THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (14 page)

The Dragon waited on the other side of that door.

Her hands trembled around the weapon.

Thomas “Dragon” Anthony was a martial arts expert. He’d worked with the EOD since she’d been brought on board. The guy was quiet, dangerous—and he made her nervous. She’d heard too many tales about just how deadly he could be.

In the EOD,
all
of the agents were lethal. But Thomas was in a category all by himself.

She curled her fingers around the weapon and opened the door a few inches. Rachel kept her security chain in place, not that it would do any good at keeping someone like Thomas out.

Not if he wanted in.

“What are you doing here?” Rachel demanded as she kept her gun close.

His golden eyes glittered at her. “I was worried about you. I heard about the profile that’s developing for the killer.”

A profile that indicated the rogue was going after couples, killing one victim to make the other weaker.

“You don’t need to worry about me.” She and Thomas weren’t close. Actually, as far as she knew,
no one
was close to the Dragon. He didn’t let anyone close. But...

She’d saved his life. On a mission in the Middle East, Rachel had been on the team that pulled Thomas out of his prison. Sure, his captors had been dead by the time she arrived—courtesy of a weaponless Thomas—but he’d been bleeding out from the wounds he’d sustained.

She’d put pressure on the worst wound, had
kept
that wound closed all during the rough flight to freedom.

Not that Thomas knew about what she’d done. He’d lost consciousness right after takeoff.

“I think you and Dylan could be the next targets,” Thomas said. His voice was deep, rumbling, and completely without any accent.

She blinked at his words, and she made sure her grip on the weapon remained steady. Thomas couldn’t see her gun, but if he made a move toward her, she’d have it up in an instant.

After what had happened to the other EOD deaths, she wasn’t going to trust anyone—

Except Dylan.

“You’re wrong,” she heard herself say. “We aren’t a couple. We wouldn’t come up on the guy’s radar.”

Thomas shook his head. “I see, so others see. I wanted to warn you.”

Adrenaline pumped through her. She wasn’t exactly feeling sleepy any longer. “You could have just called me.”

His hands were fisted. A show of emotion, unusual for Thomas. “They’re going to think it’s me,” he said softly.

Alarms were going off in her head.

“I lost her...my second mission. I lost her, and when the profiler digs through our files, she’s going to think it’s me.” His breath heaved out. “It isn’t.”

“You need to talk to Noelle—”

“Warning you was priority.”

But why hadn’t he
called?

His eyes glittered at her. “Can I come in?”

No way. “We can talk in the morning.” They just had a bit of the waning night left. “I’ll be at headquarters by 0900.”

He leaned toward her. “You have to be careful—”

Rachel lifted her gun. “I am.”

Every minute. Every moment.

“I’m going to ask you again,” Rachel murmured. “Why didn’t you just call me?”

He blinked. “I did. You didn’t answer. That’s why I was so worried. You fit the rogue’s profile—I had to warn you.”

She didn’t buy his story. “You warned me. Now, we’ll talk more tomorrow.” Her immediate plans included a fast and frantic late-night call to Dylan. He needed to know about this little visit.

Thomas nodded. “Stay safe, Mancini.” After one more long look at her, he turned away.

She didn’t move. Not until she saw him head down the stairs.

Then she locked her door. Double-checked those locks. She put the gun down on the end table and hurried back into her bedroom to find her phone.

She grabbed it from her purse. Of course, it was working, it was—

Dead.

Rachel frowned. She’d charged the phone earlier. It should be fine. Damn it. She needed to contact Dylan, but she didn’t have a landline, just her cell.

The floor creaked behind her.

Rachel froze.

She knew every inch of her apartment and just where to step for those familiar creaks and squeaks to sound. Because she knew the place so well, Rachel realized that someone was standing five feet behind her. Right inside the doorway.

The lights flashed off in her bedroom.

She didn’t waste time screaming. Rachel turned and went in for the attack.

Chapter Eleven

Dylan Foxx knew that he shouldn’t be hanging around Rachel’s place.

He was starting to hit stalker territory.

He’d dropped her off thirty minutes ago. He’d left...but come back.

