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“What did Jesse mean by that?”
“Jon is one of the best interrogators employed by Fortress. If our pursuer knows anything, he’ll be begging to talk before Jon is finished with him.”
Good grief. She stared at Cal. “Will he kill the man?”
A brief glance her way. “What do you think?”
She considered what she knew about Jon Smith and the kind of men Maddox hired. “He won’t unless the man attacks and they can’t contain him.”
“That’s right. Jon’s a world-class sniper. He’s killed many terrorists over the years and won’t hesitate to do so again to protect innocents. But he doesn’t kill unless it’s necessary. If he kills the man, you can be sure he didn’t have another option.”
Rachelle twisted to look at Cal. A question burned in her mind, but she hesitated to ask. It felt intrusive.
He glanced at her, his expression resigned. “Ask.”
“Would you kill the man following us?”
“If he threatened you and put your life at risk, I wouldn’t hesitate.” After a beat of silence, Cal wrapped his hand around hers. “Want to take back your agreement to date me?”
“Not a chance, buddy. You’re not sliding out of your promise, and I’m not welshing on mine. You owe me kisses, and I intend to collect.”
He flashed her an intense look. “Believe me, I’m happy to deliver.”
His phone rang. Cal tapped the dashboard screen again. “Yeah, Taylor.”
“It’s Brody. We have the man in custody. Jon’s working with him now.”
“Copy that.”
“Stay alert. He’s claiming he and his crew never fail.”
Crew. Rachelle’s hand tightened around Cal’s. Eli was right. This man wasn’t working alone. What did that mean for them?
“We need to know the target’s name and why they want her.”
“Copy.” Brody ended the call.
Cal updated Eli.
“Not what I wanted to hear,” he growled.
“Might be best to backtrack and return to the interstate.”
“Or we could run into the rest of the crew.” After a moment, Eli said, “Keep moving forward, but anticipate trouble.”
“Yes, sir.” Cal glanced at her. “You okay?”
“Peachy. Who needs coffee to stay awake.”
He chuckled. “Adrenaline buzz does wonders for you, but you crash hard after the crisis is over.”
They continued through the dimly-lit countryside. Where before she’d enjoyed the sunset, now Rachelle wished for daylight to see potential danger. Their headlights pinpointed their location for anyone interested. On this sparsely traveled road, four vehicles traveling together would capture attention. Traveling without headlights wasn’t an option.
Up ahead, two vehicles raced toward them. Cal’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. “If I tell you to get down, do it without hesitation.”
“All right.”
As they neared an intersection, the two vehicles swerved and skidded to a stop, blocking both sides of the road. A third vehicle raced from the crossroad and slammed into the passenger side of Cal’s SUV.
