Page 69 of Defending Mateo
“It’s me,” Mateo said from beside her, and Ally let out a breath as the phone call was picked up by Falcon. She might never have met the man, but right now, he was their only hope of not winding up either dead for real or captured by the end of the night.
From where she was, Ally couldn’t hear whatever the other man was saying, so she twisted in her seat to look out the back window. Immediately, she spotted the big, black SUV. There was no doubt it was following them, taking turn after turn with them as Mateo drove through the quiet residential streets.
So far, it wasn't doing anything but trailing along after them, but then again, they couldn’t do much without drawing attention. The roads might be quiet because it was the middle of the night, but there were houses everywhere, and people would wake up and call 911 if there was a shootout or a crash, so they’d risk getting caught. Maybe even before they could kill her and Mateo or take them back to that hellish warehouse.
Stretching out her cramped muscles, curling up inside the duffel bag hadn't been easy or fun, and she was glad she hadn't had to be inside it for long, Ally turned back to watch Mateo. It was hard to figure out how the conversation was going from his facial expressions alone, because he’d pasted back on his blank mask, the one he’d used when she didn't know he was undercover.
When he ended the call, she immediately tensed, unsure if they’d received good news or bad news. “What did he say?”
“That Trigger and the guys are already here,” Mateo said, a small smile curling one side of his mouth up.
“Here?” She looked around out the windows, but all she could see were quiet houses, and the black SUV following behind them. “Where?”
“Following the vehicle following us,” he replied.
“How?”
“Apparently, the guys came right back to Falcon when we didn't make it to the airfield instead of heading off on the op like they were supposed to. He gave them the address of the warehouse, and they’ve been camped out there ever since, waiting until I made contact so they knew how to best help us.”
“Won't they get in trouble?” As glad as she was that it wasn't just her and Mateo against whoever was in that SUV, she didn't want anyone to throw their career away for her, and she had no idea what the punishment was for disobeying orders.
“Falcon said they cleared it with their superiors. Prey and the Oswald family are well known in special ops circles, and when they said they were helping with something, they got permission to stay.”
“What—”
“Hold on, baby, I need to talk to them. I have an idea, but we’re going to need their help to pull it off.”
Nodding, she looked back over her shoulder at the SUV again, while Mateo called Trigger. The man must have been waiting for their call, because Mateo started talking almost immediately. She tried to listen, because whatever they were planning she was right in the middle of it, but nerves were getting the best of her.
All along, she’d been telling herself that she could hold it together until she was back home and safe again. But maybe that had always been an unrealistic idea. Because she was bottling up a whole mess of emotions and they were pushing against the lid she’d slammed down on them.
Now was about the worst time for them to come rushing out, for her to fall apart. Mateo needed her to be strong, and she didn't want to let him down. Especially when his plan was to fake his death for her.
She might be a complete novice at all of this, but she was pretty sure that faking a death under these circumstances could quite easily turn into being dead for real. Mateo might not have said it, but she also understood that he was willing to actually die if it meant that she didn't.
But how could she live without him?
Faking her death didn't really matter. She could easily rebuild her online tax business under a different name, and she didn't have any friends or family she was leaving behind. The only person who really mattered to her was the man sitting beside her, and he’d be coming with her.
Despite her best efforts, her breathing became labored, and her hands sweaty. She didn't want to be here anymore. She just wanted all of this to be over. Faking her death was fine, and she didn't even care if she couldn’t go back to her apartment, she’d never really had a physical home that felt like a home anyway. All she wanted was for her and Mateo to be safe, because Mateo was her home.
“Hold on for me a little longer, baby, you're doing fine, and I swear this is almost over,” Mateo told her as his large hand landed on her thigh and he squeezed.
But she heard theone way or anotherthat he didn't add to the end of his sentence.
Doing her best not to let him down, she dragged in a ragged breath. “What's the plan?”
“Need you to crawl over here and sit on my lap,” he told her, withdrawing his hand and reaching under the driver’s seat to move it back as far as it would go.
“Climb on your lap?”
“We need to get out of the car in a hurry, and it’ll be easier if I have you with me.”
That wasn't much of an explanation, but honestly, Ally was too exhausted to bother pushing for more information. In the end, it didn't matter. She had no idea what she was doing, but Mateo and the Delta Force guys did, so all she had to do was trust them.
Doing as he asked, she awkwardly shuffled over to sit perched on Mateo’s lap, crushed between the steering wheel and his rock-hard body. A body that was covered in bruises. He had to be hurting, but he wasn't acting like he was. She had to suck it up, shove her emotions back down, and hold them in for a little bit longer.
“Do I want to know the details?” she asked softly.
