Harlequin Intrigue April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Carol Ericson (short books to read TXT) 📖

from the war room, she ducked into the lunchroom and flattened herself against the wall.

Jake’s voice carried down the hallway. “I don’t have any plans tonight. Grab some dinner on the way home.”

A voice that sounded like Billy’s murmured something in reply.

Jake swore. “Dude, if you want to meet Megan Wright, ask Kyra yourself or just call the TV station. When has the lack of an introduction ever fazed you before?”

Kyra pressed her fingers to her lips. Billy wanted to meet Megan? Seemed there was a lot Jake McAllister was keeping from her. A whole helluva lot.

She couldn’t try to follow him on foot out to the parking lot. He’d make her in two seconds. She had to believe the noises from the other room meant he was leaving.

Lowering her head and counting the number of tiles on the floor, she scurried from the station and walked quickly to the unmarked cars in the lot. The car she wanted wasn’t even locked, so she slid behind the wheel and slumped down. She had no doubt if the LAPD wanted to find out who’d taken one of their unmarked detective cars after the shift change they’d have no problem seeing her on camera, but she’d worry about that later.

She watched the comings and goings over the rim of the steering wheel until she saw Jake’s unmistakable stride in the parking lot.

He opened the trunk and loaded his satchel, which contained his laptop, and a couple of boxes of files. Then he climbed into the driver’s side and took off.

Kyra started the car and pulled out of the parking lot after him. He wouldn’t be expecting one of the other detectives to follow him, but she stayed a few car lengths behind him.

When Jake turned onto a crowded Sunset Boulevard, her stomach knotted. He was going home—and she had his address. Had he already talked to Matt over the phone? No, she’d watched him too closely. After the initial message from Matt, he’d texted a few times and then seemed to settle in to work.

She’d known that the text on Jake’s phone had come from Matt. She recognized Mike’s Bike Shop as the motorcycle repair place where Matt worked. She couldn’t imagine Matt reaching out to a cop. Jake must’ve contacted Matt first.

So, did she feel sorry about borrowing an LAPD vehicle and following Jake? Not at all. He already knew her car and would’ve spotted the tail.

She could call Matt and ask him what he was doing, but then she’d be in his debt. And she never, ever wanted to be in Matt Dugan’s debt. Besides, she couldn’t trust a word out of Matt’s mouth. She couldn’t trust a word out of Jake’s mouth, either.

When he turned off the boulevard and started heading for the hills, she slowed the car. She couldn’t follow him to his house in the Hollywood Hills with the winding, narrow roads and spaced-apart housing. He’d see her headlights behind him at every turn.

After the first mile into the hills and as other cars dropped off, Kyra pulled into a turnout that led to a small dog park. She cut her lights and buzzed down the window.

Matt would most likely meet Jake at the bike shop. That’s where Matt conducted all his business, and this was business. He wouldn’t have Jake at his apartment—too risky with the drugs and weapons and unsavory friends. She pulled up the GPS on her phone. She knew the exact locations of the bike shop and Matt’s apartment. She believed in keeping her enemies close, or at least on her radar.

If Jake was driving to Van Nuys, and she believed he was, he’d have to wend his way down the hill again and take Sunset. He’d have to pass this way and she’d see him.

Her stomach rumbled and she regretted not eating something at the station while she waited for Jake to leave. Of course, she could have this all wrong. Maybe Matt had already said all he had to say to Jake over text messaging. Maybe they’d set up their meeting for another night.

But she knew the way Matt’s mind worked. If he had info to sell Jake, he’d want to do that right away. She’d have to get to Matt before Jake did. She could convince Matt that Jake wanted to entrap him, to arrest him and send him back inside.

Each time a pair of headlights came winding down the hill, Kyra’s heart jumped, until about an hour into her wait when she spotted Jake’s sedan. Of course, he’d use his police car. He was technically on police business.

When the red of his taillights disappeared around the next bend, Kyra pulled out of her hiding place and hurtled down to Sunset.

She saw Jake’s car make the left turn. He had to be going to Van Nuys. She’d take the risk. If she couldn’t beat Jake to his destination, there was no point in showing up at all.

When she hit the signal at Sunset, she flicked on the light inside the car and squealed around the corner. She’d been in Quinn’s car enough times to know how things worked.

She floored it and blared the siren a few times to get around traffic. Jake wouldn’t wonder at an unmarked car racing to a call, even if he noticed it. Other cars parted for her as she careened down Sunset, leaving Jake in her dust.

If Mike’s wasn’t their meeting place, she’d find out soon enough. And if it was, she’d catch Matt by surprise and convince him Jake was up to no good. What was Jake up to?

She cranked up her speed on the freeway, slipping into the carpool lane, the red light still revolving in the window of the car. When she got off the freeway, she continued pressing her luck on Van Nuys Boulevard. She’d passed only two patrol cars on her way, and neither one had seemed interested in her pursuit, probably because nothing had come over their radios.

She finally