Around-the-Clock Protector (7 page)

“You hiked a hell of a long way.”

“Anything for a snapshot of that bird.” Carson expelled a chuckle he didn’t feel and watched the officer smile. “Do we need to fill out a report or something…I mean, we’re not in trouble, are we?”

“Not today. The captain didn’t see fit to run you in.”

“Thank goodness,” Ava said in a grateful tone.

“But I wouldn’t be caught out here again,” the officer warned.

“No problem. We plan to steer clear of this place.”

“Here we are.” He applied the brake and came to a stop next to an expansive pullout in the road.

Carson hoped he’d been right in his recall of the place.

Sure enough, five vehicles sat in the lot at various angles. “There’s our car.” Carson focused on a gray sedan, not because it was the best-looking rig in the pullout, but because it was the one he figured he could hot-wire the fastest.

“Do you need help?” the officer offered.

“No, thanks. We can take it from here. Thanks for the ride.” He helped Ava out of the Hummer and closed the door, waving to the officer.

He put his arm around her. “Don’t turn around,” he whispered as he led her to the car.

Listening, he heard the Hummer pull away. Still moving toward the car, he didn’t hesitate until he heard the rig shift into second gear, knowing the officer had pulled out onto the main road and would soon be out of sight.

“How did you know there would be cars here?”

“I didn’t. But there’s a pond to the northeast. I’ve been there more than a couple of times. I just hoped there would be someone here with a fishing pole and catfish on the brain.”

Carson stopped next to the car and scanned the surrounding area, shadowed by oak, maple and river willow. The fishing hole was less than an eighth of a mile away. He scoped out the trail leading down a steep hill before it disappeared into the grove of trees.
He could just make out a couple of fisherman through the dense growth.

“Wait here.” He left Ava at the rear of the car and walked around to the front. Placing his hand on the hood of the vehicle, he felt for engine heat.

It was stone cold.

He moved back toward her and took a glance inside the car. He stopped and pulled the latch on the driver’s door; it opened in his hand.

“We’re out of here, sweetheart. Take the lookout point.”

Ava shuffled forward, using the car as a crutch until she reached the front of the vehicle. Staring down toward the pond, obscured by foliage, she focused on the trail—the line of ascent that could lead to disaster.

The sharp pain in her ankle had died to a dull throb. She was grateful, but she knew it could flare again if she pushed too hard.

In the background she could hear Carson behind the steering wheel of the car as he ripped into the steering column.

Her heart rate picked up. She tried to relax by pulling in several deep breaths of the early-evening air, but it only made her feel dizzy.

She leaned against the hood of the car to steady herself. An odd sensation akin to butterflies churned in her abdomen. Ava swallowed against a flood of
emotion and concentrated on the feeling. Movement, deep inside her body.

Her child.

Tears burned behind her eyelids as the realization hit her. In that instant her baby was no longer a bit of knowledge, but a viable factor in her life.

Turning, she sought out Carson, only to see that his head was bent as he worked on their ride.

Movement caught her attention. She turned back and refocused on the pathway.

A fisherman clad in a red T-shirt came out of the trees next to the pond and shuffled onto the trail.

“Someone’s coming,” she said in as even a voice as she could generate. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Carson look up.

The car’s engine roared to life with a loud rumble and a puff of gray-blue smoke.

Looking back down the trail, she saw the fisherman’s head come up.

Panic rocked her body.

“Oh, damn!”

“Hey!” the fisherman bellowed, dropping his gear in a heap and breaking into a run. “That’s my car!”

Ava scrambled around the hood of the sedan and made for the passenger door, her heart in her throat.

She slid into the seat wishing the car had wings instead of wheels.

Carson sat up and slammed the door, put the car in Reverse and stepped on the gas pedal.

The car shot backward in a cloud of dust and gravel.

Spinning the steering wheel, he aimed for the exit and glanced in the rearview mirror as the angry car owner charged into the parking lot.

“I hope he forgot his cell phone today,” Carson said as he whipped out of the pullout and took a right. “We’ve got ten minutes before the cops are all over us. We’ve got to ditch this car.”

“But we just took it.”

“We can’t outrun a radio transmission.” Carson raced down Telegraph Road, braked and took a hard
left onto Hayfield. “I’m heading for a population center. We’ll be harder to locate there.”

He glanced at Ava. Her cheeks were void of color, her skin blanched.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just a little too much excitement. I’ll be fine.”

She would be fine and he planned to make sure of it, just as soon as he could. “Springfield Mall. We’ll ditch the car there.” Braking, he came to a stop and took a right onto Beulah Road. In less than a minute he reached the shortcut up to Franconia. He veered left and gunned the engine.

Through the trees he could see the mall complex spread out over a massive area.

Carson slowed and turned left on the 613. He was relaxed by the time he turned into the mall parking lot and parked the car.

He pulled the ignition wires apart, and the engine died. Reaching into his pocket, he took out two pieces of cloth. “Wipe off anything you touched.”

Ava nodded and took the fabric, rubbing it on the seat-belt release, the seat and the dashboard where she’d put her hands in a moment of panic. Reaching out, she opened the car door and climbed out before wiping down the inside door handle.

