Josie pressed her hands together. She didn’t want to even glance behind at the car pursuing them. She knew who would be sitting in the driver’s seat. There was no point in looking into Cardwell’s eyes as he chased her down.
“Please, Lord,” she said under her breath. “Let this be the last time.”
“How did he find us?” Detective Sykes said anxiously, swerving the car through traffic. “I know he didn’t follow us from the courthouse. I’m sure of it.”
“How he found us is irrelevant right now,” Blade said. “What’s more important is shaking him off.” He pulled his gun. “Or stopping him in his tracks.”
“No, Blade,” Josie said, watching the detective take them into a congested area. “It’s too dangerous to shoot here. There are too many people around.”
He nodded. “I know. It’s just a precaution.”
“There’s a police station a couple of miles away,” the detective said. “I’ll head there. We can get there quicker than backup will take to arrive.”
Maybe Cardwell sensed their plan, or maybe his frustration at failing to kill Josie finally bubbled to the boiling point. He sped up his vehicle and rammed them hard. Josie flew forward, her seat belt preventing her from connecting with the front seats. This time, she did look behind, and Cardwell had done significantly more damage to his own car than to theirs. His hood was crumpled, steam was leaking from the engine and the windshield was cracked in his sleek black sports car, which, like everything he’d ever had in life, she assumed was stolen.
She barely had time to compose herself when he rammed them again, and this time Detective Sykes veered across the street, struggling to retain control of their SUV. Josie heard the tires squealing on the asphalt and assumed a crash position, preparing herself for a collision. But no impact came. Instead she felt Blade’s body brush hers as he made a swift movement. When she lifted her head, she saw him in the front passenger seat, helping Detective Sykes to steady the vehicle. With one hand he held the wheel, and in the other he held his gun.
“The police department is right up ahead,” Detective Sykes said. “Let’s see if Cardwell hangs around once we pull into the lot.”
But Cardwell obviously knew what was awaiting him and didn’t intend to fall into a trap, because when Josie looked around, he was gone. The road behind stretched long and empty, and she didn’t know whether to feel relieved or saddened that he had vanished. She was safe for now, but it would simply delay the inevitable.
“Shouldn’t we stop at the police station?” she asked, watching the building sail right by.
“There’s no point,” Detective Sykes said, looking at her through the rearview mirror. “Now that Cardwell has gone, there’s not a lot they can do. Let’s get you back to the safe house as soon as we can.”
With that, she picked up her radio and began to relay the information regarding Cardwell’s location and vehicle to all patrols.
“Detective Sykes is right,” Blade said, turning around. “We should get you out of here immediately.”
She held her hand out, a sudden sensation of dread causing a chill to sweep over her skin. “I’m scared, Blade. I have a really bad feeling.”
He took her hand and held it tight. “He’s gone. Don’t worry.”
But somehow, Josie knew that Cardwell hadn’t gone far. He was close by. And he would reveal himself again later. She was sure of it.
* * *
Blade was glad to see the safe house come into view. The return journey to their hideaway had given him grave concerns. Just exactly how had Cardwell ended up on their tail on the highway? Was the escaped convict fortunate enough to have stumbled across them, or was he tipped off by somebody? Blade was absolutely sure that nobody followed them from the courthouse, so Cardwell must have jumped onto their tail at least ten miles into the journey. The last thing Josie needed right now was a mole in the police operation.
Josie once again reached for his hand as they walked into the house and squeezed his fingers tight. He had noticed that she was becoming more tactile with him since Archie had left for Dodge City, often brushing his arm or holding his hand. He wasn’t sure if she was simply missing her son or if she was letting him know she was ready to restart their romance. But he guessed that this wasn’t the time to ask.
Detective Pullman was on the telephone when they entered the living room, sitting hunched over his notepad, writing quickly as he occasionally muttered, “uh-uh” and “I see.” The news he was receiving was obviously serious, and as soon as he hung up the phone, Josie must have feared the worst.
“Is Archie okay?” she asked, dropping her briefcase and sitting on the couch. “Did something happen?”
“Archie is fine,” Detective Pullman said reassuringly. “That call was from one of the US marshals looking for Cardwell.”
Blade felt a surge of hope. “Did they pick him up?”
“Sadly not,” the detective replied. “The police patrols are still looking for the stolen car he was driving.”
Blade sat next to Josie. “So what was the call about?”
“The marshals have been interviewing members of staff at the courthouse today in order to find out who helped Cardwell smuggle the explosive device into the building. One of the security officers admitted that he allowed an unchecked bag to come in through the back door yesterday. He said that the person carrying the bag told him it contained personal items, and because he was a well-respected attorney, the guard agreed to turn a blind eye.”
