A family destroyed by the sadistic act of another. Even though it wouldn’t bring Stephanie back, Grey was determined that Carlos Mendoza would pay for his crimes. If Gabriella came through and revealed her brother’s whereabouts, then Grey planned to move mountains to make sure the son of a bitch was returned to the States so justice could be done.
Satisfied that progress had been made, Grey turned to head to the exit. In his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of a slender, dark-haired beauty. He turned, his heart almost stopping. Irelyn Raine stood at a door only a few yards away. Her eyes, a mysterious blend of various shades of gray and silver, were zeroed in on him. Then, with a strange, almost anxious look, she backed out the door.
Grey took off, and like he was a linebacker moving against an opposing team, people either got out of his way or were in jeopardy of being mowed down. Equal part elation, fury, and old-fashioned lust drummed through his veins. She had come back. Why? Where had she been? He was finally going to get the answers that had been driving him crazy.
He went through the doorway and then stopped. Standing in a narrow, dimly lit hallway, he narrowed his eyes to peer through the darkness. “Irelyn?”
“Down here, Grey,” she called out.
His strides as rapid as his heartbeat, he ran down the hallway toward the sound of her soft, lyrical voice. An abrupt tingling on the back of his neck was his only warning, one he knew never to ignore. He dropped into a crouch and then whirled around just as a bullet whizzed by, piercing the wall behind him. If he hadn’t moved, he’d be dead.
Pulling his gun from his ankle holster, Grey stood. Even though every molecule in his body was denying it, he couldn’t refute the evidence. Irelyn had just tried to kill him.
Grey stalked down the hallway, his anger increasing with every step. He understood her reasons for wanting him dead, but he had just as many reasons for wanting to kill Irelyn. Perhaps it was time for their final confrontation.
He stopped a few feet from the doorway, plastered himself against the wall, and then eased closer to peer inside. The only light came from a single light bulb in the ceiling. He could make out several stacks of chairs, boxes, a few shelves. Leaning against one of those shelves was Irelyn.
“Hello, Grey. You’re looking well.”
Weapon in hand, ready for whatever more surprises she had for him, he stepped inside. “You’re losing your edge, Irelyn.”
“And you’re as succinctly rude as ever.”
“Years ago, you never would have missed.”
The sound she released was half gasp, half-husky chuckle. “You think I took the shot.”
“Who else?”
“Ah, my darling Grey. You wound me to the core.”
There was amusement in her voice, but also a hint of hurt. Grey inwardly cursed his stupidity. If he’d been thinking straight, with his head instead of another body part, he would have realized his mistake. If Irelyn had shot at him, she wouldn’t have missed.
“You look good,” she said softly.
“It’s the clean living. You ought to try it.”
“Ach, but my way is so much more entertaining.”
Even though he knew she hadn’t been the one to shoot at him, he approached her with caution. He was no fool. Irelyn Raine was one of the most dangerous women he’d ever known.
“Where have you been?”
“Miss me?”
Telling her the truth, that he’d spent almost every waking moment missing her, would be damn stupid. Not only wouldn’t she believe him, he was long past the days of opening himself up like that. Both he and Irelyn lived too much within themselves to reveal those things, especially to each other.
As he drew closer, concern rippled through him. Something wasn’t right. She was leaning against the side of a steel shelf, almost as if… His gaze dropped down. Her hand was holding her side, but he had no trouble seeing the blood seeping between her fingers.
His gut twisted. “What happened?”
“Tangled with the wrong end of a knife.”
Every muscle in his body was urging him to grab her and get her to the hospital. With anyone else, that’s exactly what he would have done. Not with Irelyn.
“How bad?”
“A tiny scratch, barely worth mentioning. Bastard is as inefficient with a knife as he is a gun. I thought he’d already gone or I would have warned you.”
“And who would this bastard be?”
“Hard to say.” A wry smile tilted her full lips. “So many people want you dead, Grey.”
“Including you.”
“You know better than that. With you dead, who would I hate?”
“Good point.”
“Besides, how would I—” She swayed slightly, and Grey finally had his chance. Wrapping his arms around her, he caught her before she fell.
“Lean against me.”
Her forehead pressed against his shoulder. “Hate for you to see me like this,” she murmured.
“What? Beautiful?”
“Weak.”
“We both know that’s one thing you’ll never be.”
He leaned a hip against a shelf and kept one arm around her, partly for support, partly because at any minute he expected her to try to escape. Using his free hand, he pulled his cellphone from beneath his jacket.
“Terrance, I need you at the back entrance. And call Dr. Sanderson. Ask him to go to my apartment immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I see Terrance is still dancing to your every drumbeat.”
“And you’re still mixing your metaphors.”
“Some things never change.”
“And thank God for that.”
A buzzer on his phone was his signal. Terrance had arrived. Gently, he scooped her into his arms. The fact that she didn’t protest told him she was in worse shape than he’d feared.
Knowing he could do nothing until he could check her wound, he carried her out the door. Once she’d been treated and he was sure she was fine, they were going to have a long, overdue talk. He needed answers. He needed information. He needed her.
