Unexpected Destiny (Assassins and Sweethearts Book 3) (8 page)

“The mean-looking fellow was your brother?” Her eyebrows arched high.

“He was just worried about me.” If she thought his brother was mean, she’d most certainly loathe his father.

“He must hate me.” She played with the strap on her bag.

“He doesn’t know you.” He grabbed a black t-shirt and slipped it over his head.

“We don’t know each other.” She let go of the sheet as she dug through her bag. Only her elbows held the fabric and it dipped to reveal her lower back. She had the loveliest skin.

“No.” He walked over to her and dragged his touch up and down her back. “But I know this world is better with you in it and I like getting my way.”

“I’d bet you always get your way.” She turned to face him.

“You bet your sweet ass.” He claimed her lips and grabbed her butt. Damn she tasted good. He pulled back and swatted her ass. “Now, get dressed. I want us to eat before we leave.” He fetched his socks and shoes.

“Yes, Sir.”

“I do like how that sounds.” Before he let her go from his protection, he was determined to hear her say the very phrase while their clothes were coming off.

She emptied her bag on his table and appeared to be organizing her things.

“You better hurry or you can expect a spanking to come your way.” He tugged on his socks. “And stop looking at me like that.”

“You’re the one who’s talking about spanking me.” She put a hand on her hip.

“If we don’t get in front of this today, tomorrow will get ugly fast.” He slipped into and tied his shoes.

She covered her face. “Wish we could will this all away and stay right here.”

He returned to her side and pulled her close. “I need you to be brave a little longer. It will all be over soon. I promise.” He rubbed her back.

She buried her face against his chest. “You’re too good at the distraction thing, you know?” Her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of crimson.

He wished he could ask her what she was thinking but he’d asked too much of her already. “I’ve enjoyed our time together. Wish we had time for more right now.”

“Gosh, me too.” She giggled. The sound lifted his spirits but it stopped all too soon. She rubbed her face and turned to her things. After grabbing several items, she shoved the rest in her bag and swung it over her shoulder. She made her way to the bathroom, keeping her hands busy fussing with the bundle she carried. “Will you answer one question?” She kept her focus on the bathroom.

“Sure.”

“Was the bar a setup or a coincidence?”

He rushed to her. “I didn’t even look at the job particulars until after we met.” He looked away from her and focused on something across the room. When he looked back down at her, he could have sworn her eyes appeared teary, melancholy maybe. “I don’t believe in coincidences though.” He caressed her cheek. “Get dressed. We have a lot to organize today.”

The second the door closed behind her, he flew into action. He filled the bowls with cereal and placed them on the table with a set of spoons. She’d need more than just fiber and grain in her system. His focus landed on the fruit bowl. Luckily, it wasn’t empty. A couple flicks of his knife and he tossed a peeled orange on a paper towel and set it on the table too.

He fetched his phone and sent a quick text to Ethan. Liz couldn’t attend the meeting with him but maybe Nadia could keep her company. His final task was cleaning her from his place. If the other assassins didn’t know he also held a contract they would soon and, if by the off chance he was followed by them or something worse, he’d want them to get in his place and find nothing tracing her back to him or his team. He knew a couple assassins in town who utilized print scanners. Technology was making it easier and easier to track a target. If their competition knew he was helping Liz, their options for keeping her safe would dwindle. Keeping up the pretense of an assassin out to complete a contract was the only cover.

A few minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom. “You’re cleaning?”

“Just removing your prints.”

“You don’t want anyone to know I was here.” Her gaze was everywhere but on him. She even stepped back as he came toward her.

He stopped himself from reaching out to her. An ache tore through him. Here he was trying to help and he’d done nothing but cause her more pain. “Go ahead and start eating.” He pointed to the table. “There’s milk in the fridge.” He walked past her into the bathroom and hung his head. With a firm grip on the sink, he squeezed. His plan wouldn’t work if he didn’t rein in his control.

Maybe he needed to think of her as what she was, an assignment. Nothing more. He hung his head. Elizabeth was so much more. Leave it to his big brother to be right about this one. He sure as hell would never tell him as much.

