Expired Game (Last Chance County Book 5) Read online

  Jess reached up and touched her temple. Enough to know there was no blood, just a huge knot.

  Sally chuckled. Before she could shut the door, Ted was shoved into the storage closet beside her. His jaw set. Eyes burning with suppressed anger. He held his right arm against his front with his left hand.

  He stumbled into the room, and she reached for him.

  At the door, the gunman stood watching. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the door slammed shut.

  Jess touched his elbow and shoulder. “You okay?”

  Ted flashed gritted teeth. “I don’t need help.”

  Or sympathy, apparently. “Sorry.” She stepped away. Circled the room for another door. No windows. She tried the door handle. It didn’t turn. They’d been locked in. She spun back to him and planted her hands on her hips. “What happened with you?”

  “They shot one of the bank employees.” He shut his eyes for a second.

  “Is your wrist broken?”

  He shrugged one shoulder and looked around.

  “I can probably kick the door open, but that doesn’t solve the problem that we’re unarmed.”

  The corner of his lips twitched. He tapped the screen of his watch. “I’m clear.”

  “Copy that.” The voice that came through the tiny watch speaker had a tinny quality and crackled slightly.

  “Is that Dean?”

  The voice answered, “Hi, Jess. Sergeant Basuto is already out front and the bank is surrounded. He wants to make contact before he orders a breach.”

  “He thinks he can talk them down?”

  “What’s your read on them?”

  For the duration of Jess’s conversation with Dean, Ted stood watching her. She met his gaze. “Four guys, one woman. Sally. She works at the bank. I’m not sure what their endgame is.”

  “To rob the bank?”

  Jess mulled that over. “Yeah, maybe.” She didn’t have enough of an idea otherwise to give any kind of definitive answer. “Either way, we need to get out of here. And we need weapons.”

  They were also both hurt.

  “We’re on our way.” Dean said, “Sit tight. We’ll come to you.”

  The screen of Ted’s watch flashed. “He hung up.”

  Jess circled the room again. No matter where she was in the room, she was close enough to reach out and touch Ted. “You should move over there.” She got between him and the door, motioning him to retreat farther across the storage closet. “Just in case.”

  “So I can watch you die as well?”

  Her stomach churned. “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I will be between you and the door though. I’m the cop.”

  “And I’m just a useless IT guy.”

  “We both know you’re way more than that.” He wasn’t going to miss her tone, or the look she shot him. “But this isn’t about either of us. It’s about those people out there, scared out of their minds. Wondering whether they’re going to die at any moment, or if the police will storm in and rescue them. Which, sometimes, is just as scary.”

  She’d seen people react to the sudden influx of SWAT officers. It could be overwhelming. They looked fierce and commanding because they were supposed to. Some victims got scared. Some even fought the police trying to rescue them. For the officers, it was always a balancing act.

  “Scary or not,” Ted said. “It’s for the best.”

  “Too bad people don’t usually want what’s best for them.” She wasn’t referring to herself, of course. Jess accepted what came. Ted was the one who looked for the very best he could be and for the very best he could have.

  Which was part of the reason their relationship hadn’t progressed.

  Apparently, she wasn’t the best for him.

  “So Sally was in on it?”

  When Jess turned to him, he continued, “She’s connected to your case.” He seemed reluctant to explain but told her about a database on the bank network. An internet link. Sally’s picture on the home page.

  “She’s part of it.”

  He nodded.

  “So there’s a connection between these bank robbers suddenly deciding to steal money today of all days, and a woman who was their inside informant and a part of West’s operation.” Jess tapped her fingertips on her leg.

  A connection.

  Was West the driving force behind this group of bank robbers? No, all the crime in town couldn’t be attributed to him. That would mean no one had free will or could operate without his permission. She didn’t think things stretched that far in terms of his hold over Last Chance. Alternatively, they’d been employed by him to throw off the police.

  As West had done when Jess’s sister had been looking into their grandfather’s past.

  She kept tapping.

  Throwing off the police. That meant the fact she and Ted were here was a threat to West. Which meant they were close to stumbling onto a lead, or evidence, that would point them to him in some way.

  “We’re a threat to him.” She felt the pull of a smile on her lips. “That means he’s scared.”

  “West?” Ted’s tone indicated he didn’t agree with that assessment. “More likely covering himself. Cleaning up his operation like he’s been doing.”

  “If I was him, I’d have cut my losses and left town months ago. When we realized how far his operation stretched.”

  “But it all has to do with the founders, right? West is one of them. So why would he leave a place he helped start? He’s entrenched in life here. It’s his home.”

  Jess didn’t like that. “Means he’s even more motivated. Maybe desperate. He needs to keep his name out of this. Make sure no one finds out who he is.”

  She winced. Desperation might cause West to make a mistake, but it was also a dangerous place for all of them to be.

  Staring down the barrel of a gun that shook. Tensions high. Everything on the line.

  Realizing her enemy might be just as determined as she was to finish this didn’t sit well. It caused that knot to twist tighter in her stomach. That’s why you have to do this. The cost of failure would be high. Too high.

