“Yes. How did you…?”
“Shadows. A dark one in the shape of a door. And I can hear the hum of the fridge in the other direction.”
I close my eyes, and he’s right. The fridge makes a low, droning sound to our right. “I never would have heard that.”
“But you hear it now, right?” With his hand on my waist again, he follows me. At my confirmation, he continues. “The whole ‘super hearing’ thing is a myth. My hearing isn’t any better than yours. But I pay more attention to it.”
“They tore up the mattress,” I say quietly. “Pulled it right off the bed. The sheets are in the corner. Nightstand overturned.”
“Take a minute, darlin’. Breathe. You’re gettin’ overwhelmed.”
His palm slides around to my stomach, and he keeps me cradled against him as I force a few deep, calming breaths. “Anything here look…personal? Like it would mean something to Kyle but to no one else?”
“I…I don’t know. We worked together for two years, but I’m not really sure I knew him at all.” The realization hits me hard. “I thought I was a good boss. That…I cared about my team. How can I not know…?”
Pulling away from Dax, I take a slow tour of the room. Clothes are strewn on every surface, the hangers in the closet empty. The small dresser is on its side. And in the corner… “What the hell?”
“Evianna? Talk to me,” Dax says sharply.
“It’s an old…answering machine. Like…from the 80s.” Something tickles the back of my mind. “What did Kyle say to you when you left the jail?”
“Tell Evianna I’m sorry I ruined her fancy sneakers.”
“Oh my God. ‘Janek’s little black box is on his desk between the pencil jar and the lamp.’”
“Huh?”
“Sneakers. It’s a movie. It’s the hacking movie everyone watched in the 90s. We had a movie night at the office last year to celebrate the first units going into testing. Kyle’s too young. He’d never seen the movie before. But he loved it. Told me he watched it half a dozen times on his own. And in the movie, the secret was hidden in an answering machine.”
I grab the machine, searching for a catch, anything that might open it. Dax cocks his head, sniffs a couple of times, and turns. “Evianna, I need your eyes. What’s behind that door? Closet or bathroom?”
As soon as I touch the handle, I smell it. Blood. “Bathroom.” The weathered door swings open, and I stifle my choked cry. “There’s…a lot of blood. Like…spattered on the sink, the floor. A pool by the cabinet.”
“We’re getting the fuck out of here right now,” Dax growls and reaches for me. “Tell me you didn’t touch anything with your bare hands.”
“N-no. Nothing. Well…the answering machine. But—”
“That’s coming with us. Get us back into the hall. Wipe down the apartment door handle. You touched it before I picked the lock.”
His harsh words, more orders than anything else, help me focus, and I grab his hand, leading him back through the remnants of Kyle’s life. As soon as the door’s locked with us on the other side, I use my sleeve to wipe down the knob. “What now?”
“Down to the car.” He taps his Bluetooth. “VoiceAssist: Walkie-talkie mode. Contact Vasquez.” After a moment’s pause, he snaps, “Vasquez! Where the fuck are you?”
Despite not being able to see the stairs, Dax practically sprints down them, and we spill out onto the street, no response from Vasquez. “Somewhere public. Lots of people. Do you see anything?” He tightens his fingers around my elbow, the pressure keeping me focused.
“There’s…a bar across the street.”
“Get us there. Vasquez, where the fuck are you?”
Two steps away from the dimly-lit bar, Dax stops. “Thank fuck. We’re across the street. Get to the car. We’ll meet you there.”
Wrapping his arm around me, he buries his face against my neck and takes a deep breath. “He’s on his way. Someone jumped him and started beating the crap out of him until a store owner yelled for the cops.”
I can’t believe this is happening. Someone might have died in Kyle’s apartment. One of my bodyguards was just attacked, and I’m carrying an answering machine. An answering machine. This is my life now? Why?
Dax helps me into the back seat of the SUV and holds me close. “No more going anywhere but work and my place,” he mutters under his breath as Vasquez guns the engine and peels away from the curb. The junior bodyguard with the smile and slight accent has a busted lip, a rapidly swelling eye, and he groaned as he got into the car.
