The Agent Next Door (15 page)

So much for service with a smile.

Erin slowly shut the door and turned back
toward Marianne who had already made herself at home on the
couch.

“So, what’s up?” Erin asked when she couldn’t
stomach the silence any longer. If there was one thing more
frightening than Marianne opening her mouth, it was when she kept
it shut.

“I was hoping you’d tell me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Barbara Michalson called me from the
supermarket this morning. She was getting out of her car when a
very large man pulled in behind her, blocking her car. He asked her
to give you a message.”

Erin's throat constricted.

“Wh-what was the message?”

John stepped into the living room from the
hall. He’d put on pants, but he must not have wanted to miss what
Marianne had to say because he hadn’t bothered with a shirt.

Marianne opened her mouth to answer but the
moment she spotted John her eyes went wide. Erin didn’t blame her.
John's chest had a way of distracting people from their original
thoughts.

“Wow, Muscles.”

“Marianne.” Erin tried to regain her friend’s
attention.

“Looks like I made the right decision coming
here after all.”

“The message, Marianne,” Erin shouted.
Marianne swiveled back around. Erin drew in a deep breath and tried
again. “What was the message?”

“Oh, yeah. He said to tell you that your
friends can’t protect everyone in the neighborhood.”

Erin felt the blood leave her face. She put
her hand against the wall to steady herself. John rushed over. He
put his hand on her shoulder.

Her friends. Dear God, they were coming after
her friends. Erin wanted to turn toward John, to bury herself in
his arms and cry her eyes out, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Not in
front of Marianne.

“So, you know what this message means, I take
it,” Marianne said. “Are you going to let me in on what we need
protection from?”

“This guy did he know Barbara’s name?” Erin
asked.

“He sure did. Poor Barbara was pretty upset
when she called me.”

Erin didn’t doubt it. But at least, Barbara
had been able to walk away. Maybe the next person Kallus stopped
wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Who was he?” Marianne asked.

Erin opened her mouth, but John spoke before
she think up a lie. “He's someone from work.”

Marianne's brow furrowed. It was obvious that
she wasn't buying any of this. It was equally obvious that she
wasn't going anywhere either. Not until she got answers. “You
expect me to believe this nut job is one of Erin’s clients?”

“Not her work,” John said. “Mine.”

Marianne grimaced. “And what did you say you
did for a living, again?”

“I didn’t.”

“That’s what I thought. Not that I haven’t
been around long enough to make a pretty good guess.” Marianne’s
gaze narrowed. “I’m just going to assume that I won’t be getting
anything better out of you?”

Erin gave her best apologetic smile. Marianne
didn’t look impressed. She scooted up from the couch and went to
the window.

“All right. Then let’s move on to what’s
behind Curtain Number Two.”

With one quick jerk, she pulled up the
blinds. She turned and waved at the men in the black sedans parked
directly across the street. Their faces turned toward the house,
but they didn’t wave back.

Erin sighed. She looked to John for help, but
he kept his back flat against the wall, his mouth an unbreakable
line. It looked like he was going with a strategy of silence in
dealing with Marianne, hoping that, after repeatedly banging her
head against a stone wall, she’d eventually give up.

Erin knew better.

“They're from the gas company?” Erin tried
with a shrug of her shoulders.

“A swing and a miss,” Marianne said.

“You want to give it a try, Muscles?” She
tiled her gray head to the side. “No, let me guess. They’re from
your work too. That much I believe.”

“Marianne, listen,” Erin said.

“Why? You can’t tell me it’s just a
coincidence that, the same week that your house goes up in flames,
some creep starts making threats to your friends
and
we get
a new neighborhood watch.”

Erin glanced at the floor, then at the
ceiling, but divine intervention wasn't anywhere to be found.
Everything she wanted was a contradiction. She wanted Marianne to
leave, but not go too far. She wanted to stay where she felt
comfortable, but not put anyone else at risk. She wanted to be with
John, but somehow live the same sheltered life she had before.

