License to Love (54 page)

“Oh, no!” Cora grabbed Herald’s shoulder and pointed through
the back window. “I think that’s Terrance, and he’s headed our way.”

Herald used the mirror to watch behind them. “I can’t see
Nick. I don’t know if he sees what’s going on.”

“My view’s blocked too.” She wanted to sit up or open a door
to see, but that would endanger Nick. The CD didn’t seem worth this risk now.
“What is he doing? Does he see Nick?”

“No. Just be ready in case something happens,” Herald said.
She wasn’t sure what she would do. “He’s leaving...and smoking. He must have
forgotten his cigarettes.”

She breathed again.

“Where’s Nick?” she asked, daring to look. Herald turned his
head, and then the door handle clicked.

The door swung open and Nick slid into the car. “Go!”

Detecting the urgency in Nick’s voice, Herald hit the gas
too hard and squealed the tires. He slowed down, clearing this throat while
glancing in the rear view mirror. Cora wondered if they should have involved
him in this. It was a little late to change that now.

“I see Terrance coming back with someone else.” Herald eased
off the gas as Nick and Cora both hit the floor. “A couple men are running to
the BMW. Did they spot you, Nick?”

“They might have noticed someone behind the car, but I
grabbed the bag and relocked the car before they were anywhere near.”

“Did you get it?” she asked, hugging him when he nodded.
Nick held the bag out for them both to see. Cora removed the CD and found “Back
up” written on it in her father’s handwriting.

“Shoot! Get down.” Herald’s whisper stopped her before she
could look at the key or note. “Someone’s smoking by the exit. Could be one of
them.”

Nick yanked Cora on top of him and pulled the blanket over
both of them. They lay absolutely still. Cora could only hope that the blanket
covered them completely. She couldn’t breathe in the sudden heat, but she
toughed it out for a long minute.

She was so thankful they were together.

“We’re clear, but stay down.” Herald instructed. “I’m not
sure if that man was with Keith or not, but there’s no point in taking
chances.”

Nick pulled the blanket away from their faces, keeping an
arm around Cora. When he stretched up for a soft kiss, the night before flashed
through her mind. His small smile and suddenly hazy eyes made her wonder
whether he was thinking about it too. “We did it!” he whispered.

“Okay, we’re clear,” Herald said.

They pulled themselves onto the seat and quickly scanned the
cars around them. Nick stretched out his long legs, called Adam, and then set
up a meeting place at a busy intersection. When they arrived, Adam jumped in
the front passenger seat. 

“We got it,” Cora said. She took the note out and handed it
to Adam. “Take a look at this.”

“I know this handwriting. Aunt Angela wrote this.” Adam
looked up at Nick, and Cora saw the confusion on both their faces.

“Angela?” Cora nodded as she pulled out the other piece of
paper she’d put into the bag. “This has a yes by her name.”

“What?” Nick scanned the list of Holloway family members.
“What does this mean?”

“I’m thinking the list is people who are involved in the
drug operation or have knowledge of it. And that other note, well,” Cora
paused, “Who’s tall and dark?”

After a short, shocked silence, Adam said, “Alexander?
Angela and Alexander?”

“Wow.” Nick shook his head. “At least we’re finally getting
some answers.”

“You could say that,” Herald agreed, “This really ties some
things together.”

Cora shuddered, thinking of the time she spent with
Alexander. It had all been a twisted game. Nick was right – Alexander had been
setting Jerry up to get to her. The strange part was that he never touched her
when he had the chance. He could have forced her. Instead he planned to have
her witness Jerry’s murder to win her over somehow. He used everyone around
him.

As planned, they split up. Nick wanted to make sure the CD
was safe, and it wouldn’t be with him and Cora. Cora gave the list and the CD
to Adam and Herald to take with them. Herald wanted Nick to take the car. 
Before they left, Herald leaned toward the window and told Nick, “I advise
dropping the car at the office and grabbing a cab or something. Don’t drive
your own car, either.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll stay smart.” Nick nodded and they drove
away.

“Isn’t there anything we can do? We’re just leaving them.”
She watched through the back window as Herald and Adam turned to walk away.

