Watch Your Back

by Rose, Karen

  Clay had to laugh. ‘So did you. You broke up with me six weeks before our wedding and married someone else, but you don’t see me hassling your husband.’

  She had the good sense to be embarrassed. ‘Yes, I did break up with you, but I didn’t break your heart. I couldn’t break your heart.’

  His smile disappeared. ‘Why? Because it’s made of stone?’

  ‘No. That’s ridiculous.’ She thumped his chest with her fist. ‘You might be rock on the outside, but you’re nothing but a big old marshmallow on the inside.’

  ‘Don’t tell anybody,’ he whispered.

  ‘I won’t,’ she said with a smile, then sobered. ‘I couldn’t break your heart because you were never in love with me. Not like you are with her.’

  Clay looked over at the boat. Just knowing Stevie was there, waiting for him, even as mad as she was . . . it made him content. ‘I think I knew the moment I saw her.’

  ‘Please don’t tell me it was love at first sight. You’re nauseating me.’

  ‘Fine. It wasn’t at first sight. More like third.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘She was leaning over my office chair, getting in my face, tearing me a new one. Which I totally deserved.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I put her daughter in danger because I was an idiot. Remember the man that killed Nicki?’

  ‘How could I forget? Poor Nicki. She made terrible choices, but nobody deserves that.’

  ‘No, no one does. I knew who’d killed Nicki and I wanted to catch him myself. I didn’t report him to the cops like I should have. He was stalking Cordelia as well.’

  Lou sucked in a harsh breath. ‘I would have done more than tear you a new one, Clay.’

  ‘I know. But once I knew what else he’d done, I made it right. I gave them the killer’s ID and Cordelia was unharmed. Stevie was like a mother bear . . . she’ll do anything to protect her child. And so will I. They’re important to me, Stevie and Cordelia. Don’t swipe at Stevie like that again. Ever.’

  Lou grasped a fistful of his shirt. ‘I just don’t want you to get hurt.’

  ‘And I appreciate you caring, but it’s not your business. It’s mine. And I’ll take the risk.’

  She shook her head. ‘Just promise me one thing. Don’t let her shortchange you. You deserve a lifetime, not just a tumble or two in the cabin of your boat.’

  He blinked at her. ‘What makes you think I had a tumble?’

  ‘Well, tumblus interruptus anyway,’ Lou said with a wicked grin. ‘Your hair was a mess when I got here. I lived with you for a year and never saw a single hair out of place. And you were . . .’ Her eyes skirted down, then back up. ‘Yeah. I remember that part very clearly.’

  Clay quailed. ‘Do not ever say that in front of her. Please.’

  ‘I won’t, I won’t. Geeze. But promise me you’ll make sure she loves you back and isn’t just out to top off her tank. Or worse, just because she’s grateful for your help.’

  Clay winced. ‘Are you finished now?’

  ‘I guess. You’re a big boy now. I’ve got to let you go. Try not to let the big kids steal your lunch money.’ Lou patted his cheek. ‘Tell her I’m sorry.’

  ‘I will.’ He pointed to Guthrie who’d begun his approach to the dock. ‘Your ride’s here.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow when I come for Cordelia. Good luck with Stevie.’

  ‘Thanks. I’m gonna need it.’

  Baltimore, Maryland, Sunday, March 16, 11.35 A.M.

  Technology was extremely useful, Robinette thought as he parked his car a quarter-mile from his final destination. He especially appreciated the benefits of tracking technology. He could keep tabs on his entire workforce with the push of a button. The trouble was, that same technology could be used by someone to track him, too. Which was not acceptable.

  He jogged down the street to the storage unit he’d had ever since he’d come home a former soldier, discharged honorably, but with no skills that would make him his fortune. With his MP credentials, he could have been a cop, true. But unless they were dirty, cops didn’t make jack shit. He’d found another way to make money, and now he owned a few dirty cops of his own.

  He liked the irony of that.

  He found his storage unit and unlocked the door, revealing a 1999 Chevy Tahoe. It was no sports car, but it also had no GPS. None of his team knew he owned it. It had belonged to his first wife. Levi’s mother. She’d left it to rust in her alcoholic father’s garage.

