Cops and…Lovers?

Chapter 14

Panic swirled through Nick in a violent maelstrom as he drove the Suburban through the storm. Rain and hailstones pounded the windshield. The wipers couldn't keep up with the deluge, but he didn't slow down. He drove blindly, propelled by a force stronger than panic, deeper than fear. After leaving the station, Nick had called Erin 's apartment twice from his cellular, only to find the line busy. That was all it took for him to realize something was wrong. He'd walked into her apartment and spotted the dangling phone next to the answering machine. The blinking light was all he needed to know she'd left him a clue.

Dread burgeoned anew in his chest as he recalled the recorded conversation on her answering machine. God bless her for thinking like a cop and recording DiCarlo's call.

Now, pressing the speedometer to eighty, hydroplaning dangerously, Nick nearly missed the entrance to the grain elevator. He stomped on the brake. The vehicle fishtailed, coming to a stop just a few feet short of the drainage ditch.

He punched off the headlights, aware of his labored breathing even above the roar of the storm. Backing the truck beneath a stand of trees near the entrance, he shut down the engine and got out. Rain and wind pelted him, but Nick barely felt the wet or the cold. Fifty yards away, the massive structure of the grain elevator rose up out of the earth like ancient ruins.

He couldn't bear to think of the terror Stephanie must be feeling. He prayed DiCarlo wouldn't harm an innocent child. At the same time, he tried to put himself inside Erin 's head. Had she traded herself for Stephanie? Or was she somehow planning to ambush DiCarlo and his men? Both scenarios sent a shiver of fear up his spine. So many things could go wrong. He should have realized she wouldn't stay at the motel. He'd been foolish in trusting her. Damn her for being so brave. Damn himself for loving her, anyway.

She knew DiCarlo was known to be particularly ruthless in the punishments he handed out to cops. If he hurt Erin…

Nick banked the thought, but not before he felt another blade of fear slice him. And he silently vowed that if DiCarlo hurt them, Nick would lay down his badge and take out the man with his bare hands.

Using the downpour as cover, he started toward the elevator at a dead run. The blue truck Erin had commandeered sat a few yards from the entrance, but she wasn't inside. An instant later, the sound of chopper blades reached him. Nick stopped and spun, spotting the Bell 206 helicopter a hundred yards away, about to land in an open area on the other side of the building.

DiCarlo.

Shock and a fresh wave of fear rippled through Nick. A personal visit from the crime boss was highly unusual. DiCarlo wouldn't waste any time with small talk.

Knowing he would be spotted out in the open, Nick sprinted toward the fence line that ran the length of the property. Brush scratched his face and ripped at his clothes, but he barely felt the pain. Mud sucked at his boots, but he didn't slow. He had to get close without being detected. Then he had to extract Erin and Stephanie before DiCarlo killed them both.

Erin watched Vic DiCarlo step out of the helicopter, angling his umbrella against the rain as he approached. Dread and terror streaked through her system like a fast-acting drug when she realized he'd probably come to handle her execution personally.

Breaking free of the two thugs, she ran toward Stephanie and dropped to her knees in front of the little girl, kissing her softly on her cheek. "It's okay, honey. These men want to talk to me for a little while, but they're going to take you home."

"Why did they tie you up?" Stephanie cried.

Erin closed her eyes and choked back a sob. She didn't know what to say. Oh, Lord, please keep this child safe. "Because I'm a police officer. They don't want me to arrest them."

Her heart broke when the little girl's arms went around her. Oh, how she longed to hug her back!

"I'm scared, Erin."

"I know, sweetheart. I'm scared, too. We're going to have to be brave, though, okay?"

"'Kay."

"Everything will be all right. I promise. Just hold on to me and try to stay calm, okay, sweetheart?" Erin didn't know that for sure. She had no idea what DiCarlo had planned for them. But she couldn't bear to let this child go without some kind of reassurance.

"I love you, Erin."

