CHAPTER SIXTEEN
‡
Brody answered his phone before he even opened his eyes, speaking his last name to whoever was calling at this ungodly hour.
Wait.
Was that sunshine?
“Get your ass to Forsythe Advertising,” Keane ordered, his tone containing that specific edge Brody was all too aware of from his time in the field. Something very bad had happened, or was immediately on the horizon. “Varan pulled into the parking garage two minutes ago. I’ve already alerted the authorities. He’s in blatant violation of his release conditions, and I don’t think he’s here to open a client account.”
“That fucking piece of shit.”
Brody tossed the light sheet to the side, briefly wondering where the other blankets had gone to. His thoughts were instantly redirected as he was rewarded with the beautiful sight of Remy’s lithe body sprawled out next to him with her blonde hair fanned out over her pillow. Sensual images of what had transpired between them last night began to appear as snapshots in time. It reminded him of just how significant the steps were that she’d taken yesterday evening and how there had been achievements toward reaching both their goals of happiness. Hell, he’d had a taste of something he thought was beyond his most hopeful aspirations.
Remy was starting to stir, and he wished like hell he didn’t have to break it to her that Varan was about to fuck up all her well-laid plans. A simple violation like breaking a restraining order wouldn’t keep him behind a locked door for the rest of his life. All he would get was a slap on the wrist, possibly just a reevaluation by the hospital’s review board for stricter standards of behavior.
“I finally located his car, but I’m a good forty-five seconds or more behind him.” A car door being shut rang out over the line. “I’ll call you back when I have him in custody.”
“Brody?” Remy inquired with curiosity when she realized he was staring toward her at a loss for words. Concern had already settled into those blue eyes of her, chasing away whatever emotion she would have experienced this morning once he’d awakened her with a kiss. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ll be right there,” Brody addressed Keane with determination, already thinking of ways they could use this situation to their advantage. He briefly considered leaving Remy alone here on the property, but then thought better of it. Varan had already paid a visit to Sorrento once, scoping out the storefront they used in town. Brody wasn’t willing to chance Remy’s life on the sole belief that this deranged killer hadn’t somehow acquired their physical address, though that would be remote at best. “Be careful, Keane.”
“What happened?” Remy asked, already leveraging her palms against the mattress until she was standing next to the bed. She didn’t bother to reach for her clothes in her quest to hear what had transpired. “Is Ralph…”
Of course she would assume something had happened to Forsythe. Brody quickly reassured her that wasn’t the case.
“We’ll contact the hospital to check on him,” Brody promised, “but that call wasn’t about your boss’s heath.”
“David.”
Remy didn’t waste time as she crossed the bedroom floor and quickly walked out the open door, leaving him standing there wishing she’d taken an extra minute to soak in this morning’s news. He didn’t like to think that she was about to close herself off once again, leaving him out in the cold after their night together.
Brody walked over to the dresser, which contained a few pieces of his clothing. Each team member had a room in this six thousand square foot home, and each of them always had a change of clothing or two on hand in case of emergencies. They also had their choice of a home defense weapon secured with a biometric lock. He still preferred a riot shotgun loaded with double 00 buckshot for close range, but today would require a more versatile weapon.
Usually, Brody kept on hand a few silk shirts on hand in his closet, but the wooden hangers were bare. He still hadn’t had time to wash clothes, but at least he had a clean set of briefs. He then grabbed his cargo shorts up off the floor and stepped into them, quickly fastening the belt he’d need for his holster.
“Varan apparently decided to pay the Forsythe Advertising Agency building a visit,” Brody called out loud enough for her to hear him. “Keane called it into the authorities.”
Brody walked out of the room and crossed the hall into Keane’s room, taking a quick glance down the long corridor to the room where Remy was most likely getting dressed. He almost veered in that direction, but they were now on a time constraint.
He flicked open the closet to find a couple of white dress shirts, each hanging about an inch apart. The detail in which they were hung reminded him of Remy and the painstaking manner in which she tried to control every aspect of her life. He hoped like hell whatever today held for them didn’t make those traits worse.
Keane and Brody were about the same size, so he didn’t have any worries that the dress shirt would fit him. He yanked one off the hanger, and in doing so pushed the others closer together. Brody would normally have found humor in the thought of Keane’s reaction to his perfectly aligned shirts being messed with, but too much apprehension had already settled in about today’s events.
“He shouldn’t have done that,” Remy replied angrily from a distance, bringing Brody’s attention back around to the fact that Keane had called the authorities. “I’m not there, so technically he’s not in violation of anything other than the letter of the law.”
“You and I both know that’s not true,” Brody called out, wishing this morning had started out any other way than dealing with this bullshit. He fastened the buttons on the white dress shirt as he walked back into his bedroom. The comforter was on the floor, covering half of the clothes she’d worn last night. “Varan is required to maintain a strict standard of behavior in regards to maintaining his distance from your life. Your workspace is specifically called out as a no-go zone. Keane will hold him there until the authorities show up to transport him to the local lockup, where we’ll give a statement ourselves about his activities over the course of this past week.”
Remy didn’t reply, though a response wasn’t needed. Brody picked up his holstered weapon, attaching it to the belt he’d just secured around his waist. He pulled the dress shirt over the top of his firearm and then proceeded to roll up his sleeves.
Damn it. This morning wasn’t supposed to have started out like this. He and Remy had made love numerous times throughout the night, roughly getting a couple of hours of sleep at most. It was going on zero eight hundred, right around the time Forsythe Advertising would be opening their doors.
