Moving Target (19 page)

He glanced over his shoulder and noticed her face looked pale. "How are we going to get out of this mess?" she asked.

"A little creative driving." Daniel whipped the wheel to the right, climbing over a sidewalk, barely missing a fire hydrant and an elderly woman. People jumped out of his way as he hit the siren.

In his side view mirror, Daniel spotted the green sedan. It turned out of traffic, almost running over McNeal and Hernandez, and followed their SUV over the sidewalk. "Hold on, honey."

"We've picked up a tail," he said as he radioed the Deputies in the other SUVs.

The accident ahead looked serious and must have just happened. Only one cop car had reached it. Sirens and horns of the FDNY and the NYPD blasted through the air as the emergency vehicles attempted to shove their way to the accident site. The lights and sirens of the Marshal SUVs just blended in.

As he drove on the sidewalk, siren blaring, lights flashing, Daniel considered heading toward the accident where cops and emergency vehicles would converge. He tensed so tight his whole body ached.

No, he couldn't take the chance of making Ani a sitting target.

She gasped as he continued to drive the SUV on the sidewalks, dodging people and delivery trucks but scraping the sides of the SUV on a couple of mailboxes and a fire hydrant. The SUV rattled as he nicked several parking meters. He slowed down as people flattened themselves against the buildings to let him by.

The lights and siren didn't deter the sedan from hanging on to their asses and gaining on them.

Getting through all the pedestrians on the sidewalk was so slow that Daniel thought his head would explode from frustration. Anger rose in him like heat from a furnace.

The sedan battered its way through pedestrians, getting closer.

Within shooting distance.

A man leaned out of the passenger side window and pointed a handgun at them.

"Get down!" he shouted to Ani just as a bullet slammed into the rear window's bulletproof glass. He glanced in his rearview mirror for a split second. Ani was down like he'd told her. The glass had spider-webbed where the bullet had struck.

Two more shots hit the back of the SUV.

"Goddamnit!" Daniel tried to push the vehicle faster without running over any pedestrians.

Ani cried out as another bullet smashed the rear window, near the first one. The glass was weakening. Another hit like that and he might be taking a bullet in the head.

Daniel saw the light of day. They were almost past the gridlock.

A few more moments and he guided the SUV back onto the street where traffic was actually moving. He revved the engine and jerked the steering wheel as he wove his way in and out of the traffic. Even with his lights and sirens on, horns blared as he narrowly missed sideswiping several cars.

Sweat had broken out on his forehead and his heart thundered. The green sedan still clung to their asses.

"I can't shake the tail," Daniel said over the radio.

Deputy Zaharis's voice came from the former lead vehicle's radio. "Get the witness someplace safe and we'll try to keep these assholes off you."

Ani climbed into the front seat, her head nearly striking the passenger door window when he swerved.

"I told you to stay in the back," he growled as she snapped her belt buckle on.

"Take a left ahead," Ani said in a tense voice, and he glanced at her. "I grew up here, remember?"

At the next intersection, Daniel spun through the light and headed in the opposite direction, away from the Martinique. The SUV's tires squealed as he whipped the vehicle around a corner. He smelled burning rubber.

A double-decker tourist bus came at them head-on, horn blaring.

Daniel jerked the wheel. Avoided the bus.

The sedan fell back as the bus continued through the intersection.

In moments, the tail was on their asses again.

Following Ani's breathless directions, Daniel took a quick right onto another street, then shot into the left-hand lane, cutting in front of several vehicles.

As it made the turn, the car skidded behind them.

A small Honda shot in front of the sedan. The vehicle sideswiped it. Tires screeching against asphalt and the crunch of metal reached Daniel's ears over the sound of the siren.

The minor accident only slowed the bastards following them. They fled the scene and continued after Daniel and Ani.

The vehicle managed to evade the rest of the traffic until a produce truck swung in front of the sedan. The truck nearly ripped off the car's door when the sedan slid into the truck. Melons and vegetables went flying from the truck, splattering on cars. Horns blared, tires screeched.

