Guns and the Girl Next Door

by HelenKay Dimon

  Zimmer spit. “You son of a—”

  Holden crouched down until he was face-to-face with Zimmer. “We’re going to come to an understanding.”

  “Take the handcuffs off.”

  Holden pressed his hand against Zimmer’s crooked leg and waited while the man doubled over with a vicious growl.

  “You’re going to go back to your boss and tell him to leave Mia alone.” Holden knew that wouldn’t stop Walters, but it should warn him that Holden’s role in this mess was no longer a secret.

  Mia now had someone on her team, someone who wasn’t afraid of a congressional seal. Walters had a lot to lose. He needed to understand that he was the only one who did.

  Zimmer bared his teeth. “You can—”

  “Then you’re going to go away because if I see or hear about you coming near Mia, I’ll kill you.” Holden glanced at Mia and noticed she didn’t seem upset by the threat.

  Zimmer threw back his head, his neck muscles straining as he spoke. “She’s not worth the load of crap that’s going to come down on you over this.”

  Mia sighed. “You never did appreciate me.”

  “I got you. Had you,” Zimmer said. “You weren’t worth—”

  Holden increased the pressure on Zimmer’s leg. That was more than enough of that as far as Holden was concerned. “You would be wise to stop talking or I’ll go ahead and kill you now.”

  Zimmer ground his teeth together. “You won’t.”

  “Don’t tempt me.” Holden refused to let Zimmer take shots, not when all words like that did was make Holden want to beat the guy to death. He stood up and hooked his fingers under Mia’s elbow. “Time to go.”

  “What about him?” Her tone stayed flat, as if she was asking about a dinner reservation instead of Zimmer’s future.

  “He has an hour to get out of here on his own. After that, I’ll take care of it.”

  She nodded. “I almost hope he fails.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mia walked into the Hathaways’ house and felt all the stress leave her body. Melted right on the floor in front of her.

  Seeing Zimmer was almost worse than having trained killers trailing her. The image of him, splotchy-faced and holding a gun as he rushed past Holden, would stay with her for a long time.

  To think she once found Ned handsome. Tall and blonde with a face more suited to modeling than firearms, he attracted a lot of female attention. When he turned all of his considerable charm on her, she’d felt lucky. Special.

  Little hints didn’t come until later. He chose what she ordered in restaurants. He picked out her work wardrobe. Messages from friends never got to her. He moved her stuff into his apartment before she ever agreed to live together.

  By the end she doubted her judgment and taste in men. Worse, she knew she couldn’t continue as a therapist. No one wanted a pathetic victim of verbal abuse and emotional battering handing out relationship advice.

  Holden shut the front door behind them and ran a hand through her hair. “You okay?”

  His sweet concern nearly broke her. All the frustrations of the past few days bombarded her. Her muscles felt weak and jittery. If someone asked her to hold anything heavier than a pencil, she’d likely drop it. Strength abandoned her the second after they walked out of Holden’s condo, leaving her embarrassing past sprawled right there on the floor.

  She smiled up at Holden. “I will be.”

  “We’ll get something to eat and then—” He looked past her into the dining room. “Vince?”

  The new name had Mia spinning around. A man walked toward them with his hand outstretched and a genuine smile playing on his mouth. “Holden, how are you?”

  “Let’s just say it’s been a long day.”

  Mia caught the quick glances the older man shot her. Gray hair with a tall and lanky runner’s body. She pegged his age somewhere in his late fifties. That made him older than the Recovery agents, but he appeared fit. His intelligent green eyes didn’t appear to miss much.

  “What happened?” Luke asked Holden as he moved up behind his guest.

  “I’ll fill you in later.”

  Mia had to smile at Holden’s dismissal. He acted as if it was normal to tackle an ex-policeman and then threaten to kill him.

  “Who is… Wait a minute.” Vince dropped Holden’s hand and then moved to shake hers. “You look familiar.”

  Just what she needed—more people recognizing her from her boss’s public lies. “I have one of those faces.”

  Holden laughed. “Nice try.”

  “People are looking for you,” Vince said.

  She liked the man’s smile and the easy way he fit in with the rest of the house. “And that’s a bad thing. Trust me.”

  “I do.”

  “Walters is ratcheting up the threats.” Holden tightened his hand on her back.

  “Meaning?” Luke asked.

  “He sent someone with a message for Mia.”

  Vince shook his head. “That guy continues to be trouble.”

  She thought of her boss more as a criminal. “There’s an understatement.”

  “What are you doing here?” Holden asked Vince.

  “I called him. We came across some encrypted files Rod uploaded onto the secure server and not in the usual case section.” Luke clapped a hand against Vince’s shoulder. “Thought Vince could help us ferret it out.”

  “You’re a computer expert?” The roles started to make sense to Mia. Though from what she could see of Adam, all six-foot-three of linebacker shoulders and bent over his laptop at the table, it looked as if he had the issue under control.

  “No, I’m Rod’s former partner.”

  “WitSec,” Holden explained.

