No One to Trust (Hidden Identity Book #1): A Novel (17 page)

Summer pulled in a deep breath. No, no, no. This was not happening.

She noticed David kept his hands where Bennie could see them so she did too. “You?”

Bennie gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Money talks. Give me your gun.”

David handed over his weapon. “So what now? You kill us?” he asked.

“Nope, I need you alive. At least for now.” He turned the weapon to Summer’s face. She flinched and pulled back. The gun followed her. She wished she had her own weapon with her. Because of David’s status as still active military and his work with the FBI, he’d been allowed to keep his gun in the courthouse. Summer had had to turn hers over. She hadn’t had time to get it before the shooting broke out.

“Now hand over your phones.”

David narrowed his eyes and for a moment Summer thought he might refuse, but when Bennie kept the gun on her face, David reached in his pocket and tossed the phone into the front seat. Summer did the same.

With his right hand, Bennie handed back a set of handcuffs. “Put these on him.”

Summer took them. Looked at them. And said, “No.”

He lifted a brow. “Then I’ll kill your sister, and I’ll kill you while David watches.”

David shifted. “Put them on me, Summer,” David said.

She saw his eyes darken, trying to tell her something.

“Behind your back,” Bennie ordered.

David shifted and put his hands behind his back. “Do it, Summer.”

“David, I—”

“Just do it,” he snapped.

The ring of the first cuff encircled his right wrist. Then the second. She left them loose.

“Tighten them. I need to hear a few more clicks.”

Summer tightened them and glared at the marshal. “You leave my sister out of this.”

Bennie smirked and, without taking his eyes from Summer, said, “She’s already in it.” He reached over one more time and handed her a phone. “Take a look at this and see if it’s a little incentive for your cooperation.”

Summer snatched the phone and, with a shaking finger, pressed Play.

David watched over her shoulder.

Marlee’s scared face came onto the screen. She glanced up at the person holding the phone, then back to the camera. Tear stains tracked her cheeks. “Summer? I’m sorry. They came in and killed the marshals.” A sob escaped and a hand slapped her across the face. She screamed.

Summer gasped and flinched.

A voice said, “Focus. Say it.”

Marlee sniffed, her cheek already puffing up. “They’re going to kill me unless you give them what they want. That laptop. You’ve got to give it to them.” The video stopped.

Summer threw the phone at Bennie. It smacked him in the forehead. He glared and his nostrils flared. “Temper, temper.”

Bennie heaved their phones into the bushes lining the parking lot. Then he opened the driver’s door, got out, and opened the door next to Summer. She wanted to cringe, lean in to David.

Instead, she stared at Bennie, refusing to cower. He snagged her arms behind her back and cuffed her. He shoved her back into the seat, and she fell against David with a cry she couldn’t hold back. He tensed and she could tell he wanted nothing more than to lunge at the man, but she was in the way. Which was probably a good thing.

She righted herself and glared at Bennie.

He ignored her and climbed back into the driver’s seat. “Now, David. I need you to give me directions on how to find this elusive laptop that Raimondi wants so bad.”

“So, it’s come to this, has it?”

“I’m afraid so. Now which way?” He held up the phone. “One call is all it takes to start killing off everyone your wife loves. Starting with her sister.”

Summer couldn’t stop the groan that escaped her.

David glanced at her and said, “Get on I-26 and go west, then get on I-40 toward Asheville.”

“That’s better.”

“How are you going to explain our disappearance to your boss?” David asked. “You were the only one in the car we got in.”

“I appreciate the concern, but you don’t need to worry about that. I’ve got it taken care of.”

“Where’s Mike?” David asked.

“Again, not your concern.”

“Oh come on, Bennie, did you kill the man? What’s the big secret at this point?”

Silence from the front seat. Summer felt her heart drop. “You did, didn’t you?” she whispered. “You killed him.”

“Mike was too nosy for his own good. Figured out some things he should have left alone.”

David blew out a breath. “He didn’t know about the tracking
device on Summer’s necklace so he figured someone from the inside was leaking our whereabouts. He went to you, didn’t he?”

“Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”

But David wasn’t done. Summer could almost hear his brain whirling. “When he told you his suspicions, you didn’t know about the tracking device either, did you? So when Mike told you he thought someone on the inside was ratting us out, you got nervous because you’d been feeding Raimondi information.”

More silence.

David let out a harsh laugh. “You weren’t sure if he suspected you and was feeling you out, getting your reaction, or just had the misfortune to pick you to report his suspicions to. So you killed him to make sure it didn’t matter. How close am I?”

