to harm her?
She inhaled, then let out a halted screech as her ribs came back in contact with the point of the knife. He pulled back on the blade. From his vantage point, squatting on the floor behind the driver’s seat, he could see her shoulders tense again.
How was he ever going to win back her trust? That thought surprised him. Why did it suddenly matter that she trust him at all?
God, am I completely botching this? I just want to protect Kenzie, and instead, I’ve made her terrified and am taking her as far from civilization as I can. Show me how to solve this situation. Show me what You want, because I don’t know what I’m doing here. I believe that You have a plan. Make it clear to me. I’m begging here. I’m always lost without You.
“Myles, what are you going to do with me?”
Kenzie’s terse words ripped him from his silent conversation with God.
Calm her down. Soothe her fears. Speak softly.
With all the best intentions, Myles sighed. “Don’t worry about it. Just keep your eyes on the road.” Not exactly what he’d wanted to say, but it would have to do for now. He knew the truth. He couldn’t do this assignment well while worrying about her feelings. He’d botch the job more than ever if he let his emotions seep in. Still, he could be more kind. “I’m sorry.” This time his words were soft and reassuring.
“It would help if I knew what I was looking for,” she said.
“You’re looking for the white and yellow lines. Try to stay between them.”
He could see her profile in the darkness, and she opened her mouth to speak, then quickly shut it.
He took pity on her, suddenly contrite for his sarcasm, “I’ll tell you when we get closer.” She nodded, but kept her lips clamped closed. And not for the first time, he took several seconds to appreciate her simple beauty and sharp personality. Someday she would make some man very lucky.
Not him, of course. He had a job to do. One that made having anyone waiting at home very difficult. Marriage and a family were years away.
Right now there was only the job. Only protecting Kenzie.
The car hit a major bump in the road, and the knife jammed into her side, snagging the silky material of her sweater.
“Would you mind moving that? I’m not going anywhere. I won’t be jumping out of this car at sixty miles an hour.” Her voice waivered slightly, not in fear, but like she was trying desperately not to let her anger get the better of her. She was used to giving commands. It must be killing her to be so out of control.
“As you wish.” He chuckled, pocketing the little blade and thinking of that line used in his favorite childhood movie. “But don’t make me regret it.”
Somehow, Myles didn’t think that it would matter if he had the seven-inch Bowie knife that Guard Whitestall had initially told him to take. Kenzie’s response would be the same—fighting anger along with trepidation. She was a spicy spitfire if ever there was one.
No complaints, just steely determination to make it through this.
She didn’t know it yet, but she would make it through this. He would make sure of that. He never failed to do his job.
First, Myles needed to figure out why he had been told to escape, to kidnap Kenzie and then to kill her. Whitestall had to have the answers. He would be Myles’s first phone call when they arrived at their destination.
A green sign along the road read: REDMOND 73 MILES.
“Do you see that grove of trees up ahead?”
“Yes.”
“Turn onto that gravel road right after them.” He couldn’t see the road yet, but he knew it would be there, the way it had been since his childhood.
Kenzie made a smooth turn onto the bumpy road, slowing down to accommodate the shifting gravel.
After a few minutes he said, “Make a right at that fence post.”
Again Kenzie followed orders, but something in her demeanor changed. She was suddenly more alert, looking frantically about the tree-lined lane. Was she trying to memorize the route or look for an escape? Probably both. Too bad she would not find anything to help her in either pursuit. These gravel roads were as unremarkable as ever.
In the foothills of the Cascades, they were already hours from the nearest town or any help for her. She’d be much safer just staying with him.
Every second on the road took them farther and farther away from Evergreen. The tiny Oregon town had been her home for two years because of its proximity to the prison. The drive was barely ten minutes from her rented condo to the front gate of the prison, but now she drove in the opposite direction. When Mac and Nana started looking for her, they would start in Evergreen. They’d never think to look for her here.
Every moment she drove plunged her deeper and deeper into the wooded darkness. Away from the familiar. Away from safety. Away from Mac, who was likely completely unaware of her situation. She was at Myles’s mercy now.
That truth shook her very core.
Send Mac. Please! Send someone to rescue me! God, I need his help right now! I think Myles is going to kill me.
Admitting that she believed she was going to die scared Kenzie beyond belief and caused her to slam on the brakes.
Myles’s large body crashed into the back of her seat, sending her into the unforgiving steering wheel. He grumbled loudly. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything!” she screamed. “You’re going to kill me! I’m going to die, and you’re making me drive to my burial ground!” She clamped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide, realizing what she had just said.
Oh, she’d been doing so well, holding herself together, searching for an opportunity to escape. But when fear and anger mixed, she could not be held responsible for what came out of her mouth. She put her face in her hands and let out a single, wild sob. Thankful that the car had stopped when she’d slammed on the brake, she dropped her forehead and rested it against the steering wheel.
Her shoulders shook, and each trembling breath required a concentrated effort not to expel a sob.
With amazing agility for such a large man, Myles squeezed between the two front seats and over the center console. Slipping into the passenger seat, he pulled her quaking form into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her, subduing her trembles. One of his large hands cupped the top of her head and smoothed down her hair until it wrapped around the nape of her neck. He used his nimble fingers to force her to look up into his face.
The only lights came from the dashboard and the headlights pointing into nothingness. They cast a small glow inside the car, and she could see one of his eyes looking right into her face.
“Everything’s going to be okay.”
Even now, she found that she wanted to trust him, to look into his face and believe that he was telling her the truth. He was strong and capable. But he was also a hardened criminal,
