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“What do you think you’re doing?” Tai blocked his path, folded arms like tree trunks.
Bridger tried to step around him. “Saving Jane.”
Tai stayed planted. “Not alone, you’re not. Two against four is better odds than one against four.” He thumped his barrel chest. “In my case, two and a half against four.”
Bridger scowled, impatience burning through his veins. “I don’t have time for your stupid jokes. Move.”
Tai’s expression softened. “Look, I know you care about her?—”
“I care about all our clients.”
Tai rolled his eyes. “She’s not a client. Yet.” He stepped aside. “But we’re still both going. That’s what friends do.”
He hesitated, then nodded. He’d never admit it, but Tai was right. With his nerves jangling, he needed the backup. Too bad the rest of the team had flown off to order custom shelving for their armory. They were over an hour out now. Not helpful.
Tai paused. “We going in armed?”
Bridger hesitated. If those men really were FBI, that could be a problem.
“I vote no, in case anybody cares,” Tai added.
“You know I care.” And his friend was right. They were both just as deadly with their fists as their weapons. Plus, he was praying it wouldn’t come to that. A show of force should suffice.
They jumped in the Jeep. As Bridger peeled out, spewing plumes of dust, Tai asked, “So what’s the plan?”
“Save the girl. Put a hurt on the bad guys.”
“The usual then.”
Bridger almost smiled. “Pretty much.”
He accelerated the Jeep, speeding down the dirt road towards the highway. The tires kicked up clouds of dust in their wake.
Tai glanced down at the tablet on his lap, watching the footage of the men surrounding Jane. “So what’s the actual plan here?” he asked. “I mean, I’m all for saving damsels and beating up bad guys, but a little strategy wouldn’t hurt.”
Bridger kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I’m working on it.”
“Oh good, the old ‘winging it’ approach,” Tai said wryly. “That always works out so well for us.”
Bridger shot him a look. “You got a better idea?”
Tai held up his hands. “Hey man, you’re the leader, the man with the plan. I’m just the sidekick.”
“Some sidekick,” Bridger muttered.
Usually he was the one concocting strategies, analyzing scenarios from every angle. But fear clouded his mind, erasing rational thought. If anything happened to Jane on his watch...
Tai seemed to read his thoughts. “We’ve got this,” he said firmly. “We always do.”
Bridger met his friend’s resolute gaze and gave a curt nod. With Tai at his side, maybe he could save Jane without a strategy for once.
The highway loomed ahead. Bridger tightened his grip on the wheel and punched the accelerator.
Tai shot him a look and clutched the grab handle above the window. “Might be nice to get there in one piece.”
“Since when did you get so sissified?” Bridger accelerated down the highway, weaving expertly between cars as he pushed the Jeep to its limits. The stores and houses of their small town whipped past in a blur.
“Just want to live to see the new workout space is all.” Tai kept one eye on the tablet footage and the other on the road ahead. “Take the next exit. We’ll backtrack through town. Stay off the main roads.”
