Smokescreen

Ethan was quiet so long Ashley ventured a look. He was staring at her, expression unreadable except for his eyes. The brown of them was deep, dark...and sad. “I don’t have the cipher.” He started the truck, the vents blasting warm air into Ashley’s face. “You do.”

The heat from the vents battled the cold running through Ashley’s veins. He couldn’t possibly be saying what she thought he was. “No.”

“I have no idea what Sean meant, but you’re it. You’re all we’ve got, because there’s no one else we can trust. He said you’d know everything once you saw the data.”

Physical pain thundered through her chest and shot lightning bolts into her extremities. A sudden rush of panic and she was clawing for the door, the lock... Anything. Any way to be free. She held the key, the one thing between Sean and death, between those men and the information they wanted.

Hands grasped her shoulders, angled her toward Ethan. Firm fingers tipped her chin and gently turned her head. As violently as she tried to fight, the gentle press of those warm fingers didn’t let up.

“Ashley.” Ethan’s voice was low, warm, calm. “Look at me. At me. In my eyes.”

It was the last place she wanted to focus, but her eyes were drawn to his. As soon as her gaze met his, everything in her stilled. It was the last place she should find safety, but her heart knew him and refused to feel anything else.

“You’re okay. You’re safe. No matter what happens, I am right here beside you. I will protect you.” Those last words hammered with emphasis, slow and heavy.

She couldn’t look him in the eye anymore.

Ashley leaned back from his grasp and exhaled, panic floating away with his promises. She had no idea how he’d done it, but she hoped he didn’t have to again. The way her pulse pounded now had absolutely nothing to do with fear.

This was probably worse.

As much as she knew close proximity to Ethan was dangerous to her heart and as much as she wanted to walk away to protect herself, she couldn’t. Sean’s life—her life—depended on their teaming up.

And, boy, when they were all safe, was Sean going to hear from her about this entire setup, from painting a bull’s-eye on her back to making her work with Ethan Kincaid again.

For now, there was work to do. Authority to assert. “You have to take me to my car.”

Ethan’s head came up, eyebrows high in confusion. “Your car? At the airport?” He shook his head. “No way. For all we know, there are people staking it out.”

Control. What she needed right now was control, and she was about to take it. She needed to be in charge if she wanted to survive this. She needed to fool herself into believing something was in her power. “Doubtful. They saw you come in all John Wayne and take me out of there like your truck was on fire. They’re long gone from the airport, focused on my apartment or somewhere else.” She pulled her seat belt across and latched it with a definite click. “We’re going to the airport.”

“There is no way I’m—”

“The keys to the post-office box are in it. The box is up north, in Black River. I go up every couple of weeks to check on my grandparents’ cabin and to get his mail.” That was something she should have seen before. The fact Sean had rented a postbox an hour away instead of a more convenient location in Syracuse. He was trying to protect her even while he used her. Maybe she should be grateful, and she would be, after she tore him apart for doing this to her in the first place. “We have to get those keys or we can’t get into the box. There’s no other way.”

There it was. The twitch in his right temple. It popped up when he couldn’t say what was on his mind. What she wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking right about now. Or not, because it probably wasn’t butterflies and rainbows.

“This is the single dumbest thing I’ve ever done.” Ethan pulled out his cell phone and punched the screen so hard it was a wonder cracks didn’t form. “I have to let Mitch know we’ve changed plans and we’ll be late getting you to the safe house.” He held the phone tight, muttering. “It’ll be by the grace of God if you don’t get us both killed.”

God. Since when did He worry about Ashley?

And since when did Ethan worry about God?