Hit and Run: A Thrilling Novel of Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security series Book 3)

by Lori Matthews

  Her eyes snapped open. She wasn’t a small child anymore. If she didn’t want to get on the damn ship, she wasn’t doing it. She looked around. But where would she go? She couldn’t go back to her comfy little apartment.

  Mrs. Williams. Her breath caught in her throat. Please don’t let the bad guys hurt her. Dani had never been anything but distant toward people. But, somehow, she was getting softer. First Carly and then Mrs. Williams. Being soft with them made her vulnerable. The last thing on earth she wanted to be. She wouldn’t put Mrs. Williams in anymore danger than she was already in.

  She stood next to the Jeep. She could take it and drive out of town, but Callahan had been right. Driving would mean running into the storm. No way she wanted to do that. Suddenly, the final horn sounded on the boat, making her jump. There was moisture on her face. The rain had hit. Chances were excellent it would turn into hail at some point. Maybe even snow. There was just no predicting the weather these days.

  She looked around for Gage. He was almost at the walkway now. He really was going to leave her here on her own. Bastard! She was smart and street savvy, but these guys frightened her. More than the ship. Being dead would suck.

  She took a deep breath and grabbed her backpack. She started after Gage at a jog. Served him right if she puked on him. She’d make sure she aimed in his direction when it happened. No way would she be the only one to suffer. She could feel the smile grow on her face. It was always good to have a plan.

  “We’re on deck twelve,” was all he said as he started up the walkway ahead of her.

  She didn’t bother replying. She had nothing to say. Plus, she was desperately trying not to think about the fact she was getting on a boat that was on water. She could feel the sway of the stairs under her feet. She must have made a noise because Gage glanced at her over his shoulder.

  “You gonna make it up, or should I throw you over my shoulder?”

  She gave him her best “curl up and die” stare but he just turned around and kept strutting up the steps. Asshole!

  When he reached the end of the walkway, he stopped and handed his passport to the crew member. He turned to her. “Get out your passport.”

  She dug through her bag and handed it over.

  “Welcome aboard,” the guy in the uniform said with a huge smile. “You made it just in time. My name is Jeremy. I’m one of the crew. Now, I need you to look straight into the camera so we can get a picture and get your ID all set up.” She nodded and moved slightly so she was lined up with the camera. A few keystrokes later by Jeremy, and she was finished. He showed her the picture. Great. She looked like death warmed over. Whatevs.

  “We don’t often get people joining us this far along in the cruise,” Jeremy said as he lined Gage up for his ID photo.

  “Last minute change of plans,” Gage said.

  Jeremy opened his mouth but took one look at Gage’s face and promptly closed it again, putting his smile back in place. He spent another minute typing and then handed her and Gage each a band. “This is your medallion. In coordination with the app you can download, it can be used to book dinner reservations, order drinks, book times on certain sports or entertainment features onboard, and it’s also your room key. Most people wear it around their neck or on their wrist. It can also be used to find each other on the ship just in case you get lost.” The smile was so wide now Dani was sure Jeremy’s cheeks had to be hurting.

  Gage grunted out a, “Thank you.”

  “Have a great time,” Jeremy said, but Dani just nodded and followed Gage inside. This whole thing was bothering her.

  “So, if we’re using our real names, won’t the bad guys find us?” she asked as she jogged up the stairs behind Gage. Silence. Did he not hear her, or was he ignoring her?

  “Hey, asshole,” she said in a loud voice just as she hit the top step. She turned to follow Gage, who had swung right and immediately barreled into a group of elderly ladies. They looked like they’d all eaten too many prunes. Their faces were all pinched. Great. Guess they heard me. Not that she cared. “I’m talking to you.” She caught up to Gage and hit him on the back.

  He stopped and turned around. “I know, and so does half the ship. Think you can keep it down a little? I’m not into the whole ship knowing our business.”

