Reluctant Protector Read Free

Marco, insisting on some boutique hotel in the middle of nowhere. Two-lane highways were a bitch. Especially when sheets of rain blackened them to pitch and the visibility was about two feet. Add to that a thick, green forest lining each side to the edge and this little road trip felt like a highway to darkened hell.
    A heavy thud jolted the car to the right and had him cursing enough to make his father blush as he swerved. Just what he needed . He carefully applied pressure to the brake as he prayed the damn thing had a spare.
    He pulled over on what might be considered the shoulder if he used enough imagination. The moment he stepped out of the car, sheets of rain assaulted him, drenching the front of his shirt. “Perfect. God Damn perfect.”
    Using his keys to pop the trunk, he jogged around the back to lift the lid. The door wouldn’t budge. He planted his feet and used more shoulder strength, but his feet slipped on the mud. Maybe his duffle had jammed the damn thing. Patting down his pockets, he groaned. His cell phone was in the trunk along with his notes from the interview. “Of all the freaking days to deal with this kind of shit.”
    Bracing his legs, he grimaced as his muscles bunched. This time the trunk popped open.
    With no light to aid him, the trunk looked like a black hole. Reaching in, he groped for the latch to the spare tire. His fingers came in contact with something soft and cold. Frowning, he reached in further and immediately wished he hadn't. Something frozen, but smooth like an—arm. Yanking his hand back, he staggered away from the car. No . It couldn't be. “Get a hold of yourself, Seth. You've been reading too much Stephen King,” he mumbled. Regardless of what his rational mind told his body, he still approached the car with caution.
    Heart hammering like a thousand stampeding stallions, he reached in again, mentally preparing for something icy and clawed of the alien variety. He patted down the whole trunk with his hands but found nothing. Like a deflating balloon, he slowly let the breath out of his lungs. Driving around in the dark in the middle of the woods was doing a job on his psyche.
    He hauled out the tire, the jack and a flashlight and got to work. For good measure, he scanned the trunk using the flashlight, but still nothing. “Time to go on vacation, Buddy. You’re losing it.” And that wasn't an exaggeration. Seth had been skating by for the last month. Time to get his act together. He would turn over the Gentech story and be on his way. No need to go looking for trouble.
    He changed the tire as best he could with the slick equipment. He hauled the flat back to the truck and levered it into the trunk. As he closed the compartment, something glacial grabbed his hand. “Holy fucking shit!” The bellow came from that dark space inside all human beings that know true fear.
    “I'd shut up if I were you. You’ll give away our position. My guess is they have guns trained in our general direction, but it sounds like they don’t have our exact location. We need to keep it that way.” A dark haired woman lay on her side in the back of the trunk.
    “What. The. Fuck.” Seth's breathing was ragged and sharp. His heart no longer galloped, but whizzed with the alacrity of a high speed train. Absently, he wondered if he would have a heart attack. His brain kicked into overdrive, spinning with questions. Who was she? How had she gotten into his trunk? When had she gotten into the trunk?
    She climbed out, slowly unfolding her limbs as if she were injured. “I guess you didn't hear me when I said to shut the hell up.” She stretched her legs and arms. “I'll explain later, Seth. We don’t have time for questions right now.” She eyed him as if assessing him. “We have two options. Run, or stay and fight. I don’t know how many guys are out there, but you can be sure they have night vision goggles. How are you in a fight?” Her tone was matter-of-fact. Weary even. As if climbing