Nowhere Safe

by Dianna Love

  Love had never been a part of that equation.

  He’d cared for Chelsea, no doubt. Maybe he’d even loved her in a way, but still, it had been a friends-with-benefits arrangement.

  After listening to Trish’s impassioned declaration about protecting those she loved, what Josh and Chelsea had shared now sounded cold and empty. Nothing more than affection and a deal that would have filled a few lonely days in his life.

  But that was the life he’d chosen. It didn’t come with honest relationships. Or a woman who loved the way Trish did.

  So why were her words digging into his chest?

  Josh parked his rental car outside of the team’s hotel suite headquarters. He had no idea what rental vehicles Nick and Dingo were driving, but Ryder’s black pickup was parked two spots over. Josh had to talk to Sabrina before he met up with the rest of his team.

  He’d used the drive from Trish’s house to sort out what he’d learned.

  Trish was not the mole and a stalker was fixated on her. References to chess in the notes and the black rook Trish had found in her shop pointed at one person.

  The Chessmaster.

  He dug out his phone. As soon as Sabrina answered, Josh filled her in on everything that had happened, summing it all up with, “Trish is the Chessmaster’s pawn and I don’t think she has any idea that her stalker is linked to the DEA mole.”

  Sabrina said, “You may be right, but that doesn’t mean Zane is innocent until we figure out how everyone is connected.”

  “But would Zane terrorize his own sister?”

  “He may not be the Chessmaster, but there has to be a reason Trish is being stalked. That points a finger at Zane’s involvement. And he returned early tonight.”

  Trish’s brother had sounded sincere when he told Josh he’d come home early for his pregnant wife and that could be confirmed. Probably had been by now. If Josh argued in favor of Zane at this point, Sabrina would become suspicious of Josh’s ability to be objective.

  That she’d have a point didn’t make it any better.

  Sabrina broke him out of his thoughts by saying, “This is perfect.”

  “What is?”

  “You kidding me? I would have thought you’d be the first to realize that Trish is the perfect bait. She’s clueless about what you do and she’s in your custody. I’ll make some calls and keep Vickers off your ass.”

  What? He clamped his jaw shut from yelling at her that he was not putting Trish in danger.

  Wouldn’t that go over well?

  Sabrina would demand he back away so she could put someone else in his place. That was a battle he didn’t want to have with her. He wasn’t going anywhere and realized the quiet gap that had ensued meant she expected him to buck her plan.

  He snorted as if she’d said something ridiculous. “Of course, I plan to use Trish as bait.” He paused after that screaming lie. “I thought you were excited because you had more intel.”

  That must have convinced her, because Sabrina launched into strategizing. “Give Trish enough space for the Chessmaster to stay in contact, and set up a tap on Trish’s cell phone so we can intercept the texts.”

  “I’m on it,” he said, as if the idea was already in motion then moved on to a new subject. He didn’t want to wait on Ryder to fill him in on tonight. “What’d you hear from the team?”

  “Ryder thought he was screwed when he ran into Zane Jackson at the airfield much earlier than anyone expected.”

  “From what I understand, Jackson came back early tonight because his wife went into premature labor.”

  “That’s what Jackson said, too, but Ryder used that to his advantage. He told Jackson he’d gotten a tip and wanted to borrow a van to see if it panned out. Zane gave him the okay and left. Told you Ryder was going to be an asset.”

  Score one for the FNG, but Josh wasn’t interested in hearing Sabrina sing Ryder’s praises. “What happened tonight?”

  “Ryder’s van got heisted, as planned. He and Nick followed it to a new meet spot. Dingo observed the DEA team at the place Salazar was supposed to have picked up High Vision’s contraband, but no baddies showed. Ryder called the DEA team and informed them he’d tracked the van to the new drop point. The team showed up and made the bust.”

  “So does that mean the next shipment will be that all-important last one?”

