Copy That (4 page)

“He’s headed between two houses near the end of the street.”

“And you are not leaving me alone—” her gaze flicked to the back of Joel’s head “—here.”

Joel eyed her in the rearview mirror. “I won’t hurt you.”

The churning in Jeremy’s gut revved up when the bomber ducked behind the house.

This time she dug her fingernails into his arm. “Yeah, well, I’ve seen enough woman-abducted-and-left-in-pieces-in-a-box television specials not to take your word for it.”

Jeremy knew he could rip his arm out of her grasp, but he didn’t want to hurt her. Didn’t want to lose his one lead either. “Not sure what to say to that, but—”

Her second hand joined the first and she started tugging him back into the car as he looked around. “No.”

One of the policemen herding the crowds onto the sidewalk picked that moment to look up. His gaze zeroed in on the SUV and Jeremy knew his time for an explosive run had passed. Scram now and he’d have the police following.

Jeremy ground his teeth together. “The guy is getting away.”

“You’re the one who insisted on dragging me along with you, so now you’re stuck.”

Joel barked out a laugh. “Guess she told you.”

Jeremy took one last look at the policeman. He waved off the woman talking to him and reached for the radio on his shoulder. Jeremy knew the drill. The officer would run Joel’s license plates. Then who knew what would happen.

“This car yours?” Jeremy asked as he closed the door again and leaned back in his seat. He winced over the ripping sensation in his side but pushed the pain out of his mind.

“It’s registered to a company.”

“A real one?”

“On paper only.”

Meredith surrendered the death grip on his arm but didn’t let go. “That’s comforting.”

Despite his fury over losing his prey, Jeremy agreed with her sarcasm. “Drive around the corner and I’ll see if I can find our guy on the next block.”

“You’re still not leaving this car.” She mumbled the comment as she stared at his profile.

Jeremy tried to remember the last time he’d let a woman’s begging derail a chase. Then it hit him...never.

* * *

E
LLIS
M
ARTIN SMOOTHED
his fingers over his mustache. He’d had the thing for almost thirty years, since he graduated from college. The small action soothed him. In this case, it kept him from exploding all over his new and supposedly brilliant assistant.

His throat ached with the need to scream, but Ellis fought back the rage. “I’ve run out of patience.”

“I understand, sir. But—”

“Stop there.” All the impressive grades in his Ivy League education hadn’t taught Andrew Hare the
common-sense business principle of knowing when to shut up and listen. Ellis decided the younger man had better learn quickly or he’d have one of the shortest tenures in the Defense Intelligence Agency ever—four days.

Counterintelligence demanded a steep learning curve, and so far Andrew had spent most of his time repeating instructions. Book smart, maybe. Capable of reading reactions and completing difficult tasks? Not so far.

“Excuse me, sir?”

And he said
excuse me
far too often. “Hill has been out of contact and running for a week now. I’ve had enough. You bring Hill back here, now. In pieces if you have to.”

“We have a problem.”

“That’s not a sentence I want to hear.” Ellis leaned back in his big leather chair. He wrapped his fingers around the arms to fight off the urge to strangle Andrew. Human Resources hated that sort of thing.

“I know, but—”

His nails dug a little deeper. “I want results, not excuses.”

“Our man just got to the scene. He says the place is on fire.”

“What?”

“Witnesses said they heard a loud bang. An explosion. The windows blew out and the fire raced out of control almost immediately.” Andrew talked so fast the sentences ran into each other.

Ellis glanced over his shoulder. If his office had a window, if any of the offices on this floor had one, it would be right behind him. Instead, this part of the suite consisted of interior rooms. No one could look in, and thanks to a list of security procedures, no information got out. Or that was the theory.

“It was a gas leak.” He’d said the response enough times for it to become automatic. The cover worked well enough for him to have the appropriate form in his desk and an electric-company official on speed dial.

“How can you know that?” Andrew asked.

Ellis wondered if the idea of on-the-job training was such a good idea after all. From now on he’d insist on hiring the guy with street smarts and a B average over the one with the shiny résumé that appealed to a hiring committee worried about recruiting the best on-paper students available.

