Sudden Recall (10 page)

He had to find a way to get them out of this all by himself.

“You have two minutes to send out the girl.”

TEN

S
ienna could see that Parker was torn over what to do. “I'll go.” His reaction was immediate as his eyes flashed. He started to talk, but she cut him off. “We shouldn't be arguing about this. There's no time. I'll go with them while you keep searching for the flash drive. It's simple.”

Why was he ready to object with her over something that made perfect sense?

“You aren't going out there, Sienna. That's not how this is won.”

“It's not a game or some kind of competition.”

His blue eyes darkened. “You know what I mean. I won't let you sacrifice yourself. It's not going to happen.”

“Okay, hero, how do you expect us to get out of this?” She saw the twitch of his lips. He almost smirked. Almost. “That wasn't a compliment.”

“I know.”

He had this look in his eye, as though if they weren't in mortal danger, he'd be kissing her right now. Sienna likely wouldn't have protested, but only because she wanted to know if it would bring up any memories of them having done that before. She had no objection to his closeness, and there was certainly attraction there. But when they weren't running for their lives, would they even have anything to talk about?

She folded her arms. “If you're going to object to my plan, that means you have to come up with something of your own. And it had better be good, or the clan of gunmen outside will kill you and whisk me away in their helicopter to be tortured, anyway. But at least I'll know who Thomas Loughton's buyer was.”

Didn't that count for something?

Sure, he was used to a mission objective, but it was probably more like a snatch and grab of a person. Terminating the target. Rescuing some victim in distress.

In Sienna's world, it was all about intelligence.

Knowledge was king.

Sienna sucked in a breath.

Parker ignored her minor freak-out and touched the side of her neck. “What is it?” His fingers began a firm massage of the tight knot on the back of her head.

“Thanks.” She sighed. “Just a rush of something. More a feeling than a memory, at least for now. But I think things are coming back, because I'm starting to feel a little more like...myself. Instead of feeling like a stranger in my own head.”

“Time's up!”
The horrible voice boomed so loud it reverberated in her chest like a bass cranked up to ten.

Parker's hand dropped away. “We need to...”

Gunfire erupted outside.

The men yelled. Sienna leaned past Parker to see out, where she saw them scramble for cover. More yelling, and a few broke off toward the source of the shots.

The fast rat-a-tat of automatic gunfire overlaid with the single shots of a rifle. Two men fell, then a third, shot in the back from the other direction.

The man with the bullhorn dove for cover, yelled to his men to get whoever was shooting at them and then ran for the helicopter and safety.

The helicopter exploded. The man flew backward as the fireball launched into the air.

Sienna clapped her hands over her ears to block out the noise, but Parker grabbed one hand and pulled her. “Run.”

They emerged from the cave into the waning light of evening. Had they really been in there a couple of hours? It'd felt like minutes.

“Stay behind me at all times.”

Sienna nodded, but he wasn't looking at her. Parker barreled over grass littered with boulders, between trees. He circled debris. How could he even see where he was going? He ran so fast Sienna could barely keep up. If he didn't slow, she was going to...

The grass came up and slammed into her face. Sienna's arm was wrenched forward. She tried to get her legs under her. Parker hauled her to her feet in one sweep. “Come on.”

The crack of a bullet echoed through the trees. Then another boom. She tried to run as fast as she could, but what strength she'd had was draining from her into the dirt of her uncle's ranch.

Who had caused this much commotion? Sienna sent up a quick prayer of thanks that someone had. It had to be Nina, because she didn't know of anyone else who knew where they were. Though that hadn't stopped these mercenaries from finding them.

Was there some kind of tracking device on her, or on Parker's SUV? Maybe on one of their phones. But there was no time to look for one now. They had to get to the vehicle and get out of here before one of the mercenaries tried to finish his job.

Sienna scanned the area but couldn't see anyone rushing toward them. “The ranch house.” It was between them and the truck. They would have to circle it or run through.

