Even though a smaller team would be the way to stay hidden, Mitch needed to look at the broader picture. “Would more eyes on the case help?”
“We may get to be the point where we need fresh brainpower,” Josh said. “What about on your end?”
Reese patted the gun tucked in his shoulder holster. “For now, I’ve got this end covered. If we get any movement, that’ll be a different story.”
There wasn’t much chance of CT finding them at the house, but Mitch still felt uneasy. Who else could he trust? Cat for sure, but she was out of commission. Joey? Yeah, but he was more of a tech guy. A smart, muscular techie, but still a support agent who spent a lot of time behind a desk and on workshop presentations around the country instead of an in-the-field agent like himself.
“Who else could we pull in to the team if needed?” Mitch asked.
“Stealth just got off an assignment, but I left him in Florida with Cat.” Josh grinned. “He’ll get her back to St. Louis once she can travel. May have to be by car instead of flying. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Let’s hope they don’t kill each other before then.” Mitch couldn’t help but laugh. “Remember when she put him on the floor at that defensive move exhibit? I thought he’d bust a gut trying to get up before anyone saw him on the ground.”
“As I recall, she didn’t even see him move before he had her pinned against the wall.”
Clicking his tongue, Reese rolled his shoulders. “I worked with Stealth in South America. He is one hard-ass guy. Picturing Cat and him, in a car, for close to eighteen hours… That’s gonna be a long, long trip.”
Mitch laid his gun next to the keyboard. “We’ll need to—
A second later, he slid his hand to cover the gun and motioned for the men to be quiet. What had he heard? A clink? A thud? A door closing? Footsteps on the stairs? What? He pulled his gun in front of his chest, resting it on the edge of the desk.
“I think someone’s moving around downstairs,” Mitch mouthed with barely a whisper as he got to his feet.
Another sound. Something like a stifled pinch of pain echoed from downstairs, up the stairway, and into his open doorway to the hall.
Racing out of his bedroom, he crouched low, hugging the wall as tightly as he clutched his gun. Should he alert Liz? Set up his perimeter at her door? No. Right now, he had a clear lead on the intruder. Other movement might put him on the defense.
Slowly, he inched down the stairs. Heard muffled footsteps. Saw a flash of light turned on. He inched farther down. Darkness flashed as the switch was evidently thrown off, leaving only the kitchen’s nightlight casting a slight glow.
The footsteps headed toward him. A loud pop cut through the air.
Mitch jumped the railing. Landed, rolled twice, stood, and aimed his weapon. “Stay right where—”
Liz’s terrified expression greeted his aim as she sucked in a panicked breath. Caught in the glow of the nightlight, she scrunched her arms against her sides, shielding her chest by holding her hands in front of her, one of which held a chocolate milk.
“Wha-what are you doing?” Her shaky voice matched the tremble of her body.
“I heard a sound. Thought it might be CT.”
She flipped on the overhead light, which illuminated her hair dripping wet. Her oversized sleep shirt skimmed more than halfway up her thighs. “Do I look like CT?”
Redundant question. No need for an answer. He was the one who needed answers. And, to keep his eyes on her face. “What was the loud pop I heard?”
Liz bent and retrieved a bag from the floor. “I dropped my cookies.”
His eyes zoomed back and forth between her and the bag of chocolate chip cookies in her hand. “What are you doing down here by yourself? I told you to let me know if you left from upstairs.”
“I knocked on your connecting door, but you didn’t answer. So, I opened it a crack and told you I was going downstairs. Even asked if you wanted anything.”
“Well, I didn’t hear you.”
“Really? Because you said ‘no’.” She did that whole cock of the hip that women did when they wanted to make a point. “And don’t you go all ballistic on me. When we were in the kitchen earlier, you said that if I needed anything else to… Get. It. Myself.”
The side door slammed open, and she screamed as she dropped the bag again. Plus the bottle of milk this time.
