Brand

by Leanne Tyler

  A taxi pulled up and he jumped in, giving his destination to the driver. He was certain he’d gotten his point across to Carly before he left. The blame for her going against his wishes had to lie with Simone and Donovan not doing his job. He wouldn’t jump to any conclusions until he assessed the situation further. After he talked to Donovan and Kincaid.

  Fifteen minutes later Brand entered the hospital and ran into Hawkeye at a bank of elevators.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to be here checking up on your man,” Hawkeye said.

  “He called and said he needed my help.”

  “You felt confident enough to leave your charge alone in her apartment?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Hawkeye’s brow arched as the elevator dinged and a set of doors opened. The men got on and rode up in silence, though Brand could feel Hawkeye watching him. The doors opened again and they got off, walking down the hallway.

  “What do you mean, not exactly?”

  “I left her alone to do some shopping, but she didn’t stay. I’ve come here to retrieve her.”

  Hawkeye’s chuckle reverberated up and down the hallway. He slapped Brand on the back. “Not exactly indeed.”

  Donovan ran into them before the nurses' station, coming from the opposite direction. “Wyatt called you both in about this? I swear I only left Simone alone to go get a few groceries and some things she declared she had to have. I never imagined she’d leave her apartment.”

  “So it happened to both of you?” Hawkeye said.

  Brand grimaced.

  “Both of us?” Donovan looked at Brand.

  “Yeah, both Carly and Simone are here visiting Colleen. I guess Wyatt didn’t tell you that?”

  “No. He told me I lost something and if I didn’t want him telling you, I’d better get here fast.”

  Hawkeye chuckled.

  “This isn’t funny,” Brand grumbled.

  “Not at all,” Donovan agreed.

  “I beg to differ. Two females giving highly trained military operatives the slip. You can fight for this country, are trained to serve and protect, yet you can’t keep them in their apartments? This isn’t going to look good when I try to get funding for a program going here in Chicago if you can’t even keep these two safe.”

  “It won’t happen again,” Brand assured him.

  “It better not. I’m counting on all four of you to do your jobs and make my task easy. I want this program for my city.”

  “We understand,” Brand said. “Don’t we, Donovan?”

  “Yes, Sir. We have your six on this.”

  The sliding glass door to a room across from the nurses’ station opened and Wyatt came out, closing the door back. “I thought I heard voices. Before you go in there chewing the girls out, their visit has been good for Colleen. She’s been responsive. She has even remembered things about last night with them that my questioning couldn’t get her to recall. I know they disobeyed and risked their lives coming here, but it has turned out good in the end. I still would bring the wrath of God down on them, but keep in mind what good was accomplished.”

  “Did she get a good look at her attacker? Should we bring down a sketch artist?” Hawkeye asked.

  “She hasn’t proclaimed that yet, but she did say she heard the gunshots and that is why her attacker ran off. She has napped. When she woke she talked of her attacker taking her purse. She's afraid of her credit cards getting maxed out. She's also concerned about her apartment and getting robbed. That’s the reason I contacted your office, Commander.”

  “I was in the area so I dropped by to see how things were going.”

  “How did her parents take the news she wasn’t going home with them?” Brand asked.

  “Not well. When I explained she wasn’t going to her apartment, but a safe house, they agreed. In return, I promised to keep them well aware of what was going on with her.”

  “You handled that well, Kincaid.” Hawkeye stepped forward and touched him on the shoulder. “Let’s go in and meet this courageous young woman and her daring friends under better circumstances.”

  Brand grunted. Better? He didn’t call this better. It was a different mess than the one they’d been in the night before. He was ready to stop meeting under these circumstances. He was glad to hear that Colleen had responded to Carly’s visit for Wyatt’s sake. But, it didn’t change the fact that she had left the safety of her apartment to come to the hospital. If she thought he was going to bat for her now so she could go on that job interview next week, she had another think coming. She’d have to forgo it and start looking for another job after her protection detail was over. He couldn’t risk having her out there and something happen to her. It wasn’t just the gang retaliating that he had to worry about, but her ex-husband Justin Porter. He didn’t have a clue what that deranged asshole might try.

  He noticed a chill in the room as soon as the curtain was pushed aside. He spotted Carly and Simone sitting in straight back chairs across the room. Colleen turned her head toward the doorway.

  “This is Commander Burns from Chicago PD, Brand Chambers, and Liam Donovan,” Wyatt explained. “They are here to check in on how things are going and to collect Simone and Carly.”

  “What if we don’t want to go?” Simone asked, sounding defiant.

  Brand noticed a tick in Hawkeye’s jaw, a clear sign he’d picked up on her tone as well.

  “You’ll do what you’re told, young woman or I’ll have you taken down to central booking,” Hawkeye told her.

  “On what charges?” she challenged.

  “Impeding an investigation.”

  “And how would I be doing that?”

  “By causing more work for your protector and the police to make sure you’re safe. My officers need to be out in the field looking for your friend’s attacker, not to mention the gang members who tried to rob the Pied Piper. I’m sure I could come up with other charges to keep you in a holding cell until we find the perps if it means keeping you safe. Or you can go back to your apartment with Mr. Donovan and stay in comfort. Is that enough reason for you to see you should be in your apartment where it is safe?”

