Many more incidents like that and she’d have to cut off the leg. First the ankle and then the jolting fall through the porch. Julia knew she’d been lucky to sneak away with a few scrapes and little else after that one.
Cam stopped fiddling with the radio he’d lifted off the dead guy. The thing had been silent since almost right after they grabbed it.
“You still doing okay?” he asked without lifting his head.
He was being sweet and acting concerned, but if he asked one more time she was going to scream. And that would be a problem, since they were trying to be quiet and stick to whispers.
They’d walked away from the safety of the building, since it no longer seemed that safe with a dead guy on the front lawn. The walk took them out wide and farther into the trees. Except for a few wild animals and any stray hikers they might come across, they were alone.
She knew Cam planned to dump her off at the ferry once he made sure it was safe for her to get on board. She knew that was ridiculous.
“The abandoned shipyard.” That was the right answer, but she had to convince him.
He stopped and stared at her. “Excuse me?”
At least she had his attention. “There’s an abandoned shipyard not that far from here. Plenty of buildings and places to hide. We can go there and regroup.”
He stood there for a few extra seconds and then started walking again. “You’re going to the ferry.”
Time to take a stand. And that was what she did. Stood there holding her backpack, trying not to think about the breakfast bar she’d put in there even though her stomach growled every two seconds. “I can’t.”
He glanced over to the space where she would have been had she kept moving and did a double take. He spun around to face her. “You can.”
His single-minded focus on this point trumped any stubbornness she’d ever shown. She knew this came from a place of protecting her, but still. “Sandy made it clear the entire island knows about Rudy and us breaking out of jail. Even if the ferry crew thinks I was kidnapped, they’ll still call the police.”
Some of the tension over Cam’s eyes eased. “I see you’ve thought this through.”
“And that’s the best-case scenario. If they think I’m an accomplice, I’ll be arrested immediately.” She couldn’t even let her mind go to that place.
Forget about losing her job, which she would. Conservative offices did not like having their receptionist’s photo splashed all over the news in association with a series of murders. This was way worse. It involved charges and lawyers and statements. She didn’t even know what, if anything, she could say. For all she knew, the Corcoran Team’s identity was top secret.
So many questions...
“The plan was to sneak you on board the ferry.” When she started to talk, Cam just talked louder. “Shane will go with you, act as your bodyguard and clear every space.”
He wanted to pass her off to Shane? That bordered on insulting. “Too risky.”
Cam swore under his breath. “You sound like Holt.”
With that piece of information Julia felt secure in thinking she’d win this argument. She just had to get Cam there.
“What does your boss suggest?” She emphasized the job title, thinking that might move the conversation along.
“We lie low.”
Now, that sounded familiar. “Ha!”
Cam shook his head. “Don’t do that.”
Fine, she’d be quiet about winning this argument, but they both knew she had. “The shipyard.”
“The rain isn’t letting up.” He looked up into the trees. Rain fell, but the umbrella of branches covered them from most of the downpour. “We should be inside.”
Not his most impressive stall, but she appreciated him trying to maneuver and analyze and think of ways to keep her safe. At heart, that was what this was. He had a singular focus in taking her out of harm’s way. Usually she would agree to go. She was not the martyr type, but none of the solutions sounded all that great.
The only option that worked for her was one where she stayed with him. Attraction or not, she did trust him to keep her safe and she trusted almost no one.
“There are buildings at the shipyard,” she said, pointing out what should be obvious.
“We’re talking five outbuildings and a warehouse, not to mention the partial walls and rusted-out ship hulls.” Cam listed off the hiding places on one hand. “No one has cleared any of it.”
Just as she thought, he knew all about the location. Probably researched it before coming to the island. Despite his attempts to act disconnected, Cam struck her as the never-miss-a-briefing type. “Last time Holt picked a place, I fell through the floor.”
The corner of Cam’s mouth twitched. Looked as though he was trying to fight off a smile. “You make a good point.”
“So?” She held out a hand and let the rain puddle there. “We’re getting wet just standing here.”
He let out a dramatic exhale. “How’s your leg?”
She didn’t see any reason to lie about that. If he planned to use her injury as an excuse, he would no matter what she said. “A throbbing mess.”
“You’re not convincing me we should walk.”
“Are you going to steal another car?” The guy was an expert at hot-wiring on top of everything else.
“No, much more of that and the poor people on Calapan are going to start shooting each other if anyone goes near a car that’s not theirs.” He rubbed his face. “But fine.”
