“We’ve got questions for the both of you.” Ky’s expression was somber, his tone brisk.
Forte nodded. “First the explosion, then this. I’m not leaving her vulnerable to a third hostile act.”
“We’re continuing this police investigation. I’d prefer to have your cooperation.” There was a warning note in those words.
“You’ve had it.” Forte bit out the words. “Two shots fired and neither of them was meant for me. Sophie was the target, and she was supposed to end up dead. This isn’t enough to keep her safe.”
An investigation only went into what had happened and maybe who had done it.
“We can’t have you or your colleagues interfering.” Ky was all police officer at the moment, their friendship taking a second position to doing the right thing from his perspective. “We can’t have you taking things into your own hands.”
Forte held up his hands spread wide, palms out. “Go ahead with your investigation. None of us will get in the way. But we’ll take steps to establish better security for Sophie.”
Ky narrowed his eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
At least the officer was willing to listen.
Forte eased back from his anger a little. “I think it’d be best if she left town after tonight. Get her out of harm’s way.”
Ky studied him. “I can’t detain her. She’s the victim in this situation, and we can’t stop her from leaving, but I’d prefer if she stayed to provide any additional information to help the investigation.”
Forte set his jaw but didn’t say anything.
After a moment, Ky sighed. “I’d appreciate it if you maintained contact. Off the record, what did you see when you looked into her room?”
Ah, Ky. Good man.
“Whoever it was, they tossed her room. They weren’t looking for anything, and if they took anything, it was probably just to make it look like a robbery. But her most valuable belongings are in the kitchen.” Forte glanced through the door at Sophie, her new cat now curled in her lap. “But they went through her bedroom like a hurricane. They went out of their way to break picture frames and anything that looked like a keepsake. They wanted to upset her. Make her afraid.”
“Our forensics team will need to come and investigate the apartment.” Ky straightened and spoke at a normal volume. “It’d be good if Ms. Kim had someplace to stay for the next few nights until we can finish looking into this.”
At least the next few nights, maybe longer. Forte had the feeling this hostile was going to be somewhat harder to track down than the average thief. The local law enforcement was excellent, with good resources. But they weren’t equipped to handle the kind of people Forte, Cruz, and Rojas may have pissed off in the past year.
Forte would rather plan for the worst.
“Ask your questions.” He gestured toward the apartment and Sophie. “After tonight, she’ll be out of reach.”
* * *
Sophie’s tea had gone cold. It didn’t matter; she still kept her fingers wrapped around the mug. It gave her something to hold onto so her hands didn’t shake. She was honestly afraid she’d crush her new cat if she tried to hug the sweet feline at the moment.
The initial scare had been the worst. There’d been someone in her home, waiting for her. Panic had stabbed her heart, and her lungs had contracted hard, making it impossible for her to get any air.
But Brandon had been there, gently moving her to the side and putting himself between her and her potential attacker. He’d gone to face whoever it was. And he hadn’t even let Haydn go ahead of him. Watching, unable to call out or argue with him, her initial panic turned to fear for him.
And that was Brandon, damn it. He was the one to go head on into whatever was in front of him. He didn’t let anyone face those challenges with him. She was going to ask, because she wanted to understand, but right now she wanted to be mad at him.
Mad was so much better than scared. For him. For herself.
Whatever this was, it was about her and she had no idea why. The police had asked. She didn’t have any new information to give Ky. And no matter how comforting his bright smile was, she didn’t feel it.
There was something about having your home invaded. Your belongings pawed and pried into. It was going to take her a long time to go through what was in her bedroom once the police let her in there.
“Here’s a fresh mug of tea.” Brandon gently pulled the cold mug from her hands and pressed a new one into her grasp. “I brewed the tea strong, then cooled it down with a splash of cold water. It should be drinkable.”
She looked up at him. “I picked a second-floor apartment because it was supposed to be safer. Less likely to be a target for robberies because it’d be harder to get in the windows.”
The invader had gone out the window in her bedroom. Two stories hadn’t been any kind of deterrent.
Brandon set the mug on the breakfast table and kneeled down next to her. “It was a good decision. Your reasoning is sound in most cases.”
She laughed. The brittle bitterness sounded harsh even to her ears. “Most cases. But not this one.”
Brandon smoothed her hair away from her face. “No. Not this one.”
She leaned into his palm, drawing as much comfort from his steady touch as she could. His hands were rough from the work he did, but his touch was gentle, for her. “Thank you for being here.”
Even after she hadn’t believed him. Even after she’d hidden from the reality he’d wanted to prepare her for. Someone else might’ve left her to her fate.
Not Brandon.
“I’m glad I was here.” His voice had turned gruff, and there was that odd note of emotion.
She closed her eyes and tried to draw in air past the knot in her chest. It was a swirling, ever-changing mass of fear and anxiety, relief and joy in his presence. She might be going insane because the joy rose to the fore. He was here, with her, when her life depended on it. It buoyed her for a whole moment before the fear set claws into her and dragged her back into the thoughts of what could have happened.
