RELENTLESS (12 page)

“Having someone try to kidnap you scares me.” He lifted their clasped hands and kissed the back of hers. “Watching you overcome what haunts you fills me with nothing but awe. You impress the hell out of me.”

Sweet-talking hottie
.

He let go of her hand and his palm went to the side of her face. “Does the organizing help?”

“Still shaky.” But the touching had her mind switching gears to much more interesting topics. Being close to him, smelling him, watching him, it all calmed her nerves.

“I’d be worried if you were fine with all of this.”

She could take anything. She’d learned that a year ago. She survived. But... “You almost died.”

She clamped her mouth shut to keep the strangled sob from escaping her throat. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him sliding across the floor. If he’d been hit, if she’d seen him go down... A dark, suffocating curtain fell over her at the thought.

She didn’t know when or how he’d come to matter so much, but he had. Even when she’d pushed him away and given him every reason to move on to any of the other fifteen nurses who eyed him up, he’d never given up on getting to know her. He’d never gone for someone who might be easier to win over. And now he refused to walk away when any smart man would.

He turned her until they stood face-to-face and his hands massaged her upper arms. “I could have gotten hit, but I didn’t. Focus on the latter.”

The strength. She had no idea where he found it. He kept calling up reserves and never swayed. She envied that even keel.

But truth was he’d been sliced and shot and now almost killed because of her. “How can you look at it that way? Just shrug it off like the danger almost doesn’t matter?”

“There isn’t another way to move on.”

She didn’t wait for him to draw her close. She stepped into the circle of his arms and rested her hands against his muscled chest. “You got lucky and you wouldn’t have needed to if I hadn’t insisted on going to the bank.”

“Whoa, back up.” His fingers threaded through her hair and tipped her head back as his gaze searched her face. “Don’t take that on.”

“It was my fault and—”

A lingering kiss stopped her sentence. “I agreed you should go to the bank. Connor and Joel agreed. We own that blame.”

“Because I insisted.” His smile caught her off guard. “What?”

“Don’t get all feisty on me when I say this, but we wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t want to.”

“Because you’re such a big, tough macho man.” She snorted as she said it to let him know she wasn’t buying the he-man act. “Oh, please.”

“Do you forget I carry a gun?”

“Never.” Seeing it used to touch off a strangling panic. Now, knowing he controlled his anger and could handle his weapon, never turning it on her, she felt nothing but safe.

“While I admit I am no match for you when you pile on the charm and insist on getting your own way—”

Okay, now, that was ridiculous. She laughed. “When has that ever happened between us?”

“Even you could not topple the joint pressure of me, Connor and Joel.” Ben’s firm tone never wavered.

“You’re saying you could have said no to me today?” That was not the way she remembered the conversation.

“I’m saying we’re all grown-ups. The visit should have been fine and the fact it wasn’t is one more piece of the puzzle.”

Relief tumbled through her, erasing all those rough edges of guilt. She dropped her forehead to his impressive shoulder. “Dealing with this is so exhausting, and that’s coming from a woman who is used to working brutal twelve-hour shifts on her feet.”

“Hmm.” That husky voice vibrated against her ear.

“What?” When she lifted her head again, she faced the bed and found her back balanced against the dresser. She didn’t even remember moving.

His fingers traced the dip of the neckline of her T-shirt, skimmed over her collarbone and down to the tip of the shadow between her breasts. “I was kind of hoping you weren’t tired.”

Yeah, well, she was wide-awake now. “Subtle.”

With a small tug, he lowered the shirt and slipped his thumb underneath. “I’m not sure I was trying to be.”

His finger stroked over her nipple, making her gasp. “I bet I can be persuaded on this point.”

“Oh, I will try very hard to convince you.” Then he dropped his head and licked his tongue over the straining top of her breast. “Put every ounce of my energy into the task.”

She forgot about guilt and fear. She forgot about everything but him.

Her hand went to the back of his head and she held him close. “Yes.”

“We’re never going to make it to the bed.”

