by Lila Fox
“Gentlemen.” He got their attention.
“What the fuck?” the t-shirt one yelled.
“I need you all to come out here and line up in front of some of my friends.”
“Fuck you, bastard,” the tall guy said.
“I doubt you want to fuck with me. I used to be a cop, so I know how to handle one of these toys and punks like you.”
That was her tough guy. She sighed and smiled. Everything would be okay.
Chapter Fifteen
After more yelling, the three men walked out in a single file with their hands on their heads.
She scanned the rooms and saw her brother was hiding behind a door as he listened to what was going on. She could tell he was about ready to lose it, and then he pulled a gun from the back of his jeans.
She pressed her hands to her mouth. “Oh, my God.” His t-shirt was hiding it.
She looked back at the foyer to see the three men on their knees with their hands behind their heads. The tall one was still cursing up a storm. Maybe he was distracting them until Russ got up there. Then she wondered if he could be that smart.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Russ moving stealthily down the hallway.
“Oh, no.” She stuck the gun she’d been holding into her back pocket and started looking for the latch to get out. She looked back at the monitors to see Russ pass the office doorway. The good guys didn’t seem concerned with anyone else. They didn’t seem to know there were four of them, so she had to do something.
Finally, after she heard the click, she quietly opened the door and moved slowly toward the doorway. She peeked around to see Russ peering around the corner at the men.
“Hello, gentlemen,” Russ said snidely as he pointed the gun at them.
She could only see her brother’s back but knew he was pointing the gun at someone because of his raised arm.
“Put the fucking guns down,” Russ screamed.
She shivered at her brother’s voice. He wanted to kill the men. She couldn’t miss the anticipation in his tone. He was also highly unpredictable because of whatever drug he was on.
She crept into the hallway, making sure the safety was off before she glanced around the corner. She could tell Travis had seen her when he stiffened, but otherwise, he didn’t bat an eye.
“Let’s go. I don’t have all fucking day.”
“If we do it, you’re going to kill us.”
Russ laughed. “Let’s just say only four of us are leaving this place alive. Do you want to guess who?”
She took a deep breath. There was no time to wait. Her brother was high on something, and there was no telling what crazy thing he might do. She caught a flash of anger on Travis’s face and knew he was pissed she was getting involved, but there was no way she would sit back and let him and the others get killed.
“Russ, I think I’m the one you’re looking for.”
Everything happened quickly. Her brother turned toward her and aimed the gun. He took a shot that hit above her head. At the same time, she got off three shots. Two in the chest and one in the head. He was dead before he hit the ground.
The three guys who had come with him started freaking out and yelling. The men with Travis took control of the handcuffed guys and on their knees while Travis walked over to her brother and checked for a pulse. He threw the gun Russ had away from him and then headed toward her.
She had the magazine out of the gun, slid it open so she could see the inside the barrel, put the gun on safety, and then held it out to him.
He took it from her right away, slipped it into the back of his pants, and then stared at her.
The ramifications of what she just did started taking over, and she began to shiver. It seemed to grow, and it felt like she was going to shake apart.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against his chest. “God, baby, when I saw you come around the corner, my heart stopped.”
“I had to do something,” she stuttered. “I could tell you guys didn’t know Russ was in the back and had a gun. God, I thought I wrote there were four guys here.”
He leaned back and looked at her face. “What are you talking about?”
“I figured out how to email you when I was in the room.”
“Sweetheart, I didn’t get an email.”
“It had your name on it.” She looked at him in confusion. “If you didn’t get the note, how did you find out about what was going on?”
“Sam managed to pull the panic alarm that comes to my phone and calls the police also.”
“Oh, God, how is Sam?”
“He’s already at the hospital. He’ll have a concussion, but I don’t think it’s more severe than that.”
Travis looked over his shoulder at his men. “I’m going to go check on something. Can you let the police up?”
“You got it, boss. By the way, Annie, that was some good shooting,” one of Travis’s guys said.
“Anne?” she asked, perplexed.
“As in Anne Oakley.”
She tried to laugh, but she was still shaking, and her teeth were starting to chatter. “Thank you.”
He picked her up. “That is something else we have to talk about.”
She leaned her head against his chest. “All right.”
He moved them into the office and then into the small panic room. Once he sat down at the computer with her in his lap, he started typing.
“Fuck.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “What?”
“Baby, it did go to my office.”
She didn’t understand why he was so upset. “Hey, it worked out okay.”
He grunted, stood, and got them out of the room, and closed it. Then he set the guns on the desk away from them, sat down, and pulled her tighter against him. “Jesus, I won’t ever get the feeling of you in danger out of my head.”
“You were in more than me. I’m so sorry about all the damage they did.” And that thought broke any control she had left. She tucked her face into his neck and sobbed.
