Nora Roberts Land(77)
His insistence only made her dig in deeper. “Stop being mad. You know we’re right. Besides, this is a small town. People look twice at a guy who’s walking alone in the cold after dark. I’m good cover. And thank God the snow stopped, because otherwise they’d really think we’re nuts. Now a walk seems romantic.”
Even in the dim light from the console, Meredith could see his clenched jaw. His eyes were predatory as they scanned the street. She wanted to shiver. Part of her still couldn’t believe they were on their way to break into Dare Auto Care. She reminded herself two kids were dead.
“I’ll park the car a few blocks over. Keep your cap on. Your red hair shines like fire.” He shot a glance at her. “And you need to do whatever I say if something happens. I want your promise.”
Suppressing the desire to gulp, she lifted her chin. “Why are you in charge?”
“Because I’ve been in hot spots, and you haven’t.” He took her gloved hand, squeezing it. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She stared at his thumb rubbing circles on the leather. Her body crackled with lust like wrapping paper being opened. “Okay, but not if what you tell me is stupid.”
“I don’t do stupid.”
“How are you planning on getting inside?”
“You’ll see.”
She didn’t like surprises, but since she’d pushed him, she let his cryptic answer slide. This outing was about trust.
After parking the car under a low-hanging tree near Washington Elementary, he took her hand. Snow-coated swings rocked gently in the wind, giving her the heebie-jeebies. Their breaths puffed white in the cold air. Oak Street was quiet, and most houses had their lights off. Since it was after midnight, Meredith wasn’t surprised.
A dog barked to the right, and her body coiled with tension. Tanner kept right on walking, scanning the street. He brought them through an alley to the back of the garage. Even with the cold, the metallic smell of trash tickled her nose.
“Stay in the shadows,” Tanner whispered.
He headed for the door. Thankfully, Kenny’s place didn’t have any flood lights. Most people didn’t in Dare since animals set them off all the time. Besides, Dare didn’t have any crime, right?
At the door, Tanner drew out a key and a small hammer from his bulky fleece. Her mouth dropped as he inserted it into the lock and whacked the hammer against it. The dull pinging sound made her want to scream. He opened the door with ease.
Well hello, Roarke, Divorcée Woman suddenly intoned in a sultry voice.
Meredith fought the urge to press her hands to her temples. She didn’t need a reference to J.D. Robb’s famous male hero. Can’t you see we’re breaking and entering? she saucily replied. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel much like Roarke’s fearless wife, Eve Dallas, right now.
They wiped their boots with the rag he’d brought before walking inside. Tanner dug out a pen light and scanned the garage.
“Fuck,” he hissed, when they caught sight of the twisted and dented metal of Ray’s totaled car. Tanner craned his neck like he was listening for something, and then walked forward. She followed.
The windows were all shattered except for the one in the back, which was intact, but resembled a spider web. Two wheels were torn, the rubber shredded to bits. The car’s body looked like an accordion. She tried not to think of the kid who had died inside it, but she couldn’t stop the images. She only knew what Ray had looked like from the photo in the layout for tomorrow’s paper. Tanner was right. He hadn’t looked like a drug dealer. Just a short, pimply college kid.
“How did you learn to do that?” she whispered.
Tanner walked around the car, running his hand over its ruined frame. “What?”
“Break into a building.” She angled closer carefully. There were jugs of various auto care products scattered across the floor.
“I got involved with a bad crowd in my youth. We liked to break into buildings. I didn’t like the stealing, but I liked getting into forbidden places and looking around.” He focused the light on the tire. “It’s come in handy.”
She ran her hand over a single, sharp piece of glass protruding from the passenger window. “I still can’t believe you’ve done this as a journalist.”
Tanner leaned into the driver’s side, sweeping the light around. “Honey, the places I’ve posted don’t have much law and order. Trust me, I’ve only done it when there was no other choice.”
He rifled through some papers in the glove compartment while she stood there mute. She was learning a hell of a lot about him on this outing. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.