Guns and the Girl Next Door Read online

  Luke barely waited until Caleb and Claire guided Mia from the room. “What were you thinking?”

  Holden didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “I wanted Walters to leave the Recovery Project alone so we could get back to work.”

  “Nice job,” Adam said.

  Holden went to take a drink, then realized Mia finished his coffee. “You’re all forgetting the bigger issue.”

  Zach tapped his pen against the table. “There’s something bigger than killing a sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives?”

  “Rod is missing and we’re not one inch closer to finding him.”

  Adam nodded. “True.”

  “Someone was at his house and that someone was looking for something. We need to figure out what it was.”

  “Agreed, but this time we do it as a team.” Luke’s stare suggested they all agree.

  Holden did.

  Chapter Eight

  Bram Walters flinched as a string of profanity escaped his lips on a hiss. If the doctor tugged the bandage any tighter, the broken ribs would poke right out of the skin.

  “Take it easy,” Bram said.

  The doctor’s nervous smile faded. “I need to give you a shot.”

  “No.” He couldn’t afford to lose any more brain power to pain meds.

  “Listen to the man, Bram.” Trevor Walters shoved open the door to the back room of the small medical clinic, shouting orders and texting on his phone as he walked.

  It was almost three in the morning and no one was around except the people Trevor required to be there. Bram was the Congressman, but Trevor thought he ran the show. Typical older, powerful brother with a God complex. Bram ignored the ego because he needed help.

  “About time you showed up.” Leave it to Trevor to appear after the fighting ended. Just one more reason for Bram to question who was taking the biggest risk in this deal.

  Trevor stared down the doctor. “Leave us for a minute.”

  Bram waited until they were alone to express his concern. “Can he be trusted?”

  “The doctor is on my payroll.”

  “Is there anyone who isn’t?” Only someone who worked for Trevor would be unimpressed with a member of Congress showing up on his doorstep in the middle of the night needing medical attention.

  “Mia Landers.”

  “What about her?”

  Trevor shoved his phone into his coat pocket. “What made you think you should handle that loose end on your own?”

  “She’s my employee. I was driving her out there to ask questions and flush out her partner. You didn’t need to interfere.”

  “A poorly thought-out plan.”

  Trevor took a difficult situation and blew it out of control, but Bram knew his brother would never admit it. “Only because you sent the commandos after me. What were you thinking?”

  “That I needed to clean up your mess. It’s a good thing I had my men ready or you’d still be lying out there in the woods.”

  “Clearly I miscalculated about Mia, but the fire fight is your responsibility.” Bram remembered bits and pieces of the night. Two armed men breaking out of the bushes and grabbing him. Flames shooting into the sky. “No one was supposed to get hurt.”

  “Thanks to your employee and her meddling, that was no longer an option.”

  The disloyal bitch. Bram couldn’t think about her without wanting to tear something, or someone, apart. He hired her because of her long, sentimental speech about wanting a second career, one that would allow her to serve her country.

  None of that washed with him, but it had impressed his chief of staff, David Brennan. Thinking back now, David probably thought he could make a move on Mia. And for Bram, having a pretty blonde in his office wasn’t a hardship. It always paid to bring someone interesting to a committee meeting. It got attention when he needed it.

  But she had deceived him, turned on him in the most disloyal way. She linked up with someone who was trying to destroy him, who dared break into his private space.

  “As usual, I did the dirty work so you could keep your hands clean,” Trevor said.

  Bram wasn’t up for a round of arguing. He also wasn’t in the mood for his brother’s condescending crap. “I didn’t ask you to step in.”

  “You brought us into this situation. I’m merely trying to get you out of it.”

  As far as Bram was concerned, the main problem was gone. “Mia died in the fire.”

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “Meaning?”

  “We’re still sifting through the debris and bodies.”

  “Why did you cause such a scene? Now we have to explain it.”

  “I didn’t.” Trevor raised his hand to stop Bram from butting in. “The official line is gas explosion, but I think we’ll find it was rigged to blow by the owner of that cabin.”

  “But you have the police and fire department under control.”

  “Of course, but that still leaves a serious issue.” Trevor eyed the tray of scalpels and bandages.

  “What?”

  “A who, to be more precise. The partner. The man who helped Mia.”

  Bram felt another string unravel. Trevor’s simple plan to resolve the Mia problem was turning out to be anything but. “You think it’s someone tied to Lehman?”

  “Of course.”

  “We have other enemies.”

  “That’s true, but there’s no reason for anyone else to set us up like this. We’re giving our contact at the Witness Security Program everything he needs. We have an understanding. That is under control.”

  Bram wasn’t convinced.

  “Besides, look at the timing,” Trevor said. “You shut down Lehman’s group and someone hacks into your computer. Not your office computer. No, your personal files. You go after your legislative staffer for answers, and someone with serious advanced skills rushes in to rescue her.”

  “Give me a name.”

  “Can’t yet. The ownership of the house is buried in legal documents and dummy companies. It will take some time to track down, but my people are working on it. We should know something in two days.”

