by Terri Reed
“No,” he said firmly. “You don’t. You need to trust me. You need to switch off your reporter brain and not run around trying to interview people when there are more important things going on. I don’t have the energy for arguing with you and Trent at the same time.”
Especially now that he’d noticed the telltale bulge of a no doubt illegal handgun inside the cuff of Trent’s jeans. Olivia had no idea how much danger she was potentially in right now, and she wouldn’t stand still long enough for him to warn her.
“You don’t understand.” Fierce determination flashed in her eyes. “Trust me. It is important. I know who she is—”
“I don’t care!” Daniel’s voice rose. He hated that he’d just cut her off, but didn’t know how else to get through to her. Couldn’t she tell he was trying to de-escalate the situation? All she was going to do was ramp it up. “I don’t care who you think she is or how you think she’s connected to the Leslie Construction guys colluding with Brian’s theft, or the Faceless Crew or who did what at the courthouse. You need to stop trying to interview people. You need to stop trying to get the news story. You need to stop running into danger.”
The intensity in her eyes focused with the control of a laser. “And how much would you know about any of that if it hadn’t been for my investigating?”
“Girl, listen to your man,” Trent said.
“He’s not my man,” Olivia said, “and I’m done listening.”
“Well, then, listen to me,” Trent said firmly, “and leave well enough alone.” He grabbed Olivia’s arm and pulled her back hard.
Daniel broke Trent’s hold on Olivia and spun him around. “I really don’t want to fight you. But if you ever touch Olivia again, I will take you out.”
Olivia slipped past them and dashed down the landing. Before either man could stop her, she reached the motel door that the tall blonde had disappeared through. She knocked three times on the door, then she cupped her hands to the window and looked inside.
“Can you see Sarah?” Daniel called. “Is she in there?”
The motel door flew open. In one swift motion, the blonde wrapped one arm around Olivia’s throat. A gun flashed in the other hand, pointed toward Daniel as if in a threat not to follow. A moment later, she dragged Olivia backward into the motel room. The door slammed shut behind them.
The whole thing had happened in seconds.
Fire surged through Daniel’s veins so quickly he actually saw red.
Suddenly, it was as if everything he knew about calming a volatile situation and de-escalation had evaporated from his mind.
Olivia was locked in a motel room with someone brandishing a weapon.
He had to save her. Nothing else mattered.
“Get out of my way, Trent, or I’ll be forced to hit you.”
“Back off, Daniel. Take a walk. Olivia’s going to be just fine. This isn’t your fight.”
“Yeah, it is.” With one swift kick, Daniel sent Trent stumbling forward. He expected Trent to fall. But his opponent was stronger than he’d realized and managed to regain his footing.
Trent spun back. His hands raised in a grappling stance. “Look, I told Olivia to leave it alone. But she didn’t listen. So now the women are just going to have to sit down together and have a nice, quiet talk.”
As if I believe that. Daniel swung, aiming the punch right at his face.
Trent stepped to the side and blocked the shot. He grabbed the pressure point on Daniel’s arm, sending blinding pain shooting through his limbs.
The pain woke him up hard and snapped his brain to attention. How was he suddenly being outmatched? He’d lost focus. He was fighting hot and forgetting everything he knew about staying in control in a fight. I’m emotionally compromised and acting like a street punk. I need to be smarter than this.
Daniel relaxed his muscles.
Trent loosened his grip. “Look, man, back off. I promise I’m not going to rough her up. Just go find Sarah. She’s probably with Hawk and Rita.”
“Sorry.” Daniel took three steps back. “But I’m not going anywhere without Olivia.”
He charged, caught Trent hard in the stomach and knocked him backward. Trent roared. He raised his hand to strike. But Daniel didn’t give him a chance. He grabbed Trent’s arm and spun him against the rusted metal railing.
The railing broke.
Trent fell backward off the balcony.
His hand grabbed Daniel’s shirt. Daniel wrenched himself free.
But it was too late. Daniel lost his balance and fell after him.
Both men hit the pool.
