by Nicole Helm
“Bennet—”
But he was already gone, striding out of the room and picking up his gun he’d been forced to put down on the way out.
“You’ll be a dead woman by week’s end,” the man hissed.
Alyssa kicked his shin. Hard. Then waited for him to finish howling before she spoke. “But I’m not one yet.” He would have had her if not for Bennet, and that was humiliating, but Bennet had been there, and Alyssa was no longer running scared.
No, from here on out every clue that led them closer would only firm her resolve. Someone wanted to murder her like they’d murdered her mother? Well, it would take a damn army. No amount of brothers or her father’s name could change that.
Bennet returned with a pair of handcuffs and a roll of duct tape. Whistling something that sounded an awful lot like “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” he handcuffed one of the man’s bound hands to the foot of the bed. Then, still whistling, he ripped off a length of duct tape and fastened it over the man’s mouth.
Without another word, he stood and took Alyssa’s arm and led her out of the room. Once in the hallway, any smiles or humor or whistling stopped. Bennet’s face went hard and, if Alyssa wasn’t totally bad at reading him, furious.
“Wh-what are we going to do?” she asked, because no matter how she tried to free her arm from his grasp, it was like iron. Leading her through the house and to the door to the garage.
“We’re going to get you over to my parents’ house. They have much heavier security over there.”
“What about him?”
“Once I get you settled, I’m going to call the police and report an attempted burglary, of course.”
“You’re going to lie to the police?”
He stopped her before they walked out the door, taking her by both elbows and pulling her close. “He was one minute away from kidnapping you, and possibly killing you. This isn’t just your brothers anymore, and your safety is paramount. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe while we solve the case, including lying to the local police. Now, can I count on you to do the same?”
“But—”
“But what if my parents are in on it?” he finished for her, clearly irritated by her line of thought.
Still, she nodded.
“Mother will be at her lunch meeting. Dad is at some charity thing until three. Once I get this situated, you are not leaving my sight until we figure this out, and we won’t be going anywhere unarmed.”
“I’m always armed.”
“More than a Swiss Army knife in your bra.”
“So, you’re going to follow me to the bathroom? Sleep with me?” Which was possibly not the right wording of her question.
“If I have to,” he replied unperturbed, beginning to pull her again. Through the garage and out into the open, one hand on her elbow and the other on his holstered gun. He moved quickly and efficiently, scanning every inch of the landscape as they moved from guesthouse to main house.
“He had to have gotten here somehow. Do you think someone else is out there?”
“Maybe,” Bennet said in that cold, detached Texas Ranger tone. “If someone else is, they can’t be too close with a vehicle. They’d never get past the gates. But we need to hurry on the chance someone is out there, and make sure they don’t come looking for our friend.”
Bennet keyed a code into the main house’s garage door. Practically silently, it glided open and Bennet moved them inside, closing the garage door behind them.
They stepped into what was some sort of finished basement cellar-type thing—stainless steel deep freezer, matching fridge, a pantry full of canned goods and alcohol and all kinds of nonperishables.
Bennet led her up a staircase, and they stepped out in a kitchen where two people were sitting at a table sipping tea.
Bennet nodded at them. “Mrs. Downy. Kinsey. Can you make sure no staff enter my room for the next few hours?”
The older-looking woman nodded. “Of course.”
Then Alyssa was being led out of the kitchen, down another hall, through another room she couldn’t ascertain the use for. Then they were clearly in the main entryway because a giant chandelier glittered above them.
It was like a movie. There was a grand staircase in the middle, all gleaming polished woods decorated with garland and red bows. On the other side of the staircase she could catch a glimpse of what had to be a gigantic tree decorated completely in gold.
But Bennet didn’t give her any time to soak it in. He was pulling her up the stairs and down a long hall and into another giant room. This one wasn’t white, though. It was a kind of forest green and some kind of tan color. Very woodsy and masculine.
“This is your room.”
“Well, it was when I lived here. Now you’re going to sit tight,” he instructed, going through and checking all the windows even though they were on the second story. “Don’t leave. Don’t move, and on the off chance someone comes in this room, you shoot,” he ordered, pointing at the gun he’d handed her earlier.
Alyssa frowned at the weapon she held. “What if it’s someone from your parents’ staff?”
“You heard me leave instructions for no one to enter. So, if someone does, you can almost be certain it’s nefarious.”
And clearly she wasn’t as smart as she’d always fancied herself to be because she finally understood what was happening. “So, I’m just supposed to sit here in this room? Locked up.”
Bennet didn’t even pause, already striding for the door. “It’s for your own protection, Alyssa.”
“That’s what they said, too.”
He stopped and turned, frowning at her in that way she might have been intimidated by if she wasn’t so irrationally hurt by all this.
“It isn’t fair to compare me to your brothers.”
