Chapter Thirteen

 

 

Logan parked Zaid’s truck in a visitor spot out front of Jamie and Charlie’s building and jumped out just as his teammate called Logan’s cell phone.

“You there yet?” Zaid asked.

“Yeah, just pulled up. Thanks for lending me your truck.”

“No problem. Holler if you need anything. I’m gonna go by the bar in case any of the guys need a ride home after.”

That was why Zaid was so well-liked by everyone on the team. He looked after them all like they were family. “Sounds good. See ya.”

Without pause he jumped out and rushed for the condo complex’s front door. Charlie buzzed him in. Urgency beat at him as he took the elevator to their floor. Normally the stairs would be faster but there was no way his knee was up to it, and getting to Taylor as fast as possible was all that mattered.

God, Taylor had to be scared out of her mind, special agent or not. Another agent shot through the head just in front of her house. Why hadn’t she called him instead of Charlie?

When he finally made it down the hallway, Jamie was waiting at the door for him. “She okay?” Logan demanded.

“Yeah, she’s in the living room.” Jamie stepped back to let him in.

Logan limped through the kitchen, and his heart did a painful little squeeze when he caught sight of Taylor. She was on the couch next to Charlie, wearing a T-shirt and lounge pants. He’d never seen her in anything but work attire before, and with her glasses on and her hair up in a ponytail she looked impossibly young and vulnerable.

She smiled when she saw him, but it was sad. “You didn’t have to come. I’m okay.”

Not come? There was no way he wouldn’t have come. He needed to make it clear that he cared about her. “You should have called me.”

Charlie got up and muttered something about getting drinks for them as she strode for the kitchen, giving them some privacy.

“I didn’t want to drag you farther into this mess,” Taylor said.

With a frustrated sigh, he closed the distance between them, sank down beside her and immediately pulled her into a hug. “Are you okay?” he murmured against her hair. It smelled faintly of smoke.

She wound her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on the top of his shoulder, making his heart squeeze. “Yes.”

“What happened?”

She ran through the night’s sequence of events, and at the mention of the disabled smoke/carbon monoxide detector, something hard settled in the pit of his stomach.

“The agent watching my house wasn’t answering his phone, so I went out to tell him in person and that’s when I found him.”

The idea that the killer might have had his sights on Taylor while she’d stood there in the rain made his blood run cold. He ran a hand up and down her back, relieved that she was okay. “Did the cops find anything wrong with a fireplace or the furnace?” Those were the first two places he’d check.

“The fire department was there when Chris showed up to bring me here. Someone will call me when they figure out what happened.” She let out a shaky breath. “The agent who died had a wife and a six-month old daughter.”

Logan hugged her tighter. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I feel responsible. If I hadn’t stayed at my house, this never would have happened.”

“You don’t know that. It could’ve happened somewhere else, too. Whoever it was could have followed you wherever you went.” Might have even followed her here, which was why he was glad the agency had more eyes watching the place.

He was quiet a moment, debating how to ask the question he needed to. Since there was no gentle way to ask, he just put it out there. “Do you think it was Dillon?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe someone working with or for him. God, I can’t believe he’s even capable of something like this, but I guess I can’t rule it out.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” It didn’t matter whether she thought Dillon was behind it or not. The agency would be gunning for him now. Logan didn’t believe in coincidences. It had to be Dillon.

She nodded. “I came here because I had to make a decision fast about where to go, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else that might be safe. But I’m not staying here. I won’t put Charlie and Jamie and everyone else in the building at risk for my sake. Chris is working with the agency to find me somewhere to stay temporarily.”

“You could stay with me.”

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes, their faces just inches apart. “I appreciate that, thank you. But I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”

He could appreciate that, but he was fully prepared to face danger to keep her safe. “Stay with me. I’ll take you to my place right now and you can stay there for however long this takes.”

“Thanks. But I can’t.”

Pushing aside his frustration, he let it go. “The offer’s there if you change your mind.”

The smile she gave him pierced his heart. “Thank you.”

He stroked his fingertips over her cheek, savoring the softness of her skin. “What can I do to help?”

“You already have.” Taking his face between her hands, she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

His protective instincts were on full overdrive. Every cell in his body demanded that he plunge his hand into her hair and take her mouth, claim her even in that way, but he wasn’t going to risk embarrassing her that way when they were on Jamie and Charlie’s couch in full view from the kitchen.

