“Then and before.”
Well, sure. He acted as if that were normal. “You could warn a person.”
“Time to move.”
She almost didn’t hear the whispered comment, but she did see the change come over him. It was as if he switched from being on watch to back to normal again, which made no sense to her at all.
“I think we should call it a night and go inside.” His voice picked up a bit in volume. Not enough to be obvious, but a slight beat or two more than before.
She’d rather go with that gun idea. “Absolutely.”
She pitched her voice nice and strong even as her insides shook. The touch of his hand right before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders helped. He guided them through the front door and inside. She didn’t remember moving until he shut the door behind her.
He reached down to his ankle and pulled up with a gun in his hand. That was when she noticed he held two. His dark eyes flashed with fire as he morphed from the calm guy standing outside, getting some air, back to the fierce protector. She approved of the change. And she finally got it. The last part had been an act to let whoever lingered out there think he was safe.
He handed her a gun. “You know how to use it?”
“Yes.” A whole range of guns. Guns, knives, some explosives. The New Foundations leadership didn’t bother with subtleties back when she got stuck up there. You learned how to fight because weak people were useless to the cause. She just never really understood what the cause was supposed to be.
As soon as the gun hit her palm, she checked it. The magazine, the chamber. This weapon didn’t belong to her, but she’d be able to pull the trigger. She was not afraid to do what had to be done to protect herself.
Holt positioned her in the doorway between the kitchen and the family room. She had her back against a solid wall and a clear view of the door and a patch of the front yard through the window within her line of sight.
This guy was good. He knew exactly how to keep on the offensive. She didn’t think she could find him more attractive, but in that moment she did.
“Stay here.” He held out a hand as if to keep her in place even though he never touched her. “Shoot anyone who is not me. Aim for the leg to make him hobble or the hand to make him drop the gun.”
That bordered on insulting. “I’m a better shot than that.”
“It’s a risk to keep the guy breathing, but I need him alive for questioning.” Holt delivered his comment and then slipped away from her.
For a big man, he moved without making a sound. Even the floorboards that usually creaked didn’t. He shifted and stalked around her furniture and through the room until he disappeared.
She had two choices—sit and wait or track and help. She’d made a vow to step in and not remain silent years ago. She followed it now.
As she reached her kitchen, then the back door of the cottage, she visually searched for him. He’d have to be running to be gone, but she couldn’t see him.
He’d congratulated her on her security system, then set up additional sensor lights that afternoon, insisting she had blind spots he needed to fix. One of those popped on behind the shed where she kept the lawn mower and other yard equipment.
She squinted, thinking she’d see movement. She could make out one dark blob...then another. They were nearly on top of each other.
She was halfway outside with the door banging behind her before she remembered Holt’s words: stay here.
Chapter Five
Holt heard the door slam a second before the sound of footsteps echoed around him. He focused, trying to pull the sounds apart. He had not one but two people out there with him in the dark. The only good news was that Lindsey was likely one of those people. He liked the odds of him against one attacker, but he hated the idea of her wandering into danger.
He ignored the sound of sneakers slipping against the wet grass and concentrated on what he could handle. Not her, but the man who had been lingering in the yard, hiding behind trees and leaning against the shed, while Holt watched him.
The guy had waited before moving in, but now he hid in that small building. The same one Lindsey said they used for storage. Holt would blow it up or drag him out. Whatever strategy would keep the guy from venturing near Lindsey worked for Holt.
But he had to move because even now she flew across the yard. She moved in a soundless blur. Once she got near him, whatever advantage he now held would be gone because she’d become his priority.
He signaled for her to stop but had no idea if she saw him. He didn’t wait.
Weapon up, he slunk around the outside of the building, crouching low and placing careful quiet footsteps. If the attacker shot through the wall, he should miss. Most people shot at standing height. Holt hovered well below that.
By the time he got to the door, Lindsey stood fewer than fifteen feet away. He motioned for her to stop, and this time her forward momentum slammed to a halt. She stood there, frozen.
He didn’t suffer from the same problem. He hit the watch alarm to bring Shane and Cam running. They’d come in stealth mode and assess the situation before doing anything that would derail the mission. They’d also make sure nothing happened to Lindsey if something did happen to him.
Then the silent countdown started. After one last glance at Lindsey to reassure himself she hadn’t moved, Holt took off. Rounded the corner and hit the doorway with his shoulder. A huge splintering crack ripped through the air around them. Wood shredded and what was left of the door bounced against the inside wall.
Holt caught the bounce with his hip and went in shouting. In two steps he bulldozed over the figure looming on the other side of the door. Momentum kept them moving. Holt didn’t stop until he had the man—and by the sheer size this was definitely a man—pinned against the riding lawn mower.
Holt had the guy’s back resting on the seat and his feet scraping against the ground as he tried to get his footing. But Holt didn’t give him the chance. He had wads of the guy’s shirt in his fists as he leaned in.
The guy’s fear hit Holt first. Panic and anger all wrapped up in one ball.
