One Night More (4 page)

I shrugged. "You're right. I'm checking this out. Two minutes and we're gone, okay?"

She nodded. "I'll be in our hiding spot. You hurry. Try to leave the door open."

"Got it."

I watched her retreat and then turned to face the room. What I saw shocked me. I'd expected an office or something. But what I found was a sophisticated surveillance setup. A bank of monitors attached to what looked like computer towers. There was what looked like a log book, three cell phones and two laptops. The monitors themselves were all on and playing. There were eight screens, all displaying a different area. Some looked like street views, others were of unidentifiable rooms.

Intrigued, I approached the screens and looked some more. On one screen a van pulled backwards into a loading dock. As it disappeared I noticed the screen next to it must be a view from inside that building. A group of men with hand trucks were organizing themselves and began to unload boxes from the back of the vehicle.

Another screen flipped from a view of an empty office to a large workroom space with long tables. There were three people sitting at them, weighing bags of something I couldn't quite make out. I strained my eyes and realized it was bags of pills. Just like the ones I'd delivered to this very building.

"Oh my god." My hunch about the place was right. I could be looking at the whole operation on these screens.

I was still standing there, mouth agape, when I heard the noise. Loud stomping and it was headed my way.
Shit
. The guy was back.

I looked frantically around the room but there was nowhere to hide. My mind blanked and I froze, terrified. If I'd seen what I thought, I was in big trouble.

The steps got closer and closer. I managed to make my legs move and rushed over to the door. Maybe I could lock myself in, buy some time for Anna to get out of there.

But just as I saw a man's lower leg and foot at the bend in the hall, another sound startled both of us. His leg disappeared and I heard him call out, "Who is that? Somebody here?"

I gulped.

There was a loud crash somewhere in the warehouse and the man went running. I heard his steps retreat and slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind me. I had to find my friend and get out of there.

I struggled to listen for the sound of the man's footsteps over the pounding of my heart. Creeping quietly, I headed back towards the entrance, making sure there was always something to hide behind or a dark room to duck into. It took forever to make any progress, but I comforted myself with the fact that he was pretty far away and not getting any closer.

As I passed a huge pallet of boxes, a soft hiss stopped me in my tracks. "Anna?" I whispered.

"Yeah."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Come out and let's go."

She appeared, hair mussed, clothes covered in dust, and trembling. "I tried to buy you enough time to get out of there, but I didn't expect him to chase me."

"You're the best, A. Now come on." I took her hand and pulled her down the corridor to the front door. When the bright sunlight hit our faces we ran, rushing to the car and climbing inside as fast as possible.

I thought I heard a shout behind us as we pulled away, but it might have just been my mind screaming.

Focused on driving back to Sam's house, Anna was silent, but I could see she was still shaking. A smudge of dirt on her cheek somehow brought the truth of what we'd done to the forefront of my thoughts. She could have been killed by that man. Tiny and delicate she'd have been no match for him. But she hadn't even hesitated. As always, she'd tried to protect me at any cost.

Tears of gratitude and shame stung my eyes. I wouldn't ever put her in this position again. Never. Between her and Sam, the closest people to me were putting their lives and careers on the line to help me and it had to stop. No matter what it took I was going to keep them safe for a change.

"A, are you okay?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"Hey, except for the heart-stopping terror, it's been fun."

We both laughed. Neither of us meant it.

"Well, I appreciate it but I need to ask you for something else."

"Anything. You know that."

I smiled. "Yeah, I do. Which is why I want you to drive to your place and let me take your car back to Sam's."

"But, why? Operation Warehouse Storm might have been a bust, but we can think of something else."

I felt a little guilty for not telling her what I'd seen in that control room, but it passed. The less she knew the better. "I just need to talk to Sam. He's going to be pissed I left and it'll be better if we can be alone."

She glanced over at me. "Ah, going to use some sexy soothing tactics?"

"Yup."

