Hard Target: Elite Ops - Book One (9 page)

Try as he might to convince himself otherwise, it didn’t matter who was responsible for Zach’s kidnapping in considering whether or not to help Anna get her boy back. Now it was all about
how
to get him back. Leland’s rescue tendency was taking over, despite his initial concerns about getting involved. And his neck was still itching.

“What do we do now?” asked Anna.

“Can you get the money?” He spoke at the same time. It was a blunt query, but they were past niceties.

“I don’t know. I think Max froze our joint bank accounts. I couldn’t use my card this afternoon at the ATM, but I didn’t try face-to-face at a bank. It could have just been my debit card affected. If I can get to our accounts, I can get the cash.”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s after ten
PM
.”

“Our bank has extended phone hours since they’re main office is located on the west coast. I’ll go online first, then call.” Her voice was scarcely a whisper as she stared at the blood on the table.

He could tell by her tone that she was thinking too much. He picked up his laptop along with her oversized handbag and hustled her out. “We’re going to your new room. I have an idea.”

She didn’t protest but moved with him next door. He wanted to leave his room as undisturbed as possible until he could look things over. The area might need to be processed for evidence at some point.

Plus, he had to get her away from that blood on the table before it really sunk in how much she’d lost. She was holding things together now, but he suspected that was only because she wasn’t processing—as evidenced when she automatically handed over her card key when asked.

She sat on the edge of the bed in her new room as he passed her his laptop. Her cold fingers brushed against his. Without something to keep her mind occupied, she was going to be a mess.

“Let’s see what you can find out,” he encouraged.

As long as he could keep her focused, she’d be all right. But once they ran out of forward momentum he could see her cratering fast. She hadn’t broken down for more than a few moments, and under the circumstances he didn’t suppose there was any typical reaction for having your child kidnapped. In the same situation, personally he’d settle for numbness.

He looked at her head bent over the computer. She was worrying her bruised bottom lip again as she typed in the website and password. He’d seen her tentatively dab at it with her tongue twice already, and he got a punch to the gut watching her. Naturally his body decided now was the time to notice. For a split second he imagined his mouth on her lips and a few other places he had no business going. He turned his back in the hope of stopping the wayward thoughts, but that wasn’t terribly effective.

She pulled out her cell phone and made a call. Moments later she had news. “I can’t get into our joint savings or checking accounts, but I can access our home equity line of credit.”

She shrugged. “Max set it up right after we got married. I’m still listed as a co-owner of the house, so I can withdraw funds, too. I bet he was online and in a hurry when he shut everything down from Cancun. You can’t close access to this line of credit from a computer. He must have forgotten about the home equity account. The maximum I can withdraw is $800,000.”

Leland took a moment to process that. $800,000 in a home equity line of credit? That was a far cry from the paltry reserve in his starter home.

“How do you get to the money?” he asked.

“It’s like a checking account. I can transfer the cash anywhere I want. It’s just a matter of telling them how much equity I’d like to move. I set up a personal checking account exclusively in my name when Max and I separated. Her fingers flew over the keys and she talked to the banker a few moments longer before ending the call.

Her voice was strong as she ended the call. “Okay, I’ve transferred the $800,000 to my individual account.”

Stunned by the amount of money they were discussing and not too proud to admit it, he stared a moment before answering. “Really?”

Seemingly unaffected, she nodded and kept typing. Suddenly she stopped and looked at him. “I know, it’s kind of scary, huh?”

Leland shook his head. “It solves the ransom funding issue, so I think it’s awesome. When can we pick up the cash?” he asked.

“In the morning.” She worried that lip again and his throat went dry.

Unable to speak as his body tightened a notch, he nodded. He had to get over this—whatever it was—now. Why of all times was his libido waking tonight and with such a vengeance? He needed to figure out the next step but wasn’t sure he had one.

