by Dawn Brower
She hoped he did not think badly of her for any of it. He had just gotten divorced earlier that day, and the first chance she had found she’d leaped on him like a starving animal. It was an apt description actually. She had been dying to taste him, kiss him, and truly touch him for too long. The only way she would find out what he thought or believed was to have a conversation with him. As much as it pained her to admit it, it was time to own up to her feelings for him and finally tell him she loved him. It might not be an ideal situation but it was her only choice. If she wanted a chance at a real relationship with him, she would have to lay it all on the line. Waiting for a better time would have been more ideal, but they were past that. They had already taken a step they couldn’t undo.
Spike started pulling hard on the leash trying to run in the direction of some trees. He stuck his nose in the air and sniffed, then yanked hard again. “What are you doing?” Carly tightened her grip on the handle. “There is nothing in those trees for you.”
Spike barked louder and jerked Carly forward. She lost her balance, hit the ground hard, and lost her hold on the leash. The dog took advantage of her disarray and took off on a dead run toward the trees. Carly rolled to her knees and yelled, “Spike, no!” She jumped to her feet and took off after him.
What the hell was in those freaking trees that the dog found so interesting? Was it a squirrel? If it was, she was going to smack that dog in the nose the first chance she got. This was ridiculous. She had to go back to the apartment and have a talk with Phil.
Tree branches smacked her in the cheek as she ran through the mini forest in the park. Spike had gotten an enormous lead and she was having trouble keeping him in her sight. It appeared as if there was a clearing up ahead. Carly followed Spike into it and halted beside him. “What is it boy?” There was a small building that had security cameras on every corner of it. Whatever was inside the owners thought it was really important. It was not her place to decide if it was or not. She had to get Spike to turn around and head back to Phil’s apartment.
Before she had a chance to grab Spike’s leash, he took off on a run again. He hit a nearby door hard and bounced off of it. What the damnation was wrong with the stupid dog? Spike leapt to his feet and sniffed the door. There was something or someone in there that interested him. She feared the only way he would leave willingly is if she found a way to show him there was nothing there for him to be concerned about.
She walked over to the dog and picked up his leash. “I don’t know what you smell, dude, but this is getting a tad ridiculous. The owners of this building are not going to be happy you’re making it a priority.” She studied the door and tried to make a decision. It would be easy enough to break into it. There were not any complicated locks on it. It was weird actually. There was a hinge with a padlock on it instead of on the door handle. Every bit of her FBI training screamed to leave it be. It was wrong to go inside the building, and even worse to unlawfully enter, but she decided to go against those instincts. She pulled a bobby pin from her hair and straightened it to use as a pick, then slid it into the padlock. After a few clicks in the chamber it slid open. Carly pulled it off the door and slid it into her pocket, then turned the door handle and pushed it open. Spike yanked on the leash and it slid from her hand once again and ran inside. She was a bad dog owner.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
She had been so engrossed in her lock picking she had not heard anyone approach. Shit. Carly slowly turned around and her mouth almost fell open in shock at who was standing behind her—Addison. Her blonde hair was pinned up in a tight chignon and her brown eyes were narrowed into a hateful glare. What held Carly’s attention though was the pistol she had aimed at her.
She raised her hands slowly to let her see she was unarmed. Perhaps she did not take it too kindly when someone broke into her, well, whatever the building was to her. Carly was not sure what the hell it was, and didn’t particularly want to know either. “No need to hold me at gunpoint,” she said reassuringly. “I don’t mean anyone harm.” Not to mention she was completely unarmed and could not hurt anyone if she tried. She was well trained but even her abilities were limited. A gun trumped just about anything in this sort of standoff.
“You’ve already seen too much,” Addison said. “I can’t let anyone know my plans yet.” She gestured toward the door and ordered, “Go inside.”
Was Phil’s ex-wife Looney tunes? Was that why they had divorced? Had Phil realized she was crazy and got out while the getting was good? No, Phil would not do that. If she were sick, he would have stayed by her side no matter what. There was something else going on and Carly was certain she was not going to like it.
“I said go inside,” Addison shouted. “Don’t make me shoot you. I abhor bloodshed.”
Good to know. She might be able to use that to her advantage later. Carly turned and walked inside the building slowly, unsure what she might find.
“Why are you doing this?” Maybe if Addison started talking Carly could reason with her. “You don’t have to keep me here.”
“Shut up,” Addison said. “I never liked you. I may not like the idea of blood but I’m not afraid to take a life if need be.”
Carly reminded herself to breathe. Addison was definitely nuts as nuts could be. How had Phil stayed married to her when she was clearly insane? More importantly how had she hidden this side of her psyche from him?
“I rather like living,” Carly said. “No need to kill me.”
Spike’s bark echoed through the building. “You have the dog with you,” she said and grinned. “Good. That saves me the trouble of grabbing him later. The men I hired failed to find him last night.”
“Wait,” Carly said and turned to face her. “You’re the one that broke into my house? Why would you do something like that?” Why did she want Spike?
