by D. L. Line
“This way,” she whispered, heading down a long hallway past rows of tiny cubicles. She couldn’t help wondering which one had been Lois’s.
It’s no time for sadness. You are sharp, Shelby Hutchinson.
Tasha’s reminder snapped Shelby back into the moment, but she found being on high alert was just making her more anxious. Who knew after hours buildings were so damn noisy? While their footsteps were muffled by the carpet, Shelby could hear the environmental controls humming, the fans on the extensive computer equipment blowing. Frankly, she would rather have had echoing silence to deal with. The sound of her footsteps and rapid heartbeat would have been fine compared to the background noises that filled her senses and made listening for anything else difficult.
They reached Andrew’s assistant’s desk and Trish edged her way around it toward the data storage cabinet.
“I’ll get started here. Call me if you need anything.”
Shelby had to admire Trish’s attitude. She knew she had to be scared. Hell, Shelby was practically terrified, but Trish was determined to see this through for her. The thought hit her like a wave. Trish was doing this for her.
“If you find anything, take it. We’ll deal with the ramifications later. I just want to get out of here as fast as we can.”
Shelby looked at Andrew’s door, which stood slightly ajar. With a deep breath, she pushed through and headed for his desk. It was, of course, pristine—a clean wooden expanse with nary a pencil or paper clip to mar its perfect surface.
“Freak. No one is this neat.”
She seated herself behind his desk and powered up his computer. “Password, schmassword, Andrew.” Shelby turned on her best fake Russian accent. “We don’t need no stinkin’ password.”
The desktop of Andrew’s computer was as uncluttered as his actual desktop. It took Shelby a few moments to access his file structure and figure out how he named his files. “Who functions like this?” She continued to open and scan folders and documents. Finally, tucked away in several layers of subfolders, Shelby found what she had been looking for. In a folder named “Liabilities” she found information on the rock climber and every other person who had been injured by Head Trip’s incompetence and Andrew’s greed. As she scanned the folders, she found the one with her name on it, but let her finger hover over the mouse for just a second. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to read what was in there or not, but curiosity got the better of her. She opened the file and scanned over what she already knew. On the last page of the file was a record of a funds transfer from Head Trip to a William Sanger in the amount of $2,000. The picture of William Sanger made Shelby’s blood boil.
“Two thousand dollars! You only paid that spiky-haired idiot two grand to off me?” Shelby pulled a thumb drive from her pocket and inserted it into a port on the computer. “Shit, you could have saved yourself the money. William Sanger was a certified idiot and no match for someone who had learned to defend herself on one of your vacations.”
She checked the time on her phone and silently urged the computer to move faster. A few more minutes and they could be out of there. “And then, Andrew, you are going to get what you deserve, you weasel-faced, neat freak, piece of crap.”
“Now, now, Miss Hutchinson, is that any way to talk to the man holding your girlfriend at gunpoint?”
Shelby froze. When she lifted her eyes from the computer screen, Andrew was indeed holding Trish at gunpoint. He had her by the arm and the gun was pointed at the back of her ear.
“Shit.”
“Indeed. Come out from behind the desk, Miss Hutchinson. Move very slowly.”
In a move she hoped was hidden from Andrew, Shelby pulled the thumb drive from its port and let it drop to the floor.
“If you hurt her, Andrew, I will kill you.”
“How noble, Miss Hutchinson. How brave, how incredibly stupid. I have the gun. You have nothing.”
Nothing but Tasha. What do we do here, Tasha?
Wait, Shelby Hutchinson. You must wait for an opening. Right now you are screwing, yes?
“Screwed, but yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
Andrew laughed. “Yes, I would say you are definitely screwed, as you so eloquently put it. You are making my life infinitely more difficult. If it were just one of you, I could simply shoot you, call the police, and expose you for the intruder, the disgruntled client, the murderer you are.”
“Murderer? What the hell are you talking about?”
“He means Lois,” Trish said. “That’s why you planted my ring, isn’t it?”
“Yes. That didn’t go exactly as planned. And William evidently didn’t do his job either.”
“No duh. You only paid him two thousand dollars, you idiot. What did you expect? You get what you pay for. Why are you here? Don’t tell me this is all some happy little coincidence.”
Andrew laughed again, and Shelby noticed his hand loosening its grip ever so slightly on Trish’s upper arm. She caught Trish’s eye, hoping she had good instincts.
“No, of course not. When you used Lois Evans’s security badge I received notification. The system is configured to let me know whenever anyone enters the building after hours. We have valuable technology here that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“You mean like yours?”
Andrew dropped Trish’s arm and stepped forward, waving the gun at Shelby. “No, not like mine. This technology is revolutionary and has the potential to change life as we know it on this planet. People like you are so shortsighted and ignorant. All you can see is the negative.”
“Negative? You mean like seizures? Coma? Death?”
“Statistically acceptable losses. There are always unfortunate losses when it comes to progress. It’s how we learn. We make mistakes and we fix them. Don’t forget, Ms. Hutchinson, you also signed a release and you ignored your briefing about your trip. You were aware of the risks and made your own choice.”