Parker pulled on her arm more and angled them toward the house.

I guess we're going in there.

* * *

Parker hit the back porch at a run. The wood creaked, and he flung the door open. When Sienna had cleared it, he slammed it shut and peered out the tall, thin window beside the door. “They saw us.”

“Let's hide.”

He turned and saw her scurry into the hall closet, yelp and shut the door. From behind it he heard a muttered, “Eew. Don't you come near me, Mr. Mouse.”

Parker searched for somewhere to hide, but the kitchen and dining rooms were empty of furniture. Someone had donated or sold everything Sienna's uncle had owned.

He wasn't going to be able to squeeze into the closet with Sienna. It wasn't big enough, and with the adrenaline running through him, he wouldn't be able to be still enough to hide with her without them being discovered.

Footsteps on the front porch brought his attention around. And then voices.

“I saw them.”

“Then let's root them out. Otherwise, we don't get paid.”

Two men. Parker rounded the corner to the kitchen and pulled his gun, then peered back around. Two men in black fatigues with rifles and body armor, helmets and communication equipment entered the ranch house.

These weren't fly-by-night men; they were professionals. Guns for hire, but good ones who took their job seriously and made sure they were paid enough that they could afford the best equipment.

They cleared the two front rooms and walked down the hall. Sienna had gone silent in the closet. Parker was outnumbered and outgunned but fully prepared to take care of the threat. Her life, and her future safety, counted on him fixing this for her. She only needed the time and space to remember herself. It would be his final gift to her before they parted ways forever.

The first man passed the hall closet; the second three paces behind him.

Parker stepped out, gun raised. “US Marshals, drop your weapon.”

The first man lifted his rifle. Parker shot at his vest, knowing he would only bruise the man at best. All they needed was time enough to get to the car.

The man hit the floor and fired back, and Parker dove for cover. He rolled in time to see Sienna swing the closet door open and slam the second man in the face with it. He reared back, his nose already streaming with blood, and brought up his gun. Parker shot again to cover her.

“Let's go.”

Sienna nodded and ran for him. Parker got up, and they raced for the front door.

The helicopter was sending a thick column of smoke into the sky, sure to alert locals that something was going on. The sheriff knew they were going to be there. Would he come now? Parker would if it were his town.

As if his thoughts had been heard, two police cruisers crawled up the long drive, the officers on alert. The ranch looked like a war zone.

Parker pulled Sienna around the SUV and hunkered down where the sheriff would see them. He watched the house, waiting for the men they'd subdued to run out after them, bullets flying.

“Good job with the door, by the way.”

Sienna turned to him, wide-eyed and breathing hard. “I don't like guns.”

“That's not a CIA thing?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “It's not always necessary to kill to get the job done. I'll use one if I have to, but it's not my preference.”

Parker's world was a whole lot different. A show of force was often what pushed the situation toward a result. Bad guys would think twice when they knew who he was and what he was capable of.

So often the SEALs were called on to be the world's police, or so it felt. Now that he was a marshal, it wasn't a whole lot different facing down fugitives every day. He couldn't be perceived as weak, or he would fail. And failure meant death.

The sheriff pulled up on the far side of the SUV, between them and the house, as though he was covering them.

When the old man climbed from his vehicle, Parker said, “Two in the house. Armed. Pros by the look of it.”

The sheriff smacked his lips together. “Deputy Marshal Parker?”

Parker nodded.

The sheriff's deputy got out of his car and eyed the two of them.

Parker nodded, cop to cop, then turned his attention to the house. “We'll have to let you all take care of this. My friend and I should be going.”

The sheriff wouldn't want any help with cleanup, and the farther away they were from here, the safer Sienna would be.

“Stay where you are.” The sheriff's deputy lifted one hand, the other on his holstered weapon.

