Mind of Danger (Body of Danger, #3)

by Bristol, Sidney

  The message had been clear. And she intended to be the one to wrap this up.

  She liked undercover work, but this was too much. She didn’t have the experience nor the support for a job like this. If her superiors weren’t going to get her out, she’d end the case herself.

  Her phone vibrated.

  She stared at the screen for a moment, stuck on the realization almost forty-five minutes had passed.

  “You going to answer that?” Isaac grumbled.

  “Get ready to move.” She clicked the answer button and a flurry of butterflies swarmed in her chest. “Hey.”

  Damn her too breathy voice.

  Elias’ voice was a comforting rumble. “Hey, so I’m out in the parking lot.”

  “Do you see the employee entrance? The walk-through one?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Could you pick us up there? Right there, I mean?”

  There was a pause, and Jo knew Elias had just caught on. She hated that this was how she was seeing him again. Granted, he probably didn’t think about her at all, which was fair. It wasn’t like she’d ever gone out of her way to get his attention. He didn’t know she’d nursed this silly crush all these years.

  She didn’t want to use him. But he was on the short list of people she’d trust no matter the time or place.

  “I’ll be there. I’m in the black Chrysler 300.”

  “Wow.” The word popped out before she could stop herself.

  “I know,” Elias groaned. “It’s a company car.”

  “Okay. We’ll come out in a few. And... Elias?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Any time.”

  The call ended.

  She closed her eyes and mourned for what she was about to lose. Elias would have questions she couldn’t answer. She was very likely burning this bridge.

  Jo had to.

  It was that, or this job might very well kill her.

  “Ride’s here,” she announced to Isaac.

  “Fucking finally,” he muttered.

  She ignored her irritable companion and crossed to the door.

  The two cars were still out there, just as they’d been before. She could make out two people in the front seat of either vehicle. And now a third. A black Chrysler 300 cutting between them and the cars watching them.

  Jo held her breath as Elias navigated the car so that it was as close to the entry as possible. At this hour there wasn’t much foot traffic. Of course she’d thought that would be a bonus when she made this plan, back when she assumed she was one of the first out of the gate.

  She snatched her backpack up off the floor and glanced around. They’d been allowed to remain in the hangar after paying off some of the flight crew. Now it was time to make their move.

  “Come on,” she said to Isaac.

  “You first.”

  She rolled her eyes and reached under her jacket, gripping her Glock.

  One well-aimed shot and she’d be dead before she even saw Elias again.

  “Stay close,” she said over her shoulder.

  Jo darted out the side door. She stuck to the deeper shadows of the building and jogged toward the exit, doing her best to keep anything between her and those other cars.

  The closer she got, the less stuff there was to hide behind until it was forty feet of asphalt.

  She was beyond playing it safe.

  Jo pushed forward, going from a slow jog to a sprint. Isaac was behind her, cursing and muttering to himself. He wasn’t abandoning her, that was for sure a good sign.

  Thirty feet and so far it was clear.

  Twenty feet and the car to the east turned its headlights on.

  At fifteen feet, the other car lurched out of its parking space.

  Jo threw herself forward, her mind blaring all the worst possible outcomes at her.

  She clawed at the front door, yanked it open and collapsed into the car.

  “Get out of here, man,” Isaac yelled from the back seat with one leg still hanging out of the car.

  To Elias’s credit, he reacted immediately. One glance at her. One at Isaac. Then the car shot forward.

  Jo knew she should be checking license plates and trying to identify who was watching her, but she only had eyes for Elias. With the dome light still on, she could see his profile and with it came all the memories she’d locked away of him. All those moments she’d stolen a bit of time with him or watched him without his knowledge.

  His sandy brown hair was longer, falling over his brow now. Deep lines creased his face and his lips curved into a frown. He was still so very handsome to her.

  Damn, but he looked as good, if not better, than the first day she’d seen him stretched out on that cot.

  WEDNESDAY. SEATTLE, Washington.

  God damn.

  Elias gripped the wheel tightly, his gaze focused on the road, while his entire body was hyperaware of the woman next to him.

  Her deep, auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail, making her facial features more prominent. She had this look about her, like she might be a pixie with her slightly pointed nose and tendency to squint. Her grey-blue eyes were burned into his memory, shining with a mischievous light that had always endeared her to him.

  How long had it been? Three, five years?

  He wouldn’t say that Jo looked the same, but it was damn good to get to see her. Good enough that he momentarily forgot all of his questions.

  “I think we’re good,” the man in the backseat said.

  Elias clenched his jaw.

  Right.

  Jo was traveling with a guy.

  Who was he to her? A boyfriend? Husband? Friend? Coworker? A brother he’d never heard about?

  Bright headlights reflected back at him in the rearview mirror.

  Elias squinted at the road and then his mirrors.

