With a Twist (Last Call #4)(39)

Luckily, I hear more feet …  several pairs, and then Mike and his tactical team are swarming the parking lot from the dark alley, just as I'd predicted.



       
         
       
        

"Cover them," I yell, turning to start running after Andrea.

I vaguely hear Mike saying, "FBI …  you're under arrest for the … " and then he's fading away as I enter the alley. Bursting out onto Devine, I see an undercover cruiser with lights flying toward me and a flash of golden-blonde hair disappearing down the alley across the street. I burst into another run, crossing Devine, and dodging one car that slams its brakes on. I slap at the hood with my free hand and keep running.

The cruiser pulls into the alley behind me as I run, but there's not enough room for it to pass me and I'm not giving up the chase. I can see the shadowy form of Andrea ahead, and she's closing in on Simon.

Fuck, she's in great shape.

She's within an arm's length of him and in one stride, she pushes off her right leg and leaps at his back. She misses and I watch her start to fall, thinking she's going to be picking her teeth up off the pavement, but then she manages to latch her arms around one of his legs.

Simons goes down in a tangled mess with her, both of them hitting the concrete hard and rolling. Their lack of momentum causes me to bridge the gap quickly, and just as Simon rolls to his knees, preparing to lunge back into a run, I take three more strides and kick him in the rib cage with a steel-toed boot.

He lets out a huge oomph and rolls to his back, groaning and holding his ribs with his hands. The cruiser slams to a halt, and two FBI agents jump out. I know they can handle Simon so I immediately tuck my gun in the back of my jeans again and turn to Andrea.





Chapter 12





Andrea





I'm pretty sure the crackling I heard when Wyatt's boot connected with Simon's rib cage was several bones breaking.

I roll …  come up to my knees, and lay my palms on my thighs as Simon writhes on the ground in agony. My chest is heaving with exertion, and I suck in lungfuls of oxygen.

"Fuck, I'm out of shape," I gasp to no one in particular.

"Out of shape?" Wyatt says, and when my eyes slide over to his, I see him smiling down at me. "You ran him down …  tackled him hard enough the NFL would want to recruit you. I think you're in excellent shape."

Reaching out, he holds his hand out to me and because I doubt I have the strength to stand on my own just yet, I accept. "Yeah …  but a few years ago, I wouldn't have been winded by that."

His smile turns into a grin, and then my smile turns into a grin. He tugs on my hand, and I start to stand up. Acid-like pain flares around my left hip, and I can't stop the gasp that wheezes out of me. "Damn …  that hurts," I grit out as I wince hard. 

"What hurts?" Wyatt asks as he lets my hand go.

Holding out my left arm, I crane my neck and look down at my hip. My jeans are completely shredded starting just below the waistband, which I guess is a damnable consequence of tackling someone on cold, hard pavement. I can see through the material down to my skin, which is shredded as well and seeping blood.

"Christ," Wyatt says as he takes ahold of my arm, just above my elbow, and turns me toward him. "You're bleeding."

The same acid-like fire now sweeps over my elbow where he's holding me, and Wyatt immediately jerks his hand away. It's covered in blood. "Fuck, you're bleeding everywhere."

"Just two places," I say drily as I pick at the material of my jeans and try to pull it away from the massive scrape on my hip.

I hear pounding feet and see Mike Gomez is running toward us.

"Call an ambulance," Wyatt says. "Andrea's hurt."

"I am not hurt. Just scraped up," I say firmly, giving Mike a hard glare. "No ambulance for me."

"Just to let them clean you up," Wyatt starts to argue, but I hold up my hand and wave him off.

"I'm fine. I'll clean up at the field office," I tell him.

He lets out a grunt of frustration, but then nods his head at me in capitulation.

"Come on," Mike says as he turns and starts heading to one of the many cruisers that are now parked in the alley. "I'll take you back to the field office. You'll need to give me a quick statement so I can use it to question the suspects, and then you two need to get some rest. I'll need more detailed interviews with you tomorrow, and you'll have to work up your reports."

I glance back, seeing that Simon is already in handcuffs and is being led to one of the police cars. His eyes go to Wyatt and then slide to mine. I touch the pads of my fingers to my lips and then blow him a kiss. A short wave of my hand, and I say, "Bye-bye, Simon. Enjoy your time in prison."