by Jana DeLeon
“Look. You went through a horrible thing. Someone you trusted not only betrayed you but cost you your business and landed you right in the middle of a federal investigation. If you feel something, then you feel it. And you shouldn’t ignore it. Maybe you’re overacting. But what if you’re not?”
“You think Warren could come after me?”
“Not necessarily. Based on my understanding of how things went down, I tend to agree with the FBI’s take on it. But that doesn’t change my advice. If you ever feel uneasy…like something is off, pay attention. Write it down. What you were doing, where you were, how you felt. It never hurts to be careful, even if it’s not warranted.”
She blew out a breath. “You’re right. I’ve been beating myself up about the weird feelings I get sometimes, putting it down to my paranoia. I just need to give myself more time. Writing it down is a good idea. It might help me organize those feelings so that I can get past them.”
Before Luke could comment, there was a loud knock at the front door. She saw him reach for his waist and figured he was involuntarily going for the weapon that wasn’t there.
“Alayna! It’s Bea!” Her aunt’s voice sounded through the door.
“I’ll get it,” Luke said, and hurried to the door.
Bea rushed in, dripping wet from the storm, some of the curlers in her hair dangling at the end of the now-unwrapped locks. She wore her bathrobe, no shoes, and was clutching a pistol in her right hand. She shoved the gun at Luke before going to gather Alayna in her arms.
“Honey, I saw the news and ran out. Are you all right?”
“I’m okay.”
Bea glanced at Luke, apparently not convinced. “Have you talked to those idiots at the FBI?” she asked. “They screwed the pooch on this one.”
“One of the agents died,” Alayna said. “I’m sure that’s not what they wanted.”
“Then they should have done a better job,” Bea said. “I’m sorry for that agent and his family, but they’re supposed to be the experts. What are they doing about you?”
Alayna shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Nothing!” Bea jumped off the couch and threw her arms in the air. “What the hell are we paying taxes for? They put you in the middle of their mucked-up investigation and now that they’ve managed to let that lunatic loose, they’re doing nothing? I swear to God no one does their job anymore.”
“They said I’m not in danger,” Alayna said. “And they’re probably right.”
“Probably,” Bea repeated. “And what if they’re wrong? You’ll move in with me until they get this mess straightened out. I don’t like you out here alone. It’s too remote.”
“No,” Alayna said immediately. If there was any chance that Warren was coming after her, no way was she putting Bea in danger. “I’m fine here. The men that Warren was working for took him. I don’t think…it’s not good for Warren.”
Bea stared at her for several seconds, then her expression cleared in understanding. “I see. Well, I’m still calling tomorrow about getting an alarm system for this house.”
“I don’t want you to go to the expense,” Alayna said.
“It’s a good idea,” Luke said.
“How is that?” Alayna asked. “Do you really think an alarm would stop someone like Juan Rivera? He just took on the FBI to get to Warren. I’m no challenge at all.”
“An alarm would send me over here with a weapon,” Luke said. “And I am a challenge.”
Bea took her pistol from Luke and put it in Alayna’s lap. “Keep this.”
Alayna shook her head. “I can’t take your gun. You need it.”
“I’ve got three other pistols and two shotguns,” Bea said. “This is the South.”
“I keep finding more reasons to like you,” Luke said.
“Likewise,” Bea said. “Especially if you’re going to look out for my niece.”
“He was ready to take me down over your patio furniture, remember?” Alayna pointed out.
“Good,” Bea said. “But he’s off duty tonight. Me and my trusty nine-millimeter are on the job.”
Alayna shook her head. “No. You should go home and go to bed. You have to open the store tomorrow.”
“Wouldn’t get a wink even if I tried,” Bea said. “All I’d do is sit there worrying. Might as well sit here where at least I can see you and therefore diminish the worrying part of the equation.”
Alayna knew it was useless to argue. Bea had that tone that she took when she had decided no one had a choice. And she also knew her aunt was right. Neither of them was likely to get much sleep, and even though she didn’t want to admit it, having her aunt and her trusty nine-millimeter there with her would make her feel better.
“I can stay too,” Luke said.
Bea shook her head. “We’ll be fine. You’re a phone call and a short run away. I’ll take care of her.”
Luke nodded. “If there’s anything you need. Anything at all, call. Doesn’t matter what time.”
“Thank you,” Alayna said. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Count on it,” he said.
Bea followed him to the patio door and closed and latched the door behind him. Alayna watched as he disappeared into the storm. She’d been all set to drop her guard and let whatever happened between them happen. And now this.
It changed everything.
Luke hurried across the dune and into his house, shedding his wet clothes on his way to the bathroom. He toweled off and pulled on clean clothes, then dried the floor and grabbed a soda. The recliner and television were right there where they were every night, waiting for him to waste a couple of hours until sleep took over. But he knew that sleep would elude him. He stood at the patio door, watching the storm rage over the Gulf, and worried about the storm raging in the house next door. He’d been reluctant to leave but couldn’t find a reasonable argument for staying. Not when Bea intended to spend the night. The important thing was that Alayna wasn’t alone. The fact that Bea was armed scored high on his approval list as well.
