Security Detail

Now all Kayla wanted to do was help other women so that none of them ever had to feel scared again. She knew what real fear felt like, and it had nearly crippled her—until someone had shown up to help her. That was who Conner was to her, the hero he’d been all those years ago.

She didn’t need him in her life now. Kayla was too busy being that hero to others.

* * *

Conner waited outside Jan Barton’s house. Kayla was helping her pack her things, but only after Conner had checked that the house was clear. The woman seemed nice enough, if beaten up and exhausted from a life lived in fear of her drug-addicted boyfriend. Now Conner was outside in case one of the boyfriend’s friends showed up.

The two women exited the house, and Conner followed them to the truck. If not for the lack of a suit and earpiece, he’d have looked exactly like the Secret Service agent he was. But the casual clothes Andis’s men wore meant they would never trust an expensive suit. That was Andis’s dress code, not theirs. So Conner wore jeans and a shirt, like he did on a lot of his assignments. To blend in with the riff-raff.

Conner settled in the front seat and started the engine. He glanced back at Jan, just for a second, to make sure she was all right, but without scaring her by being an overbearing male.

His gaze snagged hers. Conner looked out the front windshield again. Something was very, very wrong.

“Ready?”

Conner glanced at Kayla and put the car in Drive. “Sure.”

She frowned, probably at the fact that his smile was completely fake. But Conner couldn’t do anything else. This was the kind of person Kayla wanted to help? Conner couldn’t decide which he disliked more, Kayla’s being in the car with someone as off as Jan Barton or the fact that the sheriff brought these people to her.

“So where is this place?” If they were taking Jan to the property Kayla had bought, he needed to know where he was going.

“The motel on Fourth Street.”

“A motel?”

“For tonight. I gave Jan a phone number, and she’ll call the house manager tomorrow. That way, I’m never directly connected to the place.” Kayla smiled. “Plausible deniability.”

And yet if Andis had found out that Kayla was helping women...

His wife and daughter. Of course. Conner wanted to kick himself. Andis’s wife and daughter had “moved away” a few months ago. What if Kayla had, in fact, helped them escape? The man might have lied to save face even while he began a search for them.

Was it that search that brought Manny to Kayla’s office? Had that same hunt meant Conner had blown his cover tonight? She couldn’t have known exactly how dangerous of a man Andis Bamir was. And if she had helped them, it gave the man a reason to want her dead. Andis wasn’t bothered at all that his wife and daughter had left. In fact, it had only given him the ability to do what he did overtly instead of hiding it for their sake. If Andis felt anything, it was likely only that he’d been bested by Kayla because she had successfully helped them escape. He could want revenge.

Could he have been looking for them and kept it under the radar?

Conner needed to find a photo of Andis’s wife and daughter online and show it to Kayla. If she had helped them, it would at least solve one mystery of the evening.

Kayla walked Jan to her motel room, and the two hugged. Still, even with that display of solidarity, Conner couldn’t help thinking something about Jan Barton was...out of place. He shook off the idea. It had been a weird day for sure. Now it was the middle of the night and he needed to get Kayla home. She could get some sleep and he could sit outside in his truck and keep watch. Just in case.

After she’d buckled herself back in, Conner said, “Long day ahead of you tomorrow.”

She nodded. “I’ll have to make that statement to the sheriff and call my insurance agent, see how much work I can salvage. I back up at home, but my laptop is at the office. Maybe I’ve lost all my files from today.” She sighed. “I really didn’t need this. It’ll be expensive to rebuild.”

Conner pulled out onto the road. “I’m sure your father will help you out.”

Kayla was his only daughter, and despite her wildness as a teen, he did dote on her. More so given that her mother had passed away. Some men distanced themselves from their loved ones after a loss. Conner had seen it in others—whether the loss was death or divorce didn’t matter. It was all a type of grief to admit it was the end of what they’d thought their lives were going to be.

Kayla’s father had been no different, though he had been an excellent president. Professional. Cordial to those who worked under him. Some presidents either ignored their Secret Service agents or treated them with outright disdain. It had been nice for Conner that the first president he had served under was a man who had respect for everyone, even those who could be construed as “beneath” him.

