Blindfold: The Complete Series Box Set (46 page)

“
Want
is easy,” I whispered. My voice shook and I squeezed my eyes closed. I could feel it in my chest, the most dangerous thing I could feel.

Hope.

I couldn't hope.

Even though I knew he was close behind me, when he touched my shoulders, I jerked. I spun around, anger and panic sending my heart racing. My eyes were wide, hands shaking. Too much. It was too much. The letter, now him showing up here like this...I couldn't take it.

Sucking in a breath, I started to babble out some sort of lame excuse to cover up my reaction, but it was too late. His eyes narrowed on my face and whatever else he might've wanted to say vanished.

“What’s going on?”

Shit. He didn't need to know any of this. “Nothing.”

He shook his head. “You're lying. When you answered the door, you looked like you were going to take my head off with that bat. I thought you were just pissed at me, but you didn’t know I was coming. And now that I think about it, you looked more scared than mad. Something’s going on. What is it?”

I lifted my chin. Hell, no. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

“Toni.” His voice held a low warning.

“Ash.” I mocked him as I found my footing again. “Just a reminder, I’m fun and good in bed. That’s it. There’s nothing between us, so it’s not like you have any business demanding to know jackshit about me.”

Turning away, I crossed my arms across my stomach so Ash wouldn't see them shaking. My gaze fell on the letter. I stared at it, unable to look away.

And that was where I messed up.

Because when Ash came around, he saw where I was looking, took one long step forward and picked up the letter. I tried to stop him, but couldn't grab it in time.

Defeated, I slumped back against the counter and waited.

I didn't have to wait long.

His eyes cut to mine seconds later. “When in the hell did you get this?”

I glared at him, not appreciating his tone. His face softened and he put the letter down. I watched how he did it, gingerly, handling it no more than he needed to, and then he came to me.

I shoved my hands up to create a barrier between us. “I don’t want you touching me.”

But my voice wobbled and tears burned my eyes. My hands dropped.

He took it as an invitation, but I didn't have the strength to protest. “Toni, it’s going to be all right.” He brushed my hair back from my face. The way he said it, it was as if he had no doubt in the world.

“You can’t know that.”

“Yes, I can.” His voice was firm, his gaze intense. “Because I’m going to make sure of it. I won’t let anything happen, not to you or your family.”

I believed him, but when he slid his hand down to cup my face, I pulled back. I wasn’t ready to let him comfort me. Touch me.

His face spasmed, but he nodded. “I’m sorry, Toni. I’ve been an ass to you, and I’d undo it all if I could. I can’t, and I know that. I’m sorry.” The words all came out in a rush.

Shivering, I moved over to my chair and sat down. When Ash came over with a blanket, I stared at him, and then slowly nodded. He wrapped it around my shoulders. I wasn't completely freaking out, but I was in shock. I knew the symptoms.

After tucking the blanket around me, he stroked a hand awkwardly up and down my arm. I closed my eyes and some of the tension drained away.

Again, he said, “I’m sorry, Toni.”

I shook my head. “I can’t keep doing this hot and cold thing, Ash.” Tears pricked my eyes, but I fought them. It was a win, but a narrow one.

“I know.” He paused, and then added, “About that letter...”

I looked up at him.

His expression was serious. “We have to go to the FBI.”

Chapter 3

Toni

Marcum’s eyes skimmed the letter for what seemed like the hundredth time even though we hadn’t been in her office more than ten minutes. She wasn't handling it as carefully now that it was in plastic. She wore latex gloves too which, aside from me thinking it was overkill, told me how seriously she was taking things.

I still felt like shit though. My gut was a mess. It had been since Ash had called her from a coffee shop near my apartment, telling her we needed to speak with her, but he had reason to think one or both of us were being followed. She’d told us to stay put and somebody would be there to get us.

Look for the ugliest bastard you ever saw. He’s the one I’m sending after you. He’s going to tell you that he’s in the mood for curry. That’s how you know he’s the right guy. Got that?

If things hadn't been so serious, I might've laughed.

Twenty minutes after she disconnected, a big, hulking brute of a guy with strangely long arms, a sloped forehead and a shuffling sort of gait came through the door. He’d ordered coffee, then turned and ambled our way. He had the pale skin of a man who never went outside unless he had to. Then, as he’d gotten closer, I’d seen the scar that bisected his face.

Yeah. He was pretty damn ugly. But if he was our rescue, he was the best thing I'd ever seen.

After he’d dropped into the seat across from mine, he glanced around casually. “These coffee places, all the same, you know? You two hungry?”

Ash glanced over at me.

I’d been too busy trying not to freak out, being surrounded by so many people, any one of whom could've been the person who'd written the letter.

The big guy had smiled. “I’m in the mood for some curry. You guys wanna join me?” Then he tipped the coffee cup at us. “After we finish this, of course.”

When Marcum’s eyes returned to the top of the page to start reading again, I finally lost my patience.

“For crying out loud, that letter isn’t that complicated.” Shooting to my feet, I repeated it back to her, word for word, and then listed off how many words had been on the document. “Why do you need to keep reading and re-reading?”

“Because I obviously don’t have a memory like yours,” Marcum said dryly.

I glared at her.

“That was kind of impressive,” she said, smiling a little.

“Thanks,” I snapped. “I take requests. Want to hear the St. Crispin’s Day speech?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Too bad. I’m really good at it.” I could feel myself relaxing a bit as we bantered. Which, I now realized, had been her intention.

Ash’s eyes slid back to me and he cocked his eyebrow. “You know the St. Crispin’s Day speech?”

