the gritty floor, she trembled. Everything she feared was coming to pass and she could do nothing to stop it.
“There’s his car.”
Drina listened, every muscle in her body tense. Another car engine came closer and stopped. A door opened, setting off a loud beep, clearly audible inside the shed. Given its persistence, the driver must have left the door open and the keys in the ignition.
“About time you got here. The helicopter is on its way.” Whitson spoke first. Drina barely heard his growled words over the insistent chirp of the alarm.
“It can’t land here with all these wind turbines.” The annoying alarm made it hard to hear, but she knew that voice from somewhere...
“Our rendezvous point is just over the hill in an open space.” Carter sounded calm.
“Yeah, and you almost missed it.” Whitson butted in. He seemed determined to take his frustration out on the newcomer.
“What did you expect? You left me with a mess. I had eyes and ears all around me.”
Eyes and ears. The words and the voice coalesced. Drina knew where she’d heard both, and her blood turned cold.
Cal Norwood, head of program security. The man she was supposed to trust had betrayed her.
Panic assaulted her senses. Her breath came in rapid gulps. Nausea rose again. But Norwood’s next words stopped the rising fear like a brick wall.
“What happened to the girl?”
“She’s in the shed.”
“Here? You brought her here? What were you thinking?”
Even Drina could hear the threat in his tone.
“Relax, Norwood. The boss ordered it. Did you bring the money?”
“Yeah, but I don’t like it. Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money just to be carrying around.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get it back. And then some. Hand it over.”
Their actions came to Drina like muddled rustlings. She had no idea what was going on. Until Norwood spoke again.
“That’s the girl’s backpack.”
“Yep. We’re going to put the money in her bag and leave it behind.”
A long pause followed. “You want to make it look like she sold us the plans.”
“Finally, the bright boy catches on.” Drina was beginning to hate Whitson’s nasty attitude.
“We need suspicion thrown off you.” Carter’s tone acted like a balm on the tension between Norwood and Whitson. “We’ll leave your car here, door open, keys in. Eventually the gas will run out and it’ll look like you stumbled onto our exchange, caught us in the act and the girl got hurt in the resulting conflict.”
“You mean killed.”
Norwood’s words made Drina’s blood drain.
“What’s the matter? Squeamish now that the real work’s starting?”
Whitson seemed determined to start a fight with Norwood. But the traitor kept his cool, not responding to the other man’s insulting baits.
“Shut up, Whitson.” Carter took the lead. Drina heard a thud of something tossed. “Plant the money and finish this. I’ll check with the guys in the helicopter to see how far out they are.”
Finish this. He means finish me.
Desperate, Drina rolled to her back again. Her gaze swept the shed for an escape or a weapon...something. Maybe if she could get to that shovel...
The door opened before she could move. Norwood filled the portal. He looked taller. Still handsome in his black leather jacket and jeans. Like a dark messenger bringing death.
He held her backpack in his hands. Crossing the room, he knelt and laid it beside her. He was close enough for her to see the gray tint of his blue eyes and the taut tension lines along the side of his mouth. Suddenly, he winked.
Drina’s eyes widened. What in the world...?
“Open the backpack and pull some of the money out on the floor.” Whitson had followed Norwood in. “Make it look like we had a fight.”
The man looked the way he sounded. Short. Shaved head. Solid...like a bodybuilder. And he had a gun clamped in one meaty fist.
“Here’s the deal, Norwood. We can’t make it look like she’s the guilty party unless we shed just a little of your blood, too. So I’m gonna have to break your nose. You can imagine how unhappy that makes me.” The man’s grin radiated pure evil.
Drina’s gaze darted back to Norwood’s. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Ready?”
Ready for what?
Barely moving, his hand shifted ever so slightly beneath his jacket. Drina followed the movement and saw a gun tucked into his waistband. His finger flicked a lock.
Drina looked up, startled. He was going to shoot Whitson while she lay trussed up, helpless and in the direct line of fire.
Drina started to protest, to shake her head. Norwood raised his eyebrows again and nodded a signaled countdown. Once... Twice...
No, I’m not ready!
Her screamed protest was muffled by the tape and didn’t stop Norwood’s countdown. When he reached three, he rolled to his side, pulled the gun loose and fired.
Whitson’s face slacked in shock before he doubled over. His fingers clinched on the trigger and bullets ripped across the shed. Norwood dived for Drina, covering her body with his.
The gunfire stopped. Leaping to his feet, Norwood kicked the gun away from Whitson’s body. Then he pulled a knife out of his pocket and knelt beside Drina.
“We only have seconds.” He cut the zip tie at her feet. “We need to get to my car.”
He cut the tie at her hands and pulled the tape loose from her mouth. Drina took a much-needed breath and tried to speak but the fire burning through her hands and feet cut her words short. All she could do was cry out.
“I know. The circulation hurts like crazy, but you’ve got to stand up.”
Norwood pulled her to her feet and held her upright as her legs and ankles screamed and refused to work. He hooked his arm around her waist and dragged her across the shed to peek out.
“It looks clear. Let’s go.”
Pulling her behind him, Norwood stepped outside. Drina followed. A bullet hit the doorway near her head, piercing the metal edge with a jagged hole. This time her scream
