Hard Target. Barb Han
coyote from dumping illegals across the border. Heck, most died of dehydration before they ever reached their desired location. She was weak. No way was she illegal, but they used the same paths for everything from human trafficking to gun running. Besides, maybe she had information that could help him make a bust. The innocence and desperation in her voice had drawn him in. He needed to make sure she’d be okay.
He couldn’t turn his back on her any more than he could walk away from one of his sisters. Something about Emily brought out a similar protective instinct, but that’s where the similarities ended. Nothing else about her reminded him of his siblings.
After paying at the window, he accepted the food. There was a shady spot in the parking lot across the street. He pulled into it and parked.
She blinked her eyes open when he cut off the engine.
He unwrapped a burger and handed it to her. “It’s not steak, but it should help with your hunger.”
Her eyes lit up as she took the offering. “That smells nothing short of amazing.”
A few bites into her meal, she set her burger down. “I don’t understand. I’m famished but I can’t finish it.”
Poor thing was starving. Another fact in this case that made Reed want to punch something.
It was one thing for traffickers and drug pushers to maim and kill each other, but to drag women and children into their web made his fists clench and his jaw muscle tick. Five minutes alone with any one of them, and he’d leave his badge and gun outside the door.
“That was the best food I’ve ever had,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Ouch. Sorry. I’m bleeding again.” She searched the empty food bag and seemed to fight back tears. “You’ve been really nice to me and I don’t want to get blood on your clean white shirt.”
“Nothing to worry about.” Reed handed her his napkin. “It’s an old shirt. A little blood won’t hurt anything.”
Her back was ramrod. He wasn’t any closer to getting her to trust him.
Maybe softening his approach would work. “Believe me when I say I’ve had to clean up worse than that. The shirt’s yours. Keep it.”
She apologized again. Her bottom lip quivered, indicating she was probably on the brink of losing it. Who could blame her? She’d been amazingly strong so far.
For now, the person of interest in his passenger seat was safe and calm. She’d had a few minutes to think about where she might end up if she didn’t give him something to work with. “Why’d they really hit you?”
She searched nearby shrubs and buildings as if expecting the men who’d hurt her to jump out from behind one.
Fear was a powerful tool.
Whoever hurt her did a good job of making her believe he’d come back for more if she gave him up. “I know this is tough. Believe me. But it’s the only way I can help you.”
She brought her hands up to rub her temples and trained her gaze on the patch of cement in front of the Jeep. She was teetering on the edge.
He was getting close to a breakthrough. “They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this. I don’t care what they threatened. The US government is bigger than whoever did this to you.”
A few tears fell, streaking her cheeks.
“Whatever they said, don’t believe them.”
She dropped her hands to her lap, and then turned toward him. Her hazel eyes pierced right through him. “You give me your personal promise to protect me?”
If Agent Campbell made one wrong blink, Emily had already decided she’d bolt. She’d put it out there and asked him to make a commitment. Now it was his turn to make a move.
“It’s my job to—”
“I want to know if you promise to protect me. And not just because of your badge.” Even though he was a stranger, everything about the agent next to her said he was a man of his word. If he made a personal pledge, she’d trust him a little.
He finished chewing his bite of hamburger and swallowed before he set his food on the wrapper and used a napkin to clean his hands.
“My name is Reed, and you have my word.” He stuck his hand out between them.
She took it, knowing she shouldn’t. There was no way he could guarantee her safety. The instant they’d made contact, a spark ran between them. She didn’t withdraw her hand. Neither did he.
Their eyes locked, and she felt another jolt. An underlying sexual current simmered between them, which was shocking given what she’d been through. He was the first person in ages who’d expressed interest in helping and protecting her, she reasoned, and it felt nice to have that.
Under different circumstances, she might enjoy the spark. Not now. All she could think about was getting out of this mess and going into hiding.
Another thing was certain. By the set of his jaw, she could tell that Reed Campbell meant what he said. No doubt about it. Could he deliver against a rebel faction that could have law enforcement officers bought and paid for?
He looked like the kind of man who, once he gave his word, would die trying to deliver on his commitments. And something about the depths of his eyes had her wanting to move a little closer toward his strength, his light.
All her danger signals flared.
Getting too close to a man who could have her locked up was a bad idea, no matter how much honesty radiated from his brown eyes.
His cell buzzed, and she pulled her hand back, breaking their grasp.
A half-eaten burger sat on his knee on top of the wrapper. He answered the call, keeping his gaze on her.
Was he afraid she’d take off? He had to know she’d scatter like a squirrel at one loud noise.
At six-two with muscles for days, he must realize he could be physically intimidating. Was that why he seemed to make so much of an effort to keep her calm?
Against her better judgment, it was working. She felt a sense of being protected with him near. A luxury she couldn’t afford.
“Uh-huh, I have her right here,” he said. His gaze narrowed.
Trouble?
“Thanks, but I’ve got this one.”
Was someone offering to take her off his hands? This seemed out of the blue. No way could it be standard procedure.
A shudder of fear roared through her. She folded her arms to stave off the chill skittering across her skin.
“No, I’m sure.” He shook his head as if for emphasis. “We’re heading northbound on I-45. Why?”
Emily’s chest squeezed, and she knew something was wrong. Agent Campbell gave the person on the phone the wrong location. Why would he do that?
“Will do.” Agent Campbell ended his call.
“Who was that?”
He sat looking dumbfounded for a second. “That was odd. Agent Stephen Taylor volunteered to meet me and take you off my hands. Said he was headed in and it wouldn’t be any trouble to take you along with him.”
“I don’t know this area at all, but we’re sitting in a parking lot, and you told him we were on the highway. Why?”
Using the paper wrap, he wadded up the few bites of hamburger he had left and tossed it in the bag. “That call doesn’t sit right. Something’s off.”
Emily gasped. “That can’t be normal.”
“Nope.