by Angela Ford
“He wants me dead for the sake of his business, his name?”
“I’m afraid so Lauren.”
“He had my husband killed?” Lauren asked Brett through tears.
“I believe John wanted out. One doesn’t walk away from Mendez business. You’re just part of the cleanup in case John told you anything.” Brett wiped her tears with his thumbs.
“And how is my father involved?”
“From what I overheard, I now believe your father is the missing link. I’ve tried to uncover the Mendez connection to who laundered the drug money. John’s warehouse may have been used the past few years to move drugs but there had to be somebody with enough power and money to hide the funds in an overseas account. Rick is going to search your father’s accounts. Then we will have our proof. For now I need you to continue to play along. Should your father call you, you need to talk to him as if I’ve told you none of this. Can you do this for me Lauren?”
Lauren sat quietly and tried to absorb what Brett just told her. She nodded. She knew she had no other choice. She believed Brett would protect her and keep her from harm. She knew her father would never call anyway.
“I know it’s a lot to digest Lauren. Trust me. I will keep you safe.” Brett’s hand touched her cheek softly.
Lauren looked into his eyes. She hoped he’d keep her safe. At this point she wasn’t sure who to trust.
“I’m scared. Will you stay with me in my room? I don’t want to be alone in this big house.” Lauren asked.
Brett nodded and took her hand. He grabbed his phone and gun from the table on their way through the kitchen.
Chapter Eight
“You’re wearing the flip-flops?” Brett laughed as he followed Lauren up the stairs. A slight chuckle came with her answer which pleased him. Through all the horrific news and experiences the past few days, he smiled.
“You are right. They are comfortable.”
Lauren stopped at the top of the staircase. “Brett, am I going to die?”
The fear in her eyes ripped at his heart. He swallowed hard.
“Not with me around. May I ask one favor of you?”
“Anything”
The desperation in her tone only convinced him he needed to remain focused.
“Could you put on something more…uh…less appealing?” He stumbled with the last couple of words then laughed.
She looked down at her silk camisole and shorts and then laughed.
“Sorry. I’ll throw on some sweats. They’ll go great with the flip-flops.”
Brett laughed through a thank you.
She continued on into her bedroom and to her bathroom.
“We still haven’t talked about that night in the motel.”
Lauren called out from behind the bathroom door.
He didn’t answer.
She opened the door and stood in sweats as she promised.
“Better?” she asked.
Even in sweats, his heart raced. It didn’t seem to make any difference to him. He still wanted her. He’d ignored her comment about the other night but it had never left his thoughts. Brett smiled.
“Not really.”
Lauren said nothing. She moved closer to him and removed the sweats. She stood a mere two inches away from him, totally naked.
“Is this better?” she whispered.
His tongue moved across his bottom lip. He felt his jeans tighten.
“I surrender every part of me to you.”
The seductive smile that followed her comment made him speechless.
“No comment Agent Donovan? Should I continue to talk or are you going to shut me up?”
He answered that by pressing his lips against hers instantly. His hunger for her passionately unraveled and he deepened the kiss. Her hands roamed over the taut denim that barely contained him. He groaned lightly through the kiss. Her hands traveled to the waistline of his jeans and pulled his shirt out. He felt her hands move upward to his chest. He twitched from her touch and moved in closer to her. Brett’s rough hands rested on her lower back and held her tight against him. Their kiss paused as she pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. Her bare breasts pushed against his chest. He felt her heart beat against his. The desperate hunger he saw in her eyes pleaded for his lips. His tongue traced the outline of her bottom lip and she reached for his belt. Her action made him nibble on her lip. As she undid his zipper and released his restriction, his tongue delved into the depths of her mouth. The grasp her mouth had on his tongue heightened his arousal and he swept her into his arms. Gently he laid her on the bed and joined her. His focus to keep his mind on the assignment to protect her had completely disappeared.
Their bodies lay tangled in the sheets, exhausted after their passion overcame them. Reality entered Brett’s mind as he thought about his first priority to protect Lauren at all costs. He knew he had to remain focused on his job and not his desires or she could end up dead.
“Lauren,” he whispered.
No response. He turned his head to see her fast asleep. Frustrated, he slid out of bed without disturbing her. He searched for his jeans and his gun before he headed to the bathroom. The silence in the house grew eerie. He didn’t turn on the bathroom light and left the bathroom door open an inch or two. The moonlight gave enough light for him. He didn’t want to stir Lauren. If anything she deserved some rest in her own bed. He reached for the zipper of his jean when a noise in the distance stopped him. He reached for his gun and slid up against the wall beside the door. The crack in the open door allowed him to slowly lean toward it to have a look. He saw a dark shadow carry Lauren’s limp body out of the bedroom. Brett opened the door slowly and crept toward the bedroom door. His hands firmly held his gun while he peered out into the hall. The dark figure climbed down the stairs with Lauren’s body. Brett wondered if she had been drugged. She hadn’t woken or screamed. He entered the hall and moved toward the staircase. The shadowed figure stopped at the front foyer and set Lauren down on the floor. Brett pointed his gun directly at the shadow. This was the perfect opportunity to take him out as Lauren lay safely out of gun fire range. Brett called out as the shadow reached for the door handle.
