Chapter Sixteen

He thought she’d been tight-lipped during the ride from the hospital to Elite Force. But she’d been completely nonverbal the entire trip from the firm to her house. Connor didn’t know what it meant.

Did she think Ax and everyone working the case had lost their minds in thinking Kassidy was some kind of criminal? Hell, this morning even he’d initially had his doubts that Kassidy was a suspect. The evidence gathered so far pointed in that exact direction, whether Becca wanted to accept it or not.

Had Becca agreed to hire protection because she feared the same people she believed forced Kassidy to steal research were now after her?

Or was she quiet because she was trying to come to terms with the truth that her stepsister wasn’t who she thought she was? Something he knew from experience was never easy.

He hoped it was the last reason. The sooner she accepted Kassidy was most likely a suspect and not a victim, the better.

After following her into the kitchen, he dropped his two bags on the floor. One held the extra clothes he always kept in his SUV for unexpected assignments such as this. The other was his tactical go-bag. It contained everything from extra magazines for his gun to a full first aid kit. He hoped he didn’t need anything inside the bag, but with so many unknowns, he needed to be prepared.

Before Becca even removed her sneakers, she reset the house alarm. “I need chocolate,” she announced, tossing her wristlet and house key onto the table.

Some people drowned their problems in alcohol. If she wanted to drown them in candy, he wasn’t going to stop her. Besides, filling up on chocolate was probably a lot better for her than a bottle or two of wine.

She searched through a cabinet and pulled out a fancy-looking gold box. “Want some?” Becca asked, holding the box out toward him. The name Favre was written across the cover in a font so elegant it was almost difficult to read.

If he’d experienced the day Becca had, he’d be going for a beer, not food. But he liked junk food, especially chocolate, as much as the next guy. “Sure.”

He opened the box, hoping for a guide explaining what was in each candy. There was nothing worse than getting one filled with that weird orange crap they often covered with perfectly good chocolate, ruining it for the unsuspecting candy lover. No such guide was inside this box. He’d have to take his chances. Connor selected one and hoped the odd shape on top was an almond covered with chocolate, and not some other weird sugary creation.

“Is this a new company?” He’d let Becca get her candy fix before asking the tough questions.

Becca plucked a chocolate from the box. “You’ve never had Favre? You’re in for a treat.” She popped the candy into her mouth and reached for a second. “I’m taking this upstairs with us, but help yourself to anything you want.”

The beer he knew she kept in the fridge sounded good, but he never drank when on an assignment. Instead, he took a few cans of flavored seltzer water out and followed her upstairs.

All her bedroom lights were already on when they entered the room. “I left in a hurry.” Leaving the Favre box on the nightstand, she removed a towel from the bed and walked into the bathroom. She came back out carrying a glass of wine.

“When Graham called, I’d just gotten in the hot tub to relax. A lot of good it did me.” She set the almost-full glass down and raked both hands through her already-messy hair. “I keep hoping I’ll wake up and find that this whole day has actually been one long nightmare.”

He understood her sentiments, and if he had the power to change the events of the past twenty-four hours for her, he would.

“Your boss thinks Kassidy is a criminal.” Becca went for the gold box again. She didn’t even look inside. Instead, she pulled out a dark-colored square and raised it toward her lips. “Keith does too. I could tell. What about you? Neither of them knows Kassidy, but you do. Do you agree with them?”

It looked like he didn’t need to ask the tough questions. She was jumping right into the conversation they needed to have. “It’s not the answer you want but, yeah. I don’t think Kassidy was forced to steal the research.”

“You’re right, it’s not what I want to hear.” Her eyelids drifted closed as her shoulders slumped. “But the more I think about everything said tonight, the more I agree.”

He hated hearing the resignation in her voice, but accepting it now would make it easier when Kassidy was found and the truth became public knowledge.

Becca backed up and sat cross-legged on the bed. “A bunch of times over the summer I caught her lies. I told myself she was probably involved with a married man again.” She rolled her eyes. “Kassidy has never been bothered by a man’s marital status.”