She didn’t think they’d make it to the floor.

Chapter Twelve

Gary sat with his elbows balanced on the desk and his fingers steepled in front of his mouth. All of his focus stayed on the man across from him. The same one fidgeting as if he would jump out of his skin at any minute. Colin shifted and tugged on his pants. Even glanced around. None of it broke Gary’s concentration.

They’d been back in the office for hours. The sun dipped and the night fell, and still they reviewed today’s disastrous plan. The outcome cried out for punishment, but Gary refused to end Colin’s torture that easily by killing him.

Gary sat and waited. He glanced at the clock on the wall and calculated the time since he last spoke.

Eleven minutes.

Colin crossed and uncrossed his legs, sending the chair into a symphony of creaking. When he opened his mouth, Gary broke in first. “I’m starting to believe Ms. Raine has some sort of power over men. Makes them stupid and sloppy.”

“She brought the entire Corcoran Team to the bank with her.”

“Not quite.”

Gary had done his homework, or tried to at least. Finding information on the team had proved difficult. They had no website, and the internet appeared to be scrubbed clean of any reference to the business being involved in any project anywhere. He could find only a general reference to the general work they did.

Yet, their doors remained open, which meant paying clients. The leader’s name, Connor, showed up now and then with veiled references about corporate risk assessments but without any real definition of what that meant.

The only clue was Ben Tanner. There was a name even the best hacker could not make disappear. Turned on his boss, took down the upper levels of NCIS. Yes, Ben had been a busy boy and now he’d appointed himself Jocelyn Raine’s protector.

It wouldn’t be hard to make him disappear and shift the blame to any number of disgruntled military types. Gary smiled at the thought. Tanner was the type of man who could experience an accident and no one would be surprised. Media coverage would likely include a “what did he expect would happen?” quote from anonymous sources. The fingers would point in a lot of directions, but not in Gary’s, and the police would quietly close the case because that was what they did with snitches.

“No one expected a gun battle today. It was a simple snatch job. The men were to make it look like a robbery gone bad without being obvious about taking one woman,” Colin said.

Gary saw the comments as further proof of his employee’s incompetence. “You should have known this could go sideways. I did and I warned you. The men protecting her are not amateurs.”

“And neither were the ones I hired.”

“Your mistake was in thinking you would be able to control the situation when your dealings with this woman suggest anything but.”

“You think the Corcoran Team knows about the data-and-funds exchange?”

There was no other explanation. They protected for a living and they were currently protecting her. Had been from that first night at her apartment.

Protecting her meant making his life difficult, and Gary was just about done with that nonsense. “It’s beginning to look that way.”

“What about Detective Willoughby? He’s on every crime scene.”

Gary lowered his hands to the desk. “I’m not worried about him.”

“Really?”

Colin refused to learn. The last thing Gary wanted was a challenge to his authority. When Colin paid for his failures in this matter, Gary would lead with that one.

“My main concern now is blowback. Being implicated,” he said, ignoring the question that started a tic in his jaw. “I need to know what can be traced to me, which means I need to know what Corcoran knows.”

Right now he’d be happy to know
what
exactly Corcoran was.

“You going to plant a device in their headquarters?” Colin asked as his jumping around subsided.

Normally that would resolve the issue. Gary would devise a way in, have his best people set up the equipment and collect the data. But that didn’t work with a company like Corcoran that thrived on playing the clandestine card. “I assume they’d find it, and that’s under the assumption I could even get past whatever security they have and get it in there.”

“Understood.”

Gary doubted that. “No, I think there’s only one way to get this done in the time we have left.”

“How?”

Gary no longer had a choice. “I’m going to walk through the front door.”

“What?”

“Better yet, I’m going to bring them to me. Tomorrow morning.”

* * *

B
EN
COULDN
’
T
SHAKE
the tickling sensation at the base of his neck. The two-story drapes were drawn, blocking out the sun and the view to the street beyond. The bank stayed closed, which was a problem, since this was a local bank with few branches. The locked doors and police tape kept people out.

