Heath straightened. “Very true. It’ll be more like you making a couple of public appearances with me and then being visible around town. We’ll have you protected at all times.”
“That was Loretta’s downfall.” Saying her sister’s name hurt. “She tried to go out on her own.” Shouldn’t Anya have realized that aspect in her sister? Maybe her psychology skills had been dulled by her time in the classroom. Reading people and figuring them out was far different from teaching. She rubbed her suddenly chilled arms. “A team is needed to take down this guy.”
“Exactly.” Heath turned as an older wooden door opened behind him.
Two broad men strode out followed by a stunning dark-haired woman with nearly sky blue eyes. She was tall and nicely muscled in an ultra-feminine way.
Talk about an intimidating and strikingly good-looking team. Anya forced a smile and tried not to worry about her wildly curly hair and makeup-free face. Compared to the beauty in dark jeans and a red silk top, she felt like a hick cousin from that side of a family tree.
“You must be Anya.” The woman strode forward and extended a hand.
They shook. “Hi.”
“I’m Zara.” The woman’s smile made her appear even more beautiful. “We’ve scrambled to put together apartments on short notice.” She motioned to the first guy, who had black hair, bluish green eyes, and a bad-boy vibe. “This is Ryker, and this is Denver.” The other guy had dark hair, blue eyes, and a tight build.
Both men nodded and offered to shake hands, their expressions revealing nothing. After gently releasing her, without seeming to move, they quickly scouted the very empty garage area.
“Hi,” Anya said weakly, noting scars on their palms. Blood brother scars. The scars were both sweet and somehow threatening. A vow in blood—what wouldn’t they do for each other?
They were a solid wall, without question. What would it be like to want to form a family with somebody? With men like these who seemed so indestructible? She suddenly studied the very put-together Zara. Her gaze was direct and intelligent, and she stood like she could take care of herself. But even now, both Ryker and Denver remained close enough to jump in front of the beauty instantly.
And beautiful she was. It was all Anya could do not to fix her own hair. Why hadn’t she brought her professor clothes?
“Status?” Heath asked his brothers.
Ryker leaned to the side to survey the SUV, his gaze intense. “We need to dump this vehicle and return it to a rental agency since you rented it with our business account. I’ll take care of it. For now, this building is secure. Motion sensors, cameras, a couple of hidden devices if necessary.”
Devices? What was a device? Anya looked toward Heath.
“This is a good headquarters, guys. Thanks. What about the decoy offices? Are they ready?” Heath turned toward Anya. “We have two sets of offices and quarters. This one is secure and secret, while the other one is public and will draw out the killer. We hope.”
Tension suddenly swelled through the room, filling the huge space. Anya’s legs trembled.
“This is not a good idea,” Ryker said, his voice a low rumble.
“Nope,” Denver agreed, his gaze moving to Anya.
She fought the urge to squirm. Heath moved toward her as if sensing her discomfort, and the heat from his body washed over her. While he didn’t touch her, just having his solid form near calmed her rioting nerves. A little.
Ryker cut Denver a look and sighed.
Anya frowned. What were the weird undercurrents going on? Her face heated. She’d had no right to involve these people in a battle with a serial killer. They seemed to already have enough going on. “I know I’ve created danger with the Copper Killer, and if it’s a problem, I can go work with the FBI.”
“Good idea,” Ryker said bluntly.
Denver just studied her. She’d seen a wild bear once on a refuge, and Denver’s gaze was similar, somehow. She rubbed her suddenly freezing arms.
“No,” Heath said. “The FBI will store you somewhere they think is safe, and I doubt their security at this point. This guy has outmaneuvered them before.”
Denver rubbed his chin. “True.”
“The decoy offices?” Heath repeated without much patience.
Ryker slipped a hand into his pocket. “Across town. Just for show, but we made a good effort. Fully protected with the same measures, along with one large apartment upstairs that we can make look like we use it. Very similar to what we have here, but this place is our safe zone, and it’s untraceable. The other is a decoy zone,” he said evenly. “We need to discuss how far and how public we want to go. The more visible we become, the faster we’ll need to get out of here. It’s a hit-and-run op, or we’re dead.”
