Under Pressure

by Lori Foster

  “I assume so.” Cat made a point of not looking at Leese. “Tesh is the one who ‘took care’ of Georgia for the senator. I heard him say so. When he spoke with Webb that day at the boathouse, he explained that both he and Tesh needed an alibi, because Tesh had, very necessarily, ‘disposed of the girl.’ Protecting Tesh, Platt said, was also protecting him, and he promised Webb he wouldn’t forget his loyalty.” Her chest expanded on a slow breath, and on the exhale she whispered, “That’s when Webb agreed.”

  Leese didn’t like how distant Cat felt, as if she’d already emotionally left him. “You should have told me all this immediately.”

  Cat paid no attention to the reprimand, keeping her gaze somewhere in the distance. “Tesh always scared me, but the senator seemed so nice. Almost like a grandpa. I never, ever would have guessed if I hadn’t heard him myself. The things he said and how he said them... He was a different man than the one you see on television, definitely different from the man who offered to let me visit his stables.” She swallowed hard. “I know he’s awful, but still, Tesh is the scariest.”

  Leese caught her arm and drew her around to face him. “Platt wanted you to come to his house?” Had she been alone with the monster?

  “He invited me often, and you know, I wanted to go. I wanted to see the horses, maybe ride, draw the grounds...” Her gaze, so lost, lifted to his. “Webb always refused. He was adamant that I not visit Platt, ever.”

  The knot of rage loosened in Leese’s chest. “At least your stepfather showed some common sense.”

  “I wonder,” Sahara mused. “Perhaps Webb always knew the caliber of Platt’s character. It’s possible he knew what would happen to Cat if the senator got her alone.”

  “Then he should have stayed away from the man,” Leese insisted.

  “Yes. But I wonder if he’s caught up in something he can’t control.”

  Leese didn’t like the direction of her thoughts. Sahara certainly knew more about the vagaries of the wealthy than he’d ever know, but not for a second would he dismiss Webb’s involvement with the senator. “You think he protected her then, but was willing to sacrifice her now?”

  Sahara considered it. “I think it’s worth putting more thought into this.” She brightened as she took Cat’s shoulders. “Please don’t look so anguished. We will figure this out, I’m sure of it. In the meantime, with the police now investigating—” she made air quotes “—the ‘break in,’ it’ll be riskier for Platt or Tesh to try anything. Hopefully that’ll buy us enough time to set my plan in motion.”

  “What plan?” Leese asked.

  Cat took in his expression with a lot of remorse. “There’s only one thing for me to do.”

  “Hand yourself over to Platt,” Sahara agreed.

  Leese jerked his head around to stare at Sahara. “What the hell?”

  She merely smiled.

  “No.” He’d die before he let that happen.

  “It is the only way.” Cat did her utmost to look stoic. “Once he has me—”

  “Fuck that,” Leese growled, his voice deepening with his outrage. “Not happening.”

  Through the waiting room window, the fighters turned to stare curiously.

  “Of course not.” Sahara shushed him. “But I have a plan that involves making him think he’s getting Cat, while we set a trap.”

  Cat took a step back. “But—”

  “No buts,” Leese said. “You’re not getting anywhere near Tesh or Platt.” He glared at Sahara. “I won’t have Cat in danger.”

  Cat blinked at him. “I’ve been in danger for a while now. Most of all, I just want it to end before anyone else gets hurt.”

  Hating the entire situation, Leese tangled a hand in his hair. He couldn’t control things and it enraged him. Somehow, some way, he needed to remove Tesh and a beloved senator forever from Cat’s life.

  But how?

  Sahara gave him a long-suffering look. “Both of you, stop being so grim. You know you can trust me, and you know I’m good at what I do. I need to go see Enoch now, but I’ll talk to you both when I get home.” She handed Leese a key. “Justice can tell you where I live.”

  Leese caught her hand before she could turn away. “You need to be careful too, Sahara.”

