“Fuck. Okay. Let’s play it by ear. Do you still have friends in the HPD?”
“Only a couple.”
“Then we’ll see what we can learn.”
“I’ll call you back.” I hung up, feeling more pissed than a motherfucker. There were no words for how angry the news made me.
I called Bailey to see what he knew. “Tell me it all.”
“I’d been following him since we learned he was in town. He picked up a van and then hit up the Home Depot. Everything he picked up screamed murder kit: duct tape, shovel, rope, gloves, and garbage bags.” With everything he read off, I gripped the pencil harder in my hand until it snapped.
“Enough. What happened with the cops?”
“He’d been stopped after pulling a rolling stop. They must have smelled booze on his breath because they brought out the breathalyzer and he failed. They took him into the back of the squad car when they opened up the back. They called in some people, but I was waiting to see what the buzz was since I knew some of these officers.” He spoke away from the phone. “Green, can I have a word with you?” He came back on the line and said, “I’ll call you back.”
Damn, I wondered what they’d give him.
There was nothing to do but make some food for Blake and then set her up to work remotely. While I cooked, I gave Sean a call. “When I told you to tell her what you needed to keep her home, I didn’t say you couldn’t come into work because Macy wasn’t safe. Macy’s at home with the baby. You lying asshole. Blake thinks I don’t want her to work with us. She just gave me her notice.”
“What? Fuck.” I dropped the phone and took the stairs two at a time. Blake had her laptop on her lap in bed with tears in her eyes.
“Blake. Shit. Baby. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you quit.”
“I don’t want to be around people when I’m nothing but trouble.”
“That’s my fault. Sean didn’t say it was because of Macy that he wanted you to stay home. He told me to tell you anything to keep you home. I just assumed that you loved them so that was important. I never meant to make you feel like that. God. Talk to me.”
“You fucking asshole. I just quit.”
“I know. Sean called to bitch me out.”
“He did?”
“Yes. He doesn’t want you to quit. Macy’s at home with the baby and he was just looking after you because Strickland was in the area.”
“Was?”
“Yes. He was picked up by the cops for drinking and driving after running a stop sign. I was just making food when Sean called me.”
“I want to go to the office. I have to apologize to Sean and get my work done.”
“If that’s what you want, fine, but I’m feeding you first. Even if you’re mad at me, I need to make sure you eat.”
“I think you’re an idiot, but I don’t know how mad I am yet. I do need food first and see Sean to gauge my reaction.” She huffed as she hopped out of bed just wearing my shirt, making me growl.
“Damn it, you look so sexy.”
“Well, that’s tough. Stop looking at me like that. I’m mad and hungry.”
“Then let me help you with that.” I scooped her up in my arms and carried her down the stairs.
“I can walk, Mr. Masters.”
“Yes, but you’ve been known to be a little clumsy. I can’t let anything happen to you.” We made it down the stairs when I heard the first pop. Shit. We dashed into the kitchen behind the island. “Son of a bitch.” Gunfire erupted repeatedly, then my phone went off on the counter above us but I couldn’t reach it. Yet. A shot sent it scattering to the floor. I picked it up, and thankfully it was working.
“We’re being shot at, Denver.”
“I know. We’re here. Are you unharmed?” I could hear a bullet land somewhere near him.
“Yes. Wait. No. Fuck.” I groaned, feeling the pain in my shoulder.
“Oh, no. You’ve been shot, Tate. You better not die on me to get me from being mad at you, because that’s not going to work.” She sobbed while grabbing the kitchen towel off the stove. Shots continued to rain down around the house, but we seemed to be in a good spot. I reached up with my good arm and pulled the drawer open and wrapped my hand around my 357.
“You can’t be going out there.”
“I’m not, but I’m not letting whoever it is come into our home.”
Suddenly the gunfire stopped. “Denver, what’s going on?”
“We’re coming in. They’re all down. One is still alive, so we’ll figure out what’s going down.”
“Okay,” I grunted, sliding my good arm around Blake as we moved to stand.
“Where are you?”
“In the kitchen.” The footsteps had my eyes trained to the door with my gun pointed at the person entering. Denver appeared. I lowered my weapon.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, clutching his side.
“Damn it, you got hit too.”
“Yeah. These weren’t just regular guys. They were mercs. I don’t know where they came from, but one is still breathing. Bailey’s got him bound.” The sound of the ambulance and police rung through the house.
“I’m gonna kill him once they’re done with them.”
“Do you think it’s your stalker guy?” Blake asked.
“Actually, I think it’s Strickland. Why would he get himself arrested so obviously? I knew he had a motive. We saw him get arrested knowing we were onto him.”
“I think you’re right. What better way to claim innocence. All he had to do was look you up and learn you had enemies and use that as his scapegoat for the attack.”
“Right.”
“Police,” a woman shouted from the entrance.
“We need a medic.” She came into the room with her weapon pointed, looking for threats.
“Sir, put the gun down.”
“Sure.” I sat it on the counter.
“Tate, you need a doctor. Woman, he needs a doctor. They both do.”
