The Spy Who Left Me (22 page)

Tref could be lying on the hill dead or dying. He felt sick.

On the other hand, he needed to bring this bastard in, especially if he’d killed her. And the guy might still go after her to make sure he’d finished the job.

Lady. No contest. If there’s even the ghost of a chance that I can save her.
His heart pounded.
I can’t lose her.

Dressed in the bright yellow windbreaker, Ty looked like a rubber ducky and practically had a target on his back. He pulled it off and tossed it over the bike to create a blind as he escaped and went to Tref.

A car engine revved to life at a scenic pullout just up from him.
A getaway van.

He’d been so focused on Tref, he hadn’t paid it any particular attention. Every scenic spot was full of cars of tourists snapping pictures.

He swore beneath his breath. No way he could turn his back on that. Could be full of assassins and guys who’d just as soon shoot you in the back as look at you.

He leaned the bike against the guardrail and jumped the rail. A bike wasn’t a great shield. A bike and a guardrail combined were only marginally better. Peeking past his coat, he positioned himself to take a shot at the van as it drove past him.

Tref was always messing with his concentration.

Tref’s attacker rode toward the getaway van. He caught sight of Ty’s position and pointed and gestured toward him to someone in the van. A van window rolled down. A pistol barrel appeared and pointed itself in Ty’s direction. A pistol with a high-powered sight.

*   *   *

For one fantastic, exhilarating second, Treflee was airborne. The next, the bike hit solid ground in a cloud of dust. Hard. The shock jolted through her, rattling everything from her teeth to her toes.

Hooray for mountain bike shocks!

She almost lost her balance and toppled off. Only her white-knuckled death grip on the brakes kept her in place.

Fighting gravity and the bike, she leaned to the left to keep from toppling over. She overcorrected to the right. She fell over, bike on top of her, and went into a slide for life down the slope. It would have been a pretty neat trick if she’d meant to do it. Or had any control.

She clawed at the ground, kicking and screaming, trying to get a hold of something or get the bike off. But her windbreaker had caught in the gears and the two were now one.

They kept sliding, heading directly for a patch of bushes. She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands, preparing for impact.

A hundred twiggy hands clawed and scratched her. Finally, the bike snagged on something. The windbreaker ripped loose. She slid several more feet before coming to a full and complete stop.

She was breathing hard. Stinging everywhere. But that was a good sign, right? Meant she was alive and not paralyzed or something.

She froze. Afraid. What if the bad guy was still coming after her?

See no evil, but she had to look. When she opened her eyes, she was covered in dust, branches and leaves, scrapes and scratches. And completely surrounded and concealed by bushes like a rabbit hiding in a warren.

*   *   *

A shot zinged off the guardrail next to Ty. All that stood between him and a hole in his head was a thin piece of lightweight yellow fabric, a few bits of metal, and a whole lot of air.

He took aim uphill at the van window just as Keoni finally popped out of the fog in the Exciting Maui Adventures van.

Unfortunately, also at that moment, another tour of single-file sightseeing cyclists passed Keoni and came around the corner. The lead sightseer zipped into the scenic pullout, interfering with Ty’s shot. The bad dude fell in with the rest of the group, keeping them between him and Ty until he reached the van.

Ty cursed as Tref’s assailant tossed his bike in the back of the van and jumped in. The van peeled out, scattering the rest of the group of riders, somehow managing to avoid hitting any of them.

The van would have to come past Ty. He hoped to take a shot at it and disable it. But, as bike tours go, some riders are fast and some slow. The line spreads out. And some are hotheads who want revenge for nearly being blown off the road. The lead two newcomers took off beside the van as it passed them and crossed in front of Ty.

Those two idiots biked between Ty and the van, obscuring his shot. He took a deep breath and cursed again as the van driver hit the accelerator and blew past him and the cyclists.

Ty watched the van careen down the hill, waiting to see if it would come back for another shot at him or Tref. It wasn’t stopping.

Farther down the mountain, now tiny specks of yellow, Tref’s cousin and her friends continued on their merry way. Oblivious until the van bore down on them and they scattered to the shoulder like pepper in water, escaping unscathed. Unaware even then of what had happened to Tref. Maybe that was for the best.

Ty turned around and scanned the volcano for her.

Oh, baby. Where are you?

All he saw was barren mountain. The woman had disappeared into thin air.

Up the mountain, Keoni was slowly driving downhill, caught behind this latest wave of cyclists. Ty jumped the rail again and flagged him down.

*   *   *

Treflee cowered undercover in her bush. Any idiot villain worth his evil reputation should spot the bike and bright yellow arrow of a windbreaker nearby and have a look around for her.

Unfortunately, this bush was covered in flowers. And flowers attract bees. Bees scared Treflee almost as much as bike-pump-wielding maniacs. She was allergic, though not in the anaphylactic way. Just major swelling around the sting and a case of blood poisoning the last time a wasp got her. Arm the size of a tree trunk. Bright red streaks up it. The doc said she just barely got treatment in time. Another few hours and she might have lost the arm. Or her life.

She’d just escaped death at the hands of a mad, villainous biker and a too-steep switchback turn. It would have been downright embarrassing, to say the least, to be taken out by a mere bee now.

She lay very still, not wanting to madden the increasing number of bees in the bush, and frankly too scared to move, as she weighed her options.

“Tref! Treflee, baby!”

Ty! Thank goodness.

She scrambled out of the bush on her hands and knees and popped to her feet, waving. “Here! Over here!”

He spotted her and waved to someone behind him. “Found her!”

