Trapped

by Rhonda Pollero

  “What do you want me to send?” she asked.

  “Bounce the email off—”

  Ziggy waved a dismissive hand over her head, then started typing. “Bounce it off a bunch of servers before it gets to him, yeah, yeah, I know. I’m the expert, remember?” Her grin was evil as her fingers flew over the keyboard. “It will take him until the next ice age to backtrack this IP address. Does he have that kind of tech ability?”

  “No,” Chasyn said with conviction. “Kasey used to complain that it took him forever to master Power Point to supplement his testimony.” She felt that now-familiar tug at her heart when she thought of her friend. And she experienced something new as well. Just thinking about Lansing filled her with silent rage. He’d killed Mary and his own unborn child, which was bad enough. But killing Kasey and kidnapping her parents was personal to her and she wanted to see the man spend the rest of his days in some dank prison being some guy’s bitch.

  “Send an email with picture number five attached. It’s the most salacious one of the lot. Tell him to be at the Lake Worth pier at midnight or I’ll send the DVD to channel five news.”

  “Are you crazy?” Chasyn asked. “That’s way too dangerous, to meet a killer on a deserted pier in the middle of the night.”

  He tilted his dark head and offered her an annoyingly sexy half-smile. “I’ve got this. And I won’t be alone.”

  “Can I come?” she asked. She didn’t relish the idea of the clandestine meeting but she couldn’t let Declan go without her.

  He shrugged. “You can wait in the car with my team.”

  Chasyn was relieved. She didn’t really want to go out in the dead of night, to a dangerous place, to meet the man trying to kill her. She was good for Declan and the others to go without her on this one. “Can I at least listen in? I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about that picture.”

  “I’ll wear a wire,” Declan said. “You can listen in from a distance where I know you’ll be safe. We still have no clue where Martinez is and Müller is still a wild card.”

  Declan spent the next hour working out the logistics of the meeting. She’d be in the car with Gavin while Declan went out on the pier. Ziggy was tracking the GPS on Lansing’s cell phone, so they’d have an idea of his approximate arrival time.

  All Chasyn could think of was how risky the whole operation was for Declan. With potentially three killers—Martinez, Müller and Lansing—on the loose, her mind conjured all sorts of scenarios where this could go badly. Fast. The mere thought of Declan being hurt, or worse, settled uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. It hurt to breath as panic began to well inside her. Hastily, she excused herself and went out to the gun range before she had a full-fledged panic attack in front of everyone.

  Bracing her hands on her knees, she bent over and took in some deep breaths of warm, fresh air. Her heart rate began to return to normal and the tightness in her belly relaxed.

  “You okay?” Declan asked as he came up behind her.

  “No,” she admitted as she stood. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “Well, don’t,” Declan said in a reassuring tone “I know what I’m doing.”

  “Do you?” she challenged as she turned to meet his gaze. “What happens if Lansing decides to have you killed? Have you thought about that?”

  He bracketed her shoulders in his hands. “Lansing doesn’t want me dead yet. Not until he knows what I know. And he’s sure I haven’t shared his tawdry photos with anyone. You said it yourself, the man is his reputation.”

  She tried not to think about his hands on her body but that was proving to be a difficult task. What she really wanted was for him to hold her against him; there was safety in his embrace. Her gaze dropped to his mouth as silence stretched between them. Instantly she was imagining the feel of his lips on hers, longing for the taste of him.

  As if reading her thoughts, Declan’s hand slowly glided up her shoulder until he hooked his thumb under her chin. She looked up at him through her lashes. “Please?”

  “Please what?” he teased.

  She took a step closer so they were mere inches apart. “Please kiss me.”

  “Isn’t that breaking one of your rules?”

  “God, you’re annoying,” she said as she got up on tiptoe, reached for him with great urgency, and pulled him to her.

  The feel of his solid body against hers only increased the wonderful sensation of his tongue tantalizing every nerve ending in her body. His large hand cupped her cheek as he expertly explored the recesses of her mouth. There was nothing tentative or restrained about the kiss or her body’s immediate response. Desire danced along her spine as his fingers raked through her hair.

