Exception to the Rule (23 page)

Slick swore, but City Shoes held up a calm hand. “She can use mine.” He dipped a hand into his coat, his gun on Scott never wavering, and pulled it out to offer Carolyne a thin case. She blindly shook her head and this time his impatience showed. “Give it up, sweetheart. You’re not made for this. That think tank of yours
should keep you in a padded room with New Age music piping gently your ear.”

“Th-that’s not it.” Carolyne blinked as Slick lowered his flashlight to the bottom half of her face, allowing her to see the PDA. She still made no attempt to take it; her voice gained some asperity. “I’m left-handed. Your PDA won’t have the faintest idea what to do with my handwriting.”

City Shoes didn’t withdraw the device; he gestured imperiously with it. “You’ll work it out.”

Carolyne only shook her head. Kimmer had seen enough. She turned around to face Rio, but when he went to move back so she’d have room, she grabbed his vest and held him close, standing on her tiptoes to put her mouth near his ear. “Something’s not right here.”

“So says the knack?” Rio murmured back.

She nodded. “I can’t get a handle on it. I—” She gave up on that train of thought. No point in wasting time. She should but she couldn’t, and they’d have to work with it. She’d get a handle on things when she quit over-thinking the situation. “What’s Scott look like under that coat? Is he athletic? He thinks he’s got things under control…could he possibly?”

Rio’s beard stubble rasped the balaclava as he shook his head. “He might think he does. He’s a player. Caro depends on him because he usually manages to work things out. Self-made, looks after her—the kinds of things she doesn’t want to deal with when she’s off and running on a project.”

Kimmer, too, shook her head. She was missing something and she knew it, but they didn’t have time to watch and wait. She offered him the scope. “Can you hold that
in your bad hand?” Because the other would have the gun. “Keep an eye on me. I’m going to go around forty-five degrees, and I’m going to pick the time. When I move, you move. I think we should keep this as simple as possible—get the drop on them, disarm them, game over. If Scott’s half as capable as he seems to think he is, he’ll grab Carolyne.”

This time, the stubble moved against thin material in a nod. He gingerly took the scope in his swollen hand—and then his good hand clamped down on hers, no doubt about the strength of it. “Don’t,” he said, distinctly and directly into her ear, “do anything I wouldn’t do. This is
Caro
.”

She didn’t reply. She pulled her hand free with gentle insistence, and she moved off into the darkness. Once in place, she crouched behind a rattly witch hazel bush and stuck her hand in her pocket, filling it with the .38. Wadcutters. Useless for any distance, and hardly lethal even with direct contact.

Then again, direct contact was what Kimmer did best.

Her other hand closed around a weapon that caused a flood of ironic satisfaction…the sap she’d taken off Boots. The goonboys would get a taste of their own if they gave her any trouble.

Carolyne had taken the PDA, fiddling awkwardly with the stylus as she glanced to Scott. And Scott said, “Baby, I don’t really know what’s going on here, but whatever they want, just give it to them.”

Carolyne regarded him with a puzzled frown. “But—”

“But nothing,” Scott interrupted. “This isn’t your kind of game, babe. It sure as hell isn’t mine. I don’t
know what you ran into that’s got everyone on your tail, but I don’t remember you signing anything more than a confidentiality agreement. No one ever said anything about combat pay!”

“But…” Carolyne whispered, shaken by this unexpected attack on her determination.

“Just tell them. It’s not like your think tank hasn’t got it figured out already, right? And they’re probably already halfway to a solution.”

Probably not
.

“Just get it over with, and let me get you home.”

Not a bad strategy, from Scott’s point of view. Not for a man who didn’t truly know what was at stake, and who found himself lured into Pennsylvania for high-stakes games with his life.
Come and get her
…certainly not quite the same as
come and be torture bait
. Even if he didn’t quite seem to believe that last part.

And Carolyne, her resolve crumbling, lifted the PDA…and then abruptly tossed it away. “No,” she said. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Scott. I’m sorry.”

Slick snatched her by the arm and gave her a quick, hard shake. His flashlight flickered wildly through the trees, swooping from the solid trunks to the thinning crowns. City Shoes gave a futile shout of command, pulling at Slick, adding a smack across Slick’s head with the back of his hand. When that didn’t work, he jammed the barrel of his gun into Slick’s face, distorting his cheek and getting his immediate attention. Slick froze and Carolyne tore free.

Now
.

