Free Silent Pursuit by Lynette Eason Page A

hand, funny-looking glasses now covering his eyes.
    Night vision goggles. Of course.
    Another right turn. A left.
    Then he abruptly turned and pulled her into the room to the right.
    Her breath came in pants; her heart thundered in her ears so loudly she was sure Ian could hear it. And where was Nicholas? Was he in danger? Were the cops on the way?
    As if in answer to her question, sirens sounded in the distance.
    Â 
    Ian easily made out the figure at the end of the hall just before he pulled Gina into the room behind him. A pro. Dressed in army fatigues—and an M16 assault rifle held comfortably in his hands.
    One of his own? Another Ranger? Dread crawled through him. These guys were serious. Mario, what have you done?
    Gina shifted behind him and he could hear her desperately trying to quiet her breathing. Fortunately, the bad guy was far enough away that he couldn’t hear her.
    Okay—Ian thought quickly, new plan.
    He looked around. The balcony. Motioning for Gina to stay put, he scurried over to look out. A tree stood close enough, and if he were by himself, he’d be over the rail and down the tree in minutes. However…
    He looked over at the scared woman, trembling where he’d left her—yet with a look in her eyes that said she’d go down fighting.
    Good. She’d need that spirit. He moved back to the door and listened. Footsteps sounded to his left. Soon they’d be here to search this room.
    He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the balcony. In shock, she noticed it was raining. Sometime during the night, the clouds had released their burden. Leaning next to her ear, he whispered, “How are you at climbing?”
    Fear shot through her eyes, but she shrugged it off. “Guess we’re going to find out.”
    He looked at the limb, then the ground below. “Hold on.”
    Racing back into the room, he shifted the pack on his back and snatched a sheet from the bed. He pulled a knife from his belt, making a cut in the middle of the sheet, then ripped it into a long thick strip. With swift, sure movements, he tied one end around his waist.
    Back on the balcony with Gina, he tied the other end around her. “Okay, I’m going to go first. Once I’m in the tree, I can help you over and down, got it?”
    She nodded, never taking her midnight eyes from his. Trust shone in their depths. Trepidation filled him. Oh, God, don’t let me let her down.
    Then he was over the railing and reaching for the tree limb, blinking against the blinding downpour. Once he had a secure hold on it, he swung himself over and onto it. Gina already had one leg over the side of the balcony, her eyes on something back in the room.
    Were they already in there?
    She scrambled over to the edge, her fingers reaching—and not quite long enough to grasp the limb.
    â€œYou’ll have to jump, Gina.”
    She gasped and turned to look behind her. Whirling back, one hand still on the rail, she took a deep breath and leaped toward the limb. Her fingers curled around the branch, her weight pulling on Ian.
    A loud crack echoed through the night and Ian flinched, thinking they’d been spotted and shot at.
    Then he felt the limb shift and dip.
    Gina eyes went wide, then blinked repeatedly as the rain poured onto her face. Sputtering, she swallowed hard, stilldangling from the tree like a child getting ready to work the monkey bars.
    â€œDon’t move,” Ian whispered. He glanced at the doors on the balcony and could see shadowy figures casing the room. Soon, they’d be out on the balcony.
    And he and Gina would be trapped.

NINE
    G ina gripped the branch and felt every muscle in her shoulders start to scream in protest. As quickly as the rain seemed to have started, it lightened to a drizzle. The limb fell slack against her palm. The cold seeped in. “Ian, I’m going to fall,” she whispered.
    â€œNo, you’re not. I won’t let you. You’re