  He tasted like coffee and temptation. It was a heady mix that made her want to tear off her clothes and have magical sex right there in the sunshine. She moaned just thinking about it.

  Declan lifted his head. “Since we can’t have sex, I need to shoot something.”

  “We can’t?” she asked, ever hopeful.

  “You said so. I’m just going with the flow. So now who’s the annoying one?”

  She seductively raked her nails along his chest, down to his waistband before he grabbed her wrist and held it gently. “I’m not annoying,” she protested.

  “And I’m not made of stone. I’m working here, remember?”

  “I remember you own the place,” she answered as she attempted—and failed—to reignite his passion.

  Declan set her aside. “Don’t tempt me,” he warned. “There are a few things I still have to get done before we go back to my place.”

  Chasyn knew exactly what she wanted to do once they got there. She could be patient. Sorta. “I have a question…”

  “Yes?”

  “Why didn’t the police search Mary’s storage unit?”

  He stroked his chin. “I’m guessing they didn’t dig too deeply into Mary’s life because she was the victim and they had two witnesses to the murder. One actual witness.”

  “I know, I know. I never should have lied to the police but I did it for a good reason. Shouldn’t we send them a copy of the DVD?”

  “We will. Eventually,” he said, absently holding a lock of her hair between two fingers. “For now, I think that they’re focused on finding Martinez. I hope we get lucky before they find him.”

  “Why? Shouldn’t we be sharing everything?”

  Declan shrugged. “I’d like a word with Mr. Martinez before he’s given the opportunity to refuse to answer questions.”

  “You think he’ll talk to you if you find him first?”

  Declan smiled. “I can be very persuasive.”

  The back door opened and Gavin stuck his head out and cleared his throat loudly before saying, “Declan?”

  “Yeah?”

  Gavin was grinning when he said, “Ziggy is ready for you.”

  “Wipe that smile off your face before I deck you,” Declan said as he led Chasyn back inside the building and to Ziggy’s area.

  She was standing there with a cross body bag over one shoulder and keys in her hand. “I’ve made all the arrangements. They’ll be there to pack in an hour.”

  Declan turned to Chasyn. “Do you need anything else from your apartment?”

  She was flummoxed for a second. “Wait! You’re packing up my apartment?”

  “You said it had to be done,” Declan answered simply. “Ziggy will supervise the packing and she’ll bring back anything you don’t want to go into storage.”

  Stunned, Chasyn needed a moment to collect her thoughts. Geez but these people move fast. “There’s a pink duffle bag in my closet with my running gear.”

  “Pink?” Declan mocked.

  She shot him a sidelong glance. “Were you expecting cammo?”

  “Good point. Anything else?”

  “So long as I can use your washer and dryer, I’m good.”

  Declan held out his hand and asked, “Key?”

  Chasyn went to her purse and retri
eved her keys, then removed her apartment key to give to Ziggy. She took out her checkbook and wrote a check for her portion of the lease termination fee, added Mr. Becker’s check and turned everything over to Ziggy. “Thank you for doing this,” Chasyn said.

  “Maybe the movers will be hot,” she mused. “I can always hope. And if they’re butt ugly, I’ll have my laptop with me.”

  “Good to know you’ve got all your bases covered,” Declan said. “Make sure you—”

  “Aren’t followed,” Ziggy finished as if it was a mantra.

  * * *

  Declan stood at the range, loading his Glock. Chasyn was still inside, finishing the salad she’d ordered for a late lunch. He was wound tighter than a drum anticipating his meeting with Lansing. But there was more to it. He could still feel the memory of her kiss. Hell, just acknowledging it made his body swell with need. She was under his skin. He thought about her when he was with her and when she was out of sight. No woman had ever had that effect on him and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Declan wasn’t sure of anything. Not since she’d stormed into his life. Damn it.