She closed her eyes, felt the tears burst through the dam. Knowing she had only a moment, she pressed her cheek against Stephanie's, felt their tears join. "I love you, too, sweetheart."

"Take the child to the limo."

Erin 's heart stopped in her chest at the sound of DiCarlo's voice. Terror pierced through her pain.

"No!" Stephanie cried. "I want to stay with Erin!"

It took Erin a moment to find her voice. "Go with them, honey. Please. They'll take you home." She forced her gaze to DiCarlo's, hoping for some kind of confirmation, but his expression was cold.

She barely felt the rough hands that jerked her to her feet. She watched as one of the thugs approached and began rolling Stephanie toward the entrance. The little girl turned in her chair, her eyes seeking Erin 's. Agony filled her chest at the fear in Stephanie's eyes. Erin felt the child's departure like a stake through her heart.

"Ah, I'm deeply touched."

Breaking eye contact with Stephanie, Erin faced DiCarlo. He was standing so close she could smell his expensive cologne. He contemplated her with eyes that were as lifeless as a mannequin's. She'd seen dozens of pictures of him over the years, but nothing had prepared her for the power of his presence. He was shorter than she'd imagined, just an inch or two taller than she was, but he emanated power from every pore.

Without warning his hand shot out, his palm cracking against her cheekbone like a bullwhip. The sudden violence of the act stunned her. Her head snapped back. The force of the blow sent her down on one knee.

"I've waited six months for this moment," he said.

Shaking her head against the dizziness, she raised her eyes to his. "Give me your word you won't hurt that child."

"The way you hurt my son?"

She didn't even pretend not to know what he was talking about. The warehouse. The man she'd shot six months ago in Chicago. "Your son pointed a gun at a police officer."

"My son was eighteen years old. A child. You didn't give him a chance to bargain, Officer McNeal. You didn't give me a chance to beg for his life. Why should I do the same for you?"

"That little girl is innocent. She lost her mother three years ago. She's had enough pain in her life. Dammit, let her go."

"My son is dead because of you," he said coldly. "You took from me the only thing I truly cared about in this world. I'm here now to make sure you pay for that."

Dread squeezed her chest like a giant serpent, tightening until she couldn't draw a breath. For the first time, Erin realized fully his capacity for evil, the breadth and width of his need for revenge. "You can do what you want with me-"

"Of course I can. And I plan to. Very, very slowly."

"Give me your word you won't hurt her."

Something flashed in the depths of his reptilian gaze. Something cold and lifeless that sent a chill to the depths of her soul. "I want you to know what it feels like to lose something precious."

Panic gripped her, twisted her insides into knots. Erin struggled openly against her bonds. The wire cut into her wrists, but she didn't care about the pain. All she could think of was Stephanie, and the father who loved her.

Awkwardly, she struggled to her feet. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Cold amusement sparked in his eyes. "You're in no position to threaten me, Officer McNeal."

"No, I'm not. But I'm here. I kept my part of the deal. My hands are tied. I'm yours, DiCarlo. I'm a cop, and I shot your only son. Do with me as you please, but let that little girl go. Let her go, and I'll play your twisted game with you."

"You don't have a choice."

"Let her go." Her voice was low and hoarse. "Please."

Shaking his head as if she'd offended him, he said, "Ah, but I'm not a child killer."

Erin wasn't sure why, but she believed him. She believed that if DiCarlo had planned to kill Stephanie, he would have done so in front of her just to make some sort of twisted point. Just to make her suffer before he killed her. The realization made her sag with relief.

He looked at the thug on her right. "Put the child in the car." DiCarlo's eyes shifted to the other man. "I'll meet you back at the chopper when I'm finished here."

The two men stepped back, then retreated, leaving her alone with DiCarlo. For the first time, Erin considered the very real possibility that she would die at the hands of this man. The possibility that she would never see Nick again. Never hear her name on his lips. Never see him smile. She would hurt him one final time, she realized. Just as he'd feared she would. The irony made her want to sob.