All because of me. And some mystery Kyle got himself involved in that threatens to kill us both.
My eyes burn, and—keeping the notebook and answering machine tucked between us—I hold onto Dax like my life depends on it. Because right now, I think it does.
Dax
Stupid. How could you have been so stupid?
In my arms, Evianna shudders once, and I rub her back. After we get back to my place, we’re not leaving until we find this asshole.
“I’m sorry, boss,” Vasquez says from the front seat. “I don’t know when he doubled back behind me. The first hit caught me in the lower back. Then he started in on my head. If that deli owner hadn’t started shouting…”
“After Ford gets back, you’re going through surveillance training again.” The SUV wavers, like Vasquez just flinched with his hands on the wheel. Shit. I need to be better at dealing with people. “You didn’t screw up, Vasquez. Anyone who can hide from Wren for more than an hour is a pro. Call Ronan and have him relieve you. Make an anonymous call about a loud fight inside Kyle’s apartment so the police investigate the blood—and the break-in—then get yourself patched up. We’re not leaving my place tonight.”
The Land Rover coasts to a stop. “We’re right in front of your door, boss. You want me to walk you up?”
“No. Just wait here until Ronan shows up. Make sure your comms are on, and stay alert.” Unfolding my cane, I climb out of the back seat, then hold out my hand for Evianna’s. Her fingers are chilled and stiff, but freesia surrounds me as she presses to my side.
An odd scent lingers in the stairwell. One I’ve smelled before. It gets stronger the closer we get to my apartment. “Evianna, stay behind me.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe nothing.” Yeah, right. And I’m the Easter Bunny. Outside my door, I pause and listen. Everything’s quiet. Running my fingers over the door jamb, I don’t feel any signs of forced entry, but there weren’t any obvious ones at Kyle’s either.
The rasp of my key is loud enough to make me cringe, and I extend my arm to protect Evianna as I shove the door open. Wood cracks against wood. I sweep my cane across the carpet, and hit something. Something that shouldn’t be there.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Voice Assist: Walkie-talkie mode. Vasquez, get up here right now.” I turn and wrap my arm around Evianna’s shoulders and rush her back towards the stairwell.
“Where are we—? Oh God. Your apartment,” she whispers as she casts a glance over her shoulder. “How did they even find you?”
Vasquez’s heavy foot steps pound up the stairs. “Boss?”
“My apartment’s been compromised. Clear it.” As Vasquez draws his gun and flips the safety off, Evianna gasps. “It’ll be all right, darlin’.”
“No. They found me here. Or…they found you. And I don’t know which is worse.”
I rest my forehead against hers as Vasquez confirms my apartment’s empty. “Neither do I.”
21
Dax
Between Vasquez and Evianna, I have a pretty good idea what my apartment looks like. It’s a fucking disaster. The only place I ever feel completely in control, and now…I can’t take more than three steps without stumbling over the broken pieces of my life scattered around me.
Somewhere in my periphery, Vasquez says, “Get here as soon as you can.” Then, a moment later, “Ronan’s on his way, boss. You sure we shouldn’t bring the cops in?”
&nbs
p; “I don’t want anyone else in here. Bad enough I don’t know where a damn thing is anymore. The police will just make it worse. It’s a secure building. You didn’t see any signs of forced entry.”
“What can I do?” he asks. Between Louie jumping him and this mess, the poor kid is beside himself.
“Clear paths. Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, couch. Just shove things out of the way so I can get around. And find me a damn duffle bag.”
“Where are we going?” Evianna’s voice cracks, and I wrap my arm around her waist. She’s shaking, and I curse under my breath. I don’t want to go anywhere. If I were alone, I’d stay here. In the dark. With my pistol.
“Hotel.”
“They’ll be able to find us,” she whispers. “We can’t use credit cards, can’t show our driver’s licenses…”
“Unless whomever they sent here is extremely good, that won’t be a problem. But I need your help, darlin’.” Pulling her closer, I bury my face in her hair and lower my voice. “When Vasquez is done in the bedroom, I’ll show you.”
