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“Let’s start with something simple…your name.” She shoved her weapon into the door pocket, unsnapping the security strap of the holster. Easy access if something went wrong.
“Now that we’ll be working together I guess you should know. Erren Rhodes to your rescue.”
“I’m not working with you.”
“Isn’t it a little too late for that decision?” He turned in the seat, leaning back toward the door window. “Look. All we need to do is retrieve Pike’s package and you’re done. Back to whatever boring job you do.”
Boring was correct. She wanted out in the field. More specifically, she wanted to be undercover. She’d spent years analyzing other officers’ work, verifying accounts of operations and preparing case information. She’d longed to be in the field. Instead she’d been transferred to the academy.
Whoever this man was, he was her clue to unraveling this mystery and she would stick with him to find her answers. It had to be the cop in her telling her she could handle this guy. After all, she had the gun, right?
Right. That’s why a voice in her head kept screaming she must be completely and utterly nuts. It would be easier if it were the Sergeant Major’s voice droning in her ear about making the wrong decision. Truth was, she hadn’t heard her father’s voice in a long time. Nope, it was her voice asking questions.
“This’ll take some getting used to,” he said. “I’ve never worked with anyone before. You’re in, O’Malley. Admit it.”
“So how do we avoid every cop in the city who will be searching for us?” Every instinct told her that trusting this man would help clear her brother’s name.
“You mean they’ll be searching for you,” he stated, very certain of himself. “They don’t know who I am yet.”
“Someone knows you’re in Dallas. Didn’t you say they ambushed you?”
“You’re probably right.” His nod was a silhouette against the passing cars. “Start by taking me to the package. We’ll open it up and find out what we’re dealing with.”
“This is ridiculous, Agent Rhodes.”
“Cut the agent bit. It’s too easy to slip up in front of the wrong person. Call me Erren or honey or babe.”
She watched him fix that gorgeous smile back on his face. Yes, it was totally for her benefit. And it was halfway doing its job.
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t be approved to work with you.”
“Who are we asking?”
Erren stared as O’Malley didn’t crack a smile.
“You aren’t sanctioned for this operation?” She continued to nervously drum her fingers on the console between the seats. “There’s no chance your supervisor can help clear this incident? No safe contact?”
“Let’s say the DEA will be ecstatic when I’m not causing any more problems. Pike was my safe contact. Always has been.”
“Good grief, you can’t mean to find Pike’s killer completely on your own. Especially with no plan or backup or resources.”
“I’ve got you, babe.”
“Why do you need me?”
Erren had no specific answer, but wasn’t it obvious? She wasn’t his partner, only an unanswered question in his investigation.
“Somehow Pike’s death has connected us, O’Malley.”
“Do you have a theory about that?”
“I don’t know who left the map leading me to your house.” Had she opened her eyes the slightest bit wider? “Maybe you do. Can we discuss this while you drive?”
Glowering, his reluctant detective turned the key, shoved her Camry in gear and merged back into traffic. The photo had come from Butthead. His working theory? Beavis and Butthead would pick him up, follow the map and kill them both in her living room, leaving the picture. He didn’t know why yet…it was only a theory.
But something more than Pike’s picture had convinced her to come with him. He didn’t care why as long as she delivered Pike’s stuff and he could finish the job. He would find the murderer, give him what he deserved and disappear. Simple. Yeah, he definitely had a plan.
“Tell me exactly what’s going on.”
“I was ambushed. My cover’s blown. And my Dallas handler disappeared when shots were fired.”
“If they decided to take you out, no offense, but it wouldn’t require an ambush or shooting their own men. And that doesn’t explain the Dallas P.D.’s involvement.”
That x-ray vision of hers was starting to unnerve him. She looked as if she could see through the persona he cloaked himself with on the street. The same personality that had kept him alive for six years. He couldn’t afford to exchange innuendos or smiles with her, just the facts.
“It was a setup. Whoever was at the end of the alley wasn’t with Beavis and Butthead. Those two guys were as surprised to see the cops as I was.”
“Or impersonators,” she said loyally. She wasn’t naïve, just staunch. Even after a dirty cop tried to kill her.
“I tried to surrender, but they kept firing.”
“And missed.” There she went shaking her head again. “So what were they really after? Your credibility? What’s your usual procedure when something like this happens?”
“Never happened.”
Why did he suddenly sound as if he was lying? He was an excellent liar. But he was telling the truth. So why did her questioning make him feel like a liar? He must have hit his head harder than he remembered. “I have to be close to something, because they want me out of the picture. But why not dead?”
“Dead doesn’t go away.” Her voice was emotionless and unsettling. “It gets cops crawling out of the woodwork, which is something they probably don’t need.”
Right answer. And logical. Pike had said O’Malley was one of the best. Yeah, she might have that rare quality he could admire. And admiration wasn’t something he spared for too many people—especially cops. Strangely, it was there the first time he’d looked into the detective’s emerald-green eyes. And he still didn’t know her first name.
“If I help you—”
“If?” Better for her to know there wasn’t a choice.
She shot him a look like… Just what was that look? Cute, yes. That one curious eyebrow thing suggested he was the crazy one and she was totally in control.
“If I decide to help you, we’re partners,” she stated.
“Now wait a minute.”
“Equal in all decisions.”
“I don’t care how much undercover experience you think you have.”
“Equals.” Looking straight ahead, she was confident again and his insides were jumping.
“Nope.” He didn’t really have a choice and he could see the control slipping from his fingers. What was it about this woman that got under his skin? “No way.”
Lie.
All he had to do was lie. Agree with her until he got the package. Other than “south,” she’d given no other directions. He still didn’t have a clue where they were headed. He could lead her to believe they were collaborating. Nothing new about that. So why did he feel compelled to be honest?
