Have Me

by Jo Leigh

  He ran his hands underneath her coat, wanting to pull her blouse out of her pants so he could touch her skin, but if he did that, the tour would be over. She compelled him like that, made him want too much. But that had been true from the moment he’d set eyes on her. He couldn’t get enough.

  Her fingers slid up the back of his scalp and he gripped her tighter. The pressure kept building inside him, but he couldn’t break away, not completely. Not yet. His mouth went to her jaw, her neck, and he kissed her there where he could breathe her scent and trail his tongue up to the shell of her ear.

  “Wait,” she said, stepping away. “Whoa. I’m getting a little carried away here.”

  He nodded, catching his breath, willing his heartbeat to slow.

  “I really want to see the surprise,” she said. “So here’s the rule. No more fooling around until later. Okay?”

  He was about to agree when he heard a sound that triggered every internal red flag he had. Two pops, one then another, and he grabbed Rebecca and yanked her down to a crouch, then ran as fast as his gimp leg could take him until they’d reached the restraining wall that kept pedestrians from the City Hall building.

  “What the—”

  “Shh,” he said, knowing he was freaking her out, but he had to get the message across fast and hard.

  Rebecca froze as if he’d slapped her, which was good. He listened. For footsteps, for voices. There. To his left. Footsteps, heavy, moving slowly, coming right at them. He reached back and pulled Rebecca closer, put his coat across her face, then he tucked his head down, in case there were lights.

  The footsteps got damn close, then continued on, still slow, still careful. Jake held steady until he could no longer hear them, then waited some more. Finally, he let her up.

  “What the hell, Jake?” she whispered.

  “Someone shot at us.”

  “What? I didn’t hear anything.”

  “You didn’t recognize the sound. It was suppressed. They used a silencer.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He turned to face her. “I’d bet my life on it.”

  16

  REBECCA HAD NO IDEA WHAT to make of any of this. She tried to remember the seconds before he’d pulled her down, but she couldn’t recall any sounds at all. Jake seemed completely certain about the gunfire, but gunfire? Wasn’t it more likely there were fireworks somewhere, or a car backfiring?

  “Come on,” he said, stepping over the barrier once again, holding her hand tight. “We have to get out of here now.”

  “Jake, wait. Just stop. I’m sure it sounded like a gunshot to you, but I swear, I didn’t hear anything. We’re in the middle of a park on a Wednesday night. Who would be shooting at us?”

  He met her gaze, but only for a second. He was still scouring the shadows and the sidewalks, so focused she could feel the tremors in his hand. “You may be right, and I may be nuts, but I’m not willing to chance it, not with you here. We have to leave. Now. And we have to be quiet and quick.”

  She nodded. There was no point arguing. He kept them away from the lights, right against the barrier as they walked fast toward Broadway. Rebecca was the one who saw someone crouching by a fir tree. She yanked on Jake’s hand, and when he glanced back, she pointed her chin.

  He looked. “Shit,” he said, then he was sprinting back from where they came, and this time, she heard it. A pop like a cork flying from a champagne bottle.

  There was another pop, and this time, cement from the barricade in front of her splintered, making her gasp and cover her face as they ran. Jake pushed her over the barrier; his grunt when he landed next to her was a painful reminder of his limp and his pain.

  “Keep down,” he said. “I’ll come get you in a second.”

  His hand disappeared and she panicked. “Jake.” She remembered to whisper, but it didn’t matter. He’d moved into an even deeper shadow between buildings. She covered her head with her arms, so afraid she could hardly breathe. Every second felt like her last, and she kept chanting his name over and over, trying to speed up time.

  “Rebecca.”

  She jerked her head up. “Come on. Keep low.”

  Crouched over double, it was difficult as hell to walk, and it must have been ten times harder for Jake. He led her to the dark spot, and then he took her hand and brought it up against the wall.