  He stepped up to the platform and took aim at the paper target. He quickly emptied the clip, reloaded and fired again. When he turned to reload the gun, he found Chasyn standing by the back door. Sunlight glinted off her blond hair, making it shimmer where tendrils fell from her top knot. Her face was oval, with high cheekbones that accentuated the unique shade of her eyes. Chasyn had a long, delectable neck that he longed to nibble.

  Get a grip.

  “I think the target is dead,” she said jokingly as she pointed to the tattered remnants of a paper human head and torso.

  “Interested?” he asked, then smiled when he watched the look of delight in her eyes. “I mean, would you like another lesson in shooting?”

  “Sure.”

  Declan yanked the pulley, replaced the target with a fresh one, then reeled it back into position. Loading the gun, he waited for her to take up her position at the platform, then moved in behind her. Mistake, big mistake. He could feel the roundness of her cute little butt as he wrapped his arms around her and handed her the gun. He covered her hands with his and leaned close to ask, “Do you remember how to remove the safety?”

  Her fingers twitched slightly before tripping the lever. He felt and heard her breathing become a tad more shallow. Declan loved knowing he had that effect on her. It mirrored what he experienced whenever she was in close proximity.

  Breathing in the floral scent of her skin, Declan said, “Aim and fire.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Mesmerized, Chasyn watched Gavin wire Declan for sound and video. The microphone was a teeny, tiny flesh-colored insert that disappeared as soon as Declan placed it in his ear. The video camera looked like the buttons on Declan’s black shirt. It just snapped in place, then they all turned their attention to the laptop on the desk.

  “Check, one, two, three,” Declan said as he stepped away from the group.

  The audio was clear and the video was crisp. Still, Chasyn wasn’t convinced that a meeting with Lansing was the best idea in the world. Any number of things could go wrong. After all, the man had stabbed the mother of his child. That had been a grisly, up-close way to kill someone and it had taken one cold bastard to do that to Mary. Just imagining something happening to Declan caused a tightness in her chest. Not surprising, since they had spent the late afternoon making love, then ordering in Chinese.

  After showering, Chasyn had dressed in a pair of black yoga pants and a nude and black wicking hoodie she wore when she ran in cooler temperatures. She put on her running shoes then joined Declan in the living room. As usual, he was dressed in stealthy black jeans and a button-down shirt. It wasn’t until she watched the attachment of the video camera that she understood why he’d chosen the more formal shirt. He looked dark and dangerous, especially with the holster on his belt with the dull black stock of his gun protruding.

  She tried to tell herself that this was his job. His element. Truth was, she no longer thought of him as a bodyguard. He was more like a partner helping her sort out a horrible situation.

  That realization caused conflicting emotions to bang around in her head. Chasyn thought back to her pro-con list and acknowledged she was still grappling with the same issue. It all came down to one simple question—could she settle? Could she be happy knowing the relationship wasn’t leading anywhere? That was the only real issue. It wasn’t like she could demand that he change his position on relationships. If she wanted to continue seeing him, she’d have to be the one to change. Easier said than done. Declan was so busy protecting her from killers that he probably didn’t even notice that no one was protecting her heart from him.

  Declan checked his watch. “Ready?” he asked her.

  “I still think this is too big of a risk,” Chasyn argued for the umpteenth time.

  He cupped her cheek. “I’ve got this.”

  Chasyn’s nerves chased her into the Explorer. Declan was driving while Gavin fiddled with the laptop in the backseat. Behind them a second SUV carried Chuck and Adam, who were going to position themselves on the beach just in case. “What do you think Lansing will tell you? He won’t connect the picture with the murders, so he won’t admit his involvement in that.” She pointed out as they merged onto I-95 South.

  “I’ll demand that he call off Martinez and Müller and in return I give him my copy of the DVD. Given the conditions of returning the DVD, he’ll know I know about his involvement in the murders for hire.”

  “But if he does that, isn’t that tantamount to admitting he killed Mary and had Kasey killed, too?” she asked. “He’s too smart to implicate himself in either crime.”

  “We’ll see,” was Declan’s vague reply.

