Dangerous Surrender (6 page)

Worried about why Roman had gone out to the garage, she headed for the utility room. Two loud pops from somewhere made her jump.

Gunfire.

Fear for Roman’s safety punched through her as she raced out the door.

Chapter 5

Roman slowly exited the utility room into the garage, the low hum of an engine from outside clear. At first he hadn’t been sure he’d heard anything, but now it was unmistakable.

Weapon drawn, he hurried to the partially-open garage door. The Pinto blocked his legs so he used it for cover as he laid on the ground and peered out. Behind the beater car and to the right of his truck he saw wheels.

He slipped out under the left side of the garage and used the Pinto as cover as he crept along the side of it. Still crouching low, he looked through the windows and saw an SUV. Though the windows were tinted, the sun was setting behind it so he could see inside well enough. One man was outlined in the driver’s seat, but no one else was visible.

The driver’s door opened and a man got out. A ball cap was pulled low over his forehead but stray sandy-blond hair peeked out under the sides. From what Roman could see he had on a long-sleeved, brown shirt. Sunglasses covered his eyes, hiding a good portion of his face, as he looked around, scanning the property. He stepped out from around the protection of the SUV, rounding the front of it.

Keeping his weapon lowered, Roman stood, using the Pinto as a barrier. “Who are you?”

The man tensed, but didn’t make any sudden moves as he zeroed in on Roman. “I’m looking for Vadim. You him?”

Vadim didn’t give many people his address. Hell, Roman was pretty sure he even had packages delivered to his office at The Serafina. So a stranger shouldn’t have it. “How’d you get this address?”

The man took a slight step back toward the driver’s door. It was subtle, but Roman noted it.

“Get off this property before I call the police,” he continued when the man didn’t move.

The man’s body language changed, the nuances small but Roman watched as he stilled, his body taut. He didn’t like pinning his weapon on anyone, but his gut told him it was necessary. He lifted his arm, aiming it at the guy’s center mass. “I won’t tell you again. Get the fuck out of here. Now.”

The man paused once before hurrying to the driver’s door. Roman kept his weapon trained on him the entire time. The engine was still running so the driver got in and reversed. As he did, he turned the vehicle back so that the driver’s side faced Roman. The sunlight glinted off the windshield, making him flinch.

He took a step to the side, back toward the garage to avoid being blinded, when he saw that the driver’s side window was down. He couldn’t see a weapon and wasn’t going to open fire on someone without just cause. But instinct had him taking cover behind the car.

Pop. Pop.

Two thunking sounds on the garage door spurred him into action. Rolling under the door, he shifted so that the position of the Pinto gave him cover. Standing, he slammed the garage door down. The sound of screeching tires told him the guy was leaving. But for how long? And did he have backup? Roman wasn’t sticking around like a sitting duck waiting to find out. He’d call the cops but only as soon as he got Taylor away from here and to the hospital. Racing toward the utility room, he hurried inside.

Taylor started to swing a broom handle at him, but froze with the end of it in midair, her arm dropping to her side. Her blue eyes were wide as she scanned him, likely for wounds. “Are you okay? What happened?”

He hooked his hand under her elbow and steered her into the kitchen. “Man who said he was looking for Vadim shot at me before racing off. Sandy-blond hair, medium build, maybe five-eleven. Driving a black SUV. Ring any bells?”

She bit her bottom lip as she moved with him, clutching the broom tightly in her hand. “Maybe. Gordon Simpson is the man I saw at the police station. He’s got blond hair, but it’s pretty light. And I don’t know how tall he is. Taller than me.”

He snorted. “Most people are probably taller than you.”

To his surprise, she laughed, the musical quality of it taking him off guard. “True.”

“Grab all your blood-stained clothes and anything you need to take with you. We’re not coming back here,” he informed her, gently pushing her toward the bedroom as he made his way to the foyer.