“People are looking for us, not them,” Nick reminded. “We
can help by not drawing attention to them.”

***

While watching their backs, Herald and Adam got into a cab
and took a random drive around the city. They ended up at a library and quickly
made their way to a public computer room.

“Here we go.” Adam opened the CD and found five years of
dated files full of account numbers and transactions. “Look at all these
accounts... Keith was moving his money around regularly.”

“Let’s copy those files.” He searched through the contents
in his brief case and retrieved a flash drive.

“Wait, look.” Adam pointed to a file name.
Cora
.

Herald’s right eyebrow went up. “Open it. Maybe it can help
us.”

Silence ensued as the men read the long letter Jerry had
left for his daughter. Herald simply whistled as he reached the end.

Adam laughed. “Now we’re
really
getting somewhere.”

***

After dropping off Herald’s Lincoln, Nick and Cora continued
on foot. They decided to find somewhere out of the way where they could get
lunch and make a plan of action. It was late afternoon, and they needed to eat.

They slipped in the back door of a bar and grill and sat in
the back. She leaned back in her seat, looking at him and trying to pretend for
a minute that it was a normal lunch date. He folded his hands on the table,
looking back at her. She had to appreciate his tone arms, and his lean and
sleek build.

His face warmed with a hint of a smile. “That was a lot of
work for a first date.”

She quietly laughed while rolling her neck to work out some
of the tension. “But we’re coming to the end of all this, aren’t we?”

He reached for her hand across the table. “Jerry’s safe, and
we have the CD. Pretty soon we’ll know what’s on it.”

“It has to be good. Why else would Jerry hide it like that?”

The aroma traveling from the kitchen tickled her stomach,
reminding her how much she liked to eat. When the waitress came, she ordered a
seafood salad and Sprite, hoping the drink would help settle her stomach. She
glanced around, nervous that someone would recognize her. People often did, if
they watched the nightly news. She hoped she would still have a job after this.
Just getting through it would be nice, too.     

“So what’s Angela like?” Cora asked while they waited for
their food.

His brow creased. “She is very obsessed with appearances.
She has platinum blond hair that’s always done up, and wears lots of jewelry
and perfume.”

Thinking of the note, she asked, “And what about her
husband?”

“Michael. He’s the youngest brother; very ambitious, like
Angela. Man, if he finds out she’s been sleeping with Alexander. . .”

“Possibly sleeping with him,” she said. “Do you think it’s
more complicated than that between them? Alexander and Angela both sound
ruthless to me. Maybe they stole the money together, and it’s not really about
sex or love.”

Their food arrived, and both Nick and Cora forgot about
talking while they ate. They needed to work on a plan but she pushed that
thought away so she wouldn’t lose her appetite. Maybe Adam had found something
useful on that CD.

“Adam hasn’t called or texted?”

Nick’s head tilted. He reached for his phone. “Damn it. The battery’s
dead, and my charger is in my car.”

They both knew she didn’t have her phone. “We can buy
another one or use a payphone.”

“I should check in with Herald from a payphone and then we
can pick up a charger.” He rested an elbow on the table and rubbed his
forehead. When he opened his eyes to look at her hand, she realized she was
tapping her nails. He tilted his head toward the door and then they both rose.

The waitress walked by. “Are you ready for your check?”

“We have to run.” He opened his wallet. “Here’s forty.”

Outside it took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to
the brightness. They walked down the street, passing other businesses. Cora was
looking in a window when she noticed the reflection of a vehicle behind them;
it seemed to be moving at the same pace.

 “Slow down just a little,” she said. “Look at the glass
over here and check out that white SUV. It’s been rolling slowly behind us.”

Nick casually glanced at the shop windows to see the
reflection. “You’re right. We’ve got a tag.”

Cora’s heart pounded. “But how could they find us that
fast?”

He took her hand without answering. “Keep it slow, don’t act
panicked.”

The mid-day heat suddenly felt twenty degrees hotter. It
didn’t make any sense that Alexander had found her so easily before, and now
they were being followed.

“An alley is coming up. Keep your pace. Maybe they’re
following us to see where we’re headed.”

“At the alley, run?”

