Page 38 of Redemption

Chapter 30

Damn,I hated when I was struggling with a case. After discussing it with Miles, I’d decided to stay working at Blacklight. It was home. My family was here. Connor had forgiven me for being such a bitch, and we’d moved forward as though nothing happened. He’d given me more responsibilities that tested my skills, which I was grateful for. Even on nights like this when I had to stay late at work. Bryce left about twenty minutes ago, because I forced him out the door. I needed to figure out this puzzle or it would keep me awake all night. By the looks of it, I’d be up all night anyway. Might as well do something productive.

For another hour my fingers flew across my keyboard. My eyes had started to cross, but I was determined. Thankfully, my determination paid off because my computer screen suddenly pinged at me. Bingo. I’d been trying to track down an IP address location that the government was looking for. It had been hidden well, and I had to give the person credit. Once I dashed off an email to Connor letting him know I’d found it, I shut down my computer.

I rose from my desk, stretching my stiff muscles. My neck and back were looking forward to a massage from Miles when I got home. He had been spending more and more nights there lately. Not that I minded. It was nice to come home to him at night. And to wake up with him in the morning. I gathered my bag, shut out the lights, and headed out to my car.

It was a gorgeous night, and I opened my window to let the air in. One of my favorite songs came on the radio, and I cranked up the volume, bobbing my head and tapping my fingers on the steering wheel in time with the music. My hair fluttered around my face as the wind whipped it. My off-key voice shattered the night air as I sang, badly, along with my tune. I was so into the song, I didn’t notice the headlights of the car behind me getting closer until my car jolted as the vehicle behind me bumped my rear bumper.

My hands instinctively tightened on the wheel. What the fuck? I kept glancing back and forth between the road in front of me and in my rear view mirror as the vehicle behind me slowed then revved its engine, before barreling into me again. I braced myself for impact. This time I had trouble controlling my car. My whole body jarred with the force. I loved my car, but damn it for being old as shit and not having hands free technology. I needed to call Miles, but I didn’t dare take my hands off the wheel.

Trying to get them off my tail, I made a few quick consecutive turns, but they stuck to me like glue. I was so focused on whoever was behind me that I became disoriented and wasn’t quite sure where I was in the city now after my failed attempts at losing them. Suddenly, though, they sped up and pulled alongside me. Shit, this wasn’t good. The only thing I could do was brace for the inevitable impact from the black SUV next to me. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind as it barreled into my small sedan.

I couldn’t maintain control and began to pray as my car was pushed off the road. I hit the embankment, and all at once, my whole body was lifted out of the seat and then jerked back as my seat belt engaged. My head cracked against the steering wheel, and I saw stars. My vision blackened around the edges, and then I saw nothing.

A pained groanescaped as I gradually came awake. My whole body ached, and my head was pounding. With agonizing slowness, I reached up and felt wetness on my forehead. I couldn’t tell in the dark, but the coppery smell said it was blood. Damn head wounds. I was thankful that the car was upright, because I had a vague recollection of it rolling down the embankment. Carefully, I took inventory of my body. Nothing felt broken, thank God.

After gauging my surroundings, I realized I was alone, the black SUV long gone. I reached out to unbuckle my seatbelt. With painstaking slowness, I got out of the car, careful to make sure I didn’t hurt anything more than it already was. Silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional chirp of crickets. The night sky was black as pitch with not a single flicker of a star. It was eerie, the silence. I quickly located my phone. Damn, how long had I been out?

I hit the speed-dial button for Miles as I gingerly walked up the embankment toward the road, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of danger. It rang once before he picked up.

“Are you still at work? I thought you said you’d be home by now.”

I’d just reached the top of the hill and checked the area looking for any familiar landmarks. I sighed in relief as I spotted the closed down gas station.

“There was an accident. I’m all right, I promise, but I need you to come down to the old Exxon station on Ellis Street.”

I heard rustling on the other end of the line as though he was hurriedly throwing clothes on. A muffled, “I’m on my way” sounded as though through his shirt.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not hurt?” Miles’ voice was breathless and hurried.

“I hit my head, but I don’t think it’s bleeding anymore. Nothing is broken. My car is totaled though.”

“Damn it. What happened?”

I told him about the SUV and that I didn’t get a plate number and couldn’t see through the dark tinted windows to identify the driver. I had no idea if it was a man or woman or if there was more than one person in the vehicle. There wasn’t much information I could give him.

“Miles, I think my father is behind this. We were both satisfied with our status quo arrangement. I think with him realizing that I know about the money laundering, the drug deals, and now the sex trafficking, he’s decided he’s no longer safe. That’s the reason for the break-in at my house and now this. I’m pretty sure he’s behind these attacks.”

“If that’s true, you know this changes everything, right? What about when he tries again? Maybe next time he’ll actually succeed in killing you. He’s upped the stakes. I think it’s time to move forward with bringing your father down.”

I knew Miles was right. He was going to keep coming after me now that he knew I’d been keeping tabs and gathering evidence against him. It was only a matter of time before he succeeded in killing me. Headlights in the distance caught my attention.

“How close are you? I see lights coming.” I darted across the street to conceal myself behind a copse of trees.

“I’m almost there. Maybe a couple minutes.”

“I’m staying out of sight behind some trees a couple blocks from the station.”

“Stay there until you see me. I don’t want you in any further danger.”

I waited a minute until the car pulled into the abandoned station. The driver got out, and I sagged in relief when I saw it was Miles.

“I see you.” I disconnected the call and stepped out from behind my screen and shouted, “Over here.” My hands went up in the air, waving to get his attention.

“Stay there.”

I grumbled under my breath, as if I were going anywhere.

He got back in the car and pulled up alongside me. Before I could even take a step toward the vehicle, he jumped out and raced over to me, gently running his hands over me, searching for injuries. His eyes traced my entire body, probing. I let him because he wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw for himself that I was okay. I got lucky. I was only a little banged up but my head did hurt. I probably had a concussion.

“Let’s get you checked out.” I let Miles fuss over me because I knew he needed to. He helped me into the car and I sat back, exhausted. He made several phones calls while he drove, including to a towing company to come get my car. Knowing everything I knew, I didn’t want the police involved. We pulled into the emergency room parking area, and he jumped out to hurry and help me up. The waiting area was crammed full of people, some looking worse off than me.

“We need to talk about your father,” Miles said after he checked me into triage.

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