She huffed. Jogging wasn’t a normal part of her workout routine. They ran underneath the bridge, and Matt slowed to a walk. The darkness enveloped them enough that Isabelle dared a look back. The two men were sprinting in their direction, rushing up a ramp that would take them to the bridge above them. The men would be able to spot, aim and shoot from that vantage point. In other words, they were trapped.
“Isabelle,” Matt whispered. He pulled her close to the river, next to an edge without a railing. If he expected her to jump into the river, she’d rather face bullets. Okay, not really, but the water didn’t look the cleanest, and she dreaded the thought of jumping in.
He pointed ahead. A boat filled with laughing tourists was headed their way.
“But it’s headed the way we just came,” she said.
He nodded as he pulled off his jacket. “Exactly.” He slipped it on her shoulders as he waved dramatically at the Rio Taxi driver.
She thrust her arm toward the bridge above their heads. “Those men are up there. They will see us.”
“And any minute, they’ll decide we’re hiding underneath the bridge. Either way, we need to get out. We get on and we blend in. Act like we’re part of a group. Wear the jacket. We need to cover up any identifying factors.”
In other words, she needed to cover up her clothes. She pulled the jacket tight around her torso. The heat and the jacket didn’t pair well, but at least it held a mixture of forest smells: juniper, jasmine, cedar and fir. She almost asked what cologne he used. The boat slowed down and pulled over.
“Can’t you pull up your hair?” he asked.
“With what?” She had nothing without her handy messenger bag.
“Get in quick, or they might suspect.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the middle of the boat before it’d fully stopped. He stepped over legs of tourists, still holding her hand, so that she was forced to follow him. He handed the driver the cash.
He took a seat, squeezed in between two women who were forced to scoot over for Isabelle. “Sorry, sorry,” she repeated. Isabelle glanced at the bags on many of the laps. They were with some kind of conference for nurses. She remembered seeing a sign about it in the lobby of the hotel.
“Great place for a conference, right? Couldn’t have picked a better hotel,” Isabelle said. “Did you have the breakfast parfait this morning?”
The women’s eyes widened with assumption that they were also nurses. “Oh, I had the quiche, but my friend tried it. What’d you think about the keynote?”
Oh. Well, Isabelle couldn’t answer that question, and the tip of the boat had already passed the bridge. They were about to be in the open. “Isabelle.” She turned around. Matt’s right arm came around her shoulder and reached for the back of her hair.
“What are you doing?”
He leaned close and balled up her hair until it felt like it was all gathered at the nape of her neck. “Trying to hide your hair,” he whispered into her ear. “And we need to hide our faces.”
That was going to be awkward after the group of nurses was waiting for her answer on the keynote. Plus a couple hiding their faces in a group of mostly women...yeah, that seemed out of place. How could they blend in and keep hidden? Her eyes widened. “Ask me to marry you. Loudly.”
“Will you marry me?” Matt asked, his face slack.
The group gasped. “Yes,” Isabelle answered quickly.
Shouts of exclamation and clapping surrounded them. Sometimes the easiest way to hide was to cause a scene. The gunmen wouldn’t suspect them to be a part of a loud, obnoxious party. As their boat slipped out into the open air, Matt’s left arm pulled her close and his lips covered her mouth.
The whoops and hollers surrounding her faded in the background. In the back of her mind, she knew there was a possibility the gunmen could still spot them, so she leaned into the kiss, hiding their faces from view. At least, that was what she would tell herself later. His lips tasted like the chocolate after-dinner mint in their box. His trimmed beard brushed against her chin, but it didn’t bother her. Instead it seemed to awaken her senses. She slipped her hands up his arms, past his shoulders, to his neck.
His right hand still held her hair, almost cradling her head. The ladies seemed to be talking louder than ever over the birds cawing from the trees and the splashing of the water against the hull of the boat.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice boomed through speakers nearby, “the romantic lure of the River Walk brings two people together once again.”
The nurses were agreeing, talking to the driver and each other. Many of them exclaimed their intention to bring their spouses next time.
Matt broke the kiss but leaned his forehead against hers. He looked into her eyes for the briefest of moments, and Isabelle went soft. She didn’t think she could get up and run away even if she tried. Matt’s eyes darted to the side and upward. “I think it worked,” he whispered.
“You’ll have a good story,” the lady next to her said. “So romantic. How long have you two known each other?”
“Sometimes it feels like only a moment. Other times, it feels like forever,” Matt said.
Isabelle scrunched her nose. What was that supposed to mean?
He waved at the driver. “Could we get off at the next stop?”
The man handed Matt two tickets with a wink. “You bought the day pass. You can get on any of the other taxis for the rest of the day.”
Isabelle couldn’t relax despite the fact that their trick got them away from the gunmen. The fake proposal had been her idea, as a distraction, but she’d never imagined he’d kiss her. It would be the natural thing following a marriage proposal, she supposed. It was good thinking on his part.
