“She can’t let it go. She still wakes up, screaming at night.”
The color bled from Mark’s face.
“She’s terrified. She thinks the killers will come after her one day.” But it wasn’t just the terror that was eating up his sister and turning her into a ghost of the person she’d been. “Ava blames herself. She thinks she should have saved our parents. That she should have stayed at the ranch. Fought their attackers.”
“She would have died,” Mark said, the words hollow. Cold.
But his words were also right.
Mark yanked a hand through his hair. “I need to see her.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” To Ava, Mark was a constant reminder of the worst night of her life.
Mark’s jaw clenched. “I’ve played by the McGuire rules. I kept my distance—”
“Mark...”
“No more.” Said flatly. “You should have told me that she was hurting.”
Why? Mark couldn’t wave a magic wand and take away Ava’s pain. No one could. “There’s nothing we can do to stop the pain for her! Not until we catch those men—”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Mark said as his jaw hardened. “But maybe there’s something I can do.”
He didn’t like the look in Mark’s eyes. “Watch your step,” he warned his friend. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
“And she’s my—”
“What’s going on?” Jennifer asked. “What’s wrong?”
Mark huffed out a hard breath. “Brodie thinks he can keep me from something I need. He’s wrong. Friend or not...he’s wrong.” Then he spun away.
“Uh, okay...” Jennifer put her hands on her hips and faced Brodie. “Want to clue me in about what’s happening here?”
“You know my sister was at the ranch when our parents were killed.” His gaze was on Mark’s tense retreating back. “She fled that night. Saddled up Lady and rode like hell to the only person she felt safe with...”
Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. “Mark.”
Yes, Mark. Mark who was Brodie’s age...one of Brodie’s oldest friends.
Mark had always treated Ava like a kid sister, until that night.
That night had changed so much.
“Mark isn’t a safe man.” Brodie knew all about the darkness inside him. “And Ava...she’s too close to shattering. He needs to stay away from her.” He took a step forward, intending to stop Mark.
Jennifer put her hand on his chest. “Maybe you don’t know what she needs.”
“I know—”
“You can’t control everyone, Brodie. You can’t control them, and you can’t protect them.”
But he’d already failed Ava once. He wouldn’t, couldn’t fail her again.
“It wasn’t on you.” Jennifer seemed to read his thoughts.
Suddenly feeling too exposed, he tried to turn from her. She caught his arms and turned him right back around. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t let them die. You didn’t bring that nightmare into your sister’s life. But that’s what you’ve always thought, isn’t it?”
He didn’t answer her.
“Now...do you think it was my fault?” Her hand slipped from him. “I think Davis does. I could see it in his eyes when we were on the bluff.”
“I don’t think it’s your fault.”
She stared up at him. There were emotions he couldn’t read in her dark eyes as she said, “And I don’t think it’s yours.” Soft. “So let that guilt go ’cause I believe it’s eating you up, just like it’s doing to your sister.”
Damn. “Heard that part, did you?”
She nodded.
He glanced away from her, toward the line of trees on the right. “Sometimes I don’t think—”
He saw it. The sharp edge of a knife, tossed down in the dirt.
“Brodie?”
He hurried forward and bent down. The knife had been dropped near the side of a tree. He wondered if the attacker even knew that he’d lost his weapon. He could have been so hell-bent on his escape that he hadn’t realized he’d left the knife behind.
Your mistake.
He picked it up carefully. He could get Shayne to run a fingerprint check on the knife. Then they’d finally know exactly who they were after.
* * *
WHILE THE COPS collected the knife and Detective Shayne Townsend started the fingerprint check, Brodie took a protesting Jennifer back to the hospital.
“I’m fine,” she said for what Brodie was pretty sure was the fifth time. “I don’t need the doctor to poke at me anymore!”
They were alone in the elevator. He narrowed his eyes on her. The woman looked sexy even when she was furious. “The doctor told me I had to bring you back in for a checkup. You know that.”
“Fine.” Her sigh was long and suffering. “But he’s just going to shine a light in my eyes and then push me out of his office. This little visit will be a total waste of time.”
He caged her between his body and the elevator wall. “All I need is for him to give me the all clear.”
“Brodie?”
“I need to know you’re all right.” Her scent...seductive, sweet...wrapped around him. “Because I need you.”
Her breath caught.
“I know the world is going to hell around us,” he said. “I should be holding tight to my control, and the last thing you want is for me to—”
“You’re the first thing I want.”
The elevator dinged. He heard the doors open behind them, but he didn’t step away from her. Right then, he wasn’t sure he could move.
“The only thing,” she told him, voice soft and sensual.
At that moment, he could have devoured her.
His fingers laced with hers. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You’re the only one I want.”
* * *
HE WATCHED THEM, slouching in the waiting area as they hurried into the back with the doctor.
Brodie McGuire was far too close to Jennifer. Holding her hand, his body all but surrounding her, protecting her, possessing her.
Jennifer had always been good at using her beauty to captivate men. It had been a talent, one she hadn’t even realized that she’d possessed, not at first.
