His breath stilled in his lungs.
“Aren’t you—Oh, I’m sorry.” She blushed and waved her hand in dismissal. “I thought you were someone else. God, you look just like him. It’s spooky.”
Brian’s pulse quickened, and he fished out the picture of Justin. “You thought I was him, didn’t you?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The waitress set down her order pad and took the picture. “Yeah. That’s the guy. He’s been in here a couple times over the last few days. Him and his girlfriend.”
Brian pulled out the picture of Tess. “Is this her?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Real pretty hair. You know them?”
“I’m his brother.”
The waitress laughed. “I should have guessed. You could be twins. Except that you look older and stuffier.”
“Do you know where I can find them?”
“I think they’re staying at that motel.” She aimed her pen across the two-lane road.
Snatching the pictures back, energized by his good fortune, Brian rushed toward the door.
“Aren’t you gonna eat?” the waitress called after him.
“Not right now.” Brian moved his car across the street and hurried into the front office of the motel. He waved the pictures at the man behind the desk. “I’m looking for these two people. Are they staying here? What room are they in?”
The desk clerk put on a pair of reading glasses and took a look at the pictures. “That’s Mary and David Camper. They’re staying here, but I can’t tell you which room. That’d be an invasion of their privacy.”
“This is an emergency, damn it!” Brian slammed his hand down on the front desk. “Either you tell me where they are, or I’ll disturb every one of your customers by knocking on all the doors until I find them!”
“Try it, and I’ll call the police.” The man took off his glasses and matched Brian’s impatient glare with one of his own.
Brian sucked in a breath to steady his rising temper. “I’m his brother, and it’s imperative that I talk to him right away!”
The man behind the desk twisted his mouth and crossed his arms over his chest.
“In ten seconds I’m going to start knocking on doors, and then none of your guests will have any privacy.” Brian leveled a no-nonsense stare at the clerk.
The clerk scowled. “Room twenty-one.”
“Thank you.” As Brian jogged out to the sidewalk, he spotted a familiar-looking sedan, an old green Thunderbird. The car stopped in front of the motel, and he watched the thug who’d terrorized Hallie emerge from the vehicle.
Ducking behind a tall bush, Brian waited until the thug disappeared inside the motel office. Then he ran down the sidewalk, searching for room twenty-one.
Let them be there. Please, God, let them be there, he prayed.
***
“Hello, can I help you?”
The brusque manner of the man behind the motel desk irked Morelli. He set his jaw but let the rudeness slide . . . this time.
He took out the pictures of Tess Sinclair and the Boyd man and slapped them on the counter. “Have you seen these two hanging around here?”
His lack of success frustrated him. He’d had no luck all day, not so much as a nibble.
The balding man behind the desk frowned. “Are these two in some kind of trouble? You’re the second person in five minutes to ask for them.”
“So you know where they are?”
“Are you a cop? You know, I could get in real trouble for giving out this kind of information.”
“You could say it was official business, yeah. Where are they?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.” The clerk stepped out from behind the desk, but as he did, the telephone rang. “Just a minute.”
Morelli gritted his teeth and suppressed the urge to choke the life out of the clerk.
“Okay, this way.” The clerk hung up the phone and started for the door. “What’d they do? Why are the authorities looking for them?”
Morelli curled his lip in a snarl. “They got a woman killed. And now they have to pay.”
***
“Brian?” Justin’s jaw dropped open in shock. “What the hell are you—”
Brian put a hand on his brother’s chest, pushed him backward into the room, then slammed the door closed. Tess gasped and scrambled off the bed.
“You two have to get out of here now.” In a flurry of motion, Brian gathered things into a backpack. “One of Sinclair’s hit men is in the motel office as we speak. He broke in our house the other night and held a gun on Hallie.”
Justin’s gut twisted.
“I had to tell him about the postcard you sent, or he’d have killed Hallie. But I beat him up here, and now we have to get out of here before he finds you.”
“Postcard?” Tess cast Justin an accusing look.
