Under Duress

She twisted to dare another look at the thugs—plural now. The first, looking at the second, nodded in their direction. The first replaced the nozzle in the pump as if trying to act normal, then began a slow advance toward Reid.

The second man slammed his passenger-side door shut a moment later, the thud reverberating through the Jeep like the thunder that threatened in the clouds, and headed their way.

Reid jerked the Jeep’s backseat door open and jumped in. “Go!”

Samantha jumped at the rough sound of his command and sat upright. Her pulse quickened in her veins. “What about the nozzle?”

“Trust me. Go!”

She bit her lip, threw the Jeep into Drive and mashed the accelerator. The vehicle lunged forward. The nozzle broke free from the gas tank and clanked against the pump. At the sound, she hit the brakes.

The squeal of the tires on the pavement made her want to clutch at her ears.

“Go!” Another command from Reid, more terse this time. A glance in the rearview mirror revealed his position of surveillance. Lily crouched down in her corner of the backseat. “They know we’re here. They’re back in their SUV and following us.” Reid swiveled around and pointed out to the busy road. “Get out there. In the middle of traffic.”

Samantha pulled away from the pump and nosed onto the highway, the black SUV filling the rearview mirror. Reid wanted her to get into the middle of traffic? Fine. But she prayed that the Lord would steer for her because she didn’t trust her shaking hands to maintain a grip.

She urged the Jeep across two lanes of oncoming traffic, narrowly missing a minivan. She jerked the wheel to turn into the fast lane, and the Jeep teetered as if two wheels had left the ground.

A UPS truck shot up next to her in the right lane. Where had that come from? The steering wheel fought against her as she struggled to right the Jeep, but her slick palms slipped off the wheel.

The brown side panel of the truck filled the windshield and passenger-side window. She slammed the brakes. The Jeep screeched in a collision course with the truck.

“Lily!” It was her last utterance before she closed her eyes and braced for impact.

FOUR (#ulink_ae0bb0fa-2bc4-5688-bc42-43e3991be60b)

That woman was going to get them all killed.

From the backseat, Reid pushed his chest against the side of the driver’s seat, shoved his cheek against the side of the headrest and stretched his arms around Samantha to grab the wheel. Yet another instance where his six-foot-four-inch height gave him an edge, not to mention the quick reflexes from the police training he had tried to leave behind. The UPS truck swerved away from the Jeep as Reid jerked the steering wheel hard to the left, almost willing the Jeep’s four tires back onto the ground out of sheer desperation.

No way was he going to die here and now. Not Samantha and Lily, either, if he had anything to do with it.

He righted the Jeep into the proper position in the left lane, his attention pulled to the rearview mirror with a screech of tires behind them. The black SUV had catapulted into traffic, as well. It was now only one car behind them.

Reid forced his focus to the road before them and calmed his breathing to short puffs. Samantha’s hair fluffed in and out with his huffs, the scent of cleanliness and sunshine that emanated from it distracting him in a way he wasn’t familiar with. Apparently, he’d lost some of his edge.

“Thanks.” Samantha’s voice wobbled. “I thought that was going to be the end of us.”

Reid swerved into the right lane. He would signal if he could reach it, but Samantha didn’t seem to be in any condition to follow orders. “He’s still behind us. We’re not done yet.” At the very least, she needed to be able to concentrate enough to manage the speed of the vehicle.

“We’re alive.” She relaxed her head against his straining biceps, probably seeking rest and comfort. But immediately she jerked upright as if realizing the intimacy, and the inappropriate timing, of the gesture. Her foot must have pressed the accelerator because the Jeep rushed forward.

“Slow! Don’t rear-end that car.”

Samantha let up and the Jeep eased up on the compact car it had almost trampled. “Sorry.”

“We’re alive, but not safe yet. Pray.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a split second and then refocused on the road. No way could he let himself get distracted now, not with a maniacal thug following them on a busy street and his life still resting in Samantha’s ability to accelerate and brake at the right times. It was Friday night in a small town and apparently everyone had decided to eat out and hit the movie theater tonight.

