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Hannah presseda hand to her head, willing the dull ache to retreat so she could figure out how to get out of this mess. All things considered, she knew she was lucky to walk away from that explosion. From the rundown the giant man they called Tank gave Will, the blast was toward the back of the restaurant, where she’d been sitting just a few moments before.
She’d been trying to remember if she’d seen anyone or anything before the blast, but she’d been entirely focused on Will disappearing through the glass door.
She’d gotten up and headed toward the door so it was easier to go meet him once he gave her the all clear. He’d said he’d take care of her and keep her safe. Obviously, that hadn’t happened. She should have known better. The only person she’d ever been able to trust to look out for her was the one she saw in the mirror.
And now Will was all demanding and intense, trying to take the video. Her video.
The one she’d now been almost killed for. The one somebody had probably broken into her apartment to steal.
She bit her lip and turned to face the window, trying to rein in the out-of-control emotions washing over her. Weakness was unacceptable—that was one thing she’d learned from Jeremiah, despite his best efforts to destroy her. No matter how much this commando military guy tried to intimidate her, she wasn’t some helpless waif he could boss around.
If she was going to give him the video, it would mean giving up the chance she had for establishing herself as a journalist. It was her best shot. Unless…
Maybe Hannah had been looking at this all wrong. Perhaps she could use this for an even bigger exclusive. Not only did she have a first-hand account of the assassination attempt, she had a front-row seat to the hunt for the shooter.
Which, admittedly, wasn’t so glamorous, since it was because the shooter was coming after her. If what Will said about Mr. Lloyd being a trap was true–and the explosion certainly made it seem to be the case–then she did owe these guys. She could be scared and investigate at the same time though.
“Who are you guys? Where are you taking me?”
“Ma’am,” Will began with a frustrated sigh, “have you listened to anything I’ve said?”
Hannah pressed her lips together and nodded slowly. “I have. But I’m not just going to hand over my video to a random stranger. How do I know you’re not the bad guys?”
The hulk of a man in the seat next to her grunted. “If we were the bad guys, we wouldn’t be asking.”
His eyes were emotionless with the line, and Hannah felt herself shrink in fear. Tank had a point though.
The driver–she forgot his name–pointed back toward Tank with his thumb. “Yes, that.”
She clicked her tongue. “Okay, yeah. That’s probably true. But you have to tell me where we’re going. I haven’t agreed to anything. This is kidnapping!”
Will shrugged. “Probably.” He took a deep breath. “Look, if you give me the video, I’ll tell you as much as I can tell you. And we’ll make sure you don’t end up with a hole through your head from a sniper at 500 yards. Or blown up.”
“Again!” added the driver.
Will reached up and gave a tap on the side of the man’s head. “Very helpful.” He turned back to her. “What do you say?”
Hannah considered his offer. It was probably the best she was going to get. She nodded. “Deal.” She dug into the front pocket of her jeans until her fingers landed on the slim USB drive.
She pulled it out and held it out to Will. “Here’s the video I was going to give Mr. Lloyd.”
Tank groaned from her left. “It wasn’t even in the stupid purse? Gilbert, you gotta be kidding me.”
Hannah hid a smile. “I’m grateful to have my bag, anyway, if it helps at all.”
Tank muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out.
She turned back to Will. “Now, about those questions.”
“We’re headed to a hotel where we can regroup and make our next plan.”
A hotel? Her last visit to a hotel had gotten her into this entire mess. “And who are you?”
“That’s classified,” Will answered gruffly.
“FBI?”
Tank scoffed. Guess that was a no.
