Watching that Nick guy fawn all over Layla had been sickening. And when Nick had taken her hand, it was all Hunter could do not to react. But he’d sat quietly at his table, brooding and trying to read lips the best he could without staring. It was the longest twenty minutes of his life.
Now they were in his car so they could speak freely without the prying ears of the Agency. He’d taken extra precautions to make sure there weren’t any surveillance devices in his home or car for that very reason. They already had enough eyes on them.
“You’re keeping me in suspense,” he said. He didn’t want to push her, but he also really wanted to know what had happened.
“Sorry. I’m just replaying the conversation in my head.”
“No need to apologize. I can try to be patient.” Try being the operative word. He glanced over and smiled at her.
She gave him a weak smile in return. “Nick says he wasn’t involved in this, and I believe him.”
“Isn’t that good news?” He knew there was more to the story.
She shifted in her seat. “Yes, but he also said that he can’t interfere in the investigation and then gave me this big pep talk about how this was just going to make me a better agent and I’d be stronger for it.”
“I saw him touching you.” It came out more accusatory than he had intended.
Layla sighed. “Yeah, but it wasn’t a romantic gesture. That is over, and he knows it.”
Hunter had been shocked that Layla had carried on this secret relationship with a top-ranking CIA official, but he certainly didn’t judge her for it, although it seemed like she was judging herself pretty harshly. “I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything except for my dislike for the guy.”
They drove in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. “Nick also suggested that someone outside the Agency could be behind all of this.”
Hunter nodded. “The cartel has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“I guess it’s possible, but it seems like an elaborate ruse for the cartel to orchestrate. Why not just kill me?”
“True.” He looked in his rearview mirror. “Hey, let’s put that on pause for a second. I think we may have a tail.”
She turned and looked. “I see them. Black Chevy SUV. The question is whether it’s the Agency keeping tabs or someone else.”
“Let’s see. Hold on.” He slammed on the brakes and took a sharp left. Then he floored it before taking a hard right.
“Where did you learn to drive like that?” she asked.
“You’re not the only one who has had training. Mine has just been a bit more informal. Call it on-the-job training.” He gritted his teeth as he watched the rearview mirror.
“I think you lost them.” She let out a sigh.
He wasn’t taking any chances. He accelerated down the road and then headed toward the highway.
“The Agency is probably trying to keep track of my whereabouts. As if the safe house isn’t enough.”
He actually hoped it was the CIA following them. If it was someone from the cartel, they were in grave danger. “The Agency we can handle. What we don’t want is more cartel hit men on our trail. I feel like a sitting duck out here.”
“Yeah. I agree with you.”
There was only a moment for him to regroup before, out of the corner of his eye, he saw another black SUV barreling toward them. It was a different vehicle than before. Without even thinking, he spun the wheel at full speed, and they did a one-eighty. He peeled out the other direction.
“Nice move,” she said. “I don’t think that was the Agency. We shouldn’t go to your place or the safe house. Let’s just keep driving for a while and make sure we’re in the clear.”
“I’m on it.” He glanced at her and saw that she’d pulled her Glock out of her jacket and had it sitting in her lap.
They rode in silence for a few tense minutes as he replayed the sequence of events in his head.
She looked over at him. “That wasn’t a coincidence. It could’ve been a two-man team trying to box us in.”
“Which is why your idea about continuing to evade and escape is a good one.”
She smirked. “They teach us a few things about evasive maneuvers at the CIA.”
“I bet they do.” He paused, wondering if he should broach this topic. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” she said.
“Why are you so against fieldwork? You’re obviously talented at it.”
“It’s hard enough to live the double life I do with my State Department cover as an analyst. Being able to shift personas and work people is not my strongest point. Yes, I’m good tactically, but I don’t think I have what it takes to be cutthroat in the field. And you have to be. People’s lives are literally on the line. The top guys are caught up with how I look on paper—my language skills, my academics—but in the field, executing on all of those things with real people is not easy.”
That made sense to him. “You’re too transparent. You don’t want to work an asset and tell lies and weave up a story, do you?”
She shook her head. “No, and that’s what’s required. I keep telling everyone that, but they just keep pushing it. The Honduras op was a bit different because I wasn’t working any assets. I was just executing a mission and providing intel and analysis.”
“You didn’t even mention the danger element.”
She gave him a smile. “There’s danger in every part of life. I have to rely on God’s protection whether I’m running a field op or driving to the grocery store. It’s all in His hands.”
She’d come back to the faith topic again. He was still struggling with how to verbalize his issues with her.
“I take it from your silence that you disagree with me. What changed, Hunter? I know what strong faith you used to have. I lived it with you for three years.”
“I wish I could make you understand why I feel the way I do. There’s just a big gulf between God and me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel cold, unwanted. Numb.”
“Did you stop going to church?”
It went much deeper than just church attendance. “Yeah, a while ago. I wasn’t connecting anymore, and it felt a bit hypocritical to keep going, given my feelings.”
“Maybe it’s just time for a change. Try out a different church.”
“That requires effort.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to put forth effort anymore when it comes to God?”
Ouch. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds awful, but I’m trying to be brutally honest with you. No sugarcoating, just telling you exactly how I feel. What I’ve been struggling with.”