Anya shook her head, her stomach aching. The apartment she’d temporarily shared with Loretta was all the way across town. She didn’t know this neighborhood at all. “You guys are talking weird lingo here. What are you saying?”
Nobody spoke.
Ryker cleared his throat. “Also, we, ah, retrieved all of your belongings from the apartment you were sharing with your sister across town. Everything is in boxes upstairs.”
They’d done what? Anya paused. “How?”
Once again, nobody answered her.
Zara looked at Ryker and then straightened her shoulders. “How about I take Anya upstairs and show her Heath’s apartment?” She reached for Anya’s arm with a soft touch. “You’ve been on the road for two days. The showers aren’t luxurious by any means, but I’ve stocked them with very nice supplies.”
“Good idea.” Heath kept his veiled gaze on his brothers and then gave Anya a gentle nudge. “I’ll be up in a few.”
Anya looked around but couldn’t think of a protest. They had every right to keep their lives private, but now she was part of this op. For the moment, part of the team.
Yet they didn’t trust her. Her chest ached, and she lifted her chin, drawing on a calm mask. How nice would it be to belong? To really belong to a family again, like she’d been with her father? Her eyes were gritty, and her hair felt limp. Maybe a shower would wake her up. “Okay, a shower sounds nice. Heath, when you come up, I want to know what’s going on. If I’m going to be part of this plan, then no more secrets.”
Did Denver snort?
Anya swung her gaze to him, but his face remained expressionless. Just who were these people? Big badass blank slates, that’s what.
But who?
CHAPTER
16
Heath waited until Zara had squired a bewildered Anya out of the parking level before facing his brothers. “All right. Let me have it.”
Denver crossed his arms, which amounted to a full-out lecture of disapproval.
While Heath usually spoke up for Denver, this time Ryker jumped right in. “You told me she was all bruised up when you first met her, although she seems fine now. What the holy fuck are you doing?”
Heath sighed and dropped the bags. “What needs to be done. The bruises weren’t from a man. Well, not a man she was involved with. This isn’t about me or childhood scars. My past doesn’t drive me.”
Denver snorted.
Ryker interpreted. “Our childhood scars do more than drive us, and you know it. Own it before it gets you killed.”
Ah. As usual, his brothers were worried about him and not themselves. Even so. “Anya was bruised training in self-defense. She’s not a battered woman, and I’m not having flashbacks to my mom.”
Denver cocked his head, his lip twisting.
Heath sighed. “Okay. I flashed back when I saw Loretta’s body. But that’s all.”
Ryker’s gaze delved deep. As with most of his gazes, there was a mixture of several emotions. Concern, caring, warning, questioning . . .
It was the questioning that provided warning. If Ry decided the op was too dangerous, mentally or emotionally, he’d pull the plug. Since he was the most mentally stable at the moment, he’d do whatever he had to do.
; Heath sighed and continued. “I’m fine, so please don’t plan to drug me and get me somewhere safe.” Since he’d done so to Ryker years ago when things had gotten too dicey, he couldn’t rule it out. “This is going to be dangerous, and I’m doing it. But I fully understand if you guys want to sit this one out. I can hire backup.”
“Don’t be a dick,” Denver said slowly. “If you’re in, we’re in. It’s not even an option.”
Heath blinked. Heat flushed through him. Family. They’d formed it out of necessity, and they’d held on through the years because it was right. They were never truly alone, which was a hell of a mantra used by brothers across the genetic pool. He accepted the truth of the words. “Fair enough. What about Zara?” He looked at Ryker. The woman was Ryker’s heart, and Heath would instantly die for her if necessary. “She could go to the Montana gang for safety.”
“Won’t go,” Ryker said. “I could force her, but according to her, my being a throw-back dickhead asshole is not a good way to plan a life together.”
Man, Ryker had found the exact prefect woman for him. “She does have a way with words.” Heath grinned.