  “Well, if you’d answer when I talk to you, we wouldn’t have a problem.” She glared at him, hands planted on her hips.

  “And if you used that supposedly large brain of yours for just one second, you’d realize this is not the place to have this conversation. Now, let’s get to the room, and you can tell me all about what an asshole I am, okay?”

  She instantly regretted she hadn’t hit him harder a second ago. Her fingers curled into a fist. It was so hard not to let loose and smoke him in that “oh-so-perfect jaw.” Or maybe break his nose again.

  He walked away from her. She took a deep, calming breath and followed. She prided herself on being able to maintain control. If she kept herself neutral and controlled, she won. In the past, if she lost control, then her foster mother won, and Dani was punished. She started running lines of code in her head. It was what she did to calm herself down.

  They came to what could only be described as a park in the middle of the ship. Dani stopped dead. “What the hell?”

  Gage glanced over his shoulder. “Keep up. You can admire the sites later.”

  Dani started moving again but couldn’t stop herself from trying to look everywhere at once. There was a pond and a tree. There were people everywhere, and shops. High-end shops, restaurants, and there was even a cocktail bar moving between floors like an elevator with people sitting and drinking. It really was a floating city.

  When Gage stopped suddenly, she almost bumped into him. There were quite a few people standing around, waiting. It was a mix of young kids and elderly people. Dani must have looked confused because an elderly gent beside her pointed and said in a proper British accent, “We’re waiting for the lift.”

  Dani smiled slightly and nodded. Then she turned to Gage. “I always wondered who took cruises. Who wants to be stuck on a boat for a week at a time?”

  “Everyone, apparently,” Gage murmured.

  The doors of several elevators opened at once, and Dani surged ahead with the crowd. The ride up was long. The damn thing stopped at every floor. Finally they got off, and Dani followed Gage again. She had no choice since he hadn’t told her the room numbers. When he stopped suddenly, she barreled into him.

  “This is us.” He opened the door and moved into the cabin, holding the door open for her.

  “There’s only one?” Dani asked.

  Gage turned around and stared at her. “We were lucky to get this. Now get in here so I can close the door.”

  She gingerly moved inside. The bathroom was immediately on the left and then one large king-size bed was in the middle of the room. There were chairs and a coffee table beyond the bed and then floor to ceiling glass doors that led to a balcony with a couple of chairs. Through the rain and the gloom, she could see the water.

  She dropped her stuff and leaned heavily against the wall. She’d thought her apartment was small but spending time with Gage in this tiny room while staring at the water was going to be hell on earth. Her stomach churned as fear started coursing through her. She was going to puke. No question.

  Gage promptly walked over and closed the curtains to the balcony. He turned to face her. “Your point about our real names is valid. So, since you’re such an amazing hacker, it’s up to you to fix it.”

  Chapter Seven

  Terror. She was truly terrified of the water. He’d closed the curtains to block her view, hoping that would calm her down, but she still had a death grip on her duffle bag.

  No one should ever have to feel fear like that. Guilt washed over him. It was his fault she was terrified. He practically forced her onto the ship. There was no other way out of town. Still. He owed her. As much as he hated hackers, he didn’t want her to suffer like she was s
uffering now.

  “So, are you going to get to work or what? The longer you take, the greater the chance they’ll find us.” He was hoping the distraction would calm her down. He was all out of ideas. It was the best he had.

  “Wait. What? That’s your plan? Have me fix the problem you just created?” She stared at him.

  Her eyebrows were sky-high. Disbelief was better than terror. He’d take it. Her fear had shaken him. God only knew what she’d been through. How she was going to make it on a ship over the next few days, he had no idea, but it was better than being dead. But that thought didn’t lesson his guilt.

  He’d work the problem, just like always, and find a way to make her okay with it. He never wanted to see primal fear like that on her face again.

  “You’re the expert. You got us into this mess by hiding out instead of coming to New York, so now you can help fix the problem.” He walked over and threw himself into a chair. Then he brought out his phone and proceeded to check his email. “I’m going to do some work. You might want to get started.”