  Robinette had driven it back from Louisiana after burying Levi next to the boy’s mother, who’d OD’d when Levi was nine years old. It had happened while Robinette had been deployed and his friends had been there for him then, mourning with him. He hadn’t cared a single iota about the bitch who’d borne his son, but he hadn’t let his team know that.

  He hadn’t expected them to come to Levi’s funeral and had been touched that Brenda Lee had assembled the old gang to stand beside him at the gravesite. They’d made plans after the funeral, plans that were finally coming to fruition today. But back then he’d needed some time to think. Telling them he planned to rent a car and drive home, he stole the Tahoe right out from under his first father-in-law’s nose and brought it here.

  He used the vehicle when he went places he’d rather keep secret. Hookers, usually. His tastes probably wouldn’t meet the approval of his current father-in-law. But he also used the Tahoe when he spied on his own people. Like today.

  Wight’s Landing, Maryland, Sunday, March 16, 11.35 A.M.

  Clay took the stairs down to the cabin one at a time, giving Stevie fair warning so that she could prepare her lungs for the tirade he deserved. When he got to the cabin, he found her standing as far away from the stairs as she could. Which wasn’t all that far, considering it was the cabin of a small boat. Two more steps and he’d be standing behind her, close enough to kiss the nape of her neck – exposed only because her head hung down dejectedly.

  ‘Stevie, I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, I swear it. It’s just that you touched me and—’

  Her free hand cut through the air, stopping his words. ‘I know you were going to tell me.’

  Relieved that she believed him, he took one of the two steps he needed to be close to her. Then frowned when her words sank in. Tell? ‘I don’t under—’

  Again the hand, again cutting him off. ‘I guess the question is when would you have told me? As you were bundling her into a boat, allowing people I don’t know to take my child?’

  Oh. His mama didn’t raise a fool. Now he understood. ‘No. I would have explained your options long before then. Before we’d even left this boat.’

  She laughed bitterly. ‘Oh, no. No wriggling out of this, Mr Maynard. Explaining my options, my ass. I have no options. I haven’t since you saved my life yesterday, have I?’

  He opened his mouth, then closed it. This was a no-win situation.

  Her head jerked up, sending her dark hair swinging to cover the nape he’d wanted to kiss. ‘Well?’ she demanded.

  ‘I don’t know how to answer that,’ he said cautiously. ‘If you’re expecting an apology for saving your life, you’ll be waiting a long time.’

  She pivoted, jabbing her cane into the cabin floor with enough force that he felt the vibration under his feet. Her lips were pressed tight, her eyes narrowed. And red. She’d been crying. ‘Don’t you dare play word games with me, Clay.’

  ‘Okay. Yes, you have options. No, you don’t have many. You specifically said last night that we needed to find Cordelia a safer place to hide. “Even safer than this.”’ He hooked his fingers in the air. ‘I did what you asked.’

  ‘Without consulting me.’

  ‘For that I apologize. I thought you needed to sleep. I was trying to be considerate.’

  ‘Of course you were!’ sh
e gritted out between her teeth. ‘That’s all you’ve been is considerate. I’m so goddamn tired of considerate that I could scream.’

  Annoyance sprang free and he drove his fists into his hips. ‘You want me to take you and Cordelia to the nearest bus station and drop you off with a sandwich and bus fare? Maybe hang signs around your necks that say “Kill me now”? Would that make me less considerate?’

  Abruptly she stepped forward, lips trembling, her dark eyes suddenly shiny. Leaning up on the toes of her good foot, she bored her index finger into his chest. ‘Do not patronize me.’

  Clay drew a breath, let it out. Did his damnedest to ignore her tears. ‘Then stop behaving like a child, throwing tantrums,’ he snapped. ‘I’m serious about protecting you and your daughter. When you are too, feel free to join the party.’

  She flinched as if he’d struck her, then turned so quickly that she stumbled. Grabbing the edge of the table, she regained her balance. She’d lost her grip on the cane, now holding it in the middle instead of at the top. She stood with her back to him.