"Good thinking. Okay, but you call me later."

"Of course."

We drove to her apartment building and I watched her go inside before I circled the car and climbed into the driver's seat. In the fifteen minutes it took to get back to Sam's house I formulated a plan. Well, not really a plan. More like a half-assed idea, but it's all I had.

I parked around the corner from his house and slipped in the back door using the key I'd found hanging on a hook in the kitchen. The living room was empty and I figured I'd lucked out. But as I walked down the hall to Sam's bedroom I saw him standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"What the hell, Carly."

"Hi. You're home."

"Yes. Got here about ten minutes ago." He glared at me as I slipped past him.

I sat down at the foot of the bed and slid my shoes off. "Everything okay at work?"

Sam turned around and kept on glaring. "You're shitting me, right?"

I glanced up, feigning casualness. "No."

He gritted his teeth and a muscle in his jaw jumped. "Have something to tell me?"

"Not really."

At that, he exploded. "Where the fuck did you go? Why are you being so goddamned stupid?"

I jumped up. "Don't you scream at me."

With eyes blazing with anger that matched mine, he stared me down for a long moment, and then with a sigh he disengaged, shoulders slumping. "Christ. I was so scared when I came in and saw you were gone."

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't think about that. I just, I mean Anna and I just wanted to get out for a little bit, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it." He dragged a hand through his hair. "You're not a prisoner here. But next time, leave a note or call, okay? Don't just split. I assume you were careful? Didn't go anywhere you shouldn't."

"Of course not." A knot tightened in my gut as I lied. "Just restless. We went for a drive."

"Where?"

I frowned. "Around. Why does it matter?"

"Because you've got dirt or something on your butt."

"Oh." Damn, I'd forgotten, and trust his cop eyes to catch it. "Her car's dirty."

He peered at me for a second as if trying to gauge my honesty.

"Besides," I said, trying to sound light, "Why are you staring at my butt?"

A wicked grin spread across his chiseled face and his dark eyes sparkled. "I will always find the time to check out your ass, Carly."

Some of the tension in the air faded and I walked over to wrap my arms around his waist. "Oh yeah? What else did you check out."

His hands up my back and over my shoulders. "Every bit of you. Every last inch."

I tilted my face up and smiled. "And what conclusions have you made, Detective Rollins?"

He kissed the tip of my nose. "Absolute perfection from head-to-toe."

"Don't you have to pass a vision test to be a cop?"

Sam chuckled and slid his hands down my sides, grazing the outer swells of my breasts and then my waist before settling on my wide hips. "Yes. My eyes, hands and lips all agree, your body is fucking fantastic."

I blushed and put my head on his shoulder. "Prove it."

He pulled me close with one hand, letting me feel the thick heat straining the front of his pants, and lifted my face up. He kissed me hard and deep, tongue driving into my mouth, claiming every bit for his own.

I fisted one hand in his hair, clinging tightly to him. "Mmm." My other hand drifted down over his chest and massive arm. "It's a start, but I might need more proof than that."

Sam groaned and licked my bottom lip before pulling back. "Consider it done. But not tonight, baby."

"Why, got a headache?"

He smiled. "No, but you need to eat and we both need some rest."

Now it was my turn to groan. "I'm not sure I care for this nurturing side to your personality, Sam."

"Too bad. It's the only side you're getting today."

"Fine," I grumped, but secretly enjoyed it.

"Why don't you get in bed and I'll fix us something to eat."

That was an offer I couldn't refuse, so after giving him a quick peck on the lips I went into the bathroom to wash my face and change into the pajamas in my overnight bag.

I climbed up into the big bed and flipped on the television as I heard Sam messing around in the kitchen. Some of the fear from earlier slipped away and I felt content for the moment. No matter what happened in the future, I'd have these wonderful memories of being with Sam. From the laughter, to the intensely erotic attraction, to sweet caring, in a few short days we'd shared a lot.

