Star Witness - By Mallory Kane Page 0,53

her phone from her purse. “Oh, I have a voice message,” she cried.

Harte moved to where he could look over her shoulder. “From Lucas?” he asked.

“Don’t know. I’ll put it on Speaker.” She pressed a button on the phone and they listened.

“We’re sorry, you cannot access voice mail at this time. Please try again later.”

“Great,” Harte said, checking his display again. “Yep. Zero bars. I thought maybe since the storm had passed over, we’d be able to call for help.”

Dani dropped the phone back into her big purse. She raised her head, then suddenly moved away from him. It was as if she’d just realized how close he was standing to her. She still hadn’t looked directly at him.

For once, he was sure he understood this woman perfectly. She regretted sleeping with him.

“Listen, Dani—”

“So, what now?” she interrupted, and immediately bit her lip. Her cheeks turned pink. “I mean, now that the storm is over, should we get out of here? Try to get to a police station or something?”

Harte turned to look out the front windows. “Yeah. The sun’s going to come up soon. I’m going to go out and scout around.”

“Then I’m going with you,” she said.

“No. It’s too dangerous. We could run into those men any second.”

Dani propped her hands on her hips. “Exactly. Or a utility truck or a policeman. You’d have to come back and get me. That’s just dumb.”

Harte winced. She was right and she knew it. He could tell, because she gave a little nod of her head. Not much, just enough to say So there.

“Get ready to go,” he said, then pointed his finger at her. “But I’m checking around the building first. You’re not stepping one foot out of here until I’m sure the coast is clear.”

“You’re not going out there unarmed.”

“What do you suggest I use? Your lock picks? Or maybe a water gun from the toy aisle?” he shot back.

With a look designed to wither him where he stood, she dug into her purse and pulled out—

“What the hell is that?” he snapped, staring at her hand.

She gave a short laugh. “It’s a gun,” she said with mock patience. “A SIG Sauer, to be specific.”

“Where’d you get that?” he demanded. “Have you had it this whole time? Banging around in that—” He gestured. “Do you know how dangerous that is?”

She flushed, but not with embarrassment. She was angry. He could tell by the fire in her eyes and the lift of her chin.

“Yes,” she snapped. “I know exactly how dangerous it is. Granddad gave it to me and taught me how to use it and care for it. You don’t think for one minute that he would be so careless as to give me a weapon without making sure I could handle it?”

“How would I know what your grandfather would do?” Harte said irritably. “I do know this. Apparently, he skipped some basic precautions—like having enough respect for your partner to inform him that you’re packing sometime within, say, the first eight hours or so of running for your lives.”

Dani’s face drained of color.

He realized immediately what he’d said. “Dani—I wasn’t trying to insult your granddad—”

“You go to hell,” she grated, then turned and stomped away. Her slender shoulders in the too-big hoodie were stiff and straight; her walk was regal.

Harte sighed in frustration and wiped a hand across his stubbled cheeks and chin. He’d crossed the line with his rude comment about her grandfather.

Hell, he’d crossed more lines in the past few hours than he ever had in his life. Insulting Freeman Canto wasn’t the worst thing he’d done by far. No, the worst was forgetting his vow to keep Dani safe. He’d given in to the explosive attraction between them and taken advantage of her.

And now they were back to square one. Just like the day they’d faced off in court. Rivals, even enemies, in every sense of the word. The fragile trust he’d built with her by vowing to keep her safe had been strained by their lovemaking, but now he’d shattered that trust. And it could get Dani killed. Because they were going to have to make a run for it.

He glanced at his watch. Almost six o’clock in the morning. Any minute now the sun would start lightening the sky. That was good and bad. They’d be able to see street signs and landmarks, but it also meant they’d be visible. Reluctantly, he had to admit that he was relieved that they had a