  ‘Don’t you think I know I’m acting like an idiot?’ she demanded in a whisper. ‘Don’t you think I wish I could make myself stop? For almost eight years it’s been just me and Cordelia. And I have taken care of her. All by myself. No husband. No one to ask advice.’ She faltered. ‘Except for Izzy. Who in many ways turns out to be a better mother than I am. Who knew?’

  ‘That’s not true,’ he murmured, but she swiped at the air with the cane and he stepped back.

  ‘My point is, I was doing a damn fine job. We were fine. Now, nothing is fine. Everything I touch goes wrong. Every time I turn around someone is targeting my child to get at me. Do you think I want to need protection? Do you think I want to live in a place that has bullet-proof glass?’ She extended her arm, still gripping the cane, reminding him of Moses parting the Red Sea. ‘And if you say “bullet-resistant”, I will brain you with this motherfucking thing.’

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ he said quietly, because her voice was thick with tears.

  ‘Thank you.’ She held her breath, but a sob escaped. ‘God, I sound so pathetic. Feeling sorry for myself at a time like this. I should be saying, “Thank you, Clay,” and falling down on the floor to kiss your feet. Why am I being like this?’

  ‘Maybe because your world hasn’t stopped spinning out of control for the past year?’

  She laughed, but it was a tormented sound. ‘Yeah.’ She was quiet for a moment, gathering her composure. ‘So. This plan of yours. I’d like specifics. Please.’

  ‘All right. You know about Daphne’s equine therapy program. She’ll be offering it to kids who’ve been victimized by violence. I’m doing her security. Last week we finished the electric fence that surrounds her property. It’s ten feet high, topped with barbed wire, and positioned through the trees, so it’s not obvious to passersby.’

  ‘To keep the kids in?’

  ‘No. To keep predators out. We put in a heavy gate as well, the kind you see at military installations. Daphne picked one with pretty curlicues so that it didn’t look oppressive.’

  ‘She’d think of that.’ It was said gently, with a note of rueful affection. ‘Is it pink?’

  He smiled, relieved. ‘No. I had to draw the line somewhere. Today Alec will finish putting in the cameras and we’ll establish a security center. Tomorrow we’ll add motion detectors and refit Maggie’s house with security doors. No bullet-proof glass, I’m afraid. It’s on order, but it won’t be in for a few weeks. With the other precautions, hopefully we won’t need it.’

  ‘It sounds very safe. Who will man this security center?’

  ‘For now, Paige and Alec. If we need more support, my best friend, Ethan Buchanan, is on standby. He’ll be on the first flight out of Chicago if I call him.’

  ‘Just like that? You call, he comes?’

  ‘I’ve done the same for him. Would do the same for him again in a heartbeat.’

  She nodded. ‘Okay. No offense meant, but Silas Dandridge was one of my best friends. How do I know your best friend Ethan is reliable and trustworthy?’

  ‘I can give you references. A social worker, a family attorney, a professor, a psychiatrist, an arson investigator, a firefighter, and a half-dozen cops. You can call them and ask yourself.’

  ‘And if I’m not comfortable with Mr Buchanan watching my child?’

  ‘Then we don’t do it,’ he said simply. ‘Or you go with her. Or she stays here with my dad and Emma. Or any of the above with your parents or Izzy added in.’

  ‘Why did you plan this? I know I said I wanted a safer place for her, but that was fear talking. Why risk moving her at all?’

  ‘Because eventually someone will connect you to me and me to this house. It’s in Dad’s name and while he isn’t the father listed on my birth certificate, he’s easy enough to trace to me if a person is looking.’

  ‘Maybe nobody else will be looking. Maybe they’ll realize there’s nothing more to be gained by killing me. That too many people know about the dirty cops now.’

  ‘Do you really believe that?’

  Stevie’s shoulders sagged. ‘No. When do I have to decide if I want to move Cordelia?’

  ‘Not at this moment. Joseph’s people outside are watching the front. They’ll tell us if they see anyone suspicious on the road leading up to the house. She can stay here indefinitely if this place isn’t compromised.’

  ‘But if it is, it will be too late to get her out.’

