Rogue Alliance (14 page)

             
Brennan looked away and tried to shove aside the pressure that was building up inside of him. It w
as just the dream. It had
got to him
this time
, worse than usual
. But when he looked back and saw the couple walking hand in hand up the front walk, he knew where they were going and again something inside of him flared up white hot.

             
He turned away from the window. Pacing, pacing, pacing. He reached into
the fridge and chugged cold milk
straight from the carton.
It
wasn’t what he wanted
. He paced the length of his studio apartment again. He lay down on his bed and willed his mind to shut down,
and
the pressure building within to subside. He tossed and turned for what felt like hours.

             
He looked at the clock on his bedside table. Just over an hour had passed. He felt calmer but was still restless. He stood at his window again. Most of the lights in the main house were off. He couldn’t see Victor’s room from where he stood but had the light in his room been on, he’d have seen it spilling
out the window
in
to
the field just to the left of the house.

             
He was about to turn away and return to the warmth of his bed, but he caught sight of movement. He stood very still and watched. There it was again. Someone was in Victor’s office but the lights were still off. His mind kicked into high gear. If Victor was milling around in his office, why didn’t
he
turn on the lights? And wouldn’t he be too busy with his guest? So if it wasn’t Victor, then it would be Shyla. And why in the world would she be rummaging around in Victor’
s office? Where was Victor? Something wasn’t right.

             
He didn’t want to contemplate any longer. He was Victor’s bodyguard and he took his job seriously. He didn’t waste time with shoes or a shirt. He just slipped out the door, down the stairs and across the gravel drive.

             
Once inside the house, he paused and listened. It was silent. He took the stairs slowly, his bare feet silent on the wood floors.
At the top of the landing he paused again. On the left at the far end of the hall was Victor’s door. It was slightly ajar and appeared to be
as
still as the night outside.

             
To his right was Victor’s office.
That door was open
just a crack as well. He slid
next to the doorframe and when Shyla stepped out he grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth
and pulling her back into the office out of the hall
.

             
“Shh,” he warned.

             
He felt her body stiffen as if she were going to put up a fight. He held tighter. She bit down on the palm of his hand but he’d felt worse pain. He held on and
pulled her against his chest
.
He felt the flutter of her heartbeat beneath his forearm.

             
“I’
m not g
oing to hurt you,” he whispered,
“s
ettle down.”

             
He was telling himself to settle down just as much as he was telling her. She smelled entirely too good.
When he felt her body relax a bit, he still held tight.

             
“I’m going to let go of your mouth. Don’t scream. I’m warning you.”

             
He didn’t let go of the grip around her waist
but did pull
his bruised hand away
from her mouth. He
felt a trickle of blood where her teeth had done their damage.

             
“Where is Victor?”

             
“He’s asleep, you asshole. Where do you think he is?” she hissed in a high whisper.

             
“What are you doing rummaging around in his office?” Brennan asked.

             
“I was looking for the bathroom. I got lost,” she stated plainly.

             
“There’s a master bathroom in Victor’s room.”

             
“Yeah, well,
” Shyla sighed,
“
I didn’t want to wake him so I went looking for another one. What’s the big deal? Why are you acting like a damn lunatic?
You scared the holy living hell out of me.”

             
Brennan didn’t buy any of it. He knew damn well she hadn’t been lost. She’d had a full tour the last time she’d been over. She
’d been in
Victor’s office for a reason. He just couldn’t figure out what that reason would be. And despite his instincts, he had no proof that she meant any harm. He probably was coming off as a total lunatic.

             
“I’m going to let you go, okay?”

             
When he
stepped back she turned and sta
red him down in the dark of the office.
Only the light of the moon sifted in through the window.
Her hair was still pulled back
,
but there were loose tendrils spilling around her face. She was small compared to him, but
she exuded strong-will and tenacity
. The look on her face was defiant, almost amused.
She didn’t seem angry or frightened. She seemed exhilarated. He was baffled. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to kiss her. He only stood and stared.

             
After a moment, he broke the silence.

             
“I’m sorry that I scared you. I saw movement from across the way. The lights were off and I knew it wasn’t likely to be Victor. So I thought I’
d check it out. I shouldn’t have grabbed you that way. I guess…” he stammered, trying to thin
k of an excuse for his behavior,
“I guess
I’m still not used to living in the country.
I get a little spooked when things are out of place.”

