Operation: Midnight Tango

“They would have killed you the same way they’ve killed countless others in the last six months.”

Looking suddenly tired, he raised his hand and touched the cut on his temple. His lips pulled into a frown when his fingertips came away red. He wiped it on his slacks and looked around. “Look, we need to put some distance between us and that prison. Then we need to find shelter. I have a feeling the weather is going to get worse before it gets any better.”

“I deserve an explanation.”

“You deserve to stay alive.” He turned to her, his expression tense. “They’re probably putting together a search team as we speak.”

“No professional in his right mind would send out search teams in this storm.”

“No, but a madman would. The people at Lockdown, Inc. have too much at stake to let us get away.”

“You keep using the term us,” Emily choked out. “Unless you have a mouse in your pock—”

“Like it or not, you are now on Lockdown, Inc.’s most-wanted list. Your only chance of coming out of this alive is to stick with me. If the storm doesn’t get too much worse, we might be able to outdistance them. Then maybe I can get us some help.”

“Help from whom?”

He looked away, his jaw flexing, as if her question had more ramifications than she’d intended. “We’ve got to go,” he said. “In another hour there may not be any visibility at all.” He shot her a look that made the hair at her nape prickle. “That’s the best-case scenario, Emily. If the weather improves, this area is going to be crawling with heavily armed cops with itchy trigger fingers. If they get their hands on us, we’re going to wish we hadn’t survived the plunge off that cliff.”