One person instantly came to Blade’s mind. “Are you talking about Allan Sanders?”
“Yes,” the detective replied. “It could be a simple coincidence. We have no proof that Mr. Sanders’s bag contained any explosives, but the marshals are trying to track him down for questioning.”
“Trying to track him down?” Blade repeated. “You mean he’s gone missing?”
“He’s not at his office or at home, and nobody seems to know where he is.”
Josie, who had been listening closely, now spoke. “Allan asked me out for dinner this evening. He said he needed to wind down.”
Blade found an unpleasant feeling settling in his stomach, something akin to jealousy. “You didn’t mention this earlier.”
Josie shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important. He didn’t seem to want me to accept his offer. I think he was just making conversation. I told him I was on lockdown, and then he asked where I was staying…”
“Whoa, hold up a minute,” Blade interrupted. “He asked you where the safe house was?”
“Yes.” She wrinkled her brow. “I didn’t really think anything of it at the time. I assumed he was just being curious.”
Blade thought of how Cardwell had found them so easily on the road. Could he have been tipped off about their route? “You didn’t tell him, did you?”
“Of course not,” she replied. “I’d never tell him anything important.”
“That’s not all the marshals found out today,” Detective Pullman said, turning over a page on his notepad. “The clerk at the bank who leaked details of an account supposedly belonging to Norman Francis has now admitted to lying. She forged bank statements showing cash amounts of ninety thousand dollars deposited in Norman’s name, which she subsequently passed on to the media for publication.”
Blade was incredulous. “Why would anybody do that?”
“She was bribed with a lot of money?” the detective replied. “She says it was all arranged online, and the cash was wired straight into her bank account. She doesn’t know who was behind it or why.”
“I think it’s pretty obvious why,” Josie said. “The lie was created in order to whip up a protest about Norman using a public defender. Somebody wanted to make sure that I’d be forced to run through a mob of angry demonstrators every day. Somebody wanted to see me suffer. Cardwell is bound to be behind it.”
This theory didn’t add up in Blade’s mind. “But Cardwell is a convicted criminal. Where would he get a large amount of money to bribe a bank clerk? He must have had financial help from somebody.”
“Or maybe it wasn’t Cardwell who bribed the clerk,” Detective Sykes suggested, walking from the doorway where she had been standing. “And maybe it wasn’t Cardwell who sent the flowers to the hospital, either.”
Josie swiveled around. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, we now know that Allan Sanders smuggled an unchecked bag into the courthouse yesterday,” she replied. “He doesn’t seem to like you much, and he was desperate to win this case. It’s not so crazy to suspect that he might’ve been helping Cardwell to terrorize you, hoping to destroy your confidence in order to sabotage the trial.”
Josie didn’t seem convinced. “Allan’s a ruthless character, and he certainly doesn’t like me, but he wouldn’t go that far.” She looked at Blade. “Would he?”
“There’s only one person who can answer that question,” said Blade, “and that’s Sanders himself.” Josie was shaking slightly, and he knew that she was genuinely terrified by these latest revelations. “I’m sure the marshals will pick him up soon.”
The room was suddenly filled with ringtones, as both of the detectives’ cell phones began to ring. They exchanged worried glances, checked the displays and answered in unison.
“It looks like our suspicions about Sanders were correct,” Detective Sykes said after a few seconds of listening. “He’s on the run. There’s a police pursuit on the outskirts of Wichita, and he’s apparently showing no intention of stopping.” She pointed to the other room and gestured to Detective Pullman. “We’ll take these calls in the kitchen.”
When they had gone, Josie put her head in her hands. “I don’t believe that Allan could be Cardwell’s accomplice. He’s meant to be an upholder of the law.”
“That’s obviously not the way Sanders sees it,” Blade said. “But at least he’s close to being captured. And once he’s in custody, I figure that Cardwell won’t be far behind.”
“Do you think so?”
He touched her cheek. “I do, so don’t look so worried.”
Josie’s face lifted as if she was truly allowing herself to believe Blade’s words. “Could this really be over soon? Could we really start looking to the future instead of living just for today?”
“I hope so,” he replied, conscious of how close Josie’s face had gotten to his. Her wide eyes were staring at him. “What kind of future do you see?” he asked.
