Page 125 of Rescuing You

In any event, it wasn’t as if he had a lot of choices.

He found an old—very old—Volvo in the tiny lot near the airport and, after making sure nobody was looking, broke in and hot-wired it.

This was risky in the bright morning sunshine, but nobody stopped him as he got the car started and moving out of the lot. He turned north, drove the half mile to where he’d left the women, then pulled over and got out.

He walked to the retaining wall and glanced over.

Uh-oh.

They weren’t there.

He looked around, fighting anxiety that rose in his midsection. He’d been gone seven minutes. How in the world…?

“We’re here!” Leila’s voice carried on the wind. She emerged from behind some thick bushes, her sister behind her. “There was a family walking a dog. We were trying to stay hidden from them and the road.”

“Smart.” When she reached his side, he almost leaned down to kiss her but stopped himself. They were still disguised as father and son.

He helped Leila and then Jasmine over the short wall and to the car.

“This is a rental?” Jasmine asked.

“Something like that.” He opened the doors for the women, slid in behind the wheel, and took out his phone to see the pin Derrick had sent.

Half a mile. A two-minute drive.

He tapped a text to Derrick, telling him his ETA and confirming he was still at the door, getting a thumbs-up reply.

When there was a break in the traffic, he did a U-turn and sped up.

They reached the turnoff, and he veered right toward the terminal.

Almost there.

One minute. It would be less if not for the slow car in front of him.

There was Derrick, standing in the wind, gazing at the approaching cars. He wore a short black jacket over jeans and, in those aviator sunglasses, looked like a taller version of Tom Cruise in Top Gun, all cool and collected.

Michael couldn’t help smiling at the image as he pointed him out to Leila and Jasmine. “See him?”

Leila follows his gaze. “He looks like you.”

How could she tell what he looked like behind those sunglasses?

But…yeah, he could see it. His little brother was tall like he was. His hair was lighter and longer, but he supposed they were similar enough. “If anything happens, run to Derrick and go with him.”

“We should stay together.”

Michael managed to stifle his sigh. “Or you could just trust me and do what I ask.”

After a slight pause, she said, “Sorry.”

Progress. He liked it.

Soon they’d be wheels up, off the ground and headed far away.

Leila and Jasmine would be safe.

Knowing how close they were, fear tingled in his fingertips. Because this was the most dangerous part of the mission, showing up where their enemies knew they would be.