“Understood,” Tyler said. “But now’s not a good time. I’ll call you later.”
Shane texted Miguel, who was parked outside the restaurant where Beth and Tyler were, and gave him the update. Threat confirmed.
“I guess it’s official now,” Liam said, pulling another beer out of the fridge. “You want one?” he asked Shane.
“Yeah.” Shane caught the bottle Liam tossed his way.
Jake grabbed another slice of pizza. “Defcon 4. Now we wait for him to make a move toward Beth, and we nail him.”
Shane realized he’d been hoping that Kline had moved on by now, but no such luck. Kline was still fixated on Beth. Covert surveillance on Beth was no longer enough; he wanted close personal protection on her 24/7. He’d be having a talk with Tyler as soon as he could arrange it.
“Anyone up for a few rounds in the ring?” Shane said, finishing off his second beer. Right now he needed an intense work-out. When he and his brothers hit the mat, it was no holds barred.
“I am,” Liam said, hopping off his barstool. “I’m always happy to kick your ass. What do you feel like? Jiu Jitsu? Krav Maga? Kickboxing?”
Jake laughed. “Be careful, Liam. The boss is in a shitty mood. You know how he gets when he’s like that. He fights mean.”
Shane stowed the leftover pizza in the fridge, and the three of them headed down the hall to the martial arts studio. Liam and Shane hit the locker room and stripped down to shorts and muscle shirts.
A few hard rounds in the ring with Liam would feel good, if his brother didn’t manage to pummel the shit out of him first. He and his brothers were pretty evenly matched – they were about the same size, with similar builds and musculature. But Liam clearly had an advantage; he was a martial arts instructor who’d played professional circuits for several years during his rebellious phase. And Liam hit hard.
Shane handed his phone over to Jake to monitor the incoming chatter from the field while Shane and Liam climbed into the ring.
The martial arts studio was part fight club and part hang-out. A boxing ring stood on one side of the large industrial-looking space. The other side featured a full-service bar with a small kitchen and plenty of seating. There was even a kick-ass sound system and a small dance floor. The floors were wood, the interior walls were weathered red brick, and the lighting fixtures were steel and glass. It was called “industrial chic,” according to his sister Sophie. Having an interior designer in the family came in handy.
Jake made himself comfortable on a black leather sofa across the room. “This had better be good,” he said, leaning back and crossing his leg.
The brothers had their own method of fighting, their own version of kickboxing meets back-street brawling with a little fast-and-hard thrown in Krav Maga-style.
Liam threw the first punch. Shane dodged the half-hearted movement and followed up with a sharp jab to Liam’s right side.
“Hey!” Liam groused, when Shane’s fist connected with the side of his torso.
Shane shrugged. “Too bad. You were slow.”
Now Liam was pissed. Good. So was he. And Shane wanted to play hard.
“I told you he’s in a shitty mood,” Jake said.
“Oh, it’s on, asshole,” Liam growled, coming at Shane with a roundhouse kick that sent Shane halfway across the ring.
Shane regained his feet and shook it off. “You’ll have to do better than that, Liam.”
Liam came at him again, relentless, getting in several good hits, but Shane was okay with that. If Liam was going to play hard, then so was Shane. They got at it, pummeling the hell out of each other. It was fast and furious, with fists and feet flying, not to mention a whole lot of sweat and a few splatters of blood, especially when the edge of Shane’s bare foot connected with Liam’s mouth. They took turns knocking each other to the mat.
“Are you two trying to kill each other?” Jake asked, as he stepped up to the edge of the ring.
Both brothers were panting from the exertion, drenched with sweat and not a little bit of blood. Liam looked like he’d have a black eye, and Shane was definitely favoring his right leg.
“Nah, we’re just having fun,” Liam gasped, as he drove his foot into Shane’s right kidney.
Shane hit the mat, using his inertia to roll right back up onto his feet. He drove his foot into Liam’s side, knocking Liam down and following up with a head lock.