Her lips drew even nearer to his. “I’m not sure, but you’re right about one thing. Archie needs you to be a constant in his life. No matter how good a mom I think I am, I can never replace a father’s love. I’m sorry for shutting you out.” She blinked quickly. “I’ve been a fool for failing to see what an honorable man you are.”
“Does this mean what I think it means?” he asked, feeling her soft lips brush his.
He didn’t get his answer. The moment was destroyed by the door bursting open and Detective Sykes rushing in.
“Sanders is heading straight for the safe house,” she said. “We don’t know how he’s found us, but it looks like he’s coming for you.”
* * *
Josie felt as though someone had landed a blow to her gut and knocked the breath out of her.
“How far away is he?” Blade asked, pulling out his gun.
“Around five minutes,” Detective Sykes said, her voice high with urgency. “We have to go right now. Don’t take anything. Just go as you are.”
Josie’s mind raced. Sanders had betrayed his public office, and now he was coming to finish the job that Cardwell had failed to do.
She felt Blade grab her hand and lead her from the room. “Let’s go.”
“My briefcase,” she said, stooping to pick it up.
The leather bag contained all her most important paperwork for the trial, not to mention her cell phone on which Archie would call. It was the only thing she needed to take with her.
“I’ll take it,” Blade said, grabbing it from her hand and slinging it over his shoulder. “But don’t take anything else. We have no time.”
He turned to her and smiled, defusing the tension. Her heart leaped with gratitude for his presence there. He had been her rock throughout her ordeal.
Detective Sykes was already in the SUV, engine running. Detective Pullman ushered them inside the vehicle before taking his own seat in the passenger side. Josie heard the faint sounds of sirens in the distance. Was this the sound of Sanders speeding her way? Detective Sykes clearly thought so, as she floored the gas pedal and sped out of the driveway, tires squealing on the asphalt. Josie leaned heavily onto her right side, falling into Blade’s firm torso. He sat bolt upright, gun in hand, constantly checking behind them.
As the sirens grew fainter, a new sound reached Josie’s ears. It was the ring of her cell phone, and she pulled her briefcase onto the seat to rummage around inside.
“Leave it,” Blade said.
Josie wasn’t prepared to do that. “It could be Archie. I don’t want him to worry.”
But it wasn’t Archie. When she looked at the display, the name she read sent a jolt of shock through her. It said A. SANDERS.
She and Blade stared between each other and the cell for a few seconds before Josie pressed the answer button and activated the speakerphone so that all occupants of the vehicle would be able to hear.
“Allan,” she said. “What do you want?”
His reply was rushed, harassed and slightly slurred, as if he had been drinking. “Josie, I’m so sorry. I was on my way to apologize to you when the police started following me, and I panicked and ran. They blocked off your street and herded me onto the interstate, but I’ll be facing a spike strip soon.” She heard the sirens on his tail. “I can’t let myself be arrested without making things right with you.”
“What do you need to apologize for, Allan?” she asked, keeping her tone neutral. “What did you do?”
“I set you up,” he said, a sob breaking his voice. “I’m the one who’s been harassing you with letters and phone calls. I even threw a brick through your window.”
“What? You did that to me?”
“I just wanted you to walk away from the case,” he replied. “I know how tough you are to beat. I thought the public defender’s office would assign a different attorney once the threats started. I never intended to hurt you, but you just wouldn’t quit.”
The pieces began to fall into place. “Were you behind the organized protests?”
“Yes. I paid an employee at the bank to tell the newspapers that Norman had thousands of dollars hidden away. Then I stirred things up on social media and got people to come out and demonstrate. I really needed to win this case. I’m only one more failed trial away from losing my job as state prosecutor.” He broke off for a moment. “You know how badly I’ve been doing, Josie. I’ve totally lost my touch. And I think I lost my mind along with it.”
Josie could barely believe what she was hearing. “What about the bomb? Did you bring that inside the courtroom?”
“I promise I didn’t know what was inside,” he said. “One of the protesters told me he wanted to set off harmless smoke bombs to create maximum disruption in the public gallery. I took him at his word, and I smuggled the bag inside. I had no idea it contained an explosive. I left the bag where he told me to leave it, and he must’ve detonated it remotely.” Sanders’s words became more slurred, and she suspected he was drinking even while driving. “I never wanted you to get hurt. I just wanted to scare you. That’s all I wanted to do.”
Now her anger was rising. “Someone died yesterday because of you.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Josie wondered whether he heard how pathetic his apology was. Allan Sanders had started the campaign of terror against her, and Cardwell had successfully hidden behind it.
“What about the flowers in the hospital?” she asked. “I guess you sent those, too?”
