“You’re guessing.”

“Do you want to risk proving me wrong? Hebert may prefer to do his dirty work personally, but he wouldn’t risk losing you because he wasn’t on site. He’d send someone else to do the job. If he got the fix, you don’t have much time.” Galen repeated, “Get the hell out of there.”

Silence. “Where?”

Thank God Quinn was listening. “Just get on the road. Call me when you’re clear.

I’ll be working to find you somewhere safe.”

“Wherever that is.” Quinn hung up.

Joe hesitated for a moment, thinking. Eve was exhausted. She’d been barely coherent. So he’d let her sleep as long as possible while he made preparations for departure.

He moved down the hall to Nathan’s room, threw open the door, and turned on the light. “Get up. I need your help.”

Nathan sat up in bed. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to get out of here. Go down and pack up all Eve’s equipment and the reconstruction. I’ll go and bring the car around to the front door.”

“Why?” Nathan swung out of bed and pulled on his pants. “What’s wrong? Why do we have to go?”

“Galen says we may have visitors any minute.”

“Hebert?”

“No, Hebert’s in Atlanta. So is Galen.” Joe turned away. “Get moving. I have to get Eve out of here.”

“Have the trunk open so I can put the equipment in.” Nathan was tying his shoes.

“You’d better pack Eve’s clothes when you get her up. She was pretty tired.”

“I’ll take care of Eve.” Joe was already moving down the hall. “Hurry.”

“Wake up, Eve.”

Joe was shaking her, Eve realized dimly. So tired…

“Wake up. We have to get out of here.”

She opened her eyes. “Sleepy…”

“Sorry. You can sleep in the car. We may have visitors.” At the lake cottage? They seldom had visitors. It was always an oasis of peace and quiet. Joe made sure of that.

But they weren’t at the lake cottage, she realized suddenly. New Orleans. Victor.

No, it wasn’t Victor. It was Bently. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve got your bag packed.” Joe pulled her to her feet. “Nathan’s already in the car.” He half carried her from the room and down the stairs. “He packed up all your equipment. All we have to do is get on the road.”

“Why?”

“Galen called. We have a problem.” He pulled her out the front door. “It’s not safe here any longer.”

“Why not?”

“Later.” He pushed her into the passenger’s seat of the Lexus that Galen had sent and ran around to the driver’s seat. “Did you get everything, Nathan?”

“The equipment’s in the trunk. I have the reconstruction back here with me.” Nathan fixed his gaze on the road. “Headlights. They’ll be at the gates in no time.”

“They’re locked, aren’t they?” Eve asked.

“They’ll have the equipment to get them open,” Nathan said. “It will only take a few minutes.”

“Then let’s use those few minutes.” Joe didn’t put on the headlights, but drove slowly, silently down the driveway. When he got to the small wood surrounding the house, he left the driveway and drove into the trees.

The car that stopped at the gates was a dark-colored Volvo. Two men got out of the backseat and went up to the gates. It took less than three minutes before the gates swung open. The men piled back into the car.

Eve held her breath as the car glided by them and up the driveway to the house.

The Volvo’s lights were out now, too, and the car appeared sleek and menacing in the darkness.

“Now,” Nathan whispered.

“Not yet. Let them get inside.” Three men entered the front door. Two others went around the back. “Close enough.” He let out the brake and pressed down on the accelerator.

The sound of the engine couldn’t have been as loud as it sounded to Eve, but it was loud enough. One man ran around the side of the house.

“Gun it,” Eve said.

Joe was already gunning it. He tore through the open gates and hit the road at sixty miles an hour.

Damn those trees surrounding the house, Eve thought. She couldn’t see anything.

What was she thinking? Those trees might well have saved them.

Now she could see. Headlights racing down the driveway toward the gates.

Then they were gone as Joe went around the corner of the road and stomped on the accelerator.

“There’s a gas station up ahead. It’s closed, but I can see the pumps,” Nathan said.

“You could pull behind it and let them go by.”

“It worked back at the house.” Joe pulled off the road and came to a stop behind the gas station. “Maybe they won’t expect it a second time. We’ll have to see…” He cut the lights.

Or maybe they would expect it, Eve thought. Joe’s hand was sliding beneath his jacket. She knew that gesture. He was loosening his gun in his holster.

“Get out,” Joe said. “Now.”

“What?”

“Don’t argue. Both of you. Get out,” he snapped.

Eve instinctively obeyed and found Nathan beside her.

“Take care of her, Nathan.” The Lexus roared away from them and back on the road.

Shit. Eve’s hands clenched into fists as she watched the taillights disappear around the curve. Everything had happened so fast she hadn’t realized what Joe was doing. But she should have realized. She knew him, dammit.

The Volvo screamed around the turn and barreled toward them.

Closer.

Almost on top of them.

And then passed them.

It was out of sight seconds later.

“It worked,” Nathan said. “We should leave now.”

“What do you mean, leave? They’re going after Joe.”

“But that’s what he wanted them to do. We have no way to help him. We’ll call him once we’re clear of this place. You’ll ruin his plan if you stay here. If he loses them, they could double back to check out the area.”

“You give him a little time to shake those men, and then call him and tell him we’re not going anywhere. I’m not moving until Joe comes back.” Nathan gazed at her expression and then shrugged. “Okay, but it’s not good tactics.”

“I don’t care about tactics.” She leaned against the wall of the gas station, her gaze on the curve where Joe had disappeared. Jesus, she was scared.

“He’ll probably make it,” Nathan said. “He’s been well trained, hasn’t he?”

“Just because he was a SEAL doesn’t mean that he’s a champion race car driver.

And he shouldn’t have left us here, damn him.”

“It was a good tact—” Nathan broke off as he met Eve’s gaze. “Sorry.” He quickly pulled out his phone and in a moment was talking to Joe. “He’s not happy,” he said when he hung up.

“Too bad. He had no right to take off like a bat out of hell. He’s not the only one involved here.”

“There wasn’t much time for discussion.”

Eve knew that, but it didn’t make her feel any less angry and helpless… and terrified.

Joe.

“He seemed to be able to drive pretty well,” Nathan offered.

He was trying to comfort her, Eve realized. “Yes.”

“And I think the Lexus was faster than that Volvo.”

“Let’s not talk about it, okay?” she said jerkily.

Nathan nodded and fell silent.

Ten minutes passed.

Where the hell was he?

Fifteen minutes.

It was forty-five minutes before Joe appeared around the curve and glided to a stop behind the gas station. He reached over and opened the passenger door. “Get in.

I think I lost them five miles back, but we should get out of here.” Nathan scrambled into the backseat. “You didn’t do bad at all, Quinn.”

“Thank you,” he said ironically as he pulled back onto the road. “I’m glad I met with your approval.”

“I tried to get her to leave, but she was worried.”

“Was she?” Joe glanced sideways at Eve’s set face.

“I wasn’t worried. You were stupid. You could have stayed with us and we’d have given them the slip, but you probably enjoyed playing Keystone Kops.” Her voice shook. “It was… stupid.”

“It seemed the most reasonable thing to—”