“Move!” Brian roared. “You don’t have any time to waste!”
Tess flew to the bathroom sink, raked a few possessions into a paper bag, then shoved it into the backpack Brian held. He passed the pack to Justin.
“I’ll get the car,” Brian said, running to the door. “Be ready when I pull around.”
Justin poked a small stack of cash into his jeans pocket. “We’re right behind you, Bri.”
As Tess climbed into the backseat of Brian’s Accord, Justin spotted Morelli coming out of the motel office with the clerk. Morelli’s gaze found his, and Justin’s stomach pitched. “He saw us! Burn rubber, Bri!” Justin jumped into the backseat with Tess. Brian tore out of the parking space before Justin could even close the car door.
As Brian raced from the motel parking lot, he nearly flattened Morelli, who ran in front of the car, trying to stop them.
“Well, that’d be one way to get rid of him,” Justin muttered. He clung to the seat as Brian sped out onto the two-lane road.
Morelli made a break for his own car.
The Accord’s tires squealed as Brian turned on the entry ramp to the freeway. Justin turned to watch through the back window as Morelli’s green Thunderbird screeched from the motel driveway in hot pursuit.
“Here he comes, Brian. He’s right behind us.”
“Hang on!” Brian gunned the engine, and they sped toward the interstate. He pulled in front of a Mack truck, and the truck driver blasted his horn.
Tess clapped a hand over her heart. “I see your brother shares your driving skills.”
Justin reached into the backpack and pulled out the snub-nosed gun that he’d been given a few days before by the same man now chasing them.
“Where did you get that!” Brian’s eyes widened in disbelief as he used the rearview mirror to stare at the gun. He swiveled his head to look again, as if he doubted the image in the mirror was right. “You can’t shoot him! That’s called murder, Justin! I’m not saving your butt so that you can spend the next fifty years in prison for murder!”
“I’m gonna shoot at his tires.” Brian shook his head. “Don’t try it. There are too many other cars on the road. I’d rather try to outrun him. Save the bullets, in case you have to defend yourself or Tess.” Justin lowered the gun but didn’t put it away. Anything could happen. He wanted to be ready.
***
“Bingo!” Dominic said with a satisfied laugh. He watched Tess and Boyd get in the brother’s car then Morelli jumped into his wreck and sped after them. Cranking the engine of his Camaro, Dominic pulled out of the motel lot and gave chase. He dialed Sinclair and told him that his wife and Morelli were both within his sights. He reported their location and direction.
“Good work,” Sinclair said. “Now it’s time to bring them in. We’ve got our end covered. You know what to do.”
Dominic hung up and gave the Camaro more gas. Within seconds, the Thunderbird and Accord were within two car lengths. How simple it would be to shoot and have this over with. Dominic cut his gaze to the .38 on the seat beside him. He had his orders. He knew what to do.
***
Brian watche
d in his side mirror as the Thunderbird changed lanes and made up some of the distance that had separated the cars.
The Mack truck he’d angered when he pulled on the road now drove in the passing lane beside him. The truck trapped his Accord behind the Sunday driver in front of him. He gritted his teeth and flashed his lights to tell the car in front that he wanted to pass. Still they poked along. Finally, as the Thunderbird drew nearer, Brian used his last available option.
“Hang on! I’ve got to get pass this jerk, and it may get bumpy.” Brian cut the wheel hard to the right and floored the accelerator as he passed the poky driver on the shoulder. The Accord’s right tires bumped over the uneven ground at the edge of the road, and Justin muttered a curse.
Jerking the steering wheel back to the left, Brian cut between two cars with mere inches to spare. His heart pumped wildly, and his body shook with adrenaline, but the maneuver seemed to work.
For about one minute.
In his rearview mirror, Brian watched the hit man use the shoulder to pass the same driver and pull alongside Brian’s car. “Damn!”
“Get on the floor, Tess!” Justin yelled as he climbed from the backseat to the front and opened the glove box.
