“What—” she started to ask.
He held up a hand as Malloy’s voice-mail message came on the line. After the beep, he finally spoke. “Malloy? Get the hell out of your house. It looks like unfriendlies are headed your way, and they’ve had time to regroup and send reinforcements. Get Tina and get out.” Denver jumped to his feet and ran to pull on his boots. “I have to go.”
Noni hustled for her boots and started dragging them on.
“No.” He grasped her arm to halt her movements. “You’re not coming.”
She jerked free. “The heck I’m not. I started all this, and you may need backup. I can point a gun and shoot if necessary.” Panic paled her face. “What if we put Malloy and Tina in danger?”
Oh, they’d definitely put the cop and his lady in danger. “You have to stay here.”
Noni reached for her coat. “Not a chance. Geez. Don’t you ever watch television?”
Denver gripped his leather jacket. “What are you talking about?”
She pulled on her coat, her eyes wide. “It’s always the chick left behind who ends up taken and used for leverage. You know. What if they managed to trace us here?” Leaning down, she starting lacing up the boots.
He zipped his jacket. “Too much cloud cover. No satellite vision.”
“You think.” She straightened and poked him in the chest. “You can’t be a hundred percent sure. Or what if they hacked your phone call with your brother? Or your computer?”
He jerked back, oddly affronted. “Nobodyhacks my computer.”
“Says you.” She tucked her hands in her pockets. “Maybe the guy who gave us the car is working for them and secretly followed us.”
Every scenario she played out got crazier, yet there was always a slim chance. “You’re nuts.”
“Maybe.” She turned for the door. “But you and I are sticking together. Period.”
Having her close to him helped him to concentrate, and he couldn’t guarantee her safety if he left. Damn it. He opened a cupboard by the door and drew out several weapons, handing her a gun. “No safety on it. If you point, you shoot. So don’t point unless you want to shoot.”
She swallowed and turned the weapon over in her hands. “I think I like having a safety.”
“Too bad. When we get there, you do what I tell you to do.” He handed her his burner phone and opened the door, adrenaline surging through his veins. “We know that Cobb and Madison have found us, and by now, they know who you are. When we get in the car, call your aunt and tell her to get out of Portland. Have them use cash only and start driving toward South Dakota.” He had to get those ladies safe. At the moment, nobody in his life was remotely safe. “Got it?”
She paled even more but followed him out into the freezing air. It was only about five in the morning and darkness still ruled.
Next time he went on an op, he wanted it to be somewhere warm. “Follow me. We’ll have to hurry.” God, he hoped he could get to Malloy in time. Running through the snow, he jumped into the SUV and waited until Noni had secured her seat belt before hitting the gas and speeding up the icy lane. “Sorry about the plastic on the window, but at least we’re warmer now.” There wasn’t anything he could do about the bullet holes in the ceiling.
He listened as she called her aunt with the terse directions and then hung up after exchanging I love yous.
What would it be like to automatically have that sentiment from her at the end of every call? He rubbed his chest and focused his attention back on the disaster at hand. “We might not get there in time.” If the cop or Tina got killed because they’d helped him, he’d never forgive himself. “Hand me the phone, would you?”
She slipped it into his hand.
Oh, Malloy was gonna kill him if this was a mistake. Denver dialed 911 and spoke in a high voice. “Hello? Yeah. Um. There’s something going on at 2124 Meadowlark. You know? Where that cop lives with the pretty lady with long legs? Men with guns. They have on face masks. Hurry.” Denver clicked off and handed the phone to Noni. “Break that apart and throw pieces out the window toward the lake every several yards.”
She gulped in air but took the phone and pulled it apart before setting it on the floor and smashing it with her boots. Then she followed his instructions. “Malloy is going to be pissed if we’re wrong.”
“Yeah, but at least he’ll be alive. If Madison’s guys are there, then the local cops will go in hard and fast.”
Noni retaped the bottom of her window. “You don’t think Madison and Cobb would go after a cop, do you?”
Denver gritted his teeth. “They’d absolutely go after a police officer. The good news, kind of, is that Dr. Madison wouldn’t want Malloy dead. Yet.”
“What do you mean?” Noni asked, her voice shaking.
Denver wanted to reach for her hand, but he had to keep both of his on the steering wheel. The twists and turns of the icy lake road demanded his full attention. They slid around a corner, and he stopped breathing but couldn’t slow down. “They’ll want to question him about us. About me.” Tina could be collateral damage, however. Also, Malloy would definitely fight back, so he might be killed. Denver increased his speed, his mind spinning. “There should be a few more burner phones in the glove box. Grab one, would you?” He took a turn too fast, and the car fishtailed. Swearing, he brought it under control.
