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Authors: Maya Banks,Karin Tabke,Sylvia Day

Men Out of Uniform: Three Novellas of Erotic Surrender (31 page)

BOOK: Men Out of Uniform: Three Novellas of Erotic Surrender
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“Separated?”
“I’m going to handcuff you to me the minute I get within reach of a set, but just in case, take it.”
Reluctantly she did. “We’re meeting the DA in his office. I told him four hours, but we’re going to be there in less than two.”
Chapter 9
 
MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY ROSS’S OFFICE
 
I
n three hours, Sophia destroyed what had taken the Gilletti family decades to build. She promised to back her incriminating declaration with documents, bank account numbers, and names. The DA was dancing on his desk with glee.
Colin sat silent for almost the entire three hours, his pride and admiration for Sophia growing with each minute. She was the bravest woman he knew. And she was his. His stomach did weird rolls and flops each time he thought about how deeply he felt for her. In the three hours he sat beside Sophia, he had mentally rearranged his life so that he could have one with her.
When they were finished, Colin stood. “If you’ve got everything you need for now, I’ll be taking Sophia to a safe house.”
“We’ll be issuing a warrant for Gilletti’s arrest within the hour,” the DA said.
“His lawyers will have him out before you fingerprint him,” Colin said. He took Sophia’s hand and gave her a reassuring smile. She looked exhausted. Hell, he was surprised she was still standing after all she had been through. He pulled her against him. “I’m taking Sophia off the grid. No known safe houses.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“Someone has been spoon-feeding Gilletti information. I don’t trust anyone.” And when he found the leak he was going to plug it. Permanently.
“If you need protection, my office can provide it.”
Colin shook his head. “With what, a couple of DA investigators?”
“They’re all former or retired law enforcement. I had my secretary contact two of them right after your arrival. They’re arranging a safe haven as we speak.”
Sophia stiffened beside him. Colin was furious. “That wasn’t part of our deal, damn you! Not knowing where the leak is, Gilletti has had time to set an ambush. We’re fucked.”
Sophia squeezed his hand. “Maybe we should trust him, Colin.”
Colin took her face into his hands and said, “Right now there are only two people in this world I trust: me and you, period. Thanks for nothing, Mr. Ross, but we’ll go it alone.” Colin took Sophia’s hand and led her from the office into the outer lobby and down the hall, his senses on high alert. Near the elevators, he could see a man in a suit, apparently waiting for the elevator, but when the doors opened and then closed, he didn’t get on. Before the man could turn around to see the two of them, Colin pushed Sophia ahead of him into an office. “Don’t question anything I tell you, just do it. Okay?” Colin said.
“I will,” Sophia said, her voice trembling.
It killed him that she was so afraid. It killed him that he had forced her here. He should have let her go.
“May I help you?” a clerk asked from behind a counter.
“No,” Colin said.
“Did you two want to get married?” she asked.
“What?” they answered in unison.
The gnome of a woman smiled. “We’re temporarily issuing marriage licenses out of this office while the city clerk ’s offices are being painted. Did you want a marriage license?”
“Oh, hell no!” Colin quickly assured her. Maybe too quickly. Sophia elbowed him in the ribs. “I mean, not today. Is there a fire exit from inside of here?”
“Well, yes, but you’d have to—”
“Where is it?” Colin was getting antsy. It was too quiet out in the hallway.
“Well . . . through that office.” The clerk pointed to a door on the other side of the counter. Colin had already scanned the room and found no access through the counter. Scooping Sophia up into his arms, he slid her across the counter and then jumped over it himself.
“Thank you, ma’am.” They hurried through the door and into a small corridor with a window, unisex bathroom, and a door with an Exit sign above it.
Colin hurried to the door, dragging Sophia along with him. “If I’m right, we don’t have much time. In fact, we may already be out of time.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“My plan is the same as it was in the beginning: to protect your life.” Colin opened the door to the stairwell and they began a quick descent. “When we get outside, I’ll find us a car. I’ll bet my retirement your husband is on his way.”
“Pray he isn’t,” Sophia said, then with a shaky hand, made the sign of the cross.
At the bottom of the stairs, they halted momentarily. If they went through the door the alarm would sound. Colin looked down at her heeled shoes.
“You can’t run in those. Take them off,” he said.
“And go barefoot?”
“Yes.”
He caught her up into his arms and looked deep into her misty emerald eyes. “I love you, Sophia. We’re going to get through this. I promise.” He kissed her hard, then looked at the fire exit. “I don’t know what’s on the other side of that door. Whatever it is, we may not have much time to think or figure things out. When I say
go
or
jump
or whatever the hell I say, you need to be ready to just do it.”
“I trust you, Colin.” She grabbed his chin and brought his lips down to hers and said, “I love you. We’re going to get through this. I promise.” She kissed him hard then pulled away. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Let’s go.”
Sophia kicked her shoes off and grabbed them. Colin slammed the door open. The alarm immediately began to wail. They bolted toward the parking lot. Colin quickly scanned the perimeters into the interior, searching for a moving vehicle to commandeer. Two rows up he saw a man, his arms full of files and a briefcase, making his way toward a car. Some schmuck public defense attorney, he thought. He grabbed Sophia’s hand. “C’mon.” And headed in his direction. From the corner of his eye, Colin saw a black SUV with dark tinted windows rolling their way.
“Fuck!”
“Is it Angelo?” Sophia cried. Her body was shaking so hard she could barely keep step with him.
“Keep moving!” He urged her forward. The SUV was quickly moving toward them, and while they gained on the schmuck, he didn’t seem any closer to his vehicle than when Colin first spotted him. However, he still remained their most viable option. Whoever was driving the SUV had already figured out Colin’s plan and was bearing down on them. Clearing the last row of parked cars, Colin turned them to the right, away from the encroaching SUV and toward their hopeful getaway.
“It’s getting closer!” Sophia shouted as she realized what was happening.
“Your car! Which one is your car?” Colin shouted as he spun the man around.
“I beg your ... ?”
“I don’t have any fucking time for this!” Colin shouted. “I’m a cop! I need your car!”
“Are you going to take my car? Like they do in the movies?” the idiot asked.
“Your car, damn it!” The low rumble of the SUV was almost upon them. Colin snatched the car keys from the man and hit the unlock button. A low chirp answered.
Colin ran toward it.
“The red minivan, right there,” the owner shouted.
“You need to go!” Sophia yelled at the man, pushing him in the opposite direction of the oncoming SUV. “Run, quickly! Don’t stay here, go now!”
“Sophia!” Colin shouted. “Get over here!”
Colin turned back to get her. She shoved the man back when he refused to run and turned into the driveway. And in that hesitation, it was too late for both of them. Sophia cleared the racing SUV but the willing Samaritan was not as lucky.
“Sophia!” Colin screamed as his view of her was blocked by the SUV pulling just past her. Shots rang out from the front window, dotting the minivan. Colin took cover behind the rear wheel and drew his weapon. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the SUV was in reverse making a quick getaway with Sophia inside.
Colin’s heart pounded like a sledgehammer against his rib cage. He jumped in the van and fired it up. He quickly maneuvered the box on wheels and was soon right behind the SUV. They raced out of the parking lot and onto the city streets.
 
