“We’re talking about evidence,” she said.
“I still don’t know what we’re proving.”
For her investigation to work she needed to be mobile. Being interrogated could ruin everything. “No police. I’m supposed to be dead, so I’ll be dead.”
“Hey!” Liam clapped his hands together. “I can see your mind spinning. Stop thinking for a second and talk to me.”
“How do I stop thinking?”
“I’m serious.”
From the way his jaw locked, she could tell he was. To calm him back down, she slipped her palm over his hand. “Liam, I have to do this my way.”
“I can’t help if I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“I need you.” She’d said those same words to him nine years before. She was a kid then and he’d ignored her. Now she came to him as a woman with a problem.
He slipped his fingers through hers. “Maura…”
“You know what it took for me to ask you for any thing.”
He broke eye contact but stayed quiet.
“How hard it was for me to turn to you,” she added.
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “That happened a long time ago.”
“But it’s always between us.”
“Doesn’t have to be.”
Her mind refused to go there. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked by her emotions. “Are you going to help me?”
“I still don’t understand any of this.”
She recognized a man on the verge of defeat. Saw the signs in his slumped shoulders and the hard lines of his face. “But you’re not turning me down.”
For a few seconds he just sat there. Didn’t say a word. Finally he spoke. “Not this time.”
LIAM STOOD IN A DARK ALLEY with his back pressed against a wall and a supposed dead woman at his side. It was a lot to take in at one in the morning. If he weren’t so confused, he’d mind the crisp air. Good thing he had his frustration to keep him toasty warm.
That would teach him to let Maura set the evening agenda. He suggested she stay at the house while he made a run for whatever she needed. She could hide and he would take the risk. Since no one was looking for him, the chance of trouble was minimal. A quick and efficient strategy.
She had overruled him. Carried on about it being her life and then started talking in half sentences again. He gave in to gain a second of quiet. Now he was stuck in the middle of some sort of covert raid. The whole thing struck him as overly dramatic and unnecessary.
He followed her gaze to the third floor. “Tell me again why we’re here.”
“I need some of my things.”
“From in there?” He pointed up at the corner window to make sure he was looking at the right place.
She nodded, her gaze never leaving her target. “It’s my condo.”
No lights. No movement. Ten more minutes of staring at nothing and his mind would go numb. “I think it’s safe.”
“The police could be in there.”
“You do know I’m former police, right?”
She actually crouched down as if that would better hide her from the imaginary officers she thought were hiding in the bushes. “So?”
Liam took in her stiff shoulders and flat mouth. Determination. He couldn’t argue common sense against that. “Never mind.”
“I have to get my computer.”
“I can buy you another one.”
She glanced up at him. “This isn’t about money.”
“Care to clue me in on what it is about, because I still don’t know.”
“My hard drive. My papers.” She cupped his elbow and started dragging him out into the open. “Let’s go.”
He had no idea what had changed and made it safe in her mind, but he wasn’t about to argue. If she was ready to move, he’d lead the way.
One slide of the security key and they were in the building’s downstairs glass double doors. Dead quiet greeted them. Not a surprise due to the weekday hour, but still unsettling. He expected creaks and residual condo noise. All he got was the sound of his breath whooshing in and out of his chest.
He led with a hand on his gun and her palm against his back. They stalked up the steps in an unspoken agreement not to talk. Shoes hit the stairs sending a thumping sound bouncing off the emergency stairwell walls. By the time they reached her front door, her breathing had increased. From the look of her toned body, he guessed excitement rather than exertion was the cause.
“Keys?” He held out his hand.
“What? Uh, sure.” She fumbled in her pocket. Before he could stop her, she shoved the key in the lock and pushed the door open without applying any pressure.
“You don’t use a bolt or anything?” he asked.
“Of course I do.”
His readiness level switched to maximum. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He breathed in deep, opening his senses to the sounds and smells of the place in the search for clues.
“Stay here.” When she didn’t move, he pressed her farther down the hall and away from the door. “Not one step.”
Her eyes grew to the size of plates as she whispered back to him. “Okay.”
He pushed the door open with his foot and went in with his gun raised. Glass crunched under him with each step. In the shadows, he saw broken furniture and scattered papers. Keeping his back to the door and not venturing far from Maura in case she needed him, he wandered through the two-room place, ending with the small bathroom off the family room.
Nothing there but chaos and more questions.
He slipped his gun into his belt and rushed back to the entrance. He motioned for Maura to join him inside. With the door shut behind her, he turned on one small light, the one farthest away form the windows.
She came charging in, head down as if lost in thought. When her head popped up, she stopped in the dead center of the room as if she’d run into a rock wall. “What the—”
“You’ve been robbed.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You mean searched.”
“Yeah.” He stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage. Every drawer stood open and clothing littered the floor. He knew from experience this wasn’t about a burglary. Someone had come looking for something specific. Whether they found it was the question.
