Shit. No one he knew.
Strange that someone from out of the area would be breaking into homes but the economy wasn’t the greatest and desperation made people do strange things. Another cop car pulled into West’s driveway and Lou Blanton hopped out. Lou was an experienced officer and a good man to have on the scene.
I need to get to Gigi.
“Jesus, you take a leave of absence and this is what happens?” Lou peered down at the blood covered man and grimaced. “What’s going on here?”
West stood and pointed back to his home. “Two guys trying to break in. Heard them trying the doors and windows. I gave them the usual warning and told them to stop but they started firing on me before taking flight. I pursued and they continued to fire on me but this one ran into the path of Jerry’s cruiser. The other got away in a dark SUV. Late model. I asked Nancy to put out a BOLO.”
Lou whistled and jotted down a few notes. “Did you discharge your weapon? Damn, there are too many people around here. We’ll need a couple of officers just to deal with the crowd.”
More officers were arriving along with an ambulance, the flashing lights illuminating the entire block. For a measly burglary attempt this was quite a mess. The local news was bound to show up any minute.
“No. Too many people. I never had a clear shot.” West paced, too wired to stay still. “Listen, I have someone in the house and I need to give them the all clear. Can you handle this?”
Lou was more than capable and West needed to get back to Gigi, who had to be on pins and needles listening to the gunfire and wondering what was going on.
“Sure. It looks pretty routine. Foiled attempted burglary with an added injury when the suspect ran. Jerry looks pretty shook up though.”
The young cop who had been first on the scene was pale and standing a few feet away from the prone man while the EMTs worked. The stricken expression of the officer told West that he needed to make sure that he talked to the kid. Jerry hadn’t done anything wrong but he was clearly blaming himself.
“I’ll be back in a few.”
West slapped Lou on the back and jogged into the house and up the stairs. He almost pulled the door open but then remembered he needed to knock first. He could have been the recipient of a lead bullet in the chest. His woman was a damn good shot.
“Gigi? It’s me, babe. You can come out now.”
The door cracked open slowly and she peered around it. Obviously shaken, her hands trembled and her skin had a gray cast to it as she held out the firearm. “I heard gunfire. Are you okay?”
The minute he took the gun her hands ran over his arms and chest, her gaze darting from head to toe. He shook his head and placed the firearm on the chest of drawers before tugging her close. He could feel the her heart race and her body quiver so he simply held her for a long time, stroking her hair and whispering that everything was going to be okay.
“I’m fine, babe. It’s all fine. They never got in. Not even close. They just didn’t like it when I interrupted them, that’s all. It’s all fine.”
She pressed her cheek to his chest and he rubbed his chin on the top of her head, the vanilla scent of her shampoo wrapping around him. “Are you hurt? Are you okay? Did you get them? Are they going to jail?”
Shit. No. “One is headed to the hospital. He ran into the path of the police car. The other took off but we’re looking for him. We’ll get him.”
If not tonight then one in the future. The guy didn’t appear to be an amateur. If he did this for a living West would be meeting up with him eventually.
“What happens now?” Gigi’s voice quivered and his heart twisted at her anguished tone. She’d been frightened, worried about his ugly ass, which was sweet. It kind of gave him hope that maybe she cared a little. Or a lot.
“Grab your toothbrush and we’ll go spend the night at Travis’s house. This is a crime scene technically and we both need some sleep.”
Travis had a big house on the ranch and he wouldn’t mind being woken in the middle of the night. In all probability the workaholic was awake and staring at the screen of his laptop while drinking a beer.
It only took a moment for Gigi to pull on a pair of blue jeans and grab a toothbrush, stuffing it into her purse. West gave Travis a quick call to let him know they were coming and that he’d get all the details when they arrived. By the time West locked the front door he was ready to put this night behind him. A complete cluster.
“Do you need anything else from me, Lou?” West asked, one arm around Gigi as they stood outside. Most of his neighbors had become bored and gone back to bed except for a few stragglers here and there. Jerry was still standing where West had left him, watching the EMTs lift the suspect from the ground and onto the gurney.
“We’re good. But I’m guessing the chief is going to want you to file your own report.”
They were supposed to get on the road in a few hours but that plan was blown all to hell. But he wouldn’t leave Gigi right now when she was so scared. There would be time enough for police procedure in the morning.
“You’re probably right. I’ll come by tomorrow. There’s not much to tell.”
The EMTs were rolling the gurney toward the ambulance and West held out his arm to stop them for a moment. “Is he going to make it?”
The man’s forehead was covered in blood along with several cuts on his arms and he appeared to be unconscious. They’d stabilized him with a neck brace and a backboard in case he had more serious injuries.
“I think so,” the taller EMT assured West. “Although he took a hell of a knock to the head. He’s probably going to need surgery for that leg too.”
Gigi came up beside West and placed her hand on his arm. She’d calmed down, the color back in her face.
“Is he dead?” she whispered.
“No. He’ll be okay. Eventually.”
Gigi peered down at the man and West heard her quickly indrawn breath. She must be squeamish about blood and guts.