“Pretty close,” Bennie said. The coldness in his voice made Summer shiver.

David clamped his jaw shut and Summer could see his desperate struggle to control himself. For a few moments, he stayed quiet. His arms moved, restless against the back of the seat.

Finally, he stilled and took a deep breath. Her heart pounded in her throat and terror clogged her lungs. His wallet fell to the seat between them. He turned his head and caught her eye. “Get ready,” he mouthed.

She frowned. “For what?” she silently asked, moving her lips to form the words, making sure Bennie wasn’t watching in the rearview mirror.

“Escape,” he whispered.

“How?”

He shook his head. They rode in silence for the next hour. Summer leaned her head against the window, her nerves shot, her stomach threatening upheaval at any moment. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes to offer up prayers to the God she struggled with.

Please, God, if you’re there, do something
. I don’t know why you’ve let this happen
, but I don’t want to die.

A tear leaked down her cheek and she swiped it against her shoulder.

Please, God. Save us.

“What now?” Bennie’s question made her jerk. Her wrists ached and her shoulders protested the awkward position, but she just bit her lip and watched David’s face.

“Keep going and turn at the next exit. Follow that road until you see a bunch of trees.”

“Great directions, Hackett. Street names?”

“I don’t remember. Just drive. I’ll tell you where to go.”

With an annoyed sigh, Bennie did as directed, following David’s instructions. He got on the phone and talked low with whoever was on the other end. After they hit I-40 and headed into North Carolina, every once in a while David would give Bennie another set of directions.

Summer shivered, her heart pounding, adrenaline still rushing. Trees thickened, highway noise died down. Why was David taking them out to such a remote area? Killing them and hiding their bodies would be incredibly easy. She wanted to scream at God to make this stop, to make it all go away. Instead, she sat silent and prayed while she watched David for whatever she was supposed to be ready for.

And then David caught her eye.

She lifted a brow.

He motioned with his head for her to slide closer.

With a glance at the rearview mirror, she did.

Bennie didn’t seem to notice.

And then she felt David’s hand behind her, working the cuffs.

His hands were free? How?

Who cared?

She felt the cuff release from her left hand. Slowly, she pulled her hands apart, never taking her eyes from the mirror.

Bennie slowed to go around a sharp curve and David struck.

David gripped the cuffs, the fingers of each hand wrapped around the loops. In one sudden, smooth move, he went over the front seat and dropped the cuffs in front of Bennie, the short chain landing against his Adam’s apple.

Bennie hollered as David gave a sharp yank. Gagging, sputtering, Bennie slammed on the brakes, throwing David forward. The car spun to the left, hit the guardrail, then went over the side of the mountain, trunk first.

David registered Summer’s scream. An object slammed into his forehead, causing him to flinch. He almost lost his grip, but regained it with the next shift of the vehicle. Bennie fought for air as the car bounced down, ricocheting off trees and finally sliding to a stop at the bottom of the hill.

He grabbed at David’s hands, bucking against the restraint. David held on, his ears ringing, muscles straining, ribs screaming. Fortunately, gravity worked with him.

Finally Bennie went limp and David slammed back against the seat. His head throbbed. Blood dripped into his eyes.

Summer groaned.

David shot her a glance, relieved she was conscious. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I married a crazy man who just wrecked the car and could have killed us, but yes, I think I’m okay.”

Her spunkiness reassured him. He lifted a hand, swiped the blood from his eyes. “Good. Look for the weapons.” He checked Bennie one more time. Felt his pulse. Faint. Breathing? Barely.

Summer held up his weapon.

He said, “Hang on to it, I’ve got to find the other one. Check back there.”

He heard her start to rummage, noting she hadn’t asked about Bennie. Probably thought he’d killed him and didn’t want to know for sure. “I don’t see it.”

David shoved on the door. Jammed. He climbed over into the front seat and tried the passenger door. Also jammed. But the window was cracked. He told Summer, “Do you see the handcuffs back there?”

“Yes.” He heard her scrambling. She shoved a pair into his hand. David swiped at the blood still trickling from the wound on his forehead. What had hit him? David maneuvered Bennie until he had both of the man’s hands behind him. He cuffed him, then searched his pockets. When he found the key, he shoved it into his pocket. “Keep the gun on him in case he wakes up.”

