Page 5 of Midnight Escape

“He’s out,” Sugar stated.

“This one too,” Boss responded.

Without a need to glance up, Danny knew they stood guard over the two threats. That released one focus of his mind. “Did you get the other guy?” Danny didn’t want someone trying to return with backup.

“He’s in the truck,” Boss answered. “How is he?”

Assuming he meant Wayne, Danny answered, “Not good.”

“Tell them we’re friendly,” Boss stated on his phone, over what Danny expected to be the HIS emergency line. The last thing his group needed was the deputies to pull their weapons on armed agents of HIS.

In no time, everything turned into a controlled chaos as the emergency teams from both Life Flight and the ambulances jumped into action and the deputies directed the scene. Reluctantly, Danny lifted his hands to a paramedic who—with another paramedic—quickly assessed Wayne and hurried him to the waiting helicopter.

After finding out where they would take Wayne, Danny nodded and turned back to what he knew would be twenty questions and a grueling interrogation from law enforcement.

He gave a quick statement on the scene, then was asked to go to the station and provide a more complete one.

Hours later—after questions upon questions, and then “Sit and wait, while I check out your story”—Danny hitched a ride with Boss and Sugar for the airfield to pick up his truck. He’d wanted to see Wayne but had been told to wait until tomorrow. While he was stable and would recover, they had him sedated.

As Boss dropped him off, Danny couldn’t help but laugh when Sugar told him, “This is no reason to cancel tonight.”

With an easy laugh, he admitted to forgetting about his evening plans. Only Sugar wouldn’t consider nearly dying in a crash or being killed by stupid marijuana farmers an excuse to back out of something.

Well,he thought about the blind date,today can’t get much worse.Then another whisper hit him,You both survived. Yeah,he nearly snorted out loud,although my instructor was shot.

After returning home, he prepped for the date Sugar had set up for him. Once she’d fallen in love with Boss, she’d made it her mission to help Danny find the right woman. Being that this was Sugar, he’d promised to meet the women she thought he might enjoy getting to know. It’d been a risky promise, but she’d been their teammate and he respected her.

After showering, he took extra time fixing his hair. While not vain, there was little he could do with it. With it being a bit too long, it curled uncontrollably up in the back. He shrugged. It was what it was.

For some reason, choosing his attire became a challenge. He remembered his female cousins, while preparing for a date, had nearly everything in their closets spread across their beds and tried on damn near everything, before choosing something to wear. He laughed at the memories and how he’d learned they typically ended up in the first outfit they’d tried on. At the time, he’d thought their actions ridiculous. Now, not so much.

Since the date was at the coffee shop, he decided on casual. Jeans instead of slacks made the cut. Giving up the stupid worry about how she’d see him, he picked out a baby blue button-down and rolled the sleeves about a quarter up his arms. He’d be warm wearing it, but he couldn’t bring himself to wear a T-shirt on this first date.

Clasping on the Invicta Aviator watch his father had purchased for him for his twenty-first birthday, he exited the bathroom. The watch had been through a great deal, but he’d never wear any other watch. It’d been emulating his father that started him wearing the aviator sunglasses in high school. They’d become branded to him.

Nearing his front door, he halted and tossed his head back in frustration. “Cologne.” Turning back to the bathroom for something he rarely used, he reminded himself of what to expect tonight. Sugar described her as tall for a woman. At five foot eleven inches, he wasn’t overly tall for a man. But he could deal with that. Her being a brunette added a checkmark in her favor.

He stared at himself in the vanity mirror. Did he get her name? Racking his brain, he couldn’t recall it.

After adding his smell-good stuff—not the official name of the liquid, but what he’d dubbed it—he made a quick call to Sugar to get the woman’s name. All he recalled was she’d be wearing a baby-blue sundress.

“That little scheming matchmaker,” he muttered when Sugar didn’t answer his call. He hoped that meant nothing was wrong with her family, but something told him she refused his call, so he wouldn’t cancel. She should know that he’d never leave the woman waiting by herself.

Damn. He hated going in unprepared.

After checking to ensure he had cash and his credit cards in his wallet, he shoved the billfold in his right back pocket. He snatched up the keys and tossed them before catching them with a jangle. He wouldn’t allow something as simple as not knowing her name to stop what could be a good evening.

Even though the coffee shop was within a few blocks, he drove and braved snagging a parking spot, so he didn’t sweat to death on the walk. He’d prefer not to arrive with a sweaty stench and rings under his armpits.

With frustration at finding a parking spot and rethinking of his plan to drive, he’d been around the block twice before someone emptied a space near his destination. Checking his watch, he cursed as he hadn’t been as early as he’d planned. He wanted to be the first to arrive.

Forgetting her name, waiting to park, and arriving later than planned. The “three strikes, you’re out” sentiment yanked at his positivity for the evening. At least he had the comfort of his ankle holster. It was a different backup weapon, as the sheriff’s department still held his, but he’d never leave home without one.

Not one to leave a lady waiting, he turned off the ignition in his truck and whipped open the door to exit. Jaywalking, he approached the coffee shop and stiffened in surprise, then a damn burst and hatred flooded him. He knew the woman in the blue sundress approaching him.

Damn. He’d taken forever to get rid of her to include finally giving her the impression he’d moved out of state. Not one of his best moves to lie like that, but this woman clung like no other. She’d been a nuisance of biblical proportion.

“Danny,” Barbie—her shortening of Barbara, because no one would naturally acquaint her to a Barbie doll—whined. “It is you. I so hoped it was.”

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