****

She rolled her eyes at her stupidity. He wasn’t just removing her prints. He was removing her from his life.

A cold sweat broke out all over her skin. She jerked the edge of her t-shirt and brushed the dampness from the corner of her eye. Her situation was becoming more real. Here she thought her husband disappearing would be the worst thing to ever happen to her.

A couple weeks ago, she didn’t know what it felt like to be strangled with her own damn purse. Now, she’d seen her home violated. Seen her home, the one place she worked tirelessly to create, ripped apart. But she’d guess the worst of it all, the frozen terror that wracked through her body as she sat in the tiny and inadequate safe room, was just the beginning of what was coming.

She rubbed her chest. The hollow emptiness there left her uneasy. She no longer wanted any part of her life. There was only one thing she wanted now and countless things she wanted to walk away from. No more mourning. No more wrecked homes. No more pathetic safe places. She’d give just about anything to crawl back in bed with Aidan. With him, she felt safe and free in a zillion different ways. But it clearly was no longer an option.

Another minute ticked by and he came out of the bathroom, the rag still in his hand. Her gaze followed him as he swiftly removed all evidence she’d ever been there with him. Just like that, the most fabulous moments of her life were wiped away.

The apartment appeared the same, but something was different. It was somehow empty and less lived in than when they arrived last night. So quickly he’d come into her life and rearranged it all.

What the hell was she supposed to be doing? She turned around and found breakfast on the table. She shuffled to the fridge and hauled out the milk, poured a little in her bowl. Her focus settled on the bright orange slices in the middle of the table and she mindlessly ate.

“We’re leaving in two minutes.” He joined her at the table and poured milk into his bowl. One spoonful after another, his cereal disappeared. She attempted to keep up with him. Luckily, her bowl was almost empty when he started eating. “Times up.” He got up, taking his bowl and the milk with him. After wiping the milk jug and placing it in the fridge, he took her bowl. She grabbed one last spoonful and followed him to the sink. After he washed her bowl, he took her spoon from her and washed it too. His bowl sat unwashed on the edge of the sink.

“Should I wash your bowl?”

“Don’t bother.”

“I see.” It was okay for there to be traces of him, just not her. Not her. Her chest tightened. She couldn’t think about getting pushed out of Aidan’s life. Not now. Probably not ever.

“Let’s go. Out in the hallway and don’t—”

“I know, don’t touch anything.” She grabbed the edge of the paper towel holding the remaining orange slices and pulled them to her hand.

He grabbed the door handle with a rag-filled hand. Once she was through, he closed the door and gave the handle on the other side the same treatment. Surfaces along their way to the stairwell and up one flight received the wipe.

They stopped in front of the one door on the upper floor. Aidan pressed his thumb to a security pad and after he entered a code, the door popped open, and he held it for her. She walked in and found several desks with more monitors and keyboards facing a wall of monitors. In the middle of it all sat one man typing away. Code scrolled on the screen in front of him. “Your team is one guy?”

“One guy who’s worth a dozen.” Aidan pulled her farther into the room.

“It’s about time you got up here.” The man she saw last night was across the room pouring a cup of coffee. “I thought you were coming up here alone.” He set the carafe back in the coffee maker and then looked to Aidan. “What were you thinking? I was hoping by this morning you’d have come to your senses.”

“I think I’ll just go.” She turned to escape.

“No,” came in unison from both brothers. Aidan stepped in between her and the door. “You stay with me, remember?”

“Right.” She wished he’d take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay. Her gaze shifted to the three men in the room. All eyes were on her. Her muscles squeezed out what remaining bit of hope she thought she’d find up here.

“Look, Liz,” said Gavin. “I wish you no undeserved ill will, but—”

Aidan approached his brother. “Without our help, she has no chance of getting out of this alive. If we don’t help her, she’ll be dead in two days,” he whispered, but her keen hearing caught every damn word.

“Regardless of what you do, you might not stop that from happening.” Gavin turned to the monitors. “You’re going to get yourself killed right along with her.”

