“Just hear me out, for fuck’s sake!”
“Like hell, I will.”
She swung hard at him, but he ducked to the ground, rolling to one side before getting to his feet when she tried to smack him again. The third time she wielded the faux weapon at him, he grabbed the end of it and captured it from her. He pinned her against the wall, holding the roller across her chest.
“Goddammit, Nicole. I’m on your side!”
“No, you’re not,” she cried out. “Why would you do what you did?”
Because he had been doing his job. What he’d been assigned to do. The directives. The instructions. All of it guided his life. However, this wasn’t right. This time… something more was going on, and he knew it, without a doubt. He couldn’t just tell Nicole he was going on a hunch. He had to take measures to protect her, protect himself, and find out exactly who was behind all of this.
And, with forces in the airport recognized by him as “unfriendlies,” he had to get them out of there and fast. He couldn’t do that, though, with her trying to take his head off.
She struggled against him, but it only put her breasts closer to his face. He resisted the urge within him to bury his face into the valley between them and get lost again. No time for that.
Firmly, he leaned on the roller, holding her in place and preventing her from moving or fighting more. “I admire your tenacity, but listen to me. I’m not here to hurt you.”
Her eyes burned with what looked like hatred. “Why should I believe you?”
“Because it’s true.”
“You did hurt me, Nick.” She gave in a bit and slumped against the wall. “You fucking hurt me a lot just banging me like that, stealing my stuff, and then disappearing.”
He let out a sigh. “I also slipped something into your drink so you’d sleep.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Of course, you did.”
“Look, I was assigned to follow you. Just follow you. Nothing more than intel.”
She bit out, “Oh, so fucking me was a bonus?”
Nick wasn’t letting her get away with that. “Entry into the Mile High Club was your idea, sweetheart, and you know it. Cut the crap. This isn’t some bar pick up or game. People want you dead.”
This stopped her struggle. “For real? I thought I was being paranoid.”
“This is real.”
“Ohhh. Okay.”
“Listen. There are, at least, four operatives out there looking for you. I can get you to a safe place, but you’ve got to trust me. We can figure this out together, okay?”
Her eyes filled with tears and she started shaking again. Nick didn’t want to, but he pulled her into his embrace and comforted her, telling her it would be all right even though he wasn’t sure about that himself.
“Trust me,” he repeated.
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
He snickered a bit at her tenacity. “No.”
“What do we do?”
Handing her his jacket, he said, “Here, put this on.”
It literally swallowed her whole when she fed her arms through the sleeves. He bent down and retrieved a painter’s hat from off the floor and passed it to her, as well.
“Put your hair up in that.”
She didn’t argue at all and did exactly as instructed.
“Where are my things?” she asked as she tucked the last of her brown tresses up under the unfashionable workman’s cap.
Nick screwed up his mouth. “Collateral damage.”
Her hackles were up again. “Everything?”
“Sorry. Part of the assignment.”
“Even my passport and phone?”
“Everything, Nicole.”
Hands on her hip, she snarled out, “You owe me a new Galaxy, asshole.”
“Noted.” He couldn’t stop himself from grinning at her.
He peeled the tarp away and checked the area. “Okay, we’re clear. Stay close to me, don’t make eye contact with anyone, and don’t say a word. Am I clear?”
She nodded obediently.
Nick
Together, they moved out into the shifting traffic of bodies rushing through the G Terminal. He slipped them out of the gate area as she dragged her rolling suitcase along. A group of high school athletes was up ahead of them, bunching together and causing a bit of a bottleneck for them to get around. The area was cordoned off to specifically guide the walking pattern a particular way. However, more and more people started to pile up like an accident on the highway. Nick kept his eyes moving about, making sure nothing suspicious was in their wake or up ahead.
“This isn’t right,” he said to her.
“What do you mean?”
He glanced over his shoulder. That was when he saw them. The two ex-military guys he’d never seen before were now advancing on them. It was the determined expressions on their hardened faces that gave them away. And those dead eyes he’d seen in his own face. Gripping his duffle bag on his shoulder with one hand, he took Nicole’s elbow with the other. That clunky case she pulled along was noisy and annoying as fuck, drawing attention to them at a time they needed to disappear through a group of teens all dressed in blue sweat suits. Probably young athletes.
“Excuse us,” he said, pushing forward.
“I beg your pardon, young man,” an older woman raised her voice to him. “Wait your turn. These kids are away from home for the first time.”
He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. The goons were closing in. If he weren’t careful, Nicole would be in jeopardy. For all anyone knew, she still had the data drive, which made her a moving target.
“Really, ma’am, we need to make a connection,” Nick said, rudely pressing forward.
“Well, I never!” she sang out, trying to shame him. “This is why you don’t come to New York City.”
The men were getting close, weaving through the jammed crowd toward them. Nick couldn’t let them get too close.
“We’re going to have to make a break for it,” he said to Nicole.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because two fuckers with guns are right behind us,” he said a bit too loudly, but he’d wanted to make sure Nicole understood the situation.