“What are you doing?” Brian fought to keep his distance from the bumper in front of him, waiting for an opportunity to pull into the passing lane. The Mack truck sped up and blocked him again. On purpose, no doubt. Damn him!
Justin grabbed Brian’s tire gauge, his windshield scraper and a bottle of aspirin from the glove compartment and rolled down his window. The Thunderbird chose that moment to swerve into Brian’s car, bumping them halfway into the next lane. The Accord scraped the side of the Mack truck.
Finally the truck driver backed off, which gave Brian the opportunity he needed. Pulling into the passing lane, he shot past two more cars. The Thunderbird continued down the shoulder then cut in front of a Jeep to pull alongside Brian again.
“Damn it!” Brian shouted.
The Thunderbird side-swiped him again, trying to force him off the road. His hand grew sweaty and slipped on the steering wheel as he struggled to stay on the road.
“Steady.” Justin turned toward the window and lobbed the bottle of aspirin first. It struck the windshield of the Thunderbird but didn’t slow it down. Next, Justin launched the ice scraper and the tire gauge at the Thunderbird’s front window. The green sedan swerved back into the right lane and lost some momentum.
“Good shot, little brother.” Brian seized the chance to speed up. He put some distance between his car and the Thunderbird, but not much.
Justin twisted in his seat to look out the back. “You okay, honey?”
“Define ‘okay,’ ” Tess answered.
With another check of the green sedan’s progress, the brothers let out a mutual curse. The persistent henchman had regained most of the space they’d earned and rammed the Accord from behind.
Brian cut the wheel to the left and changed lanes with the Thunderbird on his tail. “Damn, he’s still with us. I’ll get off the highway. Maybe we can shake him better in town.”
Justin grunted. “It’s worth a shot.”
Switching back to the right lane, Brain watched the road for an exit while the Thunderbird rearended him again and again.
“He’s not going to give up, Justin.” Tess’s fear resounded in her voice.
“Neither are we. Understand? I’m not giving up, and I won’t let you either. We’ll be okay.”
Despite the confidence of his brother’s words, Brian heard an equal amount of anxiety in Justin’s tone. He knew his brother was trying to buoy Tess’s spirits and maybe his own, but the situation looked grim. His gut clenched.
Sinclair’s thug must have seen the exit ramp when Brian did, because he swerved into the left lane, forcing another car off the road. Then, passing the Accord, he cut in front of Brian as Brian eased off the main road. On the sharp rise of the exit ramp, the driver of the Thunderbird slammed on his brakes and spun sideways.
Brian stood on his brakes. He cut the wheel hard to avoid a collision and missed the Thunderbird by inches.
Seconds later the thug plowed his car straight into Brian’s door. The impact pushed the Accord off the embankment on the far side of the exit ramp.
Tess’s scream filled Brian’s ears as the two cars rolled down the short hill. The Accord rested upright when it stopped. The Thunderbird lay on its side.
A sharp pain shot up Brian’s leg. He tried to move, but the crush of metal pinned him. He looked down and found blood pouring from his thigh where the driver’s door had been shoved in.
“Justin, you’re bleeding!” Tess reached across the seat for Justin’s forehead.
“I’m okay. It’s just a nick from the broken window. Brian, are you okay?”
Brian shook his head. “My leg’s trapped. I can’t move it, and it hurts like hell.”
“Justin, look!” Tess pointed to the Thunderbird where the relentless henchman struggled out his side window.
Justin groaned. “That guy is like the Terminator. He just keeps coming.”
“Get out of here!” Brian shouted. “Run!”