Conner hit the highway and pressed down on the gas, eager to get where they were going.

Kayla sighed. “Is it wrong that I don’t want my father to help me?” Her voice was softer than it had been. “I mean, I’m a grown woman. If I told him what happened tonight, he would send a detail of Secret Service agents my way and insist they didn’t leave my side until the threat against me had passed.”

Conner didn’t think that was a bad idea but got the feeling it wasn’t what Kayla wanted to hear. “What do you want to do?”

“I’d like to live my own life and make my own decisions. I have to be strong enough to get through this on my own, or when a stiff wind blows through, I’ll fall over and my life will disintegrate.”

“I don’t think a lack of strength has ever been your problem, Kayla.”

She shifted in the seat. “Do you really mean that?”

Conner shrugged. “Of course.”

Kayla slumped back down in her seat. “Sure, I guess.”

“You don’t think so?” He’d seen her weather things that would have broken most people, and yet here she was. A lawyer. A beautiful woman who could hold herself together when her office was burning and people were coming after them. Why couldn’t she see that?

“You of all people know that what we show the world is usually not what’s underneath the surface. No one wants to know the dark things, the parts of us that are terrified to show themselves.”

She thought there was darkness in her? “Kayla—”

“Don’t worry about it, okay? I do what I can for women who need help, and I like my job. I make a small difference, but it’s still a difference.” She glanced out the window. “It just has to be enough for me. That’s what I’m struggling with.”

Conner frowned. Perhaps it was fatigue making her doubt herself. He didn’t see where she got the idea she didn’t do enough. His whole existence right now consisted of pretending to be a bad guy—which meant he had to do bad things so they wouldn’t figure him out—all for the chance to catch a real bad guy. He wasn’t a force for good in the world, just justice.

Lights in his rearview mirror.

Conner switched the angle down so they didn’t glare in his eyes and distract him.

The lights moved to the left and shone in his wing mirror. Some guy with a problem. Conner slowed a little and moved to the side of his lane so the person could pass if he wanted to. But he didn’t.

The vehicle sped up, close enough to clip their back left bumper, and then backed off. Then sped up again.

Now they were on the right side.

“Not good.”

“What?” Kayla shifted to face him. “What is it?”

“Just some idiot tailing us. Probably kids having fun with a lone truck on the highway.” But he didn’t believe it. After the night they’d had, there was no way it was a coincidence.

FOUR

Months ago a group of teens had tailed a woman on this highway, late at night. They’d taunted her before they ran her off the road. She’d hit a tree and suffered major injuries but didn’t remember anything except that they’d driven a truck and jeered as they drove past her.

Kayla glanced back. The truck behind them could be the same truck of kids who’d hurt that woman. It was all she needed after her office was set on fire, and she’d had a long day before that happened. Now it was nearly midnight and she was exhausted.

Conner, on the other hand, was dressed like he lived for the rush of a late-night car chase. It was a far cry from the suits she was used to seeing him in, but it kind of worked. In a serious bad-boy way.

Kayla was in trouble—in more ways than one.

The truck burst forward and slammed into their back bumper. Kayla screamed and grabbed the dash of Conner’s considerably older vehicle. It would crumple under the newer, heavy-duty truck right behind them. Nearly on top of them.

“They’re coming again!”

Conner gripped the wheel, his eyes intent. “Hold on.”

“I am! What are you going to do?” She looked back. The truck had backed off, but it wouldn’t be long before it came at them again. Could they outrun a more powerful truck? Kayla tried to remember if there were any side roads they could pull off onto. If so, they might escape, or the other truck could simply follow them. Stop them. Hurt them. Kill them.

The engine revved.

Kayla’s knuckles turned white on the dash. Conner’s truck jerked forward and he let off the gas. Metal scraped against metal. The tires caught on the road again, and he put his foot down. He drove like this was a mental exercise—a game of chess. They were either the king or simply pawns expendable in the grand scheme of the game. Kayla had never liked chess. She was much better with five-thousand-piece puzzles.