  The door flung open. Sally and the gunman stood there. Sally glanced at him. “I’ve got it!” She even grinned. “I’ll tell them he died because she couldn’t protect him. That you killed him, and she just let it happen cause she couldn’t do anything about it, and then you killed her too.”

  “Anyone ever tell you you’re bloodthirsty?” The gunman grinned.

  Someone behind him called out, “We’ve got the cash, and the kid’s program is uploading the virus. The rest will be transferred within minutes.”

  The gunman nodded. “Let’s go.”

  Ted sucked in a breath, stiffening.

  Sally grinned. “Welcome to life as an accomplice. Of course, no one will know I was involved. I’ve got my story all worked out.” She stepped back.

  The gunman waved his weapon. “Let’s go. It’s got to look like you were both killed trying to stop us.”

  Jess flinched.

  “Of course, you don’t succeed.”

  Six

  The kid’s program is uploading the virus.

  Jess didn’t seem to have realized what he had. They were shoved forward into the hall and led to the stairwell at the end. Where were they going?

  Framed as accomplices.

  Murdered here. Today.

  The kid’s program is uploading the virus. They had to be talking about him, and no one else. He might be in his mid-twenties, but nearly everyone thought he was younger. Or treated him as though he was. Usually it bothered him. On occasion, it came in handy.

  These people had a connection to his father. Or, at least, a connection to another founder—maybe even West—who knew his dad. Who was it this time? No one with a conscience, that was for sure. Otherwise they wouldn’t be so happy at the idea of ordering a team to murder Jess and Ted while their friends waited outside.

  Would Dean get here in time?

  His brother would set the
world on fire if he thought it would protect Ted. Too bad Ted knew it was fueled by the guilt Dean felt over leaving Ted with their dad all those years ago. But Dean had needed to escape. Ted was glad he’d done it. That only one of them remained in their father’s grasp. Dean deserved to be free.

  Jess stopped in front of him at the stairwell door.

  The gunman got close. Ted saw her flinch. She was at the breaking point and wouldn’t do well if she was hurt anymore. Ted didn’t want her hurt more either.

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  There were two gunmen with them, and neither seemed to care that he was talking. One held a duffel bag stuffed full. Money. That wasn’t what they’d come here for, considering how determined they were to set a scene that made it look like Jess and Ted had tried to stop them.

  So elaborate.

  For whatever reason, the plan was for them to die here today. No matter what else happened, that was their strategy and not monetary gain. They also didn’t seem interested in any alternative ideas.

  Ted tried again. “Who is behind all this? If you give us a name, we can make it worth your while.”

  Everyone had a price, especially people who regularly did all kinds of unsavory things for money. Either they were invested in the outcome, or they were just here for the payment. Time would tell. But he had to at least try and get them to change their minds. It was by far the safest option to convince these men to stand down. Turn themselves in. Roll over on whoever hired them.

  The information would be worth whatever it cost.

  The only other way they would get out of this without being murdered in cold blood was by fighting these two men.

  Ted was going to save that option as the last resort.

  Jess shifted. The gun aimed at her, lifted to point at her face, and the man holding it said, “Open the door.”

  She reached back, grasped the handle, and opened it. Ted was shoved through first. Jess never turned her back on the gunman. Not until doing so would mean an inevitable fall down the stairs. She held the stair rail as they descended.

  Where are you, Dean?

  Ted had tried to be self-sufficient for so long that being desperate for his brother to rescue him left a bad taste in his mouth. But Dean had been a Navy SEAL. If anyone could resolve this without Jess and Ted being injured in the process, it was his big brother.

  The memory of that woman falling, shot right in front of him, flashed across his mind. A low moan escaped his lips.

  Jess reached over and grasped his hand. A show of solidarity. The quick, tight squeeze of her fingers around his. Trying to reassure him.

  He shot her a tight smile. As much as he could muster right now when there were guns pointed at their heads, and they were being walked to their deaths. She thought she had to protect him. She was determined to do it, the same way she thought she had to protect every other innocent that came into her life.

  Ted didn’t plan on telling her again that he didn’t need her help. He’d grown tired of the same old conversation they’d had plenty of times before. There was no sense—and likely no time—to tell her again now. Not when it was clear she hadn’t listened and probably didn’t plan to.

  They were about to be murdered.

  If he was going to be exposed as being part of it, that might be for the best. Otherwise, he would have to face everyone he knew finding out. No, death isn’t a good answer. It was never satisfactory as a way out—especially not when he didn’t exactly have his life right with God.

  Now’s as good a time as any.

  But when it came down to it, he didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry. Ted didn’t enjoy being a victim. He needed to take responsibility, not hide it anymore. But he also needed to control the fallout. It couldn’t affect an investigation.

  The district attorney would use any excuse to undermine their investigation. She’d never liked Conroy and had no love for their small-town department. If his misdeeds came to light, it would cast a shadow on every case he’d worked. Ted couldn’t risk jeopardizing a court case that could bring West down. Whoever West was, he should be in jail. Not free because of a technicality Ted could have avoided by doing the right thing and coming clean.