  “I don’t know,” Sabrina answered, taking a minute. “We’re going to have to move forward based on thinking the next shipment is the one and that it’s not going to be drugs. Rikker didn’t make contact this time with Salazar.”

  “Who contacted Salazar with a tip on the DEA bust?”

  “He told the DEA his contact was a street kid who said he’d been grabbed with a sack over his head and instructed to deliver a message to Salazar. Kid said the person’s voice sounded like a machine. He was given directions then told he’d be dropped on the sidewalk a block from the meet point and to count to twenty before he pulled off the sack or he’d die.”

  But the Chessmaster had been outsmarted tonight. Something Sabrina had mentioned raised a new concern for Josh. “Do you think Rikker’s moved on already?”

  “No. He was on site for weeks to months before each of those three prior attacks. If he wasn’t involved tonight, I’m thinking it’s because he suspected a trap, which it was. Don’t forget that Rikker is former CIA. He wouldn’t just accept that Salazar had gone missing because he’d been spooked when his people were captured during the last bust.”

  “I’m not as quick to use the word former,” Josh countered. “But I agree with your thinking.” If Sabrina took offense to Josh’s insinuation that Gage Laughton had given her a load of bullshit, she didn’t say. He hoped she was right about Rikker staying in the area.

  “Sounds like you’ve gotten close to Trish in a short time. Nice job.” Sabrina let a couple beats pass then added, “You’re good with this bait set-up, right?”

  He still wanted to hurt someone over the terror Trish had been enduring. His chest was tight every time he thought of her in danger and the idea of dangling Trish as bait was ripping his insides up, but when he answered Sabrina his voice was as hard and smooth as polished marble. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Good. Call me if anything changes.”

  Josh got out of the car. On his way across the paved lot, Trish’s face floated behind his eyes. She’d been an easy read at his mention of an appointment tonight.

  She thought he was leaving her to see another woman.

  An insignificant betrayal compared to the truth that he and his team would be using her. He was disgusted at his role, which made no sense. This was what he did and who he was. But he had a real concern about this bait plan ending badly.

  He’d see it through, but he’d make damned sure Trish was safe the whole time. The danger would be doing that and keeping an emotional distance from Trish, but getting involved with a woman had made sense only once in his life. He couldn’t be with a civilian. Chelsea would never have expected to know all his secrets. She would’ve been content with living on the periphery of his life and he would have been as content with a slice of hers.

  Trish was the kind of woman who would expect full disclosure. The kind that Uncle Ty had warned Josh not to ever get involved with, because this business punished a man who did. Uncle Ty would roll over in his grave if he knew how much Josh had wanted to stay with Trish tonight.

  Trish pulled at him, but she’d never fit into the neat little relationship design Josh had thought to have with Chelsea. Trish would want to know everything about him. No woman could know his true identity. Over the years he’d shielded himself, first so that their money wouldn’t make him a target, then later he’d put layers of protection around his identity to protect his parents from someone who might retaliate against him by harming them.

  Back in the UK, Mendelson had thought he was clever when he’d called Josh by his legal last name of Carrington. But that was only the name he claimed as a legal identity,
something that would not lead back to his parents.

  He’d accepted the limitations of the undercover world when he’d entered it. Duty always came first.

  His work was the only life he’d ever have. The sooner he got that straight, the easier this mission would be to complete.

  Sounded good on paper until his conscience raised its ugly head and laughed at him.

  Chapter 26

  A blade of sunlight slashed through barely parted drapes, sparking pain in Trish’s temple. Her head throbbed, but not as badly as yesterday.

  She’d survive this–had survived worse headaches from hangovers. Aspirin would be nice.

  A shot of Woodford Reserve would, too.

  Her sleep-heavy gaze paused on a note propped against the lamp on her nightstand. White, not gray. Her pulse calmed.

  Heidi’s scrawled handwriting told her to rest some more and she’d be in touch about lunch.

