Page 34 of Defending You

He didn’t answer. Obviously, if he knew how they’d been found, it wouldn’t have happened.

What mattered now was getting away from the men in the two vehicles that were closing in. She had no idea how they were going to escape this time.

CHAPTER TEN

Asher’s gaze flicked from the road to the rearview mirror. The truck and sedan were both back there. He pressed the accelerator, tearing down the narrow road.

The sun was high, the trees arching over the road casting shadows that moved them from light to darkness like a strobe.

Hanscom Field was close, but their pursuers were closer. The way the truck had U-turned, the way the sedan had blown through the red light… Their skill and precision set Asher’s teeth on edge. These weren’t amateurs. They were organized, relentless, and somehow always one step ahead.

“Cici, check the map.” His voice was taut, his hands so tight on the wheel that his knuckles were white. “Find me a turn—something sharp, something they won’t expect.”

She fumbled with his phone, her fingers trembling but quick. “Okay, um…there’s a left in about a quarter mile. Looks like it loops around a pond, then reconnects with this road further up.”

“Good enough.” He downshifted to slow without hitting his brakes, the engine growling. The turn came up fast—a dirt track veering left, barely visible beneath overgrown brush. Asher yanked the wheel, fishtailing the SUV as it hit loose gravel, praying the driver of the sedan didn’t see where they went.

Cici braced herself, sucking in a gasping breath.

Asher floored it, the vehicle bouncing over ruts, branches scraping the sides.

If this didn’t work…

“Do you see them?” he asked. “Did they follow?”

She twisted in her seat. “The sedan… It’s still back there!” Her pitch rose in panic. “And the truck’s right behind.”

“Dang it.” His mind raced, cataloging options. He’d trained for this—evasion, improvisation, survival. SEALs didn’t quit when the odds stacked up. They adapted.

There was a pond ahead, a glassy shimmer through the trees. He spotted a faint trail branching off to the right, barely more than a deer path that disappeared into dense woods.

Their SUV was high off the ground. The truck was, too, but it was behind the sedan. Maybe….

“Hold on.” He cut the wheel hard.

The SUV lurched onto the trail, tires sinking into soft earth, the undercarriage groaning as it scraped roots and rocks.

Cici yelped, gripping the strap over her door.

He wrestled the steering wheel as they bounced on the uneven ground. “Are they following?”

She watched behind. “I don’t see them.”

With any luck, the sedan had gotten stuck. It would have to be moved to let the truck pass.

He pushed deeper into the woods, the canopy swallowing the sunlight, until the trail widened into a clearing. An old barn sagged at the far end, its red paint peeling, its doors hanging ajar. The trail led straight to it.

He scanned the clearing for another road, but there was nowhere else wide enough for the SUV.

Asher jerked the wheel into the clearing and stopped in front of the barn doors. He hopped out and opened them, the old wood and rusted hinges groaning in complaint. Back in thevehicle, he drove to the center of the dilapidated structure and hit the brakes. “Out, now.”

Cici didn’t argue, just hitched her purse over her shoulder and climbed out.

He grabbed his duffel, slung it on his back, and paused, needing to think.

It was quiet now, but those men were coming.

The air carried the musty scents of dust and hay. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the walls, illuminating stacks of old crates and rusted tools. Asher peeked into a horse stall, then stepped inside. “In here.”