Mission Undercover Page 3

  She turned those wide green eyes on him and Blake saw panic in them. She was trying to keep it together but he could tell she was on the verge of losing control. He saw her mind working, questioning whether or not he was going to keep her from leaving and probably wondering how she was going to get out of the Dodge and out of his grasp.

  She wasn’t his prisoner, but she needed to understand the danger she was in...the danger they were both in. He knew Mason well enough to know he wouldn’t stop. He’d made an attempt on their lives. He had no choice now but to finish them.

  His gaze continually scanned the area on the lookout for police cars. He needed to develop a plan—starting with finding a phone he could use. He had to call Matt and alert him that his cover had been blown and he was trapped. Matt and the DEA could help him come up with an escape plan.

  He glanced at Holly. She looked distraught now but she’d acted admirably and he’d been impressed. He knew she was scared. She didn’t want to be a part of this, but he wasn’t the one who’d dragged her into it. Mason had pulled her in, and it was up to Blake to keep her safe. He could see how Mason could become obsessed with her. Tall and athletic, her long neck accentuated a lovely heart-shaped face and big green eyes, a supple mouth and a chin that jutted stubbornly in defiance. He checked himself before he focused too much on her beauty.

  Yes, she was beautiful, but he couldn’t allow himself to go down that road. He was still nursing a broken heart. Miranda had gone far beyond the normal everyday betrayal of having an affair or leaving him. She’d actually kidnapped his best friend Colton’s girlfriend, Laura, and handed her over to a loan shark who’d planned to kill her. And she’d done it only for money. Greed had been her downfall. Greed and an unexpressed loathing of the small-town life he loved. She’d paid the ultimate price for her betrayal, though. She’d been shot and killed by the very loan shark she’d helped. How could he have been so blind? How could he have not seen her real feelings? He was still struggling with it, even after all this time, and knew he could never put his heart on the line again.

  “You can’t trust the police,” Blake told her.

  “Mason, sure. But I’ve known most of these people for years. Chief Waggoner has been good to me. I should have told him about Mason sooner. He deserves to know what he’s done. He’ll take care of it. I’ll go there, tell my story, and they’ll arrest Mason.”

  “Mason isn’t going to let you go. You’re a witness to an attempted murder. You’re taking an awful big risk that the higher-ups aren’t on Mason’s side. The cops are blocking the roads out of town. Who do you think ordered that?”

  “Because they’ve only heard Mason’s side of the story. We need to go there and tell them the truth.” She jutted her chin stubbornly. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to the police.” Her face softened. “I am grateful to you for saving my life today, but I don’t know you, Blake. I trust Chief Waggoner. He’s been good to me since Jimmy died.”

  “Mason said people higher up were involved, high enough to pay off a coroner to cover up a murder. Don’t you think the chief of police would have to be involved in something that big?”

  “You’re asking me to trust someone I just met over someone I’ve known for years—someone my husband knew and trusted with his life.”

  He hoped to change her mind but could see she was determined. He couldn’t blame her. She had only his word that the police department was corrupt and they’d only just met. For all she knew, he was the dirty cop.

  “Fine,” he said, turning the truck around. “I still believe this is a bad idea, but you’re not my prisoner. I’ll drop you at the police station.”

  “It would be more believable if you would come in with me and explain what happened.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t do that. My only chance now is to get out of town.”

  He parked across the street from the precinct and scoped the area. “I don’t see Mason’s cruiser, so I think you’re okay.” He looked at her, wishing he could say something that would change her mind. But she was right. This was her town. He was the outsider. And maybe she was right about Chief Waggoner. He had to concede he only had Mason’s word that the higher-ups were corrupt. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  She nodded. “I have to. I can’t be involved in this.” She looked at him, her green eyes searching his. “What are you going to do?”

  “Find somewhere to hole up, call my friends and do my best to get out of this town alive.”

  She nodded and then smiled at him. “Goodbye, Blake Michaels.”

  “Goodbye, Holly. It was nice to know you.”

  She opened the door and had one leg out when his hand shot out to stop her, grabbing her elbow. “Wait.”

  He was surprised by the intensity of his feelings for her and his hesitancy to let her go. She’d held up well against circumstances that would make a grown man lash out. He understood her need to try, but it didn’t stop his concern for her safety.

  She looked back at him, waiting, but his words caught in his throat. He should say something to help her, but every inch of his instinct was telling him something wasn’t right. “Please don’t do this,” he said. “You’re making a mistake by going in there.”

  Her smile said he was being overly cautious. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “You’ll need to change that bandage often or else you’ll get an infection.” She slid out of the car and crossed the street.

  He watched her go, his heart hammering against his chest. He’d saved her from Mason only to have her walk into the lion’s den.

  Lord, please protect her.

  * * *

  Holly stopped at the doors to the police station and looked back. Blake’s truck was gone. She sighed, already missing his protective presence.

  Stop it, she chastised herself. She didn’t need his protection. But she had needed it today and he’d given it freely—and been wounded himself. She should have wished him well or said she would pray for him, but the words hadn’t come. She wasn’t on good enough terms with God to even pray for someone else.

