Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Simon still couldn’t believe he was sitting next to Atlee Carrington, and she’d not only agreed to a date with him, but she’d let him kiss her!
He was on cloud nine. He hadn’t felt this…
giddy…since he was seventeen years old and Melanie Twincross took off her dress in the hotel room he’d rented for them after prom.
He’d admired Atlee from afar for so long—since she’d first arrived in town, in fact—that it felt unreal that she was next to him, holding his hand, and they were talking as if they’d been friends for decades.
He felt comfortable with her, and every scrap of info he learned about the woman was now burned into his brain.
She was everything he wanted in a partner.
Of course, he was jumping the gun…she hadn’t agreed to marry him, for Pete’s sake.
Was only there with him now because of the situation.
But it was good first step. He just had to not mess things up before he somehow got the woman to fall in love with him.
The problem was, Simon had no idea how to do that.
He was a lifelong bachelor and set in his ways.
Fifty-four wasn’t exactly old, but some days he felt ancient.
And the first time he missed an important event—like her birthday or a holiday—or had to leave in the middle of the night and didn’t return for a few days because there was a missing child, or someone lost in the woods, being in a relationship with him would probably lose its luster.
He’d experienced that more than once. And it sucked.
“Did you see that?” Atlee asked.
Her question jolted Simon back to the present. “See what?”
“I don’t know. I thought I saw something. Someone. Outside.”
“Probably just someone who needed to pee or something,” Simon reassured her, but he strained to see what she’d noticed, just in case.
His Taurus wasn’t usually hard to spot as a police vehicle, as it had lights embedded in the grill and he had state plates.
But covered in snow, stuck between all the other vehicles on the road, it was probably impossible to tell he was a cop.
If someone was out there doing something nefarious, they wouldn’t realize they were doing it in front of the law until it was too late.
“There! See him? Ahead of us, three cars up in the other lane,” Atlee said, pointing out the front windshield.
Simon did. The man was dressed entirely in white, which was unusual, but good camouflage since they were in the middle of a snowstorm. He got a glimpse of the figure standing next to a car, and then he was gone.
“I think he got in that car,” Atlee said, relief easy to hear in her voice. “You were right. He was probably just using the bathroom.”
Simon wasn’t so sure. The car the man had gotten into had been dark now for a few hours.
And he thought he remembered a couple getting out and walking down the interstate with a group of other people who’d decided they’d rather walk out than stay with their vehicles.
Didn’t seem like a smart decision to Simon, but he’d done what he could for them, calling into the closest police station to let them know what was going on.
“I’m going to get out and clear the tailpipe,” Simon told Atlee. “Stay here.”
“Again? But you just did that not too long ago.”
“I want to make sure the snow hasn’t blown in and blocked it again. The last thing we need is to pass out from carbon monoxide poisoning because we’re running the heat and the exhaust is blocked. I’ll be right back.”
“You’re going to check on that guy, aren’t you?” Atlee demanded.
Simon wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that she was so observant. “Something’s not right,” he said after a beat, not wanting to lie to her.
“What are you going to do? We’re in the middle of a storm, Simon.”
“I don’t know. But if he’s up to no good, I can’t just sit here. I can’t, Atlee. It’s not in my DNA.”
To his relief, she seemed to understand. “All right. But I’m coming too.”
Wait—what? “No, you aren’t.”
“Yes, I am,” she said stubbornly. “What if he gives you the slip and comes over here and tries to hurt me?”
Simon wanted to laugh at her wording, but at the same time, the thought of anyone touching her, hurting her, scaring her, made him want to scorch the earth to protect her. “Fine. But you’ll stay behind me the whole time.”
“Of course,” she said, as if she hadn’t even thought to do anything different.
As soon as she agreed, Simon had second thoughts. He didn’t want her anywhere near any kind of crime in progress. He had no backup. Was on his own. Couldn’t call for assistance, as no one would be able to get through the snow and all the stranded cars.
“Look! He’s getting out!” Atlee said in a stage whisper. “Shit, he’s going to my car!”
“Climb over the console, get out on my side,” Simon told her urgently.
She did as he asked without question. He eased his car door shut after they’d gotten out and crouched low.
Atlee copied his motions and they bolted forward, using the car in front of them to keep the man breaking into Atlee’s car from spotting them.
Looking inside the Dodge Charger they were crouched behind, Simon saw the occupant sound asleep in the front seat.
He motioned for Atlee to stay quiet, then pulled out his phone.
He handed it to her, then leaned in so his mouth was right by her ear.
“If anything happens, hit star-one. It’ll redial the last number I called, the closest police station.
Tell them what’s going down and that I’m an officer.
I doubt they’ll be able to get any help to us, but at least they’ll know. ”
“Be careful,” Atlee told him urgently.
Simon acted without thought. He pulled Atlee close and kissed her. Hard. This was no mere brush of his lips on hers. It was a full-on, passionate, I-want-to-take-you-to-bed-and-love-you-for-hours kiss.
When he pulled back, they were both panting.
“If that was an invitation, the answer is yes,” Atlee told him. “I’m not one for sex in a car anymore, I’m too old for that, but for you, I might make an exception.”
To his surprise, Simon found himself holding back a burst of laughter. “If you think I’m having you for the first time in my police vehicle, you’re wrong. A bed. Phone turned off so there are no distractions, and I can concentrate on finally taking what I’ve wanted for years.”