The news of Warren’s breakout had shaken Alayna to the core. It had shaken him as well.
And it would only get worse when she processed all the implications that his mission-trained mind had already run through. Rivera would never have risked such an action unless the stakes were high. The FBI already had evidence of Patterson’s money laundering, but Luke’s guess was that Patterson was never the real target. He was simply the biggest gun they could use to go after Rivera. The question was, how much did Patterson know?
Was he just the money man? Or did he have more intimate knowledge of Rivera’s operations? The news reports Luke had read indicated the FBI had seized all of Patterson’s holdings, including ancillary investments like Alayna’s restaurant, but made no reference to the money he was cleaning for Rivera. Was it moved through Patterson’s system so quickly that Rivera had it all back in his possession? Or was some of it still in transit and squirreled away somewhere that the FBI hadn’t yet discovered? Overseas accounts were an easy place to drop money and hard to trace, especially if the funds were bounced around several places before arriving at their final destination.
When Alayna asked why Rivera hadn’t killed Patterson on the spot, Luke had told her that Rivera would want to know what Patterson had told the FBI. But he’d hedged on that. The truth was Rivera would have assumed that Patterson gave up everything he knew in exchange for leniency. So Luke had lied because he didn’t want to tell Alayna the truth.
That Patterson must have something Rivera wanted.
And it was worth the risk he’d taken tonight.
Luke didn’t care one whit about Patterson. He’d made his bed and he could damned well lie in it. But what if Patterson didn’t talk? Luke had seen pictures and read the description of Patterson’s background. He didn’t seem like a man who could sustain the torture he’d likely endure and remain silent, but people could surprise you. If Patterson took whatever secret Rivera was searching for to the grave, would Rivera th
en move on to others connected with Patterson? And if he did, wouldn’t the logical place to start be the woman Patterson was involved with?
Luke ran one hand over the top of his head and blew out a breath. Alayna had made comments about being uneasy and feelings of paranoia, but she’d dismissed them as an aftereffect of everything she’d been through in the same sentence. And maybe they were. After all, who wouldn’t be on edge after what she’d gone through? But maybe she’d been mistaken. Maybe the uneasiness was justified. Maybe someone had been watching her this entire time. Waiting for her to receive instructions from Patterson or to make a preset move on a particular date.
And then there was the issue with the FBI, another thing he hadn’t gone into with Alayna but would have to soon. The bottom line was the FBI had screwed up badly. Transfers of prisoners like Patterson were so secret that often only a handful of people knew the real transfer vehicle. Route was often given to the driver once in motion. Destination was known to only a couple of people. And there should have been a decoy vehicle. Patterson’s transfer had gone so wrong that Luke could think of only one reason why.
The FBI had a leak.
Mateo stood on the back deck of his boat, currently docked at the marina, clutching his phone. It had been hours since he’d seen the FBI debacle on television, and he knew the call was coming. With three men dead, Mateo could only assume something had gone very wrong. The only caveat was that Patterson had been extracted. Mateo hadn’t been brought into that play, but then, Patterson wasn’t Mateo’s target, and the client didn’t have to get his approval.
At midnight, the phone finally rang.
“You saw the news?” the client asked.
“Yes. I assume that didn’t go as planned.”
“Not exactly. But we still acquired the target.”
Mateo recognized the tone of the client’s voice and held in a curse. Clients didn’t like when people pointed out their mistakes. Mateo had just broken the golden rule of implying failure to the man who currently signed his paychecks.
“Did you get the information out of him?” Mateo asked.
“Not yet. But we will.”
“What’s my directive?”
“Same as before. If you get an opportunity to search the house without confrontation, then do so. Otherwise, hold back until notified.”
“And the neighbor?”
“I have some information. I’ll forward it to your email. But I don’t want you focusing on him. He doesn’t matter.”
The call disconnected, and Mateo cursed out loud. They were wasting time. If Alayna Scott had what they needed, then they had to get it now. Patterson’s escape would only turn up the heat everywhere. If the FBI took Alayna into protective custody, then things would only become more difficult. Not impossible, but not nearly as easy as they could be now.
If only Mateo was allowed to do things his way.
He grabbed his laptop and opened the file on Luke Ryan. Navy SEAL. Damn it! He’d figured Ryan for military and the guy was in shape, but he hadn’t anticipated Special Forces. And since Ryan had clearly taken more than a casual interest in Alayna, he was going to be a problem. Mateo couldn’t count on searching the beach house if only Alayna left. Now he had to ensure that both of them were out of the way. Especially if Ryan knew about Alayna’s past, because Patterson’s escape would put him on high alert. And that was the last thing Mateo needed.
It was one thing to work around a civilian, even a paranoid one. It was completely another to remain in the shadows when a special ops guy was checking all directions. Mateo needed a plan. Because hoping that both Alayna and Ryan would leave at the same time and remain gone for the hours he needed to conduct a thorough search of her property wasn’t good enough.