“Yup.” The alley grew closer...just a few feet ahead. She
was already breathing like she was sprinting. Her heartbeat pounded clear into
the tips of her fingers.

Hand in hand, they bolted into the alley while tires
squealed behind them. After leaping over boxes, they reached the other end of
the alley and quickly turned onto the next street.

At a store entrance, Nick pointed. “In here.”

“No, look!” Cora gestured to another fast moving SUV, coming
from the opposite direction. “They’ll trap us.”

They sprinted across the street, dodging a honking car, and
down another alley.

“Good thing you’re fast.” Nick jumped up on a box and pulled
her up by both hands. They scaled the fence and started off at full speed on
the other side.

“Okay, now let’s find somewhere to hide.” Nick slowed,
scanning the shops up and down the street. Squealing brakes stopped them. The
SUV barely missed a minivan as it came around the corner.

“Run!” With only one option, they backtracked toward the
fence while the SUV closed in on them.

“Shit!”

Another SUV pulled up on the other side of the fence,
blocking their way. Two men jumped out: Nick’s cousin Terrance and a stocky
twenty something.

“Give up!” Terrance hollered from the other side as they
reached the fence. “You’re blocked in.”

The only way out was straight up the buildings next to them.

“Nick?”

His hand held Cora’s so tightly her fingers went numb. “I’ll
get you killed if I pull my gun. Don’t do anything.”

“But…” She looked into Nick’s usually warm eyes, and saw
that they were blazing with rage.

“Don’t hide your weapon, they’ll find it anyway,” Nick
whispered gruffly. “We’ll find another way out of this.”            

The other SUV pulled up close and two older men stepped out
while pointing handguns at them.

“Hold out your guns and drop them.”

Terrance and his partner were right up to the fence now.
They had guns pointed at them from twenty feet away on both sides. Nick didn’t
hesitate and Cora followed.

“I’m glad you’re going to do this the easy way.” The men
took them to the SUV, waved to the other vehicle, and started off. “Don’t move
or talk, or she gets it.”

She thought about trying to jump out the door, but that
would put Nick in danger. And to think she had been worried about Herald and
Adam.

Nick sat steel rigid next to her. She had no idea how they’d
get out of this… but, with the CD, Adam and Herald could talk to the police and
get help.

The men, followed by Terrance’s SUV, drove straight to
Keith’s house and pulled into the multiple-car garage. Terrance got out of his
vehicle first, opened Nick’s door while keeping his handgun pointed right at
Nick. “Welcome home, Nicky. Come on in.”

They took Nick and Cora inside and down to the basement,
never giving them any chance to escape. Terrance waved his gun at a couch.

Keith walked down the steps, smug as ever. He briefly paused
at the bottom before he pulled a wooden chair over and sat down, facing them.

“Here’s my dilemma. Jerry couldn’t get my money back.
Alexander’s plan failed, and Jerry’s out there to tell the world anything he
wants about my family…” he paused to smile. “But now I have you here.”

“She can’t help you anymore. Let Cora go.”

In calm control of himself, Keith responded, “Hand over the
key, and I will.”

“I would,” Cora said. “If I had it.”

Keith leaned back, staring at her with his eyebrows drawn
tightly together. Luckily Nick didn’t react.

“Where is it then?”

Now Nick’s hand tightened on hers. Bless him; he was blindly
trusting that she knew what she was doing. He was showing her a level of trust
that reminded her of how she
hadn’t
trusted him before. Now she did. She
kept her eyes on Keith. “I gave it to Alexander when I thought he was helping
me.”

Keith stood up, stepping toward them with his hands on his
hips, almost leaning over them. “Then you’ll have to help bring him in.”

“That won’t work,” Nick said. “Why don’t you just let her go
before the police get too suspicious? You can find Alexander on your own.
You’ll probably be able to find him quicker than Cora.”

Keith laughed and sat down. “Maybe you don’t know how much
time he put into watching her, but I do. So, Cora, your part will be easy. I’m
going to book a flight for you, to the east coast. You’ll stay in a hotel
tonight, under my name. That ought to get Alexander’s attention. You’ll stay
here till we’re ready.”