She tried to focus instead on the writing on the pad and the words he was saying.
“I’ve made a list of names from your husband’s journal as well as names from my own files. These are the ones that are on both lists—so these men are more than likely working with Mason.”
She saw names of men she’d known for years. Her stomach drew into knots as she realized they’d gone corrupt or might have had something to do with Jimmy’s death.
“So what is our next move?” she asked him.
He sighed and tossed the pad aside. “If I had more manpower or more time, I would check into each of these names, question them, maybe even find something to use against them in order to bargain for information about the drug ring.” He sighed again. “But we just don’t have that kind of time and I’ve lost my leverage. No one on this list is going to worry about my DEA connections when they believe I’ll be dead before I can make it happen. They might just kill me themselves and be done with it. We need to find another avenue. There has to be something we’re missing.”
She agreed they had to find another way to bring down Mason and the men working with him. She read through the notes Matt had emailed to Blake about the drug Trixie: making the rounds throughout the Southeast...very dangerous...synthesized...targeted and sold to kids...the main manufacturing and distribution plant was supposedly right in Northshore. Jimmy would have been enraged when he’d found out, and a sense of sadness touched her that he hadn’t felt he could share this with her. Had he felt alone in this discovery? And why hadn’t he come to her with his suspicions?
She flipped a page and saw a list of ingredients the DEA had deciphered for the drug Trixie. Her eyes skimmed it, stopping on one name she recognized. Her heart dropped at the sight and for the first time she wondered if there was a greater reason that Mason had targeted her than simply being Jimmy’s widow.
Blake must have noticed her tense because he put down the papers he was reading and leaned over her. “Did you find something?”
“Maybe.” She pointed to the list of ingredients. “This one, hydrochloric acid, is a main ingredient in a cleanser we use at the hospital. I recently noticed an invoice that showed we’d ordered much more than we needed. I brought it to the attention of Accounts Payable, but they assured me it was a billing error that was being corrected.”
“A billing error that works in the favor of whoever is manufacturing Trixie.”
She nodded, realizing he understood her line of thinking. “That’s a dangerous chemical, Blake. We use it to disinfect.” She shuddered. “I can’t believe they’re actually putting that into something that they’re giving to kids.”
“Greed makes people do strange things. Whoever is behind this has to know the risks and just doesn’t care. Who did you speak to in Accounts Payable?”
“Sherri Livingston. The odd thing is the invoice came to me in error. Someone in the mailroom made a mistake. Normally, I would never have seen it. I’m not sure anyone would have, except her.”
She caught another whiff of his masculine scent and found she missed it when he straightened. She enjoyed having him close, feeling his breath on her skin. The longing for someone was familiar, but it had changed. She wasn’t just longing for someone. She wanted him, Blake Michaels.
It was crazy. He was too much like Jimmy—stepping into danger so easily without a thought about risk to life or limb. He’d chosen a career that put his life at risk every day and he’d volunteered for this dangerous mission. She couldn’t allow herself to fall for Blake. The risk to her already damaged heart wasn’t worth it. Was it?
She shook off her thoughts and continued. “I’ve been assuming Mason targeted me because of Jimmy. Is it possible seeing this invoice and questioning Sherri is the real reason he wants me dead?”
Blake rubbed the stubble on his face and nodded. “It could be, but that would have to mean that Sherri is involved. Or it could have been what she said, a simple billing error.”
Holly shook her head. “That seems unlikely when I look at this list. Someone ordered that stock.”
“It’s bigger than that,” he said. “Whoever unloaded it would have had to ask questions, especially when the inventory they’d just unloaded disappeared from the warehouse. The question is who picked it up and moved it? And who would have noticed when they did?”
She glanced at the sheet again and felt her heart fall. Was everyone in town corrupt?
Suddenly the door burst open and Stephen ran into the room. “The police just pulled up.”
Blake and Holly ran to the window and looked out. Four police cars had stopped in front of the courthouse with their lights flashing. Several men got out and she spotted Mason and Chief Waggoner among them, heading up the steps.
“They’ve found us again,” Holly cried.
“Where’s Mayor Banks?” Blake asked Stephen.
“She’s heading down to talk to the chief. She wants you two to use the elevator in her office to get out of the building.”
“She told me the chief knows about the elevator. Won’t he have it covered?”
“I don’t know, but you have to try. We cannot be found hiding you from the police.”
They went back for their paperwork then Blake grabbed Holly’s hand and pulled her along. She followed, double-timing it to keep up with Blake’s long-legged pace. They ran through the mayor’s office to the private elevator and Blake pressed the door to open it, pulling out his gun and preparing for battle as the doors opened.
Holly felt him relax a little to see that the elevator was empty, but he kept the gun out as he ushered her inside and hit the down button. She pressed herself against the back corner as Blake planted himself front and center and readied his weapon to fire the moment the doors slid open. He wasn’t taking any chances. She closed her eyes as the elevator descended and found herself praying. God, please keep us safe.
