Hold Me (5 page)

“She’s coming home with me.”

“Excuse me?” Katie squeaked.

“Luc—” David’s voice held a note of warning.

“Don’t give me any crap about this, David. You know it’s the right thing to do.”

David straightened. “I agree that she can’t go home—”

“What do you mean I can’t go home?” Katie’s voice rose as she turned to the other man.

“—but there are other safe houses. What’s the deal?”

“Yeah, what’s the deal?” Katie demanded, facing Luc again.

Luc continued to ignore her, his sharp, dark eyes on his squad supervisor, his body taut beside her. “Joey Silvano has never come back early from visiting his mistress. Never. It takes him over an hour just to get to the woman’s house. And he comes back unexpectedly on the one night I planned to break into his office? I don’t think so. I think we have to face the possibility that we have a leak. I think our safe houses might not be so safe anymore. I’m not going to risk Katie’s life to find out.”

“I think you’re overreacting.”

“You do, huh? Come on, you know what Frankie’s like. If there’s a leak, he’ll find her. Remember the waitress in Glenside? He’s got to be a lot more pissed off at Katie than he was at her. A lot more.”

“Luc—”

“Do you want to take the chance?” Luc demanded. “Well, do you?” David didn’t answer. “She needs to come home with me until we can work something out. You know the Museum’s perfect.”

“I’ll have to keep Liza from finding out.”

Luc’s lips twisted. “I don’t give a shit about Liza. Just don’t tell her anything, boss man.”

“Shows you’ve never had an admin.”

The two men had forgotten she was even there. She sat straighter, listening to them bicker, fighting down the claustrophobic, panicked sense that her whole life was being swept away, that it was being erased even as she watched.

She stood. Okay, so she didn’t have to stay in her apartment. She could crash with one of her brothers, or with her sister, Brenna. Or she could go to her parents’ house. She had plenty of alternatives. She had options she could control. And these two men could—

“Where are you going?” Luc struggled to his feet. He grabbed her arm before she moved away.

Katie lifted her chin. “It’s none of your business.”

Luc’s dark eyes glittered. His jaw hardened so much she thought it might crack. “The hell it’s not.”

“Okay, then maybe I’m just going to leave. You can’t stop me.”

“The hell I can’t.”

“Luc, ease up,” David said, taking a step forward.

Katie glared at each man in turn, her body rigid and brittle. “Frankie Silvano won’t find me. He was just bluffing.” This made no sense; she knew it made no sense. Fighting made no sense. If Luc was right, going home with him was a good plan. But she just couldn’t seem to stop herself. Couldn’t just let herself get…swept away.

“Katie.” Luc sounded exasperated. “Don’t be stupid. He has your license plate number. He saw it, remember? He can find out who you are in a heartbeat.”

“Oh.” She froze. Oh, God, she’d forgotten. Her license plate number. Right there on the back of her car.

“Yeah. Oh. With his connections, I wouldn’t be surprised if he already knows your name and address.”

Katie couldn’t control a shudder. “I don’t even know you.” The words were ripped out of her.

Luc stared down at her, his eyes dark and brilliant. “I won’t hurt you. You’re safe with me.”

“I don’t want to go.”

Luc took a deep breath, but when he spoke his voice was almost gentle. “Katie, I don’t give a damn if you freaking hate the idea. You’re coming with me anyway. You don’t have a choice because I’m not giving you one.”

“We’ll take the Bureau car,” Luc told Katie later that night as he escorted her out of the police station. The idiot had refused medical treatment for his ankle, so she wasn’t sure if she was walking with him or propping him up, but either way his hand was large and warm on her arm. It was still a manacle.

Katie didn’t say anything. She had to go wherever they wanted to take her anyway now that Luc had arrested her again. No, no, wait. Put her in “protective custody.” That’s right. That made all the difference.

But she didn’t especially want to die. And, according to Luc, he was trying to save her life. So she should probably be grateful.