Hide. That was a temporary solution. Where could they pull off and sit to avoid detection and to figure out what to do next? A row of semis stretched ahead of him. He pointed without lifting his hand from the wheel. “Slower. Get in between the trucks.”

Samantha gently touched the brake, and he cut back to the left lane, now two vehicles in front of the SUV. One of them was a jacked-up monster truck. The thing was so tall it completely hid the black SUV from view. It was perfect.

“I think I can take over the steering again now.” Samantha gripped the wheel below his fists as if the force of her hands would convince Reid.

Lily scooted forward in her seat. “But he has his arms around you, Sam. His really long and muscular arms. Ooo—”

“Lily, that’s enough.” She turned her head to glare at the girl, her freckles dark and prominent in the stormy early-evening gloom, her face inches from Reid’s. A pink blush touched her cheeks, and she faced forward again. “I’ll be fine, Reid.”

“All right. Let’s pass these two semis—”

Lightning flashed to the ground nearby as a shock wave of thunder ripped through the low-hanging clouds. Samantha startled and landed their front tire in the lane of oncoming traffic. Reid jumped for the steering wheel again and swerved them back to safety. “You’re fine?” Try as he might, he couldn’t keep the critical tone from his voice.

“It surprised me. I was going to get us back in our lane.” She puffed her hair away from her face. “I’m not just a helpless female.”

“Slow down some more. We’re going to turn right soon.” That was the second time she had just about gotten them all killed, but even his limited knowledge of women dictated that he shouldn’t voice that thought.

Two semis up, he jagged back to the right lane, squeezing in between two of the long trucks. “Take it easy. Get ready for a turn.” Samantha pushed the brake, and a split second later, he steered right toward a fast-food restaurant.

He nodded toward a parking spot. “We’re headed in there. Hit the brake again.” He eased into the opening behind a large cargo van with All Righty Plumbing painted on the side. Samantha hit the brake just as the front tires bumped against the curb.

Sure now of Samantha’s hands on the wheel and her foot on the brake, he released his grip and spun to the back window. The black SUV was still trailing the last semi, caught behind a minivan driven by an elderly woman who couldn’t see over the steering wheel, tooling along below the speed limit. Without even a glance into the parking lot, the thug drove past them.

Reid turned back to the front and collapsed against the backseat, flexing his fingers to loosen the soreness out after his death grip on the steering wheel.

Lily popped up over the back of the seat and eyed the restaurant. “Are we safe? Does this mean we’re going to eat now?”

Samantha shifted into Park and leaned her head against the rest. “Let us catch our breath first, girl.”

“And give the bad guy a few minutes to get farther away.” He had the strange but undeniable urge to ruffle her hair, but would a ten-year-old girl see that as affectionate? As relief that they were all safe? Or was she at the age where her hairstyle was of the utmost importance and all touching would be an affront? Considering that she had the pungent aroma of someone who had been running and playing and fishing all day, he doubted it was the latter.

But what was he thinking anyway? She wasn’t his. He had just met her maybe an hour ago, and under rather unusual circumstances. And even though he knew her guardian a little, Samantha probably didn’t have a favorable memory of him.

Samantha ran her hand through her hair and fluffed out the ends. Reid noticed again the clean scent of shampoo that emanated from her. It was the best scent he’d had in his Jeep...well, ever. He breathed deeply, desperate to inhale peace and calm. Samantha was a smart attorney, well practiced at asking tough questions.

He was a smart attorney, too. He knew what was coming.

It was unavoidable.

Samantha turned in the driver’s seat, pulling her knee up toward the console. She pierced Reid with a classic interrogation look. “So you want to tell me what was going on back there at the police station?”

He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even as his stomach roiled. “I tried to tell you that they wouldn’t be helpful. But I apologize for any difficulty my presence caused. I figured it might...uh...stifle their desire to serve and protect.”

Samantha cocked her head, her brow furrowed. “Why?”

“I was a police officer.” He paused. Held his breath. “I was asked to leave the force.”

* * *