HelenKay Dimon - Locked and Loaded

Since all the cabins had been built long ago as temporary residences for forest service employees, the layout of this one mirrored his own. In a few steps he stopped at her bedroom door. When he didn’t hear screaming or anything else, he turned the knob.

Without any sound, he stepped across the threshold, his eyes focusing on the rumpled bed. The empty bed.

Yelling and aiming a lamp for his skull, she launched her attack. She flew at him from the left side. She was all over him, scratching and kicking, screaming threats and promises of pain. She jumped on his back as her fists pounded against his shoulders.

The base of the lamp glanced off his upper back. The spot went numb, but he couldn’t take a second to check it. He doubled over to throw her off balance. As her feet left the floor, his hands caught hers. He tried to fend off the blows without hurting her. He would if he had to. Hell, he’d knock her out if it came to that. He just hoped it didn’t.

“Maddie, stop,” he hissed at her.

“Get out!” Her hands smacked against the side of his head. She fought as though death was at her heels. “Now!”

He spun her around and grabbed her from behind, locking her arms to her sides. The trapped position didn’t stop her thrashing. She shifted and wiggled and made it nearly impossible to hold her still.

Someone had taught her to fight dirty. If Adam weren’t so busy getting knocked around, he might have admired her effort. But he didn’t have time for that now.

He grumbled in her ear. “They’ll hear you.”

The fighting ended as her body went still, as if the life was sucked right out of her. “What?”

“They’re here.”

Tension radiated off every muscle. “Who?”

“The two men making their way through the woods to get to you.” He thought about easing up on his vise-like grip but decided against it. This lady was no slacker. She would throw him through the window if she got the chance. “I have to get you out of here.”

She looked over her shoulder, her sky-blue eyes wild. “You’re a computer geek.”

He ignored the slam since he’d heard it all the time. Hitting the gym every day didn’t stop the perception. “You’ve been compromised. Your WitSec handler was dirty. He sold you out.”

As fast as her anger rose, her face went blank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yeah, that was the party line. Denial. Adam got it, even understood the reason for the web of secrecy, but it worked against them right now. Pretending ignorance could get them killed.

“We don’t have time for this.” He lifted her off her feet and dragged her through the house toward the front door, which wasn’t easy since she’d turned to dead weight in his arms.

“You can’t—”

“Stop talking.” At her openmouthed stare, he softened his tone. “If they didn’t hear all that screaming, we might still have a chance to get away.” Something in his words kicked up a second round of attack. As they walked, she put her feet out, balancing them on either side of the doorway and bringing them to a shuddering stop.

“Maddie, you have to—”

“Let me go.” This time her voice stayed at the level of a harsh whisper.

He watched the green lights streak through the woods. “The men are here. We’re out of time.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Holding both her hands in one of his, he pointed into the darkness and didn’t let up until her gaze followed his direction. “See those lights? They’re coming for you.”

“You don’t know that.”

He ignored her denials. “Right now, in the middle of the woods. They found you and will not stop until they get you.”

She shook her head, sending her deep auburn hair over her shoulders. “It can’t be.”

“This isn’t a friendly visit. They are here to kill you.” Adam didn’t bother prettying up the details. He needed her to understand before they both ended up dead in shallow graves. “I’ll explain it all, but later.”

A tremor shook through her. “You did this.”

“No.” He regained his double-fisted hold before she wrenched an arm loose and started hitting him again. “I’m here to save you.”

She stopped fidgeting. “How?”

“We run.”

He knew she was in witness protection. No one should know. No one could know, not if she wanted to live.

Maddie inhaled, trying to slow her frantic heartbeat and come up with a plan. She focused on her training, on all the drills she’d run since she’d landed in the tiny town and slipped under the chilly blanket of anonymity.

Every brain cell screamed at her to take Adam down and run as fast as she could and not stop until she cleared the West Virginia line. She could handle the racing part. The question was how to win a battle against a man who outweighed her by a good seventy pounds.

At five-eight with long legs and a runner’s form, she rarely viewed her body as petite, but Adam loomed over her. Feeling small filled her with a twinge of vulnerability. She hated the sensation. It made her jumpy. Amazing how just when she thought she’d knocked all those useless emotions out of her brain, one came roaring back to crush her.

But she beat the insecurities back. Right now she needed all her control and concentration. “I know the way.”

He didn’t ease his grip on her arms. “Yeah, it’s called a back door.”

“Too obvious.”

“I’m listening.”

She ignored the tickle of his hot breath against her neck. “There’s a secret exit.”

“Show me.”

When he didn’t ask why she would have such a thing, or even flinch at the idea, she knew Adam Wallace—or whoever he really was—was not a simple computer programmer. His wrestling moves said mercenary. His knowledge of the most private part of her life made him downright dangerous.

So did being trapped in a small cabin with him. Attackers or not, she had to get outside. She’d get around them and then the next wave and anyone else who was tracking her down. That’s what her life had become—one long run to nowhere.

Open space was her only chance. That meant giving away the location of her escape hatch. Not that she’d need it now. With her cover blown, she’d be shuffled to a new state with a new identity. From there on she’d pull her life in tighter around her so as not to risk a night like tonight.

But she had to live through this mess first.

She tried to swivel around but couldn’t move. “You have to let go of me.”

“Not going to happen.”

“If we’re just going to stand here, you better figure out how close our visitors are. I’d hate to die because you’re busy making a plan and not moving from the middle of a room.”

“Fine.” He let go of her but kept his hands right by her shoulders, as if ready to grab her again if needed. “Talk.”

Matching his caution, she turned, barely letting her feet leave the floor. His hands found her forearms and only a foot of air separated them. At this distance she saw the sweet guy who tipped big after dessert had changed into someone lethal and commanding.

“It’s in the hallway,” she said.

“What is?”

“My escape route.”

“Let’s see it.” He walked her back toward the bedroom. His gaze bounced from her face to the windows beyond.

Even if she wanted to bolt, and she sure thought about it, she couldn’t. The timing was wrong and the man was too big. He also seemed prepared for action and that gave her an odd sense of comfort in the surreal moment.

She pointed at the narrow closet. “There’s an opening behind the ironing board. Though to look at you, I have no idea how you’ll squeeze in there.”