Crossfire Christmas (9 page)

“The only thing desperate is the situation. I can’t let you go until I find this guy, but I won’t let you get hurt. I give you my word.”

“Your word?” She went into the kitchen and turned off the burner beneath the soup. “Forgive me if I don’t jump at the chance to go on the lam with you.”

“There isn’t anybody who can vouch for me right now. But when I make a promise, I keep it. I know it’s a huge leap of faith, considering how I’ve treated you. But I will keep you safe. What does your heart tell you about me?”

Her eyes locked on to his for an endless moment. Yeah, he’d been listening when she said she led with her heart instead of listening to common sense. And yes, he would play on that weakness of hers to ensure her cooperation. “This...mole would really come after me?”

“You’re his best lead to finding me.”

Teresa nodded slowly, as if evaluating her options. “And you’d probably die of infection or pop those stitches and bleed out without me to take care of you.”

Possibly.

“Would I be your partner or your captive?”

“Depends on how well you cooperate,
Gamberro.
”

“Don’t call me that. Peewee is bad enough.” And then the energy in the room shifted. She squatted down and disappeared while he heard her rummaging through a cabinet. “I actually only have one day I’m scheduled between now and Christmas because I’m working the holiday. But Christmas Day is nonnegotiable. I’m planning a party for the patients who’ll be hospitalized over the holiday. I have presents and cookies and decorations. I could only help you through Christmas Eve.”

“Teresa, this isn’t a negotiation. I can’t leave you—”

“I won’t disappoint those children. I suppose I could call someone to take my shift tomorrow and clear the trade with my supervisor.” The cabinet door closed and a thermos appeared before she popped up to face him over the counter. “If I had a phone.”

Nash tapped his cell in his pocket, wondering how many other saps had succumbed to that sweetly innocent smile of hers, which he suspected wasn’t so innocent at all. Yet he was actually toying with giving the phone to her. “I suppose I could trust you enough for one call. But only with me listening in.”

“Partner or captive?” she pressed.

A knock on her apartment door startled them both. “Teresa, are you in there?”

She set down the thermos at the man’s deep, slightly accented voice. “AJ?”

Nash pulled his weapon and stood. “Big brother the cop, AJ?”

She’d tricked him again.

Chapter Seven

Nash grabbed Teresa by the arm to keep her from hurrying past him to the door. His voice was a furious whisper. “I thought you said you didn’t contact anybody else.”

“I didn’t.”

Screw that innocent act. Why had he not seen this coming? “You set me up. All this chitchat was a stall until he could get here.”

“No. I swear.” She splayed her hand against his chest, her eyes wide, her voice hushed. “Put your gun away. Please. I don’t know why AJ’s here, but he can help us. We’ll just tell him the truth. He can give you protection. Put you in a safe house.”

Nash’s voice was equally toneless and urgent. “If I had a little sister that some desperate man had kidnapped, I don’t think I’d be willing to listen to any explanations before I slapped the cuffs on him and threw his butt in a jail cell.” He leaned down to whisper against her ear. “Where I’d be easy pickings for Graciela’s and Vargas’s hit squads, by the way.”

“Hit squads?”

He raised his head enough for her to see he was dead serious. “If they think you know anything about me—about my investigation or where I’m hiding—they won’t be nice about how they get the information out of you. And if I’m in a holding cell or even an interview room, I won’t be able to protect you.”

The color blanched from her cheeks before she turned her head to another knock on the door. “I swear I didn’t contact him.”

“Tía Teresa, I have some visitors for you.” AJ Rodriguez sounded patient, cajoling, not at all like a big brother bent on smashing the man who’d endangered his sister.

“Tía Teresa,” a child’s voice called. “Did Santa come to your house?” Someone even younger laughed.

“My nephews.” Teresa’s fingertips pinched the skin beneath Nash’s shirt as she held on tighter. “Please, put the gun away. AJ will be armed, too, and I don’t want my family to get hurt. I’ll get rid of them.”

Nash’s thumb rubbed tiny circles in the wool of her sleeve as he evaluated her sincerity.

Another knock, and the tenor of AJ’s voice had changed. “Teresa, are you in there? Is everything all right?”

“I’m fine,” she shouted, the volume of her voice jarring to Nash’s ears. “I just need a minute.” She dropped her voice to a whisper again. “If you expect me to trust everything you’ve told me, then you’ll have to trust me first.”

Big brother knocking at the door wasn’t leaving Nash much choice. “Teresa?” AJ called.

“One wrong word,” Nash warned, “and this could get ugly fast.”

“I won’t give you away. I promise.”

With a curt nod and a refusal to holster his weapon, Nash pried her hand from his shirt and ducked behind the armoire, where he could peek through the back to watch the door open without being seen. Smoothing her sweater back into place and taking a deep breath, Teresa opened the door. “What? Is the building on fire? I said I was coming.
Buenos días,
AJ.”