* * *
The elevator stopped and the door slid open. Blake stepped cautiously out, his gun still at the ready. He motioned for her to follow him and she did, staying behind him as they moved through the garage.
Suddenly a light flashed and Blake spun toward it.
He saw a police cruiser, its lights flashing, driving through the garage and heading toward their level.
He pulled her to the back wall and checked several cars, hoping to find one with an open door. Breaking a window wasn’t an option just yet. It would make too much noise and alert the police officer in the cruiser.
Blake spotted a storage room and hurried over, pushing a brick out from in front of the door and motioning Holly inside. She went in and he followed, closing the door. It wasn’t a long-term option since the police might start searching the garage if they suspected Blake and Holly were there, but for now it was their best recourse.
She was close enough for him to feel her pulse racing. Slowly, surely, her breathing slowed and she started to calm. He wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be fine, but the words wouldn’t come.
The truth was that—again—he didn’t know how they were going to get out of this. Chief Waggoner and Mason had been thorough in locking down the town. They’d blocked all their paths out and somehow continued to find them wherever they were hiding. But the desire to reassure her was just as strong as his desire to protect her. He didn’t know where that was coming from but it felt warm and familiar.
Easy, he reminded himself. You can’t go down that road again.
She was too much like Miranda, strong and independent. That was what had gotten him into trouble with Miranda. But he didn’t want some wimpy woman by his side, either. He admired Holly’s strength and courage. And he was glad she wasn’t cowering. Not only did it make it easier to keep her safe, but it also endeared her to him in a way he hadn’t expected.
Holly lifted her head and glanced u
p, giving him a slight smile as if she knew the truth that everything was probably not going to be fine, but she appreciated his reassurance. He liked that, too.
She understood that wallowing in doubt did no good. It wasn’t over until it was over. Until the end came, they had hope. They had hope in one another, in his Ranger friends, and most importantly, hope in Jesus. He would see them both through this journey. His faith gave him the most hope. He clung to it. Needed it. Relied on it to keep him going just as he had through the ambush and afterward, through the ordeal with Miranda and through his investigation into the Northshore PD.
His phone buzzed at his hip and he pulled it out. It was a text message from Mayor Banks.
Stephen is bringing a van to pick you up while I distract the police. He will get you to a safe place.
Blake peeked out the door and spotted a white van approaching with Stephen behind the wheel. He still didn’t know if he trusted him but right now wasn’t the time to debate the matter. Stephen was sticking his neck out to help them, and they didn’t have much in the way of options.
He pulled to a stop in front of the storage room door and slid open the side door of the van.
“Let’s go,” Blake whispered to Holly. “Run toward the van and jump inside. I’ll be right behind you, covering you in case anyone spots us.”
She nodded and when he opened the door she took off running. He followed, but even though he could see the police lights, the cruiser was still on the other side of the garage. He hopped inside the van, slid the door closed and barked for Stephen to go.
Stephen put the van into gear and drove away, heading out of the garage and onto a back street.
They were several blocks from the courthouse before Blake breathed a relieved sigh. “That was too close. Thank you, Stephen.”
“How did you know where we were hiding?”
“I saw the brick was moved and guessed. I put it there because I was worried someone might hide there to try to ambush the mayor.”
“I’m glad you did,” Blake told him.
The mayor’s associate kept his eyes on the road, but his voice was terse when he spoke again. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Mayor Banks. She has this crazy notion of helping you two and it’s going to get her arrested or possibly worse. I’ve tried to tell her she can’t go up against Chief Waggoner.”
“I imagine she can handle herself pretty well,” Blake stated, trying to reassure the man.
He didn’t accept the reassurance. “She takes too many risks. I’m no fool. Waggoner is dangerous and the force is corrupt. We all know it.”
“She’s fighting for her town, Stephen,” Holly explained. “I can see you care about her very much, but she’s doing the right thing standing up to injustice.”
“And if she gets herself killed? Where will the town be then? Who will be left to fight for it? She’s too important to put herself in danger the way she’s done.”
Holly touched his shoulder in a manner more reassuring than Blake could ever be. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. I know it’s difficult to watch the people we love take risks we might consider foolish, but I’ve learned it’s just who they are. They can’t stop fighting any more than they can stop breathing.”
Blake realized she was talking about Jimmy and saw the pain on her face. She’d lost him, yet she realized that she couldn’t have changed him. He knew a lot of people—mostly loved ones of his Ranger friends—hadn’t understood that personality trait that pushed them to step into a firefight when others would just sit and be quiet. Miranda had certainly never understood it and his work had been a source of conflict between them.
The cell phone on the dash beeped and Stephen glanced at the screen. “It’s a video message from Emily from the office.”
