Page 27 of Peace Under Fire

He expected her to bend over and tuck her head between her knees—a la airplane crash instructions. Instead, she pulled her hat off and dropped it to the floor, then curled into a fetal position and laid down across the passenger seat. The lack of room meant her head was pressed against his thigh. He sucked in a startled breath.

Fuck.

He hoped like hell she hadn’t noticed the growing bulge to the right of her cheek.

His tension escalated as they left the safety of the clinic’s walls. The hatchback puttered sedately across the parking lot toward the exit.

Once clear of the building, he shot a quick glance toward the back row of the front parking lot. A silver, four door sedan sat between the two exits just as she’d described. The driver had backed into the space, too, which was unusual for your typical civilian. Cops? Sure. Spec ops? Absolutely. Mercenaries? You bet. But not your average Joe.

Even from this distance, he could make out the dark shadow of a head in the passenger seat. What were the odds the vehicle and its positioning were a coincidence? Yeah, he wouldn’t take those odds.

He wrenched his gaze away and forced his foot off the gas pedal. If he didn’t give them a reason to look closely, maybe they’d simply dismiss the piece of junk he was driving. They wouldn’t expect him to switch cars, and sure as hell not into something so unimpressive.

He held onto that hope for a whole minute. Then a flash of silver caught the corner of his eye. A quick glance to the right proved the sedan had pulled out of its parking slot and was headed in their direction.

Shit.

He should have called Tex. The dude could have sent the cops to distract the bastards. All Squish had on him was his personal cell. If he called 911 himself, the cops could track him through the phone, maybe even pull him over before he could get Mandy somewhere safe.

But Mandy had used a burner the two times she’d called him.

“You still got that burner phone on you?” he asked as he punched the accelerator. The car puttered across the exit and out onto Mercy Avenue.

“Why?” She raised her head slightly, which rubbed her cheek against his thigh.

Fuck, he swore he felt the heat of her cheek against his skin despite the layer of denim between them.

“Because we have company,” he said curtly, shifting his thigh to the left. “Call 911. Tell them someone is following you. Get the cops to step in and detain the bastards.”

He swallowed a groan as she wiggled her shoulders against his leg in her quest to get her hands into the pocket of her jacket. He took that as affirmation that, yes, she did indeed have a phone with her.

The silver sedan squealed out onto the road behind them, taking all of two seconds to catch up. He gunned the accelerator. More limp put-put-putting. Not a good sign for their continued good health.

This piece of crap better have some maneuverability because it sure as hell didn’t have the speed.

“I need to report an attempted kidnapping,” Mandy said, her voice shaking. “There is a silver sedan on Mercy Avenue, and the two men inside just tried to drag my daughter into their car.” She paused to take a deep breath and continued in a terrified voice.

Since he could feel her trembling against his leg, he had a hunch she wasn’t acting. She really was terrified.

“That’s right. The car’s a silver Accord. And they have a gun. They shot at me when I pulled Lucy out of their car.”

Smart. The story of a couple of dudes trying to grab a little girl would light a firecracker under the cops’ asses. The report of a gun would add even more adrenaline and speed to the police response. The blue suit intervention might just give them the opportunity to escape.

She paused again. “That’s right, on Mercy Avenue. Next to the clinic. The plate begins with APC. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have time to get the rest.”

She must have gotten the partial plate from the dream.

“Please send the police. They’re following us. They’re pulling even with us again.” She disconnected the call, despite the distant, urgent voice telling her to remain on the line, and lowered the phone from her ear.

“Do you think the police will get here in time?” she asked, her voice even shakier than it had been on the phone.

Nope. She hadn’t been acting. She was terrified.

Squish wasn’t going to lie to her, not even for her peace of mind, so he kept silent and watched through the rearview mirror as the silver sedan hugged their ass. It was so close it would ram them if he hit the brakes.

The bastards weren’t trying to remain inconspicuous, not any longer. Fuck, no. He suspected they had something else in mind.

The cops better get here fast.

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