Chapter 26

Standing under the tree, Ian looked at the pavement a few feet away. He blew out a breath, relief flooding him, “A road.” Reaching over, he grabbed Alec’s hand and pulled her to walk out on the hard surface with him. Releasing her hand, he turned around and looked in the other direction.

“See any motel signs?”

At the note of exhaustion in her voice, he turned back and pulled her against his side. His shoulder complained sending streaks of pain shooting up into his neck. Ignoring it, he squeezed her wilting body into his. “I’m more interested in finding a phone and calling the Calvary to come and get us.” He started walking, taking the weight of her body with him as he allowed him to guide her along. It bothered him more than the fact they’d been abducted that she was this quiet and complacent, he wanted her bite back.

When she stiffened in his arm, he stopped and looked down at her. “What?”

“Lawnmower. I hear a lawnmower.”

Cocking his head, he held his breath and listened. “It’s coming from this way.” He grasped her hand and turned to lead her across the road.

“We’re not going to follow the road?” She stumbled as they walked down through the ditch.

“The road could take us miles away from the only sign of civilization we’ve heard all day. I’m not taking any chances of walking right past a town.”

Pushing his way through an overgrown shrub, he paused and listened to make sure he could still hear it. “It’s not far,” he more or less said to encourage his own absent stamina, “I hope you have phone numbers memorized.”

“You find me a phone and we’ll reach someone, don’t worry.”

Fighting to catch his breath, he pulled her up a steep ditch, praying there was something to see when they got to the top. Ignoring his screaming leg muscles, he stopped at the top and huffed out a breath before turning to see what was on the other side. He almost laughed in delirium when he saw a small collection of scattered houses and streets.

When Alec yanked on his arm and dropped to her knees beside him, he looked down at her.

“Get down,” she hissed.

Squatting down, he looked in every direction. “What?”

Pointing, he followed the direction. Driving down what he could only assume was the main street of the tiny village what looked like the same SUV they’d seen Espinosa in earlier. “Shit. So much for walking right in.”

“Do you see a phone booth anywhere?”

Standing enough to see more, he leaned over his knees and let his eyes move slowly over every building they could see. “Over there” —he motioned toward a small gas station— “at the side of the building.”

Nodding, Alec began moving down the hill in careful steps. “Let’s get there.”

As she began moving with cautious steps toward the closest street, he knew her adrenalin had kicked in and the cop persona she embraced had returned. Following along behind her, he kept his eyes in the direction they had seen the vehicle. “We’re going to have to move through those buildings to stay off the street.”

She darted across the road and it was all he could do to keep up with her. They stopped behind the nearest building. “I don’t see movement, any idea what time of day it is?”

Shaking her head, she moved to the end of the building and looked around it. “Hopefully dinner time and everyone is inside.” Glancing over her shoulder, giving him a once-over appraisal. “If I saw someone that looked as rough as we do, I’d run the other way.”

“I doubt that.” Watching the road for any sign of the SUV, he motioned to the garage on the other side of the street. “Make a run for it? I don’t see anyone around.”

“Hopefully it’s closed for the day.” She glanced once more in each direction, “Let’s go.” Without waiting for him, she took off across the road heading to the side they’d seen the phone.

Ian’s lungs and legs were trying to relay that they were ready for a rest, but he ignored them and focused on the side of the small-town garage. As he rounded the corner, he tried to note everything around them and somewhere they could go to stay hidden after the phone call.

Alec fumbled with the phone and dialed the operator. Ian stood behind her and kept watch for the SUV. If it came down to outrunning Espinosa, he wasn’t sure he had the energy left to do it.

“...what time? Holy shit, we were out a long time.”

Leaning around the corner, Ian checked down the street. Other than an elderly woman walking a small dog, there was no one in sight.

“Espinosa for sure, I didn’t see the other one clearly, but he called out Rory...”

Ian’s stomach knotted as he glanced down the street again and saw the SUV pull around the corner. “Alec, we gotta go.”

“Shit. Brent, they’re back, locate this phone and we’ll check back.”

Ian grabbed her arm as she quickly rattled off the number of the pay phone. As soon as she placed it back in the cradle, he pulled her toward the back of the building. There was a partially constructed building one lot over. They just had to get there through the empty lot that was wide open and visible from the street. “Head for the construction site.”

He waited until she started running in that direction to follow her. If it came down to it, he’d make himself a target so she could get there. A few days ago, he’d have been bothered by his new chivalrous traits, but at this point, he was coming to terms with the fact that the feelings he had for Alec were real.

