Finding the Edge

by Debra Webb

  His strong grip infused her with confidence and warmth, keeping the cold worry and fear at bay. Who would ever have imagined all those years ago when he’d left her brokenhearted that he would one day come back to save her life?

  Fate really did have a twisted sense of humor.

  They moved along the alleyway between the rows of duplexes and old buildings that reminded her that this part of Chicago represented a century or more of the city’s history. The traffic sounds of evening commuters hummed in the air. In another hour it would be dark. Several blocks stood between them and the trouble they’d barely escaped. Eventually they rounded the corner and slowed, walking along Washington Boulevard. Eva recognized the old Fahrney & Sons building. She had an antique medicine bottle from the late nineteenth century with the company name stamped into the glass that had belonged to her grandmother. Her mother had used it as a bud vase. Eva did the same.

  Judging by the signs and the scaffolding around the historic building, the piece of Chicago history was finally being renovated. Eva squinted, staring ahead. How much farther did he intend to go on foot? It wasn’t that she minded the walk/run pace but she’d been on her feet all day and she was exhausted. Not to mention, she couldn’t help but worry that Robles’s people would find them somehow.

  She tugged on his hand, drawing his determined forward advancement to a halt. “Is your friend coming to pick us up?”

  “Yes. We need to keep moving until he gets here.”

  The sooner they were off the street the happier she would be. The adrenaline had started to recede, leaving her limbs weak. She worked hard not to tremble. No need to show him her fear even if they could have been killed back there.

  Betty could have been killed. Their final patients...the two officers Eva had come to consider friends. Her neighbor was dead because of her. A young girl was fighting for her life in the hospital at this very moment because of her.

  How foolish she’d been to think that putting herself out in the open and going on with her usual daily activities would somehow make a difference. All she had managed to do was bring the danger to the place she loved most—her work.

  “I should go back.” She shook her head. “They’re never going to stop until they have what they want. Running is doing nothing more than putting off the inevitable.”

  Todd grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her. “So you think giving up is the answer?”

  The thought of Mr. Fry or any of the other people she had come to care about being hurt because of her—the way Mrs. Cackowski had been—was more than she could bear. “This can’t be fixed by doing nothing but protecting me. Miguel Robles has to be stopped.”

  “And you believe you can do that?”

  The fury in his eyes and in his voice warned that he had lost patience with her on the subject. He’d acquiesced to her demand of going on with her life as usual in an attempt to draw out Robles so the police could catch him. In her defense, she had hoped by baiting him that she would lure him into a mistake. She should have known better. He would simply send more of his minions. He would never risk his own safety.

  “I don’t know.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I have to do something.”

  “You don’t let him win,” Todd said, his voice softer now. “That’s what you do.”

  Eva steadied herself. “How do I do that without putting everyone I care about in the line of fire?”

  And there it was, the million-dollar question no one seemed able to answer.

  “We’ll talk about this back at the safe house. Our ride is almost here.”

  She relented, allowed him to usher her forward. He put off answering her question because he couldn’t.

  The roar of a car engine followed immediately by gunshots jerked Eva’s attention to the street. A dark car rocketed toward them.

  Todd yanked her toward an old building on their right. He shoved her behind the plywood barrier that blocked off the entrance. Bullets splintered the plywood.

  “Keep your head down!” he ordered.

  She hunkered down and raced after him. He slammed his body into the sheet of plywood that had been nailed up over the original entrance to the building. More bullets punctured the outer wall of plywood and bit into the brick of the building. She made herself as small as possible and scooted nearer to Todd.

  Another slam into the wood and it burst inward. He grabbed her by the hand and ran, clambering over the downed plywood.

  With a quick survey of the gutted space, he spotted the staircase and headed that way. The staircase actually looked as if it were standing from memory since not much else appeared to be supporting it. The building had been erected on this piece of property more than a century and a half ago. Hopefully it wouldn’t go down so easy. The next staircase looked no better. They rushed up it so fast Eva wondered if their feet even touched the treads.

  No sooner than they reached the second floor, the sound of running footfalls echoed from the first floor.

  With no police around, the thugs had apparently decided to give chase beyond the protection of their cars.

  Just her luck.

  Todd stalled.

  Eva plowed into his back. Rather than ask why he’d stopped moving she stared at the place where the next staircase should have been.

  It was gone.

  They were trapped.

  Todd checked his cell. He surveyed their situation once more as he shoved the phone into his back pocket. Then his hand tightened on hers once more and he said, “This way.”

  Shouting downstairs warned that the men were closing in on the second staircase.

  She and Todd reached the backside of the building. He moved toward a large hole that might have once been a couple of windows. It wasn’t until they skidded to a stop at that hole that she saw the slide-like setup going from this floor down to the huge construction Dumpster on the ground.

  “I’m going down first,” he said as he slung one leg onto the slide. “Grab on to my waist and stay tight against me so I can cushion your landing.”

  There was no time to question the proposed exit. She grabbed on to his lean waist and held on tight.