  She cocked her head. “I would tell you that careful is my middle name—” her expression hardened “—but actually it’s vengeance.”

  * * *

  ONCE THEY WERE alone together, Cat completely withdrew. She strode to the windows and looked out at the parking lot, her shoulders drooped, her posture weary and defeated. “I’m so sorry.”

  Knowing his friends wouldn’t wait much longer, Leese needed to put his anger on the back burner for now. But first, they needed to come to an understanding. “No more secrets, Cat.”

  She nodded.

  “Say it. Swear to me that you won’t ever again keep anything this important from me.”

  She turned to him, her face ravaged with guilt. “Will you also promise not to put yourself at unnecessary risk?” She took two quick steps toward him. “Please, Leese. I can’t bear the thought of you being hurt.”

  The necessity of risk was a subjective thing. Since he considered her safety very necessary, he easily agreed. “All right.”

  That answer stole some of the shadows from her eyes. “Thank you.”

  Tunneling his fingers into her hair, Leese held her head and pressed a kiss to her brow. “No more lies of omission, no secrets and don’t even think about some stupid sacrifice.”

  That stiffened her up a little.

  Good. He’d take her irritation over misery any day. “I’ve told you from the beginning, honey, if you run, I’ll come after you. That hasn’t changed. Keep it in mind for any half-baked plans you might come up with. If you face Tesh or Platt, I’ll be facing them with you.”

  With new alarm, she gasped, “No—”

  And Leese stole away the protest by kissing her.

  Not a quick, easy peck. No, that wouldn’t do. He took her mouth in a devouring possession so hot, it obliterated the pain in his side.

  “Get a room, already.”

  Leese pulled away and found Armie grinning at him.

  “Hard to believe you were wounded.” Armie tipped his head, looking at him critically. “Gunshot, Justice said?”

  “Sloppy,” Stack accused. “You sure you shouldn’t return to fighting?”

  “He’ll have a badass scar now,” Armie pointed out, then gestured at Cat. “Clearly, the ladies love that macho shit.”

  How had he forgotten that they were all here?

  Behind those two, Denver, Cannon, Miles and Justice pushed into the room.

  Cat stared at the group, her expression boggled. “Wow, that’s a lot of big men.”

  Armie stepped forward. “Armie Jacobson, friend of Leese. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “I told him you’d bring her to us, but he didn’t want to wait,” Stack explained. He held out a hand. “Stack Hannigan. Also Leese’s friend.”

  She tried a silly smile. “Hello.” And then to Leese, she said, “You fighters sure are big and buff.”

  Leese looped an arm around her shoulders, and with his other hand he pointed out each friend, giving Cat their names and allowing each man to make some outrageous remark to her.

  Cannon said, “Good catch, Leese.”

  “I agree with Miles—she’s too cute for you,” Stack said.

  Denver looked her over and announced, “No similarities. That’s a good thing.”

  Confused, Cat blinked. “Um...similarities?”

  “To my wife.” Denver smiled. “Total opposite, in fact.”

  Cat looked to Leese for an explanation.

  Put on the spot, he rubbed the back of his neck. “You remember
that situation I told you about? The girl who had some trouble? Denver is her husband.”

  Cat’s eyes widened with understanding. “Ah,” she said, looking at Denver again, this time with a sly smile. “The foot-dragger.”

  Armie choked on a laugh. “Nailed it! In fact, he dragged those big feet so damn long, he almost lost her.”

  Cannon slowly pivoted to stare at Armie. “Seriously, you are going to accuse anyone of being slow? That’s a laugh.”

  “Brand would have been here,” Armie said, doing his utmost to change the topic. “But he’s fighting soon and caught up in promo.”

  “Lucky for you,” Stack said to Leese, “since Brand is still single.” While bobbing his eyebrows, he grinned at Cat.

  And on and on it went with the good-natured heckling.

  The upside was that Cat couldn’t dwell on problems when the guys kept teasing her, giving her extravagant compliments and doing a hell of a job distracting her.

