Night Moves
Night Moves
HelenKay Dimon
Night Moves
HelenKay Dimon
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover (#u50890615-e59d-57ab-9a75-17b49f12fc29)
Title Page (#u5219dc62-58da-5ecd-bee1-6c1b8ce4f0fa)
About the Author (#ulink_bd3e24bb-a99f-5aac-9a3f-972009eb364d)
Dedication (#u97622242-1891-523b-ad09-e49dc98b4e51)
Chapter One (#ulink_8f9e5a08-7ab3-5c9c-a029-2f8f1afdefea)
Chapter Two (#ulink_23962b42-8d92-505c-bf51-c179543fca9f)
Chapter Three (#ulink_ee153810-afb4-536a-bab6-b0af811599ed)
Chapter Four (#ulink_c15424e7-51f2-5a51-af9c-7df685d7486c)
Chapter Five (#ulink_e581ee99-542b-5b4c-a360-b23fb104e580)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author
Award-winning author HELENKAY DIMON spent twelve years in the most unromantic career ever—divorce lawyer. After dedicating all of that effort to helping people terminate relationships, she is thrilled to deal in happy endings and write romance novels for a living. Now her days are filled with gardening, writing, reading and spending time with her family in and around San Diego. HelenKay loves hearing from readers, so stop by her website at www.helenkaydimon.com and say hello.
Many thanks to Ethan Ellenberg for gently guiding my career in this direction and to Denise Zaza for giving me this opportunity. My great appreciation also goes to Shawna Rice for answering all my newbie questions.
To Mica, Wendy, Kassia, Stephanie and Jill—you prove every single day that women who read and write romance are incredibly smart and insightful. Sharing the ups and downs of this career with you all is a pleasure.
Thank you to Judy Duarte for saying the right thing at the right time. Your comments were invaluable.
As always, thank you and big hugs to James for all your love and support.
Chapter One (#ulink_ebe287ad-f1d5-5365-a95b-5a05424e9082)
“Tell me how much she knows.”
“She is a very able student.” Dr. Langdon Hammer felt a surge of pride at having picked his assistant. Maura Lindsey possessed multiple degrees and a significant amount of research experience. Not just any lab could secure the services of such a dedicated and knowledgeable young doctor.
Of course, the very reasons that made her ideal as a professional also made her a problem now. Being brilliant would be her downfall.
“I’m talking about professionally, Hammer.”
“So am I. She works with me every day. Just work.” Dr. Hammer didn’t bother to look up from the computer keyboard. He couldn’t type if he couldn’t see the letters, and he had to move fast. The man standing in front of him didn’t like having his time wasted.
Just thinking about the man’s plans made Dr. Hammer’s fingers trip over the keys and accidentally erase an entire column of data. This was why he had an assistant. Entering information and other menial tasks fell to her.
“Tell me about her access to your work. How much does she see?” the other man asked.
Dr. Hammer’s hand hesitated over the delete key. “All of it.”
“Does she understand the ramifications of your findings?”
“Of course.” As if he would hire someone incapable of grasping a world-changing scientific breakthrough. Stupid people annoyed him.
The other man paced the small space across from Dr. Hammer, the only section of the office not blocked by stacks of books and papers. “Then she’s the logical choice for this.”
Dr. Hammer tried one last time to argue for her. “She is invaluable to my research.”
“Everyone is replaceable.”
Dr. Hammer pushed back in his chair and focused solely on the conversation. The disturbing turn had his full attention now. “Not everyone.”
“There are others with the same level of expertise as you.”
“Hardly.”
“With enough assistance, they can reach your level.”
“That would take years, possibly decades, and even then it’s doubtful. On the other hand, there is no question about my success. I have achieved it.”
“Which is why we came to you.” The man traced his finger over the top of the crystal award sitting on the edge of Dr. Hammer’s desk. “But you would be wise to remember the extent of my resources. The reach of my power.”
Dr. Hammer swallowed back the lump of fear that had been forming since the other man walked into the office. “I am.”
“Then we understand each other.”
“Yes.”
The man’s twisted grin resembled that of a pouncing animal. “Dr. Lindsey will continue to help you. She just needs to be dead to do it.”
MAURA LINDSEY READ OVER the paragraph a second time. She didn’t need her two doctorate degrees and a genius-level IQ to recognize something was very wrong at the Systems Institute, the government lab where she worked.
Since the task of inputting information, complying with regulations and keeping track of the paperwork fell to her, there was no way this amounted to a simple misunderstanding. Altered data and wrong conclusions. It was all right there in front of her. No matter how many times she blinked, the words in the file didn’t change. Her boss, Dr. Langdon Hammer, had prepared a false interim report on their organ transplant research for the National Institutes of Health. The same report he hid from her.
He had always been eccentric. Grumpy and brilliant, private and utterly focused on his research to the point of distraction over everything except, maybe, his new wife. Married or not, he definitely was not a people person and lately he added secretive to his list of unattractive attributes.
Maura ignored the sharp change in his temperament at first. She understood the pressure of working long lonely hours in a sterile lab in the rush for groundbreaking scientific developments. But she didn’t understand the lies.
She stood in the center of Dr. Hammer’s office with two sets of notes in her hands. The real ones and the ones her boss compiled for his progress report. His fake progress report.
She only saw one solution—take the documents and review them somewhere else. It was a violation of her employment, and she hated to take the risk, but if Dr. Hammer saw her pawing through his papers or suspected she had questions, she might never get the answers she needed. She’d go home, spread everything out across her dining-room table and study the data. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation. If not, she’d get someone high up in NIH to listen to her concerns.
Heavy footsteps fell in the hallway, breaking into her mental plotting. The unknown visitor didn’t stop or question the light being on in Dr. Hammer’s office. The quick pace suggested running and no one ran in the Institute. Other than a few offices—most of which were empty—and a small area for administrative and computer work, the main floor consisted only of lab space. And only two people worked there. Dr. Hammer insisted on keeping the people with access to his findings to a minimum.
The floor above housed another lab engaged in unrelated government research on top-secret projects, but it was ten o’clock on Saturday night. Only people without a life were in the building now, and that meant she was alone except for the security guard at the front door.
“Tom?” When he didn’t answer, Maura tried again. “Hello?”
She gathered up all the files on Dr. Hammer’s desk and shoved them under her arm. She wanted to download everything from her boss’s computer onto a drive, but the usual password didn’t work. Seemed the absent-minded scientist had instituted some new security protocols that day without telling her. Since the man could barely order lunch without someone dialing the phone for him, she feared what was happening might involve Dr. Hammer using outside resources, which violated just about every clause of his confidentiality agreement and employment contract with the government.
But she’d figure that out later. Right now, she had to move.
Being as quiet as possible, she peeked out the office doorway, then slid into the hallway. If someone who shouldn’t be running around was out there, she sure didn’t want to meet up with him. Getting caught with stolen documents was not the way for her to keep her job, and she had worked too hard to get this assignment to lose it now.
Being attacked by a crazed burglar was not on her agenda, either.
She listened for any noise. She expected the natural sounds of the building to echo back to her. A creak here or there. The hum of lights and machines. An occasional ring of a phone. She heard nothing, and in this case, that was a very bad thing. The deadly stillness set off a whirl of panic in her stomach.
She took a few steps and glanced down to the far end of the hallway. All the doors along the way to the private offices remained closed. The steel entry to the lobby area looked to be locked up tight. The lights on the alarm panel next to it flashed green, just like they were supposed to do.
That direction checked out. So, she looked over her shoulder, back the other way to the matching panel at the opposite end of the corridor. It was the one closest to her and it led to the lab, and it was deadly dark.
Problem found.
No whistles or screaming bells. The fingerprint scanner was in place but not lit up as usual. The fact that the door stood wide open qualified as the biggest problem of the moment. She couldn’t see inside, but didn’t have to. They kept the door locked. Always.
The potential danger of the situation hit her with a clarity that threatened to knock her over, even as her brain struggled to analyze what she was seeing. Not trusting her mind to sort it all out fast enough, she fumbled in her lab-coat pocket, searching for her cell phone to call the police. It wasn’t there. As usual, she’d put it down somewhere and lost track of it. Her brother insisted that habit would get her in trouble one day. She feared that day had come.
She was stuck away from the phones with nothing more than a stack of papers in her hands for protection. Defenseless and alone, the combination sent her mind spinning. Her usual calm abandoned her in favor of grinding panic. Every inch of her shook with the need to escape and find help.
She felt her way along the wall as she inched down the hallway toward the lobby and freedom. Her breath pounded in her chest, scratching her throat raw. A squeak of shoes against the tile floor stopped her. She bit down on her tongue to keep from shouting for Tom. He would have answered her before if he could have. He wouldn’t play around in the lab.
No, this was someone else—stalking, hiding, waiting for her.
Forget quiet. She needed speed. She ran back into Dr. Hammer’s office and headed for the phone. Before she could reach for the receiver, a deafening whoosh thundered up the hall, shattering glass in its wake. As she struggled to see what was happening, a huge boom rattled the building. The ground beneath her shook with enough force to buckle her knees and send vibrations up her legs.
A second explosion sent her body flying into Dr. Hammer’s huge mahogany desk. Her middle smacked into the edge, stealing her breath and scattering papers around her feet. Her vision swirled at the edges as she fell to the floor. For a second, she closed her eyes, hoping to open them again and find out this was nothing more than a nightmare.
A harsh banging brought her back to the present. Smoke filled the hallway and heat enveloped her. She choked on the foul air as she looked around. She tried to process the events of the last few minutes but her mind refused to function.
One thing was clear. She had to get out of there. Crackling sounded all around her as the building heaved and groaned. If she didn’t find fresh air and get out soon, she’d be crushed or burned alive. She refused to be a victim of either option.
On her hands and knees, she crawled across shards of glass and ignored the edges as they bit into her skin. She drew up a mental floor plan of the office and aimed for where the window should be. She’d crash through it if she had to. Anything to get outside and away from the building before it imploded.
With her mouth tucked into the sleeve of her coat, she lifted to her feet in a bent-over crouch. From this position she could see what remained of the office space. Nothing separated it from the hall now. The wall between Dr. Hammer’s office and hers had collapsed, leaving a blown-out opening. Fire danced in every inch of her room as bright orange flames raced up her walls, swallowing her framed degrees and bookshelves in one hot gulp.
If she had been where she was supposed to be, she’d be dead. Snooping had saved her.
Ceiling tiles fell from above her head, barely missing her. The walls were buckling. The thundering mix of fire and falling debris filled her ears. The taste of soot lingered on her tongue. There would be nothing left soon, including her, if she didn’t jump through the window. The glass had shattered leaving ragged edges. Using her elbow, she cleared a path and wiggled out the small opening. A final pop propelled her outside, throwing her through the air until she landed hard on her right side on the grassy area outside.
Pain crushed in on her from every angle as she rolled as far away from the burning structure as possible. She hurt everywhere. Her mind reeled and fingers burned. When she looked down, she saw the death grip she had on some of those files. Through all the shock and the explosions, she had held on. The realization sent a wave of relief through her. She didn’t know where the papers fit together with the explosions, but she sensed on some level they did.
She dropped her head back and tried to gather the energy to get up. Smoke spiraled into the dark sky. Alarms hadn’t sounded, but she held out hope someone had heard the crashing booms that even now continued to sound, or saw the flames licking against the cloudless night.
Their building sat at the end of a long private drive in McLean, Virginia. The secluded setting ensured security, or that was the theory. Now the isolation worked against her, guaranteeing that precious data she needed would be lost before the fire department got word and came screaming to the scene.
When she lifted her head again and glanced around, she could make out the outline of a large SUV near the entrance to the building. It was a car that hadn’t been there when she checked in earlier. A second later, three people piled out of the front door in a rush. The bright lights of the outside parking area let her see what was happening. She recognized the straight-backed and serious steps of Dr. Hammer. He wasn’t injured. If anything, he maintained his usual even pace while the men around him tried to hustle him.
Before she could call out his name, one of the other men opened the back door of the vehicle and signaled for Dr. Hammer to get in. With one last long look at the Institute, he slipped in and closed the door. The SUV took off, leaving her alone and the disaster behind.
Maura tried to put the bits she knew together in a reasonable story, but the last hour didn’t make any sense. Dr. Hammer’s precious work was vanishing in front of him and he didn’t show any more concern than he did on a normal day when he left the office. More important, he didn’t seem to notice her car was in the parking lot while the building was on fire. Either he didn’t care that she could be injured or dead or worse, he wanted her to be.
She couldn’t figure out why, but she knew everything had gone wrong. This was more than a problem with the interim report. This went deeper. The fire and the false data were connected somehow. Had to be.
Anxiety flooded through her, making every cell in her body quake and tremble. She didn’t know who to trust or where to go.
No, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly where to go and who could help her untangle the mess.
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder and aches everywhere else, she rolled to her knees. She had to get up and go to Liam. She’d run away from him for years, but now she needed him. Liam would know what to do.
