by Lisa Durkin
Jackson pulled the door in to block his view. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t like this bastard. He remembered Rory and Nicole had said he had been on the case back in Ohio.
“I will accompany the congresswoman across the hall when we’re ready.” Sutton gave him a stony stare. “Was there something else you needed, Agent?”
“I just wanted to make myself available in case Rory needed anything. She didn’t seem too keen about coming home with you when we were in her office yesterday. I thought I’d make myself available to accompany her if she’d like to get away for a while.”
Jackson stepped out into the hall and pulled the door closed behind him.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he bit out, crossing his arms over his chest.
Sutton eyed him curiously before he responded. “I’m sorry, Congressman, but I know Rory. I’ve known her very well for years.” Jackson didn’t care for the smirk on the bastard’s face. “I could tell she wasn’t fond of the idea of staying here with you. I just wanted to check if she needed anything before the debriefing.”
Jackson wanted to coldcock the son of a bitch. He felt sweat break out on his body at the effort it was taking to restrain himself. He took a step forward and spoke slowly, over-enunciating his words.
“Agent Sutton, you are not needed here. I don’t care how well you think you know the congresswoman. She’s with me. And that is all you need to know. You can stick to your job and forget about the rest. I will be continuing to take care of my Rory.” He had stepped forward until they were inches apart, face-to-face, Jackson’s hands in fists at his side. “Are we clear?”
They stared at each other. “Well, we’ll see you at the briefing,” Shane said as he stepped back. He smiled smugly.
“Stick to your job, Agent, and I’ll take care of my woman.” Jackson stepped back inside and slammed the door.
Rory and Landon had apologized to each other about the silent treatment that had gone on for too long after their lunch date. Landon had talked to Nicole and she had filled him in on the current situation.
He sounded worried and wanted to know that Rory was okay. She assured him she was and that they’d talk more about it at Nicole’s house on Sunday. Rory had warned Landon that she would be bringing Jackson. Landon promised he’d be on his best behavior.
Jackson entered as she was hanging up the phone. “Everything okay?” she asked. He looked pissed off and she had no idea why.
“Yeah, fine. How was your uncle?”
“Apologetic, as was I. What’s upset you?”
He took a deep breath and decided Sutton wasn’t worth it. “Nothing.” He came forward and kissed her on the nose. “I guess I’d rather not have all these agents hanging out either. We’re being asked to a debriefing across the hall.”
She eyed him wearily. “I’m sorry. I know this is turning your life into a circus.”
“I couldn’t care less about that. I just want this to be over so I can have you to myself, and we can move our life together forward.” He smiled and gathered her into his arms.
“Hmmm, pretty sure of yourself aren’t you, Playboy Dorn?”
“I’m nobody’s playboy but yours, Congresswoman.” He sucked on her bottom lip.
“Mmmm, my own private playboy. I’m a lucky girl.”
“You’re my girl.” He kissed her deeply. “But let’s get over there and see what the agents have to say.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rory entered her own condo and was irritated to find it filled with men and littered with food and empty dishes. They had moved furniture and set up tables with computers and other equipment.
“How long are you gentlemen actually planning on staying?” she said, looking around incredulously. She had thought only two men were camped here. At present there were eight standing around. They looked as though they had brought enough stuff to stay on for quite a while.
Secretary Reynolds answered her. “We’d like to get this wrapped up as quickly as possible, Congresswoman. That’s why we’ll need your help.”
“Where have I heard that before?” she murmured, not caring who heard her.
“Congresswoman, Congressman, please sit and let’s discuss where we’re at.” Reynolds directed her to her own couch.
Agent Tagg began. “Congresswoman, in the last twenty-four hours we haven’t experienced any activity here on your property. Likewise, agents in Ohio haven’t detected any activity. The only activity was when the two of you went to dinner last night. You were followed by an unknown subject from Capitol Hill to the corner here, and then you were followed again to the restaurant.”
Rory stared at him as her heart sank to her knees and the hair stood up on her entire body. “We were followed?” Jackson squeezed her hand.
“Were you able to make an ID?” Jackson asked.
“No sir, the subject is accustomed to moving in a random fashion and subverting a direct line of sight. Which isn’t surprising for who we’re dealing with. These guys are the best at what they do.”
Rory snorted and stared straight ahead.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Tagg offered. Rory didn’t say a word but turned and looked directly at him. She couldn’t believe she was here again with Tagg, the little fucker. She still held so much contempt for him for not being there when she needed him.
“So it sounds to me like they know you’re here. What good is any of this?”
Secretary Reynolds cut in. “I don’t think they know we’re here in your home. I do think they’re being very careful, what with your higher profile. They’re dipping their toes in the water to see what kind of opportunity presents itself. You’re not their only business here, but you’re important.”
“Can’t you just follow them and arrest them?”
Tagg answered her. “We’ve never witnessed them breaking the law. We don’t have evidence enough for a warrant. If they’re observed doing something illegal we will pick them up.”
