Dance Away, Danger (18 page)

“She and the man she’s with are being hunted. There was a shooting where your sister works, and they apparently fought with security guards at the train station.”

Sweet.
Matt had remembered
Steps to Silence
. He released a silent prayer.

“So far, they haven’t been caught.”

“What did you tell my sergeant?”

When she whirled her head around for a quick check of the door, her hair brushed along her cheek. “I stuck to what you told me.”

“Thank you for all the information and all your help. There’s one more thing I need you to do for me and there’s no arguing about it.”

“What?”

“Get the hell out of my room and go home.”

The shock on Brenna’s beautiful face cut into his gut. Yes, his words were harsh, but he couldn’t protect her from a hospital bed and so he’d done the next best thing: sent her away.

****

Tessa climbed the stone stairs of St. Anthony’s and entered the church hall with Matt by her side. She brushed new snowfall from his shoulders and then her own. Cartoon animal voices greeted them with Christmas carols. Red and green lights blinked around a twelve-foot Balsam fir in the lobby. An easel propped up a glittery sign informing them St. Anthony’s Christmas Bazaar would run until nine p.m. and for various hours over the next two days. Matt glanced at his watch and then forked over the entrance fee to the elderly cashier. He and Tessa walked inside behind a large family.

She scanned the crowded room, searching for the stage where Lola had promised to be. At the far end of the hall, supporting a Santa village, it was hard to miss.

Giggly children competed with the holiday songs blasting through the speakers. The rich smell of hot cocoa mixed with the sugary scent of fresh-baked cookies. An enthusiastic voice announced Santa would return in five minutes. Festive crepe paper streamers and candy canes covered the walls.

“There are too many innocent people around us.” She studied the hall. “Listen to me. A week ago I would’ve only seen the decorations or the placement of the furniture. Now I’m calculating risks, mapping possible exits, and coming up with contingency plans.”

“You’ve been tossed some serious crap in the last few days and dealt with it all like a champ. Without a doubt, you are an incredible woman.” His killer smile set butterflies loose in her stomach.

Crap.
Tessa Gage had gone and fallen in love with the sweetest, most caring, sexiest man on the planet.

Wait a minute. Love?
No, nothing about these last few days had to do with love. It simply was not in the equation. Not a chance.

Then why did her chest hurt with the thought of Matt leaving her?

Crazy.
They’d save Jason, bring down Dave and whoever else was involved, and go their separate ways. End of story. Best to savor their time together, hold the memories deep in her heart, and replay them in her head when the world tried to shove her offstage.

“You’re pretty incredible yourself,” she said. Indeed, all he’d taught her, shared with her, encouraged within her since he broke into the dance studio, had forced Tessa to find strength inside herself, something she hadn’t been able to do all those years before when her date had run away and her brother had almost died. Or since.

“Let’s get to the stage so we don’t miss Lola,” he said.

The platform sat at the far end of the hall flanked by the restrooms and a corridor. The sign next to the hallway boasted offices, classrooms, and the quickest way to the church. Tessa and Matt waited in silence, standing next to each other, watching for both their salvation and their death.

Matt pulled her close. His breath tickled her ear. “Stay close to me, but if anything goes wrong, get to the hospital and raise hell until IA shows up.”

She nodded, but him being hurt wasn’t an option. She would protect her partner.

His body tensed. “There she is.”

She followed his gaze to the center aisle. Lola wore a skin-tight, off-white dress under the same fur coat from two nights before and carried an oversized sequined purse. She nervously jerked her head around and hurried toward them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tessa spotted a policeman with his back to them.

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

It couldn’t be Dave. They’d come so close.

No. Dark hair. Not Dave.

She let out a sigh.

“What’ve you got for us?” Matt asked when Lola had reached his side.

“Not here.” She scanned the room. “Follow me.”

Lola started down the dark corridor to the left of the stage. Tessa followed with Matt behind her. The woman turned several door handles until one opened. The square of frosted glass on the top half obscured the view of ten tiny chairs and desks and an old fashioned blackboard at the head of the room. The smell of chalk dust and youth lingered in the air. Religious posters promising eternal peace blanketed the walls.

Matt eased the door closed once they were all inside. The joyous conversations of the hall muted. He tugged Tessa’s sleeve. “Move toward me.”

