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Chapter 20
He yanked the wheel to the left, and the car fishtailed. Skidded for a moment before Gideon regained control. He shot through the opening in the gate, and as soon as the car cleared the fence, the gate rolled shut.
She began to lift her head, and Gideon pushed her down again. “Stay down,” he said sharply as he slid below the steering wheel.
Alex curled in on herself, crossing her arms over her head. As if that would stop a bullet.
One car roared past on the road. A second approached, slowing as it came closer. As it reached the gate, gunshots erupted, hitting Alex’s car. The rear window exploded, and tiny fragments of glass landed on his head. Alex’s, too, most likely. More shots struck the body, and the vehicle shuddered with every blow.
When answering fire came from within the compound, the car sped up and flew down the road. Engine noise faded and eventually disappeared.
Alex lifted her head and found Gideon reaching for her. “Are you okay?” he said, gripping her shoulders and scanning her face. Her body. “Were you hit?”
Holding his gaze, she shook her head. “No, I wasn’t hit.” She reached for him, fumbling for his hand. Twined their fingers together and clung. “What about you? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Gideon said, slumping in his seat. A tall woman with dark red, curling hair and a taller, blond man sprinted toward them. Gideon let go of her hand as the woman reached them and yanked Gideon’s door open. “What the hell was that?” she asked, scanning both of them. Was she looking for blood?
“The guys following us were frustrated that we made it into the compound,” Gideon said. “I’ll want to look at the security tapes to see which car fired the shots.”
“The security office is already checking,” the woman said. She glanced at Alex. “I’m Mel Melbourne. Sorry you had such a dramatic welcome.”
Alex smiled, although the adrenaline burn made her shiver. “Alex Conway. I’m very glad to be here.”
Mel slapped the roof of the car and nodded at Gideon. “Put this in the garage for now. I’ll call and have the auto repair guy send out his truck to fix the window.” She scanned the car. “You’ll need a body shop for the bullet holes.”
“We’ll worry about the holes later,” Gideon said. “Let me put the car away. Then we can talk.”
He closed the door Mel had opened, then backed up the car and turned it toward a long, low building with evenly-spaced garage doors. He stopped at one of them and stepped out of the car. Tapped in a code on the keypad next to the door, then returned to the car as the door rose.
Less than a minute later, they were in the garage with the door closed. Gideon swiveled in his seat and turned to her. “You sure you’re okay?”
She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “Ask me when my heart stops trying to beat itself out of my chest.” She pressed her fist to her sternum to stop the jittering and took a shuddering gulp of air. “When I can breathe again.”
He slid his hand over hers. Squeezed. “You were a rock, Alex. You kept it together even when the bullets were flying.”
“I was screaming inside,” she said, slumping back against the seat. Her hands shook, and she groped for Gideon’s hand. Her heart thundered against her ribs as Gideon twined their fingers together. After sucking in several gulps of air, she leaned toward Gideon and brushed a kiss over his mouth.
“Thanks for getting us here safely. It had to be even more stressful for you, since you were driving, but you never looked rattled or nervous or afraid.”
“I was plenty nervous,” he said. “Scared something might happen to you. But we made it. Let’s get our stuff and talk to Mel and Dev.”
* * *
Gideon stepped out of the car, glad to be inside the compound and safe. He opened the rear hatch and removed both their suitcases and his briefcase, carefully brushing off the tiny bits of glass glittering on the luggage. Alex slid out of the car, her purse hung crosswise on her body. She hugged the bag to her chest. He really wanted to know what was in the ‘stuff’ she’d taken from Trotter’s safe.
He’d bet money they involved Trotter’s work with the Russians. And Gideon suspected Rudy Kramer’s name would be in there. Kramer was the guy who’d fired him, and if he was in bed with the Russians, as Gideon suspected, Trotter probably had some references to Kramer in his papers.
They could deal with that later. Now they had to trust Mel and Devlin to know how to protect them in the compound.
Gideon opened the door opposite the garage doors and waited for Alex to step through, dragging her suitcase. He followed and found Mel and Devlin waiting near the building that held their office. He took one final deep, shuddering breath, squared his shoulders, then guided Alex over to them.
“Thank God you’re here, Gideon,” Mel said. “Good job.” She nodded at him and turned to Alex. “This is my partner, Devlin Smith. Welcome, Ms. Conway. You had a harrowing trip, according to Gideon.” A tiny smile curved her mouth. “Including your dramatic entrance. But you can relax now. Our security team has you covered.”
“Thanks, Ms. Melbourne,” Alex said. Her throat rippled as she swallowed, and Gideon was pretty sure she was still shaken after that final dash to get here. “Please call me Alex.”
Mel smiled at her. “And I’m Mel. I’m going to show you to an apartment, then you’re welcome to check the mess hall. I’m sure our chef can make some breakfast for you, if you like.”
She started to shake her head, and Gideon put his hand on her arm. “Thanks, Mel, but we’ll wait for lunch. I have some food in my apartment.”
