Chapter 9
Nine
His heart might’ve stopped completely, but it looked like all those practice hours on the driver’s course—and probably his instinct to survive—were about to pay off.
Michael managed to steer the car into a patch of brush that helped them decelerate as they slid down the sharp incline.
The wheels finally gained purchase, grinding against the rocky terrain.
He brought the car to a stop on a dirt road.
A few silent beats, and his pulse came back to life as dust settled all around them.
How had they not rolled? The question beat around his brain until Dani released a long, shaky breath.
“You okay?” he asked.
Dani looked at him from the passenger seat, eyes wide, one fist gripping the door handle, the other the center console. She released her hold and shook out her hands. “I’m fine.”
She pushed the bangs off her forehead and frowned. “But I’m going to kill him when I find him.”
“Him? You know who ran us off the road?” The question of how they’d survived quickly dissolved from his focus.
“Colter McCord. My ex-boyfriend. I’m pretty sure that was his truck.”
“I see why you broke up with him. What’s his deal?”
“I have no clue.” She paused. “But what guy did you notice back at RWM? The one you said was ogling me.”
“He was tall, over six one. Thin. He had long brown hair.”
“Did he have a tattoo of a leopard on his forearm?”
“That’s him.”
“Then Colter is who you saw. He was friends with the guy I mentioned. Matt Dempsy. They must both work there now. We knew each other in high school but didn’t date until I was back home from college one summer. But that was years ago. I don’t know why he would run us off the road.”
“That was no little love tap. He tried to kill us. Has he always been this unstable?”
“No. I mean, he was definitely hanging with the wrong crowd, which was why I broke it off, but he wasn’t violent or dangerous.”
“Maybe he wasn’t then, but he should be considered dangerous now. We need to call this in.”
“I’m not even sure if he was the one behind the wheel. I never got a good look at the driver. I just know it was his truck. What if he sold it?”
“Dani, this was a targeted attack. Whether it was him or not, we need to report it.”
“Of course we’ll report the incident, but I want to confront Colter myself. And I know where he hangs out. There’s a bar in Southwold.”
Not knowing quite what to say, Michael stepped out of the car to assess the damage. Dani got out too, making a lap around the vehicle, now covered in a layer of dust. One tire was flat, but for the most part, the Tahoe was okay.
“Do you have a spare?” she asked.
Michael popped the trunk and dragged a tire out.
She grinned. “Of course you do. Way to go, Boy Scout.”
He tried to ignore the way a simple compliment from her had him wanting to pull his shoulders back a little straighter, hold his head a little higher. She was his best friend’s little sister. It shouldn’t matter.
But it kinda did.
Which was all kinds of confusing.
But whatever. He had a job to do. Which meant, first and foremost, that he needed to protect Dani.
The more he thought about it as he changed the tire, the more he wouldn’t mind facing Colter McCord face-to-face.
From the way he’d stared at her at the garbage place and the fact that she’d recognized his vehicle, it wasn’t a huge leap to assume he had something to do with this.
He tossed the jack into the trunk. “Let’s figure out where we are and call the incident in. I’ll make it known that we’re going to follow up with a possible suspect and don’t need assistance out here.”
“Okay.”
The glint in her smile said she knew she was getting what she wanted but was trying not to gloat.
Funnily enough, he didn’t mind.
Thankfully, the car ran fine, and soon they were weaving through the dirt roads back to the main street.
Michael talked to the dispatcher and called in that they were following a lead.
Dani navigated him to the bar called the Snake Pit, in a seedier part of town in Southwold.
The snake pattern painted on the street side of the metal building had seen better days. Patches were flaked off or rusted.
Michael pulled into the crowded parking lot. “So what’s the plan? We need to make sure we do this right.”
“The plan is to talk to Colter.” Dani hopped out as soon as he parked.
Michael sprinted after her. “Wait! That’s your plan?”
“It’s nothing elaborate. Colter has a temper, but he’s not the smartest. And if he’s the one who ran us off the road, then it probably won’t take much to get him to admit it. Then you arrest him. Nothing to it.” Dani continued walking past cars toward the neon sign at the entrance.
