LITMIR.BIZ

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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

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