Reckless Abandon (Phantom Protector Book 1) (3 page)

Briggs stood and picked up his bag. “Finding
your parents isn’t our mission. Finding out where that damn key fits is.”

Briggs walked past her, leaving her to catch up
with him. “Well, big guy, if you were smart, then you’d know that one leads to
the other.”

Briggs slowed his stride to walk beside her.
“You hope.”

Jamie silently agreed with the big brute who’d
actually been smart enough to look into her past. She felt some of the morning
tension lift from her shoulders. Was it possible that Briggs could actually
pull this off and help her find what she’d spent the last thirty years of her
life hunting? Could he be for real?

****

Briggs wants to argue with the general when he
insisted that they take an SUV. His bike would have gotten them their quicker
and maneuvered easier in and out of a jam if they found themselves in such. It
hadn’t been until the general pointed out the extra features that he’d agreed.
The midnight black SUV with its tinted windows held more surprises than even he
could have hoped for. The SUV had hidden structural reinforcements to stop the
frame from collapsing, thanks to Brody’s accident with a tree a month ago. It
had GPS engrained into the structure and an electronic system for easy tracking.
A dual exhaust, a big engine, and a reserve gas tank had been installed. The
fact that it held enough guns and ammunition to support a small country didn’t
hurt the appeal. It was a vehicle that Briggs would have picked for himself if
he’d had the choice.

The general handed the keys to Briggs. “I expect
you two to check in daily and give me a report of any new findings.”

Briggs nodded once but didn’t reply. That was
all the general would be getting from him. He was aware that Jamie wasn’t a
rule breaker. She’d follow his orders to a T if need be.

“Jonah is running a scan of your key through his
database to see if he can pinpoint a possible match.”

That got Briggs’ attention. Why he hadn’t
thought to do the same thing amazed him. He’d been up all night, too busy
researching Jamie and her past and not focusing on the most important piece of
the puzzle—the damn key. He was under the impression, as Jamie was, that only
her parents were going to be able to tell them the significance of the key…if
there was one at all.

“Have him email me the same schematics he’s
using to do his search.”

The general nodded, and Briggs shut the door and
waited for Jamie to get situated in the passenger seat. He let his gaze linger
down her body, making sure her long, lean legs had plenty of room; at least
that was what he was telling himself. She was a pretty woman, a bit more
guarded than most. She rocked a body that most women only dreamed of and was
down to earth enough not to realize it. She reminded him of the Bennetts, not
necessarily in looks but in attitude and the way she handled herself.

Thinking of the Bennetts gave him an idea. He
unhooked the watch around his wrist and handed it to her. “Put this on.”

She took it and turned it over. “Does this mean
we’re going steady?”

Briggs chuckled.
Yep, just like a Bennett
. “Nope, just a little insurance that you
don’t get lost.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Come again?”

“There’s a tracker in the band. That’s how the Bennetts
find their family when Emma gets one of her ‘feelings.’”

Jamie lifted her head in understanding as she
made to put the watch around her wrist. “Oh, that’s right… PMS symptoms when a
family member is in trouble.”

“Yep and a ghost too.”

Jamie twirled the too-big watch on her wrist.
“But I’m not a Bennett, and come to think about it, neither are you.”

Briggs turned to her and grinned before training
his eyes on the road in front of him. “Nope, just a trusted friend they don’t
want to get lost.”

Jamie play-slapped his arm. “Ah, how sweet, you
care enough about me to not want to lose me.”

Briggs shrugged. “Like I said, insurance.”

His phone dinged, alerting him of a new message.
He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. He steered to the side of the road
and quickly forwarded the email to one of his trusted business partners, Butch
Edwards, the man who was now happily married to Claire Bennett. He grinned and
punched the letters on his phone. “If anyone can figure out where that key
goes, he’s our guy. I bet we have this wrapped up within the week.”

Their trip was going to take days; four states
over tended to do that unless they drove straight through.

Chapter
3

Jamie settled into the plush leather seat on a
journey she wasn’t sure she wanted to make. Finding her family and the reason
behind the key she’d been left all of those years ago scared the crap out of
her. As it was, her stomach was doing summersaults at all of the possible
answers this week would provide. She twisted the watch around her arm,
reclaiming her focus that this was not going to be an easy assignment. Her
heart would be broken when she finally learned the truth. Nevertheless the
assignment was too important to let go.

“I’m not sure what Lydia thinks this will accomplish.”
Jamie reached up and stroked the metal key between her fingers.

“Her visions have always been a mystery to me.”
Briggs glanced at her. “You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think I have
any insight into what it all means.”

Jamie bit her lip and tucked the key beneath her
shirt. It dawned on her that neither she nor Briggs had any clue what the hell
they were doing. Jamie watched the tree line pass by. She was leaving a town
that she’d called her home, her family, and all that was familiar to her.

“Why don’t you tell me your story?”

“There isn’t much to tell.” Jamie remained
silent for a brief moment as she contemplated his request. “I was abandoned as
a baby and grew up in an orphanage. When I turned eighteen, I joined the
military, and the rest is history.”

Briggs glanced at her again with sadness in his
eyes. She didn’t need his pity; she didn’t want his pity.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, Briggs. Everything
that happened and everything I went through made me into the person I am today…
and I turned out okay.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat and twisted
the watch again.

