Lone Rider (31 page)

             
Grey moved off the bed and pushed the bedside table closer. If he had his way
,
she’d be eating steak and potatoes three times a day to gain weight. “If you eat this, I promise we’ll find a cheeseburger tomorrow. With fries.”

             
He removed the insulated cover. “Let’s see.
Mmmm
. Chicken noodle soup, hold the noodles, hold the chicken. Apple juice. And red Jell-O.”

             
She grimaced, reaching for the apple juice.

Grey tapped her hand, moving the juice out of reach. “Soup first.”

             
She reached for the Jell-O, but wasn’t quick enough. Grey snapped a napkin open and tucked it under her chin. Then he reached for the spoon. “Soup. Then Jell-O. Then juice. I’ll even feed you.”

             
Tess foiled him by picking up a straw. She stirred the pale colored broth, before sipping it through the straw and making a face. “I hope someday when you’re sick, someone bigger than you bullies you into eating something you don’t want.”

             
Her tone tore at him. “Real men don’t bully.”  To prove his point, Grey leaned forward, kissed her cheek, and surrendered the Jell-O.

             
She fell asleep while he was still there. Actually he refused to leave, stretching out in the recliner beside her bed, watching television.

             
When she woke in the morning, he was gone. Which left her feeling mildly depressed.

A feeling that mushroomed after she spoke with her mother.

The news of her pregnancy had greatly upset Madeline, who immediately pressed her to, “get rid of it,” then launched into a spiel about Tess’ duty to the family name.

             
While it disappointed Tess, her mother’s reaction didn’t surprise her. She’d spent a good portion of her life trying to be a dutiful daughter, trying to live up to the Marsh name. Until one day she realized she could either live her own life or die trying to please her parents.

She’d never regretted striking out on her own, and she vowed that her child would have her support in whatever he or she chose to do.

“I have a duty to my child,” Tess had said finally. If she was determined to keep the child, she had better get used to censure. Especially from her mother.

Though she knew her mother was concerned, the media attention generated by Tess’ abduction and subsequent trial clearly embarrassed Madeline. Madeline’s life re
volved around her social status
. It was her religion.

In spite of her family’s dysfunctional tendencies, Tess loved them. Still, her mother’s response bothered her. Would Madeline ever accept the child?

She thought of Grey. What would he tell his family about her pregnancy? How would they react? Would this innocent child find resentment on both sides of its family tree?

As soon as the doctor made morning rounds she was dismissed from the hospital and whisked away in an unmarked patrol car.

             
Tess dreaded returning to the safe house. At least at the hospital there had been other people. Doctors, nurses. Other women she could talk with about her pregnancy.

             
And while Grey had been
there she’d been less lonely.

             
To her surprise, Grey was parked outside the safe house when Tess and her two guards arrived. She noticed he drove an oversize sport utility vehicle with deep tinted windows that he parked a short distance down the street, allowing the patrol car to slip into the driveway in front of the house.

Watching him approach
,
she wished she had time to escape inside the house before he saw her. She was still wearing her suit from yesterday. But he was beside the car before the engine even shut off.

“Good morning,” he said, opening the back door and leaning in to brush a kiss on her cheek.

             
A cellular phone rang. All three men checked their pockets. Tess watched as one of the marshals nodded to Grey and stepped away, a phone pressed to his ear. The other climbed out of the car and headed toward the house.

It was obvious the two marshals knew about her and Grey and were trying to give them a private moment alone. Tess winced, wondering if the men thought she and Grey were an item.
A couple
? God, she was carrying his child and she didn’t even know
what
they were.

Grey took her hand, helping her out of the car. “How are you feeling this morning?”

             
Before she could answer, the marshal switched off his phone. “We got trouble.”

             
Tess squirmed, trapped between the car and Grey. She peered around him, trying to catch the marshal’s words.

“Bogen and Snake escaped this morning. We got orders to move her to another house. Pronto.”

             
“No!”  The words astonished Tess. “How could that happen?”

“They were being transferred to another facility, ma’am,” the marshal said before turning to Grey. “I don’t know all the details, but it sounds like they had help.”

Grey pulled Tess into the protective circle of his arms, hugged her, then released her. “Get back in the car.”  He thrust her into the rear seat. “Watch your head.”

             
“I’ll call for back up,” the marshal said. He stepped away, yelling for the other marshal to return to the car.

The other marshal was already unlocking the door of the safe house. He stepped back, looking puzzled. Then he started running.

At that moment an explosion split the air
.

Grey yelled. “Get down!”

Instinctively
,
she dropped to the floorboard, huddling. Glass rained down on her as the car shook, the windows imploding.

             
Her first thought was worry for her unborn child. The second thought was for the child’s father. Grey! Was he all right? What about the two marshals?

             
As quick as it happened, the awful noise ceased, leaving an ominous silence in its wake.

