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She lacked his confidence. At the shelter, people had been coming and going, in various uniforms from several agencies. From her perspective it seemed likely that someone could have planted a GPS tracking device on the car at the very least. “Explain.”
“It’s more likely they wanted something from the house.”
Her frustration mounted. “It seems excessive to invade the shelter, traumatize dogs, and kill a man just to get a look at something inside your house.”
“Excessive is Lester’s MO. Besides if they’d tagged the car, they could have easily intercepted us at the hunting lodge or on the highway. Instead, someone is parked outside waiting for—”
“Us,” she finished with him. “Great. What’s the plan now?”
“Let’s go in, get the overnight bags and head for the airport.”
“With the system armed or open?”
“I just reset the doors to chime on my phone.”
“You think they’ll attack us here,” she whispered. The garage was dim and the potential danger taunted her from every shadow.
“I think it’s possible, yes.”
“Why?”
“Because crime bosses like the money and the power that comes with their carefully constructed illusion of legitimacy.” His warm palm rubbed soft circles on her shoulder. “If something happens, just let me handle it.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll keep you safe,” he promised.
Of course he would try. And while she believed he could do just that, she wasn’t helpless. Silently, she vowed to return the favor. She’d gotten him into this after all and the small missteps were starting to add up for both of them.
“Leave your other things here.”
“All right.” She turned off the camera and tucked it into the bag, zipping it shut. She had no idea what good it would do them or the case to go to the airport.
“Follow my lead.” He pointed to his ear and his eye.
She nodded, afraid to say anything that would bring more risk down on them.
He got out of the car, pocketed the key and came around to open her door. He’d drawn his gun and offered his other hand to her. She put her hand in his warm palm and willed her knees to stop knocking as they entered his house through the mud room.
“I think our best bet is to just go out to the airport and see what they can do,” he said, holding the gun low behind his back.
She tried to smile as she played along. “It will cost a fortune to change the ticket last minute like this.”
“Maybe.” He pressed a kiss to her hair. “But you’re worth it.”
Her heart did a silly spin in her chest. This was an act. A performance. She needed to do her part. “You make me feel worth it,” she murmured, her fingers laced with his, tension resonating between them as they walked toward the bedroom to maintain the pretense.
She went through a mental checklist, wondering if Lester’s men found it odd that there wasn’t a single feminine item outside of her overnight bag.
The blow to her back came out of nowhere, with no more warning than a soft creak of a floorboard behind them. She’d turned at the sound, her curiosity saving her from taking a solid hit to the kidneys. But the glancing blow tossed her into Dale and she hit the floor hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. Her ribs ached, but without air she couldn’t even cry out when she saw Dale’s gun sliding across the carpet.
“Stay down,” Dale snapped.
As if she had an option. She scooted toward the shelter of the wall, watching in horror as Dale danced back, dodging the wild swing of a crowbar. The tool was an ugly weapon in the hands of a man with a nasty, twisted sneer on his face.
“You wanna play?” Sneer made slow, looping circles with the long piece of iron. “That works for me. I didn’t expect to have any fun on this job.”
“Fun is overrated,” Dale said. “Heather, get the gun in the nightstand.”