Being in this cavernous room the day after the attack explained part of his unease. Standing next to the counter in the middle of the room where he almost bit it didn’t help. Neither did watching Jocelyn page through the deposit slips that once fanned over the top but now were stacked in neat piles.

She shuffled them, then straightened them again. The repetitive action seemed to soothe her. The neater the pile, the less her hands shook. That she’d figured out a way to quiet the demons inside her left him humbled. He knew how the noises and doubts could grow into a deafening thunder, but she kept them at bay. It just made him gut-sick that she had to.

He reached over and touched his fingertips to hers. Nothing too obvious. Not with Ed and Joel circling the balcony upstairs for clues and Connor questioning Kent at a desk a few feet away.

They were sleeping together and Ben wasn’t about to hide it or lie about it. Kissing her at the conference-room table this morning with Joel and Connor watching probably ended any questions on that score. But he could hold off on a general broadcast of his preferred sleeping arrangements until they had the “we’re exclusive now” talk, and he definitely planned on having that soon.

He waited until she glanced up. The wary darkness in her eyes had vanished somewhat, but not totally. “You okay being here?” he asked.

She looked over and around, taking in every inch of the first floor before answering. “I see the shooting when I close my eyes. It hardly matters if I’m here or back at the house.”

Not that he could blame her. The latest shoot-out was on a slow-motion reel in his head, as well. “For a few hours last night, you seemed to forget.”

She slipped her fingers through his. “And I plan to use that tactic again tonight.”

“Never been called a tactic before.” This woman could call him anything she wanted. Could do anything she wanted with him. They’d been on fast-forward since they met and he did not want to slow them down.

Joel broke the spell when he walked up beside her. His gaze stopped on their joined hands but he didn’t say anything. Still, hand-holding at a crime scene qualified as unprofessional and borderline stupid, so Ben gave the back of her hand a quick rub and then let go.

“Anything upstairs?” he asked Joel.

“An old balcony. Ed says there used to be a second floor, and the architect who did the redesign put the balcony in for aesthetics and some sort of ode to the place’s former glory.” Joel pointed out the walkway above them as he talked. “We went up and the only way out is through an emergency door to the roof and then down a ladder to the outside.”

Jocelyn grabbed the closest stack of deposit slips and tapped them on the table, lining up the edges with precision. “So, the robbers just went up there for a walk? Doesn’t make sense.”

“I think we’ve established they weren’t robbing anything.” Joel watched her but again had the good sense to stay quiet.

Ben hadn’t shared the compulsive behaviors. He probably didn’t have to. Joel had helped him check her bedroom that first night. Clothing lined up with the exact amount of space between each hanger. The color coding. The perfect edge where she lined up her shoes.

Having been in the military, Ben recognized the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. She never used the term. He doubted she’d been diagnosed. She talked about behavioral adjustments. More than likely, she handled the whole thing herself.

“Let me ask this.” Jocelyn had them both staring at her now. “If this wasn’t about taking money or things out of safe deposit boxes, then why didn’t they just grab me and run?”

There was only one answer to that, so Ben gave it to her. “Because they had to make it look like a robbery.”

“That guy seem okay to you?” Joel leaned against the table and nodded in Kent’s direction.

The man sat at his desk in full-on fidget mode. Sweat dotted his brow and he kept wiping his hand over his mouth.

Ben had noticed the nervous tics before. They struck him as even more pronounced today, which made no sense at all. The danger had passed. He should be celebrating living through it or at least look more relaxed.

“To be fair, his bank was robbed, kind of,” Jocelyn said.

Joel nodded. “While he was out.”

There was a clicking sound as Jocelyn tapped the pile of slips against the table. “Still thinking it’s too convenient?”

“Connor will break him.” Even now Ben admired Connor’s work. He kept his voice low and his gestures smooth as Kent unraveled into a bucket of sweat.

“No question.”

Ben turned around to agree with Joel and saw Ed usher a man in the front door of the bank. “Hey, you can’t be in here.”

