Protected By The Enemy (Hacienda Heights Book 2) Page 6

  Half-past midnight, the phone buzzed and skittered a few inches away from my hand. I snatched it up at once and brought it to my ear. “What took you so long?”

  Mina muttered expletives over the speaker like the lyrics to a rap song.

  “I’ve actually been called worse, and by you,” I said dryly.

  Mina let out another muttered curse before a sigh rattled in my ear. “Sorry, that wasn’t aimed at you. Something came up at dinner. I didn’t even make it out of the ballroom before I had to leave.”

  “It’s fine. There will be other nights. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

  And with any luck, we could rent a hotel room. I didn’t trust the security at Hustlers and her home was entirely unguarded. Taking her back to my place was an obvious bust, so we’d have to find another place to meet.

  And if we happened to fuck, so much the better.

  “Why was he there?” she groaned.

  “Who?”

  “Keenan.” She spat the word like a curse and accompanied it with a kitten-like sound of rage. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, I’d probably have laughed.

  “He was there? Why? I thought he was shooting in Canada this week.”

  “So did I! But he was there, along with the Senator and my mother. Neither one of them seemed to recognize me, thank God, but it was still shitty luck that Keenan did. I had to cut my time with Gideon short again. It’s incredibly unprofessional. And there was a solid minute there where I thought Keenan was going to toss me over the balcony and smash me flat as paper. I told you he had something to do with all of this. How else do you explain his appearance there?”

  “Bad timing.” The larger part of me hated how easily Harvey’s name dripped from her lips. Thinking of him made me want to smash things. “Where are you?”

  “On route to my apartment. This asshole hasn’t stopped riding my tail since I left.” There was a short beat of silence and then Mina asked in a small voice, “Do you think I’m being followed?”

  A punch of fear in my gut had me standing up and pushing away from the bar. In the Hacienda Heights traffic, it would be hard to tell for sure. But I couldn’t discount the possibility.

  “Listen to me very carefully, Mina, and follow my instructions to the letter. Take the next left turn. Go about a block and make another left turn. And another left after that. If the car is still following you after that, tell me and we’ll figure out what to do from there.”

  My heartrate picked up, beating a tattoo against my ribs. The best thing I could do for Mina was to remain calm. Shouting at her wouldn’t do the situation any good, nor would bolting to my Escalade to track her down. My hand curled around the phone so tightly the frame threatened to crack. But I kept my voice level when I spoke again. “How many lefts did you take? Are you still being followed?”

  “Three.” Mina’s swallow was audible on the other side of the phone. “And the car’s still there. What do I do now?”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. I should have followed my instinct and followed her to the party this evening. My mind flashed back to her kidnapping in Morocco. I should have been with her then as well. Life had a way of conspiring to steal Mina away when I was otherwise engaged.

  If I’d followed her, the worst outcome I could have expected was being spotted and ousted by Mason’s security. It wouldn’t have surprised the old man that I was spying on him. After all, he was forcing me to the altar at metaphorical gunpoint. It made perfect sense that I’d try to get out of it.

  Someone was following Mina, and I was miles away, unable to help. It would only take one good push to send her car spinning into oncoming traffic, wounding or killing her in the process.

  “Where are you?”

  “What, you didn’t put a tracker on me this time?” she shot back, irritation audible in her voice.

  I grimaced at the receiver. “Is this really the time to get pissy about that? The tracker saved your life. And yes, I placed another beneath your car when I was at your place of business.”

  Mina snorted. “I knew it. Fine, stalker extraordinaire. I’m halfway to my apartment. Should I continue home?”

  “No. But don’t stop moving. You may have already alerted them you’re aware they’re behind you. I want you to pull off at the nearest store and pretend you have an errand to run inside. What’s nearest to you?”

  “There’s a Wal-Mart in five miles. Or a gas station in two.”

  “Get to the Wal-Mart. A gas station won’t have enough witnesses. Pull off at the supercenter and exit the vehicle in the no parking zone. Wait for me in the frozen foods section.”

