Hot Pursuit Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Table of Contents

  Look for these titles from Rhonda Laurel

  Title Page

  Copyright Warning

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  About the Author

  Also by Rhonda Laurel

  Look for these titles from Rhonda Laurel

  Now Available

  The All or Nothing Series

  Hard Target (Book One)

  Second Chance at Love (Book Two)

  Family Matters (Book Three)

  Love at Last (Book Four)

  Covert Affairs (Book Five)

  Restless Heart (Book Six)

  Hot Pursuit (Book Seven)

  The Blake Boys Series

  For the Love of the Game (Book One)

  MVP (Book Two)

  The Blake Legacy (Book Three)

  Texas Heat (Book Four)

  Love Notes and Football (Book Five)

  The Perfect Storm (Book Six)

  Slow Burn (Book Seven)

  Cowboy’s Heart (Book Eight)

  Tempting Fate (Book Nine)

  Executive Desires (Book Ten)

  Meet the Blakes (Book Eleven)

  The Final Play (Book Twelve)

  Stranded in Paradise (Book Thirteen)

  Slap Shot (Book Fourteen)

  Off Season (Book Fifteen)

  Worth the Wait (Book Sixteen)

  Leap of Faith (Book Seventeen)

  Begin Again (Book Eighteen)

  Playing for Keeps (Book Nineteen)

  The Hollywood Heat Series

  Star Crossed (Book One)

  Hollywood Rush (Book Two)

  Double Exposure (Book Three)

  Ebb Tide

  Shutter

  Hot Pursuit

  All or Nothing Series Book Seven

  Rhonda Laurel

  Etopia Press

  Copyright Warning

  EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Etopia Press

  1643 Warwick Ave., #124

  Warwick, RI 02889

  http://www.etopiapress.com

  Hot Pursuit

  Copyright © 2018 by Rhonda Laurel

  ISBN: 978-1-947135-71-0

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Etopia Press electronic publication: March 2018

  ~ Dedication ~

  To Riley and Parker, thanks for love, suspense, and the latest adventure.

  Chapter One

  Parker listened to the commotion on Carmichael’s walkie-talkie while keeping her eyes glued to the field. Riley had been on fire today, despite getting sacked in the first half of the game. Her heart had stopped when she saw him go down. It never got easier seeing him running around on the field, getting hurt. But he got back up and was ready for the next play. She expected nothing less from him. She could see a slight limp when he got up, but she knew in his mind being taken out of the game wouldn’t be an option. He’d play through to the bitter end. That was the kind of dedication and professionalism he embodied. She just hoped he was OK.

  It had been a busy day at the Tomcats Stadium. It was the second round of the playoffs, which meant the next few weeks would be even more intense as they battled their way for a spot in the Super Bowl. Big stakes games meant traffic was heavier than usual at the stadium. They had a strong, loyal fan base, but there was an additional influx of people and tailgaters, which meant the stadium and the building was at full capacity. That made for a lot of security risks. Try as she might, she kept focus while eavesdropping on the security team chatter. Her sister Sam was much better at letting the security detail do their jobs, but even she had her eyes glued to the game while playing with youngest son Deacon on her lap.

  After the third report over the walkie-talkie, this time mentioning sublevel two where the locker rooms were, she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to find out what was going on. She knew she shouldn’t butt in. She was, after all, there to see her boyfriend play, and he was having a damn good game.

  She got up from her plush leather seat and went to the back of the private box. “Carmichael, what’s going on?”

  “There may be some unauthorized activity near the locker rooms.” He hit the button on his device. “Status update. Report.”

  “Sir, there’s been a breach in the locker room,” someone said over the walkie-talkie.

  “Secure the area. I’m on my way down,” Dean Carmichael, head of the security team, replied on his device and headed for the door.

  She followed behind him. “I’m coming too.”

  Carmichael stopped in his tracks and faced her. “Parker, you’re a spectator today. You’re not on duty.”

  “What’s going on?” Seth said as he and Logan approached.

  “There’s been a breach downstairs. We’re on it.” Carmichael opened the door.

  “I was about to ask the same thing.” Sam walked over. “Where’s Rafe?”

  “Doing a sweep on the roof,” Carmichael replied. “He’s on the com. I can handle this. I gotta go.”

  “You’re not going without me.” Parker folded her arms across her chest.

  Carmichael tried to give her the look Rafe often gave her, but he hadn’t perfected it yet. “OK, Parker.” Carmichael nodded to the other Regency specialist in the family’s private box. “Simmons. Stay here.”

  Parker and Carmichael ran down the hall to the exit doors. As they scurried down the steps, a status update came over the walkie-talkie.

  “Sir, we’ve assessed the situation, and the champ’s locker has been rifled through. It looks like they’ve taken some of his clothing, including one of his jerseys.”

  “Anyone have eyes on the perp?”