Without another word he started walking. He’d switched directions and now they headed toward the shipyard. She half wondered if that had been the plan all along.
They’d gone a few steps with the relative quiet of the forest cocooning them. She’d spent so much of the past few hours on edge that it was hard to train her system to calm again. She tried a few deep breaths. That didn’t help. She thought about slipping her hand into his...until he started talking.
“Tell me about Sandy.” Cam’s gaze roamed around them as he never lowered that protector shield.
Some part of her had seen this coming, but still she hadn’t really braced for it. “Why?”
“Conversation.”
She knew Cam had to research all the angles. He believed someone with power was in charge, and Sandy’s house suggested he had some. Still, he’d helped raise her and that made her defenses click into place “Nope, not buying it. You’re digging.”
Cam shot her the side eye. “You have trust issues.”
She had to accept that argument. She didn’t trust easily, and there was a reason for that. “You should have had my father.”
Cam shrugged. “I didn’t have a father.”
“What?” Her footsteps faltered and she kicked a piece of wood instead of stepping over it but managed to regain her balance.
“Raised in foster homes.”
He casually dropped the piece of personal information. She guessed he didn’t share that much very often, and part of her was humbled by the realization. “Cam, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“That explains your whole man-as-island thing.” The way he held himself. The loyalty to his team and the absence of talk about anyone else. The drive to do the job right. Something about those features combined with his need to get things done on his own and without input pointed toward a loner upbringing.
“My what?”
“You strike me as a guy with few emotional commitments.” She saw reflected in him the same way she led her life. Free from entanglements. Cutting off meant less pain.
“True.”
“I can relate to that.” But now that she’d met him she had to rethink her strategy. A part of her wanted to open up and share.
In such a short time he had her turned around and wanting things she’d never wanted before. All while they ran and ducked and tried not to get killed.
It was surreal and weird and kind of messed up. She couldn’t explain it, and for the first time in her life she didn’t try to. She just went with it.
“One more way we’re compatible,” he said. Before she could chime in, he glanced at his watch. “Interesting.”
She was beginning to hate that word. Up on her tiptoes, she tried to look over his arm. “What is it?”
“Kreider.”
She looked around, half expecting him to ride in with guns blazing. “Where?”
“Shane tagged his car with another tracker, and this one stayed on.” Cam used his fingers to zoom out and make the map bigger.
“I have a feeling there’s more to this story.” Kreider riding to the grocery store or something equally innocent could not be the issue. She knew it would take more than that to grab Cam’s attention and hold it.
“He’s not far from here.” Cam pointed to two dots, one green and one blue.
She assumed they were the blue dot and feared they were about to change course one more time. “Please tell me we’re not going to go hunt him down.”
Cam winced. “Okay.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She slipped the bag off her shoulder and unzipped. Taking one granola bar, she handed the other to him. “Any chance we can get through the next hour without you having to kill someone?”
He eyed up the bar and then her. “I can’t promise that.”
* * *
THEY SLIPPED THROUGH the trees and around obvious trails and potential landmarks, getting from the construction trailer to the area near what looked like a storage shed. Forging a route close to the top of the hill risked their position but also gave them the advantage of elevation if it came down to a firefight.
He could also see most of the valley, including the police car parked right where the tracker said Kreider’s vehicle would be. A car and a building. This had possibilities.
The whole time Cam kept sneaking peeks at Julia to check on that ankle. He doubted her reporting about being fine was accurate. She had a tight rein on her anxiety and was tamping down the pain.
Another thing to admire in the woman. As if he needed more in addition to her strength, that impressive face, those intense eyes and a mouth that drove him mad.
Julia lowered the binoculars and handed them back to him. “Are they in there?”
He took another turn scanning the area. “Don’t know, since we missed seeing the car get here.”
She let her arm fall against the ground. Not hard to do, as they were down on their stomachs, dropped low and out of sight. “Is that a statement about how I slow you down?”
“About the rain, actually.” It no longer came down in sheets, but the downpour had slowed their progress. Now the air carried a mist.
He was soaked to the skin because he’d insisted she wear his raincoat. The jacket dwarfed her, but she did look pretty cute with the wet hair and oversize hood. Even now she kept pushing it back off her head to get a better view.
Of what? was the question. There were no humans around. No sign of Kreider or his men. No guns. Nothing out here to see.
