sideways, blocking both lanes of traffic on the narrow road, Alex was ready.
He had only an instant to decide if he was going to crash into it, cut in front of it or loop around the back. He hit the gas. The Jeep sped forward as he cut behind it. The driver likely expected Alex to stay in his own lane, cutting down to the ditch in front. If he did that, the driver would only have to hit the gas to take them out.
Alex did the opposite. He cut into the other lane, tore down into the ditch and passed on the backside. By the time the driver wrenched into Reverse, they had cut back onto the road.
Claire’s head whipped around to look out the back window. “He’s trying to turn around.”
Alex glanced in the rearview mirror. The SUV had angled into the oncoming lane as it tried to cut the Jeep off. The driver backed into the ditch but had to pull ahead again. He’d be tied up with the back-and-forth motion as he tried to turn around.
Taking advantage of the other driver’s incompetence, Alex sped toward the interstate. He wasn’t sure it was the best plan of action. This time of night, traffic would be pretty light. As they reached a crossroads he wrenched the steering wheel to the right. This stretch of road was lined with thick pines.
It was dark now, but in the glow of the moonlight he could make out mailboxes intermittently dotted along the road. He glanced in the rearview mirror.
“They haven’t turned yet,” Claire said. “They will any minute, though. They’d just turned around when you turned off.”
“Perfect,” Alex said under his breath.
They passed another crossroads. Alex split his gaze between the road in front and the road behind. He knew Claire was right. Any second now the other vehicle would be barreling after them. They had an impressive lead, but he’d rather lose the men for good sooner rather than later.
He made a decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret. He wrenched the steering wheel and whipped into a long, winding driveway. Alex thought he glimpsed headlights slicing around the corner that was now a good distance back. He coasted down the driveway, grateful the house wasn’t visible from the road.
“What are you doing?” Claire’s panicked tone was laced in fear.
“This is our best chance at losing them.” He performed a quick three-point turn with finesse the driver of the SUV did not possess. He kept the Jeep back far enough so that it wasn’t visible from the road.
He withdrew his gun and reached for the door handle.
Claire clutched his arm. “Are you going after them?”
He couldn’t make out her features in the dim moonlight. It didn’t matter. He didn’t have to see her to know what she looked like. He had her face, her expressions, memorized. He knew she was staring at him with wide eyes. Her lips would be pressed into a frown. A worry line would be etched between her brows.
“I need to see which way they go.” He gently pulled his arm from her grip. “I don’t think there’s any chance they saw us turn here. But if they did, I want to have the element of surprise.”
Before she could launch a protest, he leaped out.
Staying close to the tree line, he ran to the road.
Dim headlights grew brighter by the second as the vehicle raced toward him. He moved into the foliage and crouched down. The SUV slowed as it reached the crossroads. Alex hoped it would turn but it rolled right through, speeding up again. He pressed himself against a tree, knowing his dark clothing would blend in.
The chances that the driver would realize this was the driveway he’d turned off on were slim. He was prepared regardless. They sped past. He squinted, hoping for a glimpse of the license plate. It was a fruitless attempt to gain information. It was too dark to make out anything. The vehicle continued on with no sign of slowing down.
He raced back to Claire. Flinging the door open, he slid inside.
“We lost them?” Claire demanded as they took off.
When they reached the edge of the driveway, taillights glowed red in the far distance.
“Looks that way.”
Alex maneuvered onto the gravel road. He backtracked to the crossroads their pursuers had avoided. He took a right, not sure where they were headed but not really caring. Once on this deserted stretch he flipped the headlights on.
He felt Claire’s gaze burning into him.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” she said.
He shot her a wry look. “I could say the same for you.”
Claire read the description of the campground to Alex as he drove. Using his phone, she’d scanned several of them before finding one she thought might be a good fit.
“That one should work,” he said as he flicked another glance into the rearview mirror.
Though they’d been driving without incident for half an hour now, she appreciated his vigilance.
“I think so, too,” she agreed. “They accept dogs and it’s less than an hour away, near the Tillamook State Forest.” She read off the directions before sliding his smartphone into the Jeep’s cup holder.
For weeks she had been fervently praying, asking God to help her. She had not anticipated help to arrive in the form of her ex-fiancé. Claire hadn’t seen Alex in years. He’d left her at the worst possible time. He’d had no way of knowing she was pregnant with Mia. She hadn’t figured it out herself until after he’d disappeared. She had no idea how he was going to react to finding out he had a daughter.
Having him barge back into her life was surreal. She kept sneaking glances, assuring herself it was really him.
Alex had spent years serving as an Army Ranger. After a mission gone horribly wrong, he had changed. During his last deployment, a suicide bomber had blown up a school in an area he was supposed to be protecting. Men, women and far too many children had died. Though Claire had no doubt Alex had done everything by the book, he still blamed himself.
When he was discharged, he’d taken a job with an elite security company. It seemed to Claire he’d always put himself in harm’s way. It was more than being an adrenaline junkie. It was as though he’d thought he could make up for the past if he pushed himself hard enough.
The problem was, no matter what he did, no matter how many lives he saved, it was never enough. He could never get over the lives that had been lost.
He’d fallen into a pit of self-loathing and despair. No matter how Claire had tried, she hadn’t been able to help him. She hadn’t been able to save Alex from himself, nor had she been able to save their relationship. Claiming she was better off without him, he’d walked away from her, from the plans they’d made, and he’d never looked back. Years ago she’d come to terms with the realization that she might never see him again. That’s why his unexpected appearance was so hard to grasp.
Now
