by Sharon Dunn
She felt around on the table until her fingers touched the bowl. She scooped up the coins and put them in the leather pouch Nick had given her. She’d unearthed some valuable information, and she prayed Jason had made it to safety so she could find a way to communicate with him.
TWELVE
Tension threaded through Jason’s torso as he watched the glaring taillights of Nick Solomon’s truck.
Through the use of a chopper, the Bureau had alerted him to their position. He’d slipped in to tail Nick’s truck as soon as they were close to town. From the outside, it looked like Isabel had switched loyalties back to her old boyfriend. From the chatter on the radio, that was what the Bureau thought. He knew otherwise. Back on that remote road, Isabel had saved his life.
When she left him, it had taken him less than half an hour to get picked up by one of the agents. The Bureau had scrambled to put moving surveillance on Nick and Isabel.
Now it was his job to get to Isabel and have her explain herself to the agents in charge.
Nick’s truck came to a stop outside the Sun and Ski office on the opposite side of the street.
Jason turned his own car up an alley and killed the lights. He slipped out onto the street.
Isabel and Nick got out of the car. She handed him something and he gave her a hug.
A twinge of doubt played at the corners of Jason’s mind. She sure hugged him like she cared about him. Maybe Jason just didn’t like the idea of her hugging anyone. He was starting to have feelings for her.
Isabel crossed the street. Nick got back in the truck but didn’t drive away. So that was his game. He was going to watch her all night.
Jason slipped around to the back of the building. The offices were dark. Even if they didn’t lock up during the day, they must lock the place at night. The window of Isabel’s little apartment looked like the old-fashioned kind that would swing open if it wasn’t latched. He climbed on top of a Dumpster that was just beneath the window. He shimmied up a pipe and hooked his hands onto the windowsill.
He hung there for a moment wondering if he’d made a mistake. The rough texture of the brick wall provided him with enough traction to push with his feet until his hand touched the bottom of the window.
He pushed on the window. It didn’t budge.
He heard footsteps in the alley.
Jason tried to pull himself up but felt his arms straining against his weight. He was going to fall on the hard metal of the Dumpster, or worse—onto the concrete below.
The footsteps grew louder. No one else would be up at this hour. That had to be Nick doing some sort of patrol around the building.
He was about ready to let go and make a run for it when the window swung open and hands wrapped around his wrists. Isabel pulled him through the window. They sat on the floor in the dark.
“Stay low. He’s out there.”
“I know. I stayed on the couch so I could watch him through the front window. I saw him leave his truck,” she said.
The window above them was still open. Would that be a red flag to Nick?
He held his breath, tuning his ears to the sounds outside. The footsteps moved past and then faded.
Isabel’s hand slipped over the top of his. “I’m glad you made it out. I was afraid I’d made the wrong decision.”
Her hand felt warm and silky smooth on top of his.
He leaned close to her and whispered, “You saved my life. I’m pretty sure he would have killed me.”
Warmth like a down comforter seemed to surround them as they sat very close together, their shoulders touching. It felt good to be this close to her, as if he’d known her all his life.
A long moment passed before Isabel spoke.
“I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I thought I might find something out if I went with Nick.”
“That was a risk. He’s clearly unstable.”
“I can handle him.” Her voice wavered a little.
She’d been afraid, but she’d gone with Nick anyway. He admired her bravery. He turned to face her. “You’ve got some explaining to do to the agents in charge. They think you’ve gone rogue, but I never believed it for a minute.”
Her face was very close to his, their noses almost touching. She reached up and brushed her finger over his cheek. Her touch sent a charge of electricity through him.
“Thank you for believing in me,” she whispered.
Her voice reminded him of a mountain stream or a cool summer morning.
“What did you find out?”
“Nick knows who the kingpin is. He’s in contact with him.”
“That’s huge.”
“He’s going to let me join in on the buyer pickup for the coins we took from the cabin.”
“Isabel, there is risk involved with doing all this.” The thought of her being in danger, of having to deal with the volatile Nick, made his chest tight.
“I know that. I’m willing to do it if Nick Solomon goes to jail for a long time.”
He detected the resolve in her voice. Isabel had pushed the investigation further than anyone. Still, he didn’t like her going into the line of fire again. “We need to talk to the Bureau. Tell them what you found out. See what they say.”
“Nick will be watching me day and night. He’s paranoid anyway, and I don’t think he is totally convinced I’m on his side. I’m sure he’ll come in and check on me first thing in the morning before I go to work. It was hard enough to convince him not to come into the apartment to guard me. Can I talk to them over the phone?”
“Michael will want to talk to you in person. They have this thing about reading body language and all that. I’ll sneak you out tonight. You’ll talk to Michael. We’ll bring you back before first light so you can get some sleep.”
“We can slip out the back. I have a rope ladder in case there is ever a fire.” She burst to her feet and hurried down the hallway in the dark.
It would be a risk to even turn on lights.
