Hidden Away (KGI #3)(65)

Sam scowled. “Fuck you, Van.”

“I’m hearing that a lot lately,” Donovan said with exaggerated hurt.

Ethan rubbed his jaw in a thoughtful manner. “It’s not unusual for Garrett to get all growly over a woman. He’s extremely protective of Rachel. He’d take off someone’s head if they posed any sort of threat to her.”

“He didn’t like Sophie at first,” Sam pointed out.

“This is different,” Donovan insisted. “I’m telling you. There is something going on with Garrett this time. He gets awfully tense over Sarah Daniels. They’re heading to Alaska as we speak. I sent Steele and part of his team ahead. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Sam frowned. “Think we should go then?”

“I think the both of you are fine right where you are for the time being,” Donovan said. “Your wives need you. I still have Rio and his team on tap, and I’m free if he needs more. Steele, Cole and P.J. are there and are providing protection. I have every confidence that they’ll more than be able to handle anything that comes up.”

CHAPTER 23

SARAH melted into the front seat of the black SUV and waited anxiously for Garrett to walk around to the driver’s side after he closed her door. Thanks to his caution, she was now fully convinced people were poised to jump out of the trees at every turn.

Garrett tossed her bag and his into the backseat and then slid into the front. He quietly shut his door then cranked the engine. As he put it in gear, he glanced over at her.

“You okay?”

She gave a nervous nod.

“We’ve got a drive ahead of us, so get comfortable, but don’t let your guard down. If I tell you to do something, do it. No questions.”

Again she nodded and he started forward, navigating around the heavy tree cover where he’d parked the SUV.

They rocked and bumped over the broken-paved road toward the small village several miles away. But he turned off about a mile out of town and took an even smaller, one-lane dirt road to the north.

As if sensing her question, he said, “I want to stay off the main roads as much as possible and out of towns if I can help it. If I found you, so can others.”

She grimaced. “I made it that easy to find me?”

“Sorry, sweetheart, but it wasn’t that difficult. There isn’t much my brother can’t find out about someone. He probably knows your bra size.”

She glared over at him. “I see. And did he share this information with you too?”

Garrett grinned. “No need. I plan to find out that one myself.”

Her eyes widened and then she laughed at the blatant flirting. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he always did something to unbalance her. He might appear to be the uptight, grumpy person he swore his brothers labeled him, but he was also fun and a huge flirt. He was also extremely sensitive though if she told him that, he’d probably shoot himself. Or her.

“I’ve been so careful. Or I’ve tried to be. I still don’t understand how anyone found me on Isle de Bijoux.”

He gave her a look that suggested it was a stupid question and didn’t require an answer.

“Clearly I’m not cut out for a life on the run.”

“Why Isle de Bijoux anyway? It was a good choice. An obscure location. You just didn’t cover your tracks well enough.”

“You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“Try me.”

“After I took a cab to the airport in Boston, I picked the first flight out that I could book, which happened to be a nonstop to Miami. On the flight there, I sat next to a couple who were continuing on to Isle de Bijoux. I thought it sounded like a good plan since it wasn’t an island I’d heard of. Since I’d made it easy to track me to Miami, when I arrived there, I hired a private Cessna and paid for it via a wire transfer from a bank account Marcus had set up for me years earlier.” She grimaced. “It was the first time I’ve ever used his money. The idea always made me uncomfortable before, but I was desperate and knew I didn’t have a choice.”

“It wasn’t a bad plan on the fly,” Garrett conceded. “Unpredictability is always an advantage. If you can keep the people looking for you off balance, you can stay ahead of them with better success.”

She swallowed and began her next question hesitantly. “Could you arrange a fake passport, birth certificate, driver’s license? All that stuff?”

He yanked his head around to look at her. “It’s a little late to be thinking of all that now.”

She growled in frustration. “Yes, I understand. Believe me I get it by now. I’m a f**kup. I suck at subterfuge. I can’t lie worth a damn and I don’t have a clue how to take care of myself. Well damn it, give me some credit for trying. It’s not like I want to be some helpless twit.”

His lips twitched suspiciously and he stared ahead at the road. “I was only going to say that it’s not necessary now. I’ll make sure you have everything you need, Sarah. I’m not about to give you the tools to ditch me again.”

“It’s not like it was personal,” she muttered. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. I didn’t want me to get hurt. At the time I thought you were some poor ex-military guy who’d been injured and needed a vacation. The last thing I wanted was for you to get caught up in my mess.”