“Within a week we will discover the cause. It will be a gas leak. I can guarantee it.”

“I see.”

Ellis seriously doubted that. “Where’s Hill now?”

“Gone.”

With the news of the explosion, Ellis had started analyzing his options, but all of that slammed to a halt with this latest development. Every breath of air sucked out of the room until the dark-paneled room closed in like a prison cell. “Hill went up with the house?”

“I don’t...”

Ellis stood up, every muscle in his body snapping to life. “Either say what you need to say right now or I’ll transfer you to a field office in Alaska and find someone else to do your job.”

Andrew cleared his throat. When he spoke again, gone was the nervous newbie who shook enough to rattle his teeth when he talked. This time his voice rang clear and deep as his shoulders pulled tight into military attention. “Our guy on the ground is hearing reports about Hill getting away.”

“How?”

“In a car. He had help.”

“Who?”

“Unclear at the moment.” Andrew gave his report and checked his notes, suddenly acting like a seasoned pro. “Someone who drives a car registered to Foxtrot Enterprises.”

Ellis didn’t need to look up the name. Hill had created the corporate entity as part of his cover. Ellis paid the monthly lease on the car every month from the budget for Hill’s team.

“So, inside help.” An internal debate waged in Ellis as to whether that was a good or bad thing. Garrett alone was lethal. Operating with his dedicated team made him unstoppable.

“It would appear so, sir.”

“Keep in mind nothing is ever as it appears with Garrett Hill. We trained him to defy expectations, so confirm every detail before you take it as gospel.”

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“You have an hour.”

Chapter Four

When the car eased around the corner and slowed to a stop, Meredith thought she’d gone to sleep and woken up in the middle of a strange action movie. She leaned forward, balancing her elbows on her knees. Her hands shook as she examined the cuts and scrapes on her palms.

Real people went to the hospital after being thrown by an explosion and nearly turned into a piece of burned toast. Real people did not chase after bad guys. Real people ran to the police and screamed for help.

Real life sure didn’t include finding out about a previously unknown twin brother or hanging out with men who carried guns. Not her life. Not anymore. She’d left violence behind in favor of stability. She didn’t run from the law.

She glanced over and saw the gun in Jeremy’s hand. Heard him tap his foot against the floor as his knee bounced to the steady rhythm only he could hear. “Who are you?”

His focus never wavered. He stared out the window. “Jeremy Hill.”

“You know what I mean.”

His gaze locked on her, all his intensity boring into her, and the next words she intended to say jammed in her throat.

“I’m going to protect you.”

The promises men made. “I’ve heard that before.”

At nineteen she’d heard and believed them. Vows of love and fidelity, talk of being together forever. But between the sweet touches and mind-blowing kisses he’d drop a line about her weight. About her friends being loud or dumb. About her leaving school and following him back to the Midwest because she wouldn’t need a job once they settled in their house.

She justified his behavior and made excuses for the way he isolated her. The latter made her nuts. She sneaked out to meet friends for coffee and ignored their concerned stares and dropped comments about male friends they knew who would love her. She pretended she didn’t hear the whispers as she walked away and fell deeper into his cocoon of supposed protection.

Just thinking about those days made her stomach tumble until she thought it would roll right out of her and land on the floor. The familiar fear rushed back and momentarily panicked her. The bile in her throat and trembling in her muscles—it all played like a broken record of a song she’d rather forget.

Clint had stolen something from her and she’d been fighting her entire adult life to get it back. Dignity. Self-respect.

The safety classes and hours logged at the shooting range helped. But now, sitting in a car with men she didn’t know, all those old insecurities rushed over her. She fought off waves of debilitating self-bashing and reached for that inner balance she’d vowed never to lose again.

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “What does that cryptic comment mean?”

“I don’t need a man to take care of me.”

“This isn’t a liberation issue or some sort of battle of the sexes.”

“Really? Feels like it.”

“No one appreciates a strong woman more than I do. I saw you kick and fight and go after that intruder. You’re a survivor and there’s nothing more attractive to me than that.”

