Rules of Protection(12)

His hand curled into a fist, and he closed his eyes as if he were counting to ten. “Why don’t you just admit you’re wrong and cooperate?”

“Because I’m not wrong. And I’m sick of your bullying,” I said as Stevens pulled around the building and parked next to us.

“You know what your problem is? Your mouth operates faster than your brain does.”

“Is that all?”

“And you have a problem with authority,” he added.

“Then why don’t you stop profiling me and find another girl to use in your undercover operation?”

He laughed loudly and smugly. “I guess I struck a chord with your ego, since you keep bringing up that kiss. You must’ve really enjoyed it.”

“Oh, the f*ck,” I said with a disgruntled roll of my eyes. “You’re the one with the ego, jackass. I’d rather have a gerbil up my ass than to have you touch me again.”

Jake put his fingers to my lips as he focused on something in the shadows across the lot. His grim, unblinking eyes startled me, but I tried to tamp down the fear welling up inside. A black sedan with dark tinted windows rolled to a stop in the parking lot with its headlights off. I couldn’t tell if anyone was inside.

“I’m going back inside,” I said nervously, scuttling toward the doors of the police station.

“No! Get down!”

Instead of dropping to the ground, I instinctually turned to see what had happened while still in the threshold of the sliding glass doors. The black sedan had flicked on its headlights, and the back window motored down. Jake’s hand was on his gun, but instead of pulling it out, he propelled himself at me with breakneck speed.

Oomph.

The impact threw me off-kilter, and I landed on my stomach as the first shots rang out. Jake had thrown himself on top of me and shielded my head, but managed to grab his gun and fire back. I couldn’t breathe. My first guess was I held the air in my lungs out of sheer terror. More shots rang out, and glass shattered all around us. Small shards nicked my hands and face as they ricocheted off me.

Three police officers from inside the building emerged, rolling onto the ground with their guns drawn. They each returned fire as the black car sped toward the highway. Two officers ran for their vehicles. Another called in backup over the radio on his shoulder.

Jake peeled himself off me, but the pressure of him lying on top of me wasn’t what kept me from being able to breathe. My ears were ringing, and a burning sensation in my chest felt like a bullet had pierced my lung.

Then Jake shouted, “We need a paramedic!”





Chapter Three

I felt someone toe me.

“I’m not dead yet,” I said weakly.

“I know,” Jake said. “So why are you still on the ground?”

“Because I’ve been shot.”

Jake paused for a beat. “No, you haven’t.”

I rolled over onto my back, which exhausted more effort than it should have. “Then why do I feel like I have a punctured lung?” I asked in a raspy, whispering voice. “I can barely catch my breath.”

“Sorry,” Jake said, hoisting me to my feet. “I must’ve knocked the wind out of you.”

He hadn’t lied when he said he held back during our earlier fight. A macho, all-American male. Probably even played football at some point. I wouldn’t have been any match for him unless he had tried to keep me from getting hurt in that alley. This time I got hurt, but that’s because he was trying to keep me from getting…well, dead.

“You’re bad luck,” I told him.

“I saved your ass twice tonight. How am I bad luck?”

“It’s the third time I’ve scuffed the floor with my face since you’ve been around. If you’re the undercover agent, how come I always end up being the one on the ground?”

“I like being on top,” he said smugly. “Besides, none of those incidents were my fault.”

“Two of them were,” I argued, shaking glass fragments from my hair and dusting off my clothes as an ambulance came up the driveway.

“Look at the bright side. At least you’re not the one who got shot.”

“What, someone was shot?”

“Officer Stevens.”

I covered my mouth. “Is he…?”

“No, he’ll be fine. Stevens caught a stray bullet in the shoulder, but it doesn’t look bad. He’s lucky they were aiming for you.”

A wave of nausea welled up from my stomach, making me woozy. “I…I need to sit down.”

Jake spoke to the officer with Stevens. “I’m getting her out of here before she ends up on the ground again. Let me know if you find that car.” He grabbed my arm and speed-walked me over to a black Yukon in the side lot, stuffing me into the back seat.

I drew in slow, deep breaths as he slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine.

“You look a little pale, like you’re going to be sick. Need some Pepto?” His incredibly smug face peered back at me in the rearview mirror.

“You’re such a prick.”

Jake turned to face me, draping his right arm over the seat. He didn’t dare laugh, but the smirk remained on his face. “So where to?”

Damn. He wanted me to say it.