Calculating Desires (The Rockford Security Series Book 4)

by Jones, Lee Anne

  Bingo!

  Pulse racing, she took off toward the Boneyard just north of Owen’s place. The first time he’d shot at her, he’d waited until they were in a deserted side street, so this time she stuck to heavily populated areas.

  Every so often, she’d glance over her shoulder to make sure he was still in pursuit.

  Yep. Still there, lingering back maybe fifty-feet or so.

  As she neared the entrance to the Neon Museum, she took an unexpected turn to the right and slipped into a shadowed alcove, hoping to lose him briefly to allow her to sneak past the museum’s security and into the Boneyard. Moments later, the guy stopped a few feet from her hiding place, his breath loud in the cool night air. Alison didn’t move a muscle, eyes squeezed shut as she waited for him to either kill her or move away.

  Thankfully, he cursed and walked back toward the main street.

  Alison sagged against the brick wall then hesitated a bit longer before jogging the short distance to the Boneyard’s employee side exit. The chain link gate was secured with only a heavy padlock. After what she had planned tonight, they’d change that soon enough, but for now it was perfect. She pulled out a bobby pin from her pocket and crouched to pick the lock.

  Good thing self-defense wasn’t the only thing she’d learned back in the dojo.

  Minutes later, the tumblers inside the padlock slipped into place and the top popped open. Alison straightened and shoved the pin back into her pocket, only to feel a hand on her shoulder.

  Fuck.

  She’d done her best to keep a lookout while picking the lock, but she must’ve gotten distracted. Breath held, she turned slowly to face whoever was behind her, well aware these might be her last moments on earth.

  Except the face that came into view wasn’t the thug who’d followed her, but a familiar one, a trusted one. She gave a relieved sigh. “Caroline, you scared the living crap out of me. What are you doing here?”

  Her contact at Copernatech, Caroline Biggs, had served on the same team as Alison. She held a finger to her lips and glanced around, her short dark curls bouncing around her face. “Let’s get inside first, where it’s safe.”

  “Right.” Alison creaked open the gate as quietly as possible and waved her friend through then followed behind. They walked to a large metal sign shaped like a cowboy boot and Alison leaned against it for a moment, head lowered. “We don’t have a lot of time. There’s a Copernatech thug on the loose.”

  “I know.” Caroline’s voice sounded odd. Alison looked up in time to see her draw a gun from inside her jacket. “How do you think I knew where to find you?”

  Realization dawned with sickening clarity.

  Caroline had turned on her for Copernatech.

  Hands held up in the universal sign of surrender, Alison pushed away from the sign. If she played along, hopefully it might buy her some time to escape. “What’s going on Caro? I thought we were in this together.”

  “We were, until Copernatech gave me no choice.” Her bright smile faltered and tears gathered in her dark eyes. “I’m sorry about this, Heather. I tried to warn you in the letter five days ago, why didn't you run?”

  “The last letter?” Alison thought back to the last time she'd been to the bench. There had been no letter. Had someone else gotten it first? “The last one I got was over a week ago.”

  A spark of contrition flashed through Carol's eyes, but the gun didn't waver. “I'm sorry. Really, I am. But they’ve got my family. My babies. If I don’t hand you over, they’ll kill them.”

  “I can help you, Caro.” Alison inched slightly to the side. The place was a maze of old, abandoned signage. If she could get lost inside the bones of Old Las Vegas, the probability of her survival greatly increased. “I’m a mathematician, remember? Between the two of us, we can outsmart these guys. Just let me calculate some numbers.”

  “No.” Caroline moved closer, the gun trembling in her hands. “No more calculations. No more outsmarting them. They won, Heather. It’s over.”

  Given the distance between herself and Caro and the level of darkness, she should be able to fight her way out of this without doing any serious damage to either of them, at least in theory. Decided, Alison inhaled and gave a slight nod. “I’m sorry too, Caroline.”

  Before the other woman could react, Alison kicked the gun from her hands, followed by a fast blow to Caroline’s chest and the side of her head. Caroline slumped unconscious at her feet. Thank God for all those self-defense lessons.

  Adrenaline pumping and time short, she dragged the woman’s body behind the gigantic steel boot then took off into the heart of the Boneyard. If they hadn’t moved anything around since the last time she’d been here, there should be a spot near the middle of the maze that would give her optimal visual advantage over her opponent. Now, all she has to do is wait for him.

  It didn’t take long.

  She crouched behind a large rectangular sign and held her breath as the sound of the metal gate squeaking open was followed by the crunch of footsteps on gravel.

  Closer, closer…

  The footfalls ceased and a gruff curse rang out through the pitch black night.

  He must’ve found Caro.

  The steps started again, louder and quicker this time, headed in her general direction.

  Alison closed her eyes and concentrated on the impending approach of her attacker, ran through the logistics of it all in her head one more time.

  Any minute now, any minute now, any minute…

  Now!

  She darted from cover and deeper into the maze of signs, leading the thug closer to where she needed him. This had to work or she’d be dead before Owen ever arrived.

  Owen.