He eased back and stroked her face again. “Does your security system have a video camera?”

“No.” She was quiet a moment. “Dillon’s nothing like the person I used to know,” she murmured against his shoulder. “If it was him, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Finding out someone had tried to kill you was bad enough. Wondering whether it was a trusted friend was a hundred times worse. Logan had so many questions, about Dillon, about her early life and her time in foster care. Now wasn’t the time to bring all that up though. Not when she was this upset and reeling from what had happened.

“We’ll all help you. Me, Jamie, Charlie, the agency. We’ll make sure you’re safe, and that whoever was behind this is caught.”

She let out a deep breath. “I hate relying on anyone.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Guess I don’t have much choice at this point though.”

“Nope.” He rubbed her back again.

Charlie called out to them from the kitchen. “Taylor, your boss is on his way up.”

“Okay.” She sat up and gave the hem of her T-shirt a tug for good measure, then reached up to fuss with her hair.

A minute later her boss walked in and headed straight over. If he was surprised to see Logan sitting with her, he hid it well. “Hey. How you holding up?”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stayed next to Logan. “Anything to report yet?”

He nodded. “Fire inspector agrees with our forensics team. Initial findings are that someone plugged up all the filters in your furnace, and redirected the exhaust up through the vent that leads to your master bedroom. Definitely a professional. No prints, no signs of forced entry. Given the timeframe you gave us, and because that amount of carbon monoxide would take hours to accumulate in your room, it seems likely that it was done while Wainright was in your house last night.”

Taylor was completely still as she absorbed that. Logan slid an arm around her shoulders and drew her into him. The biggest tell about her level of shock was that she didn’t resist.

Her boss flicked a look at Logan before returning his attention to her. He watched her for a long moment as the silence expanded. “He doesn’t normally work alone. He’s got at least two men with him. And he’d be acting on his lieutenant’s orders.”

Taylor rubbed at her forehead. “God, I don’t know what to think right now.”

Logan rubbed a hand up and down her upper arm, wishing there was something more he could do for her other than give her a shoulder to lean on. From what he’d seen, she sucked at leaning.

“We’ll find out all the details soon enough. For now, your safety is our number one concern. You’ll have to use extreme caution until we have Wainright in custody. I’m working on finding you a safe location right now. Just waiting on a call back from the Deputy Administrator.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Her boss tipped his head a little. “Is there anything else I can do? Someone I could call, or…”

“No, but thanks.”

“As soon as I hear back, I’ll let you know.” He turned and headed back toward the kitchen.

Taylor leaned into Logan and rested her head on his shoulder. “I just can’t believe this.”

Yeah, it sucked. He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulder. He hated that she had no family to turn to at a time like this. His family wasn’t as close as a lot of others were, but they were there for each other when needed.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, him lending silent comfort and support while she wrestled with everything that was going on. Footsteps approached from the kitchen and they both looked up as her boss came back in.

“Just got off the phone with the Deputy Administrator. We’ve got a secure place for you to stay for the duration of this case. Agents are heading there now to set everything up, and I can have someone pack a suitcase for you at your place if you tell me what you need.”

“Sure.” Taylor pulled from Logan’s embrace and got up to grab a pen and paper from the kitchen counter. She wrote down a list and handed it to her boss. “Suitcases are in the hall closet. I’ll need the biggest one, plus my briefcase and laptop.”

He made a call and relayed the information. “I can take you over to the new location now, if you’re ready.” He glanced at Logan. “Unless you want to take her?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“You don’t have to—” Taylor began.

“I want to.” He wanted to be there for her as much as he could, and he already knew that would push her out of her comfort zone.

The grateful smile she gave him made his heart squeeze. “Okay then.”

Her boss gave him the address and Logan followed her to the door. The boss stopped him, pulled him out of earshot and gave Logan the stare down. “You’ll take care of her?”

“Yes.” Nice to see he cared enough to double check.

He seemed satisfied by that. “She’s under a lot of strain, and she already works too hard at the best of times. I’m worried about her burning out or having a breakdown if this goes on much longer. I wish I could take some stress off her.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe see if you can get her to take a few hours off tomorrow. Somehow. I would order her to, but I don’t want to take away her control right now.”

“Okay, will do.”

The man gave him a half-smile. “Good luck.”

