The Accidental Assassin (5 page)

Pedestrians stopped to watch as our car squealed by.

“You thought I killed him on purpose.” I gripped the steering wheel.

“I thought you had very cleverly stolen my ticket, but once I calmed down I realized you hadn’t meant to do it.”

“Ticket?” I was innocent. I knew I was innocent, but I still felt horrible. Guilt gnawed at my stomach and squeezed my chest.

“You need to turn. You’ve been on this street for too long.”

Yanking the wheel, the car slid around the corner and onto an empty road. I could still see the other car in my side mirror and had no idea how I was supposed to lose them.

“What do we do?” I turned the car down a different road without being told to. I had no idea where I was going, except for away.

“We need to get on the motorway.” My eyes must’ve widened, because he reached out and touched my arm. His gaze was steady, no signs that he was panicked or worried about lying. “We can switch. I’ll keep you safe.”

My gaze darted to his. “What’s your name?”

There was a moment’s hesitation before he answered. “Owen.”

“Ava.” I looked back at the road and swerved around a car that had stopped to let someone out.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ava.” His lips turned up and I felt something different than guilt flutter through my chest. “Will you let me drive now?”

“How?” I couldn’t stop. Who knew what would happen if I stopped. Would they just start shooting at us? Would they shoot other people in their attempt to get us?

“Get on the M1 and we’ll trade.” His fingers squeezed my arm. “It’ll be easy.” There was no way switching drivers while on some sort of expressway would be easy.

“Where is the M1?” Something slammed into the back windshield and I ducked. They had shot at us. In public. So much for hoping they were trying to get us somewhere quiet.

“We’re not far. Can you get us a few more blocks?” His eyes were so calm, as if nothing was happening and we were just practicing driving around the town.

“Pfft. No problem. I’ve gotten us this far.” Where the hell this bravado was coming from, I had no idea. But I noticed the smile on his face, and knew that I’d put it there.

“That’s my girl.”

His girl? Hardly. Under other circumstances… well, that wasn’t an option now. Following his directions, we made our way to the on ramp without any accidents. The car tailing us never disappeared, no matter how hard I mentally wished flat tires on them. I sped up, going around cars until we had a nice swatch of clear road. I looked on the dash until I found the cruise control and hit the little button.

“Okay.”

He reached over and unbuckled the seat belt I hadn’t realized I had put on. Sliding his arm behind my back, he shifted over the center console and moved closer to me. Carefully I used my feet to push up so he could slide underneath me. His body pushed against mine and I could feel every manly inch of him pressed behind me, down to the muscles his button up shirt concealed. As his hands slid around my waist to help steady me, his thumbs pressed against my back and rubbed soft circles, as if he was trying to comfort me—but instead it was accomplishing the exact opposite. I let the weight off of my feet, easing down on to his lap so I could move to the other seat.

“I’m ready.” His voice was husky in my ear and for a second I thought about telling him I was more than ready myself. Thankfully I was able to keep my senses and remember that there was someone intent on killing me in a car not far behind us.

With extreme caution I tried to lift my left leg so that I could step over the console, but my skirt was too tight. Understanding the problem, his hands slid moved down my hips and over my skirt so he could slip it up my thighs. Goosebumps erupted along my skin as his knuckles brushed along my legs. Once the material was high enough that I could lift my leg, I slid into the other seat and let him take control of the steering wheel.

“Buckle up.” He smiled at me as he took the car off cruise control and hit the gas pedal.

I HAD TO force my mind back onto the task at hand as Ava adjusted herself in her seat. She checked the side mirror before turning to look at me.

“What are you going to do?” Her voice held a throaty edge that made me smile. Apparently she had enjoyed changing seats as much as I had. It was certainly a better sound than the horror it had held earlier.

“Lose them.” I wrenched the car around a tour bus and tried to put a little more distance between us and the idiots following close behind. There were only two real options. Lose them in traffic, or take them out. And I had a feeling that Ava would be upset if I used my particular skill set right now.

Knowing that there was road construction nearby, I headed there. It would be one of the easiest ways to lose our tail. And then I needed to get somewhere safe so I could work out just what was going on here.

“Ava? Why would someone want to kill you?”

“Me? I don’t know! What about you? You put bombs under people’s cars. Maybe they’re trying to kill you.”

“They were aiming for you, Ava.” I swerved around another family car and gritted my teeth when our tail almost clipped their bumper. “I was just collateral damage in that scenario.”

“They’re stopping!” Ava reached up and grabbed the handle above her door.

“Yes.”

“Then why are you speeding up?” Her voice rose in pitch.

“To try and lose the car behind us in the construction zone.” I swerved and clipped the side mirror on the railing in a shower of sparks. “Or would you rather have me stop so we can try to talk out our differences?”

The hand that wasn’t bracing her jerked out and slammed into my arm.

I swerved just a little and she gasped loudly. “Sorry.”

“This is going to be close.” Up ahead I could see some of the equipment moving and seized my chance. As cars merged into one lane, I whipped into the narrowing emergency lane. Up ahead the extra space was being used for regular traffic and that would be our best chance at bottlenecking our chaser. We sideswiped a taxi and I could hear Ava cursing under her breath and muttering about the bomb, but we made it through.