“Stop and put your hands where I can see them,” Brett ordered.
Before he fired, the front door swung open hard and knocked the man to the floor. From the outside light, Brett saw Rick with his gun drawn. Brett raced down the stairs to Lauren. Rick already had the man on the floor in cuffs.
“Perfect timing partner,” Brett announced as he picked Lauren up off the floor.
Lauren moaned, “What happened?”
“You’re safe. Your father allowed Mendez to send someone to finish the job. Fortunately, they did not succeed.”
Brett carried her into the nearby room and wrapped her in a blanket. She smiled and closed her eyes. Brett gently placed her on the sofa and attended to the fireplace. He wanted her close and warm.
Rick cleared his throat. “What do you want me to do with this?”
Rick tossed the masked man into a chair.
Brett pulled the mask off. He didn’t recognize him.
“Who sent you? Mendez?” Brett demanded.
The man shook his head.
“Charles Vanderholm?” Brett placed his hand around the man’s windpipe. He tightened his grip and the man finally nodded.
Rick added, “Her father really wants her dead. That’s just sad.”
Brett let go of the man and looked over at Rick, “And I thought my father was bad.”
“I searched records for bank transactions and this is what I found.” Rick dug into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to Brett.
Brett looked over at Lauren asleep on the sofa and
then Rick.
“The overseas account connected to Mendez is in Lauren’s name?”
Brett gave Rick a puzzled look.
“I imagine it’s a cover. Poor girl probably doesn’t even know she has the account,” Rick commented.
“That son-of-a-bitch”
Brett’s loud tone stirred Lauren and he turned when she called out his name. She started to get up and realized she had nothing on under the blanket. She wrapped it tighter around her body and stood with a horrified look in her eyes.
“What the hell just happened?” She stormed across the room and demanded an answer.
“She’s a fiery one,” Rick quietly spoke.
Brett nodded. “Lauren, calm down. You’re safe now. Your father sent someone to kill you.”
Before Lauren could get another word out the man cuffed to the chair spoke up.
“I wasn’t sent to kill her. Just take her to the safe place.”
His sudden outburst jolted Brett.
Lauren turned to the man. “My father doesn’t want me dead?”
He nodded in agreement.
“Makes sense,” Rick interrupted. “If he wanted her dead, the job would have been done. He wouldn’t have drugged her to get her out of the house.”
Rick’s words confirmed Brett’s question of why the man tried to take Lauren out of the house drugged.
Lauren snapped at Brett. “See, I knew my father wouldn’t want me dead.”
Brett handed her the piece of paper in his hand.
“But he seemed to be more interested in saving his own ass to put yours in jeopardy.”
Lauren read the paper. “Business always comes first before family.”
She didn’t appear shocked her father had set her up to take the fall. She tossed the paper on the sofa and stormed up the stairs.
Brett ran his hand through his messed hair. He sighed with frustration. Part of him wanted to run after her and part of him told him to stay the hell away. He’d already done enough damage. He lost focus on his assignment to protect her. It almost cost her life.
Chapter Nine
Lauren slammed the bedroom door and then froze. She looked at the tangled sheets on the bed, not sure what she felt. There were so many emotions racing through her veins. She knew in her heart she had fallen for him but her anger continued to ignore it. He was there to protect her from her own father. Yet the recent discovery that her father tried to protect her from the Mendez family touched her heart. Until she remembered the piece of paper Brett showed her. She didn’t know who to trust anymore. Her emotions were all over the map. And at a time she should be grieving the loss of her husband. Her fiery temper took control and she picked up the phone to give her father a piece of her mind.
“Lauren? Are you okay?” The tone in his voice almost sounded concerned.
“I’m fine, Daddy,” Lauren stressed the last word sarcastically.
“What’s wrong?” Charles asked as if he didn’t already know.
“What’s wrong? You need to ask! Why are you involved with this drug family? Are you the reason John is dead?”
One question hurled out of her mouth after another. She didn’t give her father a chance to answer.
“And, what’s this about an overseas account in my name that’s connected to the Mendez family? You save your own ass Daddy to allow me to take the fall?”
Lauren’s tone grew frantic. She knew her father always allowed business to come first but this had drawn the line.
The line went quiet. Charles did not or could not answer his daughter. She slammed the receiver down hard and stormed into her closet to get dressed.
Now the time had come to set things straight with Brett. She no longer wanted him there to protect her. She trusted him about as much as she trusted her father at the moment. She had enough money to buy the protection she needed once her father cleared her name from any connection to the Mendez family. Lauren stopped at the top of the staircase. She could hear Brett and Rick talk from the room off the front foyer. She stood still and listened.