“Why don’t you wait for me in the truck?”
Her fingers dug into his arm, the nails scoring his flesh painfully. “I know him.”
“You’ve seen him in the diner or around town?”
Gigi might be able to help them identify the one that got away as well. Maybe things were looking up after all.
“No.” Her voice was choked and she looked up at him, a tortured expression across her pretty features. “I know him from Chicago. He works for Alan.”
Her knees seemed to buckle at that moment and he had to catch her to keep from sprawling on the grass. Tears were falling down her cheeks and she fisted his shirt in her hands and buried her face in his chest.
“Oh God. He’s found me. I have to get out of here right now. Tonight. I can’t stay.”
That wasn’t an option but getting her to safety was now his top priority. How this Alan asshole had found her West didn’t know, but he wouldn’t let this guy within five miles of Gigi. The fucker would have to go through West’s cold dead body.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me. He didn’t get to you earlier and no one is going to get to you tonight or any other night. Do you hear me, Gigi?”
She nodded, rubbing her cheek on the damp cotton of his shirt but she didn’t speak, her trembling body communicating her terror better than any words could have.
If Alan Morton wanted to come after Gigi then it was game on. West had planned to deal with this sick bastard after they found her siblings but some things wouldn’t wait.
Alan had been moved to the top of West’s shit list. A place no one wanted to be.
Chapter Eleven
‡
“Can I get you something to drink, Gigi?” Travis asked as he led her into his house. “Coffee? Hot chocolate? Shot of whiskey?”
After the shock of seeing Frank on that stretcher West had bundled her up with a blanket around her shoulders and placed her in his SUV until Travis showed up. With her news West couldn’t leave
the scene and even Jason Anderson had been dragged from a warm bed to help out.
Her life had looked like it was going in the right direction and then everything had exploded.
“Actually a shot of whiskey sounds like a good idea,” she said, pulling the blanket around her more closely. A welcome numbness had invaded her bones as she’d shed tears on West’s shirt. Crying didn’t help the situation and only made her look weak. She wasn’t fucking weak. She’d survived this long and she’d keep on doing it. She was only sorry that West and his brothers had placed themselves in the line of fire.
“Have a seat and relax. I’ll get us a couple of drinks and you can tell me what’s going on and how I can help.”
Travis Anderson was a nice man. Not every brother would have welcomed a call in the middle of the night asking him to come to a crime scene and pick up his little brother’s girlfriend. West had planned on driving her to Travis’s home himself but after her revelation he’d had to change plans.
So Travis had nicely agreed to come pick her up.
“Here you go.” Travis smiled and handed her a highball glass with a shot of amber colored liquid. Knowing the Anderson family this would be an excellent single malt scotch.
“You have a beautiful home.” Delaying the inevitable discussion, Gigi tried to make small talk. It was a beautiful house though. Large and airy, its understated elegance spoke of a man with good taste and ample resources. Travis Anderson obviously liked quality and enjoyed being comfortable, whether it was the butter soft leather couches or the huge flat screen television that hung over the fireplace taking up half the wall. “I’ve never seen a television that big. Does West know that it exists?”
Travis chuckled and sat down in a chair to her right. “He does. I bought it right after he purchased his television.”
The three Anderson brothers were quite competitive but she hadn’t realized just how much. But then her brother Zach had always enjoyed the challenge of sports and academics, although he’d never tried to compete with her or Aubrey.
“I guess we won’t be leaving for Vegas in the morning,” she sighed, sipping the whiskey and feeling the heat all the way to her belly.
“Is that your biggest concern?” Travis idly twirled the glass on the coffee table. “If you hadn’t been at a cop’s house tonight someone might have tried to kidnap you…and succeeded.”
Her fingers tightened on her own glass at the thought of being under Alan’s control. His prisoner. She’d never allow that to happen again. Some things were worth dying for and freedom was one of them.
“I wouldn’t have gone quietly.”
“I have no doubt you would have made it as difficult as possible for them but there were two men and one of you.”
Travis didn’t sound derisive or flippant. His tone was conversational, as if they were discussing the weather or the price of milk.
“I’m anxious to get to Vegas and reunite with my brother. And then find my sister, of course.” Gigi changed the subject away from her would-be captors. She was still trying to wrap her mind around Alan tracking her down after all this time. All the running and hiding. She’d messed up somewhere along the line but she didn’t know how, what she’d done wrong.
“West says you haven’t seen them since you were a little girl.”
“Yes, but we were very close as children. Zach sort of took care of me and Aubrey. As much as he could anyway.”
“He sounds like a good guy. He’s older than you?”
An image came unbidden into her mind of the budding young man he’d been the last time she’d seen him. He’d rarely smiled, always serious. But then he’d had to be. Taking care of two little girls wasn’t a job for a little boy but he’d never shirked away from the responsibility.
“Five years older. He was the best brother a girl could ask for. I always felt badly that he could never just be a kid like the other boys. He had us to take care of.”
