by Lexi Blake
“That guy stole my phone. I’m going after him.”
Erin got a hand on her elbow. “No, you’re not.” She looked back in the restaurant. “I’m going to kill Murdoch. He was supposed to be watching you.”
“Why? I thought he was here to make sure we could have a few cocktails with lunch.”
“Go and find them,” Erin ordered. “I’ll see if I can nab the guy who took your phone. What did he look like?”
“He was wearing a black hoodie. About five foot nine, big build. I didn’t see his skin tone. I should come with you.”
“No. Stay here. Ten’s orders are for me to keep you safe. Do it.”
“I already called security.” Jesse Murdoch had a nice pink flush to his face. “Sorry, Erin. I thought she was walking into the lobby and then I got a call from Tag. I took eyes off her a minute and then it was too late.”
Erin sent him a look that could have frozen fire and took off toward the parking lot in the general direction the thief had run.
It looked like her life wasn’t so far from the one with her father as she would like. She stared at Murdoch for a moment. “Are you supposed to be watching me?”
Ten had told her the whole thing was over. The guy who had tried to hurt her had been a lone crazy person.
Then why would he send one of his friends to watch her?
Murdoch shook his head. “It’s not like that. I was watching all three of you. I took responsibility for all three of you when I agreed to be the driver. Phoebe’s my wife, but you and Erin belong to my friends. I know you don’t understand the military, but Ten and Theo are my brothers. I watch out for their women. The only reason I’m letting Erin go off after the guy is she’s trained, and she would probably put me on my ass if I tried to stop her.”
It was perfectly reasonable. So why was she suspicious?
And why was that phone call from her father still nagging at her?
A uniformed security officer rolled up in a golf cart. “You Murdoch?”
Jesse nodded and started to take care of the official details.
Phoebe stood beside her. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I meant to make this day a bonding experience. I’m just worried about my brother.”
Some of the words Phoebe had said previously were penetrating her brain. It had been an awkward talk, but she understood Ten better now. After everything he’d been through, he might require more patience than other men, more time.
Or he might be a lost cause. God, she hated those since she never seemed to be able to let go of them.
She sighed and put an arm around Ten’s sister. “I’m never uncomfortable.”
It was a lie, but only a tiny one, and most of the time it was true. Seeing the things she’d seen it was hard to get truly uncomfortable in a situation where no one was trying to kill her.
“I like your brother,” she assured Phoebe.
Phoebe leaned in, obviously happy with the affection and willing to give it back. “I’m glad because he likes you, too. I like you, Faith. I think you could do a world of good for him.”
Despite the clusterfuck of the last twenty minutes, the world seemed a bit brighter. Doing good was kind of her stock-in-trade.
She let Jesse handle the details and wondered how Ten would take the news.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Are you still mad?”
Ten turned and saw Faith in the doorway to the bedroom. She was wearing one of his shirts and looking so fuckable he could hardly breathe. “I was never mad at you.”
He might crush his brother-in-law’s balls however. Apparently everyone had gotten upset over some conversation the girls had been having and Jesse had allowed Faith to walk out of the damn restaurant.
“It’s all right. Now I have a new phone and that guy Hutch said he would make it so no one could use the old one. He’s a weird guy. I offered to pay him but he wanted Red Vines from the corner store. That was all.”
“He’s never gotten over his smoking habit. He simply traded cigarettes for candy.” One habit for another. No one ever really got over their addictions. “And I’m glad you like the new phone.”
She thought it had been a crime of opportunity. He wasn’t so sure about that. Erin had missed catching the guy in his car, but managed to get a plate. Naturally it showed up as stolen.
“I got it just in time, too.” She walked in, a brush in hand, running it through her silky strands. “That was the lab. Apparently my flu vaccine was actually flu vaccine.”
He stopped. This was the first he’d heard about a lab. “What do you mean? Why would it be something else? You sent your vaccines to a lab?”
She sat down on the bed. It was a massive king-sized thing Phoebe had ordered for him when he realized he would be staying in Dallas for several months. He never stayed in one place for too long. At first the condo had been stifling, a symbol of all the freedom he’d lost when McDonald had him burned. Now, it felt cozy. Nice. Now Faith had places she liked to sit and her side of the bed. Now when he looked around, he saw her.
“I got somewhat suspicious,” she explained. “Paranoid, as it turns out. Several of the patients I vaccinated in the last year came in complaining about odd side effects. Memory issues.”
“They lost time?” There were certainly drugs that could do that.
“No. It was weirder than loss. It was like time had slowed down for them. They thought more time had passed than actually had. The effect went away after a few days.”
“Some form of group dementia?”
Faith shook her head in the negative. “No. They were lucid. And these weren’t the types of people to take drugs. I have to wonder if something didn’t get into the water. If I have the time, I’ll do a study of it when I get back because it obviously wasn’t the vaccine.”
Everything seemed to revolve around that damn flu vaccine. He’d dismissed it when he found out the Ukrainian was no longer working for the syndicate, but now it seemed to be back in play. Or he was grasping at straws. “The vaccine was from Kronberg? Where your sister works?”