“More than okay, Jamie. You’re kind of like me
in a way. Your friends are like your family, and I get that.” Briggs reached
over and took her trembling fingers into his and gave a slight squeeze. “More
than you’ll ever know, I understand.”

Briggs released her hand and clenched the wheel
as he gritted his teeth. She knew he had a story but remained silent as not to
pry.

“You have a gift, and you use it for good. No
one can challenge the smart, beautiful woman that you turned out to be.”

It was sweet sorrow as Jamie watched them pass
the town line. A feeling of emptiness sat in her stomach. Everything she’d ever
come to care about was getting farther and farther away with each mile they
drove.

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Briggs said
without taking his eyes off the road.

She turned in her seat. “Do you have some
special mind-reading gift? How do you know what I was thinking?”

A grin formed on Briggs’ lips. “Nope, Lydia’s sister,
Claire, is the one who reads minds.” He looked over at her. “I’m just really
good at reading body language, and yours is telling me you’re sad and worried.”

****

 
Briggs
was used to babysitting. Heck, his job required him to be really good at
it.
 
He knew she wanted to be anywhere
but with him on the mission they’d been assigned. She was a good person, unlike
him. She wanted answers, and he feared
 
she
wouldn’t like the ones she got.

Briggs ground his teeth together and glanced in
the rearview mirror. The van that had been following them since they’d left the
compound remained three cars behind them. They didn’t make a move to approach.
Yep, he knew they were there, and he would have to handle them soon but didn’t
want to worry Jamie. It was reasons like this that made him wish he had his
motorcycle. Different scenarios ran through his head, none of which were good.
He glanced down at the gas tank and remembered about the extra fuel they had as
a grin split his lips. His day was already starting to look up. He could get an
extra three hundred miles before they needed to stop. Briggs hit the Bluetooth
button and spoke into the air. “Call… Jonah.”

Jamie glanced at Briggs. One eyebrow rose as if
to question the call.

Jonah picked up on the first ring. “Don’t tell
me the SUV is giving you trouble. I designed it myself.”
 
The humor in his voice told him he wasn’t
worried.

“Nope, actually your modifications are going to
get us out of a jam.”

Jamie crossed her arms over her chest. “Jam,
what jam?” she asked.

“I need you to pull up the specs on a 2011 Ford
cargo van and tell me how much gas their tanks can hold.”

“Hang on a second.” Briggs could hear Jonah
tapping away at the keyboard. “It gets eighteen to twenty-four miles to the
gallon and holds a thirty-three gallon tank. Why?”

Briggs cleared his throat and gripped the wheel
tighter. “Give me an estimate of where it would need to stop for gas if it left
the base when we did.”

“It could be on empty anywhere from 500-700
miles. Why are you asking?” Jonah said with an unsteady voice. “Is it following
you again?”

Jamie swung around in her seat and glanced out
the back window. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She turned around and pointed
with her thumb the way she’d just looked. “You think that’s the same van that
followed you back to base?”

Briggs nodded. “I know it is.”

“How can you tell? I can’t even see the driver.”

Briggs glanced in the rearview mirror. “There’s
a dent in the fender on the passenger side. It’s the same one…trust me.”

“What do you need?” Jonah asked.

“I need an exit point off the highway and a new
route to Jonesville taking the back roads when the van runs out of gas.”

“You got it. Have Jamie text me when you see
them get off the interstate, and I’ll send the new route to the SUV’s GPS
system.”

“Copy that.”

Briggs hit the end button on the Bluetooth.

Jamie looked back once more. “Why didn’t you
tell me we were being followed?”

“There’s nothing you could do about it. I didn’t
want to alarm you.” He kept his tone void of concern to disarm Jamie’s anxiety.
“Just sit back and relax and trust that I’ll get us there in one piece.”

Jamie’s eyebrows lowered; her eyes narrowed into
slits, her disbelief in his words evident. She lifted a finger and pointed to
her chest and then to his. “If we’re going to do this together, you need to
work on your communication skills.” She released a breath. “Trust runs both
ways, Maxwell Briggs, and I’m not some little sorority girl that gets scared
easy.”

Briggs rolled his eyes but knew she was right.
She was one bad-ass woman who was highly trained in hand-to-hand combat. Her
skills were unparalleled to even those she’d trained. He’d seen first-hand that
she was capable of taking care of herself. “I know. I’m just used to handling
it myself.”

Jamie twirled the watch on her wrist and
remained silent as she looked out the window. Minutes passed before she spoke
again. “You know, you’re not alone anymore. All of that changed when you came
to the compound to protect Lydia.”

Briggs let her words sink in, but she was wrong.
Yes, his friends in Southall were like family to him, but he was still alone.
His world had turned upside down fifteen years early, and his soul had never
been the same. He’d learned to live with it and adjust to what life had thrown
at him, keeping people at arm’s length and keeping to his self as often as he
could. He glanced over at the passionate, caring woman riding shotgun. Her
healing abilities could fix what had broken all of those years ago, but he
didn’t want to be fixed. He wanted to remember the pain. It helped keep him
focused, and he couldn’t afford the distractions and feelings she was trying to
make him face. Nope, this women didn’t possess the ability to bring back the
dead, but he could understand her desire to make things right. Floyd scared the
hell out of her, and Briggs was one hundred percent certain that he needed her
help to extinguish that threat.

Chapter
4