What was in Conner’s head? He had to have a plan. He was a Secret Service agent. Only this threat was against both of them—not just her. Kayla flipped the glove box open to see if there was a gun. It was stuffed with papers, and took two tries to get it closed again.

“You don’t need a weapon.”

“What about a phone? Mine is dead, remember? Give me yours and I’ll call for help.”

He shifted and dug it out of his jeans pocket.

“What’s your handler under in your contacts?” Locked. “Wait...first give me your passcode.”

“Call 911, Kayla.”

She’d rather have a team of trained Secret Service agents, not the sheriff. Though the sheriff could probably get here faster. She’d seen the Secret Service in action so many times, but she hadn’t wanted them there to protect her earlier. Not when it had been only her in danger. They were way past that now. For the second time that night, their lives were at risk.

Kayla pushed aside the questions that swirled in her mind—questions about why his phone was off-limits to her—and used the emergency feature to call for help.

No ringing sound.

She looked at the screen. Had the call connect—

Slam.

The truck lurched and Kayla dropped the phone. She needed two hands to hold on, or the next time they were hit, she’d slide out of her seat belt.

Kayla had no intention of dying tonight.

She checked behind them. The truck was neck and neck with them, and she could see a man inside. “It’s not teenagers.” She reached down and snapped up the phone. The call was still connected. “Hello?” Nothing. She tapped the screen. “Why is this thing not working?”

Conner gripped the wheel. “It’s Andis’s lieutenant. Manny.”

“Manny.” The man looked mean and was dressed...kind of the way Conner was. “So you know who he—Wait. That’s who was in my hallway, wasn’t it?” When Conner didn’t answer, she said, “Can’t you tell him to back off?”

“He’s not going to back off. And no, it was one of his buddies earlier. He was probably outside. Now he’s too busy trying to run us off the road so he can shoot us,” he said through gritted teeth. “Manny must have followed us from your office and waited until now to try again.”

“Give me your gun. I’ll shoot out the window and get him to back off.” The truck was on Conner’s side, but she could make it work.

He didn’t. “You’re not shooting a gun right by my face. And you aren’t going to hang out the window.”

Okay, so she hadn’t thought it through all the way. What was wrong with winging it? This was a crazy situation. “So you shoot at him then.”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard so far.” He pulled his gun out. “Grab the wheel.”

Kayla’s hand darted out and she took hold of the steering wheel. He rolled the window down with the handle and air blew in. It dried out her contacts so that she had to blink moisture back over her eyes. Kayla held her breath as Conner fired off shot after shot.

The boom was so loud. It had been forever since she’d practiced with a weapon she’d forgotten it was that loud.

“Kayla!”

She glanced out the front window of the truck. The road bent to the left. She pushed the wheel toward Conner’s door and they careened around the corner so fast the truck started to tip over.

Conner pulled his hand back in and the other vehicle backed off. Conner’s truck scraped Manny’s all down the side. He grabbed the wheel and she let go. But Manny didn’t leave them alone. The truck angled into the back left side and clipped them.

Conner fought the spin, both hands on the wheel. The old truck shuddered and lost traction and they started to slide. Kayla screamed. She scrabbled around by her feet for the phone.

The truck was being pushed, forced off the road.

“He’s going to kill us!” That was the point, but she didn’t have to like it. They were going to die. The other truck would ram them one too many times and they’d flip. Conner’s truck would crumple under the impact—with Conner and Kayla inside. There probably weren’t even any air bags.

The sheriff would find them off the road, truck upside down. Bleeding. Dead.

Kayla tried to rein in her tendency to look at the catastrophic outcome first, but it was too hard. Things were bad. Really, really bad. They probably weren’t going to make it. She was going to die in a truck with Conner Thorne and he’d never even know how much she’d cared for him for so long.

He’d been the light in her days. When she’d felt alone, he was in all the sweet memories she’d drawn up. On those dark days when she’d needed to feel the peace his presence brought, thinking of him had comforted her. Sure, he’d frustrated her to no end, and he’d never called. But he’d been it for her. She’d tried to date other guys, but no one had ever come close to even the dream of what could have been with him. All that stuff about wanting someone who didn’t know her was baloney. She wasn’t even looking for anyone else.

