by Cynthia Eden
Bran stopped.
Julia’s lower lip trembled. “I feel the same way about you.”
His eyes widened.
“And we’ll talk about it more…when I get back. When this is over.” She rose onto her toes.
His head came down toward her.
The kiss was soft. Savage in its sweetness. Bittersweet. “I’ll be okay,” Julia promised against his lips. “Trust me.”
Then she pulled away. She had to do it. Had to leave him because other people were in danger. She had only moments to prepare. Nothing could go wrong. There could be no mistakes.
She wasn’t ready to die.
***
The door closed behind Julia. She’d grabbed some supplies and just walked out of the bed and breakfast. Bran stood there with every muscle in his body burning. He glared at Rick. “Go the fuck with her.”
Rick didn’t move. “You heard Julia. My job is to—”
“You work for Hathway. Hathway works for me. And I’m telling you to go with her. Now.”
Rick notched up his chin. “It could be a lure so that you’re left undefended.”
“Gideon can stay with me. Leave other agents with me. Leave—” He started to say Cole…Leave Cole with me. But when he glanced around, Cole wasn’t there. When the hell had that guy slipped away? He’d been weaving from his concussion, hadn’t he?
“I’m staying with you,” Rick told him quietly. “Julia is covered. Don’t worry about her.”
“Don’t worry?” He was going to deck the dude. Long overdue. Way, way overdue.
Gideon slapped a hand on his chest before Bran could attack. “Calm down.”
Was he kidding? Were they all insane?
Gideon hauled him into the study. “I’ll go,” Gideon told him quietly as soon as they were out of Rick’s earshot. “After my military days, I know how to get through those woods without making a sound. I’m assuming the coordinates are on that laptop she had. I’ll get them, I’ll get to that meeting spot, and no one will ever see me coming.” A grim smile lifted his lips. “I know these woods like the back of my hand. I’ll make sure your girl comes out of this alive. Count on it.”
“I need to be there.”
“To do what?” He appeared genuinely confused. “Fucking play the bad guy to death with your guitar?”
Bran glared at him. “To have Julia’s back. To make sure she’s safe.”
“I’ve got her. Trust me. I can see how much she matters to you. I will not let anything happen to her at that meeting.”
“Nothing can happen. Do you understand me? Nothing.”
Gideon gave a determined nod. “I understand perfectly.”
Then he turned away. Left the study. Bran stood there, his hands clenching and unclenching. His mind spinning. Julia. God, he loved her so much. He needed this mess over. He needed her safe.
When Gideon didn’t return, Bran hurried from the study. Went toward her laptop, but it was closed.
He searched the house but Gideon had already left. Bran surged toward the front door, intending to go after them.
Julia was his life. He had to—
Rick stepped in his path. “Rock star, you’re not going anywhere. I made a promise to Julia, and I intend to keep that promise.”
Chapter Eighteen
Julia glanced down at her phone, thankful for the signal in the middle of nowhere that let her find the meeting spot. She didn’t use a light to help her climb through the trees and over the old trail. Using a light would give away her presence too much, and that wasn’t what she wanted to do. The night air was cold, but she ignored the chill. She’d grabbed a sweatshirt—Rick had brought her quite a few interesting items to use—before she’d left the bed and breakfast. She’d also taken the time to gather a few other necessary supplies, again, courtesy of Rick.
She approached slowly, carefully, making sure not to snap any twigs or create a rustle in the dark. She wanted to see her prey before the prey spotted her.
A few more careful feet forward…
A clearing.
And right in the middle of the clearing, with a freaking fire blazing in front of her, stood Julia’s prey.
The flames lit the woman’s features and her long, thick tumble of hair. Julia had made a point to look for pictures of Geneva Ruby after she’d gotten more details about the woman’s involvement with Bran, and she knew she was looking at his ex.
“Are you going to stand there all night or are you coming forward?” Geneva called out.
Julia tensed. How had she been spotted?
Geneva glanced up from the phone in her own hand. The phone’s glow illuminated her face perfectly.
