She climbed out of the car and began walking toward the wreck. Jack put the car in reverse and stayed even with her. A gold BMW swerved a wide arc around them and honked as it passed.
“Get in,” he said. “I’ll turn around and take you back.”
She looked at him, her eyes filled with determination, anger, and a lifetime of blood, sweat, and tears. She came around to the passenger side and climbed in. The roads were clear as Jack turned back over the center divider and headed the other way, back to where the police car had rolled, landing in a heap of smoke and twisted metal.
Kate climbed out of the Mustang before Jack could come to a complete stop. As she neared the overturned car, a shot rang out.
“Kate!” Jack shouted, but she didn’t slow her pace. Instead, she rushed toward the man, stomping down on the man’s wrist before he could fire another shot. He was pinned beneath the steering column, face up. Apparently, the man was as determined as Kate to have the last say.
Kate scooped up his gun and used the muzzle to move the collar of his shirt, revealing the tail of a serpent tattoo. Straightening, she aimed the gun at his head, her finger on the trigger.
“He’s not worth it, Kate. He’s just a hired hand.”
“Who hired you to kill my father?” she asked the man, her voice a growl.
“I didn’t kill anyone.” A stream of blood oozed from a gash on the man’s forehead.
“Ten years ago, off the coast of Le Borgne, there was a storm.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I haven’t forgotten that tattoo or that ugly face since the night you killed my father,” she said, her voice lined with years of pent up hatred. “Today you’re going to die, so take your last breath, and make it a good one.”
She placed the barrel of the gun firmly over his temple.
“Don’t shoot,” he pleaded. “The order came through Lou.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Lou again. Who the hell is Lou?”
“I don’t know,” he gritted out. “He’s the one who gives the orders.”
Her fingers shook.
Jack settled a hand on her shoulder.
Across two lanes of highway, a car pulled to the side of the road. A young man climbed out of his car and waved his hands in the air. “Don’t worry,” he shouted. “Help is on the way.”
“Let’s go,” Jack said.
She exhaled. To Jack’s surprise, she drew the gun away from the man’s skull.
Jack leaned over, patted the guy down and slid the man’s wallet from his pocket. “Roger Cott from San Francisco.” He flipped through pictures of what he guessed to be the guy’s grandkids. “You might want to figure out what you’re going to say to your family the next time they see you because I’m going to personally let them know what you do in your free time.”
Jack took the man’s ID, then tossed the wallet to the ground. Jack put his arm around Kate’s shoulder and ushered her back toward the Mustang.
“I wish you would at least let me shoot him in the knee cap,” Kate said. “He deserved to be shot in the knee cap.”
“I know.”
“If not for that do-gooder stopping, I would have shot him.”
“I know you would have.”
“If I can’t find Lou, I’m going back for that guy.”
“I understand.”
“Roger Cott. That’s a horrible name.”
“I agree. I’ve never heard worse.”
They reached the Mustang. Jack held open the door for Kate, but instead of climbing in, she let her forehead fall forward onto his chest.
Jack heard sirens in the distance, and yet he hated to rush her. The past ten years of her life had revolved around the thought of killing that man and getting revenge for her father. And yet, in the heat of the moment, Kate chose right over wrong, good over evil. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he stared out into the wide open desert.
Chapter 21
As the tank was filling with gas, Jack ran the squeegee over the dirty windshield. Kate shuffled through her bag and pulled out a manila folder, the one she’d taken from Dr. Forstin’s office. The file was filled with pages from notebooks and calendars of events dating back an entire year, showing a daily account of Dr. Forstin’s schedule. There hadn’t been enough time to go through all the files before their search was interrupted. So Kate had taken the file along with the calendar, hoping Dr. Forstin’s schedule would give her an indication as to who Dr. Forstin had been associating with prior to his death.
Jack opened the door and climbed in. Before he started the engine, Kate grabbed his arm.
“What is it?”
“Look at this. Dr. Forstin had a meeting with Dr. Kramer on August 3rd, weeks before he was murdered. Dr. Kramer is my Auntie.”
“Who’s Auntie?”
“She’s a wonderful woman, a long-time friend of my father’s...of both my parents. I used to call her ’Auntie’ because she was like part of the family.” Kate smiled at the thought. “To tell you the truth I don’t think I ever knew her real name. I only knew her as Auntie...and Dr. Kramer.”
“What sort of doctor is she?”
“I’m not sure. But now that I think about it, I remember Dr. Forstin mentioning that he’d been in contact with Auntie. More than likely, they’ve been in contact for a while. The woman has spent a lifetime raising funds for AIDS. In fact, she and a few other highly regarded people formed the Cure for AIDS Foundation years ago. She’s raised millions of dollars for research.” Kate shut the file. “I need to talk to her, tell her she could be in danger.”
Jack started the engine and pulled the Mustang around to the back of the gas station, next to the payphone. “Why do you think she might be in danger?”
“Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to see that a cure for AIDS is slow in coming. If I were trying to stop a cure from being found, I would consider Auntie to be my number one thorn in my side. As long as she continues to raise big money for projects like AidVac and for scientists like my father and Dr. Forstin, she’s a threat. Besides,” Kate added thoughtfully, “I’d like to see her, talk to her. She was an important part of my father’s life. It’s been so long since I’ve seen anyone associated with my past. Maybe she can shed some light on this mess and help us prove your innocence.”
“Maybe there’s a phone number in the file,” Jack said. “Why don’t you call her and make sure she’s okay?”
“What if her phone is bugged? If Dr. Forstin was being watched, odds are she’s being watched, too.”
“Keep it short,” Jack said, “and they won’t be able to trace the call. Make sure you don’t give her too much information.”
Kate rifled through the file. It only took her a moment to find a number for Dr. Kramer. She raised a piece of paper in the air. “Voilà!” She leaned forward and kissed Jack on the lips.
He looked boyishly befuddled. “What was that for?”
“For sticking by me and for being my friend and protector.”
“Your friend? Is that all I am to you?”
“Oh, Jack,” she said, patting his forearm. “You’re my friend and my lover.” After he failed to respond, she took his hand in hers. “You’re making that face again. What do you want from me?”
“I want you to trust me. I lay awake at night thinking about our situation and how we might find a way out of this mess. There are too many loose ends. I’m thinking it might be a good idea for me to call the director of the FBI. At the very least, we could go to the police and let them sort this all out. They’ll put you in protective custody,” Jack added when she looked away. “If Harrison’s involved they’ll have the manpower to look into the matter. We have the video disc. We can tell them everything we know. They can send security to your Auntie’s house and—”
“Jack. Stop. Listen to what you’re saying. We don’t know what’s on that disc. It might be blank, and then what? You’ve been framed. We don’t know who’s invol
ved. You’re on the Most Wanted list, for God’s sake. We can’t risk letting them put you away. If Harrison is involved, he’s going to have contacts in all the right places, people who can make sure you stay in prison for a very long time.”
For the next few minutes the only noise was the steady hum of traffic on the freeway a block away. Scattered clouds hovered overhead. The air was stale, filled with remnants of gasoline vapors. Kate sighed. “Why the sudden urge to change plans?”
Jack held her gaze. “I’m not thrilled by the prospect of going to prison,” he said. “But more importantly, I don’t want you to get hurt. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you. You may be the biggest pain-in-the-ass I’ve ever met, but you make me feel things I’ve never felt in my life.” He settled an open palm on the side of her face and brushed the pad of his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “I love you, Kate.”
Her eyes widened. “You what?”
“I love you,” he repeated.
She swatted his hand away from her face. “I heard you the first time. That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve said since I’ve met you and you’ve said some pretty lame-ass things. I’m sorry, Jack, but saving your life a couple of times, hanging out for the past week, and rolling around in bed for a few hours, does not a relationship make. Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I like you. I like making love to you.” Her throat felt dry. She needed some fresh air.
What was wrong with her?
“I think you’re cute,” she added, “and sweet...but you and me...God,” she added, shaking her head. “We’re from two different worlds. You don’t need a girl like me. So no more talk of love...okay?”
When he failed to respond, she locked her gaze on his, unblinking...waiting.
“You’re the boss,” he said, irritating the hell out of her, since she’d expected what? For him to fall apart?
“So that’s it? No more talk of love?”
“No more talk of love,” he agreed, his eyes never leaving hers, sucking her in, making her feel like the most desirable woman in the whole damn world...making her wish she’d just left well enough alone. She never had a guy tell her he loved her before. What was the big deal? Why did she have to go and get all freaked out? It wasn’t like he was asking her to love him back, or to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him. Thank God for small favors. “Okay,” she finally said, wriggling the piece of paper still clutched in her hand. “I’ll go make a phone call. After that we’ll find a security dealer or whoever makes surveillance cameras and we’ll see if we can read the disc as planned, okay?”
“Whatever you say.”
She nodded. “I say we stick to the original plan.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Her shoulders drooped. “Damn it, rookie. I don’t want you to go and get yourself killed and then spend the rest of your life haunting me because I didn’t want you to turn yourself in. If you want to go to the police, then go. But I won’t go with you. I can’t do it. I need to know who ordered my father’s death. I have too much unfinished business to take care of.”
“We stick to the original plan,” he said, his voice calm. “No matter what happens, I won’t come back to haunt you. I promise.” He smiled.
She fidgeted in her seat. “You sure make a lot of promises, rookie boy.”
He chuckled as if he knew something she didn’t, which only served to piss her off more than she already was. She watched him reach deep into his pants pocket and pull out a pile of change. He held out the coins for her to take. “Are you going to make a phone call or not?”
Five minutes later, Kate climbed back into the car and slid over the leather seat.
“How did it go?”
“It was an old number...it’s no longer in service. I called information but there is no Dr. Kramer listed...at least in the cities I named.”
