by Multiple
“Damn, he hit a tire.” Jacob began to pull over, but I put a hand on the wheel and forced him back into traffic.
“Don’t stop unless you want the next bullet to hit you between the eyes.”
Jacob resisted me and we clipped a car parked on the street, knocking off their side mirror. “He’s a cop, one of the good guys,” he shouted trying to peel my fingers off the steering wheel.
“No, he’s not. He’s dead, a zombie, and he’s working for the same guys that killed your brother.” Touching the zombie cop had give me a glimpse of the same man in black from Jason’s house and the impression that he was the man in charge. What I hadn’t seen was an explanation as to how the detective was able to function like a regular human. Jason had been tethered with a metaphysical muzzle, more puppet than anything else. The detective was something different. A zombie with some kind of brain function, yet dead all the same. I had no idea what black magic made Detective Wallace possible, but I wasn’t about to stick around and ask.
Jacob hit the brakes and looked at me in shock. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
I put a hand on the dash to steady myself as the car lurched to a standstill. We’d been going pretty fast and between the flat tire and Jacob engaging the brakes with such force, the car was a spinout just waiting to happen. “No, I’m not. And if you want to see the people who murdered your brother brought to justice, you’d better get us the hell out of here.”
Jacob released the brakes and manipulated the steering wheel until the car righted itself, shoving me against the door with a thud as the pull of gravity shifted. Once he had the car under control, he glanced at me, his mouth a grim line as he absorbed what I had told him. I couldn’t blame him for his resistance. All our lives we’re told the police are the good guys and it’s hard to go against that early conditioning.
Fortunately, I had no such conflict. I knew cops were human. Some good. Some bad. I had met the full spectrum while dealing with the manslaughter charges. I especially knew, once they started shooting at you unprovoked, it was a bad thing. Surrendering wouldn’t clear up any ‘confusion’, it would guarantee our deaths. Detective Wallace hadn’t touched me for long, but I got enough to know they were expecting us and the plan was to make us disappear.
In the side view mirror, I saw Detective Wallace coming up on us at a pretty fast clip for a dead man his size, trying to run and aim his gun at the same time. From the way he panted and heaved himself forward step by step, I wasn’t the only one who needed to get in shape. His large girth worked for us because it distracted him, preventing him from zeroing in on the back of our heads with his gun. Even so, a few more seconds he would be on top of us and he wouldn’t have to run anymore, just aim and pull the trigger. I put my hand on the door latch, prepared to make a run for it if Jacob insisted on being a sitting duck.
There was another thunk as the Detective fired at us once more. I screamed and ducked, my hands covering my head. The bullet smashed into the trunk of the car and the spring mechanism triggered, popping the trunk open. Jacob started at the noise and pressed the accelerator to the floor.
The entire car shuddered and I could hear the flat tire slapping the pavement, but the vehicle still moved forward and gained speed quickly. Thank God.
Jacob, with both hands tight the steering wheel, wove the car in and out of traffic, putting distance between us and the police. “Now what?”
I checked the side view mirror again and saw the Detective hunched over gasping for breath. Good to know being a zombie hadn’t imparted any superhuman powers. But we weren’t in the clear yet. The uniforms were younger and clearly in better shape and they were still coming. “I don’t know, losing the cops would be a good first step.”
“And then what? Go back to your place?” Jacob took a hard right turn at the next light cutting us off from the cops’ line of sight.
I worried my bottom lip at the question. If the zombie reported back to the necromancer, who knew what tools he had available to hunt us down? Worse, the zombie detective knew we were on to him, which now made us a target. I shivered at the idea of being on a necromancer’s shit list. My apartment wasn’t safe. Would never be safe until this was all over.
“No, we’ll go to Vera’s. I need to talk to her anyway.” Of all my friends, she was the most likely to know what to do. She probably already knew we were coming.
“Who’s Vera?” Jacob asked.