  The darkness was so complete she couldn’t see spit, but she felt the edge of a doorway. Then nothing. A breeze. Startled, she jerked when he leaned in close to her head so he could whisper.

  “I’m going to help you find the ladder that leads down from this doorway. You’re not going to be able to see much when you start. In a minute though, you’ll see blue. Those are the lights of the station below, and they’ll stay on. They never go off. You’ll adjust quickly to those lights, so don’t be scared. I’ll be right behind you, okay?”

  She nodded. Then said, “Yes, okay.”

  It wasn’t a simple thing, this maneuver. Because of the dark. Because she was shaking so badly. There was someone out there and he wasn’t some random mugger. That gun had been aiming for her. For Jake. For both of them, either of them, it didn’t matter. It was a real gun and real danger, and he was still out there.

  The worst of it was the first step. It was as if nothing existed past the doorway. No staircase, no subway station, no earth at all. Nothing but a void, and all that was holding her from an endless fall was Jake, his hand steady, his voice so calm. “That’s it. Easy does it. Just reach down with your right foot until you feel the step.”

  “I can’t feel anything.”

  “Okay, okay. It’s all right,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Move your leg to the right. Swing it over nice and easy.”

  She obeyed him, but only because she was too petrified to do anything else. Then her foot hit against something metal. The thunk sounded thunderous.

  “That’s the ladder. That should help you get your bearings. Now you know where the side is, you can find the rung. Try again.”

  She did. She blinked trying to figure out if her eyes were open and maybe that was the scariest part. Not being able to tell. When her boot heel touched metal, she almost cried out, holding back the noise at the last second.

  “Good, great. Firm your grip. The rest is simple, easy as can be. Really soon, there’s going to be a blue light, and it’ll come on gradually, but you’ll see it, and you’ll know you’re halfway to the ground. Take your time, don’t rush. You let me know when you’re ready to let go, okay?”

  She didn’t think she’d ever be ready to let go of his hand, but this was no time to be a coward. He had to climb down, too. He must be terrified up there. And he knew what it felt like to get shot.

  Oh, bad thought. She couldn’t think about that now or she’d freeze. “Okay,” she said and lowered herself until her left hand found the ladder. She’d never held on to anything so tightly.

  “I’m right behind. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear.”

  “I know,” she said, even though it felt as if her heart would beat straight out of her chest. But Jake had promised. He wasn’t abandoning her; he was leading her to safety.

  She stepped down with her other foot. Found the rung. Shifted her right hand. No turning back now, just down, just one step and another and the next and there. Blue. She didn’t turn to find the source, just let the light filter into her field of vision. One step after another, and then she was seeing the wall, the ladder, her own hands. Miraculous. Weird. Real.

  Looking up, she could make Jake out, too. Mostly his legs and his butt. By the time she got to the ground level, she felt more in control. She stepped away easily, even if she was more scared than she’d ever been in her life

  Not thirty seconds later, Jake was beside her. “You okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Come on. I don’t know how much they know about this station. But they’re going to realize we came down at some point, so we’ll head for the exit. I left the door open up the
re. If they try to get down the same way we did, it’ll give us time to get out.” He found her hand and turned.

  “Wait,” she said. “They?”

  “Yeah. Two of them that I saw. I don’t know if there are more.”

  She and Jake were speaking in whispers, but their voices echoed. In the distance, she heard a rumble. It was indistinct, more a feeling than a sound.

  “But—”

  “No time. We’ll talk when we’re safe. Stay close to me. The trains come through here. There are tracks, which means we have to be careful of the third rail, so no moving without me, got it? I can’t use the flashlight. It’s too dangerous. So stick close.”

  “Like glue,” she said. She hadn’t thought about the third rail. Despite not knowing what IRT stood for, she had taken the subway. She was a New Yorker, of course she had. So she’d known what the third rail was from the time she was a kid: Death. Big old nasty frying death.