Why the hell would Varan violate the terms of his release now?
It didn’t make sense, other than to draw out Remy, but that choice would ultimately cost him his freedom. It was a good reason she should remain here at the house, but that wasn’t going to happen since she would be alone and unprotected. The authorities would already have a presence on the scene when they arrived. She would be safer by his side, and he would see to it that this entire surveillance assignment hadn’t been for naught.
Brody reached for his cell phone, quickly checking the software he’d loaded to monitor any potential sightings of Shepherd Moss. It wasn’t enough that they were dealing with a deranged schizophrenic. There was also a highly intelligent sociopath on their books as well. He quickly texted his morning update to the team, as well as alerting them to the fact that he would be out of pocket for the next couple of hours.
“Are you ready?”
Brody turned to see Remy standing in the doorway, wearing a black business suit tailored to her figure. Her hair had been gathered and pulled back into a high bun that would have looked severe on any other woman. Her? She pulled it off and appeared to be nothing but the professional woman she wanted to portray. She was far too composed considering the situation.
Only he knew what lay underneath, and he wanted to strip her free from those constraints, among other things.
“No, I’m not ready,” Brody answered honestly, not willing to accept that last night hadn’t changed her perspective on her life in some small measure. He closed the distance between them and didn’t stop until he was standing directly in front of her, noticing her additional height courtesy of those matching high heels. He palmed her face, wishing he could take away the overwhelming fear that had returned with a vengeance. “Don’t let this take away from our progress, Remy. Don’t let this consume you.”
Remy closed her eyes and tilted her head until her lips were pressed against his palm, maybe even wishing she could do as he’d asked. Or she simply might have been hiding the truth in that last night had only been an illusion to cover the reality she would now have to face. He pulled her into his embrace, taking note of how cool the fabric of her clothes were despite of the heat they’d generated last night.
“We should go,” Remy whispered as she gently pulled away, turning before he could stop her. “I need to call Carol and warn her about David.”
It wasn’t long before both of them were seated in his Jeep, pulling out of the long drive as Remy tried once again to reach Carol by using his cell phone. The administrative assistant wasn’t picking up, so Remy left another message before calling the hospital to check on Ralph Forsythe. Julia must have picked up the phone in Ralph’s room, because Remy began to explain what was taking place.
“Wait, Julia,” Remy instructed, pulling the phone away from her ear. “Someone’s calling in.”
Brody glanced her way to see what the problem was when she held it out for him. Keane was trying to call in, so Brody simply disconnected Julia’s line without a moment’s hesitation.
“Keane, do you have him yet?”
Brody struggled to hear what was being said through what sounded like numerous people talking at once. It was then that some of the words penetrated, and he realized that things had just gone from bad to worse. He held the phone closer to his ear, grateful that he hadn’t taken this call over Bluetooth.
“Varan just upped the ante,” Keane said somewhat breathlessly, though there was a steel tone underneath. “Carol Applely was stabbed and bleeding out by the time I reached Remy’s office. She’s being taken to the hospital by ambulance as we speak, but they’re not sure she’s going to make it.”
“And Varan?” Brody asked, literally sensing Remy’s penetrating stare through his hand that held his phone. He wasn’t sure if he prolonged this discussion to give him time to come up with words to explain to her what had happened this morning, but either way he needed to understand what they were dealing with. “Is he in custody?”
“No.” Keane didn’t sugarcoat anything. “He was running away down the hall with the knife in his hand, and I had a choice to make.”
Brody didn’t have to be told that Keane had stayed behind to stem Carol’s bleeding. The only reason she’d most likely made it this far was because of Keane’s choice to stay behind and apply pressure to her wound, and no one on the team would question his decision. Until she was no longer breathing, there was a chance Carol could pull through. While she was being taken care of by medical professionals, SSI still had a job to do.
“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Brody said grimly, stepping on the gas pedal as he disconnected the line. He had no choice but to tell Remy what happened, and he hated that he was the one to deliver the final blow to the security she’d experienced this past week. It was now gone…shattered. In its place was an omnipresent cloud of danger that would eventually land at her feet. “Carol’s been hurt. Paramedics are transporting her to the hospital now.”
“Is she…”
“Keane did the best he could and managed to keep Carol alive so that the medics could take over,” Brody explained, reaching over the console and taking her hand. Her fingers were ice cold. “Local authorities have an APB out on Varan. In the meantime, Keane has things handled at the office if you’d like to go to the hospital.”
“No.” Remy had almost shouted the word, before composing herself with a slight cough. She reached for the heart necklace that was always around her neck. Touching the charm tended to ground her emotions, and he was grateful that Anna could be there in her own way. “Take me to the office first, please. I need to call Carol’s husband before reaching out to Julia and Ralph to let them know what happened. I then need to speak with the staff before we drive to the hospital.”
Brody struggled with her request, lecturing himself for even giving her a choice. Her reasoning was sound, but he didn’t like it. She gently squeezed his hand in reassurance, but it didn’t ease his doubts that she had a hidden agenda for wanting to be at the office.
Did Remy believe Varan was still nearby, thus hoping her appearance would draw him out into the open so that he could be gunned down?
There wasn’t a chance in hell Brody would allow her to make herself a target. He didn’t want to believe that she would put herself in that type of danger, but she’d purposefully done so before.
Who was to say she wouldn’t do so again?