Page 20 of Dangerous Devotion

Henner’s comment had the gears of her mind turning faster. “If they’re driving that crate to Fort Leonard Wood like we think, they can swap drivers. They won’t need to stop and rest.”

“Right. Get ready to move.” His tone was rough and unrelenting, like the grind of machinery on the dock. A grating of metal on metal underlaid with the mechanical groan of something being moved into place. It carried the same weight too—heavy with finality.

She didn’t know what would come next, but she was prepared for anything. If there really was a bomb in that crate—and their sources said there was—then it was stable enough for transport even as it posed a dark threat.

The crate was loaded into the military vehicle. The guard lifted a hand to indicate the driver could go.

“It’s leaving!”

Henner’s fingers lashed around her forearm and he yanked her forward. The truck rolled off the loading dock and paused long enough at the gate for them to get a good look at the driver’s profile.

“Jesus. He’s just a baby. I doubt he can even grow a beard.” He ran with her in tow to the next crate to hide behind.

She felt like a cartoon character bouncing from hiding place to hiding place. The horrible urge to laugh bubbled inside her chest.

“We have to follow it.”

Before she understood what he meant, they were running to where they left the car. “Get in!”

Breathless from the dread in her lungs as well as their sprint, she jumped into the passenger seat. She whipped around to face Henner. “We’re following them now? To Fort Leonard Wood?”

“Yes.” He punched a finger on the ignition button and slammed the car in gear. They surged forward, jerking her in the seat.

Quickly she yanked the seatbelt across herself. As she tried to clip it, she noted how unsteady her hands were.

That was a new development. May was never unsteady or even remotely shaken from the job she was hired to do. What was different about this?

“Wait—what about our things back at the hotel?”

“They’ll still be there when we get back.”

“When will that be?”

“Forget about our things, May. Get Con on the phone.” His eyes narrowed on the truck a short distance in front of them as he tailed them away from the dock. The world was cast in shades of gray in the absence of the sun that hadn’t yet risen.

He practically tossed his phone at her, and she fumbled to keep it from falling into the crack of death between the seats. With a swipe of her finger on the screen, she pulled up his last call, but it wasn’t there.

“Didn’t you just call Con?”

He glanced away from the truck. “It automatically deletes the history. Just in case.”

“You can do that?”

“We’re Blackout. We can do a lot of things. Con’s icon is on the home screen.”

Since his phone had so few icons, it was easy to figure out which one he was talking about. She tapped the square, and the phone dialed Con.

“What is it now, Chickie?”

Henner half turned his face toward the phone she held in her hand as if he could see his commanding officer. “A couple of kids are driving the military transport. We need details on them. Name and rank.”

“I’m handing you off to Cobra.”

She listened to the exchange between Henner and the man they called Cobra. She didn’t know which member of the Charlie team that was, but she was impressed by his speed. He already did the digging and had the intel at the ready.

Cobra’s voice projected over the speaker, his deep tones clipped. “They’re likely new recruits, but I can’t access the information about the drivers. We need photos to put through facial recognition.”

“We’ll get you photos.”

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