“The ambulance is out there treating those guys.”
“Fuck them. They came to our home and shot it up. They can rot in hell.”
“Damn, Blake.”
“What? I’m still mad and hungry.”
“Let’s get you in the ambulance.” Two medics met us in the hallway. They examined both wounds, declaring them flesh wounds, but we still had to go to the hospital.
As they were bandaging me up, Blake ran to the other guy they were loading on the stretcher. “Hey, fucker, who hired you to come after us? I’ll blow your balls off if you don’t tell me.”
“Fine,” he grunted. “Eric Strickland.”
“Ma’am. We’re going to need you to put the gun down.”
“Fine. Here it is.” She put it on the ground and then sauntered back over to me. “So either Rick is using a fake name, or that’s a family member.”
“Woman, are you freaking crazy? You could have gotten yourself shot.”
“No one saw the gun until I threatened him. Then I let it go. No harm, no foul. The medics were the only ones nearby anyway.” She was going to give me a fucking heart attack, but damn, she was fierce. I hadn’t expected it. That was the woman I met over a year ago.
She mesmerized me even if she was too damn tough for her own good. “Come on. They’re making me go to the hospital, and your ass is coming with me.”
“Okay.” She kissed my lips and hopped into the ambulance with me. My eyes shot wide open. “You’re not wearing any panties.”
“Uh, oh.”
“Do you think they’ll let me go back in?”
She hopped out of the ambulance and asked the woman officer. They walked back into the house and came out two minutes later. She’d slipped on a pair of black yoga pants and sneakers with a tee shirt and hoodie. Wow, my dick ached. Every single guy around spied her, and I snarled. “Keep your motherfucking eyes to yourself.”
“Silly man. They’re cops. They think I’m crazy. They have to watch me.”
“Just be good. We’re going to meet you at the hospital to get your statements.”
“Great, because there’s a lot of shit I got to say about the shitty Ohio justice system,” Blake said. The officer laughed, then closed the ambulance doors, tapping on them so the medics could pull away.
“How are you feeling?”
“How am I feeling? You’re the one who was shot.”
“You know damn well I’m not just talking about this.”
“Well, I haven’t processed it all. You were right about it being Strickland, at least. All I care about is nailing that bastard once and for all. I think this is a federal case, isn’t it? They crossed state lines to commit a felony.”
“I believe you’re right, but we have to wait and see. He comes from a very wealthy family, and they’ve been using their power to keep him out of jail for a long time. The last time they had too much against him. It’s the only reason he got any time at all.” I grunted out the last part. My shit was sore as hell. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, and before I knew it, they rushed me into surgery.
Chapter 16
Blake
I spent way too damn long with the police when I needed to be with my Tate. Eric Strickland was Rick’s grandfather, and they’d teamed up to put a hit out on the both of us while Rick was locked up. Tate had been absolutely correct about it. We believed that Rick had been working alone to get me, but after he’d gotten off with the letter thing by the skin of his teeth, they wanted us eliminated.
“We’ll nail him,” the female cop, Luisa, said. She thought I was pretty badass, but then said Tate was too. I liked her, but if she complimented me on how hot he was again, I’d fuck her ass up. I was feeling wired from everything that happened. I should be freaking out.
“Are you sure? Can you prove he did anything?” I asked.
“We can prove that he broke a couple of traffic violations. Drinking and driving is a big one. He had no reason to be in Houston at all buying the things he was unless he magically became a carpenter, so that can go against him in this case.”
“Or not,” Sean offered.
“Why not?”
“Well, look at it this way. His murder torture kit could actually help protect him from being charged. Why buy all the supplies to kidnap and kill Blake when he had a hit team going in there to kill them both? As crazy as it sounds, I can see one of his family’s high-powered attorneys getting it as grounds for proving innocence.”
“You’re leaving out the fact that he hadn’t even committed the crime or even gotten close to Ms. Avery. If he’d gotten in relative proximity that would be something, but on that they’ve got nothing. He can walk again once his DUI case is settled.”
“There’s got to be something we can do.”
“Sorry. Unfortunately, there’s not much except hoping that his prior attacks on you and the note on your file will seal his fate,” the detective said.
“That’s all we can hope for. Now, can someone please get me to Tate, please? I’m about to lose my mind.”
They walked me over to the nurses’ station. “We need to check on the status of Tate Masters.”
“Yes, Officer. Let me see.” She took a minute before pulling up his information. “He’s in recovery now. We didn’t know it, but the bullet was lodged in his bone.”
I gasped, feeling Sean’s hands on my arms as the world grew dark.
“Shit.”
* * *
“You gave us one hell of a scare, Blake.”
“Sorry about that, Sean. I guess I’m not as strong as I thought I was.”
“You are. Your love for Tate is just a lot stronger. He’s anxious to hear about you.”
“He knows?”
“Well, he might have hacked their computers when they refused to tell him anything about you.”
“Oh my God. How long have I been out?”
“Two hours. He started panicking when they told him that you fainted, so he lost his shit.”
“Well, can I go see him now?”
