“You survived,” Erin whispered, a grin tugging at her lips when she found the energy to tease him once again.
Lying behind her, his large, broad body sheltering her, his arms wrapped around her as his warmth surrounded her, Erin wondered at his silence.
“Did I?” There was an edge of seriousness to his tone that had the smile melting from her lips as she stared into the dimly lit bedroom, the room-darkening shades and curtains all but eradicating the light from the room.
“You’re breathing,” she stated.
He sighed heavily, one hand stroking over her hip to her thigh as he remained silent behind her.
She couldn’t handle the silence. The least he could do was curse. Yell at her. Something.
“You’ll make me crazy,” he finally spoke, the dark rasp of his voice sending a tingle of response racing through her senses.
“How will I do that?” Rolling to her back to stare up at him she was faced with a man without amusement. He was serious. Watching her with the air of a man that couldn’t quite figure out the puzzle presented to him.
Lifting his hand, the backs of his fingers smoothed down her cheek. “Just by being you,” he said softly, his dark gaze somber.
Shrugging, she stared up at him with a little smile. “You think you know so much about me, don’t you, Turk?”
“J.D.’s stepdaughter,” he stated cryptically. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you. What I didn’t know was your name.”
“Oh, yeah? I wasn’t aware there were that many agents who knew me.” She sat up slowly, holding the sheet to her breasts as she watched him carefully.
“Everyone that’s part of the agency has heard of you, Erin.” He stared up at her, his expression closed now. “Wild. Determined to piss J.D. off whatever it takes. Even if it means risking your own life.”
She frowned down at him. Was that what everyone thought? That her clashes with J.D., her disagreements with him were just carefully orchestrated stunts to piss him off?
“Is that what J.D. thinks?” she asked him, watching his eyes carefully, though she knew he would give very little away.
“J.D. hadn’t mentioned it either way,” he revealed. “Your determination to do the exact opposite of what he wants is renowned though.”
Erin’s lips quirked mockingly as she turned from him.
“I don’t try to piss J.D. off,” she told him, rising from the bed as she released the sheet before moving to the leather duffel bag she’d left open in an easy chair at the corner of the room.
Pulling a black silk robe free from the bag she pushed her arms into it slowly before dragging it around her and belting it snugly.
“It’s a talent then?” he suggested.
“It’s a natural progression.” She swallowed tightly as she turned to him. “I had a single choice at a job, working beneath his eagle eye and his protection. Anyone I’ve dated is so well vetted by him that by the second date I know how many cavities he has and how many his ex-lovers have. He runs over every choice I make, ensures I have no choice but to accept his dictates, and expects me to just follow along with whatever order he gives, just as anyone else would. Do you have any idea how hard it was to just have a life, Turk? To have a normal relationship?”
He just watched her as though she were one of those puzzle pieces that didn’t exactly fit. She could feel him slowly putting information together. What he’d heard. What he thought himself. What he suspected. Everything he’d seen and heard as he began to dissect her like some psychological lab rat.
He reminded her far too much of her stepfather actually.
“You’re just like him.” She sighed then. “God.” Raking her fingers through her hair she had to laugh at herself. “I’m obviously insane. Only I could fixate on a man so much like J.D. he could actually be his son.”
Turk didn’t flinch. He was rather proud of himself for that after the insult.
“We all know how J.D. likes to maneuver everyone.” He finally shrugged as he rose from the bed. “What worries me is the fact that you seem intent on doing the exact opposite of whatever he wants you to do. I’m part of the organization he oversees, and you know what that means. Risking myself for someone simply determined to piss off the director isn’t my preferred hobby.”
Wow, he really had a great opinion of her, didn’t he? Did he believe she’d choose him as a lover simply to piss off J.D.? Hell, she’d known when she realized how much she wanted him just how pleased her stepfather and her stepbrother would be.
“I’m more intent on doing whatever it takes to have a life of my own, a relationship he doesn’t dictate,” she argued, wondering why she was trying. Like J.D., he’d make up his mind and that would be it. “That’s all I ever asked for, Turk.”
“And what do you call your position within the CIN?” he asked, standing by the bed as he watched her, obviously more than comfortable with his nakedness.
