Lie with Me (24 page)

And they were getting closer.

“They’re not going to just let us keep driving for much longer.”

“I’m counting on it. When I tell you, pull over. Jerk the wheel hard and spin the car.”

“Spin it?” This time, she did dart a quick look his way, and saw he was dead serious.

He confirmed it with his next words. “Yes, spin it. The truck will balance itself.”

She swallowed hard and didn’t ask what he planned on doing.

The road was deserted, save for the truck following them. The lights on this route were few and far between, and she tried to keep her mind clear.

You can do this, Sky. You told Cam you hated being helpless
.

She thought about the way he’d kissed her back at the motel—her toes had literally curled, and she knew he felt something for her, that he was fighting the fact that he’d never gotten close to anyone before. And how in such a short time …

It was the same on her end. Thrilling and scary at once. And it would’ve been a lot better if someone weren’t trying to kill her.

“Now, Sky.”

She followed his directions without hesitation. The truck—and her world—spun out of control, the screech muffled by the blanket of snow covering the blacktop, but it did nothing to silence the sound of gunfire.

She was pretty sure she screamed. Several times. She held on to the wheel tightly, and Cam told her, “
Drive
. Pick your head up and drive.”

She did. There were spiderweb cracks in the windshield, which thankfully was in one piece. Which meant Cam’s truck had bulletproof glass.

She wanted to pull over and throw up. Actually, pulling over wasn’t even all that important. The snow was coming down harder and she realized she was driving the wrong way.

The truck that had been following them was off to the side of the road, where it had slammed into a tree.

And there was a man facing them down, pointing what looked like an AK-47 at the truck.

“Go!” Cam called, even as she panicked, easing off the gas. She didn’t want to get closer to the man with the gun, bulletproof glass or not.

Cam grabbed the wheel and slammed his foot on top of hers, flooring it. She struggled, even as Cam said, “Close your eyes.”

She did—felt the impact of bullets slamming the seemingly impervious metal with a rat-tat-tat, and the car hitting the body with a viciously hard thump.

After what seemed like an eternity, Cam’s foot eased off hers. Instinctively, she hit the brakes and he didn’t complain.

She opened her eyes when the truck came to a complete stop. She was shaking and sweating and she kept hearing the sounds of squealing tires over and over in her head.

She heard Cam say, “I’ll be right back.”

Before she could respond, he was out of the truck. She looked in the rearview mirror, saw him running toward the body lying in the middle of the road.

The silent sobs started then, racked her body until her chest hurt, even as she watched Cam move from the man to the truck he’d been driving, checking everything, she supposed, for clues.

She prayed no one else would come upon them—how would they explain this?

She’d just killed a man.

Self-defense. You did what you had to do
.

That man would’ve killed her and Cam, and still … She wondered when her hands would stop shaking.

I
t was hard to keep his footing—the snow was sandwiched with ice both above and below its layers, and Cam half slid to the man in the middle of the road.

He stood over him, watched the man struggle for breath. The gun the man had been holding had jammed itself into his own chest, thanks to the car’s impact.

“Who sent you?” Cam demanded, his breath a white mist.

The man said nothing, just wheezed through blue lips. Cam glanced back at his truck; even though he couldn’t see inside, he knew Sky was watching him in the rearview mirror.

He knelt by the already dying man and jacked the piece of lodged steel hard. No mercy. Fuck mercy. The man jerked, groaned, and Cam tried again. “You piece of shit, who sent you?”

No answer.

“The cold will keep you alive a lot longer than you want it to,” he assured the man. “You give me the information I want, I’ll end your suffering.”

The man stuck his tongue out to lick his lips, which were no doubt numb. And then he spoke, his voice so low and garbled that Cam had to bend lower to hear the words.

“Didn’t have a real name. Only know him as Bullet. There was another guy with him … Pig’s … Eye.”

But Cam didn’t care about the second name. He had stopped listening. He’d heard enough.

Bullet
. That name would fucking haunt him for the rest of his life. He’d always known that, but he certainly hadn’t expected to hear it now.

