Page 30 of Marked for Danger

Still…

Grady kept his eyes on her as she looked both ways before crossing the street. Parked two spots up on the opposite side of the road, he got out and half-jogged to catch up to her.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Izzy’s small cry of surprise caught in her throat as she spun around. At the same time, she raised her fist as if to strike out at him, and only then did Grady notice the keys strategically placed between her folded knuckles.

“Easy there, Doc.” He put his hands up to show he meant her no harm. “It’s just me.”

“Grady?” Her gorgeous face twisted into a rapid-fire mixture of shock, fear, confusion, and anger. It was that last one that had her smacking him square in the chest with the palm of her keyless hand. “What the hell are you doing here? And didn’t wejusthave a discussion about you sneaking up on people like that?”

“I literally jogged from all the way down there.” He tried not to smile.Damn she’s cute when she’s pissed.“Nice move with the keys, by the way. Smart.”

“What?” She glanced down at her other hand. “Oh. Right. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. It’s nice to know you’re ready and willing to defend yourself if you had to.”

For a second, she started to blush. But then the anger returned, and Izzy put some space between them. “You’re changing the subject and avoiding my question. What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Me? Why?” Izzy frowned. “And how did you even know where to find me?”

“Sarge filled us in on your brother’s connection to Valdez. He said you agreed to talk to him about helping with the case, and I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

“Oh. That’s actually…really sweet.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “But as you can see, I’m perfectly fi—”

The rest of what Izzy was going to say got lost when the driver’s side window shattered.

“Get down!”

Grady’s shouted order came as he was throwing his upper body over Izzy’s and forcing her to the pavement. The move was rough but necessary, just like the Glock 19 he’d just pulled from the leather holster at his hip.

“Are you okay?” Grady held his gun at the ready, his right arm moving left to right in a smooth and precise motion. “Can you move?”

“I-I’m okay.” Her voice shook with fear.

Thank God!

Grabbing his phone, he called in the shooting. After giving the emergency operator his name, badge number, and a brief run-down, he requested units be sent to their location. Once the call was ended, Grady shoved the phone back into his pocket.

You need to move. You have to get her someplace safe!

Knowing they were sitting ducks if they stayed put, Grady quickly came up with a plan to hopefully keep thembothas safe as possible until back-up arrived.

“Is your car unlocked?”

“Y-yes.”

“Okay, good. As soon as I say go, I want you to get to the other side of the car as quickly as you can. But stay low, got it?”

“O-okay.” A frantic nod.

“When we get over there, I want you to open the back door, climb inside, and lay as far down on the floorboard as you can. Do you understand?”

“Fast and low, open the door, get inside, lay down.” The browns and greens of her eyes met his with a hunched nod. “Got it.”

If the situation wasn’t so dire, her abbreviated recap would have made him smile.Damn, she’s cool under pressure.

---