“What did she lie about?” She might think they weren’t important, but who knew what tidbit of info might help them track down Kassidy.

“Silly things. Like one day, she said she arranged to visit with my mom while up in New York. Less than twenty minutes later, I got a call from Mom, and she had no idea Kassidy was heading up that way. Another time she supposedly flew out to the Lafayette Laboratory branch in Austin, Texas. When she got back, the airport tags on her luggage were from Florida. Unless the states have moved around, Texas and Florida are not neighbors.”

Becca’s information didn’t surprise him. It also didn’t help him much.

“It probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but I wish I’d confronted her.”

He had no reason to believe Kassidy was violent. But, given the circumstances, it was possible she or maybe someone she was working with would’ve done whatever necessary to carry out their plan—even if it had meant harming Becca. “You’re right. It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“Do you think Mom and Robert have been contacted?”

“Yeah. The FBI would’ve sent someone from the New Haven office to visit them as soon as they got involved. Someone would’ve reached out to Kassidy’s mom too.”

She nodded and looked down at the box in her lap. After a quick assessment of its contents, she selected a treat, put the cover back on, and set the box on the nightstand. “Robert must be going nuts. Kassidy’s his baby and, although he’d never admit it, she’s always been his favorite.”

Connor remembered Robert Buchanan. Under normal circumstances, he couldn’t picture the man being anything but calm and cool without a hair out of place. Whenever a person’s child was involved, regardless of the child’s age, people acted and behaved in ways completely out of character.

“It’s too late to call them tonight. First thing tomorrow, I’ll do it,” Becca said. “And speaking of tomorrow, what the heck am I going to tell everyone? It’s not like people aren’t going to notice you there.”

No doubt whoever tried to grab her tonight knew where she worked. Going anywhere near her office was a terrible idea. “You’re not going to work.” He didn’t care if women hated being told what to do or not. Her safety came first.

Both her eyebrows rocketed toward her hairline. “Uh, yes, I am, Connor. Much like with your job, I can’t call in sick whenever I feel like it. And while sometimes I can work from home, tomorrow it’s not possible. I have meetings. Ones I cannot skip, and none can be rescheduled.”

Even bringing her back here put him on edge. It’d seemed the best option for the night, though, since his teammates were watching the house. If anyone got past any of them, which was highly unlikely, and forced his way in, the security system would alert him immediately. In the morning, Connor intended to reassess the situation and move to a more secure location if necessary.

“Whoever is after you knows where you live. The jerk who attacked you tonight must have been watching the house and then followed you to the hospital. Trust me, he or whoever he’s working for knows where you work too.”

“Then I must have imagined you saying, and I quote, ‘Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you—I won’t let it.’”

At another time he would’ve laughed at her imitation of his voice. “Becca, you know you didn’t.” He mentally swore because he knew, regardless of what he said next, she would object. “I’d take a bullet to keep you safe.”

“Elite Force must really pay you well.” Becca muttered the comment softly, but he still heard it.

“Whether you took Ax’s suggestion and hired the firm or not, I’d already planned to not leave you alone again until this is over. The firm and my paycheck have nothing to do with my willingness to do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” And when he said “whatever,” he meant it, even if it came down to taking someone else’s life to stop them from harming her. “Going to work tomorrow is an unnecessary risk. I’m sure the senator would agree with me.”

She stared at him, her lips slightly parted. What that meant he didn’t know, and he figured it was better not to guess. Finally, she ran her tongue over her bottom lip and reached for his hand. “I’m glad you’re here, and I’m not trying to make things more difficult for you. But it’s important I attend my meetings. One took me months to arrange. Just let me go in tomorrow. While I’m with him, I’ll explain the situation to Ted, and I won’t go back until you tell me it’s safe.”

Arguing his point wouldn’t get him anywhere, except perhaps kicked out. “One day, and you’ll do exactly what I tell you. If I see anyone suspicious, we’re out of there. Even if it means dragging you out against your will. Understand?”

***

A heavy arm pinned her in place, making it possible to move. “We’re going to take a little drive together, princesa.” The owner of the voice stood so close she felt the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. “Don’t make this hard and you won’t get hurt,” the unseen captor said.