“Want to join us?” Shane said, breathing hard. He released his hold on Liam and jumped back to avoid retaliation.
“No, thanks,” Jake said. “I’d rather not piss blood for a week.”
After a solid hour of merciless pounding, Shane and Liam called it a draw and headed to the locker room for showers.
As the two men were getting dressed, Shane looked at Liam. “At some point, I want you to give Beth Jamison some basic self-defense lessons.”
Liam’s brow arched. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. She’s completely defenseless. She needs to learn situational awareness and some basic defensive moves, at least enough to stall an attacker.”
Liam shrugged. “Sure, no problem. Let me know when.”
Jake poked his head through the locker room doorway. “We’ve got company. Tyler’s downstairs, asking to come up.”
“Oh, there’s a surprise,” Liam said, pulling on his jeans.
“Send the elevator down for him,” Shane said. “I’ll be right out.”
Shane was surprised it had taken Tyler this long to come to the apartment. He knew Tyler’s curt response on the phone wasn’t the end of it. Tyler could hardly speak to Shane about Kline in front of Beth. Now was when the arguing would begin.
He pulled on sweats and a t-shirt and headed to the foyer to meet Tyler.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Tyler stepped out and glared at Shane. “I want that fucker behind bars!”
“So do I,” Shane said.
Tyler followed Shane through the foyer doors into the apartment.
“I can’t believe they let him out!” Tyler said. “What the hell were they thinking? He’s no longer a threat to society, my ass!”
Shane shook his head. “Believe me, Detective, when we find something we can use to take him down, we’ll let you know.”
Shane walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Want something?”
“Yes. Beer,” Tyler said.
Shane tossed a bottle of beer to Tyler and grabbed a sports drink for himself.
Jake and Liam walked into the kitchen.
“The IT report on the library PC just came through,” Jake said, handing a sheet of paper to Shane.
Shane skimmed the report quickly, his expression grim.
“Let me see that,” Tyler said, grabbing it from Shane. Tyler scanned the report and blanched. “God damn it,” he said, looking a little pale. “He’s really looking for her.”
Tyler handed the report back to Shane. “I was hoping he’d forgotten about Beth. He’s a pedophile, and she’s not a kid any longer.”
“Yeah, but she’s the one that got away,” Shane said, hating the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. “He probably blames her for the past 18 years he spent locked away.”
“What can we do?” Tyler said, dropping onto of the barstools. He took a long pull on his beer. As the reality of the situation hit him, he seemed a little lost.
“I have covert surveillance on her 24/7,” Shane said. “But I want to escalate that to close personal protection.”
Tyler shook his head. “No close bodyguards, Shane,” he said. “I don’t want to scare her.”
“She should be scared, Tyler!” Shane said, slamming his fist on the counter. He took a deep breath. Fighting with Tyler right now wouldn’t help Beth. “Kline is a free man, and he’s looking for Beth. She needs to know that.”
“No,” Tyler said, coming off the barstool. He began to pace. “Shane, you don’t realize what this would do to her!”
Shane wished he could take Tyler Jamison int
o the ring for a few rounds. Tyler was lean and muscular, probably pretty damn tough, but Shane didn’t think he was used to the kind of intense hand-to-hand combat that he and his brothers preferred.
“What about the roommate?” Shane said, thinking of the redhead. “Are you going to brief her?”
Tyler nodded. “Yes. I’ll update Gabrielle. She needs to be fully aware of the situation. It’ll make her more vigilant.”
“Aren’t you afraid the roommate will spill the beans to Beth?” Jake said.
“No,” Tyler said. “Gabrielle won’t tell her. She won’t want to scare Beth.”
“That’s an awful lot of pressure on the roommate,” Liam said. “If your sister finds out what’s been going on behind the scenes, she’s going to be pissed, at both you and Gabrielle.”
“I’ll deal with that if and when the time comes. Right now, I just want Beth to live a normal life. I don’t want her to feel like she’s under a microscope.”