She beamed a smile and traded a hug and a kiss with the stocky dark-haired man. That compact size must run in the family. AJ might be only five-nine or so, but he was built like a fighter. His badge flashed from a chain around his neck in the opening of his padded leather jacket. And despite the small hand clutched in his, the detective was carrying at least one sidearm. Nash lowered his gun to his side, pointing it away from their visitors but keeping himself ready to move if he needed to.

“Claire.” Teresa exchanged a hug with a beautiful blonde who carried a mini Michelin Man on her hip. “And my two favorite boys. Tony and little Adam.” There were noisy kisses for the toddler stuffed into a snowsuit and the older boy, who held on to his father’s hand. “What brings you here this morning?”

Nash didn’t get another look before Teresa scooted them all out into the hall and pulled the door behind her, leaving it ajar just enough that he could hear the entire conversation.

“You’re not inviting us in?” AJ asked.

The woman called Claire, AJ’s wife, Nash assumed, answered in an oddly toned yet articulate voice. “I told you we should have called first. Maybe she has a guest.”

“No guests,” Teresa assured them. Then she lowered her voice to a fake whisper. “But plenty of secrets. Santa stopped by for an early visit this week and asked me to wrap up some goodies for him and hold them until he’s back to pick them up on Christmas Eve. I can’t let you into Santa’s workshop, now, can I?”

“I told you Tía Teresa was helping Santa.” The little boy named Tony sounded quite certain of his holiday rules. “We can’t peek, Daddy, or Santa will know, and he won’t bring the presents to our house. We have to go.”

Although he could imagine the little boy tugging on his father’s hand, the prolonged silence made Nash wonder if AJ was doubting Teresa’s whimsical story of aiding and abetting the bearded little elf in the red suit. Nash wished he had eyes on the scene, to make sure there were no coded messages being exchanged.

“You’re wrapping presents?” AJ finally asked. The doubtful inflection in his tone made Nash think no SOS signals had gone up.

“I am. I’ve even got one for you, big brother. And you’re hard to surprise, so no coming in.” Nash saw Teresa’s hand reach for the doorknob behind her to keep the view into her apartment blocked. “Not that I don’t love seeing all of you, but why are you here?”

“We were just a few blocks away,” her brother explained. “Tony had a basketball game this morning. We thought you’d like to join us for lunch.”

“Normally, I would, but...” she slurred her voice through clenched teeth “...there is a lot of work to do.” Then she was speaking normally again. “Did you win your game?”

“No.” Tony’s pout was audible. “But I did make a basket.”

“That’s great,” Teresa cheered. “And you’ll get them next—”

Claire interrupted. “Tony’s game was all the way out in Oak Grove.” Nash was beginning to think the woman might be hearing impaired, from the unique quality of her voice. But that didn’t stop her from being an active part of the conversation. “What your brother really wanted was to see with his own eyes that you’re all right.”

“All right?” Teresa feigned innocence very well. “Why wouldn’t I be all right?”

“KCPD got a report on a truck shot up on Lee’s Summit Road last night.” AJ Rodriguez was definitely a cop. Nash recognized the direct, no-nonsense demeanor. “I know you take that route home from work, even though I’ve told you to use a safer, well-lit route when it’s late. Especially in this weather. You know the city doesn’t clear that road as often as the main routes.”

“I did take that road home after I did some shopping last night,” Teresa confessed. She was smart, mixing in enough of the truth to make her lies sound plausible. “There were a couple of slick spots, but the snow wasn’t an issue for me.”

“Did you see anything?” AJ asked. “Dispatch got a call from a woman about the truck. She never identified herself. They got disconnected before the dispatcher could get an ID.”

Nash held his breath, waiting to hear her answer.

“So of course you assume it was me.” Nash recognized the defensive bristle in Teresa’s voice. “Like no other drivers would be on that road?”

Nash hadn’t seen much traffic except for her sedan. He’d been lucky she’d stopped.

“I tried calling you this morning and there was no answer.”

“I lost my cell.”

AJ wasn’t giving up on this. “I called the landline, too.”

“I had a late night. I unplugged the phones so I could sleep in. I knew one of my siblings would be checking up on me this morning.”

AJ remained coolly unruffled, despite the growing tension in his baby sister’s tone. “You didn’t see anything? I got a look at that truck this morning. There was nothing in it except for blood on the seat. There were tracks from more than one vehicle at the side of the road, and multiple footprints in the snow.”

Nash could count the seconds of silence as Teresa hesitated. This was it. He wondered how good she was at lying to her family—or if this was the moment when she tossed him over to the enemy. “Well, I did see a black truck in the ditch and thought I could help, but...it was already empty when I got there. The driver must have hitched a ride.”

“You went up to a stranger’s truck? Alone?” Nash heard a low-pitched curse in Spanish. “Teresa, there’s a BOLO out for the owner of that truck.”

Be on the lookout
for the driver in question.
Him.
Nash clenched his teeth to stifle his own curse. The mole in Houston must have listed him nationwide as some kind of fugitive.

“Why?” Teresa asked.

“Usually, when there’s that much blood, we look for a body to go with it.”

