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Peter chuckled and kissed her head. “We need to leave soon if we’re going to make it on time. I’m hurrying home to you.”

As she watched him and Gage climb into his SUV, Carrie couldn’t get rid of the sinking feeling that they weren’t coming back.

32

PETER navigated traffic and reviewed the plan with Gage. The rest stop was still twenty minutes away, and they were unsure of what they would find. All he knew was that they were stepping into a trap meant for Carrie. She was digging too much, and they wanted to silence her. There were still a lot of unanswered questions, but his main concern now was making sure Carrie stayed alive and they rescued Boomer. Cannon “Boomer” Ripley had been a big part of his life in his early CIA career, working multiple jobs with him while they cultivated assets and agents for the agency. When Peter left for the Secret Service, Boomer had dropped out of communication, only calling Gage every few months when he could check in.

“The parking lot of the rest area is visible from the road, we’ll drive past it and see what there is to see, and then we’ll circle back and pull in.” Earlier in the drive, Peter had called to check in with Upwood’s detail. The agent who spoke to him said he’d been holed up in his office all day and had no plans to leave anytime soon. That was good, hopefully that meant Peter could stay under the radar until he had what he needed to have him arrested if that’s what this was going to come to.

As they drove by the rest area, Gage snapped a dozen photos with the camera he had brought along. Flipping through them on the small screen he said, “I count three cars. Hard to say which belong to our henchmen.”

He flipped through the rest of the photos. “I see one person sitting at a picnic table but can’t make out any details. The rest are too blurry to tell us anything.”

Peter nodded. It didn’t look like they were walking into some kind of firing squad at least. Peter had his service issued weapon, and he knew Gage was armed as well. By now, Peter had turned around twice and was approaching the rest area again. He signaled that he was exiting and pulled off. When he was parked, he scanned the area. There at the picnic table next to the tagged trashcan, sat a man they both recognized. Instead of approaching him directly, Peter and Gage walked to the neighboring picnic table and sat down. Nodding a friendly hello to Boomer as if he were a stranger.

“Nice evening out here,” Gage commented as he pulled out his phone and pretended to be scrolling through it. Peter stood and stretched, hoping to appear like a tired driver.

“What the fuck are you guys doing here?” Boomer hissed as he looked down at his own phone.

“You really think I’m gonna let my girl come out here like this? I thought it was a set up.”

Peter watched out of the corner of his eye as his friends’ hands clenched. “It was. I just didn’t fucking expect anyone to show up at all. I thought my note was clear enough about that.”

Gage was already scanning the rest area looking for threats. “There inside the breezeway to the bathroom. I see one,” he muttered with a subtle nod of his head. Peter didn’t look. Just kept his focus trained on Gage and tried to act like they were two buddies having a friendly conversation.

“I’m being tested for my loyalty, and Tom Neiland’s daughter is in that van over there. We’ve got about thirty seconds before they expect you to walk away, or me to shoot you. I hope you fuckers have a plan.”

“How many guns are trained on us right now?” Peter asked.

“Two in the breezeway behind us and two to the side in the van.”

Gage slipped a hand under his jacket. “Three against four? I think we can take them. We just have to keep Lola Neiland alive. How the hell did she get mixed up in all this anyway?”

“Can you take the two in the breezeway?” Peter asked, as he walked toward his own car. “We’ll take the van.”

They didn’t need Boomer to nod, he knew what he had to do. Gage pretended to toss something in the trash can and stretched once more. Peter gave a fake laugh as they passed by the van in question. Peter was closest to it, so he stopped and laughed again, pretending Gage had said something hilarious. Turning to face his friend, he got a glimpse inside the van. There was one man sitting in the front seat and he had a feeling the second man was in the back with the hostage. With a nod to Gage, he made a subtle hand motion and the two men flew into action with Gage yanking open the driver door with his weapon drawn. At the same time, Peter already had the side door open and both men fired in unison. Across the picnic area, two more shots rang out and Boomer came running for them.

“We have to get the fuck out of here before the cops show up. I assume I can ride with you fellas.”

Peter was pulling Lola Neiland from the van. “Are you OK, miss?” he asked.

She was shaking from head to toe, but she nodded. “Let’s get her to a hospital and call Tom.”

As they approached Peter’s SUV, he tossed Gage the keys. “I need you to drive, man. I’m not feeling so great.”

All of this had been a set up to kidnap and probably murder Carrie. He was grateful that she hadn’t been hardheaded enough to set up the meeting on her own.

“Why aren’t we going to the cops?” Gage asked as he started the engine.

“Because half of the fucks that would show up are on Diego Carrasco’s payroll. We’ll call the people I know we can trust once you get me the hell out of here.”

“You can’t escape that bastard,” Lola whispered from the backseat.

“Watch me honey,” Boomer said.

Gage drove the speed limit back to his house. On the way, they called Tom and told him the good news that Lola was safe.

“So, you’re a cop, Ripley?” Lola asked.

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