Page 37 of Shadow Redemption
“You have to be truthful with me at all times, Ruth.”
“I don’t make a habit of lying.” Her voice sounded snippy.
No, but she withheld information when a subject made her uncomfortable. “Let’s hope these goons don’t bash into us or Bear will come down even harder on me.” Ben didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Bear’s temper and tongue-lashing if he was involved in damaging two Fortress SUVs. He’d never hear the end of it from the mechanical genius.
“I can’t wait to meet this guy.”
“He’s a character. Bear has a soft spot for women in danger. It’s why we always ask him to beef up the safety features on SUVs for the wives and girlfriends of operatives.”
She went quiet.
Ben chanced another glance her direction and noted the thoughtful look on her face. “What is it?”
“My SUV looks and feels exactly like the Fortress fleet.”
He should have told her the truth before now. His hands tightened on the wheel. Ben hadn’t wanted to give Ruth an excuse to reject his gift to her. Yeah, the price had been steep, but when Bear learned why Ben had asked for a rush job on the SUV, the grouchy mechanic had given a short nod and fast-tracked the vehicle through the process.
“Did Bear work on my SUV?” Ruth asked.
If he insisted on the truth from her, he couldn’t offer her any less. “Yes.”
“You arranged that for me, didn’t you?”
And paid for it. He gave a short nod. Would she be angry? “It was the best way I could think of to protect you.” When he wasn’t with her which was most of the time. Ben had never been dissatisfied with his work. Until now.
A soft sigh. “Thank you for taking care of me even when I’m unaware of your efforts, Ben.”
“You’re not angry with me?”
“How could I be? You’re a protector. This is more evidence to prove it.”
Protector? Ruth viewed him through those rose-colored glasses. Ben was a stone-cold killer, a role he’d been forced to accept from the time he turned twelve and escaped the horror of his childhood.
His lip curled. The SEAL trainers had honed his skills to turn him into a lethal killing machine. If Ruth knew the truth, she would run from him, screaming in terror. In comparison, Ben made Hugo Torino look like a tame tabby.
He didn’t want Ruth afraid of him. Ben swallowed hard. Her fear would shatter what remained of the broken shards of his heart.
Another glance in the mirror revealed the green truck was now three car lengths back. Ben sped up the Harding Place exit ramp. The green truck swerved onto the ramp in their wake. If he had any doubts about the truck and its occupants, the latest move settled the issue.
Ben threaded through Nashville traffic, keeping at least two vehicles between his SUV and the truck as he fought to lengthen the distance between the vehicles.
When they were one mile away from the compound, Ben called Zane. “It’s Ben. We’re five minutes out, still coming in hot. A green truck is in pursuit.”
“Copy that. We’re ready. Go to the east gate.” He ended the call.
The green truck put on a burst of speed.
Ben scowled, turned a sharp left, and slammed the accelerator to the floor. The SUV sprinted ahead, creating a larger gap between the vehicles. Wouldn’t last. The creeps in the truck were determined to catch up and force them to the side of the road to kidnap Ruth or kill Ben. Maybe both.
As Ben guided the SUV around another curve, the truck’s passenger lowered the window and leaned out with a gun in his hand. “Get down!” he ordered as the first bullet pinged against the back of the SUV.
Ruth bent over, face angled toward him. Her hands gripped the passenger seat to keep herself steady, a necessity with Ben weaving around the light traffic on the road leading to the warehouse district where Fortress Security headquarters was located. “Will we make it?”
“Of course.” He wouldn’t allow anything else. Ben didn’t want Ruth in close proximity to thugs who wouldn’t quibble about hurting her, especially if he was the target.
The length of the pursuit and the determination of these goons to run them off the road convinced Ben that he was the ultimate target. Whether or not the goal was to get rid of him to reach the woman in the passenger seat or just to wipe him out of existence was the question. Somehow, though, Ben didn’t see a run-of-the-mill stalker having the resources to hire this many hoods to pursue Ruth. The stalker would come after her himself in the darkest hours of the night.
Another frown. Unless Torino was behind the attacks. His men could have a long-standing order to make Ruth pay for her escape and for crippling his organization. But what satisfaction would that bring the wannabe gunrunner? He would be in prison until he was an old man. His men couldn’t hold Ruth until he was released.