Chance Collision (3 page)

Shit. What the fuck am I going to do?

“
Mi amor
—” Maria took one look at him and froze in the doorway.

“Ah. Your lovely little whore,” Caselli drawled in Berto’s ear.

“Shut your mouth. You. Do.
Not
. Talk. About. Her.”

His former boss cackled again.

Berto shot into the hallway, but his wife followed, grabbing his forearm. Close enough to hear Caselli’s every word—Maria ignored his gesture urging her to join their twins in the living room.

“She’s not involved in this. It’s about me and you.
Only
me and you,” Berto barked.

“Oh, but she’s always been involved, my friend. From the moment you stole her from me.”

Maria choked back a sob, her beautiful dark eyes going wide. Her nails sank into his wrist.

She was dressed for work in bright pink scrubs. Maria was scheduled for the late shift at Health Solutions
.
Probably had been on the way to kiss him and the girls goodbye before the forty-five minute drive into Antioch.

“Caselli, I’m warning you—”

At the use of the man’s name, Maria’s tears welled and spilled. She started shaking.

Berto drew her into his chest, squeezing his free arm around her.

“You are in no position to warn me.” The voice was deadly calm—Caselli at his most dangerous.

Cursing under his breath, Berto threw his cell to the floor and stomped on it.

Maria met his eyes, trembling from head to toe. Her Venezuelan olive skin was pale. He’d never seen her so scared, even before they’d fled the life.

“Baby, it’ll be—”

“How long, Berto?” Her accent deepened. In a moment, she’d revert to Spanish and scream at him.

“How long what?”

“
Han llegado las flores
?”

Berto closed his eyes.
Shit.
She knew him—and Caselli’s ways—too well. He didn’t want this. Thought they were done with this. “
Si
. But—”

“
Colores?
”

“All three.” The words came out on a croak. “Three dozen roses.”

Maria cursed in Spanish, but every word shook even more. “We need to leave.” She sucked in a breath, then another, her ample breasts heaving.

“I won’t run.”

Shoving against his chest, she yanked away and glared, hands on hips. “
Loco
. What about your daughters? What about me?”

“He’s after me. He’s blaming me for something I didn’t do. I have guns. I
will
fight.” Berto rested his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. “Go to work. It’ll be okay. I promise you.”

“You
dead
will never be okay.” Her voice rose and fell as she fought more tears.

Maria swallowed and he wanted to kiss her throat, pull her into his arms and hold her.

Lying to the love of his life didn’t sit well. But if Caselli killed him, Maria and the girls would be left alone.

He’d paid for her—more money than anyone would ever pay for a girl—and Caselli had promised they were out. Done. Square. She’d been pregnant with their twins already. Berto had cleaned out his stash to save their lives.

But
promises
from his former boss were always liquid. Contact from his ex-colleagues over the years had proved that if nothing else.

“Maria.
Maria.
Look at me.”

Deep pools of midnight locked onto his face. She worried her lip.

“
Te amo
,” Berto whispered. “Forever. And it
will
be okay. I refuse to stop fighting him now.”
Even though he’ll kill me.

His wife nodded, a solitary tear running down her cheek. She shook from head to foot under his grip. “Am I supposed to leave you like everything is okay?” Her whisper was more heavily accented than normal. Her long, wavy dark hair was pulled into a ponytail, making her look younger. Innocent.

Berto cupped her face and kissed her long and hard, as if he was tasting her for the last time.

There was only one thing he could do.

Chapter Three

Nikki smiled as she pulled into Dixie’s tiny parking lot. The place was packed, like always. Two patrol cars were parked around back, which meant some of the APD officers were having dinner, too.

Lively conversation sucked her in as much as the cosy, familiar atmosphere. Photos of residents and public events from over the years decorated the walls, as well as antique road signs and ads.

Dixie’s was an institution in Antioch. Marge and her husband Jimmy had opened the place before Nikki had been born. They spent more time in their restaurant than they did at home. Ran a light staff, too. It was a family affair, made up of their daughters, their husbands and now teen granddaughters. Once in a while they added a few kids during the busier times of year.

