Page 53 of Extracted

Gemma straightened, sitting back in the seat. Her hair trailed over her shoulder, and she rested her palm on her breastbone. She took several deep breaths. “Well, this sure beats walking.”

He grunted and flicked his gaze from her to the road. “That it does. But a whole lot of things have changed.”

She scooted closer to him on the bench seat. “It sounds like Silas survived the blast,” she mused. “How did he know about me, though?”

Dallas lifted a shoulder. “They probably had surveillance in the hotel, figured out where you were in the minutes before the bomb went off.” He glanced at her again.

She closed her eyes and slid her palm to her abdomen. “Charlene had me confirm the room Silas was in. That’s the last thing I did before I made it out back.” She opened her eyes and shook her head. “But my reservation was under an alias. They—”

“Doesn’t matter. They found you the same way I did. If they have access to facial recognition, they could have pulled up your legitimate passport for your real name.”

He cursed and slammed his palm against the steering wheel. What had Eli told the men working for Silas? Eli had known his name. He could have mentioned who was traveling with Gemma.

That meant they might be after him too.

And all his contacts were now compromised.

They were stuck.

* * *

Gemma’s shoulders ached with every bounce of the vehicle. The hard lump of her gun pressed into the small of her back, reminding her that they had to be vigilant on the road. All this time she’d suspected the CIA was after her. But this jumbled things entirely. If Silas had put a hit on her head in Colombia—and maybe even in the surrounding countries—she wouldn’t get far. And every step she took would endanger Dallas.

This was all her fault.

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her midsection.

If Dallas hadn’t been at the hotel. If he hadn’t traced her through the street cameras and found her in the city. If she’d just stayed in Cali . . .

You’d be dead, dummy.

Great. Not only was she completely responsible for endangering Dallas’s life, she was also lodged between a rock and a hard place.

“You’re quiet,” Dallas said, swinging his gaze to her for a beat before jerking his face back to the road.

Her stomach knotted, and she forced a tight smile. “Just glad we don’t have to walk. We’ll be hours ahead of schedule now.”

He let out a sigh. “Who would have thought getting caught by those men would be a blessing? We should run into my brother’s guys any minute now.”

Another ball of anxiety swirled in her gut. “Do you think it’s safe? I mean, Eli was supposed to be a trusted contact. If there’s a hit on my—our heads, then surely these men know we’re sought after. They could switch sides, like Eli did.”

Now she didn’t just have to worry about being shot and killed. Given the salacious glint in the leader’s eyes, she also had to worry about being raped or gangbanged to death. And what would they do with Dallas while they had their fun with her? Kill him or make him watch. She shuddered, and panic fluttered against her solar plexus.

Dallas nodded, his expression grim. His eyebrows were pierced together, and his jaw as solid as stone. “That’s true. The guys picking us up are getting paid ten grand American. Not nearly as much as Silas put out. I can offer more, but I don’t have that kind of money on me.”

She wet her lips. Relying on people they had to negotiate their survival with wasn’t exactly ideal. Her stomach grumbled. “Can we stop? I wouldn’t mind having a bite.”

He nodded and pulled to the side of the road then cut the engine. She reached into the back, dug into her backpack, took a chug of water, and then ripped open a protein bar. Dallas did the same.

“How’s your leg?” Dallas asked.

Even though she was wearing pants, she looked down at where the injury was. “Hurts still. But for the most part I forget about it.” She cleared her throat and swept her gaze to the long stretch of road ahead. “I’ve been thinking. We should go our separate ways when we get to town.” She could only murmur the words, as if her body was rejecting what was coming out of her mouth.

He raised his eyebrows and dusted off his hands before stuffing the protein wrapper into his bag. “Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because all this happened because of me. You’re in danger because of me. If you hadn’t taken me with you—”

“You know exactly what would’ve happened.”

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