“Not helping. Good grief, Gavin.” Aidan walked to the man typing away on the keyboard. “Sam, did you find anything?”

“I did, but maybe you should help her to sit first,” Sam said.

Aidan turned to her but he seemed to be getting farther away. A fog floated over the room. She rubbed her forehead and, the next thing she knew, Aidan was holding her. His warm strength wrapped around her.

“Baby, are you okay?”

Was she? Her mouth had gone dry and her muscles seemed to have lost their ability to function. No, she wasn’t okay. The reality of her situation seemed to be mounting by the minute and if she didn’t get out of there, she’d be jeopardizing Aidan’s life too. She couldn’t process the thought of him dying because of her. Her vision turned gray and a shiver ran up her spine. “Aidan?”

Chapter
Eight

He brushed the hair from her face. The dampness of her skin concerned him. He gave a pleading look up to the heavens and then pressed his lips to her damp forehead. She’d lost her coloring awfully fast.

It was a crushing reminder. Liz wasn’t made for his life. He closed his eyes and rocked her. Considering walking away from her once she was safe was one thing, knowing he’d have to see it through was quite another. The fucking curse was shining bright.

He’d bet all he had his Grandma was right about the curse, half right anyway. Even now that he’d found his one, he wasn’t going to get to keep her. He’d known all along he wouldn’t have a happy ending. The proof was sitting on his lap.

The best he could do now was to bring her contract to a quiet end and disappear from her life. His muscles contracted. She’d walked into his life less than a day ago and somehow he couldn’t imagine a future without her in it. His heart hurt, but he prayed he’d always sense her hold on him.

“Elizabeth,” he whispered in her ear.

Her eyelashes fluttered.

“There you are.” He took a deep breath.

She struggled in his arms.

“I’ve got you. You’re just a little pale right now. How about sitting on the couch over here and I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Here you go.” Gavin handed him a full glass. “She’s not cut out for this.”

“I know.”

“She’s not the one.”

“That’s your opinion. Not mine.” Aidan raised the glass to her lips and she took a sip. “Stop pushing her buttons and mine, okay? Let’s get through this and I’ll get out.”

“It’s the only option. I don’t think you could handle being responsible for her demise.”

“Agreed,” Aidan ground out. “She deserves a nice life.” The pain in the back of his throat did little to center him. He needed a target. “Sam, tell me what you’ve found.”

“The two you tagged finally got up and left. They’re still on the move. I’ll let you know if they settle somewhere. Oh and I’ve confirmed it was the husband who bought the contract you won.”

“Reese is dead.” Liz pushed back on the couch and scooted to a half sitting position on the opposite end of the couch. “I should tell you my hearing is fine.” She rubbed her forehead and then looked directly at him.

A whole conversation passed between them. He drank in her loathing. Her hatred didn’t matter. He’d see she got through it all.

“It can’t be Reese. The police said there’s no way anyone could live with that much blood loss,” she said.

He got up and walked to Sam. “What else?”

“I followed the call pattern on Reese’s old cell.” Two lists of numbers appeared on the largest screen. “The calls on the right are almost the exact same as the list on the left except for a few numbers. I’ve highlighted them.”

“That’s my number at the top,” Liz said.

“Do you recognize the others?” Aidan asked.

“I’m not sure. They look like his work numbers though.” She squinted at the screen.

“Berk and Warner International?” Sam tapped away and the screen changed.

“Yes.” She blinked a few times.

“The second phone started making calls the night your husband disappeared. Your number hasn’t been called on the new phone or the Berk and Warner numbers from the previous phone. However.” Sam tapped away again. “I am still finding Berk and Warner numbers on the new phone. They’re just different. Most of these are overseas.”

“Those fuckers. His bosses brought me flowers after the cops found the blood.” She pushed off the couch and stomped to the screen. “They knew he was alive all along.”

Aidan looked to Sam, who caught his nod and turned the screen off.

“Pull that back up.” She turned around and glared at Sam.