“I’m cold, Brandon,” she whispered. “I can’t get warm. I can’t get the feeling of that moment out of my mind, when I realized someone was here. He planned to ki—”
Lips pressed over hers, muffling the rest of her confession. Words scattered as the heat of his breath mingled with hers pressed back the cold. Brandon’s hand curved around to support the back of her neck as he continued to kiss her. She tilted her head up, still leaning into the warmth of his palm.
This wasn’t a quick, startling action. There and then gone. No. This time Brandon kissed her with intent, and he knew exactly what he was doing. Unhurried, deliberate, he sucked at her lower lip and coaxed her to open for him.
When she did, his tongue swept inside to taste her, tease her. Her trembling fear washed away in the heat of the hunger Brandon awoke in her. He smelled of clean cotton and tea tree. He tasted of coffee and something more.
Her thoughts scattered, even the concept of words, and all she wanted to do was savor this connection between them. She clutched at his shirt, pulling him as close as possible. His kiss sent her drowning in years of wanting, finally tasting like reality, and she wanted to savor it.
A hundred daydreams featuring Brandon flickered through her mind. Her nipples tightened and her lower body clenched as she tried to pull together her thoughts long enough to figure out how to follow this through to the next step.
Because she wanted to, very much.
But Brandon drew back until she opened her eyes. His gaze caught hers and held it. “Sophie, come home with me.”
Chapter Ten
Rojas, Cruz, we’ve got a thing.” Forte strode toward the kennel area where the other two trainers were standing with their client, Raul Sa. “Excuse me.”
Sa nodded. “No worries. We were just finishing up here. I can head back to the guest house.”
“Actually, would you mind waiting?” Forte had a wild idea, and all the stat
us updates from Rojas indicated Sa was good people. “We’ve got a situation that might be outside our scope of current resources.”
Sa’s posture changed minutely. The man didn’t turn closer toward Forte, but he was listening attentively. He’d offered, after all.
Forte filled them in on the break-in at Sophie’s apartment.
“Shit. You brought her back here, right?” Cruz was working to rein in his temper, and the question came out harshly.
Forte nodded. “Left her in Rojas’s living room with Lyn and Elisa. They’re trying to make sure Sophie’s got everything she needs packed in a go bag.”
It was one of the things they’d managed to talk all the ladies into having: a duffel bag packed with all the necessities for a few days. Clothes, undergarments, first aid supplies, and even limited nonperishable food like protein bars were in each of the go bags. Even Boom had one.
“How long are you disappearing?” Rojas pulled out his smartphone and pulled up a calendar app.
Forte shook his head. “Ky is leading the police investigation. With forensics involved, it could take some time. He has to wait for results to come back.”
Rojas sighed. “Elisa texted and wants to know if this is going to be for two days or ‘unknown,’ because a girl can only pack so much underwear.”
There was a hesitation, then Sa said, “If she needs more, she can just buy some at Wal—”
“No.” Cruz, Rojas, and Forte said it at the same time.
Sa fell silent.
Cruz and Rojas shook their heads to emphasize the point.
“Shirts, pants, socks, they’ll make do.” Rojas cut the air with the flat of his hand to define each type of clothing. “But underwear is a thing.”
“I have no answer,” Forte admitted.
They all stared at Rojas’s phone.
Forte imagined Sophie’s underwear, then tried to erase the images from his mind. In high school, Sophie had loved to wear cute panties with a cartoon animal printed across the behind. She had also loved to wear skirts. Add in her tendency to trip and he was very glad he’d been around to catch a glimpse when her skirt flipped up. It’d happened only a couple of times before she started wearing shorts under her skirts.
Still, it was enough to make a memory, and damn if he hadn’t found those panties insanely tempting. Sophie’s ass was tight, prettily curved, and led him to thinking about her shapely thighs. He even thought her calves were sexy as hell. Her feet were downright tiny next to his, and these days, the biggest tease was when she was wearing work clothes and heels. Especially when he could see the arch of her foot in the shoe.
“Earth to Forte, come in.” Cruz’s voice cut into Forte’s thoughts.
“Shit. It’s been a long couple of days.” Forte grinned in apology and tried not to adjust his pants.
Rojas studied him. “Uh-huh. You’ve been sleeping in your SUV for the last couple of nights. Are you good to travel right now?”
It was a fair question. Forte would be watching over Sophie alone when they headed out, and he needed to be alert. “I’ll catch ninety minutes of sleep before we head out.”
It’d be enough to recharge him. Cruz, Rojas, and even Sa nodded in understanding.
“It’s going to be tough for you to get her out of town if there are eyes on her,” Sa ventured slowly. “You have anyone who can play decoy?”
Forte stared at Sa. “All of our contacts in the area are civilians.”
“The person of interest is the young Asian lady in the kitchen earlier today, right?” Sa’s tone was matter of fact. “I saw her come out a couple of times.”
“Okay.” Forte squelched his irritation for a moment to hear Sa out. The man was former military, and if it’d been any of the men of Hope’s Crossing, they’d have taken notice of everyone moving around the immediate vicinity in the same way.
