“Negative. Subject had bullet proof glass.”
Richard scowled into the phone. With a blatant attempt on his life, Noah would now be on high alert. And he had the manpower to run effective security details and surveillance. Richard decided he would have to back off of Noah, for now. He knew Brianna would eventually show up in Miami, he just needed to wait her out.
“Leave him alone for now. We can’t afford a second attempt. Keep watch for the girl.”
“Understood.”
Chapter 9
Once inside Noah’s house, he walked Brianna to the den, and told her to stay there. Activating the security alarm in case she decided to run again, Noah, Bull, and Rebel went into the office to watch the security tape again. The camera didn’t capture whatever she did in the bedroom, and there was nothing in her hands when she came out.
They speculated that she may have planted something in there, but that didn’t seem reasonable, since he never used that bedroom. There was nothing in her hands when she went in. They rehashed the events of the night again, trying to make sense of it, and come up with a plan.
Rebel’s cellphone chirped, and he had a short conversation with the other security team. Hanging up, he looked to Noah, “Dude got away. They chased him, but he abandoned his car and took off on foot. Tags came back stolen.”
Frustrated, Noah raked his hand through his hair, and let out a loud sigh, “I don’t know who’s trying to kill her, or what she’s up to. But she sure as hell didn’t think of me when she brought all this shit to my front door.”
Rebel leveled his gaze at Noah and said, “Brother, you know I got your back, but you may be too close to the trees to see the forest on this one.”
“What do you mean?” Noah’s frustration was growing.
“Man, look. I’m just looking at the facts. One, she tried to get away from you. Two, when the guy shot at her, she wasn’t trying to save herself – “
“What the hell do you mean – ‘she wasn’t trying to save herself’?” Noah growled.
“If she was trying to save herself, she would’ve laid down in the seat, or the floorboard, or hell, man, even just bent over. But she didn’t. She used her body to shield you. We are trained to handle that kind of stress – she’s not. Most any civilian, and a lot of soldiers for that matter, would panic in that situation, Reap. I saw her face, man. She didn’t know that was bulletproof glass. She was protecting you from that bullet.”
Noah put his head in his hands and blew out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.
“And three,” Rebel continued, “she begged to be let out of the car, even after dude tried to shoot her. That doesn’t sound like someone who’s trying to bring trouble to your door.”
A small voice at the door said, “He wasn’t aiming at me.”
All three men whirled around and looked at her, trying to take in what she said. Then Bull spit out a response, “What the hell did you just say?”
Brianna looked at each of the men, feeling partially afraid of the repercussions she would face for intruding their male bonding time. She had only heard the last part of what Rebel was saying, but she knew he was referring to the guy who shot at them earlier.
She took a deep breath and said, “He wasn’t aiming at me. He was aiming at Noah.”
Rebel turned back to Noah and gave him an I-told-you-so look. Noah looked back at the doorway and Brianna was gone. The three men filed out of the office and back to the den, finding her sitting on the leather couch in the darkened room. Noah turned on a lamp, sat in his recliner, and the other men took a seat. One sat in the second recliner and one on the loveseat.
Surrounded again, Brianna inwardly sighed.
Noah couldn’t get used to seeing her with the short, black hair. She always had long blond hair, and he remembered how he loved to run his fingers through it. Had she lost weight? She was always lean and muscular, but she seemed to be thinner now. She definitely looked tired. Hell fire, it had been a long day, but she looked completely undone. He hesitated to ask her any questions, because he was sure she would shatter to pieces if he did. She wasn’t crying any longer, but her eyes were red, bloodshot, and a little swollen.
Without saying a word, he rose and walked to her, squatted in front of her, and took her wrists in his hands to remove the zip-tie cuffs. When he grabbed her wrists, she winced in pain, but didn’t say anything and didn’t make a sound. He opened his fingers, her wrists lying in the palm of his hands, and he saw the lines of dark purple bruises, in the shape of fingertips, against her pale skin on both wrists.
“Did I do this to you?” Guilt riddled his voice, because he knew the answer. His eyes searched hers for some type of reaction, but she just pulled her hands away and looked down. He was still extremely pissed and hurt, but he would never intentionally physically hurt Brianna.
“It doesn’t matter.” There was no self-pity in her voice. She wasn’t trying to make him feel bad for what he’d done. She was just stating a fact, as if she deserved it.
He pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the ties from her hands. She absently rubbed the indentions they had left on her wrists, and he realized he had zipped them a little too tight. She had never complained about it. He stayed squatted in front of her, watching her, but she wouldn’t look at him. He looked at Bull and then at Rebel, but they were both watching her.
“Can I please use your shower?”
He didn’t know how such an innocent question could hurt him so much. She had her own place when they first started dating, but she had practically lived here with him. She had slept in his bed. Hell, she had made love to him all night in his bed, his shower, and most everywhere else in the house. And she was asking for permission to use his shower?
“Sure. Don’t even think about trying to run, though.” He kept his voice even to hide all the emotions lying just underneath the surface. He stood, but stayed in front of her. He offered his hand to help her up, but she didn’t take it.