Lola stood under the emergency light, glanced around the room, and smiled. For a few seconds, she seemed to slip into a memory. Before Tessa could ask her about it, the happiness disappeared, and she fixed her stare on Tessa. “Walgren shot your brother. I was supposed to meet him at his house, to help him in his investigation. He promised to help me get out of the business. Walgren must have gotten wind of the meeting. By the time I got there, Walgren was standing over him with a gun—your brother was bleeding. I ran. When I went back to check, after I figured Walgren would be gone, nobody was there.”

“That must’ve been when Jason called me,” Matt said.

Tessa’s insides coiled. She fought to keep her voice low. “You’ve known all this time what kind of police officer Dave is, and you didn’t go to the police? Talk about irresponsible.” Matt set a gentle hand on her elbow.

“I don’t need you judging me. I’m doing the right thing now, ain’t I?” Lola snapped.

Instant regret burst through Tessa. She massaged her temples. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’ve been through.”

Lola rummaged through her purse and pulled out a flash drive. “Here. This is what Jason and me were meeting about.”

“What’s on it?” Matt asked.

Lola explained, “We used a phone to video Walgren one Wednesday when he and another guy I didn’t recognize came by to pick up payments. Some of the girls and me wanted to do something for Jason since he was trying to help us. It was the Wednesday before he got shot.”

Tessa’s chest tightened. Proof her brother was the good cop and Dave was the criminal. She’d call Internal Affairs as soon as she and Matt left the church hall.

“Walgren knows I talked to you the other night. He came by my place earlier and threatened to kill me if I told you anything about his operation. When he left, I figured it was time to do my part to finish what Jason started. I owe him that much.”

Matt glanced between the two women. “We should go.”

“Good luck.” Lola started toward the door.

“Lola, you need to come with us,” Tessa said. “You’re not safe.”

“You leave on your own and you’ll die,” Matt warned.

“I’ve got places I can hide.” Lola grabbed the handle, but didn’t open it.

“You won’t make it that far,” Matt added. “Walgren will figure out you helped us, and he’ll be gunning for you.”

A hint of a smile tugged one corner of her mouth. “Then protect me by getting him off the streets.”

The frosted glass behind her exploded and clattered against the floor.

Hurt and shock registered in Lola’s face as she crumpled to the floor. Matt shoved Tessa behind a desk and returned fire. Something thumped. Quiet returned. Matt eased the door open. Loud, cheery Christmas carols drifted down the hallway.

Two bodies, a ton of glass shards, and no one came. No movement flashed from the hallway. No other footsteps or bullets or moans, either.

Matt shoved the flash drive at Tessa, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the corridor. “Come on.”

A dark puddle had already formed by Lola’s body. Not one inch of her moved. The stench of warm, fresh blood slipped into Tessa’s nostrils as she stepped over the body and out to the hallway.

Her stomach pitched when she saw Gerry Kelly lying on his back with red stains on his green shirt. His chest staggered as it moved up and down. Crimson fluid dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. His fingers curled, but his weapon was out of reach.

She turned her head toward the church hall. Were Dave and Pete far behind?

“Go, Tessa!” Matt pushed her in front of him and ran at her heels. “Head for the church.”

So many senseless deaths. They were so close to solving the crimes. She refused to be another victim. Dave couldn’t be allowed to go on with his illegal business.

“Faster, Tess.”

She picked up her pace. A chill seeped through the windows and settled along her spine.

“Hurry.”

“Anyone coming?” she asked.

“Not yet.”

She slapped the swinging doors into the church foyer. Incense mingled with the smell of dirt in new plants. Soft candlelight flickered in a far corner of the church. Snippets of the gray skyline fell in through the stained-glass windows. Matt steered her toward the bright red
EXIT
sign.

Chaos erupted in the hallway behind them when someone released a shrill scream. The bazaar patrons had found the bodies. She and Matt would be hunted again.

Shadowed figures glanced up from prayer vigils in the front pews.

She gripped the flash drive tighter and willed those people to stay where they were.

Matt shoved the exit door open and pulled her down the stairs. “Come on.”

Snow continued to fall, thick and heavy. Still, people stopped in the parking lot and watched them as they ran to their car.

The rush of her blood pounded in her ears. She turned back to the building. Security guards flew out of the hall.