The plan set, she shot up too fast. Dizziness slammed through her the second her feet hit the ground. The move sent her back to her knees. She tried to gulp in air, but it was too late. The shot of adrenaline that guided her through the last few minutes had worn off, leaving behind a blinding headache and exhaustion she couldn’t shake.
When her elbows gave out, she fell back to the ground and stayed there, staring up into the black night. Yes, Liam would help. She repeated that mantra until she convinced herself it was true. Now she had to convince him.
Chapter Two (#ulink_0cbca87c-4cc8-538e-9d67-bacbe672645a)
Liam Anderson had been to more memorial services than he could count. A devastated family, shocked loved ones. He knew the drill and always steeled himself against getting sucked into the sad aftermath of someone else’s violent end. But the last twenty hours had been different.
This wasn’t about paying his respects to a victim’s family in a case. This was about getting through those initial horrible hours after the bad news came. This was for Maura, his best friend’s sister.
Twenty-four and dead. It didn’t seem possible. Sitting there and watching Dan descend into madness made it real for Liam. His friend had spent almost every hour in a drunken haze since getting the unbelievable news. Dan only sobered up this afternoon when the police showed up a second time, changed tactics and started asking questions about Maura’s background. They danced around the accusations but it was clear they believed she had something to do with the explosion.
Liam provided support and an ear. Even got pissed off on Maura’s behalf at the accusations. Keeping Dan from crawling all over the cops proved harder. Liam left only after Dan had settled down, but planned to return to Dan’s house after a shower and change of clothes. Keeping Dan sane was the only way Liam knew to beat back his own feelings.
Maura had run from him and now she was gone forever. He would never have a chance to apologize and make things right for what happened nine years earlier. Never get to know the woman she’d become. He’d be stuck with only the memories of a brokenhearted girl.
He shook his head as he slammed his car door. What a waste.
Within two steps, Liam realized something was off at his house. He was a security expert, after all. It was his business to notice things, to sense danger, analyze it and diffuse it. His gaze swept over the front lawn and up the porch to his door. He visually checked his alarm and the other traps he set around the entrance every time he went out, but nothing seemed obviously out of place there.
Still, the prickling sensation didn’t ease. He’d learned long ago to pay attention when a sharp pain whacked him between the shoulder blades. He failed to listen exactly one time in his professional life and had the scar on his leg to prove it. He intended to heed the warning this time.
Unfortunately, his weapons all sat securely inside. He’d never imagined he’d need a gun today. Violence should take one day off.
He scanned the area again, looking for any change no matter how small. The gate to the side yard on the right of his place caught his attention. Every time he closed it, he pulled it tight enough for the gate to swing inside the yard slightly. The gate hung even with the fence now. That meant someone had used the walkway to get to his backyard, outside of the view of the street.
Smart, but not smart enough.
The fact the alarm had not been tripped made him think the burglar never made it inside the house. Liam hoped like hell the guy was still around. It would feel good to pound someone right about now, to work out all of his aggression and anger at Maura’s loss.
Liam knew he had surprise on his side. His dark jeans would provide some camouflage but the white oxford would give his position away. The important thing was he had the freedom of movement he needed to get the jump on whoever wanted inside his house.
If he disengaged the alarm it would beep, so he decided to go with the soundless option: circle around the left side and hunt this guy down from the outside. No need to dissect the plan. He got moving.
He lifted the latch and stalked along the side of the house, careful not to tip off anyone to his location. His feet fell quiet against the soft grass as he inched along the red-brick wall. When he reached the corner, he peeked around to the patio and saw a figure slumped in one of his deck chairs. All he could make out were slats of wood and a mop of brown hair.
He pounced, hitting the deck at a dead run. At the last minute, his unwanted visitor turned around. Recognition washed through him, but it was too late for Liam to change his path. He crashed into the chair, sending them both careening toward the hardwood floor. Liam managed to twist his body and shoulder most of the impact, but they both went down with a humph.
He groaned as his muscles recovered from the jolt. “Maura?”
She sprawled on top of him not moving.
“Hey!” He held on to her and struggled to sit up despite his awkward position, and about a hundred-thirty pounds of extra weight piled on top of him. “Are you okay?”
She mumbled something that sounded like words but didn’t make much sense.
Her long hair hung down in her face, but at least she was alive. “What are you doing back here? Why aren’t you at Dan’s house? The police think—”
Her chest rose and fell on heavy breaths as she stared at him. “Do you welcome everyone that way?”
Liam shook his head, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Who he was seeing. “What the hell is going on?”
“That tackle wasn’t as bad as the fire, but close.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.” Not the brightest conversation starter ever, but he figured it got the job done.
Confusion cleared from her eyes. “Well, I’m not.”
He gave her a little squeeze then shifted her to the side and off his injured leg as gently as possible. He took a long look at her. He rarely saw her despite his relationship with Dan. When he did, Liam was struck by a beautiful woman with a round face and big chocolate-brown eyes. Curvy, with shiny hair and wide smile.
Now she had cuts on her hands and face. A bruise colored her cheek. Her clothes hung loose as if she showered and threw on someone else’s tee and pants.
“Let’s try my first question again. Are you okay?” he asked.
“I was, until about three seconds ago when you pummeled me.”
“Thought you were a burglar.”
She brushed her hands up and down her arms. “You have an interesting way of protecting your property.”
She had no idea what he was capable of. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Dan thinks you’re dead. Everyone does.”
“Can we go inside?”
It was a cool April day and she was dressed for summer, but the weather was just about the last thing on his mind. “Explain first.”
“Inside.” She glanced around and then leaned in to whisper. “Please.”
No way could he fight that scared look on her face. He struggled to his feet and held a hand down to help her up. Her fingers felt like ice against his skin. “You could have gone in.”
“You have enough security here for a small city.” She nodded toward the alarm panel. “Without the code, I wasn’t about to risk it. I didn’t want the police to come.”
“Why?”
She dropped his hand. “I’ll explain once we get inside. Promise.”
The fence and tall trees gave them privacy, but the way she chewed on her lower lip suggested she didn’t feel all that safe. Paranoid and hunted—words he never would have used to describe her before. But they worked now. She’d aged before his eyes.
It was official. He had no idea what was going on. That wasn’t exactly a new sensation where Maura was concerned, but this wasn’t about her fancy job and impressive book smarts. This was a common-sense matter of talking to the police. Seemed simple to him.
“Let’s go.” When he reached over to guide her to the door with a hand at her back, she flinched. The reaction surprised him. Ticked him off, too. “Are you afraid of me now?”
The taunt came more from habit than anything else. She had been avoiding him for so long that he expected her to do nothing else.
Her chin lifted. “Of course not.”
He noticed she cradled her right arm and immediately regretted the verbal battle. He knew that protective maneuver. It probably meant injury. When he asked all of the other questions swimming in his mind, he’d ask that one, too. But for now, he wanted her talking. The faster they did that, the faster he could call Dan and save his friend’s liver from the pickling it had been subjected to for the last few hours.
“Where have you been?” Liam asked.
“Hiding.”
After a quick set of punches on the keypad, Liam opened the door and motioned for her to step inside. He expected her to walk through the kitchen to his family room and curl up on the couch. Instead, she hunkered down on the bar stool and stared at his fridge.
He tried to assess her mood and failed. “Are you hurt?”
She rubbed her arm. Probably didn’t even realize she did it. “Sore, but otherwise okay.”
“How about hungry?”
“No.”
He roamed around his kitchen looking for a way to keep his hands busy. “Thirsty?”
“Just some water, please.”
He grabbed a bottle and twisted off the cap before setting it in front of her. “Yeah, I hear dying can be dehydrating.”
She treated him to a slight smile then. “That’s what they say.”
His patience picked that moment to expire. He went from being supportive to being frustrated. The latter emotion he knew well in conjunction with Maura. “Look, I’m all for small talk but why don’t we skip to the part where you explain what’s going on?”
She took a long drink, drawing out the silence, then picked at the bottle’s label. “There was an explosion.”
“I know that much.”
She frowned at him. “Let me finish.”
With the shock gone, all he had left was the churning anger in his gut. “Your brother is sitting at his house drinking himself into a black oblivion while he mourns your death. So, forgive me if I’m confused why you’re here and not there. Why you’re anywhere, for that matter.”
Pain flashed across her face. “Dan.”
“Yeah, Maura. Dan.” Liam leaned down on his elbows until they were face-to-face. “You’re not the type who would let her brother worry for no reason. What is this?”
“I was in the building when it exploded.” She lifted her hand to stop him when he tried to butt in. “I … saw something.”
“What?”
“Dr. Hammer.”
Yeah, him. “I’m sorry about that, Maura.”
All emotion left her face. “For what?”
“You wanted to work for someone like Dr. Hammer for years and then achieved it. I know it meant a lot to you to get that job.” Liam stumbled over his words. He’d never been good at this emotional connection stuff. “This must be hard. You know, for you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about?”
“Your boss.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Haven’t you read a paper or seen the news?”
She pointed to the purple blotch on her cheek. “I’ve been busy.”
Doing what was the question. The same one Liam wanted to ask, but he’d ease up for now. “Your boss is gone.”
“As in?”
Oh, man. Why did he have to be the one to break this news? “The usual definition, I’m afraid.”
“I still don’t know what that means.” Her tone got testier the longer the conversation went on. It was almost hostile now.
Liam drew in a deep breath. There was no stopping now.
“He’s dead.” He enunciated each word, hoping that would help the message get through to her.
She shook her head hard enough to knock a few teeth loose. “No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You’re wrong.”
“I am?”
“Where did you get your information about Dr. Hammer?”
Liam shrugged. “It’s in the paper.”
“Is my death in the paper?”
She had him there. “Well, yeah, but I was there when the police talked to Dan. They said Hammer’s research is also missing. The theory is that he was killed for it.”
“It’s my research, too.”
Liam ignored her outburst of ego. “They used some word I’ve never heard of to describe what you do.”
“Xenotransplantation.”
“It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie.”
“Hardly. We can transplant organs between animal species.” A new confidence filled her voice as she used her hands to act out the process. “The goal is to figure out how to grow human organs in animals and harvest them for transplants. It would eliminate the black market and organ shortages. We could offer even more than hope. We could give life.”
Make that a horror flick. “Are you kidding?”
“Of course not. One of the biggest impediments relates to the human immune system, but there are ways to account for that. Success would mean no more waiting on lists for transplants or depending on artificial devices. We’re talking about an epic breakthrough in the advancement of people’s health. The possibilities are breathtaking.”
He knew he had to put on the brakes before she gave him a full science lecture. “Anyway, the police thought you were collateral damage. That you happened to be in the building working at the wrong time.”
“How did they come to that conclusion?”
“They found a body. Thought it was you at first but it turned out to be male.”
Sadness pulled at the corners of her eyes. “Tom.”
“Who’s that?”
“The security guard.” She tucked her long hair behind her ear. “Okay, so they know it’s not me. What are they saying about the explosion and its cause now?”
This was not where Liam wanted the conversation to go. “They’re just asking some questions. Fishing. It doesn’t matter.”
She ripped off a long length of paper from around the bottle. “In other words, they’re blaming me.”
This is what happened when a guy dealt with a brainy woman. She had this angelic face and kissable mouth, but that didn’t hide the fact she was smarter than every adult around her by the time she hit the fourth grade. She didn’t miss a damn thing.
“That’s the new working theory,” he said.
“I didn’t.”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that since he still didn’t know what happened in that building, or what was going on in her head. “Okay.”
“And there’s one more thing you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“My boss isn’t dead.” She took a long drink. “But when I get my hands on him, he might be.”
Chapter Three (#ulink_40993077-a3ad-5b7f-8b42-4a11b4bd6b9c)
A bottle of water and two painkillers later, Maura sat on Liam’s couch with him perched on the coffee table directly across from her. He hadn’t really moved since they switched rooms and he crowded in, barely giving her room to breathe. He just sat there with his elbows resting on his knees and a disbelieving frown plastered across his mouth.
“One more time.” His deep, husky voice broke the silence.
She forgot how potent he was up close. Dark brown hair cropped in style, and shoulders wide enough to block her view of the front door. Even in jeans and a boring shirt, danger vibrated off him. He was strong, determined and clever. Everything she needed right now. The same guy she’d avoided for years despite his friendship with Dan.
Liam’s eyebrow lifted. “Maura?”
Back to reality. “The police are looking in the wrong place.”
He tapped his fingertips together. “You think Dr. Hammer was kidnapped.”
She wanted to believe it because the idea was better than the alternative where her boss had something to do with the fireball that consumed the lab, and nearly took her along with it. “Possibly.”
“Did you recognize the people who took Dr. Hammer?”
“I saw him get into a car.”
Liam sat up straighter as the gold flecks in his green eyes brightened. “I notice you’re answering different questions from the ones I’m asking.”
