Read Online Broken Honor by Tonya Burrows - Free Book Online

her.
    Tears burned, and she fought them back. She didn’t have time to break down. They had Travis, were taking him God knew where, and she was his only hope. She had to move. Run to the east, find the truck, and get to the nearest phone and call…
    Who?
    Obviously, the police were out of the question. The morning had been so Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole surreal, they’d never believe her. And if Urban had indeed been a SEAL, how did she know she could trust anyone in authority?
    She’d call Jesse. Her cousin would know what to do—he always knew what to do, and he could bring in the rest of Travis’s team. And Lanie. She was a Texas Ranger, one of their best investigators, and would figure this all out.
    Except she couldn’t go anywhere until she was sure the Russians were gone.
    She waited, listened. Minutes ticked by, and shadows lengthened across the floor as the sun sank. She really didn’t want to be wandering around in the desert after dark, but—what if Zaryanko and his two thugs were still out there? She hadn’t heard any engines, car or otherwise. But neither did she hear any voices or footsteps outside the hangar.
    The sun sank closer to the horizon, spilling orange-gold light in through the west-facing hangar door. The cold emanating from the concrete floor seeped through her leggings into her bones, and she shivered so hard her teeth clacked together. She couldn’t stay here much longer. Desert nights were cold, especially in the winter, and she’d freeze to death. But was it safe to leave yet? She had no idea.
    She peeked around the toolbox again. The hangar was empty, and she didn’t see anyone on the tarmac beyond. Gulping down her fear, she stood. Her legs had cramped up, and she shook them out one at a time until she was positive they wouldn’t collapse on her.
    The hangar door beckoned with the promise of freedom, but she wasn’t so sure about walking out that big door, exposing herself to whatever lay beyond, and scanned for—
    There. A side door.
    She scrambled toward it and fumbled with the lock, a wild panic overtaking her when she finally got it open and tumbled into the deepening shadows of evening. In front of her lay nothing but a vast expanse of desert. Gulp.
    Suck it up , she warned herself. Travis had let them take him so she would be safe and able to send help. She wasn’t about to let him down.
    Judging by the sunset, she was facing south. Travis had said his truck was to the west, which meant—crap. She’d have to run straight across the airfield.
    She stayed close to the wall of the hangar like she’d seen soldiers do on TV and edged around the corner. A plane sat on the tarmac. Zaryanko and his men were still here.
    She shrank back. She should go hide again. Maybe find a blanket so she didn’t freeze and just wait the night out in the hangar. They had to leave sometime, right? Except she didn’t like the idea of staying overnight with a dead body only a few feet away. And what if they were waiting for more criminal types to arrive? Right now, there were only three of them, and she got the impression that Zaryanko didn’t do much of his own dirty work. So, really, there were only the two thugs. Who probably had guns. And knew how to shoot.
    She sagged against the metal wall of the hangar and lifted her face to the sky. After her mother had married Ramon Escareno, she had been raised in a strict Catholic home, and while she’d found the church’s views too narrow-minded and confining, she’d taken comfort in the idea of heaven and that her dad could be up there, watching over her. She sent a quick prayer up to Jackson Warrick.
    I love you, Daddy. Please, help me be strong and brave for my baby.
    With that, she sucked in a fortifying breath, pushed away from the wall, and ran. She made it a quarter of the way across the pavement before she heard the shout behind her in Russian.
    Oh, God, they were going to shoot.
    She picked up the pace, her tennis shoes pounding as hard