Mine to Hold (33 page)

“Good. I’d just come after you.” He relaxed a bit and enfolded her into his embrace, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. “Take a bath and get ready for bed. I’ll see if I can find out if your phone has been traced and if there’s anything new on Lobato Loco.”

“Thanks.” She squeezed his hand. “For everything.”

Tyler nodded, slapped on his jeans, and walked away.

DAMN
it
.

Tyler stomped into the office across the hall from the master bedroom, slammed the door shut, threw himself into his chair, and shoved his head in his hands.

Real smooth, fucktard. She got shot at tonight after finding out her ex-husband was cheating scum, and you want to make babies. Want to hunt for unicorns and rainbows next?

He was angry, not just at himself—but at the fear that coursed through him. The last time Del had been sweet but distant after sex, he hadn’t seen her again for two years. No fucking way would she get that far from him again. She was
his
now. Was always going to be his. Once all this shit with Carlson was over, she’d stay his. There’d be time for more babies then. Oh, and she’d probably want to get married first.
Duh!
He probably should have mentioned that.

The “M” word that had once made him break out in shivers and hives now had him smiling. She’d look gorgeous walking down the aisle toward him in white lace with Seth beside her and all their friends around him. Of course, he liked the picture better with her sporting a baby bump. Guess that made him a caveman after all.

Right now, he had to get his head out of his ass. He couldn’t possibly hope for that future if he didn’t untangle this danger. Despite the clock reading something like two in the morning, Tyler resolved to press on. There was a reason Lobato Loco hadn’t shown up, and Tyler wanted to know why.

First, he had to solve the problem with Del’s prepaid cell. Wincing, he called Jack. No doubt, his new boss would love the oh-dark-thirty wake-up call.

To his credit, Jack answered on the second ring and didn’t sound remotely sleepy. “Tyler?”

“The shit is hitting the fan.” Tyler explained what had happened at Desnuda.

“That’s a lot of shit.” Jack agreed with his assessment.

“How can I tell if Del’s calls are being monitored?”

“You can’t, and it doesn’t matter. You need to dump that phone.”

“It’s the only number Lobato Loco has for Del,” Tyler argued.

“He’s either a traitor or he’s dead. In either case, he’s useless to you.”

Tyler raked a hand through his hair. “That’s going to kill her. We’ve got nothing else.”

“Xander’s money trail is interesting, but inconclusive. It looks shady, but . . .”

“Doesn’t prove a damn thing. I don’t know where to turn. She needs something, Jack. She’s a strong woman, but being away from Seth, being in this much danger, it’s too much upheaval. It’s killing her. I’m worried.”

“God, you’re so in love with this woman.” Jack laughed. “The girls here are already planning a wedding, you know?”

Despite the grim situation, Tyler smiled. “Tell them to make it sooner, rather than later. I don’t want to wait.”

“Will do. Get some sleep for now. Deke is supposed to have a follow-up with his guys in the FBI later today. Maybe they’ve dredged something up. They sounded real eager to talk.”

With that, Tyler disconnected the call. The computer hummed in front of him, and he opened the lid, checking some local sites and blogs to see if there were any news or warrants following the shooting at Desnuda.

The flash of Del’s e-mail at the bottom of the screen caught his attention. She had a new message.

Jumping up, he found her soaking in the tub, looking frail and exhausted. But when she opened her eyes, the look inside them was fierce. She was totally committed to ending Carlson and—he hoped—getting on with their future.

“You have a new e-mail. You should come check it, just in case.”

She didn’t ask questions or protest about being tired. Del just rose, water dripping from her body like some Venus. Inch after inch of creamy skin looked rosy, and he could see the marks of his possession on her body—whisker burns, faint bruises, swollen nipples and mouth. She couldn’t look more gorgeous, and all he wanted was to sink back into her body and love her again.

Adjusting himself in his jeans, Del watched with a raised brow. “Again?”

“Always,” he promised hoarsely.

A blush rushed up her cheeks as he helped her out of the tub. It took a lot of restraint to let Del cover herself. Right now, nailing Carlson was more important than nailing her. At least that’s what he told his dick.

She tossed on a fluffy robe they’d found on the back of the bathroom door, and Tyler took her hand. Together, they padded across the hall. Wordlessly, Del sank into the chair and concern crept across her face. As she put her fingers to the keyboard and accessed her mail, she looked tense, ready for flight. He cupped her shoulder in a show of silent support.

“It’s from Preston,” she murmured.

“Before we read whatever he’s said, we should know if he tried to go to the warehouse you misdirected him to.”