  So. Two gunmen. At least. Aiming for them. And now a third rail. Next time Jake asked her if she was ready for an adventure, she was going to say no. In the meantime, she slipped her free hand into his back pocket. That ought to keep her close enough.

  JAKE IGNORED THE BURN IN his thigh and cursed himself for every kind of fool there’d ever been. He’d walked right into this. Shit. He’d been such an idiot.

  T-Mac hadn’t just taken the fall. He wasn’t left there by accident. He’d made a deal with Keegan. He’d do the time for money. Had to be. That family in Georgia who called all the time? Jake had put out some feelers to find out about them, but hadn’t gotten any return calls yet. He imagined they were living quite well.

  Gary hadn’t been able to dig up much of anything that wasn’t on the official records about West, but he hadn’t had a lot of free time to dedicate to the search. Why should he?

  But Jake should have known better than to waltz into Sing Sing and announce his presence like a rank amateur. It hadn’t even occurred to him that T-Mac and Keegan could have been in cahoots. Why not? Life with Packard and life in prison weren’t that different except with prison there was a chance of parole. And when he got out, he’d be set. His family would be set. There was a money trail somewhere, and if Jake lived through this night, he was going to make it his business to find that trail and make sure both T-Mac and Keegan were tried for attempted murder.

  First, though, he had to get Rebecca out of here in one piece. That’s what made him the angriest. Not that he’d been an idiot—he’d been a dope plenty of times before. Never when it cost so much, and never, never when he had something so precious in his care.

  He should have kept his suspicions to himself. He should have kept his mouth shut and done his digging on his own time.

  The train that had been way the hell down the line was now coming on fast. There were still work lights up, so he could get them safely behind the concrete wall that kept the maintenance crews from accidentally getting run over.

  He released her hand and covered her ears with his palms; the trains made an ungodly screech as they took the curve of this loop of track. The squeal of metal against metal echoed back on itself, bouncing off the tile walls of the station. Under that was the noise of the train itself, which sounded like an earthquake this close. He surrounded Rebecca as much as he could with his body and his hands as the train rumbled and screamed, and he felt her press in, gripping his back for all she was worth.

  Jesus, she had to be okay. Whoever these guys were, they weren’t sharpshooters, but he’d wager a great deal that they weren’t willing to turn up empty-handed at the end of the night. West’s whole world was being threatened, and he wasn’t going to hire muscle on the cheap.

  Jake would have to be smarter, that’s all. Whoever they were, they didn’t know this station. He did. Every nook and cranny, and that was what would save them. He already knew there was no cell phone reception in the station. But there were call boxes, if he could get to one.

  He winced as the sound assaulted his ears, knowing it would take some time before they’d be able to hear each other. The worst of it passed and he slowly stepped back from Rebecca, checking to make sure she was all right.

  She gave him a smile. Not a big one, but a brave one, and he kissed her, then guided her hand to his back pocket and they were on the move.

  They got across the tracks fine, and then they followed the curve of the platform, hugging the walls. Halfway to the exit stairs, he saw one of the gunmen on the right edge of the stairs coming down, his gun held in both hands, his head moving so he could sweep the area. No flashlight, but then he didn’t need one yet.

  Quietly and smoothly, Jake moved backward about fifteen feet, guiding Rebecca. He felt his way to the alcove, a niche built into the wall that had been his favorite place to hide while showing his friends around, the better to scare the crap out of them when he jumped out. He’d been such an ass.

  It was a tight fit for two, but that was okay. He turned her sideways, then pushed in himself. Face-to-face. He could look out beyond her to see where the gunmen were. If they weren’t both down here, they would be soon. Now, Jake would listen. Wait. After a quick check to make sure he was in the clear, he bent and got a couple of good stones for throwing. Maybe he could get one of them to step on the tracks. Maybe he could get them close enough and push one of them himself.

  In the meantime, he had to protect her as best he could. She was trembling like a leaf. He wasn’t much better. No weapon, no way of reaching help. Her life depending on his wits and his speed. Standing here without much range of motion was about the worst thing he could do as far as his leg went.

