by Desiree Holt
Tyler sighed so heavily he almost regretted bringing the whole thing up.
“I suppose.”
He had one other thing to relate to her but he had to pick his time. He and Tony had agreed to have someone checking her street periodically at night. Last night three different cars had coasted down that street after he and Tyler shut the town house up for the night. Everyone, it seemed, was spying on Tyler after she went to bed at night. Where else had they been following her? And how had he not observed any of this before now, just because he’d formed his own prejudiced opinion of her. Discovering the real Tyler Gillette just made him kick his ass that he hadn’t worked harder on this in the beginning. Some security agent he was, letting his prejudices affect his work.
Okay, then. Sending the flowers and candy made this more personal. By the sound of his latest text he was getting impatient. The problem was, how would they know which of their three suspects was pushing harder when they all wanted the same thing?
Fucking damn. Unreasonably he wished one of them would make a move that would narrow this down to one person. He wanted to get this out of Tyler’s life once and for all. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the rightness of what they had discovered together. If none of this had happened, would she have decided to make major changes in her lifestyle? In herself? Would he have embraced the feelings for her he’d been fighting all these years?
Who knew? But now he wanted this done and gone so they could get on with their lives. Together.
When he pulled up to the employee gate at the stadium, a man wearing a Lone Star Security polo shirt stepped up to greet him.
“Hey, boss. Got your usual parking spot waiting for you.”
“Thanks.”
The man tried to peer into the car without looking too obvious.
Rafe chuckled. “Luke, say hello to Tyler Gillette. She’s taking in the game today.”
Luke was doing his best not to gawk. “Nice to see you, Miss Gillette. We don’t see you out here too often.”
“That’s going to change,” Rafe told him. “Okay, we’re rolling.”
He found his slot in the private section of the lot and ushered Tyler into the stadium. The concourse today was jammed with people, standing in line at the concessionaires, hurrying to their seats, or just chatting with friends. When he nudged Tyler toward an elevator, she dug in her heels.
“B-but I won’t know anyone,” she pointed out.
Rafe smiled. A slightly hesitant Tyler Gillette was completely new to him. “Yes, you will. Anyway, you don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to. Just sit and enjoy the game.”
“Enjoy the game?” She sniffed. “That’ll be the day.”
“You never know. You got into it last night.” The elevator doors opened and he eased her forward. “This is our floor.”
The man checking tickets nodded to him and smiled as he and Tyler walked up one entrance ramp to the section where the seats were.
She grinned when he guided her to their row. “Fifty-yard line, no less. You do treat yourself well.”
“Not me. I don’t get to sit down. This is where your date sits.”
She stopped and frowned at him. “My date? Wait a minute—”
Just then the man sitting in the end seat of the row in front of them stood up and turned around.
“Nice to see you again, Tyler.” Tony Castillo grinned at her. “Glad you decided to take in the game.”
Tyler looked from one to the other. “But you—But I—But—”
Rafe took her hand and squeezed it briefly. “Don’t freak. Like I said, these are Lone Star seats. Tony comes to a lot of the games, and he was happy to have you here with him today.”
“Come on.” Tony stepped back so she could take the empty seat next to him. “Let’s sit down. Would you like a beer?”
“Yes, I—” She shook her head. “No. Thanks, anyway.”
Rafe wondered if she was doing this, refusing the beer, for him or herself.
“Okay. I need to get moving.” He was still holding her hand. “Remember what we discussed. Phone on at all times, right? Just in case?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “In case he decides to text me or do one of his crazy calls here in a stadium with seventy thousand people. Where I might not even hear him. Right?”
“Right.” He nodded. “Anyone obsessed the way this guy is with you will do crazy things. We won’t take any chances.”
“I’ll put it on vibrate,” she told him. “I won’t hear a ring but this way I’ll know if a call or text comes in.”
“Good enough.” He looked from her to Tony. “If she gets anything, you tap me right away, got it?”
“Got it, boss.” He winked. Then his face sobered. “We’re good here, Rafe. Go on. Do whatever you have to.”
“I don’t think he’ll try anything at the game,” Rafe said, “but then with crazies you never know. And my money says this guy is unstable.”
“We’ll cover all bases,” Tony agreed.
“You know what to do if anything off-kilter happens, right?”
Tony touched the little radio clipped to his belt. “All set.
“Okay. We’ll meet up at my office later.” He gave Tyler’s hand one last quick squeeze. “Be careful.”
He had to hold himself back from giving her a quick kiss on the lips. What the hell? Deliberately he turned and headed off to check on VIP security.
* * * *
“I think you have young Rafe’s head in a spin,” Tony commented as he adjusted his large frame to the seat.
Tyler made a rude noise. “Puhleeze. Rafe Ortiz is neither young nor spinning.”
Tony chuckled. “I think everyone is young to me. I keep forgetting he’s been retired for two years now, plus he played for ten.”
“I’m surprised he’s not still playing,” Tyler commented
“He was at the top of his game when he retired,” Tony said. “He decided to get out while his body was still in one piece.”
Tyler scowled. “Isn’t that unusual?”
