The Enforcer

by HelenKay Dimon

  Panic suffocated her. “No!”

  She dropped to her knees again and plunged her arms into the murky water. A wave lapped over the side and soaked her shirt. Water got in her mouth. She gasped at the splash and the sharp smell. A voice in her head screamed for her to get her hands out of there but she had to grab Garrett before his body sank.

  Frantic now, she looked around for something to help her drag him out. Bile churned in her stomach, threatening to overtake her. She choked it back. She could not freeze or get sick. She had to keep moving and turn him over, give him a chance to wake up and breathe.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen.” Elliot droned on as if he hadn’t just sent a man to a drowning death. “In this scenario, your friend here dies because he figured out who you really were and that you were a killer. Then you disappear out on the water, because that whole fear-of-water thing has been an elaborate setup by you as part of an escape plan.”

  “That’s the worst way to disappear.” The words stumbled out of her as she snagged Garrett’s arm and tried to drag him in closer to the side without going over.

  “Whatever the fuck that means. I’m guessing your bodyguard will lay the groundwork for that part because that’s now how Mary wants it done. Even paid extra for the drama of it.”

  Fear buzzed in her brain. She didn’t have room for his accusations. They weren’t true. He was trying to throw her off. “Don’t do this.”

  “I’m going to make sure no one finds your body. The shooting would have been faster but this does have a bit of flare to it. I don’t usually do flare.” Elliot nodded toward the now calm water. “You can stop. He’s gone. Consider him collateral damage.”

  No more. She would not let that be true.

  She struggled to turn Garrett faceup with one hand and couldn’t get enough of a grip on him to do it. Didn’t have enough traction. “You’ll never get away with this.”

  “Apparently murders related to you are never solved, so I think I will.” Elliot typed something into his cell phone then dropped it on the floor and smashed that one to pieces, too. “Besides, no one knows who Elliot is. He’ll slip away in the commotion.”

  “You’ve thought this through.”

  The double doors burst open. Matthias came barreling through on a roar. He dove, hitting Elliot with his good shoulder and sending them both flying back. Elliot’s gun thudded on the wood floor near her but she didn’t reach for it. Not now. She couldn’t spend one second thinking her next move through because Garrett would die.

  While Matthias and Elliot traded punches and slammed each other into the floor, she turned around and let her feet hover over the water. Terror froze her muscles. She couldn’t manage to lower her legs. Couldn’t slide into the same water that filled her with such horror.

  Thuds and crashes sounded all around her. She could hear men shouting. Matthias had come and he’d brought his team.

  Relief swept through her until she looked down into the water again. No movement. No sign of Garrett.

  Forcing back the tears and the nausea, she tried to shout but her voice didn’t rise over the noise. She had no choice. She dropped in. Sank and kept sinking.

  Water rushed up around her and stung her eyes. She couldn’t see a thing. She moved her arms, reaching out for anything and came up sputtering. One hand grabbed into the shed floor above her and the other touched something slick. She pulled her hand back as she started to gag.

  No, it had to be Garrett. Without giving her body a chance to react, she dunked her head again. Right there. An arm. Clothes. She didn’t waste time. With her elbow locked around his neck, she pulled him up. The lift was probably dangerous and wrong but at least he turned over. His face bobbed in the water as he floated on his back.

  The fight waged on above her. Elliot got the advantage when he bent back Matthias’s injured arm. She could see his eyes widen as his knees hit the floor. But he didn’t give up. He shot forward and nailed Elliot right above the knees and sent them both sprawling.

  She saw the flash of a gun and heard the pounding of feet as people came closer to the shed. She tried to drag her body up to safer ground and away from the water, but Garrett’s weight had her sinking back down and accidentally shoving him back under.

  Matthias landed a punch and Elliot fell sideways. A scream of pain followed the loud thump. With wild eyes Elliot looked at her then to the gun that lay a few inches away. She tried to push up again and slapped for it. He was a second faster. As his fingers touched it, a shot rang out.

  For a second Elliot froze. His body stayed upright and his mouth moved. Then she saw the blood. The dark stain spreading across his black shirt. He moved his hand and she feared he’d somehow get the weapon. With one last kick, she lifted her body up high enough to grab it and whip it into the water behind her.

  The door burst open and Matthias’s people filled the room right as Elliot fell face-first onto the floor. For a second she didn’t move. She heard heavy breathing and saw Matthias sitting on the floor, holding his arm and the gun. His shoulder rested at a strange angle compared to the rest of his body, as if he’d popped it out of the socket. There was blood all over him and a new wave of fear hit her.

  “Matthias?”

  He seemed to give himself a shake. One of his men tried to help him up, but he crawled over to her. “Are you okay?”

  She reacted to the worry in his voice. “Help me with Garrett.”

  Matthias looked past her. “Damn it.”

  Everyone filed in now. People from the marina spread across the floor. Strong arms reached in and plucked her out of the water, but her legs wouldn’t hold her. The second her feet hit the wood she fell again.

  Matthias sat next to her, catching her and bringing her body back to rest against his chest. He moved her to his side as two men dragged Garrett out of the water and started CPR. Lauren hovered by the door to make room for the ambulance crew running in with a gurney. Kayla didn’t remember hearing the sirens.

