Dance Away, Danger (10 page)

“Hey, get away from him,” a harsh voice demanded—the second guard, only a few yards away.

Matt yanked the weapon from her and grabbed her arm. “Let’s go.” The crowd parted like the Red Sea as he pulled her toward the exit.

“No you don’t.” Someone grabbed her sweatshirt. She stumbled.

Her collar dug into her neck. “Matt!” Matt spun out of her hold and landed a harsh punch to the man holding her. The grip on her clothes disappeared. She whirled around in time to see Matt deal another blow to the second patrolman. The man crumpled. He held onto his head and struggled to get up.

Matt shoved her toward the exit. “Go, go!”

Her legs rubbery, she clutched the envelope to her like a flotation device and fled. Outside, they weaved in and out of the parked cars, ducking below the roofs in a desperate attempt to avoid the second guard’s line of sight. When they reached the truck, Tessa grabbed the handle. Matt gripped her shoulder. “Hold on. We need to get another set of wheels.”

He opened the door and rummaged around.

Clouds thickened overhead and muted the sunshine. Cars lined the streets, both parked and still traveling. Sirens whined in the distance.

Tessa twisted toward the road. Was Dave with the approaching police? She didn’t want to see him again unless it was in court on trial for his crimes.

Matt slammed the door.

Tessa jumped.

He returned to her side with a backpack slung over his shoulder. “Come on.”

She followed him as he zigzagged through the parking lot and tried to open random car doors. The passenger side handle of a little blue Mazda gave way under his touch. “Get in.” He didn’t wait for a response. Instead he rounded the hood, slid behind the wheel, and fumbled with some wires.

He was stealing a vehicle. No,
they
were stealing one.

Tessa stood still with one hand on the door and one on the roof. The sirens howled behind her, louder than before. She whipped her head to the entrance of the train station. Police officers jumped from their automobiles and ran inside. “We won’t be safe anywhere.”

Her reluctant protector didn’t disagree.

Tessa’s vision tunneled. She was either going to be sick or pass out. She hoped for the latter. The silent darkness of unconsciousness held more appeal than hurling out the window while being hunted by every cop in the state.

“Tess, get in the damn car!” Matt hollered as the engine roared to life.

Chapter Six

Tessa slid into the passenger seat and clicked her seatbelt in place. Matt took several turns to put them farther away from the train station.

Crap, crap, crap!
She unfolded the paper the officer had been holding and studied it. Her own image stared back at her.

She didn’t know why it surprised her, but her head spun and something ugly balled in her stomach. “How can our lives be so out of control?” She continued to scan the words. A picture of Matt graced the bottom of the page. In between were the lies the dirty cops had threatened to tell: Matt shot her brother, kidnapped her, and intended to use her to get what he wanted. “I’ve never been wanted by the police before.”

“Me neither.” He gripped the steering wheel, his jaw tight.

Her heart splintered for him. Yesterday he’d been a respected businessman on his way to enjoy a vacation. He, a former soldier fighting for the good of the country, was pursued by every law enforcement agency in the state. The man needed her support just as much, if not more, than her brother did. Was she up for the challenge?

“Go ahead and open your brother’s envelope.”

She ripped the tape free and emptied the contents into her lap. “It’s a picture CD and a bunch of papers bound with a binder clip.” She sifted through the pages.

“What kind of papers?”

“They’re copies of official reports from Brian Koswich’s death. He was Dave’s last partner. A list in Jason’s handwriting— names, dates, amounts of money.”

“Any names you recognize?”

“No. They all sound like porn stars. Sassy Sally, Lorna Loving, Lola Truheart.” She shuffled through more of the pages. “Wait. He’s added a list of some of his cop friends.”

“Is Walgren on there?”

“Yeah, so are Pete and Gerry, the cops who came to your house. And Wh....” Her fingers trembled.

“Tessa?”

“Sergeant Whittaker’s here, with a question mark by his name.” He couldn’t be involved. “Maybe Jason planned take all this information to Whit. Dave and the others must’ve gotten to him before he had a chance.”

“Anything else in his notes?”

He’d ignored her comments about her brother’s boss. She searched through the rest of the pages. “Yeah.”