Travis’s expression softened. “I have a little sister so I know how precious they are. I’m sure he was happy to do it even if there were times he’d rather be young and just have fun. Have you had any luck finding your sister?”
“No. It’s like she’s disappeared. She’s two years younger than me so when I turned eighteen I looked for her in the foster system but no luck. I haven’t had any sort of lead all these years.”
Gigi’s greatest fear and one she’d never spoken aloud was that Aubrey was dead. But she’d never found a death certificate so she still held hope in her heart that her little sister was alive and well. Somewhere.
“Tell me about her,” Travis invited, stretching out his long legs and relaxing back against the overstuffed cushions. “Were you and she alike?”
Gigi took another sip and let the liquor slide down her throat before answering. “Not in the least. Physically or any other way. She has dark hair and eyes but the real difference is that Aubrey is so creative. She was always singing and dancing around the house. I used to tell her she was going to be a star when she grew up. She’s also very quiet and shy. It was hard for her to meet new people so she looked to me to navigate her way through new situations. That’s why I always worried about her when we were separated in foster care. That had to be hard on her. She must have been so frightened.”
Travis regarded her steadily over the rim of his glass. “You’re a good sister, Gigi. I don’t know where Aubrey is but I’m sure she remembers how you took care of her. I bet she’s trying to find you too.”
Tears burned the back of her eyes and she blinked several times, determined not to give in to them. “She won’t be able to find me. After Alan I went underground. I live completely on cash and I don’t even have an email address that can be linked back to me. That’s what so crazy about this whole night. How did Alan find me this time? I’m so careful.”
Travis grimaced and rose from his chair, walking over to a desk tucked in the corner of the room. “I think I might be able to shed some light on that. When West called me earlier I couldn’t imagine how your ex found you either but then I remembered this.” Travis opened his laptop and tapped on the keys before bringing it over to the coffee table. “A national news site picked up the local article on the debate between West and Cavendish. It was the usual political bullshit characterizing my brother as some rich spoiled brat born with a silver spoon up his ass, completely ignoring the fact that we grew up in a two bedroom home for most of our childhoods.”
“What does that have to do with Alan finding me?”
Gigi remembered the article in the paper by a reporter who they suspected was on Cavendish’s payroll.
Travis pointed to the screen. “They also picked up the photo that was in the paper. A photo of you and West.”
Stiffening at the sight of herself and West smiling up at one another, she groaned and buried her head in her hands. It was a photo that was sure to stoke Alan’s most possessive instincts. He surely wanted to hurt if not kill West and possibly her as well. He’d been extremely clear that day that he’d beat Stephen within an inch of his life.
If I can’t have you, no one will. You belong to me, Georgette. I own you, and I’ll do as I please with you. I can give…and I can take away. It’s up to you which way I go. Keeping you safe is my priority.
Shuddering with remembrance, she could feel Travis’s probing gaze on her face. She’d long ago stopped hiding her revulsion toward Alan so she was sure it was plainly visible in her expression tonight. She wouldn’t allow him to touch her ever again.
“He hurt you.” It wasn’t phrased as a question so perhaps he didn’t expect a reply.
“He never hit me.”
“Did he force himself on you?”
She could hear the suppressed violence in Travis’s tone and she reached over to pat him on the hand, not wanting his imagination to make things worse than they were. They were bad enough without adding to them.
“No.” She shook her head, not sure how to explain the sick relationship she’d had w
ith Alan toward the end of her time with him. “When I started pulling away from him he allowed it. Gave me my own room. It wasn’t about sex with him. It was about ownership. He wanted to possess me completely. My thoughts. My emotions. Everything. The physical side wasn’t important to him as long as I wasn’t having sex with anyone else. He didn’t even want me talking to anyone but him. That last year I was mostly in isolation in my room.”
Travis’s hands were balled into fists and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Morton sounds like a sick man. I think I’m going to enjoy helping send him to prison. Guys like him should be behind bars and away from society. Rehabilitation isn’t in the cards for a man like him.”
She drained the last of the whiskey and placed the glass on the table next to the laptop. “I just want him to leave me alone so I can live my life in peace.”
“That’s the plan. Does that life include my brother by any chance?”
A smile played around Travis’s lips and warmth flooded her cheeks. “I think it’s too soon to be talking like that. He and I haven’t been dating long and we’ve been keeping it very casual.”
Travis snorted, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Casual. Sure. That’s why he’s growled at any man that dares come within a few feet of you or even – heaven forbid – smile at you. That’s casual, alright. I’d hate to see how he acts if you two were serious.”
“I won’t be tied down,” she said stubbornly. “I’ve wasted too many years either being a prisoner or being on the run. I want my freedom. I want to live my life the way I want to, not how someone else pictures it. My way.”
“And you can only do that alone?” Travis pointed to her glass but she shook her head. She didn’t need more alcohol; her mind was already swimming. He rose and poured himself another finger of whiskey.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “That’s something I’m not thinking about right now. Until Alan is out of my life permanently I’m not making a whole lot of future plans.”
Hiding From Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 2) Page 7
