Crossing Danger: A Shelby Nichols Adventure
“I’ll do it,” Bates said, standing and pulling his pants up around his waist. “I know that place. I can sit at the end of the bar and see everything from there.”
My heart sank. Why did he have to volunteer? I’d much rather have Dimples inside.
“All right,” Blake agreed. He glanced at me to see if I’d object, so I kept my mouth shut. “Let’s get started.”
We had a little over an hour to get the van ready, the bug on my sweater, and Bates inside the restaurant. Before they put the bug on me, I gave Chris a call to let him know what was going on. Happy that I wasn’t going to be alone, he begged me to ask Blake if he could sit in the van and listen to the whole thing. Thankfully, Blake turned down that request pretty quick, and I was glad he did. I hoped that didn’t make me a bad wife, but I was nervous enough as it was and didn’t want to be distracted by my husband.
The time passed quickly and, since they had to leave early to get into place, I was left behind to twiddle my thumbs. I thought about using the restroom but nixed that idea. With the bug on my sweater, I knew they’d pick up every little sound. Just thinking about it tightened my stomach, and I tried to calm down before I made myself sick and had to use it for real.
I also couldn’t hear anything from their end of things, so I felt like I was in the dark, but at least I had backup, and I took comfort in that.
I drove to the restaurant with my stomach a bundle of nerves. Even though I was grateful Dimples had such confidence in me, I wasn’t so sure I could pull it off. I mean, talking to Matt earlier didn’t seem nearly as scary as it did this time.
Now it was like both my job and my reputation were on the line, and the pressure was killing me. Turning on the radio and singing along usually worked to calm me down, but with this damn bug, I couldn’t even do that.
Parking was limited on the street, so I pulled into the public parking plaza near the restaurant and parked on the upper level. Before opening the car door, I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Talking to Matt wasn’t that big of a deal. I could do this. What was the worst that could happen anyway? At least I didn’t have to worry about getting shot, or killed, right?
With renewed confidence, I hurried to the elevator and rode it to the street level. I pushed through the parking plaza doors onto the sidewalk and began my short trek to the restaurant. Without trying to be too obvious, I glanced up and down the street for signs of the van but couldn’t see it anywhere. Before letting the flutter of panic take root, I reasoned that it was probably just around the corner out of sight, and tried to quit worrying.
I hesitated at the restaurant doors, then swallowed my fear and pulled the door open. I smiled at the hostess and told her I was meeting someone. She looked over me with interest. From Matt’s description of me, she knew I was the one meeting him and wondered who I was, especially since he’d asked for the table in the back corner that was more private.
“Right this way,” she said.
As I followed her through the restaurant, I glanced toward the bar near the back and found Bates sitting in the corner with a drink in his hand. He ignored me, but I knew from his thoughts that he’d seen me come in. I listened to his thoughts pretty hard, needing to know if he was ready to protect me with his life.
Since I knew how he felt about me most of the time, I figured he’d probably just as soon have me dead but, from what I could pick up, he seemed to take his role seriously. That came as kind of a shock, but it also relieved some of my nervous tension.
I knew it the minute Matt caught sight of me. His thoughts hit me with enough animosity to send emotional daggers through my heart. He was pissed. I caught that he’d tried to get Kira to open up about me, but she had refused to talk to him. That brought a smile to my lips and, all at once, I wanted to nail this sucker flat.
Matt smiled back, thinking I looked too smug for my own good, and he couldn’t wait to take me down a notch or two. He stood while I took my seat. “Thanks for joining me,” he said, pouring on the charm. “I still can’t get over it.”
“What?” I asked.
“All the work you did to give me back that tie-clip.”
“Oh...well, like I said, I’m pretty good at finding things. I sort of have a natural talent for it.”
“I believe it,” he agreed. He was thinking he needed to keep his cool, no matter what I said, and try and get under my skin so I’d tell him where all of this was coming from.
