Expired Getaway (Last Chance County #7) - Lisa Phillips Page 0,98
that little neighbor girl against you.” He lifted a gun and motioned with it. “Get out of the van.”
“You sent me her picture. She looked scared.”
He shook his head. “I sent what I could find. Hacked so many things. And you came here, didn’t you, thinking I was gonna hurt her?” A smile curled the corners of his lips. “I guess it wasn’t a total waste of time.”
Relief flooded her. Sydney was still safe.
“Now get out.”
“For what? Why kidnap me?” And she’d seen Aiden. Had he been taken, like she was? Hit with a stun gun before he could run after her. To help her as he’d been about to do.
Did Clarke have anything to do with that?
“You’re going to help me.”
She lifted her gaze to him. “Why would I do that? You shot me.” Among other things, but she didn’t think it was worth rehashing their bathroom fight at her dad’s house.
“Because I hold a mean grudge.”
“And I rejected you? You killed my father. Maybe that makes us even.”
Seriously, she couldn’t believe this was all about the fact she’d spurned him. She’d had no idea Clarke even cared that much about her.
He made a pfft sound. “Too preoccupied to see what’s in front of your face. Always clutching that backpack and your precious scrapbook.” His brows lifted. “You think I didn’t know about that?”
She pressed her lips together, still leaning against the inside wall of the van. Trying to gather more of what Clarke knew—or thought he did.
The doctor might’ve said she didn’t have a concussion, but Bridget thought she may have developed one since she’d left the hospital. Right now, the wall behind her was something solid, while the rest of her world twisted and careened. Not a solid foundation. Lord. He was her real foundation. God and, well, Aiden’s eyes when he looked at her.
She could kick that gun out of Clarke’s hand. Or grab something from inside the van and swing out with it as she closed in on him. Her mind couldn’t settle long enough on one thing to figure out how to make it worth the risk of failure.
“Of course I looked into you.” His tone flattened and he shook his head. “I wouldn’t date someone I hadn’t thoroughly checked out. Took some doing, but I found the death certificate. After that, it didn’t take long to get ahold of your medical records. I even have your high school transcripts. And your arrest record.” His teeth flashed in a facsimile of a smile. “That caught my interest. Made me want to meet that girl. You know?”
He grasped her ankle. Before she could figure out what he was doing, he dragged her across the floor of the van to the open door and let go so her foot hit the ground.
“We’re in a hangar?” She’d been in one recently and this looked familiar.
“Not for long. Let’s go.”
“I need my shoes.” Bridget twisted around. She rummaged in the van, needing the time to think all this through. She pulled them on with her bound hands. “What are we doing?”
The better she cooperated, the more chances she’d have to overpower him and run away. It might be difficult since she had no idea where she even was. But not impossible—and certainly easier while wearing shoes.
He studied her as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. Maybe he did. Maybe she had a calculated look on her face. “Two-person job. That means you’re helping me.”
“Couldn’t get Sasha to do it with you?”
“Ha.”
“Seems like you’ve been talking to her.”
“I don’t trust her though.” He reached out to touch her hair. Bridget ducked out of the way, frowning. “Not the way I trust you.”
Bridget wondered if she’d ever really trusted him back. And yet, with Aiden, she implicitly handed over her thoughts and emotions without even thinking whether he would care for her feelings. The trust she had for him was instinctive.
Clarke’s jaw flexed. He just needed to deal with how she was. They weren’t going to get close.
She lifted her chin. “Just tell me what you want.”
“Two-person job.” He said again as he pulled out his phone and checked the time, never once wavering with the aim of his gun. “Breaking into the server farm.”
“You’re still after the database?”
“And you’re gonna get it for me.” He took a step back. “Now get out. The chopper is waiting.”
Thirty-three
“You’re supposed to be following them!”
“We can’t get in there without ID. It’s an airport. They have security.”