the steering wheel and slamming the truck into gear while mentally vowing to get some long-overdue answers.
They heard shouts behind them as they sped down the street, but lost sight of the house when they turned at the next intersection. They were both too busy checking for other threats to worry about the stranded agents.
Sure enough, the green SUV pulled from the curb as soon as they hit the connecting street. Kyle pushed the accelerator to the floor.
"Damon and Rudy."
"I saw them," she said grimly, pulling a semiautomatic out of her bag. It looked big and heavy in her small palm, but she handled it skillfully, checking the load and flipping the safety.
When they turned onto a nearly deserted, straight stretch of road, she opened the passenger window. "Swerve to the right."
"And give them a clear shot at you? Hell, no."
"Give me a clear shot at them."
"You're a better marksman?"
"I'm good. Now, swerve."
Kyle did as she asked, veering the truck to the right so she could have a straight shot at the SUV gaining on them. He heard her squeeze off four successive shots, then she swung back into the cab and stayed low.
There was no return fire.
He steadied the truck again, changed lanes, then glanced in the rearview mirror. One of her shots had shattered the windshield of the SUV, but Damon hadn't slowed his pursuit. Kyle knew how skilled he was at the wheel.
"Haroldson wants you alive."
"For a while, at least," she agreed. "He always has a master plan and his own agenda."
They hit the green light at the next intersection and turned into heavy, two-lane traffic. Another look in the mirror showed Damon running a red light, but steam was starting to roll from beneath the hood of the SUV.
"Did you puncture their radiator?"
"That's where I aimed," she said, lifting her head long enough to check behind them. "I figured it would be the fastest way to disable the car."
"You're right."
Within a few minutes, the tailing vehicle was engulfed in a cloud of steam.
"They'll have to slow down now."
Kyle took advantage of the pursuing vehicle's problems and wove in and out of rush-hour traffic until he'd put a good distance between them and other pursuers. After traveling several more miles, he thought they'd probably lost the SUV. He turned his attention to his passenger again.
"What now?"
"I have a contingency plan."
"Glad to hear it." His tone and expression were harsh. "Care to fill me in?"
Rianna didn't respond right away, but she eased herself upright and faced forward, pulling her seat belt around her. "If we get on the interstate and head south, I know a small town where we can stop over and switch vehicles again."
"Another safe house?"
Her lips tightened. "At this point, I'm not trusting my life to the agency. I'll find my own safe place and then make new arrangements with Sullivan."
"And what do you figure my role will be in your alternative plan?" he grumbled, his hopes of a speedy return to
Texas
fading fast.
Tension sizzled in the silence that followed. They both knew he didn't want any further involvement, but he'd promised Sullivan to keep her safe until she had adequate protection. He didn't make idle promises, and this one had just taken on a whole new perspective.
"That's up to you," she said. "You can drop me off in Hendersonville or you can accompany me to my destination."
"Which is?"
"Ultimately,
Kentucky
."
"What's in
Kentucky
?"
"It's not what's there, but who and what aren't there."
"Haroldson and the strong arms of his organization?"
"Right."
Kyle had little alternative but to follow her plan of action. It grated that he'd been so close to making his solitary getaway, but he couldn't just dump her alongside the road. He'd have to stick with her until alternative plans could be coordinated with Sullivan.
Reining his frustration, he focused his thoughts on Blaine , mentally reexamining every aspect of the agent's participation in Margie's last assignment. Not for the first time, he