They’d basically followed a ring around the outskirts of the shipyard. The construction trailer in one spot. The storage shed in the next. There were garages and other outbuildings, all outlining the far edges of the property line. Not that anyone could see a line through the trees and overgrown grass.
“Kreider should be in there, but why? It’s the middle of the day.” Cam meant to keep the analysis to himself, but he voiced the words.
“I guess calling out for him is a bad idea.” She patted her hands against the wet ground, ignoring water running over her palms.
“It’s tempting.”
She glanced up and the hood fell back. “Since the rain died down, we could sit here and watch the car and the shed. Basically, wait.”
Not really his style. Cam hated stakeouts and did much better with action than hanging around. “I want the man outside and Ray next to him. That would let us wrap this up, or at least start asking the right questions. If those two are in some drug-running operation, we need to know.”
“Your office can’t use some fancy satellite or something with infrared to detect bodies inside?”
“That’s not as easy as it sounds.” Cam liked how she thought. Go big. He had an idea on that score. “But we can flush him out.”
A familiar wariness washed over her. “How?”
“Explosion.” He used his hands to highlight the word. “Boom.”
Her gaze wandered over his face as her frown deepened. “Are you serious?”
“Most of the time, yes.” Off the job, no. On the job, pretty much always, which was why being with her had him floundering. He joked, she gave him a hard time...they had lose-your-mind sex. Not his usual assignment.
“Let me get this straight.” She wiped her hair out of her eyes. “You’re going to blow up that building with people in it.”
Probably a bit of an overstatement, but he liked the sound of it. Unfortunately, Holt would say no. “A small explosion next to the car. Set it on fire, that sort of thing.”
“You don’t have anything a bit more subtle? Maybe a rocket launcher.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
“I don’t really do subtle.” But he would kill for a rocket launcher right about now.
“I’m starting to get that.”
“The goal is to figure out how many men Kreider has and where they are. We blow something up and get their attention.” The more Cam spelled it out, the more he liked it. “Holt and Shane can round up bodies from there. Then we can finally start asking questions, which is what we were sent here to do in the first place.”
“Your team is around?” The jacket rustled as she looked behind her.
“Close by.”
“And you’re going to bring everyone running.”
Now she was getting it. “That’s the point.”
“Including the people who want you dead.”
“That’s why I want to see their faces. I can’t fight what I can’t see, and there is someone above Ray. I’m sure of it.” Made sense to Cam, but from the he’s-lost-his-mind stare she was sending him, he figured that might only run one way.
Rather than run through the details, he got up to his knees and reached for the bag. The rip of the zipper echoed around them as he drew it down and the soft rain began to fall again. He typed one word into his watch to communicate with Holt: diversion.
The response came back in a second: no fireworks.
Cam pretended he didn’t see that. He wanted big but went small. He pulled out an explosive device. It resembled a stick of dynamite but wasn’t. It consisted of an internal chamber housing the chemical substance and wires. He could use a trigger from a good distance away. There would be a crash and fire. Enough to bring anyone hiding out running, which was the point.
“If you trip with that thing, will you blow up?” She sounded more intrigued than concerned.
He wasn’t sure how to take that. “I have to set it off, so no.”
“I still want to go on record as doubting this plan.”
He put the pieces together and lifted the device into his arms. “If we flush the right people out, we can end this right now and we can sleep in a warm bed tonight.”
He left out the word together, but it was implied. From her smile he thought she got that.
She gestured toward the car. “Then what are you waiting for?”
“I thought so.” Cam took off then. He slid down the hill on the side of his foot, winding through the trees and dropping to his stomach when there was nothing to block a direct line to seeing him. He could almost hear Holt swearing from a half mile away.
Cam crawled the last few feet. Pebbles crunched under his knees and something sharp dug into his thigh. The wet ground helped muffle the sound, but he couldn’t go in using pure stealth. Not with an explosive device in his hands.
He had neared the front tire when the door banged open. Not knowing if he was made or just unlucky, he tucked the bomb against his chest and rolled under the car. Footsteps thumped around him. He heard the car door open and calculated how fast he’d have to move not to get crushed under the tires.
But the engine never turned over. One of the guy’s legs stayed outside the car as if he was leaning in to grab something. Singing while he did it. Then he stepped back out and slammed the door.
Cam held his breath until he heard the building door shut again. He exhaled, trying to slow the sprint of his heartbeat. Let his head fall against the cool ground for a second. Then he thought about Julia on that hill and started moving again.
