Archer wanted to believe her. He wanted to have the same trust in Bullings that she had. But he didn’t know the man and the circumstances they were in were not painting a good picture. He was concerned that Kate was placing too much faith in him. The one man Archer did know was Bragan. And there was no limit to Bragan's reach.
"Are we going for wait here for back-up?" he asked finally.
"Hmm?" Kate looked up, having been lost in thought, "Wait here? For back-up?" she glanced at the pacing Hayes again. "No. I don't know what Bullings’ is trying to put together. It’s probably help, but we can't wait around here for it to show up. If Bragan could find us in the middle of the interstate, then we're basically sitting ducks here. I don't care how many cops are they’ve got. Bullings is going to have to help us on the go."
Archer was surprised. "What about him?" he nodded at Hayes.
"He’s just doing his job," Kate said. "But this is completely out of his jurisdiction,” she jumped off the desk and Archer got to his feet. He walked
around the desk and she caught herself checking out his butt. The orange jumpsuit clung to him far more than the jeans had. She shook her head. What was wrong with her? It was bad enough that she had fallen for Robert, her superior back in Jersey. Now she was falling for a convicted criminal. No, this was wrong. She had to put a stop to this.
Archer paused. “Do you think we could get me a change of clothes before we leave? It’s bad enough I’ve got to go around with these cuffs on, the jumpsuit is just embarrassing to be seen in.”
Kate had a brief flashback to the hotel room when he was just wearing the towel wrapped around his waist. “Sure,” she said, rubbing her eyes, hoping to rub away the image. “I think we can do that.”
They stepped back into the hallway.
“Well?” Hayes asked immediately.
“I’m gonna have to ask you to hang on to the Rising Sons members until my office can take custody of them,” Kate said.
Hayes waited for a second. He threw his hands up. “That’s it?”
“What else did you want?”
“I want some answers!” he snapped. “None of this makes any sense.”
She shrugged her shoulders and started to walk past the lieutenant. “Sorry. That I can’t help with.”
Hayes put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her to a stop. “I’m not finished yet.”
“You better move that hand,” Archer said quickly. He immediately regretted it. He shouldn’t have spoken.
Hayes looked at him. “Excuse me? Listen, convict, keep quiet and I won’t throw you in a cell,” he snapped.
Kate turned around and pinched Hayes’ fingers gingerly, as though she were picking up a dirty rag, and removed his hand from her shoulder. “Let’s not turn this into a thing. This is way out of your jurisdiction, Lieutenant. I can understand you’re feeling a little left out. This is probably the most action you’ll see in your entire career. But I really don’t have time to play games. In the interests of interdepartmental cooperation, why don’t you just loan us a car and we’ll call it even.”
Hayes didn’t speak. He watched Kate. He looked back at Archer.
“Fine,” he said, glowering at Kate. “Play your games. You cause any more trouble in town and I’ll throw you both in a cell,” he turned and headed back to his office. “Sgt. Raines at the front desk will set you up with a loaner vehicle.”
Chapter 14
The impound lot was filled with a lot more vehicles than Kate had expected.
“What are we looking for again?” Archer asked, eyeing the endless rows of cars and SUVs. The orange jumpsuit had been replaced with a more inconspicuous T-shirt and jeans. His hands remained cuffed.
Kate checked the slip again. “A two thousand and three gray Mustang,” she said.
“I see at least six gray Mustangs,” Archer said.
“It doesn’t have a spoiler,” Kate added, looking up from the paper.
“None of them have spoilers,” he grumbled.
“Come on,” she pulled the keys out and started double clicking the lock button. Eventually they would get in range of the car and the horn and lights would go off.
They started down the first row.
“Hayes seemed a little upset,” Archer said after a couple of seconds.
“That he did,” Kate agreed absently, watching the cars.
“You run into that a lot?” he asked.
“What?”
“Men with female issues.”
Kate stopped and looked at him. “Female issues?” she repeated.
“Well, clearly Hayes has some issues with women,” Archer said. “Especially women in authority. There’s no way he would have been that aggressive had you and I been reversed.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Out of all the problems we’re dealing with, I don’t think sexism ranks very high. Hayes was just grumpy because we were cutting him out of the action.”
“If you had been a man would Hayes have laid a hand on you?” Archer asked.
“Is that what this is about?” Kate couldn’t believe it. “Is this some kind of misplaced chivalry?”
Archer frowned. “I’m just saying-”
Kate shook her head, cutting him off. “I don’t care. You’re hardly in a position to talk to me about women in male dominated workplaces.”
“Why? Because you’re the good guy and I’m the bad guy?”
“No, because you’re a man,” said Kate. “It must be refreshing to be picked on for something other than your career choice.”
Archer snorted. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Sure you were,” Kate turned back to the rows of the cars.
Archer watched her. She moved with a certain grace, each gesture carrying a fluidity to it, even as she walked down a row of confiscated cars. She infuriated him and intrigued him at the same time. This was a true woman. A woman he might not be able to live without.
