by Debra Webb
“I’ll drive. I have to make one more stop before we’re on our way.”
“Breakfast? I’m thinking we’ll both need our energy.” He glanced at his watch. “Stopping for breakfast would give me a chance to check my e-mail for yesterday’s lab results.”
9:00 a.m. She could eat. Funny, she hadn’t thought about food until he brought it up. Maybe falling back into her old persona wasn’t going to be as difficult as she’d first thought. Her focus had gotten a little keener in the last hour or so.
To keep him happy she cruised through a drive-through and took care of both their needs. Even if she had no appetite, she knew she should eat. He was a bit disappointed since he’d had a sit-down breakfast in mind, but her decision hadn’t kept him from pulling out his BlackBerry and checking his cyber inbox.
She took the long way to her next stop in hopes of avoiding more questions, but she should have known that wouldn’t work.
East L.A. wasn’t exactly Brentwood, and no matter what neighborhood she drove through to reach her final destination or Jeffrey’s preoccupation with remote-accessing his files, there was no way to hide the fact that they’d entered a whole different world. One where Doctors Olivia Mills and Jeffrey Scott did not belong.
“Good heavens, Olivia, where are we going now? I thought we were bound for a weekend in the mountains. Please tell me,” he said, his voice teasing, “that you’re only drawing out the foreplay.”
“This won’t take long, Jeffrey, I promise.”
He didn’t look totally convinced but he didn’t put up an argument.
Though it had been years since Olivia had carried a weapon the way most women would a stick of lip gloss, she wasn’t oblivious to the world around her. At times she’d driven through neighborhoods just like this to get a better grasp on where a patient had come from. Just because most of her patients were somewhat affluent now didn’t mean they always had been. A few had clawed their way up from the gutter.
To better understand their way of reasoning, she’d wanted to make herself fully aware of the environment in which they’d grown up. So she wasn’t entirely lost on this side of the city. Certainly she watched the news and read the newspaper; there wasn’t any real question as to where she would find what she needed. The only question was whether she would survive the encounter with those who did the selling.
She parked the SUV in front of a shop she recognized, not from its name but by what she saw in the front display window. Iron bars shielding reinforced glass. Warning signs that a guard dog was on the premises and that neither soliciting nor loitering would be tolerated.
“A pawnshop?”
A civilian would think that. The sign on the window even said so. But Olivia knew better.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Wait.” Jeffrey put his hand on her arm. “I don’t like this, Olivia.” He looked around at the dilapidated and deserted storefronts and the few pedestrians loitering in doorways. “This looks dangerous, even in daylight.”
Unfortunately danger had already found them. He just didn’t know it yet. If he would only stay cool a few more minutes. They were almost out of here. She needed to get him out of this city. She needed to contact Hamilton as quickly as possible. Time was their enemy.
More lies. “Don’t worry, Jeffrey. The man who owns this shop is a relative of the patient I was with last night. I just need to make sure he knows to stop in the hospital and check on his cousin. Family is very important during a crisis. I’ll only be a minute.”
He reached for the door handle. “I’ll go with you then. I certainly don’t want you going into a place like this alone.”
Damn. Not good. “Look, Jeffrey, this guy is skittish, as you might imagine.” The determination in those brown eyes told her that wasn’t going to be a good enough answer. “Bottom line—” she punted “—it comes down to doctor-patient privilege. I can’t really talk about the case in front of you. I’m certain you understand.”
That he understood. But he still didn’t like it. He surveyed the street again. “I’d feel more comfortable if you didn’t go in. Wouldn’t a phone call suffice?”
“I promised my patient I’d go see his relative personally. It’ll only take a moment.” She leaned forward and glanced first one way then the other. “Besides, I’m not so sure it would be a good idea to leave the vehicle unattended in this neighborhood.”
A sigh hissed past his lips. “I suppose you’re right. But—” he looked directly at her “—for the record, I don’t like this.”
She squeezed his hand. “I promise I’ll make up for putting you through this.”
He shook his head in defeat though a smile toyed with the corner of his mouth. “All right, you win, but be careful. I’ll be watching the door. If any hooligans go in after you, I’m coming in.”
“Good idea.” Olivia grabbed her handbag and climbed out. “I’ll be back in five minutes tops.” She noted the hooligans he referred to as she strode quickly to the shop entrance. Five, possibly six young men. If the city was open for business, so were they. Gang members probably, judging by their appearance. She’d parked almost directly in front of the entrance. She should be able to keep an eye on things out here and still do her business. She’d rather have taken Jeffrey inside with her, but she couldn’t do this with him there. He would definitely freak. She needed him far, far out of his comfort zone before she allowed him reason to give her trouble about her decisions.
The owner looked up as the bell above the door jingled. Olivia took a moment to glance back at Jeffrey, then performed a final swift visual sweep of the street. The handful of characters keeping the sidewalk from being totally deserted looked exactly like trouble, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
“This ain’t the Salvation Army.”
Olivia turned to the shop owner who’d spoken. A comedian. Great. She walked to the counter. “I need to preview your arms.”
