Kellie straightened in the seat and crossed her arms.It most assuredly had not!
Her body language apparently caught MacGyver by surprise. When he glanced over his shoulder to grin at her, his amusement faded, and he eyed her cautiously. “You did great back there, Kellie. We’re home free.” He sounded less certain than previously, probably due to the skeptical laugh she couldn’t hold back.
It didn’t matter. She’d had enough of being frightened, threatened and jerked around. Nor did it make any difference that she was being bitchy and irrational. Currently, the two alpha males in the front seat were the only ones close enough to vent her frustrations on. That they’d just saved her life skimmed briefly through her consciousness, forced to a backseat by additional problems their act of bravery had created.
She had a new worry now. MacGyver had come to her rescue when Tony would have forced her to leave with him. He’d been livid—not only with her, but also with the man who claimed to be her husband. Why had MacGyver done that? If Tony believed it to be true, he wouldn’t hesitate to make her a widow.
And it’ll be my fault.But the concern that suddenly became a living, breathing entity wasn’t only because of her guilt.Crap!Somewhere along the way, she’d started to care about MacGyver’s safety when she should only be concerned about Pop. Regardless, Kellie had to get away from him before he ended up dead. Throwing her hands in the air, she glared at him as though he’d ingratiated himself to her on purpose. “I can’t do this! Stop the car!”
Travis didn’t slow down.
“Did you hear me? Stop the car!” This time the words filtered out between clenched teeth.
“We’ll stop in a few minutes—as soon as we’re sure we’re alone.” MacGyver placed his hand on her knee again, and she brushed it away.
Disappointment flitted across his features. Then his lips firmed, and he held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”
“No way. Why?” She wasn’t giving up her only connection to the world outside this car without a damn good reason.
“Because Palazzi knew exactly where you were. He was able to track you somehow, and your cell phone is the likely culprit. Hand it over—unless you’dlikehim to find you again—maybe after you meet up with your stepdad.”
His words stirred the dread in her stomach. He was right. How else would Tony have known where she was? She reached for the device, leaning forward to pull it from her back pocket. It was her only link to Pop. Surely MacGyver, who’d rescued her from danger twice now, wouldn’t take it from her if it wasn’t necessary.
“Kellie.” MacGyver still waited, hand out, for her to place her phone in his palm. After a few more seconds, his frown gave way to an exasperated sigh. “It’s only temporary. I’ll get you a new one as soon as it’s feasible. In the meantime, you can use my phone anytime you want.” A flicker of warmth greeted her when she met his gaze.
More muscled than anyone she’d ever known, he could take the device easily enough, yet he waited patiently for her to turn it over. With more than one reservation, Kellie laid it on his outstretched hand. You have to pick your battles, Pop always said. The fight for a compromised cell phone wasn’t the battle she needed to win. If she cooperated, maybe MacGyver would listen and get far away from her before Tony found them again.And he will. It’s only a matter of time.If MacGyver hadn’t protected her from Tony at the hotel, she might be dead by now. Somehow, she’d find a way to return the favor.
He rolled his window down and tossed the device out. Kellie watched from the rear window as a car in the lane next to them ran it over.
How had everything gone so incredibly wrong? Ten days ago, she’d been positive she was on the right track to finding Anna. She’d had a comfortable home with Pop. They’d been safe and happy, and she’d finally managed to outdistance the shadow of her military history. When she’d learned that Tony was likely the last person to have seen her sister before she disappeared, Kellie had to act, and her decision had destroyed everything.
Tony had been responsible for her sister’s disappearance—she could feel it in her bones. Yet the biggest share of the blame was hers. Her plan had been reckless—the results of her meddling disastrous.
Tony hadn’t planned on keeping her trapped in a loveless marriage for long. The monster had intended to use her, kill her and collect his five million dollars. There had to be a special place in hell for despicable snakes like him.
Travis, pulling off the highway into a rest area, jerked her from her reflections. Several other cars and trucks crowded the parking lot. They rolled past the vehicles and finally parked near the pet area. As soon as the car came to a stop, Travis opened his door and stepped out.
MacGyver didn’t turn around. “Stay here. We’ll be right back.” Then he was gone too, leaving her alone…in the car…with the keys in the ignition.
Chapter Six
“As entertaining as that was, Bro, Plan A just got trashed.” Travis stood with his back to the car, and the deep brown skin around his eyes crinkled as he grinned. His eyes shone with excitement, proof adrenaline still coursed through his veins.
Travis lived for this kind of shit, which was one of the reasons MacGyver was grateful the man had his back. Nothing ever shook him.
“You’re right, but it was worth it to see the pissed-off look on Palazzi’s mug when he walked away without Kellie.” MacGyver pulled his ball cap lower over his eyes and scanned the flat landscape, seeing again the hatred etched on Tony’s face. “Only problem is now he knows who we are, and he knows your ride.”
“We’ll have to ditch the Mustang.” Travis sighed as though that was the worst problem they had. It was the ultimate love affair whenever he slipped behind the wheel of a muscle car. If it was red—even better.
“A buddy of mine has a small aircraft charter service at Perkins Field, just a few miles north. I was hoping I’d get to see him this trip anyway. If he’s around, he’ll take us wherever we want to go.” MacGyver palmed his cell phone, chose Blake’s name from his contact list and sent a brief text message. When he finished, he glanced toward the Mustang’s tinted windows, but they were too dark to see inside from any distance.
“Now, if we only knew where we wanted to go,” Travis said.
“Don’t worry. She trusts me. I’ve got this.”
Travis rolled his eyes and gave him an I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it smirk.
Suddenly, the Mustang’s engine whirred, caught and settled into a grumbling idle in direct contradiction to MacGyver’s confident boast. Both men whirled around in time to see the car roll out of the parking spot.