Lennox glanced over at Roland and for the first time that day, she allowed herself to smile. They were on their way to Summers Security Firm. Stonewall would be there with her luggage and she figured that was where she would be introduced to the bodyguard who would protect her for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, that would be all the time she needed to get her mind and thoughts together.
Knowing Roland was waiting for a response, she said, “No, but in my line of work I’m around them a lot. Maybe some of their tactics rubbed off.”
She glanced out the car window. Before leaving FBI Headquarters, Special Agents Warner and DuBose, although not at all pleased with her decision, had told her they would put a decoy in place immediately and would apprise her of details within a couple of hours. In the meantime, she would have escorted mobile protection to and from wherever she needed to go.
Federal agents were following in cars on the side and behind them as Roland led the way. They were treating her as if she was a key witness in a high-profile criminal case. That made her wonder just how much more they were keeping from her, besides the identity of the government official and the crime cartel. She couldn’t rightly blame Special Agents Warner and DuBose since they’d been called in to clean house. No one wanted to be working with a corrupt group of people. Especially those who should be on the right side of the law.
She forced herself to keep her gaze focused on the scenery outside the car window and not on Roland. And though his eyes were on the road too, just the husky sound of his voice did things to her. She should be concentrating on staying alive, but whenever she glanced at Roland’s grip on the steering wheel, she couldn’t help wondering how those hands would feel on her skin. Not to mention his fingertips. She could imagine them inching over her body, while exploring….
“Lennox?”
She glanced over at Roland, wishing she wasn’t so aware of him. “Yes?”
“You’re quiet. What are you thinking?”
There was no way she could tell him about the wicked thoughts that had gone through her mind when he’d said her name. So instead, she told him what he’d probably expected to hear. “One of the advantages of being around cops a lot is that I know how to ask questions to get answers. I can tell when someone is not leveling with me. Granted, I realize that those agents can’t divulge everything, but I’d have thought that if they believed some key piece ofevidence was in DeWalt’s belongings, they’d have contacted me about it long ago.”
“It’s probably because they weren’t aware you might have it,” Roland said, bringing the car to a stop at a traffic light. “Agent Warner did say that nobody had even been aware that therewasa box until you mentioned it at the convention.”
Yes, that was true. They’d been at dinner and Steve hadn’t been the only one sitting at the table. But everyone around her that night had been friends of hers and DeWalt. If Steve hadn’t alerted anyone about the box…who had? The thought that someone else--someone she thought she knew—might be complicit was disheartening.
“I’m having trouble processing all of this. I need some time away. Maybe a week or two of uninterrupted time will allow me to clear my head and make some sense of what I’ve just been told.”
She paused a moment, then said, “I don’t think asking for a decoy was the wrong thing for me to do, in this case. They owe me that. They owe DeWalt that. They knew the risks involved when they asked him to provide a second ME opinion, yet they did not protect him.”
“Nor did they protect you.”
She glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”
He continued to look straight ahead. “What if whoever was behind Dr. Bellamy’s murder had decided not to wait? What if they’d made other plans to kill him…and you, too? They could have rigged the cars, to make an explosion appear to be an accident one time when the two of you were together. It wouldn’t have been hard. Or they could have staged a double-hit, and made it look like a home invasion, the way they did last night. You were incredibly vulnerable back then, too. And they left you hanging.”
Lennox began nibbling on her bottom lip, knowing what Roland said was true. “I had planned to attend that conference with him, but days before we were to leave, my workload got heavy and I was asked to stay behind.”
“And who asked you to do that?”
Although he’d asked, she figured he already knew the answer. “Steve. He was my boss at the time.” She couldn’t stop the tears that sprang into her eyes. “How could he have done that to DeWalt? How could he have done that to me?” she asked, swiping back her tears.
“I don’t know,” Roland said, stopping at another traffic light. “But I know what it feels like to have someone you trusted betray you.”
She thought back to the way he’d been framed by his fellow cops. Of course, he knew how it felt.
She watched as a deep frown settled on his face when he moved the car forward. “What’s wrong, Roland?”
“There’s a police roadblock up ahead. That’s odd. Joy knew what route we were taking, and would have given us advance notice about this. I don’t like it,” he said, pulling two semi-automatic weapons from between the car’s bench seats.
“Aren’t the FBI agents still tailing us? Front and side?” she asked, trying to stay calm.
“Yes, but as far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t mean a damn thing. Especially after hearing about all the damn blunders they’ve made already.”
Suddenly, the sound of guns being fired filled the air. “Get down, Lennox! Now!”
THE ONE THING ROLANDappreciated about being an ex-cop was that cops knew their neighborhoods. And he knew this one--the side streets, the alleys…and the best places to take cover. He also appreciated the fact that very few cars were on the road this time of day--fewer innocent people would get caught in the cross-fire. As for those walking on foot, well, they’d soon know how to run.
While still maintaining control of his vehicle, he began firing back. Thankfully, the federal agents protecting them were also engaging the shooters. “Press channel twelve on the car’s radio,” he told Lennox, who’d done as he’d asked, and was now on the floor.
As soon as she pressed the button, a voice came on. “Yes, Roland?”
“Quasar, we’re under attack. Men disguised as cops in unmarked cars with flashing lights were at the intersection of Percy and Douglass. They staged it as roadblock, but it’s an ambush.”