He pressed the play button and they saw it was a video of the confrontation between Mayor Banks and Chief Waggoner on the courthouse steps. The video started in the middle of the two town leaders shouting at one another. Mayor Banks called the chief corrupt while he accused her of undermining his authority and interfering with a police investigation. It quickly escalated until she slapped Chief Waggoner and several officers dragged her kicking and screaming into a police car.
Stephen paled. “I knew something like this was going to happen.” He glanced at Blake and Holly, clearly blaming them for the mayor’s arrest.
It was a bad situation, Blake knew. Their only ally had been arrested and jailed, but he also knew bad things happened in a war and they were most definitely in a war situation. “She’s a strong lady,” Blake told him. “She can take care of herself.”
“My town is erupting into chaos,” he said. “I need to go check on her. Where can I drop you?”
Blake instructed him to drop them off at the next corner. Stephen pulled the van to the curb and Blake opened the door, but before he hopped out, he handed Stephen a note with their cell phone number written on it.
“In case you need to reach us,” he said.
Stephen took it then waited for them to get out and close the door before turning the van around and driving away.
“I hope she’ll be okay,” Holly stated.
Blake nodded, knowing she probably wouldn’t be, but he didn’t tell her that. He didn’t really have to. “Me, too.”
All he knew at the moment was that Chief Waggoner had managed to cut off another avenue of help for them. They were on their own again and time was running out.
* * *
“I don’t like this,” Blake said as they stood outside a rear employee entrance to the hospital, where he’d parked another car—this one a small sedan—they had borrowed from an unsuspecting stranger.
Holly slipped on her hat and pushed it low to cover her face. “I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t like the idea of you going in there alone.” He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she felt anxiousness pour off him. He didn’t like splitting up.
“I don’t, either, but we need this.” She stared up into his face and saw apprehension in his blue eyes. He wanted to be in there with her and she wanted that, too, but that was the reason she needed to get inside and retrieve her access card. Not only could she use it to open any outside door into the hospital, but she could also use it to get into other areas of the hospital that were off-limits to non-employees. “My card is in my locker and we need it if we want to get into Sherri’s office unnoticed.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Be careful.”
“I’ll be back in ten minutes,” she said then turned to head around the corner to the ER entrance. She wished she could slip on her sunglasses to hide more of her face, but at this time of night they would only draw more attention to her.
God, please don’t let anyone see me.
She took a deep breath and stepped through the automatic double doors that led into the ER. She recognized the people behind the admissions desk but they appeared to be busy so she lowered her head and walked through the waiting room.
The doors leading to the treatment area had automatic locks and a keypunch entry. She knew the code, but didn’t want the security guard, Charlie, to see her enter it and question her. She’d worked with him before and knew he often got caught up watching the television mounted on the wall in the waiting area. She picked up a magazine and flipped through it, casting glances his way. When she spotted his gaze go to the TV, she moved toward the doors and punched in the access code. They opened and she slipped quickly through.
She kept her head low. If anyone recognized her, it would be someone here. She worked with many of these people every day. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the employee break area. She reached for the handle and was pulling the door open when a voice called her name.
“Holly!”
She stopped and turned, her heartbeat ramping up and panic racing throug
h her. Blake had been afraid this would happen. She wished he was there. He would know how to react. Should she run? Or turn and face the consequences?
“Holly, is that you?”
She turned and was relieved to see Marcy, the friend whose apartment she and Blake had used.
“Marcy, I’m so glad it’s you.”
Marcy threw her arms around Holly. “I can’t believe you’re here. The news is saying you were abducted.”
Holly drew away then pulled her into the break room. “Don’t you believe it, Marcy. It’s not true.”
“That cop friend of yours—Mason—told me all about it. He said it was a rogue cop on the force and that I should contact him if I heard from you.”
Holly’s grip dug into Marcy’s arm as she reached for her cell phone. “Don’t, Marcy. He cannot know I’ve been here. Mason is the one trying to kill me. He attacked me in the parking lot as I was leaving work. If Blake hadn’t intervened, he would have killed me right then.”
“Who’s Blake?”
“He’s a cop on the force, but he’s been working undercover for the DEA and has discovered much of the police force here is dirty. There’s a massive drug manufacturing ring operating out of Northshore. They’re targeting kids, Marcy. Kids! And the police are involved.
“We’ve been trying to get out of town, out of their jurisdiction, but they’ve got all the roads blocked. They’re hunting us.”
“That’s terrible,” Marcy said. “But why would you come back here?”
“It’s a long story, but I need my access card from my locker.”
A frown formed on her face. “I hate to tell you this, Holly, but the police cleared out your locker. They said it was for evidence.”
They went to her locker and Holly noticed that the combination lock was gone, probably cut off. She opened the door and saw that Marcy was right. The locker was empty.
Mission Undercover Page 9