He pondered that last thought. A woman he might not be able to live without. What was happening to him? A pretty girl walks into his life and suddenly he can’t think straight?
“Why won’t you let me in?” he asked.
She stopped again and turned around. They were several feet apart. Archer hadn’t moved while she had continued down the row. The late afternoon sun glinted off the multitude of windshields. She squinted, raising a hand to block it from her vision.
“Excuse me? Let you in?” She looked at him puzzled. “Let you in where?”
Archer didn’t speak right away. His jaw worked in silent frustration. He took a step forward. “Clearly there’s something between us. Those kisses-”
“Meant nothing,” she cut him off. Kate glanced around. She hoped no one was in earshot.
“I would beg to differ,” Archer said.
“You can beg all you want,” Kate said. “At the end of the day there’s a line and you and I are on separate sides of it. End of story.”
Archer took another step forward, an earnest look in his eyes “And what if that wasn’t the case?”
“You keep asking me that. Why?” He didn’t say anything. “Archer!” she snapped. “We do not have time for this! There are people trying to kill us!”
He closed the distance between them with four more quick steps. He was right in front of her and now she couldn’t deny the magnetism between them. Not now. Maybe not ever, if she were being truthful.
She looked up to match his gaze with trembling eyes.
“You have to stop this,” her voice was quiet.
“You don’t want me to,” he said, searching her eyes.
Her breath caught. How could he know? Was she that transparent?
She struggled for focus, to stay in control.
“You’re my prisoner,” Kate said, carefully speaking each word as though navigating a minefield. “I will not fall for my prisoner. That is a mistake that would ruin me.”
“And what if I wasn’t your prisoner?” It was a simple question that was loa
ded with explosives.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to punch him. She wanted to make love to him.
Why did he keep bringing up the same question? What was going on?
Kate sucked in a sharp gasp of air. “You’d still be the former right hand man to Jonathan Bragan. Accountant or not, you’re not my type.”
She turned away. She had to. She couldn’t look at him any more. It hurt too much. Please drop it, she thought, just drop it. She talked a big talk, but the truth of the matter was she had already fallen for him. Kate had fallen for this man the minute she had laid eyes on him. But no amount of love was going to change him or his past.
“Kate,” it was only one word, but it spoke volumes. He reached out and touched her arm.
Her body shivered at his touch. She felt an ache fill her. It was an ache she hadn’t felt in a long time. She raised her hand to push his away, but instead rested on top of his. The warmth of his hand calmed her.
“I know this isn’t what you had in mind when you took this assignment,” Archer said. “And believe me, I wasn’t looking for this either. But it’s here now and I can’t ignore it.”
Kate closed her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and say yes, this was what she wanted too. She wanted to shout it at the top of her lungs.
But she couldn’t.
Kate shrugged off his hand. “Then maybe you should try harder,” she spoke the words as harsh as she could hoping they would drive him back. But her voice quavered. She couldn’t help it.
Archer tensed. He felt restrained in more than one way. Years of keeping his heart locked away and now, in the span of twenty-four hours, this woman had managed to undo all that and expose it to the harsh realities of the world.
He wanted to cry out. He wanted to shout to the sky. His heart and body demanded more.
But no, Kate was right. This had to stop. It had to stop now.
He lowered his hand and stepped back.
Kate fumbled with the key remote and pushed the button again.
A silver Mustang three cars down lit up.
“Come on,” she said, her voice cracking uncontrollably. “Let’s get going. We’ve still got a long drive ahead of us.”
She started for the car. Archer followed.
A thunder shot of sound cut across the air.
Kate immediately whirled around. The following seconds seemed to stretch out for eternity.
A windshield to her left exploded, glass flew around her.
Another crack of thunder rippled through the air.
Another windshield exploded.
She jumped back. Her mind raced.
A sniper!
There was a third explosive crack and Archer fell.
Chapter 15
The world around Kate seemed to slow to a crawl.
She watched as Archer jerked back and fell to the ground. She watched it happen in slow motion but she couldn’t move fast enough to catch him.
Kate screamed something. Archer’s name perhaps, but she couldn’t be sure. It sounded muffled, as though she was yelling through a heavy cloth.
There was another thunderous crack. The windshield to her right exploded and the thick glass flew everywhere.
She dropped to the ground, pulling her gun out as she moved.
Kate let off two shots in random directions. But she had no idea where the shooter was.
She rolled behind the wheel of an SUV.
“Archer!” she shouted.
Another gunshot. This one struck the car next to her.
She swore.
Kate flexed her fingers around the gun. How did they find them so quickly?
Kate ducked out from behind the wheel and fired three shots in the general direction of where she thought the sniper might be.
She ducked back to the cover of the wheel as the sniper returned fire. This time the side mirror above her exploded as the bullet slammed into it, raining plastic and glass down on her.
Archer was down. Possibly dying. She had to do something.