Tess raised her head cautiously, shaking off the shards of safety glass that covered her. She peered out the open car door.

The house was on fire, the front porch completely demolished by the blast. One of the marshals was crumpled on the lawn.

Twisting to get up, she caught sight of the second marshal lying on his side. Blood stained his shirt.

Bile rose in her throat. The glass cut her hands and knees as she climbed free of the car searching for one more person.

Grey.

Where was Grey
?

CHAPTER TWELVE

             
“Tess!”

Grey called her name, grabbing her.

             
“You’re alive.”  She collapsed against him, aware he had his gun drawn. Aware they were still in danger.

             
He glanced down at her hands. “You’re hurt.”

             
She shook her head, oblivious
of
her own injuries, worried about the marshals. “We’ve got
to help them. Call the police.
”  That’s when she noticed blood seeping down the side of his neck. “Grey! You’re bleeding.”

             
He swiped the blood with one hand. The explosion had thrown him across the car’s hood. He’d rolled
,
avoiding serious injury. “It’s nothing.”

             
Grasping her firmly by the shoulders, he eased her down to the ground. “Stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll see to the others.”

             
Running to the front of the car, Grey checked the two marshals, glad to see both were moving, in spite of their injuries. One of the men was already on the phone, calling for assistance. Both had their weapons drawn as well.

             
“It was a delayed charge,” the marshal who’d opened the door told Grey. The man winced, obviously in pain. “It triggered when the door opened. I spotted the wires right after you yelled.”

             
Grey went cold at the man’s word.
A delayed charge.

Whoever rigged the bomb knew it would take a few moments for someone to unlock the door and get inside. He looked again at the blazing ruins, realizing no one inside would have survived.

             
A noise caught Grey’s attention. He looked around, noticed a blue sedan driving slowly past the end of the street.

             
The first marshal started swearing. “I don’t like this. Get the Marsh woman out of here. I’ll stay with
Roger
.”

Grey was already moving toward Tess. As much as he hated leaving the two men, he realized they were sitting ducks on the street. Especially Tess. She was their target. He had to get her out of there.

             
She struggled to stand as he approached. “Are they okay? Did you call for help?”

             
Grey carefully grasped her by the wrists, tugging her close while bustling her away from the house. The cuts on her hands and knees needed attention, but would have to wait.

His car was parked a short distance down the street and m
iraculously the windows were in
tact.

             
“We can’t leave them,” she protested. “They’re hurt.”

             
“Help is on the way.”

             
“We can’t leave,” she repeated, pulling away.

             
Grey opened the door, forced her inside. He knew by the threadiness in her voice she was traumatized. “Neither of them were severely injured. But someone knows where you are, Tess. I have to get you away from here.”

             
He climbed in the car. In seconds they were racing away from the house. Grey watched his rearview mirror for the blue sedan. Or any other suspicious vehicle.

             
Reaching across, he tugged Tess’ seat belt over her torso, snapped it in place. Then he floored it, zigzagging across four lanes of interstate. He took an exit, slowing to
Mach
1
before climbing back on the interstate, two blocks west. No one followed. For now.

             
“You okay?” he asked.

             
“If you hadn’t been there...”  Tess shut her eyes, lowering her head, trying to block out the thought.

             
Grey grasped her shoulder, shaking her gently. “Stay with me, Tess. Just a little bit longer.”  He wanted her alert. Unconscious
,
she couldn’t tell him if the cramping started again.

             
He pressed buttons on his cell phone, calling Barry Neilson. News of the explosion had already reached Barry. Grey gave a description of the blue car
, and was relieved to hear back
up officers had arrived on the scene.

“How in the hell did they know where to find her?” Grey demanded.
  This was the second time confidential information about Tess had been divulged.  He didn’t like it.

             
“I’m working on that,” Barry said. “She’s okay?”

             
Grey glanced at Tess. She was staring straight ahead, eyes glazed. “She’s got some superficial cuts. Nothing life threatening. Shock. I need to get her somewhere safe. Like--”

             
“Wait,” Barry interrupted. “This isn’t a secure line.”

             
Grey grew silent. Barry was telling him something. Over the years, he and Barry had worked out a series of code words only the two of them knew.
Wait
, was an alert signal. Grey thought over what Barry had just said.
It wasn’t a secure line
.

“We got a leak?”

             
“Looks that way.”

             
That explained how they knew where Tess was staying. It also meant Grey couldn’t take her to the next safe house as the marshals had planned. Hell, he probably couldn’t take her to any of the
Bureau
’s safe houses. If Barry was right and they did have a leak within the
system
, the wrong people would know their every move.

That left only one option. He would protect Tess himself, without letting anyone know their whereabouts.

             
“You know what I’m thinking?” Grey asked.

             
“I want contact every twenty-
four hours,” Barry said. “And I need a full report on what happened back there.”