Harlequin Intrigue June 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: To Honor and To Protect\Cornered\Untraceable (31 page)

“Well?” She half mouthed and half whispered the word.

If he pulled a rope out of the pocket of his pants, she might lose it. But that wasn't what happened. He went to the bed and stripped it. The bedding rustled and the mattress bounced. Silk sheet slid over silk sheet with a strange, almost zipper-like, sound. Then he had them off and tied together and held them up as though he'd done a good thing.

She was pretty sure he'd lost his mind. “Are you kidding?”

He shrugged. “You can stay.”

It was a dare and she refused to be baited. “Fine. You go first and wait for me to get down.”

They went back out to the balcony and he dropped the makeshift rope. One end fell into the night and he secured the other to the marble column on the balcony. A tug and a pull and he looked ready to go.

“Hug the wall. Do not swing in front of the window.” Cam glanced over the side. “I'll get down there and then hold it taut for you so it's easier to rappel.”

“Fine.” Except this was anything but fine. Growing up in Calapan with the mountains and steep trails heights didn't scare her. Falling to her death kind of did.

He slipped over the wall and was gone. No preparation or goodbyes. She was so fascinated watching the top of his head and the sure hand over hand as he scooted down that she almost missed the sound of footsteps echoing nearby. Her gaze shot to the closed door and she sensed she had only minutes to act.

She didn't wait for Cam to land. She pulled on the sheet and he looked up. Then she went over. He must have gotten the message, because he jumped the rest of the way and held the sheets steady for her.

She heard a sound above her head and a shout. The backyard flooded with light and for a second she stopped. Just hung there. With the plan imploding she did the only thing that made sense. She let go and closed her eyes, hoping Cam would have the sense and strength to catch her.

Her body jolted as it fell into his arms. One minute she snuggled up tight to his chest, and the next her feet hit the ground.

They took off running while male voices yelled from above.

She guided them around the patio furniture and pool, up the hill to the fence gate leading to the woods behind. The knob didn't move when she tried to turn it.

“Hold on.” Cam lifted his foot and slammed his heel right by the lock.

The wood splintered and Cam kicked the pieces to the side. She didn't stop to ask questions. She ran until her chest ached and her throat burned. When she finally stopped she panted hard enough to bend her body over double.

Cam was right there with a hand on her lower back. Caressing, soothing.

He said something, but she ignored it to go with her own question as she glanced up. “Now what?”

He didn't hesitate. “The shipyard.”

Chapter Fourteen

The sky turned a purplish pink right before the sun rose. The rain had stopped and the breeze died down, suggesting a normal summer day loomed before them. Cam welcomed some sense of calm, though he guessed it wouldn't last.

His gaze traveled to Julia where she sat on the trunk of a fallen tree. She tapped the toes of her shoes together and stared at the ground. Didn't make a sound as she tucked her hands between her thighs.

He knew the quiet wasn't a good sign. Julia liked to talk. Even through danger, she kept up a running commentary and asked questions. Now she sat stiff without making a sound, only rocking now and then.

“What do you know about Sandy's business?” He'd tried getting an answer several ways already without any real success. Any discussion on this topic seemed to shut her down. But he needed the intel, so this time he raced directly toward the point. “The actual source of his income and business.”

Tap, tap, tap.
“I already told you.”

During the hike from Sandy's house, including the short-term borrowing of yet another car to get them most of the way to the shipyard area and the few hours of rest until morning, she'd shut down. He asked her about Sandy's money and his family and could see the wariness fall over her eyes. Instead of asking questions, she'd spent the drive staring out the window and offering directions in a flat tone.

She was smart enough to know why he was asking all about Sandy. Cam didn't have to explain. That didn't worry him. He wasn't looking to keep his concerns some big secret. But he didn't like the silence and lack of eye contact.

Cam tried again. “He's connected and wealthy and knows the island.”

“That description fits a lot of people on Calapan.”

He sat down next to her, hoping that closeness would help bridge the gap forming between them. “Then direct me to one of them. Tell me where to look and I'll have Connor and the rest of the team back in Annapolis start working.”

When his leg touched hers, she shifted. “I don't live here anymore.”

“Julia, come on.” Cam inhaled, trying to wrestle the adrenaline pumping through him back under control. “I get that you're angry with me.”

She slipped her hands out from between her legs and folded them on her lap. “I'm too busy trying not to be shot to be angry.”

Could have fooled him. “I don't want Sandy to be involved.”

She looked at him then. Slow and with a deliberate shift that highlighted that anger she claimed not to have, she stared at Cam. “You sure?”

Tension rolled off her and plowed into him. Gone was the soft woman from bed and the joking one from the trail. A certain seriousness had fallen over her and tightened her expression to the point of breaking.