Her breath shook as she processed the events of the last minute. Matt McGuire kissed her. No, it didn’t seem real. She didn’t want to admit just how many times she’d hoped he would. But she hadn’t thought a kiss could hold so much...meaning. Except it was pretend. And she needed to remember that. Otherwise any future man in her life, any first kiss, would forever be compared to that kiss. One thing was certain... Matt had missed his calling in life. The man should’ve been an actor.
The boat curved with the river, and they headed north instead of west. It slid to an exit point on the left side, just past the Republic of Texas Restaurant. Matt hopped onto the sidewalk and reached down for her hand. The nurses hooted and hollered their wishes for a romantic night. Isabelle waved them away as Matt guided her toward another set of stairs.
His head swiveled from side to side, eyes alert. “I’m so on edge, I forgot I have a new phone. It’s in my jacket. Could you give it to me?”
Isabelle slipped off the jacket and handed it back to him. He could get the phone himself. If she wore it much longer, she’d resemble a steamed lobster. Besides, she could do without the reminder of his smell, no matter how pleasant. “Stop looking so antsy,” she said. “It will bring us unwanted attention. Act like you belong here, but use all your senses for situational observation.” She sounded like her father. He wouldn’t be pleased she had to use any of the training he’d drilled into her head. After all, the hope was she’d never have to use it, but he’d be happy that it’d helped her stay safe.
“Good point.” Matt draped the jacket over the crook of his arm and lifted the phone to his ear. “We need police assistance. A cabdriver tried to abduct us and—”
Isabelle listened to Matt tell the dispatcher everything that’d just happened. Well, almost everything. Matt’s calm, focused exterior likely meant the kiss hadn’t fazed him one bit. He grabbed her hand with his free hand. It sent a shiver up her arm in a way his touch hadn’t before.
“Yes, we’re on Commercial. Headed to the pharmacy. I’ll stay on.” He looked to Isabelle. “Keep close.”
“We’re going back up there? What if they’re drivi
ng around looking for us?”
His forehead creased in concern. “Cops are on the way to the pharmacy. It’s just a block away. Besides, it’s a one-way street, and we’ll be going against traffic. I think we’ll be safe.”
She noticed he had the phone on speaker, which meant the dispatcher could hear everything she said. Isabelle pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t object further. They began to climb the stairs up to the streets. Why did it feel like climbing to her doom?
* * *
Matt’s insides were twisted tighter than a drawstring wrapped around a washing-machine agitator. Isabelle was right. He shouldn’t look like a spooked horse, but trying to assess their surroundings using only his eyes made his heart ratchet up another notch.
He took comfort in the fact the dispatcher remained on the phone. Though realistically, what was she going to do if the men rounded the corner? Isabelle squeezed his hand tighter as they crested the final step. On top of the sidewalk, it seemed like a different world. This was the world of employees rushing home from a late work shift or meeting their coworkers for drinks. The streetlights weren’t as bright as Matt would’ve liked, considering the situation.
“Matt,” Isabelle whispered. “Nine o’clock.”
For the briefest moment, Matt thought she was referring to the time. It had to be nearing ten o’clock by now. If they didn’t hurry, the pharmacy would close. She elbowed him as they walked, and he turned his head to see. A man across the street looked at him but was walking on his own sidewalk. “What’s the problem?”
“He’s staring at us and matching our pace.”
The man looked down at the ground and lengthened his stride. “See?” Matt said. “Nothing to worry about.”
Only the man was crossing the street, and his eyes had locked on them again. “What do we do?” he asked aloud.
“Sir?” The voice from the speaker rang out, jolting a few walkers headed in the opposite direction. “Your location?”
“Almost to the pharmacy. I can see the light at the corner. There’s a man approaching.”
“Sir, stay calm. Do you see a weapon?”
Matt lifted the phone to his ear so the stranger wouldn’t hear. No need to put ideas in anyone’s head. “No. Not yet.”
Crack!
The bullet hit the trash can to the left of Matt. The man who had been crossing the street held his arms up and ran in the other direction. Isabelle didn’t take the time to look behind them. She yanked Matt’s arm and sprinted ahead.
He let her fingers slip through his hand as he pumped his arms to keep up with her. The bullet, just like last time, had been aimed at him. Whoever was after Isabelle wanted her to stay alive, which probably meant they still didn’t have the laptop. And Matt was the only thing standing in their way.
He shoved Isabelle closer into the shadows as they passed the parking lot on the right. “Get down,” Matt yelled.
Pedestrians screamed, though Matt couldn’t see where the hollers were coming from. One street separated them from the pharmacy. Matt knew they had security protocols in place that would likely keep them safe if they could just get inside in time.
The crosswalk flipped to the red hand—cautioning pedestrians to stop. Isabelle didn’t slow down. He strained to reach for the back of her shirt as he saw a silver car barreling down the street. “No!” The screech of the brakes hit his ears as his fingertips reached the back of her blouse.
Matt pulled, throwing his body backward. Isabelle screamed as she fell back into his chest. He fought against the momentum by twisting his torso, and they spun to the asphalt. He tightened every muscle he could as his arms tried to shield Isabelle.
