There was a note of desperation in her voice that told him this was serious. Real trouble. And she firmly believed what she was saying. He was her last hope. A woman like Jo didn’t need to ask for help often.
He shouldn’t have second guessed her. His feelings about her had no place in this moment.
Elias would protect her. He didn’t need to know what she was doing to know that her life was worth protecting.
He reached over and briefly covered her hand, gripping her arm rest with his. “We’re going to be okay.”
“Of course we are.” She mustered a smile for him. “You’re here now.”
God, if he could frame a moment in time, it would be this one.
Despite whatever stress she was under, her eyes were alight with life. Her smile was brave. And she looked at him like she believed those words, like he hadn’t failed their whole unit by getting hurt.
He turned the wheel hard again, breaking away from the busier streets.
Another car turned after them not five seconds later.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Hold on.”
He turned again, left now, then right again at the first opportunity. He waited until he saw headlights on the windows of a shop before making another right turn, sending them back across the busy city street.
Ahead of them, the light flipped yellow.
“Elias.” Jo’s voice rose.
The light went red.
He slammed on the accelerator, shooting through the intersection to the tune of blaring car horns.
Elias blew out the breath he’d been holding.
They had a little lead now. Not much of one, but enough.
“I think—”
He never heard the gunshot, but there was no mistaking the bullet that blew through the back window for what it was.
A declaration of war.
2.
Wednesday. Seattle, Washington.
This could not be happening.
Jo sucked down air as she stared at the side mirror and the car behind them.
Why had she dragged Elias into all of this? Why was she still involved in this stupid case?
“Holy shit. Holy shit!” Isaac chanted.
Jo shook her head and bits of glass fell out of her hair.
“Keep your head down,” she snarled at Isaac.
It was because of creeps like him that she had to do undercover work to begin with. People who wanted to take advantage of others, steal from them, even kill them. They were the worst. And pretending to be one of them for this long was killing her.
She saw the blast of muzzle fire in the mirror.
“Watch out,” she blurted at the same time Elias swerved.
The bullet hit the rear of the car. It was a sound she was familiar with, unfortunately.
Jo had feared that those after the boss’ prize might try to thin the herd a bit. It wasn’t uncommon to eliminate competition.
Well, two could play that game.
She yanked her gun out of the holster and released the catch on her seatbelt.
“Jo,” Elias said with a note of warning.
“Just drive.”
He knew her too well. Even after all this time.
It felt good to be known. For him to recognize the core that was still, and would always be her no matter what role she had to play.
Jo twisted in her seat and lowered the window. She flinched as another shot pinged against the car.
Anger gave her an inner calm, almost like a barrier of white hot fire insulating her from all her distracting thoughts and feelings. She held tight to the fire, mentally channeling it down her arms and into the gun weighing her hand down.
“Bump, be careful,” Elias said.
She paused, waiting until she felt the dip and bump in the road.
That was her cue.
She leaned out of the window, knee on the seat, body braced on the door, and aimed at the car behind them. She saw the moment the other car hit the bump. The passenger’s arm waved wildly out of the window.
This was her moment.
Jo aimed and as she exhaled, squeezed the trigger.
The sensation of the gun firing and the recoil were comforting, familiar sensations. She’d been trained for combat. This was what she knew best.
Bring it on.
She steadied her grip and fired again.
This time she saw the sparks from where the bullet hit the hood of the car.
“Turning,” Elias called out.
Jo collapsed back into the car just in time to hold tight as they squealed around another turn.
“We’re going to die,” Isaac wailed.
“Shut up or I might kill you,” Jo snarled. She wouldn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Where’s the other car?” Elias’ voice was calm, yet he was watching the road and all his mirrors with a deadly focus.
“No idea. Hopefully they weren’t working together,” she said.
“That’s a possibility?”
“It’s what I’m hoping.” Because she didn’t want to think about running from two sources.
Light filled the back window.
Elias nodded. “Here they come again.”
Jo grabbed the door, but this time didn’t extend her torso through. If she were following someone, she’d be watching for that vulnerable moment when the gunman was reaching for the shot.
“Hold on,” Elias said.
Jo gripped the door. She caught sight of a gun back-lit against the city lights and the bright burst of muzzle fire. Elias swerved.
Where had those shots gone? What about civilians?
“We need to stop this,” she snarled.
“Working on it,” Elias said.
She mentally kicked herself. This wasn’t his fault. He was doing more than what she’d asked for.
“Isaac, right?” Somehow he had the calmest voice. It had always been this way, no matter the situation.
“Yeah.”
“Take your jacket off. There might be a baseball cap under the driver’s seat. I need you to put it on.”
Jo lurched toward the door, leaning low and out of the window. She stared down the sights and squeezed the trigger once, then again.
She had to put a stop to this. She couldn’t let anyone get hurt because of what she was doing. Because she couldn’t handle her job.
“Got it,” Isaac said.
The pursuing car slowed, making it easier to aim. She fired a third shot. This time she knew she hit something under the hood because smoke curled upward.
Jo let herself collapse onto the seat.
Elias grinned at her. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“Who the hell are you people?” Isaac moaned.
Jo grabbed her seatbelt. “Shut up already.”
“Get ready to move,” Elias said.
“What?” She blinked at him. “Where are we going?”
“We might be clear of them for now, but it won’t take long to trace the car back to me. We need to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere they won’t look for you.”
Jo cringed. “God, Elias, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”
“From the look of it, I’m glad you called in some back-up.” He glanced at her. “You ever learn to not over-extend?”
She reached over and rubbed her arm over the scar. “Yeah. Okay, what are you thinking?”