He laughed and held out his tattooed limbs for her perusal. “Whatever gets you wet, honey. I have another limb that’s inked, too, if you’d like to see it.”
“Your firearms,” she clarified. If he’d had any question about her seriousness, the lethal stare she turned on was ample answer.
“You got a reference?” He looked uneasy now. Uncertain whether to provide the requested service, not quite sure he wanted to risk turning her down. California gun laws were some of the strictest in the nation, including a ten-day waiting period to buy a firearm. His guardedness was understandable.
She plopped her handbag on the counter. “You see this Louis Vuitton? Three grand.” She held up her right hand. “You don’t even want to know what this Rolex set me back.”
He didn’t look impressed or convinced.
“I have money to spend, my friend, a lot of money. Now, are we going to do business or do I need to go to the next block?”
He sent an anxious look at the door. “You could be a cop.”
“Please.” She grabbed her bag and hefted it onto her shoulder. “I don’t have time for this shit. Show me what you’ve got.”
Another glance at the door. “I’ll have to lock up and you’ll have to go in the back with me.”
“No way. Give me a description of your inventory. Better yet, I’ll tell you what I want. You can bring it out to me in this bag.” She reached into her handbag and retrieved the carefully folded shopping bag.
The owner made a choking sound that might have been a laugh. “You want me to fill your Neiman Marcus bag with guns?”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
All signs of amusement disappeared. “How do I know you have cash?”
She took the wad of cash she had in the right pocket of her jeans and smacked it onto the counter. “I need ammo for my 9mm Beretta. Binoculars, a hunting knife and maybe a .32 for backup. Oh, and I’ll need some metal handcuffs if you have them.”
He nodded, still a little uncomfortable with the transaction. “Need any night vision?”
&
nbsp; Her spirits lifted. Definitely. “How much?”
“Three more on top of what’s on the counter and I’ll set you up with everything you’ve asked for.”
Left-pocket contents as well as what was in her handbag joined the twenties on the counter. “That’s as good as it gets.” She’d just dropped nearly four grand on his battered counter. He’d have to be happy with that.
All signs of uneasiness were gone now, replaced by greed and hunger. He reached for the cash as well as her shopping bag. “Three minutes is all I’ll need.”
She held on to the bag a moment before letting it go. “Three minutes is all you’ll have if you try to fuck with me.” The tone was all Sheara…one she hadn’t used in a very long time.
The owner nodded and rushed to the back of his shop, the Neiman Marcus bag in hand.
Olivia moved to the door and checked on Jeffrey. No one appeared to have approached the SUV.
Once they were out of this town she would breathe a lot easier.
In less time than he’d proposed, the shop owner returned from his pilgrimage to the back of the store. He’d hardly made a sound, but she’d heard him. Her old instincts weren’t gone for good.
“Everything you asked for.” Careful to support the bottom of the bag, he settled it onto the counter. “You should take your stuff and go. Now.”
She approached the counter. “As soon as I’ve inspected everything.”
The muscles of his throat worked as he struggled to swallow. “Suit yourself.”
The .32 was brand-new. Plenty of ammo. Binoculars, good ones. The handcuffs jingled as she picked them up. “Keys?”
He nodded. “In the bag. Seriously, lady, you gotta get outta here.”
“In a minute.” She dropped the cuffs into the sack and reached for the coup de grâce, the night vision. Military. Seriously illegal but the best on the market.
“Excellent.” She hefted the bag into her arms.
Neither of them spoke as she exited the shop. No “come again” or “thanks for shopping with us” followed her out the door. But she hadn’t expected either.
She hit the remote unlock button and deposited her purchases on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat.
“I was beginning to get worried.” Jeffrey looked relieved that she’d returned to the vehicle. One glance at the guys still hanging out on the sidewalk a little farther up the block had him urging her to hurry. “Olivia, I think you should get in now so we can get out of here.”
She closed the back door and climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’m in. I did a little shopping while I was in there.”
Too engrossed in what might happen next, Jeffrey didn’t comment on the idea that she’d shopped in such a place. He depressed the lock button and heaved a relieved breath. “I feel immensely better now.”
It appeared he might have spoken too soon. As she started the engine two of the men from up the block pushed off the wall they’d been supporting and headed her way.
“Olivia, where’s that pepper spray you carry?” Jeffrey braced one hand against the dash and reached toward her purse with the other.
She grabbed his hand before it reached its destination. “Let’s just get out of here.” After a quick glance in the rearview mirror, she shifted into Reverse and floored the accelerator.
The Explorer lunged backward. She didn’t slow down until she’d reached the end of the block. She shifted into drive with a jerk and executed a U-turn in the middle of the street. Her foot slammed back onto the accelerator and they headed away from the jerks who had stopped chasing them and now stared after the Explorer.
It would have been difficult to say whether the guys simply wanted to have a good laugh by scaring them or if they’d intended more. No point hanging around to see. Her money was on the former. It was the perfect setup. Let the pawnshop owner sell the goods, then steal them back. He could sell the same items over and over. Who was going to report him? Certainly not those, like her, desperate enough to buy weapons illegally.
