She meant something to him. Had become someone important in his life. He had to find a way to keep her safe, despite herself. They had to have a chance at a relationship. He hoped he remembered how to have one because she was going to be his.
He entered and the room quieted.
Matt stepped forward. “It’s time we moved her to the safe house.”
“She refuses to go.”
“Then kidnap her ass and drag her there. It’s too hard to protect her where she lives. A delivery of chocolate for fuck’s sake. And we let it through. That girl’s death is on us.”
The men nodded with solemn looks on their faces. They’d never lost anyone before now.
“She needs to be where no one knows where she is until we solve this.”
Frustrated, Jesse ran a hand through his hair. His brother wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. “No. We have to make it work.”
Maybe after Joy’s death, she’d be more careful and listen to him. Stay inside.
“This was too close of a call. The FBI is kicking itself for pulling back. They want her in one of our safe houses,” AJ said.
Jesse grunted. “That won’t work either.”
“Yeah, I figured that. She’ll still have an FBI detail wherever she is. Don’t let your men shoot them.”
Over chuckling from the group, Jesse said, “I’d worry more about her shooting them.” More men around was going to piss her off.
AJ smiled. “We’re not scared of her.”
“What’s the plan, boss?” Ken Patrick had been the senior enlisted member of Jesse’s Army Ranger team. He’d had his life in Ken’s hands more than once. He couldn’t believe his luck when Ken agreed to join H.I.S. and lead the team.
Like his brothers, the team was a mixture of ex-military and ex-law enforcement – Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Air Force Pararescues, FBI agents, DEA agents and deputy U.S. marshals. Their diversity worked well to accomplish their missions.
He smiled, reminding himself to introduce Kate to their bomb-sniffing dogs, Bomber and Daisy, if Reagan hadn’t already done it.
“We need to find him before he finds another way to get to Kate.” He looked at the twins. “You keep protecting Emily and the girls just in case he changes his mind.”
“We never planned to leave Em. Not until that bastard is caught.” Brad’s surliness had returned. He’d been like that ever since he’d left the secret service. Of course, he hadn’t left in the best of circumstances.
Jesse nodded. His brothers were protective of Emily and the girls. He had no worries about their being safe.
“Okay, AJ, what do you have?”
* * * * *
Kate held a photo of five boys who all looked similar, a blonde headed girl and one boy with light olive skin. They surrounded a charismatic looking man Kate knew was U.S. Senator Blake Hamilton.
“That’s the family.”
Kate jumped at Emily’s statement. “Where’s your mother?”
Sadness filled Emily’s eyes. “She passed when I was baby. Cancer.”
“I’m sorry.” She knew so little about Jesse’s family. With the exception of talking about Reagan, she had to pry any information about his life from him. If he didn’t change the subject away from himself first.
Kate pointed to the boy who looked nothing like the rest of the family. “Who’s this?”
The sadness deepened in Emily’s eyes and Kate thought she saw pain flash through them. “Jake Cavanaugh, our foster brother. That was taken not long after he joined our family.”
“Oh. When do I get to meet him?”
“You won’t.” Before Kate could respond, she added, “We’d best check on the girls again before Amber gets into everything.”
AJ stepped into the room. “How are you holding up, Kate? Ready to come with me? We’ve got the safe house ready.”
She would not go into hiding at a safe house. She’d be too far removed from the investigation. She met his questions with one of her own. “Why aren’t you at the meeting any longer?”
AJ chuckled. “It’s breaking up. They’re helping each other put on their big girl panties.”
Kate shook her head. “What’s with you and them?”
The men shuffled out of the room saving AJ from answering. They nodded her way as they left.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Jesse approached her with his brothers, serious looks on their faces. Had they learned something new? Something bad?
“We’re getting ready to leave. Are you sure you won’t go to a safe house either with us or the FBI?”
Kate glared at him. “Jesse Hamilton, if you ask me that again, I’m going to show you that I can shoot left-handed.”
His brothers chuckled, and Jesse gave them a lethal stare.
