“They really are just fucking babies.” He clamped his teeth together so hard that his jaw popped. He held out a hand for his phone, and May transferred it to his palm. When he closed his fingers around it, the tips brushed against May’s smooth, warm hand. The feel of her skin shot a memory of her bare spine…her breasts…Christ, those firm thighs…spinning through his head.
He swiped his thumb over a button, activating a secure line.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling this in.”
Con’s voice filled the car. “What is it now, Chickie?”
He set the phone in the cup holder and gripped the wheel with both hands. “That truck is being driven by two new recruits fresh out of boot camp.”
“Not surprised.”
“Neither am I.” He practically growled in frustration. “On one hand, it will be easier to get what we need from them. On the other…” He didn’t need to finish that sentence. There was a reason why so many young soldiers didn’t survive battles.
“Look, I’m ass-deep in something here. I’m sending you what I have. Shoot the intel over to Cobra.”
“Copy.”
They ended the call, and Henner continued to stare at the back of that truck. Bit by bit, dawn was lightening the sky, so the outlines of the vehicle appeared crisper.
“You’re right that these guys don’t know what they’re transporting, May,” he said at last, voice pitched low.
“They don’t have the clearance to know what was loaded in the back of that truck. And if I had to guess, it’s not going directly to the base.”
She locked eyes with him. “What do you mean?”
“They can’t just deliver a bomb to the same place they deliver all their other supplies. The guys behind it aren’t going to want this traced.”
“Now we just have to find out where it’s headed.”
“We’ll find out soon enough once we reach base.”
“This is bad.”
He didn’t respond. There was nothing to say.
A long time later, the sky lightened to a dull gray but the sun still hadn’t broken over the horizon.
“Oh!” May’s quiet exclamation wasn’t needed—he already noticed the turn signal on the truck blinking. “They’re turning off at the exit.”
He let off the gas, backing off the truck’s tail. When they were a good distance behind, he also switched on his turn signal. “Keep your eye on that truck.”
She straightened in her seat. “I am.”
A small car buzzed in front of them to exit as well. Good. It wouldn’t be so obvious that they were following the truck.
“They’re heading to that gas station.” May pointed, but he saw it too and rolled into the parking lot, bumping through several potholes on the way to the small, rural gas station with a convenience store.
Henner parked at the far end of the lot behind several semitrucks for cover but with the target still in plain sight. The military vehicle parked at the island under the flickering fluorescent lights.
The drivers got out of the truck, stretching their limbs after the long ride.
“They don’t look worried at all,” commented May.
“They don’t know they need to be.”
“What now? Don’t we need gas too?” She leaned over to glance at the gauge. When she did, he caught the scent of herperfume. At the gala, he noticed it too. If he was honest, the light scent had been slowly driving him crazier every mile they drove.