She hoped he might miss that part. Fooling him would be hard, impossible even. But until she figured out who she could trust and how to keep everyone she cared about safe, she had to be careful. “It might be smart if you stayed ignorant about some things.”
He opened his arms and gestured around the room. “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”
He wasn’t wrong. Sprawled on the grass with her lungs burning from the flames, she’d needed a safe house and immediately thought of him. A former undercover police officer and current corporate security expert, he was the logical choice. She depended on his sense of duty and a rock-hard loyalty to her brother to gain his cooperation.
Problem was she dragged him into her mess even though she could never hope to control him. Rather than fight, she gave him something in return for his help—information. “I heard someone in the building right before the explosion. I saw Dr. Hammer hustle out of there while I was trying not to catch on fire.”
Liam shifted on the table. “So, you’re saying you did see the kidnappers.”
“No.”
“Maura.”
“I’m saying Dr. Hammer wasn’t kidnapped.”
Liam’s face twisted in disbelief. “How do you know?”
“I just do.” When Liam continued frowning, she tried again. “I have a theory and I’ll find proof.”
“Of what, exactly?”
She wasn’t ready to give the details. “With your help.”
“We’re still having two different conversations.”
Her mind raced ahead. She needed the documents she hid under the deck in Liam’s back patio. She needed the laptop from her apartment. She needed to stay hidden while she worked out where Dr. Hammer went and why.
“We’re talking about evidence,” she said.
“I still don’t know what we’re proving.”
For her investigation to work she needed to be mobile. Being interrogated could ruin everything. “No police. I’m supposed to be dead, so I’ll be dead.”
“Hey!” Liam clapped his hands together. “I can see your mind spinning. Stop thinking for a second and talk to me.”
“How do I stop thinking?”
“I’m serious.”
From the way his jaw locked, she could tell he was. To calm him back down, she slipped her palm over his hand. “Liam, I have to do this my way.”
“I can’t help if I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“I need you.” She’d said those same words to him nine years before. She was a kid then and he’d ignored her. Now she came to him as a woman with a problem.
He slipped his fingers through hers. “Maura …”
“You know what it took for me to ask you for anything.”
He broke eye contact but stayed quiet.
“How hard it was for me to turn to you,” she added.
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “That happened a long time ago.”
“But it’s always between us.”
“Doesn’t have to be.”
Her mind refused to go there. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked by her emotions. “Are you going to help me?”
“I still don’t understand any of this.”
She recognized a man on the verge of defeat. Saw the signs in his slumped shoulders and the hard lines of his face. “But you’re not turning me down.”
For a few seconds he just sat there. Didn’t say a word. Finally he spoke. “Not this time.”
LIAM STOOD IN A DARK ALLEY with his back pressed against a wall and a supposed dead woman at his side. It was a lot to take in at one in the morning. If he weren’t so confused, he’d mind the crisp air. Good thing he had his frustration to keep him toasty warm.
That would teach him to let Maura set the evening agenda. He suggested she stay at the house while he made a run for whatever she needed. She could hide and he would take the risk. Since no one was looking for him, the chance of trouble was minimal. A quick and efficient strategy.
She had overruled him. Carried on about it being her life and then started talking in half sentences again. He gave in to gain a second of quiet. Now he was stuck in the middle of some sort of covert raid. The whole thing struck him as overly dramatic and unnecessary.
He followed her gaze to the third floor. “Tell me again why we’re here.”
“I need some of my things.”
“From in there?” He pointed up at the corner window to make sure he was looking at the right place.
She nodded, her gaze never leaving her target. “It’s my condo.”
No lights. No movement. Ten more minutes of staring at nothing and his mind would go numb. “I think it’s safe.”
“The police could be in there.”
“You do know I’m former police, right?”
She actually crouched down as if that would better hide her from the imaginary officers she thought were hiding in the bushes. “So?”
Liam took in her stiff shoulders and flat mouth. Determination. He couldn’t argue common sense against that. “Never mind.”
“I have to get my computer.”
“I can buy you another one.”
She glanced up at him. “This isn’t about money.”
“Care to clue me in on what it is about, because I still don’t know.”
“My hard drive. My papers.” She cupped his elbow and started dragging him out into the open. “Let’s go.”
He had no idea what had changed and made it safe in her mind, but he wasn’t about to argue. If she was ready to move, he’d lead the way.
One slide of the security key and they were in the building’s downstairs glass double doors. Dead quiet greeted them. Not a surprise due to the weekday hour, but still unsettling. He expected creaks and residual condo noise. All he got was the sound of his breath whooshing in and out of his chest.
He led with a hand on his gun and her palm against his back. They stalked up the steps in an unspoken agreement not to talk. Shoes hit the stairs sending a thumping sound bouncing off the emergency stairwell walls. By the time they reached her front door, her breathing had increased. From the look of her toned body, he guessed excitement rather than exertion was the cause.
“Keys?” He held out his hand.
“What? Uh, sure.” She fumbled in her pocket. Before he could stop her, she shoved the key in the lock and pushed the door open without applying any pressure.
“You don’t use a bolt or anything?” he asked.
“Of course I do.”
His readiness level switched to maximum. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He breathed in deep, opening his senses to the sounds and smells of the place in the search for clues.
“Stay here.” When she didn’t move, he pressed her farther down the hall and away from the door. “Not one step.”
Her eyes grew to the size of plates as she whispered back to him. “Okay.”
He pushed the door open with his foot and went in with his gun raised. Glass crunched under him with each step. In the shadows, he saw broken furniture and scattered papers. Keeping his back to the door and not venturing far from Maura in case she needed him, he wandered through the two-room place, ending with the small bathroom off the family room.
Nothing there but chaos and more questions.
He slipped his gun into his belt and rushed back to the entrance. He motioned for Maura to join him inside. With the door shut behind her, he turned on one small light, the one farthest away form the windows.
She came charging in, head down as if lost in thought. When her head popped up, she stopped in the dead center of the room as if she’d run into a rock wall. “What the—”
“You’ve been robbed.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You mean searched.”
“Yeah.” He stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage. Every drawer stood open and clothing littered the floor. He knew from experience this wasn’t about a burglary. Someone had come looking for something specific. Whether they found it was the question.
What they would have done had Maura been home sent a shot of cold air ricocheting around his chest.
She circled a pile of wood on the floor that looked as if it was once a desk. “My computer is gone.”
A churning started deep in his stomach. A warning of danger screamed through every pore. “We need to go.”
She stopped mumbling and pacing around the disheveled room and stared at him. “Why?”
He couldn’t describe the feeling. It was a sense of unease that started around his gut and rumbled up to his throat. “We just do.”
Something about the look on his face must have convinced her because she dropped the paper she was holding and stepped over a pile of discarded pillows to get to him. “I’ll trust you on this.”
She brushed past him in her rush to get out of the room. He grabbed her arm thinking to reassure her everything was going to be okay when he heard it. The screech of sneakers against the hallway tile.
Liam touched a finger to his lips and motioned for her to move back into the kitchen. When the doorknob turned, he slid into the darkened space against the wall and next to the door. If someone came storming through, they would have to run or shoot right through him.
A second later the door pushed open, nice and slow. It never broke contact with the doorjamb, so Liam couldn’t peek outside. The person didn’t say anything. Didn’t jerk or make any fast moves. Didn’t slide his gun inside or fire off shots. He, whoever he was, was smooth. Moved without a sound.
Liam knew the type. This was the practiced lurk of a professional, someone who would kill Maura without remorse or hesitation. To keep from drawing attention or tipping off his location, Liam stayed still. The small lamp by the couch was enough of a problem. Surely, if he sensed movement in the hall, the man out there could see a light that shouldn’t have been on.
Maura mouthed a word. Liam immediately understood the question. “Police?”
Liam shook his head in response. No, not this guy. There was nothing legitimate about what was happening here.
Liam tried to shift his weight for a better shot. The floor groaned and Maura’s panicked gaze went wild with terror.
There would never be a better time. Liam threw open the door. The move left the stranger grabbing for air. Also gave Liam the two-second start he needed to knock the man’s arm to the side and get him to release his weapon. But the guy didn’t go down easy. He kicked out at Liam’s gun and sent it skittering across the floor, then landed a sucker punch right in the center of Liam’s stomach.
Doubled over with air wheezing out of his lungs, Liam dove for the other guy’s midsection. Knocked him back into the wall, slamming the man’s head hard against the door across the hall and sending his gun spinning. The crash sounded like an explosion on the quiet floor. No one came running, but lights flicked on under several doorways. Liam felt the shocked stares through the peepholes. He had to bring this to an end and get Maura out of there before the police streamed through.
Fists flew. Liam landed as many as he missed. This guy was quick. He dodged a left swing and kicked out, sending Liam to his knees. When the guy dove for his gun, Liam threw his arms around the man’s legs and dropped him to the floor with a loud thud.
A neighbor’s door opened. “What’s going on out here?”
“Get back inside.” Liam yelled his order through grunts and punches.
“I’m calling the police.” The neighbor slammed the door as he ducked back in his condo.
“No!” Maura screamed.
Liam forced his concentration back to the man shifting and squirming beneath him. Liam was on the receiving end of a shot to the jaw that had his head rocking back and a shot of pain racing around his head. To subdue the guy and prevent another hit, Liam pounced, reaching up and screwing the man’s arm behind him.
The advantage didn’t last long. Using all of his weight, the guy shoved back, almost knocking Liam in a sprawl across the tile. With Liam off him, the guy tried to scoot out of reach. He slithered out from under Liam and crawled down the hall trying to use the slick tiles to pick up speed. But he couldn’t get traction. After only a foot, Liam performed a second tackle. He grabbed the man’s legs, avoiding a kick to the head, but just barely.
In the middle of the bruising fight, Liam saw two sneakered feet appear out of the corner of his eye. Maura stood in the danger zone.
The brief distraction gave the other man an opening. He landed his heel right under Liam’s chin. The shot slammed his teeth together. Made his head spin and his vision blur. He saw a flash and then a lamp flew over his head in the direction of the other man. Maura’s effort lacked a punch because the heavy end smacked against Liam’s shoulder before flipping and landing on the other guy. Liam didn’t even feel the punishing blow. He was too busy scrambling to his feet, trying to catch the other guy as he jumped to a standing position and bounded down the stairs at the end of the hall.
“Liam, no!” Maura called out, her voice filled with fear.
Liam ignored her desperation, fought against the urge to rush to her. He had to catch this guy or Maura wouldn’t be safe.
Energy thundered through him, fueling his run and pushing out the residual twinges of pain from the fight. With his hands sliding along the banister, Liam whipped down the stairs. Heavy footsteps pounded in front of him. A shoulder slammed into the wall. The guy wasn’t quiet now. The fight took care of that. Liam relished the idea he had injured the guy.
Instead of turning right and running out the front door, the man slipped to the left. The emergency alarm sounded a second later. Liam hit the landing in time to see the guy race into the dark alley. The horn blared through the building. Doors opened. People muttered. Liam felt a tug on his sleeve.
“We have to get out of here. No one can see me.” Maura pleaded with him with her eyes and her voice.
Still, it took a moment for her words to register. Then he heard the yelling at the top of the stairs. Listened as the building came to life in a fury of confusion and anger.
She was right. They were out of time. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Four (#ulink_9bffdf90-d379-58c0-b07a-50886d1ad516)
By the time they got back to Liam’s house, the police were at his front door. Only quick reflexes and expert driving skills kept them from pulling into the driveway and being seen. Liam circled the block a second time and parked the car two streets over instead.
“They followed us here?” Maura struggled to understand how her life had veered so far off course in the last two days.
“This isn’t related to what happened in your condo.” He got out of the car and slammed the door behind him.
Not knowing what else to do, she followed him onto the sidewalk. “How can you know that?”
“We drove straight back and they’re already here. They couldn’t have beaten us.” He shook his head. “No, this is something else.”
“You don’t think it’s about me?”
He stopped studying his feet. “Oh, it’s definitely related to you.”
“What if they’re going through your house right now? If they see the—”
His eyes narrowed. “The what?”
She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out how much to tell him. “It’s nothing, really. I mean, it matters, of course, but they won’t understand what they’re seeing.”
“You know you’ve lost me, right?”
She waved her hand in front of her face. Motion helped clear her mind, and she sure needed clarity now. Without the data, figuring out Dr. Hammer’s scheme and false reports bordered on impossible. That meant she’d be blamed for the fire. For a kidnapping that never happened. Dr. Hammer’s work was too important to the government, too integral to NIH. They’d make an example of her. She’d lose everything.
“I need them. If the police take them, I won’t be able to get them back or track this mess down.” She didn’t realize she spoke her thoughts out loud until she saw Liam’s scrunched-up brows. “What?”
“You’re talking in circles.”
“I know.”
“So, it’s on purpose?”
She shrugged. It was either that or babble some more.
He rested his palms on her shoulders. “Look, I think I’ve earned the right to hear the truth. I’m following you all over the county based on your hunch.”
“It’s a theory.”
