Moving Target (6 page)

"Listen, Ani?" He braced one hand against the doorframe to the bathroom and glanced down at his booted feet. He raised his head and his gaze met hers. "I'm sorry about this morning. I don't know how it happened."

"Don't worry about it." Ani's lips trembled as she smiled. She was sitting on the side of the bed and she gripped the sheets in her fists. "It's okay, really."

He raked his hand through his wet hair. "No, it's not okay. I'll need to get another Inspector assigned to your case as soon as possible."

Panic rose like a geyser in her chest. She pushed herself from the bed and walked up to him. "No. Don't leave me, please.

You're the only one I trust."

Daniel placed his hands on her shoulders and the heat of his touch went straight through her. She tipped her head back as she looked at him.

He was close enough to kiss. "I shouldn't have called you so much this past year, Ani."

"I needed you," she whispered. "I looked forward to every single call."

A serious expression crossed his face as he rubbed her shoulders. His jaw tightened. "Goddamnit, I can't do my job like this."

She felt him slipping away from her and tears stung the backs of her eyes. "I mean it. Don't leave me, okay? I still need you."

Daniel brought her roughly to him in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. He smelled of spice and male, just like the T-shirt she still wore. She heard his heartbeat and felt the comfort of his embrace.

He buried his nose in her hair. "I can't do this. I want to, but I can't."

"Just give it some time, please?" She didn't care if she sounded like she was begging. "I don't know if I can go through this without you. Testifying, seeing Dmitry Borenko . . . I'm so scared."

Finally, he said, "I'll take care of you, I promise." Daniel's deep inhale was audible. His voice lowered and he squeezed her tighter. "No way in hell is anything happening to you."

He ran his palms up her arms then drew her away from him. She tilted her head up again and saw him staring at her mouth. He looked hungry and the thrill it sent through her belly made her want to reach up and kiss him.

But no, she didn't want to lose him.

She backed away and he let his arms drop to his sides. "I'd better get ready to go." Ani said. "I, um, need to iron my clothing and get dressed." She was acutely aware of being naked beneath his T-shirt. "We have a plane to catch."

His eyes were dark as he nodded and she scooted to the closet and pulled out the iron and ironing board.

Daniel had never felt such desire for a woman as he did while he watched Ani. Her dark brown hair shielded her eyes and he knew she was avoiding his gaze. It was better that way.

But he couldn't stop staring at her, thinking how adorable she looked wearing his T-shirt. His cock felt as hard as it had this morning when he came to his senses after nearly taking her right in that bed. All he'd had to do was climb under the covers, pull down his gym shorts, yank up that T-shirt, and drive into her. With her underwear hanging over the shower rail, he knew she was wearing nothing under that shirt.

Well, they had been hanging up. They fell into his shower and were now soaking wet. When he'd picked them up he'd held the lace and satin and pictured Ani in them. And then Ani naked beneath his shirt. Then Ani with nothing on at all.

He ground his teeth and clenched one fist as he turned away from her.
Goddamnit
. He had to control his thoughts and his body. His cock was so hard right now his jeans were nearly strangling him.

When she finished ironing, and headed toward the bathroom, he stopped her. "Uh, honey? I accidentally knocked your underwear into the shower. It's soaked."

Ani's jaw dropped. "I can't go without underwear. I'll have to use the blow-dryer."

"Sorry." He did his best to look apologetic. "But we've got to get out of here. They can dry out on the way."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. We'll just tie them to the back of the SUV and let them flap in the wind."

He laughed at the image and shook his head. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

"I can dress fine by myself." Ani grabbed her freshly ironed slacks and blouse and marched into the bathroom.

Ah . . . He hadn't meant it quite like that, but the idea did have merit.

It only took her a few minutes. When she came out she looked self-conscious—and he could see exactly why. The nipples and areolas of her full breasts could be seen clearly through the white blouse.

She crossed her arms over her breasts. "I can't go anywhere like this."

Daniel tried not to smile. "You have to wear body armor over it anyway. You can use one of my T-shirts over the armor."

