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.
“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