Kimmer shouted, “Don’t move!” She stepped out of
the trees, avoiding direct light, and she let her gun precede her. Rio moved in at the same moment, the more formidable Ruger clearly visible in his extended Weaver stance. Slick and City Shoes knew just what to do; they froze, gaping at Rio, even as Carolyne gasped in shock.

Kimmer said, “Get to the parking lot, Carolyne. Get out in the open. There’s a phone booth there. Use it.”

But Carolyne, torn between Rio and Scott and escape, hovered between all three for only an instant before throwing herself at Scott. He lifted his cuffed hands over her head to enclose her in his arms, and he looked over her head to smile.

And Kimmer realized that the goonboys were smiling back. They relaxed, and straightened themselves out, and no longer seemed quite so concerned by the pistols aimed in their direction. Carolyne gave a squeak of surprise as Scott’s arms tightened around her.

Kimmer filled the air with a single resounding curse.

City Shoes nodded at her, and then eyed Rio. “Not quite as dead as we thought.”

“Not quite.” Rio shifted uneasily, trying to understand the dynamics of the situation—and why the two men who had their weapons at their sides suddenly looked as though they were the ones in control.

Kimmer knew. She looked at Scott, the bitterness of betrayal tightening her throat. “You were in it from the start. You only wanted Hunter in on the situation to flush her out for you. That’s how I was bugged—and why I was followed.”

Carolyne made a startled noise, a small cry of denial. “Scott, no! You wouldn’t—”

But as she tried to move away from him, to duck out
from beneath his arms, he only held her more securely. “Damn right I would,” he said. “You think I haven’t noticed you’ve gotten distant? What did I have to lose? They said you were working on something big and offered me a lot of money to help them get their hands on it—said you wouldn’t get hurt if I did. If your damn cousin hadn’t been there that night—”

Carolyne froze, stunned. “You came to
get
me the night we left—not to say goodbye. And then you bugged us!”

“Not me. I didn’t have anything to do with that.” Scott shook his head. “You’re quite the popular girl, Carolyne.”

Kimmer glared at him across the clearing. Bastard.

“Best you drop your weapons, yes?” City Shoes suggested, his amusement at Scott’s revelations growing to impatience.

“Ow!” Scott yelped as Carolyne’s foot connected with his shin; he gave her a shake.

“You’d better believe ow!” Carolyne said fiercely. “What have you
done
, Scott? Do you even have any idea?”

And Kimmer stood quietly, the revolver still in her hand, her thoughts flying. Failure, that’s what this was. Except she and Rio weren’t taken yet—weren’t restrained, weren’t shot, weren’t shoved down to the ground where they could hardly make a quick escape. And the bubbaboys…they hadn’t arrived. Maybe they would, and maybe they wouldn’t—but not yet. And that meant Kimmer had to rely on herself to get the notes to Hunter.

It meant this was the moment she decided between Carolyne or the security of their weapons system. Stay…or run to deliver Carolyne’s notes. Or escalate,
and stop this scene literally dead in its tracks, leaving Hunter to search out the hard copy.

Scott looked only the slightest bit abashed at Carolyne’s fury. “It’s not like I had any choice,” he said. “They came to me, said they’d get you with or without me. I found them pretty damn convincing. And I learned early about looking after number one—you know that. And like I said—” he glanced meaningfully at Slick and City Shoes “—they told me if I helped, I could keep you from getting hurt. I guess I forgot to ask about Rio. Of course, he wasn’t supposed to be there—if he hadn’t been at your place, this stupid interlude would have been over before it even started.”

“You dumb wanna-be goon!” Kimmer could barely keep the snarl from her voice, and only tamped it down when Slick raised his semiautomatic at Carolyne in a reminder. “How could you possibly believe that? As soon as these goonboys have what they want, you’ll both be dead.”

“I don’t think so,” Scott said. “They’ve already given me a substantial amount of money.” He looked at City Shoes. “And you can take off the damn cuffs now.”

Slick didn’t allow himself to become distracted with the byplay—he gestured at Kimmer and at Rio, and when they didn’t respond, he tightened his finger on the trigger, aiming at Carolyne’s leg.

Stay, or run
…

Slowly, Kimmer put the gun down. Rio dropped his outright, nudging it toward Slick with his foot.

Carolyne didn’t notice. Fully caught up in the horror of betrayal, she pushed against Scott’s chest, getting
as far from him as she could within the circle of his arms. “I called you,” she said, horror in her voice.

