Page 79 of Deadly Designs

Detective Herbert came hobbling out with her Glock inhand. She was trying to juggle the crutches with the gun.

“Shooter is gone,” Christian told her as he helpedAja Blue to her feet.

“What the hell?”

“They staked out your apartment.” Christian waspissed with himself for not thinking about that. “Pack a bag,Nicole. You’re coming with us.”

“Uh, what?”

“I’m taking you to our safe house.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it. Executing aturn, she hobbled back to her apartment.

“I’ll help her,” Aja Blue offered.

Christian hustled her inside with the detective andturned to assist his coworkers. He felt completely safe leaving AjaBlue with Nicole, which said something. He rarely trusted easily,but she’d proven a reliable ally.

As he was headed to where Kayne and Presley haddisappeared, they jogged back.

“I winged him,” Kayne said. “But he got away.”

“Bring the SUV over here,” Christian instructed.“We’re taking Nicole with us.”

“Good,” Kayne said and jumped into the driver’sseat.

Presley ran into the apartment. When Kayne shiftedinto park, Christian activated his scanner app and checked thevehicle. Kayne helped him.

“Clear.”

“Same,” Kayne agreed.

The door behind them opened, and Presley appearedwith a box of items. Aja Blue followed with a rolling suitcase thatChristian took from her. Nicole trailed after them, trying tonavigate her crutches on the cracked pavement. They didn’t havetime to pussyfoot around, so after he stashed the box in the back,he swept the detective in his arms and placed her inside theSUV.

“I could’ve done it myself,” she groused, as he’dexpected her to do.

Instead of answering, he boosted Aja Blue into theback seat and jumped in behind her.

“Go,” he instructed Kayne.

The man didn’t have to be told twice. He gunned theaccelerator, and they shot out of the parking lot as he belted in.In the passenger seat, Presley checked the mirrors and watched forany tails. Christian did the same from his vantage point.

There was no sign of the motorcycle man, but onceagain, their vehicle had been compromised. He was embarrassed totext BeBe, but she quickly reassured him it wasn’t a problem. Thistime, she guided him to a small lot that had a deep-blue SUV withtinted windows waiting for them. After another sweep, theytransferred their belongings inside and drove away.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Aja Blue noticed Christian,Presley, Kayne, and even Nicole keeping watch as they navigated thestreets. Kayne took a circuitous route, so no one followed them.She was sick of this. The constant cloak-and-dagger was so out ofher league. She enjoyed mysteries and dramas on screen, but not inreal life.

They had switched vehicles and were on their way tothe safe house. They’d been shot at—again! Just thinking of bulletspinging by their heads was enough to cause the trembling that hadovertaken her limbs.

No one else seemed affected, letting her know she wasalone in her terror. This was commonplace in their line of work.She sincerely hoped Christian didn’t face gunfire often. Her heartcouldn’t take it.

After all that had transpired, the last thing shewanted to do was dress up and attend a fundraiser with thehoity-toity. Crawling into bed with Christian was so tempting, butshe couldn’t let Jay down. The event tonight would raise thousandsof dollars to memorialize his name. The least Aja Blue could do wasto show up.

She hadn’t told Sara Lea, Darwin, or Marla about thescholarship. It had happened so suddenly that she hadn’t had timeto contact them. She tried to decide if it was better to let themknow now or wait until after the fundraiser.

Knowing they were also hurting over losing theircoworker, she sent a group text. After the award was announced,they’d send a press release to their client list, hoping to raisemore funds for Jay’s memorial. People needed to know about it.

Aja Blue planned on asking Mrs. Sinclair if she couldsit on the foundation’s board. She wanted a say in who wouldreceive Jay’s award and would look for candidates who shared hisideals—integrity, perseverance, and dedication. Jay would wantthat, she was sure.

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