“I’m all right. I’ve been hurt worse. Get Gina somewhere safe and let me know you’re okay.” He swiped at the blood trickling down the side of his face and turned back to the window.
Ian grabbed Gina’s hand and pulled. She dug her feet in and repeated herself. “We can’t just leave him!”
“Jase is a Ranger. He can take care of himself. It’s up to me to take care of you. Plus, the cops will be here any minute. Once whoever’s shooting at us hears those sirens, they’ll disappear and Jase will have some help. He can hang on that long.” A quick glance at his friend resulted in a nod of confirmation. “Now, please, let’s move.”
Gina caved and hurried after him with one last glance over her shoulder at Jase, who motioned for them to get out. Sirens sounded in the distance and relief flooded her. Hopefully the sound would scare off the attackers and Jase could get some help. “Go, go!”
Ian kept a tight grip on her hand as he led her toward the back of the house.
“What are we doing?” she gasped.
“Jase will handle the police. You and I are going to find someplace safe.”
With a steady hand, Ian cracked the door leading to the outside and peered around it. The gunshots had ceased with the sound of the approaching sirens, but that didn’t mean the bad guys were gone—it just meant they weren’t shooting right now.
He scanned the area. All looked quiet. The car sat right where he’d left it. Untouched? Or a trap?
They’d have to chance it. Staying here meant talking to the police and having this take forever, trying to answer questions no one had the answers for and not knowing if they could be trusted anyway.
Hauling in a deep breath, he said, “Get in on this side. Duck low so you can’t be seen from the other side of the car.” He’d deliberately parked with the driver’s side two feet from the bottom step of the small porch. On the opposite side of the car, at the end of the pier, the sounds of the ocean registered on a subconscious level.
Gina obeyed, crouching low, moving fast. Ian crawled in right after her. Finally behind the wheel, he cranked the car and backed up the way he came in. “Stay down, Gina.”
“I’m down. Won’t the police stop us?”
“Nope.”
Five seconds later, he was in front of the house. No gunshots split the air. A police car wheeled past him, then did a one-eighty to give chase.
“He’s following us, Ian.”
Her voice held a breathless, fearful quality that gripped his emotions. “I’ll either lose him or Jase will radio the guy when he gets a chance and tell him to back off.”
For ten minutes, the red and blue lights followed his every move; then they backed off and disappeared from view.
Ian relaxed a fraction and drove without a specific destination in mind. Gina straightened in her seat, groaning at protesting muscles.
“I have an idea,” Ian offered.
“What?”
“I think I know a place we can hole up for a few hours to rest.” He glanced at the clock.
“Where? I’m almost afraid wherever we go, they’ll find us. How did they know to come back to the beach house?”
“Common sense. You didn’t find what you were looking for the first time you were there, so it figures that you’d be back.”
“So they were just waiting for us to show up? But why didn’t Jase spot them?”
He shrugged. “Maybe they got there after Jase, spotted him and laid low to see how things would go down. Who knows?”
“Or maybe Jase called them,” she whispered.
Indignation for the man welled up in him, and yet he couldn’t deny a little niggling of doubt tickled his mind. “Jase wouldn’t do that.”
“Mario…”
“Mario should have let someone know what was going on and that he needed help.”
“Maybe he did.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the letter she’d found in the Bible.
Gina stared at the single sheet of paper containing Mario’s slanting scrawl. She read aloud, “Dear Gina, if you’re reading this, I’ve failed. It wasn’t my plan to die on you, darling, but as you well know, some plans are doomed from the get-go. I guess this was one of them.’”
“What plan?” Ian interrupted.
“Who knows?” She went back to reading. “‘I’ve got some people after me. Really nasty guys. I’ve got something they want. If they haven’t come after you yet, get ready. I’m sorry, Gina, I didn’t want to do it this way but don’t have time to come up with something better. Something that doesn’t involve you. If I’m dead, they’ll be looking for the next person who might know something, and whoever it is probably knows about you. I promise I did my best to hide your identity, but these guys are good; they’ll find you, simply because I don’t know who’s involved. So, if they’re going to come after you, I’m going to do my best to give you a fighting chance. I don’t want to say what I’ve hidden, because if you know, you have no protection. If they catch you and you tell them, they’ll kill you immediately. If you don’t know, you can’t tell them. That might buy you some time. I hope you’ve called Ian. If you haven’t, do it. You’re going to need him. I love you, Gina….” Her throat clogged on the last part, and she stopped to take in a shuddering breath.
Ian clasped her hand, the warmth of his palm searing her, giving her strength to finish the letter. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to show you how much. Ian’s a good man. He’ll know what to do. Grandmother thought the world of you. You’re the only woman in her life who didn’t disappoint her. Thank you for honoring her and keeping her memory close to your heart. All my love, Mario.”
Silence filled the small rental. Tears dripped down Gina’s chin as she scanned the letter through one more time.
Ian cleared his throat. Gina sighed.
“You…um…didn’t have to read that out loud.”
“I know, but if there’s anything in there that can help us, you need to have the information.”
“You were close to his grandmother. Did he have any other family?”
“No, just the sister who died. I suppose his mother is still out there somewhere, but…” She trailed off with a shrug and stared out the window. Time for a change of subject. “So, are you going to check on Jase?”
“Yeah.” He dialed the number. Jase answered on the second ring. Ian asked, “Are you all right? What’s the situation?”
“I’ve got it under control. I’ve also got a slight concussion but was lucky. I’m still alive.”
Relieved, Ian said, “Good. Stay that way, will you? Listen, I’m going to take Gina someplace safe. I’ll be in touch.”
“Right. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll keep digging into what Mario was doing before he died.”
“Yeah, I’m going to do the same. Hey, what is it you wanted to tell me, but…couldn’t earlier?” He let the question hang, hoping Jase would pick up on what he meant.
A pause. Then a sigh. “I think Mario was cheating on Gina.”
Shock and anger punched him, but Ian kept his voice steady. After all, he’d seen the possibility with his own eyes. He’d just wanted to chalk it up to the alcohol fogging Mario’s brain at the time. “Why do you think that?”
“After a mission in Colombia, I saw him with a woman. They were looking pretty