He’d learned about the profile that Agent Evers was working up—she thought the rogue was attacking couples. Eliminating the woman first then going after her lover.

That profile had made him worried.

He and Rachel weren’t lovers, but...

...but I wish we were.

He’d wanted Rachel for years. Keeping his distance from her was impossible for him. He knew that he was too protective of her, that he got too close whenever she was near.

What if someone else had noticed that closeness, too?

What if the desire he felt for her caused Rachel to be put in danger?

His growing fear had driven him back to her place. It had made him lurk in the shadows of her apartment because he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

He looked down at his phone. Maybe he should give her a call, just in case.

Then he heard the sound of footsteps coming quickly toward him.

He glanced up. The moonlight showed him the face of the man approaching—a familiar face.

Thomas Anthony.

In an instant, Dylan had grabbed the other man, jerking him to a stop. “What the hell are you doing here?” Dylan demanded.

He had his gun at the other man’s throat.

Thomas stilled. “Easy...”

“Don’t ‘easy’ me,” Dylan snarled right back. Easy was the last thing he felt. “Why the hell are you coming out of Rachel’s building at this damn time?”

The streetlight fell on Thomas’s face. “That’s why,” he murmured. “I know how you feel, and I thought the killer might, too. I came to warn her.”

Dylan thought he might be looking at the killer. Keeping his gun in place, he yanked up his phone with his left hand. He pressed the screen, instantly calling for Rachel.

“You’re not going to get her,” Thomas told him. “Her phone isn’t working.”

Rachel wasn’t picking up.

He glanced up at her apartment on the top floor—the one on the far left end. All of her lights were off.

His back teeth ground together. “If you’ve hurt her...”

You’re a dead man.

He wasn’t scared of Thomas Anthony. No matter what stories circulated about the so-called Dragon, Dylan didn’t care. He’d take the man down in an instant.

And if Thomas had hurt Rachel...
I’ll tear him apart.

“We’re going upstairs,” Dylan snapped. He’d see for himself that Rachel was fine.

Thomas turned around and headed toward the building. Dylan kept his gun at the man’s back. They knew the rogue was EOD, and Thomas—an EOD agent with a shady past—
happened
to be at Rachel’s place? To warn her? No way was he buying that story.

“I just left her,” Thomas said. “She was very much alive, I assure you.”

They climbed the stairs. No one else stirred in the apartment building.

Dylan’s hands were sweating. He’d been in every hellhole on earth during his time as a SEAL, and he’d been coolly calm during every single mission. Yet as he hurried toward Rachel’s apartment, his stomach knotted and fear thickened his blood.

A few more steps and they were at her apartment. He pounded on the door.

No sound emerged from inside Rachel’s home.

He reached for the knob.
Locked.

“Rachel!” He called out her name. Her neighbors could just get angry with him for yelling. He had to see her. “Open the door!”

But there was still no response.

“Something’s wrong,” Thomas said. Fear flashed across his face. “She came to the door within minutes when I was here before.”

Dylan lifted his foot and kicked that door in.

He ran inside. “Rachel!”

A faint moan reached his ears.

He tore through the house, flying to her bedroom. It was pitch-black in there. He hit the light switch.

Dylan saw her crumpled on the floor. Blood was all around her. She was so still. So still.

“No!” The roar burst from him, and, in the next instant, he was on his knees beside her. With shaking hands he turned Rachel over. Her dark hair fell over his arm.

Blood.

“She fought him,” Thomas muttered from behind Dylan. “Not like the others. She had a chance to fight for her life.”

There were stab wounds on her chest, defensive wounds on her arms. And Dylan was afraid that she would die in his arms.

He yanked up his weapon, but didn’t let her go. “You did this,” he said as he took aim at the Dragon.

Thomas had his hands in front of him. No weapon, but that didn’t mean the guy wasn’t carrying a bloody knife. “It wasn’t me, I swear! I came to warn her, just like I said before.” He inched forward. “Let me help her. She helped me once, saved my life...”

“Take another step, and you’ll have a bullet in your brain.”

Rachel’s blood was on his hands. Rachel was
dying
in his arms.

“I didn’t do this,” Thomas told him. “The apartment was locked from the inside.”