“Isn’t it?” she returned, shrugging as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“I don’t have time for this,” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair, but he didn’t walk out. “I can’t have you call the police because then you have to explain why you’re in my parents’ guesthouse. It’s too complicated. You can’t go milling around the house because I don’t know who in this house we can trust. I actually don’t know who we can trust, period, and neither do you. This is temporary while I deal with the police, and I need you on board.”
“You need me to sit down and shut up.”
“Hey, I let you break that guy’s nose. Never accuse me of not using your unique talents.” He smiled, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile back. This was all too familiar, all too...much. She couldn’t stand the idea that she’d felt like Bennet’s partner there for a little bit, and now he was going to lock her away, too.
“Alyssa, I can’t imagine what this might feel like from your perspective, but try to think about it from mine, okay? I’ll be back.” And then he was gone and the door was locked. End of discussion.
Alyssa sat down on the bed, fury and hurt pumping through her. But the worst part was knowing he was right and that she had to, once again, sit in a locked room and twiddle her thumbs.
Chapter Ten
Bennet dealt with the police, half his mind elsewhere. He wanted the squad car gone before either of his parents returned home, and he wanted to get back to Alyssa ASAP.
Everything had gotten completely out of hand, and he was half-tempted to send the whole of the Texas Rangers after CJ Jimenez.
But it wouldn’t solve his case, and it wouldn’t help Alyssa.
Luckily, being a Ranger himself helped speed up the Austin police investigation, and by the time Bennet was allowed to go, they even had a suspected partner in crime and vehicle for the getaway car.
He didn’t know who’d sent the men, though, and that was a problem. All of this was an increasingly complicat
ed problem. Bennet grabbed his laptop, his extra sidearm, all the clothes he’d gotten for Alyssa and shoved everything into a bag.
He didn’t like the idea of staying at the main house whether his parents were involved in this mess or not, but he couldn’t think of a safer place for them right now. Security was tight, and if one of his parents turned out to be his enemy, he’d keep them close and smoke them out.
That was something he couldn’t allow himself to think too deeply on. Whatever happened, whatever justice was, he’d deal with the emotional fallout when it was over.
He entered through the garage again. When he got to the kitchen, Kinsey was still there, though she was no longer sipping tea with Mrs. Downy, who was in charge of the kitchen. Kinsey was sitting at the table, alone, a computer in front of her.
She’d run this house like a military institution since Bennet could remember, so when she gestured for him to approach, Bennet could only obey.
“Shall I tell your mother you and a guest will be staying with us?”
“You haven’t yet?”
Kinsey’s mouth curved just a fraction, but Bennet had known the severe woman most of his life. Which meant he knew that smile was a feat indeed, just like when he was a teenager and she’d finally allowed him to call her Kinsey instead of Ms. Kinsey.
“The girl was bleeding. Police cars. I don’t want to be the one to break all that to your mother.”
“Then don’t.”
“Someone will.”
“I will.” At least that way he could control the information, gauge his mother’s reaction. Did she know? Was she part of this? He hated having doubts about his own parents. No matter how little he got along with them, they were still his family. He loved them.
And it was looking more and more likely one of them had cartel ties.
Kinsey pushed a small box toward him. “Clean her up first.”
Damn. He’d been so worked up about getting the attacker and police taken care of, he’d forgotten all about Alyssa’s head wound.
“She’s pretty,” Kinsey commented as Bennet took the box.
“She’s work,” he replied firmly.
Kinsey made a noncommittal sound that Bennet didn’t have time to argue with. He strode through the house and to his room. He knocked, offering his name.
The door unlocked and opened a crack, the barrel of the gun the only thing appearing in the crack.
“Alyssa.”
“Just making sure.” The door opened the rest of the way, and she was smirking, gun still in her hand. It should not arouse him in the least.
“Uh-huh.”
Alyssa set the gun down on the nightstand once he’d entered and closed and locked the door behind him.
“So, what happened?”
“They arrested the guy for breaking and entering and attempted burglary. They think they have a lead on the car that was waiting for him outside the gates. Did you recognize our guy?”
She shook her head. “I tried to pay attention to anything that might have been familiar or connect to anything, but he was nobody I’ve ever met.”
“What about this man?” Bennet asked, pulling out his phone and bringing up the pictures he’d had the Austin officer send him. “He’s our suspect for being the driver of the getaway car.”
Alyssa frowned, leaning closer to the screen. “He looks familiar. He... He used to work for my father.”
“Used to?”
“Yeah. Eli... I don’t know last names, or even if that’s his real name, but his name was Eli and he worked my father, but he defected.” She looked up at him. “I’m sure of it.”
“What exactly does defected mean?”
“I’m not sure of the exact cartel meaning. I used to think it was going to the cops, but it’s what my brothers said about my mom. She defected. To a cartel rival. And if we put it together with what my father told me about Dominguez having my mother... Maybe that’s the connection.”