  The acronym rolled around in her head until she deciphered it. “Witness Security Program?”

  There was just no end to the complex pasts of these men. She figured them all for military-turned-agents of some sort. It looked as if their experiences, although all dangerous, were much more varied.

  “We were U.S. Marshals before anything else. Rod left years ago, but I stayed.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Holden said.

  “This came today.” Luke handed Holden a large beige envelope.

  “You opening my mail now?”

  From his tone, Mia thought Holden was only half kidding. For a private man, and he was one, having someone dig through his personal papers would be a violation. He didn’t seem to catch the irony of how a guy who investigated other people for a living hated being investigated.

  It didn’t matter if Holden was upset because Luke acted as if he had every right to dig into whatever he wanted. “If you have secrets you don’t want me to see, don’t bring them into my house.”

  “Fair enough.” Holden opened the envelope and drew out the piece of paper inside.

  Luke motioned for them to retire to the dining room. “Let’s sit down.”

  “Where is everyone else?” she asked.

  “Claire needed to pick up some stuff for the house.”

  “Luke made Zach and Caleb go with her,” Adam said with a laugh.

  That almost made her feel sorry for Claire. Mia couldn’t imagine trying to buy milk with those two brutes hanging over her shoulders and glaring at anyone who got close. She slid into the seat next to Holden and watched him take out the single sheet of paper.

  “Glenna Reynolds and Penny Wain.” He flipped the paper around but there was nothing else on there. “Should those names mean something to me?”

  Vince took the paper and repeated the names out loud. “They’re two witnesses who were under our protection, mine and Rod’s.”

  Interesting choice of verb tense, in Mia’s view. “Were? As in used to be?”

  Vince slid the document back across the table to Holden. “I’m retired. My old cases have been reassigned.”

  “Are these women in some kind of trouble?” Holden asked.

  Vince shook his head. “I’ve checked with my so
urces and the women are fine.”

  “I haven’t found anything to contradict that, though getting into the WitSec database is pretty near impossible,” Adam said.

  Vince frowned. “It should be totally impossible.”

  “Yeah, should be.” Adam scanned the screen in front of him. “The encrypted files on Rod’s computer have initials that match these ladies’ names. I’m thinking that’s not a coincidence.”

  “Would Rod have kept files on the women even though he no longer was responsible for their care?” Mia asked.

  “I can answer that one.” Holden hesitated only a second. “No.”

  She tried to put the pieces of his past together in her head. “Were you in—”

  “No.”

  She stared at him, looking for signs he was covering, but his blank expression didn’t give anything away. “I’ll believe you.”

  He smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

  She turned back to Adam. “Can’t you break the code?”

  At this point she assumed they could do anything. She couldn’t imagine a bunch of computer language holding these guys back.

  Adam didn’t act offended. He kept tapping on the keys, barely looking up to acknowledge the other people in the room. “It’s not anything I recognize, but I’m trying.”

  “Does this mean Rod is alive and hiding?” When all eyes turned in her direction, Mia’s confidence stumbled.

  “What?”

  “We’re going on the assumption he’s alive,” Luke explained. “But, yes, he could have arranged to send this once he knew he was in trouble. The timing might not be proof of life.”

  The scowl on Holden’s face let them all know what he thought of the topic. “More important, do these two women have a tie to Walters?”

  “You know I can’t give any personal information about people in the program.” Vince cleared his throat.

  “But, no.”

  “This could be unrelated to Walters. It’s possible that some part of the crap hitting us now can’t be traced back to him. Kind of doubtful but still possible.” Luke sounded as skeptical as she felt.

  “I can’t see a connection,” Vince said.

  “You think we have two unrelated apocalyptic problems happening at the same time?” Holden shook his head. “I don’t buy it.”

  “Why?” Neither did she, but Mia wanted to hear his reasoning.

  “Rod was poking around in WitSec and he’s now missing. That’s too much coincidence.”

  Vince cut Holden off. “But the hearings are about disbanding the Recovery Project. As far as I know, you guys haven’t done any work with WitSec.”

  “True, but it’s not that easy. Never is.” Holden’s hand rubbed up and down her back. “We’re racing along here assuming Walters was acting on a favor for the Samson brothers. That he’s punishing Luke and Claire and taking us all along for the ride.”

  Mia hated thinking that she worked for a man whose priorities were so convoluted. She wasn’t naive. She’d lived in the metro area since college. She understood how power could corrupt. But she hadn’t seen it coming this time. Just another example of her poor read of the men in her life.

  She looked up at the one man who struck her as the real thing. The same guy who touched her without thinking about it and made her wish for a few moments alone. “And?”

  Holden shrugged. “I think there’s more. A connection we’re not seeing between Rod’s side project and Walters’s determination to destroy us.”

  Vince put his hands against the table and stood up. “You’ve convinced me. I’ll do more digging.”

  “We’d appreciate it.” Luke stood up and shook the older man’s hand. “Let us know what you find. Hopefully, something.”

