Part 22 (2/2)

Darby wisely kept her own counsel. She returned to our surveillance project. ”She's opening the box,” she warned.

I poked my head around the corner. Gia was bent at the waist, pus.h.i.+ng her ample rear end toward us. ”There you are. I've been looking for you.” She straightened, then spun around, an animated smile on her bruised face.

Darby and I gasped. Gia gripped a very large handgun, which was pointed in our direction.

I ducked behind the wall, dragging my best friend with me.

”She has a gun. We're going to die,” Darby cried.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

WE SANK TO THE ground. The heat of the pavement seeped through my jeans. ”I don't think she saw us.” I said between the beats of my pounding heart.

I whipped out Darby's phone from under my b.u.t.t, and punched in the pattern I remembered. Please be right.

”Malone.” He picked up on the first ring.

”It's Melinda.” I didn't bother to hide the panic from my voice. Times like this called for the man with the badge. Even if it meant the threat of a night in the pokey. ”Darby and I followed Gia to a storage unit. She has a gun,” I whispered.

”Why would you do something so stupid?” I didn't have to see him to know his stock-and-trade unreadable expression had been replaced with a set jaw and furious eyes.

”How were we supposed to know she was retrieving a weapon?” I asked in a harsh whisper. Following Gia seemed like a good idea at the time. I peeked around the corner to make sure she was still there.

”You don't. You're not the police,” he barked into my ear. ”Where are you?”

I rattled off the address and storage unit number. ”You'll need a code to get past the security gate.”

”What is it?”

I closed my eyes knowing my answer would probably push him over the edge. ”I have no idea. We parked Darby's car and followed someone else inside. I don't know how much longer she'll be here. I'm not even sure if the gun is loaded. What do you want us to do?”

”Get back to Darby's car and get somewhere safe.” His curt tone cut off any argument he thought I might give.

Joke was on him. For once, I wasn't about to quibble over being ordered around.

I turned to Darby who no longer looked terrified. In fact her light blue eyes snapped with worry. Luckily for us, I had good news.

I gave her the cell phone back. ”Calvary is on the way. Let's get out of here.”

”We should have followed Betty. At least we already know where her gun is.” Darby's dry tone shook a laugh out of me.

Point taken.

DARBY AND I SAT in her small Fiesta with the back windows halfway down for what seemed like an eternity. It was probably more like ten minutes. Two Laguna Hills police cars and Malone's silver Camaro barreled down the street. No sirens. They whipped into the driveway, stopping at the security gate only long enough to punch a code into the keypad. The gate opened, slick as a whistle. They rolled through like they belonged. Unlike us.

”How did he know the number?” Darby asked, impressed.

”He's Judd Malone. He probably called the company and demanded the code.”

Five minutes dragged along. I s.h.i.+fted in my seat. ”Turn the key so I can roll my window down.”

She rolled her eyes. I wasn't fooling her. She was well aware I wanted to hear what was happening. Being the amazing best friend that she was, she honored my request.

We continued to wait. Darby softly hummed the Jeopardy theme.

I looked at her amused. ”What is 'bored out of my mind,' Alex?”

”I'd never make it as an undercover cop,” she said.

After another five minutes went by without the sounds of guns firing, I opened the door.

”Mel, Malone said to stay here.”

I didn't need Darby's reminder. ”I won't get too close.” I slid out and quietly closed the door. I moved to the front of the car, listening for an indication of what was happening on the other side of the gate.

Darby joined me. She nervously scanned the street. ”This is a bad idea.”

”Probably. But it won't be the last bad idea I act on.”

”Aren't you supposed to have dinner with Grey tonight?”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. I hadn't forgotten about our dinner, but it hadn't been top of mind either. ”Yes. What does that have to do with this?”

Her eyes widened. ”You won't make it if Malone throws you in jail.”

I laughed. ”Okay. Okay. You win.”

We leaned against the hood of the car. ”What's wrong with the Jeep?” she asked.

I sighed. ”I don't know. It worked fine this morning. Maybe I left the lights on and drained the battery. Hopefully, I just need a jump start.” Sort of like my relations.h.i.+p with Grey.

One of the Laguna Hills police cars appeared at the exit, saving me from morose thoughts.

”Here they come.” Darby announced.

We slid off the hood and watched. The gate opened; a police car rolled through the exit. Gia sat in the back seat. As they drove past, she noticed us and shot a death glare in our direction. She wasn't happy to see us. It didn't take a genius to guess we were the ones who called the cops.

”He arrested Gia,” Darby exclaimed. ”Where's Zippy? Do you think he's with her?”

I cringed as I imagined what Malone had to endure if he'd tried to take Zippy. ”I can't imagine Gia going anywhere without her dog.”

The second police car pulled around the corner with Malone's Camaro right behind. The police car headed out of town, Malone pulled up next to us and parked.

”Aren't you glad we stayed put?” Darby said.

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