Joel cleared his throat. “Uh, Jeremy? Maybe we should focus.”

Jeremy talked over him. The rise in his voice’s volume was the only nod to the fact that Joel had made any noise. “But, like it or not, we have to be realistic about men’s physical advantages. Weight and strength all matter. I’m not saying you can’t win, but it’s not easy.”

She didn’t want size to play a role, but she was smart enough to know it did. Her self-defense instructor made that clear. He also gave some hints on how to even the battle.

“I’m quite familiar with men who lead with fists,” she said.

Jeremy’s gaze wandered over her face. It felt as if an hour passed before he spoke again, though it was probably more like seconds. “I don’t want the guy hunting for Garrett to target you. He’ll have a gun—”

“I can shoot.”

Jeremy’s head snapped back as if he hadn’t expected that answer. He glanced at Joel in the mirror then back to her. “Practicing on a target or cans of whatever and actually aiming at a person are different things.”

She knew that all too well, but she had no intention of sharing that information. “And?”

“I’ll shoot without blinking.”

“People will look for me. I have friends and neighbors. People are going to ask questions.”

At least, she hoped that was true. She hadn’t lived in Coronado long. She spent her time reading in the park and dreaded any invitation to hang out in a bar with coworkers looking for men. The whole “get drunk and find some random guy to sleep with” thing left her feeling hollow. She wasn’t a prude but the bar scene, complete with all the stupid games and fake attraction stunts, had never appealed to her.

Joel stretched his arm along the back of the seat. “She’s right. Her absence will cause questions.”

“I’m only asking for a few hours.” Jeremy’s jaw tightened to the point of cracking with each word. “You can trust me that long.”

“Not if you’re running around shooting at people.”

“Last time I pulled a weapon I stopped a guy from touching you.”

The memories of the horrible morning bombarded her. The headache kicked in a second later. “True.”

“Sorry.” He exhaled as he put his hand on her knee. “Look, someone tried to kill my brother, to kill you. I need to know who and why so I can protect you both. And time is slipping away. The guy has a huge head start. It may already be too late to find a trail.”

“Good.” The answer worked for both his comment and for the warmth spiraling through her body at the touch of his palm against her bare skin.

“I’ll be careful, but I do need to do this.” He gave her leg a quick squeeze then tapped on the back of Joel’s seat. “Stay here.”

She was no longer panicked about her safety. Now she was ticked off. Being dragged around without any explanation did that to a woman.

“Absolutely not,” she said in her best teacher voice.

The locks clicked right before Joel turned around. “For the record, I agree with the lady.”

“My name is Meredith.”

“Meredith.” He smiled at her before his mouth flatlined and his attention returned to Jeremy. “How does this play out? There are cops everywhere. We have a civilian in the car.”

Civilian?

“Unlock the door.” Jeremy’s deep voice rattled with a deadly echo.

A second click bounced around the silent car. Then he was gone.

The whole rescuer thing should impress her. In some ways it did. In others it filled her with flaming frustration. If Jeremy intended to save her, she needed him to be alive to do it.

“Let’s go.” She opened the door before Joel could lock her in. That would teach him to hesitate.

“Whoa.” He jumped out of the car and raced around to meet her at the hood.

“That’s the fastest I’ve seen you move since you drove up.”

“I’ll be running pretty damn fast when Jeremy tries to kill me for letting you out of this car.”

“I’m not rushing in to help. You are.”

“Wait, what?”

The plan seemed simple enough in her head, but Joel’s scowl suggested otherwise. “I know you won’t leave me alone. I also know Jeremy should have backup. So, you move and I hang back and then maybe, just maybe, we’ll live through the next ten minutes.”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“Or I can scream for the police and end this now.”

His entire demeanor changed. His hand went to his gun and he rolled his shoulders back as every inch of him vibrated with a new alertness. “You don’t fight fair.”

She doubted he even knew how. With the mention of a battle he automatically prepared to step in. That instinct appeared to be ingrained. “I have a feeling it might be the only way to win an argument with you or Jeremy.”