Page 8

“I don’t know about you, but I’m all shopped out,” Lori said, holding up the multiple bags that were weighing down her arms.

They’d spent the past three hours roaming the huge, crowded street market in town, with over a hundred vendors hawking everything a tourist could want, along with a ton of stuff they didn’t need.

While Avery had picked up a few things along the way, she hadn’t really been into the whole excursion.

That feeling of being watched had been with her since they’d left the resort, but she hadn’t seen either of the men from the bar last night, nor anyone else tailing her, for that matter.

So far, whoever these assholes were, they’d only been doing reconnaissance.

The intel she’d gotten from Kenny this morning hadn’t helped her figure out why she was being targeted.

Liang Guo and Feng Su, both in their early twenties, were local petty criminals who’d been arrested for fights, possession of drugs, picking pockets, etc.

Liang had emigrated from China about six years ago while Feng had been born to his immigrant parents on the island.

Other than that, there’d been little else of importance in their histories.

If last night had been the only incident where she’d felt like she was being watched, Avery might have written off the two men’s actions as simply sizing up the tourists, so they could rip them off somehow.

Avery hadn’t been surprised when Haven had called a few minutes after Kenny had hung up with a promise to keep looking into Liang and Feng.

Having already been filled in by the geek the night before, the younger, female Deimos agent had wanted all the details she was missing—which weren’t many.

Then, before disconnecting the call, Haven told Avery to expect a knock on their hotel room door in exactly twenty minutes and to not bother with a tip—it’d all been taken care of.

When Brad had opened the door, a nondescript kid around the age of eighteen or nineteen silently handed him a large, black duffel bag before scurrying toward the stairwell instead of the elevator.

Brad eyed both ends of the hallway then ducked back into the new room they’d moved into the night before, locking the door behind him.

Setting the duffel on the bed, he’d unloaded the cache of weapons and equipment, not the least bit stunned at how quickly Haven had arranged things.

While they hadn’t left the room since moving into it, Brad had still used a bug detector to ensure there were no listening or video devices hidden in the room.

He’d then set up a jammer that would prevent their cell phone calls from being intercepted, followed by several motion-sensor cameras that would send an alert to both their phones if anyone entered the room while they were out.

Now, as she walked side by side with Lori, Avery felt a lot more comfortable with the compact Sig Sauer pistol tucked in the waistband of her shorts at the small of her back.

A stiletto knife was under the back strap of her bra, while a switchblade was sitting snugly under her breasts.

She and Brad had discussed staying at the resort, but neither had wanted to disappoint Lori and Cameron—well, Brad hadn’t wanted to disappoint Lori.

They also hadn’t wanted to try to explain a bunch of weird suspicions.

As far as Lori and Cam knew, Avery had been a nurse her whole adult life.

They knew nothing of her black-ops years or the number of people who’d died at her hand.

While she and Lori had walked around, Avery had taken all precautions to make sure they remained surrounded by plenty of people, plus she didn’t know if the possible threat was due to her past or if it was just a coincidence—something she didn’t truly believe in.

Hell, she didn’t even know if she was the target or if it was Brad, Lori, or Cam.

As long as Avery stayed alert, things would be okay.

Still, she was glad to hear Lori was ready to head back to the resort.

“Sounds good to me,” she said to the younger woman. “I think I hear a Mai Tai calling my name.”

Lori smiled. “I know a pina colada is calling mine.” Her eyes lit up at something over Avery’s shoulder. “Oh, here comes a taxi; let’s grab it.”

A bright, yellow minivan pulled up to the curb not far from them and let two touristy-looking men out.

When they walked in the opposite direction from the women, not even giving them a glance, Avery’s tensed shoulders relaxed again.

The men from the bar last night were nowhere in sight, nor did anyone else seem out of place or overly interested in the two female tourists.

That still didn’t make Avery feel any better.

