Chapter 4

CHAPTER

FOUR

Kai dropped some cash on the table and stood.

"We've got to get out of here. Now." He took Tori's hand and started toward the back of the restaurant.

Before he pulled her too far, Tori grabbed the envelope and stuffed it back into her bag.

She didn't bother to argue. Clearly, she'd seen those men also.

As he'd done earlier, Kai pulled her out the back door and into the alley. Instead of running to the end of the narrow corridor, he opened the door to the shop next door.

A coffee shop.

"Look casual," he murmured as they stepped inside.

They passed some bathrooms. A display of pastries. A coffee prep area. Random wooden tables and chairs filled with patrons.

No one gave them a second look.

Good.

He kept pulling Tori toward the front door. He needed to see if those men had gone into the Vietnamese restaurant or if they'd continued down the street.

He paused by the front window but didn't see them.

This was their cue to leave. Now.

He and Tori had to somehow get to his SUV before those men spotted them.

Kai pulled Tori out the door and headed away from the restaurant. He needed to put enough space between them that they wouldn't be spotted again.

Just as they turned left, someone behind them yelled, "Stop!"

Those men had found them after all.

"Run!" he told Tori.

They sprinted down the sidewalk, dodging other pedestrians, until they reached a crosswalk.

The light changed to a red hand indicating for them to stop—but they kept going.

Cars blasted their horns as the drivers threw on brakes.

Kai raised his hand and murmured, "Sorry."

But he wasn't sorry.

He was in survival mode. He'd do whatever it took to get to safety and find out some answers.

As he and Tori reached the end of the next block, he prayed he'd lost those guys.

He glanced behind them again.

No such luck, he realized, his stomach sinking.

The thugs were still there, still on their heels.

Not only that, but they seemed to be gaining on them.

Kai needed to think of an alternate plan.

He quickly scanned the street in front of them.

An idea hit him.

Holding on to Tori's hand, he darted toward a taxi waiting at the corner. He opened the back door and shoved Tori inside.

"We need to go." Kai's palm slapped the seat to get the driver's attention. "Now."

The taxi driver looked at him in the rearview mirror, eyes narrowed with annoyance. "Who do you think I am? A?—"

"Take this." Kai handed him a fifty.

The money got the guy's attention. "Here we go."

As the light changed, the driver peeled away.

Kai looked behind him in time to see the two men stop and look for their own taxi.

Thankfully, Kai didn't see any other vehicles around.

But it was too soon to let down his guard.

Tori's heart continued to race. She glanced out the window at those men and waited to see if they would reach another taxi before she and Kai took off.

They didn't.

But that didn't mean she could relax. There was still a chance the men could jump into another car and catch up with them.

She kept watching the men.

But they didn't jump inside and commandeer any other vehicles.

She swerved her gaze forward and saw the stream of traffic continued moving. No cars stopped.

Maybe she and Kai had gotten away.

But how long would this reprieve last? Would the men find them again?

Kai rattled off directions to the driver, and they continued down the busy street.

After a few minutes, he settled back in his seat, seeming to relax a moment. "I think we're safe. For now."

Tori let out a long breath.

But she knew all it would take was one traffic jam or red light, and those guys could catch up.

Please, Lord, don't let that be the case. Please.

Just as she whispered a silent amen, Kai turned to her. "You really have no idea who those men are, do you?"

"I have no idea."

"Today is the first time you've seen them?"

"Yes," she told him, wishing he wasn't so skeptical of everything she said. "I had no idea they were following me. I thought I was pretty observant, but . . . I guess not."

She watched Kai, saw that he was still assessing the situation. The man was clearly smart and an experienced soldier—just like her brother had been.

At the thought, her throat burned. She missed Nathan so much. She missed trying out new restaurants with him—their most recent kick had been anything Italian. She missed playing Catan together, even though he always beat her. She missed their inside jokes.

She swallowed back her tears and asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

She'd taken the Metro into the downtown area, and she didn't know DC well enough to have a good sense of place.

"I'm trying to figure out our final destination." Kai stared out the windshield, his face stoic. "I don't know who I can trust right now."

His words lingered in the air before finally settling with unease in her gut. What did that mean? Did he suspect someone he knew might not be trustworthy? And if so, why?

Tori didn't know him well enough to ask those questions. Instead, she leaned back in the seat and tried to calm her racing thoughts.

She would need every ounce of her energy later . . . especially if those men found her again.