Part 15 (1/2)

”It's getting warm out there,” he said as he bent over and closed up his bag.

Mar started laughing, somewhat hysterically. ”Seriously.” She sputtered. ”After all that, you're going to talk about the weather? Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

He shrugged. ”We had a problem and I took care of it.” His face was a total blank, as if he did that sort of thing every day.

h.e.l.l, maybe he did.

”Why did you jump out of the car like that? They had guns and could have killed you,” Mar chastised.

”I had the element of surprise in my favor, and they didn't kill me. I'm fine.”

”Yes, but...”

”Mar, I handled the situation.” He gave her an end-of-discussion stare.

She rolled her eyes. ”Not that I care, but are they still alive?”

”They won't be waking up any time soon, but I didn't kill them. The shepherd will wait until this evening to call the authorities and report the car running off the road. That should give us enough time to get you to the airport.”

She wasn't going anywhere without Jackson. ”Uh, no. I'm still calling my friend. Let's see what she has to say and then I'll consider your offer to go to the-”

Jackson cleared his throat. ”Mar, I'm not taking no for an answer. You saw those guys. There will be more of them when those two don't report in. We have to get you out of here.”

The man was so hardheaded. ”Hey,” she said, frustration edging her voice. ”I'm asking you to give me a chance. I saw what you can do, Jackson. You are friggin' scary amazing. But give me a chance to show what I can do. I know you don't have a lot of faith in my abilities, but I promise you I can help.”

Then she leaned across the seat and threw her arms around him, truly happy he was safe. ”I'm so glad you're okay. And the fact that you are total bada.s.s is making me kinda hot.”

He hugged her back. ”You're trying to distract me, aren't you?”

She squeezed him tighter. ”Maybe.”

He kissed her, then said against her lips, ”It's working. And for the record, I have no doubt about your abilities, but these are extreme circ.u.mstances.”

”But you're going to let me try, aren't you?” she asked him.

Jackson closed his eyes briefly and then glanced back at her. ”Yes.”

IF MARISKA WANTED CHI'S help, she had to do some fast talking. The other woman didn't like doing anything that wasn't within the confines of the law, though Chi was also the queen of loopholes. She took a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

The driver had started the car again, and was discussing the route with Jackson.

She picked up Jackson's phone from the floorboard where she'd dropped it when the gunshot blasted.

Dialing Chi's number, she hoped the other woman would pick up.

”h.e.l.lo.” Her friend's voice was hesitant.

”Hey, it's me,” Mar said.

”Mar, whose phone are you on?” Chi's tone was cautious.

”It's Jackson's secret spy phone.” She snorted at that.

She heard him groan, and glanced up to see him rolling his eyes.

Chi asked, ”Jackson? Did you chase him down with your car or something? Last time we talked, which was, um, a little over an hour and a half ago, you said he ran away and was gone for good.”

”Well, he came back to save me from some mob guys.” Mar still hadn't thanked him for that.

”What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?” Chi wasn't pleased. ”When did you get mixed up with the mob? Are you okay?”

Oops. ”I'm fine. The mob thing happened when I searched for Gladstone. I promise to explain every detail later, but right now we're in a bit of a hurry and I really need you to do some of your special magic.”

Mar chose her words carefully. Everything depended on Chi understanding how important this was. ”We need a way to get us out of the country without Interpol crawling all over our a.s.ses. Jackson can't travel through the normal channels but we have to get him back to the States. His life depends on it.” Silence.

”Please?” Mar begged.

”Uh. That's pretty heavy stuff there, Mar,” Chi warned. ”I mean if he's in so much trouble that Interpol is after him. Come on. You need to run in the other direction.”

Mar was determined to make her comprehend the gravity of the situation and why she couldn't leave Jackson alone. ”Chi, that's not going to happen. I know how it sounds, but I need you to do this for me.”

”Are you in love with this guy?” Chi sounded like she already knew the answer.

There was a long pause as Mar thought about it. What she had with Jackson was much more than l.u.s.t or a vacation fling. In the short time they'd been together, she'd fallen for him in a big way. Even with all the deception, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the man.

”Your silence speaks volumes.” Chi sighed. ”This is a lot of trouble for someone you met only a few days ago.”

Mar stared at the man in the seat next to her. ”I know, but he's definitely worth it.” He pretended as though he wasn't listening. Mar noticed a slight cut above his brow. Holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear, she searched her bag for a tissue and some of the antiseptic she always carried. ”Please, Chi. I need your help.”

”All right.” Chi didn't sound completely convinced it was a good idea, but Mar knew she would come through for her. ”I'll call in some favors. Tell him I need to know who he works for, because I have to go directly to the source if we're going to make this happen.”

Holding her hand over the phone, Mar asked, ”Um, so are you CIA? Chi needs to know for sure.”

He refused to answer.

”Jackson, please. At least let me try to help. It hurts my heart to think something horrible could happen to you if we don't get you home. I'm good at this sort of thing, let me do this for you.”

”CIA,” he said with a clipped tone.

Jeez, it wasn't like she hadn't figured it out for herself. She only needed confirmation. ”CIA,” she repeated.

Chi blew out a breath. ”Okay. Randy is the deputy director there. I don't suppose your friend will share what happened?”

Mar knew better than to even ask Jackson. No way would he reveal any more than he had. ”No. Tell them that he's willing to turn himself in, but we have to get him home. That isn't easy since there's been some kind of big misunderstanding. There are people out there who are trying to kill him.”

”Okay,” Chi told her, ”listen carefully. This is going to take me a bit. I've pulled a lot of strings in my lifetime, but nothing like this. Is there some place you can hole up, and I'll call you back as soon as I know something?”