“As an observer?” Her laughter was mocking. “A carefully designed maneuver by J.D. to ensure he can keep tabs on me while pretending to give me a life. Do you think that’s all I deserve, Turk? That it’s all I want in…”
“Fuck!” The sudden hiss of fury had cut her off in mid-sentence as Turk turned quickly to a monitor sitting on the dresser across from the bed.
A flip of the switch and the camera views were up. What she saw on them had her rushing to dress.
Jeans and a T-shirt, socks and boots. She dressed as quickly as possible. From an inner pocket of her suitcase she pulled her weapon free and shoved it in the small of her back as the four figures at the apartment door worked at the security.
“No time,” he snarled as he armed himself as well. “We can’t risk gunfire in the hall. There are kids in the other apartments.”
She was pulling extra clips from her suitcase and shoving them in her jean pockets as he quickly slid the bedroom window open.
“Clear,” he stated, quickly moving through the gap and turning for her.
Erin didn’t wait for an invitation. Sliding through the opening she drew in a deep breath as they teetered precariously on the narrow ledge three stories up.
“What the hell is going on?” she whispered. “No one should have known where I was.”
“Process of elimination,” he muttered. “I’m the only security personnel not showing up at the bar. We anticipated this, just not this quickly.” Reaching behind her he slid the window closed, latching it, surprisingly, from the outside.
“Oh, someone managed to surprise you?” The heavy mockery in her voice surprised even her as they began making their way along the brick ledge.
Dammit, she hadn’t even been given a chance to revel in the incredible pleasure she’d found in his arms. First she’d had to deal with him and his sudden too-serious turn where making love to her was concerned. Now she had to deal with this. It was a little much.
“They’ll be watching your vehicle,” she guessed as they began to edge their way around the corner of the building.
“That’s why Coop will have someone waiting for us,” he informed her. “I received the message as the alarm went off. They were cutting through my security too fast though.”
“Do you think they’ll figure out the window opens? Does mine open like that?” she asked as she followed him, inch by inch, praying her feet didn’t slip.
“I’ll know in time if they do,” he informed her. “My guess, they’ll come in, see no trace of you, and assume I have you hidden somewhere else.”
“How do we get out of here then?” she asked, her heart in her throat as she caught a glimpse of the parking lot, too far below.
Okay, so a fall probably wouldn’t kill her, but a broken bone was still a broken bone. No doubt they’d both break something.
“Just a little farther ahead,” he muttered. “The big tree that grows along the side of the apartment building is a perfect way down. I have a truck parked right beneath it.”
“Good thing John D. taught me how to climb out of trees.” She sighed.
Just a little farther.
She could make it just a little farther. A few more feet, she kept telling herself. She could see the tree, growing nearly to the fourth floor. It was sturdy, its limbs full and shielding.
They were going to make it.
Just a few more feet.
“Here we go,” Turk muttered, reaching out and gripping a heavy limb just in front of him. “I’ll go down first. The truck is right there.” He nodded toward the ground below.
“Got it.” She nodded quickly. “Go on. I know how to shimmy down a tree, I promise.”
The look in his eyes was approving as he stepped over to the limb. “One minute, then follow. We’ll be out of here quick.”
“One minute,” she promised.
Reaching out for the heavy limb she stepped out to it and began the countdown.
One minute.
Taking a deep breath she began moving down the tree, listening careful for Turk, for the sound of the truck door opening, the vehicle starting.
What the hell was he waiting for?
Looking down, all she saw was shadows. Nothing moved, not even Turk. The heavy foliage kept her from seeing much as she moved slowly down the tree.
Finally, she dropped to the ground on the darker side of the tree trunk, crouched, listening carefully.
She wasn’t moving.
Turk should have been there. He should have been waiting for her.
The passenger side of the truck was just on the other side of the tree, the trunk was huge. It spread out on each side of her, the foliage drooping, shielding her. The heavy layer of grass beneath her feet had shielded her drop.
Something was wrong. She could feel it.
It was in the air, like an ominous presence, watching, waiting for her.
Turk’s alarm system should have alerted Gabby in the other apartment. It should have alerted Jake and Cooper at the bar. Surely there was backup somewhere?