He flailed and called out, “Stop!”
The voice registered first. Holt recognized it as one of the attackers from last night. Holt could tie the guy back to the threats he’d overheard, then to the run on Lindsey’s house and now to her yard. The repeated shots took guts. It suggested a dangerous level of desperation.
“Grant?” Holt called up the name out of nowhere. Grant was the sidekick type. The guy who led with his fists because he lacked the intuition and skills to be at the top.
Lindsey’s foot hit the threshold. Then she rushed inside. “What’s going on?”
Time to play the role of disgruntled and concerned boyfriend. Holt didn’t have much experience with this, but he was just frustrated enough over Lindsey following him and walking straight into danger that he thought he could fake it. “Go inside.”
Grant tried to hold up one of his hands. “I can explain.”
Holt used his knee to pin one of Grant’s arms down. The steering wheel took care of the other. “Do it now.”
“I came looking for you.” The words rushed out of Grant as he stumbled to get them out.
“Why?” Holt angled his body so he stayed between Grant and Lindsey.
Grant might be shaking and stuttering now, but that all could be an act. The guy possessed one of those huge lurking frames, as if he could get into uniform and walk onto the front line of any professional football team and fit in. That didn’t mean he couldn’t fake it all.
“You’re supposed to be at the bunkhouse,” he said.
This was a new rule. Holt wondered who added it and why. “No one told me about any curfew.”
“There isn’t...” Grant exhaled as his head dropped back against the metal. “Can you let me up?”
“No.” That was just about the last thing Holt planned to do this evening.
Lindsey reached over, coming far
too close, and snatched the gun out of the large pocket of Grant’s jacket. “I agree. You stay pinned down until you tell us why you’re hanging out on my property.”
Something about seeing her there, amid the chaos and fighting, snapped Holt back into perspective. He didn’t need an arrest tonight. He needed an explanation.
“One more time.” Holt eased up on the grip around Grant’s neck.
“I can’t breathe.” He coughed, nearly doubling over.
Holt waited for Grant to stop with the theatrics.
“Again.” Never one for an overabundance of words, Holt stuck with that.
“When you’re new, the expectation is you’ll stay around the bunkhouse. You’ve been going out and I was asked to make sure you were okay.” The guy managed to shrug from his awkward position.
Holt wasn’t impressed. From the way Lindsey frowned it didn’t look as if she believed the line either.
“How did you know I was here?” Holt asked.
Grant smiled. “The leader sees all.”
Now was not the time for enlightenment nonsense. “Try again.”
“There are rumors about you and Ms. Pike.”
It all sounded rational except that it wasn’t. Holt didn’t see how there could be gossip about anything, since the whole fake boyfriend thing had only come up last night. “Why not tell me today when we were up at camp?”
Lindsey snorted. “And if your visit is fact-finding and innocent, why not come to my front door?”
Yeah, Holt liked her point even better. “Answer that one.”
He eased back so Grant could sit up. When he stopped there, Holt dragged the guy to his feet. He was younger and bigger but needed hours of training to be effective. Despite the time at the campground, from what Holt could see no one had taught Grant or anyone those skills. And Holt had no intention of doing it now.
Grant shrugged. “I didn’t know if the rumors were true. I was trying to double-check.”
Lindsey made a half-strangled noise. “By looking through windows?”
Holt had known she’d hate that, but the reality check could turn out to be a good thing. She needed to understand the danger and the players. Sometimes novices in matters like this caused the most trouble. He needed her protected and ready. Though the fury pounding off her suggested she could handle herself just fine.
“Maybe we should call in the sheriff,” Lindsey said, selling it as if she thought law enforcement might help when she clearly didn’t. “He’s looking into a break-in here.”
“That was not me.” Grant held up both hands. “Checking up on you, that’s all. I swear.”
As if that didn’t make it bad enough. Holt had no idea why this kid—and close-up, Holt could see he was just that, maybe in his midtwenties—thought that admission got him anywhere. At camp he was the gung-ho type. Tonight he cowered.
“Did someone tell you to come here?” Holt danced around the main question but wondered if he needed some work on the skills, since Lindsey flinched.
“No.” Grant didn’t break eye contact. Didn’t get fidgety. “It was my idea.”
Holt almost wondered if that was true. Anyone with true skills and experience would have come up with something better.
Backing away, Holt gave the guy a bit of breathing room. “I’m with Lindsey.”
She frowned at him. “With?”
Holt refused to believe she didn’t understand. “Dating.”
“You’re staying here?” Grant asked the question with a shake in his voice.
“The point is that you do not have her permission or mine to be around here.” Holt decided to shake the kid. Dropped his voice low and menacing and shot Grant an expression that promised pain. “If I find you here again I won’t need the sheriff. Do we understand each other?”
Grant didn’t say anything. Just stood there, wide-eyed and unmoving.
“To be clear.” Lindsey kept glaring at Grant. “I’ll shoot you.”