Little bits of rock pressed into his shoulder, his triceps and his hip. Searing pain shot up his spine. The impact bounced his head off the sidewalk before he could stabilize his neck, but the bulk of his body had lessened the intensity. His temples throbbed, and his back begged for relief.
The driver’s-side mirror shattered above him. He tucked his chin into Isabelle’s back as the little pieces of glass sprinkled down around their feet. The gunman was still out there. Isabelle grunted and flipped over onto her hands and knees. She pressed her chin into her chest and began to crawl. “Come on. Get behind the car!”
His body screamed for him to stay, to take a rest. He ignored the pain and pressed up onto his hands and feet and ran low to the ground. As soon as they rounded the corner of the trunk, he reached underneath her torso and pulled her up to her feet so she could launch over the curb with him. They kept their heads low as they ran for the pharmacy, right at the corner. The automatic sliding glass door swished open without them having to slow down. “Lock it,” Matt yelled.
The cashier looked wide-eyed but pressed a button and ran to fling down a lever that lowered bars across the windows.
Isabelle panted but pointed a shaking finger out the side window. “Wait. Look.”
Two officers on bikes pulled up in front of the store. Matt looked to the left and to the right. The pedestrians had vanished. Not a single person was in sight. Even the driver of the silver car had driven off, no doubt terrified to stick around and get shot at some more.
The cashier released a shaky laugh and lifted the bars. One officer pointed at the door, and within a second the officers entered. “Was it something you said?” the cashier said with a smirk. “It’s like a ghost town out there.”
The officers ignored him and pointed at Matt. “Someone was shooting at you?”
Sirens filled the air as two police cruisers pulled up at the corner.
Matt looked down at his hand, expecting to see his smartphone still there. He groaned. Once the bullets started to fly, he’d lost track of it, most likely when they hit the deck. He really needed to start springing for the insurance. “Yes, from the east. I couldn’t see where they were positioned, though.”
One officer spoke in the radio clipped to his collar while the other officer gestured that everyone in the store move away from the windows. Matt turned to Isabelle. “Are you okay?”
“Thanks to you.” She reached up to touch his forehead. “Oh, Matt. You’re bleeding, and that’s going to swell if we don’t get some ice on it.”
Her touch helped him forget about the rest of the pain. His fingers itched to pull her close and kiss her again. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he’d be proposing marriage to Isabelle, even if it was pretend. But now it didn’t seem like such a crazy idea. They might even be good together—if they could ever spend some time alone to find out without danger looming over their heads.
“Sir, do you need an ambulance?”
Matt waved the officer’s question away, but the cashier pointed to the back of the store. “We have a first-aid kit with the pharmacist.”
“That would be great. We also need to purchase some pepper spray. I heard you can get that over the counter?”
“I think so. You can direct your question to the pharmacist. Though I’m not sure pepper spray will do much good against bullets.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Isabelle muttered.
“Humor me. It’s better than nothing.” Matt tried to smile through his own worry, but the truth was hard to avoid. Even if they were armed with all the self-defense tactics in the world, bullets always won.
TEN
Isabelle kept an eye on the officers from the back of the store. They seemed to be waiting for something. After the Tower situation, she wondered what it would take to get the police to agree to give her protection until the conference was over.
Matt followed her gaze and lowered the ice pack from his head. “I wish we knew who was targeting you. If we had an educated guess, maybe we could talk the DA into getting a court order for your protection.”
She almost reached out to brush his hair back, to check on his
injury. They were friends. Friends could do that...not usually after they’d pretended to get engaged, though. “Is that the only way to get police protection? A court order?”
Matt nodded. “I’m afraid so. Earlier today, an officer was making his rounds while I waited for you to finish the conference. I asked him about it. He said it makes the whole situation more difficult because we don’t know who is targeting us.”
She blew out a breath and pushed her hair back out of her face—the same hair that Matt had held back earlier. Her eyes drifted to his hands, and then his arms and the strong chest that had shielded her from hitting the ground at full force. He’d always been protective in high school, but she’d assumed it was in a big-brother sort of way. She never imagined he’d ever thought of her as anything more, even while her heart beat madly for him.
“The pharmacist says he’s got a couple other orders he has to fill before he can get the pepper spray. Looks like we have time to kill.”
She cringed at the innocent expression. It reminded her too much of the close calls. She turned away so she’d stop staring at him. “Do you ever think back on our friendship? About how odd it was?”
He shifted and stepped closer to her, which was the exact opposite of her intention. She felt his breath on her forehead.
“How do you mean?” he asked, his voice husky and soft.
“Don’t you think it’s rare that a guy and a girl would become best friends? I didn’t think so at the time, but looking back—”
“Easy. We were a lot alike.”
It was her turn to ask him what he meant, because from her vantage point, she couldn’t grasp how he’d arrived at that conclusion.
“Don’t get me wrong. We’re still very different people,” he said. “But we were both independent, both driven to succeed, both control freaks—”
“I’m flexible,” she countered. “I moved all over the country. Home was wherever I was. And it’s my out-of-the-box thinking that helped discover...” She caught the smirk on his face. “Okay, maybe I’m a little bit of both.”
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