Vadim’s house was all glass, wood and high ceilings with exposed beams. Roman knew he had a special film over his windows that made it difficult to see inside. The foyer was one of the best vantage points because of the long, slim windows on the sides of the front door. So Roman surveyed the front yard, driveway, and all he saw was dust kicking up in the distance where the SUV had fled.

There was a risk leaving with Taylor, but it was calculated. Because if they stayed, they had a higher chance of being attacked. Roman knew there was a definite potential for an ambush as they left the property but he didn’t think it would happen. A single man had shown up, obviously not expecting Roman to be here and ready for him. No, the guy would be leaving and regrouping and possibly getting more backup. Roman didn’t want to stay here and find out. There were just too many unknowns at this point. He turned away front the window at the sound of Taylor approaching.

“I’ve got it all.” She lifted two plastic bags of her things.

He nodded. Normally he’d take a woman’s bags for her, but he wasn’t putting his weapon down. “We’re going to leave with you driving my truck and I’m going to follow you in the Pinto. Once we reach the end of Vadim’s driveway,”—which was a mile long—“we’re going to head east. There’s a gas station about three-quarters of a mile down the road. We’re going to leave the Pinto there and take my truck to the hospital.” His truck had bullet-resistant windows so he knew she’d be safe inside. And he was armed and had taken multiple defensive driving courses so he wasn’t worried about himself.

“Okay, but why are we leaving the Pinto?”

“Did you steal it?” She hadn’t said how she’d gotten here when she’d spoken to Vadim, but the woman had broken into the man’s house with impressive ease. Somehow he didn’t think stealing a car would be an issue for her. And a Pinto didn’t seem like her style.

Her cheeks flushed, the natural caramel of her skin tone darkening to a crimson. “How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess,” he muttered, pulling his keys out of his pocket and handing them to her. “You okay to drive?”

She nodded as she clasped them in her palm. “Roman, I don’t know how I can ever thank you.” Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away. “You don’t even know me and I just…thank you.”

Any kind of praise made him as uncomfortable as crying women did, so he just nodded. “No problem,” he grunted and turned on his heel. He was going to reset Vadim’s alarm, then they were getting the hell out of here. And he was going to keep Taylor safe no matter what. He couldn’t explain what it was, but he felt the strangest pull toward her, his attraction for her sharpening each second that passed.

* * *

Taylor didn’t understand why she had to wear the stupid, itchy hospital gown when she knew she wouldn’t be staying. But the scary nurse had insisted and Roman had been no help whatsoever. Shifting against the bed, she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

“The gowns aren’t that bad,” Roman murmured, his eyes lit with amusement from his perch near the window.

Still no smile though. She wondered if he actually knew how. His arms were crossed over his massive chest, those different-colored eyes pinned on her. It was dark outside but the room lights glinted off his hair, highlighting the natural auburn throughout his darker brown hair. He was…ridiculously handsome. So much so that it left her feeling unbalanced. And he hadn’t left her side.

“You want to wear it then?”

His lips pulled together. “I’m not the one who got shot.”

Almost against her will she found her gaze drawn to his mouth. Damn it, what was wrong with her? Now that she was coming down from that insane adrenaline high, she should be ready to pass out again. Instead she found herself captivated by Roman… “Hey, what’s your last name?” she blurted, realizing she had no idea. And she really wanted to know.

She could barely remember the last guy she’d slept with, let alone been this attracted to. Okay, she didn’t think she’d ever been attracted to anyone as much as Roman. The timing was awful, making her feel even crappier. Her friend was dead and she was having annoying feelings for a stranger.

“MacNeil.” Now his gaze dropped to her mouth and his eyes heated with a surprising intensity.

So much so that she squirmed against the starchy sheets of the hospital bed. She opened her mouth, ready to say something—anything—when the door opened.

A huge, dark-haired man wearing black slacks, a light blue dress shirt with no tie and a police badge hooked to his belt stepped in. The man could have been a football player he was so big. He nodded once at Roman, who straightened and made a beeline for her bed.