Scanning through channels I was jolted back to attention when I saw a picture of the front of my old office, Courier Express, complete with boarded up glass where Sam had broken in to rescue me.
Oh my god
. The news story mentioned my boss, Mitchell's arrest and quoted a source from the police department confirming that it was drug-related. The reporter said the investigation was ongoing and that the police had a witness who was cooperating with them. Me? Was she talking about me?

I watched, mouth hanging open, as she continued, speculating about the details. I felt sick to my stomach.

Sam walked in with two plates piled high. "What's wrong?"

I pointed to the screen, but it had changed to a weather report. Tomorrow would be sunny and humid, apparently. "There was a story. About me. I mean, about my office. And Mitchell."

He put the plates down on the dresser and came to sit by me. "Shit. I should have warned you that might happen."

"But they mentioned a witness. Is that me? Does the whole city know what I did?"

He pulled me into his lap and cradled me like a tall, chubby child. "Baby, no. Don't worry. The media doesn't know about you. They just get general info. It's all controlled by our press office."

"What about the kidnapping and the scene at the café? I'm sure someone took a picture of me – the crazy girl running around in a robe. What if someone makes the connection?" My breath came in short, shallow pants.

"Shush. They won't. The only people who can connect the two are the police and the people who took you, and they already know, right?"

"I guess," I said in a weak voice.

"Good. Now, let's turn the TV off and eat something."

"Okay."

He smoothed down my hair and then stood up to grab the food. I picked at mine for a little while, but couldn't choke much down. Eventually I gave up and looked at Sam.

"Can we talk about the case a little?"

"Sure."

"Do you have any news? Anything from Mitchell or the office yet?"

He shrugged and looked away.

"Sam, what is it? What's going on?"

"Nothing from your boss yet. His lawyer is convincing him to hold out for a good deal. WE did pull some stuff out of your office, but I can't tell you any details."

"Okay. That sounds promising, why do you look like there's bad news?"

He sighed, piled our discarded plates on the side table and turned to face me. "There is some bad news."

The knot in my belly rose up and closed off my throat. "Tell me."

"What we found supports the report you gave and what I told my colleagues. But there are holes in our stories, as you know. They suspect you're not telling everything you know, which is bad. Right now Mitchell's attack on you is our best leverage against him, but if you're lying about something it makes that a lot harder."

"But you were there. You heard the whole thing over the phone. I know it wasn't recorded, but the phone log should show the call."

"It should. And it would, if we had the phone."

"What?"

He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "The phone's gone. Clerical error in the evidence room. They'll find it, but could be a while."

"Oh. But they have you. You can testify as to what happened, right?"

"No, I can't."

My eyes widened with shock and I drew back. "Why not?"

"Because I'm a cop, Carly. And I won't tell them what you did, but I can't lie about it under oath."

"Right. Of course." I wanted to kick myself. If only I'd told the truth about what happened. That I did knowingly deliver the illegal medications that one time but I didn't know what else to do. Surely the legal system would make some allowance. Grant me immunity or whatever the hell. But now I'd lied to the cops and made Sam do the same. Mitchell and whoever he worked for could get away with it, all because I was too scared to come clean.

"Hey," Sam said, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "It's going to be okay. Things will work out. This investigation is only beginning. And, if we're right and this is related to a bigger enterprise, there will be more evidence. Stronger evidence."

I thought about telling him what I'd seen in the warehouse, but I was tired and didn’t want to admit to yet another lie. I needed more information. A way to make this right for all of us.

"Why don't you lie down. Try to get some sleep."

"Okay."

We looked at each other but there was no heat or even the building connection in it. The issues weighing on both of us, and the lies hiding within me made a wall between us, one I wasn't sure could be scaled without a lot of work, and for the moment I was too exhausted to bother.

So I lay back and rolled onto my side facing away from him. I l closed my eyes and willed sleep to come while I went over my plan and added some urgency to it.