by Nana Malone
“Micha, get into your office and stay under your desk until I come for you.”
He wanted her to hide. Fantastic. It went against everything she wanted to do, but she knew he couldn’t concentrate if he thought she could get hurt, so she did as she was told, using her key fob to open the SDM doors.
Before he headed down the hallway, she grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Be careful.”
He nodded and texted something on his phone before he headed toward the whirring noise. For once, Micha did as she was told and went straight for her office. But in this case, she was also calling for reinforcements. She texted Tom en route and had her finger poised and ready to hit send on a call to 911, when she saw the light in her office. What the hell? Had she left it on?
Not likely, but if she had, why hadn’t Ryan turned it off? He was never that careless. He always recycled her paper and soda cans, so it was unlikely he’d left them on. She checked her watch. It was only seven, so maybe he was still working. “Hey, Ryan, it’s me, are you still here?”
No answer. Alarm bells rang in her head, but she didn’t give into the fear and run out the door. First, she wasn’t going to leave Caleb up here by himself. Two, she was ninety-nine percent certain there was nothing to be afraid of. Except, of course, Sabine. It was that one percent that had her pulling pepper spray out of her purse. Of all the stupid days to carry a purse too small to hold her weapon.
Unable to walk quietly in her Louboutins, she slipped them off and left them by the reception desk. Quietly, she padded down the hall, expecting to find Sabine sitting behind her desk, holding a gun. Her heart hammered, and her breath refused to come in slow or even.
But when she rounded the corner, nothing. No one was in there.
Breath whooshed out of Micha’s lungs, and she let her head hang forward as relief washed through her. “You’re losing your touch, Bennett.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. You really shouldn’t be too hard on yourself,” came a voice from behind her.
Micha whirled and chocked out a laugh when she saw Ryan. “Jesus, shit, you scared the fuck out of me. Didn’t you hear me calling your name?”
“I heard you, but the whole thing about the element of surprise is you don’t want to alert someone until you’re damn well good and ready. Or, at least that’s how I remember it.”
Micha frowned as she examined Ryan. His normally perfectly coiffed, gelled hair was now in a disarray of spikes around his head, and his suit jacket was gone, revealing a button-down shirt with the lapels out of the trousers.
“Ryan, are you okay?” Micha backed up a step.
He shook his head, hazel eyes wild. “No, I’m not! You weren’t supposed to have fucking babysitters 24/7. It’s been impossible to get you alone. The one night I finally had my chance, you up and fucking leave me at that goddamn dinner.”
Ryan? But why? She’d only met him six weeks ago. She had no connection to him. Not to mention, Caleb had already checked him out. “Ryan, look, if you wanted to talk anything over, all you had to do was ask and I’m all yours. I—”
“Shut up, you stupid cunt.”
Micha winced at the derision in his voice. “Okay. I’m shutting up. We, uh, we’re alone now. Why don’t you tell me what you wanted to talk about?” She prayed that Tom and company weren’t too far behind. Caleb would be back any second. All she had to do was keep Ryan talking that long.
Ryan blinked rapidly. “You still don’t know, do you? All this time, and you have no idea. I’ve been getting you coffee, and filing your papers, and making your fucking appointments, and shadowing you, and you have no fucking idea.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and tell me?” Micha backed up a foot. If she could reach her desk, she had a letter opener on it. With that and the pepper spray, she probably wouldn’t need Caleb. Where the fuck was he?”
Ryan smirked. “You’re waiting for your man, are you? Sorry to tell you, he’s not coming.”
Dread pooled in Micha’s gut, even as goose pimples sprang on her flesh. “What do you mean, Ryan? He was right behind me.”
Harsh laughter spilled from her opponent. “He’s out cold in the law office copy room. I had to get him from behind with a tranq.” He held up a syringe. “Courtesy of my last doctor. You two really should have come with some back up. He’s a big boy. That tranq won’t last long, so you and I need to go.” He pulled Caleb’s gun from behind his back.