He didn’t care what the client said. His bonus didn’t come through until the job was complete. And no way was he leaving Florida without that cash. He’d invested over a month in this gig already. The up-front pay was decent, but the bonus was why he’d taken the job.
Accidents happened. Maybe Alayna or Ryan would have one. Something that didn’t create suspicion but resulted in an overnight hospital stay. He could arrange something like that. He’d done so before.
Chapter Sixteen
Alayna finally gave up trying to sleep and crawled out of bed the next morning before dawn. Bea was snoring on the couch, so Alayna moved quietly in the kitchen, careful not to wake her. By the time the coffee was finished brewing and Alayna peered out the patio door blinds, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, sending sparkles across the top of the Gulf. She poured herself a large mug of coffee and eased the blinds and patio door open enough to let herself outside, then slipped into the salty breeze.
She stood for a while at the end of the deck, just staring at the water, wondering how the place that had been so peaceful and made her so happy the day before had now become simply another frightening location. It scared her and made her mad that her little bit of progress had been flung all the way back to the beginning, where everything was a concern. Everything felt life-threatening.
As she stared into the sunrise, trying to process everything and determine what it meant for her—what action she needed to take—Luke walked around the dune.
“You’re up early,” he said as he approached.
“You’re assuming I ever slept,” she said.
“Yeah, I don’t suppose you managed much.”
“Doesn’t look like you did, either.” The shadows under his eyes gave him away, and she felt a rush of guilt that her personal mess was affecting him. This wasn’t his battle. He shouldn’t be losing sleep over her.
“I didn’t get much,” he said. “Part of my training is to be on alert in an emergency situation. You never know when you might be called into action.”
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Alayna said. “You shouldn’t be losing sleep over me. None of this is your problem.”
“That’s my decision, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s mine.”
He frowned. “Okay. I suppose that’s true enough. But I want to help.”
“And I appreciate that more than I can even explain, but you have to understand that I can’t put more people at risk. It’s bad enough that Bea is dragged into this now. I kept her away from New York the entire time I was dealing with it there in order to protect her, and now I’ve dumped the entire mess right on her doorstep. I don’t think you can ever appreciate the amount of guilt I feel over that. Or the shame and humiliation that I’m in this position to begin with.”
He drew in a breath and slowly blew it out. “I can’t pretend I know how you feel. But I can imagine the hurt and anger that you must be processing. And the fear. I don’t know that I can do anything to alleviate those, but I’d like to try.”
Alayna felt the tears well up, the events of the night overwhelming her once more. And now, this man whom she barely knew was offering to stand beside her. It was a lot to process and it was a hard offer to refuse. The truth was she wanted Luke’s company. In the middle of the night, when she’d been going over everything for the millionth time, she’d realized just how much of a difference he had made in her life already. When she was with Luke, that hope for the future that she thought had been lost forever sparked up again. Feelings that she thought she’d never experience again not only returned but came back stronger than she’d ever felt before.
And she felt safe with him.
But it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right to drag him into her problems, regardless of what he said he wanted. Regardless of how badly she wanted him there by her side.
“If you tell me you don’t want me around because you don’t enjoy my company then I’ll accept that,” Luke said. “But if you’re trying to push me away because you’re afraid, that’s something I can’t accept.”
“Of course I’m afraid. I’m afraid for me and Bea and anyone else who gets in Rivera’s way. And even if Agent Davies is right, and I’m not in any danger, this isn’t ov
er. I still have to testify, and the trial could be years from now. And what happens when Warren gets paroled? And he will. He won’t get life without parole. And no matter the sentence, we both know he won’t serve it all. He’s young. He’ll be out again, and regardless of how much time passes and how many reassurances I get that he’s not a threat, I don’t think I’ll ever believe that. I’ve got a lifetime of looking over my shoulder in front of me. Of constantly wondering when this will come back to haunt me. Bea didn’t have a choice of being pushed into this, but I can’t, in good conscience, allow anyone else to knowingly step into a lifetime of worry.”
She stopped, out of breath. It had been a lot to say but if she hadn’t gotten it all out at once, she probably wouldn’t have ever said everything she needed to say.
Luke reached over and took Alayna’s hand. “You don’t have to spend a lifetime in fear. I think Warren’s ability to make trouble is about to be cut short, and even if the FBI locate him and take him back into custody, there are things that can be done to protect you. New identities for you and Bea, moving to another country—there are all sorts of options for you to disappear forever from Warren’s radar. I know people who can make that happen. And I know places that you and Bea could be safe.”
The tears that had been threatening to spill over trickled down her cheeks. “That means Bea would have to give up everything—her bookstore, her friends, her entire life that she loves. I can’t ask her to do that, and if I disappear, she’ll be the link people use to try to find me. I can’t leave her exposed.”
“Then stay here and build the life you want and to hell with Patterson, Rivera, the FBI, and everyone else.”
“You say that like it’s easy.”
“It’s not easy. It’s damned hard and it’s scary, but you can do it. You’re a strong woman, Alayna. You couldn’t have gone through what you have and held it all together if you weren’t. You just need to trust yourself. And you need to allow yourself to trust others.”