He almost pitied Brodie McGuire. The man didn’t understand he was just the latest in a long line of disposable beaus that Jennifer picked up.
Jennifer never formed attachments. After watching her for so long, he wasn’t sure that she could.
His phone rang, and he lifted it to his ear.
“Do you see them?” the rasping voice on the other end of the line demanded.
“They’re with the doctor now.” He’d known that if he just waited, Jennifer would show herself. “I told you,” he said to the caller, his voice soft, “I would handle this.”
“Because you know what will happen if you fail...”
A nurse glanced over at him. He forced a smile. Like Jennifer, he was good at lies. Deception. He’d even taught her a few of his skills, back in the old days.
“I’ll call when it’s time for you to come and get her,” he answered quietly. Then he ended the call, rose from his seat and slowly headed for the elevator.
There was no point in waiting upstairs. The hunt would begin below, away from all the prying eyes at that hospital.
* * *
“ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?” Jennifer asked quietly as Brodie opened the SUV door for her. “The doctor said I was fine.”
Hell, yes, that made him happy. “Damn near delirious with joy,” he said and was rewarded with her quick laugh.
He slammed the door. The sound seemed to echo in the parking garage. His gaze raked the area before he climbed into the driver’s seat. He pushed the key into the ignition.
“Can I...be with you tonight?” Her laughter was gone.
As always, with her, his desire was strong.
“Back in the elevator, I meant what I said,” Jennifer to
ld him.
His head turned toward her. “So did I.”
She licked her lips, a nervous gesture but one that he found incredibly sexy. The things he wanted to do with her mouth, to her mouth...
“Wrong time, wrong place,” she whispered. “I wish I’d come back to you before the danger hit me.”
His hand sank into the thickness of her hair. He pulled her toward him. “The danger will pass.” And the time will be right.
He kissed her. Savored her. There was something about her taste that got to him each time their lips touched. Just something about...her. Need and a white-hot lust surged within him. The more he was with her, the more he had of her, the more Brodie wanted.
He wondered if he would ever get enough of her.
The danger will pass.
He pulled away to stare into her eyes. And knew he would have her soon.
The sun was setting when he pulled out of the parking garage. He knew he’d be back at the ranch before full nightfall hit. Brodie drove them through the city, searching to the left and the right, looking for any signs of danger.
They hadn’t gone very far when Brodie realized they were being followed. His gaze kept drifting to the rearview mirror, then to his driver’s-side mirror as he studied that other car. At first, the car hung back, staying behind another vehicle. But then the driver became more aggressive.
The vehicle was a small gray four-door. Nothing flashy, nothing that would ever attract attention. And if Brodie hadn’t been on alert, maybe he wouldn’t have noticed the vehicle.
But he did notice it.
Deliberately, he turned right, testing the other driver.
The gray car turned right.
“I keep thinking about last night,” Jennifer said, voice pensive. “Trying to figure out who that man is. He knows me, so I should know him.”
Brodie turned left.
So did the gray car.
“He said he went to hell because of me,” Jennifer whispered. “That I lured him in, turned on him...”
The gray car had pulled up even closer.
“I worked to gather intel,” Jennifer continued. “The lifestyle I led gave me special access to my targets. We were hunting high-profile criminals, people who thought they were beyond the reach of the law because they had money and power—”
“We have company,” he said, cutting through her words.
“What?”
“Behind us.”
She didn’t turn around, a good thing, because that move might have tipped off the guy behind them.
“The gray car?” Jennifer asked, and he knew she’d spotted the guy in her mirror.
“Make sure that seat belt is secure,” Brodie told her because he had a plan. He grabbed his phone and made a fast call.
Brodie knew the area. As soon as he’d realized that they were being tailed, he’d altered course. They weren’t heading to the ranch. They were heading straight to McGuire Securities. I won’t drive into your trap. You’ll drive into mine.
“Open the glove box,” he told Jennifer. “Get my gun.”
She yanked open the glove box.
The gray car was still following behind them. Obviously, the driver thought he hadn’t been spotted yet. Brodie picked up his speed. He’d have to buy some time for Jennifer and him to vanish.
Because it was after the end of the business day, the street in front of McGuire Securities was deserted. Perfect. He spun into the parking garage.
From one garage to another...
He parked and rushed out with Jennifer. He took the gun from her, held it tightly. They hunched behind a thick cement column. Lights flashed as the gray car followed them inside the garage.
The driver stopped and jumped from his car.
So eager to come in for the kill? That eagerness would work against the guy.
Brodie shifted his position a bit as he glanced around the column. The driver of that gray car had a baseball cap pulled over his head, and he wore a thick, bulky jacket. In this Texas heat? The guy was approaching Brodie’s parked vehicle. The SUV’s windows were tinted, so he was leaning in close, trying to see inside.
The man had a gun in his hand, a gun that he was keeping near his side.
“Jennifer?” the man called. “I need—”
Brodie attacked. He jumped out from behind the column and went in fast and hard. His approach was silent, deadly, and before the guy could even see him, Brodie had slammed the man, stomach-first, into the side of the vehicle.