That was the deal. They had all come to get the search done faster. That meant bringing Jocelyn outside the house again, and Ben had laid down a bunch of rules to make sure that happened. Being in the bank with only Ed and Kent was one of them.

The new guest walked right over, just a few steps behind Jocelyn. Joel moved to block the direct line to her and Connor came up out of his chair with his hand on his gun. Ben beat them both. Ignoring the pull of the stitches across his stomach and the tightness over his shoulder, he vaulted around the table and put his body right in front of hers.

“Not one more step.” And he would put a bullet in the guy to back up his threat if he had to.

Forget the expensive black suit and successful-businessman trappings. The guy was fortysomething and fit and could be a killer for all Ben knew. He wasn’t about to play wait-and-see on that one.

The man’s eyebrow lifted. “Since my money is in this bank, I believe I can do whatever I think is appropriate.”

Connor shook his head as he walked over and through the wall of tension. “Sir, you have to—”

“It’s okay.” Kent rushed in with his hands in the air. Nervous energy radiated off him as he flailed. “This is Gary Taub.”

Gary stood in direct contrast to the bank manager. A good five inches taller and totally put together. He frowned when he saw the sweat pouring off Kent, then dismissed him by turning to Connor. “I own the building next door.”

“I’m guessing you don’t mean the coffee shop,” Joel said.

Gary didn’t break eye contact with Connor. It was as if he knew who was in charge and refused to deal with anyone he deemed lower on the food chain. “Worldwide Securities.”

“What kind of business is that?”

“Financial.”

“What can we do for you, Mr. Taub?” Connor shifted away from the group and took the spotlight off the place where Jocelyn stood.

She hadn’t said a word. She was too busy digging her nails into Ben’s back.

“Gary, please.” The man almost bowed as he said it. “I’m checking on Kent.”

That made almost no sense in Ben’s mind. If Kent weren’t a complete mess, maybe. As it was, Ben couldn’t imagine Gary hanging out with schlubby, balding Kent unless Gary needed something from him. Gary just seemed that type.

“Are you two business associates?” Ben asked.

“We share an interest in keeping the area safe.” Gary’s gaze finally landed on Ben. Did a quick flick over his shoulder to Jocelyn, then back again. “And you are?”

“Connor Bowen,” he said before Ben could answer. “This is my team.”

“Of what?”

“Investigators.”

The corner of Gary’s mouth eased up. “For the police?”

“Maybe we could ask you a few questions.”

Gary folded his hands in front of him. “I notice you’re not answering any.”

“That’s how this game is played.”

A terse silence followed the verbal volleying. If this Gary guy wanted a battle, Connor was not the right guy to pick as an adversary. Connor didn’t blink. Didn’t call any attention to the rest of the team, which was good because if Ben guessed correctly, Joel was using that fancy phone, held low in his hand, to get a photo of Gary.

Gary finally broke the quiet with a quick nod. “Well, I can tell you what I saw on the day of the incident.”

“You were here?” Ben ran through his mental roll call of faces from that day and knew this guy was not on it.

“Next door.”

Connor stepped back and gestured in the general direction of Kent’s abandoned desk chair. “Then have a seat.”

Everyone pivoted. Ed took up his old position at the door while Connor sat with Gary and ran him through a series of questions as Kent watched. No, while Kent stared at the large clock on the wall by the safe. The guy didn’t sit still. Gary must have noticed because more than once he glanced up and scowled at his supposed business friend.

It took Ben a second to realize he stood alone. He spun around and found Jocelyn back at the counter in the middle of the room with Joel hovering over her shoulder like the bodyguard he was.

Ben walked back to her. He was about to make a joke but he noticed her hands. She’d stopped straightening. She turned the slips over and studied the back.

He knew something ran through her mind. “What’s wrong?”

“Something.”

He balanced his palms against the edge of the table and leaned in, keeping his voice at a whisper level. “Can you be a little more specific?”

“The deposit slips.”

He still wasn’t getting it. “One more detail might help.”

“What about them?” Joel asked.