On their way out, Taylor hugged Charlie and Jamie and promised to call them when she got settled. Logan reached for her hand as they headed for the elevator, trying not to limp.

She flashed him a questioning look but didn’t protest or pull her hand away. He considered that real progress.

“You’re not supposed to be walking on it already, are you?” she asked in a dry voice.

“Not really.”

She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t want to be responsible for setting your recovery back.”

She was seriously worrying about his knee now too, on top of everything else? “You won’t be. And it’s already way better than it was a few days ago.”

In the lobby, he led her out the back entrance. “I switched vehicles with a teammate, just in case anyone got my license plate yesterday.” He led her to Zaid’s dark gray truck and handed her up into the cab.

The building of the unit the agency had reserved for her was a fifteen-minute drive across town to an urban area full of apartment complexes mixed with commercial buildings, shops and restaurants. An agent was waiting for them by the main elevator when they arrived. Logan showed the man his agency ID, then took Taylor’s hand again as they headed up to the ninth floor where another agent waited outside the apartment.

“Everything’s clean and ready,” the woman told Taylor with a quick smile. “Your suitcases are in the bedroom and the fridge has been stocked with the basics. The building’s security has been briefed and there are two agents posted outside to keep watch. Here’s my number.” She handed Taylor a card. “I’ll be accompanying you whenever you leave the building, until further notice.”

“Thank you,” Taylor murmured, sounding tired. Not at all surprising. It was almost two in the morning now, and with the emotional toll of all this, she had to be exhausted.

The female agent nodded. “Try to get some sleep.” She handed Taylor the key and left.

Inside, Logan locked the door behind them while she took a look around. The place was small, only one-bedroom, and from the size and cheap furnishings it looked like it catered to the student crowd who populated this area of town since it was close to campus.

Taylor wandered toward the bedroom where her suitcase was visible through the open doorway.

“You hungry?” he asked, walking over to open the fridge.

Eggs, butter, milk, bread, a jar of jam and peanut butter, along with some apples and bananas. Enough to get her through a day or two. He’d grab more stuff for her tomorrow unless someone else beat him to it.

“No, just tired.”

Shutting the fridge, he walked through to the bedroom and stood in the doorway, watching her. She’d put her suitcase on the bed and was in the process of unpacking it. “Need a hand?”

“No, I’m good.” She didn’t look at him as she bustled back and forth to the closet, hanging up her skirt suits. “I’m a freak about unpacking right away and getting everything in its place.”

He slid his hands into his pockets and leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb. “That’s probably why you’re so good at your job. Making sure all the numbers line up in the right column and add up to what they’re supposed to. Tracking down things that don’t make sense, finding out where all the money’s hidden.”

She flashed a grin at him over her shoulder, and he was glad to see some of the strain lifting from her. “Exactly.”

He stood there while she finished unpacking, admiring her strength in the face of a scare like this. Wherever Wainright was at that moment, his time was running out.

Logan wanted him to pay for what he’d done, for what he’d tried to do to her. It scared the hell out of him to think about what could have happened had she not noticed the batteries missing from the carbon monoxide detector.

If it hadn’t woken her, she might not have woken up at all, and then this complex, smart and startlingly sensual woman would have been gone forever. Taken from him before he’d ever got the chance to explore what was happening between them.

It was too horrible to contemplate. He wanted Wainwright or whoever the hell was behind this taken down.

Taylor zipped up the empty suitcase, dragged it off the bed and tucked it away at the bottom of the closet. As she started to slide the folding door closed, Logan stepped up behind her and settled his hands on her hips.

She stilled.

He hadn’t wanted anything from her when he’d first met her. He’d been totally satisfied with the way his life was, seeing different woman on a casual basis when it suited him and his schedule.

Taylor had changed all that in the space of a few weeks. He was too invested in her now, and couldn’t walk away. Wouldn’t even if she asked him to. He wanted to help her, be the one she turned to. Show her she could count on him.

Not wanting to examine his motives any more closely than that, he pushed all that aside and focused on the most important thing at the moment—her. Gripping her hips gently, he bent his head and nuzzled the side of her neck.

Taylor sucked in a sharp breath and shifted against him, then let her head tip back slightly. He took immediate advantage of the invitation and rubbed his lips against her smooth, soft skin, sucking gently at the pulse point that pounded beneath the surface. So fragile and delicate, in spite of the inner strength she projected that drew him so strongly. She shivered.