Ryker nodded. “She can work details from here in the safe house, and she’s phenomenal with details, so she’ll be a big help.” His chest swelled, and his eyes glowed.
Zara was a paralegal originally out of Wyoming and probably the most analytical person Heath had ever met. Ryker had never smiled as much or been as relaxed as when she’d entered his life. Even so, if anything happened to the sweet woman, Heath would never forgive himself. “I appreciate everything you guys have done in such a short amount of time.”
Ryker’s eyes hardened. “We want to catch this guy, too. From the day we were hired and didn’t find the girl in time, I’ve been waiting for a chance to take this bastard out.”
“Damn, he’s smart,” Heath said.
“Yeah,” Ryker said. “I’m worried how twisted you are about this job. This woman. If you need to talk, you need to talk.”
Heath’s lips twitched. “What are you, Dr. Phil?”
Ryker grinned and rubbed a hand through his thick hair. “Not even close. Not with these luscious locks.”
“Luscious?” Denver snorted.
“Hey. Zara said my hair is luscious.” Ryker frowned.
Heath coughed to mask a laugh. So that was why Ryker’s hair was growing past his collar. “That’s definitely the word for it.”
Ryker brightened. “Exactly. For now, let’s go inside to discuss the case. It’s cold here in the garage. Follow us, and I’ll show you the living quarters.” He led the way toward the door. “We can have a brief meeting, show you around, and then get rid of the SUV on the way to the decoy offices.”
“And shopping,” Denver said.
“Shopping?” Heath retrieved the bags and followed his brothers through the doorway and up the stairs.
The landing was brick and bare . . . and four doors went in different directions.
“Three are apartments, and this one was a conference room that we turned into a war room.” Ryker shoved open a new metal door to show a sprawling room with a conference table, a small kitchen to the side, a wall of windows, and a pool table by a bar. “The pool table was here.”
His brothers had worked hard to get all this ready. After the past week, Heath was finally able to take a deep breath and fill his lungs. His neck and shoulders relaxed. Even as a kid, he’d known that family was all that really mattered. It was an easy lesson when you didn’t have any.
Now he did.
Even though they were worried about him, they’d still cover his back and, by extension, Anya’s. He was lucky to have them and that extra layer of protection for her. So many emotions slammed into him, he couldn’t find the right words. His brothers not only had put themselves into the center of a serial killer investigation but also had made themselves far too visible for past enemies to find. For him.
“I like this place.”
Denver nodded. “You’re welcome.”
Heath dropped the bags and crossed to a large board already filled with notes and pictures of the Copper Killer case. Next to the board was a long desk covered with several computers and monitors. Some showed the current building, while others surveyed another, newer-looking building near downtown. “Wow. You guys did a lot of work quickly.”
“Yeah, and we really cut into our savings,” Ryker said.
“Emptied them,” Denver muttered. He shrugged. “We’ll take more paying gigs after this and be okay.”
Now they were broke. Heath scrubbed both hands down his face. They had to get back to business. “We have to talk about the asshole I fought with at the hotel. I’m not sure how he found us, and he’s damn good,” Heath said.
Ryker grimaced. “He must be one of Sylvia Daniels’s—I mean Dr. Madison’s soldiers. Did you get a look at him?”
“No, but he moved just like our, well, our brothers from Montana.”
Recently, they’d discovered another group of created soldiers, who’d actually been raised by Dr. Madison and were brothers through a common sperm donor. Some of them might share maternal genetic material with Heath and his brothers, too. Who knew? They were deadly but family. Unfortunately, Madison—whom the three of them had known as Sylvia Daniels in their childhood—had some tough soldiers working for her who would have no problem kidnapping Heath or his brothers so she could keep experimenting on them.
Heath stretched his neck, his body urging him to take a run. Two days in a car and a too-brief tumble with Anya in bed had him rioting. He rubbed his forehead. “I feel like something’s coming and soon.”
Denver nodded.