“And I’ve heard that one before too. What are we going to do, live together like this forever? What can be done?”
“We need to give it time.” Secretary Reynolds looked her square in the eye while everyone else was silent. “I’m not going to kid you, ma’am, Roan Sullivan is a smart bastard. Unless he has opportunity, he won’t bother. Not even to avenge his brother’s death.”
“What does that mean?”
“Have you asked yourself why Sullivan is making an appearance now, three years after his brother’s death?” She felt Jackson tense beside her and looked up into his face. He breathed out and shook his head.
“Why?”
He grimaced. “It’s because he thinks you’re having too good a life. Am I right, Marty?”
“You are,” Reynolds answered.
She was skeptical. “I don’t know about that. If he was watching me at any time in the past couple years he would have seen a person who appeared to be doing okay. Granted, I wasn’t jumping for joy, but in the media I’ve seemed to have my life back, politically anyway.”
“He doesn’t care about your career.” Jackson sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand, tilting his head back and cursing before looking at her again. “It’s because of me.”
“What do you mean?”
Jackson looked at the secretary. “I’m guessing the profile says Sullivan is a psychopathic narcissist who believes that women are property. He holds himself and his family in high esteem, believing their intelligence to be far superior to the rest of the world. He holds his mother, although female, in highest esteem and she probably calls a lot of the shots. His brother was equally important to him. Rory was a tool to be used to enhance business operations in the States and no better than the property they move. When she took his brother’s life, she stepped far out of line and must be punished. That’s probably been on his to-do list but has escalated in importance since word got out that Rory has been spending time with a man. Personal happiness is not something that property has a right
to, especially since taking his brother’s life. He is appalled. So much so that killing her would be moved considerably higher on his agenda.”
Rory gawked at him. She looked at the floor and thought about what he had said. She could hear Aidan’s words coming back to her. Roan told me not to use a piece of ass like you for anything more than the whore you are, but I didn’t listen. She felt sick. “What the hell am I going to do?”
He brought her head to his shoulder and held her.
“Right now we watch and wait. Eventually he’ll make his move and we’ll have him,” Reynolds offered.
Rory sat back and looked around the testosterone-stuffed room. That answer didn’t satisfy her. Sit and wait for how long? That strategy had not served her well in the past. Aidan had made his move right under their noses. She almost hadn’t survived. Her father hadn’t survived. She looked at Jackson. This time she wasn’t going to lose anyone she loved.
“No,” she said adamantly.
All faces swung to hers. Secretary Reynolds cleared his throat. “I’m sorry? We need…”
“No, we’re not going to sit and wait. We need to draw him out, make him come for me.”
Everyone was quiet. “What do you mean, baby?”
She turned to Jackson. “I’m not waiting to be taken from under their noses again, I won’t do it. They couldn’t stop Aidan from taking me and killing my dad. What makes us think that plan will work this time?” She looked around the room. Tagg and Shane looked contrite, which only pissed her off more.
“This time you’re being shadowed twenty-four-seven, Congresswoman. You have Secret Service and Homeland, along with the FBI accountable for you,” Reynolds said.
She stood and looked into his eyes. “No offense, Secretary, but that’s cold comfort. Last time I was shadowed by the FBI my husband took me and my father without breaking a sweat. Those agents had no idea anything was amiss. I’m not going through that again. And I’m not willing to lose anyone else.”
“Congresswoman, there really isn’t much else we can do. Sullivan isn’t stupid enough to rush into anything. There isn’t anything to lure him with, except you, and he’d know when something is off.”
Rory looked from Reynolds to Jackson. She felt desperate. Alphabet agencies were taking over her life and she still couldn’t be sure there wouldn’t be a repeat of three years ago.
“We have to turn up the volume.”
“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.
Rory looked around as she thought about it. “You think it infuriates him that I would be happy? Well, let’s get fucking happy then. Let’s get so happy he wants to take me out ASAP.”
“What are you suggesting, ma’am?” Reynolds asked.
“Jackson and I will make more public appearances. The paparazzi liked us after the state dinner. We’ll do more of the same.”
“Rory,” Jackson breathed.
She sat back down and took his hand. “Hear me out. We need to get him angry. Maybe then he’ll make a mistake, a misjudgment. Then we can get him out of our lives.”
“I don’t know that it would do any good.”
“We could use the media and make it public, really advertise our happy life together.” She turned to Reynolds. “You said yourself that you wanted to use the fact that we were distracted with each other.”
“It couldn’t hurt.”
She looked back to Jackson. “I’m sorry to ask this of you.”
“Can I speak to you in the other room?” He rose and took her by the hand. They walked into her bedroom and her nose crinkled at the messy bed that an agent had obviously been sleeping in.
They turned to each other and Jackson took both her hands. “I don’t want you in this kind of danger. I don’t want you doing anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
“Jackson, I’m already in danger. And you yourself took me to dinner last night stating that it was safer in public.”
“I know. I just worry that… Are you sure you want to do this?” He searched her face.
“I want this over. I don’t see another way. I’m sorry you have to be involved.”
