Run, Hide - By Carol Ericson Page 0,20
shed “—looks irresistible.”
“Looks irresistible to me, too.” He let his gaze caress her soft, tousled hair and her face, rosy from the chill in the air.
She jerked her head toward the junk on the shelves. “Do you think you’ll find what you need here to get rid of that chopper?”
“I think I should be able to rig something together.”
“Then we find the car that you’re so sure is located somewhere around here?”
“Prospero’s safe houses are all outfitted the same—
out-of-the-way places or plunked down in the middle of a busy city block, water, electricity, a change of clothing, weapons and some means of transportation.”
He jingled the keys in his hand. “I know there’s a car in our future.”
Jenna opened her mouth, probably to respond with another sarcastic comment about Prospero, but a loud bang had them all jumping in place.
“That can’t be good.”
Cade scrambled for the door and peered over the tree line at a column of black smoke. All of his senses switched into the on position. “Looks like we won’t have to blow up that chopper, after all.”
“Y-you mean?”
“Someone beat us to it.”
Chapter Six
Jenna crushed Gavin against her thigh, and he squirmed. “How did they find us so fast?”
Cade unzipped his duffel and began shoving items from the shelves into it. “Probably had a GPS on it. Even so, I’m surprised they got here so fast unless they used other people.”
His nonchalance lit a fuse in her belly, and she stomped her foot. “What now? How are we going to get out of here?”
He looked up from his bag, dark brows raised. “I told you. We’re driving out of here, and we’ll have over a half-mile head start on them.”
“There might be a car. There’s no guarantee.”
“With Prospero, there’s always a guarantee.”
“Yeah, always a guarantee that Prospero will ruin my life.”
“You left your purse in the house with all that cash in it.” He had the nerve to shove her from behind. “Go get it. Then we’ll head out.”
Clutching Gavin’s hand, she made for the door.
“Leave Gavin here. You run in and out.” He kicked the door wider. “I’ll keep an eye on you.”
Her gaze scanned the wooded scene beyond, like something out of Currier and Ives but with terrorists coming over the river and through the woods instead of some happy family. “How do we know they’re not watching us right now?”
“They just blew up the helicopter. They’re not ninja warriors. They can’t get here in a nanosecond.”
“Ninja warriors.” Gavin repeated Cade’s words, obviously fascinated with the idea of ninja warriors.
“Okay, but if anything happens, you take Gavin and run.”
“Something will happen if you keep standing here jabbering. Move.”
She spun around and dashed across clearing to the cabin. She stumbled up the steps and grabbed her purse from the back of the chair, pausing for a moment to take in the cozy room with the fire dying in the grate.
This place could’ve meant so much more for her and Cade if this had been a normal reunion. But nothing about her husband was normal. Nothing about her life was normal.
Her sniff turned into a snort and she slammed the door on normal and jogged back to her life.
Cade swung his bulging bag over his shoulder, secured his backpack once more over Jenna’s shoulders and picked up Gavin, who kicked his feet against Cade’s hip. “I know you’re a big guy and would rather walk, but just at the beginning we need to hurry so I’m going to carry you for a while.”
Cade had a smile on his face, but something in his tone brooked no argument, and Gavin recognized the voice of authority, the whine dying in his throat.
“How fast do you think they’re coming?” Jenna squinted into the trees, her eyeballs aching.
“This house is not exactly on a well-worn path from the chopper. Do you remember all the roots and bushes we had to navigate to get here? They have four different directions to choose from. It doesn’t mean they’re going to pick the right one.”
“And what about us? We have three different directions to choose from.”
“Nope. I saw a map in the cabin. I know the direction of the road...and that car.”
Hoisting Gavin onto his back, Cade strode toward a thicket of trees that looked impenetrable.
Jenna hugged her purse to her chest, folding her arms across it. “Do you want me to take the bag while you carry Gavin?”
“The bag is heavier than Gavin and you already have the backpack. I’m good. You just keep up.”
Having