  “Two suspects who had suspicious press credentials have been identified, but they’re nowhere in sight.”

  “I want everyone triple-checking IDs and all the exits secured,” Carmichael commanded. “I want surveillance to get a visual of their faces and send them to everyone’s phones. They won’t get far.”

  When they reached the landing of the first floor, they went through the door. They’d have to take the escalators to the lower levels.

  “Carmichael. Did anyone fix that broken exit door near the loading dock?” Parker asked as she stepped on the escalator.

  Carmichael looked at her. “What door?”

  “The craft services supervisor complained that the door had been going off randomly all week. A couple of days ago it just stop
ped.”

  “Damn it!” Carmichael hit the walkie-talkie button again. “Control room, bring up the feed of the loading docks. Tell me what you see.”

  “I see two people exiting quickly to what looks like a waiting white, four-door car on the street.”

  “They’re headed toward Opal Street. It’s the quickest one to the freeway!” Parker shouted as she turned around and ran up the escalator.

  “Red alert. Suspects may be fleeing the scene. I want a security patrol on Opal ASAP!” Carmichael hit the button. “Parker, where are you going?”

  “If they get on it, they’ll get away!”

  Parker sprinted through the level one and out of the main doors to her car. Thank heavens she’d parked in the secured area today. She hopped in her car, turned on the engine, and peeled out of the parking lot so fast she left marks on the pavement. As she whipped a quick right and headed for the back of the stadium, she knew there was a small private driveway on the stadium premises that lead to Marshall which intersected with Opal.

  As she hit the accelerator and sped up, all she could think about was someone had violated Riley’s things and had stolen from him. She clenched the wheel as her blood began to boil. She wasn’t going to let them get away with it. Riley framed his jerseys from important games. He’d even joked about it this morning that he’d already bought the frame.

  Parker made a sharp right turn onto Opal, but the street was empty. Either she was too early or too late. She scrambled for the walkie-talkie in her glove compartment.

  “Carmichael, this is Carson. I’m on Opal and—” She stopped when she saw the lights of a car coming. She squinted. The car was white and coming down the road like a bat out of hell. “I have the perps in my sights.”

  She looked around, assessing her options. Backup was a few minutes away, and that was a few minutes too long. She didn’t have her gun today or she’d easily blow out the tires. Like Carmichael said, she was supposed to be there in supportive-girlfriend capacity today. As much as she loved watching Riley play, part of her was always on high-alert at his games. Right now, the only weapon at her disposal was her car. The car she loved more than life itself. The car she’d had since forever. But what mattered right now was stopping the crooks who’d ripped Riley off. The only choice was to block the road and play a game of chicken with the thieves.

  Parker positioned her car in the middle of the narrow street. The two cement walls on each side of the small overpass made it impossible to go around her. The car continued to barrel toward her, showing no signs of slowing down. She unclicked her seat belt and scooted over to the passenger side. She barely made it out the Camaro and dove onto the pavement before they rammed into it with such a force it made the ground shake.

  She scrambled to her feet. She didn’t have her firearm, but she did have a Taser in the glove compartment. She reached inside her smashed car and retrieved the Taser. She looked over at the car’s occupants to see the airbags had deployed. The driver was groaning from behind the seat. The passenger next to him looked dazed as he clutched his head. He looked familiar. That’s it! He was a new hire and had only been with the Tomcats organization for a couple of months before he was let go for trying to take photos of the team and forging their autographs to sell. He was struggling to get free, but his seat belt was stuck; he wasn’t going anywhere. The third person sitting in the backseat, however, was frantically gathering up the items that had spilled out of a duffel bag and was trying to get out.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded, as he got out of the car.

  “Get out of my way.” He clutched one of Riley’s jerseys, wallet, and ID bracelet in his hand.

  “You’re not going anywhere. That merchandise doesn’t belong to you.”

  He took a clumsy swing at her. She deftly stepped out of the way and caused him to stagger forward and drop the items. She countered by punching the idiot in the jaw, then kicking him in the stomach. He fell to the ground. The ex-employee had finally gotten his seat belt off and fell out of the car as he opened the door. He scrambled to his feet like he was getting ready to run.

  “Don’t try it.” She held up the Taser. “I will fry you like a piece of chicken.”

  She looked at the flashing lights coming down the road. It was the police and three Regency SUVs. Parker peeked inside the car at the duffel bag. There were some unfamiliar items that didn’t belong to Riley. They’d taken things from other players too. She looked at the items on the ground. Riley’s jersey was there along with his wallet and the platinum ID bracelet she’d given him for his birthday. It was inscribed Love Bruiser.

  The vehicles came to a screeching halt, and people hopped out and started scurrying around.

  “Those three geniuses are responsible for the dumbest plan in history,” Parker said as she pointed out the three perps and the police began rounding them up.

  “Parker!”

