HelenKay Dimon - Gunning for Trouble

She’d never had a run-in with the police. Never had men track her down, or seen a door explode either. Car chases and gunfire—if this was Caleb’s life now, she almost felt bad for firing him. He had been insubordinate and difficult, rarely followed the rules and liked to solve cases instead of limit his work to DNA testing, but he was safe there. So was she. A few more minutes of this level of panic and she was going to throw up. Or worse.

Caleb scanned the large open floor from one end of the cement block area to the other. It didn’t take long, since the floor consisted of four rows of cars separated by two lanes. There was an elevator and a guard cubicle where the cars entered and left but it appeared empty, as opposed to most of the parking spaces. They were full.

“Where is everyone?” she asked.

“Probably up on the street.”

His gaze stopped searching and fell on her. “You’re turning green.”

“I’m terrified.” Her teeth rattled to prove it.

“I’ve never known you to be scared of anything.”

“I could make a comment about you not knowing me at all, but now probably isn’t the right time.”

A sharp honk of a horn grabbed his attention, but when the car pulled out and left the garage he stared back down at her. “You think?”

“Believe it or not, I’m not a complete idiot.”

“Never said you were. Never thought it either.” His gaze flashed over her shoulder for the briefest of moments as he hurried their steps to a parking spot near the stairwell.

She would have missed his look if she hadn’t been concentrating on the unique mix of green and gray in his eyes in an effort not to double over. “What is it?”

“There’s a guy to our far right, standing just inside the garage door exit. Pretend to cough and give a quick peek over at him. Ready?”

“Yeah.” She concentrated, making sure to keep her head down as she did what he asked.

“Look familiar?”

“Not at all.”

“Did you see the guys who were following you?” Caleb aimed the key chain at the small black truck as he whispered his question. The click echoed through the floor as the automatic locks opened.

“I didn’t know anyone was behind me until your front door caved in.”

He opened the truck door for her. “Put the seat belt on and then lean down as if you’re checking in the glove compartment. I want your head out of shooting range.”

“Does this thing have air bags?”

“Adam took them out just for this type of situation.”

She thought it made more sense to load the truck with them. “Why?”

“You’d smother if we got hit.”

“You’re not making me feel very confident.”

“Right now my job is to keep you alive. We’ll worry about how happy you are later.” He walked around to his side and slid in. He jammed the key in the ignition as he strapped the belt across his lap and put the shoulder strap behind him.

“What about your head?”

“I’m going to need it to drive.”

“That’s comforting.”

“See, I’m getting better at the making-you-feel-confident thing already.”

She wanted to snort, but she followed his orders instead. Well, most of them. The not-moving part proved impossible as she glanced over the dashboard. The sight in front of her sent fear whirling through every cell and muscle. The man who stood around smoking a cigarette earlier now ran toward them, his face red and his arms pumping. “The guy is moving.”

“I see him.” Caleb pressed a hand against her shoulder and pushed her cheek closer to the leather seat. “No matter what you hear, stay down.”

“Why?” Footsteps thundered closer. A deep voice shouted for them to stop.

“He’s aiming his gun.” Caleb ducked even as he sent the truck flying out of its spot and screeching into the lane. “Down!”

Gunfire rang out all around them. Loud pings sounded as the bullets hit metal. She crouched into a tight ball and pressed as close to Caleb’s thigh as the seat belt digging into her thigh would allow. The smell of heated rubber stung her nose as the vehicle lurched for ward then picked up speed. Tires squealing, they headed in the general direction of the exit.

Before they had gone ten feet, an engine revved off to her right. At least she thought it was that side; at the awkward angle everything sounded muffled and distorted. This wasn’t just someone pulling out. This was someone looking to ram them. She knew that as sure as she knew she’d never make it out of this situation without Caleb’s help.

The whirl of tires grew louder, as if another vehicle were about to drive through her skull. She braced her elbow against the seat and touched the seat belt to make sure it was secure.

“Hold on.” The back end of the truck spun around and smashed into something solid as a rush of air passed by them on the right side.

The jolt slammed her forward. Her skin burned from the strangling belt. The contents of her stomach raced up her throat as her eyes began to water.

He shot her a worried frown. “Okay?”

“Fine.” She saw Caleb hit the gas, but the car didn’t move. When he switched gears, she closed her eyes and said a little prayer that they would survive this nightmare. “Were we hit?”

“No.”

“You’re a target.” With her hand tangled in his shirt, she tried to pull him out of the line of fire.

“Just stay down.”

Caleb never stopped moving. The wheel shook under his iron grip as he shifted his position and swore. When he hit the gas this time, the car raced through the small space.

She could hear him screaming Adam’s name, which didn’t make any sense since he wasn’t in the garage. With her eyes closed, she hunched there and waited for the truck’s walls to cave in around her. She wanted to crawl onto the floor and sit with her hands over her head, pretending none of this was happening.

But she needed to know he was okay. “Caleb!”

“What?”

His sharp response actually felt good. Hope sprang up out of nowhere, tamping down the fear bubbling up inside of her.

“No matter what, do not sit up!” His voice lost the stiff tone he’d been using with her. He now sounded wild, out of control and yelling.

She had no intention of ignoring him on this. She slid as close to him as possible. With her head tilted, she pulled her hair to the side so she could see what was happening above her.

“Hide your face.” With his body flat against the steering wheel, Caleb reached up and touched something against the windshield. It shattered into hundreds of tiny blocks.

Someone screamed, and she was pretty sure the high-pitched wail came from her. “What did you—”

“Safety glass.”

The glass tumbled over her. She put up her hands to block the shower of glass, but she could feel the pieces in her hair and lying all around her. She didn’t even notice the gun on his lap until he grabbed it and put the muzzle through what was once the windshield. He fired two shots as he accelerated and crossed through the garage entrance and out into the dark night.

She heard the police sirens wind up as soon as Caleb turned right onto the street and sped away from the building. He didn’t slow for the speed bump. The truck went airborne then landed with a clunk against the ground. Glass cubes crunched around her. She struggled up to one elbow and looked him over. No blood, just huge eyes and clenched hands.

Tension bounced off him in waves. Every muscle in his body seemed to be pulled tight and ready to snap. “Caleb?”

He kept checking the rearview mirror. “We have about one minute to pull this off.”

“What?”

“The switch.”

She had no idea what he was talking about. For a minute she worried he’d knocked his head in their big escape. “Maybe we should—”