Reaching behind her back she slid her weapon free silently, thankful that she’d chambered that first round before leaving the apartment. That small, mechanical snick would have given her away the second she pulled it back.
Swallowing tightly she lowered herself to her stomach, inching forward slowly until she could see just beneath the front of the pickup Turk had parked under the tree’s spreading branches.
“What the fuck do you want?”
She froze at the sound of Turk’s voice.
“Hell, Turk, I thought we were friends,” another voice answered, harsh, grating, and familiar. Though Erin couldn’t immediately place it, she knew the voice.
“Friends don’t ambush me in the dark, Gyron,” Turk snapped back at him.
“Well, it’s not often I watch you drop out of a tree like a cat burglar either.” Gyron gave a hard imitation of a laugh. “I have to say, I was rather surprised.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not every day I have four bozos trying to break into my apartment either.” Turk grunted. “Now, why don’t you get out of here while I find me a nice little place to hide so I can figure out who they are and what they want?”
“I know what they want.”
Erin felt the breath still in her chest. As she moved to launch herself to her feet she heard the sudden rustle of bodies struggling, a male grunt, and the thump of a fist.
She was moving quickly around the front of the truck, weapon held ready as she risked a fast look around the side of the vehicle to see Gyron dropping to the ground.
“Stay there,” Turk suddenly ordered with a hiss. “They’ll be out here any minute.”
Throwing Gyron over his shoulder he was pushing her ahead of him a second later until they were once again behind the tree. There, he dropped his burden carelessly before turning to her.
“Okay?” Narrow-eyed, intent, his gaze went over her quickly.
“Ready to get out of here,” she assured him, her voice barely above a whisper.
“The truck’s fouled. Someone must have known it was mine.” Catching her hand he was pulling her quickly around the side of the apartment building. “Come on, let’s see if Jake still keeps a spare key beneath that damned sports car of his.”
Still holding on to her hand he pulled her quickly across the other side of the parking lot. Moving between two pickups to keep the vehicles between them and the apartment building, he led the way along the grassy border to Jake’s glistening black Corvette.
Pausing at the front of the car he pulled her down next to him, reached beneath the car, and a second later pulled free a small, magnetic box. Sliding open the panel on the front, he froze.
“Turk?” she whispered.
“I anticipated that.” Erin froze, alongside Turk, at the hard voice behind them.
Turk rose slowly as Erin followed. He pulled her behind him, forcing her between him and the front of the Corvette as he faced the dark silhouette that moved from the bushes alongside the grass border.
Three other shadows moved into place behind the first, eyes gleaming in the darkness as their features slowly became recognizable.
They were regulars at the bar.
Tyler Stanley, the talent scout that often drank with Gyron and his three friends. All four of which were linked to a suspected criminal figure that operated out of Corpus Christi. Though Tyler hadn’t been linked to the organization.
Until now.
“Bad move, Stanley.” Turk sighed as though they were actually on the winning side here. “Did you think we weren’t waiting for this?”
Waiting for them and being without backup were two different things. Right now, Erin hoped desperately, Turk had a little more up his sleeve than a bluff.
Tyler Stanley chuckled at that. “Your friends are all at the bar,” he informed Turk. “Your security was incredibly easy to break. All emergency contact was blocked before it could go out. You’re all alone, Rogan. Just you and Ms. Masters, and the four of us. You’re a little outnumbered, don’t you think?”
“What do you want, Stanley?” Turk growled as Erin slowly tucked her weapon into the band of his jeans at the small of his back.
She wasn’t good enough to take down all four of those assholes before one of them shot, but maybe Turk was.
“All we want is the girl,” Tyler assured him. “You’re just in the way. You should have stayed out of the way, Turk. Killing you wasn’t how I wanted this to go.”
Turk grunted at that. “What makes her so damned important?”
“The same thing that made John Delanore and his son, John Delanore, Jr., race out here when we nearly had her last week. She’s important to him.”
“She’s his stepdaughter.” The tension building in Turk’s large body had Erin nearly holding her breath. “Of course he came running. That doesn’t tell me what it has to do with you or your friends.”
