Rocky Mountain Pursuit

Killing him? She believed Eddie’s death was not in the line of duty. If that were true, then had he and Kyle been wrong about it being the result of the failed weapons raid in Tora Bora?

Which meant...he had been wrong, too. Dead wrong. He thought Eddie was safe at Langley, but that clearly hadn’t been the case. Now, the reality that he was responsible for his friend’s death was almost too much to bear.

A dam broke inside of him. Emotions he thought he’d killed off long ago resurfaced and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Yes, I’m Jase Bradford.” His tone flatlined. He couldn’t believe he had actually admitted the truth to another living soul. “At least, I used to be. I’ve tried to bury the man I was for so long, but he’s still in here somewhere.” He held his fist to his chest.

Relief fought with shock as she watched him without so much as a word.

“And you’re right... I do owe Eddie. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I’d never gotten him involved in the CIA.” He smiled bitterly at her reaction. “Your husband was a good man. If he hadn’t met me, he’d probably still be alive today, and for that I am truly sorry.”

Jase regretted again his part in her pain.

“Reyna, I can see you’re scared. I’m guessing you are being threatened because of something that happened with Eddie. It doesn’t matter.” Holding her gaze, Jase tried to swallow back the lump in his throat, but it wouldn’t go away. “Whatever reason brought you here, of course I’ll help you. Eddie was my friend and I’d do anything for him.”

“Thank you.” She moved close, smiling up at him as if the weight of the world had been lifted, and then clutched his hand in gratitude.

“Why are you being followed, Reyna?” he asked.

She hitched in a breath and kept her answer brief. “Because I have something they want.”

Before he could ask what she meant, a noise outside grabbed his full attention. A vehicle was coming up the mountain. He quickly extinguished the lights.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Someone’s coming. Stay here.” Jase grabbed his Glock from the mantel and the thermal-vision binoculars he kept near the door and stepped out into the crisp night. The storm continued to dump snow and ice everywhere, but at least the wind had died down. He listened to the muffled quietness and then he heard it again. Off in the distance, probably five miles still down the mountain, more than one vehicle coming this way.

He scanned the mountainside with the binoculars and spotted movement on the ridge across the valley. His heart leaped in his throat. Had they stationed lookouts or—worse—snipers in case he and Reyna tried to escape before the extraction team arrived? If they had followed her all this way, she must have something extremely valuable to them. Why hadn’t they taken her before now, under less dangerous conditions? Unless they were hoping she would lead them to him first.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of multiple flashes. Jase turned back to the door. The noise of rapid gunfire from an automatic weapon exploded around him. From inside Reyna screamed as a bullet whistled past his left ear. Before he could hit the ground, another grazed across his shoulder, the impact knocking him flat on his back. Blood oozed from the wound and coated his sleeve. A second round of shots took out the engine on the Jeep, along with the tires, rendering it useless.

His pulse kicked into overdrive as he struggled to make sense of it. Had he been wrong about Reyna? She’d seemed innocent enough, but what did he really know about her beyond the fact that she claimed to be Eddie’s wife? Maybe she’d been sent here to find him by the same people who had taken out his entire team. Maybe Reyna Peterson was really just a cold-blooded killer.

THREE (#ulink_ebd7ae33-7f57-5bbd-b343-a53d0cf46aba)

Jase crawled on his hands and knees inside the house and slammed the door shut behind him.

“What happened out there?” She spotted the blood. “Jase, you’re hurt. Did they shoot you?” Reyna’s voice shook so much that he barely understood the words.

He leaped to his feet. “Not directly. The bullet grazed my shoulder. My guess is that was deliberate. If they’d been trying to seriously injure me they would have. It’s just a flesh wound.”

He needed answers. “You said you have something they want. Tell me who they are, Reyna. Who’s following you?”

Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “I don’t know...”

His patience slipped closer to the breaking point. “Don’t give me that. You know something. Why else did you come all this way to find a dead man?”

“I don’t know who they are, okay?” she retorted. “But I think they’re the same men who came to my house and threatened me.”

He looked at her in shock. “They threatened you? Why?”

“I don’t know. They came to my house and accused Eddie of being a traitor. They said he’d...taken something and if I didn’t give it back I could end up in a federal prison or worse.” She exhaled shakily. “Jase, I think these men are responsible for killing Eddie. And now they’re coming after us. We need to get out of here.”

It took him a second to process what she’d said. “You think Eddie was murdered. That doesn’t make any sense. Unless you have proof that someone wanted him dead?”

She looked away. “Not exactly.”

“What does ‘not exactly’ mean?” The noise of approaching vehicles grew louder. As much as he needed to know more about the danger she’d brought to his door, it would have to wait.

He blew out a blustery sigh. “We need to leave now. There are multiple vehicles heading our way.”

“Let me take a look at your shoulder first.”

“There’s no time,” he said in a hard tone. He added quietly, “It can wait. I’ll be fine.” He grabbed a couple of thick wool jackets from the hall closet and stuffed a small towel inside his shirt to absorb the blood.

Jase handed her one of the jackets. “Here, put this on. It’ll help in keeping them from tracking you through thermal imagery. Wool helps to conceal body heat.”

She slipped into the oversize jacket. “They must have followed me somehow.” She unknowingly confirmed what he suspected. “But I was so careful.”

“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?” She’d seemed so innocent with her story of Eddie, but what if she was just a tool to get to him all along?

“No...and I did everything I could to make sure I wasn’t being tailed.”

“They found you some way.” His eyes flicked to her face.

“No one knows I’m here, Jase,” she assured him. “I did call my friend Sara once I arrived in Defiance to let her know I was okay... That’s her car down the mountain, which I borrowed because I was worried they’d find a way to track mine. I trust Sara completely. She’s my best friend. I never would have made it through Eddie’s death without her. But I never told anyone—her included—where I was going.” He was impressed. She’d put some thought into her getaway.

It might be the worst mistake of his life, but Jase believed her. “Give me your phone.”

She made no move to do so. “Why?”

“They had to track you somehow, Reyna. I’m guessing it may have been through your phone call.”

“That’s not possible. No one has the number...”

“Except for your friend,” he pointed out. “Maybe they traced the call you made to her. Either way, we need to get rid of it.”

She dug into her tote bag and handed him the phone. Jase didn’t hesitate. He tossed it into the fire, grabbed her arm and headed for the back of the house. “We have to get out of here now. They’ll be here soon.”

“Where are you going? Why aren’t we taking the Jeep?”

“It’s destroyed. They took it out to keep us from getting away.” He tossed his answer over his shoulder without looking at her. “Thankfully, they have no way of knowing I have another vehicle stashed down the mountain.”

She followed him to the back door and waited while he donned the second jacket. “Here, hold on to me. We can’t risk using the flashlight. Do your best to stay as quiet as you can. Noise carries for miles up here.”

She clasped the hand he held out to her. The tremors in hers betrayed her fear and Jase’s heart went out to her. He would do whatever it took to protect Eddie’s widow or he’d die trying.

He stepped off the back deck and she followed. “We’ll have to take it slow. There’s some pretty rough terrain back here,” his whispered against her ear. “Just stay close and don’t let go of my hand. It’s going to be okay.”