Sophia’s heart rammed high in her throat, making breathing difficult. But she would not show Angelo fear. He fed off it. He shoved her against the window.
Her husband’s dark features twisted with rage. “Sit still or I kill you right here!” he screamed.
She kicked him in the shin. He backhanded her. She slapped him. Under any other circumstances, she would have laughed at his stunned face. “I’m not afraid of you, Angelo!”
He laughed and raised his hand again. She slapped it away.
“Your brief independence has changed you. Or was it that cop you were fucking?”
“Fuck you, Angelo. You can kill me, but I gave the DA everything, including the safe-deposit boxes with all your dirty little secrets stashed away.”
“A wife cannot testify against her husband.”
“I’ll have our sham of a marriage annulled. I was never your
wife
. I was your money-laundering hookup.”
The vehicle swerved, throwing Sophia against the man she would kill with her own two hands if given the opportunity.
Angelo shoved her off him and looked out the back window. “Is that your boyfriend back there? Is that the man you’ve been fucking ?” He sneered.
“At least he’s a real man and with a real cock.” Sophia spoke loud enough for Angelo’s henchmen in the front seats to hear her. She turned the screws. “He’s so big your prize stallion would be embarrassed to stand next to him. And he can fuck all night long! All. Night. Long! Angelo!”
The back end of the SUV lurched to the right from the impact of the minivan slamming into it on the left rear fender. The driver struggled to right the vehicle and managed to drive out of the skid. The impact momentarily freed Sophia, who was still holding her heels in her hands. Jumping up from the seat, she swung the left with a wild backhand, striking Angelo just below his right eye. Swinging her right hand with equal vengeance, Sophia struck the driver in his right cheek.
Angelo grabbed her left arm and pulled her back against him. Like a snake on hot asphalt, Sophia recoiled and struck him again with her heel, this time
in
the right eye. He screamed, grabbing at it. She went after the driver again, but the front passenger had turned. He shoved her back into her seat. The driver swerved as they were hit again.
 
Struggling to keep pace with the fleeing SUV, Colin continued to gain ground for another assault. He didn’t want to think of what Sophia was enduring inside. All he could think of was stopping the SUV and getting her out of there, and then blowing Angelo Gilletti’s fucking brains out.
He punched the gas pedal. This time the van struck home, the impact pushing the SUV into the curb. The velocity pushed the back of the vehicle into the air, causing it to flip onto its side. It skidded along the sidewalk for a short distance, coming to rest on an empty bus-stop bench and canopy.
Colin came to a skidding sideways stop. He leapt from the vehicle and rushed to the driver’s door. When a head popped up like a ground squirrel on the prairie, Colin put a bullet in it, dropping him back inside. He quickly moved to the front of the vehicle to get a better view. Cautiously, he cleared the front end, where he found the front passenger had been launched through the windshield and onto the pavement. He heard the back doors slam open and Sophia’s screams.
BOOK: Men Out of Uniform: Three Novellas of Erotic Surrender
8.55Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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