Page 36 of Mr. Dangerous

I inserted my card and punched the buttons to withdraw the maximum amount from the ATM, wondering how many ATMs this guy planned to visit in one night. Without Naomi in the car, it would have been easy to dispatch the idiot. But I wasn't going to put Naomi at risk. I needed a way to get the guy out ofthecar.

I slid back into the car, twisted in the passenger seat to offer the man the money. "You wantthisnow?"

"Yeah." The guy snatched it greedily out of my hands. "There's another ATM not far. Make the right at that firstlight."

Naomi drove to a second ATM, and a third. I bided my time. Naomi was growing exhausted under the tension, struggling to listen to the man's directions while her adrenaline raced in fight-or-flight mode. But she was calm, even if she was clearly struggling to pay attention to traffic lights and roadsigns.

When she glanced over at me, as we drove to the fourth ATM stop, I thought that I saw trust in her eyes. I gave her a hint of a smile in return. I was going to get us out of this mess. She could count on me for that, at least. Her hazel eyes were dry now, although her hands were still trembling. I wished I knew what was going on inherhead.

Meanwhile, our captor was starting to feel awfully laidback for someone with a gun and two hostages. I couldn't wait to take advantage of his complacency and hurt him for what he put Naomithrough.

At the fourth ATM, I went to the machine and stood in front of it for a second. I felt the rain mist against my jacket. This guy knew where all the ATMs were, which suggested he'd done some homework. He had to know there was a cap on daily withdrawals as well as individual ATM withdrawals. I took one long, slow deep breath before I returned tothecar.

I swung my door open and put my knee on the seat, wanting to move between the carjacker and Naomi in a hurry if this all went south. "Hey. The machine's not letting me withdraw. Says I'm overthemax."

"Not yet you aren't," theguysaid.

I shrugged. "I'll tryagain."

"You, get out of the car," the guy said to Naomi, gesturing with the gun again. Didn't anyone teach these thugs gunsafety?

Naomi obediently opened the driver's side door and slipped out of the car. I was grateful the guy made the mistake of throwing open the passenger side door in irritation, getting down with the gun in his right hand as he gripped the door frame. Naomi was all the way on the other side ofthecar.

I slammed into the guy. Get the gun, get the gun. My hand locked on it, making sure the barrel was turned skyward. I turned the man's wrist backward, and the guy released it involuntarily, trying to keep his wrist from breaking. I felt the metal barrel slide smoothly intomypalm.

I flipped the carjacker over my shoulder into the pavement, following it up with a quick, brutal kick that leveraged all my weight to put the guy down. The thug's head fell against the pavement. After all the time I'd waited, the fight itself was all over in a matter ofseconds.

"Oh my god," Naomi said from the other side of the car. I made sure the guy was out cold, checked him for other weapons, and then turned around, finally ready tocomforther.

Naomi was already in the driver's seat again, her purse in her lap and her cell phone up to her ear. "We're at the Sun Bank. I don't remember what street this is on. Rob? Doyouknow?"

I looked at her, sitting in the car again as cool as could be with 911, and wanted to laugh because I was so pleased with her. Sorelieved.

Instead, remembering the street signs I'd watched with the part of my attention that wasn't on the unsteady carjacker, I said, "We're onDudson."

"Dudson," Naomirelayed.

I joined her at the door of the car, and she held the phone away from her ear, turning on speakerphone. The 9-1-1- operator said, "I'll stay on the line with you until the policearrive."

"Okay," Naomi said, setting the phone down in the cup holder. She looked at me, an unreadable look onherface.

"Are you allright?"

"I'm alive," she said, one corner of her mouth quirking up. I wanted to kiss that little quirk, an impulse that rose in stark contrast to our strangenight.

"I wouldn't let anyone hurt you," Ipromised.

Still, with that unreadable smile, a long look she gave me from under her eyelashes. Impulsively, I leaned in towards her, feeling the heat between our bodies; she looked up at meuncertainly.

"What are youthinking?"

She shook her head, glancing away out the windshield. This close, I could smell the creamy scent of her shampoo. Her dark hair was wild around her face, as if she'd run her fingers through it in her anxiety, and I smoothed it with my palm. Almost involuntarily, she let her eyes drift shut, heavy lashes meeting her cheekbones, turning her face intomyhand.

Police sirens bleated in the distance, and two squad cars turned into the parking lot. Naomi's eyessnappedopen.

"It's going to be okay." I held a hand out to help her out of the car, and she took it reluctantly, sliding down from thedriver'sseat.

I set the gun down on the hood of the car and took a few long steps back besides Naomi, lifting my hands to show the police empty palms. Naomi hesitated, then raised her hands above hershoulders.

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