If my phone is still getting service, so is hers. That’s probably one of the reasons why she picked this location. Geneva had done her homework on the area.
“I know you’re there,” Geneva announced with a bite in her voice. “You got my emails. You followed the coordinates. So stop playing games. I’m not in the mood.”
A shiver slid over Julia’s spine. She’d been so careful not to make a sound. But there were two players in this game. Geneva and whoever the woman had hired to do her dirty work. It was possible that—despite the precautions Julia had taken—Geneva’s partner had tailed her from town. That he or she was even better at being quiet in the woods than Julia was.
Not like it was a talent only one person possessed.
“I’m not here to play games,” Julia announced as she stepped from the bushes. “That would be you.”
Geneva swept her gaze over Julia. Starting at her head and then going down to her sneaker-clad feet. Geneva laughed, a high-pitched, very distinct giggle.
I heard a woman laughing. Cole’s voice slid through Julia’s mind.
“You are the one he’s sleeping with? I mean, how desperate must Bran be? You’re so…” Geneva waved a hand. “Not me.”
Yes, I suspect that’s part of my appeal. Julia brought up her weapon. “It’s over, Geneva. You’re not going to hurt Bran any longer.”
“Hurt him?” Geneva didn’t even seem to notice the gun aimed at her. “Why would I hurt him? I love Bran, and he loves me.”
Hello, delusional. “He loves you so much that he wanted you to go in a psych clinic?”
Geneva circled around the fire, coming closer to Julia. “He was in contact with me the entire time. Every day, he would email me. Sometimes he’d call. Bran would tell me how much he missed me. How much he needed me. He said I changed his life.”
Okay, someone was definitely on the crazy train. “I have a gun in my hand.” Because the woman seemed to miss that important fact. “Take another step toward me, and I’ll shoot you in the knee.”
Geneva blinked. “I don’t want to get shot.”
Fair enough. “Then don’t move.”
The fire flickered behind Geneva’s body. The woman was tall and thin. Model gorgeous. And crazy as a loon.
“Bran loves me,” Geneva declared passionately. “He staged all of this, and I don’t think he’d appreciate you shooting me because you couldn’t handle his rejection.”
“Listen, nutjob, Bran didn’t stage anything. You attacked my friend Cole. You left him in a burning cabin, and then you put explosives in Bran’s place.”
Geneva’s jaw dropped. “No! I would never do that to Bran!”
Julia noticed that she didn’t deny doing anything to Cole.
“Look, if you want to know about that Cole person—it was just a publicity stunt,” Geneva explained with a shake of her head. “Bran’s got a new album scheduled to drop soon. Surely you noticed that he’s been working on the songs? He wanted more attention, so he asked me to create a little drama.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled broadly. “He knows I like drama, and I was happy to help out my baby.”
All right. Enough useless chit-chat in the woods. She needed to get back to Bran. Because this whole thing feels like a distraction. “I’m going to put handcuffs on you and take you to the sh
eriff’s station.”
Geneva’s shoulders dropped. “No.”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m going to—”
“He’s going to shoot you.” Geneva smiled. “Don’t worry, though, it’s not going to be a fatal shot. Just one that will look good for the press—”
Julia was already moving. Leaping away from the fire and away from Geneva. She’d suspected something like this…wasn’t it the reason she’d slapped on a bullet-proof vest before going into the woods? A vest she’d hidden underneath the oversized sweatshirt? Julia had realized this isolated location was the perfect place for an ambush. Absolutely freaking perfect.
As she surged to the side, the bullet hit her in the back. A powerful, hard hit as the bullet tore through the fabric of her sweatshirt and then embedded in the bullet-proof vest.
Julia slammed into the ground.
Geneva laughed. That stupid, high-pitched giggle. “That was amazing! It will look so good in the—”
“Get down, Geneva!” Julia shouted because whatever else was happening, it was starkly obvious that this woman thought everything was all a game. That the shot hadn’t been intended to kill Julia. Bull-freaking-shit.
