Harlequin Romantic Suspense July 2021 Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  Landon knew she didn’t like visiting the jail any more than he liked her visiting it. But it was part of her job, and Jocelyn didn’t shy away from any part of her job—no matter how tough or how dangerous.

  * * *

  A guard at her side, Jocelyn walked up to the door of the little conference room where she would meet with Luther and his lawyer. Her heels clicked against the concrete floor, sounding like small-caliber gunshots echoing off the concrete walls and ceiling, too. Instinctively, she felt the urge to duck and take cover.

  “His lawyer is already inside,” the guard told her as he reached for the door. “But we’re bringing Luther down from his cell right now.”

  Luther. Not the inmate. Not even Mills...

  Landon was right. She couldn’t trust the guards—at least, not one who was on a first-name basis with a dangerous murderer. She glanced behind the burly guard, wishing she would see Landon. But the guards searching him must not have been done yet. She’d been searched and had headed back alone.

  She’d hated to leave him—especially after the two days they’d had together. Two days that had seemed like a dream. They couldn’t have been real; she couldn’t have experienced as much pleasure as he’d given her.

  But she had.

  The guard opened the door and held it for her. “Ms. Gerber, have you changed your mind?”

  She shook her head and stepped inside. The lawyer sat already at the table in the conference room. Even though it was late at night, he looked perfectly coiffed, his black hair slicked back. His suit was perfect, too.

  Jocelyn lifted her fingers to her throat, checking that the scarf hadn’t slipped. She wore it for protection, to hide the bruises, but now she realized it could be used as a weapon like her attacker must have used his tie. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn it.

  But it was too late now. The door on the other side of the room opened and Luther Mills stepped in, a grin curving his lips when he saw her.

  “It’s like my dream come to life,” Luther murmured as he took the seat across from her. “The things you and I were just doing, Jocelyn...” His dark-eyed gaze slipped from her face down over her body, and he wriggled his brows at her.

  She resisted the urge to shudder with revulsion. That was what he wanted—to affect her, to scare her. So she stared down her nose at him. “I am not here to discuss your dreams, Mr. Mills.”

  “That’s a damn shame,” he said. “I think you might like what I was doing to you.”

  Her disgust churned in her stomach, but she only glared at him, acting as unmoved as possible. Luther Mills was a predator looking for the weakest victim, so she could show no weakness to him.

  “Mr. Mills,” his lawyer intervened, sweat beginning to bead on his high forehead. “Ms. Gerber called this meeting with concerns that you’re behind the abduction of Judge Holmes’s daughter.” And it was clear that he shared her concerns but wanted no part of this one of Luther’s crimes.

  Luther widened his eyes with obviously feigned innocence. “The judge has a daughter?” he asked. “I didn’t even know that.”

  Jocelyn glared at him again. “Everyone knows how much the judge’s daughter means to him.”

  “More than justice?” Luther scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”

  Luther had apparently never loved anyone more than himself or his money. He didn’t understand how far a person might go to protect someone they loved.

  She thought of Landon, of that bullet striking his neck. She could have lost him so easily. But then, he really wasn’t hers to lose—despite their idyllic weekend. He was still just her bodyguard.

  And the reason she needed a bodyguard was because of this man. Sure, other people had threatened her, but it was too much of a coincidence for them to act on those threats now—when Luther was trying to take out everyone associated with his trial. Even the judge’s innocent daughter.

  “Your plan is not going to work,” she told Luther.

  He leaned forward, so that his face neared hers.

  She forced herself not to pull back as he studied her very intently and unsettlingly.

  “What do you think my plan is?” he asked her.

  “You’re going to use his daughter to make the judge rule in your favor,” Jocelyn said.

  “You think he would do something like that? That he would compromise the system like that?” He sounded as if he really wanted her to answer.

  And that worried her. She had to be honest, though. “No. Your plan won’t work,” she answered him. “Judge Holmes will recuse himself, and another judge will get assigned to your trial.”

  He grinned, probably unable to not gloat over what he considered another victory over justice.

  She gasped as she realized that was what his plan really was. “That’s what you want. Another judge—one who works for you.”

  “Everybody thinks you work for me, Jocelyn,” Luther taunted her.

  Heat rushed to her face. It was so damn embarrassing that everyone thought that. She shook her head in denial.

  But he continued, “Because you’ve conveniently lost every case against me.”

  “Nothing about that was convenient,” she said.

  “Hurt your career a bit, huh?” He snickered. “We both know you wouldn’t be trying this case if your boss wasn’t on maternity leave.”

  “In all those other cases against you, I didn’t have Judge Holmes.”

  “Of course, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you won’t have him now either. If something happens to his daughter...”

  “It won’t,” she said, and she was forced to bluff. She hoped like hell that her bluff proved to be the truth. She could not lose Judge Holmes. “Tyce Jackson has found her.”

  He leaned closer and narrowed his eyes, studying her even more intently. “Really?” Luther asked. “He found her?”

  She nodded.

  “Alive?” he asked with surprise.

  Jocelyn heard the surprise in his voice, and her heart slammed against her ribs. That poor girl.

