He sat up, holding her in his arms. His face had scrapes and cuts, but he was alive. Oh, dear God, he could have died.
She tried to talk. Nothing came out.
“Shhh. Just work on breathing.”
When she could finally fill her lungs, she drew a shaky breath, then nodded to let him know she was okay for the moment. He helped her stand. They turned around.
Their rental car was gone.
Vanished. Poof. No car.
“Where is it?” she croaked.
Carlos led her to the side of the road where their lovely Mercedes had rolled all the way down the ravine. The explosion must have blown it off the road.
“If I’d have stayed in the car, I’d be dead now,” she whispered. Gabrielle’s knees folded.
“Whoa. Don’t pass out on me.” Carlos lifted her into his arms and walked to the cut in the hills where he found a shady spot and sat down. “I have to assume they aren’t going to shoot us or they wouldn’t have gone through that much trouble to make it look like an accident. The other car had to be full of aircraft fuel for that kind of explosion.”
Helicopter blades whomped overhead.
“Oh, God. Are they coming back?” Gabrielle cringed.
“No, that should be my people.”
“How would they know?”
“I keyed an emergency call to Jake before I gave you the phone. Jeremy had a tracking device on this car for insurance to find us if anything happened.”
“And the helicopter?”
“I told you Jake is the man to have when it comes to flying anything. He’s also the one person who can confiscate something that flies at any time. Before we left, he located a small airport close to here and said he’d be prepared.”
By the time they reached the airport in Milano and climbed out of the helicopter, Gabrielle was sorely missing her rental house on the lake back in Georgia.
“Want to fly somewhere else tonight?” Jake asked Carlos, then handed Jeremy their suitcases he’d kept stowed until now.
“No. Rae and Korbin have already reconned the city. I’d rather stay here where I have four of you close to help protect Gabrielle while we update the office and figure out where we’re going from here.”
“Okay, I volunteer for the first shift of protecting Gabrielle tonight.” Jeremy walked back up giving that offer in his Boy Scout voice, but Gabrielle doubted he’d been one.
Carlos stepped close and said something to Jeremy too low for her to hear, but she’d seen his fury once already today when he’d turned around and yelled at her to run.
And he’d only played at intimidating Pierre and the others at the school.
This was not the playful side of Carlos. Veins stuck out the side of his neck. His hands were clenched into fists.
Jeremy took a step back. Probably a healthy decision.
Carlos finished whatever he was saying and just stood there, glaring at Jeremy, who lifted his hands in a confused motion. “You don’t want a volunteer, fine. I’ll sleep in.” He backed up another couple steps.
Jake took in everything between Carlos and Jeremy without a word, but his eyebrows were staked high with interest.
Carlos drew in a breath and scratched his chin, then told Jeremy in a calmer voice, “Thanks for the offer just the same.”
Jake chuckled.
Carlos cut a look at him that could maim, then turned a warm gaze to Gabrielle. “Ready to get cleaned up?”
“Oui.” She walked with him to another car, this one an identical copy of the silver sedan they’d lost. When they got inside, she asked, “What was that all about?”
“Just clarifying Jeremy’s role in this mission.” Carlos lifted his hand to her forehead, his fingers gently brushing a tender spot. “How are you doing?”
“Ouch. Fine, until you showed me I’d hit my head.” She felt the lump with her fingers. Must have been adrenaline keeping the ache at bay. Now her head throbbed all at once.
“Korbin and Rae have us already checked into the hotel and they’ll be in a room close by.”
“I’m okay, really. I don’t break easily.” Not physically, but she made no guarantee about her heart.
Once she was in the car, he leaned over and clipped her seat belt, then kissed her on the cheek and straightened. “Fifteen minutes and we’ll be there.”
“Do you think it was Durand?” she asked, voicing the worry that had nagged her.
“Not his style.”
She thought on that for a moment until it hit her whom the person behind the attack had to be. Roberto. But how did he know she was here? And…would he try again?
When they reached the hotel, Carlos had her upstairs and in the bathroom showering before she could count to ten. Her relief at being here with him was short-lived when he refused to shower with her.
What had changed since this morning?
CARLOS CLOSED THE door to the bathroom, which was modest compared to what they’d left in France, and walked into the contemporarily furnished living room with a cream-colored, overstuffed, six-foot sofa and matching chair. He flipped the wall switch, turning on a pair of circular lamps hung from the ten-foot ceiling on chains above glass and metal end tables.
A double tap sounded at the door to the suite. He opened it to Rae and Korbin, both in jeans and looking a little worn down. Camping out hadn’t been a treat for either of them.
“Where’s Gabrielle?” Rae walked in, looking around. Her hair was still damp from a shower. She carried a laptop case.
“In the shower. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” Carlos accepted the 9 mm Korbin handed him on his way into the suite and shoved the weapon between the small of his back and his jeans, covered by a long-sleeved denim shirt he’d left untucked.
“So where are you going?” Rae asked Carlos, but the sinister glare brooding on her face shifted to Korbin. “What have you two discussed?”
Carlos didn’t answer her right away. He looked at Korbin, who just shrugged and told Carlos, “You’ve got until daylight before I have to check in with Joe.”
“Thanks. I owe you.” Carlos would pay that marker in the future to Korbin without question for giving him a window of time to go off the grid tonight. And for keeping Gabrielle safe while he was gone. He turned to Rae. “I’m preventing any future accidents from happening and eliminating one person from trying to kill Gabrielle.”
“It’s like that, huh?” Rae’s eyes lit with understanding and a gleam of warmth he wouldn’t have expected from the hard-nosed operative.
Carlos could deny what she insinuated-that this was now personal for him-but he’d be wasting his breath since Rae had already put together the puzzle pieces. That was her specialty. She would have scanned Gotthard’s report, which likely included Roberto’s history and residences since he’d been married to Gabrielle. Rae would then have added that information to Gabrielle’s barely escaping two previous mysterious accidents that had sent her into hiding, then Rae would have tied it all together with the insurance policies Gotthard had no doubt located.
Yes, Rae knew where Carlos was headed, but oddly she wasn’t in his face about how dealing with Roberto had nothing to do with the BAD mission.
“Just tell Gabrielle I’ll be back tonight.” Carlos wished he could do this without involving others, but BAD agents backed each other in any situation. Another reason they were like no other teams on the globe. “I know it’s not fair to ask this, but I’d appreciate it if we kept this between the three of us.”
Rae smiled. “You got it, luv. I admire a man who fights for what is his.” She sent a pointed look at Korbin.
Korbin’s face was a mix of humor and confusion. Carlos did a double take at her since he’d never heard Rae