Unfortunately, springing out of the bush upset a bee. It buzzed her. She screamed. Ty swung around, drew his gun, and looked for a villain.

Despite the trauma, she almost laughed. What he really needed was a fly swatter.

He relaxed as he spotted the bee. He ran to her and smacked the bee down with his bare hands.

Relieved, Treflee threw herself into Ty’s arms and snuggled against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Why did he have to feel so safe?

“Baby,” he said. “Baby, thank God you’re all right.” He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tight.

“Did you get him?” She couldn’t believe the venom in her voice as she spoke into his chest.

“He won’t be flying home to the hive.”

“Not the bee!” She teetered on the ragged edge of hysteria. “Did you get the bastard who tried to kill me?”

She had no doubt Ty’d gone after him. She wrapped her arms around her husband, sticking her hands into his back pants pockets. Just like she used to do all the time. But she was looking for something more than reassurance this time. She wanted that drop. She hated the regular Mata Hari she was becoming. But, damn it! She was scared.

She wriggled her hands deeper into his pockets and cupped his butt. The man had a tight, grabable ass. But except for a nice, new condom in its wrapper, his pockets were empty!

Did he really think he was going to get lucky with her out here on the mountainside? Or was he planning on using his French tickler on somebody else?

She didn’t know which thought upset her more. He shouldn’t be carrying a condom around like an optimistic frat guy at a party.

Ty kissed her head again. “No. The bastard got away.”

She removed her hands from his pockets, struggling in the process. She shook her head, dismayed. This wasn’t like Ty. “I can’t believe the bad guy gave you the slip. No one
ever
gives you the slip.”

He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her roughly to him again. “I was rattled.”

Rattled? Ty? Over me?

She waited for him to say more. Admit something deeper.

Instead, he rested his chin on her head. “Don’t worry. I snapped a picture of him and texted it to HQ. They’ll make an ID and put out an APB. We’ll get him.”

She tried to pull away, but Ty held firm. “He was in disguise, all in black. There’s no way—”

Just then Keoni came puffing up, out of breath from his uphill run to them. “What’s going on?”

He bent over, his hands on his knees, looking up at them in their clench as he caught his breath. “How is she?”

You’d think a cycle tour guide would be in better shape. It was pretty clear now why Keoni drove the van.

“I’m fine,” Treflee said into Ty’s chest. “Except some guy tried to—”

Ty squeezed her. Hard. Tight enough to silence her and remind her of their cover.

“Dude!” he said, falling back into that cover character she hated. He spoke to Keoni. “She got going too fast. Lost it. Some guy cut her off. She flew off the road at the corner.” He gave her a playful chuck under her chin. “She’s tough. She’ll live.”

Treflee squirmed around to get a look at Keoni. He stared at them, obviously wondering about their intimate stance.

“Hysterical,” Ty said before Keoni asked the question. “Trying to calm her down.”

Which was almost the truth.

Keoni nodded, but he was still frowning. Probably not sure this was the kind of calming down she needed.

“You going to be okay?” Ty said to Treflee.

“Sure.” She wiggled in his arms. “You can let go now. I won’t freak out. Thanks.”

Ty released her and ran his hand through his bleached hair as he studied her. “Looks like we dodged the bullet.”

It may have only been Treflee’s imagination, but she thought he was being tongue-in-cheek. It would have been just like him. Dodged the bullet, indeed!

Ty smiled that vacant, beach-bum smile at Keoni. “She’s got a few scratches and bruises.” He shrugged. “Don’t know what I would have told Tita if I’d lost a guest. She’d kill me.”

Keoni nodded his agreement, looking just as relieved to see Treflee on her feet and talking. She imagined visions of lawsuits were fading.

“Yeah,” Keoni said. “We haven’t lost a guest yet, either. This is the first, uh, off-road”—he cleared his throat—“incident we’ve had.” He paused and looked worriedly at Treflee. “Not our fault, you understand. We’re not liable for other bikers’ reckless behavior. Now, if we could find him—”

“I’m not going to sue,” she said straight-out.

Keoni nodded automatically, but didn’t seem to be listening. “We could go after him.”

Ty shrugged. “Dude dressed all in black. Wearing sunglasses.”

“We’ll call it in,” Keoni said, continuing to brighten up as he pinned the blame firmly elsewhere.

“No!” Treflee said. “No calling it in.”

Ty shot her a grateful look. For obvious reasons, he didn’t want the authorities involved. And neither did she.

Keoni gave her a questioning look. “But—”

“No calling it in. I’m fine. I’m not spending a precious minute of my vacation filling out forms in a police station.”

Keoni chewed on the corner of his mouth. “Maybe we should get you to a doctor, just in case—”

“No!” she said again, shaking her head. “Carla, one of our girls, is a nurse. She can look me over. But really, I’m fine.”

Keoni looked at once relieved and doubtful. But who was he to argue with a paying guest?

“Let’s get out of here and catch up with the others.” Ty nodded toward the brush. “The bike and the windbreaker are over there on the other side of those bushes.”

Keoni went after the bike and jacket. They waited as he stuffed the torn jacket under his arm and rolled the bike over to them.

“You’re not going to charge me for damage to those.” Treflee addressed Keoni.

“No, no, of course not,” Keoni hurried to reassure her.

“Good.” Treflee felt suddenly exhausted.

She stumbled as they started back toward the van.

Ty shot her a concerned look. He swung her up into his arms.

This time she didn’t struggle. She put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Whether she liked to admit it to herself or not, she wanted to rest in his arms for a while. Just until the shaky fear in her subsided.

*   *   *