Love Inspired Suspense March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Protection Detail\Hidden Agenda\Broken Silence (20 page)

“Mine doesn't work anymore. Thank you,” he added with a touch of sarcasm. “I might also add that
I
had a key and you didn't know about it. There could be others.”

Bailey's mind raced through the possibilities. “If someone else was here, why didn't they announce their entrance?”

“Maybe he or she didn't realize you were here. The door's intact. No one broke it down in order to get inside.” He reached for his gun. “Stay here.”

“That's a switch from your earlier order to stay with you.”

He scowled. “I'm trying not to get you killed.”

“And earlier?”

He sighed. “We could stand here and argue all day. I'd feel better if I followed the footsteps just in case there's someone less than honorable waiting at the end of the trail.”

“And I'd feel better if I carried my weight.” She still didn't trust the man, but she'd come to find a certain amount of security in his presence, even in the short amount of time since they'd met. As thunder rumbled again, she gripped the poker tighter. “No way am I staying here by myself.”

It had seemed like a good idea earlier, when she was up in the hallway and feeling stubborn. But now that she knew someone else was definitely here, the thought of being alone seemed terrifying.

He stared at her another moment before shrugging. “Fine. Suit yourself. But be careful.”

She shivered. They couldn't blame those footprints on the wind or the storm, as she'd done with the other calamities around the place. No, someone had clearly been here. Recently.

Ed bent toward the footprints and began following them through the living room, down the east wing.

Bailey stayed behind Ed. Near enough to touch him. Scared enough that she wanted to grab ahold of his jacket.

But she wouldn't do that.

He followed the trail. Out of the living room. Through the downstairs hallway.

The tracks stopped in front of the library.

Ed turned, only Bailey was right behind him. He was close—too close. Close enough that she could feel the heat emanating from him. That she caught another whiff of his cologne. That her heart leaped into her throat.

He didn't seem affected.

He twisted the handle. “It's locked.”

Bailey shook her head. “That room is never locked.”

“Stay back.” His tone left no room for argument.

Bailey braced herself against the wall. Her heart pounded in her ears and her breathing became labored as she waited for what would happen next.

With more skill than any DC lawyer should have, Ed kicked the door open.

Tension clenched Bailey's spine. She'd never met a suit that knew how to do that. Nor how to do it with so much confidence. As if he'd done it a million times before.

Just what kind of secrets was Ed hiding? The way he'd handled that gun earlier had also been impressive and surprising.

He scanned the inside of the room before muttering, “Houston, we have a problem.”

She gripped the iron poker even tighter. “What's wrong?”

He nodded toward the library. “Someone's been here. And they were looking for something.”

She peered around the corner. The library had been demolished. Books were everywhere. Papers littered the floor. Chairs were overturned.

And that was only what she could see in the darkness. The daylight would surely reveal more injuries to the space.

She wondered who would do such a thing. Though a greater question remained.

Had the person who'd done this left or were they still lurking somewhere between the walls of this house?

THREE

E
d didn't like this. He didn't like it one bit.

Someone else had been here. They'd broken in. And they were looking for something very specific.

This had to have something to do with that phone call from his father's friend. He'd discovered something, shared that information with his father, and now they were both dead. Based on this break-in, there may have been some kind of physical intelligence exchanged. Maybe that information was still here and someone was looking for it. It was the only thing that made sense.

Had the intruder found that communication and escaped?

Or was he still here? Still looking?

Ed didn't know those answers, but somehow he had to find out.

Across the room, the window was open. A cold wind howled inside.

Most likely, whoever had been here had left out that window.

Either that, or he'd set it up to make it appear as if he'd left. In the world of espionage, things were hardly ever what they seemed.

“Ed?”

Bailey's voice pulled him out of his thoughts for a moment. “Yes?”

“What are we going to do?”

“We're going to remain cautious,” he said. “That's the first thing. Stay there. Let me get this window closed.”

With his gun still drawn, he crossed the room, looking for any sign of hidden, unexpected visitors. There was no one. Just as thunder filled the air, he reached the window, pulled it shut and locked it.

He returned to the door, noting Bailey was no longer lingering in the door frame where he'd left her. Had she decided to be a lone ranger? To go out on her own? Certainly the woman wasn't that neurotic.

He peered into the hallway and saw no sign of Bailey. The poker she'd been holding lay on the floor, as if she'd dropped it.

Strange. Suspicious, even.

“Bailey?” he called.

An impending feeling of malice crept into his psyche.

When there was no answer, he realized that something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

* * *

Bailey struggled against the man who'd grabbed her in the hallway.

One moment, she'd only heard Ed's voice. The next instant, thunder had cracked and a gloved hand had covered her mouth. A solid, steel-like arm had pinned her limbs against her body, making her unable to move.

