She turned to face her door and stared at the dark landscape flying by her window, wishing she didn’t need this man’s help. She dreamed she was in her own vehicle, Ivy asleep in the back seat, driving someplace safe. But they were a far cry from safety, and she needed him, all right. For the time being, they were stuck together.
You should be grateful. He could have called the police instead of helping you. You need to remember that.
Wyatt’s phone rang. This time, he put a small earbud in and transferred the call to that. “Hey, Jax. Got a sit-rep for me?”
Teslyn turned to be sure Ivy had slept through the commotion, while listening intently to Wyatt’s side of the conversation. From what little she could glean, HERO Force was in place and about to do… something. The energy coming off Wyatt seemed to fill the truck’s cab. When he hung up, she asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
He obviously wasn’t going to elaborate, nor was he making any other conversation. Giving up, she folded her pillow and tucked it between her head and shoulder. “I’m going to get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
She pulled her blanket up to her neck with a frustrated yank, then closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. This man was a supremely irritating, closed-mouthed, insensitive thug.
A wisp of a touch on her ankle had her eyes popping open. Wyatt tugged at her blanket, pulling it over her exposed foot. He shot her a look before his eyes went back to the road. “Just wanted you to be warm. Goodnight, Teslyn.”
A pulse beat down low in her abdomen.
Damn him.
“Goodnight.”
She worked to make her brain quiet, sleep slowly overtaking her consciousness when Wyatt spoke up. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, the truck suddenly slowing down.
His tone and the change in speed had her instantly on alert. She sat up. Red and blue lights flashed in the distance. “Oh, no.”
“Looks like a roadblock.”
Panic had her breath coming quickly. “What are we going to do?”
“Sometimes, the only way around is through.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means we’re going through that roadblock, and we’re going to convince them you and Ivy are not the droids they’re looking for.”
“Star Wars? Really?”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “It’s never a bad time for aStar Warsreference. You wake up Ivy. We need to get our story straight before we get to that barricade.”
CHAPTER9
Wyatt’s mind raced through the contents of his truck, desperate for a way to disguise Teslyn and Ivy. Custom-made storage compartments along the sides of the truck bed carried his weapons and body armor, along with survival supplies in case of emergency. He thought Ivy would fit in one of the compartments, but he’d be highly visible to people in other cars while he got her set up.
Not a good idea.
There was an under-seat storage system beneath the back bench where she slept, but he wasn’t sure it was big enough to fit the girl. Then again, she was tiny, and anything was worth a try. “There’s a compartment beneath the seat where she’s sleeping. She may be able to fit in it. You need to try.”
Teslyn did as he asked, unbuckling her seat belt and climbing into the back seat to wake her sister as he considered what they were up against. There appeared to be four emergency vehicles, likely state or local police. He could see flashlights shining through windows, and knew the cops were doing all they could to look for Teslyn and her sister.
Still, they needed probable cause to search a vehicle, and having a missing kid in the vicinity wasn’t going to cut it—not alone, anyway. They could shine their flashlights all they wanted. They still couldn’t open the doors of his cab and search the compartment beneath the seat. That was a violation of his constitutional rights, and at the moment, he was exceptionally glad to have them.
“How do I lift the bench seat?” Teslyn asked, and he passed her a small key. A moment later, she gasped. “Oh my God, there are guns in here.”
“They’re just handguns, unloaded.” All his ammunition was in the truck bed. “Leave them by Ivy’s feet and put her in there.”
“I don’t want to,” the girl whined.
