Page 25 of Laura's Truth

“Thanks, but I’ve had my share of getting screwed over by Hackett. Pull over. Slowly.”

Dark Glasses didn’t obey, but he jumped when Drew pulled the trigger, putting a bullet into the man’s right knee. The car lurched around in the lane as the driver struggled with pain, anger, and the inevitable result.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” When the car rolled to a stop, Drew escorted the man to the trunk while Laura moved to the driver’s seat.

“You have a plan,” he said as she punched it and merged with traffic heading toward Charleston. “I can tell.”

“First we’re driving by my hotel.”

“You realize they’re expecting our friend in the trunk to show up with you? As a prisoner?”

“Yeah, I caught that part. Don’t you want to know what they’re doing in my room?”

“Not if it means you’re in the same room as Hackett or anyone working for him. Have you forgotten they tried to kill you at the airport?”

“Haven’t forgotten, but they were more likely trying to kidnap me.” She shot him a look. “Seems you beat them to it.”

“I didn’t kidnap you.”

She flicked a hand, blowing that off. “We’ll argue semantics later. To save you the trouble of asking the next obvious question, yes I realize all of this means he wants some specific classified detail he thinks I have.”

“And Hackett’s told them my name, who I was.”

She settled in behind a minivan and tapped her fingertips against the steering wheel. “That puts a twist in it?”

“It has to,” he said, but he wasn’t sure where or how that twist would bite him in the ass. “Hackett wouldn’t trust local thugs with that kind of information, so the guy in the trunk is part of the inner circle.”

“So?”

“I’m thinking. Give me a minute.” Drew resisted the idea that he’d made a critical mistake. He didn’t have to know all the players. Hackett was the one who mattered, the man with the power in this equation. “They’re trying to crack your system, bring you in. The driver knew my name, but none of them knew my face.”

“Nice recap. What’s it mean?”

“I’ve watched Hackett for a couple of days and none of the men who’ve chased us today have been anywhere around.”

“You just said the guy in the trunk is in the inner circle.”

“I know.”

“Crap.” She rubbed her hand across her forehead. “Not Hackett’s inner circle.”

“It’s a possible explanation.”

“Doesn’t explain the focus on me.”

It did in Drew’s mind. “You’re a connection to what I believe was the first deal. Based on your position, you’re either a potential threat or asset. He’s got a long reach and deep pockets. Someone alerted him that the old file had been accessed. Think about it. He can’t afford a misstep with this deal, so he’s got people all over keeping tabs on things.”

“But you’ve managed to elude him all these years.”

“Mostly.” She wouldn’t look at him. He didn’t consider that a good sign. He felt like a tightrope walker on a fraying line. A smart woman, dedicated to her career and country…he knew her brain was working overtime. But for or against him? “Laura?”

“I’m driving.”

He knew beyond any doubt if he left her alone, she was dead. She knew too much and Hackett’s network was too vast. Hell, even if he parked her somewhere as safe as Fort Knox, his original plan was doomed. He couldn’t finish the job alone and she was the closest thing he had to an ally.

Neither charm nor bargaining would work on her, not now. “I can prove Hackett’s been acting against US interests. Consistently.” There it was, the ace up his sleeve, out in the open.

She snorted, clearly unimpressed. “How? Because you’re alive?”

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