'Florida,' she answered. 'He came up for parole a couple of years ago, and Carrie and I went to the hearing. We each spoke
to the board, and they listened to what we had to say. We're the reason he didn't get out.'
'So he has a real good reason for wanting both of you dead.'
'Yes.'
'What'd he do?'
She hated bringing those memories back to the surface. It made the wounds fester again.
'I'll explain later,' she said, buying herself time.
'What'd he do?' he calmly repeated.
She turned away from him to stare out the window. 'He murdered my grandmother,' she answered. She anxiously looked at the watch. 'We have twenty-three minutes left to get to God only knows where. What should we be looking for?'
He knew she was trying to make him focus on the problem at hand so that he wouldn't ask her any more questions. Eventually
she would tell him what he wanted and needed to know if they were going to get through this alive, but he didn't press her now
for the grim details. Like she said, they had only twenty-three minutes to go.
'We look for anything that doesn't belong.'
They were still climbing higher and higher as they wound around the mountain. Avery had lost her sense of direction, but thankfully, John Paul hadn't.
Sunlight was streaming in through the branches again, and the area wasn't quite as thick with evergreens. She thought they
were getting closer to an open area or a summit. Would they be sitting ducks?
'We're going to get nosebleeds if we keep climbing. Are you cold?' she asked.
'No.'
He knew she was. He'd noticed her rubbing her arms a minute ago. He reached over and flipped on the heater. Avery immediately adjusted the vents so the hot air would blow on her arms.
'What do you think she meant?'
'What?'
'When the woman said 'boom.' I keep picturing those women tied to chairs with explosives.'
'Maybe,' he said. 'Or maybe they're inside something that's wired.'
'There are caves and old shafts around here, aren't there?'
'Yes,' he said. 'There are hundreds of them.'
She checked the time again. 'Twenty-one minutes.'
'I'm aware of the time,' he snapped.
'Can't you go any faster?'
'You want to drive?'
'No,' she said. She realized her frustration and fear were misdirected. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to criticize. I know you're doing
the best you can.'
It occurred to her then that she didn't know much about the man she had so eagerly jumped into the car with. No, that wasn't
true. She knew enough to trust his ability. He had proven himself capable when he
was in the military. Hopefully, the skills he'd learned would come in handy, if he still remembered them.
She decided to find out. 'Were you any good at what you used to do before you took a leave of absence?'
The question jarred him. 'What are you talking about?'
'You were in the military.'
He gave her a sharp look. 'How do you know that?'
'I had a friend look you up in the computer where she works.'
She waited for a reaction. She was ready with a good reason for invading his private life if he asked. He didn't, though. In fact
he didn't say anything for a while.
'When did you do that?'
'Look you up? When I was in the manager's office at the spa. You had left to go find Cannon.'
'You did a background check on me.' He seemed to be having trouble believing her.
'Yes, I did.'
The glare he cast her should have scalded her face. 'Where does this friend of yours work?'
'Quantico.'
Uh-oh. He didn't take the news well at all.
'Son of a…' he began.
'You were a Marine,' she blurted.
She watched him take a breath and knew he was trying to keep his temper under control. Oh, yes, he was angry; his neck had turned pink. It didn't matter to her, though. She had done what she had to do, and he was going to have to deal with it.
The muscle in his jaw flinched. Lord, he was good-looking. The thought came out of nowhere. Jeez, Avery, get a grip. For all
she knew, the man could be paying alimony to eight ex-wives. She quickly discounted the Henry VIII notion right away. There couldn't possibly be eight women in the United States willing to marry him. No way.
'You were a Marine,' she repeated.
'So?'
She had to grab hold again when he swerved to avoid a tree trunk. There were deep ruts in the dirt from other cars or trucks
that had ventured up this road, but it was so isolated, so… quiet she was a little unnerved. She felt completely out of her element. She was a big-city girl who fell asleep to the music of car horns and police sirens. The silence now seemed almost deafening.
Swarms of gnats scattered as they hit the windshield. Avery picked up the watch and checked the time again. Seventeen
minutes left.
John Paul kept glancing over at her. She thought he expected her to finish what she'd started.
'So that was good to know,' she said.
'Why?'
'Marines are trained in combat, and that could be helpful.' He didn't respond to her observation. 'I also found out you were recruited by covert-'
He didn't let her finish. 'Look, I know what I was. You don't have to go into it.'
Damn. She had been hoping he would finish for her and tell her what she didn't know. Had he been in special ops or covert operations? And what exactly had his expertise been?
She looked at the map while she gathered her gumption. She couldn't find out unless she asked, could she?
'So what exactly did you do?'
'Don't you know?'
'Your file was classified.'
'I would bet so.'
There it was, that snide tone of voice again. 'Did they teach you to be obnoxious, or were you born that way? You've got that alienation thing down pat.'
'Avery, leave it alone.'
'You don't scare me.'
His eyes narrowed as he looked over at her again. 'Yeah, I do.'
'Oh, brother.'
