Page 55 of Above ’N’ Beyond

“Sorry about that.” He looked over the hood to the cab, inside of which Artie still sat. “With the three of us, I bet we could push it to that cutoff.”

Steve looked ahead to the cutoff twenty feet away, then scratched his head, pretending to think for a moment. Eventually, he nodded. “Hang on a sec.” Steve waved his arm at the truck.

Detective Masamoto stepped onto the running board and held his arms wide. He wore a green Speedy Courier Trucking shirt. “What the hell?” Before joining the Port Authority, Artie had been a NYPD homicide detective in Brooklyn. He had to be pushing sixty but was packing more muscle than most men half his age. Like Steve, Jamie didn’t doubt the man’s abilities.

“C’mon,” Steve said. “We’re gonna help push it to that cutoff up ahead.”

“Seriously?” Artie’s face twisted. “I don’t get paid for this shit.”

If the situation didn’t have the potential to turn deadly in a heartbeat, Jamie would have burst out laughing. Artie was an even better actor than Steve.

“Look,” Steve shouted, “either we help this guy out, or we’ll be stuck here all day. So, let’s help the guy out. I’ll tip you real good.”

Even from this distance, Artie’s grumble of discontent was loud enough to hear as he hopped down from the running board.

“Thanks, man.” Jamie dropped the hood, then got in the driver’s side and flipped the gear shift into neutral.

“Yeah, no problem,” Steve said as he and Artie went to the rear of the SUV. “Let’s do this.”

Stepping out of the Expedition, Jamie kept one hand on the wheel, waiting for Steve and Artie to be in position at the rear bumper. Behind the two detectives, Tony, Marco, and the other men emerged from the trees, their bandanas in place covering most of their faces.

Jamie’s muscles tightened. This was the most dangerous part of the plan. “Jax!” He pointed to his left side, wanting to keep his dog close. Continually looking over his shoulder, he pretended to start pushing with one hand while steering the wheel to keep the Tahoe from careening into a ditch. The Tahoe began rolling forward, inch by inch.

Wait for it. Just a few seconds longer.

Jamie’s heart hammered. One more glance over his shoulder. Now!

He whipped the revolver from his waistband and rushed to the bumper just before Tony and his goons made it to the road. “Don’t move! Keep your hands on the bumper.”

Jax barked but remained where he was. Soon, Jax would play a key role.

Steve’s and Artie’s eyes went wide as they took in the gun pointed at them. Both kept their hands on the Expedition.

Tony grabbed Steve’s gun from the holster. Paulie, Nicky, and Marco guarded Artie.

“Toss the gun.” Jamie hitched his head to the drainage ditch, making sure Tony stuck to the plan. He waited for Tony to heave it in the air.

Steve’s upper lip curled back in a snarl. “You motherfucker.” Okay, so that hadn’t been in the script.

“You don’t tell us what to do,” Marco snarled at Jamie, then reached behind his back.

Jamie caught the movement and— Oh shit.

Marco yanked out a gun and pressed the muzzle to Steve’s temple. “You’re the motherfucker now, pig.”

“I said no guns,” Tony shouted. “That was the plan.”

Jamie caught the look of rage in Steve’s and Artie’s eyes, rage matched only by the blood boiling in Jamie’s veins. This was exactly the kind of situation he’d worried about. If either of the detectives got shot because of his plan, he’d never forgive himself.

“Plans change.” Marco smirked, not seeming to notice Tony’s face had turned livid.

Jamie had to intervene before things escalated out of control. If Marco’s finger so much as twitched on that trigger, he was fully prepared to shoot Ianetti in the head.

“Jax!” he shouted over his shoulder. Jax raced over. “Guard!” he said to his dog, pointing to the detectives, then easing his hand to the muzzle of Marco’s gun and pushing it away from Steve’s head. “Put the gun away,” he said in a low voice, glaring at the other man. “Let Jax do the guarding. That’s what we brought him for.”

Jax lowered his head and loosed a growl at Steve and Artie.

“Do it,” Tony ordered. “We don’t want a dead cop on our hands. You shoot a cop, and they’ll keep looking for us until we’re old and gray.”