God she was tired.

“You mean the Corvette?” David asked from behind them.

“Of course I mean the Corvette. How often do I get to drive one of those babies?”

“Hmm.”

Luc stopped, which meant that Katie had to stop, too, and turned to look at the other man. “You got the tires replaced, right?”

“Well…”

“You’re freaking me out, David.” Luc towed her toward the parking lot again.

For some reason, memories of her ex-fiancé Tom popped into Katie’s mind. How he’d always chosen the restaurants and the movies. How he’d always wanted to make the decisions. How he’d never really thought she knew what she was doing.

Until she’d taken a broom to his ass.

Luc pulled them both to a stop again at the edge of the police station’s parking lot. It was surrounded by a high stockade fence and dark, lit only by a few old, crackling spotlights and the full moon rising above the trees. David sauntered up beside them and stood, his lean body loose and casual with his hands in his pockets. Katie saw his eyes glittering in the moonlight.

“I don’t see the ’vette,” Luc said. “Didn’t the chief have it towed here?”

“Oh, it’s here.”

“So…?”

In answer, David gestured at an object sitting in a pool of light. It took a bit before Katie realized she was looking at the mangled remains of a red sports car.

“No! God, no!” Luc dropped her arm and hobbled to the car with surprising speed.

Katie followed more slowly with David. The Corvette, if that’s what it had been, looked like it was in pretty sad shape. Not only was it riddled with bullet holes, but it seemed to have been vandalized. Probably stripped clean. Pity.

“They’ve killed it.” Luc laid his palms on the roof and lowered his head. For a moment Katie thought he might even cry. Brandon sure would have been sobbing right about now.

Thinking about her second-oldest brother made her remember what was happening to her, so she deliberately blanked her mind. Later. There’d be time to think later.

David walked up to the car and kicked it. Something metallic fell off and hit the ground with a clang. “I, uh, didn’t bother to replace the tires since parts of the engine seem to be missing.”

“The engine?”

“Well, just a few of the more important parts.”

“Holy shit.” Luc laid his forehead on the roof between his hands for a minute. “I gave my word that I’d return it one piece. I promised this time would be different.”

David shrugged. “They should know you by now.” He leaned to Katie. “Luc has kind of a rep in the motor pool.”

Katie crossed her arms and shifted away a little bit. She didn’t really care about Luc’s rep.

“Yeah, well, this time I promised Vinnie,” Luc said. “The bastard wanted to make me sign my name in blood. Blood!”

“Okay, you’re right,” David agreed. “You are so screwed.”

“They’ll never give me a decent ride again,” Luc groaned. He looked at David, face gloomy. “Maybe they’ll make me drive my car. All of the criminals will just laugh at me.”

David chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do to help you out.”

“Good luck.”

“I didn’t think we should risk renting a car, and if you borrowed mine it might raise a flag with someone at the Bureau since I usually return my vehicles on time.”

“Bastard,” Luc muttered. He was still smoothing the Corvette’s roof with his hands. Katie wondered if he’d start cooing at it.

“So it looks like you’re going to have to use the Nova.”

She perked up at that. The Nova?
Her
Nova?

“The Nova?” Luc turned abruptly. “Are you kidding me?”

“The chief said it ran fine when the cops brought it back from the quarry. It’s supposed to be out here somewhere.”

“Oh, sure. A car that’s older than God ‘runs fine’ and a new Corvette is a giant planter. Jesus.”

Katie didn’t defend Kato’s honor because she’d just spotted him on the other side of the parking lot. He actually didn’t look all that much better than the Corvette, but he was a tough and scrappy little car, handed down from her father to Darren to her.

Without waiting for the men, she walked over to him and patted his hood, then found herself blinking back tears. Ridiculous to get weepy over an ancient car. Pathetic to believe it was her only friend. Sad. Very sad.

She got her keys out of her purse, but Luc, who’d come up behind her with David, immediately snatched them away.