“This is for real, O’Malley. Don’t think for a second they won’t kill us.” Even in the dark, he was certain her knuckles turned white from her death grip on the wheel. “We can pretend to be equals, but it’ll be my experience that’s going to keep us alive. Got it?”
Truth had spewed from his mouth. She must have agreed since she didn’t disagree. He leaned back in the seat, very aware of the condition of his clothes. Everything hurt. His side wasn’t exactly on fire, but it wasn’t nice and comfy either. He clamped his hand over the wet gauze. As long as he stayed immobile he was fine, but he needed a couple of stitches or some Krazy Glue.
“I guess you should issue your orders using my name. It’s Darby.”
The unusual name fit. Darby O’Malley. Nice. A complete Irish bundle with dazzling red hair.
“Can you make out that alert sign?” she asked.
They were on a major thoroughfare cutting through Dallas, and the flashing alert ahead of them had nothing to do with road construction.
“Abducted. White female. Suspect armed. Silver Camry TX SGT MJR3.” It was worse than he’d originally thought, but he couldn’t let O’Malley know that. “You have personalized plates?”
“How can they think I was abducted? He said he was a cop.”
“The cop lied. You’re a smart woman. Don’t you know how the real world works?”
“What could he accomplish? He shot up my house and nearly killed us.”
“Darby.” She wasn’t going to like what he was about to say. “He’ll report I had your weapon and fired first. The entire state will be looking for this car and the man who abducted a cop. I’ve shot another. It’s the perfect excuse to fire first and ask questions later. And you’ll probably be hit in the cross fire.”
“You don’t have any proof. He didn’t even know you were there.”
Her loyalty would be their downfall. He could predict that scenario easily enough. She trusted law enforcement too completely.
“I spotted the cop watching you on the first pass by your house. He probably got notification of your 911 call featuring an injured white male.”
“I knew he was after you.”
“Wrong. They’re after whatever Pike left in your care. Remember?” It wasn’t hard to notice her sharp, indrawn breath and the quirk of her eyebrow. “You asked about your brother earlier. Is there another reason the cops are interested?”
“Michael’s wanted for questioning.”
Her hesitation gave her away. She was lying. He could figure out why later. Right now he had to keep them free from any authority who would prevent him from working the case. He wasn’t quitting until he had proof enough to put a needle in the arm of Pike’s murderer.
She changed lanes quickly, heading for an exit.
“Stay on the highway. It might be better to take a side road, but we’ll be in Mesquite in fifteen minutes. There’s a gas station that sells T-shirts off Interstate 30. I don’t think we should try to pick anything up in this car.”
She didn’t object. She didn’t talk for several minutes.
“There’s no one you can call to let them know what we’re doing?” she eventually asked, her voice seeking the confirmation they were proceeding down the correct path.
“I don’t trust anybody. Neither should you.”
He heard her low throaty growl of frustration. He closed his eyes again, trying to recall the handler’s face who had set him up so thoroughly tonight.
Strangely enough he could only picture Darby at the moment she chose to help him. The panic that flooded her eyes had been conquered and set aside with one determined heartbeat.
This woman was more than under his skin and he hadn’t even known her a full hour.
Chapter Three
“Cuffs?” Erren asked. “Do we really need to go there?”
Darby killed the engine and twisted between the steering wheel and the backseat where she’d thrown the bulky gun belt earlier.
“On the off chance you’re thinking you don’t need me to retrieve Pike’s package, think again. You’re also a suspect in a shooting and not going anywhere without me.”
“Just for the record.” There was an abundance of self-confidence in his every action. Even while he leaned from the passenger seat to snap the cuffs into place—one around each wrist with the steering wheel between. “This is the last time we’ll need to do this.”
“Really?”
“I’ll be giving the orders if you want to tag along to find Pike’s murderer.” God, he reeked of arrogance. “I can do this op in my sleep.”
The man was a complete conundrum. Smiling one minute, burnt-out agent the next. She popped the trunk and went for her jacket, slipping her Glock into the pocket.
Covering her blood-soaked T-shirt, she retrieved the keys from the seat, slammed the door and trotted to the restroom to clean up. She yanked the shirt from her body and shoved it deep into the trash can, splashing cold water on her flushed skin. Wetting paper towels, she smeared the blood on her side to a weak pink stain. The smear would have to do. She shook the drops of water from her fingers and zipped her jacket to the neck.
She’d taken four minutes. Tops. But the sinking feeling in her stomach bubbled into her throat as she opened the restroom door and looked out the glass storefront.
Her car was gone.
“I am such an idiot!” She ran out and around the corner, finding no trace of her vehicle.
“I wouldn’t say that, Detective.”
Heaven help her, he’d gotten close enough that his breath warmed her neck. Tingles traveled to every nerve ending in her body. Her hand jumped to her pocket. Empty.
“Looking for this?”
Darby fisted her fingers, spun around and knocked the agent’s hands in the air. Instead of dislodging the gun, he avoided the collision, ejected the magazine and the round from the chamber. In a mere couple of seconds, he was holding her weapon on his palm, stretching it toward her.
“Holy cow. Take it easy. If I’d wanted a gun, I would have taken the one from the console.”
She snatched the pistol back a split second later. But not before her cold fingers had been pierced by his warmth.
“How—”
“Master pickpocket, a handy talent I acquired my first year undercover. Also helps getting rid of the bracelets.” He shook his left wrist where the handcuffs were still attached. “I removed the ignition key from your ring while you were getting your jacket.”
Rookie move. She hadn’t left the keys in the seat—he had. She shoved the gun back into her jacket. The last thing they needed was for some overanxious gas clerk to call in a robbery.
“Who are you?” This guy was good and she was a complete idiot. But it wouldn’t happen again.