That was not a plan. That was something thrown together, and they were quickly running out of parking lot to discuss this.
“Dani, wait.”
She didn’t. For a person on the petite side, she sure moved quickly.
“Dani!”
But she’d already reached the sidewalk leading up to the front door.
The front door guarded by a giant of a man who blocked her way.
An armed man, at that.
And she didn’t back down a bit.
“I don’t think you’re old enough to come in here.” The man stared her down.
“Oh, I guarantee you I am.” Dani met his glare head-on. “Do you want to see my ID?”
Michael watched as another man with the same leopard tattoo as McCord moved in and stood next to the first guy. This wasn’t good.
The bouncer folded his arms across his chest. “Even if you are, I suggest you go somewhere else.”
Suddenly, three more men from the shadowed entrance slipped out the door and surrounded them. Great. Five thugs, each packing. And no backup.
This was why they should’ve had a plan!
But before he could suggest going back to the car and formulating one, Dani moved in closer to the big guy. “I don’t want to go somewhere else. I have business here.”
Was she purposely poking the bear? Not a great strategy with a five-to-two ratio and his hidden Glock their only weapon. But obviously, she had something in mind. He would let her lead and just try to be ready.
“And what business would that be?” the bouncer asked.
“I need to speak to Colter McCord.”
The other man stood shoulder to shoulder with the bouncer. He wasn’t as big in his matching black jeans and combat boots—like it was a bouncer uniform—but he uncovered his holster and pulled out a knife. “Colter is busy at the moment. And we’re done asking. You need to leave now.”
Michael didn’t like that two of the men moved in behind him. He couldn’t keep an eye on them all. As tough as Dani was, they were outgunned and outnumbered.
Dani chuckled. “Look, I’m not here to cause trouble.”
Apparently, she was now going for the charming-slash-disarming routine to back her way out of this situation. Not wanting to mess with her approach, Michael simply stood next to her.
“I just want to talk to the guy.” She flashed a sweet smile.
The big guy raised an eyebrow. “I’ll be happy to pass along a message. But you’re not going in there.”
“You’ll give Colter a message?” Dani asked him. “Promise?”
The guy shrugged. “Sure.”
“Fine. Tell him Dani came to tell him we’re through and he needs to get over it. And if he still doesn’t believe me that we’re done”—Dani spun and wrapped an arm around Michael’s neck—“tell him this.” And before Michael could respond, she pulled him in and kissed him.
Pure shock was the only thing that registered for a moment. Then the warmth pressed against his lips thawed everything else. And really, he had to help sell this, or things were going to get really bad, really fast.
So Michael kissed her back.
He couldn’t forget the audience they were trying to convince, but for one sweet and shocking moment, he held Dani close and soaked her in, the way her hand curled around his neck, the smell of her floral perfume wrapping around him, and the quiet sigh as she pulled away.
It was only a second, but it rocked him to his core.
The men laughed and fell away. The big guy nodded to them. “Message received. I’ll be sure he gets it.”
“Good.” Dani slipped her hand around Michael’s arm, and they walked away.
Michael scrambled to understand what had just happened, but nothing made sense anymore. One moment they’d been surrounded by danger, then his best friend’s little sister had kissed him, and now they were walking away unscathed and he wasn’t sure he could remember his full name.
Dani, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected.
What in the world was going on?
That had to have been one of the dumbest things she’d ever done, and yet…she’d kissed Michael Martinelli!
What had she been thinking?!
So maybe it had been better than she’d ever fantasized. Maybe it had totally taken her breath away and had her seeing stars—in a good way.
But this was her best friend’s brother. Her brother’s best friend. And he was not part of the get-reassigned-to-a-real-city plan. He could only distract her. She had to stay focused. This was not the time for her old crush to reignite and take over.
Either way, she couldn’t let him know that this one simple kiss had completely knocked her world off its axis. How could she call herself an undercover agent and get this dizzy over one completely fake display of affection?