“Yes. My father will be thrilled to know there wasn’t anything wrong with it. Kronberg is a big supporter, naturally.”
Kronberg was also very likely a company involved in The Collective. His mind whirled, putting pieces together. “Do you trust this lab?”
“Sure. It’s a highly respected lab.”
“Darlin’, was the name of the lab in your phone?”
Her eyes widened. “Yes. Why would you ask that?” The brush fell out of her hand. “She would tell me. That’s what you think, right? My sister showed up unannounced. She asked me a bunch of questions about the vaccine. Then someone steals my phone. Those things aren’t necessarily connected. We have this saying we learn in med school, Ten. When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. Well, unless you’re in Africa. Then I can think zebras. The point is, the simplest solution is almost always right.”
“Theo’s house was broken into the first night we went to Sanctum, and the only thing the robber was interested in was the guest room.” He saw the opportunity. It was right there and he wasn’t even considering letting it get past him.
Her eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
“So that’s why Jesse was really with us today. You don’t think this is over at all. How about yesterday when I went to the store?”
“I was behind you the whole time. I shadowed you. Faith, I’m sorry and I was probably wrong, but I didn’t want you to be afraid. I wouldn’t have allowed anything bad to happen to you, but I also didn’t want to ruin our time together with fear. I couldn’t be sure the two events were actually connected, but three times really is the charm.” He didn’t believe in coincidence. He believed in conspiracies because he’d seen them time and time and time again. If Faith’s sister was involved, then Kronberg was involved, and that meant he had a clear connection between The Collective and Hank McDonald.
“The lab says the vaccine is fine,” Faith insisted. “They sent me a chemical breakdown of all components. I checked it. Everything looks perfect.”
She was missing a few key facts. “Yes, they sent that a few hours after your phone and all the data on it was stolen. Did you tell your sister the name of the lab while she was here?”
Her mouth closed, lips turning stubborn.
“Faith?”
“No. All right. No and I didn’t tell her because I didn’t trust her not to bribe the lab if the results made her company look bad. My sister is all about the bottom line. If she thought her precious research was in jeopardy, she would do almost anything.”
“Even have you killed?”
The room went dangerously quiet for a moment. Faith took a deep breath before she continued. “Don’t be ridiculous. I thought you said the guy who attacked me at Neiman’s was someone who hated my father.”
He had to step delicately here. “He was, but it would only have taken a nudge to set him off, and no one knew where you were. How did the nutjob know where you were?”
“I don’t know.”
“What exactly did he say when he was trying to take you?”
She rubbed her forehead as though the entire conversation was giving her a headache. “He said he wanted information and he had something I needed to understand. He said when he was satisfied, he would let me go.”
Actually, now it was all coming into focus. What if it wasn’t the mob that was concerned about the vaccines? What if it was Kronberg? Had that first hit man been sent to kill Faith? Or get information about the lab so they could manipulate the results? What if this latest incident was simply a subtler play at getting what Hope had wanted all along? “How did your sister know where to find you?”
Her face had gone a bit ashen. “She had a tracer app on my phone. Ten, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. I’m going to call her.”
He moved to stop her from going for her phone. “Do you honestly think she’s going to tell you everything?”
Faith glared up at him. “I think she’s my sister and she better tell me what the hell is going on.”
“She’s also a politician’s daughter and she can talk her way out of anything. She’s likely very good at not incriminating herself. Faith, if you want to find out what happened to your patients, you have to let me investigate. If you let Hope have even an inkling that you think something’s up, she’ll bury all the evidence and you won’t ever know.”
She stood there, staring up at him, and he wondered if he hadn’t made a huge mistake. He put his hands on her shoulders, willing her to listen to him. Maybe if she listened about her sister, she could believe him when he told her about her father.
After a moment, she stepped back, her eyes sliding away from his. “You’re insane and I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
She walked into the bathroom they’d shared and shut the door. He heard the audible click of the lock.
It was laid out, a clear line from incident to incident. Faith was a logical woman with a brilliant mind. But she was like the rest. She chose family.
His mind immediately slid away from the ramifications of her choice. It didn’t matter. If she wouldn’t get him on the island, then he would find a way. There was always another way. He had assets already on the island. Markovic and Des were there. He wouldn’t be able to get onto the grounds himself likely, not by any legal means, but there was always a way. During Faith’s birthday bash, they would have to hire outside caterers and waitstaff. That might be his way in.
He needed to know the security around the building.
He would try harder.
Ten walked out of the bedroom, leaving it to her. It was late and she wouldn’t be able to leave until the morning. He strode down the hall to the second bedroom. Phoebe had set it up as an office for him. There was a secure computer and all of his intelligence. He wouldn’t get any sleep tonight so he could use the time to start digging deeper into Kronberg. They were the key.
He sat down behind the desk and stared at the screen, his hands not moving.
