“We can’t,” the woman gritted out as she glanced back from the driver’s seat. “That fire will attract every eye in the area. We need to be out of here yesterday.”
But—
But the guy was nearly at the van. One of the guys with her reached out a hand, and her “hero” caught it as he leaped toward them. When he landed on the floor of the van, the whole vehicle shuddered.
Juliana’s heart nearly pounded right out of her chest. Her hero was alone. “John?”
He shook his head.
“Logan, what the hell?” the woman up front snapped. “You were supposed to be point on extraction, not going back to—”
Logan?
A dull roar began to fill Juliana’s ears. There were thousands of Logans in the world. Probably dozens in the military.
Just because her Logan had left her ten years ago that didn’t mean...
“There was no sign of another hostage,” the guy—Logan—said, and his voice was deep and rumbling.
A shiver worked over her.
Juliana sat on the floor of the van, arms wrapped around her knees. She wanted to see his eyes, needed to, but it was far too dark inside the vehicle.
One of the other men leaned out and yanked the van doors closed. The sound of those metal doors shutting sounded like a scream.
“’Course there wasn’t another hostage!” This came from the woman. “She was the only civilian there. I told you that. Don’t go doubting my intel.”
He grunted as he levered himself up. Then he reached for Juliana.
She jerked away from him. “Take off that mask.” She could see now. Barely.
He pulled it up and tossed it aside. Not much better. She had a fast impression of close-cropped hair and a strong jaw. Without more light, there was nothing else to see.
She needed to see more.
“You’re safe now,” he told her, and his words were little more than a growl. “They can’t hurt you anymore.”
His hand lifted, and his fingertips traced over her cheek. Her eyes closed at his touch and Juliana’s breath caught because... His touch is familiar.
His fingers slid down her cheek. Gentle. Light. It was a caress she’d felt before.
There were some things a woman never forgot—one was the touch of a man who’d left her with a broken heart.
This was her Logan. No, not hers. He never had been. “Thank you,” she whispered because he’d gotten her out of that nightmare, but she pulled away from his touch. Touching Logan Quinn had always been its own hell for her.
The van rushed along in the night. She didn’t know where they were heading. A heavy numbness seemed to have settled over her. John hadn’t made it out.
I’m not...perfect.
“We’re the good guys,” one of the other men said, his voice drawling slightly with the flow of Texas in his words. “Your father sent us after you. Before you know it, you’ll be home safe and sound. You’ll be—”
Rat-a-tat.
Juliana opened her mouth to scream as gunfire ripped into the vehicle, but in the next instant, she found herself thrown totally onto the floor of the van. Logan’s heavy body covered hers, and he trapped her beneath him.
“Get us out of here, Syd!” Texas yelled.
Juliana could barely breathe. Logan’s chest shoved down against hers, and the light stubble on his cheek brushed against her face.