Mission Undercover

“Why not? I know Mason is a cop but he’s out of his mind. The chief needs to know he’s dangerous.”

“I said no police.” His voice was sharp and biting.

He was so insistent that it caused her to wonder why he was wary of police involvement. She realized she didn’t even know this man she’d gotten into a truck with. “Why don’t you want to go to the police? Are you a criminal?”

“No, I’m a cop.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open on the seat. She saw a badge and breathed a sigh of relief.

When she picked it up, something fell out. She reached down and picked it up. It was a ring...an engagement ring. She glanced at him but he hadn’t noticed the ring slip out. He was busy checking the mirrors. She slipped the ring back into his wallet and examined the badge. His name was written on his credentials. Blake Michaels, Northshore Police. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t a criminal, but she still didn’t know anything about him except that he didn’t trust his fellow officers and he carried an engagement ring around with him.

“If you’re one of them, then why not go to the cops?”

“Because Mason wasn’t working alone. The force is corrupt. We can’t trust anyone.”

She gasped. Corrupt cops? How did he know? Jimmy had suspected as much before he died. In fact, he’d been looking into acts of corruption by his partner, according to the journal she’d discovered. Mason had seemed to have no fear of reprimand in his behavior tonight. But was the entire department really so corrupt that they could ignore attempted murder?

“So if we’re not going to the police, where are we going?”

“We need to get out of town fast, out of their jurisdiction.”

Getting to the next town was a sensible idea. They could sort this all out once they were there. She noticed the spot on his shirt growing larger. “You’ll never make it. You’re bleeding too badly. My friend Marcy’s apartment is a few blocks over. I know where she hides the emergency key. We should go there first so I can take a look at your wound.”

He shook his head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“You’re going to bleed out before we hit the town line and it’s at least five miles before we’ll find a place to get supplies. Marcy’s a nurse, too. She’ll have bandages there.”

“I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”

She shook her head. “Neither Marcy or her roommate are at home now. They both went on duty as I was getting off.”

He grimaced at the pain then nodded his agreement. “We can’t stay long.”

She directed him to the apartment and he parked behind the building. “In case he drives by,” he explained.

When they got out, Holly noticed him holding his hand over his wound. He looked pale and she wondered if he could even make it up the stairs. “It’s on the second floor. I’ll help you up.”

He waved away her offer of assistance. “I’ll make it.” He leaned on the handrail and followed her up the steps.

Looking at the blood on his shirt and hands, she didn’t know how he was standing and suspected his wound was more than a graze. She hoped he didn’t have a bullet lodged in his abdomen or damage to his internal organs. She wouldn’t know until she could examine the wound.

Holly found the emergency key under a planter and used it to unlock the door. She ushered Blake inside. “Have a seat on the couch. I’ll go get the first-aid kit.”

“Is there a phone here?”

She shook her head. “No landline. Marcy and her roommate use their cell phones.”

She hurried down the hall to the bathroom and grabbed the kit and a stack of towels, stopping to catch her breath before returning to the living room. This was all happening so fast and now her protector, the man who’d saved her, might be seriously injured. She had to help him.

He was stretched out on the couch when she returned, his long legs hanging over one end and his gun now on the table inches from his hand. She was struck by his long, muscular frame and a pang of envy rushed through her as she remembered the ring inside his wallet.

He reached out and touched her arm, a soft, gentle touch that sent a spark of electricity through her. “Are you okay?”

She smiled, realizing he was the one hurt and yet was concerned about her. What would it be like to have a brave, handsome man like Blake in her life? She knew the answer to that. She’d had one...and she’d lost him in the line of duty. She’d hardly given romance a second thought since Jimmy’s death. But now, as she realized how close she’d come to her life ending, she acknowledged the deep longing ache in her heart for someone to share her life with. Her husband’s death had ended her dream, but she was still young and many of her friends had pressed her to start dating again.

“I’m fine,” she said, determined not to let her vulnerability show and convinced the trauma of the past hour was causing her emotions to go wacky.