Faith was going to leave him. She would walk away and never think twice about it because he hadn’t really meant anything to her. He’d been a convenient lay and good with a crop. She liked the crop.
The door to the office came open and she was standing there, still dressed in nothing but his oversized shirt. It hung down to her knees. He’d seen her naked and in next to nothing. The girl had some seriously sexy lingerie. So why did the sight of her in his shirt do something funny to his insides?
“Ten, we should talk,” she said in a quiet voice.
There really wasn’t any reason to piss her off more than he already had. It was over. He’d fucked up. He’d pushed too hard when he knew he’d needed a delicate hand. Now wasn’t the time to argue or make a fuss.
“I’ll sleep on the couch tonight unless you would rather go back to Theo and Erin’s. I can drive you.”
Her face fell. “You want me to leave?”
He looked back down at his computer screen. “You certainly don’t have to. Like I said, take the bed. I’ve got a ton of work I need to get through.”
Faith sighed and walked into the room, standing in front of the desk. “Ten, I’m sorry. I was harsh. I know my sister can be a lot to take. She’s not the easiest person to get along with. She was probably rude to you.”
He composed himself. It looked like she wasn’t ready to get rid of him. There were a couple of weeks left on their contract, and it would likely be difficult to find another Dom. He might still pull this back. “Not at all. I don’t have feelings about your sister one way or another. I was simply putting things together in my head. You’re the expert here. If you say it isn’t possible, then I’ll drop it.”
“She wouldn’t hurt me,” Faith explained. “It was all coincidence. Besides, it all turns out to be for nothing because the vaccine was exactly what it was supposed to be.”
Unless her sister had gotten the name of the lab and bribed or coerced them to change the results. He kept that bit of logic to himself. She wouldn’t want to hear it. She’d made up her mind. He had to be satisfied with the fact that it didn’t seem she was going to turn out her temporary Dom.
Cold. He felt freaking cold.
Why had he pushed?
“You’re right.” It was time to smooth everything over and get her back into bed. Once he was inside her, giving her as much pleasure as she could take, she would let the last few minutes go and they would be right back where they needed to be. He would convince her to go to the islands in a few days instead of weeks and they could get this whole thing over with. He would investigate the sister, of course. He was right about her. And he’d been right about Faith. She chose her family and would do it again. “I’ve been working this job for far too long. I won’t mention it again.”
Her teeth worried her bottom lip. “You don’t understand my family.”
“No, I don’t.” He should move close to her, overwhelm her. So why did he find himself stuck in his chair? “I’m going to clean up some paperwork. You should rest. If you’re still interested, we’ve been invited to a private session at Sanctum on Monday. Think about it.”
“Please don’t push me away.”
He stopped. “I’m not pushing you away. I’m going to get some work done. Go to sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”
He felt her hand on his back and heard her sigh. “You are pushing me away, Ten. I know you were only looking out for me. I came off as harsh, but I wasn’t judging you. Can I think about what you’ve said? Do I always have to agree with you?”
He didn’t like anything about this conversation. He’d rather be anywhere but here with this nasty, restless feeling roiling in his gut. Why wouldn’t she leave well enough alone? “Feel free to think about what I said, but also know that I won’t mention it again.” He forced a smile on his face. “Hey, we’re just having a good time. I apologize for making you uncomf
ortable.”
Her hands were fists at her sides. “God, you’re making me crazy is what you’re doing. Stop. Stop with the whole thing. Do you think I don’t know what you’re doing? You’re placating me. I don’t want that.”
“I’ve apologized,” he said, his voice going cold. “What more do you want from me? Perhaps you should think about it and write out a list so you don’t forget.”
“Well, at least that’s honest,” she shot back. “You’re mad. You’re pissed off that I put myself in danger again and now I won’t listen to you.”
“Don’t forget the fact that you questioned my intelligence.” Really more like his sanity, but hey, he wasn’t being picky.
She nodded. “I did. I did all those things and if you had tried to tell me how to treat a patient, I would have told you to go to hell. I tried to tell you how to do your job.”
He attempted to relax. He didn’t want to escalate past where they were. He was angry about a lot of things she couldn’t really control. “You’re not my client. How about we agree to leave business out of things. I’ll back off.”
“You won’t. You’ll be more careful next time though.” She eased her way around the desk. “If you really think I’m in danger, you’ll do whatever it takes to protect me.”
He moved back, sliding the chair away from the desk so he could face her. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
She took advantage, easing down into his lap. His cock responded immediately, lengthening, hardening, preparing for her. She looked up at him, those innocent eyes kicking him in the gut. “I think I know you pretty well. You’re one of the good guys.”
She was either incredibly naïve or she knew exactly what to say. No. She was naïve. He was going to stop fooling himself. She wasn’t involved. She wasn’t some agent who would stab him on the way out the door. She wasn’t Dawn. She was Faith, and despite the fact that she would pick her family over him, he didn’t want to see her hurt.
“The fact that you can say that proves you don’t know me at all, darlin’. I’m not a good man, but I’m your man for as long as you want me.”