Red Sole Clues

by Liliana Hart

  The sound of a siren played in the distance, but it sounded far away. Too far. Then the banging stopped, a jarring silence after the shaking of the door from Ryan’s blows. Lily strained to listen, but heard nothing more than the pounding of blood in her veins and her own gulping breaths as she tried to steady her breathing. And now she did curl up. She crawled into the corner of the small room and lay on her side, her arms wrapped tight around her knees, and cried.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Time couldn’t move fast enough as Carter and Danny entered Lily’s home. He had backup coming from across town, but he and Danny couldn’t wait for that. They moved in tandem as they pushed into the house. The blood damn near brought him to his knees. He could see into the open kitchen where the largest of the pools of blood began, but it didn’t end there. A trail led them through the living room and up the stairs. They moved, communicating with hand signals and the shared experience of officers who had worked together in high-stakes situations before, following the trail of evidence.

  When they reached the top of the steps, they found more blood outside a closed door. The sound of Lily crying reached him through the door and his heart shattered. It took all of his training to keep his head clear as he and Danny communicated. Danny covered him as Carter kicked—once, twice—as he heard Lily scream. He only prayed she was screaming because of their efforts to breach the door, not because Ryan was still in there hurting her. If he was too late…

  The door gave way and Carter entered the small room, eyes finding Lily immediately. He didn’t waste time, pulling her into his arms and rocking her.

  “I’m here, baby. You’re all right.” Carter repeated the words over and over, cradling her as he listened to their backup arrive and Danny take over the scene, clearing the house with the arriving officers. Carter’s hands ran over Lily. No major injuries that he could find. The blood painting the house must be Ryan’s. As he took in the bruises blooming on her face, he was glad she’d made the guy bleed. He hoped she’d gutted him. The bastard had put his hands on Lily. He deserved a whole hell of a lot worse than gutting.

  “No sign of him, boss,” Danny reported quietly from the doorway to the bathroom. “EMTs are on the way. Two minutes out.”

  Carter nodded, all the while continuing to cradle the woman in his arms. The minute he’d gotten to her, he’d ceased to be on duty. He was staying with her. No way in hell he’d let her go or leave her side now.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carter let his thumb play over Lily’s wrist as she slept. He was trying to stay as still and quiet as he could as she rested in the hospital bed, but he needed at least one point of contact. When he’d taken stock of the scene at her house, his blood ran cold. It looked like something out of a horror movie. The thought of what could have happened to her if she hadn’t been sharp enough to fight back terrified him. Where she’d found the strength, he didn’t know, but he respected the hell out of her for it.

  Ryan hadn’t been a very large man, but he still outweighed Lily by a lot.

  Lily startled awake with a sudden gasp and looked at Carter, wild-eyed. He shushed her immediately, drawing closer to hold her as she shook.

  “Shh. He’s gone, honey. He’s not here. You’re safe.”

  It broke his heart when she cried, but he held her, knowing she probably had to get it out. He had no idea what to say or do for her other than hold her. She knew they’d found Ryan’s body. When she woke the last time, he told her his deputies had discovered Ryan’s car on the shoulder of the road about three minutes from her house. He’d likely lost consciousness due to blood loss and had driven his car into a giant oak tree. The only thing that bothered Carter about the outcome was that Ryan had likely died on impact.

  Carter had never considered himself a violent man, but he would have been happier with a whole lot more suffering for Ryan before death. At least he’d have the satisfaction of seeing Alton and Jenk go to trial. They were facing a slew of charges at this point, and even if they weren’t convicted, Alton’s career was over. Carter knew the man didn’t deserve to lose his son. That wasn’t something he’d wish on anyone. But another part of him knew Alton had made his bed and had to sleep in it.

  And he knew if he was having this much trouble coming to terms with what had happened, Lily had to be reeling from it.

  “I want to see him.”

  “What?” Carter pulled back and looked down at her, not sure what she was talking about. “See who?”

  She swallowed. “Ryan. I want to see his body. I need to know he’s gone.”

  “Oh, Lily.” Carter didn’t know what to say. His gut was screaming at him to protect her at all costs. To stop her from doing something that might haunt her. He had seen car accidents and their victims. It wasn’t pretty. But his mind was telling him he needed to respect her wishes. To support her. To be there for her no matter what she needed to do to get through this. “I don’t know, Lily. It’s not going to be pretty. Are you sure you want that memory on top of…”

  He didn’t finish. He couldn’t. Thinking about the memories she would need to handle damn near slayed him.