Del sat back in her chair, leaving the e-mail closed and waiting. “You’re right. I have to know whether I can trust him.”

Tyler picked up his cell and called Xander again. God, as often as he’d been reaching out, the asshole was likely going to think it was either a joke or a come-on.

Xander answered, panting. “Yeah?”

Something laced his voice, not sleep. Not exhaustion. Something happier, something— Shit, it was satisfaction. “Am I interrupting something?”

“You’ve got lousy fucking timing.”

Tyler winced and paced across the room. “You didn’t have to answer.”

“I do if you’re dying, right? Spit it out.”

“Did anyone try to hit your warehouse tonight?”

“No,” he ground out. “Not even a mouse stepped foot on the premises. I looked into it before I . . . settled in for the night.”

“She anyone we know?”

Xander laughed. “Well, let’s say now I know what’s under the red scarf and thong.”

Tyler couldn’t help but grin. “Thanks, man. Um, carry on.”

Xander didn’t even bother to reply, just hung up.

Tyler set his phone down and turned to Del. “Looks like Preston might be in the clear. It’s not one hundred percent . . .”

“Nothing is,” Del agreed. “But if he’d been working for Carlson and had a supposed lead on our location, I think he’d have followed it up quick.”

“Especially after everything went south at Desnuda.”

With a nod, Del opened the e-mail. Her gaze flew across the screen, her eyes getting wider and wider until she gasped.

“What?” Tyler demanded, his gut clenching.

“Oh God, Lobato Loco is dead—at the hands of his own gang.”

“What?” Tyler scowled, then demanded. “How do you know?”

“Preston says that after he finished answering questions for the police about Lisa’s murder and identifying her body, they dropped him off at the office so he could get his car and go home. On the office’s stoop, he found a box and a note that proclaimed Lobato Loco a
rata
.”

“A rat. Okay, but why do you think he’s dead?”

“Because”—her voice trembled—“they sent the note along with his head.”

The bottom dropped out of Tyler’s stomach. Del looked pale as a sheet, and when she looked up at him, eyes frightened and mouth trembling, he nearly jumped over the desk to take her into his arms.

“Tyler . . .” She looked so damn scared that it broke his heart.

“Shh, angel. We knew they were terrible bastards. We’re still here alive, still safe.”

“But for how long? He’s not going to stop coming after me, and I have no evidence to expose him. I can’t keep running forever.”

Thoughts buzzed through Tyler’s brain. He wanted this fucking bastard gutted. Carlson needed a hole in his skull, and Tyler wanted to spit in it before he fed the son of a bitch to the fish. It went against his every instinct to give up. But he’d been a cop. Del was a mom, a reporter. She had no experience with this relentless danger, and it was wearing her down.

“If you want to, we can. You, me, and Seth can go someplace totally new. Jack will help us change our identities. We can get married, start a totally new life. Carlson will be looking for a single mom, not a family. He’ll never think to look for us in BFE, Oklahoma, or wherever you want to go.”

She blinked, looking up at him through wet lashes. “You’d do that for me?”

“What?”

“Give up . . . everything. Your job, your friends, your past and future?”

His offer surprised her? He grabbed her arms and dragged her body against him. “Angel, I’d do anything for you. When are you going to get that?”

Her mouth opened like she wanted to say something, but the silence dragged on. Instead, she threw herself into his arms and clung.

Del needed an anchor, and Tyler was not only happy to oblige, he was thrilled. She was leaning on him, trusting him—coming to him and needing him.

More tears fell as she looked at him, and the love on her face made his heart go boom. Jack was right; he was so in love with this woman, he’d never recover. And he never wanted to.

Moments later, her hands were at his zipper, and his jeans were sliding down his hips. He hadn’t bothered with a shirt, figuring he’d just be going to bed.

He kicked his pants away and looked up in time to see Del peel the robe off her shoulders, leaving her to stand alabaster perfect by the room’s faint light. Her eyes looked feral, hungry, and so needy.

Craving torqued in Tyler’s chest, and his cock stood up, harder than it had been all night. Del didn’t gently layer her mouth over his, but attacked it, urgently forcing his lips apart and running inside. She moaned, not merely like she liked kissing him, but like he was vital—her shelter from the storm. He wanted to be that and more for her.

Del stunned him when she shoved him back into the desk chair and mounted him in a flash, legs straddling his hips. The head of his cock flared against her entrance, and he felt her soft flesh, already wet, grasping and clenching above him.

Fuck, he wanted her so badly, he couldn’t breathe. But he felt compelled to point something out. “Angel, no condom.”