“She’s a witch,” I said. “We’re going to need reinforcements.”
He frowned. “How are we going to get there? I don’t have a spare and driving on the rim will only get us so far.”
I spotted a parking garage and pointed it out to Jacob. “How about we park inside? That’ll get the car off the street.”
“And then what?” He gave me a skeptical look.
“The subway. Look, there’s a station right across from the garage.”
“I suppose that’s the best we can do.” He changed lanes and turned into the garage. We had just taken our ticket and driven past the gate, when several police cars zoomed past, lights blinking, alarms blaring. Jacob and I both sighed in relief.
“Good call on the parking garage,” he said, smiling at me.
“Thanks.” I slumped back in my seat, the adrenaline that had carried me from the police station fizzled out, leaving me slightly nauseated. I had never been shot at and it wasn’t an experience I would ever want to repeat. Of course, the way my life was going so far, I seemed to be specializing in these never-again experiences. Sooner or later my luck would have to take a turn for the better, I just hoped it was sooner as I had no desire to find out what could be worse than being chased and shot at by zombie cops.
Jacob pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. “Ready?”
“Not yet.” I peered out the window.
He peered with me. “What are you looking for?”
“Surveillance cameras.” I didn’t want to get caught on camera if I could help it. I might be pretty green for a P.I., but I had paid attention at the seminars I’d attended and surveillance evasion had been one of the topics covered. Of course, the training had been meant for evading philandering spouses so they didn’t realize they were being tailed, not zombie cops, but whatever worked.
A quick scan of the area revealed nothing beyond the average parking garage. It was a small operation with only four parking levels and the management had made a similarly small investment in security. There were only two cameras visible and they were focused on the road, not the parking spots. I turned to Jacob who watched me expectantly. “Do you see them at the far end there?” At his nod, I continued, “I think we can avoid them if we say to the side.”
“They’ll know it’s us from the trunk.”
“It doesn’t matter if they find the car, because we’re going to change our appearance.” To emphasize my point, I took off the clip holding my hair back and shook my hair free. “Do you have any other clothes in the car? A coat? Sunglasses?”
“My gym bag is in the back seat.” He reached back and lifted a red duffel bag into the front seat.
I took the bag and opened it, pleased to find not one, but three sets of clothes. “You’ve got a lot in here.” I eyed Jacob trying to gauge whether or not his clothes would fit. I was shorter by a few inches, but rounder. Jacob was all lean muscle while I was wide-hipped with fleshy curves. I had never been one of those women who could wear men’s jeans.
“I usually pack for the week.” He caught the T-shirt and jogging pants I threw at him. “I don’t see how this is going to help.”
“They’ll be looking for us and our description will be in the APB.” I leaned forward and shrugged out of my lilac suit jacket and began to unbutton my blouse. “Plus, they’ve got us on camera at the precinct. They know what we’re wearing and what we look like.”
Ignoring the way Jacob watched me, I peeled my polyester blouse off my sweat-soaked skin, and shoved my head through one of his workout shirts, a gray sho
rt-sleeved tee with a Boston Red Sox logo across the chest.
When Jacob still didn’t move, I sighed, aggravated. “Come on Jacob. We don’t have a lot of time.” I reached behind me to unzip my skirt and began to shimmy out of it. Jacob finally blushed and looked away when he caught sight of the lace thong I wore. We may have slept together, but we hadn’t slept together. It had all been very innocent and he saw more of me now than he had the night before. Once again, our relationship had taken on an awkward edge, reminding me that no matter how much I might deny it, we did have a mutual attraction to each other that superseded the circumstances of our meeting.
With a mumbled ‘sorry’ he took off his shirt, careful to keep his head turned as he changed. I finished putting on a pair of black drawstring sweat pants, happy to find, aside from being too long, they fit just fine. If I pulled the waistband up past my waist and tied it just under my bra, the pants actually fit perfectly. With the T-shirt untucked and hanging loose, no one would know I could probably pull the pants up to my neck if I wanted to.