  Her stomach shot into her throat as they whooshed downward. They landed on a pile of construction debris.

  Todd grunted.

  Before she could ask him if he was okay, he forced her up and over the side of the Dumpster. He was right behind her.

  A dark sedan rolled toward them.

  Eva stalled, her heart dropping to her feet in a sharp free-fall.

  Todd pulled her against him and sprinted the last few yards—toward the car. He yanked the rear door open and they landed on the back seat with the car still rolling.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Todd shouted.

  The car spun forward. Todd jerked the door shut and ushered Eva onto the floorboard.

  Bullets pinged against the metal exterior.

  Todd was suddenly on top of her and they were speeding away.

  Chapter Eleven

  Colby Safe House, 9:30 p.m.

  Eva set the hair dryer aside and reached for the hairbrush. She dragged it through her hair, her thoughts far from the task. The fire gutted the church. She felt sick at the news. Dr. Taggart had sent her a text assuring her he’d spoken to the reverend and there was insurance which would eventually do the repairs, but there was no way to know how long that would take.

  At least no one else had died.

  Ian Michaels had explained that two other Colby Agency investigators were working on the case. Their efforts were being coordinated with Chicago PD. Eva appreciated the lengths to which they were willing to go. She hoped they were more successful than the local police had been so far.

  Not fair, Eva. The police couldn’t stop Robles if they had no evidence against him.

  She braced her hands on the co
unter and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her resolve was faltering, her determination running on empty. The past two days had been some of the hardest of her life. As exhausted and keyed up as she was, she wouldn’t be going anywhere near the wine tonight. Not after how she’d allowed herself to go completely over the edge last night.

  She turned away from the sad, uncertain woman in the mirror and padded back into the bedroom. A single functional brain cell reminded her that she should eat, but food was the furthest thought from her mind. Her mood fluctuated between defeated and furious. In her whole life she had never felt more helpless...more uncertain of the future. To make matters worse, she had lost her cell phone in the fray of today’s frantic escape. Tomorrow she’d have to pick up a new phone and deal with transferring her contacts and other content. Eva sighed. Sometimes it felt like more of her life was available as data rather than as a real life. When had her existence become so dependent on notifications and alerts coming from a tiny object scarcely larger than a credit card?

  She wandered to the door. Todd had promised they would talk about her concerns later. It was later and he’d avoided a face-to-face with her since they’d agreed that showers would do them both a world of good. He’d headed to his room and she’d headed to hers. Scarcely five feet of carpeted hallway stood between the two doors. She should just go over there, knock on the door and demand to know if he was ready to talk, or simply tell him she was heading downstairs and would be waiting for him so they could have the promised discussion.

  Dredging up her battered wherewithal, she opened her door and took the three strides to his door. She curled her fingers into a fist and reached up to knock and his door abruptly opened.

  He blinked, stared at her and then his lips parted as if he intended to speak, but no words made it past the tip of his tongue.

  She took a breath and prepared to launch the first question but her attention stalled on his bare chest. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen his chest hundreds of times. Well, maybe not hundreds but at least one hundred. His skin was damp as if he’d hastily scrubbed the towel over that sleek terrain. A drop of water slipped down his lean, rippled abdomen. She jerked her gaze upward as his torso widened into the broad shoulders where she’d lain her head dozens of times, moving on to the strong, muscled arms that had held her close on so many occasions.

  Her attention whipped back to his right shoulder. A wad of gauze stained with crimson was stuck there. “What happened?”

  He grinned, the expression a little lopsided. “I guess a nail or something from the construction heap snagged me. I can’t reach it with both hands to do the repair.”

  Eva frowned. She remembered his shirt being torn in a couple of places. Hers had been as well but she’d walked away with nothing but a few sore places that would likely turn into bruises. “Let me have a look.”

  He moved into the hall, stepping away from her as he did. “I’ll get the first aid kit then you can take care of it. I’ll be right back.”

  He hurried down the stairs before she could do the smart thing and suggest they take care of his wound in the kitchen—far away from sheets still perfumed with their lovemaking. Instead, Eva stared after him for a few moments, then she hugged her arms around herself and entered his room. She felt somehow cold and too warm at the same time. No one had been seriously injured or killed today, she was grateful. Still, the potential...the what-ifs throbbed in her skull. Betty or Dr. Taggart could have been hurt. Officers O’Reilly and Gates—Todd could have been killed trying to protect her and Betty. If not for the quick thinking of Todd and O’Reilly, the day may have ended far more tragically.

  How in the world did she fix this and stay alive?

  She needed some plan of action. Todd’s military training and work with the Colby Agency made him the better choice at figuring out a doable plan of action. Her problem was getting him to go there. He would like nothing better than for her to stay in hiding until this was over. That route wasn’t feasible. Deep down he had to know this. Dr. Pierce surely grasped that fact as well—which brought up a whole other issue. How could she expect Pierce to hold her position without a reasonable return-to-work date?

  She couldn’t.