He waited until she had the weapon held against the man’s temple, then leaning back against Bennie’s still form, David rammed a foot against the window. Glass shattered. He continued to kick until he had a hole large enough to climb out of. “Climb over him. We need to get out of here. I don’t know what communication he had with Raimondi, but we’re not going to wait and find out.”

She handed him the gun. “What about Marlee, David? You may have just gotten her killed.”

David climbed out of the hole in the window then looked back to say, “No, the longer we’re alive, the longer she’s alive. I probably bought her a few more hours. Now come on.”

“What do you mean?” she asked as she climbed over into the front seat.

“The minute Raimondi had us where he wanted us, Marlee was expendable. He still needs her to get to us.”

Summer frowned, the tight lines on her forehead saying how worried she was. Frankly he was too, but decided to keep that to himself. She let him help her out of the vehicle and stood shivering next to him.

“Where’s your coat?”

“In the car.”

David didn’t want to take the time to get it, but she would need the heavy down jacket if they didn’t find shelter tonight. They both might. His leather jacket would do for now, but the temperatures would drop and the down coat would feel good. Especially if she’d let them share body heat.

“What are we going to do with him?” she asked when he handed her the coat and crawled back out of the window.

“Leave him here. Someone will find him. Bennie was talking a lot on the phone. Wouldn’t surprise me if someone’s right behind us.”

Fear flashed in her eyes. “Then we need to hurry, don’t we?”

“Yes.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Start walking.”

“I don’t exactly have on walking shoes.” She had worn her lawyer clothes—black slacks, a blazer, and black pumps. At least the shoes were comfortable, but she wasn’t sure how well they’d hold up walking through the woods. “How far?”

“You can do it. I’ll help you.”

“In other words, I don’t want to know how far, huh?”

He gave her a grim smile and held out a hand. She placed her cold fingers in his.

“How did you get the cuffs off?”

“I always keep a handcuff key in my wallet.”

Of course he did. “Who does that?”

“Me.” He smiled.

“Down there!”

The shout spurred him to action. Summer too. She didn’t hesitate when he tugged her after him. “Where are we?” she gasped.

“In the state park.”

“Is it open?”

“Yes. This is still tourist season. I’m hoping we can find a group to blend in with. If not, I grew up around here. I know a few places to hide.”

She hurried after him. He looked back over his shoulder to see two men skidding down the side of the mountain toward the wrecked SUV.

“Hurry,” he urged. Summer picked up her pace. “Head for the cliff just ahead.”

“A cliff?”

He led her through a tangled copse of trees, found a trail, and kept going. She stumbled and caught herself with his help. A steadying hand on her upper arm kept her upright.

Shouts behind them spurred him on.

They came to the edge and David looked down. A steep drop off the side of the mountain. He knew he could use the rocks and ledges for hand and footholds, but wasn’t sure about her. “How do you feel about going down?”

She stared at him, then behind him. Swallowed hard. “If it’s the only way.”

Alessandro was nearly apoplectic. “What do you mean they got away again?” He’d hired incompetent idiots. Unbelievable. He was glad his father wasn’t alive to see this mess.

Hayes grunted, then cursed. “We’re on their tail right now. Let me call you back as soon as we catch up to them.”

“No. Let the others chase them. I need information. What happened to Bennie?”

Hayes told him and Raimondi wanted to punch something. He’d spent a lot of money on that man, and now David had ruined yet another good thing.

“Josh is with him,” Hayes said. “Bennie’s hurt pretty bad. The good thing is, Summer and David don’t have a phone. At least as far as we can tell.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Bennie said he’d tossed their phones back in the bushes of a parking lot. We picked them up to make sure no one found them right away, which is why he got so far ahead of us. When we got here, the car was wrecked and Bennie’s unconscious. The only other phone we found in the vehicle was the one Bennie had on him.”

“Tell Josh to finish Bennie off. I don’t need him taken into custody. No telling what he might spill.”

“I’ll tell him.”

“Where are you?”

“In the middle of a jungle.”

Raimondi listened as Hayes explained where the car wrecked. “I have an idea. Now listen up.”

Summer followed David, her senses tuned to sounds behind her. Right now, she heard nothing. “Have we lost them?”

“Let’s hope so. I think they fell for it.”

Much to Summer’s relief, David had decided going down the cliff was too risky. It would be way too easy for one of them to get hurt. Then they’d be sitting ducks. He’d pushed a large boulder over the edge of the cliff and had Summer let out an ear-piercing scream.