“Thank you.” And with that, she quietly left the room, still avoiding looking at anyone.
**************
In the bathroom, she broke down again, unable to stop the tears and body shakes. During the quiet part of the ride, she had a little time to think and sort through the events of the night. When she saw the man raise the gun and aim at Noah, her heart sank to her knees. She knew he didn’t love her anymore. He viewed her disappearance as betrayal and loyalty was not an option with these guys. Noah didn’t understand, and there was no way he would believe her word now.
Even with that, and the fact that he was angry that she was even still alive, she still couldn’t stop her traitorous heart from loving him. And she couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt because of her. She knew what she had to do. But first, she knew he and the others had questions they wanted answered. She decided to tell them whatever they wanted to know. What could it hurt now?
She removed the wig and the hair cap and her headache let up slightly. She knew she would have one hell of a headache after crying so much. She ran her fingers through her matted hair and started the water for her shower. She made it as hot as she could stand it.
She was trying to wash away the pain and dread of what she knew was still to come. She washed her long blond hair and applied conditioner, knowing it would definitely need it after being under that wig for so long. Once she had rinsed off, she sat on the tile floor, with her back against the built in seat, and sobbed until the water ran cold.
After she dried off, she realized she didn’t have any clothes to change into. They drove straight here, and her backpack was still in the hotel room. She wrapped the towel around her and stepped out into Noah’s bedroom, intending to ask him if he could spare a t-shirt for her to sleep in for the rest of the night, or morning, whatever it was now. She knew he had decided she was staying at his house until he figured out what he should do with her.
She walked by the bed and noticed a pair of pajamas laid out across the
bed. Her heart nearly stopped when she thought his girlfriend had come over while she was in the shower. She never expected him to stop dating after her, but she couldn’t be in the same house with them. She couldn’t sleep in the next room knowing another woman was in the bed with him. Visions of them together played in her mind, and she shook her head to get rid of the images.
She felt like she was about to hyperventilate when something registered in her brain and she realized they were her old pajamas. Noah had laid out a pink cotton tank top with spaghetti straps and pink with white polka dot pajama pants for her. She quickly dressed and towel dried her hair. She was much too tired to fuss with the hair dryer right now, and made her way back downstairs.
She heard muffled voices in the den and knew the guys were still in there talking, so she went to the kitchen. Her eyes and head hurt from crying, so she left the light off and stood at the huge picture window, looking at the pool water sparkle from the underwater lights.
The lights changed colors, reflecting throughout the decorative water fountains in the middle of the pool and the waterfall at the other end. She always loved to watch the water at night. Water and waves had such a calming effect on her, and she desperately needed it right now.
She felt the air in the room change, energize almost, with body heat, muscles, nervous energy, and testosterone. She knew that Noah, Bull, and Rebel were standing behind her in the dark.
“What do you want to know?” She didn’t turn around.
“Everything.” Noah said flatly, as he flipped on the kitchen light. He turned to look at her and stopped dead in his tracks. Her blond hair was back, still a little damp, but no doubt, it was blond and long again.
Damn! She had been wearing a wig this whole time! He wondered if he was starting to lose his edge.
If he suspected she had lost weight, he had no doubt now. The pajamas he had left out for her had fit her perfectly at one time. He always loved how she filled them out. Now they hung loosely on her, and she looked so….lost.
She stood with her back to them, staring out the window, with her head slightly tilted down. Her arms were wrapped around her waist, as if she were trying to protect herself. Noah was standing with his friends, but she was alone.
A thought hit him so hard it almost felt like a punch to the gut. Has she been alone all this time?
“Where do you want to start?” Her voice came out so soft but strained, trying to hold back the tears.
Noah had heard her sobs in the shower when he laid out her pajamas. When he heard her cries, her pain sounded so raw, so real, he almost went to her to hold her. The sound was faint at first, but as he got closer to the bathroom door, he clearly heard her sobs. Old feelings rose in his chest, and he put his hand on the doorknob, intent on rushing to comfort her. Then he remembered attending her funeral…her fake funeral…and backed away from the door.
Now wasn’t the time to reminisce.
“Is there a boyfriend I need to be concerned about showing up here, looking for you?”
“No.”
A snort and a sarcastic comment Noah couldn’t withhold, “Oh, let me guess….you didn’t tell him where you were going, either?“
Both heads snapped in his direction, as Bull and Rebel looked at him. Reaper nodded and looked down momentarily. OK, low blow.
She shook her head and paused. “There’s no one….There hasn’t been anyone since…since you.”
Reaper, you are a dick. “Where have you been all this time?”
“Boulder, Colorado.”
“Why Boulder?”
“Because that’s where the US Marshals put me when I entered the Witness Protection Program.”
The three men looked at each other, all puzzled. Noah’s jaw dropped, and he couldn’t believe what he just heard her say. WITSEC only happens in the movies, not in real life. Not for anyone he ever knew, anyway. Bull’s face showed his complete disbelief of her story while Rebel was intrigued. Noah couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say. He simply asked, “Why?”