Geneva didn’t get down. She cocked her head. “Why?”
Another crack of gunfire split the night.
And this time, there was no bullet-proof vest to stop it from reaching its target. The bullet slammed into Geneva’s chest. Blood sprayed into the air, and Geneva glanced down at herself in shock. “Why…?”
She toppled.
Staying low, Julia rushed to her. She grabbed the woman by the arms and tried to pull her into the bushes. They had to get hidden. Had to get out of the light from the flames and away from the bastard out there with the gun.
Another bullet blasted. This one hit the ground too close to Julia. Far too close.
Then—
Return fire. Gunfire erupted, but this time, from the opposite direction. Like someone was taking aim at the bastard who’d tried to kill Julia.
“Giving cover fire!” Cole yelled out a moment later. “Get to safety, now.”
She didn’t have time to wonder about how the hell Cole was there. Cole was shooting in the direction of the perp, keeping him busy, keeping the other guy down, and Julia hauled ass with Geneva. She got the woman behind the covering of a massive tree, and Julia shoved her hands on Geneva’s chest. Blood immediately seeped through her fingers.
“He…sh-shot m-me…” Geneva whispered.
“Save your strength.” A shot straight to the chest. The bullet was still inside Geneva. In her heart? Julia knew that she was staring at a dead woman. One who just hadn’t taken her final breath yet. Dammit, dammit!
“Bran…loves m-me…” Geneva’s body shook. “Wh-why did he…sh…shoot…”
“Bran didn’t shoot you. Bran is in town, surrounded by guards. He didn’t do this. Your partner did! The asshole you’ve been working with—He did this!”
Geneva’s breath heaved out.
Julia knew Geneva was almost gone. “Where is he? Where is he, Geneva? Where’s the target with the bomb? Where is—”
“Sh-Sheriff…station…”
Footsteps pounded through the brush. Julia whirled, aiming her gun, holding it with blood-stained fingers.
“Just me,” Cole hurried to say as he lifted his own weapon. “Bastard is running away. Moving fast. I could hear the pounding of his feet as he headed north.” He crouched in front of her. “You took a hit. Tell me—”
“I’m wearing a vest.” But she still felt as if someone had pounded a hammer into her back. “It’s Geneva—she’s the one…” Only her words trailed away when she looked back at Geneva.
Geneva wasn’t struggling to breathe any longer. She wasn’t breathing at all.
“Julia!” A roar in the night. “Julia, where in the hell are you? I heard gunfire!”
Her body jolted at the familiar voice. Gideon’s voice. Who wasn’t in the woods that night?
“We’re here!” Cole called out.
Gideon shoved his way to them. She could hear him coming right before he surged out of the brush nearby. His eyes widened when he saw Geneva’s body. He swayed. “You…had to kill her?”
“Not me.” Julia put her fingers to Geneva’s throat, hoping desperately for a pulse. The shot had been to the heart. She was dead, and I knew it. “Her partner. He aimed at me, then took her out.”
“You’re hit?” Gideon demanded.
“Bullet-proof vest. Don’t worry about me.”
A quick nod, and he pulled out his phone. Gideon started barking orders for an ambulance and more resources and—
“Evacuate the station,” Julia said as she leapt to her feet and grabbed his arm. “Geneva said that was the target. That a bomb is in your sheriff’s station. We have to get the place evacuated and we have to do it now.”
***
“Yeah, yeah…I understand.” Rick’s voice sounded strained, so Bran’s attention was immediately captured. “But you’re not hurt? You’re sure?”
Julia. Bran leapt across the room and grabbed the man’s arm.
“All right, yes. I’ll tell him.” Rick hung up the phone. Looked down at his forearm. “You’re about to break that, hoss.”
“Julia is okay?”
“She’s fine, but Geneva Ruby is dead.”
He sucked in a breath.
“Geneva’s partner shot at Julia first, then he took out Geneva. From what Julia said, the woman apparently never even saw the double cross coming.”
Shot at Julia first.