Another corner of her mind, the part that thought like a cop, wondered if he'd found the recording. If he was on his way. If she could somehow get her hands on the revolver in her ankle holster.

"Get down on the ground, Officer McNeal."

He's going to kill me , she thought with an odd sense of calm. Execution style. His trademark. The realization made her nauseous.

"Get on the ground, or I'll kill you where you stand."

She stared at him, unable to move, unable to believe it had come to this. "Don't do it," she said, starkly aware of the holster pressing against her right ankle.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't like killing, Officer McNeal. Particularly women. But I'm a firm believer in an eye for an eye. Besides, I've got an image to maintain. So, if you don't mind, get down on the ground and let's get this nasty business over with."

Nick took out the last thug just as he was getting into the limousine. Using his billy club for silence, Nick put him down with a single blow. The thug fell into the mud like a sack of flour. After disarming him, Nick cuffed him to the undercarriage of the car and left him in the rain.

Praying he would find his daughter in the limo, he swung open the door. Stephanie cried out, the sound going through Nick like his lifeblood. Dropping to his knees in the mud, he gathered her into his arms and held her tight while tears burned his eyes and waves of relief shook him through and through.

"Sweetheart." He kissed her cheek, her forehead, the top of her head. "Hey, are you okay?" His voice broke as he closed his eyes and took in her sweet little-girl scent.

"Daddy." She sobbed in his arms. "Daddy, I'm scared."

"It's okay, honeybunch. I'm here. You're safe." He tightened his arms around her. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but those men were mean. They said a bunch of bad words."

Clenching his jaw against the emotion gripping him, he eased her to arm's length. "Where's Erin?"

"She's in the big building with another man. I think he's bad, too. They tied her up, but Erin wasn't even scared."

"I've got to go help her. I'm going to take you into the cornfield to hide. I want you to stay there until I come for you, okay?"

Wiping her nose on her sleeve, Stephanie nodded. "I'm still scared, Daddy."

"Everything's going to be fine. I promise." Loath to leave her alone, but knowing he didn't have a choice, Nick worked off his jacket and slipped her arms into it. "Here's my jacket so you don't get wet."

"'Kay."

Scooping her into his arms, he started toward the cornfield a dozen yards away. Several rows in he stopped and set her gently on the ground. His heart broke when she looked up at him.

"Don't leave me, Daddy," she whispered. "I'm scared."

Nick dropped to his knees, pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I love you, honeybunch. You stay put for me now, all right? No matter what happens, you stay right here. I'll come back for you."

"You promise?"

Because he couldn't speak, Nick nodded, praying he'd be able to keep his promise.

Slipping his service revolver from his holster, he broke through the rows of corn and started toward the wide entrance of the grain elevator at a dead run.

Erin stared down the barrel of DiCarlo's pistol. She couldn't believe it had come to this. She couldn't believe she was going to die.

Oh, God, Nick, I'm sorry I hurt you.

Oh, how she'd wanted to spend the rest of her life loving him. The thought ripped through her heart. He might not love her in return, but there was no doubt in her mind he cared for her. She'd seen it in his eyes. She'd felt it in his touch. Now, just as he'd feared, she was going to get herself killed.

"Get on the ground, Officer McNeal. I'll do us both a favor and make this quick for you. It wasn't the way I had it planned, but I like you-you've got guts. I have no desire to hear your screams." DiCarlo's voice rose over the drone of rain on the roof overhead. Cold. Surreal. More frightening than the gun in his hand.

He raised the pistol. "Do it now."

Her heart hammering out of control, Erin got down on her knees. Her mind rebelled against what would happen the instant she lay down. She tried not to think of everything she would leave behind. Nick. Stephanie. The dreams that would never be. She tried not to imagine the pain of a bullet. Whether her death would come quickly, or if DiCarlo would leave her to die slowly despite his words.

Gathering what little emotional strength she had left, Erin forced her gaze to his. "I'm not going to lie down for you. If you're going to kill me in cold blood, you're going to do it while I'm looking you in the eye, DiCarlo."

