“To try and lose the car behind us in the construction zone.” I swerved and clipped the side mirror on the railing in a shower of sparks. “Or would you rather have me stop so we can try to talk out our differences?”
The hand that wasn’t bracing her jerked out and slammed into my arm.
I swerved just a little and she gasped loudly. “Sorry.”
“This is going to be close.” Up ahead I could see some of the equipment moving and seized my chance. As cars merged into one lane, I whipped into the narrowing emergency lane. Up ahead the extra space was being used for regular traffic and that would be our best chance at bottlenecking our chaser. We sideswiped a taxi and I could hear Ava cursing under her breath and muttering about the bomb, but we made it through.
Loud pops had Ava ducking in her seat, but we had managed to get them trapped for at least a couple of minutes, which would give us time to lose them.
“Shit. Where are the cops?” Ava peeked over her shoulder and out the window.
“Oh, I’m sure they’re coming.” I pulled off at an exit and turned down a quiet road. “We need to change cars.”
“Great. Now you’re a car thief?” Ava wrinkled her nose.
“You killed a man in a parking garage. What’s a little grand theft auto now?” I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she frowned and looked out the window.
“I guess we already stole one car.” Her breath sounded heavy and I wondered if she would cry. A lot of people would in her situation.
“True.” I turned into a different parking garage. “And we did it to save your life.”
“Our lives.” Her face whitened. “I still can’t believe I killed Mr. Song.”
“I told you, it was his fault. And don’t feel bad for him.” My voice clipped out the words. “He was not a nice man.”
“How would you know?” She looked at me, her eyes narrowed.
“I was there to kill him.” I pulled around the garage until I found a corner with a broken light. I put the car in park and looked at her. “Mr. Song ran a prostitute ring. He sold young girls and women to men and made a very healthy living doing so.”
“He sold girls? Hookers?” She shook her head. “How can you know that?”
“I’m very particular about the cases I take on. When the girls started showing up dead, one of his associates decided it was time to call his number.” I looked around the garage before opening my door. “I need to defuse the bomb. I don’t want it accidently going off when the police find the vehicle.”
“Shit.” She scrambled in her seat to undo her belt before jumping out of the car. She was looking at the stairs leading outside and chewing on her lip when I climbed out of my seat.
“Ava?” I leveled my eyes at her over the car. “You’re free to run, but your chances are exponentially better with me.”
She looked at me, but didn’t say anything. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to run. I’d admitted to being a hitman and she’d been chased by people trying to kill her, not to mention the dead man she left behind. That was a lot for most people to digest.
“Take care of the bomb.” She looked away from me. “And then we need to talk.”
I nodded my head, relieved she hadn’t decided to run. I knew that if she went off on her own she wouldn’t make it long. Even the idiots that had been following her would have an easy time taking her down. I could walk, could disappear for a while and wait for this to blow over. But I needed to know what had happened back there, if for no other reason than to make sure I hadn’t been set up. And Ava was my best link to the whole mess. It was also a convenient excuse. My bleeding fucking heart was getting the better of me.
“Watch for anyone approaching.” She nodded, but didn’t look back at me. Still pissed and frightened, I guessed. Understandable.
I slid under the bumper and carefully undid the wires that connected the device to the explosive. I considered removing it all and taking it with me, but I didn’t want to have to worry about carrying it. Besides, I knew how to get more if I needed it. Something tapped my leg and I realized Ava was kicking me softly. I crawled out and looked around carefully. There was someone walking toward a car on our side of the garage.
“Found it, honey.” I held my hand up as if I’d found an earring before wrapping my arm around her shoulders. I kept my voice casual as I led her toward the nearest exit. “It looks like it’s broken. You’ll have to get it repaired.”
“That’s a shame.” Her voice was steady, but I could see the tightness around her eyes as she leaned into me.
We walked down the road a ways as I scouted for a new vehicle. Preferably something older that wouldn’t be easy to trace. The farther we walked, the more I found myself enjoying the fact that Ava was tucked against my side. Most of my time spent with women was very business-like. We were there to scratch an itch for each other. There was no cuddling or holding hands. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent a moment with a woman tucked against me for anything other than sex.
I slid my arm from her shoulders down to her waist and she stiffened slightly before falling back into pace with me.
“Loosen up, Ava. If we look happy, that’s all anyone will see.” I leaned close so I could whisper in her ear. “Just a happy couple walking down the street—not people worried about being followed.”