  Trish pushed up to a sitting position and waited until stars stopped showering past her eyes and her head eased to a dull ache. She made the trek to the bathroom and cursed whoever had created mirrors.

  God, she looked awful. A purplish welt decorated the side of her face at her hairline. She hadn’t blow-dried her hair after showering last night. Dragging a wiry brush through the tangle of black curls would be masochistic torture. Pass.

  She washed her face and brushed her teeth. Changing from the bikini panties and sleeveless cut-off tank top that stopped just below her breasts would take more energy than she could muster. After carefully finger-combing her hair, she pulled on a short silk kimono and trudged down the hall. She threw a quick look at the front door, glad to see it bolted.

  No boogieman coming in that way.

  No sizzling blue eyes in the living room either.

  She deliberated between being disappointed Josh had a late night appointment and relief he hadn’t returned to see her this morning as promised. This way she could regroup. Staying a step ahead of him when she was on top of her game was tough enough. Today she felt more like she’d been sidelined after getting hit by a two-hundred-pound tackle.

  Trish sniffed the air.

  Could it be? The rich aroma of fresh coffee beckoned her.

  Bless Heidi who deserved a BFF award.

  Trish shuffled to the kitchen, eyes drawn to the almost full pot. Yawning, Trish stretched and twisted then leaned her head against the cabinet and poured a cup of the steaming brew.

  Staying home alone would do her good. She had to sort out her feelings about Josh and figure out how she was going to convince him to let her function without him hovering.

  AA

  Josh sat in a dark corner of the breakfast area just off of Trish’s kitchen where he’d closed all the blinds to prevent any snooping media from looking in. As a street urchin, dark areas had meant safety, so he gravitated to dark for relaxing as an adult.

  This had been restful until Trish shuffled into the kitchen.

  Josh almost dropped his mug of coffee. He’d heard her coming up the hall and hadn’t called out for fear of frightening her.

  No chance of calling out now. He couldn’t breathe.

  She had on a kimono. Sort of.

  The thing was shorter than a miniskirt and gapped open and...

  Air had locked in his lungs the minute all that exposed skin wandered into view. Where were her clothes? Not that he was complaining, but damn, the woman was practically stripped.

  Finishing the job wouldn’t take much.

  He’d volunteer.

  When Heidi had let him in earlier, Josh had thought the breakfast area would be a safe zone to wait for Trish to wake up. No such thing as a safe zone with this woman. A red alarm light should flash before she entered a room to warn a man of imminent attack on his peace of mind.

  Trish poured her coffee then paused to stretch and the kimono dropped down on one shoulder. Her skimpy shirt rode high, then higher, and she shifted until he had a nice view of her sweet bottom.

  A perfect place for each hand.

  He flexed his fingers, trying not to think about all that creamy skin so close.

  His body clenched at the idea of touching so much softness. He let out the breath trapped in his lungs before he passed out. Now what was he going to do? The longer he sat here like a voyeur, the deeper in trouble he’d be as soon as she discovered him. But, man, was she hot. With her mussed hair and sleepy, half-awake look, she could have just rolled over from a draining night of lovemaking.

  She yawned. Well, a yawn would have been all right, but not the torso-twisting stretch that followed. Now he had a nice side view. When she lifted her arms above her head and arched back, the slip of material she wore for a shirt skimmed closer to uncovering a handful of breast.

  He remembered exactly what a handful of Trish had felt like.

  Sitting here was getting damned uncomfortable.

  If she extended her arms up another inch, both nipples would flip out below the taut edge of material.

  A jackhammer pulse thrummed in his crotch. He tried to swallow, but couldn’t with his throat as parched as an Arizona butte in August. He gave the back door exit consideration. If he slipped out and walked around to the front then knocked, she’d never know he’d been in here the whole time.

  Yeah, that might work.

  Except for the dog. Heidi said a pet called Dazzle was in the backyard. Well, hell.

  The doorbell chimed.

  Trish turned her head toward the front door and frowned.

