The Agent Next Door (16 page)

Sure, she understood that John could do his
job far more effectively without having to worry about her. She
even trusted him to do what he said. After last night, how could
she not? He could have told her that he was planning to
single-handedly take on a whole hostile country, and she still
would have put her money on him. But that didn’t mean that she
wanted to leave him.

Not yet.

She wanted to follow him back to his room and
see where those kisses were headed.

But this wasn’t about what she wanted.

This was about what she needed. And what John
needed too.

So, Erin did her best to push down her
selfish desires as Ty turned the corner into the living room.

“Miss Holliday,” he said with a nod of
acknowledgment.

“Agent Brannigan.”

He flashed an amused smile, but whether it
was over her terse tone or her tousled hair, she couldn’t tell. At
least it had faded by the time John joined them.

“We’re not ready for you,” John said.

“Yeah. That much I gathered,” Ty said. The
tickled smile was back. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

John arched a brow. “You have news on
Kallus.”

“Better. I have solid intel on his
location.”

Erin’s heart sped up. “You know where he is?
Are you sure?” she asked.

“Pretty damn sure,” Ty said. “The boys in the
lab were able to trace the texts Miss Holliday received to a
deserted warehouse along the Oakland waterfront. GPS shows the
phone is still inside. I have a team surrounding the building.
Thermal imaging confirms three men inside, one matching Kallus’s
profile.”

John gave a curt nod at the information. His
expression was flat. Erin couldn’t tell if he was feeling even a
sliver of her relief.

“When are you going in?” he asked.

“Judge Wells just signed the warrant. We’re a
go as soon as I arrive,” Ty said. “I thought you might want in on
this one.”

John’s chest rose and fell with a deep
breath. Erin knew how badly he wanted to take Kallus in, but
something was holding him back. His gaze flashed over to her.

“What about Erin?” he asked. “You were
supposed to take her to the safe house today.”

“I’m leaving two agents outside. We’re going
need everyone else to take the warehouse. But I’m confident they
can keep this house secure.”

John cocked his head to the side. His lip
curled. He still wasn’t convinced.

“In twenty minutes, we might not even need
them anymore,” Ty added. “But if you’re coming, we have to go
now.”

John looked at her for another second. He was
still conflicted.

“Go,” Erin said. “I’ll be okay.”

She wasn’t sure that was the truth, but she
did know they had a real chance of ending this. And John should be
there. He knew it too.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

He pulled her in for one more searing kiss.
Ty clapped his hands when John’s lips lingered on hers for a moment
too long.

“Gotta go, John,” he said.

John pulled away. “We’ll talk more when I get
back.”

She tried a smile. It felt a little thin, but
she nodded through it. “You bet.”

Erin didn’t move until she heard the front
door close. Only then did she turn toward the window.

She knew she should feel some sense of
relief. So why didn’t the dread leave when he did? John was off to
catch the man who wanted her dead, after all. Within the hour,
she’d be safe again.

Then all she would have to deal with was the
storm of emotions swirling out of control inside her.

***

“You want to tell me what that was all
about?” Ty asked as they walked down the path from John’s door.

A government-issued four door sat at the end
of the driveway. It looked like Ty hadn’t taken the Ducati to visit
Judge Wells.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
John said, opening the passenger door.

“Really?” Ty’s left brow shot up. “That was
one hell of a kiss, man.”

“Your point?” John got into the car.

Ty slid behind the wheel and turned the key
in the ignition. “Just that I’ve never known you to get involved
with any girls. Not seriously involved, at any rate.”

John felt a tick in his jaw, and it wasn’t
just because Ty was digging into areas that clearly weren’t any of
his business. The idea of leaving Erin alone still wasn’t sitting
well. “Erin’s not just
any girl
.”

“Do you love her?” Ty asked as he backed out
into the cul-de-sac.

He shot Ty a glare. His friend started to
laugh.

“I’m just looking out for you,” Ty said,
lifting his palms off the steering wheel in mock surrender. At
least someone was finding this whole situation amusing. “I’d be
happy to give you some pointers if you’re rusty. Hell, I fall in
love every damned week.”

“Ty?”

“Yeah?”

“If you want to live long enough to serve
that warrant, you'll keep that damned mouth of yours shut for the
rest of the drive.”

Ty chuckled quietly in his seat. “Yes,
sir.”

Chapter 12

Erin pulled the blinds down on the window as
soon as Ty’s car had turned the corner. She walked in a daze to the
bathroom and started the shower. A little hot water would do her a
world of good.

Erin waited until the bathroom mirror was
completely fogged over before she stepped inside. The spray was hot
enough to sting her skin, but somehow it felt like just what she
needed. She rested her forehead against the cool tiles and let the
water flow down her spine. The steam wrapped around her body,
easing the tension in her muscles. Her mind slowly started to
clear.

John’s kisses had a way of rattling her.
Especially that last one. It had been packed with emotion. One
emotion in particular.

She was a fool for falling for John Ryman. If
her gran could see her now she'd be aghast. She was acting just
like her mother putting herself in harm's way, and for what?

A man.

A man that had made her feel more in the past
few days than she had in the last twenty years. Sure, he’d shown
her immeasurable pleasure but he’d also broken down the barricades
she’d built between her and the world.

Blown them up, she corrected.

She wasn’t sure she was ready to face how she
really felt about that. Or John.

He was a part of her life now. The moment
she’d let him into her life and her heart, she’d welcomed all the
danger he brought with him. It would always be that way. She knew
that. It was John’s nature to rush head first into trouble. Just
like it was her nature to run away.

Where did that leave them?

Erin turned around underneath the shower
head. Hot water coursed over her crown, soaking her hair. She
pushed the strands back from her face.