Her voice shook, but she didn't care. Her spirit cried out to defy him, and bound as she was, at his mercy, this was the only way she could.

"I have no compunction about shooting you this very moment. Most people don't like to see it coming."

Nausea rose into her throat, mingling with the fear in a cold, bitter mass. "I'm going to be sick," she said.

He made a sound of annoyance. "How does it feel to be so afraid? To know you're going to die? Those are all the things my son felt when you put a bullet in his chest."

"I warned your son. He shot me first."

"Liar."

"Your son didn't give me a choice."

DiCarlo stared at her as if she were a piece of cheap furniture. "You never knew that Danny Perrine was expecting my people in the warehouse that night, did you?"

Shock speared through her fear, tangling her thoughts. "You're lying-"

"He was our target that night, Officer McNeal. Not you. He'd asked for more money. It always annoys me when cops want more than they're worth. He got his just rewards, didn't he?"

Her brain couldn't digest the information. After six months of guilt, six months of blaming herself, to learn her partner had been dealing with the devil all along was too much to absorb. The sense of betrayal was bitter and acute.

"In any case, I thought you should know Officer Perrine was on the take. He was dirty and greedy. Your knowing that makes this moment all the sweeter for me." DiCarlo pulled the hammer back with his thumb. "This is for my son."

Erin sat back on her heels, her hands locked behind her, her fingers fumbling at the bulge of the pistol strapped to her ankle. Sweat pooled at the back of her neck. She closed her eyes against the terror exploding inside her, and concentrated on working the mini-revolver from its holster through the impediment of her jeans. In the back of her mind, she wondered how many more seconds of life she had left. How many more breaths-

"Drop the gun, DiCarlo!"

Erin 's world tilted at the sound of Nick's voice. Hope burst through the choking cloak of despair. She looked up to see him rush through the entrance, his pistol level on DiCarlo. Simultaneously, the mafioso spun. Terror paralyzed her for an instant. Then a rush of adrenaline sent her bound hands fighting the revolver from its holster. She jerked up the hem of her jeans, felt the cold steel beneath her fingers.

Two gunshots rang out in quick succession. DiCarlo stumbled back and went down. Out of the corner of her eye, Erin saw Nick go to his knees.

"Nick!" Her heart stopped. "No! Nick!"

A clap of thunder drowned out her scream. Ten feet away, DiCarlo rolled onto his side and leveled the pistol on her. The gun exploded.

A bullet whizzed past her ear. Erin fumbled with the.22. Her palm found the grip, her fingers the trigger. Leaning forward, she turned and fired blindly behind her back, four shots. Over her shoulder, she saw DiCarlo sink to the ground.

The pistol tumbled from her hand.

"Nick! Nick!"

Before she could scramble to her feet, he was at her side. He dropped to his knees in front of her, drawing her against him. Relief swept through her with such force that she couldn't speak.

"Holy Toledo, McNeal, that was some pretty fancy shooting."

The sound of his voice completely undid her. Erin couldn't catch her breath, couldn't stop shaking. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't even try to stop them. The emotions banging through her were too powerful, and not even her iron will was strong enough to maintain a semblance of control.

"Easy does it, that was a joke-"

"DiCarlo… is he-"

Nick nodded. "Don't look, honey. He's dead."

Only then did Erin notice the blood on Nick's shoulder. "You're bleeding."

"I'm all right." New concern gentled his voice. "He just winged me."

"Stephanie," she choked out. "Is she okay? She was so scared. They took her to-"

"I took her into the cornfield to hide. She's fine."

"What about the other men? There were three-"

"One is cuffed to the fence, the other two to the undercarriage of DiCarlo's limo. The highway patrol will get the guy in the chopper." Facing her, Nick wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly for a moment. "You're shaking. Easy, honey. Let me untie you." Reaching around her, he gently untwisted the wire that so brutally bound her wrists. "Your wrists are cut," he said with a grimace.