There was no way to win. John was never going
to let the truth get out, and Marianne was never going to quit
digging. She was caught between a pig-headed rock and a nosy hard
place.

“You’re right. I can’t,” Erin said. She
stepped forward and gathered Marianne’s hands in hers. She led her
back to the couch. “And I can’t explain what’s really going on. But
I can tell you that you’re right. This neighborhood isn’t safe
anymore.”

“Erin.” John’s voice was thick with
warning.

She held up her hand. She’d done nothing but
think about her own selfish desires and now people were in danger.
This wasn’t just about his mission or her well-being anymore. This
was about keeping innocent people safe.

Erin looked her friend deep in the eye. “I
think that it might be a good idea if you took a vacation. You
know, get out of town for a couple of weeks.”

Marianne pulled back. Real concern shone in
her eyes. “It's that bad?”

Erin nodded. “It is.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Erin said, patting
Marianne’s hand. “I’ll feel so much better knowing that you’re
somewhere safe.”

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”

“What?” Erin’s brows pulled together. She
shook her head. “I just told you, it’s not safe for you here right
now.”

“I heard you.” Marianne pulled her hands
back. She clasped them together in her lap and straightened her
spine. Erin’s heart sank. She knew that look. Her friend was
digging in her heels. “But no one is going to run me out of my
house.”

“But—”

“Darling, I am eighty-two years old. My
running days are far behind me.”

Erin felt like pulling her hair out.
“Marianne, I’m begging you to listen to reason.”

“I’m not the one who’s being unreasonable,”
Marianne said, standing up. She walked across the room, pausing
before she reached the front door. “This man, whoever he was, knew
Barbara’s name. He probably knows a whole lot of other names too.
So unless you’re planning on sending the entire neighborhood on a
two week cruise, I think you might want to come up with another
plan.”

Erin sank back into the couch cushions after
Marianne left.

Marianne was right. It would be easy for
Kallus to find out all of her friends’ names and addresses. No one
she cared about was safe. No one.

Kallus had sent his message loud and clear
with a single threat in a parking lot. Until he got what he wanted,
he would tear her life apart. If he couldn’t kill her, he would
make her wish she was dead.

Kallus was winning.

It didn’t matter how many of his men John
took out, the man would keep coming after her until his last
breath. Or hers.

Erin glanced over at John. He didn’t look
upset any more. The hard gleam in his eyes was gone, but the change
in his demeanor didn’t give her any comfort. What replaced it was
much more disturbing.

Apology.

If there was one thing Erin knew, it was
nothing good ever came from apologies.

“Erin, we need to talk,” he said, pushing
away from the wall.

Damn it.

She hated being right.

Chapter 11

John wished there was another way. He would
have done anything, almost anything, to delay this conversation, to
gather her in his arms and carry her back to his bedroom and shower
her with kisses until she forgot all about the worry and pain.

But the only thing he cared about more than
making Erin happy was keeping her safe.

And, while this latest morning visit from
Marianne hadn’t exactly thrilled him, she had given John an opening
to tell Erin what was going to happen next.

He knew she wasn’t going to like it, but they
had no other choice. He readied for her tears, her screams—hell,
maybe even her hate.

“You want to send me away,” she said, looking
up at him with red-rimmed eyes. “You think I should go with Ty to a
safe house until you’ve captured Kallus.”

Then again, maybe not.

“I do.”

Her calm surprised him. Somehow it made him
feel worse than her scorn ever could. The defeat written all over
her face was like a dagger in his heart.

She turned her head toward the open window.
Her eyes were focused off into the distance, but whether she was
staring out at the ruins of her house or Ty’s guard, he couldn’t
tell.

“It’s too late for that. Maybe if I hadn’t
been so stubborn when you first suggested it, if I hadn’t let my
pride get in the way, it would have mattered, but now…” Her voice
trailed off, losing strength with every word.

Damn it all. He hated seeing her this way.
He’d rather face her anger than her despair.

