Dangerous Curves

by Kristina Wright

  The men hauled them to their feet. Sam stumbled, her legs numb from sitting on the floor. Jake’s support was the only thing that kept her from falling.

  Montegna stood before her, his dark eyes empty. Soulless. “When I thought you might work for Levy, it was strictly business,” he said, bringing the knife up to her hairline and dragging the side of the blade down her face. “But now it’s personal.”

  Sam felt the slightest pressure against her cheekbone. “Please. There’s nothing we can do to you.”

  “No. But there’s so much I can do to you”

  Sam winced as the knife broke skin, trying desperately to pull away from him. “No!” she gasped.

  “Leave her alone, Montegna!”

  Jake’s words were ineffectual. Montegna’s gaze never left Sam’s face. “Perhaps I was wrong after all. My men saw you with Levy. Your boyfriend is a detective.” Montegna recounted the facts, the knife inching down Sam’s face, barely scratching the skin. “Perhaps you work for the cartel instead?”

  Sam swallowed hard, forcing her eyes to remain steady on his face. Before she could say anything, Jake spoke.

  “She doesn’t know anything. I’m the one you want.”

  Montegna’s head snapped up. He walked around to face Jake. “And what do I want with you? Tell me what you know. Now!”

  “I’m guessing you don’t know the FBI arrested Levy today.”

  Montegna’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

  Jake shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe your great deal is about to fly south without you. What was Levy supposed to do? Get you out of the country?”

  “I ask the questions!” Montegna roared.

  “No deal. Let Sam go and I’ll tell you everything.”

  Montegna snarled in frustration. “You don’t tell me what to do! I’ll take the woman apart piece by piece and let you watch.”

  Sam gasped and bit back the urge to scream. There was no doubt in her mind that Montegna was capable of carrying out his threat

  “If you kill her, you’ll have to kill me. Then you’ll never know the truth,” Jake said with a casual nonchalance that made Sam wonder how far he was willing to go.

  Sam was sure Montegna would never go for Jake’s suggestion. He couldn’t let her go. She knew too much.

  “Cut them loose,” Montegna said with a snap of his fingers.

  “But Mr. Montegna—” Vinnie started.

  Montegna turned on his man. “I said, cut them loose.”

  Vinnie took the knife back from Montegna and sliced the tape that bound Sam and Jake together. Sam rubbed at her tender wrists and the sticky residue left on her skin by the adhesive. Before she could relax, Vinnie had her by the neck, his gun pressed to her side.

  “Now,” Montegna said, addressing Jake. “Tell me what you know.”

  “I said, let the woman go.” Jake’s words were slow and measured, as if he were speaking to a child. “Let her go and then we’ll talk.”

  Sam looked at Jake, but his gaze was focused on Montegna. She had no intentions of leaving Jake alone with this lunatic but she wasn’t sure what his plan was. The last thing he needed was for her to sabotage his efforts. She kept quiet.

  A slow, calculating smile spread across Montegna’s face. “Sure, sure. I’ll let the woman go. Vinme, take her out of here.”

  Vmnie’s hand tightened on her arm as he led her to the door. “Jake, no!” Sam struggled to free herself. “I’m not leaving you here.”

  Jake’s face was a calm mask. “Go, Sam. It’ll be all right.”

  Tears fell unheeded. “Jake—”

  “Go on, Sam. Please.” His features cleared and his cocky grin melted some of her terror. “I can handle this.”

  “Come on, enough, enough!” Montegna snapped. “Get her out of here.”

  Vinnie dragged her to the door and threw it open. The lateafternoon sunlight blinded her at first. Vinnic’s hand loosened on her arm but didn’t let go. Something in the distance caught her eye. At first she didn’t understand what she was seeing. But Vinnie did.

  “Boss! There are cars coming this way!”

  “Run, Sam! Run!”

  Sam’s first instinct was to follow Jake’s order. But Vinnie was too quick for her. “Not so fast.”

  “Bring her back in,” Montegna barked. “Quick! Close the door.” He turned his wrath on Jake. “What is this? A setup?”

  Instead of answering his question, Jake said, “Give it up, Montegna. You’re trapped.”