  “I do have to go back to work Monday.”

  “Then he’ll go with you. I’ll send a driver and a car around for your use.”

  “I have a job interview next week. I need this job to pay my bills. Please, can I keep the interview?” Carly asked.

  “No. Not after this stunt,” Brand barked.

  “Brand, take it down a notch.” Hawkeye arched a brow at him, before turning toward Carly. “I don’t see why that should be a problem if Brand goes with you. We want you to carry on your normal routine as much as possible. The two of you aren’t under house arrest by any means. But, we do want to keep you both safe and we're trying to take measures to ensure that. If it feels like your wings of freedom are clipped short-term, that’s all it is—a temporary situation. Can you both understand that? Coming here today was a risk neither of you should have taken.”

  “Thank you, Commander.” Carly swallowed. “There is one more thing. I’d like to be able to go to the bartender’s funeral whenever that is to pay my respects to his wife if possible. Can that be arranged?”

  The Commander was hesitant for a moment, but he finally nodded. “That can happen, Ms. Manning. I’m sure his wife will appreciate that.”

  Carly liked this Commander Burns. He explained things a little better than Brand did, but she got where Brand was coming from as well. She understood he was there to protect her and he wanted to make sure she was safe. She knew she had done wrong by coming with Simone to the hospital to see Colleen, but she’d come along anyway. She’d made the choice and she would suffer the consequences for it when she was alone with Brand. That’s the reason she’d asked about the job interview when Simone mentioned going to work. If her friend could go to her day job, then Carly felt she should be able to go on a job interview. She needed this job. She had bills coming due and no way to pay them. What savin
gs she had while married to Justin Porter paid for the divorce and now she had to have a paycheck.

  Simone leaned toward her. “Geeze your guy is a hard ass.”

  “He’s tough, but fair.”

  “You’re not defending him are you?”

  Carly half-shrugged. “I get him.”

  “You and the men you pick.”

  “I haven’t picked him.”

  Simone tilted her head and looked at her hard. “If you say so.”

  She shook her head, knowing it was better not to argue with Simone over this point and let it slide. Instead, she went back over to hold Colleen’s hand while the commander asked her a few questions.

  “I-I’m not sure what he looked like. He came through the door so fast and hit me in the face with his hand. I-I don’t think I’d be any help for a sketch artist.”

  “You may think that now, but I’d like you to try. We can bring in a behavioral scientist who can take you on a journey through a series of questions. The results will help you reveal more than you ever imagined you'd remember.”

  “Like a profiler?” Colleen asked. “Something like they do on Criminal Minds?”

  The commander nodded. “But this method is real.”

  “How soon can you have someone here?” Wyatt asked.

  “I can arrange to get someone here as early as this afternoon. The sooner we can get a sketch of her attacker, the better we’ll be able to find him.”

  “When do you think Colleen will be released from the hospital?” Carly ventured to ask.

  “That is up to the doctor,” Wyatt said. “He wasn’t hopeful this morning but that was because he wanted to run tests.”

  “So her staying here has nothing to do with trying to keep her in a safe location?” Carly questioned.

  “If that was what we were going for, we’d have to have a guard posted outside her door to track who comes in and out of this room. A hospital is too public to be safe.” The commander turned to Brand. “My car and driver are downstairs. You and Donovan can escort the women to their respective apartments for now. I’ll order a car detail for you both to have at your disposal. All you have to do is call when you want it. I’ll send both of you the information.”

  “Thanks, Hawkeye.” Brand motioned to Carly. “Say your good-byes so we can head out.”

  She nodded and looked down at Colleen, giving her hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you soon. I know you’re in good hands with Wyatt. You can call me if you want to talk.”

  “Good luck on your interview.”

  “Thanks. I’ll need it.” Carly stepped away from the bed and turned toward Simone. “Let’s go girl.”

  “You're going to let him order you around like that?” Simone questioned.

  “He’s not ordering me around. It’s time to go. Colleen needs to rest. Can’t you see how tired she looks?”

  “Simone!” Donovan said, his tone full of irritation.

  Carly watched her friend’s head snap in his direction. There was also a knowing look in Simone’s eye. A tell-tale sign that all her talk was bluster and that Donovan was the real one in charge in her apartment.

  “Yes, Donnie?” the words purred from her mouth.

  Brand grunted. “Donnie?”

  Carly pivoted in time to see Donovan look at Brand and shake his head. He said something to Brand that Carly couldn’t make out from across the room.

  Simone sidled up to her and whispered in her ear. “I got him right where I want him. Before the week’s out. I tell you before the week is out.”

  Carly rolled her eyes and tried to stifle a laugh. She felt sorry for Donovan for having to deal with her friend if Simone did put the moves on him.