Carson followed suit, working his rag over every possible nook and cranny. Not that it mattered. His fingerprints didn’t exist in any database, but they
needed to make a clean break, considering the car’s owner might have seen Ava, and might be able to describe her to the police. They couldn’t risk leaving any clues behind.

He shoved the rag into his pocket and came around the car to the passenger side.

“Our ride out of here isn’t too far away.” He put his arm around Ava’s waist and directed her toward an area crowded with people waiting for the bus.

He felt calmer as they merged into the back of the line. “How’s the ankle?”

“I think I can walk on it.” She stepped away from him.

Suddenly and regrettably, he missed the feel of her. Looking over at her, he admired her grit for an instant.

“Here it comes,” she said.

He followed her gaze and watched the city bus turn on its flashers and grind to a stop. Taking one last look over his shoulder, he caught sight of a black sedan moving slowly into the parking lot. It turned into a space not far from where they’d left a car.

He put his hand on the small of Ava’s back, moving her deeper into the crowd of people waiting their turn to board the bus.

Two men climbed out of the car.

Carson’s gut twisted as he watched them move in on the abandoned car and casually look inside. How the hell had they found the car so fast? Unless…

Anger burned through him as he considered the only possibility.

His gaze locked on Ava. They’d been pursued from the moment he’d laid eyes on her at the cabin in Washington State.

They stepped into the stairwell of the bus and climbed on board, then he motioned to a seat on the opposite aisle and let her slide in first. From his vantage point inside the bus, he watched the two men move away from the car. One kept glancing down at some sort of gadget in his hand as he turned from side to side.

Carson’s stomach clenched. They were being tracked. And not with good old-fashioned footwork, but with a GPS of some sort.

The last passenger climbed aboard and the driver closed the doors.

The two men looked up in the direction of the bus.

Worry shot through him. They’d be in their car and in hot pursuit in a matter of minutes.

Casually Carson draped his arm around Ava’s shoulders and pulled her next to his body. At first she resisted, but he smiled over at her and she loosened up.

Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, “You’ve got a bug. Care to tell me where you’re hiding it?”

She turned on him, her eyes widening in disbelief. Was it because he’d figured it out? Or was the information really news to her? He couldn’t be sure.

“A couple of thugs pulled into the parking lot not far behind us. By now they’re probably splitting traffic to catch up. You’d better come clean before the next stop.”

Reaching out, he smoothed a lock of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, a move that looked and felt intimate to him, even if he’d used it only to puff up the ruse in the eyes of the passengers sitting around them.

“If you don’t, I’ll search you.”

Ava couldn’t believe what he’d threatened to do. She jerked back and stared into his intense blue eyes. They were hard as steel and dancing with malice.

Carson Nash was 100-percent serious.

Her heart thundered in her chest. “Don’t you think I’d know if I’d been tagged?”

His gaze never wavered as he continued to stare at her. The mistrust she could see in his eyes shattered her fragile sense of security.

She was his mission. Nothing more. But then, why had he confessed to being the father of her unborn child rather than just dragging her into the fold kicking and screaming?

“Go ahead. Search me.”

An instant of anticipation flared in his eyes. A slow, devil-may-care smile spread on his lips.

Warmth heated her cheeks, and she suddenly doubted direct challenge was the best approach with
a man like Carson Nash. A man who operated in the gray area just outside the law.

She opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late to recant.

Carson raised her chin with his fingers, his touch less than forceful but more than casual. He brushed his lips against hers, sending a torrent of heat through her body.

He pulled back as if he’d touched a hot stove.

Ava sucked in a breath attempting to cool the fire in her veins, but it wouldn’t be doused.

She gazed up at him, caught in the moment and lost in a hazy memory she couldn’t quite grasp.

His assault on her emotions continued. In one urgent move, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again.

Embarrassment oozed from every pore in her body as she pulled out of the kiss and met the stares of the passengers seated around them. Leaning back, she turned her head toward Carson’s ear. “Stop this now.”

“Oh, but I can’t. Not until I find what I’m after.”

Panic rocketed to her nerve endings as he dipped his head and ran a bead of kisses down her neck, dipping precariously close to her cleavage.

Her body vibrated under his touch. She fought the insatiable need to respond. He wasn’t ever going to stop, not until he found what he was looking for.

Several passengers stood up and moved forward, choosing seats rows ahead of the indiscreet lovers.

Ava closed her eyes as he moved his hands over every inch of her body before settling one of them on her abdomen.

Her eyes flew open. She stared up at him, trying to gauge his reaction, but there were no answers visible in his half-lidded gaze.

“Satisfied?” she asked.

He slid his hand away and stared down at her.

“Never.”

She swallowed the tightness in her throat. “Everything I have on belonged to Dr. Resnick’s daughter. Everything but my shoes.”

His eyes narrowed. “Your service flats. Standard issue. You haven’t changed them?”

“No. Resnick’s daughter had feet the size of a doll, so I had to keep them on.”

“Take them off.” He eased her back onto the seat next to him.

Ava pulled off her shoes and put them on the seat between them.

Carson picked one up in each hand and examined them.