  Vinnie dragged Sam back in, pushing her toward Jake. Outside, she could hear the sound of the cars approaching. Montegna went to the door and cracked it open. He cursed under his breath.

  Sam looked at Jake. “Who is it?” she whispered.

  Jake gave a small shake of his head. “Don’t know. The damn cavalry, I hope.”

  Doors slammed. A voice blared over a bullhorn. “Carlos Montegna, come out with your hands up. You are surrounded.”

  “It’s Joe.”

  “I have hostages!” Montegna shouted through the narrow gap in the door.

  “Come out, Montegna. Let the hostages go.”

  “Let me go or I’ll kill them.”

  Sam stepped closer to Jake. “What do we do?”

  “Sit tight.”

  Wishing she had half of Jake’s courage, Sam wrapped her arms around herself. And prayed.

  “You’re not going to get out of this, Montegna,” Jake said reasonably. “It’s Joe Lafferty, FBI. He arrested Levy this afternoon. He’ll cut you a deal. You’ll be out of the country before tomorrow.”

  Montegna stalked across the room and grabbed Sam by her arm. Hauling her toward the door, he pointed the gun to her head. “Go,” he said, nudging her to the opening in the door. “Eddie, watch him.” The big man moved closer to Jake, gun trained. “Vinnie, get over here and hold the door.”

  With Vinnie propping the door open, Montegna twisted his hand in Sam’s hair. “What do you see?”

  Sam peered outside. “Three cars.”

  Montegna yanked her back inside. Printing his gun through the opening, he fired several shots. The rapid succession of explosions echoed in the small shed.

  “Sam, get down!” Jake cried.

  Sam crouched down just as a volley of gunfire went off outside. Belatedly, Montegna and Vinnie joined her on the floor. Bullets tore into the walls with dull thuds. Sam crawled across the dirty floor toward Jake. Fighting back the stark fear that clouded his senses, he knelt beside her.

  “Cease fire!” Joe yelled. “Cease fire!”

  “Let us leave or I will kill the hostages!” Montegna screamed. He looked over his shoulder. “Bring them here.”

  Jake and Sam were forced to the door. Montegna pulled the door open. “Go,” he told his men.

  They made a tiny procession, Montegna surrounded by bodies. Sam was in the lead, Eddie behind her. Montegna pulled Jake to his side, with Vinnie bringing up the rear. In tight formation, they made their way to the van.

  “Tell your men not to fire, Joe!” Jake called.

  Jake surveyed the caravan of vehicles that made a semicircle around the shed. Two unmarked, one sheriff’s department. Good, the more witnesses the better. In the distance, two more vehicles approached. One looked like a news van.

  Montegna and his men directed Sam and Jake to the back of the van. Montegna climbed in first, followed by his men who pulled Jake in, then Sam. The doors slammed on the half-dozen law enforcement officers.

  “Get to the plane,” Montegna ordered.

  Vinnie took the driver’s seat and the engine revved to life. The smell of gasoline immediately permeated the air.

  Crouching low in the passenger seat, Montegna roared, “Go!”

  The van lurched forward, throwing Eddie off-balance. The big man fell to his knees. Jake delivered a quick uppercut to his jaw. He crumpled silently, the two men in the front oblivious. Jake palmed Eddie’s semiautomatic.

  “Quick, Sam,” Jake said urgently, pulling her to the va
n doors. “When I say jump, jump, tuck and roll.” He cast a look over his shoulder. They had only a minute or two at the most.

  Sam nodded. “Ready.”

  Jake gave the doors a fierce kick and they flew open. “Jump!”

  Sam jumped from the speeding van, her body reflexively curling into a tight circle. Montegna yelled behind him, but Jake didn’t turn. Leaping from the van, he hit the ground with a painful jolt, rolling to a stop a few yards from Sam.

  The van screeched to a halt. Jake got to his knees and braced the gun in his hand. He didn’t have time to think, only to shoot. He had to give Sam a chance to get away. The shots ripped the air as he emptied the gun into the van. Then he leaped to his feet and started running behind Sam, reaching for her hand as he passed her. “Come on, Sam! Run, run!”

