Drawing the Line, page 7
Mason’s eyes darted down to my mouth and that underlying heat deep in his eyes ignited into a fierce wildfire. He cupped the side of my face, his thumb running over my lower lip and lightly dragging it down, but his eyes never left me.
I’d been attracted to Mason physically from the moment I saw him, but after getting to know more about him, I was attracted to so much more. He was an incredible man, and I didn’t want to fight the desire to be close to him. I wanted to grant myself just that one moment. Even if that was all we had, I wanted it.
Mason took my invitation and leaned in. Just before our lips touched, his phone blared its shrill ringtone.
Mason paused and for a moment I thought he might ignore it, but he reluctantly pulled away. “I’m sorry, it could be work.”
“No, it’s okay. Really,” I assured him, knowing that his work could be a matter of life or death.
He pulled out his phone, swiped to answer the call and put it to his ear, “Carlile.”
“Hey man, its Mikey. Were you asleep?” I remained close to Mason on the couch, unsure if I should move or not. I could hear the man’s voice through the phone.
“No, I’m good. What’s going on?”
“I think I found something to do with your case.”
“Really? What?” Mason tilted the phone away from his ear slightly so I could hear too.
“I’ve been working with facial recognition software set with your photo. I ran it through DMV records in the area and crossed that with cars that look similar to the make and model of your car, but I wasn’t finding any matches.”
“So, you called to tell me you haven’t found anything?”
“No. I removed the car as one of my parameters and widened my search area by fifty miles and I found a few possibilities. From there I checked with rental companies who rent cars with similar appearance to your make and model, asking if any of the guys on my list had rented a car for the time of the bombing.”
“Please tell me you got a match?”
“I got a match.”
Mason let out a sigh of relief at his words, feeling stress actually leaving his body, his shoulders slumped. “Mikey, you are awesome,” he exclaimed.
“I know,” he chuckled. “I don't trust sending it to your devices. You'll need to meet me somewhere to get the hard files then pass it along to the team.”
"Okay, I'll work out a place to meet and get back to you."
"I'll be waiting for your call."
“Great, thanks again, man.”
“No problem.”
Mason hung up his cell and grinned at me.
“They found him?”
“They found his information. They still have to find him and connect him to the bombing”
“That’s still wonderful news. So, your team can question him and turn him over to the police and you’ll be off the hook?”
“It won’t be quite that simple. They’ll have to find him first then question him, but they will also need to find evidence that will convict him otherwise the local police will keep coming after me.”
“But you have a lead. That’s great.” I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his neck instinctively, in a tight hug. He hugged me back and the feel of his body against mine felt so good. I wanted to stay there forever.
As we parted, we fell into a slightly awkward silence. The moment between us had passed, but I wasn’t sure how to act once it was over. I couldn’t take the silence anymore, so I cleared my throat and started to rise from the couch. “Well, it's late. I should probably get some sleep.”
“Yeah, we’ve had a busy day,” Mason agreed and rose with me.
“And who knows what might come tomorrow?”
“I’m starting to think a boring day might be welcomed.”
“I second that,” I chuckled.
Mason reached for me and pulled me close to him, tucking that pesky stray hair away from my face again. Cupping my cheek, he gently brought his lips to mine for a sweet, tender kiss. He pulled away too soon and I felt myself almost stumble forward from the pull he had on me. He smiled and gave me one last quick kiss on the forehead before whispering against my skin, “goodnight, Hana.”
“Goodnight,” I breathed out the word before walking past him to my bedroom.
Chapter 9
Mason
I walked into the studio where Hana was busy painting. I couldn’t help but grin when she turned around, smiling at me, paint smeared down her cheek.
“Hey."
I returned her smile and matched her upbeat tone. "Hey. Feel like going for a ride?"
"Sure. What secret spy mission do we have today?"
"We are going to fly to Europe to stop an international spy ring."
Her jaw dropped and her brow rose. "Seriously?"
I couldn’t even hold a serious face and burst out laughing.
"Nah, we just need to meet Mikey in an old, abandoned grocery store using a similar technique like last time when I talked to Chris.”
“You mean with you peeking out from the trunk?” She chuckled softly.
“Yeah. Do you mind driving me to the meeting? I know you had plans to—”
“It’s no problem at all," she interrupted. "Except Europe did sound nice.”
“Thank you. I’m really going to owe you. And who knows, maybe you can go visit Europe on a nice vacation instead of chasing spies all around. I've only ever been for work."
"Then we should definitely go someday."
"We should?" Was she suggesting we go to Europe together one day?
"Well, I mean...I was just saying..." She fumbled with her words, making me smile. She was so adorable that I couldn't let her suffer like that.
"I'm just messing with you. Anyway, how long will you need to be ready? So, I can tell Mikey."
"Half an hour or so. I just need to clean up and change clothes."
"Awe, not going to be clad in this season's artist-chic collection?" I teased.
"No, it's just not the right feel for abandoned grocery store attire." She smirked at me and I had to laugh.