As if on cue, he passes by us. “There’s a path to the bed and to the closet. And a duffel bag on the pillow.”
“I’ll…help you pack,” Evianna says. After she’s shut the bedroom door, she turns to me. “What can I do?”
“Come here.” I don’t trust myself to take more than a step or two in any direction, and my entire body is one raw nerve. Her warmth settles me, and her soft curves take my thoughts off the mess and onto what I’d hoped would happen in this room tonight. But now…we have to get somewhere safe.
“Dax? You’re scaring me.”
Fuck. Get your shit together. “Sit down for a minute. I need to move the nightstand.” The small oak set of drawers slides easily on the carpet until it hits pieces of something—my broken lamp from the sound. But after I clear enough space—or what I hope is enough—I sink to my knees. “Does anything look out of place here?”
“No. Hell, there isn’t even any dust. Your housekeeper is amazing.”
“This part’s all me.” Curling my fingers around the baseboard, I yank it off the wall with a quiet snap. The plastic bag is still in place, and carefully, I ease it from the little hidey-hole and lay it in Evianna’s lap. “Open it. Pull out the packet with three paperclips.”
“What is this?”
“Something I hoped I’d never need.” After I put the baseboard back into place and feel around so I can position the nightstand on the duct tape Xs on the floor, I ease up next to her. “I don’t trust very many people, Evianna. Ford’s the only other person who knows about that bag in your hands.”
“This is… Oh my God. Passport, government-issued ID, credit cards…a Dunkin’ Donuts card? Oliver Russell? This is…fake…right?” Despite her voice being only a soft whisper, there’s still a tremble to her tone.
“That bag has six different identities. Oliver’s just one of them. He has a clean social security number, a good credit score, bank accounts, and a job working for the Boston Public Library.”
“Holy shit.”
“Every member of Second Sight has a handful of fake IDs. But these…Second Sight’s relocation expert doesn’t know about them. I had a friend—one of Ryker’s guys, a former Navy SEAL—get these together for me a few years ago.”
“This is all…my fault.” Evianna sniffles once, and her voice muffles. “Your place…having to use one of these IDs…if I’d never come to you, none of this would have happened.”
Sliding my fingers into her hair, I pull her close and crush my lips to hers until she melts against me. “Shhh, darlin’. None of this is on you. And if you hadn’t come to me—”
“He would have killed me last night,” she whispers.
Taking the packet with Oliver Russell’s identity, I tuck it into my jacket pocket. “Put the bag in the bottom of the duffel, then help me piece together some clothes that match? I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”
Ronan drives us to the Fairmont. They’re known for their discretion, and Oliver has a computerized history here, even though I’ve never used this ID before. Evianna hasn’t said a word since we left my apartment, nor has she let go of my hand.
“Where do you want me, boss?” Ronan asks when he pulls up to the curb.
“Call Wren. Have her hack into the security cameras here and monitor the feeds for any sign of Louie or Kyle. Then get yourself a room at the Westin across the street. Clean credit cards only. Keep your phone on and stay awake. We’ll check in by eight tomorrow morning.”
Adjusting the ball cap to shield my eyes, I get out of the back seat and wait for Evianna to take my arm. To anyone on the street, I hope I look like I can see. “You okay, darlin’?”
“Uh huh.”
She’s not, but she’s holding it together well enough. “Just remember your cover and we’ll be fine, Sierra.” I don’t have a fake ID for her, but for the hotel’s records, she’s now my wife, Sierra Russell.
Less than fifteen minutes later, we’re in a corner suite on the top floor of the hotel. “Wow. This is…wow. Noah and I went to San Francisco a few months ago to meet with West Coast Allied Insurance, and he booked us a five star hotel. And it wasn’t anywhere near as nice as this.”
“Oliver has a long and completely fabricated history with the Fairmont. Wren had to help me a little with that.” Unfolding my cane, I start to map the room. Desk, dresser, master suite bathroom, window—where I pull the drapes closed—bed, and then, Evianna’s next to me, and I could care less about where the nightstand and television are, because she’s all that matters.