She could always walk away. Start over in
another town. Try to build a true patch of peace in another
neighborhood. Replant her boxwood walls. Wrap a wrought iron fence
around her home. That would keep everyone away. She’d be safe
again.

And lonely.

Erin’s heart clenched tight, resisting the
binds she tried to clamp around it.

There was no use trying to pretend. She
couldn’t switch off her feelings for John. She wasn’t even sure
that she wanted to. Her life before him had been safe, but it had
also been boring.

Maybe that unchanging stability was what
she’d needed back when she was a child recovering from the trauma
of losing her family, but now? If she were honest, it had been
years since that protective suit of armor had fit. Now it hurt more
than it helped. It did nothing to keep the world away from her
door. It only kept her from the world.

Erin turned off the shower. Stray drips ran
down her forehead to the white stone floor below. She watched them
travel to the drain, drop by drop.

It was time to change, no matter how much the
idea frightened her. She didn’t know how her feelings for John had
grown so fast, but there was no denying them. Her love for him was
real. It had only been strengthened by the crucible of danger.

So had she. She wasn’t the same skittish
creature she’d been a few days ago. She’d faced death threats and
armed attacks. Whatever happened between her and John, she was
pretty damned sure she could face it. Now it even looked like she
was going to survive long enough to tackle such mundane
relationship problems.

Erin smiled as she stepped out of the shower.
She wrapped one of John's oversized towels around her and patted
her hair dry as she walked back to the bedroom. She glanced at the
clock.

It was a little over a half hour since John
had left. He and Ty were probably inside Kallus’s hideout by now.
Erin let out a deep breath, but her chest still felt tight. She
wouldn’t feel safe until she’d knew for a fact he was locked
away.

Maybe she’d missed a message while she was in
the shower. Her gut told her it was still too soon for John to text
her with news, but she still checked her cell.

No messages from John, but she had missed a
call from Marianne. She sat down on the bed and called her
back.

“I’m not interrupting anything am I?”
Marianne said when she picked up. Erin could barely make out her
friend’s voice through the heavy static.

“No. I just got out of the shower.”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“I was in the shower,” Erin yelled. “Where
are you?”

“I’m at the drug store. I always get crappy
reception on this side of town. I just wanted to know if you needed
me to pick anything up for you.”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure. Because with Muscles basically
keeping you under lock and key—”

“I’m fine, Marianne.”

“You didn’t sound fine earlier.”

No, she hadn’t, but she couldn’t tell
Marianne that fifteen minutes after she’d left John had gone off to
capture the man who was the root of all her troubles. So she
settled on, “I was a little stressed out. I’m doing better
now.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Erin could only hear every other word
now.

“Call me when you get back home. I could make
lunch if you want to come over later,” Erin said. She doubted John
would approve, but she would go crazy if she had to sit alone in
this quiet house all day waiting for news.

“Sure. I’ll call—”

Erin pulled the phone back from her ear as
three loud beeps sounded in her ear. The call had been dropped.

No surprise. Service on the outskirts of town
was spotty. There were plenty of new houses being built but the
services hadn’t quite caught up yet.

“See you then,” Erin said to herself. She put
her phone on the mattress and went to the closet. She pulled on a
fresh pair of pants and buttoned up her shirt. She was just
slipping her feet into a pair of Converse when her text alert
sounded.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to wait all day for
news after all.

Erin ran to the bed. She picked up the phone.
Her heart plummeted.

Hello, Miss Holliday.

A second later, another popped up.

I see a friend of yours has gone
shopping.

A picture of the front of the drug store
appeared on the screen. Marianne was in the center, pushing a cart
as she stepped through the automatic doors.

We said hello to another one of your friends
this morning, but it appears the message didn’t get through to
you.

“No,” Erin whispered.

Another picture of Marianne appeared on the
screen. Closer this time. Just a few feet away. Close enough that
the person taking it could have reached out and grabbed her.

Or worse.

This time we’ll have to send a louder one. I
don’t think your little friend will like it very much. Do you?

She shook her head. This couldn't be
happening. John and Ty had to have Kallus in custody by now. They
must.

Erin’s fingers trembled as she dialed
John.

The phone rang only once before he picked
up.

“Erin,” he said.

“John.” Her breath was so shaky she could
barely speak. “Tell me you got him.”

She waited for him to tell her that
everything was fine. That the texts were nothing more than a cruel
joke. A bluff. The work of a hired gun who hadn’t received word yet
that the man who signed the checks was taken out.

John paused long enough for a lump to form in
Erin’s throat. Pauses never preceded good news.

“He wasn’t here,” he said, his voice thick
with apology.

Panic took root in her chest. There had to be
some mistake. “But Ty said he was there. He said he was sure.”

“It was a decoy. The Mustaar planted a man
who matched Kallus’s description.”

“No,” Erin whispered into the phone as she
sank to the mattress.

“This changes nothing, Erin. We have his men
in custody. We’re pumping them for information now. Once they
break, we’ll know where Kallus is hiding out.” He sounded so
confident, but Erin knew better.

Kallus had this all planned out. He’d allowed
the FBI to find his hideout. All so he could drag most of the
security detail away and leave Erin and her friends open to
attack.

Some
of the detail but not all.

There was still one black sedan outside.

Erin drew in a deep breath.

“Kallus sent another text,” she said. “He's
going after Marianne.”

There was a pause on the other end. “I'll be
home as fast as I can.”

“He sent a picture of her. I think he’s going
to kill her.”

“Stay where you are, Erin. I’ll be there in
twenty minutes.”

But they didn’t have twenty minutes. And she
couldn’t just wait around and do nothing while her friend got
hurt…or worse.

Suddenly Erin knew what she had to do. John
wasn’t going to like it, but that was too damned bad. She’d deal
with the repercussions later, once Marianne was safe.