Then they’d taken off down the trail, putting as much distance between them and the cliff as possible.

Right now, no one appeared to be following. If they were, she couldn’t hear them.

The undergrowth pulled at her slacks. Her shoes sank into the mud and she had to pay attention to each step or she’d wind up with a twisted ankle. “Are they still behind us?”

“I don’t think so, but we need to keep moving. I need to find a phone.”

“Who are you going to call?” she panted as she let him help her over a fallen tree trunk.

“Chase and Adam and a few other people. Now that we know who was behind setting us up, we need reinforcements. And I know exactly who I can trust at this point.”

“What about Marlee?”

“We’re going to get to her shortly. First we have to make sure we’re going to stay alive for a little while longer.”

Summer wanted to protest. To insist they head straight for wherever Raimondi was holding Marlee. “How are we going to find her?”

“I know where she is.”

His quiet admission took her by surprise. “You know? How would you know?”

David sighed and stopped walking. He turned and she nearly ran into him, but managed to stop before her nose smashed into his chest. He said, “I’ve been in Raimondi’s house before. I recognized the room where Marlee was.”

Summer gaped at him. “Been in his house? How? When? Why?”

A shot rang out. Bark flew off the tree nearest Summer and grazed her forehead. She dropped to the ground while David whirled, weapon pointed in the direction the bullet had come from. He squeezed off one shot, then leaned over to grab Summer’s hand. “Time to move a little faster.”

Summer leapt to her feet, heart in her throat, and let David lead her at a fast jog. She shoved the fear down deep and tried not to think how bad it would hurt to have a bullet land between her shoulders. “How did they find us so fast?”

“They’ve done this before.”

“So how are we going to get away from them?” Fear for Marlee, fear for herself and David was almost a tangible thing. Something she could taste. A bitter thing she wanted to spit out.

“We’re going to find a place to hide. Keep going.”

“I’m trying, David, but I’m getting tired,” she panted, “and these shoes aren’t exactly hiking boots. I’m going to hold you back.”

“You’ll be fine.”

They raced like the wind and her lungs burned, her legs ached, and she thought she might throw up.

When Summer decided she had reached her limit and it was time for her to simply lie down and wait on Hayes to come finish her off, David stopped and pulled her into the thick area.

“There,” he whispered.

She looked, straining to see what he did. It wasn’t until they were almost on it, she noticed he’d pointed to a makeshift cave.
The rock had formed against the side of the mountain leaving a crack that didn’t look big enough for David to fit through.

He said, “Wait here one second and let me check to make sure there’s nothing in here that’s going to wake up and decide we’re dinner. Keep watch through those trees. If you see movement, get in here.” He turned sideways and, with a twist and a grunt, disappeared.

Sweat beaded her face and slid between her shoulder blades. She’d worked up a sweat running in the heavy down coat. She slid it off her shoulders and hung it over her arm. Standing still, she began to cool off. She looked back over her shoulder, watching for Raimondi’s men. So far, they’d lost them. But she also knew they’d probably left a trail a blind man could follow.

David stuck his head out of the crack. “It’s safe.”

“No bears?”

“No. Can’t promise you won’t see a spider or two.”

“Ick.” But she didn’t hesitate. “Better the eight-legged creepy crawlies than the two-legged.”

“My sentiments too.”

Summer slid through the crack. “How did you know this was here?”

David led her to a place where he’d cleared out a spot. He took her jacket and laid it on the ground. “I grew up roaming this area of the Blue Ridge Mountains.” He gestured toward the coat. “Have a seat.”

She did, grateful for the respite. Her stomach was still doing funny things and she was afraid if she didn’t rest, it would rebel on her. She leaned her head back against the hard rock. The coolness felt good and she turned so she could press her cheek against it. The nausea faded. “Don’t we need to watch for them?”

He slid down beside her and leaned his back against the wall. “Yeah. From here, I can see if anyone approaches. Let’s keep our voices down, though.”

Summer whispered, “So you grew up around here?”

“Just during the summertime. My parents traveled a lot with their jobs, and my brother, Les, and I were just in the way. So we were shipped off to my grandmother’s house for the summer.” Light filtered through the crack, illuminating the small area where they sat. She could see a small smile curve his lips. Pain grabbed her by the heart and wouldn’t let go. She choked it down.

“So you have a brother named Les, not Jake.”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“Tell me more about your life before you met me. Before WITSEC.”

