"Don't worry, little one. Your mother is going to keep you safe," Tori whispered as she reached across the car seat for her pistol and flicked off the safety at the same time she pushed her feet to the accelerator to speed up. Speed signs were posted for sixty-five miles an hour but she was doing eighty-five with all intention of doing more if she had to. She wasn't sure what she was dealing with and her Beretta may not stand a chance against a high-powered rifle or any type of automatic weapons.
Releasing a curse from her lips when the car behind her increased its speed again, she attempted to concentrate on her driving on the hilly road, trying to make it to the highway that would take her across the Golden Gate.
She blinked when up ahead she saw another vehicle approaching, which looked like a SUV or a truck. She hoped the driver following her wouldn't try anything while another vehicle was around. However, there was no doubt in her mind that once the truck passed her by, the driver would make their move.
Somehow she had to try and lose whoever was following her. She didn't have the option of getting the local police involved. There would be too many questions with too little time to provide answers.
She glanced back in the rearview mirror. The vehicle behind her was gaining speed. It seemed that approaching truck or not, the driver intended to make their move. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, she held her gun in a position ready to take aim if she had to. No matter what, she intended to survive.
Damn." Drake took stock of the two vehicles coming toward him at full speed. There was certainly a chase going on and first car fit the description of Tori's vehicle.
As soon as he passed the two vehicles he jerked his steering wheel to the left, made a sharp U-turn and became the third man in pursuit. He floored it and in no time at all, the Tahoe he was driving had gained ground and was bearing down on the dark sedan chasing Tori. The driver had gone from being the pursuer to being the one pursued.
"You want to act crazy, then let's do crazy," Drake said through clenched teeth as he increased his speed and rammed into the back of the vehicle. Gripping the wheel hard, his gaze stayed glued on the car ahead. Almost instantly, a series of shots sounded and when he heard the sound of metal shattering, Drake knew the side of his vehicle had been struck.
"Now you've really pissed me off," he snarled, unsnap-ping his seat belt and taking his pistol and firing back. Suddenly he heard a loud pop, then the vehicle swerved to the right when the driver apparently lost control on the hilly road and slammed into a tree before bursting into flames. With an impact such as that Drake knew there weren't any survivors and at the moment he didn't give a damn.
He glanced up ahead and saw that Tori had slowed down but had not stopped. She was being cautious and that was good. He decided to let her know that he was there to help her by using Morse code with his headlights.
Tori saw the lights on the third vehicle blinking out a Morse code that she deciphered.
Drake?
What was he doing here? Hawk had been so sure mat Drake hadn't been the person who had decoded the information at CIA headquarters, and if that was true, how had he found her?
She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw Drake was sending another message, telling her to pull over. Someone was after her and with all the unanswered questions she had, she found herself wondering whether she could trust him.
She blinked. Evidently adrenaline was making her shaky, crazy. For God's sake, of course she could trust Drake. He was the man she loved… but still, was he the same man he had been five years ago?
No.
Tori found she was turning cold as she glanced back into her rearview mirror. Drake Warren had always been arrogant, rough and tough, bullheaded as hell with a kick-butt kind of attitude, but it seemed that over the years he'd also become hard, inflexible, unapproachable and jaded. She had immediately picked on it that day she had faced him down in Casey's office. Because of what had happened in Haiti, he looked at things differently.
He had changed but then so had she. Five years of looking over her shoulders had made her wary, tense, and less trusting of people. She'd found herself questioning people's motives about everything and she no longer took anything or anyone at face value.
And at this moment no matter how much it hurt to do so, she couldn't take Drake at face value either. She had more than herself to worry about and protect. She had her unborn child to think about, even if it meant protecting it from the man who was its father.
A plan came into mind. Pulling off to the side of the road, she quickly crawled out of the passenger door and, using the car as a shield, she got behind it and waited for Drake to come to a stop. When he got out of his SUV she gripped her gun, and raised it into firing position as she stepped from behind her car. "Hold it right there, Drake. Don't move or I'll shoot! What are you doing here?"
Drake's breathing escalated. He immediately wondered how could a man find a woman so beautiful, so damn desirable while she was crouched into a combat stance with a damn high-powered pistol aimed straight at his heart? All he could see was that gorgeous windblown hair that flowed around her shoulders, how her blouse stretched tight across her chest and how her shorts fit her body-too well. His heart, the same one her gun was aimed at, started a slow pounding. Something else other than adrenaline kicked into his system and his senses were heightened, not at the danger he found himself in, but at the reaction of his body to seeing Tori again, even under the most unusual of circumstances.
"I asked what are you doing here, Drake?"
It was more the terror in Tori's expression that made Drake come to a stop than the gun she held in her hand. She was terrorized but he knew hell would freeze over before she would let it show. She also appeared confused. "Put the gun down, Tori. You saw what I did to the driver in that car," he said, indicating the vehicle that was still burning. "I'm not the enemy. I'm here to help you so put your gun down."
Instead of putting the gun down she gripped the weapon tighter. "No. Answer me. What are you doing here?"
Drake ran a hand down his face, getting madder than hell. He was trying to understand her position. Someone had tried taking her out tonight and that would give her a reason to doubt him or anyone else. But still the idea that she thought that he would harm her hurt like hell. "Hawk."
She raised a dubious brow and the hard line of her mouth relaxed somewhat. "Hawk?"
"Yes."
She raised the gun a little higher and kept it aimed at him. "Now I know you're lying because I talked to Hawk less than a couple of hours ago and he didn't mention anything about you coming here."
Drake's eyes narrowed. "I know that, dammit. He called me after talking to you. He said you might need my help and evidently you did."
She met his gaze. "I didn't need your help. I could have handled things."
