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By the time they reached the north entrance to the cemetery, her feet were screaming in pain. A black SUV sat there, engine idling. She stopped in her tracks, but Doc offered a reassuring smile.

“The license plate is correct.” He tugged her forward. “This is our ride.”

Sure enough, she recognized James from two nights ago. She gratefully collapsed in the back seat, blisters throbbing.

James eyed them in the rearview mirror. “I understand you need a rental car?”

Doc hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Thanks. But rather than going into Lexington, I’d like you to drive us to Nicholasville for the vehicle.”

“Fine with me.” James’s tone indicated he was getting paid well enough that going out of his way wasn’t a problem.

Doc glanced at her. “I’m hoping there will be a larger variety of rental cars available in Nicholasville. I don’t want to be stuck with another four-cylinder sedan.”

“I understand.” She had almost forgotten the limited supply of rental cars that had been available. She bent and removed the sandals, grimacing at the weeping blisters.

“I’ll clean those up for you when we get back.” Doc looked upset at the condition of her feet. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re already on antibiotics.”

“I can’t wait to change into comfy shoes.” She wiggled her toes as James made quick work of driving back to Nicholasville. A trip she prayed would be uneventful from this point forward. “No more dressing up for me.”

Doc seemed surprised to hear that but didn’t say anything. Maybe he assumed she dressed up on a regular basis. Hard to imagine that though. The dress was nice but not exactly comfortable. A flash of her wearing jeans and work boots mucking out a stall flashed in her mind. She turned to tell Doc but then held back.

Remembering how she’d mucked out a stall wasn’t helpful. They needed more. And she couldn’t help but think that the only way she’d remember everything was to return to her father’s farm.

Likely the place this nightmare had started.

Doc felt bad about the raw condition of Fiona’s feet. The bleeding blisters looked painful, and if he could have spared her the discomfort, he would have.

The gunmen must have spotted their rental car at the race parking lot. Although he’d only been half joking about the microchip. Hard to imagine another logical reason they’d been found at every turn.

Since Rex was driving, he didn’t bother to text an update. Rex would probably call when he stopped to refuel. In truth, Doc felt like a failure. So much for his military background and his work for Grayson’s Guardians. The gunmen stalking Fiona were always one step ahead of them.

He reminded himself that his teammate Cam had asked for his help two months ago after being caught up in a similar dangerous situation. Granted, Doc had been delayed with traffic, arriving after all the excitement was over. His tardiness wasn’t his fault, but the delay had caused Cam to be shot. Thankfully, his buddy was recovering well and had recently gotten married.

Seemed as if several of their teammates were settling down with families. As he glanced at Fiona, he knew that wasn’t going to happen for him.

He turned his attention to their surroundings. Up ahead, he could see the sign for a rental car agency, which was located on the outskirts of Nicholasville. Very convenient. When James pulled in and parked in front of the building, he leaned forward.

“Will you stick around for a minute? I want to be sure there’s a car available before you take off.”

“No problem.” James agreed with a nod.

“Wait here,” he said to Fiona. “No sense in making you walk more than necessary.”

“Thanks.” She bent to slip her sandals back on. “I’ll be ready to go when you are.”

Inside, he was relieved they had an SUV rental car available. It was silver in color, which wasn’t optimal, but he’d take a bigger engine over a dark color any day. Especially after the earlier near miss.

Key in hand, he hurried back outside for Fiona. He opened her door, offered a hand to help her out, then leaned in to address James. “Thanks again. We appreciate the assist.”

“You’re welcome.” James nodded. “Stay safe.”

“Yeah.” He wished it were that easy. “Thanks again.”

Five minutes later, they were seated in the new rental car. Doc quickly turned toward the small airport where their rental house was located. It seemed like days, rather than hours, since they’d been there. The hour was going on five thirty. Fiona needed to take her antibiotic with dinner. And they had extra gauze supplies from the hospital that he could use on her feet. “Hope you don’t mind another frozen pizza. I should have bought more groceries.”

“Of course not.” She sighed, then added, “I don’t care about anything other than getting out of these sandals.”

“I hear you.” The trip to the rental property didn’t take long. He parked in the garage, then went around to help Fiona out. She had removed her sandals again and padded into the house barefoot.