Parker turned to him. “We're fully prepared to provide a statement, but you have mercenary soldiers on this property who need to be arrested. I wouldn't want to hold you both up from being able to do your jobs and keep this county safe.”

“Be that as it may...”

“Stan.” The sheriff clipped the name short and pinned his deputy with a look. “Let's get to work.” He turned to Parker. “I have your number.”

Parker nodded, ready to get Sienna out of there. He opened her door for her, and waited while she buckled before he went around to the driver's side.

Why he felt the need to do that, he wasn't sure. Sienna was a strong woman, or she wouldn't have been able to stay calm. He'd rescued kidnap victims before who had fallen apart and wailed all the way to the rendezvous point and drawn every local with a gun to their position because they made so much noise.

Sienna had the good sense to be scared, but she'd remained calm and let him lead them to safety.

But the question remained...

She turned to him as he started the car. “Who shot at all those men and helped us escape?”

* * *

“That's a real good question. Nina?”

His face was grim. Sienna didn't know if it was from those men trying to kill them or what. Her fingers shook, so she squeezed them together and tried to still her thoughts. The danger was past, so why did she feel this way? All she had done was hide in the cave and then in the closet. What kind of partner was she? Parker had done all the work...until she'd realized he was going to be killed if she didn't act.

It was only by the grace of God that she'd managed to hit the second gunman with the closet door. She hadn't even known he was going to be there. All she'd wanted to do was distract them long enough for Parker to do whatever he'd been planning.

He was so much more skilled at this than she was. Sure, she knew how to use a gun, and there were some instinctive things she was finding herself falling back on. But mostly all she had was a healthy sense of self-preservation and a few self-defense classes.

“Here.” He tossed over his phone. “Call Nina. Find out if she's okay and if that was her back there.”

Sienna caught the phone midthought. “We didn't find the flash drive. Should we go back when it's clear and look around some more?”

“Are you sure you hid it there? Could be someplace else, right?”

Sienna shrugged, feeling the weight of the past like a dark cloud in her mind. Why couldn't she just remember? Her own brain held her back and kept her from moving on with her life.

“I have no idea.” She sighed. “I just... I have no idea.” She gripped the hair beside her face and pulled the strands hard, praying God would give her those memories back.

Parker squeezed the back of her neck. “Give yourself a break. You remembered Thomas Loughton's name, and you remembered playing with your brother. It'll come back. It will.”

“I'm sorry.” She straightened and saw the confusion in his eyes. “Sorry you keep having to tell me it'll happen. I should know how to be more patient. I've been waiting over a year now.” She gripped the phone tighter. “I just get so frustrated.”

Not waiting for his answer, Sienna pulled up Nina's number on his phone. Did she even want to know how many women's contact info were stored in his phone? Who was “Hailey,” anyway?
Oh wait, that was the woman on his team.
Okay, so she was being dense. She'd been introduced to the woman on the highway after Sienna had almost been kidnapped. Jealousy wasn't attractive in the slightest.

“Hellooo...someone. Anyone...”

Sienna lifted the phone to her ear. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, it's been a pretty distracting evening.” Nina was out of breath. “You sound okay. How's the all-American hero?”

Sienna smiled to herself, since she'd thought that exact same thing about Parker the night she'd met him. Was that really only the day before? Twenty-four hours and her life had changed irrevocably.

“Well?”

Sienna said, “He's fine.” She glanced at Parker, who mouthed,
What?
She shook her head. “We're both fine. How did you know something happened? Was that gunfire you?”

“I have some unique skills, what can I say?” Nina sounded breathy, like she was walking fast.

“You want us to pick you up?”

“Nope.” Her reply was instant. “Worry about yourselves, then the flash drive. In that order. I'll be fine.”

Sienna sighed. “It's really no problem.”

“You pick me up, you draw attention to both of us. Let me cover you. Otherwise, things like tonight are impossible. They'll know I'm here.”

Sienna thought for a second. “The men after me, or the CIA?”