I’m here. I’m right here and you’re not alone.

He conveyed the words with slow, seductive kisses meant to make her mind go blank, make her forget everything but him and this moment.

She gasped and came up on her toes when his tongue slid over a particularly sensitive spot, and he paused to rub his beard over it, enjoying her little hum of pleasure and the way she squirmed in his hold. He shifted his hands, splaying one across her abdomen while he skimmed the other up her ribs to rest a few inches below her right breast.

Taylor’s breathing faltered. He could feel her heart pounding beneath his hand on her ribs.

She spun around and put her hands on either side of his face, staring up at him in the dimness. Her eyes searched his for a long, breathless moment, then dropped to his mouth before her lids fluttered down and she rose onto her toes to meet his kiss.

Logan plunged one hand into the back of her hair and wrapped his free arm around her hips to pull her close as their mouths met. He caressed her tongue with his, sucked at it gently, absorbing the shudder that rippled through her body.

She settled back onto her heels, her cheeks flushed, eyes glowing. “You did that to distract me, didn’t you?”

He grinned. “You’re giving me way too much credit there, because my reasons weren’t nearly that selfless.” The humor faded and he took her chin in his hand. “I was watching you put everything away, thinking about how things could have gone way differently tonight, and I had to touch you again to make sure you’re really here.”

Her expression softened as she gazed up at him, dark shadows of fatigue beneath her eyes. He really should let her sleep if she could. “I’m really here.”

He nodded, his entire body pulsing with the need to claim her. But it was too soon. With her he had to go slow. Much slower than he wanted to.

She would be more than worth the wait though. She was worth holding on to.

“Want me to crash on the couch tonight?” He didn’t want to leave her, even if the agency had people guarding the building.

“There’s no way you could stretch out on that thing, and I know your knee’s still bugging you.” She softened the rejection with a little smile. “But you’re sweet to offer. And, you know what?”

“What?” he murmured, hating to go but willing to give her space if she needed it. For now.

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m really glad you came here with me. It…really means a lot to know you’ve got my back.”

“I’ll always have your back.” She would learn to trust him, because he wasn’t going anywhere. Whatever it took, he was going to win this woman over.

 

****

 

Dillon cursed when he slowly drove past the condo building on the other side of town. The DEA had moved fast, whisking Taylor here from her house.

He’d followed her at a careful distance, tracking the dark blue SUV they’d rushed her into, tailed by another one. He’d lost sight of them partway here, but managed to glimpse them pulling into the underground garage beneath the building as he turned the corner.

He hadn’t stopped and waited out front for fear of someone noticing him hanging around.

Dammit. He still didn’t know how this had happened. His plan should have worked.

How had she woken up and found out about the carbon monoxide, anyway? He’d disabled the detector personally before she’d gotten home from work.

He’d been in total shock when she’d walked out her front door in the pouring rain a few hours ago and headed straight to the agent watching her house. If Dillon had been in a better position, he could have shot her too. But the angle had been bad and he hadn’t wanted to risk taking a shot and missing, wounding her and alerting her to his presence. Carbon monoxide poisoning had seemed so much easier. So peaceful for her. Painless. Actually having to put a bullet in her head…

Dillon kept going, driving two more blocks before turning right and doing a big loop back around to make sure no one was following him. When he came back around the front of the building, the dark blue SUV that had brought her here was leaving.

It had only been here for a minute, long enough for Dillon to circle around. Tugging the brim of the ball cap lower over his face, he drove past the building again and kept going. They’d have agents watching the building now, and maybe cops too. The hard knot of anxiety beneath his ribs expanded. Everyone would be on high alert tonight, so making a move would be stupid and likely get him killed.

The window of time Carlos had given him was closing fast. If Dillon didn’t fix this within the next twenty-four hours, his boss would send someone else after Taylor, and…

No. Bad enough she had to die. He wouldn’t let them torture and rape her on top of it.

Time was running out for her either way, but it was also running out for him. If he failed to find and kill her by the deadline, it was only a matter of time before he wound up on the hit list as well.

He glanced at the clock in the dashboard. As of right now he had under twenty-four hours to end this so he could get out of the country and back to the protection offered by the cartel. Failure wasn’t an option. Not unless he wanted to become another one of its countless victims.

Either he finished this, or he risked it all and enacted his emergency exit plan.