Deadly Secrets

by Lisa Phillips

“I didn’t protect you, and I should have.” The pain that washed over his face was staggering.

  “I didn’t let you do it. I thought I could handle everything myself when I should have been trusting you to help me instead.” She took a breath. “I was trying to make things better, and I made them worse. He has the device.”

  Mint nodded.

  “He’s an FBI agent.”

  Mint blinked. “Seriously?”

  “Show me pictures, I’ll tell you who he is.”

  “He tried to have you killed so you wouldn’t say.”

  Emma had plenty to say.

  “I love you.” She didn’t let him say anything, just forged ahead. “I know it’s early, and we barely know each other, but I figure familiarity will come later. But it’s like…I just saw you, and I knew.”

  Finally, he breathed. Nodded. “Like everything clicked into place.”

  “Like it’s finally right.”

  He nodded again. “I’m not leaving. Not ever. And I won’t let you leave, either. We do this together. But one thing you’re not going to worry about is that man getting his hands on you again. He won’t hurt you. He won’t ever get near you. Double Down will take care of him. He isn’t even on your radar. You don’t give him one single thought or second of worry.”

  She didn’t know what to say. There was a lot there. She settled on smiling, appreciating his concern even though he chose to say it like that. She snapped straight and lifted her hand to salute him. “Yes, sir.”

  It was weak. She sounded awful. But she knew he got it when he smiled. “I’m laying my heart out, and she’s giving me sass.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t frame it so much like an order.”

  “It’s a tactic and I’m trying it. Because if you think it’s an order, then you might actually follow it.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, unable to keep the smile from her face. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Being here. Understanding. Saving me.”

  “Falling for you?”

  She nodded. “That, too.” She was all the way gone for him. And if he needed more from her—to win him over—she was okay with that. It would be a pleasure to do. Every bit of it. The mundane, everyday. The special and the romantic. She wasn’t going to miss one single second of it.

  She said, “So, what now?”

  “Protection is number one. I’ll call Steve and get it figured out.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “You want to see your mom?”

  Emma thought about it for a second. “Maybe later.”

  Mint touched her cheek. “Whatever you want.”

  She knew what she wanted. Emma touched his shoulders and leaned in. He met her halfway, touching his lips to hers.

  “Have I said thank you?”

  Mint’s torso shook as he chuckled. “Not sure it’s you that needs to be thanking me, but I’ll take it.”

  “This isn’t over, is it?”

  “Now that you’ve seen him, we can get things rolling. Bring him down once and for all.”

  She said, “Before he uses that device.” Mint nodded, his face now sober. She said, “He can kill a lot of people with it, right?”

  “We find it, we find him.”

  Emma said, “You make that sound easy.”

  “Double Down is up to the task. Your job is to stay safe.”

  “Only if you’re there.”

  He touched his lips to hers again. “I’ll always be there.”

  Epilogue

  Steve walked into the conference room first. Alexis followed him, trailed by Bradley. Then Rachel. Mint and Emma held hands as they entered. Since the hospital, Steve had rarely seen them when they hadn’t been touching each other. Finally Perkins came in, along with Walker.

  His assistant was at the gathering that had followed the funerals, helping with clean up.

  Everyone wore black. Dresses, suits. Their expressions likely matched his. The past few weeks had been exhausting, and this was far from over. In the last couple of days he’d had their entire security system reformatted, not to mention a number of other upgrades.

  Steve opened the file his assistant had left on his desk and took out the photograph. He walked to the wall where they’d pinned all the intel they’d gathered so far. He took the FBI agent’s picture and tacked it to the top. “This is Special Agent Daniel Zimmerman. He works out of the Baltimore office, but he’s in DC regularly.”

  Perkins shook her head. “I’ve never met him.”

  Walker glanced at her, then at Steve. “You honestly expect me to believe a senior field agent is in possession of a device that could kill people?”

  Emma’s haunted expression was enough of an answer. Still, Mint said, “Yes. We do. So either you’re on board, or you leave now. Because we don’t actually need your help to bring this guy down. We can use it, but we don’t need it.” Mint paused. “Zimmerman has done enough damage already. We don’t need him doing more.”

  Walker blew out a breath and sat back. “It’s hard to swallow, is all.”

  No one commiserated with him.

  Perkins said, “So how do we find him?”

  Steve studied her for a second. “You up to this?”

  “Craig and Drew are dead. Bradley has Alexis and his sister to worry about. Mint needs to keep Emma safe.” She paused a second. “So don’t ask me if I’m up to this.”

  Walker shifted, looking at her. “You’re going after this guy yourself?”

  “I won’t be on my own. Double Down is a team.”

  Walker didn’t think much of that, judging by his expression. Steve wanted to tell the guy that they didn’t need the help, but that would be a lie. He was entirely too torn by the fact Rachel wouldn’t even speak to him. She’d barely allowed him to oversee security in her new place and hire the best he knew of to keep her safe. Nothing was going to get to her. No one would hurt her. Not again.

  He’d been sick when he found out what happened to her.

  For now though, she didn’t want anything to do with him. Soon enough it would be time to snap her out of her funk and make her face the world again. Right now he had the time, and the resources, to give Perkins all the support she needed.

  They were going to find this guy.

  Mint said, “Anything you need, I’m there.”

  “Me, too.” Bradley took Alexis’s hand and held it. “This blackmailer needs to be brought down.”

  Walker sighed. “I’ll go to the office, see what I can find out.”

  Perkins sat up straighter. She almost managed to disguise the pain that shifted throughout her body with the movement. “Don’t put yourself out on our account.”

  “You think I’d put people’s lives at risk because of my attitude?”

  By all accounts, he’d done that exact thing when Rachel had been kidnapped. But it was looking now like he’d changed his mind on that, at least. Walker seemed like he was willing to set his feelings aside and do what needed to be done.

  Perkins looked at Steve. The woman would be killer at poker. She betrayed not one thing she was feeling about Walker, or any of this. She said, “Good. Let’s get this guy.”

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  Visit www.authorlisaphillips.com for news about book 3, DEADLY AGENDA, and the rest of this brand new series—all coming this fall!

  About the author

  A British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London, Lisa attended Calvary Chapel Bible College where she met her husband. He's from California, but nobody’s perfect. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Since then she’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in
happily ever after.

  Lisa can be found in Idaho wearing either flip-flops or cowgirl boots, depending on the season. She leads worship with her husband at their local church. Together they have two children—a sparkly Little Princess and a Mini Daddy—and an all-black Airedale known as The Dark Lord Elevator.

  Lisa is the author of the bestselling Sanctuary (WITSEC town series) and more than a dozen Love Inspired Suspense novels. Find out more at www.authorlisaphillips.com