"Alright, I'll let Mikey know we should be at the rendezvous point in about an hour."
"Sounds good."
I walked out of the room and called Mikey.
I sat at the kitchen table going through my notes of everything I knew about the case so far which wasn't much.
"Hey, all ready to go?" Hana appeared from nowhere.
“Yeah, I was just looking over what little info we have on the case so far while I waited.”
“Sorry about that. Paint is a pain to wash off.”
“It's okay. It's only been,” I checked the clock on my phone. “Twenty minutes.”
“Oh, so I finished with time to spare.” Hana smiled.
“Yeah. But you don't need any more time. You already look far too good to be hanging out in an old, abandoned grocery store parking lot.”
“You just don't want to wait for me to get ready anymore,” she joked, letting out of chuckle as she picked up her purse and plucked the keys off the hook. “You ready to go?”
“Ready.” I closed my file and tucked it away as we walked to the garage.
I hated having to ride in the trunk while Hana drove, but until my name was cleared, I didn't have much of a choice. I gave her the address and made sure she put it in the GPS right before climbing in the trunk and closing the lid.
I rode for several minutes in the dark confined space. I could feel every turn though Hana was careful to take them as smoothly as she could. She turned out of her driveway and onto her road, from there it was only a couple turns before we reached the long stretch of highway that led to our meeting spot with Mikey.
Once we got on the straight away, I was able to lay back and relax a bit since I wouldn’t have to brace myself so often. I pulled out my phone and pulled up the map of the area around the old grocery store. I wanted to make sure that I could spot any potential weak spots where someone might catch us off guard.
I was busy studying the map when suddenly there was a loud crashing sound. I was thrown to the opposite side of the trunk, my phone knocked out of my hand and tumbled away into the dark recesses of the car. Once we finally stopped spinning, I scrambled to open the middle console of the backseat to see if Hana was okay and what had happened.
“Hana? Are you okay?” she looked disoriented and held the side of her head but nodded.
The sound of voices drew my attention away from her. Angry, male voices grew louder as they came closer to the car. I needed to get the hell out of the trunk and make sure that Hana was okay. I reached for the glowing emergency latch, but just before my fingers closed around it, the trunk flew open. I squinted in the bright daylight, barely able to make out the silhouettes of two large men.
With the sun behind them, I couldn’t make out their faces, but if their body language was any indication, they were not there to make friends. They grabbed me out of the car and slung me down onto the rough asphalt.
“What the hell?” I barely got the words out before one of the guys kicked me in the midsection.
I curled into a ball in order to protect my more vulnerable sides. When he tried to kick me again, I grabbed the guy’s leg and pulled, making him fall onto the ground beside me.
Before the second man had time to react, I was able to sideswipe him, nearly bringing him tumbling on top of me. I stumbled to my feet, catching a glimpse of Hana, struggling to keep her balance as she climbed out of the car.
She cried out my name, just before one of the guys wrapped his large forearm across my throat in a choke hold.
“Hana, get out of here. Go,” I yelled at her with all the air I had left as his arm pinched off my windpipe.
I didn’t have time to watch her run. I swung my elbow around, hitting whatever parts of him I could reach. One lucky strike finally made him loosen his grip enough that I was able to slip away. His partner, still on the ground, managed to knock me down and I landed flat on my back, briefly knocking the air from my lungs.
The first, larger guy charged toward me. Using my position on my back to my advantage along with his momentum, I flung him over my head. He crashed into the bumper of the car before crumpling to the ground. I rolled over and hopped onto my feet. Before he had time to get up, I made it to his friend and offered one solid punch to his jaw.
He punched back and I dodged him, but his second strike snuck up on me and I stumbled back. He advanced but when he tried to punch again, I grabbed his arm and thrust up, causing a sickening crack. His yell broke through the ringing in my ears, but he kept fighting.
I slammed his head into the side of the car, finally knocking him unconscious. The first guy came up behind me and grabbed me in an unbreakable headlock. I swung to hit him but couldn’t get a good angle. There was a loud thud of metal hitting bone and the guy released me, falling to the ground.
I whirled around to see Hana standing there, blood drying in her blond hair and a tire iron in her hand. She’d never looked hotter.
Then, she stumbled. I stepped forward, barely catching her in my arms as she found her footing again.
“I’m dizzy.”
“I can tell.”
“I hit my head.”
“I know. Let’s get you sitting down for a minute.”
I led her toward the front of the car when I spotted another car approaching fast from down the road. They were not out for a Sunday drive.
“I think we’ve got more company. Let’s get out of here.”
I kept a hand on Hana as we ran to help stabilize her and I placed her in the passenger seat. Once she was secure, I ran around the back of the car, quickly shutting the trunk before hopping in the driver's seat. I said a quick prayer that the car would start before turning the key.
Nothing.
I turned the key again, that time with a little added jiggle and it finally started. I hit the gas and we spun tires as I pulled off the side of the road and into the lane. The car behind us slowed slightly as they passed the two unconscious men on the side of the road but then they sped up with even more determination.