Jack turned the key, revved the engine, and pulled out of the gas station parking lot. It wasn’t long before he merged onto US 101 and they had nothing but a long stretch of highway in front of them. “I did some research on the computer. There’s a security store that sells surveillance equipment about thirty minutes from here. We’ll head there so I can see if they can read the video disc.”
“Do you live around here?” Kate asked.
He nodded. “Not too far from A.J. I bought a house in Burbank right before I was ‘promoted.’”
“How about your parents?”
“They used to live nearby in Pasadena. They moved to Florida a few years ago—couldn’t handle all the bad memories.”
“Any other siblings besides Annie?”
“No. How about you? Any siblings?”
“No. I always wished for a little brother though. Who knows, it might have happened if Mom hadn’t succumbed to cancer at such a young age.”
“I’m sorry.”
She smiled at him, appreciating his sincerity, especially after all she’d put him through. “Mom died a few years before Dad and I set off for the Caribbean on vacation. I can still recall packing for the trip with Dad and having this incredible sensation wash over me. In that moment, I told Dad I was sure Mom was looking over us with a big smile on her face.”
Kate’s eyes misted, but her smile widened. “I can remember the exact moment as if it were yesterday. She must have been so proud of the way Dad stepped up after her death, pushing his work aside whenever possible in order to spend time with me. If not for those two years Dad and I had together, I don’t think I would have ever had the chance to get to know him like I did.”
He sensed she was nervous. Kate didn’t usually talk much. A part of him wondered if it had anything to do with him confessing his love for her. And he did love her, plain and simple. He’d fallen for her very nearly the moment he’d met her. Couldn’t explain it, wasn’t going to try, but it was there, pressing tight against his chest every time he looked at her. He’d been in a long relationship before. He knew all about commitment and compromise, but he didn’t expect those things from Kate. She wasn’t ready, but that didn’t change the realization that he felt a primal, innate desire to protect her at any cost. Kate was brave, strong, stubborn, and soft in all the right places. She was fearless to a fault and maybe that was what scared him most about her. She had her mind set on one goal and nothing was going to change that, not him being thrown into prison and certainly not his confession of undying love.
Kate Huntley was on a mission. And now he realized, so was he. Only now, things were different than they had been a week ago. Clearing his name would have to wait. First, he needed to prove to Kate that revenge wasn’t the answer. Although doing so would make him a hypocrite, since he too had once set his mind on sending his sister’s killer into an early grave. He and Kate had more in common than she knew.
Chapter 22
The temperature had to be in the nineties, Jack figured. The breeze coming through the window felt like hot blasts of stale air. It was ten to five by the time Jack made a left on Glenoaks Boulevard. He had no problem locating the security dealer.
“Stay low," he told Kate after he parked the Mustang. “If anyone suspicious approaches the car, take off.” He handed her the keys.
Kate didn’t bother reminding him that she learned to drive in Haiti, one of the worst driving habitats known to man.
He climbed out of the car, shut the door behind him, and took off before Kate thought to tell him to be careful.
She noticed an elderly couple walking their dog on the other side of the street. Further down the road she saw a runner. Her stomach gurgled from hunger. Jack had bought some food at the market in the gas station, but it was all gone. She grabbed the water bottle sitting on the seat, unscrewed the plastic cap, and took a long swallow. The water tasted fresh and crisp compared to what she was drinking in Haiti.
She leaned her head back against the headrest and shut her eyes. A few minutes later, she sat up and looked at the time. Jack had only been gone for ten minutes. T
he inside of the car, even with the windows rolled down, had grown incredibly hot and stuffy. She used her forearm to wipe perspiration from her forehead. If Jack didn’t return soon, she was going to have to get out and take a breather. Maybe she could take a walk and check out the town Jack called home.
She reached for the door handle just as the door to the surveillance store flew open. Jack sprinted down the street toward the Mustang and jumped in behind the wheel. He cursed under his breath, turned on the engine, and took off. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
He kept a steady gaze on the road ahead of him. His face was as white as his T-shirt.
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
“The guy who worked there wouldn’t help me. He said he was too busy to read the disc.”
Kate swallowed, hoping that was all he was upset about.
“He was annoying as hell and so I pulled my gun out and threatened him with his life.”
“Oh.”
“He calmly said I’d have to leave the disc with him and come back tomorrow. Sadly, the gun hardly fazed him. This is LA after all.”
“What did you do?”
Jack scowled. “I didn’t leave the disc, but it’s a surveillance store for God’s sake. I had at least a dozen cameras on me.” He tightened his fingers around the steering wheel and let out a sardonic laugh. “What else can I possibly add to my growing list of offenses?”
“You didn’t shoot anyone, did you, Jack?”
“No, I didn’t do that,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
If it had been anyone but Jack, she might have been amused. After everything they’d been through, he was worried about holding a gun to a clerk in a security store. But wasn’t that just like Jack to be concerned about adding to his list of bad deeds. Jack Coffey, the last of the American Heroes, and a man without an evil bone in his body. “Jack,” is all she said before putting a hand on his knee. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. This sucks.”
She squeezed his leg.
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