Page 94 of Boxed In

Luke gave him two cross streets.

Olivia looked at him in surprise. “There’s a temple around there?”

“That’s the location they gave me.”

“It’s in your old neighborhood, right?”

“Yeah.”

She tried to picture the streets. They were in a residential area—a typical Baltimore setting with row houses lining the sidewalks. Although she’d been there many times, because some of the city’s best ethnic restaurants were located nearby, she had never noticed anything like a Temple of the Moon.

Brand drove to the corner Luke had mentioned and pulled up at the curb.

“You’re sure you want me to drop you off?” he asked.

“Yes,” Luke answered. “And don’t hang around.”

Brand looked like he thought they were making a mistake, but he only said, “Good luck.”

Luke glanced up and down the street, then toward Olivia. “You can stay here if you want,” he offered one more time.

“Stop trying to get rid of me.” She wanted to tell him she thought he was going to need her. But she knew he wouldn’t like hearing that assessment.

Silently, they both got out and stood on the corner. Luke looked like he was trying to figure out where they were going. When he started down the block and then stopped, she wanted to ask him if he’d gotten the address wrong.

But just then she spotted a police car. It was cruising slowly down the street—headed straight for them.

Luke cursed under his breath, his hand dipping inside the briefcase.

Olivia’s pulse had already started pounding. It pounded even harder as she watched Luke’s hand disappear into the bag. “If you’re going for a gun, stop!” she hissed. “You can’t shoot the cops.”

“You’re right,” he conceded, easing his fingers back out of the bag. Instead, he grabbed her hand and hustled her back the way they'd come.

But the cop had apparently spotted them, fancy outfits and all.

Luke ushered her around the corner, then into a small grocery store.

The man behind the counter looked up. “May I help you?” He gave them a second look. “Luke Garner? All dressed up like you got a bonus from the mob.”

“It’s me. But I’m not working for the mob. And we’re just passing through,” Luke said as he led Olivia to the back of the shop.

“I thought you’d gotten your life on the right track. Are you in trouble again?” the man called out.

“This time it’s a frame-up, Mr. Donetti. If the cops ask, tell them you haven’t seen me.”

He hurried Olivia into a storeroom, then out the back of the shop and down the alley, where he pressed her into the shadow of a storage shed. When footsteps came running up the alley, he reached for the door handle, but it was held closed by a lock and hasp. As she watched, Luke reached for the lock and closed his fist around it. She saw his intense focus as he gave the mechanism a long slow twist. Olivia had seen enough of the warrior’s power that she wasn’t even surprised when the hasp snapped off. Removing it from the door, he slipped the lock into his pocket, then eased the door open and ushered her inside.

The alley had been dark. The interior of the shed was almost pitch black.

As they stood in the darkness, hearing heavy footsteps coming toward them, Olivia felt her heart blocking her windpipe. But Luke put down the briefcase again and reached around her so that he could grab the door handle and hold it closed.

The footsteps came to the shed and stopped. Then they continued on, and she breathed out a small sigh. But her relief had come too quickly. Moments later, she heard someone else approaching, someone who also stopped in front of the shed.

A large fist banged on the door, and she had to clench her teeth to keep from making a sound. When the banging had no effect, she felt someone try to pull the barrier open. But Luke must have kept his grip on the inside handle, and the door remained closed.

The man on the other side made a rough sound then gave a sharp yank, but Luke was the stronger of the two, and he was able to maintain the integrity of their hiding place.

Finally, after another sound of frustration from outside the shed, the footsteps receded.

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