“Not really. There are a lot of players who make that same decision.” He shrugged. “They’ve had the adrenaline rush, the guts and glory, the excitement of the game. They’re in a good situation financially and they want to start the next phase of their lives.” He shifted in his seat. “I’ll tell you another thing about that man. Unlike most of the players, he has never touched a dime of his signing bonus or his salary all these years.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. What does he live on?”
Tony grinned. “His endorsement money. His agent got him some fat contracts, so he’s just let his football money grow in the investment accounts. Even managed to buy his folks a new house, over their objections I might add. Neither of them are much for anything fancy.”
“Neither is he,” she commented. “Even his own house is really nice but not, you know, outrageous like some of the guys.”
“That’s just who he is.”
She nibbled on a fingernail. “I’m surprised he’s never married.”
Tony winked at her. “Probably just never found the right woman. He’s got some pretty old-fashioned ideas.”
Tyler stared off across all the people sitting in front of them. “I guess that lets me out.”
“Not at all.” Tony took the hand with the nibbled fingernail and tugged so she had to face him. “That woman out there in the media?” He shook his head. “That’s not you. Never was. The one sitting next to me today is the real Tyler Gillette. It just took you a while to realize that.”
“I hope he feels the same way.”
“If the look in his eyes means anything, I’d say he’s definitely on your side of the fence.” A loud roar went up from the field. “Oh, look. Here comes the team. Let’s watch a little football and forget about stalkers and all that other crap for a while.”
To her amazement, Tyler found herself enjoying the acti
vity on the field. The pregame festivities intrigued her, but not nearly as much as the action between the two teams. Tony did his best to give her a crash course for newbies as the game progressed and she sucked it up. She thought again about the college classes she’d taken that required a lot of detailed study. One of the things all her professors had been in agreement on was the fact she was a quick study, learned easily and had a real skill for solving puzzles. Although she had wasted all that since she stopped taking classes, it seemed her mind had only been hibernating. Now it kicked into overdrive as she soaked up everything about a game she’d sworn she hated.
She found herself actually reading the patterns on the field, studying the plays, trying to guess what was going to happen. She screamed as loud as everyone else when the Hawks made a good play, and especially when they scored two touchdowns. By the time the first half was over, she was thoroughly and unbelievably juiced.
“They’re winning.” She grabbed Tony’s arm and shook it. “The Hawks are winning.”
He laughed. “That’s what we want.”
She plopped back down in her seat as the halftime show began. She had never expected to be infected with football fever. Now what did she do with it? That was the big question. She was about to ask Tony a question when she felt her phone vibrate in her jeans pocket. Fully expecting it to be Betsy or Lynn or maybe one of the others in their little circle she pulled it out and pressed the button to light up the screen. The number one perched on the message icon.
“Tony?” She nudged him.
“Yeah?” He looked at her face and suddenly was all business.
She could hardly make herself heard over all the halftime noise so she bent as close to him as she could get and showed him the phone. He started to take it from her, but she shook her head.
“I’ll do it,” she said in his ear. “I just want you to see it with me.”
He nodded and she tapped the icon. The message of course was from Unknown.
“I told u I wanted u. U shld b at gm w/me. If I can’t have u no one can.”
As she stared at it another one rolled in.
“I wil keep u safe and happy. Otherwise u hv no future.”
Immediately another text came through. “U wil only lev hre with me 2day. Or not leave at all.”
And then a third.
“It’s hlftm. Get up now and walk to elevator. Follow the crwd. Move.”
Tyler was shaking so hard she nearly dropped her phone. Tony plucked it from her hands.
“He’s watching me.” She looked around, trying to see if she could spot any of the three men. “God, Tony, where is he?” Had this miserable bastard had eyes on her since she got there? Maybe even before?
Tony unclipped the small radio from his belt and hit the button. “Rafe, security office. Now.” Then he urged Tyler up from her seat. “Come on. We’re going to the main security office. My radio is set on a closed circuit to Rafe’s so he’d get the message right away.”
She could hardly make her feet move as he helped her up the steps. She thanked God that Tony had a firm grip on her. He hustled her into the elevator and punched the button for the first floor.
The elevator was jammed with the halftime crowd. She and Tony just barely managed to squeeze in before the doors closed and the elevator started down. She hoped the security guards who were watching the three men had a handle on who was doing what because she needed this to be over. Now.
The doors slid open and the crowd surged forward, practically pushing them out into the equally crowded concourse.
“This way.” Tony reached for her arm.
Then something jabbed her in the back, a hand yanked on her arm and she heard a voice she’d learned to despise.
“Let her go, old man,” he growled at Tony. “This is a gun I’ve got at her back, and I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. I’ve got nothing left to lose.”
“N-Nate?” All the blood rushed from her head, and she was sure she was going to faint. “What’s going on here?”
“I said let go of her,” he repeated to Tony. When the older man still held onto her arm, she felt the gun leave her back for a moment.
A shot cracked in the air as Nate fired up at the ceiling, and then he grabbed her again.
“Let go of her now,” he yelled, “or the next one hits you, old man.”