He had her there, but Shelby pressed on. “You’re right, Andrew. We fix mistakes, and you made a big one that I am about to fix.”
Shelby was happy to see Trish did have good instincts. When Andrew dropped her arm, she had stepped back and cautiously picked up one of the heavy bookends sitting on the table between the two office chairs they had sat in the last time they had faced down Andrew. As Shelby told Andrew how she planned to fix his mistakes, Trish brought the bookend up and swung it at Andrew’s head.
Shelby saw the instant the bookend entered Andrew’s peripheral vision and she moved. She jumped forward, kicking him into the arc of Trish’s swing. The bookend made contact, the gun went off, and Andrew went down in a heap.
Shelby kicked the gun away and stepped over Andrew’s prone form to fold Trish into her arms. They sank to the floor, shaking.
You are good, Shelby Hutchinson. Not as good as me, but you are good.
“Thank you,” Shelby breathed.
“No, thank you. If you hadn’t pissed him off like that, I never would have been able to get to the bookend.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m so annoying then, huh?”
They started to laugh and then to cry, which is how Jake and the police found them a few minutes later when they stormed down the hall and into the office.
While the police busied themselves restraining Andrew and calling for an ambulance and the crime scene team, Jake fell to his knees in front of Shelby and Trish. “You didn’t come out, Shel. God, don’t ever do this to me again!”
“How did you know we were in trouble? It hadn’t been that long, had it? Did you see him come in?”
“No. He must have come in the back. I guess he was a little bit more of a back door kind of guy than you thought.”
“Then how did you know, Jake?”
“Trish texted me.”
Shelby turned to Trish, who pulled her phone out of her pocket.
“What? You can’t text one-handed in your pocket? I’ve been doing that since high school.”
Ah, s
he is very good, Shelby Hutchinson. Useful and beautiful. You should keep her.
“I plan on it.”
“Plan on what?” asked Trish.
“Um, plan on taking you with me the next time I decide to save the world.” Shelby winked at Jake.
Chapter Sixteen
The late April sun was warm on her back. Shelby idly traced patterns through the condensation on her glass. A beautiful day in Berlin, a beautiful woman across the table.
“Is it not dangerous for you to be here again, Shelby Hutchinson?”
“No, Tasha, not this time. It turns out Lois had been working on some modifications to the program to make it safer. She also knew that if I came back here to say good-bye to you, my headaches and seizures would stop too.”
“But I thought this Lois was already dead. How can she be helping you?”
Shelby took a sip of her drink. “She is dead, but before she died she made sure her work would be accessible through Head Trip’s computers. If Andrew had ever bothered to listen to her, none of this would have happened.”
Tasha made a disgusted snort. “Andrew is a greedy capitalist pig. What will happen to him now?”
“He’ll go to prison. Head Trip will be closed once they’ve cleaned up the mess they’ve made. I think the technology is already technically owned by the military, but Trish is writing about it so none of this will stay secret for long.”
Tasha leaned forward and took Shelby’s hand. “This is dangerous for you, no? If the government wishes this secret, what will they do to you?”
“It won’t be like that, Tasha. This isn’t 1985 anymore. Our government isn’t like yours.”
“Republicans. I will never understand.”
Shelby smiled. “It’s okay. I just needed to come here again. See you again, to say good-bye. I don’t think I’ll be taking any more vacations like this one.”
Tasha leaned back in her chair, the leather of her jacket squeaking. “It’s all right, Shelby Hutchinson. You don’t need me anymore. You learned much from me, but now is the time to be yourself.”
Shelby laughed. “Yeah, that’s me—badass American courier. I’ll probably never leave Chicago again.”
“Do not be so certain. You are much more badass than you think. You handled Andrew. You are smart and brave and you have a beautiful woman by your side, no?”
Shelby nodded. Trish was indeed by her side. In fact, she was waiting for her at Head Trip, probably holding her hand.
“Yes, Tasha. Trish is with me. I think I have you to thank for that, or I have her to thank for you. Either way, I am grateful to have you both in my life.”
Tasha stood and dropped a few deutschmarks on the table. “You only need one of us now. It has been a good ride, Shelby Hutchinson.”
Tasha pulled Shelby to her feet and kissed her, leaving her a little breathless. Then Shelby watched as Tasha and her fabulous ass strolled down the block to her bike, climbed on, and rode away.
*
The room came swimming back into focus. Monitors beeping quietly, soft music in the background, the smell of Trish’s perfume, and the warmth of her hand holding tightly to Shelby’s. No loud gunshot or the smell of residue. No searing pain in her head or heart-pounding fear. It was finally over.
“Hey there, gorgeous, are you back?”
It was Trish’s voice, not Tasha’s. That thought was tinged with a little sadness, but seeing the look of concern and love on Trish’s face washed the sadness away.
Shelby sat up slowly. “Yeah, I’m back. No head trauma, so it’s good, right?”
