AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Which was crazy, of course. She was filled with adrenaline. Her hands were shaking badly and she folded one over the other in an attempt to stop them from trembling.
Pierce’s blue eyes seemed to notice everything. He put his big hand over hers and the shaking stilled.
She looked down at his hand over hers. He’d saved her life and he was still saving her. “Sorry,” she whispered.
“No worries.” Oh God, overkill. For the first time she noticed his voice. Dark and warm and deep. A voice to fall into. “Anyone would tremble after what you’ve just been through.”
Not him, though. He was steady as a rock.
“And you’re right. Your genius friends turned off the cameras in the tunnel. It was their idea because to get to the safe house, we have to drive through some stretches that are full of private video cameras and there wouldn’t be time to turn them all off. So it was their idea to switch vehicles. Black Inc. made the truck happen.”
A lot of resources to keep her safe. And a lot of people working to keep her safe. She had to do her part. Her hands stilled.
She had to focus on what he was saying.
“We’re going to a safe house?” He’d managed to organize a safe house?
Pierce’s hands were back on the steering wheel. He was looking straight ahead but she had the feeling he was fully concentrated on her. She always found it hard to carry on a conversation while driving, because conversations interested her more than taking a car from A to B.
That killer smile again. “Yeah. Courtesy of Black Inc. And their safe houses are notoriously nice.” The smile vanished. “You have some seriously nasty people after you, Riley.”
She looked down at her hands again. “Yes, I know.”
He reached over to squeeze her hands again. His own hands were very warm. Though it was a warm day, she felt chilled everywhere except her hands.
He glanced over at her while his hand returned to the steering wheel. “We’re almost there.”
She blinked. She had paid no attention whatsoever to where they were going. Her training was to remain inside her own head at all times, and she rarely noticed the outside world. Of course, she was usually in her dim cubicle far removed from the outside world, so it wasn’t a handicap. But now it was. She was ashamed to say she had no idea where they were.
It was a suburban area, full of nice houses and a few upscale condo buildings. Affluent, but not super rich. Washington, DC was full of places like this. They could be anywhere.
“Sorry to ask, but… where are we? I’ve only been in Washington less than a year and I basically know the route from my place to work. I’m totally lost. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. We’re in Alexandria and … we’re here.”
He turned into a driveway and stopped at a gate. He tapped in a password on his cell and the gate opened smoothly, sliding to one side rather than opening out.
The gate closed as soon as they were through. Pierce drove into an alleyway by the side of the house. It had netting on top and was enclosed by netting.
“Cool,” she observed. “Drone proof.”
“Yep. Wait here.”
He went around to the back of the vehicle and pulled out a big duffle bag. It looked heavy, but he lifted it easily, and came around to the passenger side. He opened her door, holding out a hand to help her down.
She was about to protest that she didn’t need a helping hand, when her knees buckled. She didn’t fall because his hand was right there, holding her up, strong and sure.
She stiffened her knees and dropped his hand. “Whoa. Sorry about that.”
He gave her an easy smile and put a hand on her back. “I keep telling you, nothing to be sorry about. You’ve got people after you, trying to kill you. That’d be enough to dent anyone’s mojo.” He kept the hand there, gently, as he ushered her into the side entrance of the safe house.
It was nice. Riley had no idea how long they were going to stay here—the future was this blank, featureless desert. She was a planner, always had been. Her parents swayed with the tides, but she never had.
But right now? It was impossible to predict the next five minutes, let alone the next five days or weeks, so she didn’t even try.
Pierce directed her to a comfortable sofa and she collapsed onto it, surprised at her weakness. She wasn’t weak, she was strong. This horrible situation was sapping her of herself. Then: “What?”
Pierce had said something and she only heard the tail end of it.