"It itches and it's going to rub my—" Her cheeks turned red and this time he had to stifle a laugh.

He picked up the body armor from where he'd set it on the vanity in the bedroom. "I'll help you get it on."

When he approached her, Ani bit her lower lip. He started slipping it on her and his hand brushed her breast. She gasped and he nearly groaned at the feel of her hard nipple and the silk against his knuckles. As he fastened the armor his hands kept brushing her body as if they had a mind of their own. She looked up at him and her lips parted.

Those lips. . .

Christ
.

This was killing him.

When he finished helping her with her body armor, Daniel gave Ani one of his plain black T-shirts. She couldn't very well go walking through a hotel with body armor visible. The T-shirt was so big on her she had to tie it on one side. After she slipped on her high heels and pulled on the plain blue windbreaker Daniel had loaned her, he packed his stuff in his duffel.

They headed downstairs to the hotel lobby, and made it out into the morning sunshine. The SUV was parked next to the entrance of the hotel. Out of habit, he scanned the lot. It looked clear.

It was October, but still sunny in Arizona. There was a light chill to the air and he was glad for the windbreaker Ani was wearing to keep her from getting cold. The air smelled crisp and clean and the asphalt was wet from rain that had fallen overnight.

Daniel's stomach rumbled and Ani looked up at him and grinned.

They skirted a puddle of water as he kept an eye on the parking lot. "We'll get something to eat on the way to Phoenix.

Maybe Micky D's," he said after they reached the SUV and he started to help her into the passenger seat.

Tires squealed on asphalt.

A shot rang out in the parking lot.

The window by Ani's head shattered.

She screamed.

"Down!" Daniel shouted as he shoved her so that she was half lying on the console.

Another shot exploded behind him.

Pain slammed into his upper back, knocking the wind out of him as he took a direct hit against his Kevlar vest.

His vision darkened and he struggled to catch his breath, but adrenaline kept him going and he dove in after Ani. She gasped and gave a cry as he climbed over her to the driver's side, shutting the passenger door behind him.

Head down, Daniel jammed his keys in the ignition.

The driver's side window shattered as he turned the ignition.

Through the sideview mirror he saw a white Nissan pull up behind them, the shooter leaning out the window.

Daniel revved the SUV's engine, slammed it into reverse.

Tires squealed then metal crunched as he rammed the SUV into the Nissan.

Ani cried out as she hit the dash with her shoulder.

The shooter flew backward from the impact and his next shot went wild.

Daniel spun the SUV through the parking lot. He'd deliberately made sure there was an easy escape route when they'd arrived at the hotel.

The bastards had hidden well, waiting until Daniel and Ani were in the open.

Another shot hit one of his tires specially designed not to go completely flat when punctured. Originally the tires were used for luxury cars, but now law enforcement agencies were experimenting with them. The warning light on his dashboard lit up, showing his right rear tire had been hit.

Daniel tore through the lot trying to keep low at the same time he bolted into the street, nearly sideswiping a catering van.

He wove through traffic, the white car flying after them.

Ani stayed down. "Are you hurt?" he shouted as he tried to evade the shooters.

He switched on his lights and siren as he approached an intersection with a red light. He flew through it.

"No," she shouted over the wail of Daniel's siren.

He checked his sideview mirror again. The Nissan was gaining on them.

Daniel ground his teeth, keeping his sirens and lights on as he dodged his way through traffic. He sailed through another light and threw a look over his shoulder just in time to see a Mack truck making a left in front of the speeding Nissan. The crunch of metal slamming against metal was loud enough to hear over the sirens. The Nissan flipped in the air, landed on its top, and spun across the intersection.

Daniel took a deep breath and turned off his sirens and lights. His heart still pounded. "That was too damned close." He glanced in his rearview mirror to see if anyone else was following them. Looked clear.

Wind whipped in through the broken windows. After he checked his rearview and sideview mirrors again, he looked at Ani, who was covered with the shattered safety glass. "Stay down a little longer. Sure you're all right?"

Her face was pressed up against the console. "As well as one can be after getting shot at," she said with a groan. "How about you?"

