Secret Agent Father by Laura Scott Page A

fat,wet snowflakes began to fall. The slick roads forced him to slow his speed considerably.
    “Do you think we’ll get to the hotel before dinnertime?” she asked, not because she was hungry but because traveling with a child Cody’s age meant keeping track of meals.
    “I hope so.” Alex’s attention was riveted on the highway. She could see from the compass in Rafe’s Jeep they were heading northeast.
    The snow fell harder, covering the roads with an icy slush, forcing Alex to slow his speed even further. He glanced in the rearview mirror frequently.
    “Is there someone behind us?” Shelby asked, craning her neck around.
    “Yeah. For the past two miles.” Alex did not look happy and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “As soon as I find a cross street, I’m going to pull off so we can lose him.”
    Her stomach clenched. Another coincidence? She hoped so.
    “What is he doing?” Alex suddenly ground out.
    Before she could ask what he meant, she saw the black truck swerve into the oncoming lane of traffic, pulling up beside them even though they were in a no-passing zone, heading into a sharp curve in the highway.
    “Hang on!” Alex shouted as he hit the brakes.
    Too late. The black truck smashed into them, sending the Jeep skidding across the slick road, crashing up against the side rail of the highway.
    “No!” Shelby cried. The metal rail gave away, allowing the Jeep to barrel down into the steep ravine below.

SEVEN
    A lex fought to stay conscious, even though his head pounded from the impact of the air-bag deployment. The Jeep finally came to rest against a band of evergreens, miraculously intact. For long moments he couldn’t move. The abrupt silence after listening to the Jeep crash against the rocks and trees was just as deafening.
    “Shelby?” He leaned over to put a hand on her shoulder, fearing the worst. Relief overwhelmed him when she stirred and lifted her head. There was a small cut on her forehead, but her eyes were clear.
    “I’m fine. Cody?”
    Cody, who didn’t have the benefit of air bags to protect him from the crash. Alarm gripped him by the throat and he struggled to release the latch of the seat belt so he could turn around to check his son.
    A soft keening cry from the backseat nearly made him weep in relief. Shelby got her seat belt undone first and crammed her body through the narrow opening between the seats to reach him.
    “Shh, Cody. It’s all right. We’re fine. God was watching over us. He kept us safe.”
    Alex paused at her words. Maybe she was right.Maybe God had been watching over them. This accident could have ended much worse.
    Except it wasn’t an accident. The black truck had stayed on his tail, no matter how hard he’d tried to put distance between them. And when the truck had pulled up alongside, Alex had glimpsed the driver through the tinted windows the moment the guy had jerked the steering wheel, sideswiping them.
    There was no doubt in his mind that the driver of the black truck had hit them on purpose. Alex would have bet his pension on it. Spurred by a new sense of urgency, he unlatched his seat belt and took stock of their situation. Thankfully they’d taken Rafe’s sturdy Jeep. If they’d been in Shelby’s small compact car, they wouldn’t have stood much of a chance. He swallowed hard, trying to see out the cracked window.
    The snow had cushioned their fall, minimizing the damage but they weren’t out of danger yet. The driver of the black truck could be right now coming down the ravine to finish what he’d started.
    “We can’t stay here,” he rasped, using all his strength to pry his dented driver’s door open.
    Shelby had gotten Cody out of his seat and was holding him protectively in her arms. “Alex, it’s cold and wet out there. He’ll freeze.”
    He shared her concern. Cody’s body mass was so small he was at a much higher risk for hypothermia. Yet if they stayed here, they were too much like a beacon, drawing the driver