She knelt beside him and shifted into nurse mode. She lifted his shirt, wiping away blood so she could see the wound. Thankfully, he’d been right. The gash wasn’t big enough for the bullet to have gone in. “It must have grazed you. It’s not even that deep.”

“Why is it bleeding so much?”

“Because you’re moving around and because of where the wound is. You could probably use some stitches, but we’ll have to make do.” She cleaned him off then taped a bandage over it. “You’re fortunate it was only a flesh wound. It could have been much worse.”

“I know. He took me by surprise. He meant to kill me.” He sat up and stared at her, his blue eyes piercing as he looked her in the eye. “He meant to kill us both.”

She nodded, realizing he was right. Mason wanted her dead. The thought shook her. She was used to seeing the effects of violence in her job as an ER nurse, but this was different. This was personal. “You still haven’t told me why he wants you dead.”

She picked up discarded bandage wrappers as he pulled down his shirt and sat up. “He found out I’ve been investigating him. There’s a major drug operation happening in Northshore. I believe Mason and several other officers are involved in it. Mason said someone high up was involved.”

“How high up?”

“High enough to pay off the coroner so he’d classify our deaths as a murder/suicide after Mason killed us.”

She gasped, stunned by his bravado. “He really said that?”

He nodded then stood and walked to the window, glancing out. “The thing is, I don’t know who to trust on the force. Everyone is suspect.”

“Do you really believe there’s that much corruption?”

“It’s a small-town force. Most of these boys grew up here and have known one another since birth. They’re wary of outsiders. There are only a handful from out of town and that was only after Mayor Banks ran on the platform of improving police procedures. She wanted college graduates with more criminal justice education and insisted the city offer them leadership positions. Only two of us are still around. The others got fed up with small-town politics and left.”

She nodded, remembering the mayor’s platform. Jimmy had been taking night classes to finish his degree and he’d hoped to nab one of those supervisory spots. But he’d been killed before finishing. And she wasn’t surprised so many had gotten fed up and left. “Why would so many accept a job in Northshore?”

He turned to look at her and she thought she saw pain flash through his eyes. “Some like the idea of joining the force with some influence. Some who’ve worked in the big city are looking for the slower-paced life. Others just needed a change.”

His expression told her instinctively he’d been one of the ones who’d needed a change. Something had happened to him, something that had wounded him deeply. Did it have something to do with that ring he carried around?

Blake’s investigation into corruption among his fellow officers showed he had integrity. She respected that he’d made a vow to this town and this police force to clean it up and he was following through.

“I need to change my clothes,” she said, getting up and walking down the hallway toward the bedroom. She shut the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes and wishing this all away. She discarded her scrubs and slipped into a pair of Marcy’s jeans and a blouse she borrowed from her closet. Thankfully, they wore the same size. She moved to the bathroom and leaned into the sink as anger pulsed through her.

Only a few days after the funeral, Mason and a few other officers had come to their house and toted away boxes of information they’d claimed were part of an investigation. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but now she knew that Mason had been at the center of Jimmy’s investigation. And she’d let him walk out with her husband’s work. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was now trying to kill her. And she was trapped with a man she didn’t even know. He claimed to be one of the good guys and he seemed to have the same mission her husband had had—ferreting out corruption among the police—but she didn’t know Blake Michaels and had no idea if she could trust him or not.

“What should I do?” She whispered the question to Jimmy. When no apparent answer presented itself, she moved from the bathroom to the bedroom door and cracked it open. She could see Blake standing guard at the window.

Her instincts said she could trust Blake, and she had little choice right now. She would go with him and let the state police worry about who was corrupt and who wasn’t.

She walked into the living room and he turned from the window.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes sincere and full of concern.

“I’m fine. Everything is just happening so fast.”

“I know. It’s a lot to take in.”

She handed him a clean shirt. “I found this in Marcy’s closet. It’s probably her boyfriend’s shirt, but it should fit you and it’s clean. You can change in the bathroom.”