“Only if we wheel you in there. You’re fine, but your sugar was a little low. That happens when someone has a major shock. It’s a spike before a fall.”
They came in with a chair, and Sean helped me into it. As soon as they got me in the room, I was on my feet running over to Tate, who tried to get off the bed and get me. “Get back on the bed.”
“That’s what I’m talking about. If you’re going to join me,” he growled in my ear.
“Later. How long do you have to be in here?”
“The doc said I can go tomorrow if my tests come back normal. Will you stay with me?”
“Of course.”
“We’re going to put the team here for the night. The cops want to make sure Strickland’s people don’t make another attempt.”
“I hate that stupid fucker.” I curled into myself, hating that this was all my fault. This had been the reason I’d avoided Tate for over a year. My heart broke because we’d never be done with Strickland, and we’d never be safe. He didn’t deserve that.
“Stop.” I darted my eyes up to his. “Stop that shit you’re thinking. If you think I can’t see what’s spinning in that beautiful head of yours, you’re wrong. This isn’t your fault, and you sure as fuck aren’t running from me.” I bit my lip and dropped my head into my hands.
“I…”
“Don’t, Blake. I’ve waited this long, and Strickland’s not going to stop me.” I nodded, but my mind could only think of ways to make him safe, and everything pointed to me leaving. There was no way I could live with myself if Rick had been successful.
“Come here.” I leaned down and accepted his embrace. He grunted from the gunshot wound, and it reminded me that he could have died. We stayed that way until the medicine kicked in and he fell asleep.
“Can we get something to eat?”
Denver nodded. “I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”
As we were eating, he got a message. After reading it, he paused, read it again, looked back up at me, and then thought again. “We have a problem. Strickland has been released on bond, and he can’t leave the state.”
“Can you do me a favor?” I asked, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.
“What is it?”
“I really need a shower and a change of clothes.”
“Okay.”
* * *
I crossed my fingers and hoped that I made the right decision. Driving down a dark highway, I did my best to fight the tears. Pitch-black nothingness filled my vision, but then a pair of headlights approach at a rapid pace. I pressed the call on my phone just as my head hit the steering wheel, but my airbag didn’t deploy until I bounced back against the headrest. My world was spinning, but I knew this was the right decision. I stabbed the airbag with the penknife I left in the cupholder. Seconds later, I felt the cold air against my face as the door was ripped open. Groggily, I looked up at my nightmare.
“You stupid bitch,” he roared, his eyes wild and frenzied. I’d only seen him like that one other time. It was the time before he went to jail. He followed me home from work one day and trapped me between my car and him. The cops had gotten there so quickly that he never got to touch me. Now he had a lot of time to make up for, and he thought he would.
“Rick, please. Don’t,” I pleaded.
“Rick, please,” he mocked me. “Time for begging is over. You had your chance, you little cock tease.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Don’t waste your breath, you whore. Tonight you die, but first I get what I want. I thought you were a frigid bitch, but then I realized you like a little twang in your men before you get on your knees.” He finished with a fake southern drawl. “They fucked up. They were supposed to wait until he was alone. You were to be brought to me alive and healthy. Now, I have to take messy leftovers.” He reached in and grabbed my hair, but
I’d been waiting for this moment.
Smiling in his face, I shrieked, “Let me go,” in my best scream queen fashion. Then I swiftly gripped my gun from behind my back, whipped it out, and pulled the trigger, hitting him twice in the chest. I gave him one last smile before I stood up out of the car.
He fell back just as sirens blared through the night. I sobbed like I planned, tears streaming down my face. I waved my arms at the squad car approaching us. I was about to walk toward it when Rick swiped my leg out from under me. We fought on the ground, rolling around, and then I gave him one more in the head. This time the tears fell with pure conviction as I shook with every single ounce of fear I’d held in my heart.
I dropped the gun and collapsed on the ground, sobbing in my hands.
“Holy shit.” The cop saw my car and Rick’s. It was clear what he did, and he caught the last seconds of the attack.
“Miss, are you okay?”
“Yes.” Suddenly, my head spun and I collapsed. Luckily the cop managed to catch me.
I nearly lost consciousness, but then I heard another vehicle coming. It pulled off to the side, and I could barely make out shadows, although his voice was all I needed to hear.
Chapter 17
Tate
“Get your fucking hands off of her.” I stepped closer to the officer who had his hands on my woman—a woman who needed to be kissed fucking insanely, then spanked until she understood that I’d chase her to the ends of the earth to get her back. There was nowhere she could hide from me. After what we shared, the love we had, she had to know I needed her badly and no one, including that nutcase, would get in the way.
“Stand back, sir.” He got on his walkie asking for backup and for a crime scene investigator along with the coroner.
“Is that fucker dead?” I asked, my grin expanding so large my face ached.
“Yes,” he said.
“Blake, come here.” I crooked my finger and summoned her to my side. At first she appeared nervous, but the longer her hands remained on the officer, the worse my temper was getting. Cop or not, I’d kick his ass.
Securing Blake: Cavanaugh Security Series Page 10