  He leaned in close to Rebecca’s ear until his lips brushed the silky lobe. “We wait now,” he whispered as softly as he could. “We have home turf advantage. We’re going to be fine. I’m sorry I can’t show you where you are. It’s so beautiful, sweetheart. Colored glass, tiles of green, tan and white up to the ceiling in the four corners of the vault over the mezzanine. The skylights are amazing. Imagine great pools of natural light from up above, and when they’re not enough, they brought in brass chandeliers,” he said, trying to distract her but she was still shaking. “The architect who designed the arches was famous back then. A showman. His name was Rafael Guastavino.”

  Jake looked out again, hating the vulnerability of sticking his neck out, but he did it, and it was a damn good thing, because both men were down the stairs, and one of them was walking toward their alcove.

  Jake ducked back, then pressed them both, hard, against the back of the cubbyhole. It was dark, very dark, and as long as the man didn’t flash a light directly at them, he’d never know the alcove existed, let alone that they were hiding in it.

  His footsteps seemed as loud as the train had been at its worst. Slow, taking his time. But then a real rumble started behind him. Another train. The man needed to hurry. Step up his pace. Get past them, well past them to the walkway leading down to the dark end of the tunnel.

  He needed the man to be far enough that when the train came, he and Rebecca could make a break for the stairs. It would be so loud the gunmen would never hear them. Jake knew exactly where to go, where to hide, but he needed a few minutes’ grace. It didn’t seem like too much to ask for, so he did, until the sound of the train ground in his chest. He took hold of Rebecca’s hand, squeezed it tight. Prayed he could move fast enough.

  When the conductor’s car was twenty feet away, Jake broke out, pulling her behind him. Not too fast, even though he wanted to sprint. Not until she caught up to him, and then they hauled ass. Fuck the leg, screw the pain, they were running up the stairs, the screech of the train filling the platform to the rafters. They were soundless, they were panting and then they were past the curve and up the second shorter set of stairs and he could see where those bastards had broken in. No locks to mess with meant he could get her out more quickly. Good. The final steps, leading up to the sidewalk, and she surged in front of him, pulling him with her, and thank God for that because his leg was ab
out ready to quit.

  He yanked his phone out of his pocket, but she wouldn’t stop. Not until they got to the street and she’d waved down a cab and shoved him inside.

  While he called the 1st Precinct, she gave the cabbie an address. Jake told the desk who he was, including his old badge number, that there were armed men in the City Hall Station and that they’d be gone damn soon, so get there fast.

  He hung up after giving his callback number, pulled her into a fierce kiss, squeezing her too tightly, and, shit, he couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t care. But she needed to breathe so he backed off and met her gaze. “You okay?”

  “Scared out of my mind. I can hardly believe what just happened. It’s insane.”

  “But you’re okay. You’re not hurt.”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. We’re going to Charlie’s and we’ll figure it all out there.”

  “Good,” he said, then he bent over and pressed down on his thigh as he tried like hell not to scream. Her hand was on his back and she was talking.

  “It’s okay, honey. You were fantastic. You’re going to be fine. You got us out. We’re safe now. It’s okay. Please, be okay.”

  JAKE DIDN’T RECOGNIZE THE building they were dropped at, but it didn’t surprise him that it was where her cousin Charlie lived, considering it was directly across the street from the park on Central Park West.

  Getting out of the cab and into the elevator was something he could have lived his whole life without, but Rebecca was a champ. She did all of the heavy lifting. He tried not to make any sounds, but then he’d step down and a muscle would spasm and it was like being shot all over again.

  The elevator opened to Charlie and Bree looking worried. And confused.

  “What’s going on? You were pretty damn cryptic,” Charlie said, but Bree shoved him to the side so she could put Jake’s other arm around her shoulder and help him into the house. Apartment. Palace.