“Brett, stop it. She’s alive. That’s the assignment. There’s enough evidence to arrest Nick Mendez for money laundering. That alone will keep his lawyers busy for some time.”
“Money laundering is not what I’m after him for. I want his drugs off our streets. This man needs to be put behind bars for the rest of his life. Do you know how many people he’s killed with and without his drugs?”
“Well, unless you get Charles Vanderholm to confess, you won’t get him on murder. There’s not even enough circumstantial evidence there.”
“That bastard frames his daughter to save his own ass, besides the fact that he didn’t stop the hit on John.”
“I know you’re hurting, man. Mendez has taken everyone you ever cared for—your parents, your fiancée and your best friend.”
“If John had only reached out to me, I could have helped him.”
Lauren cleared her throat. Her presence seemed to startle the men.
“John was your best friend? You knew the guilt I carried once I slept with you. I should have been mourning my husband instead of jumping in bed with a stranger. Now you tell me, I slept with his best friend.”
Before Brett could explain it to her, she looked at Rick, “I want Agent Donovan removed from this assignment. I would like you to protect me until this matter is cleared.”
Without a word, she spun on her heels and went back upstairs.
Lauren threw herself onto her bed in tears. She swore she would never trust another man as long as she lived. Through her own hurt she realized how much her mother would suffer from this news. Her world would be turned upside down. Lauren sat up on the bed and wiped her tears. She needed to deal with the matter at hand now, her father. She knew she had to be strong for her mother. Lauren regained her composure and waited for Rick to take her to her parents’ home in New Jersey.
****
“She didn’t know you and John were friends?” Rick waited until he heard the upstairs door slam. The past hour had been dramatic and he felt bad for Brett. He could read Brett like an open book. Brett had feelings for Lauren, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“The right time hadn’t come to explain how I knew John back in college. Things happened that shouldn’t have. I lost focus, Rick and it almost cost her life.”
The doorbell rang and Rick left the room to answer the door to four FBI agents. Two of them announced they were there to transport the suspect in custody. The other two for Lauren’s protection. Brett spoke up and said he had to grab his bag upstairs and he’d go with the agents and the suspect. Rick placed his hand on Brett’s chest and stopped him from going upstairs.
“I think it’s best if I gather your belongings.”
Brett nodded.
Rick knocked gently on the door.
“Yes,” Lauren answered.
“I’ve come to get Brett’s stuff. Can I come in?”
She told him to come in. He entered to find her pointing to the black bag on the floor. It had a shirt and jacket tossed on top of it.
“Everything of his is there,” Lauren coldly announced. “Let me know when he’s gone and we’re ready to go. I need to go to my parents’ house. This news is going to destroy my mother. I hope you will join me, Rick.”
Rick nodded. Unsure of what else to say he mentioned he’d be back when they were ready to leave. Lauren thanked him politely.
Rick handed Brett his bag. Brett tossed his shirt and jacket on. He reached out to shake Rick’s hand, “Keep her safe.”
“I will buddy. I’ll be in touch.”
Chapter Ten
Lauren drew in a deep breath as the car pulled up to her parents’ home. There were al
ready two FBI vehicles parked with flashing lights. Her heart ached for her mother. She jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. Rick followed and flashed his badge to allow Lauren and him to enter the home. She spotted her mother in the sitting room and rushed to her side. She embraced her warmly. Her mother’s first concern touched her heart.
“Are you all right, my sweetheart?” Marion gently brushed her daughter’s hair away from her face.
“I’m fine, Mom. I’m more worried about you. I wish I arrived before the FBI showed up.”
Lauren watched her mother’s eyes drift toward the front door and she turned. Her father walked toward the front door, in handcuffs, escorted by two FBI men. He looked their way momentarily and then lowered his head. She wondered if he felt any remorse for anything he’d done. Lauren heard her mother’s cries and turned to comfort her.
“He does have the best attorneys,” Lauren whispered in her mother’s ear. She didn’t know what else to say to comfort her mother.
Her mom withdrew from their embrace. The cold expression frightened Lauren.
“He killed your husband and agreed to have you killed. I never want to see him again.”
Lauren watched her mother stand, straighten her skirt and walk up the stairs with poise and confidence. Sadness settled in her heart instead of anger. Her father lost everything he built because of greed. Business definitely came before family.
****
Charles sat in a small, cold and dingy room at the Newark FBI headquarters, what felt like forever. Not one agent had come in to question him. Nor had anyone come to ask if he’d like a cup of coffee or anything for that matter. He realized he’d lost everything. He’d been arrested for money-laundering with the records Rick uncovered, but not yet officially charged. He worried the charge of conspiracy to murder might be next along with the drug connection to the Mendez family. For the first time, Charles Vanderholm was not calm and no longer in control. Business always came first. His name and reputation depended on it. Now even that was gone. He knew his business would never recover the accusations let alone the charges about to be brought against him. Sweat dripped from his brow, he fidgeted with his hands and his knees shook underneath the table as he awaited his fate.