  She stumbled behind him, going down on her knees. Jake looked over his shoulder. Montegna jumped out of the van, his gun pointed at Sam. In that instant, time froze. Jake saw what Montegna intended—he’d kill Sam just on principle.

  Jake did the only thing he could. He threw his body on top of Sam’s. Montegna fired and Jake heard the bullet whistle through the air before he actually felt it. In the next instant, the van exploded. Flames licked up into the air, and pieces of debris came showering down on them.

  Sam pulled away from Jake, looking over his shoulder at the van. “How did you know it was going to explode?”

  “The gas,” he said weakly, feeling light-headed. “Someone must have hit the fuel tank. I just helped things along.”

  Sam trembled, her face pale. She was in shock. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close. She was alive and safe. Montegna hadn’t taken her away from him. He’d won, this time. “It’s over, Sam. It’s finished.”

  “Jake?” Her gaze searched his face. “Are you all right?”

  He tried to nod, but his head felt detached from his body. “I’m fine. Just got shot, that’s all.”

  “Jake! Jake!”

  He could hear her screaming his name but couldn’t seem to form the words to tell her that she was giving him a headache. She rolled him over and he felt the searing pain of the bullet in his back.

  “Dammit, Jake. Don’t you dare die on me,” she cned into his chest. “I love you!”

  He wanted to say it had taken her long enough to tell him. Instead, he just smiled and closed his eyes.

  Epilogue

  In the aftermath of their ordeal, everybody and their brother wanted a statement from Sam and Jake—the FBI, the sheriff’s department, the local news media with a feed to the networks, even airport security, wanted information. Joe kept the harassment to a minimum as Jake was taken to the hospital.

  Separated from Jake while the doctor looked him over, Sam did her best to tell everyone what they wanted to know. Joe insisted she be examined as well, but she couldn’t think of anything right now except how still Jake looked as they wheeled him into surgery.

  After what felt like hours, the doctor came out.

  “I’m Dr. Goodwin. Are you Mr. Cavanaugh’s family?”

  “I’m with the FBI,” Joe said. “Is he going to be all right?”

  “He’ll be fine,” the doctor replied, his smile reassuring. “He needs rest, and that shoulder will hurt for a while.”

  Sam sagged against Joe in relief. Jake would be all right. He wasn’t going to die.

  “We’re going to wheel him into post-op now. You can see him for a minute, but then he needs to sleep.”

  “You go on,” Joe said gently. “I’ll call Sherry. She’ll be worried sick if she hears this on the news.”

  Sam nodded and followed Dr. Goodwin down the hall Jake was turned on his side, the stark-white bandage looking out of place against his tanned skin. She stepped close to the bed and laid her hand against his cheek.

  “Jake? Can you hear me?” She searched his face for some response. Despite Dr. Goodwin’s assurances that he was fine, she wouldn’t feel better until Jake woke up.

  Jake’s eyelids fluttered open and he looked at her. “Where am I?”

  “In the hospital,” she told him. “They had to take the bullet out of your back.”

  “I don’t like hospitals.”

  “Too bad. I’m not letting you die on me.”

  His eyes closed again and her heart skipped a beat “Jake?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Jake repeated, though his eyes stayed closed. “Sam?”

  She leaned close because his voice was so low. “What, Jake?”

  “I love you, too.”

  When Jake woke up, his head hurt, his shoulder hurt and his knee hurt. But the sun was shining and he was alive, so he smiled.

  “I was starting to think you’d never wake up. You’ve been asleep all night.” He looked over at Sam sitting in a chair beside his bed. She looked as ragged around the edges as he felt

  He scooted over to make space for her, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. “Come over here and let me take a look at you. How are you holding up?”

  She sat next to him on the bed. “I’ll survive.”

  “I guess we’re all over the news by now.”

  “Yeah.” Sam smiled. “But this time it’s good news.”

  Sherry pushed open the door. “Can I come in?”

  Jake grinned. “Sure.”

  Joe Lafferty followed her in. “You both look like you’ve been through the wringer.”

  “No thanks to the FBI,” Jake said. “You were almost too late.”

  Sam looked at Joe. “How did you know where to find us?”