This couldn’t go on for long. There was a police station right next door. How powerful was Bragan?
Kate peeked around the wheel. She saw nothing, except a nine foot fence between them and the road. On the other side of the fence there was a series of government housing apartments. The shooter had to be there.
She tried to spot Archer.
She found him several feet away near the black Ford. She looked back at the fence and the government housing. He must have fallen out of the sniper’s field of vision. She looked at him again. He wasn’t moving.
“No,” she whispered. This couldn’t have happened. She saw blood around him. Not a lot, but enough. She swore. This shouldn’t have happened.
Kate pulled back behind the wheel.
There hadn’t been any more shots. Was the shooter gone? No, he couldn’t be. He had no way to confirm if she or Archer were dead. Most likely he was waiting for one of them move into his sights again.
Her heart pounded in her chest. Snipers were the worst, even sloppy ones. Death from above, Ray used to say.
And what about Archer?
“Archer?” she called again, trying to keep her voice level and calm. What she wanted to do was scream frantically and run towards him. But that would only get her killed.
Everything about this was wrong. She wasn’t thinking clearly. This was why you don’t fall in love with your prisoner, beyond the obvious reasons, too.
Where were the cops? This guy had shot up half the impound lot and not a single badge had shown up. This was all kinds of wrong.
Kate took a deep breath, steadying herself. She needed to remain calm. She flexed her fingers around the gun again. They were cramping up, she hadn’t realized how tightly she had been gripping the gun.
“Archer?” she tried again. “Kyle?”
Nothing.
Then, “I’m still here,” he replied. His voice sounded hoarse. “Just passed out for a little bit.”
Kate immediately felt relieved. Her eyes watered and she blinked away the tears.
This was crazy.
“The bullet just grazed me,” he said. “The glass from the windshield cut me up good, though.”
“It’s a sniper,” she said, her voice cracking slightly.
“I figured as much,” he replied dryly.
She frowned. How could he do that? Make her afraid for his life one second, make her relieved that he’s alive the next and then make her so irritated that he was alive?
“Where’s he shooting from?”
“The apartments across the street, I think,” she said.
She got silence from Archer.
“Kyle? Are you still there?” she asked. Please don’t have passed out again, she thought, I need you alive.
“Yeah, I’m still here,” he replied. “Do you have a plan?”
She rested her head back against the tire. “Well, I was hoping that this would have attracted the attention of the police station next door,” said Kate, unable to keep the irritation of her voice.
“Bragan’s pockets run deep,” he said.
She peeked around the car in front of her. “I think our Mustang is only a car or two down.”
Archer paused before he spoke again. “You want to make a run for it?”
“Well, I can’t shoot back with this thing,” she looked at the gun in her hand. “He’s too far away.”
Archer didn’t respond.
“Archer? Kyle?” she asked after the silence stretched out half a minute.
“It’s an open field for him,” he said. “The minute you move you could be back in his line of fire. He’ll have a clear shot at you.”
Kate snorted. “He had a clear shot at me before. He had a clear shot at you, too, for that matter. He may be a sniper, but he’s a sloppy one. Besides, the only alternative is to wait here for some help that’s probably been paid not to come.”
Another s
ilent pause.
“Be careful,” was all he said.
She sighed. “Right.”
Kate tucked her gun back into the holster and hoped the spaces beneath these cases were as big as she thought they were and she wasn’t as fat as she felt.
_____
The side of Archer’s head throbbed. He felt like someone had hit with him a frying pan. He blinked, trying to get the dirt from his eyes, and carefully lifted his head.
From his vantage point he couldn’t make out the apartments across the street. The nine foot fence was blocking his view. He hoped that meant the sniper couldn’t see him either.
This was getting out of control. Snipers now? What was Bragan thinking? Archer knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that Archer had betrayed him and he wanted him dead a hundred times over. That’s what Bragan was thinking. Arrogant bastard.
Archer listened carefully. Outside of some birds and distant traffic he couldn’t hear anything else. What was Kate doing? No gunshots meant she was still alive. But what about the police? Did Bragan pay off an entire police department? Even that Archer would have thought over the top and he spent six years with the man. Clearly though, evidence would suggest otherwise.
Archer was going to have to face facts. There was a very distinct possibility that he wasn’t going to make it to Miami.
Archer set his head back down on the pavement and closed his eyes. He was pretty sure the bullet had only grazed the side of his head. That didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt like hell. He thought back to the last time he was shot. He had landed in the hospital for three months, but it had been worth it. Bragan believed he was a family man, through and through. So, after a fashion, it had been worth it. But this time, what was the upside to getting shot?
He gingerly touched the wound. It didn’t feel that bad, but he was no doctor. He figured that, at the very least, he had to have a mild concussion.
He had known death was a possibility when he signed on for this. He had just assumed that now, after all these years, it would have been less of a possibility. He was so close to the end now.
If he didn’t do something soon he was going to end up taking Kate down with him and that was unacceptable.
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