  Jo had her hands braced on the armrest and door and her feet against the floorboard. She was prepared for anything and watching for a threat. Elias assessed everything in a single glance. Something was wrong. Jo was normally cool under pressure. She had a level head and didn’t sweat things until they were dire. If he could see she was worried, things were bad.

  He turned the car suddenly down a narrow alley way.

  Given how often they had to traverse the city in high conflict situations, one aspect of Elias’ job had been to develop alternate routes to get where they needed to be.

  The car directly behind them swerved wildly to make the turn, but it cost them distance and speed.

  “At least one of them is following us,” Elias said, stating the obvious.

  “What?” the guy in the back seat croaked out.

  “Chill out, Isaac,” Jo snapped.

  “Friends or what?” Elias peered into the rearview mirror.

  He hadn’t been able to discern much about the car behind them. Four doors. Dark color. No idea about the make or model.

  Damn. Talk about being off his game.

  He took his foot off the accelerator as they neared the alley exit onto the next city street.

  This close to the airport during the holidays, the streets were busy. Not packed, but there weren’t breaks in the traffic.

  “Hold on,” Elias said, then pressed the accelerator.

  “Wait,” Jo yelped.

  He didn’t wait.

  The car shot out into traffic. The tires squealed as he executed a tight turn into the right most lane, cutting off a sleek two door sports car. The driver slammed on the horn, but Elias didn’t care. He cut left, barely squeezing into a car sized space between two trucks.

  “I don’t know where the other car is. Keep a look out for that one,” he said.

  “We’re going to die,” Isaac moaned.

  “We are not,” Jo snapped. “Now, shut up and put your seat belt on.”

  “What’s going on here, Jo?” he asked.

  It was time for some answers.

  When Jo didn’t jump in with an explanation, he stol
e a glance at her.

  Jo’s face was twisted and creased in a full-body cringe.

  Either she couldn’t tell him because of who was in the car, or she wouldn’t tell him because of the nature of what she was doing.

  She darted a look his way, and he saw fear in her eyes. Jo the Fearless was afraid.

  Fuck.

  “Elias? You’re the only person I can trust right now,” she said.

  There was a note of desperation in her voice that told him this was serious. Real trouble. And she firmly believed what she was saying. He was her last hope. A woman like Jo didn’t need to ask for help often.

  He shouldn’t have second guessed her. His feelings about her had no place in this moment.

  Elias would protect her. He didn’t need to know what she was doing to know that her life was worth protecting.

  He reached over and briefly covered her hand, gripping her arm rest with his. “We’re going to be okay.”

  “Of course we are.” She mustered a smile for him. “You’re here now.”

  God, if he could frame a moment in time, it would be this one.

  Despite whatever stress she was under, her eyes were alight with life. Her smile was brave. And she looked at him like she believed those words, like he hadn’t failed their whole unit by getting hurt.

  He turned the wheel hard again, breaking away from the busier streets.

  Another car turned after them not five seconds later.

  “Shit,” he muttered. “Hold on.”

  He turned again, left now, then right again at the first opportunity. He waited until he saw headlights on the windows of a shop before making another right turn, sending them back across the busy city street.

  Ahead of them, the light flipped yellow.

  “Elias.” Jo’s voice rose.

  The light went red.

  He slammed on the accelerator, shooting through the intersection to the tune of blaring car horns.

  Elias blew out the breath he’d been holding.

  They had a little lead now. Not much of one, but enough.

  “I think—”

  He never heard the gunshot, but there was no mistaking the bullet that blew through the back window for what it was.

  A declaration of war.

  2.

  Wednesday. Seattle, Washington.

  This could not be happening.

  Jo sucked down air as she stared at the side mirror and the car behind them.

  Why had she dragged Elias into all of this? Why was she still involved in this stupid case?

  “Holy shit. Holy shit!” Isaac chanted.

  Jo shook her head and bits of glass fell out of her hair.

  “Keep your head down,” she snarled at Isaac.

  It was because of creeps like him that she had to do undercover work to begin with. People who wanted to take advantage of others, steal from them, even kill them. They were the worst. And pretending to be one of them for this long was killing her.

  She saw the blast of muzzle fire in the mirror.

  “Watch out,” she blurted at the same time Elias swerved.

  The bullet hit the rear of the car. It was a sound she was familiar with, unfortunately.

  Jo had feared that those after the boss’ prize might try to thin the herd a bit. It wasn’t uncommon to eliminate competition.

  Well, two could play that game.

  She yanked her gun out of the holster and released the catch on her seatbelt.

  “Jo,” Elias said with a note of warning.

  “Just drive.”

  He knew her too well. Even after all this time.

  It felt good to be known. For him to recognize the core that was still, and would always be her no matter what role she had to play.

  Jo twisted in her seat and lowered the window. She flinched as another shot pinged against the car.

  Anger gave her an inner calm, almost like a barrier of white hot fire insulating her from all her distracting thoughts and feelings. She held tight to the fire, mentally channeling it down her arms and into the gun weighing her hand down.

  “Bump, be careful,” Elias said.