  “I need to see him, Carter. I need to see he’s gone, to know he can’t come back. I need that.”

  He bit back a sigh and nodded. He’d take her to see Ryan’s body if that’s what she needed. God help him, he’d do it for her.

  * * *

  Lily was exhausted as Carter led her to the car. The morgue had been too much. But she’d needed the closure that the visit had given her. Seeing Ryan had been hard. No, more than hard. It had been disturbing on levels she couldn’t even begin to describe. She was so glad Carter had been standing next to her, adding his strength to hers.

  And now, as he shut the door to her side of the car and jogged around to his, it dawned on her. She had no place to go. Her grandfather had recently moved to a nursing home, so staying with him wasn’t an option. She couldn’t go to her place. Even if she got the blood cleaned up, she would still see it. She would know that it had covered the walls, floors, and everything else in there the day before. She couldn’t face that.

  She supposed she could go to the clinic. She had a small couch in the employee lounge. It would be a bit awkward when her employees figured out she was living in the back room, but what choice did she have?

  “Can you drop me off at the clinic?”

  The look he gave her would have been comical in any other situation. “No.”

  “No?”

  “No. I’ll take you to my house until you find a new place.”

  Lily felt tears battling to break through, but she clawed at her resolve to keep them from falling. She wouldn’t let this throw her and Carter together in a way they weren’t ready for yet. She was hurt and vulnerable and scared senseless, but that didn’t mean she should compound the problems she was facing by letting herself trust this guy. By letting herself believe that they were more than they were. Letting herself believe in them. She knew better than that.

  Carter eyed her as he steered the car to the side of the road, stopping on the shoulder. Lily kept her eyes pinned to the windshield. She wouldn’t let him talk her into this. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t believe in a man again and have him leave. As if reading her mind, he began talking.

  “I’m not going to tell you I’m not leaving. I won’t tell you I love you or say I need commitment from you. I won’t ask you to believe in me or believe in us, Lily.”

  He paused and she had to battle the urge to turn and look at him as she felt a tear slide down her cheek. She ignored it. She locked onto the road in front of her and clamped her hands together in her lap.

  He threaded his hand through her hair and gently turned her to look at him. “I’ll show you, Lily. Every day. I’ll just show up every damned day and be there for you, be with you. Two, three, four years from now, if I’m lucky, you’ll know I’m not going away.”

  Lily felt like she might hyperventilate, but she looked into his eyes and let he
rself fall. Maybe it wasn’t so much that she let herself. It was more like she acknowledged there wasn’t any use fighting anymore. She’d fallen for him, heart, body, and soul, long before this.

  He didn’t wait for her to answer. Just pressed a soft kiss to her mouth, then turned and started the car again. “We can look for a new place for you in the morning. For now, you’ll be safe at my place and I’ll sleep better knowing I’m there if you wake up with a bad dream.”

  His gaze held hers and he slowly slid his hand to the nape of her neck. The sensation danced up her spine, then zinged through her body as his lips found hers. Soft at first, just a little pressure. When her hands found his shoulders, he murmured and pulled her closer, and her body responded as though he’d laid her down and stripped her. He nipped and teased and she melted into the kiss, wanting more, and knowing he’d give her just what she needed. He would wait, too, if she asked him to. That knowledge was empowering. It seemed to unlock a piece of her, letting her believe. Letting her have the faith she needed if she was going to stop being a slave to the men who’d left her behind. Stop being a slave to their memories.

  When Carter pulled back, she felt his absence, but the seductive look in his eyes told her the separation wouldn’t be a long one. He turned without a word and put the car in gear. Lily watched his profile as he drove, loving that he wasn’t pushing her to move in simply because circumstances said she needed a place to stay for a while. He was giving her what she needed—assurance that he wasn’t going to push her to make this arrangement permanent before she was ready for it. But that’s the way he was. He got her. He understood what she needed, often before she even knew she needed it. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She didn’t think there would be more tears tonight. She was done crying for a while.

  She let herself trust. She let herself live in the moment and know, for now, it was okay to rely on Carter. To rely on the strength of them together. The breath she took in that moment felt deeper, better, than any she’d felt in a long time. In that moment, Lily knew she didn’t want to live in the shadows of the past. Just because her exes had left, didn’t mean she should never trust again. She wouldn’t live a half-life any longer. She’d let herself believe in Carter and the happiness they could have together from this point on. If it didn’t last, she’d deal with that later. But she wouldn’t live in fear any longer.

