Chapter 8
Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, Bryn struggled to maintain control. She couldn’t believe the steel-gray SUV had been waiting for them down the street from the police station. Or that Micah had fired at the vehicle to disable it.
“Are you sure about not going to the police station?” She darted a glance at him. “It’s not like the driver can follow us in the SUV.”
“I don’t like that the guy was waiting there at all.” Micah’s tone was flat and hard. “What if he knows someone inside the police department? For all we know, Richard is good buddies with someone inside the department who is willing to look the other way.”
“You don’t really believe that.” She frowned as she stopped at a stop sign. “That sounds like a conspiracy theory.”
“I don’t know what to believe.” Micah didn’t look upset by her comment.
His expression could have been carved from granite.
“But I’m not going to risk driving to the police station now.
You’re familiar with this neighborhood, right?
” When she nodded, he said, “Okay, then head over to the pub, I’ll take over driving from there. ”
She wasn’t upset about his wanting to drive, because now that the danger was over, her entire body had begun to shake. This was all so far outside her realm of experience. Her boring, routine life was anything but, and she was starting to think that things would never go back to normal.
They rode in silence for several minutes as she made her way to O’Brien’s Pub. The parking lot was empty at this early hour. She rolled to a stop and put the gearshift into park. Unclamping her fingers from the steering wheel, she turned to push her door open.
“Bryn.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Please trust me, okay?”
Ridiculous tears pricked her eyes. Why now that the danger was over, she wasn’t sure. Unable to force words through her tight throat, she nodded and swung out of the car.
Micah did the same, coming around to her side. Then he pulled her into his arms. Surprised, she didn’t resist and buried her face against his chest.
“Why me?” she asked in a choked voice. “Why is this happening to me?”
“I don’t know.” He drew her tighter against him, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I think you’re just a convenient scapegoat.”
He was probably right. Her poor judgment in dating Damien had made her an easy target. Yet she was the most law-abiding person on the planet. She found it unfathomable that the police would believe her capable of killing a man and setting her own house on fire.
“You’re going to be okay, Bryn.” Micah’s chest rumbled beneath her ear. Being cradled in his arms helped calm her rioting emotions. She didn’t want to leave the shelter of his arms, but she forced herself to step back and lift her head.
“Thanks, Micah.” She sniffled and tried to smile. His blue eyes held hers for a long moment. He stood with his head tipped down so that their mouths were only a few inches apart. Without thinking it through, she went up on her tiptoes to close the gap, kissing him.
She’d intended it to be an expression of gratitude, but something potent blazed between them. He pulled her in, deepening the kiss.
And she reveled in his embrace, dimly realizing that Micah’s kiss was far better than anything she’d shared with Damien.
Then Micah abruptly lifted his head, an expression of regret darkening his gaze. “I, um, didn’t mean to let that get out of control.”
“You didn’t.” She licked her lips, then ducked her head. “I’m the one who started it.”
There was a pause as Micah seemed to search for something to say. He finally cleared his throat. “We’d better get out of here.”
“Okay.” She pulled away and turned to round the car. When she reached the passenger side, she realized Micah was still standing there, looking at her intently. Was he trying to read her mind? Good luck with that. She had no idea what had possessed her to kiss him.
Yet she didn’t regret the kiss. It was something she’d longed for since they first met back in high school.
Pushing that thought away, she slid into the rental and buckled her seat belt.
Micah did the same, then drove out of the parking lot to head south.
Still rattled by the kiss, she tried not to stare at him.
Micah was different from Damien in every way, but the most important part of all was the attraction that shimmered between them.
Well, at least on her part. Probably not on his.
She glanced at him from beneath her lashes. He wore his blond hair short, and the stubble on his cheeks only added to his rugged looks. He was all muscle compared to Damien. And she was fast learning that Micah had more integrity in his pinky finger than Damien had in his whole body.
Enough. Micah was off-limits. She needed to stay focused on their next steps.
One thing was for sure; she wasn’t going to stick around in Madison when this nightmare was over. She could head back to St. Louis, maybe see if she could get her old job back. Or at least get a reference for another position. There was no reason to stay here.