“That’s it, get it all out, sweetheart. Everything’s okay now. You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”
Several minutes went by before she finally stopped crying. He handed her some tissues to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.
He kissed her gently before he studied her. “You are calming a bit. How do you feel?”
“I can’t explain it. I know I should feel something, but I just feel hollow.”
“That’s normal, baby. Don’t shut me out. The more you talk about it, the easier it will get.”
“I’ll try,” she said and sighed.
“I just need to hold you for a minute longer.”
She tightened her arms around his neck. “I need it, too.”
Chapter Sixteen
Travis closed his eyes. He’d never been so afraid in his life, and he’d been in some sticky situations. The thought of how close he came to losing her made him want to howl in rage.
What made it even worse was he suspected his secretary had something to do with it. He just had to find the truth and evidence so she wouldn’t get off. He wanted the bitch to get some time in prison for almost getting Nia killed.
A throat cleared by the doorway.
“Excuse me. I’m Detective Joel Holland. I have some questions for you both.”
Travis studied him for a moment. He was tall, over six feet, and buff. He bet most women found him attractive, so that he would need to keep his girl by his side. He lifted her off his lap, stood, and then grabbed her hand.
They walked out of the room.
“Detective, there are two guns on my desk. The one on the right is the one she used and the only one that was discharged by the dead guy.”
“I’ll have someone bag them. Thank you. It makes it easier questioning another cop because they know the procedures.”
“Yeah, that’s something I’ll never forget.”
Both men laughed.
The three walked into t
he living room, and he sat her down beside him on the sofa and then wrapped his arm around her.
The detective pulled a chair closer to them since at least a dozen people were standing around talking.
“How are you doing, miss?”
“I’m fine.”
The detective looked at Travis. “Would you like me to call an ambulance for her? She looks a little shaky.”
She looked up at Travis and shook her head. “No, please don’t. I’ll be okay if I’m with you.”
He studied her for a moment. “That’s fine. For now. We’ll see how you do later.”
She nodded.
Travis knew what it was like to be in the detective’s shoes because he’d had to do the same thing many times in Chicago. But now, he knew the frustration of the people he questioned. They talked for over an hour. The fact there was a dead guy made it even worse.
Several hours later, the two were finally alone.
While Travis took care of the people, she had come in and cleaned their bedroom. He could tell some things, like the lamp on her side of the bed, was gone. He had just glanced in to see the destruction before he was called away.
They both showered and were lying in bed, wrapped up in each other's arms. It was still light out, but the day had been stressful, and they needed each other. They needed to be touching.
He rolled her until she was under him, then propped himself up on an elbow. “You want to tell me how you learned to shoot that well?”
She smiled. “My dad and I did a lot of shooting. It was our way of connecting with each other after my mom died. My dad was ex-military and always had a passion for guns.”
He could tell talking about her parents made her sad, so he decided to lay off the other questions he had for her. “You and I are going to a shooting range soon.”
“I’d love that. I miss it.”
He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips.
“How do you feel about your brother?”
“I’m not really sure. I don’t think I feel bad. Maybe I should, but the man terrorized my father and me for close to a decade, and then he tried to take you from me. He deserves to be in hell. I might feel differently later.”
“I agree with that. You’re still in shock.”
His mouth took hers again. It quickly grew out of control before he lay over her, spreading her legs apart with one of his, and then settled against her.
“God, I need you so bad.”
“Then fuck me, daddy.”
He growled and thrust into her, making them both cry out in their need for each other.
Chapter Seventeen
Nia waved at Terri on her way to the elevator. She’d been at Aleena’s and decided to drop by Travis’s office on her way home.
She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. So much had happened in the last few weeks. It almost felt like a dream. The fact she didn’t have to worry about her brother again was a huge relief, even though she had a hard time knowing she was the one who killed him. She kept telling herself it was either Russ or Travis, and there was no way she would have chosen Russ.
She would rather be dead than live without Travis. He’d become her whole world. She woke up every morning with anticipation of the coming day and thanked God for bringing him into her life.
She knew she had a silly grin on her face when she stepped out of the elevator and headed toward Travis’s office.
Nia sighed in relief when she got to Madelyn’s desk and saw it empty. The hatred that bled from the woman was pure evil, and it scared Nia and left her shaken for hours after seeing her. She thought about talking to Travis about it but didn’t want to rock the boat.
She stopped suddenly at Travis’s door that was cracked open.
“Oh, sweetheart. I knew you would finally come to me,” Madelyn said.
Nia peeked into the office and saw Madelyn in Travis’s arms. She had to bite back a gasp of disbelief at the picture that was unfolding in front of her.
“I wish you had told me before how you felt, darling.”
Her stomach tightened. He had never called her that.