Sadly, she wasn’t the one who reacted. It was the team mom.
“They have guns!” she screamed out upon hearing Nick’s words. “Everyone! They have guns!”
“Who does?”
“Where?”
Screams.
Chaos.
Bodies hitting the floor.
Security personnel flying into action.
“Help us! Please! Help!” the visiting woman shouted out.
Nick almost laughed at the sheer panic she caused. The thing was, he was also enjoying the distraction. The teens scattered like mice in the light. Nick propelled Nicole forward past the mom who grabbed at both of them as they tried to get by.
“Stop them!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
“We aren’t the problem, you stupid bitch!” Nicole roared at her.
With that, the woman swept her arm over Nicole to hold her back and, in the process, knocked the painter’s hat off her head.
“That’s her!” one of the goons shrieked from only a few feet away. “Get her!”
Nick unceremoniously knocked the mom down to the airport floor and continued away from her, yanking Nicole along with him. Something stopped them, though. Her suitcase. It was caught on the woman’s leg, and she was holding on for dear life.
“Ditch it!” he instructed boldly.
“My clothes are in there!”
“Who cares? Leave it!”
“But… my vitamins and my—”
“I don’t give a shit. Let it go.”
Nicole screwed up her face and finally did as he said. They drilled their way through the teens and other passengers to slip down the staircase next to the elevator leading to the baggage claim.
As they ran by, Nicole tugged off the navy windbrea
ker and tossed it to the ground. Nick understood she was immediately trying to change her appearance so they’d blend in.
“There, that way,” he said, steering them through a maze of discarded baggage carts near one of the luggage carousels.
He stopped briefly at the flight from Omaha and snagged a black roller board.
She smirked at him, but kept quiet, and followed him outside to the curb.
They stopped for a second while he checked out the area and what the best option was for them. He knew exactly where he needed to go, he just had to figure out how to get there.
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
Nick saw the sign for car service pickup and hustled them along. He hadn’t realized it, but he’d been holding Nicole’s hand firmly since the team mom had lost her shit. He’d feel bad later for having face-planted her into the floor, but it couldn’t be helped. People were after them. This action was warranted.
Now, he had to make tracks out of the airport and lose the tails as fast as he could.
Across the street and in the car service area, Nick shifted his eyes for an easy target. He saw a Middle Eastern man in a tailored black suit holding a sign that read, “M.D. Fargo.” He walked them over and put out his hand to the driver.
“Hi there! I’m Mark Fargo. I believe you’re here for me.”
The man smiled and motioned him to a perfectly clean black Lexus SUV. “Welcome to New York, Mr. Fargo.”
Nicole scolded the driver. “That’s Dr. Fargo,” she added.
Nick tried not to snicker, appreciating that she was cooperating. “That’s okay, dear.”
“I’m terribly sorry, Dr. Fargo. That wasn’t in my notes. Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
Nick let Nicole climb in first while he handed off the contraband luggage to their driver. When the man reached for Nick’s duffel, he shook his head. “I’ll keep this one, thanks.”
The man placed the suitcase in the rear of the SUV and then closed the door automatically with a sliding click. Same with the passenger door. Nick was pleased to see the windows were tinted enough to where no one could see who was inside, yet he could make out what was going on. The driver was apparently checking in with his base to let them know he had his passenger pickup. That was when Nick made his move.
“Hold on,” he instructed.
Stepping hurriedly over the console, Nick took a seat behind the wheel, put the SUV in drive, and hit the gas.
“Nick! What are you doing?” Nicole shouted.
“Don’t you mean Dr. Fargo?” he said with a snicker.
In the rear view mirror, Nick could see the poor schmuck driver awkwardly running after him, waving his hands. Again, Nick would feel bad about it later, hoping the guy didn’t lose his job for being outsmarted.
Nick steered around taxis and hotel shuttle buses, weaving through the traffic and making sure he was in the right exit lane.
Nicole skidded into the front passenger seat and then buckled her seatbelt. “Put yours on,” she demanded.
“Yes, ma’am.” He reached behind him and wormed his arm into the strap, securing it to his right with a hard click. “Thanks for caring.”
“You’re driving us wherever it is we’re going. Care to tell me?”
“Far away from these assholes out to get you. And me now, too. I’m sure I’ve put a big red target on my person, as well.”
He steered away from the I-95 north exit. This time of day, it would be nothing but commuters and trucks for as far as the eye could see. He veered toward I-87 instead. That route would take about fifteen minutes longer. He didn’t care, though, as long as traffic kept moving. Sure, there were tolls, but this car was equipped with an E-Z Pass, so they wouldn’t have to worry about that.
“So, we’re going… where?”
“Somewhere safe,” he told her. More than that right now and it would jeopardize his plan. As it was, she was going along with him, and although he didn’t assume she’d turn on him, he couldn’t take any chances.
Nicole peered behind them at all the cars. “Are we being followed?”