  It sounded as if Luther was certain she was dead. And there was only one way he would be certain—because he’d ordered her killed.

  She gasped.

  He wasn’t entirely certain, though, because he kept staring at her. “You were lying, right, Ms. Gerber?” he prodded her. “Tyce didn’t find her, did he?”

  He sounded worried about the man she now knew was his brother. He didn’t claim him as much, though, so he probably hadn’t ordered anyone to spare his life. Did he think Tyce had been killed trying to rescue her?

  It was a distinct possibility. And she felt sick as she thought of Landon losing his friend, of a man losing his life. She hoped like hell if Tyce had found her that he and the judge’s daughter had made it out alive.

  She stood up and headed toward the door. Just as Landon had warned her, this had been a waste of time. For her...

  She had a horrible feeling that Luther had gotten more information out of her than she had him. She had no proof that he’d ordered the judge’s daughter abducted or worse.

  She had nothing to use against him to coerce him to turn over the girl. She could only hope that Tyce Jackson was as good at his job as Landon was at his, and that he would save Bella just like Landon had saved her.

  Over and over again...

  * * *

  Luther whistled as the ADA turned and walked out into the hall. He hadn’t been lying about dreaming about her. It would almost be fun to face her in court. And it definitely sounded as if that was where they were heading. He hadn’t been able to get the charges thrown out before the trial.

  So he had to win the trial.

  And he needed Judge Holmes to either be on his side or off the bench for that to happen.

  “What the hell did you do?” his lawyer asked him. But then he held up a
hand, with a lot of rings on it, and shook his head. “No. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

  Luther sighed. “Deniable culpability...whatever the hell you go on about.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this,” the man said as he began to rise from the chair.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Luther told him. And he held out his hand now—for the lawyer’s phone. He’d hidden his untraceable cell in his jail cell—just in case Jocelyn had ordered him searched when he came into the room. He wouldn’t have put it past her.

  She was so damn smart.

  And careful...

  That had to be the only reason she was still alive, that and her damn bodyguard, Landon Myers. Landon had always been a pain in the ass with that protective streak of his. No wonder he made such a good bodyguard.

  Was Luther’s half brother as good a bodyguard?

  Had Tyce found Bella Holmes?

  Luther punched in some numbers on his lawyer’s cell phone and pressed it to his ear. “Tell me you still have her.”

  The lawyer closed his eyes and pressed his hand over them. If he was trying to be one of those little caricature monkeys, he should have covered his ears, so he would hear no evil. Closing his eyes just meant he couldn’t see it.

  “I’m not with her,” the ADA on Luther’s payroll replied.

  “Why the hell not?”

  But Luther knew—he was afraid to get caught.

  “She’s not going to get away. Your crew members are protecting her.”

  Not enough of them, just some young, dumb kids. Luther needed to send in more mature and more dangerous backup. But thanks to the damn Payne Protection Agency, he kept losing crew members.

  Like Tyce. He’d once been a member of his crew. But he’d just been undercover, trying to get evidence to bring down Luther. If he died trying to save the judge’s daughter, then so be it.

  He probably wasn’t the only half sibling Luther had anyway. “You didn’t notice anyone watching the place?” he asked.

  “No. You think someone found her?” the guy asked, his voice rising with a hint of panic.

  Tyce could. He knew the area. He knew a lot of Luther’s crew. He felt a flash of panic, too. “I better get more guys out there just in case.”

  Just in case little Ms. Gerber hadn’t been bluffing.

  Before he could disconnect to make another call, the ADA said, “I shouldn’t have been involved in this. I’ve met the judge’s daughter. She might have recognized my voice.”

  “Then I guess you should have made sure she was dead before you left the warehouse,” Luther said.

  And his lawyer groaned.

  “But then, I don’t think you have the stomach for killing,” Luther told the guy. “Or Ms. Gerber wouldn’t have just paid me a visit.”

  “She was there? At the jail?”

  “Yup. Alive and well.”

  The ADA snorted. “Not that well. She’s been missing since I strangled her the other night.”

  That was why she’d worn that scarf around her neck. “Tried,” Luther said. “You didn’t succeed. Just like I said, you don’t have the stomach for it.”

  “You told me to back off,” the ADA reminded him. “So I was just going to slip some evidence into her filing cabinet.”

  “Evidence? Against me?”

  “Against her,” the man replied. “The drop phone I used to talk to you.”

  “Are you framing her or me?” Luther asked. Maybe he needed to take out this ADA instead of Jocelyn Gerber.

  “It wouldn’t hold up in court, but it makes her look guilty,” the man replied. “I saw her coming in as I was about to leave.”

  “So you decided to strangle her even though I told you to back off.”

  “I’d put her bodyguard in the hospital, so she was finally alone,” the man explained. “I had to take advantage of the opportunity.”

  “Landon Myers is in the hospital?”

  “Was—but just for a little while. He got out in time to save her again.”

  That was what those damn bodyguards did—swooped to the rescue. He had to get more of his crew over to the warehouse to make sure nobody got the judge’s daughter out alive. But before he clicked off, he told the guy, “You better not fail next time you try to kill her.”