She'd tried to kick and scream, but nothing. Her attacker easily overpowered her, rendering her immobile and helpless. In the blink of an eye, the man lifted her off her feet and carried her silently down the hallway.

She tried to resist, but the man was like a machine. His arms gripped her like a vise.

With amazing stealth, he carried her past the living room. Into the west wing of the house. Into the old game room with its wood paneling, stained-glass lighting and massive pool table.

He shoved her onto the leather couch. The plastic covering crinkled beneath her. Each crumple made her nerves tighten.

Every minute counted, she reminded herself. This was no time to let her fear consume her. She had to keep a clear head if she wanted to stay alive.

Her gaze jerked upward as she fought off the nausea.

The man leered at her. The black ski mask he wore made it impossible to make out any features. She saw the most important one, though. Even in the dark, she saw the hatred in his eyes.

Then she saw the knife in his hands. Five inches of shiny metal. A thick handle wrapped with what appeared to be leather. A devilishly sharp-looking blade, one that could probably slice her skin at just a whisper of a touch.

“Where is it?” the man mumbled, leaning toward her.

His voice was deep and rumbling and menacing. Her fear deepened.

He held the knife out, daring her to try to escape. He looked ready to pounce as he crouched over her. Bailey knew beyond a doubt that he'd use the knife if he had to.

She could hardly move. Hardly breathe.

All she could see was the knife. All she could think about was her life ending in pain and torture. She had so much more she wanted to do. She wanted to get married and have kids. She wanted to explore the world, to learn to knit, to make peace with the mistakes of her past.

What had he just said? He'd asked her a question. For the life of her, she couldn't remember what.

“I said, where is it?” the man said as if reading her thoughts. He held the knife closer, right at her throat. His eyes glimmered with an evil she'd never seen before.

She swallowed so hard it hurt. Swallowed so hard she was afraid the blade might touch the delicate skin at her neck. So hard that her throat burned.

“Where is what?” She finally managed to get the words out.

Was it the stress of the situation? Was that why his question made no sense? She searched her memories, trying to figure what in the world the man was talking about. She came up with nothing.

His other hand dug into her arm. She refused to yelp, even if his fingers caused pain to jolt through her.

“Don't play stupid. The information. I need it.”

The library flashed through her mind. This man had been searching for something there. Couldn't find it. He thought Bailey could, though.

What was he talking about? A will? It was the only thing that made sense at the moment. But Mr. Carter's lawyer had the will.

There was something she was missing.

Something major. She had to buy time as she figured out what.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Her voice broke under the strain of the moment. “You've got to believe me. I was just a nurse.”

He paused. “You were the only one Mr. Carter spoke with in his final days. Certainly he told you something. Maybe in those delirious moments before death?”

What had he said? He'd asked Bailey to protect his things from someone who was coming. What if he hadn't been crazy? “We didn't have that kind of relationship,” Bailey finally said. “Purely professional.”

“You knew him better than anyone else. If anyone can find the information, it's you.”

She could still feel the knife at her neck. “How can I find something if I don't know what it is?”

“You'll know when you see it. You can move freely about the house to search. I can't.”

She shook her head, trying to ward away panic. Trying to figure out how to save herself. “I'm leaving tomorrow. As soon as the storm passes.”

“You're not leaving until you find it,” he ordered.

Her heart skipped a beat at his implications. “I think you're talking to the wrong person. I was just a nurse.” How could she make him understand?

He leaned closer, his voice raspy and threatening. His breath fanned hot across her cheek, the scent of peppermint filling her nostrils. “I'm giving you one week. If you don't have the information by then, I'll kill you.”

A shudder raced down her spine. “But—”

He squeezed her arm. “I'm not finished. After I kill you, I'll make sure everyone else around you pays.”

“There's no one else,” she muttered, desperate to keep her family safe. Their faces flashed through her mind, her heart squeezing at each sweet image. She couldn't put them in danger. She wouldn't.

“No one else, huh?” He squeezed her throat. “Do you want to rethink that?”

Panic jolted through her. He couldn't know. She just had to convince him she was all alone in the world, that there was no one to hold as leverage over her.

“There's no one else,” she insisted.

He squeezed her throat harder. A small cry escaped this time. As hard as she tried to hide her fear, it seemed to be pouring out in the tears that rushed down her cheeks.

“Try again,” he growled.

She stayed quiet.

“I'm tired of these games. You're the only one who can get the information I need. I repeat—you need to find it. If you don't, I'll kill your sister.”

She forced herself not to show any surprise. “I'm an only child,” she insisted. She hoped she sounded convincing.

“You think I'm stupid? Her name is Lauren. She lives down in Florida.”

Panic made her muscles tremble. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't possibly know this.