Dressed, and figuring payback was fair turnabout, I watched with unabashed interest at the way Jacob’s muscles rippled underneath his golden skin as he changed. Part of me wanted to reach out and run my hand along his back, to feel the muscles jump at my touch, but a bigger part of me wanted to live. There was no time for hanky-panky, that would have to wait until we weren’t running for our lives. The second he was done changing, I grabbed our clothes and shoved them into the bag. Pulling the zipper shut, I handed the bag to Jacob. “Here, you carry this. I don’t want the police to know we’ve changed.”
Jacob took the bag with a nod and opened his door. “Ready?”
I opened my door in answer and we both left the car. The cement bumpers at the head of each parking space meant there was enough room for us to walk in front of the cars, staying well out of range of the surveillance cameras. Walking single file, we made our way to the stairs leading to the street. I hadn’t heard any more sirens since we turned into the garage, but I still peeked out cautiously from the behind the door before leaving the relative security of the parking garage. Not seeing any cops or police cars, I stepped outside with Jacob right behind me.
The subway station sat just across the street, but, out in the open as we were, it felt like it was miles away. Miles in which we could be spotted. Tension kinked itself in knots up my spine. We were so exposed out here. Defenseless, with nothing to stand between me and a bullet. I began to shake then, the tremors starting in my hands and working their way up my arms and down my legs.
Jacob moved to stand beside me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded and took a step forward grateful I had worn flats today. Not only did they blend in better than heels with my new clothes, but I had more balance and my wobbling knees needed all the support they could get. Noticing my bones had become rubber, Jacob slipped his hand through my elbow and whispered, “Here, lean on me.”
I did as he suggested, cursing myself for being such a chicken. I was alive, a status that wasn’t likely to change. The police didn’t know where we were and we had a plan to keep it that way. As life-threatening events went, this one was pretty much handled. Now if I could just convince my suddenly boneless body of that fact, I would be all set. Until then, I leaned on Jacob and together we headed toward the subway station. I jumped when a car turned the corner and put a hand over my heart.
“Calm down. You look guilty as sin,” Jacob said.
I pulled hair down over my face and retreated behind its silken curtain watching the small hatchback that had nearly given me a heart attack pass by. Not even close to a cop car and I had almost jumped out of my skin. Jacob was right, I needed to get a grip. “Sorry.”
Jacob stopped and swept my hair away from my face shushing me when I started to protest. “That is a little too obvious. We’ve done nothing wrong, let’s act like it.” He tugged me forward. “Come on. Work with me. Stand up straight, keep your head up.”
I threw back my shoulders and lifted my chin, attempting to follow his advice. My efforts earned me a dazzling smile and a pat on the back. “Half the battle is running a good bluff. And if there’s one thing lawyers know, it’s how to bluff. Relax, okay?”
I murmured a noncommittal answer and concentrated on the subway station, which lay right in front of us. All we had to do was cross the street and we could blend in with the people waiting for the next train. I had to force myself to walk and not break into a run, so desperate was I to burrow underground, away from the sun. Even Jacob, with his ‘play it cool’ talk, walked faster, his hand tight on mine.
We crossed the street without a problem and entered the subway station. Keeping our heads down to avoid the cameras mounted over the ticket booth, we stood in line to buy tickets. The station was busy with people moving to and from the platform in a steady stream. No one gave us a second look and some of the tension in my shoulders eased at the anonymity. At the counter, Jacob paid cash for two tickets and we made our way together to the platform to wait for the train.
As if the universe knew we needed to make a quick getaway, a train pulled in just seconds after we got to the platform. Brakes hissed and the doors swished open discharging passengers who jostled each other in their hurry to be first off the train. We waited for the door to clear and then found seats at the back of the car where we could watch all the entrances.