It was way past time that he and Irelyn came to an understanding.
Chapter Seventeen
His children’s new bodyguard arrived half an hour before they were to leave for school. Violet’s and Sophia’s reactions to yesterday’s meeting had been everything he could have hoped for and expected. Kathleen hadn’t been happy about it, but being the true professional, she’d said nothing in front of the children. He fully expected that once they were alone together, she’d be giving her opinion of his manipulation of events. He was okay with that. She deserved to air her grievances, but nothing would make him regret the outcome. His daughters would be protected, and they wouldn’t be afraid. And despite her words, he’d seen the gleam in her eyes when he’d told her the salary he would pay.
She needed the money, he needed her. It was as simple as that.
Eli couldn’t deny another reason he was pleased. He wanted her. Had wanted her the moment he had seen her on television defending her sister to that damn reporter. She had stirred something inside him that he had never felt. A protectiveness mixed with an unbelievable desire. She was attracted to him, too, although she did her best to hide it.
None of this was without complications. But if there was one thing he’d learned in the morass that had become his life, it was the knowledge that nothing worthwhile was without risk or complications.
“I’d like to talk to you before the children and I leave for school.”
As Eli walked down the stairs toward her, he noted the temper in her amazing eyes. He was about to get a dressing down, but instead of dread or irritation, a strong surge of desire heated his blood. Yeah, this was damn complicated.
“Come into my study. The girls will be down soon.”
Kathleen followed Eli, determined to have her say. This morning, while dressing, she had practiced what she would say, how she would say it. Just because she had agreed to do t
his job—she’d protect Violet and Sophia with her life—didn’t mean she wasn’t royally pissed at how he’d gone about getting her to agree.
The instant he closed the door, she growled, “You set me up.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t do it otherwise. And I knew it would work.”
“Using your children isn’t a very fatherly thing to do.”
His eyes went flat and cold, and for a brief moment, she wondered if he would fire her on the spot. Instead, he spoke as coolly as if he were talking about the weather. “My children mean more to me than anything or anyone in the world. If I have to lie, cheat, steal, or kill to protect them, I will. Yes, I manipulated the situation to get the desired results. You, however, are still free to say no.”
He had turned it back on her, and he was right. She could say no and walk away. And if something happened to those little girls because she wasn’t there to protect them? Could she live with that? Of course she couldn’t. This man knew that as well.
“I won’t say no. I will guard them with my life. Just don’t manipulate me again. You won’t like the consequences next time.”
“Fair enough. Shall we go?”
“You’re coming with us?”
“Yes, I take them to school every morning.”
“I thought the whole point of this was to have me as their bodyguard. If you’re going to be with them, why do you need me?”
“You’ll pick them up each afternoon. Also, though I hope it’s rare, there will be times I can’t take them in the mornings. Having them comfortable with you will make it easier when that happens.
“As I said yesterday, I’m trying to give them as normal a life as possible. It was a promise I made to myself after they lost their mother. Having the Slater last name doesn’t make that easy. After what happened last year, normal has become even harder. Taking them to school is small, but it means a lot to them. As it does to me.”
“Very well. Do you want me in another vehicle?”
“No. I’ll drive, you sit in the passenger seat. The children in the back.”
Like a family. The image came and went in her mind. She couldn’t go there…wouldn’t.
How had she not known about the questions? How could anyone ask so many, and in such a short period of time? They had barely been buckled into their car seats before Sophia began.
Where do you live?
What’s your favorite flower?
Favorite food?
Favorite book?
Do you have a kitten, dog, hamster, rabbit, bird, gerbil?
Concentrating on their surroundings and answering the multitude of questions was definitely more than a full-time job. And the entire time, Eli had a smile tugging at his mouth.
Glad for her ability to multitask, she answered Sophia’s questions and kept her eyes open for any threats.
“Eli. White van, three cars behind. Coming up fast.”
His eyes already on the rearview mirror, he nodded. “Yes, I see them.”
“Maintain your speed.” She looked back at the girls. “Let’s play a game. See which one of you can get deepest into your car seats without unbuckling your seat belts.”
Giggling, the girls wiggled and maneuvered down into the seats, thankfully unaware of a possible threat.
Her hand on the weapon at her side, she kept a visual of the van, as well as the two SUVs behind them—Eli’s bodyguards. If the people in the van were a threat, they would have to go through two layers of security before reaching them. However, she had to be prepared.
The SUVs slowed considerably, blocking the van from getting closer. Alarm went through Kathleen when the van veered off the roadway, rode up on the shoulder and then the sidewalk to try to get around the SUV.
“Step on it. Let’s get out of here.”
Eli sped the car up. The bodyguard’s SUV that the van had tried to pass veered sharply, cutting off the van. Blue lights flashed, coming from the opposite direction, passing their car. Between the police and Eli’s guards, the threat, if it had been one, was neutralized.
She glanced over at the tense man driving. “That happen often?”
“Occasionally. Less now than it did during the trial.”
“I know your brother Adam is in prison. Has anyone threatened his immediate family?”