“Keep moving, Tess,” he instructed as he opened the passenger side door for her. He rounded the hood and slid in behind the wheel. Voices hollered, “Stop!” as Tessa yanked her door shut. While Matt started the engine and backed out of the parking space, she jerked around in her seat.

“It’s Dave.” She faced forward again.

The tires spun on the snow before Matt was able to drive out of the lot and into the street. Traffic stood at a near standstill, with vehicles lined up around the corner to get into the church’s parking lot. He took the first turn and escaped the long lines.

“Tessa, call Internal Affairs.” He swerved and struggled to keep the car steady on the road with the ice and snow. “Tell them we’re coming in.”

She whipped around in her seat and glanced out the rear window. “Oh my God.” Dave’s truck barreled toward them. Matt sped up. The vehicle skidded along the road. “He’s going to hit us.”

“Tessa, make the call!”

She reached for the duffel bag by her feet and dropped the flash drive inside. The first crunch of metal from Dave hitting them reached her ears. Her body lurched forward. She banged her forehead on the dashboard.

Pain riveted across her skull and her vision blurred momentarily. “Matt.”

He yanked her upright as they sped up. She fumbled through the bag. Where the hell was the phone?

The truck rammed into them a second time.

She lurched forward again. Braced her palms on the dash. The seatbelt jerked her back.
Phone, phone, phone. Where are you?

Matt drifted into the oncoming traffic lane. Horns blared. Tires screeched. Tessa gripped the phone.

Yes! She plucked it free just as they swerved down a less-traveled road. She hit the redial button. The truck banged into their rear again. The tires hit a sheet of ice. Matt struggled to keep the vehicle on the road. It didn’t work.

A scream escaped from her lips.

The silver guardrail slammed into the front of the car. Then disappeared.

They were airborne.

Chapter Eleven

At first Tessa likened it to being on a roller coaster ride. Except much more frightening.

Every muscle tensed. Common sense had no time to form in between her rapid, painful heartbeats.

Chunks of ice rushed up to meet them. The car hung in the air forever. Until the ground and the frigid water from the ravine interrupted. The grill hit first. Metal crunched, and glass shattered.
Whoosh!
The airbags deployed, slamming into her face.

Tessa’s body fell around the seatbelt. The vehicle teetered for several seconds then landed with a sickening thud on its roof.

Her vision faded for an instant and then blurred. Her lungs fought for air. She inhaled and tasted the nylon fabric of the airbag. One arm hung free from the seatbelt, the other remained trapped behind something. Pinned, crushed. Was it still attached?

Everything stilled around her. Seconds before, the roar of death had reverberated in her ears and sent shockwaves through her body. At that moment, nothing moved. Silence, except for her own labored breathing.

She shoved the deflating airbag out of her face and struggled to shift her body. “Matt?”

He said nothing. No moan, no
I’m all right
. Just silence. Nail-biting silence.

“Matt,” she snapped. His head angled toward the window...or what used to be the window. His eyes remained closed.

She scrambled toward him. What if he’d died? She hadn’t told him how much he meant to her. Matt had never put his own needs first. A good man, one who’d proven time and again he was worthy of her trust. Dammit, she’d better get the chance to tell him.

“I’m not losing you.” She ran her fingers across his chest, his neck. Beneath her touch beat the slow and steady rhythm of a living man.

Relief swept over her until fear spit a snowball in her face. A whooshing sound erupted from the front of the wreckage. Plumes of smoke curled up into the dark gray sky. Even with the falling snow, the car would be a ball of orange flame in minutes.

Tessa shook Matt’s arm and called his name again. No response. She shook harder.

The smoke increased.

They had to get out. Even with Dave probably watching and waiting. At least outside the vehicle they had a fighting chance to survive.

She shimmied out of her seatbelt and fell onto the roof. With her good arm, she yanked on Matt. Her muscles screamed from the strain. He budged. Barely. But she had to do it. He’d been taking care of her for so many days. She couldn’t let him down.

She climbed out of what used to be her window and hurried to the driver’s side. Matt’s buckle refused to release. Damn. Tugging him out of the seat was not the best option, but she did it. Her limbs throbbed, burned, bled. “No pain,” she whispered. “No pain.” Matt needed her. Her injuries would wait.

She grabbed his jacket and jerked him toward her. Cursed solid man. His head lolled. She shifted her hands under his armpits, dug in her heels, and pulled once more. His bloodied and bruised body obeyed her. She was doing it!