And her bedroom window was wide open.

“I came out the front,” Thomas continued doggedly. “I was with you, but whoever did this,
he’s
getting away.”

Thomas started to advance toward them.

Dylan fired his weapon.

* * *

T
HE
RINGING
PHONE
woke Cooper, yanking him from a dream. He’d been running in that dream, desperately trying to get close to Gabrielle.

The loud ringing came again, and his eyes snapped open. The dream vanished.

Gabrielle was in his arms.
Safe.

And the phone wasn’t stopping.

“Cooper?” Her voice was husky, sexy. “Has something happened?”

A call at this hour
had
to mean something had gone wrong. He grabbed for the phone. “Marshall.”

There was a murmur of voices. Then, “Rachel’s hurt. The rogue went after her.
Her.
” Dylan’s voice shook.

“She’s alive.” Cooper worried his clenched grip would shatter the phone. But Dylan had said
hurt,
not
dead.

“Barely,” was Dylan’s low whisper. “We’re in the ER, and I’m not leaving her. I found Thomas Anthony at her place.”

The Dragon?

“She’s bad,” Dylan told him, and Cooper heard the pain and fear in the other man’s voice. “I’m not sure she’ll make it—”

“I’m on my way,” Cooper promised.

“No! Don’t come here—get to the EOD. Mercer took Thomas in for questioning after I shot the bastard.”

Wait—Dylan had shot him?

“Get to the EOD.” Dylan’s voice grated over the line. “Find out the truth. Thomas swore he was innocent—”

But obviously Dylan hadn’t bought that story, or he wouldn’t have shot the guy.

“Prove his innocence or prove his guilt,” Dylan ordered.

Cooper looked to the left. He found Gabrielle’s wide eyes on him. “I will.” He ended the call and just stared at Gabrielle for a moment.

“What is it?” Worry shone in her eyes.

Cooper swallowed. “We were wrong about you being the next target. The rogue attacked Rachel.”

She inhaled on a sharp gasp.

“She’s alive, but Dylan said she’s badly hurt.” He didn’t tell her that Dylan wasn’t sure if Rachel would survive.

She has to survive.

If she didn’t, Cooper wasn’t sure how Dylan would react.

He climbed from the bed and grabbed his clothes. “There’s a suspect in custody at the EOD. I’m going down for an interrogation.”

“And I’m coming with you.” She jumped out of bed, giving him one fine view of her body before she started yanking on clothes.

He hesitated. “Gabrielle, you know I can’t just take you to the EOD office.”

She shoved back her hair. “Then blindfold me. Do whatever you have to do.” Gabrielle walked toward him with her gaze snapping. “But you aren’t leaving me behind,
partner.
”

No, a partner wouldn’t leave her behind.

He caught the back of her head and pulled her toward him. He kissed her, hard, fast and frantic, because he had to.

He knew Dylan must be in sheer hell right then.

And the thought of something like that happening to Gabrielle, of someone hurting her... “Damn straight you’re coming with me,” he said.

Twenty-four seven. That had been their deal. He wasn’t going to break any more promises to Gabrielle. He needed her to know that she could count on him.

For now.

Forever.

Cooper didn’t plan on leaving her when the mission was over. He’d found something special with Gabrielle, and he wasn’t about to let her go.

She gave him a little nod. He finished dressing and grabbed his gun, then his fingers twined with hers.

He hurried to the door, yanked it open.

And found Deuce standing there. Deuce nodded when he saw Cooper. The guy gave Gabrielle a wan smile. “I’m here for guard duty,” he said with a little shrug.

Cooper frowned at him. “What?”

“You’re wanted at headquarters.” Now Deuce was the one who frowned. “Didn’t Dylan call you? Hell, I know he was messed up about Rachel, but Mercer wanted you to come in—”

“—for the interrogation,” Cooper finished. “I know, we’re going there now.”

Deuce shook his head. “No,
you’re
going.” He glanced at Gabrielle. “Sorry, ma’am, but your clearance isn’t high enough. The big boss sent me over to keep an eye on you until Cooper gets back.”

Gabrielle stiffened. “Clearance or no clearance, I’m going with Cooper.”