Manoeuvring between stuffed booths and full tables as she wound her way to the counter, Nikki wished she’d lost the heels after work. It’d be just like her to fall on her ass in front of half the city.

Three cops sat at the corner booth in the back. Officer Shannon Crowley winked and waved when he caught Nikki’s eye. Shannon’s partner, Mark Rodriguez, nodded hello and the last, Officer Nina Ricketts, smiled.

Nikki returned their gestures and set her purse on the counter by the register. Marge was already hollering to the kitchen for her order. The round short-order rack above her head was full of old-school carbon copy receipt slips. Jimmy or one of his assistants would spin it and grab the next in line before they threw plates on the counter. It was an organised rush, but fascinating to watch.

“How’s your gram, hon? I miss seeing you two every Sunday morning.” Marge’s grey hair was piled on top of her head in tight curls. Her white apron was pristine, but it didn’t fool Nikki. The woman was the hardest worker in the place.

“She’s getting better. But the doc is being cautious.” Nikki offered a smile.

Marge regarded her seriously, reaching to squeeze her hand. “I know it’s been difficult on you both. We’re praying hard over here.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Gram will appreciate that.”

“Order up!” The shout from the back accompanied the ding of a bell. Jimmy’s voice was as familiar as the rest of the place.

The older woman smiled as she stacked two white Styrofoam takeout containers in a plastic bag. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks.” Nikki paid and threw her purse over her shoulder.

“Give Gram our love,” Marge said.

“You bet.”

Nikki sucked in a breath after she settled back in her car. It was hard seeing her grandmother at the rehab centre. Despite her age, she hadn’t considered Gram fragile until she’d seen her huddled in a hospital bed.

“It’s gonna be okay,” she whispered, starting her Chevy Impala and inching out of the parking lot.

Before she’d even made it to the four-way stop at Main Street and Stewart Avenue, a giant black Hummer came out of nowhere from around the corner and cut Nikki off, pulling out of Marty’s, the local mom-and-pop grocery store.

“
Crap!”
Nikki yanked the wheel and grabbed the bag from Dixie’s to keep her and Gram’s dinner from flying into the windshield.

The Hummer sped up without remorse as she slammed on the brakes. Nikki looked around as the black beast turned onto Main Street without so much as a turn signal. “Jerk,” she muttered.

A flash of shiny black caught her eye on the way into Health Solutions
.
The oversized SUV that’d cut her off sat parked on the street across from the rehab centre. The windows were too dark to see inside, but as often as she’d come to see Gram, she’d never seen the Hummer before.
Odd.
Antioch wasn’t that big. Maybe someone had bought a new car.

“They sure as hell need a driving lesson,” Nikki said as the automatic double doors parted on a
whoosh.
She waved to the nurse at the front desk before hanging a right towards Gram’s room.

“Nikki.” Gram’s smile lit her face.

“Hi, Gram!”

Her grandmother sat higher in the bed. She lifted a frail hand and pointed a remote at the TV mounted on the wall above the bed. The volume faded, but the
clack-clack
of the
Wheel of Fortune
wheel still whirled.

Nikki set down their dinner on the table next to Gram’s bed. The room was light and airy, welcoming, with the evening sun peeking in the window. Her car would be visible in the lot if she glanced to the left.

Gram reached for her hand, and Nikki tried to ignore the IV. She pressed a kiss to her grandmother’s wrinkled cheek, straightening her nightgown as it slipped off one thin shoulder. It was pale pink with a floral print, one of her favourites from home. Gram had fussed until Nikki had brought her clothing to the centre, but she didn’t blame her. Sleeping away from home was bad enough.

“How was your day, darlin’?” Gram asked as Nikki slid a chair to the side of the bed.

“Good, but long.” She reclined, sighing as she slipped her stilettos off.

“Tell me all about it while we eat.”

Nikki grinned and reached for the plastic bag.

By the time they were through with dinner, she felt better about her grandmother’s health. The conversation they’d shared was the most normal so far. Gram didn’t slur her words—she stayed engaged and didn’t doze off like she had in the days following the stroke. The next few weeks would go fast then Gram would be back home.
Good.

Nikki would have to give up her apartment and move back into the house she’d grown up in. Unless she hired an in-home caregiver. Part-time or full-time, her grandmother would
hate
that. She chided herself not to think about it right now.
One day at a time.