“Thank you.” He disappeared down the hall then returned a moment later having discarded the blood soaked shirt and buttoning up the one she’d given him.

She couldn’t help noticing the nice lines of his shoulders and felt herself blush. Yet before she could even chide herself for noticing, a noise outside stopped her. Blake hurried back to the window and his jaw clenched.

“It’s Mason.”

She ran to the window. “What? How did he know we were here?”

“I don’t know, but he did. Let’s get out of here.”

She grabbed the first-aid kit and stuffed it into her purse in case Blake’s wound needed to be redressed. She ran for the door. Blake followed behind her.

Blake started the engine, taking off as Mason came plowing down the back steps. When he reached the bottom, he raised his gun and fired.

“Shot!” she screamed then ducked in the seat. The bullet missed the truck and she realized they were too far out of range. “He’ll be back,” Holly said. “He probably went to get his car.”

Blake didn’t let up on the accelerator. “We’ll be long gone before that. The bridge is the closest way out of town.”

She nodded. “Good idea.” Even injured he had a good head on his shoulders.

She sat back in her seat, reached for the seat belt and tried to control her breathing. They were going to be fine. They would be home free once they reached the bridge and passed the town limits sign on the other side.

After that, everything would be fine. She would tell the state police or FBI about Jimmy’s journal and they could retrieve it themselves. Mason would be arrested and the other corrupt cops on the force would be identified and taken down.

Except that Mason didn’t seem to care about things like the law or jurisdictions. He would definitely pursue them even past the city limits.

Blake slowed the truck, pulling Holly back to the present. She saw why he’d slowed. The bridge entrance was blocked by a row of police cars and officers.

“Anyone you know?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Can you trust them?”

He put the truck into Reverse and backed up. “I’m not going to wait around to find out.” He jerked the Dodge into Drive and took off. “We’ll find another way out of town.”

She knew there were only two roads out of town. The access road that led to the highway and the bridge over the lake. The town was basically cut off due to the water. If the police had blocked the bridge, she was certain the access road would also be blocked.

A few minutes later she was proved right.

Blake slowed as they approached the access road that led to the highway. It was blocked by officers.

She tensed as he once again turned around and headed back into town.

Their only escape routes were blocked.

They were trapped.

TWO

“I need to go to the police.”

“You can’t.”

She turned those wide green eyes on him and Blake saw panic in them. She was trying to keep it together but he could tell she was on the verge of losing control. He saw her mind working, questioning whether or not he was going to keep her from leaving and probably wondering how she was going to get out of the Dodge and out of his grasp.

She wasn’t his prisoner, but she needed to understand the danger she was in...the danger they were both in. He knew Mason well enough to know he wouldn’t stop. He’d made an attempt on their lives. He had no choice now but to finish them.

His gaze continually scanned the area on the lookout for police cars. He needed to develop a plan—starting with finding a phone he could use. He had to call Matt and alert him that his cover had been blown and he was trapped. Matt and the DEA could help him come up with an escape plan.

He glanced at Holly. She looked distraught now but she’d acted admirably and he’d been impressed. He knew she was scared. She didn’t want to be a part of this, but he wasn’t the one who’d dragged her into it. Mason had pulled her in, and it was up to Blake to keep her safe. He could see how Mason could become obsessed with her. Tall and athletic, her long neck accentuated a lovely heart-shaped face and big green eyes, a supple mouth and a chin that jutted stubbornly in defiance. He checked himself before he focused too much on her beauty.

Yes, she was beautiful, but he couldn’t allow himself to go down that road. He was still nursing a broken heart. Miranda had gone far beyond the normal everyday betrayal of having an affair or leaving him. She’d actually kidnapped his best friend Colton’s girlfriend, Laura, and handed her over to a loan shark who’d planned to kill her. And she’d done it only for money. Greed had been her downfall. Greed and an unexpressed loathing of the small-town life he loved. She’d paid the ultimate price for her betrayal, though. She’d been shot and killed by the very loan shark she’d helped. How could he have been so blind? How could he have not seen her real feelings? He was still struggling with it, even after all this time, and knew he could never put his heart on the line again.

