That woman was going to get them all killed.
From the backseat, Reid pushed his chest against the side of the driver’s seat, shoved his cheek against the side of the headrest and stretched his arms around Samantha to grab the wheel. Yet another instance where his six-foot-four-inch height gave him an edge, not to mention the quick reflexes from the police training he had tried to leave behind. The UPS truck swerved away from the Jeep as Reid jerked the steering wheel hard to the left, almost willing the Jeep’s four tires back onto the ground out of sheer desperation.
No way was he going to die here and now. Not Samantha and Lily, either, if he had anything to do with it.
He righted the Jeep into the proper position in the left lane, his attention pulled to the rearview mirror with a screech of tires behind them. The black SUV had catapulted into traffic, as well. It was now only one car behind them.
Reid forced his focus to the road before them and calmed his breathing to short puffs. Samantha’s hair fluffed in and out with his huffs, the scent of cleanliness and sunshine that emanated from it distracting him in a way he wasn’t familiar with. Apparently, he’d lost some of his edge.
“Thanks.” Samantha’s voice wobbled. “I thought that was going to be the end of us.”
Reid swerved into the right lane. He would signal if he could reach it, but Samantha didn’t seem to be in any condition to follow orders. “He’s still behind us. We’re not done yet.” At the very least, she needed to be able to concentrate enough to manage the speed of the vehicle.
“We’re alive.” She relaxed her head against his straining biceps, probably seeking rest and comfort. But immediately she jerked upright as if realizing the intimacy, and the inappropriate timing, of the gesture. Her foot must have pressed the accelerator because the Jeep rushed forward.
“Slow! Don’t rear-end that car.”
Samantha let up and the Jeep eased up on the compact car it had almost trampled. “Sorry.”
“We’re alive, but not safe yet. Pray.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a split second and then refocused on the road. No way could he let himself get distracted now, not with a maniacal thug following them on a busy street and his life still resting in Samantha’s ability to accelerate and brake at the right times. It was Friday night in a small town and apparently everyone had decided to eat out and hit the movie theater tonight.
Hide. That was a temporary solution. Where could they pull off and sit to avoid detection and to figure out what to do next? A row of semis stretched ahead of him. He pointed without lifting his hand from the wheel. “Slower. Get in between the trucks.”
Samantha gently touched the brake, and he cut back to the left lane, now two vehicles in front of the SUV. One of them was a jacked-up monster truck. The thing was so tall it completely hid the black SUV from view. It was perfect.
“I think I can take over the steering again now.” Samantha gripped the wheel below his fists as if the force of her hands would convince Reid.
Lily scooted forward in her seat. “But he has his arms around you, Sam. His really long and muscular arms. Ooo—”
“Lily, that’s enough.” She turned her head to glare at the girl, her freckles dark and prominent in the stormy early-evening gloom, her face inches from Reid’s. A pink blush touched her cheeks, and she faced forward again. “I’ll be fine, Reid.”
“All right. Let’s pass these two semis—”
Lightning flashed to the ground nearby as a shock wave of thunder ripped through the low-hanging clouds. Samantha startled and landed their front tire in the lane of oncoming traffic. Reid jumped for the steering wheel again and swerved them back to safety. “You’re fine?” Try as he might, he couldn’t keep the critical tone from his voice.
“It surprised me. I was going to get us back in our lane.” She puffed her hair away from her face. “I’m not just a helpless female.”
“Slow down some more. We’re going to turn right soon.” That was the second time she had just about gotten them all killed, but even his limited knowledge of women dictated that he shouldn’t voice that thought.
Two semis up, he jagged back to the right lane, squeezing in between two of the long trucks. “Take it easy. Get ready for a turn.” Samantha pushed the brake, and a split second later, he steered right toward a fast-food restaurant.
He nodded toward a parking spot. “We’re headed in there. Hit the brake again.” He eased into the opening behind a large cargo van with All Righty Plumbing painted on the side. Samantha hit the brake just as the front tires bumped against the curb.
Sure now of Samantha’s hands on the wheel and her foot on the brake, he released his grip and spun to the back window. The black SUV was still trailing the last semi, caught behind a minivan driven by an elderly woman who couldn’t see over the steering wheel, tooling along below the speed limit. Without even a glance into the parking lot, the thug drove past them.
Reid turned back to the front and collapsed against the backseat, flexing his fingers to loosen the soreness out after his death grip on the steering wheel.
Lily popped up over the back of the seat and eyed the restaurant. “Are we safe? Does this mean we’re going to eat now?”
Samantha shifted into Park and leaned her head against the rest. “Let us catch our breath first, girl.”
“And give the bad guy a few minutes to get farther away.” He had the strange but undeniable urge to ruffle her hair, but would a ten-year-old girl see that as affectionate? As relief that they were all safe? Or was she at the age where her hairstyle was of the utmost importance and all touching would be an affront? Considering that she had the pungent aroma of someone who had been running and playing and fishing all day, he doubted it was the latter.
But what was he thinking anyway? She wasn’t his. He had just met her maybe an hour ago, and under rather unusual circumstances. And even though he knew her guardian a little, Samantha probably didn’t have a favorable memory of him.
