Nowhere Safe

by Dianna Love

  Zane’s deep tan lost a shade at that. “I’ll call in a favor. Get her in protective custody.”

  Wrong response. “She won’t go for it.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Really? You don’t give a damn about how she feels or what’s important to her? You honestly only care about making yourself feel better?”

  Zane slammed a fist on the table and started to rise, then deflated. “Shit.” He sank against the back of the chair and swiped his hand across his face. “I have to live with not being there for her when she needed me. The world is an ugly place. I see it first hand every day.”

  “Me too. But she’s already seen her share. Take the choice away from her now and you’ll destroy her self-confidence when she’s working like hell to establish herself.” Josh caught himself, but he’d already argued more strongly than he’d intended. It should have been to keep Trish free for Slye Temp’s operation, but he’d meant what he said.

  Stowing her somewhere away from her business right now would be devastating. He understood Zane’s need to tuck Trish into a safe little hole and would help him put her there if not for the damage it would do to Trish’s self esteem. She was fighting to hold on to ReSolution, which stood for her future as a person. Not the money. Not celebrity status on the television show, but an icon of her independence and rebirth as a valued person.

  But if she had to remain free, Josh was going to be closer than her shadow every minute he could. Starting with tonight.

  He’d stay the night. The Chessmaster would have to go through him to get to Trish.

  But could he do it without finishing that sofa tango they’d started earlier?

  What had he just tried to remind Zane? She was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. He’d remind her that he was leaving in two weeks. If she gave him the green light again, he was hitting the accelerator.

  And that had nothing to do with this case.

  Just the fact that he wanted her.

  One question nagged at the back of his mind. If he got what he wanted, could he walk away in two weeks?

  Josh stood. “With this whole custody thing, I’m in a position to keep Trish safe without her knowing she’s being protected.”

  Zane got to his feet, standing a couple of inches taller than Josh and carrying another thirty pounds, none of which had gone to fat. He took Josh’s measure slowly. “You’re not gay are you?”“No.”

  Zane put his hands on the table, leaning forward in an aggressive stance and said very quietly, “If you lay a hand on my sister, I’ll break you into so many parts it will take tweezers to put you together.”

  “Trish will be safe.” But no promises about where he put his hands. Josh walked out, checking the time. Closing in on 1500 hours. He cleared a text from Ryder that the team was meeting at three at their temporary headquarters.

  Heidi had said she’d text him if Trish needed him before four. That gave him time to catch up with his team and get to Trish’s house.

  Salazar had been found with a slit throat this morning.

  He’d clutched a black-and-gold pawn that appeared to be from the same set as the one Trish had. The tracking device had been cut out of his back and laid on his chest.

  The Chessmaster had figured out that Salazar had been in on the trap. Josh took that action as the Chessmaster getting agitated and taking out pawns.

  One note had called Trish a pawn.

  His phone buzzed with a text. Heidi’s message was simple.

  Trish at shop. She knows about lunch w Leanne. Doesn’t want to c u.

  Chapter 30

  “Are you sure about traveling now with...” Heidi lowered her voice. “You-know-what going on?”

  Trish put down the inventory sheet she’d been trying to finish before getting out of here. She wanted to leave home by five to reach the airport early to go standby and that gave her an hour if she and Heidi left soon.

  “I know what you’re saying, Heidi, but I’ve spent the last seven months being careful and playing it safe.” And training with Arnie. “Where has safe gotten me? The police are still keeping a suspicious eye on ReSolution after the drug tip. I got knocked out and implicated in a murder, and the television producers aren’t returning my calls.” She hadn’t heard from Senator Dixon’s office so she hadn’t called. Best to let a sleeping dog lie.

  “Have you talked to Josh?”

  No. Just the idea of hearing his voice hurt so much she wouldn’t play the voice mail he’d left on her phone. She wanted to be the strong I-can-live-without-you type, but every time she thought about not seeing Josh again, it crushed her.

  “Did you talk to him?” Heidi repeated.

  Trish glared at her as an answer.

  “He may have a perfectly good reason for having lunch with Leanne. They do work together.”

  “He asked Rhonda out to dinner, too. He’s been here a while. Why all this now and not before?”

  “I don’t know, but I think you need to tell him you’re moving your flight. You know he intended to go with you.”

  Like hell. Thankfully, this conference and the hotel had been sold out for a long time and she had VIP status as a speaker. “No, he’s not going. He’s not my keeper.” He’s not my lover or the man who makes me smile or the one I thought I could trust. She’d thought he was all that this morning. She’d wanted him to go to Atlanta with her until she talked to Angel.

  “He sort of is your keeper since you’re in his custody.”

  Trish wanted to tell Heidi how all that was a sham, no more real than Josh was. “You know I’ve been training. I’ll watch my own back. I’m just as safe, maybe more so, in Atlanta.” And Josh wouldn’t be there to make her want to do crazy things like climb into the same bed with him.

  “Okay, but I’d feel better if at least I was with you. You did agree not to go alone.”