  Mina let out a soft laugh. “Why the frozen foods section?”

  “There’s always a parade of people getting ice cream. You won’t be alone. If someone follows you through the store before I get there, make a scene. Draw as many eyes as you can.”

  “Okay.” She paused. “How are you so good at this, Logan?”

  I slapped a twenty onto the bar to pay for my soda and the bartender’s time, and stalked toward the exit, nearly bumping into a stocky man who’d just entered. By the time I reached my SUV, Mina had repeated her question.

  “Katherine has had two stalkers. I took care of both of them before going to serve overseas. This is all pretty standard. If we both survive to see the end of this clusterfuck, I’ll give you a fucking masterclass in it. In the meantime, I want you to brush up with your self-defense skills.”

  If I had my way, I’d crack the skull of whoever was fucking with Mina.

  “I have been. I’ve been to several classes since we got back from Morocco.” The sound of traffic came over the speaker when she paused. “This has to stop, Logan. Once this whole mess blows over, this tracking business stops. I’m not your stray poodle and I’m not some errant child. You need to give me the benefit of the doubt for once.”

  I pushed the accelerator flat to the floor and shot out into the evening traffic. It was thankfully thinner than when I’d parked at the bar, but there were still too many cars between myself and Mina for my peace of mind. I wasn’t going to relax until I had her tucked safely in my arms, until I could feel the delicate satin of her skin and bury my face in the downy softness of her hair.

  “You really think this is the time to hash out our relationship issues, Mina?”

  “There is no relationship to speak of at the moment,” she snapped, “as you’re engaged, and I don’t date taken men.”

  My hands tightened on the steering wheel and I received an angry honk from the car next to me as I wound around it, cutting ahead in traffic.

  “Fucking hell, Mina. There’s passive-aggressive, and then there’s this. You only seem to want to discuss things when you’re in danger. Do I have to dangle you over a cliff to get you to talk about your feelings? Believe me, if there was a way, I’d make you mine in a fucking instant. But as we’re living in reality, we have to make things work. Get to the damn Wal-Mart and call me when you’re standing next to the Rocky Road. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  I hung up without giving her a chance to argue. She could tear me a new one as soon as I got her to a secure location.

  Fixing my phone into position on the dash, I brought up Mina’s location on my phone, praying this was a coincidence. I knew in my gut that it was something more. My instincts screamed that someone was after her. I needed to be with her, to put my body between hers and what was coming. My failure to protect her had plastered bruises all over her ivory throat. The mottled yellow bruises she’d hidden with a scarf, a reminder that I’d let her down.

  I wasn’t going to let the same thing happen this time. If someone was coming for her, they’d have to come through me first.

  Chapter Nine

  Mina

  I could taste my pulse, beating fast at the back of my throat. The headlights of the car following me were close, bouncing reflections from my rearview mirror right into my eyes. Bright spots flashed across my vision as I tried to squint past the glare
to the car behind me. Its sleek lines looked expensive. Glossy red, with the distinctive BMW logo sticking up from the hood.

  Someone was after me, and I wanted to know who. Knowing could solve this whole mystery.

  Traffic flowed almost nonstop down the main road. The side street coming up led to a residential area, and traffic tended to thin there at night. I took that route sometimes when I wanted a scenic view. The turnkey homes overlooked a small valley dotted with wildflowers. I’d considered moving there more than once, but Heather and I adored the penthouse and couldn’t break the lease on it for at least another year.

  I could practically feel Logan’s tirade being composed as I pulled off the main road onto the less-traveled street. But I had to know. I’d feel like a nut for dragging him all the way across town to address a concern that wasn’t valid. After I turned the corner, I gripped the steering wheel, holding my breath.

  The BMW followed, turning onto the street with the creeping pace of a monster in a horror film.

  The breath rushed out of me in a shaking exhale. Oh God, oh God, oh God. They really were following me.