  “Until then?”

  “Everything points to Lehman or one of his agents.”

  “The group disbanded. I saw to that when I did what I had to do to have them all put on administrative leave. My sources say they peeled off and are lying low.”

  Trevor put down the metal instrument he was holding. “From my experience, men who work together at that level function like military operatives at war. That bond isn’t easily broken.”

  And Trevor would know about that sort of surgical precision. He ran a lucrative operation. Companies, even governments, turned to him for logistical assistance in areas of the world where lawlessness ruled. He advised corporations about international kidnapping risks. He made enemies of terrorists and friends of people in power.

  “It’s time we investigated all of the former Recovery Project’s members and not just Rod Lehman,” Trevor said.

  Bram was one step ahead this time. He planned to issue the subpoenas and bring them all in to testify under oath. “I am as part of the hearing.”

  “You handle that end and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “What else is there?” Bram asked.

  “Do you really want to know?”

  He didn’t hesitate. “No.”

  MIA FELT AS IF she was suffocating. Her heart pounded and her arms flailed. She woke up with a start and realized the problem. Pushing the white fluffy comforter off her face, she balanced on her elbows and glanced around the strange room.

  A bedroom and it wasn’t hers. Clean-lined Shaker furniture and billowy blue curtains covering oversize windows. A light on each nightstand and a stack of pillows behind her head that nearly put her in a sitting position.

  She didn’t recognize anything except the sleeping man next to her. Holden wore faded jeans and a clean T-shirt. His dark hair glistened, suggesting he took time for a shower. He sure smell
ed better than he did in the underground tunnel. Something with a citrus tint.

  She was tucked under the covers and he lay on top. She couldn’t remember how either of those things happened. A quick peek under the sheet calmed her anxiety about having been stripped naked. The pants were gone, but she still wore the T-shirt.

  The quiet gave her time to study Holden. He rested his back against the headboard with his arms crossed over his chest. She barely knew him, yet she trusted him. She’d put her life in his hands several times without any promise that he’d keep it safe. Yet he had.

  For someone who kept her distance and held men off, it was a surprise. She’d learned the hard way that some men didn’t deserve a chance. This one played a role in the predicament she now found herself. When she first heard the news, it hit her like a brick to the face. He was fooling around in a private computer and incriminated her.

  But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold on to her anger. Holden hadn’t targeted her. He’d gone after her boss. Now that she’d seen her boss in full terrifying action, she couldn’t support the man. His irrational fury had scared her witless.

  As far as she was concerned, because Holden started them down this road, he could be the one to figure out why the Congressman lost his mind last night. Maybe he could help her stay out of jail, too.

  Holden sure seemed strong enough. Even in sleep, he had an air of control blowing around him. She wasn’t much for facial hair, but the stubble around his chin suited him. It added to his tough-guy effect.

  “You’re staring,” he said in a low voice without opening his eyes.

  She jumped off the mattress at the sound. “I didn’t know you were awake.”

  “Am now.” His eyes came open, showing the deep blue that transfixed her when they first met. “I’m a light sleeper.”

  “Good to know.”

  His eyebrow lifted. “Plan to use that information later, do you?”

  “I’m ignoring that comment.”

  He lifted a hand and then let it drop. “Caleb says you’re lucky you don’t have a concussion.”

  “I’m not sure how lucky I feel, but it’s good to know I didn’t turn my brain into mush.” She folded the sheet down to keep it away from her mouth. “Speaking of Caleb, your friends didn’t look too pleased with your admission about watching Walters.”

  “They’re not alone.”

  “What does that mean?” She shifted on the pillow to see him better and said a little thank-you when her head didn’t rock back and forth.

  “I knew when I started digging it was a possibility Walters would come after me. Frankly, I welcomed it because the guy could use a takedown as far as I can tell.” Holden sighed hard enough to shake the bed. “Just never expected he’d put the whole hacking incident on you.”

  “You didn’t know I existed.”

  “True.”

  “Then how could you have anticipated me being in danger?”

  “What?”

  “This isn’t your fault.”

  He looked at her this time. Really looked. “You’re taking this well. I’d think most women would not be happy.”

  Holden and women. It wasn’t the first time thoughts on that topic drifted into her head. She didn’t know much about him. Hadn’t seen a girlfriend. Tried to imagine what she—the imaginary other she—would think about him being in bed with Mia now.

  “I’m too busy being disappointed about my boss and confused about what just happened to me,” she said instead of asking the question she wanted to ask.

  Holden’s gaze caressed her face, so soft and caring she almost felt it against her skin. “I’m not sure how to apologize to you.”

  “Say you’re sorry.”

  He chuckled. “Is it really that simple?”

  “Seems to me people make things hard.” Years of schooling and hours of helping people through therapy taught her that much.

  “That’s my experience, yes.”

  “It’s clear you weren’t trying to frame me.” He started to say something, but she cut him off. “And I have a feeling you’ll kick your butt harder for this than I ever could.”

  He smiled at that. “True.”