Pounding footsteps raced toward them as Mitch spun to face the attack.
CT had moved in fast. Faster than he’d imagined possible.
No Kevlar to protect him. None for his client. He’d trained for this day. Knew it would come. He stepped in front of her, his gun aimed level at the approaching danger. Whoever rounded that corner was a dead man. After that, it was anybody’s guess.
Chapter Nineteen
The sound of the door crashing inward sounded like the end of the world. The footsteps, the countdown. In that instant, Liz knew without a doubt, she was going to die. Mitch was going to die. Her only solace was that they were going to die together. In the light—not locked in some dark room.
A battle cry roar blasted from around the corner of the wall, while the muzzle of a pistol flashed forth. “Down.”
She hit the floor.
Mitch stayed where he stood, waving his arms above his head. “Safe! Safe!”
Reese rounded the corner with his gun aimed, then quickly pulled it down when he saw the two of them. “What the hell was the thud and the pop?”
Helping her to her feet, Mitch grabbed the bottle. “She dropped her milk and cookies.”
A joke? He was making a joke? She was scared out of her mind, and he was making a joke. She jerked away from him, backing up as she pressed her palms against her cheeks. Too much…this was too much. She pulled her shaking hands into prayer mode.
“You two men are crazy. Crazy, I say.” Huffing air in and out, she swayed. Suddenly woozy, she braced her hand against the wall. “Do…do you know how afraid…” She fisted her other hand against her chest. “I…I can’t breathe. I can’t…”
Pulling her into a hug, Mitch held her tight as he caressed her hair, her cheek. “You’re okay, Liz. You’re afraid, that’s all. Just afraid.” Little by little, he loosened his hold. “That’s right, breathe in…out…in…out. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Of course, he was right. She’d been scared. Having guns pointed in your direction could do that to a person, never mind the fierce expression covering his face as he jumped over the rail. She knew, without a doubt, that he would use everything available to protect her. But exactly what did everything include? That was the part she didn’t know. The part she didn’t really want to know.
Reese held out what had been her bag of cookies. “Sorry. Guess I stepped on them.”
Mitch grabbed the bag, tore it open, and poured a handful of crumbs in his hand. Gulped them down, then tossed the bag to Reese, who did the same thing.
“Tastes good to me,” Mitch said.
It didn’t take a fool to see they were trying to lighten the situation, so she took the rest of the bag and headed to the stairs.
“Thank you for stopping by, Reese. Thank you both for the protection.” She gave each of them a hug, which they each awkwardly returned. “Please don’t think I’m ungrateful, but I’m going back to my room now. I’m going to eat the rest of my crumbs and get some rest. Hopefully, all this will be forgotten in the morning.”
This had been a long day of emotions. For now, all she needed was some sleep. Maybe tomorrow she might feel safe enough for a walk on the beach, do some shell collecting. Anything, to feel normal again.
Mitch leaned against the rail as she started up the stairs. “Sure you’re okay?”
She nodded rapidly, biting her lower lip to stop the weepy tremble trying to take over.
“Good. Stop in my room and say hello to Josh on the screen.”
“On the screen?”
“Computer screen. I asked him to check on your ban
k accounts again. See if he needs any more specifics from you.”
Heading slowly up the steps, she subconsciously heard Mitch telling Reese about the house, the setup, the deck security. Reese asked something about a message, then she heard the whoosh of the patio doors folding back. When she glanced back, they were both huddled in conversation on the deck. Would this day, this night, never end? She glanced at the decorative clock on the back wall of the balcony. Almost midnight and the two guys were still going strong.
“Liz,” Mitch called up to her.
After placing the items in her hands onto the end table next to a wicker chair, she leaned against the balcony railing. Down below, there was no sign of Reese; he must have gone out on the deck. But there was Mitch. Mitch with the ever-present serious look on his face.
“What?” she asked.
“I don’t want you wandering around by yourself. So be sure to let me know if you leave the floor during the night.”