“Yeah. I can also quote the movie
Independence Day
to you in its entirety.” Along with a few others. I’m a lot of fun at parties.”

“I imagine you would be, but not for that phenomenal memory.” He reached out and took my hand, lifting it to his lips. “It’s going to be okay, Toni.”

The warmth of his mouth on the back of my hand only made me more aware of how cold I was again. I started to shiver and he frowned. When I tried to tug my hand away, he moved in and pulled me up against him, his big body warming mine in a way no jacket, no cup of coffee, no blanket ever could. For a few moments, I let myself be comforted.

When I took a step back and glanced over at Marcum, it was to find she’d finally placed the letter back on the battered desk.

“This is...problematic,” she said.

“Really?” I interjected, cutting off just as she was going to say something else.

She lifted her eyebrows.

I glared at her, not feeling at all chastised.

She continued, unconcerned, “Problematic, but not particularly surprising. We’ve been...” She hesitated a moment, her eyes moving back and forth between Ash and me in a deliberate manner. “Aware of the relationship between the two of you for a while. It stands to reason that others would be as well.”

“Others?” Ash asked quietly.

“Surely you’ve suspected that you have somebody following you, or at the very least, watching you.”

She wasn’t even looking at me as she said it, her attention focused entirely on Ash now. A muscle pulsed in his jaw. He gave a short, quick nod, a vast ocean of violence somehow contained in that simple motion.

“We’ve been watching as well, but whoever's doing it is good. We haven't been able to actually see anybody. Equally concerning is the fact that if we haven’t seen them...” She grimaced. “We have to consider that somebody might have seen us. That's why I had one of our more skilled undercover agents bring you in.”

“You’re talking about...”

Marcum grinned at me. “Solokov. He’s one of our best. A piece of work, isn’t he?”

“What do we need to do?” Ash demanded, impatience clear in his voice.

Marcum sighed and looked down at the letter again. “There’s any number of answers to that, Mr. Lang. We already have fingerprints from both of you, so we can run for prints immediately. We’ll have to figure out the best way to get the video feed from the security cameras in your building without alerting anybody that we’re looking at it–”

“I own the building,” Ash interrupted calmly.

What the fuck? I stared at him. He owned my building?

He didn’t even glance at me.

Marcum leaned back in the chair, her dark eyes speculative. “You own her apartment building.”

“It was a Phenecie-Lang investment back in the eighties, along with hundreds of other properties.” He shrugged.

I actually felt a bit of relief at the explanation. At least he hadn't bought it after we'd met. That would've made things even more awkward between us than they already were.

“Technically, I should say my family’s company owns it. It amounts to the same thing.”

Marcum shook her head, chuckling. “Well, that would definitely simplify things if you could find a subtle way to get us the video feed without making anybody aware of why it’s being taken or who needs it.”

“I’ll get my top security man on it. He’s former NSA. If he can’t do subtle, I don’t know who can. What else?”

I sat there, listening to them talk on and on while my head spun.

This was so far beyond me at this point, I didn’t know what to do or think. Give me a study on the long-term psychological effects of bullying or how to counsel a victim of domestic abuse. Hell, I could even work with Isadora and her post traumatic stress issues. I wasn't prepared to deal with being a victim of stalking.

Maybe I had my own control issues to address.

“Toni.”

I jerked my head, feeling like I’d been in some weird sort of fugue.

Marcum was looking at me and I had a feeling she’d said my name more than once. Probably once times five. At least. “What?”

“You know you can’t go back home.”

No. Actually, I hadn’t figured that part out yet and I swore, feeling like an idiot. “Fine,” I muttered. “I’ll go back to my parents. I’ve got clothes and stuff there–”

“That’s not a good plan,” Ash said. “They know where your parents live.”

Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him. “Yeah. Thanks for that reminder.”

“Toni, you need to think now.” He leaned forward and covered my hands with his.

I pulled my hands away as the reality hit me hard and fast. They knew where my
parents
lived. My brothers...my nieces, my nephews.

Oh, shit.

My breath started to come in hard, fast pants and I clambered up out of the seat, unable to stay still. Before I could give in to the fear inside me and take off, Ash caught my arms.

“Breathe.”

“I am breathing!” I tried to shout it, but I couldn't get enough air in.

His voice was calm. “No. You’re panting and you’re freaking out. Take a deep breath.”

“Let me go!” I tried to wrench away and couldn’t.

“Sure. But you need to calm down first. I’ll let you go after you take...”

He let out a grunt of pain as I drove my fist into the meaty part of his chest. I wanted to hit him again, but I forced myself to focus on breathing. He'd been right. I really needed to breathe.

“For the record, I don't like being manhandled. Or told to calm down.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” He rubbed at his shoulder, but I could see a hint of something in his eyes. A hint of something that said he was holding back a comment about manhandling me.

I looked down at my hand as it gave a throb, grateful for a reason to look away from him.

“Are you ready to listen now?”

Moving over to the window, I braced my hands on the broad window sill. Then I forced myself to breathe in – really breathe. With each slow, steady inhale and exhale, the fog cleared from my head. “Yeah.”

“You can’t go home. You know that.” He wasn't being patronizing, but he was talking succinctly.

“I also know that my family's in danger. My family, my brothers...Ash, I’ve got a two year-old niece. Her mom stays at home to take care of her. Who’s going to watch over
them
?”

“I am.”

At his calm pronouncement, I turned to look at him.

Marcum was shaking her head, but he held up a hand. “Look, I can hire private security, and I know the best. I’ll get teams watching everybody until we get this wrapped up.”