“I’m not turning you in to the police, not talking to your brother even though I want to ease his misery.” Liam massaged her tight muscles.
At his touch, her tension drained away. “I know.”
“Forget the personal crap between us. For now, if you want to get out of this you’ve got to tell me everything.”
Once he brought up their shared past, that’s all she could think about. This close with his hands on her. The memories came back: being fifteen and sporting a crush on him that she mistook as love; getting rejected; retreating even further into her books and plans for the future; sacrificing all the fun of her teen years on a dream that would take her years to fulfill, and take Dr. Hammer only a short time to destroy.
This wasn’t about her feelings nine years ago. This was about her career.
“There are papers at your house,” she blurted out.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“I hid them.”
“Try explaining one more time.” Liam dropped his hands to his sides.
She immediately missed the warmth of his caress. Rather than mourn his touch, she shoved all thoughts about his eyes and expert fingers out of her head and concentrated on the disaster in front of her.
“I stole some documents from the lab before it went up in flames. They’re at your house. Under the deck.” Having that piece of information out eased the heavy weight in her stomach.
He actually smiled. “Interesting choice.”
“I put them under there before you came home. Checked on them right before we left for my condo, while you were in the bathroom.”
“So much for thinking I’m in charge around here.”
If he needed to think that, she’d let him, but she knew better. “You’re police. You should know.”
He blew out a long, ragged breath. “Let’s not go back to that thing where you ask questions and make statements, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sometimes her thoughts bombarded her faster than she could say them. She tried to communicate, but not every sentence came out right before she moved on to something else. “Knowing what you know, would the police look there?”
“Former,” he said in a distant voice as if his mind had wandered somewhere else.
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind and probably not.”
Not the most comforting response, but helpful. A quick risk assessment led her to one conclusion. “I need to run. I can find a place with computer access and hack into my work account.”
“Wrong.”
The plan unspooled in her brain. “You can talk to the police, get a sense of what they’re thinking and relay it back to me.”
“Actually, I’m going to the house and you’re staying here.”
The words screeched to a halt on her tongue. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“No way. Someone could see me. Turn me in.”
He glanced at the houses around them. “It’s two in the morning. Every normal human being is asleep.”
It was obvious he had no intention of backing down. Fine, she’d adjust. “I’ll ride in the trunk. You can pull into the driveway and I’ll listen in. The conversation will probably be a bit garbled, but I should be able to follow along.”
“Are you kidding?”
“If there’s a chance to do it, I’ll slip into the house and hide out there until you make the police go away.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been watching too much television. Bad television, I might add.”
She walked around to the driver’s side and hit the button to pop the trunk. “This will work.”
She stared into the dark, stale-smelling spot. She wasn’t a fan of cramped spaces. Intellectually, she knew she’d have enough air. Common sense told her she’d be fine. Still, her heartbeat kicked up to Big Band proportions at the thought of being trapped and vulnerable. Her instincts told her to stay out and free. Ignoring that voice bellowing inside her took all of her strength.
Liam put his hand on the top of the trunk. “That is not going to happen.”
As he pushed down, she pushed up. “It’s the only choice.”
“No, it’s not. There are three hundred other ways to play this. I know you’re blessed with a big brain—”
“There’s some debate, but overall brain size does seem to correlate with I.Q.”
“But you stink at everyday stuff. Tactics and strategies? Not where you excel.”
She refused to let that insult slide. “I managed to survive a fire and save evidence.”
“And along the way did something that had a guy attempt shooting his way into your condo.”
Her energy spurt crashed. “That’s not fair.”
“I’m in charge.”
She lifted her leg and scurried into the trunk as fast as possible without hurting herself. “Then start driving.”
LIAM CUT THE ENGINE and swore under his breath. His unwanted guest stood at the top of the driveway, just under the sensor light. Seeing the police arrive wasn’t a hardship, or even a surprise, but getting rid of this detective might be.
This was all Maura’s fault. She had him driving in circles, stuffing her into his trunk and otherwise acting like a man without a drop of common sense. The more she talked, the more confused he got. And the more he wanted her.
The officer met Liam as he stepped out of the car. “It’s a bit early for a visit, isn’t it?”
“Where have you been?” Detective Spanner asked.
Liam knew the man. With three hundred or so people in the Alexandria Police Department, Liam had never worked with Rick Spanner, but he was the detective who showed up at Dan’s house the day before. While Spanner’s partner had dropped disturbing hints about Maura’s part in the explosion, Spanner had played good cop. Liam wondered which role he’d try this morning.
“I’ve been out,” Liam said.
“With anyone in particular?”
He tried not to think about Maura curled up in his car. “Do we have a problem here?”
“Why don’t we move this discussion off the street and into your house?”
From the reasonable tone and calming hand gestures, Liam guessed the detective was aiming for friendly. Didn’t matter to Liam since he didn’t plan on talking with or trusting the guy. If he were going to tell someone about Maura, it would be Dan.
“I think we can talk just fine right here,” Liam said.
“You have something to hide, Officer Anderson?”
“It’s Mr. Anderson, but I think you know that.” Hell, everyone knew that. It wasn’t as if that part of his life stayed private. Liam had the six-inch scar on his leg to remind him every single day.
“I have some questions,” Spanner said.
“At this time of the morning?”
The detective nodded as he glanced around the front of the property. “I’d like to handle this in the least disruptive manner for you.”
Yeah, sure he would. “What is the this again?”
“Maura Lindsey.”
“What about her?”
The detective picked that moment to break off and walk around the car. “She’s missing. Her boss is missing. I think you can see the problem.”
“You told Dan both Hammer and Maura died in the lab.”
“She is very much alive.” The detective leaned with his palms flat against the hood. “There’s no body, but I’m guessing that’s not news to you.”
“Why?”
“Not even a flicker of surprise at the idea of Maura being safe somewhere.” The detective smiled. “Your lack of reaction gives you away.”
Liam’s mind rushed to come up with a reasonable explanation. “Your partner all but blamed Maura at Dan’s apartment. False accusations seem to be the sum total of your investigation so far.”
The detective slipped around the vehicle, stopped at the trunk. “I’m trying to track her down. She could be a victim, but I can’t know that until I find her.”
“Ask her friends where she hangs out.”
Liam sweated out every minute of the detective’s casual stroll, but tried not to show any outward reaction. If the other man sensed panic, he’d be all over Liam. There was no reason for the detective to open the car or think Maura hid in there. But the man had descended on the house at this hour for a reason. Didn’t take Maura’s I.Q. for Liam to figure out the connection.
“She’s not the social type. Her circle appears limited to the office, her brother and you.”
Liam turned that comment over in his mind. That couldn’t be right. How could a vibrant, beautiful young woman not have an active social life? He knew from Dan that Maura didn’t date much. Dan chalked it up to a stressful and demanding job. Liam wasn’t so sure.
“I’m close to Dan, not Maura.”
“I’m trying to handle this before the FBI steps in.” Spanner started moving again.
Liam didn’t know he held his breath until it rushed out in relief at seeing the detective step away from Maura’s hiding place. “Why would it?”
“An explosion in a government lab and a missing highprofile scientist? I know you’re not a cop anymore, but you should be able to reason it out. Way I figure it, by tomorrow morning agents will be crawling all over this thing.”
“And you don’t want to lose your jurisdiction over the case to the feds.”
The detective wandered around the driveway. “Something like that.”
“I’m not interested in your turf war.”
The detective leaned with his back to the driver’s-side door. “Unless you want a whole bunch of law enforcement crawling all over your house tomorrow, I suggest we go inside and you answer some questions.”
The man wasn’t leaving without a fight. Liam weighed his options and decided to at least give Maura a chance to escape. He had to hope she’d run back to him once the detective left. “Fine. Let’s go in.”
“I knew you’d understand and come around.”
Liam spared a quick glance at the trunk then conducted a visual scan of the area. He hung back and followed the detective to the front door. As soon as Spanner stepped onto the front porch, Liam aimed the key chain behind his back and hit the trunk button. Jangled his keys to hide the click, and hoped like hell she was okay in there.
PANIC SCREAMED THROUGH Maura’s nerve endings. The only thing that kept her from banging on the lid and begging for release was the sweet sound of the lock disengaging. She waited for Liam to give her a signal, but he didn’t pop up in front of her.
She slipped her fingers into the open space and peered out. The light at the front of the car cast the back end in shadows. The dark night kept her guessing as to who or what was out there, but she couldn’t sit in the trunk one more minute. The carpet scratched her skin and the tight space had her lungs grasping for air.
Opening the trunk as little as possible, she reached her arm out and balanced her hand on the bumper. Lifting her weight up on her wrists, she slid her stomach over the edge. The rough metal edges poked her skin as she gulped in cool fresh air.
The second her feet hit the driveway she wanted to bolt. Let Liam fight this battle and slink off somewhere. Mentally regroup and develop a new plan. Tempting, but she had to clear the stain on her work. She had to rescue the findings and get them into the hands of people who would announce the discovery and give hope to truly ill people everywhere.
She hadn’t sacrificed her childhood and headed off to college at fifteen, pushed herself so hard while she ignored the social aspects of her life, just to have Dr. Hammer ruin it all with his warped agenda. Whatever it was.
She crouched down behind the back fender of the car and tried to figure out what was happening inside Liam’s house. She could make out figures in the front window but was too far away to hear or see anything. After a quick look around for nosy neighbors, she stayed in her bent-over position and approached the house.
Her concentration on her task broke long enough for her to pick up a mimicking sound. She took a step, and then heard another shoe crunch against the pavement off to her right somewhere. To test her theory, she tried the move again and a thud mirrored hers. Someone was out there. Someone close and quiet. The way her heartbeat pounded in her ears, she guessed the person was dangerous.
Weighing her options, she went with police over death. After a mental count to three, she took off, darting across the front lawn to the gate on the far left side. Getting the detective and Liam to notice her and come out with guns ready was the goal. She made noise, even let the gate slam shut behind her. When she heard it open again a second later, she picked up speed and rounded the back corner of the house, her sneakers sliding in the grass as her harsh breathing burned her throat.
The mad dash took her up on the patio. She body-smacked against the back glass door at a dead run. She fumbled to slide it open. When that didn’t work, she pounded on it with her fist. The loud thunks grabbed the attention of both men inside.
Liam’s stunned expression gave way to a fierce determination when he glanced over her head. Whatever he saw—and Maura was afraid to look around and see—made Liam shove the detective aside. He sprinted across his family room just as a beefy hand landed on her arm from behind.
She saw the stubby fingers and Liam’s face. Then she saw a blur of jeans and madness as Liam threw open the door and flew over her shoulder. He smacked into her, pushing her to the side. Off balance and thrumming with energy, the move sent her to her knees on the deck. Blinding pain flooded through her but she ignored it. She was focused on the men next to her.
Liam and the intruder rolled across the grass, each trying to gain the upper hand. They came to a stop with the other man sitting on Liam’s chest. A hand reached out and wrapped around his throat. Liam hit out as he coughed, bucked his hips and kicked out his legs as if attempting to shrug off the other man.
The scene registered in her brain. She had to save Liam. She struggled to stand up over the screaming aches in her legs and thumping around her temples.
“Break it up.” The detective out-yelled her from his position at the back door.
Maura froze at the sound of his commanding voice. She looked at the police officer and followed his furious frown to Liam’s red face. This man could arrest her later but right now she needed him. Liam needed him.
“Do something!” She yelled the plea.
Metal flashed in the intruder’s other hand. He grunted as he deflected Liam’s blows. He had the size and position advantage. Pinned and choking, Liam didn’t stand a chance. The man lifted his arm, bringing the knife down in an arc toward Liam’s throat.
Maura opened her mouth to scream when the loud boom cracked through the night. Dog barks filled the neighborhood. She waited for lights to switch on and people to come running, but it didn’t happen.
Nothing stopped the mix of horror and anguish pumping through her. “Liam!”
She rushed over just in time to see the intruder slump over Liam. Gagging and wheezing, Liam shoved at the other man’s shoulders. With a lot of effort, Liam pushed the man off him then rolled to his side. He lifted up on all fours and gulped in huge swallows of air.
“Are you okay?” She rubbed his back. She wanted to comfort him, but really needed to convince herself Liam was fine. Her brain refused to believe it.
Liam nodded but didn’t stop coughing.
The detective reached over the unmoving man and checked for a pulse. “Dead.”
Relief flooded through her. “Good.”
“Dr. Lindsey?”
At the sound of the detective’s voice, the memory of where she was and why she was there came rushing back. She glanced up. “Yes?”
“I’ve been looking for you.”
Chapter Five (#ulink_a127edeb-1075-5958-8136-487289819be0)
Liam made a show of getting off the grass. He didn’t straighten up until his hand landed on what he sought. Not that jumping to his feet would have been all that easy, anyway. The old injury on his upper thigh ached. Usually, rain set it off. Apparently, tackling a weapon-wielding assailant had the same effect.