Daniel landed on top of Trent, pushed away and swam hard for the poolside. Rain beat his body. The tiles were slick with algae but Daniel managed to hop onto the deck. Trent grabbed his ankle. He kicked back hard and caught Trent in the shoulder. Trent let go.
Daniel sprinted for the stairs.
“Olivia!” He pounded on the motel room door with both hands. “Are you okay? Whoever’s in there, you’d better open this door. Let. Olivia. Out. Now.”
No answer. The curtains covering the sole window were closed. Beneath him, he could see Trent standing on the pool deck. He pulled a gun from his ankle holster. Daniel was done knocking.
“Get back from the door!” He leveled one swift kick at the center of the door. It flew open.
The blonde was standing alone in the living room area of a dingy motel suite. Behind her, the door leading to the adjoining room lay open. She aimed the handgun at his head. “Get out. Now.”
“I’ll die before I let you kill Olivia.” He dived underneath the weapon, expecting her to shoot and hopefully miss. But the gun didn’t go off. He forced her arms above her head and wrenched the weapon from her hands. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you, but you need me to tell me where Olivia is.”
“Daniel! It’s okay. I’m here.” Olivia stepped through from the next room. A huge black sweatshirt now fell over her tiny frame like a dress. “You can drop the gun.”
Daniel stepped back from the blonde. But he kept her weapon held tight in his grip. “Not until I know what’s going on here.”
“Don’t tell him.” The blonde’s green eyes shot a warning across the room.
“Sorry, I won’t lie to him. Daniel and I have been through way too much together.” She stepped toward them. “Daniel, that’s my older sister, Chloe.”
Her sister? He stepped back. The hand holding the gun fell to his side. His gaze ran from one sister to the other. Chloe was a good foot taller than Olivia with strong shoulders and an athletic build. Yet the scowls on their pursed lips and the frustrated gazes they now fixed on each other were identical. “You told me she’s a cop.”
“She is.” Olivia sat down. “I haven’t seen her in months. I didn’t know what the story was with her and Trent, and I didn’t want to say anything in front of him, in case he didn’t know she was a cop. When she recognized me, she signaled at me to follow her. That’s why I was tapping on your arm, trying to get you to listen to me.”
“Detective Sergeant Chloe Brant. Ontario Provincial Police.” Chloe stretched out a hand toward Daniel. Her voice was exhausted but her handshake was still firm. “I’m not here officially. I’m just visiting someone. But I still didn’t want Olivia letting anyone know I was a cop. Up until five minutes ago I didn’t even know my little sister knew you personally, and my priority was to get her away from you. The gun was intended to dissuade you from following her and encourage you to take a walk. But Olivia tells me I was very badly misinformed about you.”
That was putting it mildly. How could anyone who knew him at all think that seeing Olivia yanked into a motel room by someone with a gun would result in anything but him moving heaven and earth to come after her? Something was very wrong here. “The motel manager said you were fighting with Sarah.”
“Sort of. Trent and I were trying to figure out why she’d just arrived here alone in the middle of the night. She wouldn’t tell us. It got a bit heated. But she�
��s here and she’s safe. We followed her to Rita’s trailer and watched her go inside. Last I heard, Rita was going to let her try to make a phone call on her cell, and then sleep there for a bit.”
Thank You, God, for that. The digital clock wasn’t working, but the round plastic one on the wall said it was almost five o’clock. Police would have almost definitely been dispatched, considering she was a minor reporting a violent crime in progress. Probably wasn’t a bad idea to let her nap at Rita’s for a tiny bit longer. Rita might be plenty rough around the edges, but she genuinely cared about Sarah. Sarah would have to wake up for the cops soon enough.
Chloe ran her fingers through her unnaturally blond hair. It was a wig. “Daniel, again, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it very much if you could leave my sister and me to have our talk. Please don’t tell anyone that I was here. I’ll take care of Olivia from here and make sure she gets home safely. Please respect our privacy and don’t contact my sister again.”