“I was afraid to. And then, when you brought that woman in here, I started to lose hope.”
Travis chuckled. “Don’t worry about her. Now that I know I can have you, she’ll be gone.”
“Really?”
Travis rubbed his thumb against Madelyn’s cheek. “Yes, really. God, I just thought if this had happened a week ago, I wouldn’t have had my apartment destroyed because Nia wouldn’t have been there.”
Bile started to work its way up her throat, so she backed away. She’d heard enough. Her only thought was to get away as fast as she could before she lost control and started crying.
In the elevator, she schooled her expression when people got on, and fortunately, no one tried to talk to her.
Nia pulled her phone out of her purse and started calling Aleena. She avoided looking at Terri because she always made it a point to stop and say hi on her way out, and she knew the other woman would be able to tell something was wrong.
Nia got out of the building and walked a few blocks away before she dialed her friend.
“Hey, bestie,” Aleena answered.
“Aleena.”
“Nia, what’s wrong?”
“I need to come to you, but I don’t want you to tell your daddy.”
“Okay, I won’t. How soon can you get here?”
“I don’t know. I have to find a cab.”
“Kaleb won’t be here for another few hours, and most of the staff is gone, so just have them buzz you up.”
“Will someone be told if I showed up there?”
“Yes. It goes into the computer, and you have to give them your name.”
“I don’t want anyone to know.”
“Okay, call me when you get here. I’ll have you go around to the back, and I’ll let you in.”
“You won’t get in trouble?”
“No. Just get here.”
Within thirty minutes, Nia was being let in and pulled up the stairs.
“Wait to talk,” Aleena whispered.
Nia nodded. She didn’t know if she could talk without crying.
Aleena pulled her into her playroom, closed the door behind them, and then pulled her over to the sofa.
“Okay, tell me.”
Nia looked down at her hands. “I … I went to see Travis.”
“Yes,” Aleena coaxed when Nia stopped.
“His office door was open a little bit, and I heard them talking.”
“Who?”
“Travis and his secretary.”
“The witch?”
Nia nodded. “He was saying that if he knew she wanted him, he never would have had me in his life.”
Aleena gasped in shock and confusion. “Wait, are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“What were his exact words?”
“He said to her, ‘I wish you had told me before how you felt, darling.’”
“She said that she was afraid to and then talked about when I came into the picture, she didn’t think it would happen.”
Nia wiped her eyes. “Travis laughed and told her not to worry about me that now that he knew he could have her, I’ll be gone. He then talked about if he had known before Russ came, he wouldn’t have had his apartment destroyed because I wouldn’t have been there.”
Aleena sat back in stunned silence. “I don’t understand. I would bet a year’s allowance that man loved you.”
“I thought he did, too.”
“God, what are we going to do?”
Nia shrugged. “All my things are at his place. I don’t know if I try to go and get some of it or leave it until later.”
“Later. We need to come up with a plan,” Aleena said.
“You can’t tell Kaleb because I know he’ll tell Travis. Not that he’d care, I just don’t want to talk to him yet. Not until I’m stronger.”
Aleena bit down on her l
ip and nodded. “I agree. I think we need to get Larkin involved.”
“You think she’d help me?”
“Oh, God, yes. She loves you.”
Nia covered her face. She couldn't hold back the sobs anymore. They felt like they were burning inside her chest, and if she didn’t release some of the pressure, she’d explode.
Aleena held her for a long time and cried along with her.
Nia tore the tissue up in her lap. “I knew it would happen.”
“I still can’t believe he would go to another woman. He loves you so much.”
She looked away and blinked her eyes. “Yeah, I thought he did, too.”
Aleena perked up. “Oh, God, I hear daddy. Hide, just in case. I have to go. I’ll bring you up food.”
Nia knew she wouldn’t be able to eat but couldn’t decide on anything at that moment. “Okay. Thank you.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
****
Aleena walked down the stairs and heard voices in the office. When she recognized both, she turned to walk the other way.
“Aleena. Come here.”
She froze and schooled her features. Then she turned, skipped over to him, and tried to act nonchalant.
“Has Nia called you?”
“No, daddy.” The lie felt like bile on her tongue, but she had to protect her friend.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Why?”
Both Kaleb and Travis stared down at her, but she kept her gaze on her daddy because she was afraid if she looked at Travis, she wouldn’t be able to hide her anger.
Her daddy narrowed his eyes as he studied her, making her stomach tighten.
“Are you sure she didn’t call you or the house?”
“I’m positive,” she said with conviction.
“Hello, Aleena.”
She turned to Travis. “How are you?”
“Miserable.”
She looked shocked.
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you want to know why?”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s any of my business.”
“I can’t find Nia, and I’m scared.”
“Why are you scared?”
“Because I’m afraid that someone will hurt her if I’m not there.”