Ducking under a two-by-four brace across an opening, he followed Alec to the back of the building where walls were mostly completed. Stopping, he scanned the space and decided it was complete enough that no one could see in. Leaning back against the wall, he slid down to the floor and leaned on his legs. When he caught his breath, he looked over to see Alec sprawled on the floor a few feet away. “What did Brent say?”

Turning her head, she opened her eyes. “It’s almost seven. Either it took a hell of a long time to get here or we were out a lot longer than we thought.”

“So, we’ve been gone for almost twenty-four hours?” Scrubbing a hand over his jaw, he felt the growth and realized it was true.

“Yeah. They’re setting up for the meeting at the yacht, well mostly the big guys are, but our team doesn’t plan on fading into the sunset just yet.”

Ian smiled, liking that she had referred to them as our team.

“They traced our phones and found them on the outskirts of town in a ditch, which gave them a direction but no clue where to head.”

“They’ll be able to find us using the payphone’s number?” Stopping had made what little energy he had left drain away, so he leaned over and lay down on his side, cushioning his head with his arm.

“It might take them a few hours to get here, we’ll keep an eye on the payphone.” Lifting her head, she looked at him for a moment with an odd look on her face.

“What?”

“You can’t tap into Felicity’s head or something can you?” She smirked in response to the startled look he gave her.

“Do you see an antenna sticking out of my skull?”

Sighing, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. “Sorry, exhaustion has given me a bad case of brain spew.”

Ian grinned. “Brain spew?”

“Yeah, you know when the filter is off, and you randomly say everything that goes through your mind? That’s brain spew.”

Alec lay there with her eyes closed and a smile on her face and Ian’s heart pounded in his chest just looking at her. “Get some rest, I’ll keep watch for a bit.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

Wanting nothing more than to move over beside her and pull her into his arms and sleep, Ian shook his head and sat back up again trying to fight the fatigue that gripped every muscle in his body. Getting up took a lot of determination, but he finally got to his feet and moved back through the opening in the wall so he could check out what was around the building.

He had roughly an hour to kill before it would be dark and then he planned on finding something to drink at least. At this point, a sip from a rusty garden tap would be just fine with him. The apples and creek water had been burned off a long time ago. Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he massaged them and then blinked a few times trying to clear the haze. He didn’t dare sit again because he’d be out as fast as Alec and one of them needed to keep watch.

“Alec.”

Bolting up to her knees, Alec tensed, ready to fight.

“Hey, it’s me, relax.”

Dropping down, she sat and looked around, remembering where they were. It was dark now she realized, she could barely see Ian. “How long did I sleep?”

He sat down beside her. “I have no idea. I waited until it was dark and went shopping.”

“Shopping?” Pushing her hair back from her face, she focused on him as best as she could. He held up a bottle of water and a bag of chips.

“They only left me with some change in my pocket, so it’s all I could get.”

She took the bottle of water and opened it to take a sip. “It’s better than champagne and caviar to me right now.” Watching him open his own bottle of water, she took another small drink. “Anyone show up at the phone yet?”

Capping the bottle, he shook his head. “Not yet. I’m guessing we’re at least two, maybe three hours from the city. Now that it’s dark, there’s no light beyond this little village, so we’re pretty far out.”

Alec opened the bag of chips and took a few out before offering the bag to him. Chewing slowly, she studied the space around them. “So, we could be here for a while yet?”

“Probably.”

Eating a few more of the chips, she handed the bag to him. “Well, it’s dry and not in the open, so I guess it could be worse.”

“True. I guess the yacht meeting will be happening soon.” He took the bag and leaned back against the wall.

“Yeah,” turning around she followed him and propped her back against the two-by-four not yet covered, “I don’t care if it takes them ten hours to get here just as long as they get something from that meeting that brings all of this to a close.”

Ian made a noise around the mouth of the water bottle that let her know he agreed. Capping the bottle, he turned and looked at her for a long silent moment. “I’ve been trying to figure out why they grabbed us.” He shrugged. “I know Pelts was after you, but after taking a look-see inside his head, I don’t think that was a group plan, so why us?”

Leaning her head back against the wall, “I hate admitting that one of them might have a brain, but I’m thinking someone put two and two together and came up with the answer that you and I seem to always be present when shit hits the fan.”

He handed her bag back to her and smiled. “That would make sense. Unless...”

