Ride with the SEAL (Norse Security 1)

“It should be.” She frowned. “Try it again.”

He did. Nothing.

The longer they stayed here, the less chance they had of escaping this alive. Getting out of the Aeon was a death sentence, but cowering inside wasn’t much better. Eventually those bullets would hit something not protected and they’d all be fucked.

“You’re sure you put it all back together correctly?” All the fury and hurt inside him bubbled over, spewing out in his words. “Or is this just another lie, huh? Have you ever told me the truth, even one damned time, Everly?”

“Of course I did.” Her scowl darkened. “Maybe it’s your stupid device that’s the problem.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my device. My coding skills are exemplary.”

“Yeah?” Everly raised a sarcastic brow at him. “Then why the hell are we still sitting here, Geek Squad?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

More shots fired. This time a bullet zinged through the trunk, c

lean through the plush leather backseat, and out the floor of the car.

“Fuck.” Cam said a silent prayer and jammed the Start button one final time, eyes closed and hopes dwindling. The engine churned, churned, then purred to life. “Yes!”

“Get us the hell out of here!” Everly cried, covering her head as several more bullets whizzed out of the backseat and through the floor. “Please!”

Cam maneuvered himself into the drivers’ seat and yanked the steering wheel hard to the left toward the entrance. Loki was going to kill his ass when he saw all the damage to this car, but it couldn’t be helped now. With a snarl, he jammed the accelerator pedal to the floor and charged straight for the door of the factory. Suit guy’s eyes widened as the Aeon barreled toward him and he leapt out of the way at the last minute, leaving the path clear to the outside. Cam ducked as the car smashed through the thin metal walls of the warehouse and out into the bright sunshine. Tires squealed and the smell of burning rubber filled the car’s interior as they peeled out onto the two-lane highway and sped away, heading out of Virginia once more.

10

They’d been on the road about an hour when Everly couldn’t keep silent anymore.

“Like I said, I’m really sorry about what happened back there in the factory. I honestly didn’t know much about that buyer, only that he had the cash to back up his offer and that he wasn’t on my father’s list of preferred customers.”

Cam didn’t look at her, just focused straight ahead, his fixed expression as unreadable as it had been since they’d escaped the shootout. It hovered somewhere between disappointed and coldly furious.

“I need the money. I gave up my dream for you back there, refusing that deal. Isn’t that worth something?” she said, slumping back in her seat to stare out at the landscape blurring past.

“You could at least tell me where the hell we’re going.”

“Why?” Cam’s normally smooth voice sounded jagged and sharp. “So you can text your buddy and tell him where to find us again? Maybe this time he and his guards will finish the job.”

“You’re pissed about what happened,” she observed.

“Damn fucking straight I’m pissed!” A small muscle ticked near Cam’s tight jaw and he gripped the Aeon’s steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. “Having people try to blow my head off will do that. Haven’t even had any damned coffee yet.”

“Then stop and get some.”

“Right. For all we know that asshole drug dealer is following us. I’m not stopping until I’m sure they’re gone.”

“Fine. At least stop to close the trunk then. You can’t see shit out the back window and next thing we’ll get pulled over by a cop. This car’s stolen, in case you’ve forgotten. And I’m sure law enforcement would be mighty interested in all those bullet holes in the trunk and the smashed taillight.”

With a muttered curse, Cam slammed on the brakes, squealing to a halt on the berm. Mumbling to himself, he yanked off his seatbelt and threw open the door, stomping around the car to slam the trunk closed—didn’t help that it took three tries—then stalked back to climb into his seat once more. Everly kept her gaze lowered, biting back inappropriate laughter. The situation wasn’t funny, not really. If anything, it was terrifying. She’d lost her dream and nearly her life. Yet at that moment, all she could picture was Cam slamming that trunk, only to have it turn right around and pop back open in his face. Perhaps it was the absurdity of it all. Perhaps it was the excess adrenaline still shivering through her system. Whatever it was, Everly’s eyes stung and her shoulders started to shake and pretty soon she dissolved into a quivering mass of giggles.

Cam gave her a stern, disbelieving stare. “This is not funny.”

By then, she was too far gone, tears streaming down her cheeks as she rolled with laughter. “I-I’m s-sorry,” she managed to get out.

“Sorry?” Cam’s full lips puckered into a sour-lemon look, but his chest started to tremble. Soon, he was chuckling right along with her. The tension curdling in the air between them dissolved at last. When they’d both laughed themselves silly, sagging in their seats like a couple of sacks of potatoes, Cam rolled his head to the side and looked at her, his devastatingly sexy grin firmly back in place. “What a fucking mess, eh?”

“Got that right,” Everly said, holding her sore stomach. She hadn’t laughed that long or that well in a long time. In fact, being with Cam was more enjoyable than being with any other man she could remember—minus the bullets, of course. The warmth inside her was short lived, however, as the magnitude of what she’d done sank in. She’d blown the deal, blown her one shot at getting out from under her father’s thumb, blown any chance she could go back to her father now and beg his forgiveness. His ties to the mob were too strong. They’d kill him too if they’d thought he’d gone soft on her. And why had she done it? Because of some sappy feelings for a guy who probably wouldn’t look twice at her after this was all said and done. Why should he? Cam was smart, successful, gorgeous. He could be with any woman he wanted. No way he’d pick a loser like her. She closed her eyes and sighed. “What the hell are we going to do now?”