Even after years of not being in the field, it was difficult for her not to suspect every single person within a mile radius of being a bad guy.

Keeping an eye on their surroundings, Avery followed Lori, who quickly spoke to the dark-skinned driver through the front passenger window, giving him the name of their resort.

When he responded with the same fare amount as it had cost them to get there, Lori opened the rear sliding door and jumped in.

Out of habit, Avery checked the bench seat and floor behind the middle seat before climbing in and shutting the door.

They could have taken the rental car, but the concierge at the resort had advised them to take a taxi since parking was chaotic and overpriced in the area around the market.

After seeing it for themselves when they’d first arrived, Avery had been glad they’d listened to the man.

“Hello, beautiful ladies,” the driver said with a huge grin, showing off several missing teeth. As soon as they were settled in their seats, he pulled away from the curb and maneuvered into the local traffic. “I see you enjoyed the market today.”

“Yes, we did,” Lori agreed. “I don’t know how I’m going to get all of this home in my suitcase though.”

“A lot of tourists have that problem.”

As the two chatted amicably, Avery turned sideways in her seat, facing Lori, so she could inspect the vehicles behind them to see if they were being followed.

By the time they’d left the busy streets surrounding the market and moved onto the quieter main road that lead to their resort, Avery was almost convinced they didn’t have a tail.

But then a white van appeared behind them, speeding to catch up.

Avery tensed. Her hand settled on the gun at her lower back, ready to draw and fire if need be.

Their driver noticed the vehicle in the rearview mirror and turned the steering wheel enough so they hugged the dirt shoulder of the road yet maintained the speed limit. He didn’t seem concerned. “Some people are always in a hurry. Don’t they know we’re on island time?”

The vehicle never slowed down as it veered around them and kept going, disappearing around a curve.

Avery released the weapon and forced herself to relax.

Jeez, this was supposed to be a stress-free vacation.

Well, at least her relationship with Brad was progressing better than she’d hoped for.

She’d been so worried when she’d realized she was head over heels in love with him.

For the first time in her life, she wanted a future with a man more than she wanted her next breath.

There’d been other men in her life, but none of them had had her dreaming of growing old with them.

They’d been a fun way to pass the time, and, when the relationships were over, she’d moved on without any regrets.

Now, she was glad none of those affairs had worked out because they’d led her to Brad.

The man she loved. The man who loved her.

The man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

A short curse from the front seat preceded the driver slamming on the brakes.

Tires screeched as Avery and Lori, unrestrained, were thrown against the backs of the front seats.

Avery’s head and shoulder exploded with pain as the vehicle spun around, sending her crashing against the door and smashing the window into tiny pieces.

She had no clue what had caused the driver to lose control, she just hoped they survived the accident.

Lori screamed in pain as the two were tossed around the back seat.

The taxi went off the road, coming to an abrupt stop when it collided with a tree.

The loud chaos ebbed until a quiet stillness took over.

Avery’s head spun. Every inch of her body was in pain, but, as she’d learned long ago, that was good because it meant she was still alive.

She slowly pushed herself upright. Lori was wedged between the bench seat and the back of the driver’s seat, her shoulder at an unnatural angle.

Blood flowed from a cut along her hairline, but she was conscious and groaning.

Their driver, however, was not. The man was slumped over the steering wheel.

Avery reached over to help Lori, but suddenly hands were grabbing her and pulling her out the destroyed window.

Her gold necklace got caught on something and snapped from her neck.

She struggled, but the trauma her body had endured had sapped her strength.

Her stomach threatened to revolt as her head swam, darkness trying to overtake her.

She was being carried with no care for her injuries.

She heard a sliding door and was dropped unceremoniously into the rear of a van.

A pain-filled cry escaped her. Seconds later, Lori was thrown in beside her, along with all their shopping bags.

The door slammed shut, and the van started rolling, then accelerated to a high rate of speed.

Avery fought unconsciousness, but the bastard won as her world went black.