  That was when Trish thought she was dealing with an honorable person. “I know our business has died from all the bad press, but I don’t want to close the shop this weekend. Everyone will take that as a sign that I’m quitting. If you and Bunko will keep an eye on ReSolution, that would be the best help.”

  “Uh-oh,” Heidi worried out loud, eyes wide and looking past Trish.

  “What?” Trish turned to see what Heidi saw.

  Josh was striding toward them with a look of we’re-going-to-talk on his face. How could anyone that angry look gorgeous at the same time?

  “Things are going to hit the fan,” Heidi murmured.

  “And me with no fan.” Trish started backing away. She couldn’t handle a confrontation with Josh and not let him see the damage to her heart. “I’m going to my office and I don’t want to be bothered,” she rattled over her shoulder. Hiding might be cowardly, but she still had the headache from hell and was not up to facing Josh yet. She shut her office door with a decisive click and had just sat down behind her desk when Josh blew in like a tornado.

  “Can’t you knock and ask before walking in?” she demanded.

  “Not when I know you’ll tell me ‘no.’ We need to talk.”

  “No, we don’t.”“Oh, yes. About lunch...”

  She jumped up. “What you do is none of my business. You don’t owe me an explanation.” It wasn’t his fault her heart was twisted into a pretzel. He’d probably slept with plenty of women to get whatever information he needed. Why not Leanne? Trish wished she could feel that cavalier about it.

  “Just hear me out,” he said.

  “I don’t want to hear it.”

  AA

  Josh clenched his teeth. He would not lose his temper. Trish could be the most exasperating female sometimes–most of the time–but he was trained to deal with difficult people.

  Surely, he could manage one contrary woman. “Tough. I’m talking. You’re listening.”

  Trish flicked an index finger back and forth. “No. Here’s how this works. I don’t sleep around and this morning was a mistake. Mine. I gave the signal that I wanted you.
”

  Damn right she’d wanted him. “No argument there, because I wanted you, too.”

  Something flickered in her eyes that he’d like to call hope, but it disappeared too quickly for him to be sure. She strangled a pen in her right hand. “Regardless. I know better and also know that I’m a far cry from the type of woman you would get involved with.”

  Warning! Loaded comment. Open mouth. Insert foot. Move forward with great caution. “And what type is that?” he asked, carefully.

  “Leanne, for one. And there’s nothing wrong with her. I think she’s adorable. Senator’s daughter, gorgeous, everything any man could want,” Trish said with indifference as if she didn’t care, but the disappointment leaking into her voice countered that. With arms crossed, she was anything but receptive. “However, you have been exceptionally kind to me...” she continued.

  Kind? What the hell did she mean by that?

  “Hold everything, Trish. Just because I had lunch with Leanne doesn’t mean there’s anything between us. We work together. And, for your information, she’s far from the kind of woman I would be interested in.” Like you. She’s nothing like you.

  “Whatever. As I was saying, I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I would like to remain friends–”

  Ah, shit. Not the I-want-to-be-friends conversation. What had happened since this morning? How had she heard about his lunch date? Getting that information would take this conversation too far off track. He’d find out later.

  Okay, so he’d had lunch with Leanne on the heels of leaving Trish after giving her an out-of-body-experience orgasm. He could see where she might misinterpret his actions, but this was drastic.

  “–and I want to return the favor,” she finished, sitting up and putting her folded arms on the desk. All prim and proper again.

  He liked her mussed up and relaxed.

  Her offer did not sound like any favor he was going to appreciate. “Return what favor?”

  “Of being friends. When I get back from Atlanta, if Leanne doesn’t suit you I’ll help you find the right woman for the sort of friends-with-benefits relationship that will suit you. Your job probably doesn’t allow for much time to meet women.”

  He couldn’t decide if he was stunned more by Trish thinking she was going anywhere without him, what she wasn’t saying, or her ridiculous offer to help find him a woman.

  “We never discussed final plans for Atlanta. You don’t think you’re going without me, do you?”

  She turned into a ball of defiance. “I never agreed to your going to Atlanta with me.”

  “Then you’re not going.”

  “I’m speaking at a trade show. I have reservations and am expected.”

  “By yourself? With a lunatic stalking you? Are you nuts?” Yes, of course she was. First she offered him to another woman–dammit–then she had some hair-brained notion about going out of town on her own.

  “I’m not nuts. I’m in business. And how I run my business, and my life, is none of your business. If someone wanted to take a shot at me they could have done it at any time here.” Trish stood up and stormed across the room, to within one step of him. Heat, anger and–God help him–a delicious scent radiated off of her. The woman turned him on when she smiled, when she was quiet, when she raged at him.

  Hell, she rocked him in his sleep.

  “Listen, Trish. You can’t leave until I say so. That’s final.”

  “So now you’re going to pull your badass FBI card on me?” she asked, her voice low and full of menace. She definitely carried the Jackson genes. With another hundred pounds she’d be a serious threat.

  “No, I’m pulling the I-haven’t-told-your-brother-anything-about-the-stalker card. Haven’t told him yet.”

  “You wouldn’t.” She paled.

  He felt like the biggest jerk for using his ace, but her safety was more important at the moment. He’d soothe her later.

