B00MV3HMDW_EBOK (34 page)

“Feel better?” Ethan said softly, turning her around and lifting his hands to her face. He tilted her head so that she was looking up at him.

“Yes,” Taryn replied, unable to stop her frown though. “It didn’t really change anything, did it?”

“It gave you relief and that’s all that matters. You could have given me time to grab some popcorn though,” Ethan said, his dimple causing her heart to skip a beat. Damn if
he
didn’t make her feel better. “I’m pretty sure I saw some in the vending machine.”

“Speaking of machines…Ryland really jumped buildings and smashed through a window, huh?” Taryn hooked one of her fingers into his leather shoulder holster. “Having spoken to him up close and personal, I’m not so sure he’s not a machine. I am stunned that he didn’t pull the trigger when he had you in his sights.”

“You and me both,” Ethan muttered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. His lips felt warm and when he pulled back she laid her cheek against his shirt. The steady beat of his heart pulsed against her skin. “I have no doubt that he would have taken the shot had I tried to follow. He would have rationalized it as self-defense though. His moral code is all fucked up.”

“Moral code? Ryland doesn’t have one of those.”

“In his own twisted way, he does.” Ethan carefully caressed her back, avoiding her injury. “I hate to admit it, but Fallon’s profile on him is damned close.”

“Do we have to give her credit?” Taryn asked against him, suddenly having the urge to stay this way for the remainder of the day. It wouldn’t be fair to the team though. The more eyes they had on their details the better chance they stood at apprehending Ryland. “I hate to admit it but she’s kinda growing on me. And if being with her made you realize that you’re better with me…then who am I to argue?”

“Am I about to finally hear sweet sentiments coming out of that beautiful mouth of yours?” Ethan inquired, a sensual tone filling his voice. Before Taryn could respond, a knock came at the door and in walked a nurse pushing a wheelchair. “Well, shit.”

Taryn knew it wasn’t funny, but she couldn’t suppress the chuckle or the wince at the pain that followed. They would have this evening. She promised herself that. Lifting herself ever so slightly off of him, she turned around in his arms and smiled at the nurse.

“Are you ready to be sprung?” the nurse asked cheerfully, apparently not noticing that she’d interrupted an intimate conversation. “I just have some papers here and discharge instructions to go over that should only take a minute.”

Taryn once again leaned up against Ethan, taking as much of his strength into her as she could. It was nice to have someone to lean on and not just a friend. They both listened to the nurse as she recited the directives on the sheet, although Taryn’s mind drifted toward the end. She didn’t like to feel she owed Ryland in any way, but she knew that he could have easily pulled that trigger and taken the most important thing away from her. She didn’t like how easily, or in the touch of a finger life could change. What she could control was aiding in capturing Ryland and putting him in a cell where he belonged.

*   *   *   *

“Anything?” Ethan asked, standing next to Crest as their superior scanned the area with binoculars.

“It’s been quiet,” Crest answered before he leaned back against the vehicle. There was a humorless grin on his face. “Too quiet. Round up the team. I can guarantee that Bowers is already dead.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ethan asked, loathing the possibility that they had once again missed their chance. “We’ve had surveillance this entire time. Bowers has his own guards posted.”

“When we were chasing our own tails yesterday Bowers was released on bail,” Crest said, letting the binoculars hang from his neck. He turned and rolled up the blueprints of the Bowers’ estate that he’d had spread out on the hood of the car. “He turned down the federal protection he was offered in favor of his own guards. By the time Jax and Connor arrived here, hours had passed. There hasn’t been movement inside that monstrosity since we got into position.”

“You think while we were searching the city for Ryland he came directly here and eliminated his other target.” Ethan didn’t phrase his sentence as a question. It was pointless. Irritation continued to build over the fact that one man could cause this much disorder in everyone’s lives. “Well, doesn’t that just fucking shit the rack.”

“Like I said, we’re always two steps behind.” Crest didn’t sound too angry about the fact and Ethan looked over to where Taryn was on the phone with her mother. “That’ll change with time, but it’s something we can’t modify now. Ryland has his targets, and although we altered his plan he’ll still carry out his own contracts. Had Bowers taken the feds up on their offer or given us the benefit of the doubt we might have been able to alter his fate.”

“And Rudder?”

“You and I both know that since he’s in the main population at the prison there’s nothing we can do about that either.” Crest went to the back of his car, opening the door and tossing the tube of blueprints onto the seat. Slamming the door shut, he started walking down the long drive. Ethan fell into step beside him while Taryn hurried to finish up her phone call to find out what was taking place. “We need to be the ones to take the reins. We need to take the initiative away from Ryland.”

Ethan felt the rise of anticipation at Crest’s words. When their superior had a plan it was usually a damn good one. While Taryn finally joined them, Crest made a hand signal indicating that the team should close in on the residence.

“What did I miss?” Taryn asked, a little breathless. Her face had lost a little color and while he’d wanted to drop her off at the hotel to get some more rest, he also didn’t want her out of his sight. It wasn’t like she would have taken a nap anyway. She wanted to be with the team, and as long as she wasn’t a detriment Crest would allow it. She knew how to shoot with her left hand and had situated her side holster in place for that reason. “Why are we going inside?”

“Crest thinks Ryland hit the house last night, before Jax and Connor were in position.” Ethan removed his sunglasses and hung them on the collar of his shirt as they got closer to the house. “It makes sense.”