While he might feel out of his depth on the kidnapping, he knew one person who wouldn’t be. Gavin was going to hear from him sooner than either of them had expected. Hopefully his friend could make sense of this and get Leland out of the middle of it.

M
OMENTS AGO, WALKING
down the hotel hallway to her “new” room, the sounds had been muffled and Anna had felt as if she were wading through molasses. She kept telling herself this wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

Maybe if she told herself that lie enough, everything would be okay.

After making the account transfers, Leland encouraged her to take a shower and brought her suitcase from his room. Getting cleaned up seemed as good an idea as any.

Her new room was handicap accessible with a shower wand that could be moved up and down. She turned the water as hot as she could stand and let it pound on her lower back. It was more difficult than she bargained for to keep her injured arm dry even with the handheld shower.

Steam rose around her face, making breathing a challenge as well. She didn’t realize tears were streaming down her cheeks until she turned off the tap. Frustration and fear had won, making her cry even harder. She pressed a towel against her mouth, desperate to pull herself together and not scream aloud.

Zach was gone. She had no idea if the people who had him knew how to care for him. He must be so frightened, and that was the last thing his beleaguered heart needed.

They’d threatened to kill him if she didn’t cooperate. Max had attacked her with a golf club and threatened to kill her. Had that all happened just today?

This morning she’d been on a beach in Cancun, sipping a margarita and considering the impropriety of having sex with her estranged husband. Tonight she was in a hotel room in Dallas trusting a stranger to get her son back from kidnappers. It all sounded like the plot of a bad Lifetime Television movie.

She had to pull herself together. She was no good to Zach like this, but try as she might, the tears wouldn’t stop.

She wrapped the towel around herself and slathered on hotel body lotion in an effort to do something normal. The cream smelled like peaches. She shook her head in despair. Zach loved peaches.

She threw the bottle in the trash with a bit more force than necessary and brushed her teeth, slipping into the silky black sleep pants and matching lace camisole Leland had retrieved from the other room. She wished for a robe and took care to put a bra on underneath the cami. The look without it was too sexy. She’d bought these pajamas for the trip to Mexico, her little rebellion.

She hadn’t planned to be sharing a room with Max but imagined she’d see him at some point or other wearing the slinky loungewear. More of a
look what you’re missing
gesture, the joke was certainly on her, and her pettiness was coming back to bite her now.

She only had one change of clothes left. The bloodstains on her shorts and shirt from today were extensive but, hoping for the best, she tried soaking them in cold water anyway. Brushing her hair, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Her nose was swollen, and her face was covered with bright red splotches. Tears continued to stream silently down her cheeks. She looked like hell, but that was the least of her worries.

God, she couldn’t do this. She wasn’t strong enough. She was at the end of her proverbial rope. The fraying knot she’d been hanging on to for the past sixteen hours had unraveled this afternoon, and she was now in free-fall.

Who was Leland Hollis and why was he staying to help her? It made no sense. Nonetheless, she was trusting a man she hadn’t known four hours ago to keep her from hitting rock bottom—to save her and Zach.

Was this insanity? Leland had suddenly become her lifeline, and the man could be gone when she walked out of this bathroom.

She wouldn’t blame him for that. Why should he stay? Everything he’d encountered so far involving her had been trouble.

But he’d said he was going to help. She clung to that hope and, at the same time, she hated being so vulnerable.

Would she ever be able to stop crying?

The room was quiet when she finally eased the door open. Was he still here, or had he come to his senses and left?

She heard the low rumble of his voice and let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The patio door was open. He was sitting on one of the cushioned chairs outside with his booted foot propped up, talking on the phone.

Good. She didn’t want him to see her weeping like this. A trivial, insignificant worry in the midst of all this, but there it was. She no longer cared what it said about her to think such a thing. Her pride was now part of the past. Nothing mattered but Zach.

She couldn’t quite make out what Leland was saying but decided it didn’t matter. She was physically and emotionally wiped, wanting nothing more than oblivion to take her away as she lay on the bed and curled under the covers. In the stillness, his low Southern voice flowed over her like a quiet stream, soft but distinct.