She touched his arm. “I’m not judging you, Hunter. I’m just trying to understand what the root cause of the issue is.”
“I don’t know the answer to that either.”
“You’re not alone. God is still here. Here with us right now, and I’m not going anywhere either.” She paused. “Maybe you don’t think He’s in your life because you don’t want Him there.”
She had just hit the nail on the head. “You might be right,” he said softly. “But I’m tapped out, Layla. I just don’t have it in me right now to have some big come-to-Jesus moment. I just don’t.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that. Hunter, you came to Jesus years ago. You told me about it, remember? We shared those stories together. Once you make that commitment, He’s all in forever.”
He checked his side mirrors, and everything was still clear. “You’re on a roll tonight, preacher.”
“I’m being serious. Don’t believe the lies you hear in your head. You are not too far gone.” She sighed. “I talked to you about the rough time I had after we broke up, but I also had a really rocky road after I split up with Nick.”
“Questioning your faith?” He had a hard time believing that, given what he knew about her.
“I’d say it was more anger than questioning. I didn’t like the person I’d allowed myself to become with Nick, and for a while I blamed God, thinking I could shift the blame from my own personal decisions and actions to Him. I went into a bit of a tailspin. But after I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I realized that yes, I had made mistakes, but God understood I was flawed. I didn’t have to wallow forever. I could pick myself up and move on, knowing that God’s love was enough. Definitely more important than the love and affection of any man.”
“Nick really did a number on you, huh?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not fair to lay blame on him. I just allowed myself to be seduced by his power and influence. That isn’t the type of person I am at my core, but at that point in my life, I wasn’t seeing clearly. Nick was just being Nick. He treated me well, and I believe he did care for me a lot. Probably even loved me. But it wasn’t a healthy relationship. Our values didn’t line up, and instead of being strong, I allowed myself to be manipulated and fell into what he wanted instead of sticking to my guns.” She sighed again. “But I learned a lot of important lessons, including what it’s like to fall really far and be able to get up again. It wasn’t on my own strength, though. I thought I could make it on my own, but all of that showed me how much I need the Lord in my life.”
“You’re stronger than you think.”
“Maybe, but it’s also dangerous to think that we’re invincible. That we are in control of everything in our lives.”
“I rarely feel in control of anything.” He swallowed. That was an unexpected admission.
“But you shouldn’t feel uneasy about that. God’s got it. He’s got you.”
Her impassioned words struck a chord with him. Maybe he had been too boneheaded about his relationship with God. Thinking that he could just muddle through. Hearing what she’d been through and seeing how she handled herself made him rethink things.
Movement behind them caught his eye. A car was quickly gaining on them. “They’re back. Another vehicle.”
“This makes no sense. How could that be possible?” she asked.
A thought occurred to him. “I checked the inside of my vehicle for surveillance equipment, but I didn’t check externally for a GPS tracker.”
“That has to be it. Which means we’re like a homing beacon. We’ve got to get to a Metro station, dump the car, and move.”
Once again her quick thinking was coming in handy. He’d have come up with something, but her plan was better. “If they get too close, fire a warning shot. If they’re just surveillance, they’ll back off.”
“Roger that.”
“We’re in between Clarendon and the Virginia Square-GMU Station. We either circle back to Clarendon or go forward to GMU. Any preference?”
“Clarendon gives us more options. Circle back.” She rolled down her window, readying for anything. “ETA is probably ten minutes.” She looked behind them. “They’re gaining.”
“Take the shot if you need to, but wait until the last minute. We need to preserve ammunition.”
“I’ve got an extra clip.”
Of course she did.
“And, Hunter, my gut is that these guys are not from Langley. This has to be the cartel.”
“Got it.” Deep down he’d felt the same way, but hearing her say it was chilling. The Agency would only go so far at this point, given the early stage of the investigation against Layla. But the cartel was a completely different story. The men they hired didn’t care about human life. They had zero moral compass and thought nothing about killing in cold blood. And right now they were barreling down on them.
“They’re getting closer. Can you go any faster?”
“Yes.” He pushed his foot down on the accelerator. “Once we get off the highway, though, it’s going to be tough to keep up this speed. We need to shake them.”
“I’m a really good shot. I can probably take out a tire.”
“Okay, you just tell me when. I’ll slow down when you’re ready to get you closer.”
“Let’s go a little farther.” She turned to face the rear of the car, getting ready to lean out the window.
His pulse thumped loudly as adrenaline soared through him. He had to focus. Their lives depended on it. He still couldn’t believe that Layla had turned into an expert markswoman, but it was just one of the many changes about her. As he looked over at her, she closed her eyes for a second. This had to be even worse than he thought.
When her eyes opened, she looked at him. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Okay, get ready, because I’m going to slam on the brakes.”
“Understood.” She braced her knee against the seat.
He took a deep breath and then punched down hard on the brake pedal. The car trailing them was now right up on them. He heard gunshots, but they weren’t just from Layla. The car behind them had opened fire, and Layla was exposed.
“Get back in the car!”
“One more shot.” She was true to her word. She took the shot and slid back inside.
He punched the gas and watched in the rearview mirror as the pursuing car skidded to a stop.
“You got them. Front right tire.”
“I told you.” She sighed loudly. “Now, let’s get to the Metro before anyone else pays us a visit. We need to get out of this alive.”