She ignored him completely, sinking down on his shaft with a long moan that ripped into Tyler’s self-control. Still, he held off. In Del’s head, this wasn’t about forever or babies or anything other than needing to feel safe and alive. He had to relax and let her ease the terror bubbling inside of her. If that was sex . . . well, he wasn’t going to complain.

And if she sported that baby bump before the wedding, he’d just grin.

Tyler grabbed her hips. “What do you need?”

“You.” She gyrated on him frequently. “Just you. Please. Now.”

“Always, angel.”

“Hard and fast.”

She was really asking him to make her forget, even for a while, that everyone around her was dying. Tyler was happy to oblige. He pressed his cock deep into her. “Take me, angel. All of me.”

With a gasp, she nodded frantically as he filled her again. And again. And again.

Fuck, the friction was almost a burn. Deep, so tight. The pleasure seared, not just because her pussy gloved him so perfectly but because Del needed him. Because she wasn’t just opening her body to him. This was love. This was trust. He’d never gotten off on those things before, but with every pump of his cock into her body, he could feel her giving way, giving herself over to him. Giving him everything.

He was going to come.

“Angel?”

“Don’t stop.” Her muscles around him began to ripple, and she increased the pace of her thrusts. “Please . . .”

An invitation to totally let go and give her everything in return. No way was he turning that down.

Tyler gripped her hips even tighter and unleashed the blazing ache in his cock, now tingling at the base of his spine. He shoved all the emotion choking his throat and clogging his chest into the kiss he seized her lips with. He filled her in every way he could in that moment, and when she shouted into his mouth, he gave over the last of his control again and flooded her deep with his seed.

God, he couldn’t love her more.

He lifted his head and brushed her damp tendrils away from her face. “Angel—”

“Don’t say anything now. We have a lot to sort out, especially if I get pregnant again. I know what I said earlier, but I needed to feel you now.”

“I understand,” he said gently.

“And I need a goddamn plan. Two people have died simply for coming into contact with me. I won’t be the cause of any more murders. Let’s put a stop to this now.”

Chapter Seventeen

D
EL
awakened the following morning wrapped up in Tyler’s warm embrace, tangled in the soft blankets of the big bed they shared. And the damn ringing of her disposable cell phone.

She opened an eye and realized the sun had risen, but it was still fairly early. The clock confirmed that it was just minutes past eight a.m. Who would be calling her little throwaway phone? She’d given the number to no one. Nearly everyone she’d ever called with the number was dead. Unless Carlson himself was calling her. The possibility chilled her.

Scrambling out of bed and across the room, she grabbed the phone off the dresser, pressing the speakerphone button so Tyler could hear, too. Just in case. “Hello.”

“Del? It’s Eric.”

Oh shit!
She’d forgotten that she’d called her ex-husband on this phone. He might not be her favorite person in the world, but she wouldn’t wish the sort of death on him that Lisa or Lobato Loco had experienced. Despite all the sunshine and warmth in the room, she shivered.

“You shouldn’t talk to me on this number. It’s been compromised.”

“I’ll be quick, and if something happens, I can defend myself.”

“I’d rather not risk—”

“I have your flash drive,” he said grimly. “I want to talk to you about what’s on it.”

Del froze for a long moment, then her heart began to pound. Eric had her evidence. If she could recover it, she’d have a jumping-off point for saving herself and Seth. This nightmare might actually come to an end. Then she frowned. “How did you get it?”

“I’ll explain everything when you get here.”

Suddenly, she felt Tyler’s heat at her back, heard his breathing in her ear. Del turned at his grip on her elbow.

“You are not going there again,” he whispered.

“Why don’t we meet for breakfast somewhere?” Del suggested. “Is that little omelet place around the corner from the house still open?”

“You and I both know that what’s on this flash drive shouldn’t be discussed in public. It needs to stay as hidden and safe as possible.”

Eric made a valid point, but Del wasn’t about to give in. “Remember what happened the last time I came to the house? I’m not in a hurry to repeat the experience.”

“I was an ass, and I’m sorry,” he said through gritted teeth. “I won’t touch you. I give you my word. But if you want this back, I want to talk to you first, make sure you know what the fuck you’re getting yourself into. Ten o’clock, sharp.”

Del opened her mouth to argue with him when she realized Eric had hung up. She punched the
END
button on her phone with a curse. “Bastard!”

“I don’t want you going over there.” Tyler had no compunction about voicing his opinion. “No fucking way.”

“If I want the flash drive back, I have to go.”

