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Under Pressure
by Lori Foster
1
LEESE PHELPS STOOD in the cold early-evening air, his breath frosting in front of him, lights from the nearby bus station blinking in an annoying mismatched pattern.
Behind him, completely hidden in the shadows, his friend Justice complained, “My balls are freezing.”
Still watching the surrounding area, Leese said, “You should try wearing underwear.”
“The ladies would protest. They like me commando.”
Leese started to smile—until a shadow shifted from the right side of an alley that bisected the station from a cheap hotel. He said, “Shh.”
“This is it?” Justice whispered. “You see her?”
“Quiet.” Leese pressed farther back into the darkness, his gaze alert, his senses zinging.
A woman, small in stature, emerged dragging an enormous suitcase with a broken wheel. As it tried to pull her sideways, she relentlessly forced it through slush and blackened snow. Her narrowed gaze scanned the area with nervous awareness.
Leese didn’t move, but still her attention shot back in his direction. She stared, watchful and wary, until he stepped out.
Trying not to look threatening, Leese propped a shoulder on the brick facade of the vacated building. He glanced at her, then away, as if dismissing her.
She continued to stare.
Now what to do?
“What’s happening?” Justice whispered.
“Nothing. Be quiet.”
The girl wore jeans with snow boots, a puffy coat that covered her to her knees and a black stocking cap pulled down over her ears. Straight brown hair stuck out from the bottom.
When she finally looked away, it was to drop the suitcase and whip around, facing the way she’d come.
Two men stepped out, followed by a third.
The third smiled at her. “Going somewhere, Cat? Without saying goodbye?”
Suspicions confirmed, Leese watched Catalina Nicholson take a defiant stance. That didn’t surprise him. As soon as he was given the assignment, he’d learned what he could of her.
She came from a wealthy family of lawyers and CEOs, people with far-reaching political and business connections. They were the movers and shakers of the world, influencing other powerful people effortlessly.
But Catalina had bucked convention by becoming an elementary school art teacher, something her family hadn’t liked. She clearly enjoyed her luxuries but wanted to earn them herself. Some inheritances helped to pave the way on that, but from all reports, she’d proven herself to be headstrong and independent. Small in size but not in attitude.
Here, in the slums of Danbrook, Ohio, she was far away from her usual routine of dealing with middle-class families and their grade school children.
“That’s right, Wayne,” she said, her voice strong. “I’m leaving.”
“I don’t think so,” the man called Wayne said, and his two cronies moved to surround her. “Not just yet. Not until you pay up on all those promises you made.”
Strangely enough, Catalina looked back at Leese again, her expression a touch desperate.
Even from the distance, he felt her silent request for help.
“Stay put unless you see that I need you,” Leese told Justice. He was pretty sure he could handle things—without drawing his gun—but there was always a chance he’d cause a ruckus and then, to protect her, they’d need to make a run for it. “Be ready with the car.”
Justice grumbled, “I miss all the fun.”
Stepping out, his boots crunching in the frozen snow, Leese headed toward her in a casual stride.
Relief took the starch out of her shoulders. If he could defuse things without violence, that’d be for the best. Right now the bus station was all but empty. But if a brawl broke out, for sure it’d draw attention from somewhere.
As he approached, the men all went still, attentive, before deciding he didn’t matter.
Idiots.
Leese stepped up in front of her, blocking the pushiest guy, forcing him back a step.
“Hey!”
“Excuse me.” Insinuating himself between her and the big goon, Leese insulated her from trouble, then turned to face her. Catalina was probably a foot shorter than him, and even in the thick coat she seemed slim all over. She tipped back her head and stared up at him with big blue eyes that were both wary and defiant.
By silent agreement, she trusted him, when that was the very last thing she should have done. No wonder he’d been sent to her.
Leese hefted her bag—which weighed a ton—and maintaining the casual vibe, said, “This way,” indicating where he’d been standing watch.
Without bothering to look at the other men, she drew a careful breath, braced herself and nodded in agreement.
Insane. The woman had no self-protection mechanism. She didn’t know him from Adam, but was prepared to willy-nilly saunter off with him.
When he was assigned this case, not once had he expected it to be this easy. On the contrary. Everything he’d been told had led him to believe it would be a total pain in the ass to keep her safe.
She took two steps.
The closest goon said, “This is bullshit.”
Pausing, Leese huffed out a breath. “Let it go.”
“The hell I will.”
Hearing the elevated voice, he turned just in time to dodge a thick fist. Still holding her bag, Leese landed a knee to the man’s midsection, then flattened him with an elbow to the chin.