  “Did I ever thank you for saving my life?” She wanted to reach out and run her fingers along his jaw. Feel the rough edge of his shadow against her skin. She tucked her hand under the pillows to keep from trying.

  “Did I tell you how sorry I am that piece of garbage in Rod’s condo touched you?”

  The memory sent a chill spinning through her. She clamped her eyes shut for a second to block the vision of dirty fingernails and a sharp blade. “Also not your fault.”

  “You noticing how bad things happen when you’re with me?”

  More guilt. He was loaded down with it. She didn’t need her psychology degree to figure that one out. “Said the man with no house or worldly possessions.”

  “I should have stopped him.”

  “You did.”

  Holden was reliving the moments before he let the knife fly. She could almost see it play like a movie in his eyes. He wanted to pick at this, analyze it and figure out how he could have handled it differently.

  She wanted to wipe it clear from her mind. Forever.

  He swallowed hard enough for her to see his throat move. “You have to know I wouldn’t—”

  She scooted up even higher on the pillows and placed a finger over his lips. “I know.”

  With a gentle brush, Holden moved her palm from his mouth and slipped it against his. Lying there, so intimate in the cozy room, yet touching only through their joined hands. She was amazed at how something so pure and simple could wipe out a painful moment.

  “He deserved to die for touching you.” Holden kissed the back of her hand.

  “Don’t say that.”

  “I’m not proud of it, but I’m not going to apologize for how I feel either.”

  Because she could not work up guilt for her attacker’s death, she switched to an area far more personal. “Would you do something for me?”

  “If I can.”

  “Help me wipe away the feel of his touch.”

  He squeezed her hand in his. “In time that will fade.”

  Intellectually she knew that, but she wanted to fast-forward the process. To feel clean again. “I mean now.”

  “I don’t—” Holden’s voice cut off when she rested their joint hands on her chest, right above her breasts. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  “Why?”

  His breathing picked up, his chest rising and falling as he spoke. “You’re upset. It might be too much too soon.”

  “I know what I want.”

  “Which is?”

  “For you to touch me.” She opened his fist, spreading his palm against hers and testing how much longer his fingers were than hers. “You’re so big. Broad shoulders, huge hands.”

  “We barely know each other.” His rough whisper filled the quiet room.

  “You won’t physically hurt me.”

  “Never.”

  “Look, I’m not the type to jump into bed with a stranger, but it feels right with you. And I need a different memory. A good one.” She slid the tips of his fingers against her breast.

  The warmth of his skin burned through her shirt and bra. He didn’t try to cup her or increase his hold. He didn’t rub or caress. He just let his body’s heat seep into her as she learned his touch.

  She didn’t realize the mixed signals she sent until her shoulders relaxed against the bed. With one hand, she held him around the wrist and brought him close. The other pressed near his elbow, pushing him away.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Don’t be.”

  She eased her grip on his arm. The tiny half-moons her nails left on his flesh filled her with immediate regret. She rubbed her thumb over the evidence of her fear. An apology lingered on her tongue, but she bit it back when she saw his face.

  His deep focus, his gaze center
ed on his hand and her breast underneath, broke through the nervous thoughts dancing around in her head. Instead of tolerating his touch, she craved it. This time her fingers moved over the back of his hand, shaping his palm around her.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  She nodded because that was all she could manage as she stared at the combination of his lightly tanned skin against the gray of her shirt. This was different. He was different.

  When his hand gave her a gentle squeeze, her body kicked to life. The soft stroking wiped away the fear and pain of being mauled, replacing it with a building excitement, with a fresh burst of feeling that had everything to do with pleasure and nothing to do with pain.

  “Tell me if I hurt you.”

  “You’re good.” She didn’t even recognize the husky tone of her voice.

  When she finally dragged her gaze away from the hand on her body and the soft caress of her skin, she saw those deep-blue eyes. He watched her, taking in her pleasure until the serious frown on his face smoothed.

  “Kiss me,” he said in a voice as rough as hers.

  She lifted her head. With her mouth on his and the soft touch of his palm against her, she fell into the kiss. Warm lips. A soft moan. Fingers playing in her hair. The others skimming over the swell of her breast.

  She let his embrace wash through her and clear out the terrible memories of the day. There was only this. Right now.

  When the kiss went deeper, it carried her right along with it. His lips crossed over hers as his breath rushed harder against her. Her hand slipped up to his neck to pull him closer just as his tongue slipped inside her mouth. In a matter of seconds they passed from easy comfort to white-hot heat.

  Before she could blink, he turned his head and ended the kiss. Air rushed out of his lungs on a cough as he rested his forehead against hers.

  “Wasn’t expecting that.” His thumb made one last pass over her nipple.

  Her muscles ached with the need for more. “Me either.”

  “You need your rest.” His lips traveled over her brows and down to her nose for a sweet kiss. “Now go to sleep.”

  “After that?”

  He dragged his hand away from her, careful to smooth his fingers down the inside of her arm before breaking contact. Only his fingers in her hair continued the connection.