Oh, fuck me. “Okay. Ryan. There’s no need to get violent here. I’m not going to go anywhere with you till you tell me what this is about. Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me.”
“Yes, I do!” His voice went up an octave, and Micha shrank back at the familiarity. Oh, God.
Ryan peered at her. “Now you’re starting to see. I can tell in your eyes. Now you have an idea.”
“But how? Why?”
“As for the how, it was only a matter of a little hair dye and binding my breasts. And of course, getting a temp job. You seem to forget that Simon and I met while working in theater. I learned more than a few make up tricks.” Ryan massaged his, uhm, her breasts. “The binding is the worst. Having to wear those things all day, every day. I mean I had small tits to begin with, but imagine if I had your rack.”
“Trisha, this isn’t you. I heard you were doing really well. You don’t have to do this.”
“You kept better tabs on me than that fuck-up husband of mine.” She waved the gun around. “You know, in all those years I was in the hospital, he only came to see me three times. One was to check on me, the second time was to get me to sign the divorce papers, and the final time was to tell me my mother had died. Can you believe that shit? Each time, he acted like I was nothing to him. It was like he threw me away all over again.”
“Listen, that’s how he is. It wasn’t you. It wasn’t personal. He’s not a good guy.”
“Shut up, shut up!” she spat. “He was good until he met you. Then he wanted to leave me. Wanted to forget that I was the one he loved. Wanted to pretend I wasn’t important.”
“He fooled us both. I knew nothing about you when I met him.”
“Stop fucking lying.” Trisha took two lurching steps forward, aiming the gun.
Micha’s heartbeat slowed. She could hear every single thud as if everything was happening in slow motion. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She put up her hands defensively, tucking the pepper spray into her sleeve. When Trisha lowered her hands, Micha took another step back. Her butt touched the desk. She braced her palms behind her.
“It took me a while to find you. At first I was curious. I listened to the doctors. I didn’t want to hurt you. I wanted to see what made you so special that he would have left me for you. Then I found out you worked on magazines doing entertainment. I knew you two were still together.”
What? “No. I hadn’t talked to him in years until I received the assignment.”
Trisha used her gun hand to scratch her forehead. “No. I know you were together. You tried to be discreet, but you still are together. I know it. I saw the interview. He’s still in love with you.”
“I’m not in love with him. I’m in love with Caleb.”
“You’re a whore.”
“Look at me.” Micha’s left hand closed around the handle of the letter opener, and she forced her body to relax. Drew in steadier breaths. She had to be relaxed to pull this off. She had to get to Caleb. “You’re right. I should have known that a guy like Simon had a wife. It was all my fault.” Micha shifted the pepper spray into her hand, ready to depress the button at a moment’s notice. In her left hand, she worked her sweaty palm around the handle of the knife. You can do this. You can do this. Just like you do in class. Disable and attack. Disable and attack. “You were the one he really loved, Trisha.”
Trisha had both hands on the butt of the gun. “Don’t you think I knew that? You ruined everything. I hate you. This is all your fault.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I am. I wish I’d never met Simon J
ax.” I wish I could go back to just being me. Before any of this happened.” Before I met your crazy ass.
Over Trisha’s shoulder, Micha saw a shadow in the hallway. Shit. Did Trisha have an accomplice? Worse, what if it was Sabine?
She moistened dry lips with the tip of her tongue. No. Focus. Steady. She had one shot to get this right. If she fucked it up, then well, there would be no more Caleb. No more Jaya and Ricca and Margarita Mondays. No more family. No fucking this up. She could do this. She was not afraid of this bitch.
“Trisha. I want you to listen to me. You have nothing to worry about . I’m going to stay away from Simon. I’ll never see him again. I’ll stay away.”
“Lies.”
“No. I was going to step down from the anchor job and focus on the magazine. In fact, I was going to move back to New York. I don’t want to be too close to him.”
Trisha’s gun hand wavered. “Really?”
Sensing this was her only chance, Micha sprang into action with the pepper spray. A steady stream hit Trisha right in the eyes, and she doubled over, screaming and clawing at her eyes.