  She paused, waiting until she felt the dip and bump in the road.

  That was her cue.

  She leaned out of the window, knee on the seat, body braced on the door, and aimed at the car behind them. She saw the moment the other car hit the bump. The passenger’s arm waved wildly out of the window.

  This was her moment.

  Jo aimed and as she exhaled, squeezed the trigger.

  The sensation of the gun firing and the recoil were comforting, familiar sensations. She’d been trained for combat. This was what she knew best.

  Bring it on.

  She steadied her grip and fired again.

  This time she saw the sparks from where the bullet hit the hood of the car.

  “Turning,” Elias called out.

  Jo collapsed back into the car just in time to hold tight as they squealed around another turn.

  “We’re going to die,” Isaac wailed.

  “Shut up or I might kill you,” Jo snarled. She wouldn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Where’s the other car?” Elias’ voice was calm, yet he was watching the road and all his mirrors with a deadly focus.

  “No idea. Hopefully they weren’t working together,” she said.

  “That’s a possibility?”

  “It’s what I’m hoping.” Because she didn’t want to think about running from two sources.

  Light filled the back window.

  Elias nodded. “Here they come again.”

  Jo grabbed the door, but this time didn’t extend her torso through. If she were following someone, she’d be watching for that vulnerable moment when the gunman was reaching for the shot.

  “Hold on,” Elias said.

  Jo gripped the door. She caught sight of a gun back-lit against the city lights and the bright burst of muzzle fire. Elias swerved.

  Where had those shots gone? What about civilians?

  “We need to stop this,” she snarled.

  “Working on it,” Elias said.

  She mentally kicked herself. This wasn’t his fault. He was doing more than what she’d asked for.

  “Isaac, right?” Somehow he had the calmest voice. It had always been this way, no matter the situation.

  “Yeah.”

  “Take your jacket off. There might be a baseball cap under the driver’s seat. I need you to put it on.”

  Jo lurched toward the door, leaning low and out of the window. She stared down the sights and squeezed the trigger once, then again.

  She had to put a stop to this. She couldn’t let anyone get hurt because of what she was doing. Because she couldn’t handle her job.

  “Got it,” Isaac said.

  The pursuing car slowed, making it easier to aim. She fired a third shot. This time she knew she hit something under the hood because smoke curled upward.

  Jo let herself collapse onto the seat.

  Elias grinned at her. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  “Who the hell are you people?” Isaac moaned.

  Jo grabbed her seatbelt. “Shut up already.”

  “Get ready to move,” Elias said.

  “What?” She blinked at him. “Where are we going?”

  “We might be clear of them for now, but it won’t take long to trace the car back to me. We need to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere they won’t look for you.”

  Jo cringed. “God, Elias, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”

  “From the look of it, I’m glad you called in some back-up.” He glanced at her. “You ever learn to not over-extend?”

  She reached over and rubbed her arm over the scar. “Yeah. Okay, what are you thinking?”

  “In here.” Elias whipped the car around a turn, then kept going in a circle, right down into a parking garage with a spiraling descent.

  “I can take it f
rom here,” she said. “You don’t have to get involved any farther.”

  He snorted. “You honestly think I’m going to do that?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “It’s worth offering.”

  Jo hated how relieved she felt to have someone she could actually trust at her back. In the same moment, guilt threatened to drown her. Elias didn’t deserve to get sucked into her mess.

  Elias didn’t respond to her. He got off the ramp several floors down on an almost deserted level and killed the engine.

  “Come on. Let’s move quick. Got the hat, Isaac?” Elias pushed open the driver’s side door.

  Jo holstered her weapon and reached into her backpack for her own knit cap.

  The passenger side door opened and Elias stood there, holding his coat out for her. “Here.”

  The offer made her pause.

  One of the tricks when trying to avoid detection was an outfit change. Though not as dramatic and complicated as the movies made it seem.

  Hair long and out?

  Hide it under a hat.

  Wearing a sweater and jeans?

  Throw an oversized hoodie over it to add bulk and disguise gender.

  Small spy craft tricks civilians never had to think about.

  “Thanks.” She stood and shoved her arms into the coat.

  Elias took that opportunity to snag her backpack and toss it over his shoulder.

  “I can carry that,” she said.

  “They’ll be looking for a woman carrying a maroon backpack,” he said.

  She blinked at him, trying to figure out just what the hell he’d been doing to learn these tricks.

  “We can talk later,” he said by way of an explanation.

  She nodded and accepted the fact that this wasn’t as quick of a favor as she’d hoped it would be. Truth was, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to herself that she was happy for his company.

  “Come on. We need to move. Now,” Elias said.

  Isaac stood at the rear of the car. “Who the hell are you?”

  Elias’s tone hardened. “Do you want me asking that question?”

  Jo almost fanned herself.

  Okay, so Elias taking the hardline tone was kind of hot.

  “Which way?” she asked.

  “Over here.”