Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Izan had been on a roll after the best dinner ever. In fact, he’d have said he was on a roll…until he pulled into the parking lot.
Olivia stopped in the middle of talking about her afternoon after he’d left the scene. She said, “What is it?”
“Looks like they’re all here.” He pulled into a space.
“There’s only a handful of cars here.”
He winced. “And most of them belong to my siblings and my parents.” He spotted another couple of cars—the pastor and the church custodian. Why had he thought this was a good idea? Things had seemed great earlier, chatting with Olivia in the rain. Now his stomach flipped over.
“We can do something else. Or you could drop me at the station and come back by yourself.”
And everyone would know he’d chickened out. “No way.” He wasn’t going to be a coward. Ainsley had probably told them all he was bringing Olivia tonight, and they’d shown up so they could see her. Worst idea ever. He said, “Besides, I want to know if you found that guy. The convict’s brother.”
She unbuckled her seat belt. Rain on the windshield quickly blinded the view. Without the wipers on to clear it, they were suddenly cocooned in a world of their own. Almost like no one else existed. It seemed for a moment as if it was just the two of them.
Kind of like it had at the restaurant, when he’d been listening to her talk about police training and the other officers in her class at the academy. Watching her face light up as she described the pranks they’d played on each other.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m good.” He twisted to her and rested his arm on the center console so he could lean closer. “If you are.”
She eyed him with a little suspicion. Maybe this wasn’t the right moment to talk about work. It did feel like something entirely different was happening.
Which, of course, it was.
Izan had decided to simply show her the real him. The guy who said what he was thinking and let it all hang out.
“I’m good.”
“That’s good.” He studied her lips. They’d curled up endearingly as she spoke. He wanted to press his lips to hers and see what she tasted like. If it was as good as he thought it might be. “I’d rather sit here though. We’re going to get soaked running to the front door.”
“You didn’t used to do that when you were a kid?”
“Sure, but now I’ve got a good reason to stay in the car.”
“Oh?” Her lips curled up again. “And what reason is that?”
He shrugged, trying to keep things playful. “You.”
She was focused on the manhunt, wanting to help, but she was also on medical leave—so there were limited things she was allowed to do. Detective Ridgeman had accompanied her to the house where Damien Wallace’s brother lived.
“So I can tell you about my day?”
“You can tell me whatever you want,” Izan said. “But did you find Wallace’s brother?”
“The house was empty. Thankfully, I didn’t find a second dead body today. It’s never easy, no matter how many times it happens.”
Izan hadn’t intended for the conversation to go this way, but nodded. “We see some pretty harrowing things on callouts. People who got hurt, mangled in all sorts of ways. When it’s a child is the worst. It sticks with you.”
She reached over and took his hand. “Makes you want to hold the people you care about close.”
“You can hold me close anytime.”
She shook her head, chuckling. “We should go inside before this conversation gets any worse.”
“I thought it was going well.”
She laughed.
Yeah, he wanted to kiss her. “Let’s go.”
If he did kiss her, then he’d have to figure out how to stop. Otherwise they’d be out here in the car for who knew how long. He’d rather deal with the anticipation of their first kiss than have to cut it off and meet his parents with a flushed face and his cheeks pink from embarrassment.
“Ready?” He reached for the door handle.
She flipped up the hood of her jacket. He raced around the car and snagged her hand. They ran to the front doors of the church like that, spilling into the building, giggling and out of breath.
The entry was empty of people, his shoes echoing off the floor with a hollow sound. He pushed open the doors to the sanctuary and found a small group of about a dozen people sitting in the first couple of rows.
A dark-haired man stood in front of them holding a gun.
Olivia flinched, patting her pockets. Searching for her…“My gun is in the car.”
Izan hadn’t taken his attention off the man. “Alonzo, what is this?”
He walked ahead of Olivia and saw one of his brothers turn to watch him come over. Olivia could figure out how to call this in, get help here. He needed to distract Sosa so that she could do her job.
He needed to draw attention to himself.
“What are you doing?” Izan spread his arms wide.
“Jogging your memory.” Alonzo shifted the gun to point it at Izan, then moved his arm to aim at Izan’s mother.
Izan stiffened. “About what? What do you want?”
The guy should’ve been halfway to Mexico by now. He could’ve run, but he was still here. In town. Thinking he had unfinished business. Or that he knew this area well enough he could hide…and do whatever he wanted.
“You know what I want. So give me Diego’s money, and I won’t kill these people. Your familia.” He said the last word like it was a slur.
“They’re more my family than you are.” Izan was going to keep him talking until the police got here.
“They raised me. Cared for me. Now you’re going to threaten them.
That only means you know they mean something to me.
” They meant everything. “If I had your money, I’d give it to you.
Because their lives are worth more than some stupid money I don’t even care about. ”
“Then tell me where to find it.”
“Leave with me. We’ll take my car,” Izan said. “I’ll take you to the money.”
His family reacted. Mom whimpered, and the others moved to look at him. Someone gasped.
Apparently he was a good actor, because they didn’t know he had no idea where the money was. He’d never had it and wasn’t going to be able to produce it. What he needed was for the Collins family not to be in the line of fire.
He felt Olivia move behind him, and his phone was tugged from his back pocket, where he always kept it. She didn’t have his password, but she could make an emergency call. Get the police here.
“We can go right now.” Izan motioned with his head. “No one has to get hurt.”
Olivia grasped a handful of his shirt and slid his phone back in his pocket. Did she think the police could track him if he went with Alonzo? At least one of them was thinking ahead, because he had no idea what he was doing.
Alonzo said, “I get that money. It’s mine. You aren’t family.”
“That’s right, I’m not. I don’t want Diego’s money. I never have.” That, at least, was the truth.
He earned his money fair and square. Izan had no idea what had happened to the money his birth parents had stolen from Diego Sosa. But the man had killed them both for it. Alonzo knew enough to presume Izan had it, though Izan had no idea what gave Alonzo that impression.
Alonzo held the gun on Izan and dragged Ainsley to her feet with his other hand. “We’ll take just one with us. For insurance.”
Ainsley gasped. “Izan.”
“Your brother will make sure nothing happens to you.” Alonzo leaned in and smelled Ainsley’s hair. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun in the meantime.”
Izan flinched, taking a step toward Alonzo. “Let her go, or no deal.”
Alonzo chuckled. “You think you have any say in this?” He lifted the gun and pointed it at Ainsley’s throat, kind of like the way he had with Izan.
Izan’s throat tightened reflexively. He knew exactly what it felt like being held like that. Helpless and unable to do anything for the risk of getting shot in the head. Lights out.
No, that wasn’t how his family was going to lose Ainsley. Not right before Christmas, and not at any other time. The second they got out of here, he was going to jump Sosa and finish this.
“You don’t need her. You’ll have me.”
Olivia stepped out from behind him. “And me. There’s no way anyone will come after you with a cop as a hostage. Izan and I will go with you, and you’ll get that money.”
Alonzo dragged Ainsley along with him. “I don’t need a cop.”
He whipped the gun over and pointed it at Olivia, already pulling the trigger.