  While Denver entertained her with stories of his wife, Leese got drawn aside by Miles and Justice.

  “When you leave,” Miles said, “we’re going to follow. Justice already gave us the address and it can’t hurt to have a little backup just to ensure you get there without being hijacked.”

  With Cat’s safety at stake, Leese didn’t object. “Thanks. Appreciate it. Just be sure to be invisible, okay?”

  “Definitely. I don’t think a parade would help to keep you off the radar.”

  Justice explained how to get to Sahara’s using an alternate route that was a little out of the way, which made it a better, less risky choice.

  After half an hour, Leese checked the time. “I want to visit with Enoch before we go.”

  As far as hints went, it failed, because everyone decided to join him.

  “We’ll just peek in,” Cannon said. “I want to thank the guy who tried to save your hide.”

  Leaving Cat with the group just outside Enoch’s room, Leese tapped softly on the door and stepped in. Enoch was awake, and yeah, someone had bludgeoned him pretty badly. One side of his face was a mess, swollen and discolored. That eye was completely closed.

  Leese had seen plenty of shiners before, cuts from a perfectly placed elbow, bruises from a hard kick, but this was something altogether different.

  Through one barely opened eye, Enoch looked at him. He tried to smile, but the swelling in his face and mouth didn’t make it possible.

  “Damn,” Leese said softly, turbulent with a mix of rage and pity.

  Sahara stood from her bedside vigil. “I owe him a year’s pay for this.”

  Enoch protested with a small shake of his head and somehow, even with the abuse making expressions nearly impossible, he looked ashamed.

  Leese saw it, and it killed him. He’d been there, felt shame for what he hadn’t done, what he hadn’t been able to do.

  Enoch had no reason to feel that way.

  “He’s too proud,” Sahara said, handing Leese another paper. “And he blames himself when he absolutely shouldn’t.”

  Leese glanced at the scratchy, nearly illegible writing that partially explained Enoch’s ordeal.

  Wanted to know if Cat was inside. Didn’t tell him but he found her picture in my case. Sorry. So sorry.

  Approaching the bed, Leese looked down at Enoch. “I don’t have Sahara’s cash flow, but I know there’s not enough money in the world for me to repay you.”

  Again, Enoch tried to shake his head.

  Sahara whispered, “He thinks he failed.”

  “No,” Leese insisted. “You stalled them and that gave us the edge we needed. Cat was there, by the door, and heard them coming in, so she was able to get me from the shower. If they’d come even a minute sooner, she’d have been washing dishes and wouldn’t have known what was happening until it was too late. They might have killed me in the shower, or else I would have come out with no idea where they’d taken her.”

  Enoch slowly closed his least injured eye, then gave a small, accepting nod of gratitude.

  Leese put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re alive because you’re a badass, Enoch. You have my respect for life.” Then, grinning, Leese said, “And I hope you don’t mind, but a few of my friends, MMA fighters, want to thank you too. Are you up for that? I promise they won’t stay long.”

  Enoch’s eye managed to widen, and he gave a single, uncertain nod.

  One by one they filed in. Leese noticed that Denver had tucked Cat under one massive arm, while Justice flanked her on the other side.

  They were all big men, but those two were behemoths. Between them, Cat looked even more petite.

  She also looked a little shell-shocked.

  “I like her,” Armie told him. “She’s funny as hell.”

  Yeah, Cat did have a sharp wit, usually carved from honesty. He could only imagine what she might have said.

  Enoch went stock-still, very watchful, as the guys took turns assessing his injuries. Surrounding his bed, their voices low with concern, firm with appreciation, they shared fight stories and compared injuries.

  “I thought I had the biggest of all goose eggs when I got kicked in the forehead,” Stack said, “but damn, Enoch, you have me beat with that beauty.”

  “If it swells another inch,” Denver added, “he could pass for a beat-up unicorn.”

  “Remember in Rocky, when his eye was like that?” Miles asked.