“We’re heading back to Minny once we finish up some loose ends here, and once we debrief Kevin and Lach we’ll implement a strategy that’ll bring Ryland to us. I’m done with this catch and release bullshit.” Crest looked sideways to Ethan, giving him a heads up that he wasn’t going to like where this was heading. “Taryn, we’ll give you time to recuperate but since he’s linked himself to you…we need to use that against him.”

Ethan gritted his teeth, his earlier elation having quickly dissipated. He knew that whatever Crest had in mind, it was something they needed to implement to shut this entire mission down. He didn’t have to like it and he damned well would protect what was his. He and Taryn needed to have their conversation sooner rather than later. They needed to be the partners he knew they could be.

“Yes, sir,” Taryn said, never wavering in her duty.

Within minutes Crest had the front door open while Jax and Connor had taken the back. They converged in the foyer where they witnessed the blood that pooled from one of the guard’s heads. He was lying lifeless on the cold tile, probably not even knowing how he’d died. The shot had been directly to the back of his head.

“You called it,” Ethan muttered to Crest as the rest of the team dispersed through the various hallways. Although they were secure in their knowledge that no one was alive in this house, chances weren’t taken. Weapons were drawn as they continued the search for Bowers. Crest led the way down the corridor to where Bowers’ office was located, but Ethan veered off toward the stairs that would take him to Art’s private space. Taryn had followed behind him quietly, carrying her Sig Sauer P226 Equinox .40 S&W in her left hand. “I’ll enter first.”

Taryn didn’t argue, mostly because Ethan was sure she recognized her limitations that came with her injury. The wooden door was closed and the silence was deafening…not one of their team members indicated their presence in the house. Ethan could smell the blood the moment he swung open the door.

“Don’t touch anything,” Ethan warned, carefully entering the office and taking cautious steps toward Bowers’ body. Taryn knew how to handle a crime scene, but this was personal. Especially due to the photographs that were pinned to Bowers’ chest with what looked like small throwing knives made from high carbon steel. “Crest will call in the feds.”

“We missed those,” Taryn whispers, gesturing toward the pictures with her weapon. Blood had dripped on one of them, showing a young Sabrina with a frightened look on her face while Arthur Bowers smirked at the camera. The slit across Bowers’ throat didn’t do justice to the crime and Ethan could finally relate to what Ryland had said yesterday. If Ethan had been in Ryland’s shoes, he too would have killed the man responsible. That didn’t make all of the assassin’s kills righteous…he was still a murderer that needed to be stopped. Ethan joined Taryn where she stood and took her weapon out of her hand and secured it in her holster. It would take time for the team to sweep the perimeter, but they all knew that Ryland had done what he’d come to do. “Why does it feel as if both Bowers men didn’t pay enough?”

“Once the feds arrive we’ll get you back to the hotel.” Ethan turned Taryn away from the grisly scene in front of them and took her carefully into his arms. There was nothing he could say to make this better. The sad truth was an innocent girl had been left to deal with the very few moral impediments of child predators. She eventually got some sense of justice but had lost her humanity in the process. She’d had to become like Ryland, because that’s how he knew she could cope with the tragedy in her life.
What ifs
couldn’t come into play. “Let’s wait downstairs.”

“Ethan?” They both turned to go when Taryn looked up at him with unshed tears for a sister she would never know. “Thank you for being here for me.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

One week later…

“S
o let me get this straight,” Emily said, bringing her glass of wine over to the couch where the rest of the women were sitting in Taryn’s apartment. She sat on the floor, crisscrossing her legs as she popped a grape into her mouth from the fruit bowl she’d brought with her. Elle and Jessie had claimed the couch while Lauren used the furniture as a backrest, opposite of Emily. Taryn had maintained her favorite chair. The women had all finally shown up, declaring a girl’s night. That was fine by her, considering she was wallowing in loneliness—which was so out of character for her. She used to relish the quiet and now all she wanted to hear was Ethan cracking jokes. “Ethan tells you he loves right before he gets into a confrontation with Ryland and you don’t say it back? Do you not feel that way about him?”

“Of course I do,” Taryn snapped, irritated that her friends would even think such a thing. She took a drink of her beer and then turned her body so that her legs were hanging over one of the sides. Ethan would have rubbed them had he been the one sitting on the couch. She glanced at the clock and figured he’d call within the hour. Crest had wanted two agents to stay behind to clear up the investigation with the feds and he’d chosen Ethan and Connor. Jax and Taryn had driven back to Minny while Crest had taken a private flight. She needed to hear Ethan’s voice because talking to these crazy women made her feel as if she’d made a mistake in waiting to tell Ethan how much he meant to her. “It wasn’t like I could just say it back and not give him the reasons why. Did you just spit the words out and then let Jax leave?”

“Well, no,” Emily reluctantly admitted, popping another grape into her mouth. She looked pointedly across the coffee table, as if hoping someone else had to back up her stance on the fact that Taryn should have just blurted it out. “Lauren?”

“Nope.” Lauren’s lips lifted in a smile that was almost brighter than her auburn hair. She was happy, in love, and planning her wedding, which was to take place in a month. “I agree with Taryn. She did the right thing in waiting. Men have a tendency to take things the wrong way. Just saying I love you in that moment could have meant she loved him like a friend and then he would have pulled away.”