Cale decided to go with option two. His left hand tightened on her. “When I say ‘move,’ you get into the sports car and you stay low.”
She turned her head, meeting his gaze. “You’ve got keys on you?”
Since it wasn’t his car, no, he didn’t. But that was just a minor point.
One, two... “Move!” He yanked open the car door. Cassidy jumped inside, staying low, just as he’d told her.
But the shooter saw their movements. He fired, and the glass exploded on the passenger’s side of the vehicle.
Cassidy yelled and ducked even lower.
Again—the yells weren’t the actions of a trained EOD agent. Civilians yelled. Screamed. Agents went to work.
Cale jumped into the vehicle. He shoved his hands under the dashboard, found the wires he needed—cars had always been a specialty of his—and he had the engine cranking to life instantly.
A good thing because more gunfire was exploding around them.
He shoved the car into Drive and slammed the gas pedal down to the floor
board. They raced from the scene with bullets chasing after them.
His right hand still held the gun, and his left kept a white-knuckled grip around the steering wheel.
“Are you okay?” Cale demanded as they rounded the next corner. The shooter could be pursuing them, so he barely slowed. He was pretty sure the sports car lifted onto two wheels.
She didn’t answer him.
“Cassidy!”
She was curled in on herself, crouching down on the floorboard. He could just see the top of her blond head.
“I’m okay.” Soft. “I just got cut from some of the glass. No big deal.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror. Saw only darkness behind them. But it wasn’t like their pursuers would come chasing with their bright lights on.
He wasn’t using his lights, either. Because if you wanted to blend in with the darkness, you didn’t flash a beacon.
“Are they following us?” Cassidy asked from her crouched position.
Maybe.
The car slid around another corner. He wasn’t getting on the main roads, the roads that would still be full of those celebrating Carnival. The party didn’t exactly stop just because it was after midnight. He needed to stay away from the party—and the cluster of people that would just slow him down.
He knew this area. This wasn’t his first time to visit Rio. The EOD agents had a house not far from their current location. A few miles, a few more backstreets.
Then they’d be safe.
Or as safe as they could be. He needed more intel to figure out what was happening. Why is she a target?
Cale didn’t like being the hunted. No, it was his job to be the hunter.
And for others to be his prey.
Chapter Three
A long sliver of broken glass protruded from Cassidy’s arm. Carefully, she curled her fingers around the glass and pulled it from her skin, hissing out a breath at the pain.
“What are you doing?” She didn’t look up at Cale’s growl. The guy often seemed to be growling. Not exactly Mr. Sunshine and Light, but then, in her experience, tough guys weren’t. They were dark and intense and the ones who were perfect when it came to pulling your butt from the fire.