The man’s gun fell to the ground. Brodie pushed his weapon into the guy’s back. “You should have run away,” Brodie snarled. “You should have never come after her again!”
“Wait!” the man yelled. “You’ve got the wrong idea!”
The fellow’s voice was cracking with fear... The voice was also different...not the same guy that Brodie had confronted at the Montgomery ranch.
“Brodie!” Jennifer cried out.
He glanced toward her. She’d run from behind the column and she’d picked up the gun.
The stranger’s head turned toward her, too.
“Damn straight,” the guy seemed to encourage her. “Keep that weapon on him, Jennifer. Don’t let him hurt me! I’m here to help you. You know that! I’ve always helped you!”
Help her?
“Brodie, that’s not the man who has been stalking me.”
Brodie spun the guy around. The man’s baseball hat fell off and hit the cement.
“That’s Nate Wesley,” she continued as she took a few steps forward. Her voice was shocked. “He’s the agent who was assigned the role of my father.”
Her supposedly dead father.
Hell.
Chapter Eight
Jennifer couldn’t believe she was staring at Nate. He should have been so far away, living a nice, safe, normal life.
Instead, Brodie had his gun against his chest, and Nate’s face was a picture of fear.
“I saw this guy take you from the hospital,” Nate said. “I thought he was going to hurt you—”
“I’m protecting her.” Brodie’s face and voice were just scary.
“How was I supposed to know that?” Nate’s voice rose, then cracked. “You came out, nearly running with her. You put her in your ride and you hightailed it out of there.”
They had been in a hurry to leave. Mostly because Brodie had been afraid the stalker might be watching them. Sighing, Jennifer lowered the gun in her hand. “Brodie, it’s okay. He’s not a threat.”
Brodie didn’t budge. “I’m not so sure of that.” His words were a snarl. “Why were you even at the hospital? How did you know Jennifer was in Austin? Why are you here?”
Nate flinched. He looked older...so much older. The lines on his face were deeper, and the gray at his temples had spread to streak through his dark brown hair. “I heard about what happened in New Orleans. The fire at Jennifer’s place made the news. I went to check on her, and I followed her trail to Austin.”
“You’re lying,” Brodie said flatly.
“No, no, I’m not! I wanted to help her! We worked together for years. You think I’d just turn my back on her if I thought she was in danger? I was worried, so I followed her. When I got to Austin, I remembered that you’d worked that rescue mission in the Middle East. I remembered the way Jennifer had been so determined to pay you back...”
Nate had been the one to connect her with Brodie’s parents. He’d pulled strings and gotten their address for her. Since he’d been so involved, yes, Nate would have made the connection between her and Brodie once he’d gotten to Austin.
“She changed after that mission... We both did,” Nate added quietly.
Jennifer crept forward. She still had the weapon in her hand, but she wasn’t aiming it at anyone. “Brodie, he’s not a threat.”
“I’m not so sure of that.” Brodie didn’t look toward her. “He’s here, following us...at the hospital—”
“Since I got to town, I’ve been listening to the po
lice scanner,” Nate told him, body tensing. “I heard about the big fire at the Montgomery ranch. About the woman who was brought into the hospital. I knew the Montgomery property was near the McGuire ranch—”
“And how did you know that?”
“Because he’s the one who led me to your parents years ago.” Her left hand wrapped around Brodie’s arm. “Please, lower the gun.”
Brodie finally looked her in the eyes. “You really trust this man? With your life?”
“I—”
“With mine?”
Jennifer frowned. She looked down at the gun in her right hand. Nate’s gun. Nate had been following her, and he’d been armed. If he truly meant no threat, then why the weapon? Just for his protection? Or for something more...
Nate had been so adept at lying in the field. He’d gotten the deadliest of criminals to trust him within a matter of moments.
He’d taught Jennifer how to lie.
Brodie exhaled and stepped back. “Fine, have it your way...”
And she saw Nate lunge away from the vehicle.
Jennifer stepped in his path. She had the gun up and aimed right at her ex-mentor in less than two seconds’ time. “No,” Jennifer said softly. “I don’t trust him with your life.”
Then something happened. She’d stared into Nate’s eyes dozens of times. She’d thought that she could see right past the mask that he usually wore when dealing with others.
But she’d been wrong. Because this time, in this moment, she finally did see him for the man that he was.
His eyes hardened. His face tightened with fury. “I won’t die for you,” he shouted at Jennifer. “You’re going down, but you won’t take me with you!”
She shook her head. “Nate?”
“He’s coming.” He laughed, and the laughter echoed around them in that empty garage. “I called him. Told him where we were going for every second of that ride. You think you trapped me in here? He’s got you now. You and your lover. He’ll kill you both!”
Footsteps pounded then as men rushed from the darkness.
Only...
These were McGuires. Not her stalker. Not the man Nate had just said would come to kill her and Brodie.
“We called someone during the ride, too,” Brodie murmured. “And just so you know...no one’s dying tonight.”