Hiding From Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 2) (11 page)

“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 with 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.”

“Fair enough.” Travis drained his glass and slapped it down on the table. “How about I show you your room? You’ve got to be exhausted. I’m not sure when West will get here and it could be quite awhile. No sense in you waiting up.”

He didn’t say anything about getting any sleep for himself she noticed. When he’d ushered her into his beautiful home he’d set a fancy computerized alarm system after locking the door. She’d also glimpsed the shoulder holster he kept tucked under his dark blue suit. Her security was being taken seriously and for that she was relieved and grateful.

But she hated that he and West had to do it. She’d brought trouble into the lives of people she cared about even if she hadn’t planned to. If she’d left a month ago as she should have none of this would have happened.

“Thank you. And thank you for coming with us on the trip. I’m sure you have a lot more important things to be doing other than babysitting me.”

“I’m looking forward to the trip, actually. Besides, with West suspending his campaign to take you to Vegas I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands.”

Gigi didn’t believe him for a second. He ran all of the Anderson family holdings and there probably weren’t enough hours in the day to do it, but it was nice of him to pretend otherwise.

“I feel badly about that. I know how everyone feels about Cavendish and if he wins because West can’t campaign…”

She let her voice trail away but Travis was already shaking his head. “I don’t think you could talk West out of this no matter what. Your life or his candidacy? Honey, it’s not even a contest.”

Not sure what she’d done to deserve West’s devotion, she stood and followed Travis up the stairs, the carpet so thick and lush her shoes seemed to sink into the floor. Her room was at the end of the hall all decorated in shades of blue and gold.

“It’s lovely,” she exclaimed. “You have excellent taste. Your home is like something out of a magazine.”

“Thank you. It’s missing something though. I’m just not sure what. Maybe a movie screening room or a wood shop will be next.”

Gigi couldn’t imagine this house needing anything extra but if he did then she’d keep her mouth shut. What did she know about homes after all? She’d never really had one.

“Good night, Travis.”

“Good night, Gigi.”

Travis closed the door softly behind him and she barely made it to the bed before her knees crumpled underneath her. She leaned back against the headboard, the events of the evening playing over and over in her head and making her want to scream with frustration.

She was tired of this. All of it. Tired of being a victim. Tired of crying. Tired of playing hide and seek with a madman.

She wanted her life back.

West had held out the first hope she’d felt in years and she wouldn’t waste it. With his help she’d shake off the past and start building a new, better future.

Only one question remained. Would it be with him? Or without him?

‡

“I
s Gigi asleep?”
West asked when he entered Travis’s house just after three in the morning. Exhausted and irritable, he wanted a stiff whiskey and a decent night’s sleep. In that order.

“She went up about twelve-thirty.”

Travis was playing mind reader and poured West a drink without being asked. West accepted it gratefully and sank down into a leather chair with a sigh of relief. It had been one long damn night and things weren’t going to get much better in the coming days.

“I talked to her for a little bit and your girl has been through the wringer. A lot of people would have just folded their tent and given up. She’s got backbone.”

West knocked back the whiskey, enjoying the fire it created in his belly. It was exactly what he needed after the day he’d had.

“She’d gone through way too much for someone so young. We need to put this Morton guy out of business for good. Did Jason call with any more information from his government buddies?”

“No, but he did say he was planning on stopping by tomorrow.” Travis glanced at the clock on the wall. “Make that today. We need to update our plans based on this new information. Morton knows where she is. Now what was once a straightforward road trip has turned into a game of hide and seek.”

A game West intended to win. Travis had texted him a copy of the picture that had in all probability tipped Morton off as to Gigi’s whereabouts. They wouldn’t make a mistake like that again. But of course West hadn’t known that she was on the run at the time, but he did now and every precaution would be taken to ensure her safety.

“I’m working on getting us reinforcements for the trip to Vegas,” West assured his brother. “Highly trained and armed to the teeth. He’ll have to go through a fucking arsenal to get to her.”

“If he can’t get to her right away he might settle for you. Have you thought about that? The photo of you two was fairly damning. You’re both looking at each other like you’d rather be in bed. That won’t make the asshole too damn happy.”