“That was…” Jeffrey twisted around in his seat, the safety belt restricting his movements, to verify that they weren’t being followed. “Amazing. I’ve never seen anyone back up that far—at that speed—without crashing!” He craned his head to the right and then to the left as if she’d given him whiplash while accomplishing the feat he’d just witnessed with such admiration. “I’ll never again doubt your ability to get out of a sticky situation.”
“I only knew I had to get out of there.”
Yet another lie. She’d had extensive training in just that sort of maneuver in her former life.
Jeffrey chuckled. “I guess we’re just lucky you had the presence of mind to think of it, much less do it.”
She made a noncommittal sound. Luck had nothing to do with their survival thus far, but she would take all the good fortune fate decided to toss her way.
“At least we can breathe easy now,” he said as they took an exit to the freeway. “We’re out of the woods.”
He just didn’t know. They were far from out of the woods. The real trouble hadn’t even started yet.
Chapter 4
“It’s 2:00 a.m. We’ve been driving for seventeen hours, Olivia. Why don’t we stop for the night? You must be completely exhausted. I know I am and I haven’t driven the first mile.”
Olivia had pushed this mystery-getaway excuse just about as far as she could. Jeffrey’s anticipation had given way to impatience. They’d been traveling east on I-40 since leaving L.A. She had nineteen, maybe twenty more hours to go before reaching her destination.
“We’ll stop in Memphis.”
“Tennessee?”
Looking at him in the dimly lit interior of the car wasn’t necessary. His incredulous tone said it all.
“Yes, Memphis, Tennessee.”
He sat up straighter in his seat.
Not a good sign. But then she’d known this moment would come. That he’d been working on his BlackBerry for hours was likely all that had gotten her this far without more questions. Jeffrey often got lost in his work.
“I’m sorry, but something is very wrong here. Why are we driving to Memphis, Tennessee? We should have flown if going cross-country was your plan.” He shifted so that he looked directly at her profile. “Are you sure there isn’t something you need to tell me?”
At least he still sounded open to whatever she had in mind, if not understanding of her reasoning for choosing this particular mode of transportation. She would love to have flown, but she needed to be armed. The two didn’t mix. There was a time when she’d had contacts all over the country but she couldn’t count on any of that now. Trust was hard earned in the business of assassination and black market transactions. Absence did not make the heart grow fonder in this instance. Being out of the network for a time then reappearing abruptly got one killed more often than not. And there was the fact that public transportation carried a higher risk of being tracked. It was impossible to walk into an airport or train station without a camera recording one’s every move. Even bus stations had beefed up security. All of which was a good thing, unless one’s intent was getting away unnoticed.
The dealer she’d done business with in L.A. didn’t know her, past or present. She would not risk running into trouble with an old contact. Never depend on anyone, never count on anything to last. The last time she’d depended on anyone she’d lost everything…including her life.
“You’re right, Jeffrey,” she confessed, aware she’d gone as far as she could with her current ruse. “Something is wrong.” All she had to do now was figure out a convincing story.
“Did you lose that patient last night? Is that what this strange behavior is about?”
She could see where he might think that. Careful to keep the necessary attention on the road, she hedged, “I didn’t lose a patient, but there was an incident. I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to drive. Can we do this at the hotel in Memphis? I’ll explain everything then.”
He didn’t answer immediately. She knew he was weighing her words, wrestling with a decision that would please her while still placating his logic. Jeffrey was a very careful man. He never did anything random. His nature was exacting, logical and ordered. Taking a last-minute weekend away was about as spontaneous as he got. But those were just more of the traits she’d appreciated about him. She’d needed reliable.
“I’m worried about your emotional stability just now, Olivia. This isn’t like you at all.”
Well, damn.
“But we’ve come this far. I don’t see any reason why we can’t continue to Memphis,” she offered, appealing to that firm logic. “We can go to Graceland,” she teased, hoping it would lighten the moment.
“This is no joking matter. I feel strongly about getting to the bottom of what’s motivating this irrational behavior. You must tell me what happened.”
He was right about one thing. This wasn’t like Olivia Mills. This wasn’t even like Sheara. Olivia wasn’t at all sure she could be that person again. But somehow she had to try…for Jeffrey’s sake as well as her own.
She hadn’t wanted to do this part yet, but he wasn’t leaving her much choice.
“Jeffrey, there are things you don’t know about my past that I can’t, for security reasons, tell you. The one thing you need to know is that you are in grave danger and I’m trying to help you.”
The dead silence that followed her admission wasn’t what she’d hoped for but there it was.
Then he burst into laughter.
Well, hell. She kicked back the fatigue clawing at her and kept her mouth shut while he got it all out.
“Okay.” He fought to control the outburst and to catch his breath. “I’m sorry, but that’s unbelievable. What are you up to?”
She weighed whether or not to attempt convincing him further. When they didn’t return to L.A. by Monday he wouldn’t think any part of this was funny. Did she go ahead and give him the whole truth now and deal with the reaction, or did she wait until something happened to persuade him? Men were visual creatures after all.