Hopefully, her mind had fuzzed with the lateness of the hour, otherwise that sounded ridiculous. Plus, an awful lot like an order. “So let me get this straight. If I need a drink of water, you’ll go all the way downstairs to get it for me.”
He nodded.
“I don’t need a shadow,” she said.
“I’m not a shadow. I’ll be so invisible, you won’t even know I’m there.” He moved his hands back and forth in front of his face. “Listen, I take my responsibility seriously.”
Shadow? Invisible? They sounded the same to her. And his eyebrows pinched together, telling her he really didn’t understand her problem with the situation. She could wait and run him from one floor to the next every few minutes, all day tomorrow, or she could end this right now.
“I understand you want to protect me, and I fully appreciate everything you’ve done. But you said this place was safe. Lots of security.” She sighed. “So, how about you give me a little breathing room?”
The more she talked, the more she saw the set of his jaw growing tighter.
“Once this is over, you can go anyplace you want. You can do anything. With anybody you want. Because I won’t be your protector then. And that should make you happy.” Mitch’s tone sounded as harsh as the look in his eyes. “Until then, you let me know if you’re leaving the floor.”
Reese walked in from the deck. Stopped and glanced at them. “Should I wait outside?”
“No. We’re done here.” He narrowed his eyes in her direction.
She shot him her own version of narrowed eyes, mad-as-hell look, right back, then headed to her room. With everything inside her, she wanted to shout that him being gone would not make her happy. That knowing she’d never see him again after this assignment made her insides weep. He’d grown on her, more than she’d thought ever possible. She swiped her fingers across her cheek. Then again, there were times he drove her outright crazy.
At Mitch’s bedroom door, she remembered she was supposed to talk to Josh on the computer, so she walked inside. Mitch’s scent bombarded her.
Sandalwood and Mitch—two scents that had combined in her mind days before. The now familiar combination that was slowly driving her hormones crazy. Somehow, the look of the room felt like him also, even though she doubted he’d chosen anything there.
A wall of whitewashed wooden boards acted as the headboard behind a massive king bed covered in shades of silver to gray, charcoal to black. Sleek, smoked-glass lamps sitting on clear floating shelves completed the look. His chairs were ultra-modern and black with touches of red and white pillows. Truly a man’s room.
Atop the dresser, a five-stalk bamboo and rock arrangement sat on the corner, while graceful, large palm plants were positioned in various pots along one end of another wall. No sign of computer screens that she could see. Maybe she’d misunderstood and he’d said one of the other bedrooms at the opposite end of the hall.
She swept her fingers across the one thing of color on his bed, a bright red throw made of softer than soft material. Material that draped sensually onto the floor. Taking a few steps around the room, she glanced at what she assumed were closed double doors to his bath, but she stayed where she was. What lay beyond those doors wasn’t hers unless invited.
Heading for the bedroom door, she finally saw an office nook off to the side. She rounded the corner and was overcome with technology. The magnitude of computers and speakers and screens heightened her adrenalin. There on the screen was Josh; his image even showed up on a panel laying alongside, so she picked that up.
“You look a little confused,” Josh said.
She let her gaze float around the office once again. “First of all, where are you?”
“Back at headquarters on the outskirts of St. Louis.”
“St. Louis, Missouri?”
“That’s right. We’re practically center of the United States here. Makes for fast travel getting anyplace the agents are needed in the U.S.” He leaned back in his chair. “What was going on downstairs?”
“There was some confusion about me getting a bag of cookies and milk.” Sliding onto the chair in front of the computer, she realized she’d left both on the balcony table. Just as well. She wasn’t hungry anymore. “I’ll let Mitch explain.”
“Was someone yelling?”
She knew he’d recognized her voice. “I like to think of it as a creative way to get attention.”
Josh smiled. “Mitch getting to you?”
