Mistaken Target

Behind her, she heard a single footstep and then a thud before all the pressure on her neck released. She fell to the floor, gasping and coughing. Strong arms lifted her up and dragged her all the way into the bathroom. Diego locked the door just as her would-be assassin pounded on it.

Diego yanked her away from the door. “Through the window—hurry.”

After slipping into the loafers she’d left in the bathroom, she jumped up on the toilet. The whole bathroom seemed to shake from her attacker slamming his body against the locked door over and over. Diego boosted her through the window, then followed her out.

Inside the cabin, the sound of the body banging against the door stopped. Light flooded through the cabin. Having given up on breaking the door down, the would-be killer must be looking for his gun in the cabin’s main room.

Diego gripped her pajamas at the elbow, applying pressure. “Come on. We’ve gotta get away.”

She was shaking so badly, it was a struggle to even form her question. “What...is going on here?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

Even without being able to see his face in the darkness, the tone of his voice told her he was lying. Deceptive. Diego knew why that man was here. What had she been pulled into?

He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

Shots fired in the darkness. She may not trust Diego completely, but she couldn’t stay here. They sprinted toward the trees. The gunfire made her feel as if her spine were being rattled from the inside. Diego didn’t seem fazed by it. He led her deeper into the forest. Branches scraped her head and rocks caused her to stumble. He grabbed her before she fell. They ran for at least ten minutes.

Eventually, she stopped, out of breath. Diego quit running but he didn’t stop moving. He glanced over his shoulder, rotated around to look at her and then began to pace back and forth.

“Who was that man?” she said between breaths.

“Some random crazy guy,” he said.

She didn’t believe him. He knew more than he was saying. Her throat went tight and she choked back tears. “I’ve never been shot at before.”

He touched her arm. The warmth of his fingers sank through her thin pajama sleeve. “I’m so sorry you have to go through something like this.”

He sounded genuine, but she couldn’t see his face in the dark. And he’d lied to her already.

“We’d better keep moving,” he said. “He wasn’t that far behind us.”

She wasn’t so sure going with Diego was the best idea.

He turned to run and then glanced back at her.

Another gunshot tore through the air. Diego pulled her to the ground as a second shot boomed over them.

“He’s close,” he said. “Vamos deprisa.”

He bolted to his feet and tugged on her sleeve. This time, she followed. At least Diego wasn’t taking shots at her.

She held on to his hand, blindly hoping that he was taking her to safety. Trusting a deceiver was never a good idea but what choice did she have?

She didn’t know where he was leading her. She only hoped that she hadn’t escaped one dangerous situation only to land in another.

THREE (#ulink_df7145b5-1620-5366-b8ef-f6be98fe58f1)

Diego’s feet pounded the soft ground of the forest. Adrenaline charged through his body. He pushed his legs to move even faster. Samantha’s grip on his hand was like iron as she kept pace with him. Minutes had passed without any more gunfire. Maybe they’d shaken the assassin.

It was his fault that Samantha had almost been killed. He suspected the man had come for him. If only he hadn’t switched cabins.

Another thought hit him. The shooter had known which cabin he was supposed to be in. Only people in the Bureau would have access to that information. The leak might be within the Bureau.

He glanced over his shoulder. How close was the attacker? He couldn’t hear anything. He was used to running for his life on city streets. Sound didn’t carry in the forest like it did in an urban setting.

He brushed a branch out of the way before it hit Samantha, grateful for the time he’d spent walking the island. It made navigating in the dark that much easier—and it was an advantage their attacker didn’t have.

Samantha planted her feet. “Where are we going?” Her voice was filled with suspicion.

“He came in a boat,” he said. “I think if we can get to it, we can get away.”

“Shouldn’t we call for help? There must be a radio even if the cell phones don’t work. The caretaker would know.”

They were wasting precious time. “George is safer if we don’t involve him.” He’d already put one person in danger. He wasn’t about to do it to another. And anyway, he wasn’t sure they would survive while they waited for help to show up. Escape seemed like the best option.

She remained still, facing him in the dark. “Who are you?”

“I can’t say.” He understood why she was looking for answers. He hated the deception. She was an innocent in all this, but he had to protect his own identity. The less she knew, the safer she would be. “We really need to keep moving.”

She responded to the urgency in his voice and took off running again. He sprinted to get in front of her and lead the way. They ran hard for another five minutes. Feet pounding, air filling his lungs.

She stopped to catch her breath.

She tilted her head toward the stars. Her words came out in fearful halting spurts. “He said...that because I saw him. He was going...to have...to kill me.”

The images of the attack must have been raging through her head the whole time they were running. She wasn’t like him, used to dealing with the trauma and violence. Moved by compassion, he reached up and placed a palm on her cheek. “It’s gonna be okay. Let’s get to the boat.”

She jerked away from him. “It’s going to be okay?” Her voice turned to ice again.

He spoke in a whisper while part of his attention remained tuned in to his surroundings. “It’s not that far to the boat. We can get off the island.”

“What about the caretaker? What if that guy is back there hurting him?”

She was thinking of others when her life was under threat. That said something about her character. He thought for a moment. “I think he’ll be all right. He’s after you because you can identify him. The old man is safe as long as he stays in his cabin.”

He reached out a hand, but she didn’t take it. He couldn’t force her to come with him, and there was no time to waste convincing her further. He just had to hope that if he left, she’d follow. He turned and took off running. A few seconds later, her footsteps pounded behind him. He understood her hesitation in following him, why she was suspicious. But couldn’t she see that he was trying to save her life?

They ran in an arc to the edge of the forest. The terrain changed from the lush debris-laden forest floor to rocky beach as the lapping of the waves pressed on his eardrums.

He glanced over his shoulder. Still no sign of their pursuer. He’d been on their heels and then nothing. What had delayed him? Had they really been able to throw him off or did he have some other surprise attack up his sleeve? “So you saw the guy? You could tell the police what he looked like?” Knowing who had come to kill him—who had got that confidential and protected information from the FBI—would go a long way to finding out who had blown his cover.

“Yes... I suppose. It was only for a quick second.” Her voice sounded far away, as if she couldn’t accept the reality of what she’d experienced. “I’m not sure how well I could describe him, but if I saw him again, I’d recognize him.”

“We’ll get back to the mainland. I’ll fix this,” he said. He meant it. His lack of forethought had dragged her into this mess. That meant that it was his responsibility to keep her safe.

“Will you?” Disbelief colored her voice. She whirled around and trudged forward.