“I would say that’s very good.” Trish held Shelby’s hand as the technicians removed the monitors and readouts from her head, chest, and arms.
When she was finally free, Shelby slipped to the edge of the bed and stood with some help from Trish.
“You know, I would really like to get out of here. I’ve had enough of this place to last me several lifetimes and vacations.”
“How about we go on a real vacation next time? Some place warm and quiet and painfully dull? No Berlin, no time travel, no spies?”
Shelby hugged Trish. “I can’t tell you how good that sounds. But for now, how about lunch? Head Tripping makes me hungry, and I have a real taste for some beer and brats.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
Shelby grinned. “Nope, there’s a great little German place over on Piedmont. You’ll love it.”
“Okay, but I am not doing the accent, and you can’t make me.”
“Is fine, Patricia Aronoff. Is just fine.”
About the Author
D.L. Line has been many things at different times in her life: a musician, a pharmacy technician, a bartender, a student, a restaurant owner, a marching band director, and a dog sitter, to name a few. Through it all, she has always been a storyteller.
D.L. lives in Virginia with her family, including Snickers the Wonderdog.
D.L. Line’s first novel, On Dangerous Ground, was recognized by the Alice B. Reader’s Selection Committee as a 2010 Lavender Certificate Winner for outstanding debut novel.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Head Trip by D.L. Line. Shelby Hutchinson, a young computer professional, can’t wait to take a virtual trip. She soon learns that chasing spies through Cold War Europe might be a great adventure, but nothing is ever as easy as it seems—especially love. (978-160282- 187-3)
Desire by Starlight by Radclyffe. The only thing that might possibly save romance author Jenna Hardy from dying of boredom during a summer of forced R&R is a dalliance with Gardiner Davis, the local vet—even if Gard is as unimpressed with Jenna’s charms as she appears to be with Jenna’s fame. (978-160282-188-0)
River Walker by Cate Culpepper. Grady Wrenn, a cultural anthropologist, and Elena Montalvo, a spiritual healer, must find a way to end the River Walker’s murderous vendetta—and overcome a maze of cultural barriers to find each other. (978-160282-189-7)
Blood Sacraments, edited by Todd Gregory. In these tales of the gay vampire, some of today’s top erotic writers explore the duality of blood lust coupled with passion and sensuality. (978-1-60282-190-3)
Mesmerized by David-Matthew Barnes. Through her close friendship with Brodie and Lance, Serena Albright learns about the many forms of love and finds comfort for the grief and guilt she feels over the brutal death of her older brother, the victim of a hate crime. (978-1- 60282-191-0)
Whatever Gods May Be by Sophia Kell Hagin. Army sniper Jamie Gwynmorgan expects to fight hard for her country and her future. What she never expects is to find love. (978-1-60282-183-5)
nevermore by Nell Stark and Trinity Tam. In this sequel to everafter, Vampire Valentine Darrow and Were Alexa Newland confront a mysterious disease that ravages the shifter population of New York City. (978-1-60282-184-2)
Playing the Player by Lea Santos. Grace Obregon is beautiful, vulnerable, and exactly the kind of woman Madeira Pacias usually avoids, but when Madeira rescues Grace from a traffic accident, escape is impossible. (978-1-60282-185-9)
Midnight Whispers: The Blake Danzig Chronicles by Curtis Christopher Comer. Paranormal investigator Blake Danzig, star of the syndicated show Haunted California and owner of Danzig Paranormal Investigations, has been able to see and talk to the dead since he was a small boy, but when he gets too close to a psychotic spirit, all hell breaks loose. (978-1-60282-186-6)
The Long Way Home by Rachel Spangler. They say you can’t go home again, but Raine St. James doesn’t know why anyone would want to. When she is forced to accept a job in the town she’s been publicly bashing for the last decade, she has to face down old hurts and the woman she left behind. (978-1-60282-178-1)
Water Mark by J.M. Redmann. PI Micky Knight’s professional and personal lives are torn asunder by Katrina and its aftermath. She needs to solve a murder and recapture the woman she lost—while struggling to simply survive in a world gone mad. (978-1-60282-179-8)
Picture Imperfect by Lea Santos. Young lo
ve doesn’t always stand the test of time, but Deanne is determined to get her marriage to childhood sweetheart Paloma back on the road to happily ever after, by way of Memory Lane—and Lover’s Lane. (978-1-60282-180-4)
The Perfect Family by Kathryn Shay. A mother and her gay son stand hand in hand as the storms of change engulf their perfect family and the life they knew. (978-1-60282-181-1)
Raven Mask by Winter Pennington. Preternatural Private Investigator (and closeted werewolf) Kassandra Lyall needs to solve a murder and protect her Vampire lover Lenorre, Countess Vampire of Oklahoma— all while fending off the advances of the local werewolf alpha female. (978-1-60282-182-8)
The Devil be Damned by Ali Vali. The fourth book in the best-selling Cain Casey Devil series. (978-1-60282-159-0)
Table des matières
Synopsis
By the Author
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
About the Author
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Table of Contents