“
Hammer, good to know you haven’t lost all your skills. These women are hookers who have been paying Walgren and some other cops to keep them out of jail. I’m not sure how high up the ring goes or who else is involved. The CD has pictures of Caparzo and Kelly having sex with some of the girls and Walgren getting too physical with one of them. Someone else is there, too, in the shadows, but I can’t make out who it is. A hooker named Lola has been feeding me information. The women were okay with the arrangement until some of them started getting injured and one of them died because she was badly hurt, but refused to go the hospital. Lola says she and her friends have enough to worry about. They shouldn’t have to be scared of the cops too. I’m beginning to think Walgren and the others have figured out I’m onto them. That’s why I need you to take care of Tessa and to take care of this if I can’t.’
” She flipped the paper over, but it was blank.

“All right.” Matt moved to the high speed lane while she scanned the pages more closely. The evidence her brother had collected identified Dave, Pete, and Gerry, the three people they already knew were dirty. Absolutely no information pointed directly to Whit. But what about Brian Koswich’s involvement?

“You know, you’re pretty quick on your feet.” A grin toyed with his sexy mouth.

Damn. They were on the run for their lives from the bad guys
and
the good guys.
Sexy
had no business in her vocabulary.

“What makes you say that?”

“The whole ‘my family doesn’t approve but to hell with them’ scenario.”

Tessa crossed her arms and studied the road in front of them. Heat crept up her neck. Good grief, she’d actually thought about kissing him back there. Talk about a colossal mistake. He already had her attention with his charm and his good looks. Next thing she knew, she’d be surrendering everything to him. These foreign feelings tied knots in her stomach. “It was all I could think of. I’m sorry I made you my boyfriend.”

“I’m not.”

Comments like that would get her in trouble and lead to more erotic fantasies, like what would it feel like to have those lips sealed with hers? Or to have them kissing her most intimate parts?

A flash of warmth rose to her cheeks.

“It worked well enough,” he continued. “It distracted the rent-a-cop long enough for me to get the first punch in. Picking up the gun was smart, too. If any of those people had grabbed it and fired, one of us could be in the hospital.”

They made a good team, as long as she remembered to keep her wits about her. Taking risks with Matt by her side, though, didn’t frighten her much, which could be another kind of danger. He made her believe in things she had never considered before, things she had no business yearning for in their present circumstances—a partner in every sense of the word, a partner for life.

Nonsense. She was just sex deprived. And Matt had no intention of being her knight in shining armor. He’d made it clear he had no interest in being responsible for anyone but himself.

Tessa said nothing as they drove along 95 into the nearby city of Paxton. Instead, she leaned her forehead on the window. The sun had disappeared, replaced by more gray clouds laden with another layer of November snow. The hum of the engine, and the vibrations from the glass pane did little to soothe her headache. Her eyes grew heavy, and a yawn pushed through her jaw. She checked the dashboard clock. Almost thirty hours had passed since she’d slept.

It didn’t take a genius to realize how much trouble her brother was in. The pain in her head spread through her chest. Why Jason? Why did he have to be the one to risk his life uncovering the ugly truth?

The click, click of the blinker grabbed her attention. Matt eased the car toward the exit for Paxton Airport. “Why are we going in here?”

“We need to ditch the car. If we switch in the long-term parking lot, we’ve got a better chance of taking one no one’s going to miss for a while.”

“Makes sense.” She returned Jason’s items to the envelope.

After they’d switched cars and rummaged through both vehicles for any useful items, they surrendered the parking receipt the garage required people to keep on their dashboard. The middle-aged woman snapping gum in the exit booth accepted Matt’s money, but didn’t respond to his thank you. Once they got on the road again, Tessa closed her eyes. Even a few minutes of rest would be better than nothing.

The darkness of the coming snowstorm crept over the trees, and sand trucks rumbled through the streets. Within a few hours, there could be enough snowfall to put their investigation on hold for the night.

Matt parked in front of a sleazy motel on Paxton’s east side. The low-rent district. After cutting the engine, he glanced over to Tessa sleeping peacefully. He hated to wake her; for the first time since he’d met her, no worry lined her delicate features.

He chuckled. Tessa Gage was not delicate like the women in his family. Nope. People were after her, but she hadn’t given up the fight. Frankly, he couldn’t decide whether to be thankful or ticked off for her antics. He was so used to taking care of everything. Having a partner willing to think on her own and join in the fray left him a bit...concerned. He leaned over and stroked the strands of her hair away from her cheeks. Her skin, soft and warm to his touch, released every long buried protective instinct from his chained up ticker.