“Me?” she asked with wide eyes.
“You,” Simon confirmed.
Then she smiled, and it took all Simon’s training not to haul her back to his car and do what he just said he wouldn’t do.
“Okay,” she told him. “Now, go do your thing. Nail that bad guy. I’ll be right here, waiting.”
This woman. She was made for him.
Forcing himself to turn his attention to the man who was currently sitting in Atlee’s front seat, Simon removed his sidearm from the holster at his hip and aimed it at her driver’s-side door as he went around the Charger’s front bumper.
“Stop! Police! Put your hands up where I can see them!”
The wind was still whipping across the road, but the snow was finally beginning to taper off. It was dark, but Simon’s night vision had kicked in and he could see the man without any issues.
So when he jumped out of the car, his own weapon shining in the lights of the Charger, Simon mentally swore and ducked slightly behind the bumper of the truck next to Atlee’s SUV. But he kept his weapon trained on the thief.
“Put it down!” Simon yelled.
“Put yours down!” the man countered.
The situation had gone from bad to worse, and Simon wasn’t sure what his next step should be.
He didn’t want to put any of the civilians sitting in their vehicles in danger, but he also didn’t want to get shot, himself.
There was no chance any police were making it to their location, and no way medical help could get to them if someone was seriously injured.
“I’ll shoot!” the man dressed in white said, his voice trembling.
He was a kid, Simon realized. Possibly still in his teens, maybe early twenties at most. Too damn young to go to jail for killing someone.
A little B&E was one thing…murder was another.
Marley’s hand was shaking. From the cold and from the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
He’d been surprised when he’d actually found a gun in one of the cars he’d searched.
But honestly, he had no idea if it was even loaded or not.
He’d simply stuck it in his waistband, thinking he could scare someone with it if he needed to.
He’d also emptied a backpack left inside one of the cars and used it to carry the stuff he’d stolen. Some electronics, a camera, and he’d even taken a few presents, already wrapped, for his sister and mom. It wasn’t as if he’d be able to afford anything otherwise.
He wasn’t really a bad guy, but circumstances often forced him to do whatever was necessary in order to take care of his family. His deadbeat dad had left them years ago, and his mom worked way too damn hard to keep food on their table.
The last car he’d searched didn’t have anything in the way of money or valuables, but it was full of the most delicious-smelling food. Cookies. Bread. Even a cake. Marley thought he’d hit the Christmas jackpot.
And then he’d heard someone yell at him to put his hands up. He instantly recognized the authority in the tone. It was a cop. He would’ve bet his life on it.
He’d moved before even thinking about what he was doing, pulling the gun out of his waistband and pointing it in the direction the voice had come from.
Marley almost peed his pants when he saw the man’s silhouette through the darkness and snow. He was big. Brawny. And he had a gun pointed at his head.
“Put yours down,” Marley countered as bravely as he could.
When the cop didn’t reply, simply stayed behind the truck in the next lane, his weapon aimed, Marley panicked.
“I’ll shoot!” he bluffed, wanting to close his eyes, anything to stop looking down the barrel of that gun pointed right at his head.
“Is your name Marley?”
“Atlee, get down!” the cop exclaimed.
“I’m talking to the local police, like you told me to. I described him, and the lady said she thought it sounded like someone named Marley. Is that you?”
Marley could just make out the woman standing behind a nearby car. “What if it is?” he bluffed, trying to sound braver than he felt. But shit. Now they knew his name!
“Alice says to tell you to put down the gun and go home. The sheriff will be out to talk to you as soon as he can. And since no one has been hurt, you guys can work things out. She also wants to know if your mom and sister know what you’re doing.”
Marley licked his lips. He was terrified.
He’d pulled a gun on a cop! He really didn’t want to hurt anyone, and the local sheriff was pretty cool, even if he was a cop.
The guy had brought his sister toys in the past, and he’d even dropped off a turkey last month for Thanksgiving.
Marley knew Alice, too. The old lady was in her seventies, and she answered the phone at the station late at night.
He’d called once when his mom heard someone lurking outside their trailer.
Man…he didn’t want to upset Alice.
“Put it down, son,” the cop said, in an almost normal tone. “It’s freezing out here, and my woman is shaking so hard I’m surprised she hasn’t dropped the phone. Go home. Think about the consequences of what will happen if you pull that trigger.”
He couldn’t stop thinking about them. Because if he fired, the cop would surely do the same, and it was likely Marley would miss since he’d never shot a gun in his life—and the cop wouldn’t.
His mom and sister would be even worse off than they were now, which was hard to imagine.
Who would take care of them? Look after them?
Taking a deep breath, he said, “Fine. I’ll put down mine if you lower yours.”
“Sounds good,” the cop agreed.
They both lowered their weapons at the same time. And Marley truly thought the guy would leap at him, throw him to the ground, cuff him.
But instead, they stood there staring at each other.
“Did you get some cookies? Or some bread?” the woman holding the phone asked.
Marley didn’t take his eyes off the cop. But he asked in bewilderment, “What?”
“I have a lot of food in there. Take some. Consider it a Christmas present.”
This woman was cuckoo! He didn’t respond…but secretly, he was glad he’d already stuffed some of the baked goods into the backpack before he’d been interrupted.
Mentally counting to three, Marley moved—dropping the gun he was holding and spinning around the front of the SUV, then running as hard as he could toward the trees along the interstate.