* * * * *
After dealing with the tow truck company and talking to the sheriff, Mac managed to get away from the scene. All he wanted to do was check on Eve at the hospital. The sheriff would be on his way there soon to question her and he wanted to arrive first. He’d rescued her phone from the cabin of his truck so he didn’t have a way to contact her until he saw her.
From what he could tell she’d looked fine but his truck was totaled—and it wrecked him that she’d been driving the mangled mess.
“I’ve never seen you like this, man.” Grant shook his head as he headed toward downtown.
“What do you expect? My truck’s totaled,” he growled at him.
Grant snorted. “This has nothing to do with that truck and everything to do with one very petite, very cute blonde.”
“It’s strawberry blonde,” he muttered, not sure why the distinction mattered. But it did. Everything about Eve mattered.
At that Grant laughed, but Mac ignored him. “I don’t know why you don’t get it over with and ask her out.”
“Are you still talking?” He and Grant had been in the Marines together and he loved him like a brother but right now, he didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted to make sure Eve was okay.
“Well if you’re not interested, maybe I’ll ask her out myself.”
“Do it and I kick your ass,” he growled softly without looking at him.
Grant laughed again so Mac kept his mouth shut. He didn’t feel like being baited and that’s all his friend was doing.
The rest of the drive to the hospital was quiet and thankfully short. Without having to tell Grant to drop him off at the ER entrance, his friend pulled through and stopped.
“I’ll park and meet you inside.”
“Okay.” He jumped out and hurried to the entrance. As he was walking through, Eve was walking out. She jerked to a stop when she spotted him. “Uh, hey.”
“Are you leaving?” he demanded.
Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and other than the small bandage on her forehead, she actually looked okay. She must have washed her face because she didn’t have a scrap of makeup on and all the smudged mascara was gone. She nodded as her cheeks tinged bright pink. “I can’t stay here and I’m fine.”
While he wanted to hug and protect her, he simultaneously wanted to throttle her. “How were you planning on leaving?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Um…”
“Damn it Eve, you never think things through. You don’t have your car or a phone.” He fished hers out and handed it to her. “And you need to make a statement to the sheriff. He’s on his way here now. I know you were run off the road intentionally and so does he. What the hell is going on? I know this wasn’t an accident.”
“I honestly don’t know. I went to see Bunny Martin and—”
“You
what
?”
Her lips pulled into a thin line. “I didn’t tell her anything and according to her she’s leaving her husband. Though I guess that doesn’t matter now…Anyway, she gave me his phone records for the past few months and—”
“Why the hell did she do that?” He couldn’t stop interrupting her.
Her shoulders slumped. “Look, I’m hungry and I feel like crap. Can you take me to Brick’s Diner? I’m starving and I promise I’ll call the sheriff on the way there. I’ll stop by the station as soon we leave.”
Stubborn woman was in no shape to be going anywhere. “You need to stay here, Eve. After what happened—”
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m scared to stay here!”
His eyebrows rose at the raw terror in her voice. “Are you serious?”
She nodded, eyes haunted. “Whoever ran me off the road must have been following me or something. They know I’ll be here and it’s not that I don’t trust Hudson Creek P.D., but…”
“But you
don’t
trust them.”
“Well what if the sheriff doesn’t believe me? I haven’t exactly been truthful with him and here I’m a sitting duck.
Please
, I don’t want to stay.”
The pleading note in her voice did him in. Well that and the way she looked at him with those big brown eyes.
Sucker. That’s exactly what he was. A big one. Knowing he was going to regret his decision, he shook his head and put a protective arm around her shoulders. “Come on. Grant’s parking the truck.”
* * * * *
Oscar Perez tightly gripped the wheel of the SUV. He wasn’t sure what the nosy little journalist knew, but she had to know something. Why else would she have stopped by Allen Martin’s house? He’d been randomly staking out Martin’s residence for the past few months. The car salesman had been acting odd lately and their operation was too big to risk him getting cold feet and bailing. And the reporter woman had
never
stopped by before.
Maybe Allen had talked to her before he’d died… No, he’d been neck deep in their operation. He wouldn’t have contacted a journalist.
After glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure he wasn’t being followed, Oscar pulled out his cell phone.
His contact answered on the second ring and she sounded annoyed. “What’s wrong? We’re not supposed to be in communication today.”
Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. He’d set up the schedule. “I saw that blonde journalist, Eve Newman, leaving Martin’s house. She talked with his wife for a while.”
“What did they talk about?”
“Hell if I know.” He hadn’t been in the room. “I ran her off the road after she left. Thought I’d be able to intimidate her into telling me what she knows, but I didn’t get a chance to question her. Someone stopped to help her.”
She sighed loudly, which only made him grit his teeth. “She’s a nosy little bitch. Did you kill her?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then she’s probably at the hospital. I can’t risk running into her there but you should stop by. I’m sure you can
convince
her to talk to you.”
He didn’t like the idea of going to the hospital and exposing himself like that. Especially not when they were so close to bringing in more money than he’d ever dreamed of. Cops would likely be at the hospital and he didn’t exactly fit in there. “The hospital is too public. I’ll wait until she’s released.”
“That’s fine. I actually have a better idea. I’d planned to use it on Allen but I can use it on her instead.” She sounded a little too excited.
He knew exactly what she meant and the idea was stupid. “That will bring too much heat down on us and we’re not even sure if she knows anything yet.”
“Someone saw Allen’s body last night and we were lucky enough to clean up the blood before that patrolman showed up. If he’d looked around a little harder…” She trailed off and he could picture her tapping her fingers against her desk. “Well, whatever. If Eve was there, I don’t think she saw us or she’d have told the cops. But if she keeps nosing around, she might figure something out. This needs to be done immediately.”