The man squeezed again, and her airway tightened. “Got it?”

She only stared, unable to answer. The man had researched Bailey. He'd looked into her family.

This confrontation wasn't by chance. This had all been planned. Every last detail.

Except maybe Ed. There's no way someone had planned on him being here.

Right? Or was he a part of this somehow?

Nothing made sense at the moment.

Adrenaline surged through her, making her thoughts feel hypercharged.

As she stared at the man's icy gaze, she had no doubt that his threat was real. This man wouldn't blink at the thought of taking another life.

“I don't like repeating myself. Do you hear me?”

Finally, she nodded.

He leaned closer. “Don't tell anyone about our meeting. Or that I'm here. Or that we had this conversation. Got it?”

She stared again as a million scenarios played out in her mind.

“Got it?” he demanded, his voice louder, gruffer.

She nodded. “Got it.”

“I have ears everywhere. Everywhere. I'll hear everything you say, so be careful. Ed Carter can't know about this. Understand?”

She nodded.

“And all of your lies just made me change my mind. If you don't cooperate, I'll have my men
start
with your sister. Then her kids. Alex and Emma.”

Bailey sucked in a deep breath at the mention of their names.

Then he raised his knife. Something hard hit her head and she passed out.

* * *

Ed checked all the rooms on the lower wing, where his dad's office was located. He didn't find Bailey anywhere.

He searched for footprints. For signs of a struggle. For anything that would give an indication of what had happened to the woman.

He'd found nothing.

He paused in the living room, trying to figure out his next plan of action. The footprints left earlier at the door hadn't been disturbed.

He had a few options left. The west wing. Upstairs. The widow's walk. Or the back of the house, where the kitchen, dining room and pantry were located.

He paused for a moment and listened for any telltale sounds. Silence answered him.

Until the wood floor creaked in the distance.

He spun and saw Bailey standing at the entrance of the west wing, a dazed expression on her face. She rubbed her head with one hand. The other arm was flung across her chest in an almost protective gesture. Her hair looked disheveled, and he thought he saw a tremble claiming all of her muscles.

“Are you okay?” He crossed the room in long strides to meet her, to begin to assess what had happened.

She nodded, a new emotion in her gaze. She almost seemed dazed. Ed had seen the stunned expression in an instant, but the next moment it disappeared. She'd blinked and her walls had gone up. Her jaw hardened and she sucked in a long, deep breath.

“Of course I'm fine. Why?”

He stared at her, dumbfounded. How could she act so calm? Just what had happened? Something was off. “You're fine?”

She shrugged and raised her chin. “Why wouldn't I be?”

Ed didn't miss the way her throat tightened, almost as if she was having trouble swallowing because of the tension welling inside her.

“Why wouldn't you be fine? How about because one minute you were in the library and the next moment you were gone.” There was something she wasn't telling him and that realization left him unsettled.

She shrugged again. “I just decided to check things out for myself.”

A smattering of rain against the window sent her clinging to the wall, her gaze swinging wildly about. She could talk tough all she wanted, but her actions told the truth.

“
You
decided to check things out yourself? You? The woman who walked so closely behind me that I could barely move? You suddenly got enough courage to explore this dark house on your own?” Something wasn't adding up, and he didn't like where all of this was going.

“I'm not as spineless as you might think I am.” She raised her chin even higher.

He still saw the tremble racing through her.

“What aren't you saying, Bailey?” He stepped closer so he could see the truth in her eyes.

Something flashed there again. Fear? Defiance?

He wasn't sure.

“We're not in this together, you know,” she finally muttered. “I was doing just fine here before you showed up.”

He stepped closer. “Were you? If I hadn't shown up and you'd run into some stranger who'd broken into the house with less than honorable intentions, I'd doubt you'd act so laid-back.”

“I've always done things on my own. I just decided to take matters into my own hands and see if the intruder was still here. We were wasting time sticking together.”

He didn't buy her story for a second. “And was he?”

She swallowed so hard that her throat muscles visibly tightened. “You didn't see him. Did you?”

He shifted, his hands going to his hips. He reminded himself that Bailey, most likely, wasn't one of the bad guys here. He didn't need to go into interrogation mode. “You need to tell me what kind of game you're playing. Otherwise, we might both end up dead.”

Wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes. “Look, I'm sorry. I won't wander away again. I had a moment of bad judgment.”

That little excuse wasn't going to settle with him. But she wasn't saying anything else right now.

He'd keep an eye on her. He didn't trust her.

But for now, they had to work together.

He couldn't be 100 percent sure that the intruder was gone. Whoever it had been had definitely set it up to look as if he'd left. But the person behind this vandalism wasn't a newbie. They were experienced...and possibly working with Bailey?