Page 104 of Iron Willed Warrior

Then we put Stillwater’s solar plant in our rearview.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Brynn

The next fewhours blurred together. I drove the truck until we reached a hotel parking lot in a random small town to switch vehicles and change up license plates.

Cole also took the opportunity to call River. Incredibly, Cole still had the phone he had been using as part of his cover. My Brianna Waverley phone was gone, and I assumed my FBI burner was long gone as well.

Honestly, I would’ve been tempted to call Michael Stanford for an FBI team to swoop in and clean up what we’d left behind. No such luck. I didn’t have the energy to discuss that topic with Cole anyway. Not yet.

I was just so glad to have him here with me. Alive. We were both alive. For now, it was enough to have Cole beside me. To hold his hand or feel his fingers massaging my shoulder or my thigh. Just knowing he was close.

At a gas station, Cole bought me a pair of flip-flops so I wasn’t bare-footed anymore. I dozed during the next part of the trip, while Cole drove. When I woke up, the sun had just risen, its bright rays shining through my window. I realized I didn’t even know our destination. River was supposed to give us the address of a safe house to bring Westwick to.

“Where are we headed?” I asked groggily.

“River gave me an address just north of the New Mexico border. We’ll be there in a couple hours or so.”

I cracked a water bottle and took a long drink. “I don’t even know how you got away from Ryker’s men.”

The corner of Cole’s mouth lifted. “Manning and O’Hanlon drove me out into the desert. That hotel clerk, Lance, was helping them. They had a fancy plan for framing me for your murder, and that was their mistake.”

“Lance. That piece of trash helped them kidnap me.”

“I know. I shot him in the leg and left him. One of those loose ends.” Cole reached for my hand. “If he survives, I can still track him down, if that’s what you prefer. Did he do anything else?”

I settled against the head rest, looking at the sky. “Lance didn’t touch me. He was just a jerk who took Stillwater’s money, and it’s possible Ryker didn’t give him a choice.” Like Josiah. He’d helped Stillwater set up their online marketplace, but more out of fear than a conscious desire to do evil. Now he was dead, and Westwick was still alive. Was that fair?

“I used the flash drive,” I added.

“I figured you had. Well done, B. Thanks to you, we accomplished everything we set out to do. Including securing our prisoner.” Cole’s fingers smoothed through my limp, messy hair. “We’re almost finished.”

What happens for us next? I almost asked. But deeper thoughts escaped me. Despite my short nap, I was exhausted. Had I ever been this bone-tired? Maybe during boot camp. Or that really sadistic training at Quantico. Who the heck knew.

A couple hours and one pitstop for breakfast later, we pulled into the driveway of a rundown, one-story home. We had just passed the border into Colorado. The safe house had a light on the porch, a car in the driveway. But otherwise, itlooked lonely. Secluded from any nosy neighbors or highway traffic, since we were down a quiet, windy road.

A thump came from the trunk of our car.

“And here I thought he was asleep,” Cole said.

“Guess the drugs wore off.” I rubbed my eyes, summoning my remaining energy. At least out here, nobody would care how much noise Westwick made. He was about to find out how screwed he was.

A large figure stepped out of the house onto the porch, and I barked a laugh. Westwick was not going to enjoy meetinghim.

Trace Novo raised a hand to wave at us. I waved back. “I didn’t realize T was going to be here,” I said. Cole and I had already agreed to go by initials if Westwick could be listening. No need for him to know any names. He would never be a free man again, but it was still a wise precaution.

“Guess he drew the short straw,” Cole said.

“Or more likely, the long one. I have to think several of our friends would be excited to meet the head of Stillwater, face to face.” All of the Protectors wanted Westwick’s blood.

Cole chuckled. “Yeah, now that you mention it.”

Thump, thump.

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go say hi to our host. We can unload the prisoner later, once we find out where we’re storing him.”

More thumps from the trunk. Westwick must’ve heard. Giving me a tired smile, Cole winked and got out of the car. He stopped briefly by the trunk, opened it, and checked Westwick’s restraints. The man wasn’t going anywhere.

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