  Declan’s phone rang and he connected through the car’s Bluetooth speaker. “Hi Ziggy, whatcha got?”

  “Lansing is on the move. His phone is pinging off the tower just north of Jupiter.”

  “Thanks. That gives us plenty of time to set up.” Declan took the Lake Worth exit and headed east. “Let me know when he gets closer.”

  “Will do,” she said, then ended the connection.

  Declan reached the parking lot adjacent to the Lake Worth fishing pier. It was a moonless night and other than a few lights from Benny’s on the Beach restaurant, the area was eerily dark. Chasyn felt trepidation build in the pit of her stomach. It was so dark one couldn’t see the end of the long pier. She knew that there was a restaurant at the entrance to the pier, then a series of benches bolted on the planking that continued far out above the surf.

  She stepped from the car to breathe in the fresh ocean air while Declan and Gavin did one final electronics check. Chuck and Adam went ahead to take up their positions by the pilings. Her pulse was racing. Absently she rubbed the fear-induced goose bumps on her arms.

  Gavin got back in the car while Declan came around to where she stood. “Come here,” he said softly.

  She needed no encouragement to step into his embrace. He stroked her cheek with his knuckle as his other hand snaked around her waist. “I wish you would rethink this,” she said.

  Declan placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “I want you back in the car. I don’t want you exposed in the open.” He nudged her toward the open door. “You’ll be able to hear and watch everything.”

  Reluctantly, Chasyn slipped into the passenger seat and Declan closed the door, then walked the distance leading to the pier with a copy of the DVD in his hand. In a matter of seconds, he was little more than a shadow and blended into the night. “I wish I could see him,” she murmured.

  Gavin passed her a pair of binoculars. “Try these NVGs. Night vision.”

  Chasyn held them up and suddenly the world had a green tinge but she could easily make out Declan as he reached the pier.

  “Testing,” came Declan’s voice over the computer Gavin had in his lap.

  “Loud and clear,” Gavin responded into a small microphone that was buil
t into his headset. “How do I sound?”

  “Like you’re in my ear,” Declan answered.

  All the high-tech stuff was new and interesting, but it didn’t detract from her growing sense of apprehension. Lowering the binoculars, she looked around the nearly deserted parking lot. The windows of the Explorer were heavily tinted, so Lansing could park right beside them and not know their vehicle was occupied. Gavin closed the laptop, apparently to kill the display until Lansing was away from the parking lot.

  Ziggy called to say Lansing’s phone was pinging off the Lake Worth tower. Chasyn’s heart beat irregularly and her palms began to sweat. “I don’t think I’m cut out for surveillance,” she told Gavin. “What if Lansing has a knife? What if he has a gun?”

  “Declan’s a pro,” Gavin assured her. “He’ll cover his as…bases.”

  Chasyn let out a little half-laugh. “You can say ‘ass’, Gavin. I’m not the cursing police.”

  “No, but you’re my boss’s, um…” his voice trailed off.

  She was an um, all right.

  “Car’s pulling in,” he said as headlights brightened the parking area. A champagne-colored Mercedes parked in the rear of the lot, several spaces away from a beat-up pickup truck. Gavin grabbed the binoculars from her. “It’s Lansing.”

  Reflexively, Chasyn crouched down in her seat and held her breath until Lansing passed. Once he was about ten yards away, Gavin gave Declan the heads-up.

  “I see him coming,” Declan said.

  Gavin angled the laptop so she could see the video feed. Instead, she opted to retrieve the binoculars. She readjusted the focus and observed Lansing walking leisurely to where Declan leaned against the metal railing by the first bench. She glanced over her shoulder and watched Lansing’s approach from Declan’s perspective. The closer he got, the more anxious she felt. Unease enveloped her as she watched Lansing move closer to Declan.

  In a sudden, furtive motion, Declan spun the smaller man by the arm, pinning him against the railing.

  “Ouch!” Lansing complained.

  Declan proceeded to pat the man down. Apparently satisfied, he released Lansing’s arm and took a step back.