  No. He would make sure that when it all came out there were no repercussions with the police department. They’d never forgive him otherwise. Jess most of all was about loyalty and justice. They would at least understand why he’d done what he’d done.

  While she would not.

  “In there.”

  At the bottom of the stairwell, they stepped through a doorway into what seemed to be a boiler or utility room of some kind.

  Jess glanced at him. Both men were behind them now. Ted caught the look on her face, she was ready to act. Determined to do something about this situation and unwilling to wait any longer.

  Ted spun the second she did. He sideswiped the gun with his forearm and kicked the gunman where it would hurt most, then brought up his knee and slammed it into the man’s face.

  He grabbed the gun, turned to Jess, and saw her locked in a battle with her guy.

  Their gun went off. Ted ducked on a reflex, adrenaline from his own fight rushing through him to heighten everything—even while his vision tunneled. He shook off the sensation and kept his hold on the weapon in his hands.

  Part of his attention stayed on the downed man and his duffel of money. Unconscious, for now.

  Jess elbowed her guy in the face and got his gun. She brought the butt of it down on his temple, and he collapsed. She spun to him.

  Ted backed up a step. “Whoa.”

  “You’re okay?” She glanced at the man on the floor.

  “What do we do now?”

  The skin around her eyes flexed. “Secure these two and head upstairs. You contact Dean and I’ll—”

  “I’m already here.”

  His brother’s frame filled the doorway. “You okay, Ted?”

  He nodded. “We both are. But Jess could use an ice pack for her head.”

  She glanced at him.

  “You guys head upstairs. We’ll take care of these two.”

  Ted noticed Stuart behind him and lifted his chin.

  “You okay, kid?”

  He shrugged. They collected the gun from him and took over. Ted followed Jess up the stairs. Before stepping through the door, she turned to him. “Are you really okay?”

  “We’re not dead, right?”

  She didn’t buy him brushing it off with humor. Her eyes narrowed. “How did you take that guy down?”

  “I kneed him. Twice.”

  She said nothing.

  “Zander taught me some fighting skills. Figured one day I’d need to protect myself.” Ted shrugged a shoulder. “I guess he was right.”

  “You know, you act all nonchalant, but I’m thinking that’s not true.”

  “What are you talking about?” They needed to get this conversation done so he could get upstairs and mitigate the damage that would be done when his name was dragged into this.

  “You play stuff off as no big deal.” She studied him with an all-too-knowing gaze. “But it’s not, is it?”

  Ted pressed his lips into a thin line. What did she want from him? They’d gotten away from those guys, and they had a lead in the process—West didn’t want them alive. The bad guy they were chasing felt threatened enough he’d retaliated. Talk about showing your cards. He’d made a move and exposed his thinking to them.

  Ted and Jess, together, were capable of bringing him down.

  She took a half step closer to him. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” He did a half-shrug.

  “Helping. I wouldn’t have been able to take both of those guys down by myself. I figured we’d end up dead, but I figured it was worth the risk. You helped, and it saved our lives.”

  “I know you’d never go down without a fight.”

  A tiny smile curled up the edges of her lips. She closed the space between them another inch. Ted looked down
at her, since she was in her work shoes with flat heels. What were her intentions here? Was she just happy to be alive, wanting to enjoy the experience of that feeling? Remembering their kiss.

  She said, “You did good, Ted. I was surprised. But that’s not a bad thing.”

  Ted leaned down slightly, letting her show him what she wanted. Jess was like a wildfire. He’d tried to grasp it once already, and he’d been burned in the process. Neither of them wanted to give up what they held most dear, and yet the attraction was still strong between them. They were a great team.

  She lifted onto the balls of her feet and touched his arm. He felt her breath on his face and closed his eyes as their lips touched in the gentlest of—

  Someone cleared their throat.

  Ted stepped back. Jess spun around, cheeks red. Basuto stood at the open doorway. The one he hadn’t even heard move. Nor had he heard their sergeant arrive. Too wrapped up in the rush of what might happen.

  “There’s work to do upstairs.” Basuto’s eyebrow rose. “Maybe you guys can save that for later.”

  He disappeared behind the door. Jess followed him without a backward glance, leaving Ted in the stairwell by himself.

  He hauled the door open and trotted up behind them. Jess seemed embarrassed, but Ted just couldn’t muster that emotion. That was the problem. Maybe they shouldn’t be around each other. That would certainly be easier.

  Was that how they were going to bring down West, by working separately instead of combining efforts?

  Ted sighed.

  Jess shot him a glance, but he waved her off. This wasn’t about what was, or wasn’t, happening between them. There would be time after West was brought in for them to have the conversation.

  It’s not you, it’s me.

  That would be the safest thing. A way to maintain what they had; a good friendship, and solid careers. Neither of which he was prepared to risk.

  The last thing he needed was for her to discover everything just because he put his guard down for a moment to let her in. That would be the worst possible thing for him. Jess was entirely too astute. Of course, she would figure it out.