LIAM STOOD IN A DARK ALLEY with his back pressed against a wall and a supposed dead woman at his side. It was a lot to take in at one in the morning. If he weren’t so confused, he’d mind the crisp air. Good thing he had his frustration to keep him toasty warm.
That would teach him to let Maura set the evening agenda. He suggested she stay at the house while he made a run for whatever she needed. She could hide and he would take the risk. Since no one was looking for him, the chance of trouble was minimal. A quick and efficient strategy.
She had overruled him. Carried on about it being her life and then started talking in half sentences again. He gave in to gain a second of quiet. Now he was stuck in the middle of some sort of covert raid. The whole thing struck him as overly dramatic and unnecessary.
He followed her gaze to the third floor. “Tell me again why we’re here.”
“I need some of my things.”
“From in there?” He pointed up at the corner window to make sure he was looking at the right place.
She nodded, her gaze never leaving her target. “It’s my condo.”
No lights. No movement. Ten more minutes of staring at nothing and his mind would go numb. “I think it’s safe.”
“The police could be in there.”
“You do know I’m former police, right?”
She actually crouched down as if that would better hide her from the imaginary officers she thought were hiding in the bushes. “So?”
Liam took in her stiff shoulders and flat mouth. Determination. He couldn’t argue common sense against that. “Never mind.”
“I have to get my computer.”
“I can buy you another one.”
She glanced up at him. “This isn’t about money.”
“Care to clue me in on what it is about, because I still don’t know.”
“My hard drive. My papers.” She cupped his elbow and started dragging him out into the open. “Let’s go.”
He had no idea what had changed and made it safe in her mind, but he wasn’t about to argue. If she was ready to move, he’d lead the way.
One slide of the security key and they were in the building’s downstairs glass double doors. Dead quiet greeted them. Not a surprise due to the weekday hour, but still unsettling. He expected creaks and residual condo noise. All he got was the sound of his breath whooshing in and out of his chest.
He led with a hand on his gun and her palm against his back. They stalked up the steps in an unspoken agreement not to talk. Shoes hit the stairs sending a thumping sound bouncing off the emergency stairwell walls. By the time they reached her front door, her breathing had increased. From the look of her toned body, he guessed excitement rather than exertion was the cause.
“Keys?” He held out his hand.
“What? Uh, sure.” She fumbled in her pocket. Before he could stop her, she shoved the key in the lock and pushed the door open without applying any pressure.
“You don’t use a bolt or anything?” he asked.
“Of course I do.”
His readiness level switched to maximum. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He breathed in deep, opening his senses to the sounds and smells of the place in the search for clues.
“Stay here.” When she didn’t move, he pressed her farther down the hall and away from the door. “Not one step.”
Her eyes grew to the size of plates as she whispered back to him. “Okay.”
He pushed the door open with his foot and went in with his gun raised. Glass crunched under him with each step. In the shadows, he saw broken furniture and scattered papers. Keeping his back to the door and not venturing far from Maura in case she needed him, he wandered through the two-room place, ending with the small bathroom off the family room.
Nothing there but chaos and more questions.
He slipped his gun into his belt and rushed back to the entrance. He motioned for Maura to join him inside. With the door shut behind her, he turned on one small light, the one farthest away form the windows.
She came charging in, head down as if lost in thought. When her head popped up, she stopped in the dead center of the room as if she’d run into a rock wall. “What the—”
“You’ve been robbed.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You mean searched.”
“Yeah.” He stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage. Every drawer stood open and clothing littered the floor. He knew from experience this wasn’t about a burglary. Someone had come looking for something specific. Whether they found it was the question.
What they would have done had Maura been home sent a shot of cold air ricocheting around his chest.
She circled a pile of wood on the floor that looked as if it was once a desk. “My computer is gone.”
A churning started deep in his stomach. A warning of danger screamed through every pore. “We need to go.”
She stopped mumbling and pacing around the disheveled room and stared at him. “Why?”
He couldn’t describe the feeling. It was a sense of unease that started around his gut and rumbled up to his throat. “We just do.”
Something about the look on his face must have convinced her because she dropped the paper she was holding and stepped over a pile of discarded pillows to get to him. “I’ll trust you on this.”
She brushed past him in her rush to get out of the room. He grabbed her arm thinking to reassure her everything was going to be okay when he heard it. The screech of sneakers against the hallway tile.
Liam touched a finger to his lips and motioned for her to move back into the kitchen. When the doorknob turned, he slid into the darkened space against the wall and next to the door. If someone came storming through, they would have to run or shoot right through him.
A second later the door pushed open, nice and slow. It never broke contact with the doorjamb, so Liam couldn’t peek outside. The person didn’t say anything. Didn’t jerk or make any fast moves. Didn’t slide his gun inside or fire off shots. He, whoever he was, was smooth. Moved without a sound.
Liam knew the type. This was the practiced lurk of a professional, someone who would kill Maura without remorse or hesitation. To keep from drawing attention or tipping off his location, Liam stayed still. The small lamp by the couch was enough of a problem. Surely, if he sensed movement in the hall, the man out there could see a light that shouldn’t have been on.
Maura mouthed a word. Liam immediately understood the question. “Police?”
Liam shook his head in response. No, not this guy. There was nothing legitimate about what was happening here.
Liam tried to shift his weight for a better shot. The floor groaned and Maura’s panicked gaze went wild with terror.
There would never be a better time. Liam threw open the door. The move left the stranger grabbing for air. Also gave Liam the two-second start he needed to knock the man’s arm to the side and get him to release his weapon. But the guy didn’t go down easy. He kicked out at Liam’s gun and sent it skittering across the floor, then landed a sucker punch right in the center of Liam’s stomach.
Doubled over with air wheezing out of his lungs, Liam dove for the other guy’s midsection. Knocked him back into the wall, slamming the man’s head hard against the door across the hall and sending his gun spinning. The crash sounded like an explosion on the quiet floor. No one came running, but lights flicked on under several doorways. Liam felt the shocked stares through the