The action surprised her, but Roman moved in like he was her personal bodyguard as he smoothly slid in place directly next to her head. She looked up at him and smiled gratefully. One corner of his mouth quirked up and she felt it all the way to her toes.

God, she was a hot mess. She shouldn’t be noticing anyone in a sexual way right now. Turning back to the man she guessed was here to see her, she forced a smile. “I assume you’re Detective Hurley?”

He nodded and grabbed a seat on the opposite side of her bed. “Yes, ma’am. Detective Cody Hurley but you can call me either. I answer to both.” He gave her a charming grin she was sure usually got the ladies ruffled. He probably used it when interrogating female suspects.

“Okay, Cody. You can call me Taylor.”

Cody pulled out a small, spiral notepad and a pen. She let out a nervous laugh, which sounded almost maniacal even to herself. Jeez, she needed to get a grip. When Roman placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, she reached up and briefly put her hand over his without thinking. She rarely depended on anyone for anything and she wasn’t sure why she was leaning on him now other than it was simply instinctual. Which, yeah, she knew was crazy. But she didn’t care because if Vadim trusted him then that was good enough for her, and the man’s presence was comforting.

The detective raised his eyebrows. “Is something funny?”

“No. I sometimes have weird social responses when I get nervous. I didn’t think detectives actually used notepads. It seems like something off of television and it’s why I laughed.” Even though it wasn’t funny at all.
Stop talking
, she ordered herself. At least she wasn’t laughing like a crazy person anymore so that was good.

He gave a real smile. “Well, we do. So do patrolmen. It’s how we keep track of everything. So, I already talked to the nurse and she assures me you’ve been shot. We’re going to send your medical records over to Oceanside for documentation.”

A sharp sense of relief invaded Taylor as he continued.

“I’ve already talked to a friend on the force with Oceanside PD about your presence here. After what Roman told me about the shooter at Vadim’s place and about you being in shock and fleeing to Vegas, they know you’re not on the run.”

“What about Vadim’s house?” Roman asked quietly, giving her a comforting squeeze. She was glad he’d left his hand there. It made her feel grounded.

“Got a team there now digging the bullets out of the garage door. Just like you said.” Cody’s expression was grim. “I’ll talk to you about it in a sec.”

There was slight movement next to her and she guessed Roman nodded because Cody turned all his attention back to her. “I’m going to be honest with you. Running makes you look bad, but with these extenuating circumstances, it’s understandable. Roman gave me a rundown of what’s going on, but I want you to go over everything for me. Start to finish. You’re going to have to repeat all of this to the guys in Oceanside, but I’m going to relay everything to them too. The more details they have before you get back, the better.”

She took a deep breath and told Cody everything from the reason she’d shown up early at work all the way until Roman had found her passed out with a bottle of vodka. The only thing she’d left out was that she’d stolen a Pinto. She just said she’d fled. That was all he needed to know right now. And she also didn’t say that she’d broken into Vadim’s place, just that she had the code, which actually wasn’t a lie. She’d
guessed
the code. The little thing with the garage door wasn’t important.

When she was done, Cody was silent for a long moment as he wrote in his notepad. Finally he said, “Gordon Simpson is the name of the man you saw waiting outside the police department?”

“Yes. And I don’t know that he’s involved with Neal, but he was there at the police station and I was terrified. I’d just been shot. Maybe I panicked for no reason but it was too weird seeing him there. As part of the security team for Powers Group he’s done work with Neal before, but he’s also done work with Hugh too.” She supposed there could have been a reason for his presence at the police station but she hadn’t been in the frame of mind to find out what it was. Not when she’d been fearful for her life.

Cody just nodded and made another note. He started to say something when his phone buzzed on his belt. He pulled it out and looked at it. With a frown, he said, “I’ve gotta take this.”