Laura Scott - Twin Peril

She should have been reassured by his ability to evade the man behind them but she wasn’t. Her teeth chattered and her body began to shake. She recognized the aftereffects of shock from the last time she’d narrowly escaped Caruso’s thug.

She closed her mind against the memory of the bloody room in her twin sister’s town house as she struggled to breathe.

The guy in the ski mask wasn’t the same guy as before. He was tall and broad-shouldered compared to the shorter, stockier guy she’d taken down in Alyssa’s town house just a few days ago. When her rescuer slowed his breakneck speed, she glanced back, relieved to see there were no longer any headlights following them.

“Who are you?” she finally asked. “How did you find me?”

He didn’t take his eyes off the road as he tossed a small leather case in her lap. She opened it and was slightly reassured when she saw the shiny metal glint of his badge. At least it looked real enough.

“My name is Jonah Stewart and I’m a detective with the Milwaukee Police Department.” There was a long pause, before he added, “Your sister, Alyssa, sent me to find you.”

* * *

Jonah didn’t slow down until he was a good fifteen miles outside of town. And even then, he maintained a decent clip, pushing the posted speed limit, carefully watching the rearview mirror to make sure the guy in the black truck hadn’t found them. When he was reasonably sure they were safe, he unclenched his fingers from their death grip on the steering wheel.

That had been way too close. If he’d arrived a minute later, he might have lost Mallory for good. When he’d gotten to the cabin just after midnight, he’d noticed the black truck and grown suspicious. Just as he started making his way down the driveway toward the cabin, he’d heard someone running through the woods. It only took a minute to rule out a four-legged animal—he’d heard the distinct sound of two people. He’d braced for the worst and been immensely relieved when Mallory had raced out of the woods first, apparently unharmed, just in the nick of time.

“Did you get a good look at him?” he asked in a gruff tone.

“No.” She slowly shook her head. “His face was covered by a ski mask. But why were you waiting on the road for me after midnight? You claim Alyssa sent you, but I know her and she would have come to meet me herself.”

“Alyssa did send me. How else do you think I knew about the cabin? She also told me your uncle Henry is really your mother’s cousin, and he hadn’t been up here in a long time because he recently had a stroke.” He hoped the additional information would reassure her that he was on the right side of the law.

“Yes,” she admitted. “That’s true.”

“I found the place a few minutes before you came out of the woods.” He sent a silent prayer of thanks, knowing God had been watching out for the both of them. “Alyssa didn’t come herself because we didn’t even know for sure you were here.”

Mallory’s scowl deepened. “What do you mean she didn’t know? I left a message on her cell phone. I told her to come to the place she least expected to find me. As kids, we had to stay at the cabin for two weeks in the summer while our parents took an Alaskan cruise. Alyssa loved it, but I hated every minute. Do you realize I spent the last few days in a place with no indoor plumbing?”

For the first time in a long while, he was tempted to smile. He could well imagine how a cabin on a lake with an outhouse was not Mallory’s idea of fun.

“Alyssa lost her cell phone and must not have picked up her messages. And the other reason she didn’t come is she tore the ligaments and tendons in her ankle pretty bad. I convinced her that she’d only slow us down and she agreed I could protect you better by myself. She’s scheduled for surgery later this week.”

That news made Mallory sit up in her seat. “Surgery? What happened to her?”

“It’s a long story.” He continued to drive, deciding he wasn’t stopping anywhere for a long time—maybe not even until daylight. “Several days ago Alyssa fell and hit her head. When she woke up, she had amnesia. Alyssa’s boyfriend, Gage, thought she was you. They asked for my help because someone was trying to kill them. Don’t worry, they’re safe now. And once Alyssa’s memory started to return, we realized you were missing and in possible danger. That’s when we began searching for you.” He glanced at her expectantly.

“Are you sure they’re all right?”

“I promise they’re fine,” Jonah assured her.

“Then what happened to her ankle?” Mallory asked.

Was she really worried about her sister? Or was she simply asking more questions to put off telling him the truth? He wanted to believe the former, but his instincts warned him not to trust her too easily. He’d been burned by an apparent victim before.

“According to Gage, they had to climb out of a warehouse window and drop down to the ground, about ten feet. She landed hard on her ankle. Frankly, we were both surprised she hadn’t broken it.” He turned his attention back to the road, slowing down since they were approaching a small town.

“Are we stopping here?” Mallory asked.

“No.”

“Why not?” she demanded. “How do I know I can really trust you? Let me out. I want to talk to Alyssa.”

He stifled a heavy sigh. “Be reasonable. It’s one o’clock in the morning.”

“Reasonable?” Her voice rose a few decibels and he tried not to wince. “A man in a ski mask broke into my uncle’s cabin to kill me. And suddenly you’re conveniently waiting for me when I run out of the woods? Don’t you dare accuse me of being unreasonable.”

He held up his hand in surrender. Good thing the rental car didn’t need gas—he didn’t doubt that Mallory would bolt the first chance she was given. He’d already saved her from the guy in the ski mask, so why was she so uptight?

“If you want to call your sister, go ahead. But the only number I have is Gage’s cell.” He tossed his phone into her lap.

She picked it up and grimaced. “Gage doesn’t exactly like me,” she said as she scrolled through the contact list. “How do you know him?”

“Gage and I went to high school together. Both he and Alyssa have been worried sick about you,” Jonah added. He had been worried, too, mostly because he believed Mallory was the key to solving the case. Just a little over a week ago he and Gage had uncovered a money-laundering scheme that involved a man named Hugh Jefferson. Jonah had also been betrayed by a cop who’d tried to kill him. Soon he’d discovered that Jefferson had been searching for Mallory, who’d disappeared.

Now that he’d found Mallory, he wanted to know exactly why she’d been hiding at the cabin. And why Jefferson had wanted to find her. All along they’d suspected there was a man higher up the chain of command, the one truly in charge of the money-laundering scheme. He was convinced Mallory knew the identity of that man, or at least someone working for him. Why else would Jefferson want to know where she was?

Mallory held the phone up to her ear. After several rings, the call went into voice mail. There was the faintest tremble in her voice as she spoke. “Gage? It’s Mallory. Will you please have Alyssa call this number as soon as you can? Thanks.”

She ended the call but kept a tight hold on the phone, as if waiting for her sister’s return call. In the darkness, he was able to see the glitter of tears in her eyes. His gut clenched and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The last thing he needed was for her to break down.

“Look, I’m sorry. I understand you’ve been traumatized by everything that’s happened. But, Mallory, I am a cop. And I promise I’ll keep you safe.”