Gabe didnt wait for her to answer, not that Leigh had anything to say about the abbreviated lesson on how to kill. He spun her around so they were back to back. He eased open the door and peered into the parking lot.
The alarm started almost immediately. It wasnt a typical security system that clamored loudly enough to be heard blocks away. It was a piercing hum, but it was certainly meant to serve as a warning.
All right. Lets go, Gabe said. Remember everything Ive told you.
Leigh didnt know how he expected her to do that. She literally couldnt remember her name so how would she keep all the other things straight? Maybe shed get lucky, and her instincts would kick in if she had to shoot.
The night air engulfed her when they stepped outside. It was humid, almost stifling. Even with the drone of the alarm, the place was eerily silent. No traffic noise. No birds. Nothing. Just the sound of their steps as Gabe orchestrated them away from the building.
Shoot to kill, hed told her. That made sense because a wounded gunman could still have a deadly aim. She had to wonder if she could kill. Or if shed ever killed before.
God, that seemed an awful thing
not to know.
Gabe skirted along a row of shrubs, following the semistraight line until they came to a Dumpster. They ducked behind it just as the door to the laundry area flew open. Milky yellow light poured out into the darkness.
So did two armed men.
Gabe latched onto her hand and forced her to run. Stay with me.
Shots shattered the near silence, sounding so close that Leigh didnt want to know just how close they were coming to Gabe and her. She lost count of how many times the guns fired, but they seemed to keep pace with her racing heartbeat.
Leigh hadnt remembered her flip-flops or her hurt ankle until they started to sprint. Not ideal running shoes, and the stitches tore at her skin. Somehow, Gabe managed to keep her on her feet, even when they left the pavement and darted over a patch of uneven ground.
The yard, such that it was, melted into a greenbelt cluttered with stubby trees and rocks. An eight-foot-high masonry fence was just beyond that. Gabe didnt ask if it was something she could climbhe just scaled it, dragging her like a rag doll with him.
When they reached the other side, she noticed the motorcycle. It was nestled between two scrub oaks, but not even the darkness could camouflage the chrome.
Were riding that? she asked in a frantic whisper.
Yes. He slipped his gun back into his shoulder holster, straddled the leather seat and started the engine. Keep your weapon handy. We just might need it before this is over.
She nodded. Somewhere behind them, close behind, those men were probably gaining ground. Still, she took the time to eye the motorcycle. Do you have helmets?
No!
It wouldnt do any good to point out that riding without helmets was dangerous. Hed no doubt point out that bullets and gunmen were even more deadly.
And hed be right.
Gabe didnt try to alleviate her fears. He merely latched onto her wrist and hauled her on the bike behind him. Within seconds, he had the motorcycle rumbling through the night and away from the gunmen.
Leigh quickly learned she had to hang on or fall off, and the easiest thing to hang on to was Gabe. While still clinging to the gun, she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her cheek to his back and held on. And she prayed, hoping the God of whichever religion she professed would hear her. Right now, she needed someone of a divine nature on her side.
After all, she was with a man who killed as easily as he breathed, and Leigh knew all too well that he held her lifeand possibly even her heartin his hands.
Chapter Four
That did not please him.
He was reasonably sure hed lost the hired guns. Fairly certain he could remember his way down the dirt roads that snaked around the bayou. And he was hopeful hed managed to save their lives. For the time being anyway. However, he wasnt at all sure what the heck was going on. Or whod just tried to kill them.
Still, none of those things occupied his thoughts for long. It was the woman behind him that he couldnt get off his mind. His wife.
At the clinic, Jinx had ordered him to be nice to Leigh. But that was only the tip of the flipping iceberg. They also wanted him to lie through his teeth. He was supposed to tell her everything was all right between them. That theyd had problems in the past but had worked them all out.
Yeah, right.
Between the lies and being nice, he was also supposed to get her to trust him. Just like that. He was supposed to erase all the bad feelings between them and regain her confidence. Hed have an easier time forgetting that shed ever been his wife.
However, it didnt matter if the task was impossible. The Justice Department expected him to give his all. Heck, hed already done that.
And then hed made it worse by kissing her.
That shouldnt have happened. What the devil had he been thinking when he put his mouth on hers? That was just ithe hadnt thought. Hed acted. Reacted. And much to his disgust, hed even enjoyed it. He couldnt let it happen again, not with so much at stake.