Trisha tried to aim the gun in her direction, but Micha sprang out of the way. Trisha fired one shot just wide, and Micha stalked around her target, putting her in a sleeper hold with the knife at her carotid.
Adrenaline flowing, heart thudding, a million thoughts zinging through her head, Micha dragged Trisha around to face the door. There was no way Sabine was going to get the drop on her. “Drop the gun, Trisha, or at least make yourself useful and shoot whoever’s coming through that door.”
“Damn, I let you down one time, and you’re going to shoot me?”
Caleb. “Oh, my God.” She almost loosened her grip, and Trisha struggled against her hold. “You’re all right?” Trisha dropped the gun with a thud as the oxygen left her.
He half-lumbered half-shuffled in. “Yeah. I don’t know what the fuck she gave me, but it packs a hell of a punch.” Bringing his head up, he met her eyes. “Micha, you need to let her go. It’s okay. I’m here now.” Slowly, he bent over to pick up the discarded gun. “I’m here honey. You don’t have to do this by yourself. Let me help.”
Micha shook, but she didn’t release her grip. She could feel Trisha getting weaker, but she still had some fight in her. The tiny fearful part of her wanted to kill this woman. Wanted to put her down for the years of fear and torture she’d brought to Micha’s life.
But Caleb’s voice wove into her consciousness.
“Sweetheart, I’m here. I’m here for you. You don’t have to do this. I love you. Listen to my voice. I’m the one who matters. I love you.”
Slowly, Micha removed her knife hand from Trisha’s neck, then her right arm.
When Trisha slumped to the floor, a sob racked through Micha’s body. Was it over? Was it really over? Had she slain her own dragon?
Caleb’s approach was slow. But when he reached her, he pulled her in for a hug so fierce that she fought for air. Over her head he said, “I’m here, baby. I love you. You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here.”
Voices came from the hallway, and he added, “We’re in here.”
In thirty seconds, the lobby of SDM was filled with Caleb’s men and the San Diego boys in blue. Shaking, she blinked up at him. “Thank you for saving me.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Let’s not make it a habit.”
Chapter 32
Caleb watched over Micha as she slept. He’d almost lost her last night because he’d been too stupid to look at what was right in front of him. He’d chosen to look at the common enemy, instead of taking a closer look at the thing that didn’t fit. Oh, his guys had done a background check on Ryan Jericho. And they’d come up with a squeaky-clean past.
What they had missed was that Ryan Jericho’s mother had reported him missing, then subsequently recanted her statement. If they’d only taken a closer look, they’d have discovered that Ryan Jericho’s mother had a fatal car accident the day after reporting her son missing. But she lived in San Francisco, so no one had followed those little breadcrumbs. And Ryan appeared alive and well.
Trisha had done a stellar job of makeup and hair. She’d cut her hair to match Ryan’s exactly, and used contacts to match his hazel eyes. She’d even worn lifts in her shoes to match his height. And from the pictures Caleb had seen of the real Ryan Jericho, he’d had an extremely slender build. They’d eventually found him in Garret Park up in North County. He’d been reported as a John Doe. And just like that, Trisha had taken his life.
Because Caleb’s men hadn’t looked close enough, because he hadn’t been paying attention, he’d almost lost Micha. He wasn’t taking a chance like that again. Not with her life, not with Annie’s. He’d almost lost both of them, thanks to his carelessness. Now that the Trisha Jax problem was dealt with, he was going to take care of his Sabine problem. And unlike Micha, he wouldn’t be talked down from taking Sabine’s life. It was the only way he was going to stop her.
He closed the door to the bedroom as quietly as he could and strode into the living room, where a pissed off Tom stood waiting for him. “I don’t like this, Caleb.”
“It’s not up to you to like. I’m finishing this today. If I don’t, we’ll be watching our backs, looking for Sabine for God knows how long.”
Tom worked his jaw, then nodded toward the bedroom. “And what the fuck am I supposed to tell her?”
“Tell her I went to finish things up. Tell her it’s routine.”