Still crawling, Jason made his way into the living room. Light from the street shone in. Nick’s car was now parked on this side of the street. He couldn’t discern if Nick was in the car or not.
Isabel whispered from the corner of the living room. “I’ve got it.”
He’d moved back toward the window when there was a knock on the door.
“Isabel, it’s me. I need to see you.” Nick’s voice was filled with that nauseating whiny quality.
Isabel tossed the ladder toward Jason.
“Nick, I’m trying to get some sleep here.” Her voice sounded groggy. “You’ll see me in the morning just like I promised.”
“Come on, Isabel. Just for a minute. Just give me a little hug. I need to see you, baby.”
Jason scooted down the hallway and hung the ladder out the window, feeling his muscles knot up with tension. Why couldn’t that creep leave her alone?
Come on, Isabel—don’t open that door.
“Nick, I’m just really tired.”
“Come on, baby. I’m out in that cold car.” The intensity of his voice changed, becoming less pleading and darker. “Open the door, Isabel.”
He heard the door handle rattling.
Jason craned his neck to see Isabel standing by the door. He wanted to run down the hallway, swing the door open and punch Nick in the face. The only thing that stopped him was that he knew it would put Isabel at risk in an even bigger way.
“Nick, I’m going back to bed. You should do the same.” After placing a chair underneath the locked door, she stomped through the living room. “Good night.” She opened and shut the bedroom door without going in.
Jason barely heard her footsteps as she scurried to join him in the hallway.
Nick continued to bang on the door and plead.
“We should go now before he gets back to his car,
” Isabel said.
“What if he breaks in and finds you’re not here?” said Jason.
“That lock is pretty solid and I put the chair there.”
The banging stopped and footfalls sounded on the stairs that led down to the street. Nick had given up.
Isabel burst to her feet, pushed the window open wider and swung her leg over the sill. Their plan was fraught with risk if Nick caught them. But the Bureau’s coming here would be just as dangerous as long as Nick was watching and running patrols.
Heart pounding, Jason peered out the window. Isabel was halfway down. What if Nick decided to do another circle around the building?
Hearing her feet hit the concrete, he crawled out.
She shout-whispered up at him. “Make sure the window is closed.”
After closing the window, he crawled down, struggled a little to disengage the ladder and then hid it in the Dumpster, so there would be no evidence of their escape. How they would get her back in unnoticed was a problem he’d solve later.
He led her around to the alley where he’d parked his car. Her hand found his in the darkness. He squeezed her fingers as warmth from her touch spread through him.
Here they were, inches from danger, slipping through the darkness, and the thought that was foremost in his mind was how much he liked being with her.
They got into the car. Jason started the engine but didn’t turn on the lights. A truck blocked the alley up ahead. He’d have to back out onto the street where Nick was parked.
He clicked the lights on, reasoning that that would look less suspicious, then backed onto the street and rolled forward.
Isabel stayed low in the seat but craned her neck to watch Nick’s truck. “He’s not moving.”
Jason phoned Michael, and they agreed to meet at an all-night coffee shop. He drove through the empty streets. Falling snow made the streetlights seem murky. They encountered only a little bit of traffic. A car slipped in behind them and followed them for several blocks but didn’t pull into the coffee shop.
When they entered the coffee shop, there was a group of twentysomething people dressed in ski gear. Cars in the parking lot had been loaded down with snowboards and skis. They must have been gearing up for some early-morning skiing. The group of three women and four men joked and laughed as they drank their hot beverages.
A woman with a laptop in front of her was the only other patron besides Michael and the skiers. Michael’s hair was disheveled and he had an overall droopy appearance despite the crisp white shirt and slacks he wore. A steaming mug sat on the table in front of him.
Jason and Isabel both ordered herbal tea. They took their warm mugs over to where Michael waited. Isabel scooted into the booth opposite Michael.
“Isabel has some important information.” After squeezing her shoulder, Jason sat down in the booth beside her.
Isabel cleared her throat. “Nick Solomon knows the man behind all of this.”
Michael sat up straighter. Light seemed to come into his eyes.
“He’s invited me to go with him for the buyer pickup. I think he’s testing my loyalty.”
“I think it’s too risky,” Jason said.
Michael smiled at Isabel. “You’ve pushed this investigation over the top. We might be able to wrap things up.” Michael couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.
Maybe the investigation had been the most important thing to Jason at one point, but now he just wanted Isabel to be safe and away from that nutjob Nick.
“There’s something else,” said Isabel. “Nick says that the reason the guy does the pickups in empty vacation homes is to stick it to rich people to make them feel uneasy in their own homes.”
Michael nodded slowly. “That might be something our profiler could use.” He looked directly at Isabel. “We could provide you with protection for the buyer pickup.”
Jason opened his mouth to protest.
“I’ll do it if you promise me Nick Solomon goes to jail when this investigation is all over.”
“We can manage that,” Michael said.