  Holden glanced at her and then back to Vince. “If you could also stay quiet about Mia.”

  “Understood.”

  Luke saw Vince to the door. “We’re here and waiting.”

  The passive response surprised her. Once the front door closed, she leaned into Holden and whispered. “Are we actually waiting for someone else to gather information and feed it back here?”

  He winked at her. “Of course not.”

  “Do you trust Vince?” She asked her question in a whisper, but when Adam smiled she knew he’d heard.

  Holden took more than a few seconds to answer. “For the most part.”

  The man had trust issues. “That’s not very positive.”

  “He was Rod’s partner, not mine.”

  “So.” Luke clapped his hands together as he walked back into the room. “What’s the real plan?”

  The words spilled out of Holden with a practiced ease. “Get into Walters’s office and grab his private computer. If there’s a connection to these women, it should be in there.”

  “He’s likely moved it by now.” Luke leaned down on his elbows against the back of a chair.

  “I can check on that.” Adam finally looked up. “I’ll ping it. Not as obvious as Holden’s hacking, but it should work.”

  Holden ignored the joke. “A congressional office should be more secure than a regular house. I’m betting it’s still there.”

  “Lots of security. Badges.” Luke dropped his head between his hands. “I don’t like it. It’s not going to be easy to get in there. Even harder to get out without trouble. Frankly, we have enough problems without inviting more.”

  For smart guys, they were missing a simple solution. She waited until they all shared that we’re-thinking-on-it look before she jumped in. “I’ll get you inside.”

  Luke peeked up at her. “You’re missing, remember?”

  “I am betting you guys know how to create false credentials, yes?” She’d bet they could do much more than that but she wasn’t sure she wanted the full rundown.

  Adam’s eyes narrowed. “It’s probably better I don’t answer that until I know your plan.”

  “I have a key to the office. We just have to get into the building downstairs and then bide our time until the place clears out. Then I can lead us into the Congressman’s personal office.”

  “Our time?” The chill to Holden’s voice could freeze meat.

  “I’m going with you.”

  “No.” Holden crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back far enough in his seat to make it creak. “Absolutely not.”

  “I work there. I have been to numerous hearings and events. I know how to get in and where to hide.”

  Holden pointed across the table. “Adam can figure it out. It’s too dangerous for you to be there.”

  “As opposed to watching you fight with a police officer and then threaten to put a bullet in him?”

  Luke shot up straight. “What?”

  “It was nothing.” Holden didn’t even spare his friend a glance. His focus stayed right on her.

  “Since you threatened Ned and gave him a message for Walters, I think we better move tonight. Before Walters starts deleting the trail to him.” She smiled because she knew she had their joint attention now. She also knew she’d win this battle. “If there is one.”

  Holden shook his head. “I haven’t agreed that you’re going anywhere.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s happening.”

  Luke rapped his fist against the table. “Care to tell me about the police situation and these messages?”

  Mia noticed Luke hadn’t said no. The only impediment was Holden, and she could work around him without a problem. “You’re going to be angry when Holden tells you what happened.”

  Luke exhaled. “No surprise there.”

  “Then would you be surprised if I told you the guy was my ex?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The fake badges and her wig and glasses got them through the metal detectors on the bottom floor of the Rayburn House Office Building, where a significant number of high-ranking members of Congress worked surrounded by young and eager staff members. It was shortly past four and close to the time for official public lockdown for the night, but they go
t in.

  More than three hours later, Holden tried to ignore how pleased Mia was that her plan to get them inside worked. He sat on a table and fought off the inevitable boredom that came from waiting.

  Mia kept busy. Her high heels clicked against the floor in time to the spring in her step. She paced the small conference-room space waiting for the right time to move in.

  And she did look good. The short navy skirt barely skimmed her knees. With each step it inched up higher and he wasn’t the only one who noticed. A few of the men who’d passed by in the hall gave her legs a second look.

  Now they were on the second floor on the back right side of the modified H-shaped building. Walters’s office sat two stories up on the opposite side, facing the Mall. They picked this area thinking the distance away from Bram’s private rooms would provide cover.

  It proved to be the perfect hiding place while the public entrances shut down and the staffers filed out. To anyone watching on a security camera, they’d appear as nothing more than two staffers stealing a quiet minute alone. Interesting but not illegal.

  His watch beeped and he glanced down at the screen. “It’s time.”

  “A message from Adam?”

  “He gave us the all clear.”

  “It’s a little scary how much you guys know about what’s happening in rooms you’re not in.”

  To Holden complete intel was a necessary part of the job. Essential, actually. Being unprepared meant danger. With Mia along, he wasn’t taking any chances.

  “The goal is to have this run smoothly,” he said.

  “Of course.”

  “Up the stairs and into the office.” He ran through the plan again. He ignored her when she rolled her eyes in response.

  “We’ve been through this.”

  He kept thinking if they went through it one more time she’d have the steps memorized and all would be safe. But the way she frowned told him he’d only succeeded in annoying her. Tough. “We’re doing it again.”

  “We’re doing it again.”