She’d play it cool. No big deal.
Oh Lord, help me now, because it was a really big deal!
What was she supposed to be doing, anyway? Right. Investigating.
“So…” Michael looked adorably confused as they walked away from the unwelcoming committee of the Snake Pit and toward his car, parked in the back of the lot. “What happened to that whole ‘not pretending we’re a couple to get out of sticky situations’ you were lecturing me about earlier?”
Play. It. Cool.
Dani grabbed his hand and dragged him the rest of the way to his car.
“I figured if seeing us together at the waste plant was what riled Colter up in the first place, then this was the best way to get him to show himself. I’ve found the element of surprise and doing the unexpected is a good way to confuse an opponent. ”
“So this was a tactical move?”
“Uh-huh. And see? It worked. But you’re right. I did berate you for putting your arm around me, and here I threw myself at you and kissed you. Sorry.”
Michael stared at her a moment. “It’s fine. I was just…surprised.”
That was one way of putting it. But this was not the time to get into another typical Dani Kim–sized fiasco. She had work to do. “Are we good?”
He nodded. “Now what?”
“With all those thugs guarding the door, something shady is totally going on in there. Let’s find out what.”
“This is a bad part of town. I don’t want to get stuck in a situation where we’re surrounded again. I didn’t even see Colter’s vehicle. Maybe he’s not here. And finding him would be the only good reason we have for going in.”
“Then let’s drive around and see if his truck is out back.”
Dani watched the door as Michael left the parking lot. “The thugs are watching us all right. Hopefully they’ll let down their guards.”
“Guess we’ll find out.” He circled the block slowly. The light was fading fast, but they didn’t see Colter’s car anywhere.
“What now?” Michael asked.
Before Dani could answer, Michael’s phone rang. He pushed a button on his console and answered it. “Hey, Frankie. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine except that you just missed the kick off, and now Kate is freaking out since you haven’t called or texted. She’s convinced you’re dead. I tried to tell her you were okay and probably running late, but she insisted I call.”
He hung his head back and groaned. “The game! I completely forgot.”
“Wow. That’s a new one. My perfect big brother forgot something.” Frankie chuckled. “You sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I just got caught up in something after work. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Frankie sighed dramatically. “I’ll reassure Kate that you’re not splattered on the highway or riddled with bullet holes. See ya soon.”
Michael ended the call.
Remorse flooded Dani. “I’m so sorry. Here I am, wasting your time—”
“Hold up. Someone tried to run us off the road, and we were tracking them down. That wasn’t a waste of time. And Frankie said they just did the kick off, meaning the game’s barely started.”
Michael’s reassurance seemed sincere. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was keeping him from more important matters. Messing things up like she always did.
In this case, ASAC Kumar would probably say her impulsiveness was a liability. “I’ll call a rideshare, and you can get to the game—”
“Uh, that’s not happening. I can take you to Josh and Lily’s. Or…”
“Or what?” For some reason, her breath hitched.
“You could come to the game if you want. My partner, Finn, is there, and Maria’s watching too with the rest of the family. We haven’t missed much.”
The invite took her by surprise. How many games had she watched Josh and Michael play when they were growing up?
She’d always loved how loudly and boisterously the Martinelli family cheered for their own.
Everyone came. Win or lose, they would be there in the stands.
She’d loved being a part of it when she was younger, often wishing her own family would, if not cheer and yell, at least loosen up and remind her that they were on her side.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Good. It’s set.” He nodded at her like it was a done deal.
While he drove, Michael called the incident in to his precinct over the speaker and had her talk to one of his fellow officers about checking into Colter and his vehicle.
They arrived at North Eagle High School as the second quarter started. The Martinelli clan took up a good section of bleachers. Michael introduced her to Liam Finnigan, his partner, and they settled in to watch Gabe and Raphael and the rest of the Chargers football team.
The day ended on a much better note than it had begun.
But tomorrow, she would track down Colter McCord and give him a piece of her mind.