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HelenKay Dimon
Night Moves
HelenKay Dimon
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover (#u50890615-e59d-57ab-9a75-17b49f12fc29)
Title Page (#u5219dc62-58da-5ecd-bee1-6c1b8ce4f0fa)
About the Author (#ulink_bd3e24bb-a99f-5aac-9a3f-972009eb364d)
Dedication (#u97622242-1891-523b-ad09-e49dc98b4e51)
Chapter One (#ulink_8f9e5a08-7ab3-5c9c-a029-2f8f1afdefea)
Chapter Two (#ulink_23962b42-8d92-505c-bf51-c179543fca9f)
Chapter Three (#ulink_ee153810-afb4-536a-bab6-b0af811599ed)
Chapter Four (#ulink_c15424e7-51f2-5a51-af9c-7df685d7486c)
Chapter Five (#ulink_e581ee99-542b-5b4c-a360-b23fb104e580)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author
Award-winning author HELENKAY DIMON spent twelve years in the most unromantic career ever—divorce lawyer. After dedicating all of that effort to helping people terminate relationships, she is thrilled to deal in happy endings and write romance novels for a living. Now her days are filled with gardening, writing, reading and spending time with her family in and around San Diego. HelenKay loves hearing from readers, so stop by her website at www.helenkaydimon.com and say hello.
Many thanks to Ethan Ellenberg for gently guiding my career in this direction and to Denise Zaza for giving me this opportunity. My great appreciation also goes to Shawna Rice for answering all my newbie questions.
To Mica, Wendy, Kassia, Stephanie and Jill—you prove every single day that women who read and write romance are incredibly smart and insightful. Sharing the ups and downs of this career with you all is a pleasure.
Thank you to Judy Duarte for saying the right thing at the right time. Your comments were invaluable.
As always, thank you and big hugs to James for all your love and support.
Chapter One (#ulink_ebe287ad-f1d5-5365-a95b-5a05424e9082)
“Tell me how much she knows.”
“She is a very able student.” Dr. Langdon Hammer felt a surge of pride at having picked his assistant. Maura Lindsey possessed multiple degrees and a significant amount of research experience. Not just any lab could secure the services of such a dedicated and knowledgeable young doctor.
Of course, the very reasons that made her ideal as a professional also made her a problem now. Being brilliant would be her downfall.
“I’m talking about professionally, Hammer.”
“So am I. She works with me every day. Just work.” Dr. Hammer didn’t bother to look up from the computer keyboard. He couldn’t type if he couldn’t see the letters, and he had to move fast. The man standing in front of him didn’t like having his time wasted.
Just thinking about the man’s plans made Dr. Hammer’s fingers trip over the keys and accidentally erase an entire column of data. This was why he had an assistant. Entering information and other menial tasks fell to her.
“Tell me about her access to your work. How much does she see?” the other man asked.
Dr. Hammer’s hand hesitated over the delete key. “All of it.”
“Does she understand the ramifications of your findings?”
“Of course.” As if he would hire someone incapable of grasping a world-changing scientific breakthrough. Stupid people annoyed him.
The other man paced the small space across from Dr. Hammer, the only section of the office not blocked by stacks of books and papers. “Then she’s the logical choice for this.”
Dr. Hammer tried one last time to argue for her. “She is invaluable to my research.”
“Everyone is replaceable.”
Dr. Hammer pushed back in his chair and focused solely on the conversation. The disturbing turn had his full attention now. “Not everyone.”
“There are others with the same level of expertise as you.”
“Hardly.”
“With enough assistance, they can reach your level.”
“That would take years, possibly decades, and even then it’s doubtful. On the other hand, there is no question about my success. I have achieved it.”
“Which is why we came to you.” The man traced his finger over the top of the crystal award sitting on the edge of Dr. Hammer’s desk. “But you would be wise to remember the extent of my resources. The reach of my power.”
Dr. Hammer swallowed back the lump of fear that had been forming since the other man walked into the office. “I am.”
“Then we understand each other.”
“Yes.”
The man’s twisted grin resembled that of a pouncing animal. “Dr. Lindsey will continue to help you. She just needs to be dead to do it.”
MAURA LINDSEY READ OVER the paragraph a second time. She didn’t need her two doctorate degrees and a genius-level IQ to recognize something was very wrong at the Systems Institute, the government lab where she worked.
Since the task of inputting information, complying with regulations and keeping track of the paperwork fell to her, there was no way this amounted to a simple misunderstanding. Altered data and wrong conclusions. It was all right there in front of her. No matter how many times she blinked, the words in the file didn’t change. Her boss, Dr. Langdon Hammer, had prepared a false interim report on their organ transplant research for the National Institutes of Health. The same report he hid from her.
He had always been eccentric. Grumpy and brilliant, private and utterly focused on his research to the point of distraction over everything except, maybe, his new wife. Married or not, he definitely was not a people person and lately he added secretive to his list of unattractive attributes.
Maura ignored the sharp change in his temperament at first. She understood the pressure of working long lonely hours in a sterile lab in the rush for groundbreaking scientific developments. But she didn’t understand the lies.
She stood in the center of Dr. Hammer’s office with two sets of notes in her hands. The real ones and the ones her boss compiled for his progress report. His fake progress report.
She only saw one solution—take the documents and review them somewhere else. It was a violation of her employment, and she hated to take the risk, but if Dr. Hammer saw her pawing through his papers or suspected she had questions, she might never get the answers she needed. She’d go home, spread everything out across her dining-room table and study the data. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation. If not, she’d get someone high up in NIH to listen to her concerns.
Heavy footsteps fell in the hallway, breaking into her mental plotting. The unknown visitor didn’t stop or question the light being on in Dr. Hammer’s office. The quick pace suggested running and no one ran in the Institute. Other than a few offices—most of which were empty—and a small area for administrative and computer work, the main floor consisted only of lab space. And only two people worked there. Dr. Hammer insisted on keeping the people with access to his findings to a minimum.
The floor above housed another lab engaged in unrelated government research on top-secret projects, but it was ten o’clock on Saturday night. Only people without a life were in the building now, and that meant she was alone except for the security guard at the front door.
“Tom?” When he didn’t answer, Maura tried again. “Hello?”
She gathered up all the files on Dr. Hammer’s desk and shoved them under her arm. She wanted to download everything from her boss’s computer onto a drive, but the usual password didn’t work. Seemed the absent-minded scientist had instituted some new security protocols that day without telling her. Since the man could barely order lunch without someone dialing the phone for him, she feared what was happening might involve Dr. Hammer using outside resources, which violated just about every clause of his confidentiality agreement and employment contract with the government.
But she’d figure that out later. Right now, she had to move.
Being as quiet as possible, she peeked out the office doorway, then slid into the hallway. If someone who shouldn’t be running around was out there, she sure didn’t want to meet up with him. Getting caught with stolen documents was not the way for her to keep her job, and she had worked too hard to get this assignment to lose it now.
Being attacked by a crazed burglar was not on her agenda, either.
She listened for any noise. She expected the natural sounds of the building to echo back to her. A creak here or there. The hum of lights and machines. An occasional ring of a phone. She heard nothing, and in this case, that was a very bad thing. The deadly stillness set off a whirl of panic in her stomach.
She took a few steps and glanced down to the far end of the hallway. All the doors along the way to the private offices remained closed. The steel entry to the lobby area looked to be locked up tight. The lights on the alarm panel next to it flashed green, just like they were supposed to do.
That direction checked out. So, she looked over her shoulder, back the other way to the matching panel at the opposite end of the corridor. It was the one closest to her and it led to the lab, and it was deadly dark.
Problem found.
No whistles or screaming bells. The fingerprint scanner was in place but not lit up as usual. The fact that the door stood wide open qualified as the biggest problem of the moment. She couldn’t see inside, but didn’t have to. They kept the door locked. Always.
The potential danger of the situation hit her with a clarity that threatened to knock her over, even as her brain struggled to analyze what she was seeing. Not trusting her mind to sort it all out fast enough, she fumbled in her lab-coat pocket, searching for her cell phone to call the police. It wasn’t there. As usual, she’d put it down somewhere and lost track of it. Her brother insisted that habit would get her in trouble one day. She feared that day had come.
She was stuck away from the phones with nothing more than a stack of papers in her hands for protection. Defenseless and alone, the combination sent her mind spinning. Her usual calm abandoned her in favor of grinding panic. Every inch of her shook with the need to escape and find help.
She felt her way along the wall as she inched down the hallway toward the lobby and freedom. Her breath pounded in her chest, scratching her throat raw. A squeak of shoes against the tile floor stopped her. She bit down on her tongue to keep from shouting for Tom. He would have answered her before if he could have. He wouldn’t play around in the lab.
No, this was someone else—stalking, hiding, waiting for her.
Forget quiet. She needed speed. She ran back into Dr. Hammer’s office and headed for the phone. Before she could reach for the receiver, a deafening whoosh thundered up the hall, shattering glass in its wake. As she struggled to see what was happening, a huge boom rattled the building. The ground beneath her shook with enough force to buckle her knees and send vibrations up her legs.
A second explosion sent her body flying into Dr. Hammer’s huge mahogany desk. Her middle smacked into the edge, stealing her breath and scattering papers around her feet. Her vision swirled at the edges as she fell to the floor. For a second, she closed her eyes, hoping to open them again and find out this was nothing more than a nightmare.
A harsh banging brought her back to the present. Smoke filled the hallway and heat enveloped her. She choked on the foul air as she looked around. She tried to process the events of the last few minutes but her mind refused to function.
One thing was clear. She had to get out of there. Crackling sounded all around her as the building heaved and groaned. If she didn’t find fresh air and get out soon, she’d be crushed or burned alive. She refused to be a victim of either option.
On her hands and knees, she crawled across shards of glass and ignored the edges as they bit into her skin. She drew up a mental floor plan of the office and aimed for where the window should be. She’d crash through it if she had to. Anything to get outside and away from the building before it imploded.
With her mouth tucked into the sleeve of her coat, she lifted to her feet in a bent-over crouch. From this position she could see what remained of the office space. Nothing separated it from the hall now. The wall between Dr. Hammer’s office and hers had collapsed, leaving a blown-out opening. Fire danced in every inch of her room as bright orange flames raced up her walls, swallowing her framed degrees and bookshelves in one hot gulp.
If she had been where she was supposed to be, she’d be dead. Snooping had saved her.
Ceiling tiles fell from above her head, barely missing her. The walls were buckling. The thundering mix of fire and falling debris filled her ears. The taste of soot lingered on her tongue. There would be nothing left soon, including her, if she didn’t jump through the window. The glass had shattered leaving ragged edges. Using her elbow, she cleared a path and wiggled out the small opening. A final pop propelled her outside, throwing her through the air until she landed hard on her right side on the grassy area outside.
Pain crushed in on her from every angle as she rolled as far away from the burning structure as possible. She hurt everywhere. Her mind reeled and fingers burned. When she looked down, she saw the death grip she had on some of those files. Through all the shock and the explosions, she had held on. The realization sent a wave of relief through her. She didn’t know where the papers fit together with the explosions, but she sensed on some level they did.
She dropped her head back and tried to gather the energy to get up. Smoke spiraled into the dark sky. Alarms hadn’t sounded, but she held out hope someone had heard the crashing booms that even now continued to sound, or saw the flames licking against the cloudless night.
Their building sat at the end of a long private drive in McLean, Virginia. The secluded setting ensured security, or that was the theory. Now the isolation worked against her, guaranteeing that precious data she needed would be lost before the fire department got word and came screaming to the scene.
When she lifted her head again and glanced around, she could make out the outline of a large SUV near the entrance to the building. It was a car that hadn’t been there when she checked in earlier. A second later, three people piled out of the front door in a rush. The bright lights of the outside parking area let her see what was happening. She recognized the straight-backed and serious steps of Dr. Hammer. He wasn’t injured. If anything, he maintained his usual even pace while the men around him tried to hustle him.
Before she could call out his name, one of the other men opened the back door of the vehicle and signaled for Dr. Hammer to get in. With one last long look at the Institute, he slipped in and closed the door. The SUV took off, leaving her alone and the disaster behind.
Maura tried to put the bits she knew together in a reasonable story, but the last hour didn’t make any sense. Dr. Hammer’s precious work was vanishing in front of him and he didn’t show any more concern than he did on a normal day when he left the office. More important, he didn’t seem to notice her car was in the parking lot while the building was on fire. Either he didn’t care that she could be injured or dead or worse, he wanted her to be.
She couldn’t figure out why, but she knew everything had gone wrong. This was more than a problem with the interim report. This went deeper. The fire and the false data were connected somehow. Had to be.
Anxiety flooded through her, making every cell in her body quake and tremble. She didn’t know who to trust or where to go.
No, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly where to go and who could help her untangle the mess.
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder and aches everywhere else, she rolled to her knees. She had to get up and go to Liam. She’d run away from him for years, but now she needed him. Liam would know what to do.
