Hunted (28 page)

“Incident?” Will asked in a anxious voice. “I never heard anything about an ‘incident.’” He looked around. “I dunno if this job’s gonna work out if you’re having incidents.”

“Relax,” the guard said picking up the phone. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

Will walked up to the chest high counter and pulled his gun out from under his shirt, keeping it below the ledge. “I better go. I was told to take this trash bin down to the medical building on the end and I don’t want to get in trouble.” His thumb pointed to the bin behind him.

“This will only take a minute.” The guard held the phone to his ear as he punched the numbers.

Will glanced over his shoulder toward the cart. He wished he could ask Emma to stop this guy with her mind control trick but even if he did, he doubted there was time for her to do it before he got someone on the other line.

Shit
.

“That call isn’t necessary.” Will lowered his voice.

The guard looked up in surprise.

Will raised his gun over the counter, pointing it at the man. “If you could be so kind to just get up and step away from the phone.”

Anger flashing in his eyes, the guard took a step back and reached for his gun. Will squeezed the trigger before the man got the weapon out of the holster. He fell backwards, blood splattering the wall behind him. Will moved behind the counter and shoved him under the desk. The now-familiar burning in his mark returned. Of course, Emma had no idea who got shot.

Since his mark burned, he knew he had a connection to her and decided to use it.

Emma. I’m okay.

Thank God.

I didn’t want to shoot him. He reached for his gun
. He found it odd that he felt the need to explain himself to her for doing what he was trained to do.

I know. It’s okay.

But it wasn’t okay, he thought, trying to keep it from Emma as he pushed the bin through the front door into the warm, humid night. He hadn’t wanted to shoot the guy. For one thing, there was a good chance it was caught on a security camera. For another, the sound alone was bound to alert someone. Either scenario meant that they needed to move before the other guards figured out what happened.

The vibrations of the rolling cart along the concrete sidewalk rumbled through the night, calling more attention to Will than he would have liked. He ambled down the sidewalk from the farthest building on the west side to the farthest building on the east, having to pass two buildings in between. Jagged shadows filled his path. His goal was to look like a janitor avoiding doing any more work than necessary instead of a man desperate to escape. But it was all about perception. You could make people believe you were whom you wanted them to believe just by playing the part well. And Will was an expert. He’d fooled everyone for so long he’d even fooled himself the last few years. But until the last few weeks, he’d never had so much at risk.

Halfway down the sidewalk, he heard a commotion from behind. He glanced over his shoulder. Men ran from the building he’d just passed toward the entrance of the one he just left.

Fuck
. He pushed the cart faster but tried to look like a confused temp worker caught in the middle of chaos.

He’d almost made it to the medical structure when five armed men ran out and moved toward him. He tensed but realized they were focused on the scene behind him, barely giving him a second glance. One of the men stopped in front of the cart, forcing Will to stop.

“Hey buddy, you seen anyone suspicious tonight?”

“Yeah,” Will grimaced. “I saw two guys dressed all in black run off that way to that building.” He pointed behind him. “They almost knocked my bin over halfway here.”

The guard rested his hand on the edge of the cart and looked Will up and down. Will gave him an annoyed glare, like he was tired of people interfering with his work.

“All right then,” the guard said, standing upright and shifting his weight to his side. “You might want to stay inside until all of this is over.”

Will nodded and pushed the cart to the doors, releasing a sigh and some of his tension with it. He opened the double doors maneuvering the cart halfway through.

“Wait a minute,” the guard called, his voice sharp.

Will leaned over the cart and grabbed the barrel of the shotgun. Rising, he kept the gun behind him, still inside the trash bin. “Yeah?”

“Why do you look so familiar?”

Will shrugged. “Dunno, got one of those faces, I guess. I hear that all the time.”

They locked eyes and Will kept his face expressionless.

“Yeah,” the guard scowled. “I guess so.” He turned and took a few steps as Will moved the cart inside the lobby.

“Stop!” The guard shouted as he spun, gun in his hand.

Will shoved the cart into the building as he swung his shotgun out and fired, hitting the guard in the chest.

“Emma! Let’s go!”

She threw bags out off of her and stood in the cart, starting to climb over the edge. Will wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her out in one movement, carrying her several steps before her feet touched the ground. He raced for the back door.

“This is going to get hairy,” he said pulling the keys out of his pocket. “I’m gonna need your help.”

“Okay.”

He hoped the security guard had a halfway decent car. Then again, anything would be better than the beat-up Honda that Emma drove the night he met her. He shoved Emma against the wall next to the back door before he opened it, expecting to find half a dozen men or more shooting at him. But the lot was empty. He realized they had all rushed to the other end. He definitely planned to use that to his advantage.

He pushed the lock button on the keys. The brake lights of a sedan flashed and he wrapped his hand around Emma’s wrist and pulled her out the door.

His heart hammered in his chest. He was used to the adrenaline rush and even fear. It was the guys who were no longer afraid when in battle who were dangerous, but he wasn’t used to the building terror. They were hopelessly outnumbered, locked inside a chain-link fence. Even if they got out, they still had to outrun who knew how many cars. As he reached the sedan and shoved Emma in the driver’s seat, he realized that the car wasn’t fast enough to out run them all.

Shit
.

But at the moment, he had the advantage and he planned to buy all the time he could.

Chapter Twenty-One

Emma jammed the gear into drive. “How fast do you want me to drive?”

