She abandoned her drawer and sat down on the bed. “I’m sorry. I was such a witch earlier. I just... ”
“Don’t move, Lauren,” Royce ordered sharply. “Don’t even breath.” He reached for his gun.
“What?” Lauren whispered urgently. “What’s happening?”
“I’m going to explain but do not, I repeat, do not react. Don’t move until I tell you to. Understand?” He was already closing in on her, one slow step at a time.
“Yes. Okay. Tell me!”
“There's a snake on your bed.”
***
Royce stopped in front of Lauren, but he didn’t look at her. He kept his eye on the snake, knowing it could easily be as deadly as it was unexpected. “Get ready to run. When I say to run, you get out of the apartment in case there are more snakes.”
“Yes... yes, okay.”
“I’ll count to three. One. Two. Three.” He shoved her aside and fired at the snake, but as he suspected, it moved and he missed. He grabbed a handful of the comforter and threw it over the snake and then fired over and over. He reloaded and yanked the comforter back, ready to fire, but thankfully, he didn’t have to. There was a pile of dead snake in the bed.
“Lauren,” he called, turning to find her standing in the doorway. “I told you to get out of here.” He grabbed her and started walking towards the door, getting her the hell out of here, all but dragging her to the hallway. “Are you trying to get yourself killed today?”
She held up her phone. “I was afraid you’d get bitten and seconds could mean life or death. You might be Mr. FBI, Royce Walker, but you can die just like the rest of us.”
He stared at her a moment, her words sinking in and eating away at his anger. For the second time now, she’d tried to protect him. It defied anything he’d ever experienced with a woman and he liked how that felt.
He kissed her fast and hard on the lips. “Damn, I’m crazy about you, woman. Stay here, and since you often reinterpret my words to your own definition, that means don’t move.” He turned to go back inside, when a thought stopped him dead in his tracks.
He scrubbed his face and considered a moment, before dialing Luke. “Someone left Lauren a snake for a present. I need someone over here to make sure there aren’t any more.”
“Holy fuck,” Luke grumbled. “Is it poisonous?”
“I didn’t ask it before I killed it.” He glanced at Lauren. “But if it was, this is attempted murder.”
“No,” she mouthed. “No.”
“I’ll get someone over there right now,” Luke said.
“And get Julie to bring Lauren’s work, and some clothes, to my place. Lauren is coming home with me.” He hung up.
“Murder? You think someone just tried to kill me?”
“Or scare the hell out of you.” And he was going to make the SOB pay for it, too.
“It worked. It worked really well.”
“I know, baby,” he said, reaching for her and wrapping her in his arms. “We’re going to get this asshole. You have my word. You just have to let me protect you. No more running off to lunch like you did today.”
“No more running off period. Seriously, Royce. I might be hard-headed, but I’m not an idiot. I’m going to trust you completely from now on.”
She trusted him, and his secret pact with her father was going to be the poison that killed their relationship.
Chapter Thirteen
An hour later, Royce had Lauren back at his place, and she was soaking in his bathtub, naked and trusting and everything he wanted in a woman, but just hadn’t known it. Until now. Until Lauren. And instead of being with her, showing her, telling her, he was a room away, pacing his living room while Luke lounged on his brown leather couch.
“This is absolute hell,” Royce murmured. “I’m lying to her and she trusts me. I have to talk to her.”
“Not now,” Luke said. “Not when she’s in danger. You don’t want her pushing you away and making it impossible to protect her. Besides, you left out information about her father,” Luke said, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees. “You didn’t lie. She’ll be upset, but she’ll get over it. It’s not like you slept with her best friend.”
“No. Ironically, you did.” He sat down on the arm of one of two leather chairs framing the couch, keeping an eye on the bedroom door directly across from him.