West snorted and poured himself another drink. “I can only hope he comes after me. I’d like to get this guy one on one. But I doubt he’ll differentiate between me and anyone who is trying to keep her safe. He’ll go after you or Jason just as quick. Are you ready for that?”

Travis’s smile widened. “Damn straight I’m ready. Like you I wouldn’t mind getting my clothes dirty and beating on this jerk for awhile. We might get a chance. We know he can be sloppy.”

“Sloppy? What do you mean by that?”

“He sent a couple of his men to break into the house of the head of detectives. Shit, that was stupid. The article didn’t mention your profession and he obviously didn’t do much research into who the hell you are. Otherwise he would have waited until Gigi was alone.”

West twirled the amber liquid in the bottom of the glass. “I checked Gigi’s apartment myself before I came here. Somebody had broken in. Looking for her obviously. When she wasn’t there they came for her at my place. Maybe they were desperate and afraid to call their boss and tell him they’d lost her.”

“Desperate men make bad decisions. They’re the most dangerous kind. I doubt Morton will make two mistakes in a row. If he has half a brain he’ll do some digging into your background, and by extension into the entire Anderson family. I also have to wonder if he knows about Gigi’s brother and sister. She was looking for them when she was with him. We could be walking into a trap.”

“I haven’t done anything dangerous in weeks,” West laughed. “You’re not getting scared are you?”

“No way. I’m looking forward to this as much as you are. Sitting behind a desk day in and day out gets old real fast.”

Travis was an adrenaline junkie. Jumping out of airplanes. Bungee jumping off of bridges. Riding motorcycles hell for leather and messing up his leg in the process. He always said the best feeling in the world was fear mixed with excitement and your heart racing so fast a person can’t count the beats.

In other words, Travis was a crazy bastard with a death wish.

“If Morton does do his homework on me it’s only going to make him amp up the artillery. Trap or no trap, this whole damn situation just got more dangerous. For everyone.”

*     *     *

Alan Morton slammed
down the phone into its cradle, his body shaking with rage. Punching his oak desk with a curled up fist, he beckoned to his right hand man Elliot.

“Tony and Frank fucked up. Frank’s in the hospital and Tony’s lying low. Apparently whoever Georgette’s shacked up with met them with a gun. I need everything you can find on a West Anderson of Tremont, Montana.” When Elliot hesitated Alan stood up and leaned forward to punctuate the urgency. “Now. And send in Joe on your way out.”

“Will do.”

The younger man practically ran out of Alan’s office, his lips trembling in fear. Alan loved that part of being who he was. He loved the control he had over people’s lives and playing with them was part and parcel of the game.

His favorite trick was to be sweet and nice to someone until they were lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he was harmless. Then…

Bam.

He showed them who they were fucking with. Elliot had learned quickly but every now and then he needed to be reminded who held the power.

“You wanted me, boss?”

Joe Stickler ambled into Alan’s office but didn’t take a seat without an invitation.

Good boy.

Alan had trained his second in command well.

“Tony and Frank botched the whole thing in Montana. I still don’t have Georgette back where she belongs and that doesn’t make me happy. I want you to run this personally. I have Elliot looking into her boyfriend’s background so maybe we’ll find something there we can use. The article said his family was filthy rich and he was a spoiled playboy.”

It had been pure luck that Joe had seen Georgette’s photo on the news website. Alan had been looking for her for two goddamn years without much luck. She’d pay for putting him through this. Once he had her under his control again she’d be lucky to see the light of day for a decade. She needed him to keep her safe. It was that plain and simple.

Poor and struggling when he’d met her, he’d turned her into a lady with elegance and class. Someone he could dress up and show off. But she’d never been happy and had fought at every turn her prescribed role in this life. She wanted to have ideas and opinions. Just like Anna.

Georgette wanted freedom. A highly overrated state of which he would cure her of. Real freedom was a lie and an illusion. Everyone answered to someone in this world.

Georgette answered to Alan.

Alan answered to Caleb Deardon. As long as he kept Caleb happy Alan would stay rich…and alive.

“Why don’t we just use–”

“No.” Alan cut off Joe, knowing what he was about to suggest. “We’re not that desperate yet. I’m keeping that in my pocket just in case. So Georgette has a boyfriend now? Don’t make this into a big deal. We take him out and get her back. This isn’t fucking rocket science. Just make it happen.”