  A pang of want so strong it made her knees wobble stabbed her heart.

  Where is he?

  It had to be close to midnight now, given the angle of the moon above. Only a few more minutes and this would all be over. Only a few more minutes and…

  The Copernatech thug stepped into the required spot and Alison acted on pure instinct. With her left shoulder, she shoved hard against the nearest sign—once, twice—until it gave a low groan and teetered over, knocking into the next sign, which toppled into the next sign, and the next until she’d started a domino effect.

  Soon, the entire Boneyard was filled with the clang-clang of colliding signage until all that remained was a heaping pile of debris and dust at the center of the space, trapping her attacker inside the mess.

  She coughed and squinted over at the employee gate.

  Still no Owen.

  Had he decided not to come? Decided I’m not worth the risk?

  As if on cue the wail of sirens neared and Alison grinned.

  Better late than never, my knight in dented armor…

  * * *

  Owen slammed on his brakes just outside the gate to the Boneyard and jammed his car’s transmission into Park. That damned traffic snarl on the Strip had made him later than he’d wanted. And maybe he was taking up three parking spaces. Right now, he didn’t care if he was blocking the whole fucking lot for the police that followed. The woman he loved was inside that fence—possibly hurt and definitely in danger—and he sure as hell planned to get her out.

  As a steady stream of squad cars filled the roadway behind him, Owen stalked over to the gate and kicked it open, Rambo-style.

  Fuck finesse. Fuck everything except getting Alison back.

  The first thing he saw when he entered was a large cloud of dust erupting from the center of the Boneyard. The second was a pale arm stretched out on the ground from behind a rusted cowboy boot sign.

  Heart in his throat, he charged over to the body, praying hard it wasn’t Alison. Cautiously, he peered around the edge of the sign and spotted a mop of dark brown hair. Relieved, he knelt beside the unconscious woman.

  Not dead either.

  Good.

  He checked her pulse once more to be sure, then stood and pulled a Glock 9mm from the holster at his hi
p. He had a license to carry, but rarely used it these days unless necessary.

  Tonight was most definitely necessary.

  Sticking close to a row of still-upright signage for cover, he inched down one of the rows and headed for the creaking pile of crap at the center of the field. From the looks of most of this shit around here, all of it could come crashing down at any second. All the noise and dust and high-octane buzz of adrenaline took him straight back to his combat days, but he shoved those memories aside. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in the past.

  Now was the time to find Alison and make sure she was safe.

  The metallic tang of rust stung his nose as he crept closer to what he could now see was a huge pile of fallen signs. Jesus, somebody sure as hell did a number on those things. They were piled up at least twenty feet high and those ominous groans and moans weren’t helping either.

  Flashes of red and blue lights from the cop cars broke through the shadows and soon the ominous groans and moans from the pile were joined by the sounds of police moving into place and radio communications.

  Owen exhaled and continued forward. Somewhere in this maze of chaos was the bastard who’d abducted Alison. He wanted to call out for her, to make sure she was okay, but he didn’t want to give away his position either. Finally, he reached the center of the Boneyard and stopped for a moment to just take it all in.

  It was quieter here. In fact, if he leaned in and listened hard he could almost hear…

  Scowling, Owen took a step back.

  That sounds like a curse.

  He leaned in again and grinned.

  Yep. Definitely a string of obscenities that would make most sailors blush.

  Based on the gruff tone, a man was trapped in there and whoever the hell he was he was not happy about it. Owen clicked on the safety on his gun and stashed it in its holster then stepped forward to lift up the edge of one of the signs to check beneath it.

  “Don’t do that!”

  Whipping around, he spotted Alison a few feet away. Tangled hair hung in her eyes, dirt and rust smudged her clothes and face, and still she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

  She stepped around a large letter N and shook her head. “He’ll get out and I don’t want him to get out until the cops are here. According to my calculations, he’s fine anyway. Just trapped.”

  Owen straightened and moved closer. “According to your calculations, huh?”

  “Yes.” Alison blew a stray strand of hair away from her eyes. “If you take the maximum energy and divide it by the force needed to create the level of momentum necessary for…”

  Unable to resist any longer, Owen rushed forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, bringing his lips down on hers to silence any further math mumbo-jumbo.

  Alison’s here. Alison’s alive. Alison’s in my arms where she belonged.

  Eventually, he cupped her face in his hands, looking her over for any signs of injury. “Are you okay, honey? Did he hurt you at all?”

  “I’m fine.” She pulled free, her tone slightly perturbed. “Despite the hiccup in my plan. I made it work though.”

  “Aw, honey.” Owen pulled her in for another passionate kiss, leaving them both breathless. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

  “I’m sorry. After he shot at me and Peaches got away, it was too risky to contact you until I had a plan in mind. Unfortunately, it turns out they were blackmailing my contact, Caroline. They took her family hostage and told her they’d kill them all if she didn’t lead them to me.”

  “Caroline?”

  “The woman out front. I feel bad about knocking her out, but what else could I do. She’s okay, isn’t she?”