“I’ll pretend you didn’t just say that,” Luke said. “But since you brought up Julie, when I called her to have her bring over Lauren’s work, she told me that the attorney who defended Sheridan was at the restaurant today. She thought it was a strange coincidence. Apparently, the Sheridan loss spiraled into a career disaster he blames Lauren for. I’m going to see him tomorrow. I’ll send one of our guys to talk to Sheridan. A man about to be executed tends to get chatty.”
“What about Sheridan’s family?”
“There’s a brother, that’s it. I plan to check him out. There is also a woman.”
Royce’s brow inched upward. “He killed his wife. What woman are we talking about?”
“Some chick that started writing to him while he was in prison.”
“Ah,” Royce said. “Never have understood the jailhouse groupies. What’s your take on her?”
“I don’t think it’s much of a lead. She broke off contact with him some six months ago, and is even pregnant now with some other dude’s kid.”
“I’m not sure that means squat in the world we live in.”
“I’m going to check her out. But the way I see it, if Sheridan is involved, then he would probably have taken out a contract on Lauren. It’s cleaner.”
“Who says this isn’t a contract? Maybe whoever hired this guy wants Lauren played with before she’s killed. Maybe that’s why this attorney Sullivan was there today. He was watching when she got burned, eating up her fear.”
“I like it as a theory,” Luke agreed. “I’m sold on a professional for hire. This person, who I’m calling a man, but could be a woman, hasn’t made mistakes. He’s invisible, even with a camera on. He knows what he’s doing.” His cell phone rang and he answered it, his gaze going to Royce’s. “Yeah. Thanks.” He snapped the phone shut. “The snake wasn’t poisonous.”
“So, this guy’s playing with her.”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “But there’s more. The place was a regular radio shack. He’s been watching her, recording her.”
“Sonofabitch,” Royce cursed. “Don’t tell her that. She’s scared enough. I should have guessed that. I mean, he got in for the snake. He had full access.”
“We finally have a potential motive, a way the senator might fit into this,” Luke said. “Get images of Lauren undressing, or doing any number of things, and then uses them to get something from the senator.”
Royce’s jaw tensed. “Images of me with Lauren. I handed this guy ammunition, if that is even what this is about. He could be a sick bastard who’s obsessed with her, and he’s made getting to her look like child’s play.”
“Which leads me to a manpower issue. Blake’s dealing with the Rhode Island airport contract, so until he returns, I’m limited to what I can do. I need to bring one of our guys in on this. Kyle, Rick, and Daniel are free. Jesse is also free. Tommy and Daniel are both booked. Kyle dealt with the snakes and he’s a tech expert. He’s already involved.”
“Kyle,” Royce agreed. “I’ve known him for years. We worked together at the agency. He’ll keep his mouth shut.”
“Give me Rick, too. He can chase some of the pieces I’m putting together on the senator.”
“Do it,” Royce said. “We don’t have time to spare.”
The door to the master bedroom, which sat just off the main living room, and directly in front of Royce, squeaked open. Lauren stepped into the room, and damn if his cock didn’t twitch at the sight of her in his t-shirt and oversized sweats. The darn things were rolled up at the knees and hanging on her, and yet, he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her look sexier.
She wa
lked to the opposite chair and settled her hands on top. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No,” Luke said, smiling. “Nothing private in this family.” The doorbell rang and Royce didn’t miss the subtle tension that rolled through his brother, before Luke stood up. “It’s probably Julie. I’ll let her in on my way out.”
Lauren rounded the chair and sat down. “She acts just as odd when his name comes up.”
“You noticed that,” Royce said.
She nodded. “Oh, yeah.”
“Hello, hello,” Julie called, appearing with a box in hand. “I left a suitcase by the door with clothes and other important girl stuff.” She hurried forward and left the rather large box on the coffee table, then gave Lauren a once over “But then who needs clothes when you can wear Royce’s?” She laughed. “You look like a kid wearing grown up clothes.” She sat down on the couch and glanced at Royce. “You are a big ol’ boy aren’t you? Better to kill snakes, I suppose.” She eyed Lauren. “Maybe you should have him pay a visit to that angry dude Alice said visited you today.”