“Except we don’t know what Dominguez has to do with any of this.”
Alyssa swallowed, and though she was trying to look tough, to act tough, he could see the worry in her eyes. “He wants me, though. For whatever reason, he’s after me.”
“Why now? You’ve been free for two years. If he wanted you as revenge, he’s had years to do it.”
“There has to be an inciting incident we don’t know about.”
“That started recently, but before I came to your office, if your brothers’ men were following you on your last job.”
“But... I don’t know what it would be.”
“We’ll start looking into cartel cases and see if we can’t find some recent dustup we might make a connection to.”
“And if we can’t?”
Bennet didn’t know what to say to that. He was tempted to make a joke about crossing bridges once they were burning behind them, but she didn’t look like she’d laugh. Or smile. Or do anything except maybe break.
He couldn’t bear the thought of breaking her.
“I don’t want to be a prisoner anymore, Bennet. Not one of my family, or a madman, or whatever the hell is going on here. I don’t want to be locked up and shoved away. I won’t live like that, even if it puts me in danger. I’d rather be dead.”
“You’re not going to end up dead. Not on my watch.”
“What do you care? I shouldn’t be anyone to you.”
It was such a vulnerable statement, clearly speaking to all those hurts she’d somehow survived. Trust broken over and over again.
He didn’t know what it was like to be a prisoner, not in any sense of the word. Even in the world his parents had created he’d broken mostly free. Maybe they’d greased some palms for him that he’d wished they hadn’t, but it was hardly kidnapping or betrayal.
But somehow, despite his complete lack of experience in the matter, he could feel that pain of hers, and he wanted to soothe it. He wanted to be as honest as she was being when he should be cagey or stone-faced or whatever would best benefit this case.
But as gung-ho as he’d been just days ago about solving this case, the oldest cold case on file at the Texas Rangers, it had irrevocably become about something else. About her.
“What do I care?” He shook his head. “You hold your own. You make me laugh at the wrongest of times. You’re smart, and we understand each other. Justice. We understand that. Not everyone does. Maybe you shouldn’t be anyone to me, but you are.”
He stepped forward and more than anything else he’d ever wanted in his whole life, he wanted to press his mouth to hers. Not in some ploy to convince his father to leave, or just because he wondered what it might be like. No, he wanted to kiss her because she was her and he thought somehow their mouths fitting together would make everything all right.
But it wouldn’t. So, he held up the first aid box Kinsey had given him. “Now, it’s my turn to bandage you up.”
* * *
ALYSSA HATED PORING over paperwork. It was boring. As much as she often had to do some investigating when she was hunting down a skip, she at least got to do stuff. Call people. Go places. Plan.
This was all looking for some magical clue, one that could be absolutely anything. She glanced at Bennet, who was sitting on the window seat, legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles, focus lasered on the computer screen in front of him. He didn’t lean against the wall, likely because of his cuts, but he still looked...powerful and smart and a million other things she should ignore.
Anytime he found something he thought might be important or relevant, he printed it out and made her read it.
She wanted to be useful, but she also wanted to make a move. She’d already learned that being kidnapped with someone wasn’t all that much different from being kidnapped alone. In The Stallion’s house,
there’d been three other girls with her, but it hadn’t changed the fact she’d been alone and shut in.
“You can go to bed if you’re tired,” Bennet offered, never taking his gaze off the screen.
“I’m not tired,” Alyssa muttered, poking at the tray of food an older woman had brought up a few hours ago. “I’m bored.”
“You’d make a terrible policeman.”
“Why do you think I’m a bounty hunter?”
He glanced over at her, mouth curved at one side. “Illegal bounty hunter.”
She flashed him a grin. “Even better. Don’t have to worry about following any pesky laws.”
“How’s your head?”
“How’s your back?”
“Fine. How’s your head?” he repeated, clearly unamused by her unwillingness to answer the question.
“You should see the other guy.”
“I believe I did. Impressive indeed. Seriously, though?”
“It’s fine.” If fine was painful throbbing. “Didn’t even lose consciousness.”
“Look, we’ll have to sleep in shifts, so you might as well try to grab a few hours.”
“Why do we have to sleep in shifts?”
“Well, for starters I’m not going to sleep on the floor.”
She cocked her head. She’d sort of assumed she’d sleep on that cushy window seat he was on. He was too tall to fit, but she’d be able to stretch out just fine. It was a little interesting he hadn’t thought of that, though. He’d gone straight to the only option being him sleeping on the floor.
Apparently with her was not an option. You know it’s not. And it shouldn’t be something she was imagining. She needed to focus on reality. “You don’t think we’re safe.”
“I don’t know if we’re safe. For the time being, one of us is always on guard. We sleep in shifts. And, while one is sleeping, the other one is working. Until we get to the bottom of it.”
Alyssa flopped back on the bed, frowning. “And how am I supposed to sleep with all the lights blazing?”
