Protective Measures

by Maggie K. Black

  “Stop it!” Jason snapped. “You can’t kill him! Darius has to stay alive!”

  Leo didn’t even let himself pause to think what that could mean. He threw his shoulder into the metal Dumpster and pushed. It rolled down the alley, bullets clanged futilely against the side.

  “Dude!” Jason’s voice rose to a shriek. “Come on! Let’s go!”

  Then Leo heard a click. Prometheus’s gun was out of bullets. Leo wasn’t about to let him reload. He dove around the Dumpster and charged. But before he could even get there, Zoe reached up and dug her nails into the huge thug’s face. Prometheus swore, and threw Zoe to the ground. Leo caught him in the jaw and knocked him to the ground. Prometheus scrambled up and ran for the car.

  “Zoe!” Leo crouched down beside her. Her clothes were torn. Blood streaked her arm from a nasty-looking scratch. “Look at me, baby, please. Are you okay?”

  “Leo?” Her forehead crinkled like she wasn’t sure it was really him. “What are you doing here?”

  I’m rescuing you, silly. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

  The car lurched backward toward them.

  It was heading straight for them. There was no time to run.

  Leo threw his arms around Zoe.

  * * *

  They rolled. Zoe felt Leo’s arms around her, sheltering her body. The car roared closer. The stench of exhaust smoke filled her lungs. Their bodies hit the alley wall. The car smacked against the Dumpster with a deafening ring that seemed to fill the alley and reverberate through her bones. The car lurched forward again. He saw Prometheus in the driver’s seat and heard Jason yelling at him to stop.

  For a heartbeat, Leo held her there, flat against the brick, shielding her, keeping his body between her and the car. Then she heard the screech of tires and the roar of the engine as the car pealed out of the alley. She looked up. They were gone.

  “You okay?” He climbed to his feet. “Are you hurt? Do you need me to carry you?”

  “I’m fine.” Zoe grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. “I’m going after them.”

  But his grip tightened on her hand. “No, you’re not.”

  “There are only a limited number of ways to get back to the highway. I mapped this area. I can chase them down and cut them off.”

  “And then you’ll do what exactly? Drag them out of the car? Stop them all by yourself?”

  “Yes!” She was breathing so fast that her whole body trembled. “Yes, I would. If that’s what it takes to figure out who these people are and why they’re after you. We have to stop them before they hurt you and your daughters.”

  Leo didn’t answer. He just stood there and looked at her, like she was some wild, fierce, unbelievable creature he didn’t know what to do with. His voice deepened. “You’re injured.”

  “Trust me, I’ve dealt with far worse.” She shivered and realized her voice was quaking. “I’m fine.”

  She didn’t know why her body was shaking or why she was still clutching his hand as if he was the only thing keeping her from drowning.

  “You’re going to have a bruise in the morning.” He reached up with his other hand. His fingers brushed the side of her face. “Look, if I can’t convince you not to run into danger, then how about the argument that I just saved your life and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t just throw it away again by chasing after some criminals intent on killing you.”

  “I’m pretty sure they wanted to take me alive.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” The fingers on his left hand traced the lines of her face. He pulled his right hand free of hers and slid it around her waist. He pulled her into his chest. “There’s no way I was going to let them take you.”

  Zoe’s hands crept up around his neck. “They shot at you.”

  “They were just trying to scare me off.” His fingers ran along the edge of her jaw, tilting her face toward his. “I told you, I don’t scare easily.”

  He brought her face closer. Her eyes closed, and she felt his lips brush slowly over her forehead then down over the bruise forming on her cheek. She shivered into him. Then he brought her lips up to meet his.

  “Zoe! Leo! Are you alright?” Alex was pelting down the alleyway toward them, flanked by police.

  They leaped apart. But still her eyes lingered on Leo’s for a long minute, looking for some kind of sign of what had just happened. He’d been holding her. He’d been just about to kiss her. And she’d been about to let him. Did he have any idea how terrified she’d been? Or how much it had meant to her that he’d run to her rescue? But it was like the steel trap had closed over the depths of his eyes again, locking her out.

  “I’m fine,” Zoe called. She turned and ran toward her brother. There had to be at least six officers, both male and female, flanking him. “There were two men. Prometheus and Jason. They both had guns. They were driving a brown sedan without a readable license plate. They tried to kidnap me. Leo...” She took a breath and tried to visualize her heartbeat slowing. “Commander Darius came to my aid.”

  Aid was a safer word than rescue. She didn’t want to think of him as rescuing her. It was too personal. Too close.

  “My daughters?” Leo asked. He brushed past her, and something caught inside her heart at the depth and meaning that resonated in those two words. “Where are my daughters?”

  “They’re safe,” Alex said. He raised both hands in reassurance. “Very, very safe. They’re with Theresa, sitting right inside at the official emergency services booths at the fairgrounds surrounded by a whole bunch of real, verified police, paramedics and firefighters, who are finding them absolutely delightful and charming. They might as well have their own private army.”

  Leo nodded. “What about the fact I leaped from the parade float?”

