Three minutes, max.”
Relief washed through her. “Thanks.” This wasn’t an accident. Someone had taken serious exception to her conversation with Major M. C. Harding.
“Stay away from the road,” Mark said. “Put a shoe out so I can find you.”
“Finding me won’t be a problem.” She dragged a shaky hand over her sweat-dampened forehead, then brushed grit and dirt from her scraped knee. Her hose couldn’t have been in worse shape if they’d been run through a shredder. “Just look for the burning car.”
Chapter 4
T he police filed the reports and put out an APB on the blue pickup. Firemen from two different stations responded and extinguished the flames on the Honda.
When the tow truck pulled away with the charred remains, Mark seated Amanda in his black Hummer and then drove to the base. “You okay?”
“Actually, I’m pissed,” she confessed. “But the only casualty is my hose.”
He glanced down at the strings of nylon dangling on her legs. “Did you get a look at the driver?”
“Tinted windows.” That set another wave of frustration rushing through her stomach and chest.
Mark frowned and a creased pit formed between his eyebrows. He parked in front of the VOQ, which looked like the temporary living quarters “hotel” that it was. Cool beige, square brick building, three stories high, unadorned by anything so softening as shutters, and tiny grounds meticulously landscaped.
Mark left the engine running and the air-conditioning blowing on high. She reached for the chrome door handle, but he stopped her. “Stay put and catch your breath. I’ll check you in, then you can grab a shower and we’ll go get something to eat.”
Her growling stomach appreciated the courtesy as much as her weary body. The roll out of the Honda ordinarily shouldn’t have been a problem. But she hadn’t yet recouped from her hiatus in the tomb and the flesh wound, and her body ached, letting her know it.
A few minutes later, Mark came out, and got in behind the wheel. “Well, our luck’s holding at lousy. They screwed up the reservations and they’re booked up. No room at the inn.”
“That’s okay.” Screwed-up reservations were a minor inconvenience that didn’t rank worth being riled about when compared with everything else that had happened lately. “We passed half a dozen hotels on Highway 98, just take me to one of them.”
“Not okay,” Mark contradicted her. “It’s tourist season here. No vacancies for forty miles in any direction.”
“Figures.” Amanda resisted the urge to scream. “If you have any suggestions, I’m wide open.”
“If you want privacy, you could stay on my boat, but I think it’d be wiser to stay with me. There’s plenty of room at my house and the security is better. Considering the two attempts there have been on your life since your arrival, I think the house would be the wiser choice, but it’s up to you.”
“That’s gracious of you, Mark. Thank you.” He was right about the extra security, too. “The house would be great.”
He backed out of the parking slot, and then drove away. “While the desk clerk was searching for a hotel, I checked in with the base police. The black Lexus was stolen from a condo parking lot at the beach. The sheriff’s office found it about thirty minutes ago, abandoned at the harbor docks.”
The men had followed Amanda and Mark to the boat. “How did they get the Lexus on the base?” Armed guardswere posted at the gates. Unauthorized people weren’t permitted to enter. She rummaged through her purse for a stick of gum, offered a slice to Mark.
He refused. “Stolen access sticker on the car.” Looping his hand over the steering wheel, he shrugged. “It belonged on a Blazer that had been parked at Wal-Mart—a woman shopping for school supplies with her three kids.”
“Great.” Disappointment mixed with disbelief. “Not very reassuring—as far as us keeping terrorists off the base, is it?”
“The
Relief washed through her. “Thanks.” This wasn’t an accident. Someone had taken serious exception to her conversation with Major M. C. Harding.
“Stay away from the road,” Mark said. “Put a shoe out so I can find you.”
“Finding me won’t be a problem.” She dragged a shaky hand over her sweat-dampened forehead, then brushed grit and dirt from her scraped knee. Her hose couldn’t have been in worse shape if they’d been run through a shredder. “Just look for the burning car.”
Chapter 4
T he police filed the reports and put out an APB on the blue pickup. Firemen from two different stations responded and extinguished the flames on the Honda.
When the tow truck pulled away with the charred remains, Mark seated Amanda in his black Hummer and then drove to the base. “You okay?”
“Actually, I’m pissed,” she confessed. “But the only casualty is my hose.”
He glanced down at the strings of nylon dangling on her legs. “Did you get a look at the driver?”
“Tinted windows.” That set another wave of frustration rushing through her stomach and chest.
Mark frowned and a creased pit formed between his eyebrows. He parked in front of the VOQ, which looked like the temporary living quarters “hotel” that it was. Cool beige, square brick building, three stories high, unadorned by anything so softening as shutters, and tiny grounds meticulously landscaped.
Mark left the engine running and the air-conditioning blowing on high. She reached for the chrome door handle, but he stopped her. “Stay put and catch your breath. I’ll check you in, then you can grab a shower and we’ll go get something to eat.”
Her growling stomach appreciated the courtesy as much as her weary body. The roll out of the Honda ordinarily shouldn’t have been a problem. But she hadn’t yet recouped from her hiatus in the tomb and the flesh wound, and her body ached, letting her know it.
A few minutes later, Mark came out, and got in behind the wheel. “Well, our luck’s holding at lousy. They screwed up the reservations and they’re booked up. No room at the inn.”
“That’s okay.” Screwed-up reservations were a minor inconvenience that didn’t rank worth being riled about when compared with everything else that had happened lately. “We passed half a dozen hotels on Highway 98, just take me to one of them.”
“Not okay,” Mark contradicted her. “It’s tourist season here. No vacancies for forty miles in any direction.”
“Figures.” Amanda resisted the urge to scream. “If you have any suggestions, I’m wide open.”
“If you want privacy, you could stay on my boat, but I think it’d be wiser to stay with me. There’s plenty of room at my house and the security is better. Considering the two attempts there have been on your life since your arrival, I think the house would be the wiser choice, but it’s up to you.”
“That’s gracious of you, Mark. Thank you.” He was right about the extra security, too. “The house would be great.”
He backed out of the parking slot, and then drove away. “While the desk clerk was searching for a hotel, I checked in with the base police. The black Lexus was stolen from a condo parking lot at the beach. The sheriff’s office found it about thirty minutes ago, abandoned at the harbor docks.”
The men had followed Amanda and Mark to the boat. “How did they get the Lexus on the base?” Armed guardswere posted at the gates. Unauthorized people weren’t permitted to enter. She rummaged through her purse for a stick of gum, offered a slice to Mark.
He refused. “Stolen access sticker on the car.” Looping his hand over the steering wheel, he shrugged. “It belonged on a Blazer that had been parked at Wal-Mart—a woman shopping for school supplies with her three kids.”
“Great.” Disappointment mixed with disbelief. “Not very reassuring—as far as us keeping terrorists off the base, is it?”
“The
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