“It still matters,” he said.

She turned toward him. Little crinkles
appeared above her nose as she frowned. “How? You heard Marianne.
Kallus has already made his next move. If he can’t get to me, he’ll
go after the people I care about.”

“I can’t—” John drew in a shaky breath, the
first he’d ever experienced. He tried again. “Last night proved
that you need more protection than I can give you on my own. Ty can
take you somewhere Kallus can’t hurt you.”

Erin slowly shook her head. “You mean
somewhere he can’t kill me. Because he’s proving he can hurt us
regardless of where I am.”

A cold shiver of doubt ran up John’s spine.
It wasn’t a sensation he was used to, and he was quickly finding it
wasn’t one he particularly liked. The doubt threatened to grow and
overtake him if he didn't tamp it down quick.

He tried, but the pain in his heart refused
to budge. This wasn’t like him. It was his job to be certain, to
act swiftly, confidently. But one watery-eyed look from Erin and
suddenly he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Where the hell was
this coming from?

Love.

The realization hit John square in the center
of his chest.

His feelings were more than just a reaction
to her pretty face and deep curves. Much more. They were everything
that he had ever guarded his heart against—the fear of losing
something more precious than life, the burden of taking on her
anguish as his own, the agony of knowing there was more ahead.

But there was something else growing beneath
all the those frightened emotions. Something stronger.
Determination.

It hadn’t taken long for Erin to lodge
herself deep inside his soul, but, now that she was there, he’d be
damned if he let anything happen to her.

John thought back to last night. Erin had
been right. The odds had been long. But he’d taken them on, because
he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. He hadn’t thought of
anything other than getting her out of there safe and sound. He
hadn’t allowed any other option to enter his mind.

His love for her didn’t weaken him. It made
him stronger. It gave him courage when reason refused.

He understood her fear. He felt it too, but
his shoulders were strong enough to carry the weight for both of
them.

“I’ll stop Kallus,” John said, moving closer
to her.

Erin stood up from the couch. She walked
slowly to the window.

“I know you will,” she said. Her gaze was
still far away. “Eventually. But until then—”

“Not eventually. I’m going to bring that son
of a bitch down before he can hurt anyone else. I swear it.” John
followed and grasped her shoulders, forcing her to turn and face
him. “But I can’t do my job and worry about you at the same time. I
need to know that you’re safe, and Ty’s the only one I trust to
keep you that way. Do you understand?”

Her blue eyes swam with unshed tears, but
they were finally focused on him. She slowly nodded. “Okay.”

John wrapped his hand around the back of her
neck and pulled her close. His lips brushed against hers.

“Do you believe me?” he whispered against her
mouth. “Will you go with Ty?”

“Y-yes,” she said.

The breath John hadn’t realized he’d been
holding rushed out. “Thank you.”

He slid his palm across the deep curve of her
waist until it rested on the small of her back. He pressed her body
flush against his. Still, it wasn’t enough contact. He wanted more.
He teased her lips open with a flick of his tongue before kissing
her hard.

Relief flowed through him. Erin would be
safe. Ty would take her somewhere Kallus couldn’t touch her.

But he couldn’t let her go. Not just yet.
There was still time for one more taste. One more touch. One more
kiss.

A loud knock sounded against the door.

He knew who it was. John froze, but he didn't
move away. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his
eyes.

Not yet. He wasn’t done yet. He wanted more
time with her.

The knock came again.

Time was up.

***

Erin struggled to regain her breath as John
answered the door. She smoothed her hair and ran a hand down her
shirt, just for good measure. She didn’t know who was there, but
she’d already had one critique of her less than stellar appearance
this morning. She wasn’t sure she could take another one.

“You might want to think about closing those
blinds in the living room. Just saying.”

Erin tensed as she recognized Ty's voice.

He was here already. Which meant that when he
left, she’d be going with him. Suddenly, Erin wasn’t so sure about
her decision.