“Flowers?” he repeated, clearly confused. “What flowers?”
Then she knew the promise to end her life was real. It had definitely come from Cardwell.
“I’m ashamed of you,” she said, raising her voice. “You’re a disgrace to the law profession.”
“I know that,” he said despondently. “I even knew Janice Weeks was lying right from the start. When you’ve been a prosecutor as long as I have, you learn to recognize the signs. But I didn’t care. I put her on the witness stand anyway. And when you exposed her, I was jealous of your skill and wanted vengeance, so I did something I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”
A deathly chill slid across her skin. “What did you do, Allan?”
“I put…” He stopped abruptly. She heard a loud bang through the speaker. The sound must have been created by the spike strip Sanders had talked about.
“Ask him how he found you,” Blade said anxiously in the silence. “He said he was on his way to the safe house.”
“Allan,” she said, realizing that he was only seconds away from arrest. She had to use them wisely. “How did you find me?”
She heard the police shouting orders at Sanders to exit the vehicle.
“Allan,” she repeated, louder this time. “How did you find me?”
“I put a GPS tracker in your briefcase,” he said. A sound of smashing glass could be heard in the background. “Somebody asked me to do it.”
“Who?”
“The same guy who gave me the bag to take into the courtroom. The guy who seems to want you dead.”
Then he was gone. Josie grabbed her briefcase, opened it up and tipped the contents over her lap. Her papers fell out in a cascade, along with pens, scribbled notes and packs of gum. The last thing to fall was a small, round device, sleek and black with an illuminated red light on the top. Her mouth fell open and she held it in her palm, frozen.
Blade snatched it from her hand, opened the window and threw it out. But he was too late. She knew this even before she saw Cardwell standing in the deserted road with an explosives vest covering his torso.
“No!” Detective Sykes shouted as she slammed on the brakes to avoid plowing into the man blocking their path.
Josie looked out the window, trying to decipher their location. They seemed to be in an industrial district, full of warehouses and factories, and it was eerily quiet.
“There’s a union strike happening this week,” Detective Sykes said as she put the car in Reverse. “There’s nobody here. I’m getting us out of here.”
As the car lurched backward, a loud explosion rocked the street, and a stone wall fell onto the road behind them. A pile of bricks scattered along the ground, sending a dust cloud swirling up into the air. They were trapped.
Detective Pullman yanked the radio out of its cradle. “Emergency, all units, immediate assistance required.”
Josie watched Cardwell walk slowly and deliberately toward the vehicle, his hand holding a device that she assumed was the detonator for his explosives vest. In the other hand he held a gun, which he now raised out front, seeking out her face and taking aim.
“Blade,” she said, turning to reach for him.
But Blade was gone, his door left wide open. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth in abject shock. Nothing had prepared her for the possibility that he would abandon her when she needed him most.
“Why?” she said out loud. “Why did you leave me?”
She didn’t know if she would ever get the opportunity to ask him this question in person, because Cardwell barked an order that she could not disobey.
“Either you do what I say or everybody dies right here, right now.”
* * *
Blade settled himself beneath the vehicle, watching Cardwell walk steadily toward his intended target. The detonator he was carrying could have been a fake, as could the explosives vest, but he couldn’t take any chances on that. Josie’s life was hanging in the balance.
“I’m wearing enough Semtex to blow us all into Oklahoma,” Cardwell yelled. “So why don’t you all get out of the car nice and slow.” He held up the detonator with his thumb firmly pressed on top. “And if any of you are thinking of shooting me, then you’ll be signing your own death warrant, because this thing is set to explode two seconds after my thumb leaves the button.”
Blade heard the car doors open, and three sets of hesitant feet planted themselves on the ground. He saw Josie’s high-heeled shoes move slowly toward the front of the car. Was she wondering where he was? Was she assuming he had left her without as much as a backward glance?
“It’s not fair to involve these detectives,” she said, her voice shaking. “Let them leave, and I’ll go with you without causing any trouble.”
Cardwell laughed horribly. “That sounds like the best idea you’ve ever had, Miss Bishop.” His tone became hard and bitter. “Why didn’t you have great ideas like that when you were representing me in court, huh?”
Blade shifted a little forward. He needed Cardwell to move a couple of feet in his direction. If this crazed convict was telling the truth, there were only two seconds between Josie and certain death. If Blade was going to tackle Cardwell, Cardwell had to come closer.
“We’re not leaving you, Josie,” Detective Sykes said.