The plan set, she shot up too fast. Dizziness slammed through her the second her feet hit the ground. The move sent her back to her knees. She tried to gulp in air, but it was too late. The shot of adrenaline that guided her through the last few minutes had worn off, leaving behind a blinding headache and exhaustion she couldn’t shake.
When her elbows gave out, she fell back to the ground and stayed there, staring up into the black night. Yes, Liam would help. She repeated that mantra until she convinced herself it was true. Now she had to convince him.
Chapter Two (#ulink_0cbca87c-4cc8-538e-9d67-bacbe672645a)
Liam Anderson had been to more memorial services than he could count. A devastated family, shocked loved ones. He knew the drill and always steeled himself against getting sucked into the sad aftermath of someone else’s violent end. But the last twenty hours had been different.
This wasn’t about paying his respects to a victim’s family in a case. This was about getting through those initial horrible hours after the bad news came. This was for Maura, his best friend’s sister.
Twenty-four and dead. It didn’t seem possible. Sitting there and watching Dan descend into madness made it real for Liam. His friend had spent almost every hour in a drunken haze since getting the unbelievable news. Dan only sobered up this afternoon when the police showed up a second time, changed tactics and started asking questions about Maura’s background. They danced around the accusations but it was clear they believed she had something to do with the explosion.
Liam provided support and an ear. Even got pissed off on Maura’s behalf at the accusations. Keeping Dan from crawling all over the cops proved harder. Liam left only after Dan had settled down, but planned to return to Dan’s house after a shower and change of clothes. Keeping Dan sane was the only way Liam knew to beat back his own feelings.
Maura had run from him and now she was gone forever. He would never have a chance to apologize and make things right for what happened nine years earlier. Never get to know the woman she’d become. He’d be stuck with only the memories of a brokenhearted girl.
He shook his head as he slammed his car door. What a waste.
Within two steps, Liam realized something was off at his house. He was a security expert, after all. It was his business to notice things, to sense danger, analyze it and diffuse it. His gaze swept over the front lawn and up the porch to his door. He visually checked his alarm and the other traps he set around the entrance every time he went out, but nothing seemed obviously out of place there.
Still, the prickling sensation didn’t ease. He’d learned long ago to pay attention when a sharp pain whacked him between the shoulder blades. He failed to listen exactly one time in his professional life and had the scar on his leg to prove it. He intended to heed the warning this time.
Unfortunately, his weapons all sat securely inside. He’d never imagined he’d need a gun today. Violence should take one day off.
He scanned the area again, looking for any change no matter how small. The gate to the side yard on the right of his place caught his attention. Every time he closed it, he pulled it tight enough for the gate to swing inside the yard slightly. The gate hung even with the fence now. That meant someone had used the walkway to get to his backyard, outside of the view of the street.
Smart, but not smart enough.
The fact the alarm had not been tripped made him think the burglar never made it inside the house. Liam hoped like hell the guy was still around. It would feel good to pound someone right about now, to work out all of his aggression and anger at Maura’s loss.
Liam knew he had surprise on his side. His dark jeans would provide some camouflage but the white oxford would give his position away. The important thing was he had the freedom of movement he needed to get the jump on whoever wanted inside his house.
If he disengaged the alarm it would beep, so he decided to go with the soundless option: circle around the left side and hunt this guy down from the outside. No need to dissect the plan. He got moving.
He lifted the latch and stalked along the side of the house, careful not to tip off anyone to his location. His feet fell quiet against the soft grass as he inched along the red-brick wall. When he reached the corner, he peeked around to the patio and saw a figure slumped in one of his deck chairs. All he could make out were slats of wood and a mop of brown hair.
He pounced, hitting the deck at a dead run. At the last minute, his unwanted visitor turned around. Recognition washed through him, but it was too late for Liam to change his path. He crashed into the chair, sending them both careening toward the hardwood floor. Liam managed to twist his body and shoulder most of the impact, but they both went down with a humph.
He groaned as his muscles recovered from the jolt. “Maura?”
She sprawled on top of him not moving.
“Hey!” He held on to her and struggled to sit up despite his awkward position, and about a hundred-thirty pounds of extra weight piled on top of him. “Are you okay?”
She mumbled something that sounded like words but didn’t make much sense.
Her long hair hung down in her face, but at least she was alive. “What are you doing back here? Why aren’t you at Dan’s house? The police think—”
Her chest rose and fell on heavy breaths as she stared at him. “Do you welcome everyone that way?”
Liam shook his head, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Who he was seeing. “What the hell is going on?”
“That tackle wasn’t as bad as the fire, but close.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.” Not the brightest conversation starter ever, but he figured it got the job done.
Confusion cleared from her eyes. “Well, I’m not.”
He gave her a little squeeze then shifted her to the side and off his injured leg as gently as possible. He took a long look at her. He rarely saw her despite his relationship with Dan. When he did, Liam was struck by a beautiful woman with a round face and big chocolate-brown eyes. Curvy, with shiny hair and wide smile.
Now she had cuts on her hands and face. A bruise colored her cheek. Her clothes hung loose as if she showered and threw on someone else’s tee and pants.
“Let’s try my first question again. Are you okay?” he asked.
“I was, until about three seconds ago when you pummeled me.”
“Thought you were a burglar.”
She brushed her hands up and down her arms. “You have an interesting way of protecting your property.”
She had no idea what he was capable of. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Dan thinks you’re dead. Everyone does.”
“Can we go inside?”
It was a cool April day and she was dressed for summer, but the weather was just about the last thing on his mind. “Explain first.”
“Inside.” She glanced around and then leaned in to whisper. “Please.”
No way could he fight that scared look on her face. He struggled to his feet and held a hand down to help her up. Her fingers felt like ice against his skin. “You could have gone in.”
“You have enough security here for a small city.” She nodded toward the alarm panel. “Without the code, I wasn’t about to risk it. I didn’t want the police to come.”
“Why?”
She dropped his hand. “I’ll explain once we get inside. Promise.”
The fence and tall trees gave them privacy, but the way she chewed on her lower lip suggested she didn’t feel all that safe. Paranoid and hunted—words he never would have used to describe her before. But they worked now. She’d aged before his eyes.
It was official. He had no idea what was going on. That wasn’t exactly a new sensation where Maura was concerned, but this wasn’t about her fancy job and impressive book smarts. This was a common-sense matter of talking to the police. Seemed simple to him.
“Let’s go.” When he reached over to guide her to the door with a hand at her back, she flinched. The reaction surprised him. Ticked him off, too. “Are you afraid of me now?”
The taunt came more from habit than anything else. She had been avoiding him for so long that he expected her to do nothing else.
Her chin lifted. “Of course not.”
He noticed she cradled her right arm and immediately regretted the verbal battle. He knew that protective maneuver. It probably meant injury. When he asked all of the other questions swimming in his mind, he’d ask that one, too. But for now, he wanted her talking. The faster they did that, the faster he could call Dan and save his friend’s liver from the pickling it had been subjected to for the last few hours.
“Where have you been?” Liam asked.
“Hiding.”
After a quick set of punches on the keypad, Liam opened the door and motioned for her to step inside. He expected her to walk through the kitchen to his family room and curl up on the couch. Instead, she hunkered down on the bar stool and stared at his fridge.
He tried to assess her mood and failed. “Are you hurt?”
She rubbed her arm. Probably didn’t even realize she did it. “Sore, but otherwise okay.”
“How about hungry?”
“No.”
He roamed around his kitchen looking for a way to keep his hands busy. “Thirsty?”
“Just some water, please.”
He grabbed a bottle and twisted off the cap before setting it in front of her. “Yeah, I hear dying can be dehydrating.”
She treated him to a slight smile then. “That’s what they say.”
His patience picked that moment to expire. He went from being supportive to being frustrated. The latter emotion he knew well in conjunction with Maura. “Look, I’m all for small talk but why don’t we skip to the part where you explain what’s going on?”
She took a long drink, drawing out the silence, then picked at the bottle’s label. “There was an explosion.”
“I know that much.”
She frowned at him. “Let me finish.”
With the shock gone, all he had left was the churning anger in his gut. “Your brother is sitting at his house drinking himself into a black oblivion while he mourns your death. So, forgive me if I’m confused why you’re here and not there. Why you’re anywhere, for that matter.”
Pain flashed across her face. “Dan.”
“Yeah, Maura. Dan.” Liam leaned down on his elbows until they were face-to-face. “You’re not the type who would let her brother worry for no reason. What is this?”
“I was in the building when it exploded.” She lifted her hand to stop him when he tried to butt in. “I … saw something.”
“What?”
“Dr. Hammer.”
Yeah, him. “I’m sorry about that, Maura.”
All emotion left her face. “For what?”
“You wanted to work for someone like Dr. Hammer for years and then achieved it. I know it meant a lot to you to get that job.” Liam stumbled over his words. He’d never been good at this emotional connection stuff. “This must be hard. You know, for you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about?”
“Your boss.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Haven’t you read a paper or seen the news?”
She pointed to the purple blotch on her cheek. “I’ve been busy.”
Doing what was the question. The same one Liam wanted to ask, but he’d ease up for now. “Your boss is gone.”
“As in?”
Oh, man. Why did he have to be the one to break this news? “The usual definition, I’m afraid.”
“I still don’t know what that means.” Her tone got testier the longer the conversation went on. It was almost hostile now.
Liam drew in a deep breath. There was no stopping now.
“He’s dead.” He enunciated each word, hoping that would help the message get through to her.
She shook her head hard enough to knock a few teeth loose. “No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You’re wrong.”
“I am?”
“Where did you get your information about Dr. Hammer?”
Liam shrugged. “It’s in the paper.”
“Is my death in the paper?”
She had him there. “Well, yeah, but I was there when the police talked to Dan. They said Hammer’s research is also missing. The theory is that he was killed for it.”
“It’s my research, too.”
Liam ignored her outburst of ego. “They used some word I’ve never heard of to describe what you do.”
“Xenotransplantation.”
“It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie.”
“Hardly. We can transplant organs between animal species.” A new confidence filled her voice as she used her hands to act out the process. “The goal is to figure out how to grow human organs in animals and harvest them for transplants. It would eliminate the black market and organ shortages. We could offer even more than hope. We could give life.”
Make that a horror flick. “Are you kidding?”
“Of course not. One of the biggest impediments relates to the human immune system, but there are ways to account for that. Success would mean no more waiting on lists for transplants or depending on artificial devices. We’re talking about an epic breakthrough in the advancement of people’s health. The possibilities are breathtaking.”
He knew he had to put on the brakes before she gave him a full science lecture. “Anyway, the police thought you were collateral damage. That you happened to be in the building working at the wrong time.”
“How did they come to that conclusion?”
“They found a body. Thought it was you at first but it turned out to be male.”
Sadness pulled at the corners of her eyes. “Tom.”
“Who’s that?”
“The security guard.” She tucked her long hair behind her ear. “Okay, so they know it’s not me. What are they saying about the explosion and its cause now?”
This was not where Liam wanted the conversation to go. “They’re just asking some questions. Fishing. It doesn’t matter.”
She ripped off a long length of paper from around the bottle. “In other words, they’re blaming me.”
This is what happened when a guy dealt with a brainy woman. She had this angelic face and kissable mouth, but that didn’t hide the fact she was smarter than every adult around her by the time she hit the fourth grade. She didn’t miss a damn thing.
“That’s the new working theory,” he said.
“I didn’t.”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that since he still didn’t know what happened in that building, or what was going on in her head. “Okay.”
“And there’s one more thing you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“My boss isn’t dead.” She took a long drink. “But when I get my hands on him, he might be.”
Chapter Three (#ulink_40993077-a3ad-5b7f-8b42-4a11b4bd6b9c)
A bottle of water and two painkillers later, Maura sat on Liam’s couch with him perched on the coffee table directly across from her. He hadn’t really moved since they switched rooms and he crowded in, barely giving her room to breathe. He just sat there with his elbows resting on his knees and a disbelieving frown plastered across his mouth.
“One more time.” His deep, husky voice broke the silence.
She forgot how potent he was up close. Dark brown hair cropped in style, and shoulders wide enough to block her view of the front door. Even in jeans and a boring shirt, danger vibrated off him. He was strong, determined and clever. Everything she needed right now. The same guy she’d avoided for years despite his friendship with Dan.
Liam’s eyebrow lifted. “Maura?”
Back to reality. “The police are looking in the wrong place.”
He tapped his fingertips together. “You think Dr. Hammer was kidnapped.”
She wanted to believe it because the idea was better than the alternative where her boss had something to do with the fireball that consumed the lab, and nearly took her along with it. “Possibly.”
“Did you recognize the people who took Dr. Hammer?”
“I saw him get into a car.”
Liam sat up straighter as the gold flecks in his green eyes brightened. “I notice you’re answering different questions from the ones I’m asking.”
She hoped he might miss that part. Fooling him would be hard, impossible even. But until she figured out who she could trust and how to keep everyone she cared about safe, she had to be careful. “It might be smart if you stayed ignorant about some things.”