“He has no immediate family, at least not anymore. DeAnne divorced him and moved to Switzerland to be with her family there. I’ve not seen or heard from her since Adam’s sentencing hearing. As far as I know, she’s not had any problems.”
“Could she be making the threats?”
“I thought about that. Even had an investigator tail her for a few weeks. From what we could tell, she’s trying to get her life back on track and forget she ever knew the Slaters.”
“So she’s left town. As did your mother, sister, and brother Jonah. You didn’t want to just walk away, too? Take your kids and go start again somewhere else?”
“About a million times over the past year. But I’m no quitter. Mathias and Adam almost destroyed the Slater family. That’s not the legacy I want to leave my children.”
A cellphone rang, and Eli pressed a button on the steering wheel. “What’s the situation, Yates?”
“No threat, sir. Teens running late for school. Police are handling it. I’ll meet you at the school. I’m just a few blocks away.”
“Thanks for the update.” Eli looked in the rearview mirror again, this time at his children, who were snuggled deep into their seats. “Good job, girls. Both of you did so well, I’m calling it a draw.”
“What did we win, Daddy?” Violet asked.
He glanced over at Kathleen, and a slow, teasing smile crossed his face. “How about if Kathleen reads you Starburst when you get home this evening?”
Shooting him daggers that should have bled him dry, she gritted her teeth and said, “Sure. I’ll be glad to.” Then, speaking softly so only Eli could hear, she added, “After that, we’re going to talk about specific responsibilities, which definitely do not include story time.”
Grey stared intently at the empty bed as if he could conjure Irelyn back if he concentrated hard enough. Dammit, he’d been gone less than five minutes. A phone call had come in that he’d had to take. And in that amount of time, she’d woken, dressed, and disappeared.
After the doctor had stitched her up last night, Grey had planned to talk with her, get the answers he needed. Instead, within minutes of Dr. Sanderson leaving, she’d been out like a light. He would have assumed she was faking it if it hadn’t been for the shadows of exhaustion beneath her eyes. She had slept like the dead—almost as if she hadn’t slept well in months. Stupid and unusually sentimental, he’d had the thought that she knew she was safe at last. Knew she was home. What a fucking fool.
He drew closer to the bed and for the first time saw the note she’d slipped beneath the pillow. Her penmanship was as elegant and feminine as the woman herself. And the terse words so very Irelyn: Watch your back, Justice. I might not be around to save your ass next time.
Having someone want him dead was nothing new. He had enemies on both sides of the law. Any one of them would gladly do the deed, or pay millions to see the deed done. It was, however, a new thing for Irelyn to be concerned.
Their relationship, complicated and tumultuous, had lasted longer than many marriages. He had alternated between hatred and adoration for most of that time. No one but the two of them knew the truth of how they began. And no one would understand nor, he figured, comprehend their strange relationship. It had worked for them, though. Or at least, it once had.
He wanted to be angry with her, but relief washed away the wrath. She might have left him again, most certainly she hadn’t forgiven him, but he knew to his soul that she wasn’t the one behind these bizarre killings. Maybe seeing her again, even for that short while, had knocked some sense into him. No way in hell did Irelyn have it within her to take a life in such a
cold-blooded, violent way. At least now he could fully concentrate on finding the real killer, as opposed to figuring out a way to protect Irelyn.
More important, if he were in danger from an unknown person, then Irelyn was also at risk. And that was something he would not tolerate.
Chapter Eighteen
West Orange, New Jersey
She leaned against an ancient oak, its long, broad branches obscuring her from view. If anyone looked her way, she wouldn’t be seen. Though she knew herself to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, when on the job, she was good at blending in, being invisible.
Not that any of them would look around. When they scurried from the house, as they soon would, their focus would be on getting to their destination. Too self-absorbed, caught up in their own little drama, their own silly little selves, to have an interest in anyone else. Nor would they ever suspect that any harm would come to them. Their minds would be on the future, what they planned to do with their portion of a huge windfall that was about to come their way.
It amused her to know that there would be no future for them.
She had taken many lives in her career. It was a lucrative occupation, and she’d discovered early in life that she excelled at it. How many people were fortunate enough to love their work and make a ton of money doing it? Only a handful, she was sure.
She rarely had a conscience about such things. How awkward would that be? And she didn’t discriminate. Old, young, rich, poor. Sex, race, religion, or sexual preference made no difference. She could be the poster child for non-discrimination. An equal opportunity killer.
Usually, she gave little thought to whom she killed. She had a specific target, she did the deed and left. No muss, no fuss. She didn’t bother to figure out the whys or nuances of the contract. It was a job and nothing more. But the sheer magnitude of this job was both unique and exciting. Her kill tally was now at two. In about ten minutes, it would be at six. She had two more lined up, but she wanted more. She wanted them all. It would be a contract of a lifetime and, once complete, would make her one of the most-sought-after assassins in the world. But that wasn’t the biggest reason she wanted the job. Finishing what her friend and mentor had started would be a tribute to the man she’d loved and lost.
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