“Oh baby, please don’t apologize. Remember, I’m the one who wants to go public with an engagement announcement.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “So if you really want to make things happen, maybe we should use that.”
“Jackson, I haven’t said yes yet,” she said, astonished.
His smile went a mile wide. “I know, but we could just announce it and use it. It doesn’t have to be real…yet. Think of the attention it would create, the playboy getting married…”
It was a damn good idea. Nothing would garner the attention that an announcement like that would. She thought about it. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he said, smiling and leaning in to kiss her.
She reared back. “Remember, this isn’t real yet. I haven’t said yes to your proposal yet.”
He snickered and leaned his hips against hers, rubbing his hands up and down her back. “I know. But you keep saying yet at the end of those sentences and it makes me so hard.” He rubbed his erection against her belly.
“Everything makes you hard, Jackson.”
“Everything about you does.”
Rory and Jackson retreated to his condo after informing the agents they were planning to announce their engagement. They had decided to keep the false nature of it to themselves. Rory had blushed as they were congratulated. Jackson had beamed. She had caught Shane’s eye. He seemed shocked. He had remained in the background but came forward and shook Jackson’s hand along with the rest of them. She felt another pang of guilt over the way she had treated him.
They had discussed how this might speed things up with Roan, and the agents had explained to them the coordination of their protection. As before, Manus and Tagg would stay in the condo. The Secret Service agents would be following Rory and Jackson. The agents’ presence would be detectable only inside the federal buildings to reduce the chance of anything happening there. All other times they would be in the shadows, as would the Homeland agents. Rory was beginning to feel claustrophobic with so many people breathing down her neck.
Tagg took Rory’s house key. Manus kept the only other. They pointed out newly placed cameras in the hallway. Everything outside of the condos would be taped.
They returned to Jackson’s condo. Anxiety was creeping up as she took her bag of work upstairs and sprawled across Jackson’s bed. He appeared in the doorway.
“You okay?”
“Just feeling a little caged in, that’s all.” He came over and crawled onto the bed.
“Let’s get out then.”
“No, I have a lot of work to do.”
Jackson’s phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket. “Hey, kid, how’s it going? Hang on a minute. It’s Ryan. I’m going to talk to him downstairs,” he said, kissing her and leaving the room.
Rory rolled to her side and stared at the wall. She was feeling melancholy, to say the least. She could feel her anxiety rising and admitted that she was scared for herself and Jackson. She closed her eyes and images of her father flashed in her mind. She sat up quickly, not wanting to go there. She grabbed her bag from the floor and started going through paperwork. Fifteen minutes later, Jackson was back.
“Let’s go out for lunch,” he offered.
She thought about it. They had to go out. Otherwise they would never be rid of this threat.
Milo’s served the best burgers in town, or so Jackson declared. They sat in a cushioned booth and sipped sodas, waiting for their food.
“Are you warm enough, baby?” She looked down to see that she was rubbing her left wrist.
“I’m pathetic.”
“Yes, but I love you.” He smiled at her.
She smiled. She did like to hear him say that. “So how’s your son?”
“He’s good. Wanted more money, of course. But he’s doing well.”
A thought occurred to her. “When was the last time you saw him?”
>
He looked at her. “When I was at the hospital with my mom. I’ll see him in a few weeks. It’s no big deal.” He shrugged, looking around the restaurant.
“You told me you saw him a couple times a month. It’s February second. Why hasn’t he come to visit?”
He shrugged and sipped his soda. “We’ve been off schedule. It happens sometimes.”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” Tears welled in her eyes and she grabbed her napkin. When the hell had she become such a crybaby?
Jackson rose and scooted in beside her. He put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She did love his broad, rock-hard chest, but she felt like an ass losing it like this in public.
“No, it’s not because of you, Rory. We really have been off schedule. He was busy in January with that extra ski trip and then my mom was ill. It’s true, he was supposed to come this weekend, but with everything going on, I cancelled. But it’s not because of you. It’s because of the crazy stalker. That’s not your fault.”
“I’m so sorry to make you miss out on time with your son.”
“It’s okay. Believe me, Ryan doesn’t mind and neither do I. Stop worrying.” He hugged her tightly. “By the way, I told him we got engaged.”
Her head shot up. “What?” she gasped.
“Don’t freak, okay? I had to. If we’re going to announce it I wanted him to hear it from me.”
“Oh my God, Jackson, what did he say?”
“He was pretty surprised. But he was okay, and happy for me.” He smiled. “He saw the ET footage. He said you were really hot.”
“But, Jackson, it’s not real… I hate to put him through this.”
Jackson’s smile faded. “It’s okay. Besides, maybe it will be real before he ever needs to know the difference. I’ll need to tell the rest of my family too. You should tell your cousin and friends.”
“Jackson…” Rory trailed off as the waitress approached with their food. Jackson returned to his side of the booth and they were served burgers the size of her head.
When the waitress was gone, she looked into his eyes again. “Jackson…”