The truck jerked and her forearm slammed down on the dash. Kayla screamed and lost her hold on the phone. It fell down by her feet and slid under the seat. Help. God, help us.

The truck jerked again, and they spun more. Off the side of the road and down a ravine. The truck hit a dip. Dirt sprayed and they lifted up. Airborne. Stars winked down at her as they rattled around in the cab, trying not to slam heads. Conner’s face hit the steering wheel.

Kayla gripped the door handle, but it was no use.

The tree came out of nowhere. The truck slammed into it, and pain exploded through Kayla like a firework.

* * *

Conner blinked. He lifted a shaky hand to touch his face. His head pounded like a kick drum, and his hand came back wet with blood from his nose. The truck. He hated this truck anyway. The truck was probably almost totaled now, but he was alive.

Conner shifted. The movement sent pain shooting through his skull. Kayla was slumped in the corner against the door. Hair had fallen over one side of her face, and blood matted the blond strands against her skin. What breath Conner had left got caught in his throat. She was so pale she almost looked...

He pressed two fingers to the skin beneath her jaw. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Low but steady. His body sagged and he moved his hand to touch her cheek. “Kayla.” She needed to wake up. She had to open those eyes, those swirling blue depths that made him want to pull her close and draw strength from the way she looked at him. He needed to see her smile. The way her lips curled up and made it feel like the world melted away.

Conner had been undercover so long, starved for genuine conversation or real affection. Having Kayla here was like an oasis in the desert—but weren’t those always the mirages of weary travelers? Dreams but not real. Just like the relationship he’d never have with Kayla, because he could never confess his feelings to her and keep her safe. This time together was a gift, but it wasn’t their life. And it would be over soon.

Headlights lit the cab of the truck from behind. Conner glanced one more time at Kayla and then pulled out his gun.

Manny’s truck stopped beside them, six feet of grass separating the two vehicles. Would he simply roll the window down and shoot them? Conner had to play this the right way, though he figured his cover was shredded now. Manny probably thought Conner was betraying them. He had to shift the man’s focus. This had to be all about Kayla and who they had been to each other years ago. The only hope of keeping them alive was to make this about a woman and not about threatening Andis’s business.

Kayla had implied to the sheriff that there was some kind of relationship between them, and he could do the same with Manny. Andis likely already knew he and Kayla were acquaintances, but not that Conner hadn’t seen her again until tonight. If they thought Conner was starting a relationship with her, then he’d seem like he was just distracted, not working against them. Only interfering in Andis’s activities—like warning her they were on their way—could get him in trouble.

It was the dance of every undercover assignment. Balancing who knew what and how much of the truth was necessary to strengthen the lie that was his whole life. He had to be the man the Secret Service had portrayed him as, the disgraced agent willing to share what he knew about counterfeit money in order to solidify his place as a bad guy.

Kayla would never know what it had meant to him to see her tonight. For her to realize the truth his own Secret Service colleagues couldn’t know. Everyone he used to work with thought he’d been fired for misconduct. There was only one man in the Secret Service who knew Conner still worked for them—his handler, Greg.

A door slammed.

Conner looked at Kayla again and pulled on the handle.

Manny rounded the hood of his truck. Armed. If this didn’t go right for him, it was going to go even worse for Kayla.

Her father wasn’t doing well. Conner had asked his handler for updates after he’d read in the paper about a hospital stay for the former president. If Kayla was hurt—or worse—it wouldn’t be good for the old man. Then again, it wouldn’t be good when he found out his daughter was facilitating a battered-women’s shelter either. Sure, she helped women and children feel safe, but Kayla had never once backed down when it was a fight she could win. He’d had that conversation with her father what felt like a lifetime ago now, and they’d agreed her stubbornness would get her in trouble one day.

Now it looked like that day had arrived.

“Let’s go, Thorne. Andis will want to speak to you.”

“Who says I’m going in? I have something to take care of first.” Conner waved at the truck.