The waiter filled our glasses with water and asked for our drink order. After he left, I glanced through the menu, hardly seeing what was listed. I found my favorite, Chicken Marsala, and set the menu down. I’d order it but, with my stomach a bundle of nerves, I wasn’t sure how much of it I could eat.
Matt set his menu down as well, thinking he’d order the lasagna, and turned his attention to me. “So tell me about yourself. You said you had your own consulting agency. What do you do?”
“Well...let’s see. One of my first clients was a bank manager. The bank had been robbed, and he hired me to find the missing money. Even though the bank robber was captured, he wouldn’t disclose where he’d hidden the money. Then he was killed during his trial, and the trail went cold.”
“So...did you find it?”
“Yes I did,” I said, proudly. “After that, I got a lot of cases, some big, some not so big. I’ve also helped the police as a consultant from time to time.”
“Anything you’re working on now?” he asked.
“Yes, but I don’t think I’m allowed to talk about it. So...tell me about yourself.”
The waiter came back to take our orders, then left with the menus, and Matt told me about his realty business and how he got started. By the time he’d finished, our food orders had arrived. I actually ate some of it, realizing that, as much as I didn’t want to be with him, he’d managed to put me at ease. That ended once he came back to the reason he’d asked me there.
“So Shelby,” he began. “Tell me...how did you find my tie clip? I’d like to hear that story.”
“Sure.” My stomach tensed, and I couldn’t take another bite. I blotted my lips with my napkin and took a sip of water to calm my sudden bout of nerves. “I was actually there the other day. One of the detectives I’ve worked with was murdered there, and the chief called me in. After they took the body away, I was scouring the area for clues and found your clip in a crack in the concrete.”
Matt’s brows rose. “That’s nuts. I wonder how it got there.”
This was my chance, so I went for the jugular. “I think it was probably when you killed Tom Souvall there a year ago. He must have pulled the clip off of your tie in the struggle before you shot him.”
Shock ran through his body, but he hid it well, then scrunched his brows together in confusion and managed to straighten in his chair like he was offended. “Wow. That’s quite an accusation. You don’t waste any time do you? But just so you know, I’ve never heard of anyone by that name.”
“Oh, I think you have,” I countered. “But what I don’t get is why you killed Pete in the same place. Was it some kind of arrogance on your part? Or did it have something to do with the drugs.”
This time Matt’s eyes narrowed, and worry stopped his breath. How in the hell did I know that? “I don’t know where you’re getting your information Shelby, but you couldn’t be more wrong.”
“Hmm...I don’t think so. What I think is that you and Pete had a nice drug ring going, but he got cold feet when you ordered him to kill Chloe. After that, you were afraid he’d turn on you, so you killed him. See? That wasn’t so hard to figure out.”
Matt tightened his lips into a thin line, thinking I could make all the accusations I wanted, but that didn’t mean I had any proof. He was safe from me. Still, he couldn’t figure out where my information had come from. Most of his crew had no idea he was the big boss. That left only one person. Anthony Kerby. Had he let something slip? Sometimes he was too cocky for his own good.
He caught my gaze a
nd sneered. “You talk a lot,” he said. “But talk is cheap. Where’s your proof?”
I smiled and raised my brow. “Oh, I have proof. If you don’t believe me, just call my bluff, and I’ll take it straight to the police.” He shook his head, thinking I was a piece of work, so I pushed him a little harder. “I know where the gun is.”
“That’s impossible,” he gasped, but sweat popped out on his upper lip. He should have gotten rid of the damn thing instead of locking it up in his safe at work, but he never thought Pete’s death would be traced back to him. Not in a million years.
“No it’s not,” I said, knowing I should probably relay that information to Blake as soon as possible so they could get it first. “It’s in your safe at your realty office. Not too bright of you, but you had no idea I’d find out, did you?”
His mouth dropped open in shock. He’d never told a soul about that. Not one single person. “That’s insane. You’re...wait a minute. This is crazy. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just guessing...and you’re wrong. I don’t even own a gun.”