  Pushing the troubling thoughts aside she surveyed Todd’s bedroom. She hadn’t gotten much of a look at it last night. Flashes of bare skin and flexing muscles filtered through her weary mind along with whispered words and soft sounds. How had she ever believed for even a minute that any other man could make her feel the way he did? There had been others, a few. Not one had been able to touch that place inside her that only Todd Christian had reached.

  Again she cleared her head and focused on the mundane details. The layout of his room was much like her own, a large space with elegant furnishings. The closet door was open, as was the door to the en suite bath. He’d tossed a T-shirt on the bed.

  Her throat tightened as her gaze moved over the rumpled bed.

  Closet. Stick to the far less dangerous spaces. She shifted her gaze to the closet. His duffel bag had been delivered here which made her wonder again why she’d ended up with a new wardrobe. Maybe it was the privacy issue of going through her things. On the other hand, it might simply be the best way to ensure nothing of sentimental value that belonged to her was damaged in all this running for their lives.

  She ran her fingers along the shirts and tees that hung in a neat row in the closet. Jeans and a pair of black trousers were efficiently folded and placed on a shelf. A pair of leather loafers sat on the floor beneath the hanging shirts. The military had made him a little neater than she recalled.

  With a deep sigh that made her heart uncomfortable, she turned away from his clothes and wandered to the door of the bathroom. A bottle of aftershave sat on the counter alongside a comb and a razor. The aftershave was the same one he’d always worn. Subtle hints of leather and sandalwood with the tiniest trace of citrus. She didn’t have to look in the shower to know there would be a matching bodywash. The gentle fragrance of the toiletries he chose was so understated that his own natural scent was by far the more distinct.

  His clothes, his car, even the apartment where he’d lived before had been modest, understated. The man himself had always been what stood out. How was it that a man so unpretentious and kind could have stolen her heart and then walked away without looking back? So many times she had asked herself that question. Had he found someone new? Had he grown bored with her? Had she done or said something that pushed him away? Yet, deep down she somehow understood that his decision was not her fault. He’d left for reasons she did not comprehend. But she hadn’t come to that conclusion overnight. It had taken months, perhaps even years to realize that she’d done nothing wrong. Todd Christian had decided to walk away.

  End of story.

  “Sorry. It took me a minute.”

  Eva turned to face him. She’d intended to tell him to have a seat so she could look at his shoulder. Instead, she blurted, “Why did you leave without so much as saying goodbye?”

  His fingers tightened on the first aid case. Eva vaguely wondered if it would suddenly crack and fall to pieces as her heart had all those years ago.

  “What?”

  His apparent confusion frustrated her. “You just left one day and never came back.” She shrugged. “You didn’t say a word or leave a note. I never heard from you again. I’m asking you why. Why did you do something so callous?”

  He gave a single, small nod of his head. “Fair question.” He waved the first aid case toward the bathroom. “I’ll give you the best answer I know how while you work.”

  Surprised that he’d caved to her demand so easily, she followed him into the bathroom where he closed the toilet lid and sat down. He placed the case on the counter and stared at the wall he faced.

  Eva decided to give him a moment while she surveyed the available medical supplies. The case offered the usual home first aid kit su
pplies with a few extras. In addition to the usual items, bandages, gauze, antibacterial and antihistamine creams, and antiseptic wipes, there were suture kits and butterfly bandages, tweezers and even a small scalpel.

  “There’s no lidocaine.” Not a good thing in her opinion. “You’re going to feel this.”

  “Just do it. I’ve endured worse.”

  His words had her wondering about the small scar on his cheek and the others on his back, but she decided not to distract him from the question she’d already asked. She washed her hands and walked around one muscled leg to reach his shoulder. The position put her square in the V of his muscular thighs. Her body reacted with a familiar twinge between her own thighs. How would it be possible not to react to the half-naked, good-looking man who’d saved her life? Particularly one who still owned a considerable chunk of real estate in the vicinity of her heart?

  He will never know that sad truth.

  Putting those reactions on ignore, she slowly pulled the gauze free of his skin and then tossed it into the sink. The gash was not too deep, not so wide, but the sides were not going to stay together without some assistance. She considered the butterfly bandages but she doubted those would hold the next time they were in a desperate situation. A few stitches would do the trick.

  “I cleaned it with bottled water and a little bleach since I didn’t have any betadine handy. I didn’t see any debris that shouldn’t be there, like splinters.”

  “Good.” Eva threaded the eye of the needle with the sutures. She pulled the wound together, getting it as close to pre-gash condition as possible. “You were going to answer my question.” She located the spot where she wanted to begin and inserted the needle through the skin.

  He grimaced, made a small sound, not quite a grunt.

  “Sorry.” She secured the first suture and began working back toward the edge. In, out, pull, repeat.

  She’d almost reached the final suture when he finally spoke. “I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I was a coward.”

  Of all the answers she’d expected him to give, that was not one of them. Rather than say so, she kept her lips in a tight line and finished sealing the wound with a precise knot to keep the sutures just snug enough to aid in healing without injuring the skin further.