“You can’t trust the police,” Blake told her.

“Mason, sure. But I’ve known most of these people for years. Chief Waggoner has been good to me. I should have told him about Mason sooner. He deserves to know what he’s done. He’ll take care of it. I’ll go there, tell my story, and they’ll arrest Mason.”

“Mason isn’t going to let you go. You’re a witness to an attempted murder. You’re taking an awful big risk that the higher-ups aren’t on Mason’s side. The cops are blocking the roads out of town. Who do you think ordered that?”

“Because they’ve only heard Mason’s side of the story. We need to go there and tell them the truth.” She jutted her chin stubbornly. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to the police.” Her face softened. “I am grateful to you for saving my life today, but I don’t know you, Blake. I trust Chief Waggoner. He’s been good to me since Jimmy died.”

“Mason said people higher up were involved, high enough to pay off a coroner to cover up a murder. Don’t you think the chief of police would have to be involved in something that big?”

“You’re asking me to trust someone I just met over someone I’ve known for years—someone my husband knew and trusted with his life.”

He hoped to change her mind but could see she was determined. He couldn’t blame her. She had only his word that the police department was corrupt and they’d only just met. For all she knew, he was the dirty cop.

“Fine,” he said, turning the truck around. “I still believe this is a bad idea, but you’re not my prisoner. I’ll drop you at the police station.”

“It would be more believable if you would come in with me and explain what happened.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. My only chance now is to get out of town.”

He parked across the street from the precinct and scoped the area. “I don’t see Mason’s cruiser, so I think you’re okay.” He looked at her, wishing he could say something that would change her mind. But she was right. This was her town. He was the outsider. And maybe she was right about Chief Waggoner. He had to concede he only had Mason’s word that the higher-ups were corrupt. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She nodded. “I have to. I can’t be involved in this.” She looked at him, her green eyes searching his. “What are you going to do?”

“Find somewhere to hole up, call my friends and do my best to get out of this town alive.”

She nodded and then smiled at him. “Goodbye, Blake Michaels.”

“Goodbye, Holly. It was nice to know you.”

She opened the door and had one leg out when his hand shot out to stop her, grabbing her elbow. “Wait.”

He was surprised by the intensity of his feelings for her and his hesitancy to let her go. She’d held up well against circumstances that would make a grown man lash out. He understood her need to try, but it didn’t stop his concern for her safety.

She looked back at him, waiting, but his words caught in his throat. He should say something to help her, but every inch of his instinct was telling him something wasn’t right. “Please don’t do this,” he said. “You’re making a mistake by going in there.”

Her smile said he was being overly cautious. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “You’ll need to change that bandage often or else you’ll get an infection.” She slid out of the car and crossed the street.

He watched her go, his heart hammering against his chest. He’d saved her from Mason only to have her walk into the lion’s den.

Lord, please protect her.

* * *

Holly stopped at the doors to the police station and looked back. Blake’s truck was gone. She sighed, already missing his protective presence.

Stop it, she chastised herself. She didn’t need his protection. But she had needed it today and he’d given it freely—and been wounded himself. She should have wished him well or said she would pray for him, but the words hadn’t come. She wasn’t on good enough terms with God to even pray for someone else.

Besides, she didn’t know Blake. Maybe he didn’t deserve her prayers or her good wishes. But she found that hard to believe. He struck her as one of the good guys. He’d risked his life to save her from Mason and that spoke volumes. But she had to think logically. Reason told her she couldn’t discount all of the police on the word of one man or because of Mason’s actions.

I hope I’m doing the right thing.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside the precinct. The chill of the air-conditioning hit her, a nice change from the muggy midmorning temperature. The room was full of desks and people in uniform. Holly approached the front desk, where the officer on duty was hunched over the computer.

“Can I help you, lady?” he asked without looking up.

“I’d like to see Chief Waggoner.”

“He’s busy. Someone kidnapped a nurse over at the medical center. He’s coordinating the response team.”