"I'm okay." Her hands were numb, but the discomfort didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were alive. Safe. Together.

Nick rose. Slipping his hands beneath her shoulders, he helped Erin to her feet. Her legs felt like wet paper, and she leaned heavily against him.

"Dizzy?" he asked.

"With relief," she said. "You saved our lives."

Surprising her, he turned her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Cocooned within his embrace, Erin had never felt so safe, so secure. Only then did she realize he was shaking, too. "I'm sorry, Nick. I'm so sorry. I almost got Stephanie killed. I almost got myself-"

"Shh." He stroked the back of her head, combing his fingers through her hair. "You don't have anything to apologize for."

"But it was my fault. You said I was going to get myself killed, and I nearly did. I put you through hell, risking Stephanie and myself like that."

"I was wrong. I've been wrong about you from the very beginning. It took honor and courage to come here and confront a man like DiCarlo. You were willing to risk your own life to save Steph."

He pulled her closer. "I've been wrong and a blind fool."

Slowly, gently, he eased her to arm's length. Their gazes locked. Erin 's chest constricted at the emotion pooled in the brown depths of his eyes.

"Since Rita's death, I've been frozen inside," he said quietly. "My heart has been a solid block of ice. I've been afraid to live. Afraid to reach out and take all the things life offers. You showed me how to live again. You showed me how all those risks play into the big picture of life. You proved it to me over and over again. You proved to me Steph is young and strong and can lead a full life if I just let go a little. You proved to me that to live, to love, you must first be willing to take chances."

Fresh tears filled her eyes as she stared at the man she loved more than life itself. "I didn't ever think I'd hear you say that."

"Neither did I. And I fought you at every turn. But you're right." Slipping his hands to either side of her face, he kissed her.

The gentleness of the kiss devastated her. She closed her eyes against the rush of emotion, the wave of physical sensation, and kissed him back.

"I know you don't want to hear this," she murmured. "But I love you, Nick. I love you, and I don't even care if you're ready to love me back-"

"I love you, too, McNeal."

The words stunned her, sent her heart tumbling into bliss like she'd never known.

He kissed her temple. Her nose. The side of her mouth. "I love you so much it scares me. But I'm willing to risk it, honey, if you're willing to take a chance on me."

"I've never walked away from a risk," she said.

"Even when walking away is the safe thing to do?"

"Especially when it's the safe thing to do."

"Ah, McNeal, I didn't think I'd ever want to hear you say that, but I'm really glad you did."

In the distance, the sound the police sirens rose above the din of rain on the roof. Pressing his cheek against her temple, Nick skimmed his hands up and down her back. "There's no policy against married police officers in the Logan Falls PD. What do you say we make it permanent?"

Erin closed her eyes and let sheer happiness wash over her. "I can probably outshoot you. And I don't mind jumping into a fray now and again. Are you sure that won't bother you?"

"I think my ego can handle the shooting part." He grinned. "And I might just keep you too busy making love for you to be jumping into frays."

"What about Stephanie? How will she-"

"She's crazy about you, Erin. Mrs. Thornsberry is crazy about you." He kissed her again. "I'm so crazy in love with you I can't stand the thought of being without you."

Erin smiled up at him through tears of joy, knowing she was the luckiest woman in the world. "Well, Chief, maybe we should go get Stephanie and take her home so we can break the good news to her."

"Home," he echoed, and pulled her close. "It's been a long time since I've truly been home."

"We're home now, Nick. You've brought me home."

"You showed me the way. I love you."

Blinking back tears, Erin looked outside. The storm had broken. Hazy tendrils of sunlight broke through the clouds like streams of wet gold. She'd never seen a more beautiful sunrise. And she'd never been happier than at this moment in her life.

Nick reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly, his gaze telling her all the things she already knew in her heart-and felt all the way to her soul.

"I love you, too," she whispered. "Always."

Hand in hand, they started toward the entrance where the future waited with a promise of happiness and light and the unending hope for tomorrow.