Free The Choice by Lorhainne Eckhart Page B

a few yards away. Another NOPD car pulled to the curb, behind a line of cabs. Sam propelled her into a lineup of travelers waiting for cabs and then crossed over to the parking garage.
    “Keep walking, don’t look around.” Marcie clutched Sam’s arm with both hands before she tripped while trying to keep up.
    Sam hurried Marcie to the passenger side of his late model, dark blue Camaro. He opened the door and pushed her in. “Put on your seatbelt.”
    Her hand trembled while she buckled up. Sam yanked open his heavy door and gunned the engine before his door closed.
    He backed out so fast Marcie jolted in her seat. The tires squealed when Sam shifted gears. The speed with which he accelerated pinned Marcie back against the soft leather. She gripped the hard vinyl dashboard and stared through the thick windshield. Sam weaved in and around slower moving vehicles.
    “Sam, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” And she was scared. It wasn’t just the questions surrounding what Marcie carried. Speculation about Sam’s own character and his link to drugs had been dumped right in the middle of this. A dirty cop . Wasn’t that what Dev implied? This wasn’t reasonable, and only now did the implication sink in.
    His cheek twitched. He held his emotions so tight. His furious glance sliced a hole in her heart. Was she supposed to know the answer?
    “Sam, spill it, what’s going on? What Dev said about drugs in your locker? And why did we have to leave so fast? He focused on the road, continuing to swerve in and out of traffic.
    “Let’s start with one of your answers, darling. I suspect the police are interested in talking to you. And two, just so we're clear, Marcie sweetheart, for some reason I think you may be right. You’re involved in something. The guy on the video expected you. And I suspect the plan changed, and you weren’t consulted. My guess, whatever you stashed in your backpack, these guys knew about and were waiting. If it was drugs or other contraband, how the hell did you get it past security? And three, I bet my last dollar you’re a mule, darling. And just so we're clear, I’m no drug dealer. Those drugs were planted in my locker. How Dev even found out about that…” He yanked the wheel so hard Marcie’s shoulder bumped the door. Sam cut off a minivan who responded by blasting their horn.
    Sam’s lips thinned. He was furious. “I was set up. But you weren’t, and I sure as hell wasn’t following you for your backpack.”
    “I believe you. So why’d Dev imply you were somehow involved with trafficking marijuana? He didn’t come right out and say the words, Sam. But just the same, he suggested you’re a dirty cop?” She struck a nerve the way his hard eyes fired back at her. “Don’t get mad at me, I’m just trying to find out what’s going on.”
    Sam shut down. His face could’ve been made of stone for all the emotion it showed. She may have lost her memory, but she was no fool when someone held onto something. Why wouldn’t he talk? What really happened?
    “Shit. Hang on, we’ve got a tail.”
    Marcie whipped her head around, searching out her side window at the hundreds of cars all fighting their way down this crowded side street. “Where?”
    “Two cars back, beat up four door piece of shit only an underpaid NOPD detective drives.” Sam turned right and then left down an alley and right again on a busy side road. He weaved in out of traffic and finally slowed from his erratic speed, blending in with a single line of traffic. Harsh lines deepened around the deep focus in his eyes, which were divided between the rearview mirror and the road in front of them.
    “Did you lose them?”
    “Maybe.” Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. His hard gaze glued to the rearview mirror as if it was their only guide to safety. Sam’s cell phone buzzed from his shirt pocket. “Carre here.” What an odd way to answer. But it gave her tummy a little tug to realize she didn’t