He opened his arms and gestured around the room. “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”
He wasn’t wrong. Sprawled on the grass with her lungs burning from the flames, she’d needed a safe house and immediately thought of him. A former undercover police officer and current corporate security expert, he was the logical choice. She depended on his sense of duty and a rock-hard loyalty to her brother to gain his cooperation.
Problem was she dragged him into her mess even though she could never hope to control him. Rather than fight, she gave him something in return for his help—information. “I heard someone in the building right before the explosion. I saw Dr. Hammer hustle out of there while I was trying not to catch on fire.”
Liam shifted on the table. “So, you’re saying you did see the kidnappers.”
“No.”
“Maura.”
“I’m saying Dr. Hammer wasn’t kidnapped.”
Liam’s face twisted in disbelief. “How do you know?”
“I just do.” When Liam continued frowning, she tried again. “I have a theory and I’ll find proof.”
“Of what, exactly?”
She wasn’t ready to give the details. “With your help.”
“We’re still having two different conversations.”
Her mind raced ahead. She needed the documents she hid under the deck in Liam’s back patio. She needed the laptop from her apartment. She needed to stay hidden while she worked out where Dr. Hammer went and why.
“We’re talking about evidence,” she said.
“I still don’t know what we’re proving.”
For her investigation to work she needed to be mobile. Being interrogated could ruin everything. “No police. I’m supposed to be dead, so I’ll be dead.”
“Hey!” Liam clapped his hands together. “I can see your mind spinning. Stop thinking for a second and talk to me.”
“How do I stop thinking?”
“I’m serious.”
From the way his jaw locked, she could tell he was. To calm him back down, she slipped her palm over his hand. “Liam, I have to do this my way.”
“I can’t help if I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“I need you.” She’d said those same words to him nine years before. She was a kid then and he’d ignored her. Now she came to him as a woman with a problem.
He slipped his fingers through hers. “Maura …”
“You know what it took for me to ask you for anything.”
He broke eye contact but stayed quiet.
“How hard it was for me to turn to you,” she added.
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “That happened a long time ago.”
“But it’s always between us.”
“Doesn’t have to be.”
Her mind refused to go there. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked by her emotions. “Are you going to help me?”
“I still don’t understand any of this.”
She recognized a man on the verge of defeat. Saw the signs in his slumped shoulders and the hard lines of his face. “But you’re not turning me down.”
For a few seconds he just sat there. Didn’t say a word. Finally he spoke. “Not this time.”
LIAM STOOD IN A DARK ALLEY with his back pressed against a wall and a supposed dead woman at his side. It was a lot to take in at one in the morning. If he weren’t so confused, he’d mind the crisp air. Good thing he had his frustration to keep him toasty warm.
That would teach him to let Maura set the evening agenda. He suggested she stay at the house while he made a run for whatever she needed. She could hide and he would take the risk. Since no one was looking for him, the chance of trouble was minimal. A quick and efficient strategy.
She had overruled him. Carried on about it being her life and then started talking in half sentences again. He gave in to gain a second of quiet. Now he was stuck in the middle of some sort of covert raid. The whole thing struck him as overly dramatic and unnecessary.
He followed her gaze to the third floor. “Tell me again why we’re here.”
“I need some of my things.”
“From in there?” He pointed up at the corner window to make sure he was looking at the right place.
She nodded, her gaze never leaving her target. “It’s my condo.”
No lights. No movement. Ten more minutes of staring at nothing and his mind would go numb. “I think it’s safe.”
“The police could be in there.”
“You do know I’m former police, right?”
She actually crouched down as if that would better hide her from the imaginary officers she thought were hiding in the bushes. “So?”
Liam took in her stiff shoulders and flat mouth. Determination. He couldn’t argue common sense against that. “Never mind.”
“I have to get my computer.”
“I can buy you another one.”
She glanced up at him. “This isn’t about money.”
“Care to clue me in on what it is about, because I still don’t know.”
“My hard drive. My papers.” She cupped his elbow and started dragging him out into the open. “Let’s go.”
He had no idea what had changed and made it safe in her mind, but he wasn’t about to argue. If she was ready to move, he’d lead the way.
One slide of the security key and they were in the building’s downstairs glass double doors. Dead quiet greeted them. Not a surprise due to the weekday hour, but still unsettling. He expected creaks and residual condo noise. All he got was the sound of his breath whooshing in and out of his chest.
He led with a hand on his gun and her palm against his back. They stalked up the steps in an unspoken agreement not to talk. Shoes hit the stairs sending a thumping sound bouncing off the emergency stairwell walls. By the time they reached her front door, her breathing had increased. From the look of her toned body, he guessed excitement rather than exertion was the cause.
“Keys?” He held out his hand.
“What? Uh, sure.” She fumbled in her pocket. Before he could stop her, she shoved the key in the lock and pushed the door open without applying any pressure.
“You don’t use a bolt or anything?” he asked.
“Of course I do.”
His readiness level switched to maximum. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He breathed in deep, opening his senses to the sounds and smells of the place in the search for clues.
“Stay here.” When she didn’t move, he pressed her farther down the hall and away from the door. “Not one step.”
Her eyes grew to the size of plates as she whispered back to him. “Okay.”
He pushed the door open with his foot and went in with his gun raised. Glass crunched under him with each step. In the shadows, he saw broken furniture and scattered papers. Keeping his back to the door and not venturing far from Maura in case she needed him, he wandered through the two-room place, ending with the small bathroom off the family room.
Nothing there but chaos and more questions.
He slipped his gun into his belt and rushed back to the entrance. He motioned for Maura to join him inside. With the door shut behind her, he turned on one small light, the one farthest away form the windows.
She came charging in, head down as if lost in thought. When her head popped up, she stopped in the dead center of the room as if she’d run into a rock wall. “What the—”
“You’ve been robbed.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You mean searched.”
“Yeah.” He stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage. Every drawer stood open and clothing littered the floor. He knew from experience this wasn’t about a burglary. Someone had come looking for something specific. Whether they found it was the question.
What they would have done had Maura been home sent a shot of cold air ricocheting around his chest.
She circled a pile of wood on the floor that looked as if it was once a desk. “My computer is gone.”
A churning started deep in his stomach. A warning of danger screamed through every pore. “We need to go.”
She stopped mumbling and pacing around the disheveled room and stared at him. “Why?”
He couldn’t describe the feeling. It was a sense of unease that started around his gut and rumbled up to his throat. “We just do.”
Something about the look on his face must have convinced her because she dropped the paper she was holding and stepped over a pile of discarded pillows to get to him. “I’ll trust you on this.”
She brushed past him in her rush to get out of the room. He grabbed her arm thinking to reassure her everything was going to be okay when he heard it. The screech of sneakers against the hallway tile.
Liam touched a finger to his lips and motioned for her to move back into the kitchen. When the doorknob turned, he slid into the darkened space against the wall and next to the door. If someone came storming through, they would have to run or shoot right through him.
A second later the door pushed open, nice and slow. It never broke contact with the doorjamb, so Liam couldn’t peek outside. The person didn’t say anything. Didn’t jerk or make any fast moves. Didn’t slide his gun inside or fire off shots. He, whoever he was, was smooth. Moved without a sound.
Liam knew the type. This was the practiced lurk of a professional, someone who would kill Maura without remorse or hesitation. To keep from drawing attention or tipping off his location, Liam stayed still. The small lamp by the couch was enough of a problem. Surely, if he sensed movement in the hall, the man out there could see a light that shouldn’t have been on.
Maura mouthed a word. Liam immediately understood the question. “Police?”
Liam shook his head in response. No, not this guy. There was nothing legitimate about what was happening here.
Liam tried to shift his weight for a better shot. The floor groaned and Maura’s panicked gaze went wild with terror.
There would never be a better time. Liam threw open the door. The move left the stranger grabbing for air. Also gave Liam the two-second start he needed to knock the man’s arm to the side and get him to release his weapon. But the guy didn’t go down easy. He kicked out at Liam’s gun and sent it skittering across the floor, then landed a sucker punch right in the center of Liam’s stomach.
Doubled over with air wheezing out of his lungs, Liam dove for the other guy’s midsection. Knocked him back into the wall, slamming the man’s head hard against the door across the hall and sending his gun spinning. The crash sounded like an explosion on the quiet floor. No one came running, but lights flicked on under several doorways. Liam felt the shocked stares through the peepholes. He had to bring this to an end and get Maura out of there before the police streamed through.
Fists flew. Liam landed as many as he missed. This guy was quick. He dodged a left swing and kicked out, sending Liam to his knees. When the guy dove for his gun, Liam threw his arms around the man’s legs and dropped him to the floor with a loud thud.
A neighbor’s door opened. “What’s going on out here?”
“Get back inside.” Liam yelled his order through grunts and punches.
“I’m calling the police.” The neighbor slammed the door as he ducked back in his condo.
“No!” Maura screamed.
Liam forced his concentration back to the man shifting and squirming beneath him. Liam was on the receiving end of a shot to the jaw that had his head rocking back and a shot of pain racing around his head. To subdue the guy and prevent another hit, Liam pounced, reaching up and screwing the man’s arm behind him.
The advantage didn’t last long. Using all of his weight, the guy shoved back, almost knocking Liam in a sprawl across the tile. With Liam off him, the guy tried to scoot out of reach. He slithered out from under Liam and crawled down the hall trying to use the slick tiles to pick up speed. But he couldn’t get traction. After only a foot, Liam performed a second tackle. He grabbed the man’s legs, avoiding a kick to the head, but just barely.
In the middle of the bruising fight, Liam saw two sneakered feet appear out of the corner of his eye. Maura stood in the danger zone.
The brief distraction gave the other man an opening. He landed his heel right under Liam’s chin. The shot slammed his teeth together. Made his head spin and his vision blur. He saw a flash and then a lamp flew over his head in the direction of the other man. Maura’s effort lacked a punch because the heavy end smacked against Liam’s shoulder before flipping and landing on the other guy. Liam didn’t even feel the punishing blow. He was too busy scrambling to his feet, trying to catch the other guy as he jumped to a standing position and bounded down the stairs at the end of the hall.
“Liam, no!” Maura called out, her voice filled with fear.
Liam ignored her desperation, fought against the urge to rush to her. He had to catch this guy or Maura wouldn’t be safe.
Energy thundered through him, fueling his run and pushing out the residual twinges of pain from the fight. With his hands sliding along the banister, Liam whipped down the stairs. Heavy footsteps pounded in front of him. A shoulder slammed into the wall. The guy wasn’t quiet now. The fight took care of that. Liam relished the idea he had injured the guy.
Instead of turning right and running out the front door, the man slipped to the left. The emergency alarm sounded a second later. Liam hit the landing in time to see the guy race into the dark alley. The horn blared through the building. Doors opened. People muttered. Liam felt a tug on his sleeve.
“We have to get out of here. No one can see me.” Maura pleaded with him with her eyes and her voice.
Still, it took a moment for her words to register. Then he heard the yelling at the top of the stairs. Listened as the building came to life in a fury of confusion and anger.
She was right. They were out of time. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Four (#ulink_9bffdf90-d379-58c0-b07a-50886d1ad516)
By the time they got back to Liam’s house, the police were at his front door. Only quick reflexes and expert driving skills kept them from pulling into the driveway and being seen. Liam circled the block a second time and parked the car two streets over instead.
“They followed us here?” Maura struggled to understand how her life had veered so far off course in the last two days.
“This isn’t related to what happened in your condo.” He got out of the car and slammed the door behind him.
Not knowing what else to do, she followed him onto the sidewalk. “How can you know that?”
“We drove straight back and they’re already here. They couldn’t have beaten us.” He shook his head. “No, this is something else.”
“You don’t think it’s about me?”
He stopped studying his feet. “Oh, it’s definitely related to you.”
“What if they’re going through your house right now? If they see the—”
His eyes narrowed. “The what?”
She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out how much to tell him. “It’s nothing, really. I mean, it matters, of course, but they won’t understand what they’re seeing.”
“You know you’ve lost me, right?”
She waved her hand in front of her face. Motion helped clear her mind, and she sure needed clarity now. Without the data, figuring out Dr. Hammer’s scheme and false reports bordered on impossible. That meant she’d be blamed for the fire. For a kidnapping that never happened. Dr. Hammer’s work was too important to the government, too integral to NIH. They’d make an example of her. She’d lose everything.
“I need them. If the police take them, I won’t be able to get them back or track this mess down.” She didn’t realize she spoke her thoughts out loud until she saw Liam’s scrunched-up brows. “What?”
“You’re talking in circles.”
“I know.”
“So, it’s on purpose?”
She shrugged. It was either that or babble some more.
He rested his palms on her shoulders. “Look, I think I’ve earned the right to hear the truth. I’m following you all over the county based on your hunch.”
“It’s a theory.”
“I’m not turning you in to the police, not talking to your brother even though I want to ease his misery.” Liam massaged her tight muscles.
