“How did you feel when you got sucked back into taking care of the diva team?”
“I can’t wait to tell Si what you call his team.”
Walker felt a frisson of fear. Raines would eat him alive and if it got back to Mitch…
Mark burst out laughing. “Your face. Oh my God. I wish I had my phone to take a picture.”
“Fuck you,” Walker groused.
“With pleasure.”
Mark went from laughing to purring, and Walker was on the point of pulling over and begging to be fucked when something in the rearview mirror caught his eye. He was sure that black sedan had been following them for a long while.
“What is it?”
“A black sedan. I saw it about five miles back.”
“We’re on the highway. A lot of us are going the same way,” Mark pointed out.
“I know,” Walker agreed, still keeping an eye on the black vehicle.
“You’re not convinced.”
“I’ve been keeping to a steady pace. Most vehicles have gone past us.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Keep driving and watching.”
He didn’t want to end up driving around in circles and constantly changing locations.
“Okay.”
He was grateful for the simple confidence in him Mark exuded. Confidence he didn’t really feel himself.
“They’re keeping their distance,” Mark observed. He’d adjusted the mirror on his sun visor so he could see behind them.
“Yup.”
The relaxed atmosphere had vanished. Walker felt the tension knot his shoulder muscles. He’d been nervous enough in the field exercises, but this was the real thing. If he screwed up Mark could die. The sedan stayed where it was, staying at the same speed, at least four cars between it and their truck.
He spotted something else that worried him. “A motorbike is coming up fast on your side. Get down.”
Mark immediately slid down so his head was out of sight of anyone looking in. Walker waited, prepared to take action at the first sign of a weapon.
The motorcycle shot past, doing at least double the speed limit. Walker watched it go out of sight, but it never slowed, never showed any interest in them.
“It’s gone,” he murmured.
“What about the sedan?”
“It’s still there.”
Mark stayed where he was. Walker slowed his speed, wanting to see what the sedan did. It stayed where it was. Maybe it wasn’t anything to worry about. He put a distance between the two vehicles. The sedan speeded up.
“What’s it doing?”
“Catching up with us again.”
“Damn.”
Walker evaluated his options. He could play cat and mouse down the highway or he could get rid of their unwanted tail.
He speeded up, overtaking a semi. The sedan was now out of sight. But, more to the point, he was out of sight of the sedan. He took a chance that the sedan would speed to catch up and took a sudden right off the interstate knowing the semi blocked any line of vision. His heart was in his mouth as he checked the mirror, but nothing followed them.
“Nice move,” Mark said as he sat up cautiously.
“I know.”
“What are you gonna do now?”
“Now I’m gonna find us a room with room service. I’m suddenly starving.”
The adrenaline was still pumping, and Walker knew if he didn’t get food soon he would crash. He was a big man and when he crashed, it was hard.
Mark reached into the bag. “Drink the Gatorade,” he said as he uncapped the bottle.
Walker murmured his thanks and sucked down the sugary drink. It was just what he needed.
“We need to find a motel,” Mark said.
“I saw one five miles back,” Walker said. He’d been taking note of them in case of an emergency. He hadn’t intended to stop this soon but if it meant getting off the interstate for a while, he’d be happy. But he wasn’t going to stop at the nearest one to the intersection in case the sedan had been hunting them and decided to double back.
He drove to the motel, clutching the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. Mark stared out of the window, and when Walker glanced his way he could see the cords of tension in his neck. Dammit, why hadn’t he let Rees drive Mark? He was the wrong person to handle the assignment.
The motel Walker picked was anonymous and boring. It suited Walker’s budget. They paid cash. The receptionist didn’t bother to look up from his phone.
“We obviously can’t compete with Miss Busty Bridges,” Mark murmured as they returned to the car.
Walker snorted. “You sound disappointed. Did you want him to join in?”
Mark fixed him with a leer. “He’s not my type.”
The breath caught in Walker’s throat. “He’s not?”
“You know he isn’t.”
Dammit, the ‘keep his hands off of Mark during the assignment’ policy was doomed to failure if he kept looking at Walker like that. Walker got behind the steering wheel and waited for Mark to slide into the passenger seat. The bastard wore a smug smile. He knew exactly the effect he was having.
Walker turned to Mark. “I want you to take me into the room and fuck me until I can’t remember my name.”
Mark blinked. “You do?”
“Yeah, but it isn’t going to happen.”
Mark sighed and leaned over to squeeze Walker’s shoulder. “I know. And I’m sorry for teasing you. I know you’ve got a job to do.”
Walker gave a curt nod, accepting the apology for what it was. Mark’s obvious attraction to him was more than flattering. No one had ever treated him like this before. But like Mark said, he still had a job to do.
“We’ve got a room on the second floor over there.”
He pointed. It was by the stairwell and had easy access to the exit, but the parking lot at the side meant he could tuck the truck out of sight. He could vault over the railing if necessary.
“How’s your knee?” he asked suddenly.
“The best it’s ever been,” Mark said. “Not agency standard, but don’t worry, if we need to make a quick exit, I can do it.”
“Okay then. There’s a diner that delivers. Room service and nap it is.”
“That sounds good,” Mark said. “I feel like we’ve been on the road all day.”
The room was adequate for their needs. He sent Mark into the shower. Once the water was running, Walker dug into the pack his uncle had given him. As he expected there was a burner phone in there. He sent a quick message.
“Ghost, north 3, Jaws, night.”
The reply was instantaneous.
“Air, Moneypenny, south 1, night.”
That wasn’t the reply he’d wanted.
He stared at the message for a long time. He was going to be driving around in circles until they found a place to land. They were in trouble.
Chapter 11
The sound of running water stopped. Walker tucked away the phone. He looked up and nearly swallowed his tongue. Mark walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets peppering his shoulders and chest. The water must have been hot because steam billowed out in waves.