“Tess.” He traced the side of her face lightly with his fingertips. “Wake up.”

Her mouth dropped open but no sounds came out. She leaned into his touch. A breath filtered through her lips and sent shockwaves through his blood straight to his groin.

He had to get a grip. This was a job. A mission. Like the soldier he once was, he had to distance himself from the victim. Yes, he found her attractive. She was a beautiful woman. Fact. So what if he found Tessa sexy and wanted to hold her in his arms? So what if he lost his coherence whenever she set those deep sea-green eyes on him?

Didn’t matter. She was probably the type of woman who couldn’t wait to get married, to create a family and share tight bonds with the next generation. He had no desire for the white picket fence and the Disney World trips with spoiled kids. Once they got to the bottom of Jason’s disappearance, Matt would walk away.

Yet, when they locked gazes with no words between them, he thought he saw desire there. And holy hell, but he might not be strong enough to resist her.

He had to. She was counting on him to be professional.

“Tessa.” He shook her.

Her body jerked. She blinked a bunch before she turned to look at him

“We’re at the motel,” he said.

She yawned. “How long was I out?”

“Half hour, maybe.” He reached for the door handle. “Stay in the car. I’ll go check us in.”

Tessa grabbed his wrist with firm pressure. “Let me do it.”

Like hell.
He shook his head. “Not a good idea.”

She tightened her grip. “Your face is plastered all over the TV screens and newspapers.”

“So is yours.”

“Yeah, but I’m less likely to be noticed. People don’t pay as much attention to the victims.”

He fished through his wallet and gave her some cash. “If something goes wrong...”

“Have faith, Matt.”

He nodded once. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

She disappeared inside, and the wait began.

Matt drummed his fingertips against the steering wheel. He studied the motel’s main entrance as the minutes dragged by. How long had she been in there? Why had he agreed to let her go?

Because her argument made sense. She
would
attract less suspicion. Tessa had the brains to get the job done right. There was absolutely no reason to worry.

He drummed faster, and his right foot joined in.

Jason had talked endlessly about his little sister while they were in the Army. About how much she’d suffered and how much she needed him. Each and every time, Matt had breathed a sigh of relief he’d escaped his dependents.

Yet, Tessa, the one entrusted to his care, didn’t need him. Well, not as much as he’d expected. She had courage. She trudged on in the face of danger.

He peeked at his watch. Brave or not, her first solo mission was taking too long. What if they’d recognized her? What if the cops were already on their way?

Matt jumped out of the car.

The metal door to the motel lobby opened and Tessa sailed out and approached him.

He stopped. The heavy breath trapped within his lungs escaped.. “Everything all right?” he asked when she was close enough to hear him.

With a brilliant smile, she dangled the key from her fingertip. “We’re in room twenty-one. I asked for one away from the main road.”

“Wow.”

Tessa reached into the driver’s side and grabbed the bags they’d stolen from the last car. She shoved the duffel bag into Matt’s chest and tossed the backpack over her shoulder. “You sound surprised. What happened to the faith you were supposed to have in me?”

“I stand corrected.” When most people would be wringing their hands and panicking at every new sound after the day’s events, Tessa had jumped into the fire with a pair of heavy-duty work boots.

“Jason would be proud of you.” Matt tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. His fingers skirted her temple.

“Thanks.” She shivered.

From the cold or his touch?

Did it matter?

“Come on.” He shut the car door and started for the building. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

A few minutes later, Matt flipped on the light and stepped inside the too-small motel room. The stench of cigarettes and stale air swirled around him. Tessa blew out a slow breath behind him.

The orange-flowered wallpaper and the ratty crap-brown carpet left a lot to be desired. A light fixture with two burned-out bulbs and a frayed cord hung above the chipped wooden table by the window. Tessa’s panicked gaze flew to the floor. Searching for bugs?

He considered sharing that it was a palace compared to some places he’d stayed.

Matt set the duffel bag on the bed while Tessa put the backpack on the floor. He peeled off his jacket and hung it over the back of the lone chair in the room. His second order of business was to get the heater cranking. “It’s not pretty, but it’s clean enough, and we should be safe long enough to get some rest and to wait out the snowstorm.”

Tessa stood fiddling with her necklace, and glancing out the window. She’d break. Any civilian would, under such pressure. When she did, he’d be there for her because Jason had asked him to be, and he’d always been good at taking care of others.

And because he wanted to.