“Let’s go see my daughter before we leave.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The news of the girl dying reached the Facilitator. Kate had been lucky. Twice.
Now Jesse would have her protected better than the President. Oh, he’d watched Jesse’s men handle visitors to her apartment. In his disguise, he’d walked up and down the street, occasionally sitting on a bench, smoking a cigar. His men had studied him the first day, but now gave him a cursory glance.
He’d been close to them in the dog park. Kate had even said hello when she passed him. His hand had itched to reach into his jacket, pull his gun out and pull the trigger. But, he refused to go to jail, so he’d held back. He’d find another way. There was always a way.
Jesse had to spread out his team to cover everyone, so they were weaker. It had been telling that he chose to protect Kate instead of his daughter. He’d been right about his feelings for her.
Since Kate had the tightest security with the FBI also joining back in, maybe he’d fuck with the rest of his family. Just to get Jesse’s attention. Let him know that no one he loved was safe. Jesse’s accusations had cost him everything, so it stood to reason that Jesse deserved to lose everything.
He’d expected them to go to a safe house. He anticipated they’d return to collect Kate’s things, so he took this chance. From here he’d be able to keep an eye and ear on them. No matter where they hid her, he’d find her. She’d never get away from him.
“Are you sure you only need the apartment for a month?”
“Yes. I’m just visiting family, it’s crowded, and a hotel room for a month is a bit costly. I appreciate you giving up your apartment for me.”
“I’m practically staying with my girlfriend, so this works for me. Here’s the keys, Mr. Smith. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
After the leasing agent left, he unloaded his gear and pointed the high-powered listening device and camera toward Kate’s apartment. He would fine-tuned it when they returned until he heard everything they said. Heard their plan to try to defeat him.
He was a patient man. He would refuse any new jobs until this mission was accomplished. It was too important for him to get distracted. Jesse had been tenacious trying to implicate him in the murders. He’d be just as tenacious ensuring this job was done correctly. He wanted to be able to celebrate this success for many years to come.
“Are we still doing this?” a man asked as he entered the room. “Do you still need me?”
“Is there a problem?”
The man shook his head and smiled. “Not at all. I want to participate in the fun. That’s all.”
“You’re lucky. I do need your help this time. This plan won’t fail. We’ll take out Kate Ross, no matter how much protection she has.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Closing the SUV door, Kate started the questions. “What happened? What’d you discuss? What’d you find out?”
Jesse put the key in the ignition. “Slow down. We’ll get to it all.” He started the SUV and pulled out of his driveway. “I’d still prefer you were at the safe house and not your apartment, Kate.”
Going to a safe house would be the smartest thing to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to go into hiding. It’s what she’d push with someone she protected. But she wanted, no needed, to be involved.
“Why? I’ve got two FBI agents, you and two H.I.S. men protecting my apartment. I can’t imagine being safer.”
He winced then cleared his throat. “Actually,” he turned to Kate, “you have three H.I.S. men protecting your apartment.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “Where?”
“We, um,” he shifted uncomfortably, “have a sharpshooter across the street.”
“What? Where? There’s nothing but occupied apartments across the street.”
“One of the owners across from you decided to take an extended vacation and let us use the apartment.”
“Dammit, Jesse! Enough. I don’t need a sharpshooter, and I don’t need you adding to my expenses with putting my neighbors on vacation.”
Although she hadn’t officially hired him, she refused to let him protect her for free. She wouldn’t owe him. She’d pay every penny it cost for her protection. Oh, he wouldn’t accept it, so she’d pay one of his brothers after this ended. If she had to, she’d pay the men on the team personally.
With the FBI protecting her, she didn’t need Jesse and H.I.S., but she couldn’t let them go. Couldn’t let Jesse go. Her damn emotions were involved. If they fell into bed, it wouldn’t be just sex to her. But, it would be to Jesse, and she couldn’t handle that.
She had to figure out what to do. One thing was for sure, she had to keep his protection business-like. Professional. Which meant paying for it.
He shook his head. “There are no expenses for you and having a sharpshooter could come in handy. So he stays.”
She tightened her hands into fists and immediately cried out.