  Zoe blinked. He’d leaped from the parade float? She’d been so relieved to see him she hadn’t even stopped to think about how he’d gotten there so quickly.

  “Theresa told them you’d gone to get Zoe. They seemed to accept that as an answer. They seem to really like Zoe. Theresa also convinced the parade marshal to keep the parade going. People seem to think it was some kind of planned publicity stunt.”

  “Okay, thanks,” he said. He turned his eyes to the sky and a long breath left his lungs. Then he looked at the police. “I’d like to see my daughters right away. So, while we need to file a report, I’d like to do it back at the fairgrounds once I’ve confirmed they’re okay.”

  His voice was polite and calm, yet carried a firm, unmistakable authority that made it clear he expected the officers were going to agree. It was so easy to imagine the type of leader he’d been. He was the kind of man others would follow into danger without question. There was something undeniably attractive about it. They started walking back to the fairgrounds. Leo led the way with a few of the officers. She and Alex followed behind, walking through the side streets.

  “I need you to tell me what happened,” Alex said.

  “There’s not much to tell.” She looked straight ahead. “I was following Pandora through the crowd. Prometheus and Jason ambushed me. They yanked out my earpiece, stuck two guns in my ribs, and told me if I didn’t go with them they’d open fire on the crowd. I waited until we were away from innocent civilians and fought back.”

  She could still remember hearing the click of the trunk opening and the sight of the duct tape and zip ties lying inside. She shook her head, shaking away the terrifying moment and where it could have led.

  “And then?” Alex prompted.

  “And then Leo showed up,” she said. “How did he get there so quickly?”

  “He leaped onto the town arch and climbed across it.”

  They reached the end of the street. The brightly colored tents and canopies spread ahead of them, filling the park. Then she saw Eve and Ivy,
seeming so small and fragile in comparison to the strength of the men and women in uniform around them. She watched as Leo’s long strides turned into a jog as he hurried toward them, and heard the shouts of joy as the girls ran toward him. Leo dropped to one knee and swept Eve into a hug, while Ivy stopped just short, letting his hand brush her shoulder.

  “Prometheus opened fire at Leo, but Jason told him they weren’t supposed to kill him,” she added. “Prometheus did try to hit us with the car, though. But again, I got the impression from Jason they need him alive.”

  She wasn’t looking at her brother. She was looking at Leo. He glanced back, over his shoulder, and for one second Zoe felt his gaze brush her face. A shiver ran down her spine. Leo turned away and the small family walked back to the emergency services booth.

  “I’ve rescued a lot of people in my life,” Alex said, “but I don’t normally clutch them like that afterward. I can’t have your back if I don’t know what’s going on with you.”

  What did he expect her to say? That she was attracted to Leo? That she couldn’t get him out of her mind? That for the first time in her life it felt like her heart had woken up and started wishing for a dozen different things her mind knew it could never have?

  “Talk to me.” There was the hint of something firm in Alex’s voice. “Please. I know what I saw.”

  “Leo told me that he promised his late wife that he’d never bring another woman into his daughters’ lives until they were grown,” she said. “He made that very clear. But according to the article that The Anemoi scribbled on, this event you’re accompanying Leo to tomorrow is a bachelor auction, and there’s a big long list of eligible women who are eager to be the next Mrs. Darius.”

  Alex sucked in a breath. “I had no idea.”

  “Neither did I.” She turned and looked up at her big brother. “So, whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t say it. If you want to protect me, you’ll forget what you saw. Leo is our client, a national hero, a widower and the single father of two remarkable children. He’s completely closed off, like he’s afraid of ever trusting again, and has made it clear he doesn’t want me getting too close. So I’m going to keep my distance, focus on doing my job and help make sure those girls and their dad are safe. And that’s it.”

  No matter how deeply the memory of his lips almost touching hers might be seared on her brain.

  EIGHT

  For a moment she thought Alex was going to argue with her. But then she saw the beautiful, willowy form of Alex’s fiancée, Theresa, walking across the grass toward them. Theresa waved. Zoe smiled and waved back.

  “Also, I’m not in the mood for a therapy pep talk from Theresa right now, either,” she added quickly. “I’ll deal with this my way.”

  “Got it,” Alex said. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. And if you need anything, I’m here.”

  “I know. Thanks.” Zoe slipped away through the fairgrounds, her eyes roaming unseeingly over the stands and booths. She knew she’d have to return to the emergency services booth soon to file a report about what had happened. Then she and Alex would have to sit down and strategize their plan for the charity auction, not to mention disrupting Josh’s honeymoon yet again to fill him in on the kidnapping attempt. But she’d give herself five minutes first. Five minutes to walk, calm her heart, settle her nerves and pray. Five minutes to erase the memory of Leo’s hands on her waist and his lips on her face.