“You already know too much,” she said and pushed her into a dark room. “At least he will have you to keep him company before you both die.” The door banged shut and a lock clicked in place. A tiny window let a small amount of light into the room, but it was still so dark she had trouble seeing a foot in front of her.
“Spike, what kind of mess did you get me into?”
“I’m afraid it’s my fault,” a male said.
Carly spun around at the sound of that voice. She recognized it immediately. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she stumbled toward the direction the sound had come from. Her voice wavered as she said, “Logan?”
“I’m afraid so, honey,” he said sadly. “Spike must have caught my scent and led you here. If I could’ve prevented this I would have.”
She brought her hands up to her mouth as tears fell freely. “How is this possible?”
“It’s a long story and I promise I’ll explain it later,” he promised. “But for now, do you think you could untie me? We have to find a way to escape and I’m no use to you this way.”
Carly didn’t think twice. She fell to the floor and started to work on the ropes around his wrists, and then his ankles. Once he was free she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I thought you were dead.”
“For a while there I thought I was going to die. She has her reasons for keeping me alive,” he explained. “None of them are good.”
She frowned. “She’s crazy.”
“You have no idea,” he said with a sigh. “The things I could tell you...” He let out a breath. “There isn’t a lot of time to go over it all. You’re going to have to trust me.”
“Always,” she promised. Spike barked in response adding his own two cents. Carly laughed and brushed her hand over his head.
Spike leaped onto Logan and licked his face. “I missed you too,” he said, pulling the dog into his arms. “Now comes the hard part, well at least the first one—finding a way out of this room.”
Carly was afraid that might prove to be impossible.
CHAPTER FIVE
It was a beautiful day for a walk in the par
k—at least that is what Phil told himself as he searched for Spike and Carly. He was about to give up and go back to his apartment when a movement caught his attention. A flash of tan followed by green... He turned toward it and saw Spike run into a bunch of trees followed shortly by Carly. A laugh escaped from deep inside of him as Carly bolted after the dog. He must have caught the scent of a squirrel again and decided to chase it. Poor Carly.
Phil headed in the direction they had gone into the woods. He couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms again. Yeah, they had a lot to talk about but he didn’t believe for a minute she had no feelings for him. The night before had been too intense to believe otherwise. Finally, things were headed in a direction he could hold onto. She was his everything.
“Spike,” he heard Carly shout. The dog was determined to get that damn squirrel, wasn’t he? He did not understand the fascination with the small furry creature but he would not hold it against Spike. Joy came from the small things in life.
He strolled leisurely through the trail of chaos Spike and Carly had left in their wake. Fallen branches and leaves littered the ground. Branches cracked in half as he stepped on them. He pushed past some lower ones that Carly and Spike probably were able to run under. As he walked into the clearing, he stopped short when he heard a voice he’d hoped to avoid for the rest of his life. Clearly, he’d pissed someone off in a former life because his ex-wife was less than three feet away. She had her phone held up to her ear and her back was turned to him.
“Did you bring it?” she asked. “I have him locked inside. We’ve run into a small complication.” She paused and listened to the response before answering. “Don’t worry, I’ve handled it and she won’t be a problem for long. The dog is here too. They’re secure. Don’t keep me waiting.”
Phil stood frozen as he stared at Addison. What was she talking about? Who was locked up and why did she feel the need to secure anyone? He should do something. Carly... Addison had to be talking about her and Spike. If they were locked up he had to find a way to free them. First he should do the proper thing and call for backup. Only a fool rushed in alone. But fuck—it killed him to step back into the trees for cover and wait. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
After three rings someone answered, “Name and Credentials.”
“This is Agent Morrison, Phillip,” he replied matter-of-factly and shot off the necessary information to go along with it. “I need backup on the other side of the woods adjacent to Crescent Park. There is a building locked tight, unknown number of suspects within. They are holding Agent Gallagher, Carly hostage.”
“Affirmative Agent Morrison,” the person said. “Backup will arrive in fifteen. Wait for arrival before proceeding.”
Like hell he would. He hung up the phone and scanned the area. Carly was in there and he was not going to leave her there. Backup could assist when they arrived. Addison must have gone back inside. He wished he’d thought to bring his gun because he feared he might need it. Addison may, or may not, be alone. She must have an advantage over Carly if she was able to lock her up. Was it Spike? Carly would do anything for the dog, but Phil hoped she would not put her life above the dog’s.
The area appeared to be clear so he jogged quickly to the side of the building. He kept close to the side and eased his way to the entrance. The door was wide open so Carly and Spike must be locked up somewhere inside. It was dark and hard to see inside but he did not let that deter him. Phil slid inside as quietly as possible and made his way down a long hallway. At the sound of Addison’s voice he halted and waited.
“What have you two been doing while I’ve been busy?” Addison asked.
“Did you think we’d lie down like cowards and let you win?” Carly laughed. “You don’t know me very well if you believed that.”
“As if I want to crawl around inside your head,” Addison scoffed. “I wouldn’t lower myself that far. You’re nothing and will die as such.”
Not if Phil had anything to say about it. How long had Addison been so hateful? He had stopped paying attention to her so long ago. Was she always like this and he dismissed it as nothing? It really didn’t matter—what did matter was Carly and Spike. He would not allow Addison to harm them.