What they would have done had Maura been home sent a shot of cold air ricocheting around his chest.
She circled a pile of wood on the floor that looked as if it was once a desk. “My computer is gone.”
A churning started deep in his stomach. A warning of danger screamed through every pore. “We need to go.”
She stopped mumbling and pacing around the disheveled room and stared at him. “Why?”
He couldn’t describe the feeling. It was a sense of unease that started around his gut and rumbled up to his throat. “We just do.”
Something about the look on his face must have convinced her because she dropped the paper she was holding and stepped over a pile of discarded pillows to get to him. “I’ll trust you on this.”
She brushed past him in her rush to get out of the room. He grabbed her arm thinking to reassure her everything was going to be okay when he heard it. The screech of sneakers against the hallway tile.
Liam touched a finger to his lips and motioned for her to move back into the kitchen. When the doorknob turned, he slid into the darkened space against the wall and next to the door. If someone came storming through, they would have to run or shoot right through him.
A second later the door pushed open, nice and slow. It never broke contact with the doorjamb, so Liam couldn’t peek outside. The person didn’t say anything. Didn’t jerk or make any fast moves. Didn’t slide his gun inside or fire off shots. He, whoever he was, was smooth. Moved without a sound.
Liam knew the type. This was the practiced lurk of a professional, someone who would kill Maura without remorse or hesitation. To keep from drawing attention or tipping off his location, Liam stayed st
ill. The small lamp by the couch was enough of a problem. Surely, if he sensed movement in the hall, the man out there could see a light that shouldn’t have been on.
Maura mouthed a word. Liam immediately understood the question. “Police?”
Liam shook his head in response. No, not this guy. There was nothing legitimate about what was happening here.
Liam tried to shift his weight for a better shot. The floor groaned and Maura’s panicked gaze went wild with terror.
There would never be a better time. Liam threw open the door. The move left the stranger grabbing for air. Also gave Liam the two-second start he needed to knock the man’s arm to the side and get him to release his weapon. But the guy didn’t go down easy. He kicked out at Liam’s gun and sent it skittering across the floor, then landed a sucker punch right in the center of Liam’s stomach.
Doubled over with air wheezing out of his lungs, Liam dove for the other guy’s midsection. Knocked him back into the wall, slamming the man’s head hard against the door across the hall and sending his gun spinning. The crash sounded like an explosion on the quiet floor. No one came running, but lights flicked on under several doorways. Liam felt the shocked stares through the peep holes. He had to bring this to an end and get Maura out of there before the police streamed through.
Fists flew. Liam landed as many as he missed. This guy was quick. He dodged a left swing and kicked out, sending Liam to his knees. When the guy dove for his gun, Liam threw his arms around the man’s legs and dropped him to the floor with a loud thud.
A neighbor’s door opened. “What’s going on out here?”
“Get back inside.” Liam yelled his order through grunts and punches.
“I’m calling the police.” The neighbor slammed the door as he ducked back in his condo.
“No!” Maura screamed.
Liam forced his concentration back to the man shifting and squirming beneath him. Liam was on the receiving end of a shot to the jaw that had his head rocking back and a shot of pain racing around his head. To subdue the guy and prevent another hit, Liam pounced, reaching up and screwing the man’s arm behind him.
The advantage didn’t last long. Using all of his weight, the guy shoved back, almost knocking Liam in a sprawl across the tile. With Liam off him, the guy tried to scoot out of reach. He slithered out from under Liam and crawled down the hall trying to use the slick tiles to pick up speed. But he couldn’t get traction. After only a foot, Liam performed a second tackle. He grabbed the man’s legs, avoiding a kick to the head, but just barely.
In the middle of the bruising fight, Liam saw two sneakered feet appear out of the corner of his eye. Maura stood in the danger zone.
The brief distraction gave the other man an opening. He landed his heel right under Liam’s chin. The shot slammed his teeth together. Made his head spin and his vision blur. He saw a flash and then a lamp flew over his head in the direction of the other man. Maura’s effort lacked a punch because the heavy end smacked against Liam’s shoulder before flipping and landing on the other guy. Liam didn’t even feel the punishing blow. He was too busy scrambling to his feet, trying to catch the other guy as he jumped to a standing position and bounded down the stairs at the end of the hall.
“Liam, no!” Maura called out, her voice filled with fear.
Liam ignored her desperation, fought against the urge to rush to her. He had to catch this guy or Maura wouldn’t be safe.
Energy thundered through him, fueling his run and pushing out the residual twinges of pain from the fight. With his hands sliding along the banister, Liam whipped down the stairs. Heavy footsteps pounded in front of him. A shoulder slammed into the wall. The guy wasn’t quiet now. The fight took care of that. Liam relished the idea he had injured the guy.