“Like there’s a rabid dog on your ass.”

She pressed on the gas, tires squealing. “You realize this will get all kinds of attention?”

“Princess, no matter what we do, we’re going to get attention. Let’s do it with style.”

“Alrighty then.” She forced a grin and headed toward the circular one-way road that looped around the compound, going the wrong direction. Throwing a glance at Will, she tore down the asphalt. “This is the shortest distance to the front gate. I thought it best not to drive past all those men with guns.”

“Good thinking. Where’ve you been all my life?”

“Waiting for you,” she snorted.

They neared the guard station at the front entrance. Headlights glowed on the road behind them.

“We have two choices,” she said. “We drive right on through or we stop and try to talk our way out the gate, although I doubt even your smooth talking will get us through.”

Will released a tight laugh. “I don’t feel like talking.”

“Okay, you might want to bend down in case something flies through the windshield.”

“I was thinking about ducking to avoid bullets, but I guess it’s dual-purpose.” He braced his hand on the dashboard and looked out the back window. “When you get to the road, turn right.”

She floored the gas pedal and ducked down as they flew past the guard station. Bullets shattered the side windows, but she held onto the wheel, hoping she stayed on course. She rose in time to see the wooden gate arm as the car crashed through. The board ripped apart, flying over the roof. The tires screeched as she reached the road and turned right, trying to keep the car from skidding off the road.

“Are you all right?” Will asked.

“I’m still driving, aren’t I?” She looked in the rearview mirror and saw headlights closer than before. “They’re coming.”

He looked over his shoulder. “Shit, just as I suspected. There’s a fleet back there.”

“What are we going to do? They’re gaining on us.”

Will ran his hand through his hair. “We need to go to the airport. Once we get there, do you think you can take care of them?”

“Take care of them?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “You mean like feed them and tuck them into bed?”

Will let out an exasperated sigh. “You know what I mean. With your…”

“Power?”

Will grunted.

She could see he hated asking her to use it. She also knew it wasn’t because it stung his male pride. The fact he always had her drive in situations like this assured her of that. He worried that it would hurt her, yet she’d warned him that she needed practice. What happened with Kramer proved just how little she knew about what she could do. “Have anything in mind? Blow them up?”

“Yeah.”

“So is the plan to lure them to the airport, blow them all up and then leave?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of how?”

“We’re not driving out.”

“Then how are…
we’re flying?
”

“Yep.”

“I guess now’s a bad time to mention I’m afraid of flying.” She groaned. “Are you planning on kidnapping a pilot?”

“Nope. I’ll fly it.”

“
You know how to fly?
”

“No, but I figured, how hard could it be?” He turned to see her shocked expression. “Of course I know how to fly a plane.”

“
Of course, James repelled down a forty-foot wall. Of course, I know how to fly a plane.
No, Will, these are not
of course
situations for me.”

Will reloaded his gun. “But after everything we’ve been through…”

She checked the rearview mirror and saw the headlights getting closer. “You forget that I’d never been in a gunfight until I met you. Outrun them with my car? Sure. But never with guns. So forgive me if I seem a little
slow
.” Her voice rose along with her panic.

Will put his hand over hers on the steering wheel. “Emma, it’s okay. I’m gonna get us out of this.” He squeezed her fingers and she gave him a quick glance before turning back to the road. “We’re
both
going to get us out of this. Okay?”

She nodded.

“We’re almost there.” Will pointed to the tower in the distance. The spinning red and green light called like a beacon. “Can you crash through a chain-link gate?”

“Yeah, I guess so. But I remember the gate being fairly close to the road. I’ll have to turn and I’m worried I won’t have enough speed.”

“You’ll have about fifty feet after the turn. You okay with that?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No.”

She gripped the wheel and took a slow steady breath. If she didn’t angle it right, they could end up in the ditch and flip over. The headlights in the mirror reminded her of the alternative. She focused on the turn first, thankful that the side road was paved. Twisting the wheel left, she let off the gas then swung the wheel right, the back end of the car sliding to the side. Once the nose faced the side road, she punched the gas pedal, shooting down the road.

“God, I love you.”

“We’re not there yet.” The wheel was slick in her hands.

Her heart raced as she aimed for the padlocked opening, wondering if this was suicide. But it was too late to back out now. The car hit the gate and flung it open as they flew through. The car bounced on the uneven pavement and Emma fought for control.

Will let out a breath of relief. “Drive up to that metal hangar ahead. Stop before you get to the double doors and stay in the car until I tell you to get out.”

As she skidded to a halt in front of a fifty-foot-wide building, Will threw the car door open and jumped out, running to the padlocked door with his lock picking kit in hand. Headlights from the pursuing cars filled the paved runway.

The lock fell to the pavement. “Can you blow those things up before they get close enough to shoot us?”

“I don’t know.” She ran to the hangar. “I’ll try.”

Will pushed a metal door open enough for both of them to slide through. Industrial fluorescent lights flicked on overhead as they entered the metal building, which housed two planes and a jet.

“Stay behind the door while I figure out which one we can use.” He ran to the middle plane and ducked under the overhead wings.

Her irritation over the situation already heated the stone on her neck and pushed aside her fear. She let her anger build. Soon the churning mass of energy burned in her chest.

“This one will work.” Will shouted around the plane door. “I’m going to start the engine so it’s going to get loud. When I wave to you, slide the doors open and run and get in the plane. Now would be a good time to take care of some of those cars.”