That was the name of the man he’d left Morocco without killing—the uncompleted part of his final mission.

The man drew a labored breath, bringing Cam’s attention back to him. “Where are they? Where is Bullet?”

“Don’t know. Met them at … rest stop.”

“Where?”

The man coughed—hard—his face turning blue, and Cam shook him, putting a hand behind his neck and lifting his upper body away from the snow.

But it was all Cam would get, because the man’s eyes rolled back. Cam didn’t have to keep his promise to end his struggle.

He let the guy’s neck drop and went through his pockets, but it was perfunctory. This man, and the ones from that morning, they were all hired. Not part of the group with Bullet and Pig’s Eye.

If he’d finished it that night—manned up, stayed in Morocco and taken care of business—this wouldn’t have happened.

Question was, was Bullet coming for him or for Sky?

S
uddenly, Cam was opening the driver’s-side door, telling her, “Move over. I’ll take it from here.”

Sky was all too grateful and ready to give up the driver’s seat. As she scrambled over the console in between the seats, Cam shoved his way in, shut the door and began to maneuver the vehicle onto the right side of the road.

He was going back the way they came.

Sky was trying not to hyperventilate.

They didn’t stop, drove until dawn along back roads, where a car riddled with bullet holes wouldn’t call attention to itself.

Finally, she spoke, staring straight ahead, her words coming out softly. “We could’ve avoided him. Just kept driving. He wouldn’t have caught up to us.”

“Maybe not him, but someone else would’ve.”

She was shaking—fear and anger and cold all balled up inside until an unwelcome sob racked her body, escaping despite her clenched teeth. “You made me kill him.”

Cam eased the car onto a service road, slowed down enough to turn his head and tell her, “
I
killed him. Me. I held the wheel, put my foot on the gas. You had no choice in the matter. Remember that.”

“Let me out of the damned car.”

His refusal was silent, save for the grinding of the gears as he pushed the truck faster.

Soon, the car was moving along the snowy road at a sickeningly fast pace, given the snow. The truck shimmied, and that, combined with everything else, made her want to throw up. And then run. Maybe not in that order.

She leaned forward, dizzy.

“Put your head between your knees,” he ordered, reaching his hand around and pushing on the back of her neck until she did so. “Now, breathe.”

She did, until she got her equilibrium back. For a few seconds, Cam’s strong fingers were gently rubbing the tender skin—he’d suckled back there the other night and she’d been amazed at how sensitive the flesh was.

Suddenly, as if he’d realized what he was doing, he stopped. Slowly, she sat up and then took the water bottle he offered.

And then he was talking, more to himself than to her, she thought. “How the hell did they find us? I checked this car for tracking devices.”

She fumbled for her phone. “I’m calling the CIA, telling them what’s happening, who I am.”

He put a hand over hers. “No, you’re not.”

“Then you’ll call. My father has to be in big trouble—hurt, unable to get to me. He’d never let things go this far otherwise. We need help, Cam.”

Cam didn’t answer her, continued to drive along the service road, and for the next half an hour there was total silence between them.

She continued to check the side mirrors to make sure no one was following them, fully aware that Cam was doing the same.

And then suddenly, he began to speak, and her world turned upside down.

“I don’t know who those men are, or why they want you. I only know that three nights ago, your father sent men to try to kill me, and I came looking for you in order to ensure that never happened again.”

CHAPTER

13

F
or a long moment, Sky said nothing. The roar between her ears got louder, the stress of the day taking its toll on an already fatigued body and she literally wanted to fall into a deep sleep and pretend none of this was happening.

But it was way too late for that now. “Who the hell are you? Is Cam even your name?”

“Everything else I’ve told you is the truth.”

“Sure, because you wouldn’t lie to me. Not when you’re actually kidnapping me.”

“Things changed. Now I’m saving you, Sky.”

“How can you prove that those men weren’t sent by my father to save me from you?” she spat.

“I can’t prove it, but I know.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll trust that. And you.
Not in this lifetime.
” She could barely sit still, wanted to get as far away from him as she could.