Blade sensed that both detectives were aiming their weapons at Cardwell, yet they would be unable to shoot for fear of setting off an explosion that would instantly kill them all. Similarly, if they tried to flee, Cardwell could pick them off with bullets. He had cleverly thought this through.
“You’re welcome to stay,” Cardwell said sneeringly. “But I must insist that you bleed.”
A gunshot cracked through the air. Josie screamed, and Blade gave an involuntary jump beneath the vehicle. Detective Sykes dropped like a stone to the ground, her eyes locking with Blade’s as her head hit the asphalt. She had been shot in the abdomen and was holding the wound with her hand.
“Save her,” the detective mouthed to Blade. Then she closed her eyes. Detective Pullman rushed to her side and sank to his knees next to her, trying to stem the bleeding.
“Miss Bishop and I are going on a little road trip,” Cardwell said nonchalantly, walking to the prone detective.
The SUV key was lying on the ground where Detective Sykes had dropped it when she fell. Cardwell kicked at the key with his foot. “Pick that up,” he ordered Josie. “For once in your life, do something useful.”
Josie crouched low and extended her fingers toward the key. That was when she saw Blade, and he saw a smile pass across her lips, almost imperceptible, but definitely a smile.
“Where’s your friend?” Cardwell asked as she stood up. “The big guy who’s always stuck to you like glue. Did he get bored sick of you or something?”
“Something like that,” Josie said.
Cardwell laughed as if he enjoyed this particular thought. He then stepped over Detective Sykes’s body, where her colleague was still desperately trying to save her, and opened the car door.
“You’ll have to drive,” he said. “As you can see, I’m otherwise indisposed.”
Josie suddenly gave a huge shout of “Now!” and jumped to the side, giving Blade a perfect opportunity to grip Cardwell’s leg and yank it toward him. Cardwell yelled out in surprise as his whole body jerked backward and he toppled over like a felled tree, cracking his head on the ground. His hand bounced from the detonator, and his gun clattered across the asphalt. Blade rolled from beneath the car in a split second, grabbing the detonator in the process and pressing his own thumb on the button. He grimaced, awaiting the explosion, but none came. Thankfully he’d acted quickly enough.
“Run!” he yelled to Josie. Yet she didn’t move. She seemed frozen to the spot.
Cardwell was kicking and fighting, trying to pull Blade’s thumb from the button. The detonator was attached to the vest with wires, so Blade was unable to remove the device from Cardwell. His only hope was to subdue him.
Then Detective Pullman appeared and restrained Cardwell’s arms at his sides as the convicted fraudster gnashed his teeth and growled in frustration.
“I got him pinned down,” the detective said. “Backup should be here in a few minutes. Let’s keep him steady until then.”
“I’ll never stop,” Cardwell yelled, trying to buck his body beneath the confinement. “I’ll escape again, and I’ll make you pay.”
“Shut up,” Blade said, sitting on Cardwell’s legs and holding the detonator steady in his right hand. “Nobody cares what you have to say.”
“She cares,” Cardwell said, his eyes flicking to Josie. “She knows what I’m capable of.”
“She also knows what I’m capable of,” Blade said, pulling one of Cardwell’s gloves from his hand and stuffing it into the deranged man’s mouth.
“That’s right,” Josie said, finally finding her voice and bending down to look her nemesis in the eye. “So do your worst, because we’ll be ready.”
Cardwell’s muffled cries mingled with the sound of faraway sirens. It sounded like he was saying, “Get off me.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere,” Blade said, looking up at Josie with a broad smile on his face. “And that’s a promise I intend on keeping forever.”
* * *
Josie sat close to Blade on the sofa in the safe house, her fingers laced through his. She never wanted to let go of him. His courage and quick thinking had saved not only her life but also the lives of the two detectives. Detective Sykes had been rushed to the hospital and given an emergency blood transfusion and was now undergoing surgery to repair damage to her abdominal wall. But she was in good hands, and she would pull through.
Blade lifted his forearm, taking hers with it, and kissed the back of her hand. “I love you, you know that?”
She smiled, feeling something like a somersault take place inside her belly. “And I think I love you, too, Blade.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You think?”
“You gotta prove yourself first,” she said playfully. “I don’t give my heart to just anybody.”
“Okay,” he said, shifting his body to face hers. He eyed the clock. “I figure we have about five minutes before the car arrives to take us back to your house in Sedgwick. Just how can I prove myself in that time?”
She leaned in close and pursed her lips. “I’ll give you a clue.”
“I’ll give it my best shot,” he said, pressing his mouth onto hers.
She wound her arms around his neck. His best shot was all she needed.