“Antonio.” Claire chided her husband, probably not wanting their children to hear details like that.

“I saw an accident on the side of the road, AJ,” Teresa insisted. “I’m a nurse. I’m expected to help if someone’s injured.”

“At the hospital.” So Teresa’s independent streak could get under her big brother’s skin, as well. “No one expects you to risk your life on a dangerous road in the middle of the night.”

“
I
expect it of me.” Her temper was brewing. “I’m okay. I didn’t see...” Nash tensed.
Don’t hesitate, darlin’. He’ll know you’re lying.
“There was no one in the truck. I’m all in one piece. See for yourself. Claire, a little help here? I’m sorry I have to turn down the lunch invitation, but I have things I need to take care of today.”

“There was a
lot
of blood, Teresa. The truck had out-of-state plates and, did I mention, bullet holes?” Nash held his breath while AJ pushed Teresa for the truth. “You take foolish—”

“Antonio.
Amo,
” Claire interrupted in a quiet voice. “Your sister is fine. She’s also grown-up. She has a job to do, just like you and me. We need to go and give her her space. Come on, boys, tell your aunt goodbye.”

“Bye-bye,” the little one chirped.

“Bye, Tía Teresa,” Tony echoed.

There was a rustle of hugs and goodbyes.

And one last warning from her brother. “If you run into something like that again, you call me before you take matters into your own hands.
¿Comprendes?
”

“Entiendo.”
Yes, she understood.

“I’m trying to take care of you,” AJ insisted.

“And I was trying to take care of the injured driver.”

“I know, little one. But you could have run into a dangerous man. You give me cause to worry, yes?” There was a momentary pause, then, “I love you.”

Judging by her muffled voice, there was another hug. “I love you, too.”

And then the door was closing and Teresa threw the dead bolt.

Nash crept out of his hiding place to find her leaning against the door with her eyes shut. “You okay?” he asked.

Her eyes popped open to meet his gaze. “I got rid of them, like you said. Endured the lecture, lied to my family. It’s all good,” she added, her sarcasm evident in her tone.

“I get the idea your brother knows you’re lying.”

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve harbored a fugitive, so I wasn’t quite sure what to say.”

“Teresa...” Maybe she was partner material after all. Nash holstered his gun, surprised at how well she’d covered for him. But it might not be enough. The tiny dots of bruising beside her mouth were a clear indication to even a bad detective that something wasn’t quite right in Teresa’s world. “There are other reasons why law enforcement might issue a BOLO besides looking for a criminal. Maybe someone in Houston filed a missing-person report on me.”

Her gaze flashed up to his. “Do you think that’s what happened?”

Honestly? Nash shook his head, wishing he had a better reassurance to give her. “Your brother sounded too worried about you.”

“AJ always worries.” Teresa tapped her thumb against her chest. “
Trouble,
remember?”

He hated that she joked about herself. Ignoring the urgency of the situation and the instincts that warned him her brother was a hard man to fool, Nash stroked his fingertips across the injury again. “I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t need you to do this for me.”

“I wish I could believe you.” Her dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks at his touch. Man, he was taking liberties he had no right to. He didn’t have time to care about anything except finishing this job and avenging the deaths of his men. But this woman who was full of surprises stunned him again when she turned her face into the cup of his hand, turning his comfort into a caress. “I’ve seen your injuries. If nothing else, I do believe you need me.”

Nash let his fingertips slide into the edge of her hair. “What you did for me last night was a brave thing. You knew you could help, and you did.”

She smiled up at him, easing a little of his guilt before pulling away and leaving his palm tingling with the imprint of her cool skin pressed against his. She headed for the kitchen. “You didn’t give me a choice.”

“Take the compliment, darlin’. You didn’t have to stop on that empty stretch of road. And I’m still alive, so you must be doing something right.”

“Thank you for saying that.” She pulled a ladle from a crock beside the stove and pointed it at him. “This is all going to turn out right in the end, isn’t it?”

Nash was done lying to her. “I can’t make that kind of guarantee.”

She held his gaze for several seconds longer before her eyes shuttered and she went to work.

While she packed them some food, Nash sorted through his go bag, taking stock of his gear and prepping another magazine of bullets. “You’re protecting AJ and his family, too. Remember that. I’m sure lying to your family sucks, but the fewer people who know about me, the better for both of us.”

“I know. I’ll pack some medical supplies, too. And you still need a winter coat.”

“We’ll buy one somewhere along the way. And a hat.” A real Stetson to replace the one he’d sacrificed would take too much of his cash. But Kansas City had been a stockyard town back in the day—there had to be some knockoff cowboy hats for sale somewhere.

“There’s a Chiefs stocking cap in the front closet you can borrow,” she offered. “It’s not too girly.”

Nash went to the closet and pulled out her coat and the stocking cap he found in a basket on the top shelf. The red and gold clashed with his Texans football spirit, but sporting the local team’s colors would certainly help him blend in in K.C. He pulled the knit cap over his head. “This’ll do for now.”