Cherise Sinclair - Edge of the Enforcer

“Hey, Thor.” She ruffled his fur and stepped past him. The desk held an old-fashioned landline with a spiral cord connecting the receiver to the phone. Logan turned the phone around so she could use it easily.

She picked up the receiver. “This is Lindsey.”

“ Mija ,” Mrs. Martinez said, her voice unhappy.

“Mrs. Martinez?” As Lindsey frowned, she saw Zander come through the door leading to Logan’s private quarters upstairs. Logan stepped to his side, talking. Turning slightly, Lindsey returned her attention to her call. “What’s wrong?”

“I got a call from your neighbors. They still had our office phone as your contact number.”

Oops. She’d never updated her information, had she? “Is there a problem?”

“The police were at your duplex.”

“ Police? ” At her raised voice, Logan and Zander looked up.

Putting his arm around Lindsey, Zander squeezed her closer, his ear next to hers so he could hear.

“Yes. Someone broke in,” Mrs. Martinez said. “They went through your belongings and damaged some things.”

“Burglars? I don’t have valuables…”

“Waldo and Ernesto weren’t sure. They didn’t think anything was stolen except for your laptop—unless you took it with you. Not the television or your jewelry.”

“No, I left the laptop there.” A chill swept over Lindsey although the lodge door was closed. Her pretty little duplex damaged. Her home. A cold knot grew in her belly as the realization slammed into her. She’d been found. Her lips were numb as she forced herself to stand, to talk. “Do the police want me to go in?”

“Waldo talked with them. I talked with them. So the police say you can call them when you return.”

“Okay.” She couldn’t go back to San Francisco. She made her lips curve into a smile. “Good thing I bribed you with Christmas candy, huh?”

“And excellent candy it was. I barely managed to keep my new son-in-law from eating it all. I’ll talk with you Monday, mija.”

She was a rabbit, wolves closing in, trapping her. Ready to rip her to shreds. Parnell and Ricks knew she lived in San Francisco. Her hand shook uncontrollably as she hung up the phone. God, what am I going to do? She stared at the desk, fighting the desperate urge to run to her car and just…drive. Inside, a voice was shrieking run, run, run.

When she tried to flee, an arm tightened around her waist. “No!” She spun and shoved—Zander. “Oh God, I’m sorry. What am I doing?”

“Panicking, I’d say.” He held his arms out, and she buried herself in his embrace.

“They found me.” Shivers coursed through her as she whispered, “I’m so scared.”

“I’m here, babe.” He kept her tucked to his side as he turned toward the door behind the desk. “Meeting’s already started. Let’s give them a briefing.”

Upstairs in Logan’s kitchen, Lindsey filled a glass of water while Zander updated the others on the phone call. By the time she’d emptied the glass, she felt steadier. Quietly, she took a seat between Simon and Zander. Jake, who apparently had been briefed, sat on the other side with Special Agent Stanfeld. Logan leaned against a counter.

“So they discovered you’re living in San Francisco,” Stan said.

“Guess so.” Lindsey worked to make her voice firm. “I don’t know how they found me.”

“Probably me,” Zander said. “I ran searches on you when you started working for Simon.” His mouth tightened. “I set off another a few days ago—for Lindsey and Melissa combinations—and found Lindsey Rayburn.”

“Oh my God, seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s my favorite castration knife when I need it,” she muttered.

A dimple appeared in his cheek. “Ouch.” He set one hand over hers—over the fist she’d made—and squeezed her shoulder. “I wasn’t worried about protecting your identity, so I didn’t hide my tracks. Sorry, Tex.”

After a second, she sighed. She had been lying, after all. He’d been upfront that he intended to protect Simon from her scheming ways. It might be a tad bit unfair to geld him when he was there supporting her. “S’okay.”

Moving on. She looked at Stan. “Now what?”

He shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. “The flash drives contain enough evidence to arrest Ricks and Parnell for smuggling. Unfortunately, nothing there connects them to the two murders.” He frowned. “It will be your word against theirs, and I daresay they cleaned up after themselves. The coroner in your town isn’t particularly competent, and when he released the bodies, both were cremated. We’re trying to find the boy, but…either Parnell got him or he joined the thousands of illegals in the area.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying nothing completely clears you of the murder charges. The police chief, especially, can muddy the water enough to leave you hanging for quite a while.”

Lindsey felt the blood drain from her face. He meant they’d arrest and jail her. She’d have to go to trial.

Zander slung his arm around her shoulders.

“What can I do?” she asked.

“They didn’t find the drives when they searched your duplex.” Stan rubbed his cheek, frowning. “So once you’re home, one of them is going to come after you. Probably both. They’ll have your place staked out in hopes of grabbing you.”

“You don’t think they’d hire someone?” Jake asked. His lean face was hard, blue eyes angry. “Contract her murder out?”

“Doubtful,” Stan said. “Ricks knows about the flash drives. Neither of them will rest easy until the evidence is destroyed—and I doubt they’ll trust the other guy to do it. They’ll have to be here in person to get her to hand over the drives. They won’t kill her until they have it.”

“You want me to be your bait,” Lindsey said steadily. This felt like a really, really bad television show. “To wear a wire so they can incriminate themselves.”

“Exactly.”

“No,” Zander said flatly.

Stan stared. “What?”

“Not fucking happening. We’re not going to use her. Find another way to get the evidence.” Zander’s jaw looked like granite.

“We’re not going to use her.” Did he just say that? Lindsey stared at him, a shivery sense of wonder filling her.

“This is the best way,” Stan said. “We can protect her.”

“Fuck, you can’t keep that promise for sure.” Zander crossed his arms over his chest. “They’ll know I’ve been with her. I can contact them. Blackmail them so they’ll come after me.”

“We’re not going to use her.” He wanted to risk his life to keep her safe. Her heart felt as if he’d enclosed it in his strong hands. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned and put her fingers on that hard, hard jaw.

He looked down at her. “Don’t bother to argue with me, girl. This is—”

“I love you.” The words spilled from her like a river spilling over a dam. “I love you so much.”

His face went blank. Oh God, what had she said? But the damage had been done. Now he’d run. He’d…

With a groan, he lifted her into his lap, holding her so tightly she couldn’t draw a full breath. As she buried her face in his neck, his chest rose and fell. “Fuck, I love you too,” he muttered into her hair.

Around her, the men spoke in low tones. A door opened and closed, and there was only silence in the kitchen and only Zander’s arms loosening far enough so he could kiss her senseless.

“I love you so much.” Over the past few hours, through the end of the meeting, to the dinner with everyone gradually relaxing, to showering and getting ready for the dungeon, deVries had held those words close.