The sedan shoved its way through the mess, but had fallen far enough back that Daniel figured there was a good chance of losing them.

When their SUV reached streets with traffic that wasn't nearly as heavy as it had been downtown, Daniel flipped off the lights and sirens so they wouldn't stick out as much. Their tail was farther back, but their pursuers were relentless.

Ani told Daniel what side streets he could take and he gunned the SUV as fast as he could, given whatever amount of traffic was on the road. The streets were narrow and it was a wonder he didn't hit any pedestrians as he sped the vehicle along.

Finally the car chasing them fell back far enough Daniel was confident they could lose the bastards.

Ani gave him another street to turn down. "It splits off two ways when we near the end." She sounded as if she was having a hard time speaking. "If we can get there fast enough, they might not be able to tell which way we've gone."

Daniel took the corner hard and fast, almost skidding into an oncoming car. He raced down the side street, dodging a garbage truck and a bicycle messenger. He looked in his rearview mirror. With the garbage truck blocking the way, the sedan was out of sight.

"Here," Ani said. "Take a right, then a fast left, then a real quick right."

He pushed the SUV faster, made the right, and booked down the street and made a left that was closer than he'd expected. Same for the next right. They drove for a ways down that street, past businesses and restaurants. No sign of the men following them.

"There's a parking garage up here on the left. The garage has a back entrance," Ani said. When he spotted it and started to turn, she said, "I don't see anyone behind us."

He monitored the street behind them as he lowered the window and punched the red button for a parking voucher.

"Where's the other entrance?" he asked as they waited for the wooden lever arm to rise, then drove through the fairly dim parking garage.

She gestured to the left. "Around that corner."

Daniel followed her instruction, then turned right as he watched the signs until the lever arm of the other entrance was in sight. Instead of exiting, he kept going until he came to an empty parking spot. He backed up into it and turned off the engine, but left the keys in the ignition.

His heart still pounded and he took a deep breath. The injuries on his ass and thighs ached from being so tense, tightening his wounds. The area between his shoulder blades throbbed where he'd taken the bullet to the back of his body armor the other day and blood pounded through the bump on his head.

"Hopefully we'll be safe and out of sight here," he said, and reached over to take Ani's hand.

She looked as wrung out as he felt. "It was a wonder we weren't killed a few times. Especially when we almost got nailed by that tourist bus."

He managed a wry smile. "Had my heart racing a bit, too."

"A bit?" Ani shook her head. "I thought mine was going to explode."

Daniel radioed in their situation to the other Deputies, saying they were going to stay put until he was sure he had the witness out of danger, but didn't give specifics. "We'll head to a safe house once we're sure we're in the clear," he said before signing off.

"Now that there's the possibility our location's been compromised," Daniel said as he fisted his free hand on his thigh,

"we're going to have to switch to a safe house."

"What about all of our things?" Ani frowned. "We have some very personal items in that room."

Yeah, they sure as hell did. Daniel pushed his hand through his hair. "I'll take care of it."

The sound of a car driving through the garage echoed against the concrete walls.

"Down!" Daniel ducked and caught Ani by the back of the neck and drew her low with him. He pulled out his Glock. He hoped to hell it wasn't those assholes in the sedan. The way their SUV was shot up, it wouldn't be hard to recognize.

The unseen vehicle's motor purred as it passed. Daniel raised his head just high enough to see a family of four in a BMW

heading toward the exit. After the car was gone, he let Ani sit up.

For the next fifteen minutes or so they sat, tense silence between them. He gripped the Glock tight where he held it on his thigh.

A good long while later, when he felt they were definitely in the clear, he holstered his weapon and looked at Ani.

He released her hand, raised his own, and caressed the bruise on her face with his knuckles. Bruises or not, she was so beautiful in every way. Her big blue eyes, that cute nose, her full lips, the curve of her face, her delicate hands. From the moment he'd met Ani, he'd known something was special about her. Because she was so thin now, she looked different, which was taking him sometime to get used to. But she was just as beautiful now as she had been when they'd first met.