He was scrambling now, so I decided to push a little more. “Your drug business has me puzzled though. What does Anthony Kerby have to do with it? How did he get involved? You made some kind of a deal with him, right?”
“Stop. Just stop.” He didn’t know how I did it, but every time I asked a question, it was like I plucked the answers right out of thin air. “No more questions. We’re done here.” He threw his napkin on the table, jumped up, and practically ran out of the restaurant.
I glanced at Bates, who nearly dropped his drink, and he hurried to grab some bills out of his wallet. He threw them on the bar before taking off after him.
“Um...in case you don’t know,” I said out loud. “Matt just ran off. I hope you got that stuff about the gun in his safe. You should probably send someone to his office to get it first, before he gets there. Oh...and I think he’s carrying a gun on him somewhere, so you’d better warn Bates. He just took off after him. Uh...I guess I’ll pay the bill and leave now. Then I’ll head back to the precinct.”
The waiter stopped with the bill, mid-stride, and wondered who I thought I was talking to. “Is everything all right?” he asked, handing me the check.
“Oh, sure. Thanks. My...uh...friend had an emergency.” The waiter nodded and quickly left, thinking I was a little crazy and wondering if I’d forgotten my medication or something. I smiled and shook my head, then paid the bill with cash. I slipped the receipt into my purse and hoped that I’d get reimbursed. That was an expensive lunch, and it was the least the FBI could do, right?
I let out my breath and stood, ready to get out of there. Matt had surprised me with his abrupt departure, but he was spot on about how I was getting my information. Plus, I’d gotten what we needed to put him away, so I couldn’t feel too bad. I just hoped it wasn’t too good of a show, since I didn’t want Blake to get any ideas.
My step was lighter on the way back to my car, and I could hardly believe it was over. I’d need to talk to Matt some more to get the whole story about the deal he made with Anthony Kerby but, once he was arrested, I was sure Dimples would let me do that.
I took the elevator to the top level of the parking garage, filled with relief and satisfaction that I’d done a good job. Even better, my life was never in danger. Chris would be so pleased that I’d kept my promise.
I stepped out of the elevator, and a rush of pure hatred filled my mind. Before I could take a breath, Matt grabbed my upper arms and shoved me up against the wall. He pulled out a gun and held it to my head while his eyes burned with anger. “How did you know?” he growled, his teeth clenching with rage. “Who told you?”
He pushed the gun so hard against my head that I thought my neck might break. “I’ll tell you, I swear...just back off. I can’t talk when you’re hurting me.” My eyes filled with tears of pain and fear.
Seeing this, Matt eased up with the gun. His breath whooshed in and out like he’d just run a marathon, but he managed to get enough control to speak. “I don’t really care if it hurts, so start talking before I put a bullet through your head.” He planned to do that anyway but was willing to wait until I told him everything.
If I was going to get out of this alive, I knew I needed to stall long enough for my backup to get there, and I prayed they were still listening. “Okay...I’ll tell you everything. Just, please don’t kill me, okay?”
“Sure,” he agreed. My fear soothed him, putting him back in the driver’s seat, and he lost that crazy gleam in his eyes. “All I need is a name...so start talking.”
I swallowed and closed my eyes, knowing that as soon as I told him, he was going to shoot me. “Okay...but it’s a little more complicated than that. You see...I found that tie clip, and then there was that billboard sign near the freeway. It was for Countrywide Homes. So that gave me a connection between you and the murder since the pin was yours and...you own the real estate company.”
“What are you talking about? You think I’m an idiot or something?” He moved his free hand to grab me by the neck and started squeezing. I clawed at his fingers to pry them loose, but he held me too tight. Gasping for air, I let go and brought my hands up to poke him in the eyes.
He saw it coming and let go of my neck, moving his arm and body to trap me against the wall. As I wheezed air into my lungs, he watched with satisfaction that I was suffering.
“Okay,” he sneered. “I’ll give you one more chance. The name... now.” He cocked the gun against my head, and I squeezed my eyes shut. He was going to kill me anyway, so I wasn’t about to tell him anything. As tears coursed down my face, I sent a silent thought to Chris, telling him I was sorry for breaking my promise.