“You got two bedrooms,” she says, and the hesitation in her voice cuts right through me.
“Darlin’, I asked for a quiet room on a high floor. I didn’t say anything about two bedrooms. This was probably all they had for a walk-in VIP.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pull her against me. “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving your side tonight.”
As if our sleeping arrangements were the only care she had in the world, she melts into my embrace, but a breath later, she’s shaking in my arms. And then her tears soak into my shirt. “My entire life is falling apart, Dax. Everything I’ve worked for…I thought…I had a plan. Release Alfie. Start working on more adaptive tech to go with her. Wait for Noah to retire and then take over the company.”
I reach out my free hand, find the edge of the mattress, and ease her down next to me. “You’ll still do all of those things, Evianna.” Every instinct I have warns me not to say the next two words, but I have to. “I promise.”
“Don’t say that. You can’t say that. Not after tonight. How did they even find you?”
She’s too distraught for me to go into the various theories that have been bouncing around in my head for the past couple of hours. But I have my suspicions. Mostly involving someone hacking into the police department’s computer system.
“Wren will figure that out tomorrow. For tonight, we’re safe. Ronan’s still a junior PI, but he’s the best we have when it comes to spotting a tail. And he’s right across the street. By now, Wren’s hacked into the security cameras all around this building, and if there’s even a hint of anyone suspicious around, she’ll let us know. We’re safe here, darlin’. And…I want to hold you. All night.”
I want a lot more than that—and as I shift closer, my cock presses against her, and Evianna draws in a sharp breath. “I…uh…need to brush my teeth. And take off my makeup. I’ll be right back.”
Fuck. She’s not ready for this. Hell, she probably doesn’t even want me. A few kisses are one thing. Seeing me naked, covered in scars…no one would want that. While she’s in the bathroom, I find the duffel bag on the desk and rush to change into a t-shirt and pajama pants. She won’t have to see any more of me than she already has, and I’ll tuck her in and let her fall asleep before I climb into bed next to her.
It’s better this way.
Yeah, right. I should tell that to my cock. Or more importantly, my hea
rt.
“Dax?” Evianna calls from the bathroom. “Come in here?”
Feeling along the wall carefully, I make my way to the now-open bathroom door. “What is it?”
“Give me your left hand.”
The hell? But I do as she asks. I think I’d do just about anything for her.
She tugs me forward gently, and once I can feel the sink pressed against my stomach, Evianna guides my hand to a shelf in front of me, and my fingers brush against a tube. “In order: toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, Imitrex, and Tylenol. All the way on the right, there’s a toothbrush holder. Yours is in front, mine’s in back.” She keeps her hand over mine, tracing the wall until I feel the cool marble counter under my palm. “Soap dish is right next to the sink, and there’s a bar unwrapped. Behind the sink, two tiny bottles of mouthwash. I moved the hand cream bottles into the drawer since they’re the same damn shape.”
It’s not better this way.
I don’t know what to say to her. In less than ten minutes, she’s gone from a woman I care for to…a woman I could easily fall in love with. Or…maybe more. Maybe I’ve already started to fall.
22
Dax
“You remembered. All of it.” Everything’s in the same order I kept it at home.
Her self-conscious laugh does things to me I don’t understand, and she pulls her fingers from mine. “I tried. I wasn’t sure about the medicine bottles. Do you…need anything else? Towels are on the rack behind you—”
“No, darlin’. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold on until I’m no longer worried she’s going to see me break down in a very unmanly way. But…though my employees and the very few people I count as friends are always helpful, solicitous, and nonchalant about assisting me, they’ve known me for years. Evianna? Days.
“I’ll just be a couple of minutes. Make sure your briefcase is under the bed. When I’m done, I’ll secure the suite’s door and the door to the bedroom. I want everything critical in the room with us.”
Second Sight: An Away From Keyboard Romantic Suspense Standalone Page 14