Dangerous Memories

by Intrigue Romance

  Jo ran.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Their goal was a good hundred feet away. Then what? Run until Lanning and his team found them? That was the plan?

  Levi stood behind the van door and fired a couple of shots in the direction Jo’s kidnappers had been. She ran and he covered her until she was through the door. Another shot. Not his. And he felt the searing pain in his calf.

  He’d been looking out for Jo’s safety instead of tracking where the shooters were. Returning fire, he ran while he still could. If he allowed the pain to take over, Jo would be dead.

  You stop, she’s dead. The mantra replayed through his head as the pain splintered through each step. You stop, she’s dead.

  “Not,” he grunted, forcing the words, “happening.”

  Jo pushed the door open as he approached. She’d pulled the vest off and was yanking her shirt over her head.

  “What are you—”

  She knelt and tied the shirtsleeves around his leg as a bandage. He checked his cell.

  “That’s the best I can do. Now what?”

  “Still no signal so we keep moving until the FBI swoops in for the save.” He raised his eyes up at the staircase. No way to block the door and a heck of a lot of stairs to climb. “We go up. Put the vest back on.”

  She swung the vest on as they moved. The pain in his leg reminded him with every step what would happen to Jo if he failed. They got into a rhythm. He followed—protecting her from behind—until they reached a new level. She waited, he verified no one was there, they climbed another flight.

  Three more flights and they found the main lobby level. Then Levi heard footsteps slapping against the concrete beneath them. He verified their path was clear and turned to her. “Nearest door and we’re outside, flagging down a car.”

  “Got it. You okay?”

  “I got a couple of sprints left in me.”

  Jo grabbed his hand and turned in the direction the arrows had pointed to the lobby.

  “She was here, Levi,” she whispered. “My mother’s client. The woman responsible for all this destruction. She’s the reason they brought me here after they murdered LuLu.”

  “Did you get her name?”

  She shook her head and punched open the door to the main corridor.

  “We’ll go over everything. First we have to get out of this building.”

  They discovered multiple doors leading toward a park. All locked. Main lobby on their right, street on their left. They kept running until they found an emergency exit. Just as they heard the alarm sound, the slam of the stairwell door against the wall echoed through the empty hall.

  The man following them made excellent time catching up. The bullet wound had slowed Levi down more than he cared to admit. The street and the Omni Hotel were within sight. Only one guy chased them on foot, but both had shot at him. The second man was in the van. The vulture was waiting for the kill. There had been plenty of time for him to drive from the garage and be in place to cut them off at the street.

  “We need to find cover.”

  The man on foot still had to run the length of the building to get to the open door.

  “But I thought—”

  “The van’s sure to be waiting to cut us down as we cross the street. Move it, Jo.”

  They headed for the shadows, just out of the spotlight circling a larger-than-life statue of a cowboy wrangling longhorns. They hid in the darkness and tall grass. It wouldn’t last long, the shadows barely large enough for them both and not nearly dark enough to disguise them from someone walking past.

  “Where are the cops? Or your friendly FBI? Didn’t they want to tag along for the fun?” she asked, untying the sleeves of her shirt, rolling it and making a bandage of sorts under his pants leg. “This looks bad.”

  “Bad and I wouldn’t be able to walk. I’m fine. You’re in a chipper mood. You forgetting that you almost died back there?”

  “I remember. But once you arrived, I didn’t think about dying. By the way, you’re getting slow,” she whispered with a grin and yanked harder on the sleeves.

  The jolt of agony blasted through his entire body.

  A bullet pinged off a bronze longhorn. He turned back and discharged his weapon to keep the shooter pinned behind an oak tree.

  “Jo.” He grabbed her shoulder with his free hand, forcing her to look at him. “You’re going to run up that hill, get across the street and call Lanning. He should be close.”

  “Does Lanning have the GPS info?”

  “Yeah.”

  He handed her his cell, whispering as firmly as he could without being overheard. “Just like in the garage. You lead the way. I’ll be close behind.”

  She understood and nodded her head.

  “I’ll lay down cover and you run.” One step backward and his hand dropped. He took a couple of shots and she took off. She didn’t let the gunfire slow her down.

  Another shot hit a tree trunk just behind him, coming a little too close. He laid down cover fire and got to his feet to follow.

  “Watch out for the horn,” Jo cautioned.

  He faced forward just in time to miss taking a two-foot longhorn across his neck. She waited long enough to see him miss it, then darted between the statues and the rock ledge up the path.

  He had less and less feeling in his foot and it was harder to move. They’d made it across the cattle drive sculpture and into a cemetery at the top of the slope. A frickin’ cemetery in front of him and an empty convention center to his right, closed businesses across to his left, and the driver of the van on the road behind him.

  “Which way?” she asked. “Can you make it to the road?”

  “No good, we don’t know where the driver is.”

  “Then we go through the cemetery. We keep moving until George finds us. That’s what you said, right?”

  He doubted it. But he waved her onward. He had no intention of following the entire distance. He couldn’t. The footsteps slogging up the hill were closer. The guy chasing was certain to see them with the multicolored neon lights from the Omni illuminating the place like the Vegas strip.