  Chapter 7

  The drive to the respective apartment buildings was quiet. Brand sat up front while Donovan sat in the middle row of the SUV with Carly and Simone. He couldn’t get over Carly going to see Colleen after he’d explained the dangers of her leaving the apartment. What had made her think she could disregard him? He heard a slight giggle out of Simone, answering his question. Yeah, Simone is what happened. He knew from the moment he’d met the redhead that she was reckless.

  It wasn’t like he could further limit Carly’s contact with her friend. They lived in different apartment buildings. Their only contact was through phone calls and he couldn’t prohibit that. He’d come across as heartless. And he didn’t want Carly to resent him or not trust him. That would work against his protecting her.

  He hadn’t been on many assignments like this since being back in the states. Most of his assignments working for Hank Patterson had dealt with corporate America. He’d seen the way Hawkeye looked at him when he put his foot down about Carly going on the interview. He could have handled that with more finesse. He definitely should have handled it better. The woman had lived with an asshole for seven years and here he was acting like a brute. He already knew she needed a job to pay her bills, but dammit, she’d risked her life needlessly. But, it had not been the best move on his part.

  He looked out the window, watching as the SUV traveled along the crowded streets to the suburban area. It reminded him of the neighborhood where he’d grown up in Dallas. High and low rises on both sides of the streets, little green space on either side. That was a messed up time in his life when he ran with the wrong crowd and was in trouble more than he was not. He'd ended up dropping out of college, but thank God the military had straightened him out. The SEALs had given his life focus, purpose–until one career ending bullet to the chest.

  Damn. He hated how his thoughts always went back to that time in Afghanistan. How he’d had to leave the SEALS over one fatal mistake his partner Joe made. That’s why he didn’t want to see Carly make a bad judgment call. She didn't need to end up dead over something that might seem as trivial as not packing a tactical bag right.

  The driver slowed the SUV to a stop in front of Carly’s apartment building and they got out, saying their good-byes.

  Brand did a quick sweep of the area with his eyes and frowned. “I see we have surveillance still.”

  “We do?” Carly stepped toward him.

  “Yeah. Apparently, my warning did nothing to deter Ragsdale this morning. So let’s give your ex something to think about.” Brand wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. He dipped his head as if he were planting a kiss on the top of hers and inhaled the raspberry scent after she showered. He was ready to set her away before he forgot this was an assignment and he was still annoyed with her.

  She wrapped her arm around his waist, reinforcing their contact until they walked through the front doors. It wasn’t until they were well inside away from the doorway that they broke apart.

  “I know you’re upset over my going to the hospital. I knew I shouldn’t have gone, but Simone was going regardless and I couldn’t let her do it alone. I remembered you wanted me to have someone go down to the laundry room with me, so I knew you’d prefer we traveled in pairs.”

  He took in a slow breath, seeing how she was twisting his words to defend her actions. “This isn’t the place to have this discussion. We’ll talk about it in your apartment. First, we need to collect our laundry. It should be dry by now, right?”

  Carly shook her head. “I left before I put it in the dryers.”

  “Then we need to take care of it before we do anything else.”

  They took the stairs down to the laundry room and found their wet clothes waiting for them in the baskets sitting on the machines. Brand tossed him in the dryer. Carly sorted her clothes, putting some of the items into a dryer and taking the others upstairs to hang to dry. Then they went upstairs. Carly went to her room and hung what needed to hang while Brand started trying to sort the remaining groceries that needed putting away. When she finished she came to the kitchen to help him.

  “When I said it was better to go down to the laundry room with someone, I wasn’t saying it was safer for you to leave the apartment with someone other than me. I think you re
ally knew that before you got in that Uber with Simone. Didn’t you?”

  Carly held a few cans of vegetables in her hands, nodded, and then put them in the five-shelf pantry unit. “I won’t do it again.”

  “Don’t tell me that because you think that is what I want to hear if you aren’t going to do it.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “I didn’t think you’d leave the apartment today either, but you did.”

  She looked at him for a moment. “That’s fair. I never should have called Simone. If I hadn’t we wouldn’t have gone to see Colleen. The blame lies on me. Sure she was the one who insisted on coming over even after I tried to talk her out of it. She was dead set we were going to see Colleen.”

  “Does Simone Uber often?” he asked.

  “Sure. Most people in the city do. I haven’t, but now that I don’t have a car I might if I need to get somewhere instead of using a taxi.”

  “Why don’t you have a car?” he asked before thinking.

  “It was in Justin Porter’s name. I didn’t realize it all these years, but that came out in the divorce division of assets.” Carly continued putting cans and boxes of food in the cabinet as she talked. “I thought I had contributed so much to the marriage. I walked away with my clothes and jewelry and a private bank account. I kept that hidden from Justin Porter because Jules set it up for me as a subaccount at her bank.”

  “That was smart of her. I’m glad to hear it.” Brand picked up the bags on the floor and looked through them, before wadding them up and stuffing them into one. “I think that has got it all.”

  Carly frowned and looked around the kitchen for a moment. “No. I don’t think so. What about the personal items I asked you to pick up?”

  “I put that bag in the bathroom for you to go through.”

  “Oh. That makes sense. Thanks and thank you for picking them up for me.” She turned, heading toward her room.