  “Yes.” Owen chuckled. Only Alison would be sorry about knocking out someone who was trying to kill her. “I checked on her on my way over here. She was still out, but her pulse was strong and her breathing regular.” He swore under his breath and gave her a little shake. “You scared the bejesus out of me though. I thought that was you lying there, honey.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “I didn’t take that probability into consideration. Sorry. It wasn’t my intention to scare you. In fact, about the second part of that text. I—”

  Whatever she’d been about to say was cut off by his kiss. The reminder of the danger she’d been in made him desperate to keep her close. This time when he pulled away, his throat felt tight with emotion. “Listen, honey. I want you to stay. Promise me you’ll stay, that you won’t run off and leave me again without saying goodbye.”

  “I promise.” She swiped a lock of hair away from his forehead then relaxed against him, tucking her head under his chin. For several moments, they just held each other, rocking back and forth slowly until his thudding heart eventually slowed to a normal rhythm. Alison leaned back, her expression concerned. “What about Peaches? Did she find her way home?”

  “Yep. Came right back to me.”

  “Smart girl.” Alison raised herself up on tiptoes and kissed him lightly.

  The sound of a clearing throat stopped him from deepening the kiss. He stepped back from Alison, but kept her hand in his as he turned to find Blake standing nearby along with several police officers.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but these gentlemen need to get your statement, Ms. James.” Blake hiked a thumb at one of the men beside him. “If you have a moment.”

  “Of course.” She pointed at the stack of rubble behind her. “They might want to get the bad guy out from under there first though.”

  “Right.” One of the officers radioed in and soon a crew of cops arrived to lift the signs off the trapped assailant. “We’ll take it from here, Mr. Rockford.”

  “Good.” Blake gestured for Owen and Alison to follow him away from the scene. “The ambulance is here for you as well, Alison, in case you have any injuries.”

  “I’m fine, really.” A pair of EMTs rushed over anyway to cover Alison with a blanket and take her vitals. “Honest. No injuries here.”

  Owen stayed by her side the whole time, unwilling to let her out of his sight for a second until they had that creep beneath the signs securely in police custody. Finally, the EMTs cleared her and they joined Blake near the employee side gate to the Boneyard.

  “Your friend, Ms. Biggs, regained consciousness and I was able to ask her a few question,” Blake said as they approached.

  “Did you?” Alison said, grasping Owen’s hand a bit tighter.

  “Yep. I convinced her it would be in her best interest to turn on Copernatech. Based on the nature of this case and the fact it crosses state lines, local law enforcement should be able to get her assigned to the U.S. Marshall’s office and Witness Protection will guard her and her family from this point forward.”

  “I see.”

  Her quiet tone had Owen tugging her closer into his side. “That’s good. That means she can stop running and so can you, honey.”

  “It also means you can return to being Heather Connors,” Blake said, glancing at Alison. “If that’s what you want.”

  She dug the toe of her sneaker into the gravel. Owen slipped his arm around her waist and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Whatever you want, honey. I’ll be here to support you either way.”

  Finally, she shook her head. “I’ve changed too much this past year. Whoever Heather Connors was, that isn’t me anymore. Alison James is who I am now.”

  “Okay.” Blake nodded. “Alison James it is then. You know, Alison, I could use a talented mathematician on my team at Rockford Security.”

  “Yeah? Doing what? Security isn’t exactly my specialty.”

  “You’d be surprised at the different assignments that come our way. Anyway, keep it in mind if you’re planning on sticking around Las Vegas for a while.” Blake frowned and pulled his buzzing cell phone from his pocket. “Sorry. Excuse me, but I have to take this.”

  Owen watched his cousin walk away, his gut knotted with tension. He wanted Alison to stay more than he wanted his next breath, but he wouldn’t
force her. It had to be her decision, her choice.

  She glanced up at him and grinned. “Why so glum?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I am you know.”

  “What?”

  “Sticking around.” She faced him and took both of his hands in hers. “Meeting you was like a switch to polar coordinates: complex and imaginary things were given a magnitude and a direction.”

  “That’s another weird math analogy I’ll never get, isn’t it?”

  Alison laughed and raised up on her tiptoes, her warm breath tickling his face as her lips hovered millimeters from his. “Maybe you’ll understand this.”

  As her lips captured his in a fiery kiss, Owen moaned deep in his throat and pulled her tight against him, loving the feel and taste and smell of her.

  Loving Alison. Period.

  Yep. That he understood perfectly.

  The end.

  ********

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  Can't get enough of the Rockfords? Check out the other books in the series:

  Deadly Betrayal (Book 1)

  Fatal Games (Book 2)

  Treacherous Seduction (Book 3)

  Calculating Desires (Book 4)

  About the Author

  Lee Anne Jones is the more romantic alter-ego of USA Today Bestselling Author Leighann Dobbs. As Jones, she writes heart thudding romantic suspense guaranteed to keep you up all night.

  She lives in the lakes region of New Hampshire with a fishing obsessed husband, a feisty but loyal chihuahua, and a cat that thinks she's the boss.

  You can find out more about her books at her website http://www.leeannejones.com and connect with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/leeannejonesauthor/

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