  She darted to the next tombstone, then a tree, her silhouette as plain as if a spotlight shone upon her path.

  It was imperative to stop the guy following them before he caught up with Jo. He searched the darkness. Waited for movement. Had the perp skirted the outside of the cemetery? Had he just sent Jo into an ambush?

  Hide on the back side of the building and call Lanning, he instructed even knowing she couldn’t hear him.

  To his right. Next tree. Ten or twelve feet. There’s the bastard.

  No time for stealth. Levi stepped into the open. “That’s far enough.”

  Taken by surprise, the man turned and fired. Levi dove and hit the damp leaves. Rolled. The man got closer. Levi fired twice. He didn’t miss.

  The man dropped to the ground covering a gravestone with his still body.

  “Levi?”

  Jo ran to him, tree branch in hand, ready to help as much as she could. He hadn’t moved since LuLu’s murderer had fallen. She hated to wish anyone dead, but this man had shot her old babysitter without a moment’s hesitation.

  She could hear sirens approaching. Heard a train whistle in the distance. And oddly, the lights shining through the trees and rippling across the tall hotel were beautiful blues, pinks and purples.

  She dropped the stick.

  Levi blew a long, forceful breath through his lips as he got to his feet. He limped to the body, kneeling on his good leg to feel for a pulse. Then he shook his head, confirming death. “Was this Rainbow Man?”

  “I don’t know, but he’s the one that shot LuLu.”

  “What about the other guy?”

  From the corner of her eye, something flew from behind a tall tombstone.

  “Watch out!”

  A knife.

  She ducked and knocked Levi off balance and they were both on the ground. A guttural wrenching cry split the air, as
the man leapt for his long blade.

  “Get out of here, Jo! Get help.”

  Easier said than done. The crazed man was still rolling across her legs, pinning her to the ground. Levi had the man by his hands, stopping him from reaching the weapon. In return, the driver straddled Levi, pinning him next to his dead partner.

  Jo pulled the phone, wasting precious seconds finding Lanning’s number. “We’re in a cemetery. Levi needs help.”

  “We’re almost there.” Lanning’s voice faded as she tossed the phone behind her, hoping they’d be found quickly.

  She tripped over a branch. It was the only weapon she could find. She swung at the man, heard a grunt. The man pounded Levi’s kidneys. The men struggled for dominance, constantly changing positions. But if she found the gun, she could save Levi.

  As bright as she’d thought the neon lit night had been, it barely illuminated the ground. She dropped to her knees, feeling for the cold metal of the weapon. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness again. There it was. She got her hands around the handle and a cold hand pried at her fingers.

  “Levi!”

  The man grunted, pushing her underneath him, sitting across her hips, jerking her arm under his knee to hold it in place. Her hand gripped the gun but was pinned to the ground and quickly going numb. She had to break free. Had to help Levi! She kicked her legs. Shoved with her body.

  The man backhanded her. Her face was on fire from the sting of the slap. Her eyes watered and his face contorted into a menagerie of evil creatures. Images that had haunted her far too long. She couldn’t beat him with strength and relaxed, letting the gun go.

  The same lecherous smile his brother had used spread across his face. His hand slipped around her throat, squeezing just enough to limit her air, but keep her conscious. Both hands tightened around her throat, strangling her with his icy fingers. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, hard against her ribs, short bursts of air, then nothing. And then her lungs worked again.

  Levi had knocked the man away from her. Thank God he was still alive. She was still alive. But they wouldn’t be for long if she didn’t find the gun. She ignored how the man was hurting Levi and concentrated on one thing—the gun.

  She grabbed the gun. She pointed. Slowly. Carefully.You can’t take anything else from me!

  The shattering blast in his side knocked the attacker off Levi.

  “They’re over here!”

  Levi took the gun from her, pointing at the horrible creature, who crawled to the dead man at their feet and signed, trying to communicate. She couldn’t watch.

  “He’s mute,” she whispered with a raspy, hurt sound.

  “Someone stop the bleeding and try to record what he’s saying.” George directed agents and police officers. “How far out is the bus?”

  “This one’s dead, sir.”

  People were suddenly everywhere.

  “Get Jolene a blanket.”

  She thought George gave that direction, too, but the world got smaller and became just her and Levi. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Ready to take that vest off? Sorry I can’t give you back your shirt.” Levi pulled his over his head and wrapped it around her.

  The warmth and safety of his arms made everything tolerable. An officer handed Levi a blanket, which he used around them both. She was thankful, because his strength helped her hold everything together.

  He brought her closer to his chest. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  “You’ve been shot. You need a hospital.” She tried to back away, but he squeezed her tighter. The warmth of his chest spread across her skin.

  “I’m serious, Jo. Right next to me, every step of the way.”

  “Why would I want to leave?”

  * * *

  THE ENTIRE AREA looked like the end of a movie. Emergency lights flashed on the city street next to tape cordoning off the crime scene. Even down to Jo holding hands with the handsome bare-chested hero who had given her his shirt after getting shot while saving her. At this point in the movie, the hero and heroine would kiss, say I love you and go off to live happily ever after.