Around them people were screaming and running in every direction.
“Okay, take it easy.” She knew Tony’s words were meant to be soothing, but he had to shout to make himself heard. He released her arm, giving her a reassuring squeeze as he did, and mouthed the words, It will be okay.
How could he think that? At the moment, she could only concentrate on not being shot.
Nate kept the gun pressed to her spine with one hand and clamped his other arm around her neck.
“Everyone?” he shouted. “Stay out of my way, or I’ll shoot her and then anyone else near me.”
She had no idea where he was taking her. Behind them were windows overlooking the parking lot. Every access was ahead of them and blocked by crowds, people all trying to get out of each other’s way.
“Nate.” She had to raise her voice to be heard. “There’s no place for you to go. This is stupid.”
“Stupid?” He tightened his arm across her throat. “Are you calling me stupid?”
Oh, hell.
“No. No, I’m not. I’m just trying to point out there there’s no exit this way.”
“They’ll let me out.” Every word was edged with desperation. “I’ve got an exit pass. You.”
She wanted to tell him that if he shot her, the guards would just shoot him, but she didn’t think that would help her cause.
“Everybody move,” he shouted and again fired toward the ceiling.
People scrambled and Tyler could see now that in addition to Tony, others had appeared—some of the Lone Star security guards, her father…Her father? And where was Rafe? She didn’t see him anywhere. Didn’t he know what was going on?
Nate continued to drag her backward. The people to either side of them continuing to scatter, until suddenly he stopped.
“This is a gun pointed right at the nape of your neck, Broder.”
Rafe! Oh, thank you, God. Rafe.
“Drop the gun or you’ll be dead in two seconds. Do you know what a bullet in this exact spot can do to a person?”
“I’ll kill her,” Nate threatened again.
“And then you’ll be dead, so what have you gained?”
“It’s all her fault,” Nate shouted. “She walked out on me. Divorced me. Ruined my career.”
God. All this was because of his damn law career?
“And you thought threatening her would bring her back to you?”
“I thought...” Nate paused. “I thought if I scared her enough, she’d come back to me to keep her safe.”
“If you want her to be safe,” Rafe said, his voice unbelievably measured and calm, “then drop the gun now. While there’s still time to end this safely.”
“End it?” Nate’s laugh was tinged with hysteria. “The minute I do you’ll arrest me.”
“But at least you won’t be dead,” Rafe pointed out.
Tyler held her breath for what seemed an interminable moment. Then, as if all the air had gone out of him, Nate released his hold on her and the pressure of the gun eased. Two of the Lone Star guards rushed forward to take control of Nate, and then Rafe swept her into his arms.
“Jesus, cara. I nearly had a heart attack.” He was holding her so tight she could hardly breathe, but she didn’t care. “I think I lost ten years of my life.”
“H-How did you get behind him?” she asked.
“Tony radioed me and when I got here there was still enough crowd cover for me to slip behind the two of you.” He tilted her head back and in front of everyone gave her a kiss so hot and passionate it curled her toes. When he lifted his head at last he said, “I m
ay never be able to let you out of my sight again.”
“Do you think I could give her a hug, too?” Her father’s voice, but unfamiliar because it sounded so uncertain.
“Of course.” Rafe released her with obvious reluctance.
Then she was wrapped up in a big bear hug from a man who hadn’t hugged her since she was a tiny child.
“It’s okay, Daddy.” She patted his back. Daddy. She loved the sound of that word. “I’m okay.”
He looked at her, his eyes actually damp with tears. “I’m so sorry, Tyler. I’ve been the world’s biggest ass, but I’m done with that. I have a lot to make up to you for.”
“How about starting with you taking her up to your suite,” Tony suggested. “They need to clear the concourse here and I think everyone would like to get out of the public eye. Cell-phone cameras have been going off like crazy.”
“Great.” She frowned. “I’ll be in all the papers and blogs again.”
“And it won’t matter a damn to me,” Kurt assured her.
“Taking her upstairs is a great idea, Kurt,” Rafe said. “The cops are on their way, and I need to clean up this mess here. I’ll be up in a bit. I need to find out who that asshole bribed to get a gun into the stadium.”
“I’m on it with you,” Tony said. “Whoever it was better find a job in American Samoa. There won’t be one any place else.”
“Good idea.” Kurt actually put his arm around Tyler to guide her. “Tony? You come along, too. The second half has already started. The stadium is flooded with cops. Some people hightailed it out of here, but a lot of the crowd is still here. I think some good old-fashioned football is just what we all need right now.”
Tyler barely remembered the rest of the game. She sat in her father’s owner’s suite, protected and cosseted by him in a way she’d grown never to expect. She had to work hard to control the shakes, and she had no appetite for the food people kept trying to press on her. But somehow she managed to smile and nod politely.
Eventually, helped along by a glass of wine, the shakes subsided and she began to feel a little less tense. She was sure she’d have nightmares for a long time, though.
As she was sipping the wine and trying to relax in one of the seats, Kurt introduced her to a man he said was Nate’s boss at the law firm.