AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And oh, how she hated demands. Her reaction wasn’t conscious. She kicked out hard. Her steel-toed boot connected with bone.
Her captor hissed, but he held on tight. “Not. Nice. Please stop kicking me. I’m here to help.”
The hand came away from her mouth. The man dug his fingers into her shoulders, turning her to face him.
Bridger North. The guy from the store. Jason’s supposed friend.
The sight did not make her feel any safer.
5
Bridger heldonto Jane as tight as he dared without hurting her.
He hated manhandling a woman, but he had to get her out of the line of fire. Whoever was bumbling around inside Jason’s hangar could be armed.
On the drive over, Tai deployed a couple drones he’d left on the premises. A man was inside. Judging from the drone footage, he was certainly inept. Scared, probably.
If the guy was armed, startling him wouldn’t be ideal.
Jane wriggled in his hold. “Let. Go.”
He set his jaw and circled his arms around her. Man, Jason’s sister had some fight in her. Not that he blamed her. Grabbing her wasn’t his first choice, but he’d just been about to drop in on the intruder when she drove up.
He tightened his hold and prayed she wouldn’t take another whack at his shins. Then he lifted her up until her feet dangled and marched toward her vehicle. “You need to leave,” he explained. “Things are a little complicated at the moment.”
She wriggled again, her booted feet coming dangerously close to bone. “This is my brother’s place. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what you’re doing.”
“That’s fair, but I don’t have the time.”
Nor could he afford the distraction. She smelled like sugar cookies and hardware store: freshly cut lumber, a faint hint of oil and the earthy aroma of the gardening section. If he wasn’t a hard-core operative, he would have followed her anywhere.
The comlink in his ear drowned out her muttered response.
“How’s things?” Tai asked over the link.
Jane chose that instant to try and wriggle out of his hold. He gritted his teeth and hung on. “Could be better. Give me a sec.” He set her down next to her truck.
Jane glared up at him, obviously thinking he was talking to her. “Why?”
He took one arm off her and pointed to his ear.
Her eyes widened. “You’ve got partners?”
“Only one. He’s a friend of Jason’s, too. We’re trying to figure out where your brother disappeared to. Obviously someone else is, too. They’re still inside.”
She snorted. “Right.”
“I’m serious.” He pressed his hand against the side of the truck, straightening his arm like a bar in case she tried to run. “When Tai and I arrived someone was already inside. Then you drove up. I headed out here to keep you from surprising them.”
The comlink sparked to life again. “Our bogey is a single male,” Tai said. “Fortyish. He’s a big dude. Biker-type. But it doesn’t look like he’s armed. You want me to handle this?”
Bridger wrenched open the driver’s door and pointed at Jane to get inside. “Affirmative.”
When she didn’t move, he shoved her gently, refusing to let up until she climbed behind the wheel.
A low growl came from inside the dark cab. “You can’t push me around.”
Oh, but he could. He turned away to hide his grin. Not that she’d notice out here in the dark. He thanked the Lord that the dome light on her older model truck was broken.
