out even as her heart pounded frantically in her chest. For a moment there, she’d remembered another wreck, a time that had destroyed her life. Her eyes squeezed shut. “You’re safe. Everything’s okay.” Cale had told her those words, over and over again as he comforted her through the nightmares that had seeped into her life when she’d been a child.
She wasn’t a child now. Her eyes opened. She stared straight ahead.
Then she saw the red flash of the other car’s taillights. After that brief stop, the vehicle spun around and came right toward her. The motor was snarling.
She shoved her foot down on the gas and tried to swerve around that vehicle, but the driver anticipated her move. His car lunged toward hers. Veronica screamed and yanked the steering wheel to the left.
Her car narrowly missed the other vehicle, but her little sedan careened off the road, bounced and slammed into a wooden fence. She flew forward, her head snapping down, even as the seat belt bit into her shoulder and yanked her back in place.
Holding her prisoner, trapping her...just like before.
Her air bag deployed, sending a white cloud all around her, and she fought against it, pushing with her fists and calling out for help.
Someone yanked open her passenger’s-side door.
Help?
“Get her!” a voice barked. “Hurry the hell up!”
The air bag deflated instantly—because someone had just shoved a knife into it. The gleaming blade of the knife shone in the darkness.
Then that blade came toward her. Veronica screamed.
But who was out there to hear her cries? She was in the middle of nowhere, and the man with the knife wasn’t hesitating as he jerked her out of the car.
Chapter Two
It was a scene out of a nightmare.
Jasper slammed on the brakes when he rounded the corner and saw the crashed sedan. The front of the vehicle was lodged in a fence, and the driver’s-side door was hanging open.
His gaze shot back across the two-lane highway. The other car—the bigger vehicle—was parked sideways, cutting across the pavement, and its doors were open, too.
Jasper jumped out of his truck.
Two men were trying to shove something—someone—into the trunk of that gray car. Veronica? Hell, no.
He had his weapon out in less than a second’s time. “Let her go!” he roared even as he raced toward the men.
A swear broke from one of the men. They dumped Veronica into the trunk. One guy tried to slam the lid shut on her.
“I will shoot you! Get away from her!”
Veronica tried to jump out of the trunk. One of the thugs shoved her back inside.
I warned you.
Jasper aimed at the man who’d pushed Veronica. Fired. The bullet tore into her attacker’s shoulder, and he stumbled back, screaming. The other man rushed toward the driver’s side. He dived into the vehicle even as Veronica leaped out of the trunk. She started running toward Jasper as the driver rushed away with a screech of burning rubber.
The driver thought he was getting away. Just leaving his bleeding buddy behind. Think again. “Get down, Veronica!” Jasper shouted.
She instantly hit the pavement. He fired. Once. Twice. The bullets found their targets as he aimed at back tires. The vehicle was still lurching forward, but the driver wasn’t getting far, not on those tires. Jasper yanked out his phone. He had Gunner on the line in less than five seconds. “Got a fleeing vehicle on 59, back tires are out.”