At his touch, her tension drained away. “I know.”
“Forget the personal crap between us. For now, if you want to get out of this you’ve got to tell me everything.”
Once he brought up their shared past, that’s all she could think about. This close with his hands on her. The memories came back: being fifteen and sporting a crush on him that she mistook as love; getting rejected; retreating even further into her books and plans for the future; sacrificing all the fun of her teen years on a dream that would take her years to fulfill, and take Dr. Hammer only a short time to destroy.
This wasn’t about her feelings nine years ago. This was about her career.
“There are papers at your house,” she blurted out.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“I hid them.”
“Try explaining one more time.” Liam dropped his hands to his sides.
She immediately missed the warmth of his caress. Rather than mourn his touch, she shoved all thoughts about his eyes and expert fingers out of her head and concentrated on the disaster in front of her.
“I stole some documents from the lab before it went up in flames. They’re at your house. Under the deck.” Having that piece of information out eased the heavy weight in her stomach.
He actually smiled. “Interesting choice.”
“I put them under there before you came home. Checked on them right before we left for my condo, while you were in the bathroom.”
“So much for thinking I’m in charge around here.”
If he needed to think that, she’d let him, but she knew better. “You’re police. You should know.”
He blew out a long, ragged breath. “Let’s not go back to that thing where you ask questions and make statements, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sometimes her thoughts bombarded her faster than she could say them. She tried to communicate, but not every sentence came out right before she moved on to something else. “Knowing what you know, would the police look there?”
“Former,” he said in a distant voice as if his mind had wandered somewhere else.
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind and probably not.”
Not the most comforting response, but helpful. A quick risk assessment led her to one conclusion. “I need to run. I can find a place with computer access and hack into my work account.”
“Wrong.”
The plan unspooled in her brain. “You can talk to the police, get a sense of what they’re thinking and relay it back to me.”
“Actually, I’m going to the house and you’re staying here.”
The words screeched to a halt on her tongue. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“No way. Someone could see me. Turn me in.”
He glanced at the houses around them. “It’s two in the morning. Every normal human being is asleep.”
It was obvious he had no intention of backing down. Fine, she’d adjust. “I’ll ride in the trunk. You can pull into the driveway and I’ll listen in. The conversation will probably be a bit garbled, but I should be able to follow along.”
“Are you kidding?”
“If there’s a chance to do it, I’ll slip into the house and hide out there until you make the police go away.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been watching too much television. Bad television, I might add.”
She walked around to the driver’s side and hit the button to pop the trunk. “This will work.”
She stared into the dark, stale-smelling spot. She wasn’t a fan of cramped spaces. Intellectually, she knew she’d have enough air. Common sense told her she’d be fine. Still, her heartbeat kicked up to Big Band proportions at the thought of being trapped and vulnerable. Her instincts told her to stay out and free. Ignoring that voice bellowing inside her took all of her strength.
Liam put his hand on the top of the trunk. “That is not going to happen.”
As he pushed down, she pushed up. “It’s the only choice.”
“No, it’s not. There are three hundred other ways to play this. I know you’re blessed with a big brain—”
“There’s some debate, but overall brain size does seem to correlate with I.Q.”
“But you stink at everyday stuff. Tactics and strategies? Not where you excel.”
She refused to let that insult slide. “I managed to survive a fire and save evidence.”
“And along the way did something that had a guy attempt shooting his way into your condo.”
Her energy spurt crashed. “That’s not fair.”
“I’m in charge.”
She lifted her leg and scurried into the trunk as fast as possible without hurting herself. “Then start driving.”
LIAM CUT THE ENGINE and swore under his breath. His unwanted guest stood at the top of the driveway, just under the sensor light. Seeing the police arrive wasn’t a hardship, or even a surprise, but getting rid of this detective might be.
This was all Maura’s fault. She had him driving in circles, stuffing her into his trunk and otherwise acting like a man without a drop of common sense. The more she talked, the more confused he got. And the more he wanted her.
The officer met Liam as he stepped out of the car. “It’s a bit early for a visit, isn’t it?”
“Where have you been?” Detective Spanner asked.
Liam knew the man. With three hundred or so people in the Alexandria Police Department, Liam had never worked with Rick Spanner, but he was the detective who showed up at Dan’s house the day before. While Spanner’s partner had dropped disturbing hints about Maura’s part in the explosion, Spanner had played good cop. Liam wondered which role he’d try this morning.
“I’ve been out,” Liam said.
“With anyone in particular?”
He tried not to think about Maura curled up in his car. “Do we have a problem here?”
“Why don’t we move this discussion off the street and into your house?”
From the reasonable tone and calming hand gestures, Liam guessed the detective was aiming for friendly. Didn’t matter to Liam since he didn’t plan on talking with or trusting the guy. If he were going to tell someone about Maura, it would be Dan.
“I think we can talk just fine right here,” Liam said.
“You have something to hide, Officer Anderson?”
“It’s Mr. Anderson, but I think you know that.” Hell, everyone knew that. It wasn’t as if that part of his life stayed private. Liam had the six-inch scar on his leg to remind him every single day.
“I have some questions,” Spanner said.
“At this time of the morning?”
The detective nodded as he glanced around the front of the property. “I’d like to handle this in the least disruptive manner for you.”
Yeah, sure he would. “What is the this again?”
“Maura Lindsey.”
“What about her?”
The detective picked that moment to break off and walk around the car. “She’s missing. Her boss is missing. I think you can see the problem.”
“You told Dan both Hammer and Maura died in the lab.”
“She is very much alive.” The detective leaned with his palms flat against the hood. “There’s no body, but I’m guessing that’s not news to you.”
“Why?”
“Not even a flicker of surprise at the idea of Maura being safe somewhere.” The detective smiled. “Your lack of reaction gives you away.”
Liam’s mind rushed to come up with a reasonable explanation. “Your partner all but blamed Maura at Dan’s apartment. False accusations seem to be the sum total of your investigation so far.”
The detective slipped around the vehicle, stopped at the trunk. “I’m trying to track her down. She could be a victim, but I can’t know that until I find her.”
“Ask her friends where she hangs out.”
Liam sweated out every minute of the detective’s casual stroll, but tried not to show any outward reaction. If the other man sensed panic, he’d be all over Liam. There was no reason for the detective to open the car or think Maura hid in there. But the man had descended on the house at this hour for a reason. Didn’t take Maura’s I.Q. for Liam to figure out the connection.
“She’s not the social type. Her circle appears limited to the office, her brother and you.”
Liam turned that comment over in his mind. That couldn’t be right. How could a vibrant, beautiful young woman not have an active social life? He knew from Dan that Maura didn’t date much. Dan chalked it up to a stressful and demanding job. Liam wasn’t so sure.
“I’m close to Dan, not Maura.”
“I’m trying to handle this before the FBI steps in.” Spanner started moving again.
Liam didn’t know he held his breath until it rushed out in relief at seeing the detective step away from Maura’s hiding place. “Why would it?”
“An explosion in a government lab and a missing highprofile scientist? I know you’re not a cop anymore, but you should be able to reason it out. Way I figure it, by tomorrow morning agents will be crawling all over this thing.”
“And you don’t want to lose your jurisdiction over the case to the feds.”
The detective wandered around the driveway. “Something like that.”
“I’m not interested in your turf war.”
The detective leaned with his back to the driver’s-side door. “Unless you want a whole bunch of law enforcement crawling all over your house tomorrow, I suggest we go inside and you answer some questions.”
The man wasn’t leaving without a fight. Liam weighed his options and decided to at least give Maura a chance to escape. He had to hope she’d run back to him once the detective left. “Fine. Let’s go in.”
“I knew you’d understand and come around.”
Liam spared a quick glance at the trunk then conducted a visual scan of the area. He hung back and followed the detective to the front door. As soon as Spanner stepped onto the front porch, Liam aimed the key chain behind his back and hit the trunk button. Jangled his keys to hide the click, and hoped like hell she was okay in there.
PANIC SCREAMED THROUGH Maura’s nerve endings. The only thing that kept her from banging on the lid and begging for release was the sweet sound of the lock disengaging. She waited for Liam to give her a signal, but he didn’t pop up in front of her.
She slipped her fingers into the open space and peered out. The light at the front of the car cast the back end in shadows. The dark night kept her guessing as to who or what was out there, but she couldn’t sit in the trunk one more minute. The carpet scratched her skin and the tight space had her lungs grasping for air.
Opening the trunk as little as possible, she reached her arm out and balanced her hand on the bumper. Lifting her weight up on her wrists, she slid her stomach over the edge. The rough metal edges poked her skin as she gulped in cool fresh air.
The second her feet hit the driveway she wanted to bolt. Let Liam fight this battle and slink off somewhere. Mentally regroup and develop a new plan. Tempting, but she had to clear the stain on her work. She had to rescue the findings and get them into the hands of people who would announce the discovery and give hope to truly ill people everywhere.
She hadn’t sacrificed her childhood and headed off to college at fifteen, pushed herself so hard while she ignored the social aspects of her life, just to have Dr. Hammer ruin it all with his warped agenda. Whatever it was.
She crouched down behind the back fender of the car and tried to figure out what was happening inside Liam’s house. She could make out figures in the front window but was too far away to hear or see anything. After a quick look around for nosy neighbors, she stayed in her bent-over position and approached the house.
Her concentration on her task broke long enough for her to pick up a mimicking sound. She took a step, and then heard another shoe crunch against the pavement off to her right somewhere. To test her theory, she tried the move again and a thud mirrored hers. Someone was out there. Someone close and quiet. The way her heartbeat pounded in her ears, she guessed the person was dangerous.
Weighing her options, she went with police over death. After a mental count to three, she took off, darting across the front lawn to the gate on the far left side. Getting the detective and Liam to notice her and come out with guns ready was the goal. She made noise, even let the gate slam shut behind her. When she heard it open again a second later, she picked up speed and rounded the back corner of the house, her sneakers sliding in the grass as her harsh breathing burned her throat.
The mad dash took her up on the patio. She body-smacked against the back glass door at a dead run. She fumbled to slide it open. When that didn’t work, she pounded on it with her fist. The loud thunks grabbed the attention of both men inside.
Liam’s stunned expression gave way to a fierce determination when he glanced over her head. Whatever he saw—and Maura was afraid to look around and see—made Liam shove the detective aside. He sprinted across his family room just as a beefy hand landed on her arm from behind.
She saw the stubby fingers and Liam’s face. Then she saw a blur of jeans and madness as Liam threw open the door and flew over her shoulder. He smacked into her, pushing her to the side. Off balance and thrumming with energy, the move sent her to her knees on the deck. Blinding pain flooded through her but she ignored it. She was focused on the men next to her.
Liam and the intruder rolled across the grass, each trying to gain the upper hand. They came to a stop with the other man sitting on Liam’s chest. A hand reached out and wrapped around his throat. Liam hit out as he coughed, bucked his hips and kicked out his legs as if attempting to shrug off the other man.
The scene registered in her brain. She had to save Liam. She struggled to stand up over the screaming aches in her legs and thumping around her temples.
“Break it up.” The detective out-yelled her from his position at the back door.
Maura froze at the sound of his commanding voice. She looked at the police officer and followed his furious frown to Liam’s red face. This man could arrest her later but right now she needed him. Liam needed him.
“Do something!” She yelled the plea.
Metal flashed in the intruder’s other hand. He grunted as he deflected Liam’s blows. He had the size and position advantage. Pinned and choking, Liam didn’t stand a chance. The man lifted his arm, bringing the knife down in an arc toward Liam’s throat.
Maura opened her mouth to scream when the loud boom cracked through the night. Dog barks filled the neighborhood. She waited for lights to switch on and people to come running, but it didn’t happen.
Nothing stopped the mix of horror and anguish pumping through her. “Liam!”
She rushed over just in time to see the intruder slump over Liam. Gagging and wheezing, Liam shoved at the other man’s shoulders. With a lot of effort, Liam pushed the man off him then rolled to his side. He lifted up on all fours and gulped in huge swallows of air.
“Are you okay?” She rubbed his back. She wanted to comfort him, but really needed to convince herself Liam was fine. Her brain refused to believe it.
Liam nodded but didn’t stop coughing.
The detective reached over the unmoving man and checked for a pulse. “Dead.”
Relief flooded through her. “Good.”
“Dr. Lindsey?”
At the sound of the detective’s voice, the memory of where she was and why she was there came rushing back. She glanced up. “Yes?”
“I’ve been looking for you.”
Chapter Five (#ulink_a127edeb-1075-5958-8136-487289819be0)
Liam made a show of getting off the grass. He didn’t straighten up until his hand landed on what he sought. Not that jumping to his feet would have been all that easy, anyway. The old injury on his upper thigh ached. Usually, rain set it off. Apparently, tackling a weapon-wielding assailant had the same effect.
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ХеленКей Даймон
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: Night Moves, электронная книга автора ХеленКей Даймон на английском языке, в жанре современная зарубежная литература