At least half an hour had passed since they'd entered the garage. He leaned over the console and tugged her hand. "Come here." His voice was a husky command.

Ani wet her lips again and moved toward him, and he caught the scent of mint and woman. When their faces were close enough, he brushed his mouth over hers. She gave a soft sigh and a little moan against his lips.

Daniel pulled away and took a deep breath before glancing around the garage again. He swallowed down the lust that didn't belong in this place or time.

He'd better get his mind back on the job and off his need to be with Ani.

When it was dark and Daniel was absolutely certain they hadn't been followed, he arranged to trade vehicles with another pair of Deputies, then took Ani to a safe house.

It was a nondescript brownstone, and more importantly, it had exits at the front and back. They were able to park an unmarked car in front of the safe house, place undercover guards in more unmarked cars up and down the street, and they still had an emergency escape route out the back.

When Ani was settled and secure upstairs in a room with two exits, guards posted to either side of her door and at the door to the adjoining room, Daniel asked for a moment alone with McNeal.

Daniel met up with McNeal in the kitchen. As Daniel sat at the table in a chair opposite McNeal, his friend told him that Daniel and Ani likely hadn't run into any cops as they made their escape because the NYPD had been slammed with a shitload of accidents, and even a bank robbery.

As Daniel shook his head, McNeal briefed him on what had happened with the men in the blue van. There'd been no sign of the sedan once Daniel lost the tail.

"Bastards in the van were armed to the teeth." Mc-Neal turned his chair around so that he was straddling it, his arms folded across the back. "We nailed them. With our men in the rear, along with Hernandez and me, we were able to take them down and send them to their new home with the NYPD."

"Good job." Daniel looked at the plastic bottle of water he hadn't touched yet, and wished it was whiskey. He wasn't off duty as Ani's 24/7 bodyguard, but after today he could use a stiff drink. Something to relieve the tension in his body.

Especially with what he was going to ask of McNeal.

Daniel hoped their long-standing friendship would hold out if his friend suspected anything after his request.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked at his friend. "I need you to get our gear from our room at the Martinique."

"No problem." McNeal had a puzzled expression on his face as he took a drink of his own water. He set the bottle down.

"Why didn't you just call me?"

Daniel didn't know how the hell to put it, so he stalled by knocking back some of the water in front of him. The ice-cold water rolled down his throat into his empty stomach that growled in response. He sighed as he peeled the label off the bottle. "I've got some real personal items in that room. It's out of sight in one of the bags, but I don't want to take any chances of it being seen. I need you and only you to get everything for Ani and me."

For a long moment McNeal just studied Daniel. Finally, McNeal said, "You're fucking the witness."

Daniel's head ached. McNeal had always had real good instincts. "I know I've compromised my position." This time he took a long swallow of his icy water. Yeah, he'd definitely rather have whiskey. He set the bottle on the table with a thump. "But you've got to let me get Ani through this alive."

McNeal had a real hard look on his face. "You should let another Inspector take over her case."

"I can't let her go this alone." Daniel leaned his forearm on the small, round table and it tilted slightly. "I've got to be there to protect her."

"What about when this is over with?" McNeal said. "What the hell are you going to do then?"

"What I have to." Daniel pushed his hand through his hair. "Goddamnit, Gary, I'm in love with this woman. I'd do anything for her, no matter the cost."

"That includes your job, buddy." McNeal shook his head. "They might put you into another area, but you know you'll be off WITSEC. Permanently."

Daniel looked down at the label he'd torn off the water bottle before returning his gaze to McNeal's. "I've known that from the moment I realized I was in love with her."

McNeal dragged his hand over his face before responding. "You've always been one of the most stand-up guys I've known in the service. I never would have expected this."

"Me, neither." Daniel ground his teeth then said, "I fell hard for her. Real hard. I intended to wait to take it any further until after the trial and she was out of danger. But things got a little out of control."