  Matthias’s face was a mask of fury as he watched them work on Garrett. She silently sent all of her energy to him, willing him to open his eyes and breathe again.

  She grabbed a fistful of Matthias’s dry shirt. “How did you find us?”

  “Garrett texted and I put a tracker on you and could find you with my phone.”

  He didn’t look at her. He just rocked her back and forth. A man on his team squatted in front of them, studying them. “We need to get you both to the hospital.”

  “I’m fine,” Matthias snapped out. “Deal with Garrett.”

  “You’re bleeding,” she said, remembering the telltale red.

  His dazed expressions cleared as he looked down at her. “Did he touch you?”

  “No.”

  He frowned at her. “You really got in the water?”

  At the mention of it her stomach turned over. That turkey sandwich rushed up on her. “I’m going to be sick.”

  Garrett started coughing up water. The men rolled him to the side as Matthias called out orders. He wanted Garrett in the hospital and now. He said she needed to go, too. As usual, he was taking care of everyone but himself.

  The relief at hearing Garrett battled with her confusion. “Matthias.”

  With the help of the men clearing the room and taking photos, Matthias stood up, taking her with him. He tucked her close into his side. The move should have put her at ease, but her brain cells kept jumping. She had so many questions.

  He needed his shoulder checked and the fresh blood cleaned. He might need more than a sling this time. He had a cut by the corner of his mouth and blood trickled down the side of his head by his hairline.

  This was the wrong time and wrong place. There were people all around and a dead man on the floor. Garrett had been strapped to a gurney with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.

  “He said you paid for this.” The words slipped out as a whisper.

  Matthias must have heard because he looked at her. “Yes.”
>
  “What does that mean?”

  He stood so tall and sure, but his expression was unreadable. “It was my money. It was Mary’s plan.”

  Kayla felt a stabbing pain in her stomach as her brain switched off. She fought to find the right words, ask the right questions, but nothing came to her. “You did this to me?”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  Pain surged through her as the dizziness hit. “You’ve been seeing her.”

  “Kayla.”

  “Yes or no?”

  “Twice. Yes.”

  She moved away from him. As far as the crowded space would allow. “You’re working with her.”

  “No.” He didn’t even try to touch her. “It’s not like that.”

  But it was too late. She couldn’t hold it back. An acid mix rushed up from her stomach. She doubled over just in time. Threw up on the floor and on Matthias’s feet.

  He put a hand on her back. “Hey, are you—”

  “No.” She shrank away from his touch. From the memories. From all of it. “Let go of me.”

  “Listen to me.”

  “Not now.” The soothing voice and look of concern wouldn’t work this time.

  She’d fallen for him and he betrayed her. When it was time to pick a side, he didn’t choose her.

  Her brain couldn’t process it and her heart felt battered and bruised. It took all her strength to lift her head. “Get away from me.”

  Chapter 30

  Matthias sat at his office desk and tried to figure out how he was going to drag his body through another afternoon without Kayla. He’d made it less than three full days and already he was miserable and barking at staff and not able to concentrate on new contracts and the workload.

  His was a job where his head needed to be one hundred percent in the game or people could get hurt. But right now he could barely think. Having Wren sit in the chair across from him, staring and not doing much else, was not helping.

  After ten minutes of silence except for the ticking of the wall clock and clicking of the computer keys, Wren finally piped up. “Why are you here?”

  That made absolutely no sense. “I work here. This is my office. I own everything, including the staplers.”

  “It’s cute when you answer a question I’m not really asking.”

  That got Matthias to lift his hands from the keyboard and listen. “Clearly you want to say something.”

  Wren shook his head. “So many things.”

  That sounded bad. “How did you even get in here?”

  “You basically let me in. Gave me a badge and told your people I can come and go. You probably don’t remember because you’re useless right now.”

  Matthias couldn’t remember but he wasn’t about to make that admission. “This is a fantastic pep talk.”

  “Is that what you need? I can cheer you on, call you a dick, tell you to get your head out of your ass. Tell me which one of those will stop this pathetic display.”

  That was the most annoying sentence Matthias had ever heard Wren utter. “Stop what?”

  “The moping.” Wren groaned. “So painful.”

  “You can leave.”

  “Or you could listen to me and stop pretending to work.” Wren scoffed. “You’re not even good at it. I can tell you’re typing random words. Hell, do you even know how to type? You strike me as a dictation guy. Very old-school.”

  Matthias wasn’t sure when he’d become Wren’s target, but it could stop anytime. He pointed at the file next to his computer. “I’m trying to read this and take notes.”

  “It’s upside down.”

  “Shit.” Matthias glanced at the pages. “Wait, no it’s not.”

  “And you would have known that had you actually been reading it.” Wren leaned forward with his elbows on the far edge of Matthias’s desk. “Look, I get that the last few days sucked—”

  “Stop.”

  “You’re trying to use the threatening tone on me? That’s never going to work. We share too much history.”

  Matthias normally appreciated Wren’s tenacity. Not so much today. “You’re more annoying than Garrett this morning.”