  “Yes, I would,” he assured her.

  “You promised not to. I trusted you.”

  Ah, man. She was killing him with that wounded puppy look. He hadn’t broken her trust. “Like I said, I haven’t said a word to Zane so don’t look at me like I’ve betrayed you.” Josh lifted his hand to her cheek, but she stepped back, her message very clear.

  Off limits.

  Okay, so he had a lot of soothing to do. “I said I wouldn’t tell Zane, but you promised not to take any chances.”

  She studied him for a minute. “Okay, you’re right. I did agree not to take any chances. I’ll keep my end of the deal if you’ll keep yours.”

  He paused at her quick agreement, but now was not the time to push her any harder. She’d settled down, even appeared mildly content. He might be able to fix her ruffled feathers over a nice dinner tonight, but right now he was running late for the damned meeting with Ryder and his team.

  What was another minute if he could just touch her? “I’ve got to run, but I’ll swing by later. Okay?”

  Her smile was tight, but a smile. She nodded.

  “We still have unfinished business.”

  She shrugged.

  Whipping her into his arms for a satisfying kiss was next on his “to do” list, but she wasn’t giving an inch until after some major peacemaking. What had she heard about his lunch that had set her off?

  He’d find out what was going on in his little hothead’s mind then get back to the spot where they left off this morning.

  When she’d kissed him.

  But he couldn’t fix this now.

  Josh opened the door and strode to the front.

  Trish followed him out. He’d just passed the register where Heidi tabulated figures when he heard Trish say, “Heidi, can you come to my office. I’ve had a change of plans.”

  That was more like it.

  An hour later with the team meeting over, Josh hadn’t been able to shake the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. Trish had thrown in the towel, just as any sane, cooperative woman would have.

  The exact reason he felt justified in being concerned.

  Trish Jackson, part sweetheart, part sex kitten, part hellion on wheels, didn’t capitulate that easily. Still, she was willing to do anything to keep Zane from finding out about the stalker.

  Even agreed to change her plans for the trade show.

  Josh slowed his Porsche as traffic bogged down on A1A. Annoying shards of light glinted off of the side mirror as the sun prepared to depart for the evening. The little voice in his head continued a non-stop commentary, telling him she’d agreed too quickly. Had he missed something?

  What exactly had she said?

  “Okay, you’re right. I did agree not to take any chances. I’ll keep my end of the deal if you’ll keep yours.”

  She hadn’t actually said she wasn’t going to Atlanta.

  Josh snatched his phone from the top of the console and dialed ReSolution. When Heidi answered, he asked for Trish.

  “She’s not here.”

  The back of his neck tingled. He felt something coming he would not be happy about. “Where’d she go?”

  “To pack for her trip. You know she has that trade show in Atlanta.”

  The little vixen. He wanted to strangle her. “No, well, yes, but not really.” Josh pounded the steering wheel. “I thought she changed her plans.”

  The stalker would never get a chance at Trish. Josh planned to ring her neck as soon as he got his hands on her.

  “She did,” Heidi said, giving him a moment of relief until she explained, “Trish was supposed to fly out early tomorrow, but she decided to go standby for a flight tonight. I just got a text that she made it on one leaving in fifty minutes.”

  The airport was forty-five minutes away...with green lights and if he pushed speed limits.

  Neither was a possibility with him sitting in parking lot traffic on the ocean side of the road.

  Chapter 31

  “What. Went. Wrong?” The General barked.

  Standing in an apartment near
South Beach that had more taste than character, The Chessmaster could tick off a list of things that had caused the High Vision contraband exchange to fall apart.

  But The General would only want to hear the bottom line.

  “Salazar tried to draw me into a trap. Someone with the task force had to be working with him.”

  “High Vision is extremely unhappy, which means I am, too.”

  And you think I’m dancing around? “I’m making changes that will take care of the problem. The next shipment will slide through untouched.”

  “What changes?” The General didn’t yell, but he ground out his words.

  “I took care of Salazar. I’ll find the person who helped him and deal with that, too.”

  “What about Jackson? Think he was the one helping Salazar?”

  “No, he wasn’t back in time from a flight to have been the one.”

  “How long before Jackson’s gone?”

  Was The General finally realizing that the Chessmaster was waiting until the last possible moment to take down Jackson and his sister? “As soon as you bring in the unit to test.”

  “I can’t have any screw ups on this sixth shipment.”

  I didn’t screw up you rat bastard. “There won’t be.”

  The Chessmaster disconnected the call and placed another one to someone in security at Miami Airport. “Has Trish Jackson passed through yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s all I need.”

  Chapter 32

  Trish had removed her necklace, earrings, watch, shoes–twice–and had her shoulder bag searched by the time she found her coach seat on the airplane. She’d just gotten comfortable with her e-reader when the flight attendant walked up and told her there had been a mistake with her seat, to please follow her.

  What else could happen today?

  Trish bundled up her things and dragged her carry-on back down the aisle, worming her way forward between passengers stowing luggage in the overhead bins. The flight attendant stopped in the twelve-seat first class section, empty except for one passenger on the far side in the third row.