We both made ourselves small, crouching low. I took a hard right at the next intersection and stood on the gas. Not much happened until the revs crept up.
Jack held on for dear life with his good arm as I took another left as fast as I could, trying to keep the revs up.
The sedan followed, tires screaming.
I drew my pistol as I barreled down the road. My foot jammed the brakes, and I flung open the door when the car stopped. I hopped out, took aim, and did a mag dump. The pistol hammered my palm, and the tangy scent of gunpowder wafted. My bullets cratered the windshield, and the sedan screeched to a halt.
I dropped the magazine and reloaded.
The driver jammed it into reverse, and the tires squealed as they retreated. White smoke billowed from the wheel wells.
They backed up to the previous intersection, spun around, then took off.
With my heart pounding and adrenaline coursing through my veins, I hopped back into the Porsche.
Jack had radioed dispatch for backup and given a description of the vehicle.
I put it into gear and drove back to the station.
"I think I know what that was about," Jack said dryly. "Seems your girlfriend’s got it out for you."
I sneered at him. "Catalina is not my girlfriend.”
At the station, we surveyed the damage and cleaned the glass from the car. It didn’t look like the engine compartment got hit.
Jack was not pleased. Sourcing a replacement window could take a few weeks.
We filled out after-action reports, and I surrendered my duty weapon and was put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
The sheriff poked his head into the conference room as we finished up. "License plate on that vehicle came back stolen.”
"Not surprising.”
"Erickson and Faulkner found the car burned out in an abandoned parking lot in the warehouse district.”
"Figures.”
There would be no way to pull DNA or prints now. These guys were pros. It wasn’t their first rodeo.
Daniels looked at us with a worried face. "I'm a little concerned about you two. I think you got lucky today." He pointed at Jack. "He's got no business being on duty. Not in his condition.”
"I'm perfectly fine," Jack said.
Daniels gave him a look. “You are not fine. You're the walking wounded. I ought to have my head examined for letting you work these cases.”
Jack smiled. "You don't think you can really stop us, do you?"
An exasperated sigh escaped the sheriff's mouth. "Take a few days. Let things cool down around here. Maybe go on vacation.”
"Things are never gonna cool down around here," I said. "You know that.”
“You pissed off Diego Navarro. What did you think was going to happen?”
“The only way this stops is if we take down the cartel. And that sure isn't going to happen if we’re sitting on the sidelines.”
The sheriff didn't like it, but he knew we were right. He shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know what to do with you two.”
I shrugged.