This went beyond his questions about Sandy. Had to. The reaction was way out of proportion to his prodding. “What does that mean?”

Her head fell to the side, and her hair fell over her shoulder. “You don't like him.”

There was no way for Cam to hide that, so he didn't try. Didn't hold back on his frustration, either. She actually sat there and accused him of getting an innocent man in trouble. “You think I'd set the guy up?”

She shrugged. “As you keep reminding me, I don't really know you that well.”

Then it hit him. She was purposely picking a fight. The mix of exhaustion and frustration and feeling out of control had crept up on her and she'd come out fighting. He got it because he did the same thing now and then. But thinking he knew what was going on inside her and accepting being on the receiving end were two different things. She wasn't the only one looking for a way to control the situation.

Instead of yelling or reasoning with her, he stated a fact. “You're determined to be ticked off.”

She stood up and whipped around to face him. The red stain on her cheeks suggested the anger had blown up on her. “He helped raise me. When my father was too drunk or too uninterested, Sandy stepped up.”

“I get that.”

“He was there for me. I know you don't get what that's like because of your upbringing, but he was.”

The verbal shot landed right to his gut, and the last hold on his control broke. “Which explains why you came to the island and didn't bother to tell him.”

As soon as Cam said the words he regretted them. She didn't do this work. It made sense for her to feel ripped apart and shredded. He didn't have an excuse.

When he started to talk she held up a hand to cut him off. “Stop talking.”

“I overstepped.” That qualified as a vast understatement, but right now it was all he could offer. After they solved the drug issue and got her to safety, he'd hold her and apologize and try to fix the part of the damage he'd inflicted.

Fury continued to vibrate off her, and those eyes stayed wild. She backed away from him and kept going until she moved right out of touching range.

“He was the first man I truly trusted,” she said in a shaky voice.

The look, the pain all cut into him and he had to sit there and take them. “Julia, I—”

“Him, then you.”

Her words hung there. The import of what she meant hit him a second later. That hollowed-out feeling in his chest came back and his mind blanked as he searched for the right words to say.

“Lovers' quarrel?” A man stepped out from the ruin off to their left of the half wall of what used to be a building. He held a gun and walked quickly as he moved right toward Julia. “That's a shame.”

Cam reached out to grab her, but the effort came too late. In her need to get away from him she'd strayed a bit too far and the attacker, some guy Cam had never seen before, nabbed her first. He had his arm wrapped around her throat as he dragged her a few more feet away with a gun pointed at her head.

“This isn't your business.” Cam stood up and closed the gap between them. He had guns at his side and back and ankle. A few more knives rounded out his weapons inventory.

“You're on my property.” The man dropped that verbal bomb without offering more.

Cam didn't believe it for a second. This guy had
underling
written all over him. He followed orders. He'd just happened to be lucky enough to stumble across them.

But Cam needed to confirm. “You own a shipyard?”

“My boss does.”

Julia grasped at the arm confining her. Fingernails dug into the guy's jacket as her feet scraped against the ground. The guy had her in a headlock that almost lifted her off the ground and her panic filled the air.

Cam couldn't look at her. Couldn't see the pleading in her eyes. Not if he wanted to get through the next few minutes.

He pitched his voice lower and struggled to keep it even. “Then go get him and we'll work this out.”

“Nice try, Mr. Roth.”

Julia let out a soft sound and the attacker put his cheek against hers. “Yes, I know who you are, and you two have some lives to answer for.”

She pushed the arm lower and lifted her head. “It was self-defense.”

Cam didn't want her talking or moving. She needed to stay still while he stalled for an opening.

“I'm doing you a favor. You sounded pretty angry with your boyfriend, and now I'll get rid of him for you.” The attacker laughed. “Then you can thank me.”

She inhaled loudly enough to fill the quiet space. “No.”

The attacker looked back at Cam. “Weapons on the ground or I start cutting her.”

That was not going to happen. Not to her and not all of his weapons. Cam pulled out the gun on his side and held it up so both hands were in the air. “Let's stay calm.”

“On the ground.” The attacker used his chin to gesture toward Cam's gun. “Do it now.”

She tightened her hold on the guy's arm. “Cam—”

He looked at her then. Focused all his attention on her and tried to send the silent message to hang on. “You're going to be fine.”

And she would be. He'd promised her and that was back when she was an innocent woman he'd dragged with him on the run. Now she was more, so much more.

“You shouldn't lie to your woman.” The attacker turned his head to look at Julia's face. “But maybe you won't mind seeing your boyfriend die.”

Cam could see her hands shake and the disgust when she closed her eyes and tried to turn and put some room between her body and the man holding her. Terror or something close moved through her.

