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A stab of fear went through me: he was bigger than me.
And then a huge, shadowy form rose out of the darkness of the stairs like a leviathan walking out of the ocean. When it was two steps below us, it was already taller than Creel, and it kept coming, not stopping until it was looming over both of us, six inches from our faces.
“Let go of her arm,” said JD.
“Back off, farm boy—” snapped Creel.
JD used the voice. “Let go of her arm now.”
Creel faltered, went silent…and let go of my arm. I took two steps down the stairs and turned back.
“Sign off on the approval,” I told him. “Or I’ll ask the mayor to launch a corruption investigation and we’ll find out who has been bribing you.”
And I turned and walked away, not looking back. JD followed, one step behind so that he could guard my rear. As we reached the lights of the dance floor, I glanced around and saw him smiling at me. “I think your dad would have been proud.”
I nodded gratefully, not able to speak yet. I couldn’t believe I’d stood up to Creel like that. Where had that come from? Aftershocks of fear were still making me shiver and suddenly, I felt exhausted. The ball was coming to an end. “Let’s get out of here,” I said.
JD nodded and we said our goodbyes: Miles was heading out as well, but Paige was going to stay for a little while and get a cab home: I was guessing she had her eye on someone.
Outside, we climbed back into the car and JD checked that the two FBI agents were ready to follow behind us. As we pulled away, I slipped off my heels and gave a groan of relief. I looked up and saw JD’s eyes locked on my stockinged legs.
The quiet of the car became a silence that grew and grew. We had to talk about what happened and JD was doing his gruff, stoic thing.
I took a deep breath. “JD,” I said gently. “When we danced…after we danced…”
He swallowed. Turned and looked at me…
The world flew sideways as another car slammed into ours.
30
JD
For a moment, I thought it was my fault. I’d taken my eyes off the road to look at her and gotten lost in those pale gray pools. I’d been thinking too hard about what I was going to say. After we danced. When I almost kissed her. Then I’d smashed into something.
I looked frantically around through the cracked windshield. We hadn’t crossed an intersection. So how had someone—
We were rammed sideways again and this time, I saw what did it, a black SUV. It managed to push us into oncoming traffic and Lorna screamed as headlights lit up our faces. I hauled on the wheel and we slewed back across the street, missing the oncoming car by less than a foot. Shit! This wasn’t an accident, it was an attack.
Where’s the FBI? I checked the rearview mirror and my stomach flipped when I saw their car on its side, further back down the street. We were on our own.
The black SUV came in to sideswipe us again and I braked hard. It passed in front of us, but that put it on Lorna’s side. I cursed and sped up again, pushing sixty and swerving so it was back on my side: I wanted to be between her and it. Who’s driving that thing? The windows were blacked out so I couldn’t see. Then my chest went tight. Miles. Miles left the ball just as we did.
There was a brutal crunch of metal as the SUV hit us again and we swerved, only just missing a lamppost. The adrenaline was flooding through me, now, my hands shaky on the wheel. I had no idea what to do. If I stopped, the SUV could crush us against a wall. If I kept going, we were going to wind up in a crash.
We screeched around a corner and I felt one side of the car lift sickeningly. I pawed at the wheel, panting in fear, and only just managed to keep us from rolling. Dammit, I wish Danny was here. Danny’s driving would leave the other car in the dust.
And that’s when I knew I’d made a mistake, a bad one. I should have called in the team after Poland, or after the shooting. Hell, I should have called in the team from the very beginning. But no, I’d had to go it alone, just because I didn’t want the guys to see that I’d fallen for Lorna.
And now, thanks to that mistake, I might lose her.
We skidded around another corner and into the docks. I tried to do what Danny would do, weaving between the shipping containers that lined the dock, but it was a lot harder than it looked. I had to keep going faster and faster to stay away from the SUV, the containers whipping past. And then, ahead of us, the dock just stopped and there was nothing but black water.