  He heard her gasp and then curse. He was guessing the word she used was aimed at him, but he didn’t look up. It would only make them argue longer, and although he was sure fighting would take her mind off things, they really did need to solve the name issue quickly.

  She started to sit down and then staggered and yelped. The ship had started to move. Her face lost all remaining color. He started out of his chair to help her, but she waved him off. He was surprised she felt it that strongly. Guilt sucker punched him again. She was suffering, and it was his doing.

  She looked at him and then bit her lip. She slowly pushed the chair opposite him out of the way and then lowered herself onto the floor.

  Gage sighed. She was going to have to get used to the movement or this trip was going to be a nightmare for both of them.

  Relief flooded him when she got out her laptop and then set it up. “Is there internet?” Her voice sounded hoarse. She swallowed. “I know there is now because we’re close to shore, but how good will it be later? You should buy whatever package they’re selling. Get the top one.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her demand, but she didn’t notice. She was already engrossed in what she was doing. He went online and did as she asked. “You’re all set.”

  She grunted in response but didn’t stop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard. They were long, thin fingers. Great for playing the piano, or typing quickly, apparently. Her face was a mask of concentration, her brows lowered into a frown, her lips puckered as she blew out slowly. Those lips were full, a lovely shade of deep pink and very distracting.

  He glanced down at his phone and then back at her. No matter how much he hated to admit it, she impressed the hell out of him. She’d stood up to him at every turn. She wasn’t going to take shit from him or anyone else. And she was so young. He didn’t usually see that kind of confidence in someone so young. She intrigued him. Challenged him to be honest. He smiled. He loved a good challenge. Now, if he could just keep her from freaking out about the water, they’d be fine.

  He leaned back further in his chair and turned his mind to the problem at hand. The fact that he and his brothers hadn’t turned up anything yet on who was so desperate to get their hands on the software didn’t make sense.

  A lot of things just didn’t add up. Mitch was doing a great job protecting Drake, but things kept happening. Drake’s schedule was pretty much kept under lock and key, and yet there were attempted break-ins at the various businesses Drake owned, coincidentally just when he happened to be there. Failed security equipment had been checked and rechecked but crashed when Drake was on the premises. No, there’d been too many close calls. There was a mole. There had to be.

  If he contacted his brothers and told them he had Dani, would the mole find out? He still wasn’t sure how the bad guys had found her. It had taken him ages.

  On the other hand, if he didn’t, there would be no backup. He really didn’t like that Dani had been found. It meant chances were excellent he would need help to keep her safe.

  It was strange to feel reluctance in calling his brothers. He loved them and needed them, but he didn’t want to put them in danger. He already lost his best friend. He didn’t want to lose them, too.

  Dani stopped typing and closed her laptop. “I’m hungry.”

  He blinked then glanced at his watch. “You’re finished, I assume. We have new names?”

  “Duh.” She rolled her eyes.

  That had taken her the whole of six minutes. Jesus, she was good. The girl definitely had skills that were rather remarkable; he had to hand it to her. Not that he was going to tell her. Her ego about her hacking ability was big enough as it was.

  “We can go out and get some food. It’s a cruise ship. There are more restaurants here than in most small towns. Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?” He reached over and grabbed the brochure off the dresser that the TV sat on.

  “Ah, on second thought, I’m okay.”

  He looked up from the list of restaurants he was reading and realized the fear was back. Leaving the room meant seeing the water. Shit.

  Rain lashed the balcony doors and the ship’s motion had a slight sway. It would be better for her in the central areas. People would be everywhere, and there would be lots of noise, but most of the restaurants would be along the outside. People wanted to see the view. People besides Dani. He would find a restaurant in the middle of the ship for them. The sights on the ship might prove a good distraction for her.

  “How about we go check out the rest of the ship? There’s lots of things to do according to this.” He held up the brochure again. He hated to see the fear in her eyes.