“No.” Olivia stood up. “You don’t get to tell Daniel to leave. I don’t care what you’ve been told about Daniel or what you think you know. You’re wrong about him.” She looked up at Daniel. “Chloe took desperate action to drag me away from you because she thought my life was in danger from you. Somebody, somewhere, thinks you’re the bad guy. Turns out you’re the prime suspect in Brian Leslie’s murder.”
Chloe winced. “I wish you hadn’t told him that.”
“I’m sorry, but treating Daniel like a suspect instead of somebody who could actually help in the investigation will just put more people in danger.” Olivia crossed her arms in front of her chest. “The idea Daniel could be guilty of anything like that is so wrong it’s laughable. I trust him with my life. We saved each other’s lives just a few hours ago. The Faceless Crew held us both at gunpoint and torched his garage.”
Daniel felt the blood leave his face. He was the prime suspect in Brian’s death?
But the shock he felt was nothing compared to how pale Chloe’s face was. “The Faceless Crew targeted Daniel and tried to murder him? Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Olivia’s voice dropped softly. She squeezed her sister’s arm gently. “They’ve been after us both. The good news is that Daniel saw one of their faces. So please, Chlo, tell whoever decided Daniel’s a killer that they’re very wrong. They need to stop treating him like a suspect and start cooperating with him.”
“Down on the floor! Hands behind your head!” Trent burst through the doorway. He was soaking wet. One hand clenched a gun. The other held a badge. “I’m Constable Trent Henry of the RCMP. You’re under arrest.”
*
Heat rose to the back of Daniel’s neck. He should have realized Trent was a cop. All those years he’d spent watching people, learning to read people, and somehow he’d missed something this important. Worse yet, he’d lost his cool and launched into a fight with the man. He’d tossed a cop off a motel balcony and into a pool.
All because he’d thought Olivia had been in danger.
“I said, get down on the ground.” Trent dropped the badge, but the gun was still aimed right at them.
Daniel stepped in front of Olivia and felt her fingers brush his back.
“Put the gun down, Trent.” Chloe stood up. “That’s my little sister you’re pointing it at.”
“I’m not arresting her.” Trent kicked the door shut behind him. It was cracked and splintered around the lock, but still managed to close. He stepped into the room. “But I’m putting Daniel Ash under arrest for assault. He’s finally slipped up and given me a reason to bring him in. He escalated things into a physical fight when all I was trying to do was restrain him.”
“You know full well it looked as though Olivia was in danger and I didn’t know you or Chloe were cops.” Daniel kept his hands down by his sides. Chloe’s gun stayed firm in his grasp. “Just let me go check on Sarah and make sure she’s okay. She’s my responsibility. I’m not going anywhere without her.”
“You’re not going anywhere at all.” Trent nodded at Chloe. “Get my handcuffs from my bag.”
The cop was holding his gun in his left hand. Strange, considering he’d definitely fought like a right-handed man. His right arm now lay limp at his side, and even through his shirt Daniel could see his shoulder bone was protruding oddly. Trent was injured. It was probably a broken collarbone by the look of it. Trent might want to take him down, but Daniel doubted he had the strength to do so. He might not even be able to shoot straight.
For a nanosecond, Daniel let his eyes dart to the open door to the adjoining motel room. He’d never imagined resisting arrest before. But these were hardly normal circumstances. Sarah might be safe inside Rita’s trailer for now, but she was still his responsibility. Letting her sleep for a little bit was miles away from leaving her there in Rita’s care indefinitely. No matter what happened next, he was pretty sure he could count on Chloe to look out for Olivia. But if he was arrested, handcuffed and taken off to prison, there’d be no one to safeguard Sarah.
“Daniel was only trying to protect me.” Olivia stepped out from behind Daniel’s cover. “He’s a good man. He’s probably the best man I’ve ever met. He’s not a criminal.”
An unexpected lump rose in his throat. He’d been called a lot of things in his life. Bodyguard. Giant. Guardian. Fool. But somehow no title had ever hit him as hard as hearing the certainty in Olivia’s voice as she told the cop he was a good man.
Lord, she believes in me. Let me live up to the man I am in her eyes.
He looked from the cop with the gun in front of him to the woman standing by his side. Somebody had to step up, be the peacemaker and end this standoff.