Brianna turned to face them and stepped a few paces closer to them. Noah saw her cobalt blue eyes and realized she’d been wearing colored contact lenses, too. How did I miss these details about her? Because I have been so busy being angry with her for being alive, he mentally chastised himself.
She let out a long sigh and considered how to start. “The last story I went on….in the Middle East? I got proof that some of our government officials were guilty of….well, illegally selling weapons to terrorists. One of them tried to kill me by blowing up the plane I was supposed to be on.”
Noah, Bull, and Rebel considered her story, but she could tell they were all still very skeptical. She had only given them very vague information. She supplied no names, nothing for them to run any checks on themselves, and even she had to admit the story was pretty far-fetched. Brianna kept her eyes trained on Noah, refusing to look away and give him any reason to think she was lying.
Noah finally broke the silence. “When did you last eat?”
Now Brianna looked puzzled. “Umm, I don’t know. I guess on the plane yesterday.”
Noah’s look didn’t soften as he asked, “A pack of peanuts? That doesn’t count. When did you last eat real food?”
“Uh, sometime yesterday,” she glanced at the clock. It was already after 2 a.m., “Well, I guess day before yesterday, now,” she shrugged nonchalantly.
“What can I fix you?”
She eyed him for a second, refusing to get pulled into any manipulation tactics. She was answering his questions. He didn’t have to play on her emotions in some kind of cruel joke.
“Look, I don’t know what your angle is. You don’t have to play mind games with me. I will tell you whatever you want to know. Just be sure you want the truth before you ask the question.”
“Right now, my only angle is to feed you.”
Trying to guard her heart, she hardened her resolve. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry. Don’t have much of an appetite.”
Noah kept his gaze leveled on her, but there was a change in his eyes. They weren’t quite as hard or angry anymore. He didn’t trust her, but she didn’t see hatred either. She could tell he was deciding what his next question would be. She saw a shift briefly flicker in his eyes, as he made his decision, and then he seemed to harden again. She felt butterflies in her stomach at the anxiety of what was to come.
“I talked to Richard. I went by his hotel suite to see him.”
“Oh? What did y’all talk about?” She tried to sound nonchalant, but a small, lingering doubt still nagged her in the back of her mind.
He saw the same signs of terror welling up in her again and wondered why Richard’s name kept causing a change in her demeanor. So, of course, he pushed on.
“Different things. Mostly about you.”
Her big blue eyes filled with tears, but she fought them back. He knew she was trying so hard to hold it together, but he didn’t know why Richard affected her so much. And that really pissed him off.
“What does he want you to do?” Her voice cracked on her last word, and she swallowed hard.
“What do you think he wants?” Noah knew how to interrogate people and get the information he wanted. He could almost always turn their questions back on them, so that they actually answered their own question. This method gave him more information than any question he could think of alone.
“I’d say, he wants to make a deal with you…a trade.”
Noah narrowed his eyes and clinched his jaw so tight it made his whole head hurt. The muscles in his jaws twitched, and he balled his hands into tight fists. But he remained quiet, knowing if he didn’t push the questioning too hard, she would fill in the silence for him.
And she didn’t disappoint him. Her voice was soft but resolute. “I’ve actually been thinking about this. Especially since that guy took a shot at you tonight.”
She took a deep breath, obviously not wanting to continue her thoughts, but he watched her steel he
r nerves and continue on anyway. Noah saw the woman he had loved standing before him. He watched her gather the courage he had never given her enough credit for. He watched as she drew her strength to stand tall in front of three large, intimidating men. He watched her take a deep, calming breath, and he instantly knew she had made a decision he wasn’t going to like.
Brianna took a couple of steps closer to him, wringing her hands, and still trying to fight back the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. Her watery voice quivered as she asked, “If you agree to the trade, will you be safe?”
Noah nodded, but he wasn’t sure he could speak, even if his life depended on it. He had a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about the direction this conversation was headed. She looked down for just a second, contemplating the information, and then looked him square in the eyes.
“Then I want you to agree to it. If you believe him, that he’ll leave you alone and you’ll be safe, you have to agree to it.” Unshed tears glistened in her eyes, and Noah could only watch as they fell down her face.
Bull had been watching the exchange. He knew what Noah was doing, but had no idea what Brianna meant. Whatever the hell it was couldn’t be good, though, so he butted into the conversation.
Bull made no attempt to hide his contempt for her. His voice and his eyes were hard as he demanded, “Brianna – what the hell are you talking about? What fucking trade?”
She looked at Bull and took a deep inhale, “My life.” Then she looked at Noah. He dreaded the words he now knew would follow. “For Noah’s.”
Chapter 10
Noah kept his face unreadable, but his heart thumped against his ribcage. He knew he had a bad feeling about this conversation, but he hadn’t considered this turn of events. His mind was racing to put the pieces together. Her questions about Richard, the terror in her eyes when he first said he’d take her to Richard, and this revelation only led to one conclusion. He knew Richard was involved.
Wicked Games Page 7