“Drop your weapon! Now!”
Matt tensed in surprise but yanked me around in front of him, using me as a shield. He held me in a choke hold with his elbow around my neck and kept the gun pointed at my head. “Get back!” he shouted. “I’ll kill her, I swear it.”
Blake, Dimples and Bates all had their guns pointed at us. From their thoughts, I knew each one of them wanted to take a head shot at Matt, but none of them trusted their accuracy enough to do it.
Blake was the first to raise his gun in surrender, and the others soon followed. “Let her go, Matt,” Blake said. “It’s over.”
“No it’s not,” he hissed. “Put your guns down.” He was thinking that if he could get me to my car, he might still be able to get away. Right now, there were only three of them, but he had to act quickly before any more cops showed up. He took a few steps in that direction, dragging me with him, but stopped to yell. “I said put your guns down! On the ground!”
Dimples and Bates did as he asked, but Blake hesitated. He knew if we got in a car I was dead, and he’d rather take his chances here and now. Matt recognized his hesitation and pulled the gun from my head to point it at Blake.
In that moment, I used every ounce of strength I could summon and, as swiftly as I could, pulled down on his elbow, took a quick step back, and grabbed his wrist, just like I’d learned at Aikido. I forcefully pushed outward with his elbow still bent, pushing down with all my might, to throw Matt forward to his knees.
The gun slipped from his hand before he could get a shot off, and I heard a satisfying pop as the bone in his arm broke. He screamed in pain, but I kept pushing him forward, forcing him to lay flat on the ground until his face was mashed against the asphalt. I held him there, even as he screamed, not about to back off until I knew he was completely subdued.
Dimples rushed to my side and grabbed Matt’s arm. “I’ve got him Shelby, you can let go now.”
It took a few seconds for Dimples’ words to register. With a heavy breath, I relinquished my hold and stepped back. Dimples cuffed Matt’s hands behind his back, happily ignoring his groans of pain, then stood and wrapped his arm around me while Bates took over.
My breath hitched, and I sagged against Dimples. Then my legs began to shake, and I was afra
id I’d collapse, so I turned into his chest and wrapped both my arms around him, holding on for dear life. He held me close, patting me on the back and telling me over and over that I was safe now, and everything was all right.
A few minutes later, I felt strong enough to pull away and wipe the tears from my eyes. By then, a whole boatload of cops and FBI had arrived. As I tried to take it all in, the scene took on a surreal quality. I stayed close to Dimples, and mostly responded when someone talked to me but, for some reason, an odd detachment had come over me.
I hardly noticed when someone put a blanket around my shoulders and escorted me to a car where I could sit down. They even handed me a few tissues along with my purse, and I gratefully blew my nose and dabbed at my eyes. Several minutes later, Blake came to the car and crouched beside the open door.
“How are you doing?” he asked. His hazel eyes held a hint of worry, and he was thinking that I was in a state of shock. He hoped I snapped out of it soon because, if I didn’t, he’d have to send me to the hospital, and he really wanted to talk to me while it was still fresh in my mind.
My eyes widened. I was in shock? No wonder I felt so strange. That realization cleared the cobwebs out of my head, and I sat up a little straighter. “I think I’m doing better. Lots better. In fact...I think I’m ready to finish this up and talk about it. Uh...get de-briefed or whatever it is you call it.”
“Yeah?” he asked, his brows lifting. He thought that was a quick recovery, but he’d take it, even if it meant I might crash later. “That would be great if you could. I’ve already sent Matt to the precinct with Harris and Bates. I could drive you in your car if that’s okay.”
They were gone? How had I missed that? I glanced around. There were only two police cars left in the lot, and I was sitting in one of them. “What about his arm? Didn’t I break it?
Blake smiled and shrugged. “His shoulder’s dislocated, not broken. I thought we’d get someone to pop it back in once we were through questioning him.”