A long sigh came from Deuce. “Civilians never understand, do they, Coop?” He rolled back his shoulders. “Want me to give you two some privacy while you explain things to her? Make it fast, though, okay, buddy? Mercer isn’t exactly patient.”

Cooper hesitated.

“She’ll be waiting when you come back,” Deuce said as he turned away. “You know it. They’re always waiting...”

No, they weren’t. Sometimes you turned away—for a mission, for just a moment, and you looked back, and the one you loved was gone.

Loved.

His chest ached as Cooper stared down at Gabrielle. When had he started to love her? He hadn’t loved anyone, or anything, not since he’d lost his mother.

Gone, in an instant.

The back of his hand brushed over Gabrielle’s cheek.

“Cooper?” She gazed at him, waiting.

Did she think he’d leave her? That he’d break his promise to her?

“I want you to trust me,” he said softly, needing her to understand. “I gave you my word. I won’t go back on it, not ever again.” Then he raised his voice, making sure Deuce could hear him as he said, “I’ll call Mercer and let him know—”

The bullet hit Cooper, driving into his side and tearing through his body. Gabrielle screamed even as Cooper felt his body falling.

“You should’ve just left her,” Deuce snapped. “Then I could have taken you out, one at a time, all nice and slow, just like I planned.”

Cooper tried to pull his gun from the holster. Blood pumped from him, soaking the floor.

“Cooper!” Gabrielle reached for him.

He jerked out his weapon.

But Cooper didn’t get the chance to fire that weapon. Because Deuce grabbed Gabrielle, and the man who’d worked side by side with Cooper pressed his gun to Gabrielle’s temple.

“I don’t like using a gun for my kills.” Deuce’s voice was low and hard, with a lethal edge. “It’s just not personal enough. Death should be personal, don’t you think?”

Cooper dragged himself to his feet. The bullet was still in him, and the wound burned as the blood dripped down his body.

He stared into Deuce’s eyes.

Deuce smiled. “If you don’t drop your weapon, I’ll kill her right now.”

Cooper let his weapon fall.

“Good,” Deuce praised. The fingers of his left hand were wrapped tightly around Gabrielle’s throat. Too tightly. “Now walk back into your apartment. Nice and slow.”

Keeping his eyes on Deuce and ignoring the pain, Cooper retreated, walking backward into his apartment.

Deuce followed, still with that tight grip on Gabrielle. When they were all inside Cooper’s place, Deuce told Gabrielle, “Lock the door. We want to make sure we don’t have any unwanted guests.”

Cooper saw her fingers tremble as she obeyed.

He could barely contain his fury—and his fear. Deuce had been the one to kill Lockwood? McAdams? The one to attack Rachel?

“You know, perhaps I’ve been wrong all this time...” Now Deuce’s voice was considering. Mild and calm—just the way the guy was when they were playing cards.

Only this wasn’t some card game.

This was life. Gabrielle’s life.

“I thought it was better to kill the women they loved, then let the agents suffer until I put them out of their misery.” Deuce thrust the gun barrel harder against Gabrielle’s temple. “But making you
watch
while I kill her, oh, I think that is going to be even better...”

* * *

M
ERCER
GLARED
AT
Thomas Anthony. The agent was wounded, but they’d patched him up.

For the moment.

If Mercer found out that Thomas was the rogue in his group, he’d do more than just wound the guy.

I’ll destroy him.

“I’m not changing my story, Mercer,” Thomas said. The guy’s voice was even. No sign of rage or fear darkened his face. “I went to warn Rachel because I thought she was a target. When I left her, she was
fine.
”

“And why’d you think she was a target? That part, I just don’t see...”

“Rachel hauled me out of that prison camp. She stayed with me, telling me I had to fight, that I had to live, for nearly eight hours straight.” Thomas stared steadily back at Mercer. “I heard the docs saying I was a dead man. And I heard her—telling me to live. The way I figure it, I owed her.”

Mercer let his brows climb. “You owed her a knife to the chest? That was your way of saying thanks?”

Thomas’s jaw tightened. “I owed her protection. When I heard about the profiler’s theory, I knew I had to warn Rachel.”