“Hey!”

“I’m driving,” he said.

“You are not.” This was one area where she thought she was entitled to have a little input.

“Am too.”

“You can’t drive. You’ve got a broken foot.”

“Sprained.”

“Whatever. Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m driving.”

“Sure. Why should I even be able to say who can drive my car.” She knew she sounded like a three-year-old. She didn’t give a damn.

“Just get in. Please.” Luc pushed her aside, opened the door, and fell into the driver’s seat.

“Don’t mind him. He’s sulking,” David told Katie. He pulled her around the car and opened the passenger door.

“Am not,” Luc said. “I just want to get out of here.” He turned the key in the ignition. After a measure of thought, Kato agreed to start.

“He’ll get over it,” David whispered to Katie and smiled.

She met his eyes and saw him watching her around that smile. She turned away; she thought David Allen saw a whole lot more than he let on.

“I have to go back to the office to hide some paperwork,” David told Luc while Katie slid into the car. “I hope you’ll be okay until I can contact you.”

“We’ll be fine,” Luc said.

“I think we kept word from getting out for now. Silvano didn’t have a cell phone on him, and neither did Arlo. We monitored their phone calls from the police station. Their lawyer’s been screaming because we didn’t let them go right after the judge left.”

“Right.”

“When I saw the Corvette, I assumed you’d have to take the Nova, so I changed the plates. I think we were able to fix the taillights, but we couldn’t do too much about the mirrors. I hope nobody recognizes it.”

“Hey, Mom, quit worrying.” Luc revved the engine.

“Would you be careful?” Katie didn’t think he was treating Kato with the proper respect.

“Relax. I’m a professional.” Luc leaned back and squinted down at the floorboard. “Where’s the clutch on this thing?”

Katie stared at him. “It’s an automatic.”

Luc grinned. “Ohhhhh.”

She closed her eyes briefly.

David laughed. “Try not to kill each other. I’ll be in touch soon.”

“Adios.” With a little nod to the other man, Luc reversed out of the parking space and put the car into gear.

“You’re going to have to lay down on the seat,” he told Katie.

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“There might be somebody waiting for us outside the gate. They’ll either be expecting a woman alone or both of us. Maybe it will confuse them if they only see me.”

Katie hesitated. “If this is a joke—”

“Just do it, okay?” He sounded tired and irritated.

Ironically, that reassured her and she curled up on the bench seat next to him. She was short, but the space was small so her head was almost in his lap, her cheek resting very close to his jean-clad leg. Close enough that she could feel the heat of his body through his clothes. She would have edged away, but there wasn’t anywhere to go, so she made herself lie still and tried not to notice how his muscles shifted when he drove.

It seemed to Katie that it took forever to leave the police station parking lot, but she finally heard the gates close behind them. Then they were out on the road and moving along at a pretty good clip. She started to sit up, but Luc gently put his hand on her head and held her down.

“Not yet.”

“Is somebody following us?” She tried to ignore how his fingers sank into her hair, almost as if they were burrowing into it of their own accord. They were strong and warm and soothing as they tunneled through the curls.

“I just want to make sure no one’s back there. I’m going to take a few side roads.”

“You’ll get lost.”

“I can find my way back to the highway.” He sounded amused.

“Really?” she asked, unwillingly distracted. People who had a sense of direction always impressed her.

“Really.” He was silent for a few more minutes, then moved his hand back to the steering wheel. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“You can sit up now.”

Katie pulled herself upright, realized she was practically on top of him and shifted quickly to the other side of the car.

“I’d better tell you how to get to my apartment,” she said to cover her embarrassment.

“Why?”

“So I can get some of my things.” That should have been pretty obvious.

“No.”

“No?” She stared at him and, although she couldn’t make out his features in the dim light from the dashboard, thought she saw his jaw clench. “But…but I at least need a toothbrush and some clothes.”