That phrase could mean so many things, but she’d stay with the safest one. “He’s so…so… Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Josh half shook his head. “Okay, what can you tell—”
“But have you ever noticed how he’s kind of controlling?”
“Controlling? No. At least not any more than what’s expected of an agent.”
Maybe she’d made too much out of his rules. After all, this was her first time being protected. By an agent. An agent who made his living by being in charge of other people’s lives.
Josh’s expression gave nothing away. “Like I started to sa—”
“So having everything here that I could possibly want is normal on a case? Telling me not to go from one floor to another without him following is normal on a case?” She shook her hands in front of her. “Changing the rules every time he decides, is that normal?”
“Extenuating circumstances can—”
She raised her finger, closed her eyes, and concentrated on breathing. Her sense of feeling trapped wasn’t these guys’ fault. They were only doing their jobs, and it was time she fell in line with the program and do whatever it took for everyone to come out alive on the other side.
“How’s Cat?” she asked, opening her eyes.
“Improving every day. Before long, she’ll be back out there giving the bad guys hell.”
“That’s good. Tell her I said hello.” Liz’s bluster had worn itself out. One day soon, she’d be able to move on with her life. OPAQUE agents only moved on to the next person needing their help. “By the way, Mitch asked me to tell you about my banking problem.”
Josh leaned forward, crossing his arms on the space in front of him with the expression of a man happy the subject had changed. “Give me what you’ve got.”
“The day I was fired, I went to get money from my bank, and my account was limited to a five-hundred-dollar withdrawal. They said I’d need to speak to someone at the main branch.”
“Did you?”
“No. Before I got there, the text from my dad came through. After that, I went straight home.” Saying that out loud made her really question why her account would be limited. “But I’ve got twenty or thirty thousand dollars saved in that bank. It better still be there.”
Frowning, Josh wrote something down. “So, you used your credit card to buy a ticket to Ft. Myers?”
“Barely. Ended up, even my credit cards were tied up. All except one that had a thousand-dollar cap applied.” It dawned on her that if she’d been interviewing someone for an article, she’d be doubting
they knew what they were talking about. Maybe even lying, because that was all too coincidental. Too much of a setup. Why hadn’t that dawned on her during the past few days? “None of that makes sense, does it?”
Josh shook his head. “I’ve already got your account numbers and bank location, so let me see if I can dig a little deeper.”
Again, OPAQUE knowing something private about her didn’t surprise her one bit. “Did I hear someone say you recently married?”
“Macki and I just got back from our honeymoon in Europe before Drake called me in on this job.”
“Congratulations…on the wedding.”
“Thanks, now—”
“Does your wife know what you do? The danger?”
“Yes. Drake is her uncle.” Josh’s brow furrowed, and his expression morphed into what-the-hell-do-you-want-to-know. “Anything else?”
A million questions danced on the edge of Liz’s tongue. “Do you let your wife into your life? Into your thoughts?”
“Yes. I do.” He glanced down for a second then lifted his face toward hers. “Listen, Liz, if Mitch is too intense, and you’d rather Reese or me be your protector, then tell Mitch. He’ll understand.”
“No. I…I…I don’t want that. I’m fine with Mitch.” Feeling herself smile, she looked down at the keyboard. “I wish he’d let me into his world. Even if it’s only once, I’d like to make him feel…” She jerked her head back up. “That came out all wrong. Forget everything I said.”
Josh grinned as he cleared his throat. “When you’ve worked with these guys as long as I have, you learn to trust every one of them. They’ve got your back. You’ve got theirs. What goes on in an agent’s personal life is just that. Personal.” He leaned close enough to the screen that his face filled it entirely. “I trust every single member of my team. You should try some of that trust thing. Makes life easier.”
Maybe she should, but that’s not how her journalistic brain was hotwired. “Learning you’ve been part of the Witness Protection Program for all of your life, and that your parents kept it from you, is…is… Well, let’s say, I’m a little low on trust at the moment.”
Dangerous Lies Page 16