“Chances are… yes.”
He cut across two lanes of traffic to the right and merged onto I-678. He took a local exit, wound through some main streets, making one turn after the next. A couple of cars were copying his moves, so he killed the headlights and ducked through a neighborhood. A few more slick turns, and they were joining back up with I-678. If they were being followed now, Nick couldn’t pinpoint exactly which vehicle it was doing so. He knew more than anything, he had to ditch this SUV and get something else to get them where they were going.
Good thing Nick knew the area. The GPS on the vehicle had been set for the hotel or conference center where M.D. Fargo was staying and had completely given up on its dire requests to turn around, do a U-turn, or to recalculate.
Once they were in the Bronx, he got on I-95, heading north until the Cross County Parkway, then west to Yonkers.
“You must have planned this,” Nicole noted.
“Not for this trip,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“Meaning, I do have several plans in place for if I ever need to disappear. This is merely one of the options.”
“Lucky me,” she said, and then let out a sigh. She was gripping the sissy bar overhead as if her life depended on it. Yeah, it pretty much did.
When the traffic slowed, Nick glimpsed over at her and assured, “I’ll take care of you, Nicole. Trust me.”
“I’m trying.”
A few minutes later, they exited into Yonkers and drove along the main street until Nick pulled an access pass out of his wallet and used it to get into a warehouse garage. The metal door creaked and rolled up exposing a cavernous parking area full of cars, some covered, others not. It was secure, out of the weather, and protected 24/7.
He drove the SUV over to the back left and parked it in a vacant space. Stepping out, he tossed his cell phone into the driver’s seat and left it there. Pressing a button on the car door, he lifted the back and then went around to retrieve the suitcase. He then made sure he had his duffel and then he closed the vehicle up.
“Are we switching cars?” she asked.
“Yep.”
He whipped the large, black covering off the roof of the car parked in the spot beside them, to reveal a real masterpiece.
“Holy shit,” she exclaimed.
“Uh huh,” he agreed. “It’s a 1969 Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet Mustang.”
She was taken aback. “How the fuck did you score one of these, Nick?”
He tossed the covering over the SUV and then stashed the bags in the trunk. Then, he motioned for her to get in on the passenger side.
Her mouth dropped open. “Man… some collector is going to be pissed. Shouldn’t we get something a little less conspicuous?”
“I want this one,” he said.
He slipped behind the wheel and cranked the engine to a growling roar thanks to the key already in the ignition.
“What a dumbass leaving the keys like that,” Nicole said with a harrumph as she climbed in.
He flashed her a grin. “Not really. I planned it that way.”
Her eyebrows jumped. “This is your car?”
“Yep. Was my old man’s before he died. I had it restored and put it here in storage in case I needed it one day.”
“And, that day is now.” She seemed pleased as she settled in for the next ride.
Nick buckled up and put the car in drive. He knew there was no turning back now.
He was invested.
Nicole
Somewhere north of New York City
Nicole swore she’d play along for now, but not forever. Overall, she wasn’t fucking impressed.
This sexy bastard Nick had double-crossed her once. No matter what, she couldn’t trust him.
He was still a liar and had conned her into believing he was a nice, normal guy when all along he’d been sent—by whom?—to deal w
ith her. Trust him? Trust had to be earned, buddy. He’d gotten her away from the airport thugs, and for that she was grateful, but she’d be damned if she let her guard down. He’d already cost her all of her possessions, her ID, passport, computer, and the fucking data drive she was trying to protect.
Thanks to his actions, she’d missed her flight to London and the chance to rendezvous with her father. She didn’t even know how she could get in contact with him and let him know, especially since Nick ditched his phone, as well. For all she knew, even this getaway was a set-up.
What the fuck was going on?
“I think I deserve some answers,” she said.
It was well past sundown, with the last bit of orange disappearing into the night sky as they drove along. Nick kept a careful eye on the road, never venturing to look over at her. Well, if he did, she didn’t see it.
“I told you to trust me,” he said.
“Right.” She laughed sadistically. “Trust the guy who steals all my shit, jabs a gun in my back, and fucks me in the plane restroom just to kill time.”
“You don’t understand, Nicole.” His voice was low and lacking emotion although she felt it emanating from him somehow.
“Then make me understand.”
“I’ve put everything on the line for you. I stepped outside my comfort zone, broke my code of ethics, and endangered my own life.”
“How so? I mean, you were after me to begin with, right? Getting information for someone.”
“No, I put everything on the line by breaking you out of the airport, by bringing you to my car, and by revealing myself to you. Now, I’m taking you where no one will find you.”
“You mean, when you bury the body?”
He sighed hard and even laughed. “You watch too much television.”
“Then, for what?”
“For you!”
“Why?” she begged.
She watched him grip the wheel hard, not looking at her.
“When we get to a safe place, I’ll let you in on everything. I’ll tell you what I know, and we can come up with a plan… together.”
Two Firefighters Next Door: A Bad Boy MFM Romance Page 28