  Lily took Carter’s hand as he drove, and he turned to throw a quick wink and smile her way before focusing on the road. Lily let the smile that came from deep in her heart break free. Today was a good day. And that was what mattered right now. Today.

  The End

  Thank you for reading!

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  About the Author

  Lori Ryan is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary romance with a twist of suspense. She lives with an extremely understanding husband, three wonderful children, two mostly-behaved dogs, and a lone little cat in Austin, Texas. It’s a bit of a zoo, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

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  Last Target

  When former MI-6 Agent Maxim Romanov’s estranged wife is kidnapped by a madman, he has less than twenty-four hours to save her life, or lose her forever.

  Chapter One

  Maxim

  SIS Headquarters

  London, England

  My entire life’s work is a joke.

  Save the world. Check.

  Turn over the potential pandemic to proper authorities. Check.

  Work with the Bratva to get this done. Check.

  Piss off everyone known to God and man for doing so. Check and Mate.

  To keep an impassive face while these nutters drag me through the mud is nearly impossible, but I must maintain outward control at all costs. No reason to give them more ammunition against me.

  “—ignored your directive—”

  “—knowingly consorted with persons of questionable background—”

  “That’s the majority of parliament, ma’am,” I counter.

  A few titter in their seats, from their positions of power.

  “Do you have anything to say for yourself, Mr. Romanov?” Madam Beake asks. Her glasses cast shadows on her face, giving it a slightly owlish effect.

  At that very moment, a partially hidden door slides opens and in walks a gorgeous woman holding a stack of folders. She peers at me with knowing eyes.

  Of course she’s here to witness this embarrassing cockup of a trial.

  “Is there anything I can say?” I sit up a little. No need to be ashamed of getting the sack. I’ve only devoted the last twelve years of my life to the damned organization.

  “No need to take the piss, Maxim,” another board member chastises. “You are being dismissed without prejudice.”

  “Except you’ve put in my permanent folder that I conspired with dangerous entities in order to take down the head of the Wraith organization, vigilante style,” I point out.

  “Is any of that untrue?” Beake asks.

  “My mission was to acquire the virus and vaccine, by any means necessary.”

  “Like working with a criminal organization? Specifically, your family, the same family you swore to have cut all ties with?”

  My jaw clenches. “If any situation called for it, and I think we can all agree this situation called for it. Hell, it’s in the bloody advert for the job. Engage and establish rapport, work with a range of people from various backgrounds. Shall I go on?”

  The board eyes me as one unit, their displeasure rolling off of them in waves.

  “Be that as it may, Mr. Romanov, you are no longer an agent with SIS. Turn in your identification, your gun, and any other effects issued by the organization by the end of the workday.”

  Madam Beake raps a gavel on the desk. The sound echoes in the chamber like a gunshot. “That is all.”

  “Why wait until then?” I toss my ID on the table in front of me, then grab my gun from my holster.

  There is a collective gasp. Guards posted on each end of the table take a step forward.

  “You can’t think I want to…” I slowly place the weapon on the table. “The keys to my vehicle are on my desk. I’ll take the tube home.”

  I don’t wait for them to leave
before I quit the room. There’s no need to give them the respect they think they deserve when they’ve stripped me of everything. When I’ve given them everything. Lost everything.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I find her still standing there. Her cheeks are bright and her face is pale under her light brown skin. She looks outraged, but I know it’s not on my behalf. Once again, I’ve disappointed her. Embarrassed her.

  Tipping up her chin, she clenches the folders tighter to her chest.

  “Sorry to disappoint, darling,” I murmur.

  Golden-colored eyes narrow in on me, as if she heard my softly spoken apology. Not that it matters. A thousand apologies wouldn’t fix things between us.

  “Romanov, you will not leave this room before—”

  “Bugger off.” I shove the double doors open. “This is not the organization I joined.”

  * * *

  Instead of taking the tube, I walk to my flat. For one, I’m not much company, and I’m not exactly keen to be crammed like a sardine in a tin during maximum capacity hours.

  I stare at the door of my flat for a moment. When I open it, there won’t be anyone on the other side to comfort me, to assure me that all’s right with the world, and to insist that the board members don’t know their arse from a hole in the ground.

  Exhaling, I unlock the door and head inside.

  It wasn’t always like this. There was a time when I would have been greeted with open arms and loving kisses, but I chose SIS over Philippa. I chose my pride, unwilling to work for her father.