  “Um, I’m good. I think I’ll just…” She opened her laptop again. “I have to work on the software. There’re a few wrinkles to iron out. Besides, I’m not really hungry after all.” She put a hand on her stomach.

  He could hear it rumbling from where he was sitting. Her fear was too much. Here was the weakness. Dani was willing to take on the world, but she couldn’t deal with seeing water. No need for her to suffer. He’d bring her food. She needed to eat.

  “If you’re okay to be here by yourself, I’m going to go check out a few things. That work for you?”

  Dani looked up at him. “Sure. Whatevs.” She waved her hand, and her eyes went back to the screen.

  He studied her. Her nose was pert and sassy. It suited her face. Although her lips were full, the bottom one was dry and peeling, probably from her biting it all the time. Anxiety came off her in waves, and it triggered him. The urge to protect her was strong. It didn’t matter if she wanted him to or not.

  Damn, she was a ballsy spitfire. He hated to see her fears win. He’d been full of piss and vinegar. Once. He’d thought he could take on the world and win, too. It was obvious that life had slapped her down a few times already. Hard. He’d help her. Even if he hated the fact that she was a hacker. Everyone deserved a bit of help now and again. Plus, maybe if he was nice, she’d stop pissing him off so badly.

  He put his hands in his jeans pockets so he wouldn’t brush her hair back from her face. He knew it would be soft. Sitting here staring at her really wasn’t a good idea. Control, remember? Gage shot out of the chair and grabbed the medallion off the dresser where he’d thrown it when they arrived. He went to the door, and with his hand on the doorknob, he turned. “What’s my name?”

  “What?” Dani yelped like he’d scared her.

  “What’s the name you gave me?” he said.

  “Oh right, Robert Barker.”

  Bob Barker. Seriously. He sighed.

  “What’s yours?”

  “Marie White.”

  He opened the door and closed it after him. Marie was Vanna White’s middle name. He knew because his mom had all of Vanna White’s crochet books and was a big fan. So Dani was a game show junkie. Why wasn’t he surprised?

  She waited for three minutes after the door closed just to b
e sure and then brought up the app on her computer. She hit the video call button. Her stomach growled again. She was starving. Lunch had been long ago, and she’d left most of it in the toilet back at her old place. Still, the idea of going out of the room seemed too scary to contemplate. Plus, she hadn’t spoken to Carly today.

  The call timed out. She frowned. It was late where Carly was but, still, she was usually up. She bit her lip. What if something was wrong? Should she call the hospital switchboard and ask for the nursing station on Carly’s floor?

  The computer buzzed with an incoming video call. Dani hit the button, and Carly’s face lit up the screen. “Carly!” Relief flooded through Dani at seeing her little sister’s shining face. “How are you? Did I wake you?”

  “No, I was just dozing,” Carly said and then promptly yawned.

  “Do you want to go back to sleep? I can call you tomorrow.” Dani clenched her fingers into fists. Carly didn’t look so good. Her color was grayish, and her usually bright blue eyes were dimmed.

  “I’m okay. They’ll come in and check on me shortly anyway, so I’ll stay up and chat with you until then. How’s everything going?”

  Even her voice sounded weak to Dani’s ears. “I’m fine. The usual.”

  “Where are you? Not at your apartment. I don’t recognize the chair behind you.”

  At least her brain was still sharp. Dani swallowed. Hard. This little girl was her life. Her little sister, even if not by blood. All the family Dani had and all she would ever need. “I’m on a cruise.” Dani tried to sound excited, but her voice broke.

  “What? You hate water. Why would you do that to yourself? What’s wrong?”

  Concern was etched in her tired young face, and it was breaking Dani’s heart. “Don’t worry. Nothing’s wrong. Remember I said I might have to move around a bit while working on this project? It was time to hit the road, but unfortunately a storm came up, and this was the only way out of town.”