“Point taken. But honestly, I’m not in the middle. I’m trying to back out as fast as I can.”

She held her breath, all thoughts of not caring about what he said forgotten.

“No. I have no idea if she’s telling the truth, but she’s not faking her son’s disappearance.”

She lay perfectly still during a long pause, her mind racing with the possibilities of what those words meant.

“I realize she’s trouble. So I’ll be careful and quick, in and out. I appreciate the help and the . . . advice.”

What did he mean? She’d thought it couldn’t get worse. Did he really believe she was lying about this? What if he decided to leave? She had to convince him to stay and help her.

She despised the feelings of weakness that continued to swamp her, but she couldn’t do this on her own. Her pride at being self-sufficient was no longer an issue. She needed Leland Hollis to get Zach back, and she’d do whatever she had to do to convince him to stay.

She couldn’t consider what that made her. Zach’s safety trumped everything.

She heard him end the call and braced herself. She’d already been through this once today with Max.
Was it just this morning?

Her stomach didn’t even twist this time at the thought of what she was about to do.

Chapter Ten

“D
OES TROUBLE JUST
follow you around?” Gavin’s voice was tinged with disbelief and something else Leland couldn’t name. But he didn’t mind. This was a true clusterfuck. He leaned back in the still damp patio chair, explaining what had been going on since he and Gavin had spoken a couple of hours before.

“You need a freaking keeper, Hollis.”

Leland nodded his head in miserable agreement with the assessment.

“Would you explain again how this woman’s son ended up in your hotel room? And I’m not just busting your ass, it’s important.”

Leland walked through the story again, relieved he’d gotten Anna out of his room and into this new one. His reasoning had been two-fold. One, to get her away from the blood on the dining table that was likely her son’s and two, to keep from imagining her in his own king-size bed.

As ill-timed as that last idea was, he was still struggling to keep images of her bee stung lips and where he’d like her to put them out of his head while he talked to Gavin. At the moment she was in the shower and he was doing his damnedest not to imagine her there with the water splashing over her lush body.

“I’d like to get the ransom note analyzed,” Leland said, pulling himself back from the shower fantasy. “I doubt there will be anything there but you never know.”

“My people can take care of that. Bring it with you when you come to the office. I agree there probably aren’t any prints, but we need to make sure. Give it to Nick Donovan. He can do it through our channels. No one will know.”

Gavin gave Leland phone numbers and directions to AEGIS’s security offices. “You sure you don’t want to come in now?”

Leland considered it as he glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight.

“No. The damage has been done. They’ve taken her son. What else can they do? Tonight she just needs some rest. We’ll be there first thing in the morning.” He took a ragged breath. “I shouldn’t have let that kid out of my sight.”

“Why? Are you psychic? The crazy father was in jail. None of the Vegas knew you were there. There was no reason to think the boy was in danger. Is guilt the reason you’re jumping into this with both feet?”

“I’m not jum—” Leland was doing his best not to jump in.

Gavin
humpfed
, interrupting an ill-advised rant. “This is not your fault, but you’re diving into it headfirst. Do you feel responsible for the woman because you saved her earlier or because you think you should have been able to predict the kidnapping like some carnival fortune teller?”

Leland took a beat and drew another deep breath. He didn’t want to answer that. Didn’t want to even acknowledge the idea, although Gavin was only half right. If this had nothing to do with him, Leland was free to walk away once he dropped Anna with Gavin’s people. He wouldn’t have to be involved anymore.

And why was that so appealing?

Because he was scared to be involved, to care too much. Caring made you vulnerable. The memory of Ellis Colton’s devastated face swam before Leland’s eyes.

He wanted to fix this mess because he hadn’t done the right thing by Colton’s family. The hell of it was, Leland could spend his whole life atoning for that screw-up and never make up for it.