"Bullshit."
She shrugged. So maybe it was. But still… "How did you know where to find me?"
Drake almost smiled. Almost. He still didn't like the fact that she doubted him. "I hired a private investigator."
Tori frowned. "I tried covering my tracks."
"Well, you did a piss-poor job of doing so." Drake then glanced around. "Look, with that car burning to a crisp, we need to get the hell out of here. I don't want to hang around for the cops to ask questions."
Neither did she.
"You can follow me back to the hotel and call Hawk from there to verify my story, or better yet you get him on your mobile phone. But whatever you do let's get the hell out of here. Now!"
Without saying another word Drake got back inside his SUV, started the ignition and pulled off. Knowing Drake had the right idea, she lowered her gun and quickly got back into her car. She fastened her seat belt and began following behind him as she punched in Hawk's number.
"Tori?"
"Yes, it's me, Hawk. Drake's here."
There was a slight pause. "Yes, I know."
She said nothing for a time, then, "But why?"
She heard Hawk draw a deep breath. "Because he's the only man I trust to help you, so let him."
Tori struggled to ignore the pounding of her heart as she followed Drake. She blinked her eyes several times, almost finding it impossible to believe that he was actually here. After they made it across the Bay Bridge she kept up with him on Interstate 580. A few miles later he exited and she followed as he pulled into a hotel parking lot.
She parked in the space next to his and watched as he got out and came around the truck and stopped. "May I approach or do you still want to put a damn hole in me?"
She flinched. Although he had tried to tease, there was a twist to his lips and she knew that her doubting him had rubbed him the wrong way. "I talked to Hawk. You're safe."
He glanced around. "I may be safe but this place isn't. We need to get the hell out of this area as soon as possible. Come inside while I repack my stuff so we can head out. We'll leave the truck and take your car. While going across the Bay Bridge I called Hawk and gave him the license plate of that car following you. He's contacting the local FBI to fill them in on what happened. I also told him we would leave the truck here and take your car. He'll use his old contacts and have the FBI make sure nothing is traced back to me."
Tori opened the car door and got out. Glancing around as she followed Drake to the hotel's door. She was glad they didn't have to go through the lobby to get to his room but were able to gain entrance through one of the side doors.
"When we leave we'll continue to head east, making sure we aren't followed," Drake said. "We're going to ditch your car in San Jose. Hawk has arranged to have another vehicle waiting for us at a hotel there for us to make the switch."
Tori shook her head. Hawk had retired yet he was placing himself at the head of this investigation and a part of her appreciated that fact. When it came to his agents, present or former, he did anything and everything to protect their backs. Until they figured what was going on, he would be the lone person they trusted. "Do you know who was in that vehicle and why they were after me?"
"No," Drake answered immediately, "I don't have a clue. It was definitely a man, though. When I turned on the high-powered headlights, I saw that much. White male, blond hair, crew cut."
He glanced up the hallway and met Tori's gaze. She knew the routine. From here on out they would not be taking any chances. In unison they both drew their guns as Drake slowly opened his hotel room door and when she made a move to step ahead, he moved swiftly in front of her, searching the room first to the right and then to the left. Tori did the same.
Closing the door behind him and locking it, he quickly checked the bathroom. When he returned Tori was standing in the middle of the room glaring at him. A part of him wanted to cross the room and kiss that damn glare right off her face. "What's your problem?" he asked, putting his gun back into his holster.
"I think we need to get one thing straight, Drake."
"What?"
"I don't need a guard dog."
He leaned against the dresser and stared at her. He knew she was referring to how he had opened the hotel room and entered the room before she did. He had to remember that she didn't like playing the part of a weakling in any situation and liked kicking butt as much as he did. At the moment she was pissed. Too bad. Whether she liked it or not he was her guard dog, but now was not the time to tell her that.
"I'll keep that in mind," he finally said, just to appease her.
"If Hawk sent you all the way from South Carolina then-"
"Hawk didn't send me."
She lifted a brow. "But you said that-"
"I said that he called me. I was already here in Oakland when he reached me."
She eyed him. "You were here? Why?"
Drake smiled. "I came to see you." As if that one sentence explained everything, he then said, "Make yourself comfortable while I repack."
Tori shook her head. He had come to see her? She then began chewing on her lower lip, not ready to ask him why. She sighed as she watched him pack. He evidently knew where they were going but she didn't have a clue. "Where're we going, Drake?"
"To my home."
Tori blinked at him, not sure she'd heard him correctly. "In the mountains in Tennessee?"
Drake straightened his frame and raised a brow before answering, "Yes." He studied her features for a few moments, then asked. "How did you know my home was in the Tennessee Mountains, Tori?"
CHAPTER 7
Ah hell, Tori thought as she scrambled for an answer to Drake's question while pretending to get something out of her shoulder bag. Anyone who worked for the Agency knew that an agent's permanent place of residence was a top secret, even with someone like Drake, whose family had owned an entire mountain. The government had pretty much established bogus paperwork to protect Drake's anonymity so Cross could never find the exact location of Drake's family home.
"I think Hawk mentioned it a while back. He said he'd been your colonel when you were in the marines. It was right after you pulled that stunt in Russia. Everyone thought you were crazy to climb those mountains the way you did to rescue that other agent, but Hawk said climbing mountains was a piece of cake for you since you'd grown up in the Tennessee Mountains."
Tori sighed. That hadn't actually been the way the conversation between her and Hawk had gone but it was close enough to suit her purposes and hoped it suited Drake's curiosity as well. She peeked up at him, noticing in relief mat he seemed to buy it.
A mischievous grin touched his lips. "Oh, yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that time in Russia. My mountain-climbing skills had gotten rusty, but I still managed to do what needed to be done."