“He didn’t say that you had to go alone.”

Del pondered that statement. She’d feel personally safer taking Tyler, but Eric seemed to have a lot more animosity toward his ex-friend than his ex-wife. If Tyler hadn’t been there last time, Eric would have yelled and made his point, but she doubted he’d have touched her against her will. That whole show had been for Tyler’s benefit. Was bringing Tyler this time like bringing a powder keg to a roomful of sparks?

“Whatever you’re thinking, no.” Tyler shook his head and crossed his beefy arms over his chest. “I’m going. That’s final.”

“I need that flash drive, and I suspect that you’d just make a bad situation worse.”

“Fuck,” Tyler muttered, then raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t trust him. If you go without me, that leaves you vulnerable. He’s got a plan. There’s some reason he’s giving you the flash drive now. He’s got a price in mind, and I’m pretty sure I know what it is. No.”

Del caught onto his insinuation. “You think he’s going to want me to have sex with him?”

“If touching you would hurt you, I think he’d be fine with that. If it will hurt me, even better. And he knows it would eat me up inside.”

Wincing, Del had to admit there might be a kernel of truth there. “But if I bring you—”

“Then I’ll go in, guns ready. I won’t go ape shit sitting in this house or some car down the street, wondering if you’re safe.” Tyler paced the room. “But something about this whole situation isn’t adding up. Where has the flash drive been since we asked for it? Why did he read it? He says he wants to turn it over, but what’s in it for him?”

She’d wondered some of the same things. Eric was generally the sort of person who didn’t do anything without some personal benefit, and hanging on to the flash drive for a few days so he could read it, just to give it back, didn’t make a lot of sense.

“If he’s read it and thought about it, he’s had it for a while.” Her gut instinct was telling her that.

“Agreed. Maybe he had it all along. Was that break-in even real?”

“Or a cover story? I don’t know.”

“Why would he try to cover up the fact that he had the flash drive?” Tyler mused. “To get more time with it? See what you’re into?”

That was the logical explanation, but why? Del wondered if there was more to it. She tried to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. How would he have found out that she’d kept the flash drive there? If he’d had it for weeks, he wouldn’t have needed to hang on to it. So he’d just recently found it. What had made him go looking for it? When they’d spoken on the phone before going over there, she hadn’t told him what she was looking for. The only people she’d told were Tyler and Lisa. Tyler would never tell anyone. Lisa . . . had probably blabbed to Carlson for thirty thousand dollars. Which meant . . .

“Eric is in bed with Carlson,” Tyler proclaimed into her silence.

“I was just coming to the same conclusion.” Her voice shook. “Oh God.”

If her ex-husband would really sell her out to someone so ruthless, was she walking into a trap? Would he even blink when they killed her? Eric was a cop, damn it. Wouldn’t he protect her? Maybe not. He’d done nothing when Lisa and Lobato Loco had been viciously murdered. What did it matter to him if his ex-wife, who was in love with his former best friend, got the ax, too? And Eric hadn’t told Tyler not to come. In fact, he had to know that Tyler would accompany her. What was that rat bastard hoping for, a twofer in the murder department today?

Something inside her crumbled. She’d once loved that man. Hadn’t the frequent cheating been enough for him? Or did he think that she and Tyler deserved to die because the sex they’d shared two years ago had resulted in a beautiful little boy? Because it had meant something to them and they’d fallen in love?

“I think he intends for both of us to die,” Del said solemnly. “How did you figure it out?”

“He’s the first person you talked to with your disposable cell, yet the only one who isn’t dead. He suddenly found the flash drive . . . None of this shit adds up. We’ve said that Carlson has to have dirty cops to make this work. I guess that means dirty Vice detectives, too.”

Tyler would probably be furious for asking, but she had to know. “And you knew nothing about this?”

“Fuck, no!” he exploded. “Toward the end of our partnership, Eric acted oddly at times, and I clearly should have asked more questions. But I didn’t know anything. I may have bed hopped a lot back then, but I would never have allowed that corrupt shit. And I sure as hell wouldn’t line my own pockets to let criminals get away with drug dealing and murder. You know me better than that.”

“Yeah. I thought I knew Eric, too,” she said softly.

Dragging a hand down his face, Tyler sighed. “You’ve got to be really confused, angel. But I swear to God, I would never accept money from a slime like that. And I’d never let anything happen to you.”