“Missus Molly, I have your medicine.” Maria appeared in the doorway with a small tray. Her accent made the word sound like
meesus
, and Nikki smiled.

She liked the petite Venezuelan nurse very much. Even Gram couldn’t hold the scowl when Maria spoke with them. She was sweet, often talking about her husband and four-year-old twin girls.

Gram said hello with a grumble about her pill and the nurse entered the room. Maria’s shoulders were stiff, her back as straight as a board. She walked quickly, as if she was in a hurry, not with the leisure and care she usually demonstrated. The woman’s hands shook as she put the tray down on Gram’s bedside table.

“Maria, is something wrong?” Nikki asked.

“No, no,
señorita.
” But the smile was forced. Maria shook her head, making her long dark ponytail swish around her shoulders.

Nikki frowned. She couldn’t call the nurse a liar, but she was concerned. “Are you—?”

Two men burst into Gram’s room. A flash of light accompanied a loud boom, then another. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing.
Guns.

They were shooting guns.

At her grandmother’s nurse.

Gram screamed. Maria didn’t get a chance to. She collapsed at the foot of the bed, a starburst of red blooming on her side through her pink scrubs.

Nikki threw herself over her grandmother on the bed as the window shattered and gunshots continued.

The men said nothing as they trotted across the room and jumped over Maria’s body. One by one, they leapt out of the window and sprinted across the parking lot.

Nikki stared, shaking all over as she tried to memorise as much about them as she could. Her mind raced and she ordered herself to retain what she was seeing.

Tall. Dressed in dark clothing. One with short dark hair, the other dark and loose, shaggy above his shoulders. Both wore sunglasses.

The Hummer inched forward as they wrenched the back doors open and scrambled inside. Without pausing, it sped off. The vehicle had been waiting for them.
Someone else is driving.
The windows prevented her from seeing if there were more than three of them, though.

“Maria!” Gram shouted.

Raised voices and running feet sounded in the corridor as Nikki hit her knees beside the nurse. Blood pooled under Maria’s slight form. She was hit twice that Nikki could see, her right shoulder and left side.

“Call nine-one-one!” Gram shouted as the room filled with people.

Nikki pressed her index finger into Maria’s throat. “She’s alive.” She looked up, locking eyes with a young doctor she didn’t recognise.

He knelt beside her, pushing her hand out of the way to feel for the nurse’s heartbeat himself. “There is a pulse, but it’s thready. Nora, Josh, get over here and help me. We’re not equipped for gunshot wounds! Call an ambulance!”

After scrambling to her feet, Nikki dashed for her iPhone as the two nurses joined the doctor, hovering over Maria.

Please be okay.

Chapter Four

Pete dragged his hand down his face.

“I’m sorry, Pete.” Liz even
looked
remorseful as she stared up at him on his doorstep. Her body was stiff, and something in her eyes made him want to avoid her gaze.

Damn good thing Cole’s sister Cass had already picked Ethan up. He wouldn’t want witnesses for this.

The front doorknob bit into his hand and he ordered his fingers to loosen their grip. “Sorry?” he croaked.

“I didn’t mean to—ambush you at home.”

He’d never brought Liz to his house, for good reason. Home was private. His sanctuary. He brought
no one
there.
Looks like you don’t have to be a cop to find out where someone lives
. “Well, come on in, I guess.” He stepped back and gestured.

She pursed her lips, but entered the foyer. He guided her to the living room, but Liz didn’t take the seat he offered.

“I’ll make this quick.” She squared her shoulders and wrung her hands in front of her, but then wrenched them apart and planted tight fists at her sides when she met his eyes.

Pete’s gaze travelled up and down her attractive form. Liz was dressed as he’d most often seen her, in a dark grey skirt suit that accentuated her killer legs and screamed defence attorney—which she was. Her wavy, fair locks were pinned up but wisps had escaped after the long day. Her hazel eyes held mixed emotions he’d rather avoid.

She was beautiful, as always, even if her intentional impression was
aloofness
. That happened to be what Pete liked about her most. The only reason he’d started sleeping with her a few months before.
No risk
.