The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [49]
Damn." Drake took stock of the two vehicles coming toward him at full speed. There was certainly a chase going on and first car fit the description of Tori's vehicle.
As soon as he passed the two vehicles he jerked his steering wheel to the left, made a sharp U-turn and became the third man in pursuit. He floored it and in no time at all, the Tahoe he was driving had gained ground and was bearing down on the dark sedan chasing Tori. The driver had gone from being the pursuer to being the one pursued.
"You want to act crazy, then let's do crazy," Drake said through clenched teeth as he increased his speed and rammed into the back of the vehicle. Gripping the wheel hard, his gaze stayed glued on the car ahead. Almost instantly, a series of shots sounded and when he heard the sound of metal shattering, Drake knew the side of his vehicle had been struck.
"Now you've really pissed me off," he snarled, unsnap-ping his seat belt and taking his pistol and firing back. Suddenly he heard a loud pop, then the vehicle swerved to the right when the driver apparently lost control on the hilly road and slammed into a tree before bursting into flames. With an impact such as that Drake knew there weren't any survivors and at the moment he didn't give a damn.
He glanced up ahead and saw that Tori had slowed down but had not stopped. She was being cautious and that was good. He decided to let her know that he was there to help her by using Morse code with his headlights.
Tori saw the lights on the third vehicle blinking out a Morse code that she deciphered.
Drake?
What was he doing here? Hawk had been so sure mat Drake hadn't been the person who had decoded the information at CIA headquarters, and if that was true, how had he found her?
She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw Drake was sending another message, telling her to pull over. Someone was after her and with all the unanswered questions she had, she found herself wondering whether she could trust him.
She blinked. Evidently adrenaline was making her shaky, crazy. For God's sake, of course she could trust Drake. He was the man she loved… but still, was he the same man he had been five years ago?
No.
Tori found she was turning cold as she glanced back into her rearview mirror. Drake Warren had always been arrogant, rough and tough, bullheaded as hell with a kick-butt kind of attitude, but it seemed that over the years he'd also become hard, inflexible, unapproachable and jaded. She had immediately picked on it that day she had faced him down in Casey's office. Because of what had happened in Haiti, he looked at things differently.
He had changed but then so had she. Five years of looking over her shoulders had made her wary, tense, and less trusting of people. She'd found herself questioning people's motives about everything and she no longer took anything or anyone at face value.
And at this moment no matter how much it hurt to do so, she couldn't take Drake at face value either. She had more than herself to worry about and protect. She had her unborn child to think about, even if it meant protecting it from the man who was its father.
A plan came into mind. Pulling off to the side of the road, she quickly crawled out of the passenger door and, using the car as a shield, she got behind it and waited for Drake to come to a stop. When he got out of his SUV she gripped her gun, and raised it into firing position as she stepped from behind her car. "Hold it right there, Drake. Don't move or I'll shoot! What are you doing here?"
Drake's breathing escalated. He immediately wondered how could a man find a woman so beautiful, so damn desirable while she was crouched into a combat stance with a damn high-powered pistol aimed straight at his heart? All he could see was that gorgeous windblown hair that flowed around her