“What angry ‘dude’?” Royce asked, his gaze colliding with Lauren’s. “And why don’t I know about him?”
“I haven’t had time to tell you.”
“Ah, hmmm,” Julie said. “I was just trying to lighten the mood. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
“You have to make time, Lauren,” Royce growled. “Someone could well be trying to kill you.”
“Don’t, Royce,” Lauren said tightly. “Not now.”
“Now,” he insisted.
She inhaled and let it out. “He’s the brother of the woman I’m prosecuting for the poisoning. He got pretty nasty. He-”
“Name,” Royce said.
Her jaw tensed. “Jonathan Wilkins, and you’re acting like a caveman.”
“A caveman trying to keep you alive. This escalated to way beyond a few phone calls today, Lauren. Did he threaten you?”
“No. Not really. He was just very aggressive. Family members get that way, Royce. I’m used to it.”
“Did you feel threatened?” he asked.
She hesitated. “I was on edge.”
“Did you feel threatened?”
“Damn it, yes, but I told you. I was on edge. It wasn’t long after we had our little,” she stopped herself mid-sentence. “It was right after you dropped me at work.”
He pushed to his feet. “Make time to tell me these things, Lauren. One mistake, one missed clue, could be critical. I’m going to talk to Luke. Don’t open the door to anyone.” He glanced at Julie. “Knock on Luke’s door before you leave. I don’t want you walking to your car alone.” He headed for the door, not giving her a chance to answer.
“Wow,” he heard Julie say softly, but not soft enough. “He’s a big sexy, grizzly alpha of a man, isn’t he? I know how the sexy is working out for you, but how’s the grizzly alpha thing going?”
Royce didn’t allow himself to hear the answer, he couldn’t risk the distraction, or his reaction. He pushed open the door and locked it before pulling it shut, with one focus. Protecting Lauren, so that when this was over, she could scream and shout and kick him to the curb if she so wished. All that mattered was keeping her safe and alive.
***
After spending a good hour that she should have been working talking with Julie, Lauren dove into her work, ignoring the rumble of her stomach and the throb of her arm. The Advil Julie had brought her had worked for all of half an hour, so she popped some aspirin she found in Royce’s bathroom cabinet. She had to try and get some work done before she took the more powerful pain medication the doctor had given her.
She picked up the box of her work from the coffee table and walked to the large oak desk that set just off the living area, and by the kitchen door. She set it down at her feet and started pulling out her files, remarkably comfortable in her sexy grizzly alpha’s home. She smiled at Julie’s creative description, thankful for a good friend who could make a smile possible at a time like this. Lauren wasn’t sure who was more surprised, her or Julie, over just how much Lauren liked her alpha male’s alpha side.
A loud sound filled the silence of the room and Lauren jumped to her feet, her heart thundering in her ears, to scan the room. The sound clamored again and her gaze riveted to the fireplace opposite the couch, air rushing from her lungs. It was the clock above the mantel chiming. Oh yeah, she was rattled all right. She sank back to the leather chair beneath her and wished Royce would return. Being alone wasn’t all that appealing right now. She unloaded her files onto the desk, deciding work would be the best distraction, but pausing at the smaller letter-sized flat box Alice had told her about.
She sighed and snatched a letter opener to break the seal down the middle. Though she knew what the reports were supposed to say, she never took a verbal as final when headed into trial. She flipped open the double-sided lid and stared at the contents, her heart dropping to her stomach. A calendar page lay on top with today’s date marked off.
“Don’t touch it,” she whispered to herself and stood up, afraid something was going to explode or bite her or... she took off running for the door. Once she was there, she fumbled with the lock. “Damn, damn open!” It jerked towards her and she burst into the hallway, her bare feet padding on the wooden floor, as she started yelling, “Royce! Royce!”
The door down the hallway opened and Luke appeared, rushing toward her, grabbing hold of her, and pulling a gun from somewhere. “Talk to me, Lauren. What’s happening?”
