“So we’re running from the police?” Ally asked as they hit the emergency stairwell at the back of the office.
“Looks that way,” Carter said, pushing their pace. He could trust Jake to talk circles around the officers in the lobby for a few minutes, but Carter knew he couldn’t hold them off forever.
But he didn’t need forever. He needed another sixty seconds to get Ally into a vehicle and out of the garage.
That was all.
The good news was it appeared that she’d given up fighting him. He didn’t have to drag her down the stairs. She was doing just fine keeping up and staying by his side. He could probably even let go of her hand.
But he didn’t want to.
He told himself it had nothing to do with the flash of jealousy that had briefly flared when he’d watched Mason lay his most flirtatious smile on her…and Ally smile back.
Nope. Had nothing to do with that momentary break in his emotions.
He just figured that Ally had to be scared right now. This was all new territory for her. She could probably use a little reassurance. And there must have been something to his reasoning. She wasn’t pulling away from his touch.
“Is running our only option?” Ally asked as they went through the door to the second level of underground parking.
“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it last night.” He pushed open the door, and spotted the silver Lotus.
Perfect. That one would do just fine.
“I mean do you really think that—”
“Fuller has spies in the department? Most probably.” Carter pulled the key out of his pocket and hit the button. The rear lights flashed. “Do I think that he’d seize the opportunity of having you in a known and confined location to finish the job? Absolutely.”
He let go of Ally’s hand as they reached the bumper, then she paused by the passenger side door.
“You know because it’s what you would do.” Her voice was soft, far away, like she’d just come to some horrible realization.
“In another life, yes.” Carter rested his hands on the top of the car. They didn’t have time for this, but he had the feeling she wasn’t getting in the vehicle without hearing the truth. Lies and spin just weren’t going to cut it. “I know how these guys think, but that makes me the best person to keep you safe. And I will keep you safe, Ally, I promise.”
She stared at him for half a second before nodding and getting in the car. Only once she was inside did she look around in confusion.
“This is a different car,” she said.
Carter chuckled. For someone so perceptive, she could miss a lot when she got lost in her mind.
“I think it’s best not to drive the same one twice for a while. Fuller’s already shown his fondness for car bombs. It’ll be harder for him to plant one on us if he doesn’t know which car we’ll be getting into next.”
Her brows pulled together. “How many cars do you have?”
Carter put the Lotus in reverse and pulled out. “Plenty.”
“Plenty is not a number,” she said.
“Sure it is.” He kept his speed low as he drove through the narrow corridors of the parking garage. There was no sense in attracting any unwanted attention.
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s not.”
He smiled at her insistence. Funny, he found himself smiling at a lot of things that she said, even in the most serious of situations. Maybe especially then.
“I wouldn’t have gotten very far in this field if I didn’t have plans for every possible contingency.”
“You have contingency cars?” Her voice shot up an octave.
Carter glanced over to her before driving up the ramp and pulling into traffic. “You don’t?”
Chapter Six