Page 30 of Laura's Truth
“You held a knife to my throat,” she said. He’d also forced a good gun out of her hands and dragged her along for this roller coaster. The nightmare ride wasn’t anywhere close to done if she had to guess.
She turned on the radio and set it scanning for stations. Drew took the hint and kept quiet. Until he shared some real details, she should remember it was merely his word against Hackett’s.
Military personnel didn’t just go out and about as they pleased in combat zones. If Hackett had been in that part of Afghanistan at the time, his orders would reflect it. With a clean phone, she could call in a favor of her own and check it out. She’d been through the file on Drew’s incident front to back, and there was no mention of a JAG officer named Hackett in there. No mention of anyone by that name in there.
At this point, she had to believe Drew that Hackett, or someone in his employ, had breached her work records in the secure Ft. Bragg office. Damn, what she wouldn’t do for a phone and a friend with similar computer skills. She needed answers. Answers verified by a third party with nothing to lose in this dicey situation.
Traffic slowed as they wound their way down two-lane roads and through various small communities toward the beach. She considered what she’d tell Ross when she had the chance.
She stopped the radio station scan when it landed on a news station. A breaking news alert sounded and she turned up the volume. “Two men were found dead in a Summerville hotel room an hour ago. Police are still looking for the woman who booked the room under the name of Laura Talbot. She’s wanted for questioning. You can find a picture of her on our website…”
Drew turned down the volume. “You booked the room in your real name?”
“Of course.” She gulped in a lungful of air. There wasn’t an excuse, no better reply to his blatant accusation. “I was on a personal holiday.” Lame. True, but lame.
“You’re Army Counterintel. You know better.”
“In town on a personal holiday,” she repeated. In an automatic reflex, Laura sank back in her seat, praying no one in the surrounding cars would recognize her. This close to the resorts and oceans, there wasn’t a way out of the dense traffic.
“I told you Hackett was good.”
“He set me up.” Shock consumed her. There was no way she’d go unseen in Charleston. Not even if she’d been prepared for an undercover operation. They should go their separate ways. Drew could hide at the beach and regroup. It was the only chance to stop Hackett. But there’d be hell to pay if she reached Bragg safely and admitted she’d let Drew pull off his personal revenge against a known traitor.
“Of course he did.” Drew pounded his open palm against the door panel. “Damn it. I should’ve seen that coming.”
“I’m a liability,” she whispered, checking her mirrors. Part of her expected the police to drop out of the sky. “We have to split up.”
“No way. I’m your only chance to survive. If you try to run and you’re caught, Hackett will have you killed and waltz on air for the rest of his damned life.”
“Not if you go back and stop him.” She couldn’t believe she was supporting that option, but there weren’t any others.
Drew shook his head. “I can’t get to him on my own. Not now.”
Because she’d gone into this with less than her best effort. She’d left Bragg with the preconceived notion that this was no more than a wild goose chase, a quick trip to ease the mind of an old friend. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited out another red light.
“We’ll call Ross,” she said. “You give me your evidence against Hackett, and Ross will give you the backup you need to take him down.”
“Please, don’t do me any more favors.”
She couldn’t blame him for snapping at her. Why wouldn’t he seize on her failures and resume his original agenda? Why in the hell did she feel such immense relief when he said he’d stick with her? She was a big girl, she had connections. “A couple of phone calls will clear this up. I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Two men.” Drew’s muttering echoed her thoughts. “Has to be the pair from the airport.”
“They were in police custody,” she said, turning left and managing to get two blocks before another prolonged wait.
“I told you he has a long reach. We need to get somewhere private, and fast. There,” he pointed to one of the beach store chains that decorated every block between here and the ocean. “Let me grab some clothes for you.”
“No way.” She drove right on by. “I don’t need a beach blanket or the free hermit crab that comes with it.”
“Field skills, Talbot. You’ve got to start thinking survival.”
“I am.” Now that the shock was wearing off. “Since I didn’t actually kill anyone, I can contact the local police and straighten this out.”
“And how do you explain me?”
She hadn’t decided that yet. “Who says I have to?” Sticking together didn’t mean attached at the hip twenty-four, seven.
“Two men in a hotel room booked with your legal name. The media will be all over this when they learn you’re in the Army. Face it, you need to get off the radar.” He pointed to another beachwear shop. “Give me five minutes and I can turn us invisible.”