The guy’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed like a rag doll, one leg bent awkwardly beneath him, his jaw slack.
Eyeing the remaining two, Leese popped his neck and waited. “Anyone else?”
Being wiser than they looked, they declined further violence.
As the downed man came around with a groan, Leese backed up with Catalina. “Get your friend out of the slush, before hypothermia sets in.” It was so bitter cold it wouldn’t take long for the elements to affect a body, especially when drenched in wet snow.
While Wayne remained hostile, the other man rushed forward to help his friend back to his feet. Tottering, he made his way to a curb, where he slumped, still unsteady.
There were no more smiles when Wayne said, “She owes me.”
“How much?” Paying off the guy would be easier than debating it on such a bitter night, and more expedient than refusing them with his fists.
Wayne’s eyes narrowed. “Not money.”
“Ah, well, I can’t even up with you, then. Guess you’re out of luck.”
Jaw grinding, Wayne glared at him. “I gave her a place to stay. I fed her. Bought her those boots and coat—”
“And you figured on getting paid how?”
Throughout it all, Catalina stayed behind him.
Wayne growled, “She knows what I expected.”
Leaning around, tone apologetic, Catalina whispered, “Yeah, about that... I never planned to sleep with you, Wayne. I’m sorry. I promise I will repay you, I just can’t right now. But I do have your address, so—”
“Fuck you,” Wayne snarled.
Growing impatient, Leese said, “Apparently that’s not happening.” He set down the suitcase and pushed aside his open coat, showing the Glock in a belt holster at his side.
The men stared unea
sily. Catalina sucked in a startled breath.
Ignoring those reactions, Leese looked at her boots, then lifted the collar of the coat, examining it. While they were decent protection against the elements, they weren’t high-end items. Probably bought at a discount department store.
Definitely not worth Catalina prostituting herself.
He withdrew his wallet and pulled out a few hundreds. “This will have to suffice.” He folded the money, walked up to Wayne and held it out.
After a ripe hesitation, Wayne took the money.
With a dose of menace, Leese warned, “Don’t come after her again.”
Wayne nodded, said something low to the uninjured man and the three of them retreated behind the tall buildings.
Leese felt Catalina retreating, as well.
Out of patience and feeling stern, he faced her. “Don’t run.”
Eyes huge, her face pale except for the pink of her cold nose, she swallowed hard. “You were sent to bring me home, weren’t you?”
Body Armor, the agency where he worked, had sent him...but his job was to keep her safe, period. “You don’t have to be afraid.”
With a shake of her head, she back-stepped.
Leese saw it in her eyes; she would run. “Don’t.”
She whirled to flee and plowed headlong into Justice. The impact was solid enough that she bounced back, her feet slid out from under her on the icy ground and she landed flat in the frozen snow. Given the way she wheezed, she’d knocked the wind out of herself.
Leese knelt beside her. “Shh.” He cupped the back of her head. “Hold still.” To Justice he said, “You were supposed to wait at the car.”
“I saw it was clear and wanted to hurry you along.”
Justice was still learning patience. He was here today with Leese to get a handle on the job. So far, he’d failed with flying colors. “Carry her bag to the car. We’ll be right there. And, Justice, stay sharp, and stay with the car.”
On his way past, Justice said to her, “Sorry about that, honey. Didn’t mean to startle you.” He carried the bag as if it weighed nothing, but then, Justice was a six-foot-five former heavyweight MMA fighter made of solid muscle.
Drawing her into a sitting position and raising her arms over her head, Leese said, “Take it easy. You’re all right.”
She sucked in a strained breath, coughed and wheezed again.
“Running into Justice is like hitting the side of a mountain. Did you hurt anything?”
She got her breath back with a vengeance. “Who are you people?”
Her hat had come loose and silky brown tangled around her face. With very cold hands, Leese brushed it back. Gloves would have been nice.
But gloves skewed his accuracy whenever he needed to draw his weapon.
He never discounted that possibility—so no gloves.
“I’m a bodyguard with the Body Armor Agency. I was hired to keep you safe.”
“Oh God.” Elbows on her knees, she dropped her head forward and rocked in agitation.
Sitting in the snow was not his idea of fun. “You’re okay?” Instinct had him rubbing her back. She didn’t seem to mind.
“Yes.” She lifted her head and pinned him in her gaze. “You don’t look like any bodyguard I’ve ever seen.”
“Seen a few, have you?”
