Page 97 of Fatal Betrayal

"A woman named Veronica," Ivy answered. "She calls about once a week. And Mr. Molina says I should always put her through."

"Did you ever hear Mr. Molina mention a baby named Elisa Benedict?"

"No. He never said a word about her."

"But you've heard her name," she said, seeing the truth in Ivy's eyes.

"Daniel's mother works for the family. He was really upset about it."

"Because he was involved? Because he betrayed his mother's employer?"

"No. No," Ivy said quickly, shaking her head. "Daniel wouldn't hurt a child. He's a kind person."

"And yet you just left him a message saying you were worried about him."

"Because he hasn't texted me all day." Ivy paused. "I don't think I should say anything else. Are you arresting me?"

"Andi," Cooper interrupted. "I need to talk to you now."

"Stay here," she told Ivy, as she followed Cooper into the hall. "What's going on?"

"We need to get out of here. I was looking out the window, and I saw a dark van pull up to the building."

The elevator dinged at his words, she immediately pushed open the door to the stairway. They raced down the steps and thru the front door. They were almost at the car when a shot rang out, a bullet sizzling past her ear as it exploded the car window.

She dived inside and ducked down as Cooper pulled away from the curb just as another gunshot shattered the front window.

"Are you hit?" she asked, seeing blood on his face.

"I'm okay," he said, as he sped down the street.

"You're bleeding."

"The glass cut me." He took a corner so fast, she had to brace herself against the door.

She looked out the sideview mirror. The van was coming after them. She really wished she was driving. But there was no time to make a switch.

"Make as many turns as you can," she told him. "Run every yellow light and anything close to a red."

"I got this," he said confidently.

She had no idea where that confidence came from, since she didn't think he spent a lot of time in car chases, but Cooper had never been one to back away from a challenge.

He slammed on the brakes suddenly and spun around in the middle of an intersection. Her life, as well as every other car and person on the street, flashed in front of her eyes, as the car tilted onto two wheels. It felt like they were airborne, and she was afraid they were going to come down to earth upside down.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Andi'swhole body shook as the car finally came down on all four tires, and they were racing down a side street, leaving a blaring of car horns behind them.

Cooper floored the gas, narrowly missing a car pulling out of a parking lot. Her body bounced off the door once more. She gave Cooper a quick look. He was completely focused and determined to win. He made several more breathtaking turns and then got on the freeway. They didn't speak for almost three miles, constantly checking the mirrors, but she never saw the van get on the freeway.

Another five minutes passed before she finally let out the breath she'd been holding.

"I think we're okay," she said.

Cooper flung her a triumphant look. "Of course, we're okay. I wasn't going to let anything happen to us."

"You're the reason we're alive," she agreed. "If you hadn't been looking out the window when they arrived, we would have been sitting ducks. Did you see their faces?"

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