Samantha ran her hand through her hair and fluffed out the ends. Reid noticed again the clean scent of shampoo that emanated from her. It was the best scent he’d had in his Jeep...well, ever. He breathed deeply, desperate to inhale peace and calm. Samantha was a smart attorney, well practiced at asking tough questions.
He was a smart attorney, too. He knew what was coming.
It was unavoidable.
Samantha turned in the driver’s seat, pulling her knee up toward the console. She pierced Reid with a classic interrogation look. “So you want to tell me what was going on back there at the police station?”
He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even as his stomach roiled. “I tried to tell you that they wouldn’t be helpful. But I apologize for any difficulty my presence caused. I figured it might...uh...stifle their desire to serve and protect.”
Samantha cocked her head, her brow furrowed. “Why?”
“I was a police officer.” He paused. Held his breath. “I was asked to leave the force.”
* * *
Of course. Samantha remembered now. That had been his job before law school. He was a police officer. And now his hesitancy to drive them to the police station as well as his knowledge of evidence became clear, as well. Samantha sagged against her seat. She had forced him into an uncomfortable, even awkward, situation for which he was unprepared because she hadn’t trusted his judgment.
“The force?” Lily leaned against the seat.
“Lily, he means the police force. The police department.” Samantha swiped some hair from her cheek.
“You were a police officer?” Apparently, her charge wasn’t going to let go of this easily. “Did you carry a gun?” Lily strained forward in her curiosity. “Do you have a gun now?”
Reid cleared his throat. “Since we’re all getting hungry—”
Samantha’s stomach clenched
, but she couldn’t tell whether it was from hunger or fear. “Wait a minute. You just said you were asked to leave the force. Is that why your old buddy at the station was so quick to say there wasn’t much he could do?”
“No, I don’t think so. There truly isn’t much that can be done. But I was going to make contact after I’d gotten settled in. Pave the way with some buffalo wings. Your predicament just forced me there a little sooner.” He glanced out the window then back to her, a glint of irritation in his eyes. “Do you think I don’t remember anything of my training or my experience as an officer? I tried to tell you that there was nothing that could be done right now, but you didn’t want to believe me.”
“Why should I have trusted you? If I remember correctly, you were asked to leave the school. Something happened. I don’t suppose you’d care to fill me in on that story.”
Reid swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Samantha didn’t care for asking such pointed questions, but her security, and Lily’s, was at stake.
“I used to have a bit of a problem with anger. I was mad at everyone and everything back then. When I started law school, I was still angry with the police department for what I thought they had done to me. Then at the law school it seemed, to me at least, that the professors were grossly unfair. One day near the end of the first year, our torts professor pushed me too hard during one class. I couldn’t come up with the answer to his question in the time he expected, and he started berating me in front of the class.” He paused and fingered the Jeep’s upholstery. “I lost it. I yelled at the professor. Turns out that’s a cardinal sin in graduate education. It’s not something I’m proud of and most of the time I’m pretty good at leaving it where it belongs. In the past.”
In the past. Samantha fought down the urge to touch his hand. After Reid had left the law school, rumors had floated back that he had changed somehow, that another incident had led him to a turning point, but Samantha hadn’t known him well enough to be in the circle of acquaintances who kept up with him. He’d been gone, and it just simply hadn’t concerned her. Now she prayed that those rumors had been true and he had changed for the better. She let herself reach out to touch his arm, a gesture of comfort that ended up comforting her.
“But apparently you finished school. Elsewhere?”
A shadow of something, perhaps an elusive memory from his past, flitted across his face. He slowly drew his attention back to her, as if being summoned from a distant thought. “Yes.”
Samantha waited for more, but apparently a one-word answer was all she was going to get. Either Reid was one of those strong, silent types, or he didn’t want to confess his sins, no matter how good for the soul that was supposed to be.
“What type of law do you practice? You must have a job lined up if you just drove in today. You start on Monday?”
More silence followed by a loud swallowing sound. “Uh, family law is my preference.” He shifted in his seat. “Guardianships, adoptions, maybe a little of wills and trusts. And no job. I’m thinking of starting my own practice.”
Heat crept over Samantha, but at least her inflamed cheeks would be hidden by the late twilight. So that was yet another reason for his evasion.
Invasion. Into her legal territory.
Lily’s face shone in the fast-food joint’s neon lights as thunder rumbled through the Jeep. Of course, there was nothing stopping her from getting out of the vehicle and walking Lily into the restaurant. She could call someone, anyone, from in there and ditch Reid completely. But the thugs were still out there, looking for her and Lily. Despite Reid’s reputation as a defiant rule breaker, he had protected them so far. If she left, then what would she do? Who would protect her?
She tapped her first two fingers against her lips. She would stick with Reid, if he would have her.
“Sam, I am about to keel over from hunger back here.” Lily’s whine filled the Jeep, forcing Samantha to concentrate on the more immediate problem. Hunger. “Just give me some money, and I’ll grab a burger or maybe some chicken tenders. You want anything?”