Cam could see it and wanted her attacker's focus back on him. “What's the next play here?”

“I have the authority to kill you.” The attacker said the phrase with all the enthusiasm some people used to order breakfast.

Cam suspected that was true. He amounted to a nuisance, but he could be valuable and now he had to convince this guy of that fact. “But you should take me in.”

“You don't make the rules.”

“You don't, either.” Cam took another step. “That's the problem, right? Men are ordering you around and you're sick of it.”

“Be quiet.” The guy snapped out the order as he jerked the arm holding Julia.

She choked and stumbled but stayed on her feet. When Cam took a step forward she waved off the concern. “I'm okay.”

“For now.” The attacker gestured for Cam to move. “Walk.”

He'd done a quick look around when they got there. Hadn't seen footprints or signs of life. He had no idea if he'd missed something. “Where?”

“Through there.” He used the gun to point to the doorway near the ruin where he'd appeared earlier. “And remember I have a knife to her throat, so don't try anything.”

The guy was so busy talking and pointing that he created opportunities. Just what Cam expected from an amateur.

He waited for the next break in eye contact to drop his hands and slip the gun out of his waistband and into the pocket away from the attacker, then lifted them again. “I don't want her hurt.”

“Hear that? You're in here cackling at him and he's trying to protect you.” The attacker pulled her back against him. “Nothing to say?”

Fury burned through Cam and he almost went for his nearest weapon. “Don't touch her.”

“You don't make the rules.”

“I will lunge for you and make it hurt.” Cam delivered the promise. “Snap your neck.”

Something that looked like worry passed through the attacker's eyes before he nodded toward the entryway again. “Move.”

Cam memorized every step and every piece of grass as he walked. The attacker took them through the ruins of one building, down a long grassy area to a small hill. From there Cam could see the water beyond. Caught the scent of fish.

Between them and the shoreline were rusted-out carcasses of old ships and a series of buildings, most of them missing walls or a roof or both. One long narrow building looked mostly intact except for the blown-out windows and graffiti splattered over every smooth surface.

And the trucks. Two of them, both with their back doors open. There weren't any people working or moving around, but boxes littered the ground in front of the delivery vehicles as if this was the stuff left over after loading the good stuff. Made sense, since the bodies found around the island had drawn the attention of the media and law enforcement. Running the drug operation out of here—and suddenly Cam knew this was the right location—would be too risky right now.

Cam started down the slope. He made sure to keep his body as even with the attacker as possible. Out in front the guy might see the weapons, and Cam needed those.

The wet grass had his shoes slipping. The attacker had it harder, as he had to balance two people. Cam didn't help, because he was counting on a fall. When they got more than halfway down without incident, Cam started to rethink his strategy.

He glanced over at Julia. The attacker had her body bumping against his as her feet slid and ankles turned underneath her. Cam wondered about her injury and was about to look away to scan the area when she met his stare. Intense and determined, she glared as if willing him to understand, then her attention went to her feet. She repeated the action two more times.

A signal. He wasn't 100 percent sure of her plan, but he knew it included a fall. He answered with a short nod as the hand farthest away from the attacker dipped. He knew he'd have to grab and turn and shoot and do it all while gravity dragged him down the hill. Not the most convenient shot, but Julia had planned this, which meant she intended to duck and roll.

Good woman.

She took one more step and then her ankle turned. This time her knees buckled and her weight pulled the attacker down. He tried to catch her, but she was slipping and Cam was moving. The second she cleared the attacker's torso, Cam jumped over her body and slammed into the man, throwing him to the ground.

The man tumbled backward and momentum took Cam flying with him. They somersaulted and Cam lost hold of his gun. They rolled as he punched. He made a grab for the grass but couldn't stop the free fall.

They spun and when they landed the attacker ended up on top and took advantage. He punched Cam in the side, then did it again. Cam bucked his hips and the guy lost his balance. Cam slammed the guy into the ground on his side, then did a frantic visual search for his gun. Any gun.

An elbow crashed into his jaw, and his head shot back. Cam would've sworn he saw stars, but he blinked them out. He had to stay conscious. Had to win this one.

He saw a gun in the grass right in front of them as the attacker started crawling for it. Cam reached for the one by his ankle. Had it out and was about to aim when legs came into view. Julia's legs.

She stood just out of reach and held a gun. Had it pointed at the attacker's head. “I dare you to move.”

The guy froze and looked up. He looked ready to go for her legs when Cam shoved his weapon into the back of the guy's skull. “You heard her.”

“It's tempting to tie something around his neck so he knows how it feels.” Julia's chest rose and fell and her words came out choppy and disconnected, but the gun made her point.