Alec made an annoyed growl sound. “Don’t say what I’m thinking. The team we have is trustworthy. Brent, Reid, and Jac they’d cut off their hands before giving anyone any information. The new suits wouldn’t just target us...”

“What about the other detectives?”

“Leigh, Max, and Lenny?” She shook her head. “No way.” Narrowing her eyes, she scowled at him. “You cleared them yourself.”

Ian sighed and leaned back against the wall. “I know. It just all seems too...”

“Yeah, I’m with you there.” The knots in her neck were spawning and moved down into her shoulders. Something was off and she couldn’t figure out what. Rolling her shoulders, she reached up and tried to squeeze some of the tension out.

Ian placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her to lean forward. “Slide over here.” He opened his legs and patted the floor between them.

“No, I’m good.”

Sighing, he reached over, slid her forward, and then moved over so he was behind her.

Alec tried not to make a sound when his strong hands began to knead the tense muscles of her neck. “When did you check the phone last?”

“Just before I woke you up.”

His breath moved across her cheek as he spoke.

“If they pull up beside the phone, the lights should light it up over here, so we’ll know when they’re there.”

Unable to ignore how good it felt, she dropped her head forward as his hands moved down to work between her shoulder blades. “I wouldn’t want to miss our ride.”

He chuckled next to her ear. “Pretty sure they’re not going to leave without us.”

She couldn’t reply when his lips brushed against the side of her neck. Just a slight touch from him and her whole body responded, washing everything else away.

When he turned her slowly, she let him, wanting just for a few moments to feel something other than the emptiness that filled her. She knew she shouldn’t, but what would a few moments hurt? Ian had her side against his chest, his arm wrapped around her tummy, holding her close to him. Tenderly his mouth touched hers as if he was gauging her reaction. Her lips responded, she wasn’t sure if she should, but it felt right.

A few more tentative movements and her brain prodded her, reminding her where they were. Leaning back into his arm, she looked at him. “We shouldn’t get distracted.”

His hand massaged the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

“After the day we’ve had, oh yeah, we should.” He grasped the back of her head, leaning toward her slowly until their mouths touched again. The kiss was barely contacting and probably the most sensual thing she’d ever experienced. “Stop overthinking it, Alec. Just kiss me,” he whispered against her lips, “a kiss...” he began to nibble at her bottom lip, and she couldn’t help responding.

The last thought in her mind before she touched her mouth to his was, she was filthy, exhausted, and hungry...yet the only thing she wanted was to kiss him. Leaning back against his leg, she pulled his head toward hers until his lips crushed down against hers.

He didn’t just kiss her; he devoured her mouth and shattered her resistance at the same time. Her hands clung to him, not wanting it to end. Never before had kissing affected her so completely. When her body reminded her she needed to breathe, she pulled back gasping for air. Ian didn’t stop, his mouth dragged down over her neck causing her to moan in the back of her throat. Opening her eyes, she blinked. Lights were shining, creating shadows inside that hadn’t been there a moment before. “Ian,” she whispered still trying to breathe.

Resting her cheek against hers, he took a ragged breath. “I see it.” Shifting slowly, he pulled her to sit between his legs again. “Let’s go see if we’ve been found.”

With shaking legs, she managed to get on her feet, waiting until he was beside her before moving to the opening. “Let’s take a look without being seen. Just in case.” She stepped out, keeping in the shadows until she stood beside the rough structure.

Ian was right behind her. “I doubt Espinosa is still hanging around. He probably thinks we’re lost and will never be seen again.”

“Imagine his surprise when I slam his ass in a cell.”

Ian chuckled. “I look forward to watching that.”

Ducking down, she looked all around them and then ran across the empty area as fast as her tired legs would go. Stopping at the corner of the garage, she waited for Ian to come up behind her before she leaned down and looked around the edge of the building.

It was too dark to make out the color of the car that sat there. She was just about to straighten up when the door opened and Felicity stepped out into the light from the lamppost. “It’s them.”

Ian grabbed her hand and pulled her around the corner, running along the edge of the building. Felicity smiled and then sobered and turned to look up and down the street. Jac turned in the seat and opened the back door. Not waiting, Ian gripped her hand and headed for the car only slowing long enough to push her into the back seat and climb in after her.

Felicity climbed back and turned around. “You guys look really rough.”

Alec slid down in the seat and rested her head back against it. “It’s been an adventure.”

Jac turned and held up a thermos and bag. “Coffee or food?”

Ian grinned at Alec.

“Both,” they answered in unison.