“Young lady, you are not leaving this vehicle.” Egad, the tone in her voice sounded just like her mother’s. When had that happened? She wanted to be a cool mom. A friend more than a dictator, benevolent or otherwise.
She glanced at Reid, but he only shrugged his shoulders. Thanks a lot.
“Come on, Sam. A ketchup packet? A little thingy of salt?”
“Not here.” She put the Jeep into Reverse and pulled out of the spot. Then she turned it in the opposite direction the black SUV had gone a few minutes before.
Reid didn’t say anything, so she headed up the main street another block and turned into another fast-food burger place.
“Is it safe to go through the drive-through?” She turned her gaze to the rearview mirror, fighting back the urge to rake her hand through her hair.
Reid scanned the streets surrounding the restaurant. “I think it’ll be fine. While we eat, we can figure out what to do next.”
Samantha turned toward the squawk box and ordered two adult meals and a kid’s meal plus a milk shake. The shake would be a treat for Lily, something to keep her mind off their current predicament, and maybe Samantha could get a few sips of chocolate, as well. It wouldn’t be as calming as solid dark chocolate melting on her tongue, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
A few minutes later, they sat in the back of the parking lot, hidden behind the brick Dumpster enclosure, munching burgers and savoring the hot, salty aroma of French fries. Lily rummaged through the colorful sack her meal had come in and extracted the clear plastic bag that contained the prize. She ripped it open and popped a pair of sunglasses with rectangular frames onto her nose.
With darkness encroaching, Samantha could just barely make out the storm clouds that still hovered in the sky. “Lily, it’s too dark for sunglasses. Why don’t you put those away until tomorrow?”
“These aren’t just sunglasses, Sam.” She turned away from them to look out her side window. “There’s a little mirror that lets me see what’s behind me. For spying. Cool, huh?”
Yeah, supercool. Lily would be playing spy now for the next month and a half. Reid was apparently nonplussed as he took another big bite of his hamburger.
Lily giggled. “You have a bit of mayonnaise on your chin, Mr. Palmer. I can see it in my spy mirror.”
“Since we’re getting to know each other so well, you might as well call me Reid.” Reid swiped at his face with a napkin. “And thanks for the heads-up.” He held out his fist, and Lily bumped it with her own.
“No, no. There’s no call for that.” The last thing Samantha needed was for Lily to get chummy with a hothead like Reid Palmer. But would a hothead act like that with a ten-year-old, joking and not caring about mayo on his face? She sipped her drink, the coolness averting her attention from Reid and back to the decisions at hand. “Thank you so much for your assistance, Reid. You’ve been most helpful. Can we go home now?”
FIVE
“Home? Not advisable.” Reid opened his backseat door. “And I think I better drive.”
Samantha puffed hair out of her face, but she opened the driver’s-side door and stalked around the front of the Jeep to climb into the front passenger seat. “If we can’t go home, then where?”
“Not only would it be inappropriate to invite you to my place, but I don’t even have a place. There were a couple of leads for apartments to rent from the newspaper I was going to check out this afternoon, but I arrived in town a little later than I wanted, and then an unfortunate accident took over the rest of my day. It’s too late now to go knocking on a stranger’s door.” He pointed a stare at her. “What about your family? Parents? Siblings?”
He had dodged her questions to some extent so far. After all, who wanted to lay out all their sordid past for someone else�
�s evaluation? He had worked with the officers at HHPD for several years, and they didn’t even know the reason he rarely saw his father or how his mother had died. But with what he remembered and what he had seen tonight of the tenacious Samantha Callahan, he could be sure that if he spent much more time with her, there would be further interrogation.
She tore at a fingernail. “Out of town. Or unavailable.”
He clicked his seat belt into place, the clacking of metal in the catch echoing throughout the silence of the Jeep. Whoever had come up with the statistic that women said twelve thousand words a day compared to men’s five thousand obviously hadn’t met Samantha. Her quietness should have been comfortable for him, yet it was oddly unnerving. He shifted in his seat, seeking a comfortable position. None was to be found.
Perhaps another tactic would elicit some helpful information. “We ought, also, to be thinking of who might be trying to kidnap you and Lily. That could help us put an end to being on the run. Does he want just Lily or both of you?”
“From what I saw at the church and the way he looked at me, I would guess he wants us both. If he wanted just Lily, couldn’t he have grabbed her and stashed her away before I got there?”
“Sounds logical. But that doesn’t necessarily make the situation any better.”
Samantha turned in her seat, a softening shadowing her eyes. “Lily, honey, how’s your arm? Where that guy grabbed you?”
Lily slurped on the shake, drawing out the last few drops. “It’s all right, I guess. No biggie. But I sure don’t want that to happen again.”
“We’re going to do our best to keep it from happening again.”
We? Did that mean Samantha was going to stick around and let him help her? “It seems clear that whoever this is doesn’t want you dead. You said he shot out your back windshield. If he’s any good with a weapon, and we should assume that he is for our own safety, he could have hit either of you. But he didn’t.”
“That was my conclusion, as well.” She paused. “Of course, now we’re here with you, and he may not care about killing you.”
Under Duress Page 4