  Besides, she didn’t know Blake. Maybe he didn’t deserve her prayers or her good wishes. But she found that hard to believe. He struck her as one of the good guys. He’d risked his life to save her from Mason and that spoke volumes. But she had to think logically. Reason told her she couldn’t discount all of the police on the word of one man or because of Mason’s actions.

  I hope I’m doing the right thing.

  She pushed open the door and stepped inside the precinct. The chill of the air-conditioning hit her, a nice change from the muggy midmorning temperature. The room was full of desks and people in uniform. Holly approached the front desk, where the officer on duty was hunched over the computer.

  “Can I help you, lady?” he asked without looking up.

  “I’d like to see Chief Waggoner.”

  “He’s busy. Someone kidnapped a nurse over at the medical center. He’s coordinating the response team.”

  Surprise rushed through her. Mason had claimed she’d been kidnapped? That certainly explained the police roadblocks out of town. “Then he’ll definitely want to see me,” she stated.

  “Why? Who are you?” he asked, turning to look at her.

  She waited a moment, wondering if he would recognize her. He gave her a quizzical look then his eyes widened. He jumped to his feet. “You—you’re...you’re her.”

  “That’s right. Only I wasn’t abducted.” Indignation soared through her that Mason had made such a ridiculous claim in order to manipulate the police into a manhunt for Blake.

  He nodded then picked up the phone. “I’ll call Chief Waggoner.”

  Moments later the chief—a heavyset man in his early fifties—appeared from his office. “Holly! I’m so happy to see that you weren’t harmed,” he told her. “I want
you to know that as Jimmy’s widow, you’re still one of us and we take an offense against one of our own very seriously. How did you get away from Officer Michaels?”

  “I didn’t. I was never a prisoner. Chief, there has been a terrible mistake made here. Mason Webber accosted me in the parking lot as I was leaving work. He pointed a gun at me and was going to kill me. He even fired it. Blake Michaels intervened. He rescued me from Mason, and when I insisted on coming to the police, he brought me here.”

  He glanced around at the officers who were watching and listening. “Is that so?”

  “Yes, it is. Mason Webber is the man you should be arresting. After he attacked me in the hospital parking lot, he showed up and shot at us. He’s out of control.”

  The chief took her arm. “Perhaps we should speak privately in my office.”

  He led her toward a door near the back of the bullpen. Once there, he closed the door and turned to her. “I’d rather you not make such accusations in front of my officers, Holly.”

  “Everything I said was true. You and I both know it. Mason is out of control.”

  “Mason is an exemplary, longtime member of this police force. He’s never been accused of erratic behavior before.”

  She could hardly believe her ears. Was the chief actually defending Mason? “What about what you saw in Jimmy’s journal? The evidence he collected?”

  “Well, the few pages you copied for me were really nothing but accusations. I looked into the incidents Jimmy mentioned and found nothing to indicate any wrongdoing. Perhaps if Jimmy had come to me instead of conducting his own inquiry, we might have some solid evidence. Or maybe there’s something more substantial in the rest of the journal. You said you were going to bring it in, but you didn’t.”

  A realization hit her and her heart sank. “It was you, wasn’t it? You gave Mason those pages from Jimmy’s journal.” Had Blake been right that this entire force was corrupt?

  There was no denying what the chief was trying to do. He wanted to paint Mason as the good guy even after he’d heard her story and seen what Jimmy had recorded. “He knew about the journal, Chief, and he had those copied pages. You’re the only one I told. Did you give them to him?”

  He scowled at her accusation then slid a legal pad and a pen across the desk. “Why don’t you write down everything that happened, in your own words? That way, there’s no discrepancy.” The bite in his voice was obvious, and she knew at that moment their friendly relationship was over. His behavior didn’t make him a drug trafficker like Blake was investigating, but he was certainly complicit in Mason’s wrongdoings. Blake was right about the widespread corruption on this force.

  She reached for the pen and pad. “I think that would be for the best.”

  He pushed to his feet and headed for the door. “I’ll give you some time to work on that.”

  Holly was glad when he was gone. Her pen flew across the paper, though she was still uncertain what she would do when she finished. Given Chief Waggoner’s behavior, she wasn’t convinced her statement would go anywhere except the inside of the trash can.

  The screech of tires outside the chief’s window grabbed her attention. She put down the pad, walked to the window and saw Mason exit a car parked at the curb and hightail it toward the station. She hurried to the office door, where she could see the front of the police bullpen and Chief Waggoner speaking with another officer. He visibly tensed as Mason entered, but approached him and had words Holly couldn’t hear. She held her breath as she waited. Would the chief take him into custody? Or ignore everything she’d told him? She had her answer when Mason’s eyes grew wide and when Waggoner pointed toward his office. He wasn’t arresting Mason or even reprimanding him.

  He was handing her over to him.

  Disappointment filled her. She had been wrong about Chief Waggoner. She stared around at the people in the precinct. Was there anyone here she could trust? She didn’t know for sure but she knew she could trust Blake. She had to get to him.