  I craned my neck, trying to catch sight of the driver again or, failing that, trying to spot a license plate on the front bumper. I couldn’t see much beyond the beams.

  I had only passed a few houses when the car behind me floored it, accelerating past me in a move worthy of The Fast and the Furious. I braked hard and jerked the steering wheel to the right, afraid I was about to be rammed. I caught the glimpse of a woman’s profile in the driver’s seat before my tire slipped off the edge of the road and my heart lurched into my throat. I spun the wheel hard to correct my mistake, but too late.

  The back half of the car slid over the edge of the road. For a few seconds, I was in a freefall, watching the earth rushing up to greet me. The impact jarred every bone in my body, rattling me like a coin in a tin can. The airbag deployed and my head snapped back and hit the headrest hard. Black spots danced in my vision, and the last thing I registered before inky darkness spilled over my eyes was the fat blossom of a sunflower popping through the shattered glass of my window.

  Dragging my eyelids open felt like a Herculean effort of strength. Every inch of me hurt. What exactly had I been doing? It felt like I’d gone several rounds with a prizefighter and lost the match.

  A second later, recall crashed into me. I’d turned into a neighborhood to avoid the car following me. I’d totaled my car, launching off the edge of a ravine and into the valley below.

  A warm hand smoothed over my cheek and I leaned into the broad, calloused grip on instinct. Logan. Logan was here. I blinked my eyes, trying to bring him into focus. I needed to tell him what I’d seen. If the driver had been the one trying to kill me, then I had big news. My blackmailer wasn’t Keenan. Or at the very least, he wasn’t alone.

  The words died on my tongue when my vision cleared and I got a good look at my visitor.

  Gideon. It was Gideon leaning over my bed, not Logan.

  “What are you doing here?” I croaked, my voice thick and hoarse. My throat stung like I’d suffered a bad cold. Had they forced a tube down my throat? How badly hurt was I?

  Gideon’s earnest eyes warmed and he brushed a thumb across my cheek. “Hey there. I’m glad you’re awake. The doctors said your concussion wasn’t severe, but I was still worried. You’ve been unconscious for a while.”

  I tried to sit up, and my head felt like someone had taken a mallet and cleaved my skull in two. Lightning shot through my limbs and tore a groan from my throat.

  Gideon pressed me gently back into the nest of pillows. The room spun into a blur of blue walls and off-white tile. I reached for the basin by my bed, just in case. It took a few seconds for the world to right itself and the desire to throw up to pass.

  “You left your coat in my car,” he said by way of explanation, giving a shrug and a shy smile. “Heather was listed as your emergency contact and she’d gotten the call a minute before I arrived at Hustlers to leave it for you. She’s here. She stepped out to get us some breakfast from the cafeteria. We weren’t sure when you were going to wake up.”

  Well, his explanation was something at least. But it didn’t answer the question burning in the back of my mind. Where was Logan? Had he tracked my car and found it in the ravine? I’d been dragged out of the wreck sometime within the past several hours. For a man as well-connected as Logan, finding me in a hospital had to be a cinch, didn’t it?

  “Help me up?” I couldn’t lay in this hospital bed for much longer. Everything was going to hell and I needed to be out in the world to fix it. The ransom demand still hung heavy over our heads, and I hadn’t done my part to earn the money it would take to remove the threat. I hadn’t acquired the information I’d been sent for, and I’d wrecked my car in the bargain.

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Gideon hedged. “Maybe we should wait for the doctor.”

  “Please?”

  Gideon’s face softened and he acquiesced without much cajoling. Placing one strong arm behind my back, he helped me into a sitting position with more care and gentleness than I thought I’d ever experienced. The pain that spiderwebbed into my limbs was only a fraction of what I’d experienced before, and I swallowed back the resulting bile easily.

  “I really am glad you’re alright,” Gideon murmured. “When I got the news, I was frantic. They told us you only have a few minor cuts and some deep tissue bruising, and the concussion. You should be right as rain in a week or so.”