This
was going to be violent and explosive. Normally he didn’t mind a little violence but right now he wanted to play things safe. Fly under the radar. But arguing was stupid. She would do it anyway because she liked to push boundaries. He’d only gone into business with her because she’d been able to help him make contacts he otherwise wouldn’t have. And he’d bought into her dumb routine too easily.
She was anything but stupid. Sharp and savvy most of the time, she expertly pushed his product and kept people coming back for more. But she got too excited sometimes and tended to act rashly. “Fine. Get rid of her but keep it contained to
only
her. I don’t want anyone else hurt or involved.”
She muttered something then hung up.
Something Oscar wouldn’t tolerate from anyone else. And one day soon he wouldn’t tolerate it from her either. He planned to build his own empire and she was a stepping stone.
* * * * *
Eve knew Mac was annoyed with her but after she’d called the sheriff, he’d settled down. Well, sort of. There was still an edginess about him. He’d been quiet at lunch, just giving her hooded stares that made her blood heat up and only served to confuse her. She shifted in the back seat of Grant’s truck as he drove them to her place.
“Whatever your insurance doesn’t cover, I’ll pay for,” she said, mainly to break the silence. Since leaving the diner, he’d agreed to let her get her car. But he didn’t seem too happy about it. It’s not like she had a concussion. Sure she was achy and her neck hurt but she was fine to drive. And if she went home now and took the nap that her body craved, she wouldn’t be able to follow up on her lead. She was obviously on to something and truth be told, she was scared to be home alone anyway.
“Enough with the damn truck.” He didn’t turn around to look at her.
“Then what’s the matter with you? You were moody all through lunch,” she snapped.
Grant cleared his throat from the driver’s side, as if reminding them he was there. But she didn’t care.
Mac whipped around in his seat. “
You’re
what’s the matter with me. You should still be in the hospital. Or talking to the sheriff right now. At the very least you should be at home resting!”
“I am going to talk to the sheriff, but I need my car.” Since the sheriff had the partial license plate already he’d been pretty accommodating in letting her come in later.
“Someone tried to hurt you, maybe even kill you, a few hours ago. You should be more concerned.”
“I
am
concerned.” Actually, she was
terrified
, but that only meant she needed to figure out who was after her that much faster. And she couldn’t trust the cops to do it for her. She could only depend on herself for this and she didn’t want to drag Mac into whatever mess this was.
He muttered something under his breath then said, “I’m driving you to the sheriff’s station.”
“I’m more than capable of taking myself and you need to go to work anyway.” Now he was starting to put her on edge.
“Don’t tell me what I need to do.” His voice was a low growl.
“Then don’t tell me you’re going to be chauffeuring me around like I’m incapable.” She wasn’t sure why she was arguing with him. The thought of him staying with her was nice but she didn’t like his whole bossy attitude.
“I’ve got your keys so deal with it.” He turned around in his seat, effectively cutting her off.
Frowning, she patted her jacket pocket and then looked in her purse. She couldn’t remember where she’d put her car keys this morning but she’d probably left them in her purse after locking up her house. She wasn’t sure when he’d managed to snag them though. Maybe when she’d gone to the restroom at lunch. Which meant he’d been expecting an argument from her.
She scowled at the back of his head but didn’t say anything else. She knew when to pick her battles. After they pulled up to her place, Mac jumped out and opened the extended cab door for her.
His expression softened as he helped her out and she pushed down the guilt she experienced for fighting with him. He also didn’t let go of her hand as they stood there. “I don’t want to fight with you. Are you sure you’re okay to head to the station?”
She nodded and decided to keep it to herself that she planned to head to her office afterward. He really wouldn’t like that. And after the way he’d raced down to the accident site to check on her…she wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. “I promise I’m fine. And I’m sorry…well, for everything.”
He nodded then looked over at Grant. “Did you see anyone follow us?”
Follow them?
Before she could ask what he meant, Grant said, “No. But I’ll still tail you to the station.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked as they headed to her parked car.
“Someone wanted to hurt you today and I made sure they didn’t follow us from the hospital or the diner. After what happened last night you and I both know that probably has something to do with today. You need to tell Sheriff Marcel. He can help you in ways I can’t.”
She snorted.
“Damn it, Eve. He’s not—”
“Please don’t say his name,” she murmured.
Because it was her and because she’d had a rough day, Mac shut his mouth even though every instinct inside him told him to argue with her until she conceded. She headed for the passenger side, which said a lot about how bad she was feeling. She wasn’t even trying to argue with him again.
As he got into the front seat, he glanced at her to find her clutching her purse possessively in her lap. No doubt protecting those phone records she’d gotten. Sighing, he slid the key into the ignition and turned the engine over. When it clicked, he frowned. “Have you had any problems with your battery?”
“No. I just got a new one.”
The hairs on the back of his head tingled. A feeling he’d never ignored before. “Get out now!”
With wide eyes, she didn’t question him. She grabbed her handle and yanked the door open before jumping out.
He did the same and ran.
A deafening blast ripped through the air. Heat licked at his back as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. The only thing he could think of was Eve as he flew through the air.
With a thud, he landed chest down on a patch of grass. All the air rushed from his lungs at the impact. He covered his head at the sounds of glass shattering. When her bumper slammed into the ground next to him, ripping out a chunk of grass and dirt, he pushed up and stumbled a few more feet, trying to stay out of the line of fire. His knees buckled and he hit the ground.
His ears rang as he tried to move again but he couldn’t gain his balance. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he rolled over ready to fight until he saw Grant’s anxious face.
“Are you all right?” Grant sounded like he was talking from a mile away.
Mac shook his head, trying to clear it, but it was no use. He tried to push up but his world spun. As he stared at the burning car, his heart dropped.
Eve!