  “When’s that?”

  “Now.” The guy had been able to get close to her because no one had suspected him yet. But if the judge’s daughter lived and was able to identify him, he would never get close to Jocelyn Gerber again. And if the guy died trying to kill his coworker, like the rookie cop had died trying to kill Rosie, it was just one more loose end Luther wouldn’t have to clean up.

  CHAPTER 20

  Landon closed his eyes and tried to shut out the sound of water running in the bathroom. As soon as they had returned to her house from the jail, Jocelyn had headed to the shower—needing to wash off her visit with Luther Mills.

  Landon wanted to join her in the shower, but guilt was already weighing heavily on him. While his assignment was to protect Jocelyn, he was also part of a team—a team he hadn’t been supporting as much as he should have been. He was worried about his friends.

  Fortunately, Clint and Hart were safe now—since the people they were protecting had agreed to go into safe houses far from Luther’s reach. But since they were safe, Keeli and Tyce were in even more danger. Especially Tyce.

  He had to be trying to find the judge’s daughter. Landon didn’t want to bother him, but he had to know if he was all right.

  Even though he expected the call to go straight to voice mail, he punched Tyce’s contact on his cell screen. When a male voice answered, he nearly dropped it—especially when he realized it wasn’t Tyce who’d picked up the call.

  “Parker?”

  “Yeah...” His boss uttered a ragged-sounding sigh that rattled the phone.

  “What’s wrong?” Landon anxiously asked. “Why are you answering Tyce’s phone?”

  “He was shot. He’s in surgery.”

  Landon’s stomach flipped as it filled with dread. “What happened?”

  “He rescued the judge’s daughter.”

  “Is she all right?” Landon asked. Or had Bella Holmes been shot, too?

  “She’s fine,” Parker said. “Tyce found her and saved her—all on his own. But he got shot in the process. I’m not sure if it happened before or after we arrived as backup. We got there just as Luther’s backup arrived. It was...” His voice cracked. “It got crazy...”

  “Is anyone else hurt?” Landon asked.

  “I don’t think any of Luther’s crew survived.”

  “What about the Payne Protection bodyguards?” Landon asked. “Are they all okay?”

  “Everyone is except for Tyce.”

  “How bad is it?” he asked, fear making his voice gruff.

  “He carried her out of the warehouse, got her to safety, made sure she was treated before he collapsed,” Parker said.

  But that was because Tyce was a beast. He was big and strong and determined.

  “How bad is he hurt?” Landon asked again.

  “I don’t know,” Parker said. “He’s been in surgery for a while.”

  Which meant that there was considerable damage. “Damn it...” he said.

  “It was weird how Luther’s crew showed up,” Parker said. “It was as if they’d been tipped off that Tyce had found her. What the hell did Ms. Gerber say to him at the jail? That was where you brought her, right?”

  “Yeah...” he conceded. “But I wasn’t in on the meeting.”

  “So you don’t know what she told him.”

  “She wouldn’t have said Tyce found her,” Landon said. “Until now, I didn’t know Tyce had any idea where to find her.” But he should have known that he would figure it out. Tyce had been undercov
er for a long time as part of Luther’s crew. So he might have had some idea where she was being held.

  Parker sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “What?” Landon asked.

  “I don’t know if we should trust Jocelyn,” he replied. “You might have been right about her this whole time.”

  “No, I wasn’t,” Landon said. “And you know it. All the attempts on her life prove she’s not working for Luther.”

  “But you’re the one who’s gotten hurt all those times,” Parker said. “Not her...”

  “That’s not...” And he remembered he hadn’t told Parker about the attempt in her office—when she’d nearly been strangled. So he did it now.

  Parker cursed him.

  “That’s why we disappeared for a while,” Landon said.

  “Because you didn’t trust anyone?” Parker asked. “Because you believed her about Tyce being in collusion with Luther? I don’t know what happened in her office, but I think you were smart not to trust her. And I don’t think you should now, not after what happened to Tyce.”

  Landon knew his boss was upset, so he wasn’t going to argue with him—even though he wanted to hotly defend Jocelyn. “Let me know when Tyce is out of surgery,” he said.

  “Don’t bring her near the hospital,” Parker warned him. “Nobody wants her around here.”

  That wasn’t true. Landon wanted her. Badly...

  Understanding that Parker was rightfully worried about Tyce, Landon just disconnected the call. He was sliding his cell into his pocket when he heard the ding of another cell phone receiving a text. It wasn’t his, or he would have felt it.

  And he could have sworn Jocelyn had brought her cell upstairs with her when she’d gone to take her shower. The sound dinged again, and he realized it came from the briefcase she’d left on the coffee table. Curious as to why she would have two phones, he walked over to it. She must have shoved something in it as they’d come inside because the briefcase wasn’t fully closed. Usually it was shut and locked.

  He took the opportunity to flip it open, and his stomach pitched when he looked inside. Lying on top of a pile of folders was the phone and a prescription bottle with the label torn off. What the hell had been in the bottle?