And still … still, he’d saved her. She couldn’t keep that thought from running through her mind.

He saved you
.

Or else, he killed your rescuers
.

And her father could be in serious trouble. “So you didn’t talk to my father a few days ago.”

“No. And not for five months before that. Your father has no idea we’re together.”

“That might not be true,” she whispered.

He cut a sharp gaze her way. “What are you talking about?”

She held up her phone. “I called him a few hours after you arrived. Left him a message that you were with me.”

Cam grabbed the phone from her hands and shut it down. With one hand on the wheel, he took the battery out of the phone, cursing under his breath the whole time. “That’s how those men tracked us when you placed your call, the tracking device linked to your phone. As long as it’s on and the battery is charged, they can find us.”

“I’d apologize, but I guess I was right to be suspicious.”

“You almost got us both killed.”

“You bastard.” She fought the urge to shove him—mainly because he was driving, thus holding her life in his hands. Literally now, it seemed. “Stop the car.”

“No way. It’s too dangerous to stop.” He paused. “And before you think about it, I took the ammo out of your gun earlier. I know you hate me now, but you need me alive if you want to stay alive too.”

“Stop the car—
stop the damned car!
” She lunged for him, grabbing his arm, the wheel, and he was cursing, forced to brake to deal with her.

She pushed the door open as soon as the car stopped and she jumped out. She couldn’t be sure if they were really on a road or not, the ground blanketed for miles around with a white powder that would’ve been blinding had the sun been up.

But she didn’t go far—a few steps and she leaned forward, dizzy, her hands braced on her thighs.

She had no one to turn to, except the man who’d just admitted kidnapping her. Right now he was coming to her side but she shook her head, barely able to breathe, the mix of anger and fear sitting heavily on her chest. “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”

“Sky, please—it’s freezing. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Why do you care what happens to me? Why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth!” She yelled the words into the night sky. The area appeared so deserted—she was completely, utterly alone.

Cam didn’t come any closer, just stood there, watching her, concerned. “I showed you my ID the other night. Except for why I came to find you, everything I’ve told you is true.”

“How can I trust you, or anything you say?”

“Why the hell would I lie about kidnapping you?” he demanded. “Who the hell does that?”

God, this was crazy. Off the wall, out of this world, she-had-no-one-to-turn-to crazy. “Why would my father try to kill you?”

“Long story.”

“I need to know.”

“Right now, the only thing you need to know is that you’re safest with me. I didn’t want to tell you like this. Didn’t expect to have to tell you at all.”

“What were you going to do?” Suddenly, her eyes blazed with the realization, but she still demanded, “Tell me.”

W
hen he didn’t answer, Sky did it for him. “You came to find me to …”

She stopped, couldn’t say the words they both knew she’d been thinking.

To hurt me. Kill me
.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I never would have, Sky. I know you don’t believe that now, but—”

She was backing away from him—slowly, as if he wouldn’t notice. She was scared of him, and disgusted, and his gut burned with shame and anger.

“For all I know, you set me up with those letters, the men.”

“No.”

“For all I know, you’ve killed my father. I can’t believe this—I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me. And I helped you kill someone who was sent to help.”

If Gabriel was alive, not being held hostage somewhere, he would know that Cam had his daughter. Could all these men have been sent by Gabriel himself to take out Cam and bring Sky to safety?

He had no way to be sure, but his gut told him no. Gabriel was cleaner than that. The men that came were willing to bring in a woman by drugging her.

They wanted Sky alive and he was pretty sure the first men hadn’t had any idea they’d find him with Sky. “Your father wouldn’t come in like this. Those men were low-level thugs, Sky.”

“And you’re no better than the men you saved me from. You’re no better.” Those last words were repeated loudly, accompanied with her hands fisted down by her sides, clenched so hard they shook a bit, like her voice had. Puffs of icy air escaped from her mouth, and why the hell he’d told her then, in the car, why he hadn’t waited to tell her … Dammit, why the hell did he choose to grow a fucking conscience at the wrong goddamned time …