  “One of Levy’s men talked. He knew what Montegna was planning. A couple of them had been working for Montegna from the inside. That’s why Montegna was able to track you so well.”

  “What happens now?” Sam asked, reaching for Jake’s hand. He did her one better and settled his hand on her waist

  “They’ll take Levy in for questioning. Among other things, he’ll be charged as an accessory to Greg Tilton’s murder as well as his own agent’s. We have enough evidence to put him away for a while.”

  Jake nodded. “He’s a power-hungry son of a bitch. He didn’t give a damn what Montegna did as long as he got his evidence.”

  “The case will break wide-open now. I spoke with Mel Patterson, the head of BOCTA,” Joe said. “Even with Montegna dead, there’s enough documentation to put away a lot of people.”

  “Montegna’s dead?”

  Sam nodded at Jake’s question. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you. The explosion killed him.”

  “I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that.” He looked up at Sam and the tenderness in her face was enough to melt his heart. He remembered that split second when he thought he was going to lose her and nothing had mattered but making sure he didn’t “I thought he was going to kill you.”

  Joe gave him a speculative glance. “You know, we could use someone with your experience and training at the Bureau.”

  Something—hope, maybe—tugged at Jake. “Thanks, but—”

  Joe held up his hands. “Don’t make any decisions yet. I’ll give you a call next week. We can talk. You don’t seem like the type that’s cut out for the easy life.”

  Jake grinned. “Well, a little excitement never hurts. But I’m glad this one is over.”

  “It’s over,” Sam echoed, her voice holding a note of disbelief.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Sherry said, turning toward the door. “There’s someone here who wants to see you.”

  “I bet Emily is furious I wasn’t there when she got home from school.”

  Sherry laughed. “Yes, but the little tyrant isn’t the only one anxious to see you.”

  “Then who—?”

  Jake’s words broke off when Sherry opened the door. Emily stepped into the room, followed by Fletcher. The dog let out a low woof. A white bandage covered one of his rear legs.

  “Hey, buddy.” He had to swallow past the lump in his throat before he could say more. “Hi, Em.”

  “Hi, Uncle Jake.
” He could tell by her drawn expression that she was thinking of her father. For once, the thought of Charlie didn’t cause him pain. “Are you going to be all right?”

  “I’m going to be fine, kiddo.”

  Emily smiled. “Good. I want you to come to my next softball game.”

  “You betcha.” Jake reached his hand out to Fletcher. “Hey, Fletch!” Looking past Emily to Sherry, he asked, “He’s all right?”

  Sherry nodded. “He’s got a nasty wound where a bullet grazed him, but the vet said he’d be as good as new in a couple of weeks. The doctor wasn’t crazy about letting him in here, but he made an exception.”

  “I’ll take care of him until you get out of here,” Emily offered, giving the big mutt a pat on the head.

  Jake knew he was grinning like a maniac, but he didn’t care. “Thanks.”

  “I’m so glad he’s okay,” Sam said softly.

  Jake looked up at her, feeling a tender vulnerability he’d never known before. “What are you going to do now?” He heard Sherry, Emily and Joe slip out the door, but he was focused on Sam. Only Sam.

  “Well, I need to find out what happened to the rest of my life.”

  Jake smiled in return. “And I need to get Annie’s van fixed before she nails my hide to a barn door.”

  “I need to get my job back.” Sam hesitated before going on. “Or find a job somewhere else.” She brushed a tear away. “And I have to finish reading my father’s letters. I want to get to know him.”

  “And I have to square things with Brian and Mac before they nail my hide to a hangar door,” Jake added.

  “I have to find a place to stay until this mess is straightened out, and buy some clothes of my own.”

  “You can stay with me.” Jake laughed. “As soon as I can get them to let me out of here.”

  “Are you sure? You can get on with your life now. You’ve got a lot of plans to make, with Joe’s offer and all”

  “I want you with me, Sam.”

  “I thought we hardly knew each other.”

  He ran his fingers over her lips. “Did you mean what you said last night?”

  She nodded. “When I thought I might lose you—”

  “I felt the same way when I thought Montegna was going to kill you, Sam.”