  “The same guy you’re checking on hourly. You, who pretend not to care about other people.”

  It was the absolute least he could do. Matthias knew that. “He almost died.”

  “He’s fine. He’s asked for a raise and a promotion and doesn’t seem to care that the only job left in the building above his is mine.” Wren let out a loud exhale. “Hell, I might have to make him a partner after this assignment.”

  “He could come work for me.”

  “Not happening.” The amusement left Wren’s voice. “But let’s talk about Kayla and what’s really happening here. You feel guilty.”

  “Mary tried to have Kayla killed and used my money to do it. There’s not really a gray area.” A member of his family tried to destroy her. Not metaphorically. Literally. Mary lied and schemed and used people, including him. It was a hell of a family legacy to carry around.

  “Admittedly, those facts don’t sound great for you.”

  That sentence was so typically Wren that Matthias almost smiled. “I’m supposed to be able to ferret that out. I get paid to do this sort of thing.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Not the answer he expected. “Excuse me?”

  “You get paid to prepare your teams to go in and resolve no-win situations. Nothing can prepare you for having your life split apart by a woman you’ve known for ten seconds blowing into town to seek revenge.” Wren sat back in his chair. “And then there’s the fact she’s your mother and you wanted her to be better than she is. You wanted her to give a shit about you. You deserved that and she couldn’t deliver.”

  Matthias’s automatic reaction was to deny the need. Jump back into his I’m-an-island mode and move on. But he didn’t have the will or the energy. “I didn’t think I cared. I’m still shocked that I do.”

  “Of course you did. You’re human.”

  For a guy who wasn’t known for being a good talker, Matthias thought Wren was doing pretty well. Made him think he should share more often . . . or, you know, at all. “You’ve never accused me of that before.”

  “For the record, that’s why I hate her. She had a chance to turn this around, get to know you, and she blew it. She’s knocked you off balance.”

  Wren wasn’t the type to talk in flowery language or search for the right word to be as tactful as possible. He was a straight shooter, so when he said those words they meant even more.

  “I’ll be fine.” Matthias didn’t know when because right now all he felt was a dragging sense of loss and blindsided by the emptiness swallowing him.

  “Of course you will. You fight dictators for a living. You know this is her loss. You’ve got a woman problem, but it’s not her.” Wren shook his head. “And we need to fix it before you end up curled in a ball in the corner.”

  “Let’s not do this part.” Matthias couldn’t do this part.

  “You’re stupid in love with Kayla, but I’m hoping you’re smart enough to know that. I’d love to shortcut the refusals and the part where you annoy me, and get to the next stage. The one where we clean up your mess.”

  Hearing her name sent a shot of pain through his chest. It hurt just to talk. “It’s too soon.”

  “Love doesn’t work that way. You don’t get to pick the time line. Trust me, I know.”

  The word didn’t even make any sense in Matthias’s head. He was not the love type. He didn’t get stupid over women. He didn’t put them above his job. He didn’t build his life around them. Well, he hadn’t ever thought about doing that until her.

  He shook his head. “I can’t be in love.”

  “Too late.”

  Wren would pick now to be all pro-love after years of making fun of the guys he knew who fell hard. Matthias needed the old version of his friend, the hardened one. “You should tell me to get over her.”

  “I like
you too much for that.”

  He made it seem simple, but Matthias knew better. “I’m not you. I can’t just flip my life around.”

  “You keep telling yourself that. I’d say you have about fifty minutes.” Wren stood up and reached across the desk. He snatched Matthias’s car keys and pointed toward the door. “Ready?”

  This was weird even for Wren. “What are you doing?”

  “Driving you to Annapolis. I figure you can come to your senses on the way. If you don’t, I’ll drop you out on the side of the road and go have lunch.”

  “I’m not—”

  “If she leaves tomorrow, slips under the surface and into a new name and a new life, would you be able to breathe?” Wren balanced his fists on the side of the desk and stared Matthias down.

  He didn’t even have to guess at that answer. “No.”

  “How do you survive losing her? How do you survive never seeing her again?”

  Matthias felt all of the blood drain from his head. The room spun and he doubted if his legs would hold him if he tried to stand. “I can’t.”

  “Then drop the ego, get your fucking coat and let’s go.”

  Kayla stood behind the counter, just as she did every other Tuesday. Cecelia was on her way back to town. Between the shooting and near drowning, she wanted to check on things. Kayla feared that meant she was about to be fired. She seemed to bring trouble wherever she went, so she couldn’t exactly blame her boss.

  With Wren and Matthias handling the press and the police, the entire thing had barely made a ripple in the news. There was talk of a stalker. Most of the people working at and around the marina were supportive and sympathized with her for all she’d been through. Almost everyone told her they now understood why she kept to herself.

  They got that she’d been in hiding. They just didn’t understand the real reason. Whatever it took to get back to some form of normal was fine with her. She just knew that this time she wouldn’t be moving on or taking a new name. So long as this cover held and no one uncovered her past, she’d settle in here and try to start over. No more running, and that meant trusting the friend who sat right in front of her picking at a piece of banana cream pie.