"Fine." If it wasn't for the body armor he'd be a dead man. His back hurt like hell from the power of the shot, but he was certain the bullet hadn't pierced his armor. He'd just have a bruise the size of a melon.

Daniel continued to drive, putting as much distance between the hotel and the shooters as he could, even though they'd been taken down by a Mack. The men could have jacked another vehicle if either the shooter or the driver survived or were uninjured. But, for now, it didn't look like he and Ani were being followed. Hell, who knew if the men had backup?

"We've got to ditch the SUV and I need to call this incident in," Daniel muttered at the same time his cell phone rang.

He jerked it out of its holster, flipped it open, and brought it to his ear. "Parker."

"You two are hot," came Jameson's voice.

"Tell me something I don't know." Daniel looked in his rearview mirror again. "We just made it through some serious gunfire."

"Shit." Jameson growled. "Catch that plane and get the hell out of there."

"On it," Daniel said. "Vehicle's pretty shot up. I'm heading to the headquarters on Broadway to make an exchange."

"I'll call ahead," Jameson said, and told Daniel he'd notify the police to arrest the shooters when they reached the scene of the accident.

Daniel snapped his phone shut and reholstered it.

He checked his mirrors yet again. Still looked clear. "You can get up." He cut his attention back to the street then to her.

She sat up and brushed glass from her hair, which was flying around her face in the wind from the shattered windows. She had a cut across one cheek, her face was pale, but other than that she looked fine.

Daniel sucked in a deep breath of relief.

When they reached the U.S. Marshals Tucson headquarters, he turned the vehicle into the lot and parked directly in front of the back door so he could hurry Ani into the station, keeping her exposure to a minimum. Two Deputy Marshals were there to cover her as they took her inside.

Daniel swung the shot-up vehicle into a parking space. After checking the lot around him, he rushed through the door at the back of the building.

One of the Deputies was directing Ani to a chair. "I need to doctor that cut on your face," he was saying.

"We've got to get to the airport." Daniel raked his fingers through his hair as he spoke to the operations supervisor. "Our flight leaves in an hour."

Atkins shook his head. "Phoenix and Tucson airports are shut down—terrorist threats."

"What the hell?" Daniel stared at the Deputy Marshal.

"Calls to Sky Harbor and Tucson International were made about fifteen minutes ago. Both came from a pay phone in New York City," Atkins said. "Both airports are going nuts. All air traffic in Arizona is grounded. With the exception of the military."

"Borenko." Daniel scrubbed his hand over his face. "Borenko is throwing a net out and reeling us in."

Daniel's cell phone rang. He snatched it from its holster and answered, "Parker."

"Bastards are trying to cage you and your witness," Jameson said.

"Figured that." Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now what in the hell do we do from here?"

"Head straight to the National Guard in Phoenix." Jameson had a frustrated tone to his voice. "They'll have a plane ready to get your asses to New York."

Daniel snapped the phone shut and looked to Atkins. "I need a vehicle."

"You've got it."

Fifteen minutes later, Daniel had moved all his equipment into a black Ford Explorer and Ani was ushered into the SUV.

When he was ready to put it into drive he glanced at her. She looked absolutely miserable.

"Are you okay, honey?" he said.

"All this is my fault." She balled her fist on her thigh. "I really screwed up."

She had, but Daniel didn't blame her. Instead, he found himself wishing he could kiss the wrinkles from her forehead and the frustration from her lips. His gut clenched. He had to stop thinking that way about her. If he turned her over to another Inspector . . .

She'd be taken to Phoenix—

The skin at the back of his neck prickled. If Borenko was calling the shots, the Russians would be waiting exactly for that.

There were only two ways to get to Phoenix from Tucson. The drive through Florence would be suicide. Backcountry highway with long stretches of nothing.

Highway I-10 was a possibility, but the long arms of Borenko would likely reach to every possible airport, including the National Guard's. No doubt whatsoever in his mind—they'd be waiting in ambush. That was why the Borenkos had called in the terrorist threats.