“At least let me get someone inside the library,” Shane said. “Miguel can get into the library, but he doesn’t have any visibility into the Special Collections room where Beth works. I want someone in there with her, Tyler.”
The detective mulled it over, then shook his head. “She’s perfectly safe in there,” he said. “She works in a secured area, and she has a co-worker in there with her. The threat’s not inside the library, Shane. It’s outside where she’s vulnerable.”
“She spends eight hours a day in there,” Shane said. “That’s eight hours when we have absolutely no visibility on her. I don’t like it.”
“No,” Tyler said. “I don’t want to risk it.”
Shane watched Tyler pace. The guy obviously loved his sister, and he just wanted to keep her safe. Hell, they all wanted her safe. But Tyler was wrong to hide this from Beth. And now Shane was caught in the middle. He’d gone against Tyler’s wishes by making contact with Beth in the bookstore. When Tyler found out – and eventually he would – he’d want Shane’s head.
And he will find out, Shane thought. The sooner the better, as far as Shane was concerned.
Chapter 7
Monday morning brought pouring rain, so Beth drove her electric blue Mini Cooper to work. The Mini was her treat to herself after finishing graduate school and getting her first professional job. It was a bare-bones model, but she loved it nonetheless.
She arrived just as another employee was leaving, and she happily scored a spot close to the library’s main entrance. Huddled beneath her black-and-white polka dot umbrella, she raced into the building dodging water puddles.
“Hi, Beth!” Devany Roth waved eagerly from the reception desk.
“Hi, Devany,” Beth said, trying to catch her breath. She shook the raindrops off her umbrella and folded it up. “How’re you?”
“Not bad for a rainy Monday,” Devany said. “But I guess that’s not saying much, is it?”
“No, it isn’t,” Beth said, chuckling.
“Do you want to grab lunch today?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Beth said. “I’ll come get you at noon.”
Beth sat at her desk staring blindly at her computer screen. She’d been trying to make sense of the same e-mail for the past ten minutes, but hadn’t made any progress. Her encounter over the weekend with Shane McIntyre kept replaying in her mind like an animated GIF, looping endlessly, over and over. She didn’t know what to make of him. But after the way she’d run out on him, he probably hadn’t given her a second thought. She’d missed her chance.
“Beth? Honey, are you okay?”
She glanced up to at her co-worker, Mary Reynolds, who had walked up to her desk. Mary was petite, with short gray hair cut in a pixie style that seemed very appropriate for her elfin face and large hazel eyes.
“I’m fine,” Beth said, trying for a convincing smile.
“You seem preoccupied this morning,” Mary said.
Beth shrugged. “I had a busy weekend. I guess I’m just tired.”
The phone on Beth’s desk rang, and Mary wandered back to her own desk as Beth answered it. It was Devany.
“Hi, Beth. There’s a student asking to come into the Special Collections room. He doesn’t have an appointment – do you have time to fit him in? He asked for you specifically.”
“Sure, I can fit him in,” Beth said. Her next student appointment wasn’t for another hour yet. “Send him up.”
Beth stayed at her desk until she heard the knock on the Special Collections door. She opened the door and saw a familiar face. First-year student Andrew Morton stood at the door.
“Hi, Beth,” Andrew said as he came into the room.
“Hi, Andrew.” Beth stepped out of his way, trying to mask her surprise. Andrew was starting to become a regular.
“Thanks for seeing me on short notice.” Andrew laid his backpack on one of the study tables in the room and pulled out a sheet of paper, which he handed to Beth. “I need these books,” he said.
She quickly scanned the list. “Have a seat, and I’ll get your books,” she said, heading for the stacks.
“How was your weekend?”
Beth jumped when she heard Andrew’s voice directly behind her, causing the tiny hairs on the nape of her neck to stand up.
