April made a sound in her throat, but she was smart enough to stay out of the line of fire. Halfway down the block, Reggie cranked the wheel, sending the limo into a sidespin. He straightened the wheel, steering out of the slide, and the car barreled into an alley.
The black SUV made the turn, but lost precious time. The limo rolled through the alley like a cannonball and out the other side, took a sharp turn and shot down the street.
A silver Mercedes 550S coupe raced up beside them, Chase behind the wheel. He cut in behind the limo, putting the Mercedes in front of the SUV. Chase leaned out and fired off a couple of rounds, shooting out one of the SUV’s tires.
The pursuing car hit the brakes, swerved then hit the gas, racing forward once more, but the vehicle was losing ground. Reggie drove through a parking garage and came out the entrance on the opposite side.
Jonah lost sight of Chase and the black SUV, but Reggie kept making defensive moves, blowing through a red light, then a yellow, making one turn after another. Finally, the SUV was gone.
April eased back up into the seat. She was trembling. Jonah ignored the urge to pull her against him, let her know she was safe.
“What...what about Chase?” she asked. “Do you think he’s all right?”
Jonah holstered his Glock. “He only has himself to worry about. He’ll be fine.” Proof of that came in a text message a few seconds later.
OK here. Bad guys got away.
Jonah texted back.Going off the grid. Talk tomorrow.
10-4
What he had in mind was safer than returning to April’s apartment where would-be assassins might be waiting.
“You need to take the battery out of your phone. We don’t know what level of sophistication we’re dealing with. We don’t want them tracking you.”
She pulled her phone out of her purse with a shaky hand and took out the battery. Jonah did the same.
He spoke to Reggie. “Head for my house.” He rattled off the address. “I need to get my car.”
“On my way.”
April leaned back against the seat. In the soft interior lighting inside the limo, her face looked pale. “Well... I guess you could say our trap worked,” she said.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” But the last thing he wanted was for April to be in more danger.
“At least we know how far whoever is involved is willing to go to keep their secret.”
Jonah sliced her a glance. “That’s right. They’ve stopped playing games. You threatened them. You know the whole rape/self-defense story was a ruse and that makes you dangerous. They figure they’re better off taking you out and dealing with the consequences later.”
“There were two people in the SUV. Who were they? Where do you find someone you can hire to kill someone?”
“These guys aren’t pros. If they were, you’d be dead. They’re scumbags willing to do just about anything for money. They’re not that hard to find if you know where to look.”
Her eyes found his, big and blue and worried. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to figure a way to keep you alive while we find out exactly why David Dean was killed, exactly who was behind the murder, and get the evidence we need to prove it.”
JONAHLIVEDINa decent apartment on Belmont Street. As a PI, he made good money, but living alone, he didn’t need fancy.
He checked the area to make sure the place wasn’t being watched, then went inside to strip off his tux and grab his go bag while April waited in the limo with Reggie.
Just to be safe, he checked the Land Rover for any sort of explosives, retrieved it from the single-car garage that came with the apartment, drove around and pulled up next to the limo.
“Thanks for the help,” he said to Reggie as he assisted April into the Rover. “You really came through out there.”
“Not a problem. You got my number. Let me know if you need me.”
“Will do.” Jonah surveyed the area again, saw no sign of anyone, but still took precautions to make sure he wasn’t being tailed.