Instead of turning right and running out the front door, the man slipped to the left. The emergency alarm sounded a second later. Liam hit the landing in time to see the guy race into the dark alley. The horn blared through the building. Doors opened. People muttered. Liam felt a tug on his sleeve.
“We have to get out of here. No one can see me.” Maura pleaded with him with her eyes and her voice.
Still, it took a moment for her words to register. Then he heard the yelling at the top of the stairs. Listened as the building came to life in a fury of confusion and anger.
She was right. They were out of time. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Four
By the time they got back to Liam’s house, the police were at his front door. Only quick reflexes and expert driving skills kept them from pulling into the driveway and being seen. Liam circled the block a second time and parked the car two streets over instead.
“They followed us here?” Maura struggled to understand how her life had veered so far off course in the last two days.
“This isn’t related to what happened in your condo.” He got out of the car and slammed the door behind him.
Not knowing what else to do, she followed him onto the sidewalk. “How can you know that?”
“We drove straight back and they’re already here. They couldn’t have beaten us.” He shook his head. “No, this is something else.”
“You don’t think it’s about me?”
He stopped studying his feet. “Oh, it’s definitely related to you.”
“What if they’re going through your house right now? If they see the—”
His eyes narrowed. “The what?”
She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out how much to tell him. “It’s nothing, really. I mean, it matters, of course, but they won’t understand what they’re seeing.”
“You know you’ve lost me, right?”
She waved her hand in front of her face. Motion helped clear her mind, and she sure needed clarity now. Without the data, figuring out Dr. Hammer’s scheme and false reports bordered on impossible. That meant she’d be blamed for the fire. For a kidnapping that never happened. Dr. Hammer’s work was too important to the government, too integral to NIH. They’d make an example of her. She’d lose everything.
“I need them. If the police take them, I won’t be able to get them back or track this mess down.” She didn’t realize she spoke her thoughts out loud until she saw Liam’s scrunched-up brows. “What?”
“You’re talking in circles.”
“I know.”
“So, it’s on purpose?”
She shrugged. It was either that or babble some more.
He rested his palms on her shoulders. “Look, I think I’ve earned the right to hear the truth. I’m following you all over the county based on your hunch.”
“It’s a theory.”
“I’m not turning you in to the police, not talking to your brother even though I want to ease his misery.” Liam massaged her tight muscles.
At his touch, her tension drained away. “I know.”
“Forget the personal crap between us. For now, if you want to get out of this you’ve got to tell me every thing.”
Once he brought up their shared past, that’s all she could think about. This close with his hands on her. The memories came back: being fifteen and sporting a crush on him that she mistook as love; getting rejected; retreating even further into her books and plans for the future; sacrificing all the fun of her teen years on a dream that would take her years to fulfill, and take Dr. Hammer only a short time to destroy.
This wasn’t about her feelings nine years ago. This was about her career.
“There are papers at your house,” she blurted out.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“I hid them.”
“Try explaining one more time.” Liam dropped his hands to his sides.
She immediately missed the warmth of his caress. Rather than mourn his touch, she shoved all thoughts about his eyes and expert fingers out of her head and concentrated on the disaster in front of her.
“I stole some documents from the lab before it went up in flames. They’re at your house. Under the d
eck.” Having that piece of information out eased the heavy weight in her stomach.
He actually smiled. “Interesting choice.”
“I put them under there before you came home. Checked on them right before we left for my condo, while you were in the bathroom.”
“So much for thinking I’m in charge around here.”
If he needed to think that, she’d let him, but she knew better. “You’re police. You should know.”
He blew out a long, ragged breath. “Let’s not go back to that thing where you ask questions and make statements, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sometimes her thoughts bombarded her faster than she could say them. She tried to communicate, but not every sentence came out right before she moved on to something else. “Knowing what you know, would the police look there?”
“Former,” he said in a distant voice as if his mind had wandered somewhere else. “Excuse me?”
“Never mind and probably not.”
Not the most comforting response, but helpful. A quick risk assessment led her to one conclusion. “I need to run. I can find a place with computer access and hack into my work account.”
“Wrong.”
The plan unspooled in her brain. “You can talk to the police, get a sense of what they’re thinking and relay it back to me.”
“Actually, I’m going to the house and you’re staying here.”
The words screeched to a halt on her tongue. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“No way. Someone could see me. Turn me in.”
He glanced at the houses around them. “It’s two in the morning. Every normal human being is asleep.”
It was obvious he had no intention of backing down. Fine, she’d adjust. “I’ll ride in the trunk. You can pull into the driveway and I’ll listen in. The conversation will probably be a bit garbled, but I should be able to follow along.”
“Are you kidding?”
“If there’s a chance to do it, I’ll slip into the house and hide out there until you make the police go away.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been watching too much television. Bad television, I might add.”
Night Moves Page 3