Surprise rushed through her. Mason had claimed she’d been kidnapped? That certainly explained the police roadblocks out of town. “Then he’ll definitely want to see me,” she stated.

“Why? Who are you?” he asked, turning to look at her.

She waited a moment, wondering if he would recognize her. He gave her a quizzical look then his eyes widened. He jumped to his feet. “You—you’re...you’re her.”

“That’s right. Only I wasn’t abducted.” Indignation soared through her that Mason had made such a ridiculous claim in order to manipulate the police into a manhunt for Blake.

He nodded then picked up the phone. “I’ll call Chief Waggoner.”

Moments later the chief—a heavyset man in his early fifties—appeared from his office. “Holly! I’m so happy to see that you weren’t harmed,” he told her. “I want you to know that as Jimmy’s widow, you’re still one of us and we take an offense against one of our own very seriously. How did you get away from Officer Michaels?”

“I didn’t. I was never a prisoner. Chief, there has been a terrible mistake made here. Mason Webber accosted me in the parking lot as I was leaving work. He pointed a gun at me and was going to kill me. He even fired it. Blake Michaels intervened. He rescued me from Mason, and when I insisted on coming to the police, he brought me here.”

He glanced around at the officers who were watching and listening. “Is that so?”

“Yes, it is. Mason Webber is the man you should be arresting. After he attacked me in the hospital parking lot, he showed up and shot at us. He’s out of control.”

The chief took her arm. “Perhaps we should speak privately in my office.”

He led her toward a door near the back of the bullpen. Once there, he closed the door and turned to her. “I’d rather you not make such accusations in front of my officers, Holly.”

“Everything I said was true. You and I both know it. Mason is out of control.”

“Mason is an exemplary, longtime member of this police force. He’s never been accused of erratic behavior before.”

She could hardly believe her ears. Was the chief actually defending Mason? “What about what you saw in Jimmy’s journal? The evidence he collected?”

“Well, the few pages you copied for me were really nothing but accusations. I looked into the incidents Jimmy mentioned and found nothing to indicate any wrongdoing. Perhaps if Jimmy had come to me instead of conducting his own inquiry, we might have some solid evidence. Or maybe there’s something more substantial in the rest of the journal. You said you were going to bring it in, but you didn’t.”

A realization hit her and her heart sank. “It was you, wasn’t it? You gave Mason those pages from Jimmy’s journal.” Had Blake been right that this entire force was corrupt?

There was no denying what the chief was trying to do. He wanted to paint Mason as the good guy even after he’d heard her story and seen what Jimmy had recorded. “He knew about the journal, Chief, and he had those copied pages. You’re the only one I told. Did you give them to him?”

He scowled at her accusation then slid a legal pad and a pen across the desk. “Why don’t you write down everything that happened, in your own words? That way, there’s no discrepancy.” The bite in his voice was obvious, and she knew at that moment their friendly relationship was over. His behavior didn’t make him a drug trafficker like Blake was investigating, but he was certainly complicit in Mason’s wrongdoings. Blake was right about the widespread corruption on this force.

She reached for the pen and pad. “I think that would be for the best.”

He pushed to his feet and headed for the door. “I’ll give you some time to work on that.”

Holly was glad when he was gone. Her pen flew across the paper, though she was still uncertain what she would do when she finished. Given Chief Waggoner’s behavior, she wasn’t convinced her statement would go anywhere except the inside of the trash can.

The screech of tires outside the chief’s window grabbed her attention. She put down the pad, walked to the window and saw Mason exit a car parked at the curb and hightail it toward the station. She hurried to the office door, where she could see the front of the police bullpen and Chief Waggoner speaking with another officer. He visibly tensed as Mason entered, but approached him and had words Holly couldn’t hear. She held her breath as she waited. Would the chief take him into custody? Or ignore everything she’d told him? She had her answer when Mason’s eyes grew wide and when Waggoner pointed toward his office. He wasn’t arresting Mason or even reprimanding him.