That was a promise they might not be able to keep. What if Nick ran off or slipped through their clutches in some other way? Michael was so fixated on catching the kingpin, he wasn’t being realistic with Isabel.
“I’ll do it, then, and keep up my cover until you catch the guy and charge Nick.”
Jason leaned forward. “I want to be there as part of the protection team.” If he couldn’t stop Isabel, at least he could see to it she was safe.
Michael nodded. “When is the buyer exchange?”
“Tomorrow night. Nick will let me know when and where, probably at the last minute.”
“He’s watching her pretty closely. I need to get her back to her place before first light,” said Jason.
“Once Nick tells me the when and where of the buyer meet-up, I might not be able to let you know.”
“Leave that to us. We’ll stay close to you, Isabel. You might not see us, but know that we are watching,” Michael said.
Isabel nodded. “I’m ready to do this.”
Underneath the soft lights of the coffee shop, her skin appeared smooth as porcelain and her cheeks had a rosy glow. Maybe she was afraid, but the intensity of her features, the determination he saw in her eyes, did not give that fear away. What courage.
“We’ll get a man to tail you within a few hours. And we’ll have someone watching Nick.” Michael looked at Jason. “You stay close until we can get that in place.”
Jason nodded.
They said their goodbyes, and Jason and Isabel returned to his car. They drove across town, not seeing a single car.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes. Don’t try to talk me out of it,” she said.
That was that. He drove on in silence. When they were a block away from Isabel’s place, he saw that Nick’s car was no longer parked on the street. He circled the block and drove up the alley to make sure Nick hadn’t parked somewhere else.
“He must have given up and gone home for some sleep,” Isabel said.
They couldn’t get in through the door because of the chair Isabel had put in place. He helped her through the window by standing on the Dumpster and boosting her up.
When she’d pulled herself through the window, she turned around and looked down at him. “Thank you, Jason, for everything.” The moonlight brought out the softness of her features. He felt a surge of deep affection for her that went beyond admiration for her bravery.
Several times he drove the car around the block to see if Nick had returned before settling in his car in the back parking lot. He slept in short spurts through the night. Toward morning, he stared up at the window where he’d last seen Isabel and prayed they weren’t making a mistake letting her go through with this.
THIRTEEN
Isabel awoke feeling like her heart was in a vise. She squeezed her eyes shut, touched her palm to her beating heart and prayed that God would give her the strength and courage to face this day and what she had to do.
When she looked out her back window, Jason’s car was not in the parking lot. Of course, he needed to go home and get some sleep. She stepped into the living room. A sense of dread filled her when she saw Nick’s car parked out front again. She stared at it and took in a deep breath to clear her head. One of the other cars on the street must be the FBI guy.
Once she checked in with Mary and got her marching orders for the day, she stepped outside, where Nick waited for her.
He offered her a crooked grin with lots of teeth in it. “Thought I’d tag along while you did your work.”
Nick drove her while she picked up groceries and flowers and got two houses ready. All day long, she sensed that they were being followed and watched. Though when she glanced around or checked her rearview mirror, she could never
spot the tail. She just had to trust what Michael had promised. Toward evening, Nick suggested they have dinner together. He hadn’t said anything about the buyer pickup all day.
The restaurant was one of the more expensive in town with soft lighting and a hushed atmosphere.
“Go ahead—order the most expensive thing on the menu,” Nick said.
Her stomach was so tied in knots she doubted she could swallow a pea. “Think I’ll just get a salad.”
He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at her. “I said order the most expensive thing on the menu.”
She wasn’t sure how much more of his controlling behavior she could take. She glanced around the restaurant, wondering which of the patrons was her protection. She noticed Larry, the man with the graying temples who had picked Jason and her up after they got away from the Wilson house.
A man two tables over lowered his menu. Jason winked at her and put the menu back up to cover his face. The exchange sent a spark of light through her.
She turned her attention back toward Nick. “Okay, I’ll get something besides salad.”
“Now, that’s my Isabel. Thank you for dropping the bad attitude,” Nick said. His phone rang. He checked the number and a shadow seemed to fall over his face. “I have to take this.” He got up and stepped toward the men’s restroom, speaking in low tones.
Jason dropped his menu again and made a face at Isabel.
She wanted to laugh out loud.
The waiter was approaching their table just as Nick burst into the dining room, clearly agitated. “Come on—we’re going.”
She looked at the waiter. Jason covered his face with the menu again. “But we haven’t ordered yet.”
Nick squeezed her arm so tight it hurt. “I said we’re going.”
She got up as Nick pulled her through the restaurant. Jason was no longer at the table where he’d been watching.
A light snow twirled out of the sky as Nick dragged her through the parking lot, yanked the door open and pushed her toward his truck.
“What’s going on?” Her heart was beating a mile a minute.
“We’re going to the buyer pickup.” Nick glanced from side to side, surveying the parking lot. “Get in the truck.”