“Lauren!” Royce shouted charging up the stairwell.
Lauren tore herself away from Luke and threw herself at Royce. He folded her into his big, powerful arms. “Package,” she managed to get out. “There’s a package. It was delivered to my office and Julie brought it and I opened it...”
“What’s inside?” he demanded quickly.
“A calendar page and I don’t know what else. I didn’t touch it. What does this person want from me? Why won’t they just leave me alone?”
“Where is it?” Luke asked from behind her.
Lauren turned in time to see Luke holster his gun at his ankle, under his pants. “The desk. It’s open on the desk.”
He lifted his chin at Royce. “I’ll check it out.”
“Be careful,” Lauren said. “Please be careful, Luke.”
“Careful is my middle name.”
“He’ll be okay,” Royce said, pulling her against him. “And so will you.”
Lauren melted into Royce, and for the first time in her life, she felt more secure in a man’s arms than she did on her own.
Chapter Fourteen
Thirty minutes after the discovery of the box, Lauren stood in Royce’s kitchen, staring at the twenty newspaper clippings from her various trials, all spread out on the table.
“Is there anything in all of this that rings a bell?” Royce asked. “There’s a message here. We need to try to understand what it is.”
Lauren sank down into a chair and pressed her hands to the side of her face. “Other than he’s been watching me for a long time and wants me to know, no. Nothing else comes to mind. They’re random trials over the course of years.”
“Are they all after the Sheridan trial?” Luke asked.
“Sheridan was one of my first cases,” she said. “So yes. These are all after Sheridan. As you can see, I’ve put plenty of people behind bars that probably hate me. Heck, if I get through this, there could easily be another.”
“Which is why we aren’t going to the police,” Royce said. “They won’t be much help and we don’t want to give anyone else the idea of lashing out at you.”
“Maybe this was to confuse us,” Luke said. “To give us a lot of suspects.”
“I’ve never questioned why I do what I do,” Lauren said. “Not until now. Now... I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. How do I live like this?” She laughed without humor. “This is the payment I get for putting criminals behind bars? Stalked and threatened a
nd twisted in knots? What if I had kids or siblings or a husband? I’d be terrified they’d be in danger. Maybe my father is right. Maybe this is fool’s work.”
Royce squatted down beside her. “You're one of the brave and caring people who try to make a difference in this world. There is nothing foolish about that.”
Luke cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
Lauren looked at him. “Thank you for everything you are doing, Luke. I mean that. You don’t have to help me, but you are.”
He gave her a bow. “My pleasure. And for the record, I’m with Royce. You’re brave. Stay that way. Don’t give into the monsters or they’ll take over.”
“Oh, God. Julie. What if he targets Julie?”
“I already thought of that,” Luke said. “I have her being watched.”
Lauren sighed. “Oh, thank you, Luke.”
He gave her a salute and headed out of the kitchen.
“I’m going to make you something to eat,” Royce said. “Then you’re going to take a pain pill and sleep.”
“I’m too tired to be hungry.”
“You need to eat a little something.” He kissed the tip of her nose. The phone on the wall rang and he smiled. “Some of us still use our house phones.”
“I plan to rip mine out of the wall.” The phone kept ringing. “Are you going to answer it?”
“I have a machine.” He pushed to his feet. ”And feeding you is more important. I have sandwiches and not much else though, I’m afraid.” The machine beeped. “Royce, call your mother. Why don’t you ever answer your phone?” He backed up and grabbed the receiver, before saying, “I told you I never answer this phone. You have to call my cell.”
Lauren smiled weakly, feeling a punch in her gut, a bit of envy. What she wouldn’t do to have her mother alive right now. She turned back to the table, pulling one of the clippings forward, and started reading before moving to the next.
Before she knew what was happening, Royce was sitting down next to her and there were plates on the table. “I didn’t even know when you got off the phone.”