  Too bad this was reality and not the movies and not the time to tell Levi she loved him. Surrounded by strangers, watching them take away the men who had tried to kill them. At least he wasn’t seriously injured. He still needed to go to the hospital, but continued to keep the EMTs waiting.

  Details of “the incident” were recounted to first the FBI and then the police. She’d answered all their questions even after Levi had insisted she was too tired and should sit in a patrol car.

  It really did feel like the end of something. An era in her life was finished and the opportunities she hadn’t allowed herself to consider before were now possible. What did she want?

  Levi.

  Another officer tried to escort her to the sidelines. She’d accepted the blanket around her shoulders so she could warm up and a bottle of water to hydrate, but she stayed by Levi’s side. The EMTs bandaged his leg, stuck a needle in his arm and kept insisting they needed to get him to the hospital. He finally conceded to leave after a whispered conversation with George.

  “Would I be an ass if I tell you never to put yourself in danger like that again?” Levi had at least waited until they were semi-alone. He took her hand, more gently than she anticipated and rested them both on his abdomen. His eyes shut, looking like the gunshot had finally caught up with him.

  “I think this discussion should wait. You’re exhausted.”

  “I’d like to know why you risked your life and didn’t trust me.” He held her hand tightly, keeping it secure next to his cool skin.

  “It was my risk to take. My decision.”

  “You really don’t think that decision had anything to do with me?”

  “Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

  “I’d like to know, Jo. If you almost killing yourself didn’t involve me after the time we’ve spent together this past week and the promise I made to your father, then what do we have?”

  Jo could feel the eyes of strangers on her. EMTs and a couple of policemen standing nearby weren’t trying to be polite and give them privacy. Very embarrassed, she tried to pull her hand free, but Levi held tight, a determined look on his face.

  Thankfully, the EMTs interrupted. She stepped back as they lifted the gurney. Levi’s lips were in a thin line—was it disappointment or pain? Maybe a little of both.

  “Sorry, sir,” the EMT shifting his IV fluid said. “No ride-alongs.”

  “She can’t be left here alone. Can’t you say she needs to be checked out or something?”

  “Are you okay, miss?”

  “Fine. He’s delusional and forgetting I’m not ten.”

  “We’ve got to move out, Marshal.” The second EMT climbed in the back with him while the first stood ready to shut the door.

  “Jo, promise me you’ll stick close to Lanning. Promise.”

  “Fine. I’ll stick close to George and have him bring me to the hospital.”

  “I need you to walk her back to Agent Lanning,” he said to the technician climbing into the van with him.

  “Sorry, man. We’ve got to take off. There’s lots of cops around. She’s safe.”

  “Come on, make sure she gets back.” She heard him say behind the closed doors, continuing to worry about her.

  “I’ll be fine, Levi!” she shouted to the closed door, feeling extremely tired. Maybe she’d rest in that patrol car after all. She’d tell her protector how sorry she was at the hospital. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. She’d show him how much he meant in her life.

  In spite of the fatigue she felt a new emotion—hope. She hadn’t given herself permission to believe everything would be okay. Was she ready for her normal life to resume? Which life? Georgia or Colorado? Too many questions for right that minute.

  Without the emergency lights flashing, the night seemed to creep in on her again. The full force of what had happened in the past week�
�especially today—hit her between her shoulders. She was suddenly very tired. Ready for sleep tired.

  A normal reaction to no longer running and avoiding danger. Adrenaline or endorphins did that to people. Right? Maybe she had hit her head. Her vision wasn’t as clear and she felt sort of woozy. The water bottle dropped from her fingers, bouncing along the sidewalk. She wanted to pick it up. She tried. Following its path as the wind continued to blow it became more difficult with every step.

  “Let me get that for you, dear.”

  The woman in front of her was familiar. Why did she care? She needed to sit down. Standing was too tiring.

  “Come along, dear. I’ll help.”

  The woman wrapped her arm around Jo’s waist and led her away from the flashing lights, around the corner of the convention center, away from...it was important. She had to remember. Away from...

  “My promise. I know your voice.” The van. The woman yelling outside the van.

  “Brava, Emaline. Your mother and father would be so proud of you.” The older woman put her in the passenger seat, put the seat belt into place and took something from the glove compartment. Her wrists were slapped together and tied. Burning, hurting.

  “I came to finish our—shall we say—chapter.”

  “Who? I shouldn’t be here.” She tried to unbuckle, but her hands were so heavy. “Drugs?”

  “That’s right. Sleepy time now.”

  Don’t be mad, Levi. I tried to keep my promise.

  Chapter Twenty

  “What do you mean she’s not with you?”

  “I thought she was here with you.” Lanning didn’t act concerned. He sat in a chair looking satisfied. “She probably took a cab back to the motor home. I’ve already sent locals there. Give it a minute.”

  “It’s been a couple of hours and she promised to stay with you.” Panic again. He thought he was past this utter terror regarding her safety. Jo was supposed to be secured by the FBI.

  “You need to accept that your girlfriend makes her own decisions.”