Yet that was a problem for later.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Micah asked. “You look upset.”
“I’m fine.” She wasn’t, but there was no point in complaining.
“I was just thinking that we’ll want to call Rex to let him know about the change in plan.
” She glanced at him. “I feel bad he’s stuck in the middle between us and Lieutenant Krogan.
Krogan is not going to be happy we decided not to come in to provide our statements. ”
“I know.” Micah shrugged. “I ditched my phone, so we’ll have to wait until we get to the rental property to power up the new devices.” He sighed and added, “I guess it’s a good thing I bought two disposable phones.”
She had forgotten about how he’d tossed his phone out the window. So much had happened that she was stunned to realize only thirty minutes had passed since they’d left the discount store. Thirty minutes that seemed like a lifetime.
“Do you know where the rental property is?” A horrible thought hit. “Rex texted the information to you, but we don’t have your phone anymore. What if we can’t figure out where to go?”
“I memorized the information, don’t worry.” He didn’t appear concerned. “We’ll find the place and have no trouble getting in.”
“Good.” She let out a long breath, grateful for his foresight. Although it suddenly occurred to her that she was depending on Micah a little too much.
Lapsing into silence, she gazed at the passing scenery. Tiny buds popped out on the trees, signs of new life after a long winter. The bright sun warmed the interior of the car. Typical April, the weather was cold one day and warm the next.
The beautiful day outside her window was the antithesis of the recent attempt to kill her.
“Did you see two men back there?” Micah asked, interrupting her troubled thoughts.
She frowned, replaying the sequence of events in her mind. “Now that you mention it, yes. There was one man behind the wheel, leaving the other one who got out of the passenger seat to shoot at us.”
“Yeah, that’s what I saw too.” He paused, then added, “You didn’t recognize either of them?”
“No. It happened fast, and I think the guy in the passenger seat wore a hoodie.” She tried to bring the image in her mind into focus, but it was no use.
The face of the man who’d fired at them was nothing more than a blur.
“I didn’t really pay attention to detail.
I was too focused on getting us out of there. ”
“I know. It’s fine.” His brow furrowed. “I just wondered if they could have been someone who worked at your company.”
She wished she could have given him a definitive answer, but she couldn’t.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m more familiar with the people I work with every day.
Some of the employees I only see at company-wide meetings because they do most of their work from home.
And most of those are on video calls. I don’t pay attention to their faces other than taking attendance. It’s my job to take notes for Damien.”
“Okay. I’m just asking. As soon as my phone is working, I’ll give my contact at the DMV a call. He’ll give me the information related to that steel-gray SUV’s license plate registration.”
“Really?” She frowned. “Isn’t that against the law?”
He shrugged. “Yep. But his brother served with us in Afghanistan. Alex knows I’m only using the information to help keep people safe.”
Another reminder that the only reason Micah was sitting there beside her was because he felt bad about Tommy’s death. He’d reacted to her kiss the way any man would. It wasn’t personal.
She needed to remember that. Micah was a friend, nothing more. The remnants of her life were in ruins.
The last thing she needed was to add a broken heart to the list.
Micah hoped his turbulent feelings toward Bryn weren’t telegraphed over his features. She was Tommy’s kid sister. She needed his protection. Not to be kissed like there was no tomorrow.
He needed to keep his emotions in check. Keeping Bryn safe was turning out to be the most difficult job he’d ever taken on. The only mission that was more dangerous was the exfil operation that had gone sideways during their troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Army soldiers had died that day, but civilians had lost their lives here too. The worst thing about this case was that they had no idea who their enemy was.
Rex would be upset that he’d called off the police interview, but it couldn’t be helped.
Not after the near miss mere blocks from the police station.
He was surprised the police hadn’t responded instantly, considering they’d been so close to the department.
Although at midmorning, most of the officers would have been out on patrol.
It didn’t matter; he wasn’t going back. The more miles he put between them and the incident of gunfire with the steel-gray SUV, the better.