When his torso cleared the doorway, she fell under the weight. She landed on her butt with Matt’s head in her lap, face down. Flames licked from under the hood, swirled higher, thicker. Deadlier. Fire snapped loudly like firecrackers, more with every second. The heat threatened to punish her front while the snow melted into her jeans. Flames shot higher.

Her limbs trembled with the weight, responsibility, fear. She had to move faster.

She scooted backward on her butt and pulled him along with every ounce of muscle she had. She would not give up. Her abused bag of bones revolted at the duty, but she didn’t care. She wiped the moisture of the still falling snow from her face, and kept tugging.

His body moved, inch by damn inch. The fire roared, burning her lungs and setting a new wave of desperation through her. Still, he didn’t wake.

When they cleared the wreckage, Tessa rolled Matt onto his back. His beautiful eyes remained closed.

They’d been through too much for it to end thanks to a car crash. Too many people had been through too much....

The evidence.

She gasped. The car could blow up at any time. She could get burned or worse. Tessa squeezed handfuls of snow in her fists. Too many sacrifices had been made for that flash drive. She couldn’t let it melt in the heap of burning metal.

Despite the crackling flames and the toxic fumes of burning rubber, she scrambled to the wreckage. She shoved the deflated airbag to one side, grabbed their bags,
and hurried back to Matt.

Dave’s truck remained parked by the edge of the road where he’d run them through the guardrail and over the edge. No sign of the cop himself rushing down the hill toward them.

Unless he was already there.

Fear sent another chill through her. Or maybe it was the cold. Or both. She scrambled backward on her butt, dragging Matt’s unconscious body with her. Her lungs burned, her muscles ached, and her head throbbed. Over her shoulder, she spotted a copse of pine trees, a place with dark shadows perfect for hiding her wounded man. She scanned the tree line surrounding her. “Dave better not be lurking in there.”

Once she had him hidden under the boughs, she crouched beside Matt. She pressed her palms to his chest. “Come on, partner. I need you.”

Dammit, she wasn’t supposed to be left alone. She needed him to tell her what to do.

“Tessa, I’m coming for you.” Dave bellowed his veiled threat across the ravine.

She froze. He’d kill them both without a second thought.

Think, Tessa, think.
She had to lure him away from Matt’s useless body. Couldn’t let their enemy know he was unconscious.

She knelt down. Snow seeped into the knees of her jeans as she rummaged through the bag and found the flash drive. She fingered the item for several seconds as she glanced at Matt again.

Nope, still no stirring.

“You two must be needing help after that accident.”
Dave’s voice sounded nearby.

“Come on, Tessa. You won’t win. You’ve got to know that,” he taunted.

What if she made the wrong choice?

“I want to help.” His voice carried through the trees, closer still.

Lies. She wouldn’t fall into his trap and reveal her location, not unless the admission was on her terms. Whether they lived or died, whether she gave up or fought for survival, the decision was Tessa’s. Only hers.

Dammit, she deserved a chance at a future, a chance to be a mom and to be loved by a good man.

“If you and Rylan surrender, I promise no one will get hurt.”

She shoved the flash drive into Matt’s coat, under his shoulder. If Dave killed her and rummaged through the bags, he wouldn’t find it. Grabbing one of the guns from the duffel, she gripped it firmly, and kept the barrel pointed to the ground. Matt’s instructions came out of hiding and paraded through her brain.

She kneeled over him, and dropped a kiss on his frozen lips. “I’ve got your back.” Then, with all the strength she’d ever needed to gather, she stood and walked away from him.

A flash of black in the midst of the snow-covered pine trees caught her gaze. Dave moved toward Matt.

Fear of a new kind struck her heart. She had to get him away. “Are you going to kill me, Dave?” She hurried farther into the trees.

“I don’t like what’s happening, Tessa, but you and Rylan aren’t giving me much choice.”

Yes, her ploy had worked, but reality stung her like too tight ballet slippers on opening night. Dave was coming for her. “Matt won’t be doing anything. He’s dead. You killed him when you ran us off the road.”

“I’m sorry,” he said with absolutely no sympathy in his voice. “I need you to come up to the road with me. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Tessa ran a few feet farther away. “But you will if you have to, right?”