“Elizabeth, come back over here and sit down.” Aidan came toward her and stopped when she backed up. “Until Sam analyzes the data, we don’t know what it means.”

“I will not sit down.” She turned back to the screen and crossed her arms. “Sam.”

“I have more,” Sam said. “Is it okay if I show you what else I found?”

“Yes,” they all said at the same time.

Liz widened her stance and cleared her throat.

“Reese Martin bought a new life insurance policy two days ago.” The document appeared before them. Liz’s name was listed as the insured and Reece’s name was listed as the beneficiary.

“Son of a bitch.” She turned, eyes wide. “That’s his fucking signature.” She pointed back at the screen.

Aidan came up in front of her and rubbed up and down her arms. “Did he buy the second contract on Liz, too?”

“No, it looks like it was purchased by an offshore company. I’m not finding much information about them.”

“Are they connected in any way to Berk and Warner?” Aidan squeezed her shoulders.

“Not that I can see yet but I have several more channels to explore before I’ll know for sure. I can tell you they appear to be some sort of gambling outfit.”

“Maybe he’s got this all wrong.” Liz said. She looked up at him. “Reese made a few bad trades but he didn’t gamble, and Berk and Warner only handle real estate.”

“That you know of.” Aidan pointed out.

“This is all about gambling?” Gavin scoffed.

“Gavin,” Aidan cleared his throat.

He held up his hands. “This could be good news.”

“How?” Liz snapped. “None of this is good news.”

“Gavin’s right. Money leaves a trail and Sam can follow it.” Aidan took hold of her hands and squeezed.

“I doubt it will be that easy.” Gavin turned and made his way to the kitchen.

Aidan kissed her knuckles. “Give us a minute.”

“Fine.” She turned back to stare at the screens.

He followed Gavin and stopped once he was a few feet away. “You don’t have to be so hard on her.”

“No, it should be your job.” Gavin poured himself another cup of coffee. “We don’t know enough about this situation to know anything for sure.”

“I was thinking about Grandmother today.” Aidan turned and checked on Liz. She hadn’t moved.

“That old kook? You have lost your mind.” Gavin turned and leaned against the counter.

“Do you remember the brownstone she lived in when we were in high school?”

“The one by the mansions with the yards, sure.” Gavin sipped his coffee.

“It’s where Liz grew up. She could have met me back then. Instead she met me last night. How do you explain it?” Aidan crossed his arms.

“I don’t explain it by throwing around words like fate.”

“I’m not sure she would have liked the Aidan from back then.” Aidan leaned on the counter and noticed his brother was watching Liz too. As gruff as Gavin could be, he wasn’t the type to ignore a person in danger. He’d always respected his brother for that and it was one of the reasons he’d followed him into this life.

“And if she fell for young Aidan the jackass, I don’t think you would have liked her much either.” Gavin chuckled. “I thought you didn’t believe in happy endings?”

“I don’t.” Whatever time he had with Liz, he was going to make the most of it. He’d only get a few days with his one and it would last him a lifetime. No way would he consider risking her life over and over. “All good things are worth waiting for, even if they can’t last. I’m not sure Grandmother was a kook.”

“It sounds nice, but then how…” Gavin stared at his coffee.

“How would we explain Vivian?”

“Our time expired like yours will with Liz or she’s not the one.” Gavin shook his head and turned away. “That’s how.”

“I don’t think your story with Vivian is done yet.”

Gavin stayed put, didn’t turn around. “Then where is she?”

“I’m not sure, Gavin, but I promise to help you find her. I need to get Liz out of this mess and then I’ll help. We’ll find her together.”

Gavin faced him, the lonely strain evident in his gaze. “We better get going to Evanston. They’ll be waiting for us.”

Aidan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. A quick look at the phone revealed a text from Ethan. Nadia would wait for them at the bar. He and Gavin made their way back to the bank of computers. “Sam, follow the money and see what you can come up with.”

“Will do,” Sam answered.

“Liz.” When she turned to him he added, “Let’s go.” He held out his hand. With each piece of news, he only wanted to keep her closer.

“We’re going to the meeting?” She put her hand in his.