  “Cut me, Mick,” Cannon said in his best Stallone voice. “Enoch’s is better than Rocky’s though.”

  “The ladies are going to be so sympathetic,” Armie added. “I almost envy you, dude. I bet you get smothered in the best kind of TLC.”

  They continued with the congenial joking until Enoch relaxed, and damn, he even managed a half-baked, crooked smile every so often. When he reached for the paper, Sahara quickly brought it to him.

  Feel like a star, he wrote. Thanks.

  They all laughed.

  Minutes later he was given his pain meds and quietly faded to sleep.

  With everyone crowded into the private hospital room, Sahara preened, flirted and did impromptu interviews in case she could sway any of them away from fighting.

  To Leese’s surprise, Miles had questions for her. He didn’t commit to anything, but he definitely showed keen interest.

  Apparently the danger surrounding Cat was a lure, drawing him in. Hell, each one of the fighters wanted to get involved.

  They were protective that way.

  “I’m thinking we should stick around,” Cannon told him, his voice low in deference to Enoch. “Just in case.”

  No surprise there. Cannon and the others ran a neighborhood watch back in Warfield, Ohio. “Somehow,” Leese said, “I think your wife would protest that.”

  “Yvette would understand.”

  Probably. She was every bit as caring as Cannon. Leese drew him aside to talk privately. “I appreciate it, but I’m thinking the best way to go is with a low profile.”

  Cannon studied him, then shook his head. “You don’t want us drawn into the danger.”

  “There is that.” The last thing Leese wanted to do was give Platt or Tesh more targets. “Sahara has some reach. I think—” pray “—it’s under control.”

  Accepting that, Cannon said, “Keep me posted, then. And if you change your mind, know that we’re around.”

  “Thanks.”

  Denver joined them, gave Leese a close scrutiny and smiled. “You’re in love with her.”

  Was it really so obvious? Leese looked across the room to where Cat listened while Armie spoke to her, likely saying something outrageous since Armie didn’t know any other way.

  She smiled, leaned close to reply and Armie pretended to stagger with weak legs. Miles grinned beside him and Stack smirked, holdi
ng Armie upright.

  Whatever she’d just said had amused his friends, meaning as usual, Cat held her own.

  She’d been through hell, was living in it now and still she charmed everyone around her. She kept her chin up, optimism firmly in place.

  She wanted to sacrifice herself to keep him and Sahara safe.

  “Yeah. I love her.” How could he do anything else?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  BY THE TIME they reached Sahara’s house, it was nearing bedtime. They hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Cat felt her stomach rumbling, but didn’t want to grumble.

  It was Leese who’d been wounded, and he didn’t complain. He just stayed grim, his thoughts contained.

  His anger still palpable.

  She wanted to say something to him, but what?

  He had to be just as tired and hungry as her, and though she’d never been shot, she assumed a bullet wound—even a searing graze—had to be sore.

  Too many hours had been spent talking to the police, waiting while Leese was stitched, visiting with his friends and coordinating with Sahara.

  Keeping a good distance away, Leese watched as Justice pulled into a private drive. He had Sahara with him, so Cat assumed it was her house.

  “Do you know how to get through her gate?”

  Leese gave one small nod. “She shared the passcode with me.”

  As far as topic-starters went, that had failed miserably. “Are we trying to be less conspicuous? Is that why we’re not sticking closer to her?”

  Leese’s brows twitched together. “Yeah.”

  Not very forthcoming. Cat cleared her throat and tried again. “Your friends are coming in?”

  His gaze shot briefly to hers. “What do you mean?”

  Looking over the backseat to see out the rearview window, Cat confirmed that the same headlights were still there. “That’s them following us, right? I mean, I assume it’s not Tesh since you’re not worried about it.”

  Gaze straight ahead, Leese worked his jaw. Finally he asked, “You knew we were being followed?”

  Cat gave him an arrogant glare. “You think I survived this long by being unaware?”