  ‘Not if we get her out by boat, which is why Lou was coming with her boat tomorrow. But, Stevie, if you don’t want Cordelia to move, she can stay here. The farm can be our Plan B.’

  ‘I’d like that,’ she said. ‘The farm is a good Plan B. The horses would be good for her. Especially with all this tension going on. What about transport?’

  ‘When she’s ready, Paige will drive Grayson’s Escalade to Lou’s house, which also has a dock. Grayson’s Escalade is equipped with the same window glass as Joseph’s.’

  ‘Which, according to Joseph, is about as bullet-resistant as you’ll get if your address isn’t 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,’ Stevie said dryly. ‘Got it.’

  ‘Cordelia knows Paige, so she won’t be scared. Paige will meet Lou at four thirty in the morning, whatever morning you choose, so that they’ll have the cover of darkness. Lou will bring her boat here, pick up Cordelia, go back to her place so that the transfer is made before first light. Cordy arrives at the farm in time for breakfast, and Maggie’s waffles are almost as good as mine.’

  Her shoulders had stiffened at his mention of Lou, but when she spoke, her voice was exceedingly reasonable. ‘It sounds like a good plan, Clay. Thank you.’

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before Lou did. She’s . . . well, subtlety isn’t her strong suit.’ He chanced putting his hands on her rigid shoulders and released a breath when she didn’t shake him off. ‘I should have realized that this situation would be even harder for you.’

  She went still. ‘Why even harder?’

  ‘Because you’re used to—’ Being on top, was what he almost said, but that put all kinds of pictures in his head. ‘Calling the shots,’ he said instead.

  Her self-denigrating laugh made him wince. ‘In other words, I’m a bossy bitch.’

  ‘I didn’t say that.’

  ‘It’s okay. It’s true. I suppose subtlety’s not my “strong suit” either. Well, at least you’re consistent in the type of women you’re attracted to.’ She squeezed the bridge of her nose. ‘God, now listen to me. That was just plain bitchy of me to say. And unfair. I’m sorry, Clay.’

  He lifted his brows. ‘Do I detect a little jealousy?’ It pleased him more than it should.

  ‘Wasn’t I supposed to feel jealous?’ she countered and he had to give her points for that.

&n
bsp; ‘That could have been Dad’s intent. You know, look what you passed up.’

  ‘She was your fiancée.’

  He heard the question even though she hadn’t technically asked one. ‘She dumped me six weeks before the wedding because she realized she didn’t love me the way she should have for that kind of commitment. She ended up marrying a doctor and they’re very happy. I kept thinking at the time that I should be more upset, but realized I was more relieved because I knew she was right. She just figured it out before I did. And had the courage to verbalize it.’

  She said nothing, but when he leaned right to see her profile, she was biting her lip. He wanted to take over that particular job for her. Instead, he gently kneaded her shoulders.

  ‘What’s bothering you, Stevie?’

  ‘I don’t know. I want to think I had the urge to claw her face off because she was bitchy to me. Because she was bitchy.’

  He leaned in close so that she could feel his breath against her neck. Her shiver did a whole helluva lot for his ego. ‘Agreed. But?’

  ‘No “buts”. None that I have a right to, anyway,’ she added under her breath.

  He wanted to thrust his fist to the sky, yelling in victory at the top of his lungs, but kept his voice husky as he grazed his lips against her skin. ‘Go ahead. Say what you want to say.’ He kissed the curve of her neck. ‘It’s just you and me here.’

  ‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ she muttered. But she let her head fall to the side, baring her neck for more, exhaling slowly when he complied. As if she’d been waiting. It was like a whip to his body, driving him to rush. To take. To feast. But he kept himself on a tight leash and was rewarded when she relaxed, her head rolling back to rest on his chest.

  ‘Humor me,’ he murmured, sliding his hands down her sides to cover her stomach as he continued to press soft kisses up her neck to her jaw. ‘You wanted to claw her face off. Why?’

  ‘I didn’t really want to claw,’ she said, her words thickening. ‘Maybe just a hard slap.’

  ‘Because we were engaged?’