He shimmied back out and set up the device. Placed it close to the tire on the far side of the building. The explosion should blow the car and rock the house. Bring the singer and whoever else was in there running.
Two wires and he hooked it up and, ready to go, got to his feet. His palms stayed on the ground as he looked around for the best place to hide. He had just pushed up when he heard it. The pump of a rifle.
“Stand up nice and slow. Hands on your head.” The man laughed as he talked.
“You are not supposed to be here, but unfortunately for you, you are,” another one said.
Cam ignored the comment about his hands and turned around. One of the men looked familiar. Cam thought he remembered him from the ferry. The other, no. Neither was Ray and neither looked to be in charge.
He tucked the detonator in his hand, hiding it. He had to get out of the blast radius. If he didn’t, he had to buy time for Holt and Shane to move in close enough to fire. But even with them on the scene, it might be too late. These two men were smart enough to put the car in front of them and the building behind. It was a good plan until the vehicle blew up, and that was about to happen.
Cam tried some guy talk while he put a map together in his mind. “Just out for a walk, boys.”
“Nice try. We know who you are.” The bigger one pointed to Cam with the end of his gun. “People are looking for you.”
“Where’s the woman?” the other one asked.
Confirmation. They were with Ray. Cam didn’t know who else they were with, but he made that connection.
Cam shook his head. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“There.” The guy pointed to the hill.
Cam almost hated to follow his gaze, but there she was, on the top of the hill. Standing. Was she waving her arms?
Anger rushed over him and he almost missed the opportunity Julia handed him. With the men’s attention switched, Cam moved. He took a few lunging steps, then dived over a bush. His finger hit the button as he flew.
A crack sounded behind him and then a wall of heat smashed into his body. He fell to his stomach with his arms crossed over his head and listened as the world exploded into chaos behind him. Yelling and the crackle of fire. One explosion followed another, and chunks of car rained down around him.
He didn’t know how much time had passed until the thunder of noise died down. When he lifted his head again, Julia hovered over him with fear shining in her eyes.
“Cameron?”
“I’m okay.” He had no idea if that was true, but he rolled over and didn’t spy blood, and all his limbs were there, so he took that as a good sign.
“We’re going to talk about that stunt later,” Holt said from somewhere above him. “Lucky for you Shane caught the one guy who was thrown before he could get up and run.”
Cam assumed that meant there were just the two. “And the other?”
“Gone, as in dead.” Holt looked down at Julia where she sat slumped over on her knees. “You go with Cam.”
She shook her head but didn’t say anything. The lack of response fueled Cam. This was not a woman who stayed quiet. He struggled first to his elbows as the adrenaline gave way to aches and pains. Then he sat up.
“You created a diversion.” She’d risked her own safety, and the idea of that had him reeling. He was half furious and half drowning in his attraction to her.
She picked at something on the ground. “They were on a beer run.”
“What?”
“The guy took beer out of the car, got as far as the porch, then turned again.” She let out a ragged exhale. “I guess he sensed you were there.”
“And you rescued me.” The idea held him in awe. He was not in the habit of needing someone to ride in and save him.
She shrugged. “It was my turn.”
He heard Holt moving around and looked his way. The place looked like a war zone. A flipped-over car and a fire raging up the side of the shed. One body on the ground and fire and debris everywhere.
Cam cleared his throat. “You get to pick where we go next.”
She touched his sleeve. “Sandy’s house.”
That was not really what he had expected. “Really?”
“You smell.”
* * *
RAY LOWERED HIS BINOCULARS.
The shed, the entire area was on fire. He had another man down and one caught. He’d almost gotten off a shot and taken the runner out, but then more men appeared. Good thing the guard didn’t know anything. He was stationed out here, checking the boundaries. He hadn’t even done a good job of that. Too busy drinking, apparently.
No, like every other man on the job, this one couldn’t be traced back to the boss. Ray doubted the guy they caught could say much about him, either. But he could answer some questions, and that moved up the timeline to take the Corcoran Team out.
At least he had the information he needed. Corcoran didn’t send one man to grab a witness. At least three wandered around out there, making his life difficult. Ray could dispose of three. While he was at it, he’d eliminate the woman, too.
The boss was not going to like this. Then again, the boss wasn’t going to be the boss for much longer, so Ray didn’t care. It was all a time game now, and the countdown had started.