He jerked his head toward her. “Are you okay?” He settled his hand soothingly on her thigh.
The warmth of his hand filtered through her. She looked at her injured hand, trying to ignore his touch. “Yes. I was stupid. It’s nothing to worry about.” The pain in her hand began to subside to a dull ache, but the heat in her body built.
He squeezed her thigh and removed his hand. “Be more careful next time.”
“I’m paying. You’re not going to do this for free.”
“Kate, you’re in this mess because of me so why wouldn’t I take care of the protection? Now, do you want to know what we talked about or not?”
Nice divert. “Of course I do. I didn’t get a chance to talk with AJ much after the meeting.”
“Dev and the men have narrowed the list down to three men. – Shane Walker, Carlos Mendez and Joey Brown. Do you remember these men?”
“Yeah, I remember them. I don’t know. I didn’t get the vibe that any of those three were capable of being as careful as the Facilitator has been until now. I could see any of them doing a drive-by shooting though. What about the rest of the list? Did any of them receive large payments around the time of the murders?”
“Only one person received big payments around the same time, but they corresponded with the dates of freight delivery, plus his alibis are solid.”
“Who is that?”
“Richard Freeman.”
She shuddered, sorry she’d asked. “I did
not
like that man. He gave me the creeps the way he kept staring at me. I actually had him pegged as the Facilitator, but you’re right, his alibis are rock solid.” During every murder, he’d been seen publicly by numerous people, prominent people, who’d vouched for him.
At her and AJ’s interview with him, Richard had watched her from the moment she’d entered his office until they’d left. He’d never even glanced at AJ. His gaze on her had been hard, evil, and it left her feeling unsteady. She’d never been so happy to leave an interview, as when they’d finished with him. It was a shame he wasn’t a criminal because she really wanted to lock him up. But, creepy wasn’t a valid reason to arrest someone. If it were, a large portion of the population would be in the already overcrowded prison system.
“Well, he’s not your man. They should finish with the other three soon. Tracking down their alibis has been difficult. Some people have skipped town.”
“Well, there’s a sign of guilt right there.”
He exited off the interstate. “Could be. We’ll see.”
“I want to do the interviews. This is killing me sitting back and letting someone else do the work.”
Jesse reached over and took her hand in his. “I know. But, you can’t be involved. Think about it. If one of them is the killer, putting you in front of him could be deadly. We’re trying to keep you alive, not serve you up on a silver platter.”
She didn’t know what to do when he didn’t release her hand. The light kiss in the house and now this. She was too tired to think about the implications. Something else weighed on her mind. Guilt. “I still can’t believe it. I really liked Joy.”
Knowing an innocent person died in her place, especially Joy, left her numb. She’d had such a great future ahead of her, and some maniac had wiped it away. He probably considered her acceptable collateral damage.
This bastard needed to pay and pay big.
Jesse lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. She hated to admit that she appreciated his attempt to comfort her.
“Kate,” he said softly, “are you going to stay inside from now on and not accept strange gifts?”
“I know I was wrong about the chocolate and shouldn’t have given any to Joy since I didn’t know for sure who they were from. It was a stupid mistake. I’ll stay inside…except for a few things I’m not going to miss.”
Although difficult for her to take, she’d follow his orders, but he wouldn’t stop her from going to the spa with Ariana or seeing Jason. She’d be extra careful. Hell, she’d be walking with a wall of men surrounding her.
“Kate.” He sighed.
“No,” she cut him off, “I’m going to see Jason on his birthday.”
He sat up straighter. “Who’s Jason?”
Was that jealousy she heard in his voice? He did tighten his grip on her hand when he asked.
“Jason is a boy with Leukemia that I visit at the hospital. He’ll be thirteen this year, and he doesn’t have a family any longer. I want him to spend it with someone besides a doctor or nurse.” She would not miss his birthday. She’d purchased him a signed football by his favorite quarterback hoping it would be a good luck charm for him.
Jesse quickly considered it and nodded. “We’ll make it work.”
“You’ll have to, because I won’t miss it.”