             
“Yeah, I guess so,” Shyla scoffed, “w
here are you from again?”

             
“Uh…”

             
“Never
mind,
” Shyla said and waved her hand,
“I need to get home. It’s late. Do you mind?”

             
Brennan stepped aside to allow her to pass.

             
“
I thought you needed the restroom.”

             
“I guess the need passed,” Shyla said, before pausing, “D
o you think Victor would be angry about this little misunderstanding?”

             
Brennan recognized the subtle threat.

             
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding
,
as I see it. I saw something suspicious and it happened to be you,
lost and wandering in the house
-
Victor’s office
,
to be specific. What do you think? Do you think we should mention it to him?”

             
Shyla pursed her lips.

             
“I see your point. Well, I don’t see it necessary if you don’t.”

             
She was so close he could smell her hair, her skin, her blood.
He lost tra
ck of thought
and slowly reached out to touch her braid. It was thick and sturdy, but soft and silky, as he imagined the rest of her would be.

             
The action must have taken her off guard because she took in a sharp breath. It jolted him back to his senses. He looked into her eyes which were now hooded with wary skepticism. They held another he
artbeat
.

             
Finally
,
he answered her earlier question.

             
“I won’t mention it,” he said. His voice sounded husky to his own ears.

             
Shyla gave a thin smile.

             
“All right then,” she said,
“
I’ll grab my coat and be on my way. Victor and I have a date next week
end
, so I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

             
“But we’ll be out of town next weekend
.”

             
She paused and
gave him a half-amused
glance.

             
“Yes. I know. He invited me along.”

             
Brennan’s brow furrowed.

             
“He invited you? Or you invited yourself?”

             
“You really are p
aranoid aren’t you?” she teased,
“Well, it doesn’t matter does it? I’m going
. A
nd apparently
,
so are you. So like I said,
I’ll be seeing you around.
”

             
With that she turned and walked away.

             
“Yeah, see you around,
” Brennan
mumbled, watching
her walk out of the office and slip into Victor’s bedroom. Still uncomfortable with the events of the past few hours, he retreated from the main house into the sanctuary of his bedroom.

             
Again, he stood guard at his window and watched Shyla move through the dark house, to the kitchen where it looked like she was writing a note for Victor
. Then with her coat slung over her arm, she exited the front door and headed to her car where she’d left it when she’d arrived earlier that evening for their picnic.

             
Even after she was long gone, her taillights out of sight, Brennan played and replayed the scene.
The scent of her still lingered on his skin. But what had she been doing in Victor’s office?
It just didn’t make sense. She was up to something.
She said he was paranoid, but no, he didn’t think so.
He didn’t trust he
r.

FIFTEEN

             
The precinct building smelled like rotten eggs. Shyla scrunched her nose and tried to ignore the foul odor as she sat at her desk on Monday morning.

             
Jason
walked past.

             
“How was your weekend?”
he asked.
His tone was casual, but his eyes searched
her face for answers
as he sipped his coffee
.

             
She shuffled
th
rough the paperwork on her desk,

             
“Prett
y good. Got a
lot done this weekend. I gave Shawn a call first thing Sunday morning and let him know about the phone. How was your weekend with the family in Oregon?
”

             
She looked up. Jason was nodding his head.

             
“
In-laws,” he corrected. “It was fair, n
othing too exciting.
Glad your weekend went well. I’ll catch up with
ya later.
I gotta
check in with the chief about some things
.
”
             
The conversation was
quick and to the point, yet completely discreet and innocuous to anyone who might
have
overhear
d
while passing by.

             
“Good morning, Shyla.”

             
Shyla turned and flashed
a friendly smile in Hal’s direction. As always, his positive attitude was hard to resist.

             
“Someone left a message for you this morning.”

             
Shyla knew that the only peo
ple who would be calling her via Hal’s phone would be someone from back home, most likely Straton
with an update from his
end. But why wouldn’t he just call her cell?

             
Hal handed her a yellow post-it. She glanced at it quickly. Quentin Solero
’s number. Oh good. He probably had something on that last Jane Doe they’d found in the pig trough.

             
She tucked it into her slacks and moved on as if it were inconsequential.

             
“What in the hell is that god awful smell, Hal?”