“Hold on tight. I need to lose them.”
I floored the car, pushing it to go as fast as it could. I wished we were in my car because it would go faster, but I’d just have to out-maneuver them instead. I put as much distance as possible between us and the other car, but they were still gaining on us. We came up to a bit of traffic and I was able to swerve in and out of the cars with ease where they managed to delay themselves by getting pinned in between three cars.
I was still zipping through traffic, trying to keep as much distance as I could from them when I called Mikey.
“Hey man, where are you? You’re late.”
“We ran into some trouble. Aren’t going to be able to make it today. Sorry Mikey. I need to call Hunter, but I’ll be in touch.”
“You got it.”
I hung up the phone and dialed Hunter just before having to swerve into the median to avoid hitting two cars and a minivan. Hana gasped, gripping her armrests tight.
“It’s okay, I got this.”
“Hey man, got what?” Hunter’s voice came through the phone.
“Hey, Hunter. Hana and I ran into some trouble on our way to meet Mikey. We are currently on the 95 headed north trying to outrun them.”
“Shit, man. What do you need?”
“Take this exit up here,” Hana ordered.
I accelerated to make it around a car before swerving in front of them and over onto the off-ramp. I glanced in my rearview, not seeing anyone following behind.
“We may have lost them, but I’m not sure yet. I need you to head back up the road a bit and see if you see anything. We left two of their guys unconscious on the side of the road so they may be going back there. Look for a dark green SUV with a lot of front-end damage.”
“You got it. Until I find out more, can you find a place to lay low?”
“Yeah, the accident didn’t happen far from Hana’s house, so I’m not convinced that her place hasn’t been compromised. We’ll find somewhere—shit.”
“What?”
“I don’t have my go-bag with me.”
“What do you mean? You always carry it with you. It’s protocol.”
“I left it at Hana’s. I’ve been living out of that thing for a while now. I don’t have any cash for a room or guns or anything.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Hana interrupted, and I looked at her perplexed. “What do you mean?”
“I know a place where we can stay for free. And I’ve got my go-bag.” She held up her purse and smiled.
“Okay. Call me when you have something, Hunter.”
I ended the call and glanced at Hana again. “We need to get you checked out at a hospital, but I’m worried that those guys might look there.”
“I’ll be fine. I was just knocked around a little. Take this next right.”
Hana led me back out onto a different stretch of highway, calmly telling me which way to go as all the stores, buildings, and traffic faded away.
“Where are we going?”
“My grandma’s place.”
“The farm?”
“Yeah, it's only an hour away. We should be there soon, especially with the way you’ve been driving. But we need to stop by the store to pick up a few things before we get too close. There aren’t any stores for several miles once you get there.”
We rode a way longer until Hana pointed at another exit sign with a billboard for Wal-Mart next to it.
“There.”
I took the exit and Hana directed me to pull into the store’s parking lot.
“We need to pick up some stuff just in case we have to stay there for the night. No one lives there so it won’t be stocked.”
“Lead the way.”
Chapter 10
Mason
I followed Hana’s directions from the store. Ten minutes on the main road, then we turned off, driving until the paved road faded into packed dirt and bits of gravel. Trees hung over the road like we were driving through a tunnel.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way? You aren’t getting us lost, are you?”
“We’re almost there.” Hana chuckled. She seemed almost excited as we drove farther into what looked like nowhere.
I kept driving but I was getting more hesitant by the minute. I hoped that her hitting her head hadn’t confused her. The road wound around large trees and streams that could barely be seen through all the overgrowth.
We took a turn and the trees suddenly cleared, opening up into large fields and open sky. By that point, the sun was setting below the rolling horizon, giving the whole sky an orange glow.
“Wow,” I breathed out.
“See why I love it here? It’s the little brick house up there on the right. Just after the pond.”
I pulled off the main road and drove up the long winding drive to the house. To the right, there was a small fishing pond and to the left was an old barn that had clearly seen better days. We pulled around to the side of the house and I put the car in park.
“Let me make sure the key still works.” Hana jumped out of the car and ran up the front porch steps before I got out of the car.
“Wouldn’t that have been a good thing to know before we drove all the way here?”
“Well, yeah. Probably.” She chuckled, wiggling the key in the lock before finally opening the door. “There, see. No problem.”
I grabbed our bags of groceries and shut the car door with my knee before following her.
“Oh, I was going to help.” She scowled at my arms loaded down with bags.
“It’s no big deal. I got them. But where can I put these?”
“Oh, kitchen. This way.”
She led me through the living room. All the furniture was covered in white sheets, arranged so that the beautiful large stone fireplace was the centerpiece of the room. We walked into the traditional farmhouse kitchen. It was large with an old, yet cared for, kitchen dining set.
“You can just sit the bags there.” She flipped the light switch and the room illuminated enough that I could see the old-timey blue and white plaid wallpaper.