Loud pops had Ava ducking in her seat, but we had managed to get them trapped for at least a couple of minutes, which would give us time to lose them.

“Shit. Where are the cops?” Ava peeked over her shoulder and out the window.

“Oh, I’m sure they’re coming.” I pulled off at an exit and turned down a quiet road. “We need to change cars.”

“Great. Now you’re a car thief?” Ava wrinkled her nose.

“You killed a man in a parking garage. What’s a little grand theft auto now?” I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she frowned and looked out the window.

“I guess we already stole one car.” Her breath sounded heavy and I wondered if she would cry. A lot of people would in her situation.

“True.” I turned into a different parking garage. “And we did it to save your life.”

“Our lives.” Her face whitened. “I still can’t believe I killed Mr. Song.”

“I told you, it was his fault. And don’t feel bad for him.” My voice clipped out the words. “He was not a nice man.”

“How would you know?” She looked at me, her eyes narrowed.

“I was there to kill him.” I pulled around the garage until I found a corner with a broken light. I put the car in park and looked at her. “Mr. Song ran a prostitute ring. He sold young girls and women to men and made a very healthy living doing so.”

“He sold girls? Hookers?” She shook her head. “How can you know that?”

“I’m very particular about the cases I take on. When the girls started showing up dead, one of his associates decided it was time to call his number.” I looked around the garage before opening my door. “I need to defuse the bomb. I don’t want it accidently going off when the police find the vehicle.”

“Shit.” She scrambled in her seat to undo her belt before jumping out of the car. She was looking at the stairs leading outside and chewing on her lip when I climbed out of my seat.

“Ava?” I leveled my eyes at her over the car. “You’re free to run, but your chances are exponentially better with me.”

She looked at me, but didn’t say anything. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to run. I’d admitted to being a hitman and she’d been chased by people trying to kill her, not to mention the dead man she left behind. That was a lot for most people to digest.

“Take care of the bomb.” She looked away from me. “And then we need to talk.”

I nodded my head, relieved she hadn’t decided to run. I knew that if she went off on her own she wouldn’t make it long. Even the idiots that had been following her would have an easy time taking her down. I could walk, could disappear for a while and wait for this to blow over. But I needed to know what had happened back there, if for no other reason than to make sure I hadn’t been set up. And Ava was my best link to the whole mess. It was also a convenient excuse. My bleeding fucking heart was getting the better of me.

“Watch for anyone approaching.” She nodded, but didn’t look back at me. Still pissed and frightened, I guessed. Understandable.

I slid under the bumper and carefully undid the wires that connected the device to the explosive. I considered removing it all and taking it with me, but I didn’t want to have to worry about carrying it. Besides, I knew how to get more if I needed it. Something tapped my leg and I realized Ava was kicking me softly. I crawled out and looked around carefully. There was someone walking toward a car on our side of the garage.

“Found it, honey.” I held my hand up as if I’d found an earring before wrapping my arm around her shoulders. I kept my voice casual as I led her toward the nearest exit. “It looks like it’s broken. You’ll have to get it repaired.”

“That’s a shame.” Her voice was steady, but I could see the tightness around her eyes as she leaned into me.

We walked down the road a ways as I scouted for a new vehicle. Preferably something older that wouldn’t be easy to trace. The farther we walked, the more I found myself enjoying the fact that Ava was tucked against my side. Most of my time spent with women was very business-like. We were there to scratch an itch for each other. There was no cuddling or holding hands. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent a moment with a woman tucked against me for anything other than sex.

I slid my arm from her shoulders down to her waist and she stiffened slightly before falling back into pace with me.

“Loosen up, Ava. If we look happy, that’s all anyone will see.” I leaned close so I could whisper in her ear. “Just a happy couple walking down the street—not people worried about being followed.”

“I’m trying.” She stopped and looked up at me, our breaths mingling, and my gaze dipped down to her lips. A lock of her hair had fallen loose and was whipping against her cheek. Slowly I raised my fingers and tucked it back behind her ear, letting my hand linger along her neck.

“You’re doing great.” Turning away from her I urged us onward. I had no doubt that the people following us would catch up unless we put more space between ourselves and the city.

When we happened upon a quiet row of houses with cars parked along the curb, I turned and walked until I found an older Land Rover. I stopped and bent over to tie my shoe, checking the sidewalk and nearby homes for people that might notice us. Once I was sure we were in the clear, I stood up, pulling the lock picks out of my pocket.

I made quick work of the door and slid into the driver seat before leaning over and opening the door passenger side for Ava. She climbed into her seat Ava climbed inside and discreetly kept watch out the passenger side window. I found it amusing that she had slipped into the role of lookout so quickly. I pulled away from the curb and headed out of town.

We’d stick to as many back roads as possible and keep a low profile. I had a safe house in Oxford that would give us a place to regroup. We needed to change clothes and I needed to talk to some people.

“Where are you going to go?” Ava asked as I navigated the busy roads. Her eyes didn’t have the happy glow that had been in them the day before. A couple of hours with me was all it had taken. I didn’t blame her.