  I didn’t have a week or so. My gaze slid to the door. Only a sliver of light filtered in from the hall, my room was blissfully dim and quiet. Still, I didn’t want anyone to be able to eavesdrop.

  “Gideon, I appreciate the effort but you don’t have to pretend here. I’m not Hannah. We don’t have anyone to act for.”

  He nodded gravely. “You’re right. And I’m not acting. I really do care about you, Mina. I’ve been trying to find a way to ask, but this seems as good a time as any.”

  Gideon seized my chin and tipped my face up, pressing his lips over mine. His lips were warm and molded easily to my own as his full, supple mouth tested mine. His lips were so much like Logan’s that, for a confused second, I was convinced he was in the room with me. I must have hit my head harder than I thought.

  Gideon threaded a hand into my hair, his tongue gliding across my lower lip, seeking entry. My mouth parted in surprise and he pressed forward, taking full advantage. His tongue traced mine, coaxing me into a rhythm that was unfamiliar but exhilarating. And for a few seconds, I couldn’t think, just acted.

  His nails scraped along my scalp, sending pleasure tingling down my spine until my toes curled and my breath came too fast. He might have felt a little like Logan, but he was my client. I slid my hands up to his shoulders, and it took a concerted effort to push him away. The long, intoxicating kiss was probably the second-best thing I’d felt in a long time.

  Gideon didn’t press, but took a step back from me, gauging my reaction.

  What the hell had that been? Well, what it had been was pretty damned nice. And if he hadn’t been my client and my mind wasn’t bombarded with thoughts of Logan every half minute, and I weren’t receiving death threats, I’d probably encourage it. Gideon was powerful, attractive, and a nice guy. But he wasn’t Logan.

  The anger came back in full force. Why did this feel like cheating? I didn’t owe Logan anything. God knew, he was probably screwing Phoebe Mason on the side. What was stopping me from engaging in a little good-old-fashioned stress relief?

  Well, at the moment, a concussion and deep tissue bruising. And the shadow of an ex-lover whom I was unlikely to ever have for more than a trist.

  “Gideon, I can’t,” I breathed.

  “I know.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Not while we’re working together. Hustler House rules, right?”

  I’d thoroughly dashed them by this point. I’d been sleeping with Logan for half the Morocco trip and most of t
he way back. If I wanted to indulge, there wasn’t much more I could do to hurt my credibility in front of my girls. But it was as good an explanation as any.

  I forced a smile. “Yes, I have a contract to maintain. And I don’t think the hospital would appreciate us christening one of their beds.”

  Gideon’s answering smile was impish. “But after?”

  I chewed my lip, stalling for time. I wouldn’t have an after if I didn’t solve our blackmail situation. But what if, in that hypothetical future, I crawled out from beneath the threats? Then what? I wasn’t sure how to pick up the pieces that Logan had left behind. Any relationship I started was probably doomed to a messy end. But would it be so bad to be with Gideon? We got along. And the relationship would be simpler than whatever I had with Logan.

  “Maybe,” I said. It was the best I could offer him.

  “I can live with maybe.” He squeezed my hand. “Do you need help? Should I get the doctor?”

  “Yes, I think that would be for the best.” The sooner I was released, the better. I needed pain meds and a good night’s sleep before I tackled this fresh hell. “But first, help me to the bathroom.”

  Gideon cupped my face once more in his broad hands before helping me to my feet. I swayed dangerously and he wound an arm around my waist, pulling me into his chest. His lips pressed to mine for a warm, gentle kiss. “Think about it, alright?”

  “About what?” A deep growl demanded from the doorway.

  Logan stood haloed in the entryway to my room, face glowing with righteous fury. There was murder in his eyes when he glared at Gideon Harvey.

  Shit.

  Chapter Ten

  Logan

  The flashing of the blue police lights were burned into my retinas as I raced into Whittier Hospital.

  I should have told her to stay on the main road.