“I have a colleague in my new squad,” Sa continued, pulling out his smartphone. “She’s also Asian, not the same region, but close enough to pass with makeup. Similar height, basically same hair color and style. She’s got the experience to watch out for herself and avoid potential issues. It’d be safer to have her act as decoy than trying to involve another civilian.”
The man had a point there. It hadn’t even been an option in Forte’s mind to endanger another civilian. Though hiring an actor to pose as Sophie and lead whoever was after her away was a good plan.
Forte rubbed his jaw, considering. “Having a skilled resource as a decoy makes the idea much more feasible. If the opportunity arises—and I hope it doesn’t—maybe your resource could gain additional intelligence if a hostile makes contact with her.”
Sa shrugged noncommittally. “Hard to say. She’s sharp, and she’ll pass on any information worth sharing.”
But they had no idea whether she’d be contacted at all before the hostiles made a move.
“Full disclosure, the first incident was a car bomb.” Forte wanted to be sure Sa and his teammate were making an informed decision. “The apartment incursion was the second. Based on what we’ve seen, they don’t plan to acquire their target. They plan to eliminate her. Tossing the apartment was just for shock factor, maybe to make it look like an interrupted robbery.”
Sa nodded. “I appreciate the clarification. I can relay the proposal to Arin and see what she has to say. We’ll need to take a couple of current pictures of your friend, though.”
Sa had paused on the word “friend.” Forte half started to correct him, but what could any of them call her? Sophie was…Sophie. He’d never put a definition on what she was to him because she’d simply been a singular part of his consciousness. What he’d done over the years and why he’d done anything could be attributed to the thought of her if not directly to something she’d said. Forte wouldn’t hold Sophie accountable for who he was or the things he’d done. That was a fool’s mistake. He’d own his decisions and the actions resulting from them himself. But he wasn’t going to deny the influence she had on how he reacted to the world.
“We’ll take a few pictures tonight and get Arin a passport.” Forte added those tasks to his mental list.
Cruz sighed. “This will work better if I work some magic with the passports. If we finalize this agreement, I’ll need a current photo of your teammate.”
They weren’t going to clarify what sort of magic. It wasn’t exactly legal, what they were about to do. Call it a gray area.
“Is there anything else the team can help you with?” Sa was texting on his smartphone.
Cruz crossed his arms. “Your team in a lull for contracts?”
Forte had been wondering the same thing. “How many people in your organization?”
Sa held up his hands. “It’s a small organization, just our squad. We’ve got half a dozen permanent resources, and I’m the newest to the team. A couple of us are still in the DC area for the immediate future before we fly out to Oahu. We’re willing to help and, to be honest, you all are valuable contacts. My team lead asked me to build connections where I could here. This seems like an excellent situation for that sort of thing.”
True. Forte, Cruz, and Rojas were retired. They were done with the action. But they’d been finding themselves neck-deep in odd circumstances. It was advisable to keep a live network in place in case life continued to be as interesting as it had been over the past year.
“We’re in between contracts for the next couple of weeks, but we won’t be for much longer.” Sa sounded confident. “Mostly, they took some time off to settle in at the new headquarters and integrate me into the team. Part of that is going to be a new canine if we finalize an agreement here. The situation you’ve got is one where we can provide support.”
Well, Sa was decent about representing his team’s services, at the very least. Plus, he was a capable dog handler. And when they got right down to it, the man hadn’t been wrong yet in this conversation.
“Our finances aren’t limitless.” Forte hated putting a price to Sophie’s safety. But pr
ivate military contract organizations were ruled by the bottom line. It was why their employers were usually organizations or government sources, not individuals. “I need to see a price proposal before we finalize any deal.”
Sa grinned. “Team lead is pulling it together now for an informal request for proposal. He likes to make sure agreements are clear for all parties.”
More power to the man. Forte hated paperwork. But a situation like this couldn’t be handled with a simple verbal agreement. There were too many variables that needed to be defined to keep them all in good standing with each other.
“Let’s wait for him to get that finalized.” Forte dragged his fingers through his hair. “And let’s see you with Taz and Dodger. I want to get you paired with the best candidate before I leave, so you can complete your training with Rojas and Cruz.”
* * *
“They didn’t answer my text about the underwear.” Elisa sighed and placed her smartphone down on the coffee table.
Sophie and Lyn sat on the couch with her, and the three of them stared at the go bag. It was a decent size. Boom could probably curl into it when it was empty. Currently, it held a whole bunch of practical items. Next to it on the coffee table was a cat carrier, containing Sophie’s new cat.
The cat seemed unfazed about the sudden change of location. She wasn’t at all upset about being in the carrier, either. She’d apparently decided now was the time for a nap.
“I packed this for a natural disaster or zombie apocalypse.” Sophie poked the go bag with a finger. “I didn’t think this was what I’d be taking with me on a trip with Brandon.”
Though, it would be very likely in the event of an emergency that she’d have done her best to meet up with Brandon and the people from Hope’s Crossing Kennels. Or she might’ve gone with family. Sitting there, faced with the bag right in front of her, the choices seemed a lot more real than when she’d initially packed it.
“Technically, this is an unforeseen circumstance. There’s no telling what could happen.” Lyn sounded thoughtful. “I may have to rethink my go bag.”
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