She could see him shaking his head as he followed her voice. “You’re trying to ruin my good name, Tessa. I have no idea what kinds of lies your brother and your boyfriend have been feeding you, but you’ve got it all wrong. Come on out, sweetie.”

“I told you before, I’m not your sweetheart.” She ran another few yards between the big, pine trees, slogging through snowdrifts one, two feet high. Her breaths struggled through her lungs. She could still hear the crackling of the fire in the distance. Snow fell heavier and interfered with her vision. The chill of the late afternoon seeped into her wet clothes and forced a shiver through her limbs.

“Tessa, I will find you.” His confident taunt reached out to her across the yards.

She wasn’t the woman he thought he knew. She was better, stronger. Wielding a gun would be the last action he would expect from her. If she timed it right and remembered to aim for his chest, she might be able to hit him.

He walked through the forest in her direction.

She stopped and leaned on the bark of a tree while she gulped down fresh air. She’d never be able to outrun him. Too many factors would slow her down, including the headache pounding in her skull. Tessa gathered every ounce of courage she had and called on Matt’s every instruction. She peered around the trunk.

She aimed for Dave.

Flicked off the safety.

Pulled the trigger.

Missed.
Damn.

Dave stopped and glared straight at her with a killer’s determination.

Her breath escaped. Try again?

Nope. She didn’t have time. Her target raised his arm, aimed at her, and fired his own weapon.

The crack of the shot reverberated around her. She screamed. Dropped her gun. Sank to the snow-covered ground, butt first. He hadn’t shot her...yet.

“Don’t play with me, little girl. Next time I won’t be so generous.” He was still ten, twelve feet away, but the threat loomed large over her as he started forward. He lowered his weapon.

Time for a new plan.

“You need to come into the station, Tessa, and explain to everyone Rylan’s been brainwashing you and tried to kill your brother.”

She scrambled backward, grabbed the gun, and dragged through the snow along with her knuckles and legs. “Nobody will believe it. Soon everyone will hear what you’ve done, and you’ll go to jail for the rest of your life. Why’d you do it? Can you at least tell me why you went after Jason?”

He stared at her for a few minutes before answering. “I never meant to hurt your brother. He asked too many questions and, when I tried to reason with him, he wouldn’t listen. By then, there was too much at stake to let him go.”

“Money, right?”

“Not just money. Jason tried to turn me and the others in. He would’ve ruined all the work we’ve done through the years. We’re good officers, and nobody would remember that if he talked. I can’t allow you to destroy my name either.”

“Jason won’t stop until you’re behind bars. And I’m not going quietly.”

“You’ve got nothing left, Tessa. If you won’t cooperate, you leave me no choice.” He lifted his arm.

She raised her gun again, aimed for his chest, and fired a string of shots as she scurried behind a tree trunk. A stream of sailor-worthy swear words tore out from Dave’s mouth. “You shot me, you bitch.”

She scanned the paths around her. Hope hung onto the edges of her gut. Maybe, just maybe, she could summon enough energy to run.

Wouldn’t matter. Dave was a police officer, trained for that type of situation, adept at using his weapon and power.

But she’d wounded him.

She was so tired. So cold. In so much pain from the car crash.

Walgren rounded one pine and stood before her. Blood dripped from the fingertips of his right hand, the plume of red seeping into the snow by his feet.

“I’m sorry, Tessa. I wish things could’ve been different.”

Regret and sorrow swam behind his eyes and teased her with false hope. But only for a fraction of a second.

Her heart slammed into her ribs. She peered around Dave and pretended she saw Matt. “Shoot him!” she hollered, even though she knew Matt to still be unconscious by the car.

Dave whipped back toward the ravine.

Tessa lunged for his injured arm. Yanked on it. Punched it.

He hollered. His gun flew out of his grasp and disappeared in a snowdrift. He pounded her on the back.

Pain rippled across her spine, but she kept hitting him with everything she had.

As if she weighed nothing, he tossed her to the ground.

Snow slipped up her nose, into her mouth. She pressed her palms into the ground to push herself up.

Dave rolled her over and pinned his forearm across her throat, cutting off her air supply. His lips moved, yet her ears heard nothing but the whooshing of her blood pumping through her body. She grabbed and shoved her fist into it. His face contorted but still he held her down.

As the darkness crowded her vision, she wished Matt knew she’d tried.

****