“You’ll have to make do with what we can find at my house.” The silhouette of his head turned to her and then away again. “It’s too dangerous, Katie.”

“David said the guy didn’t have a chance to talk to anybody.”

“No offense, but I don’t put anything past Frankie Silvano.”

Frustration, anger and the fear that had been building since he’d jumped into her car, boiled together in a caustic mix that tasted bitter in her mouth. She tried to remain calm.

“Come on, Luc,” she said. “You’re already making me go with you. I want some of my own stuff.”

“I said no.” His voice was rough and what little control Katie had left snapped.

“Don’t I get a say in this at all?”

“No. Sorry.”

“Okay, then, tell me this, Mr. FBI agent—why didn’t you just leave me in jail if I’m under arrest?”

“You’re in protective custody, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh, so sorry. I guess it’s the lack of freedom or control over anything that confused me.”

Luc glanced at her. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me? I’m angry, that’s what’s wrong with me!” It was either be angry or cry again, and she was far too close to the second option for comfort.

“Why?” He actually seemed puzzled. Ass.

“Why? Why?” For a moment the utter denseness of the question robbed her of speech. “Because…because you jump into my car…no, no, wait, you destroy my car—”

“It still runs, doesn’t it? That’s more than I can say about my car.”

“—I’m forced to cause hundreds of traffic accidents—”

“Only twelve.”

“—and now you’re kidnapping me and taking me God knows where and I can’t even get my own TOOTHBRUSH! Men. I’m so sick of men telling me what to do, I could spit. None of you listen when other people try to talk, you just sit around and bark orders and think you’re right.”

“Hey, lady.” Luc was losing his temper too. Good. She didn’t want him to be calm and reasonable when her life was out of control. “Don’t thank me or anything. After all, I’m just the man who’s trying to keep you alive.”

“Yeah, don’t do me any favors. If this is the way it’s going to be then I might as well let Frankie Silvano get me.”

“Well, the door’s right there. Feel free to jump out any time. This isn’t a goddamned picnic for me either. It’s not like I don’t have plenty of other things to do with my time.”

“Fine. Aren’t you even going to slow down?”

“No.”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

“Fine.”

Katie crossed her arms and looked out the window at the dark scenery.

“So? Aren’t you going to jump?” Luc asked in that snidely superior male voice she’d always loathed.

“No.” Of course she wasn’t going to jump and he knew it. She wasn’t that stupid. “I should have pushed you out of my car as soon as you got into it,” she muttered.

“Yeah, well I wish you had.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t, did I? So now here I am. Oh, I forgot. Thanks a lot.”

There were no streetlights on the little road, just the occasional porch light and the silvery glow of the moon. The warm summer night was filled with heady smells drifting in through the slightly open car window along with the noise of singing bugs from the brush and trees.

Katie wrapped her arms across her chest and blinked away sudden moisture. Oh, crap. She refused to cry in front of him again. There was no way she would let him see how vulnerable she felt. And stupid. And utterly terrified. What was going to happen to her now?

“Jerk,” she whispered and sniffed. She didn’t care if he had beautiful eyes and broad shoulders. He was a big, huge, hacking jerk and a control freak, and she’d better not let herself forget it.

She thought that maybe Luc heard her soft comment, but he didn’t say anything. Then, miraculously, there was a traffic light and a four-lane highway with cars endlessly speeding back and forth.

“Which way?” he growled without looking at her.

“Which way where?” How was she supposed to know where he was taking her?

“To your apartment. Which way?”

“What?” Katie started and tried to pull herself together. Her apartment? He was taking her to her apartment? He’d changed his mind? It was so unexpected that it almost didn’t register. She looked around, anxious not to miss the opportunity, but nothing seemed familiar. Her sense of direction really was pitiful. At that point she might as well have been trying to fly to the moon hanging so low overhead.

Luc waited, his impatience palpable. “Well?” he demanded.

“I don’t know where we are,” she admitted. Her voice broke a little bit in spite of her best intentions.