“It was fine,” she said, taking a steadying breath. It was an innocent enough question; there was no need to overreact. Still, he made her nervous. She stopped when she reached the shelf she was looking for, and he careened into her.
“Sorry,” he said, grabbing her shoulders as if to steady her. His hands clasped onto her far longer than necessary, and she had to shrug out of his hold. His cologne was overpowering, and she was finding it a little difficult to breathe. Much more of this and she’d need her inhaler.
Beth pulled away from Andrew and took a book off the shelf. When she turned, Andrew was standing so close she had to step back to avoid bumping into him. Apparently, he was not well versed on the concept of personal space.
“I’ll put this on your study table,” she told him, sidestepping him and heading back. “You can get started on your research while I locate the rest of the books on your list.”
Andrew followed Beth back to the study table.
Beth noticed Mary watching them through the glass walls of their office.
“Have a seat, Andrew,” Beth said, pointing at a chair.
He sat reluctantly, and Beth went to retrieve the other books on his list. She laid them on his table and told him to call for her if he needed anything else. When she returned to her desk, Mary was waiting for her.
“That boy has a crush on you, Beth,” Mary said, her eyes on Andrew as he cracked open one of the books. “This is probably the fourth time he’s been in here this month. I thought I was going to have to peel him off you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just having a little trouble breathing, that’s all. He went a little overboard on the cologne.”
Beth could feel the signs of an impending asthma attack. Her chest tightened and it became harder to catch her breath. Her anxiety levels began to spike, and she felt flushed. When she started coughing, she retrieved her inhaler from her purse, shook it, and administered the medication.
Mary gently rubbed Beth’s back. “Are you okay?”
Beth nodded, not yet able to speak.
“In the future, if Andrew needs anything, I’ll deal with him,” Mary said.
Beth took a tentative breath. “Thanks,” she said. “He gives me the creeps.”
* * *
The week progressed as usual for Beth. Every day that passed was a day she didn’t call Shane. She’d programmed his cell number into her phone, but she had yet to push the send button. She just couldn’t do it. Every time she’d tried to get with someone, she ended up having an ugly, all-out panic attack, and she just didn’t want Shane to see her like that.
Andrew showed up at the Special Collections room once more Wednesday afternoon, again without an appointment. This time Mary offered to help him,
while Beth hid out in the packing room.
“Beth, I’m afraid you have an unwelcome admirer,” Mary said a few minutes later, as she walked into the back room. “He made his excuses and left as soon as he realized I would be the one helping him today.”
Beth looked up from the box of periodicals she was unpacking.
“He was very unhappy,” Mary said, looking concerned. “He seemed... agitated.”
“Maybe if I avoid him for a while, he’ll get tired of stopping by.”
“Maybe,” Mary said. But she didn’t seem convinced.
That night Beth had a dream that she was in the Special Collections room long after the library had closed. The lights were dimmed, and she was in the stacks, wandering aimlessly. Suddenly someone was there with her, right behind her. She could feel hot breath on the back of her neck.
“Mary?” she said, turning. But deep in her heart she knew it wasn’t Mary.
“Hi, Beth.”
Andrew.
“Do you have an appointment, Andrew?”
He shook his head, his tousled blond hair sweeping across his forehead. “No.” He smiled at her.
“Then you shouldn’t be here.”
“I don’t need an appointment to see you.” He reached out to touch her face. She backed away, and he pressed forward. She kept backing away, until her back hit the wall. He advanced on her, an arrogant grin on his handsome face. The lights went out suddenly and it was pitch black in the room. Strong, rough hands grabbed her wrists, squeezing them as he pinned her to the wall.
“Andrew, stop it!” she cried. “You’re hurting me!”
The temperature dropped precipitously, and her skin shivered from the cold as he began to tear the clothes from her body as if they were made of wet tissue paper. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t get free. Then he pushed her down to the floor. He crouched over her, and she could feel his foul, hot breath on her face.
“You can’t hide from me, little bitch. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Vulnerable: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 1) Page 6