Stretching his arms over head, Jacob sighed. “Man, I’ve never felt so paranoid in my life.”
“Me either.” I rested my head against the window and watched the people still on the platform.
“I’ve never been shot at either.”
“Same here.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“Just my luck to hire an ‘expert’ who has no experience.”
I bristled. “Situations like this are the very reason I didn’t want to be a P.I. And, if it wasn’t for me, you’d probably be dead right now. I’m expert enough to keep us alive.” I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. It just strikes me as funny that neither one of us is really prepared for the situation we’re in.” When I didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat and said, “Why did you take me on anyway?” At my raised eyebrows, he hastened to add, “I mean, you’ve made it pretty clear you don’t want to do investigative work.”
I shifted in my seat, stretching my legs out under the seat in front of me. “I don’t.”
“Then why keep doing it?”
With a shrug, I said, “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. You needed help.”
“And now?”
“You still need help.”
Jacob tensed beside me. “Don’t look now, but a cop just got on.”
My eyes flickered from the window to the entrance of the train and I caught a glimpse of a blue uniform. “Shit,” I said softly.
“Be cool.” He put a hand on my knee which was bouncing up in down like a kangaroo on a pogo stick.
I nodded, making a conscious effort to relax. How did innocent people act again? I pondered the question and decided innocent people didn’t stare fixedly out windows. They should blink and move every once in a while. I turned my head, in what I hoped was a casual movement, and watched the cop, a tall, burly guy, move away from us to head towards empty seats at the front of the car. The newspaper under his arm and the Styrofoam coffee cup in his hand led me to believe he wasn’t actively chasing us. Probably just off duty. Of course he had to pick the rear facing seats that put us directly in his line of sight. Abruptly I looked out the window again, craning my neck to hide as much of my face as possible.
Jacob leaned over, pretending to look out the window too. “If your head goes back any further it’s going to pop off.”
I gave a nervous laugh, jumping when his fingers brushed my hair aside to expose my neck. Warm lips pressed against my sensitive flesh and goose bumps rushed across my skin.
“You know, they�
�re looking for a P.I. and her client,” he paused to plant more kisses on my neck. “Not lovers.”
I moved to face him. “It would hide our faces.”
Jacob didn’t give me a chance to say anything more as his lips descended on mine. His hand reached up to cradle the back of my head and he deepened our kiss, parting my lips with his tongue. Rational thought disappeared under the sensual onslaught. Jacob was a very good kisser and, for several long moments, I forgot all about the cop. I stopped breathing too, and, when he released me, I sucked in air like a diver who’d lost their oxygen tank.
Jacob smiled and moved to kiss me again, but I held up a hand to stop him. He took it and, locking his gaze with mine, ran his lips across my knuckles and then flipped my hand over to caress my palm with his mouth. I would’ve thought since no mouth-to-mouth action was involved that I would’ve still been able to breathe, but no, Jacob took my breath away no matter where he kissed me. We had chemistry, there was no denying it.
“He’s moving,” Jacob said, pulling on my hand until we were nose to nose. “Kiss me.”
And I did, but not before taking a deep breath, hoping it would keep me from drowning. The train whined to a stop and the doors slid open. Footsteps thumped up the aisle, and, out of the corner of my eye, I watched the cop exit the train.
Breaking contact, I leaned back in my seat putting a hand to my forehead as my emotions ran amuck. Passion. Guilt. Relief. Relief the cop was gone, but not that the kissing had stopped which led to even more guilt. A cool breeze raised the hair on the back of my neck announcing the presence of Mark. As if I didn’t have enough problems.
Mark drifted from behind me to settle into the seat in front of mine. The stormy expression on his face told me he knew about the kissing. Anger roiled through his aura, turning his customary mix of blue and white almost black. He sat across from me and said nothing, just glared until I looked away.
Jacob, mistaking my movement as an invitation to kiss again, leaned toward me. I ducked under his chin and put a hand on his shoulder.