The driver’s side door opened, and a man stepped out. Dressed in khaki pants and shirt, his clothing was completely unremarkable. Large mirrored sunglasses made it hard to categorize his features, though his hair was dark and cut short.
Her attention was centered on the gun in his hand. He raised it, aiming at her. The son of a bitch was going to shoot her in the back.
She yanked the steering wheel to one side so her steel bumpers clipped the car’s door, smacking it into the asshole. His arm was pushed up, the gun went off, and he was slammed into the side of his vehicle. He went down.
She wrenched her steering wheel in the opposite direction and managed to push the truck up the barrier a little farther, enough to give her the space she needed to escape.
As she floored the gas pedal and passed the truck, something clanged off the Jeep. Another gunshot?
Holy shit, these guys weren’t fooling around.
Success bubbled up into a laugh as she drove. A couple of miles down the road the laughter had burned itself out, leaving her hand shaking with unused adrenaline. Pulling over wasn’t an option—who knew who else would pull over with her? She grabbed her phone and, after a couple of tries, managed to hit the right buttons to call Henry’s cell phone. The last thing she did before dropping the device was put it in speaker mode so she could use both hands to drive.
“Ruby?” Henry’s normal grumpy bass held a questioning note.
“S-someone just tr-tried to run me off the road.” Why wasn’t her tongue working? She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, either.
“Where are you right now?” His voice was sharp, and in the background, sounds told her he was moving—a door opening and closing, rapid footsteps, and other indistinct voices.
There was her exit. “Not far from the office. Ten minutes.”
“Do you need immediate assistance? Are you being pursued?”
“No. I put both vehicles out of commission.”
“Is your car damaged? Are you hurt? Should you be driving?” His questions echoed. He’d entered a large enclosed space. The parking garage?
“It’s fine.” She checked her mirrors and let out a deep breath. That felt so good she did it again. “No one looks like they’re following me.” She let out a dusky laugh. “Five more minutes and I’ll be there.”
“Let me know where you park.” It was an order.
“Okay.” Someone besides her should check the Jeep for damage.
She was never so glad to pull up to the gated parking garage as today. The guard checked her ID, then waved her in. She drove into the parking garage, where Henry was watching her from the side. She stopped and let him in, but not until he examined the front of the Jeep.
“Are you sure you’re not injured?” he asked as soon as he opened the passenger door.
She shook her head. “At least, I don’t think so.”
He pressed his lips together in a flat line. “Park.” He hopped in and shut the door.
As soon as she did, he reached over and curved a hand around her neck so he could bring her closer. “Let’s try this again.” His voice was low, full of something akin to menace, no less intense, but gentler. “Are you injured?”
She stared into his eyes only inches from her own and found she’d forgotten how to breathe. He was close enough to make her want more than just his hand on her neck.
“No,” she whispered and patted the steering wheel. “Frankenjeep is tough.”
He examined her carefully then let her go and sat back slightly. “What happened?”
“I was on the interstate when a car and a truck boxed me in and forced me to slow down. They tried to make me pull over and I got scared, so I stepped on the brakes. The car behind hit me hard. The one in front backed up so I couldn’t move. I stepped on the gas and pushed it out of my way and drove off.” She paused to suck in a breath. “Then I called you.”
He absorbed that. “Frankenjeep?”
“My brother rebuilt it. It’s more of a tank that only pretends it’s a Jeep. Solid steel frame and bumpers.”
“It has the power to move another vehicle?”
“He put a ridiculous engine in it. I don’t usually drive it, but my car is at the mechanic’s.”
He waited…to see if she had more to say? His gaze left hers after a few seconds, roaming her again.
“Steel bumpers, huh?” He slid out the door and moved to look at the back of the Jeep.
Ruby joined him. The bumper wasn’t dented, but there was a collection of paint-filled scrapes on it.
He strode to the front. Same thing there. He stared at it for several seconds then pulled out his phone, made a call, and said, “I’ve got something I want you to see in the staff garage.” He paused to check the parking stall number. He relayed it, then he ended the call.
“Who’s coming?” Ruby asked. Now that she was here and safe, she was feeling a little light-headed—not that she would tell Henry that. He’d have her in medical in a second. No, all she needed was a cup of coffee and something to eat.
“DS,” he said. He met her gaze and she sucked in a breath. His eyes were all but incandescent with rage.
“While we wait for him, I want you to think very carefully about what happened.”
She opened her mouth to complain she’d already told him about it, but he didn’t give her a chance to talk.
“You’re going to tell us all the details you didn’t give me a few minutes ago.” His face was grim. “How many people were in each vehicle, make and model, weapons visible, every little thing.”
“But—”
“Close your eyes and focus on it. Please?”
He seemed so serious and furious, all she could do was nod and do as he asked.
She’d never heard him say “please” before—not like that.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the sound of someone walking toward them had her eyes opening.
DS looked from her to Henry and back again. “Having a staff meeting?”
“What we had was an attempted kidnapping,” Henry said with a nod in Ruby’s direction.
“What?” DS jerked and stared at her. “Just now?”
“On my way to work,” Ruby agreed. Then she recalled the entire incident, including several details she didn’t think she knew—that each vehicle had one occupant each and that the vehicles both had stickers from a rental company on them.
After she was finished, DS said, “I’ll look into it.” He gave Henry a funny look then met her gaze. “You okay?”