  No, Trish, don’t answer the...

  She abandoned her cup, heading for the front door.

  And killing his chance for a clean getaway.

  Damn. Josh jumped up, rushing after her. What the hell is she thinking? Half asleep, she wasn’t thinking. She had no idea who was at the door. Regardless, whoever kept ringing the doorbell was not going to see her dressed like that.

  Her hand touched the knob.

  “Don’t open that,” he ordered a step behind her.

  She shrieked and swung around, falling backwards into the corner with her hand over her chest and snapped, “Where’d you come from?”

  “Happy to see me, are you?” Josh reached the door and snatched it open to a grinning man who might as well have had MEDIA tattooed on his forehead.

  “Go. Away,” Josh warned, “or I’ll have the police pick you up for trespassing.” He stopped short of slamming the door out of consideration for Trish, but shut and locked it. Then took a breath and looked over at her.

  His gaze traveled down to her navel ring.

  That pumped another jolt of happy juice into the erection he was trying his best to keep turned away from her.

  Her lips were soft and plump, begging to be kissed and he wanted to accommodate her.

  Josh closed his eyes. Try thinking like a man who’s here to protect her. Not some hound trying to get her flat on her back. He opened his eyes to find Trish still tucked in the corner, but she’d wrapped the kimono across her body and tied the belt.

  What a shame.

  She stared past him at the kitchen. “Where were you?”

  Screwed, but not as much as I am now. “Sorry to scare you,” he said. “Heidi let me in. I was in the breakfast nook, off to the side, catching a few Zs.” Change the topic now. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Oh, uh, fine.” She sidestepped toward the hall. “I’m, uh, going to go change. I’ll be right back.” She left the room. More like raced from the room.

  Thank you, God, for small miracles.

  If she’d stayed another minute, he’d have kissed her, starting at her navel.

  He needed to get laid, but he hadn’t been interested in any women he could’ve actually had in a long while. The pisser was that he only wanted one woman right now. The one he had to keep his hands off of for any hope of remaining even marginally objective on this mission.

  One benefit of scaring her half to death was that she hadn’t asked him where he’d gone last night.

&nb
sp; Josh returned to the relative safety of the kitchen, still in a painful state of arousal. Had to deal with that first.

  He thought about standing naked, chest high in snow. Thinking about that had worked in the past.

  A minute went by.. Nope. Not helping so far. Superimposed on the snow was the image of Trish, clad in next to nothing.

  Apparently the vision was permanently etched in his mind. Trish mere inches away and wearing less material than he used to clean his laptop screen.

  He started writing computer code in his mind, which worked as well as counting sheep most nights. His body began to relax. When she came back out, he’d be ready. He’d have everything under control.

  She’d just caught him off guard. Wouldn’t happen again.

  AA

  Trish dashed into her bedroom and shut the door. Her heart pounded against her chest. Josh had scared a year off her life, but that had nothing to do with her blood pressure shooting off the charts. She slumped to the bed.

  Get a grip. He hadn’t even touched her this time.

  None of her body was going to settle down with Josh still out there, alone, looking like ten shades of wonderful.

  How did he do that this early in the morning?

  She needed to get her head on straight. Last night her heart had said she could trust Josh, but she’d been shaken. Vulnerable. In the cold light of day, common sense and hard experience reasserted itself. Handsome men, especially those who came from money, and Josh obviously did, were nothing but dangerous. They all had hidden agendas. Hadn’t she learned that in the most brutal way imaginable?

  She’d been so easy when she was younger. Some sexy guy with a flashy lifestyle would start flirting, buy her a few drinks and she’d follow him home. Not because she truly loved him, but because of her pitiful need to be loved.

  The one who’d beaten her within an inch of her life hadn’t even had money. He’d just looked the part. But she’d been so drunk by the time he took her to a cheap hotel that she hadn’t even protested. Then his idea of rough sex involved her spending the next two weeks in a hospital.