“Addy,” he said softly. She turned toward him immediately, a gun in her hand.
“I should have known you would show up. Wherever she is you’re following behind her like a trained puppy.”
“What are you doing?” he asked. “This isn’t you.”
She laughed maniacally. “As if you ever truly knew me. You’re an idiot, but you served your purpose.”
He flinched at her words. What the hell did that mean? “Put the gun away. You don’t want to hurt anyone.” Phil inched forward closing the distance between them. If he could wrench the gun from her he’d be able stop anyone from getting hurt.
“As if I’d care if anyone was hurt,” she said derisively. “As far as I’m concerned you all could die right now. The dog is all that matters.”
“Why do you want Spike?”
Addison hated dogs. He had wanted to get one a while ago and she had thrown a fit. When Carly had taken Spike in he’d thought she was crazy because Addison had him convinced someone in their line of work did not have the time for a dog. Carly had proven him wrong. Sure, there were times she couldn’t be there for the dog, but she’d made arrangements to see to his care.
“That dog has a computer chip imbedded in him,” Addison explained. “It has all the information I need to make millions. It holds the key to accessing the nuclear missile codes. When I auction it off to the highest bidder, I’ll be set for life and no one will see me again.”
He stared at Addison through the darkness trying to make out her features. When had she lost her mind, but more importantly when had she decided being a traitor to their country trumped everything else? Addison was right, he had never truly known her and now he wasn’t so sure he wanted to.
“Ouch,” Addison screeched and fell to the ground. “You bitch.”
“And darn proud of it,” Carly said, then turned toward Phil brandishing the gun she’d taken from Addison. “Thanks for keeping her occupied.”
He wanted to take credit for doing something good, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Listening to Addison had been earth shattering. He’d been damn near useless through the whole exchange. He realized in those moments he was a poor judge of character and didn’t know what to make of anything anymore.
“Yeah,” he said absentmindedly. “Where’s Spike?”
“Inside the room keeping Logan company. He wanted to help, but he’s not in the best condition.”
“Logan?” he had to have heard her wrong. Logan was dead.
“Yeah,” she said. “I was as surprised as you are.”
That was... How was he supposed to process any of this? Logan was alive? The very Logan that Carly had mourned so hard? She loved him. Had he lost her before he’d ever even had a real chance with her? Fate fucking hated him.
She’ll never love him the way she loved Logan. He’d lost and he’d never recover from it.
“Go outside and wait for backup. They should be arriving soon. I’ll make sure Addison doesn’t go anywhere.”
“Backup is coming?” she asked, surprise filling her voice. “I don’t understand how you knew to come here and have backup follow you, but I’m grateful. I don’t think Logan would survive in there much longer. He’s so weak.”
Logan. Logan. Logan. He shouldn’t be jealous but he couldn’t help how he felt. The man had probably been through hell and all Phil could think about was how he’d lost Carly.
“Go outside,” he said again. “I’m just doing my job and it’s not finished yet.”
She nodded and did as he suggested. He kept his emotions in check because he did have a job to do. His ex-wife would pay for the tragedy she’d caused him. It was all her fault that he lost everything—if not for her scheming he’d never have believed he had a chance at hap
piness.
He kept his focus on her the entire time. Not once did he think to check on Logan or Spike. The rage burrowing inside of him had one thing to hold onto and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to let that go. Addison, the bitch, would pay.
“Phil,” Logan croaked out.
He was torn between helping him and keeping vigil over Addison.
“He doesn’t sound too good,” Addison mocked. “You don’t want him to die now, do you?”
Phil ignored her as heartache burrowed deep into his soul. No, he didn’t want Logan to die. He would help him at the expense of his own life. Nevertheless, he would have to make sure Addison could not escape before he did anything else. “Addy,” he said with false sincerity. “Your kindness knows no bounds.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” she said evilly. “Though in time it could.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Logan said. “She’s an evil bitch.”
Tell him something he did not know. He didn’t reply to Logan because he didn’t trust himself to not say something stupid. “You’ll have plenty of time to hone your skills when you’re locked up in a federal penitentiary. I’m sure you’ll be fabulous at it too.”
Footsteps echoed through the building as several men headed in their direction. Soon several agents were inside and taking charge of the situation. Phil left them in control and headed outside. Sunlight blinded him when he stepped out of the building. When his vision cleared, he searched for Carly. He found her talking to another agent animatedly. Her hands were flying in all directions. He headed toward her to make sure she was as unharmed as she appeared to be. Afterwards he’d go into the office and file paperwork to be transferred. He couldn’t be near her and not be able to claim her. It would be too hard on him to watch her with Logan.
“The bat thought Spike had some computer chip in him. She’d been torturing Logan for a year trying to find it and finally he broke and told her it had been in his dog. He thought Spike died in the blast or he’d never had told her that. She had someone break into my apartment to try to steal him. Spike somehow evaded them. It was pure luck we stumbled on the location she was holding Logan today. He’s going to need a lot of medical care.”