“Okay. Seriously, you’re about to break my arm, rock star.”
He eased his grip. “You said Julia wasn’t hurt.”
“She was wearing a bullet-proof vest. She’s fine. Julia and Gideon are racing back to town because before she died, Geneva said the sheriff’s station was the bomb target. Cole is back on scene in the woods. He’s checking to make sure nothing was missed.”
Cole? “The guy has a concussion—”
“Like that was gonna stop him. I knew as soon as he slipped away that he’d gone out to watch Julia’s back.”
He’d be forever grateful to Cole.
“You and I need to sit tight,” Rick advised. “The shooter got away, so we can’t rule out that he won’t come right here, gunning for you.”
Bran let go of Rick.
“Did you send the sheriff out there?” Rick asked quietly. “I thought I just had to worry about keeping your fool ass here. Didn’t realize you’d worked a deal with your buddy so he’d be in the woods, too.”
Bran gave a jerky nod. “It felt too much like a trap.”
“’Cause it was.”
“If I couldn’t go, someone had to be there with her.”
“So you sent someone you trusted.”
Yes. But he’d wanted to be there. His muscles were tight with fury and strain. “I can do more than play the fucking guitar.”
Rick lifted a brow.
“Give me a gun. I’m one hell of a shot. If this bastard comes here, I want my turn at him.”
Rick didn’t move.
Maybe he hadn’t been clear enough. “Give me a fucking gun or I will take yours.”
Rick gave him a faint smile. It didn’t soften his features at all. “I’d like to see you try.”
Okay. Bran surged at him. Took that swing that he’d been wanting to take ever since they’d met. Rick blocked the move, but it had just been a trick, anyway. Bran grabbed the butt of Rick’s weapon from his holster and yanked it back, surging out of reach as Rick shook his head and what could have been a flash of admiration lit the other man’s eyes.
“That supposed to impress me?” Rick asked. “’Cause I can snatch that bitch back in an instant.”
“I’m not real worried about impressing you.” He had other things on his mind. “The bomb at the station is a distraction.” Just like the one at Cole’s place had been. Am I starting to think like Julia? “It was put there de
liberately so all the deputies would be busy, so you’d send some of your men to help them clear out. The bastard is planning to come at me, and I want to be ready for the sonofabitch.”
***
“My station,” Gideon snarled and his hand pounded against the steering wheel. “I can’t believe he put the bomb at my station. Bastard.”
“Drive faster.” He had a siren on the patrol car, and he needed to use it. “I just talked to Rick. He’s going to stay with Bran until we find this jerk.”
Gideon slanted her a glance. “So they’re still at the bed and breakfast?”
“Yes, they’re going to stay there until I get back.”
Gideon flashed her a quick smile. “That’s good. It’s a secure location. No one in or out but you and your team. Should be the perfect place for them.”
Her fingers tapped against her thigh. “Put on your damn siren, Gideon. You’re driving slower than my grandmother.” She should’ve gone in her own car, but he’d insisted she come with him.
“I will, I just need to make one call first.”
The guy pulled off the road. Pulled off the road. She peered around and realized they were actually pretty close to the bed and breakfast that had been turned into Bran’s safe house.
Every red flag in the world flew right then and there.
Gideon reached for his phone.
She snatched it out of his hand.
“Uh, Julia, I’m going to need that.” His voice was perfectly mild. His brow furrowed. “I want to check in with my deputies and make sure they’ve all gotten out okay.”
“Then use the radio in your car.” Her hold tightened on the phone.
Gideon’s furrow deepened. He reached for the radio, and a moment later, he was checking in with the deputy he’d left in charge.
“All clear, sheriff,” the deputy’s voice filled the interior of the vehicle. “Everyone is accounted for…”
Good news.
But she kept her hold on Gideon’s phone because tension still snaked through her.
He flipped off the radio. “Want to give that back to me now?”
No, not just yet. She could be wrong. Could be way overly suspicious and paranoid but…This is Bran’s life. “How about you drive now?”