Holt had to smile at that. “Yes, she will.”
“Okay, I get it.” Grant swore under his breath. “Stay away.”
“Right.” Holt stepped back, leaving a slim trail for the guy to escape the shed. “Now go.”
Grant didn’t hesitate. He bolted around them, smacking into a ladder and running out before Holt could say anything else.
Quiet returned to the property as tension ramped up around them. Holt tried to find the right words to make her understand he was in charge, always and unquestionably.
She faced him. “That went well.”
With that the anger whooshed right out of him. Something about seeing her with the gun and knowing she could and would use it if necessary had him relaxing. This woman would not hide under a bed. If threatened she’d come out fighting.
She got hotter with each passing second.
But Grant wasn’t the only one who needed to “get” a few points. Holt needed Lindsey to get one major one, as well. “You were supposed to stay put.”
“You should know that’s not likely to ever happen.” She waved a hand in front of him, up and down his torso. “This bossing-people-around thing you do doesn’t work for me.”
Yeah, she’d made that clear. Looked as though he had to find a new way of handling her, because his usual skill set kept misfiring. “Noted.”
“We’re in this together.”
The words sent an odd sensation spinning through him. One he couldn’t pinpoint or identify. “On that subject.”
Wariness washed over her, changing everything from her facial expression to her stance. “I almost hate to ask, but what?”
Smart woman. “We’re about to get company.”
She looked around. “Another attacker?”
“No, but I’d say we have two seconds before you meet the rest of my team.” Not that he thought bringing them all together was a great idea. He just didn’t have a choice since he’d already sounded the silent alarm.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“From what I’ve seen, you can handle anything.” Including him...which scared him more than he wanted to admit.
* * *
SIMON PLANNED ON an evening of research. He had stacks of paperwork on Hank Fletcher. The guy left a trail. A difficult one, which was part of the reason Simon had thought the other man would fit in so well at New Foundations.
Give him a purpose and a home, build his confidence and loyalty. Hand him enough responsibility to feel secure, then begin to plant the seeds. Simon had been using the same system for years.
Some men took longer to convince. Some bought into the program from the beginning. No matter the amount of time it took, Simon won. The days of him waiting and following had long passed.
He had folders sitting on the edge of the desk. The content in front of him highlighted potential recruits. Most of the time people found their way to New Foundations without any help. The disenfranchised and disillusioned.
Every now and then they’d target someone and spend the time luring him or her, usually him, in. Simon set aside time tonight to analyze the people outlined in those folders, but Todd’s call interrupted his plans.
Todd and Grant stood in front of his desk. Todd, tall and sure and full of fury, while Grant looked down and shuffled his feet. Simon had heard the report, but he wanted the live version.
“What happened tonight?” When no one talked, Simon’s patience slipped. He looked from one to the other and settled on Grant. “Now.”
His breath came out in a gasp. Then he started talking. “I went to Ms. Pike’s house again.”
The words grated across Simon’s nerves. His orders had been clear. No one disobeyed his orders. “Why?”
“I thought I could gather some intel.” Grant lifted his head and didn’t break eye contact. “Show you what I could do.”
An interesting idea, but Simon already knew what needed to be done. He did not need assistance from a novice. “What made you think you were qualifie
d to devise strategy?”
Some of the color drained from Grant’s face. “I’ve been trained.”
Simon glanced at Todd. “Apparently not well enough, since this is your second failure in two days. Both of you.”
So much promise, but Grant continued to be a disappointment. Simon teamed him up with Todd, thinking the match made sense, but Todd taught by yelling and hitting. Grant didn’t appear to respond well to that tactic, which was unfortunate.
“Training or not, Hank found you and issued a threat,” Todd grumbled.
“I will hear the explanation from Grant.” Simon made a mental note that all the men needed a reminder lesson on boundaries. “Continue, Grant.”
“I thought I could slip in, watch and report back.” Grant shifted around, waved his hand. He’d gone from the collected man who welcomed the assignment of grabbing Lindsey to a man on the edge.
This would not do at all. Simon had no other choice but to make Grant an example. “But you did not ask my permission before acting. You know about the concept of chain of command from your time in the military.”
There was no room for independent thinking in this group. They had one leader. One agenda.
“I thought—”
Simon gritted his teeth. “Do not waste my time with justifications.”
All the life ran out of Grant. “No, sir.”
Seeing the big man humbled in front of him gave Simon an idea. Grant might not be useful as a follower. Somewhere along the line he’d developed this sense that he could make calls, which was absolutely not the case. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have a use.
“You’re dismissed. Go back to the bunkhouse.” Simon removed the man from his list of concerns with a flick of his hand. He turned to the man he normally could count on to get a job done. “Todd, you stay here.”
Todd kept his attention forward, never looking at Grant as he slunk away.
“He lied about leaving. I thought he was going back to the dining hall,” Todd said once the door closed behind him.
More excuses. Simon was not in the mood. “He was your responsibility.”
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