Excitement coiled inside him as he ripped the sole liner out of the heaviest shoe.

Concealed in the heel void of the hard rubber sole was a tiny GPS unit.

“Bingo,” he whispered, giving Ava a look inside before setting it down on the seat between them.
“You’ve been tagged, probably since the morning you left in the limo.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. He watched her react, and knew in that instant she’d been telling the truth.

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the piece of cloth he’d used to wipe down the car. He tore a thin strip off the fabric before folding it several times to thicken the layers. Next he took the tracking bug out of the shoe and placed it in the center of the cloth.

“Hold this.” He put it in Ava’s open palm, pulled the ends together and tied the strip of cloth around it. “Now for a ride out of here.”

He turned and opened the bus window. Putting his head out, he stared at oncoming traffic, spotting his mark sitting on the other side of the intersection they were approaching.

The bus braked just as the light changed, and a red pickup pulled through the intersection.

Carson gave the package a toss as the truck, loaded down with boxes and furniture, passed by. The device landed among the moving boxes.

He pulled back inside the bus. “That should keep them busy.”

He settled into the seat next to her and slipped the inner sole back into her shoe before handing it over to her.

With the tracking device gone, they’d stand a better chance. No more ambushes.

But he was wary. They weren’t out of the woods yet. It was just a matter of time before the agents, loyal to an unknown enemy, caught up with them again.

He just hoped he had some answers by then and a means of counterattack.

“I
T’S SPRAINED
. I wrapped it up again, but she needs to stay off it as much as possible.”

Carson looked at his buddy, Dr. Scott Jacobs, and felt a surge of relief. “What about the rest of her?”

“If you mean her pregnancy, she’s doing great. I picked up the baby’s heartbeat on Doppler, good and strong, but Ava is dehydrated and undernourished. She needs to get prenatal care as soon as possible.”

Carson hung his head, feeling inadequate in his duties to her, and to his child. “The heat’s on right now. As soon as I can, it’s done.” He looked up, studying the only man he trusted to be as far removed from the CIA’s agenda as the ideologies that separated the conservatives and liberals haunting Washington, D.C., just across the Potomac.

Worry worked through him. “It’s good to know she and the baby are okay.”

“You better get her someplace where she can rest up. Give her lots of fluids, protein, and these prenatal vitamins.” Scott handed him a sample package of pills. “Instructions are on the box. The clinic is closed tomorrow, but if there’s any trouble with her ankle,
I’ll be in for a couple of hours early in the morning catching up on paperwork.”

Carson nodded, took the vitamins and shoved them into his backpack. “I’ll be in touch.” He turned around and entered the exam room in the small after-hours clinic.

Ava startled and looked up as Carson came through the door. Her cheeks heated. Feeling vulnerable, she pulled the exam gown tighter around her bare body.

“Is it necessary for you to be in here?”

“Yeah.” He stared straight at her, his gaze unwavering.

“Turn around, then.”

“So you can clobber me again? No, thanks. Besides, I’m here to have a look at your backside.”

Every muscle in Ava’s body tensed. She glared at him, hoping her message got through. “You’re not going to touch my back.”

“The hell I’m not.” He took a step toward her.

“I deserve an explanation.”

“I agree.” He took another step toward her, his face expressionless. “Tell me what happened in the woods outside Doc Resnick’s house after the thugs caught you.”

Tension closed her throat as she worked to recall their exact words. “They believed I had something that belonged to them.”

“And what did they do to you once they caught you?”

Curiosity tickled over her nerves as she recalled the odd detail. “They pulled up the back of my shirt.”

“And I’m going to do the same.”

She sidestepped him and moved to the other side of the exam table. “This is crazy. Leave me alone, or I swear I’ll scream bloody murder.”

“Be my guest. The clinic is closed. Doc isn’t going to challenge me. Have you forgotten the six-inch knife they planned to stick you with?”

Ava felt the blood leave her face, and braced her hands on the exam table for stability. “Never saw it.”

“They were ready to carve into you. They were after something, and since they’d exposed your back, I’m going to put my money there. I’ll have a look, then you can get dressed and we’ll get out of here.”

She gazed at him, finding a measure of reason in his request. Anything was possible…but her back?

“Okay.” Reaching behind her, she secured the bottom tie on the gown and moved around the table. Turning her back to him, she untied the top fastener and pulled the gown off her shoulders before clutching it to her breasts.

Ava closed her eyes, anticipating Carson’s touch. If she hoped to fight its effect on her nerves, she’d have to start well in advance of actual contact.

Desire was swift. It hit with a blow that took
Carson by surprise. He stared at the curvaceous contours of Ava’s back and sucked in a breath.

The creamy smooth texture of her skin sent liquid heat racing through his blood. He didn’t have to touch her to conjure the memory of feeling her.

He cleared his throat and stepped forward. Reaching out, he turned on the exam light next to the table. “Bend over a bit.”

She obeyed.

He adjusted the angle of the fixture, flooding the surface of her skin with light.

Something caught his eye. He rubbed his hand over a tiny scar on her skin just below her bra. “Odd. Did you cut yourself here?”

He watched gooseflesh pucker across her shoulders.