David shifted beside her. The cold from the rock seeped through her blazer and she shivered. David wrapped his left arm around her and brought her against his chest. She leaned in, relishing his warmth. A part of her shouted that she had no business being close to him. Not after his lies, but she couldn’t bring herself to move away from him.

When she didn’t resist, his arm tightened. “Before we met, I wasn’t the nicest guy around. My parents are wealthy, influential. Nice people. But weren’t really interested in raising kids.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. So I learned to get my parents’ attention by getting into trouble. By the time I went into the military, my parents were pretty much done with me.”

“When did you go to college? That’s where you met Sam, right?”

He sighed. “After high school, I went straight into the Army. Did a tour and came home and got out. It was at that point I decided to go to college and get a degree in business. Sam and I met the first day I stepped foot on the Berkeley campus in New York. We hit it off and were best friends almost instantly.”

“So what happened?”

“I didn’t finish. See, I have special skills the Army likes, so my old unit commander called me up and asked for my help. I agreed.”

“Why?”

“Because when I decided to go to college—and Berkeley at that—I was suddenly acceptable to my parents again.”

“And that was a bad thing?”

“No. And yes. They were constantly on my back about my major and what I was going to do with my life, so in the middle of my junior year, I ditched school and went back into the Army. At least they accepted me the way I was and weren’t trying to change me into someone I didn’t want to be.”

Summer’s heart clenched. She tried to harden it. It was difficult because she knew how he felt to a degree.

Rocks and wooded debris rained down over the small opening. David tensed. He stood and Summer immediately missed his warmth.

David walked over to the crack. His hand rested on the grip of the weapon at his lower back. His body blocked the light and the small cave darkened.

Voices reached her ears and she stood, heart thumping.

“They’re around here somewhere. They didn’t just disappear into the side of the mountain, now find them.”

Corbin Hayes’s cold voice sent her pulse into overdrive. A tremor spread through her, causing her to shake like a leaf on a windy day. The thought of being in his clutches stirred her stomach to nausea once again. She swallowed hard and tried to regulate her breathing.

David stood still as a rock, the weapon held tight in his hand.

Summer moved to stand next to him. When a shadow fell over the opening, Summer pressed against the rock wall. David held a finger to his lips. He knew she didn’t need the reminder, but it made him feel better. Clamping her mouth tight, she stayed still.

Footsteps crunched close by. “They came this way.”

“Well, they’re not here now. You forget how to track?”

“Shut up, Nico. You think you can do better, do it.”

No answer. Then one of the men said, “The trail stops here.”

“Or does it?” Nico shot back. “Looks like a pretty clear path heading up the hill right there.”

“Fine. You follow it. But I’m telling you, they’re around here somewhere.”

The men grumbled amongst themselves for a brief moment. Finally, he heard Nico say, “You do what you want. I’m going up the trail.”

David shifted to get a better view and his foot scraped against some loose rock. The sound was quiet, muted, but his gut clenched at the slight noise.

“What was that?” Nico demanded.

David froze and heard Summer’s soft indrawn breath.

“What was what?” Hayes asked.

“I heard something.”

Hayes barked a laugh. “You’re in the woods, moron. You’re going to hear all kinds of things. Now let’s get going.” Hayes headed for the trail.

But David could now see Nico’s face. The man paused, glanced right at the crack. David didn’t move. And he didn’t look directly at Nico. Eons passed before the man took off after the others.

David eased back against the wall and let out a breath. “That was close.”

Summer moved back to sit on the coat. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. He walked over and sat beside her, resuming his previous position.

“I’m scared, David,” she whispered. “More scared than I’ve ever been in my life, I think.”

David pulled her into his arms. His feelings for her were definitely all grown-up, but he knew he needed to tread carefully. He cradled her like a child. “I’m going to make this right, Summer. Or die trying.”

She shuddered and buried her face against his neck. “I’m so mad at you, but I don’t want you to die.”

He swallowed at the feel of her warm breath brushing his throat. “I don’t want to die either. I’ve got too much to live for.” He paused. “Is that cliché?”

“No.”

David looked down and nudged her face up so he could look into her eyes. Neither spoke. Words seemed unnecessary. Then he leaned down and covered her lips. Her sweet familiar taste sent longing shooting through him. Not just a physical desire, but a need to make things right with her. A desperation to see this through to the end and come out stronger. With Summer by his side. He let his lips linger, his arms tightened.

She groaned and pushed her way out of his arms, rolling to sit a foot away from him. “No. I can’t do this. I can’t love you anymore.”