Guarding Kelsey ((Books We Love Romantic Suspense)) (29 page)

“Name one?”

“Your father’s private investigator
.
.”

“Their business might have
nothing to do with the family
.
It isn’t uncommon for someone in my father’s position to run routine background checks on companies or clients.
If the man had incriminating information about my uncle don’t you think he would have come forward when my father was killed?”

He couldn’t convince her. “
You aren’t leaving this condo without a vest.”

“A what?”

“A bullet proof vest.
I have one in the trunk of my car.”

“It’s not necessary. Even if my uncle was involved in something illegal he wouldn’t hurt me
.”

“He might not get his hands dirty but…”

“Richie? Even less likely.”

“You’re wearing the damn vest anyway.”

She cleared the dishes from the table and neatly stacked them in the dishwasher.
Having made her decision, she seemed almost calm.
Maybe too calm.
With all that had gone down in the last few days, he was afraid she was numb. She didn’t care what happened to her.
He’d seen it before in murder cases involving family members.

Well, he cared what happened to her.
He wasn’t about to lose her now.
He came up in front of her and circled his arms around her waist.
She didn’t pull away although she seemed surprised.

He flicked his tongue across her lips.
She smiled and opened her mouth to receive his kiss.
Her surrender was sweet.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
What began as a ploy to divert her attention was rapidly backfiring.
He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and make love to her, damn the outside world.
When it came to seduction, Kelsey was a powerful adversary.
Before he lost control of the situation, he pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. Did she have to look so pleased with herself?

Kelsey sighed and grabbed hold of the counter for support.
As distractions went, he had managed to clear her thoughts for a few delicious minutes.
She was relatively sure he had hoped to accomplish more.
“That’s the first time you’ve done that.”

“Done what?”

“Initiated a kiss.”
She rested her hand on the side of his face. “You’re not going to change my mind.”

“Did I say anything about changing your mind?”
She wasn’t fooled by the innocent tone of his question.

“It’s not what a man says, but what he does that defines his motives.”
Her father used to tell her that all the time, but she never fully understood what he meant until now.
She appreciated Wolf’s attempt to influence her, even enjoyed it, but she had allowed herself to be manipulated by other people for too long.

Uncle Daniel had claimed he was taking care of the business for her, but what he had done was keep her outside the loop.
If he’d had something to hide, she might have picked up on it sooner if she had been more involved in the daily running of the business.

Wolf locked his fingers through hers and led her towards the study.
“All right, tough girl.
Let’s sit down and relax for a while.”

Relax?
Was he serious?
She wanted it over.
She had a solid lump lodged in her throat that made swallowing difficult.

Wolf wasn’t much better.
He was so preoccupied that he drew his weapon when the door chimes rang.
He expelled an audible sigh of relief when he saw his partner standing outside the door.

“
Am
I glad to see
you?
What have you got?” Wolf asked before even saying hello.

Kelsey elbowed him in the side.
“Good morning Detective Martinez.
Won’t you come
in?
”

“Thank you.”
He stepped inside.
“I was hoping some of your manners had rubbed off on him this week.”

“I’ll say it all in a Hallmark tomorrow,” Wolf groused.
“Just tell me you have some good news today.”

Martinez glanced at Kelsey as if reluctant to talk in front of her.
“Can we
.
.”

“Forget it.
Anything you have to say, you can say in front of me.”

Wolf nodded.
He knew by now, she wasn’t going to be persuaded to back away.
She was in too deep.

“First of all, Strotski’s investigation involved tenants in several of your father’s buildings.
He wasn’t sure what your father was looking for.
His job was to check certain properties and, and if they were occupied, discretely find out when the tenants moved in.”

“Why not check the leases?” she asked.

Martinez shook his head.
“There could have been some discrepancies.
Your father never said.
He thanked Strotski, and since the man was already paid, that was the end of it.”

“Not much to go on there,” Wolf said.

“Which leads to our next problem.
And a poten
tially dan
gerous one.
Father and son
left the house right after the call to Kelsey
.”

“Are
they
in the area?”

“I don’t know.
T
hey got into separate cabs
.”

Why didn’t they
t
a
ke
their own car?
They were creating a diversion.
Wolf didn’t like the set up.
How could
he protect her if they were both involved. One or both could be heading for
the building.
And Wolf wanted
Kelsey out before they arrived
?

“We have to move her
now
.”

Kelsey threw her hands up. “
It won’t solve anything.
It just
prolongs this misery
.
Let him find me.”

“You could get hurt.”

“He’s my uncle
, Wolf.
Even if he is guilty of stealing he’d never hurt me
.
It’s not like I’d have him arrested.”
Could sh
e say the same about her cousin
?
His
contempt for her hovered just below a practiced façade. How did the Carlyle
men
really
feel about her plans to liquidate the company a
nd give it to charity?

“
I’m going to be with you every minute.”

She shook her head.
“He knows who you are, what you are.
Do you think he is stupid enough to talk to me if he sees you?”

She was right, but that didn’t mean he would send her out without backup.

“But he doesn’t know me,
” Martinez
said.
“There are only two places he could be waiting for you.
The elevator or the parking garage.
You take the stairs, and I’ll ride

d
own the elevator with Kelsey.”

Kelsey tipped her head.
“Good plan.”

Wolf rolled his eyes.
“A so-so start.
We need more.”
They sat at the dining room table and drew a rough layout of the garage.
The stairs came down on
the
North side of the underground structure and the elevator was dead center. Her parking spot was on the eastern side.

Wolf turned the drawing towards her.
“You and Martinez get off together. He will head for the south side, while you stall as if you’re looking for your keys.
Give him time to disappear from your view.”

“Okay,” Kelsey said.

“Make sure you don’t cross in front of any of the iron support beams.
Walk around the left or right side so that one of us can see you at all times.”

“I can do that.”

“I know you can.
And above all, if at any
time you think you are in danger
, drop to the ground and give us a clear shot.”
Wolf knew that would be the hardest instruction of all.
This was her
family.
“Can you do that?”

She nodded.
“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s get ready and head out.
It’s almost ten thirty.”
He had never felt so uncertain in his career.
A hundred things could go wrong.

“What
if
he isn’t there,
Wolf?
Then what do I do?”

If they got that lucky, he would breathe easy again.
She still wasn’t ready to accept the danger.
Until she could
, he stayed focused on the objective.
“Get in your car and pull out of the garage.
We’ll meet you on the street.”

* *

Kelsey pulled at the bulky vest under her even more bulky sweatshirt.
She felt like a moose, but Wolf wasn’t going to let her walk out the door without the thing.
Her heart
raced in
double time.
Cold chills and hot flashes simultaneously racked her body.

Martinez shot her a sympathetic smile for her plight.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you,” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered honestly, “And I would be doing the same thing in your situations.”

“Tell that to Wolf.
He doesn’t understand.”

“He understands.
He just doesn’t like it.
Do you know how much it cost him to give up complete control and have me as the first line of defense?”

“I can imagine,” she said.
By now, she knew what a control-freak he was when it came to his job. If anything went wrong he would never get over it
.

“He’s also got a lot emotionally invested here.
More reason to doubt himself.”