Tyler took her in his arms, clutching her tightly, and Del didn’t resist. She needed an anchor in this storm of lies, deceit, and intrigue. And he was perfect—solid, supportive, unwavering.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“I won’t lie and say I love it, but I understand feeling burned by people you trusted. The question is, what do we do now? If Eric is on the take from Carlson, we have to expect that he’s sold us out. This is going to be dangerous. And before you say a word, you aren’t going to Eric’s alone.”

As much as Del wanted Tyler removed from danger, she had to think of Seth. He needed parents. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her baby all alone, and the odds would more likely be in their favor if she took Tyler along.

“All right. But we’re going to need help.”

“Agreed.” Tyler nodded. “We can’t contact the police for help. They’re either going to be corrupt, Eric’s buddies, or both.”

“And we have no evidence to prove our suspicions yet, so . . .”

“We’re going to have to come up with a plan B. I’ll use the computer to call back to Lafayette. Take my phone and call Xander. Get whatever resources you can. I’ll do the same.”

With a solemn nod, she grabbed his phone and meandered toward the kitchen. She wasn’t hungry, but they’d both need strength for the trial to come. She tried to push aside the betrayal making her chest tighten and ache. How could the son of a bitch who had once promised to love, honor, and protect her turn her over to the man who would celebrate her murder?

Shoving the thought away, Del called Xander. He picked up right away. “This had better be good.”

She winced at his growl. “My ex called. We’re supposed to be at his house at ten. I think we’re the lambs he’s leading to slaughter. And we can’t call the police. You must have bodyguards or something. Would you be willing to lend them to us for a few hours?”

“They all suck ass. I escape them constantly, except one. Expect a knock on your door from Decker McConnell in less than an hour. Former Special Forces who went to work as a field agent for the CIA. Deep cover. Tough bastard.”

“Don’t you need to talk to him first?” She frowned.

“I pay him to be ready at a moment’s notice. Sit tight. I’ll be there soon.”

“Oh no. Please don’t—”

Click
.

Tyler strolled into the room, and Del turned, frustration shredding her composure. “The bastard hung up on me. He’s sending a guy, and as soon as I tried to point out to Xander that it wasn’t safe for him to come along, too, he hung up.”

“Maybe that’s just as well. Jack and Deke said it might take a couple of hours to track down some of their former army buddies who live in this area. By then, this is over.”

Yes. And Del hoped this meeting didn’t become a bloodbath.

“They’ve also called some connections at the FBI.” He shrugged. “Maybe something will pop there. C’mon, angel. Let’s shower and get ready to do this.”

Del dug in her heels. “I have to talk to Seth again . . . Just in case.”

She shoved back tears and regarded Tyler with an unflinching stare.

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “You don’t have to go to Eric’s. I’ll go alone. I’ll tell him that he scared the hell out of you last time you came by and—”

“No. I have to get my evidence back if I want a future. He wants to talk to me, and I know he’s not going to hand it over until I do. Just let me talk to my son one last time.”

“
Our
son.” Tyler led her across the hall to the spacious office and the computer.

She sent him a sad smile. “I’m not used to that yet.”

“Get used to it.”

As Tyler sat at the computer and initiated the online video call, she whispered, “I’d like to. Right now, I can’t help fearing this is the last time Seth will see me and that he won’t remember me if—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. You are not going to die, damn it.”

Del pressed her lips together. “We don’t know that for certain. Eric might be leading us right into a trap. We can only do the right things and hope for the best.”

“Hey,” Luc said casually into the computer. “All okay there?”

She exchanged a glance with Tyler, who said, “Yeah.”

“No,” she corrected. “I’d like to see Seth.”

Luc went on alert. “What’s wrong?”

Tyler cursed under his breath, then sighed. “Jack’s got the details. I think this thing is coming to a head this morning.”

Del watched as understanding, then quiet acceptance, dawned across Luc’s face. “I’ll go get Seth. Earlier this morning, he saw Caleb take a stuffed animal from Chloe. When she started crying, Seth grabbed it away, handed it back to her, then pushed Caleb on his ass.”

That sounded like her little boy. A moment later, his smiling baby face filled the screen. She tried not to cry, but she was so proud of him, already exhibiting such strong qualities—intelligence, a sense of fairness, a willingness to defend those weaker than him. She only hoped that if things didn’t go well today he eventually understood her decisions.

“Hi, little man.”

“Ma ma ma.” He lunged forward and reached out for the screen.

A pang of love welled up, filled her, mixed with longing and pain. A sob racked her body, and Tyler’s arm went around her immediately. She sucked the tears back. Being strong for Seth now was imperative.

“Hi, Seth,” Tyler said into the webcam. “How’s our big boy today?”