  She looked up and saw Riley, dressed in his football uniform, running toward her. What was Riley doing here? Wasn’t the game still going on?

  “I was so worried about you.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a bear-hug like a child who’d just found their favorite lost toy.

  “I guess the game is over. Did you win?”

  “Yeah. But that’s not important right now. I’m so happy you’re OK.” He looked at her car. The warm fuzzy expression morphed into a scowl. “What the hell were you thinking? Were you in there when that happened?”

  “No. I jumped out before they rammed it.” She looked at her car again. Her heart sank. The driver’s side was completely smashed. But what was more important right now was that she got the job done. “Do you think Rusty can fix it?”

  “Rusty’s not a magician. Your car looks like Origami,” Rafe said as he approached with Carmichael.

  “Well, he fixed Tate’s Studebaker,” she fired back.

  Riley frowned at her. “What possessed you to go chasing after these guys?”

  “They broke into your locker and were probably going to sell your things on the Internet. I know how much these jerseys mean to you.”

  “They’ll be plenty more jerseys in my future. But there’s only one of you.”

  “You were worried about me?” She moved closer to him and looked up into his eyes. “You should have known I could handle three knuckleheads.”

  “I know you can handle yourself. But it doesn’t stop me from worrying.” He caressed her cheek.

  She pointed to the ID bracelet. “They took more than your jersey. There’s your wallet and the birthday present I got for you. You know how long it took me to pick out that bracelet? You’re not easy to shop for.”

  “You shouldn’t have risked life and limb.”

  “It’s part of my job description.” She flashed a smile to try to get him to relax. “How’s the knee? That tackle in the first quarter looked like it took the wind out of you.”

  “It’s a little tender, but I’ll live. I guess this means we won’t be taking the team to dinner tonight?”

  “Nonsense. We still have time.” She glanced at her watch. “I just have to make a quick statement to the police. Wait right here.”

  Parker walked over to the officer in charge of the scene. He’d coordinated a lot with the security team at the stadium, and she knew him from her days as a cop. She rattled off the showdown events with precision speed, confirmed the perps they had in custody had been in the car when it crashed, and promised to come to the station tomorrow to make a formal statement. She walked back toward Riley, Rafe, and Carmichael, who were examining her car. She heard Rafe mumbling something about her being lucky to be alive. She had to get Riley out of there. They were likely to get him to worrying about her again.

  “OK. I talked Sgt. Watkins and will give my official statement tomorrow.” She stood next to Riley. “Rafe, can I borrow your SUV?”

  “Go ahead.” Rafe tossed her the keys.

  “Thanks.” She went over to the car and retrieved the min
i Tomcats helmet and a pair of fuzzy dice hanging on the rearview mirror. “Can’t forget my good-luck charms.”

  “You don’t need a good-luck charm. You need a brigade of angels following you,” Carmichael said. “Your stunts skew the incident percentages for my team.”

  “Just thank your lucky stars she only works for us part-time.” Rafe gave her that look that Carmichael hadn’t learned to perfect yet. “We’re going to have a long talk.”

  Parker pointed to Rafe’s face. “That’s how you do the look, Carmichael. See the scowl with a hint of concern in the eyebrows?”

  “So if I perfect the look, will you stop pulling crazy stunts?” Carmichael asked sarcastically.

  “Not a chance. It took Rafe years to get that right.” She saluted them both. “I hate to leave in a hurry, but we have a post-game party to host. But I did do the heavy lifting by catching the bad guys. I’m sure you’ll include that in the incident report.”

  Rafe surveyed the scattered items. “Champ, this has to be logged in as evidence.”

  “Sure thing. But that’s the least of my concerns right now.” Riley looked at Parker.

  “We’re off.” Parker tugged on Riley’s hand and led him to Rafe’s SUV. They got into the vehicle and headed back to the stadium.

  She knew Rafe wasn’t happy about her stunt and she didn’t look forward to the lecture that would be coming. But his stern words of concern paled in comparison to way Riley was looking at her. He looked pissed off, but she could see the tenderness in his eyes. It would take a few days, but he’d forgive her for what he deemed as reckless behavior.

  “So how was the last minute of the game?”

  “You don’t play fair,” Riley replied as he tried to suppress the smile forming on his face.

  Parker smiled too. It was her trick to distract him, and it often worked. Well, one of the things she did to distract him. It wasn’t like they could stop and make out like horny teenagers. She knew talking about the last minute of every game sent him into some nirvana-like trance as he relived the moment. But like any proud quarterback, he started rattling off the play. It was better than him looking frustrated with her. Listening to him also kept her from screaming about her car. It was the last connection she had to her dad, who’d bought it for her. He’d been gone for a long time, but her closest memories of her dad were working on the car with him. Riding around in it made her feel like he was still with her as she kicked ass and took names like everyone in the Carson family.