“And he has something we want. We need her. We don’t need witnesses. Tonight, you get to die. She’ll die later.” Tyler spoke as though killing someone were an everyday occurrence.
“What does your stepdaddy have that these assholes want, Erin?” Turk asked her then, the irritation in his tone not in the least feigned.
“Hell if I know,” she whispered.
“If I’m going to die for it, I’d at least like a fucking answer,” he snapped.
He was getting ready to move.
Erin could feel the energy gathering in his body.
Tyler watched Turk carefully, though the three men with him kept their gazes more on her.
“What do you think you can threaten my stepfather out of, Tyler?” Erin stepped around Turk just enough to watch the other man more closely. “He’s an asshole. And trust me, he won’t pay a ransom.”
“He’ll pay.” Tyler sounded far too confident. “But he’ll give me far more than money for your life, honey. He’ll give me the identity of the Giovanni heir that he’s hiding. And I know he’s hiding him, because I traced him as far as your stepfather’s home nine years ago before he disappeared.”
The who?
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Turk hissed, reaching behind his hip as though to catch her arm.
Instead, his fingers curled around the butt of the weapon she’d tucked into the band of his jeans.
“The hell if I know.” Erin slid back marginally, giving the appearance that Turk was indeed holding on to her.
“You don’t have to know who he is,” Tyler snapped, anger filling his tone now. “All you have to do is come along quietly. Do so, and I won’t make your boyfriend suffer before I kill his ass.”
If she was going to die either way, then she’d just die here, with Turk, rather than later. Rather than lying down and grieving for the man who had stolen her heart so effectively that she hadn’t even realized how much of it he owned, she’d just die with him.
“Don’t let them take me,” she whispered under her breath.
Turk grunted at the almost silent plea.
“Walk away, Tyler, and this won’t have to get messy.” Erin knew him. He used that tone of voice only seconds before dealing with the irrational drunks at the bar.
“But I do so love leaving a mess.” The cold smile that curled at the other man’s lips was the first indication that he’d run out of patience.
She felt Turk shift closer to her, his arm bunching, muscles tightening to pull the weapon free when she was suddenly blinded by bright, white light.
A manacle at her waist lifted her clear off the ground as she felt herself thrown to the side. The blast of gunfire exploded around her as a heavy weight followed her to the grass, crushing her beneath it.
The scream of tires on blacktop filled the night, screeching through her senses as male screams filled the violent symphony for endless seconds.
Then, silence filled the air.
It was so deathly still now that she wondered if time had stopped.
A curse whispered at her ear then—Turk’s voice—deep with irritation as his hand tightened at her hip before his weight suddenly rolled from her.
Rolling to her back Erin quickly scanned what she could see of the parking lot only to be blinded once again by the bright lights of a helicopter overhead.
The steady drone of the helicopter’s motors were almost a distant sound before Turk blocked the light, reaching down for her.
“It’s over,” he promised her, pulling her to her feet as she placed her hand in his. “They’re dead.”
“What the hell happened?” She breathed out, still shocked by the suddenness of it. “God, Turk. What happened?”
She could see the bodies then. Tyler’s and his two friends’, sprawled out on the blacktop, their bodies twisted or lying at odd angles. There was no way they were still alive.
“The hell if I know.” He breathed out roughly, pulling her to his side and surveying the scene as well. “I’ll be damned if I know, Erin. But I have no doubt J.D. will figure it out. No doubt at all.”
At that moment the helicopter landed in the deserted restaurant parking lot beside them as vehicles began pouring into the area. Residents of the apartment building were beginning to creep from the doors and if the black-clad figures erupting from the SUVs that braked to a quick stop were any indication, those residents would never see, nor ever know, exactly what happened.
“Turk. Erin. Let’s go.” One of those black-clad agents neared them, lifting the dark mask he wore to reveal his identity.
Iron’s eyes were icy cold, his expression hard as he stepped to them. Dressed in dark jeans and jacket, it was obvious he hadn’t had time to change into the dark military gear normally worn in such situations.
“Come on, we have to get you out of here,” Turk muttered, pulling her with him to the SUV.
Of course they did. She was J.D.’s stepdaughter, and someone knew far too much if what Tyler said was true. So much, that it could change her life forever.