Rio said, “You did
what?
”

“I called him!” She twisted, still shoving herself away from Scott, fastening a pleading look on Rio. “Yesterday I used your phone. I figured it was safe. But I led them straight to us because of
who
I called!” This time she hit Scott, a blow with no strength behind it simply because she had no leverage.

“You did at that,” City Shoes said. “And we’re deeply grateful. Our associate was foolish enough to lose Miss Reed’s trail before he even left the Finger Lakes area. Didn’t even get a good description of her. Your phone call was quite convenient for us. And for your fiancé, who’s been waiting in Erie.”

“Fine,” Scott said impatiently, ducking another blow. “Good. I’m glad I could help. Now take these things off!”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” City Shoes exchanged a glance with Slick, who’d gathered up the discarded pistols. “We still have use for you, yes? She may think she’s mad at you, but she won’t stop caring all so quickly as that. We still need her to talk.”

Kimmer understood immediately. Dumb wanna-be goon. But to his credit, so did Scott. “Oh, no,” he said. “Not me. No, you don’t. That wasn’t part of our deal.”

“Things evolve.” City Shoes shrugged. “These two we kill before they can cause any more trouble, and you we use as we need.”

Scott’s gaze skipped around the ill-lit area, lingering in the direction of the parking lot. But he didn’t quite try for it, and the crafty look that settled on his face offered the reason—he still thought he could talk his way
out of it. Talk Carolyne into spilling her secrets, talk the goonboys into changing their plan…he’d wait until Kimmer and Rio were no longer a threat, and then he’d try again.

Slick dropped Kimmer’s pistols into his coat pocket with a casual proprietary air that set Kimmer’s teeth on edge.
You, Slick, are taking things for granted
. She glanced at Rio, a reality check, and found in his grim expression the awareness of the decision they’d only delayed. Escape to deliver Carolyne’s notes, or make a move now to free Carolyne and risk that no one would ever find the notes at all. And Carolyne, upon seeing them die, upon watching Scott beg, would break. Would spill her secrets as fast as she could.

But although Kimmer saw imminent action in Rio’s tension, his expression, the way the air fairly vibrated around him, she had no idea what he might do. She couldn’t read him, couldn’t work with him, she couldn’t
tell
.

Then she’d just have to trust him to be true to himself.

She knew him well enough. He’d never walk away from Carolyne. He’d never look at Kimmer the same if
she
did. And unless they chose the same course, neither of them was likely to succeed. She held Rio’s eye a moment, finding there the frustration and doubt and the awareness that if they chose separate paths, neither would succeed. And as the distinctive rumble of a diesel pickup tickled the edges of Kimmer’s senses, she tried to read just exactly what he’d do.

She couldn’t.

But she knew anyway.

And she could only hope that diesel engine belonged to Leo’s honey of a truck.

Slick gestured for Kimmer and Rio to move away from the little group, and Kimmer saw it coming. Carolyne’s eyes, suddenly narrowed. Her face, suddenly hard. She turned on Scott with a vengeance, kicking and pummeling and shrieking—enough to turn Slick’s attention. Kimmer leaped at him, whipping Boots’s flat, lead-shot-filled sap from her pocket and slamming it down edge first on Slick’s arm. She dropped down to sweep her leg in behind Slick’s knees as his cry of pain hit the air and his gun hit the ground.

A glance showed her Rio heading for Carolyne and Scott headed for a flailing impact with the ground; she tossed Rio the sap even as she sprang up to snap-kick at City Shoes’s head, ignoring the explosive report of his gun. They fell together, and while City Shoes hit hard, Kimmer rolled and bounced to her feet, leaving Rio to snatch away the gun and keep Shoes down, because there went Slick, scrambling away—

Not as fast as Kimmer could scramble. Agile and explosively quick, within moments she overtook him, armed with her very own little war club. She brought it against his side as they fell, using as much restraint as the tumble allowed her. Still it was enough to break a rib, definitely enough to get Slick’s attention. Not enough to keep him from flipping over and landing on top of her, the world going crazy in the background with wildly flashing bright light and dark spinning woods. Kimmer’s side burned; Slick’s weight kept her from pulling in air, his knee pinning her hand and the war club with it. She fought an instant of panic, of
knowing she was overmatched now that he’d claimed advantage of his size, and he saw it in her, his teeth gleaming in the darkness, his expression growing mean.