  “Zoe! Zoe Dean! Is that really you?” An Irish voice shouted behind her. She spun around, hands raised, as her body reacted to the voice before her mind even had a moment to process who was calling her name. Killian Lynch, blogger and life-wrecker was running toward her, a cell phone raised high in his hand like a grenade whose pin he was just waiting to pull. She froze, hands still in front of her, feeling the urge to run pouring over her like panic. Why did this one obnoxious man affect her this way? She hadn’t spoken to him since the day that had effectively ended her competitive career, although she’d gotten plenty of press coverage afterward, of him laughing off the notion that a weak, little girl like her had actually hurt him. There’d almost been something twisted in the way he made a point of the fact he’d barely felt the blow and yet seemed to maintain a personal vendetta that pushed the idea she should be dropped from competing. Even now, there was something about just being near him that set her teeth on edge.

  “Don’t hit me!” He laughed loudly and waved his hands in mock surrender. “I remember how slap happy you are. But I promise I come in peace!”

  He stopped just a couple of feet in front of her. She lowered her hands. But she didn’t meet his eye. He was wearing a tweed jacket and tie with a pair of jeans that somehow looked both very casual and very expensive.

  “Wow, isn’t this a blast from the past?” he asked. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you the night of the castle fire.”

  But he had recognized her now, from a distance, across a crowded field? Killian sounded more irritated than amazed. She didn’t even know how to answer. The whole thing was suspicious. Had someone else tipped him off to who she was? Or had he figured it out on his own?

  Either way, it seemed he was playing off the blow to his face that she once thought had ruined her like it was some kind of hilarious joke.

  “Yep, it’s me.” Even with her hands down at her sides, she could feel her fingers involuntarily close into fists. “What do you want?”

  “I just wanted to give you the opportunity to comment on tonight’s blog before it went viral.”

  “Whatever it’s about, the answer is ‘No comment.’”

  “So you’re denying that you’re in a secret, romantic relationship with Commander Leo Darius, and his entry in the charity bachelor auction is nothing but a sham?” he asked.

  “What?” Despite herself she could feel the hackles rising on the back of her neck. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Does he know about your past?” Killian asked. He leaned in, sticking the cell phone microphone in her face. “Did you put him up to that crazy stunt of leaping onto the arch like that? How does he feel about having someone potentially unstable in his daughters’ lives?”

  “I’m not about to comment on something so totally ridiculous.” Zoe turned and walked away, her hand swatting the air around her in frustration like she was trying to escape a spider’s web. If he wanted to publish garbage she couldn’t stop him, but she wasn’t about to help him.

  “Do the girls know you’re dating?” Killian followed after her. “How do they feel about having a new woman in their daddy’s life?”

  “You’re disgusting.” Zoe didn’t turn.

  “I have pictures!” Killian called. “Got them not five minutes ago.”

  “You what?” Zoe’s footsteps froze. An odd sense of fear filled her limbs. “I don’t know what kind of sick joke you think you’re playing—”

  “It’s not a joke!” Killian cut her off. He stretched out his hand and tilted the phone toward her. “These go live at midnight.”

  She stared down at the screen. There were two pictures, extreme close-ups, of her and Leo together. In the first, his hand was on her cheek. In the second, he was leaning in like he was about to kiss her. His face was partly blocked by the angle and the shadows, and the photos were so tightly cropped it was impossible to tell where they were. But there was no mistaking the look on her face or the light shining in her eyes. She looked like a woman who was infatuated. She looked like a woman who just might even be at risk of falling in love. “Where did you get these?”

  “Do you deny these are you?” Killian asked.

  No, she didn’t deny it. It was her and Leo, alone in the alley, just moments ago, after Jason and Prometheus had fled. Judging by the angle and the quality they had to have been taken by an aerial drone.

  “I’ll ask you again, where did you get these pictu
res?” Her eyes locked on the phone, wondering what would happen if she pulled it from his hand. “Was it you? Was it another journalist? Did you get any pictures of what happened before this or of the other people in the alley or the car?”

  Did he have pictures of the attack? Did he have pictures that the authorities could use to identify members of The Anemoi?

  “I don’t have to tell you that,” he said. “I just showed you these as a courtesy.”

  He was grinning at her, like he’d managed to outsmart her, and she wished she could wipe the smugness off his face.

  “Answer the question.” Zoe lowered her voice and stepped closer. “Because I promise you the police are going to want to know.”

  “You can go ahead and report me to the police, but they won’t touch me. It’s freedom of the press and I’m a guest in this country.”

  “Not if you’ve been using a drone to secretly follow and photograph a national hero! And not if you have evidence of a crime.”

  His jaw clenched. Then he yanked the cell phone back and tapped the screen. It buzzed.

  “Whatever. I just posted them online. They’re live now. Why wait for the story? After all, a picture’s worth a thousand words.”

  Zoe felt her face fall. Killian smirked.

  “Go run to the police,” he added. “Tell them I won’t take them down without a legal injunction, and by then they’ll be all over the internet anyway and I’ll have left the country. And as far as crime is concerned, whatever you mean by that, I only had two pictures and they came from an anonymous source.”

  The dread in Zoe’s stomach grew tighter. “What source?”

  “An anonymous source,” he repeated. His grin grew teeth. “So if I were you, I’d go tell your boyfriend that someone is spying on him and it isn’t me.”