“Don’t worry about that. She’s coming, too. Andis wants to talk to her, and you’d better be ready to explain why you spooked Pete. He tore out of that building so fast. Said you shot at him... Like, what on earth, man? You weren’t supposed to be part of this.”

“Part of what? Burning down a lawyer’s office? She doesn’t even represent criminals. And I didn’t shoot first—Pete did.”

“Being a lawyer isn’t what Andis wants with her.” Manny pulled out his gun. “And I wasn’t asking.”

“You could’ve killed both of us.” He motioned behind him to the truck, where Kayla was still passed out. “You wanna explain how breaking into her office escalated to burning us out and trying to kill us?”

“You shouldn’t have interfered. Pete freaked,” Manny huffed. “The idiot decided to smoke you both out, so he got Earl on it. They figured you were there to get to the info faster and you’d be the one who’d give it to Andis instead. So the two of them caused a scene that’s going to take days to iron out with the police.”

Conner had wondered if Andis had some kind of arrangement with the local cops. Maybe not the sheriff himself. It could be someone who worked for him who was paid to look the other way, like the dispatcher who hadn’t reported the fire. It was hard to be a good criminal with too many honest cops hanging around, and Andis wasn’t above much—least of all bribery.

Manny lifted his chin. “So you can either tell me what that was about, or I can shoot you and tell Andis whatever I want. Kayla Harris goes to him either way.”

“Not without me.”

“Back off, Thorne.”

“You don’t touch Kayla Harris. No one does. Whatever Andis wants, I’ll get it for him.”

The sound of Kayla’s screams still echoed in his ears. He was supposed to protect her, to give his life to save hers. Every second for the rest of his life, he would remember that feeling, that split second when he wondered if today was the day he would fail in his duty.

Conner folded his arms across his chest and said nothing.

“So you have betrayed us for a woman.” Manny’s laugh held no humor. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

“I haven’t betrayed anyone.”

“No, it’s more like sold us out.” Manny motioned to the truck with his chin. “She worth it?”

“We’re not talking about this. What does Andis want with her?”

Manny’s eyes flashed. For a second Conner saw an edge. Did he want to kill her, or did he want Kayla for something else? It seemed like he had a personal stake with Kayla, but how could that be? She was nothing to Manny but a job.

“She and I knew each other in the White House.” Conner’s tone suggested they were imbeciles for not having figured that out themselves. “Kayla and I go way back.” Conner jerked his shoulder in the direction of his truck.

“Fine. Andis wants her brought in.”

Conner didn’t much care for Manny’s tone. He needed to stake his claim. It was the only way these guys would accept his bone-deep need to keep her safe. Conner needed to at least try to remain in good standing with these guys and their boss if he was going to complete this assignment. Then he could get back in good standing with his boss at the Secret Service.

It meant everything to him that Locke knew he wasn’t a disgraced agent.

Or it had. Until he walked into Kayla’s office and saw her again.

Men like Manny and Andis understood possession. They understood lines men didn’t cross, though often knowingly crossed them. The consequences would be real, and Manny knew that, too. Kayla was off-limits whether they were having a relationship or not. Manny, any of Andis’s men and the boss himself had to know that this business didn’t touch Kayla. There was no way he would let her get involved, even if she’d already done something inadvertently.

He stepped closer to Manny. “Kayla isn’t going anywhere but with me.”

It was a risky game, pushing Andis’s number two. Conner was under him as far as the hierarchy was concerned, but they all knew what it was like being tied up in knots by a beautiful woman. Even bad guys fell in love. And it didn’t matter what they thought about him being caught by her; it only mattered that they believed he’d fight for her.

Because he would.

Manny’s gaze darted over Conner’s shoulder. The truck door opened, then slammed shut.

Kayla.

“Conner?”

Conner didn’t turn. Instead he watched Manny’s eyes flare. He saw the man shift his stance, reacting to Kayla’s presence in a way Conner didn’t like at all. Manny glanced at Conner. “She’s coming with me.”

Conner stepped toward her. “I’m not going to let that happen.”