Long Road Home(17)

She stared at him, her eyes determined. “You’ll show up or I’ll come back and haul your ass out of here.”

He kicked the back door open and began laying down a barrage of bullets.

Jules dove onto the porch and rolled off into the snow. Hell. There was already an inch on the ground.

A bullet struck the soft powder beside her head, kicking up icy pellets. She shot in the direction she thought the bullet had come from and scrambled farther into the trees and toward the river.

Behind her, the gunfight continued, the short staccato of the machine gun followed by the longer barking of a high-powered rifle. Then the sound of Manny’s pistol. Shit. He’d run out of ammo in the Uzi.

She wasn’t about to leave him to the three remaining hit men. Jamming another magazine into her assault rifle, she scrambled back up the hill.

Manny was just inside the door, shooting into the woods to her left. She surveyed the terrain behind him, alarmed to see movement close to the porch. Too close. She raised her gun and squeezed off a round.

Manny jerked around then pinpointed her position with a menacing stare. “Damn it, Jules. Do you ever listen to anyone? Get the hell out of here.”

She ignored him, seeking out the remaining two. They were out there. She could feel them. The front was unguarded now that she and Manny had moved to the back. One could be inside even now.

“Get down!” she cried, thankful that Manny immediately dropped to the floor. Unable to get her rifle up in time, she reached for her Glock with her left hand, yanked it up and fired at the man behind Manny.

He fell forward, and Manny recovered his weapon.

“Okay, so I’m glad you didn’t go,” he grumbled.

He dove from the house, rolling in the snow toward her. To their left, the last assailant peppered the snow in front of Manny. Before she could shoot, Manny rose up on his elbows and shot one time. The fire halted immediately. Eerie silence filtered through the trees.

“Come on,” he said, picking himself up. He pulled her back inside, through the living room and toward the front door.

“Wait.” She pulled away from him and dropped to the floor. She hastily collected the items from her bag and shoved them back inside. She needed everything.

As she rose, Manny’s hand closed around her elbow like a vise grip. “We’re getting out of here.”

He ushered her outside and all but shoved her into the car. Before starting the engine, he punched a series of buttons on a small device secured to the dash.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Making sure it isn’t wired with explosives.”

“And you can tell that how?” she asked in disbelief.

“I’d love to stop and explain, but I’m more concerned about getting the hell out of here.”

She shrugged as he started the engine and threw it into reverse. They tore down the road as fast as the conditions allowed.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “FBI?”

“Not exactly,” he said, never taking his eyes off the road.

“What does not exactly mean?”

“It means I’m not FBI,” he ground out. “Look, can we save the question-and-answer period for later? Maybe when I’m not trying to save our asses?”

She slid down into her seat and stared out the window. Now that the adrenaline rush was gone, her body let her know just how much it didn’t appreciate her throwing herself around the cabin. She closed her eyes wearily and pondered the mystery of just who Manny was. Whoever he worked for, he had connections and he knew how to defend himself. Computer software analyst he was not.

If he was FBI or anything similar, she couldn’t afford for him to know who she was. Not that it would be safe for him to know under any circumstances. But for the first time, she allowed herself to dwell on what his profession meant for her.

She’d never imagined that he would be in law enforcement, though he certainly looked the part. Menacing. It was the only word to describe him when he was pissed off. He’d be a serious deterrent to anyone wanting to cross the line.

How could she possibly tell him, the enforcer, that she had broken every law he had sworn to uphold?

Chapter Nine

The miles spread out before them as they headed across the barren landscape of West Texas. The first faint shadows of dawn had begun to creep across the eastern horizon, painting the sky lavender.

Silence was thick between them, and Manny still gripped the steering wheel as tightly as he had when they had fled the cabin. He hadn’t once looked at her, his eyes fixed on the road ahead of him. He was angry. At her? She wasn’t sure, but he was no longer treating her with kid gloves. She greeted that fact with relief.

Hatred, anger she could take. She wasn’t used to softness. Gentleness. Caring. She had no idea how to respond to kindness. Maybe now she could stop being a watering pot every time he looked at her.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She had to get away from Manny before he died because of her. The men who had tried to kill them were from the NFR. Under Northstar’s direction, she was sure. No matter how much Manny thought he could protect her, he had no idea what he was up against.

In her duffle bag were passports, money, weapons. Everything she needed to get out of the country and draw attention away from Manny. Normally she would be patient, but she didn’t have time to wait until an opportunity presented itself. She would have to make her own.