“The lights just came on in the house,” Leigh said.
No time to look. He tried the wires again. The truck coughed like a sick cow. He was aware of the dog howling frantically now. Of Leigh speaking to him. Of the fear in her voice. Of that same fear stealing through his own body. Not for himself, but for her. If Rasmussen got a hold of them, neither would survive, and death would be very slow in coming.
Finally the engine turned over. White exhaust spewed into the air. “Get in.”
He shoved her onto the seat, then climbed behind the wheel. Jamming the truck into gear he hit the gas. The vehicle fishtailed. Lights flashed on. In his peripheral vision Jake saw an old man with a shotgun dashing out of the house.
“Damn!”
A shotgun blast punctuated his words. The rear window shattered. Leigh yelped. “Get down!” Jake shouted and shoved her to the seat.
He left the driveway. The truck bounced wildly through the plowed field. Too fast, but Jake knew if he slowed they would get stuck in the snow. In the distance he saw headlights at the vacant house where they’d been ambushed. Several vehicles.
The truck lurched into a drainage ditch. The floor-boards scraped against the frozen earth. When the vehicle vaulted onto a road, Jake cut the wheel, using the telephone poles on either side of the road to guide him.
“Why aren’t they coming after us?”
He glanced over at Leigh. She was turned in the seat, her eyes glued to the road behind them. Even in the dim light coming off the dash he could see that she was shivering. Whether it was from cold or fear or both, he couldn’t say. Frigid air poured in through the broken window. Reaching down, he turned on the heater.
“I don’t know.” Then he silently prayed Rasmussen’s men wouldn’t hurt that old farmer. He looked in the rearview mirror. “We were lucky to get out of there.”
“The farmer saw us. He’ll call the police, won’t he?”
“If Rasmussen’s thugs don’t kill him.”
She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, no.”
“If the old man does get to the phone, the police are going to be looking for this truck.” He didn’t mention that no matter how well trained local law enforcement were, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Rasmussen’s men, who were armed with automatic weapons and a complete lack of conscience.
“Jake, how did they know where to find us?”
The question had been nagging at him like a bad toothache. How indeed? Should he voice his concerns? But he knew this was no time for secrecy. If something happened to him, she would be on her own. She would need every resource in order to survive.
“That’s the ten-thousand-dollar question,” he said.
Her eyes searched his. “They couldn’t possibly have followed us. How could they have known we were in that farmhouse?”
“Only two ways I can think of,” he said. “Rasmussen could have traced the call.”
“Isn’t that sophisticated for him?”
“Not for Rasmussen. He’s connected. This area is desolate. Using triangulation, he could have narrowed down the cell tower.”
She seemed to consider that a moment. “What’s the other way?”
He didn’t want to think what he was thinking. But the thought was in his head, growing like a cancer. “There was only one person I spoke with.”
“My God. You spoke with one of the agents from MIDNIGHT.”
“Yeah.” Bitterness laced the word. He’d trusted Mike Madrid with his life. With Leigh’s life. Was it possible Ian Rasmussen had gotten to him? Threatened him in some way to gain his cooperation? Or had Madrid betrayed him and his oath to the agency for the likes of money?
“Why would someone with the agency betray you?”
“Maybe Rasmussen got to him, threatened him in some way. Threatened his family.” But even as he said the words, they didn’t sit well. Madrid wasn’t the kind of man to be used in that way. Unless he was protecting someone. But Madrid didn’t have a wife or children. Who would he be protecting?
“Rasmussen could have offered him money.”
Jake didn’t want to believe that, but knew it was something he had to consider. “We’re on our own,” he said.
He didn’t miss the shiver that ran through her body, and he wanted to put his arms around her, draw her against him and keep her safe. At least until Rasmussen was captured. But deep inside, Jake knew that wouldn’t be enough. Leigh was under his skin. Time hadn’t dulled his feelings or his attraction to her. No matter how things turned out, he knew he would never get her out of his system.
He recalled the kiss they’d shared back at the farmhouse, and his body stirred with an uncomfortable intensity. Shifting in the seat, he wondered if she had been affected as profoundly as he had. Probably not, he thought, and reminded himself she was off-limits for too many reasons to count, let alone that she blamed him for using her to get to Rasmussen.
But not even knowing all that could keep the sweet promise of her body from torturing him.