Tom barked a harsh laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me? Have you met her? She’s going to go ape shit, and there’s no way she’s going to sit back and let you do this by yourself.”
Caleb wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Look. I’m keeping her safe.” And he and Sabine had unfinished business. “I have back up.”
Tom frowned. Agent Sarah Barnes was a recruit to his firm from the Marshals. She knew how to handle herself in a fight and with a gun, but she didn’t have Tom’s experience.
“Besides Sarah, I have two more men backing me up. We’ll pretend to do the exchange and capture Sabine.” Easy as pie. Except Sabine wouldn’t come willingly, so he’d have to convince her.
He strapped his primary weapon behind his back and his secondary onto his right ankle. On his left, he strapped a vicious hunting knife. He wasn’t a complete idiot; he also had on Kevlar and two other knifes strapped to his chest.
“I don’t like it,” Tom said again. “I should be the one going in with you.”
“You’re the only one I trust to keep an eye on Micha. She’s my life, and I nearly lost her last night. If I can’t watch her myself, you’re the one to do it.”
“I don’t know, boss.”
Caleb clamped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. In the meantime, text me as soon as you hear from Bradley and Michaels. I want to make sure Annie makes it to her grandmother’s safe and sound.”
“They already texted. They’re at the midway point and found no issues along the way.”
So it was unlikely Sabine had figured out the ruse. At least something in the last couple of days had gone his way.
***
Micha woke to darkness. Reaching out her hand, she felt around the bed for Caleb’s heat, but his side of the bed was cold. What the hell time was it?
She sat up and peeked at the bedside clock. Two in the morning. So where the hell was Caleb?
Throwing off the heavy duvet, she forced herself up and immediately regretted it. Her head pounded, and every single muscle in her body from the tips of her toes to her cheek muscles ached. When they’d gotten home she’d been unable to sleep so she’d hit the treadmill extra hard. She knew this was what adrenaline could do, but she’d never experienced anything like this. All she wanted to do was go back to bed, but she wanted to drag Caleb back with her. He could at least chase off the chill that gripped her from the inside out.
Micha padded into the living room, and Tom whirled to meet her gaze
. Immediately, she knew something was wrong. “Where the fuck is he?”
Tom set his jaw. “Miss…Micha,” he amended. “He left to meet Sabine.”
“What? And you just let him? Are you insane? You’re his number two. What the fuck? You should be with him.”
Tom cleared his throat. “He wanted me here. He has back up. Caleb isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t go in alone. He won’t underestimate Sabine again.”
Micha dragged her hands through her hair. “Don’t give me that bullshit. He’s all alone, and he has you here watching me. His decision-making process is compromised.”
Tom breathed a sigh. “He loves you. He’ll put your safety above everything else if he has to.”
“You realize that’s stupid, right?”
Tom shrugged. “That’s love. Now why don’t you head back to bed? Or do you want some warm milk or something?”
Micha scowled at him. “What I need is my mother-fucking man in my bed beside me, not a goddamn nursemaid.” She planted her hands on her hips. “So are you going to tell me where the hell he is, or am I going to have to fight you to make you talk?”
He huffed as if daring her to try. “Micha, it’s late. I’m on the radio with the teams. They have this under control. You don’t need to worry about him.”
“Fuck you,” she said as she whirled around.
“Now where are you going?”
“To put on some goddamn pants, then get my gun and knives. If you don’t tell me, I’m pretty sure I can torture one of the others into it. I’m going after him.”
“I can’t let you do that, Micha. It’s too dangerous.”
“I thought you said he had plenty of back up. Either it’s easy and a simple extraction, or it’s dangerous.” She dragged in a deep breath and exhaled. “Look. I know this is reckless. But I’ll stay out of the way. I want you there with him. I know the other guys are good, but when he’s in trouble, he calls you. And you’re with me. And I get he’s protecting me, especially after the night I had, but he needs you, and I’m not going to risk his life because he thinks I need a babysitter.” She shrugged. “Besides, you want to be there anyway.”