“Ditto,” Ryker said. “Of course, after Anya’s press conference and our actually moving to her cited location, we’ve sent out full-on neon signs for the past to come and get us.”
“Briefly. Just fast enough for this killer to make a move,” Heath said, a rock dropping into his gut. “Timing is everything.”
“Right.” Ryker looked at the murder board. “We have a seventy-two-hour countdown. It’ll take Madison and Cobb that long to organize a full-on assault on us here, so from the minute you go public with Lost Bastards Investigative Services and Anya, we start the countdown. If the killer hasn’t struck by the time it hits zero, we move on and find another way to catch him.”
“That’s if Madison and Cobb haven’t already set a plan in motion,” Denver interjected. “After the press conference.”
Ryker tapped on the murder board. “Chances are if Madison saw the conference, she figured it was a red herring. Oh, they’ll be monitoring Snowville, but she doesn’t think we’re stupid enough to actually come here.”
“She has no clue how stupid we can be,” Denver muttered.
There was enough truth in the statement that Heath couldn’t smile. Tension and stress bombarded him from every side, and he had to fight himself with Anya. He couldn’t go near her again. “I’m in fucking trouble.”
“No shit,” Ryker said.
“She’s stronger than she looks,” Heath said, his body heating.
“No doubt,” Ryker said. “I saw her with the reporters, remember? But you’re on full protector mode, and when you get that way, you don’t think. You don’t cover your own back.”
Heath frowned. “I’m solid.”
Ryker shook his head. “Yeah, but I can see you looking at her like some wounded animal you need to fix. Her sister died. A serial killer is after her. She’s tough, man. But you’re going to screw it up and treat her like she’s not strong enough for you.”
What the hell? “You finally find a woman and now you have to give us advice? Knock it off, Ryker.” Heath rolled his eyes. “While I admire you for taking a chance, let’s face it. Our lives are so unsteady and uncertain, it’s crazy. We have Sheriff Cobb and Madison after us, their psycho soldiers working hard, and now we’re messing with a serial killer. I’m always going to be on the run, and that’s no life for Anya.”
D
enver nodded.
Heath winced. Denver had given up the love of his life for the same reasons, and if his bloodshot eyes were any indication, he was still coping by putting way too much whiskey in his coffee. “I’ll help you keep Zara safe, Ryker. But it’s as far as I’ll go for any woman until we’re no longer on the run.” If ever.
Ryker sighed. “Fair enough. Let’s head into the secured apartments. They’re small, just what we need for this op, and they have only one bedroom each.” His smile made his eyes twinkle just like they had on last April Fools’ Day, when he’d covered Heath’s Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda with feathers. “Do you want me to get you extra pillows to place in the center of the bed as a nice divider?”
Denver snorted.
Heath rolled his eyes. “A fence of down feathers. Yeah. That’ll work.” In bed with Anya again? His body heated, completely ignoring his brain.
CHAPTER
17
With blood dripping down his face, Daniel was the epitome of danger. Dr. Isobel Madison watched from the outskirts of what would soon be a well used training field as he methodically kicked the hell out of anybody who challenged him. A few of the soldiers had been with Isobel for years, like Daniel. Others were new to her employ, and if Daniel didn’t cool it, a couple would be new to graves. “Daniel,” she called out, trying not to wince when he drove two soldiers into the icy dirt.
Her boy turned to face her, bare to the waist, apparently not feeling the cold. Cut muscles rippled in his chest and down his arms. “Yes?”
His skin was so young and smooth. Strong. “Enough training. We have business to discuss.” She turned on her high heel and strode back into the newly furbished laboratory building. While the fifteen-acre facility in Boise wasn’t nearly as big or as well outfitted as the facilities and compounds in her past, it was a good start. There were barracks for soldiers, offices for medical personnel, a lab, and now a training field. She’d invested well through the years, as had Sheriff Cobb.
Heat filtered around her as she made her way down the fairly sterile hall to her office, which had a window facing the training field. Shrugging out of her jacket, she took a seat at her wide glass desk.