Bending, Justin fumbled on the floor of the car for the gun. Tess scrambled from the backseat, but Justin turned toward Brian with defiance in his eyes. “Go!” Brian said before Justin could voice his objection. A dark concern clouded Justin’s eyes, but he opened his door. Turning back, he grabbed Brian’s hand and slapped the gun in his palm. “To defend yourself. I won’t leave you here like a sitting duck.” Justin climbed out of the car and raced away. Brian watched helplessly as his brother and Tess clambered up the hill toward the road at the top of the exit ramp. Sinclair’s thug watched, too, and renewed his struggle to get free from his car. Flexing his fingers around the small gun in his hand, Brian knew that Justin would need the weapon more than he did. His brother’s valiant gesture may have cost Justin and Tess their lives.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Tess’s lungs ached. She’d climbed the steep hill of the ramp embankment at a breakneck speed. Fear sucked her breath from her. Justin tugged on her arm, urging her to hurry as they crested the hill and scrambled to their feet.
Justin took off across the pavement at a clip. She stumbled as he pulled her along behind him. He led her toward the overpass, where the road at the end of the exit ramp crossed the interstate. Her feet pounded the hard pavement as she tried to keep up. Speed was their only defense now.
She hazarded a glance over the waist-high concrete wall that buffered the drop to the highway below. Their height above the interstate increased her sense of vulnerability, and she edged closer to the middle of the overpass.
A black Camaro wheeled past her. Screeching its tires, the Camaro spun to a stop at an angle, blocking their path.
She and Justin staggered to an abrupt stop. Justin squeezed her hand as the Camaro’s driver emerged and started toward them.
A cry ripped from her throat when she recognized the man as Dominic, one of Randall’s lackeys. He’d been at the warehouse.
As Dominic came toward them, Justin stepped between her and the new threat.
“Back this way!” Justin shouted, spinning on his heel. He started back in the direction they’d come, but a dark blue sedan squealed to a stop in front of them, halting their progress.
The man behind the wheel of the sedan removed his sunglasses, and Tess shivered. “It’s Henry!”
“And Randall,” Justin added.
She shifted her gaze to the menacing man in the backseat. “We’re trapped!”
Justin’s expression reflected the same fatalistic conclusion.
And a stark, cold terror flooded her veins.
***
Henry shifted the car into park and cut the engine. Reaching into the holster at his chest, he drew his gun.
“You idiot, you can’t flash that thing around here! There are too many witnesses!” Randall barked, pointing at the interstate. “And we sure as hell can’t
kill them here! Get them in the car, and we’ll finish them later. Can you handle that much?”
Henry sheathed his weapon. “Your call, boss.” He stepped from the car, slammed the driver’s door and stalked toward Justin and Tess.
***
Randall’s men outnumbered them. Even if he thought he had a chance of beating them in a hand-to-hand brawl, Justin knew better than to think he could take them both at the same time.
Play it as it comes.
With a cold and merciless gleam in his eyes, Dominic squared off. Justin planted his feet and balled his fists. Keeping his gaze pinned on Dominic, Justin pushed Tess out of the way. Her whimper of fear twisted inside him.
Tess was what mattered. He’d put his body and soul in harm’s way to save her. He loved her more than any other reason to live. Failing her now was not an option. No test of his ability to protect and defend her, to come through in the crunch, had ever mattered more. A primal, protective instinct surged through him as he stepped toward Randall’s ape.
He deflected Dominic’s first punch then stepped back to regain his footing. Lowering his head, Justin charged Dominic, shoulder first. He sent the other man back a few steps. But when his opponent recovered his balance, he attacked Justin with a brutal force. Dominic’s meaty fist caught Justin in the jaw. Another blow found his gut. Shaking off the pain, Justin landed a punch in Dominic’s ribs. Stunned by the returned hit, the henchman staggered back.
Seizing the moment, Justin lunged, tackling Dominic around the waist and working to bring him down.
Tess’s scream jerked his attention from his fight. Henry hauled Tess backward, his arm around her waist and his hand on her throat. Prickling horror raced through his blood. “Tess!”
The momentary distraction allowed Dominic to land a solid blow to Justin’s cheek. His ears buzzed from the force of the hit. He staggered backward toward the concrete wall at the edge of the overpass. Dominic blurred before his eyes. Without moving his sights off his opponent, Justin braced for the next round. He planted his feet and swung at the approaching man, throwing all his weight behind the punch.
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