“I have a meeting. You’re going to sit with Nadia.”

He kept Liz close to his side during the ride in one of Gavin’s town cars.

“Did you hear Clair’s coming to this meeting?” Gavin said without turning from the window.

“She is?” He’d hoped she wouldn’t need their help again. “I was starting to think we’d never hear from her after last month.”

“Who’s Clair?” Liz asked.

“No one you need to concern yourself with, sweetheart,” Gavin said.

Aidan cleared his throat. Gavin and his perfect timing. Damn it if his big brother wasn’t trying to cause him extra trouble.

Thankfully, when they arrived, Nadia was waiting for Liz at the bar. He properly introduced them.

“Ethan is already in the back,” Nadia said.

“Thanks.” He flagged Terry, the bartender. “Liz is a fellow beer lover. Take care of her.” He rubbed across her upper back as she positioned herself on the stool. The staff, Terry especially, had a particular talent for catching things out of the ordinary. He still didn’t like having her out of his line of sight. “I’ll be in the back room. The staff here knows what to look for. You’ll be safe and I won’t be long.” He said for her benefit and to remind himself. “You okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

He noticed her necklace. “It is beautiful.”

“I know.” She rubbed the locket between her fingers. “Go ahead. I’ll be right here when you’re done.” Liz leaned on the bar.

He nodded to Nadia and took a quick pace to their meeting room. The sooner this meeting was over, the sooner he could get Liz out of there. Ethan, Max, and Gavin were sitting at their round table when he entered. His beer of choice waited for him at the last empty seat.

“Thanks for coming.” Aidan sat and grabbed his beer, taking a quick sip. “I know we weren’t supposed to meet again until next week.”

“Aidan, if you need us, we’ll be here.” Ethan picked up his glass and tapped Aidan’s bottle.

“Did you boys start without me?” Clair sauntered into the room. “Thanks for telling me about the meeting, Gavin.” She pulled a chair from the corner to their table.

“Gavin invited you?” Aidan watched is brother.

“Sure. Well, I requested the invite since you guys are here talking about my case, right?” She sat down. “You didn’t invite me back after Ethan took care of that nasty madam. But I’m thankful you were all so eager to help again. I figured you’d want to continue working the leads.” Clair nudged her chair forward.

“Your case?” Aidan moved sideways to avoid her. Gavin still wasn’t looking at him.

“Sure. The Martins are involved somehow.” She turned to look at Gavin. “You didn’t tell them?”

Gavin tossed back his whiskey. “If we have to be involved, I think we’re better off knowing as little as possible about your cases.”

“That’s not your decision to make, Gavin.” Heat licked up Aidan’s back.

“And you know better than getting involved with clients.” Gavin glared at Aidan.

“Hold up.” Max’s deep tone cut through the dead silence in the room. “What client, Aidan? Is this the poor wife whose husband is trying to kill her?”

“She’s the one,” Ethan said.

“Hey.” Aidan tugged on his ear.

“Sorry, Nadia can’t stop talking about it.”

“Finally.” Max picked up his beer. “It’s about time you made a move on someone. Before you get yourself in a snit, I don’t count the subs you’ve played with at Keller’s place since you never play with them twice.” He took a long swig.

“Whatever. Look, can we get off the playground please?” Aidan rubbed the back of his neck. “Clair, what do you mean the Martins are involved? What does Ethan’s case have to do with Liz and Reese Martin?”

“It’s a new development. Sorry I didn’t have this information sooner. But this could be good.”

“Tell us what you know and we’ll be the judge,” Ethan said.

“Fine. The job from last month came in at the last minute and we’re just now starting to understand it all.”

“Are the girls starting to talk?” Ethan sat up.

“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “Thanks again for acting so quickly. A few of the girls are remembering details that have been quite helpful.”

“Well, I’m glad you came to us. Glad this relationship or, whatever it is, is producing some good.” Ethan swirled the remains of his drink.

She nodded.

“How does this involve the Martins?” Aidan’s head felt like it was about to explode if someone didn’t tell him something.