“Trent, you’re hurt. You need to see a doctor and I need to check in on Sarah.” Daniel took a deep breath, set Chloe’s gun down on the table in front of him and raised his hands. “But I’m not going to fight you. I just promise you, I’m not the kind of man you seem to think I am.”
“Trent, listen to him.” Chloe bent down and picked up her gun. “The Faceless Crew just blew up his place, too, and nearly killed the both of them.”
“I can help you identify one of them,” Daniel added. “I saw Shorty’s face with his mask off.” Daniel’s eyes locked firmly and squarely on Trent’s face. “I’m willing to cooperate and help your investigation any way I can. I’m not the enemy.”
The cop hesitated. Daniel couldn’t imagine the pain that would hit Trent’s system when the adrenaline high he was running on wore off.
“Let Daniel go and I’ll cooperate any way I can, too.” Olivia pulled the photo memory card out of her pocket and set it on the coffee table. “I wanted to back these up before I turned them over to police, but here are all the pictures I took in the parking garage when Brian Leslie died.”
“Put down the gun and let me check your injury.” Chloe’s hand swept Trent’s left shoulder. “You know you’re not going to arrest him. Any judge would toss the case out of court in a heartbeat. Besides, we’re stuck here, and whether you want to admit it or not, you need his help. Unless you’re really, truly convinced that Daniel is your guy.”
Trent took a deep breath. His eyes rose upward and his lips moved in what looked like silent prayer. Then he dropped the gun to his side. “All right, I am not arresting you. But this is on the understanding that you’ve both agreed to fully cooperate with my investigation. Please don’t make me regret this.”
Daniel nodded. “Agreed. But you’re going to have to let us know why the RCMP planted an undercover officer inside my ward’s family company.”
He’d gone without answers long enough.
“I’ll tell you what I can.” Trent shrugged, then winced in pain. “Can you just give us two minutes?”
“No problem.” Daniel watched as Trent and Chloe walked into the adjoining room and closed the door behind them. Then he wrapped his arms around Olivia and held her for a long moment. Relief filled his chest like oxygen. “I�
�m glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” Her head rested in the curve of his chest, and it was all he could do not to brush his lips across her hair. He’d accused her of being so focused on her own priorities that she didn’t care about anything else, and here she’d just gone and handed her photo card over to Trent when Daniel’s freedom was on the line. “You going to go check on Sarah?”
“Soon,” he said. “Very soon. I just want to give the cops a few more minutes. Hopefully, now we’ll finally start getting some answers.”
Even in hushed tones, just enough stray words managed to make their way through the paper-thin walls for Daniel to inadvertently piece together a pretty good guess of the conversation taking place on the other side. Somewhere higher up the police hierarchy, someone had decided Daniel was guilty of something involving organized crime and wasn’t interested in hearing any of the other theories Trent had raised. Somehow knowing the cop had actually tried to argue Daniel’s case actually made it a lot easier to cut him slack. Chloe, for her part, seemed plenty mad that Trent hadn’t told her that her little sister was with Daniel at his house.
A gentle chuckle slipped through Olivia’s lips.
He brushed his fingers along her cheek. “What’s so funny?”
She turned her face toward him. “I wonder if Chloe’s gun was really loaded. When you disarmed her, I mean. Knowing Chlo there’s a small chance she let you take it from her, knowing the magazine was empty, just to prove what kind of man you really are. She’s plenty tough, so it’s hard to believe she’d allow herself to be unarmed like that. And there’s no way she’ll ever confirm it one way or another. But it’s equally possible you caught her at an off moment and took her by surprise.” Her fingers ran up the small of his back. “You do have some pretty impressive skills.”
The adjoining door opened and the cops walked through. Daniel and Olivia jumped apart. Chloe’s wig was gone now, showing tightly pinned hair, the same fiery red as Olivia’s. Trent’s right arm and shoulder were in an impressive-looking figure-eight sling. Hopefully that would help Trent keep the pain at bay and keep the injury from escalating, but he’d still need a doctor.