  She slipped out of the office, softly closing the door to hide her escape, and crept on tiptoe down the hall, away from the bullpen, before anyone noticed. There had to be a back door or employee entrance she could use to make her escape. She spotted an exit sign bright and beckoning at the end of the hallway and felt a rush of relief flow through her. It was her way out. The voices and footsteps heading her way stopped her from rushing toward it. She slipped into an empty office, holding her breath as two officers passed by without seeing her. Once they were out of sight, she ran to the exit and pushed open the door to freedom.

  She didn’t make it.

  Someone grabbed her from behind, slipping his hand around her waist. “Where do you think you’re going?” he snarled, his breath hot against her ear. Panic seized her as she recognized the voice.

  Mason.

  He pulled her into a room that appeared to be an employee break area. Her heart sank when she realized it was empty. No one around to help her or to stop Mason. She wasn’t even sure anyone in this precinct would try.

  He shoved her against the counter and Holly reached out, trying to stop herself. She bumped a bin and it fell, sending utensils crashing down.

  “Please don’t.” She held out her hands to him as she’d done before. “You don’t want to do this.”

  “Oh, no, you’re wrong. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

  He grabbed her again, pushed her to the floor and crawled on top of her, his hand pressing into her neck.

  He was going to strangle her! Holly grabbed his hand, trying to break his grasp as fear ripped through her. She had to get away from him. She kicked and pounded on him, but he easily overpowered her. When she couldn’t break his grip, she flung her hands out hoping to grab something, anything, she could use as a weapon. Her fingers locked around an object and she jammed it into Mason’s neck, only then realizing it was a plastic fork. He howled but didn’t loosen his grip. In fact, he tightened it, his face full of rage.

  Holly gasped for breath that wouldn’t come. She gripped and clawed at his hands fitfully. This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be the end. I’m not ready, God! The room seemed to spin and fade as the lack of oxygen began to affect her. She had only moments before she lost consciousness and then her life.

  But it wasn’t her late husband’s face she saw in the fading light of the room. It was Blake’s...hovering over Mason...a metal chair in his hands. She realized he was really there the instant he slammed the chair into the back of Mason’s head.

  His grip loosened and he slumped over, unconscious.

  Holly quickly slid out from under him, fighting for each wonderful but excruciating breath. Blake grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, then slid his arm around her waist when her knees buckled.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes probing.

  She managed a nod and then a hoarse whisper. “What are you doing here?”

  “Making sure you’re okay. I can see you’re not—so let’s get out of here.”

  He kept his arm around her as they hurried through the exit. Her legs protested every step but she willed them to keep moving. They had to get away before Mason regained consciousness. Blake’s truck was parked at the back and he opened the door and helped her inside before running around to the driver’s side and getting in. A moment later they were speeding away.

  She glanced at Blake, awestruck that he’d returned for her. He hadn’t just left her—even after she’d insisted she didn’t need him and had questioned his motives. He’d risked his own safety to make certain she wasn’t harmed. She wasn’t sure if that made him just plain dumb or incredibly kind.

  “How did you know I needed help?” she asked, each syllable painful to speak.

  “I was watching. I knew you were in trouble when I saw Mason pull up.”

  She nodded. “Chief
Waggoner tried to defend Mason to me. I can’t believe the chief is dirty.”

  Blake’s jaw clenched and his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “I should have known.”

  “You were right. We can’t trust anyone on the police force.” She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

  “I can understand why you did. Even I would think I was paranoid if I wasn’t living it. But now we really have to get out of town.”

  “How are we going to do that with the roads blocked? The police are searching for you. Mason told everyone you kidnapped me.”

  He turned those blue eyes on her and comfort washed through her. “We’re going to find another way out of this town. I promise.”

  This time, she didn’t doubt him.

  * * *

  He had no idea what their next move was. He’d walked into this, but she hadn’t—Mason had dragged her in. She had to be terrified.

  He shuddered, remembering the image of Mason choking her. His heart had stopped and he hadn’t even thought—he’d only reacted. He wouldn’t allow Mason to harm her.

  She slumped in her seat, her green eyes wide with fear and her hand stroking the bruises forming on her neck. She was counting on him to keep her safe and he wouldn’t let her down.

  The situation looks dire, Lord, but I know nothing is impossible for You. We need a way out of this town.

  They passed by a convenience store and he slowed, scoping the area. Only two cars were present in the lot—one at the gas pumps and the other parked at the front entrance. Neither was a cop car, so that was good. He was taking a risk even stopping, but they had a need they couldn’t do without any longer. He had to contact Matt and the only way to do that was to find a phone.

  Holly popped up in her seat as he turned the Dodge toward the gas station. “What are we doing?” she asked, her voice raw and scratchy.

  “I need a phone to contact my friend. This store will have a prepaid one we can purchase.”

  He pulled into a parking space then cut the engine and started to pull the door handle. Her hand on his arm stopped him. It sent chills rattling through him. “I should go.”