“Too many. They’re pretty obvious, but not you. You don’t fit the mold at all.” She studied his face. “How did you find me?”
Leese was unaware of any mold, but he also knew Body Armor was vastly different from most other agencies. “I was told you were in this general area. It’s a small town. Newcomers draw attention.”
“I was two towns over the last time bodyguards found me.”
So others had been sent to protect her, but she’d deliberately lost them, then tried hiding again? Leese wasn’t sure what was going on, but he had an objective, and he’d see it through. “I showed your photo around and tracked you here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Since when do bodyguards track people?”
Since clients paid a small fortune to make it happen. Balanced on the balls of his feet, Leese let his wrists rest over his knees. “I learned a lot of neat tricks,” he explained.
“Like?”
So she wanted to have this whole conversation while exposed to the elements? Appeared so. “Like how to locate people.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
She strained away. “What are you doing?”
Her unmistakable panic helped him to rein in his impatience. “Your seat is probably wet by now. The back of your coat, too. You need to get somewhere warm and dry.”
“Where?”
“Let’s go to the car and we’ll talk about it.”
She balked. “So you’re taking me home?”
That sounded like an accusation. Leese tried to ignore the cold. “Is that where you want to go?”
Her brows lifted. “Not really, no.”
“Okay, then, want to clue me in?” His balls were starting to freeze.
Puzzled, she narrowed her eyes on him. “You weren’t told to take me anywhere?”
“I’ve only spoken to my boss, and she said to keep you safe, period.” Why did he feel like he might be missing the big picture here? “That’s the beginning, middle and end.”
Incredulous, she asked, “For how long?”
He shrugged. “My understanding is that it’s pretty open-ended at this point.” Given her reactions so far, he could see why those who cared about her assumed she’d need protection.
But to be sure, at the first opportunity he’d give Sahara a call and have her fess up all the facts. Sahara Silver, the new owner of Body Armor, did like to do things her own way—and it was never conventional.
Catalina kept her gaze locked with his while working out something in her mind—and suddenly she stiffened. “Oh my God.”
“Problem?”
Her hair whipped around as she searched the area again.
Who was she looking for? “Catalina—”
On a heartfelt groan of despair, she gripped the front of his coat. “You’ve probably led him to me.”
Leese didn’t know who she meant, but he saw honest fear in her expression. “Let’s get out of the area, somewhere safe.” He noticed that she limped a little as he led her quickly to where Justice waited with the car. “We’ll talk more once I know you’re secure.”
Justice sat behind the wheel of the black Lexus SUV, the engine running so the car would be warm.
Catalina balked again at the sight of him, then squared her shoulders and hastened her pace.
“You don’t have to worry about Justice.” Leese reached the SUV ahead of her and opened the back passenger door. “Colorful as he might be.”
She said, “He’s fine.”
Right. Height and a brick build were enough to make Justice intimidating, but he also had black-as-sin eyes, and a dark Mohawk and goatee badly in need of a trim. His earliest fighting days had left him with a crooked nose from too many breaks, and a right ear thickened from too many hits.
Overall, despite his massive size and capability, Justice was easygoing and considerate—especially to pretty girls.
“Let’s lose the wet coat, okay? You’ll be more comfortable.”
She bit her lip, then quickly stripped it off. Leese took it from her as she climbed in.
She was so skittish that he didn’t trust her to stay put and he definitely didn’t want her trying to hop out of a moving car. Still holding the door open, he said, “Scoot.”
“What?” Catalina pushed back her hair and blinked at him in question.
Rather than explain again, Leese took the expedient measure of getting in next to her, forcing her to make room for him. He watched her
rump as she quickly crawled across the seat, moving as far from him as she could get.
As he draped the coat over her lap, he told Justice, “Go,” and to Catalina, “Buckle up.”
“Where to?” Justice.
“Head for the highway.” Because she hadn’t done it yet, Leese reached around Catalina and buckled her seat belt, then again tucked the coat around her. “We’ll go south.”
She pressed back in her seat. “Where’s my suitcase?”
“In back,” Justice said, taking several peeks at her in the rearview mirror.
She confirmed that by twisting around to look in the cargo area. When she saw the battered suitcase, she dropped back into her seat and closed her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Welcome.” Then to Leese, he asked, “We expecting more trouble?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Yes,” Catalina said, opening her big blue eyes to stare at him. “Expect it, because it’s definitely coming...”
Copyright © 2017 by Lori Foster
ISBN-13: 9781488010910
Her Sexy Texas Cowboy
Copyright © 2017 by Mary Olson
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