Despite the warning, she opened her mouth to scream. Not a sound came out. Frantic, she searched for help. Connor had promised to keep her safe. Why wasn’t he there? She clawed at the arm holding her, but its owner seemed unaffected. Desperate to get away, she drove the heel of her favorite pumps down on his foot.

Becca’s eyes flew open, and she searched the darkness. It was a dream.

It was Connor’s arm across her stomach pinning her in place, not the creep from the parking garage. She was safe in her bed, and one of the best security systems money could buy was turned on. She had her own personal bodyguard asleep next to her. His 9mm Glock sat on the nightstand, loaded and ready if Connor needed to use it. She prayed he didn’t, but she couldn’t deny that knowing he had it nearby did make her feel better. And there were other employees from the firm outside her home, keeping watch.

Nothing is going to happen to me, she reminded herself.

Despite the words, her thoughts returned to the hospital. Maybe she should’ve tried to get a look at the creep’s face. The police still might not have him in custody, but at least if she’d been able to give them a description, they’d have something to work with. At the time, getting away had been her only priority, and not once had she looked back to even check the distance separating them as she ran.

If the jerk had followed her from the house to the hospital, had he followed her to other places today? The man at lunch had definitely made her uncomfortable, but she dismissed him as a possibility. She hadn’t heard any hint of an accent in her unwelcome bench companion’s voice. But the guy who’d gone after her tonight definitely had one.

What about the man who thought pairing a suit with work boots was a good idea? It had looked as if he was headed in her direction as she walked to her car. Had he planned to grab her there, but then for some reason decided to wait?

She envisioned him crossing to the elevators. Yeah, no way was he the guy who went after me earlier. Mr. Suit and Work Boots had been huge. Only perhaps a miracle would’ve allowed her simple self-defense tactics to work on a man like him.

Lying in bed and running the whole event continuously through her head was getting her nowhere. Instead, she should close her eyes and try to get back sleep, because the alarm clock would go off at the same time it always did whether she’d gotten enough rest or not. Unfortunately, at the moment, she was more awake than if she’d downed three or four espressos in a row. Of course, when it was time to get out of bed, she’d probably be dead tired.

Becca ran her fingers gently across Connor’s arm as she inched closer to him. If she couldn’t sleep, then she’d at least lie there and ponder more pleasant thoughts.

Ever since their afternoon picnic, the feelings she’d had for him over fifteen years ago had started to resurface. Her short stay at his house had accelerated the process and, assuming he didn’t suddenly disappear from her life again, he’d soon be planted in her heart.

Before tonight, she’d worried that was a disaster in the making. Now she didn’t know what to expect. Every one of Connor’s colleagues probably accepted that during certain assignments their lives would be at risk. However, tonight he’d gone out of his way to tell her his position with the firm had nothing to do with his willingness to protect her at any cost.

Starting with the day they met up in the café, he’d been honest and upfront with her. She had no reason to believe he was being anything but that tonight. And any individual, man or woman, willing to protect another no matter what wasn’t hanging around just for the sex. Especially when he could easily get it from plenty of other women. His feelings toward her might not be approaching the big L-word like hers, but she didn’t doubt he cared her. And for now, knowing she was important to him was enough.

“What’s bothering you?” Connor said, his hand suddenly closing over her fingers.

“How did you know I was awake?” She hadn’t made a sound and had barely moved since waking up. Could the man see in the dark?

He tucked her closer to him and kissed her cheek. “I’m a light sleeper. As soon as your fingers moved against my arm, I woke up.” He linked their hands together.

His revelation didn’t surprise her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You were out cold, snoring away and drooling like a baby. What woke you?”

“I don’t snore,” she said.

Connor chuckled. “If you say so. But you didn’t answer me.”

“Nightmare, and now I’m wide awake.”

He released her hand and slipped his fingers under her T-shirt. “Since we’re both awake, we should enjoy ourselves.” His hand closed over her breast as his lips came down on hers, banishing any thoughts of her hellish night or what awaited her tomorrow.