Delores Fossen - Christmas Guardian

Of course, he knew where she lived. He’d probably learned that not long after figuring out who she was. “Is it wise to lead him straight to my place?”

“It is if we’re aiming for more damage control. When we get there, we get out. We look like lovers who can’t wait to hurry inside and have a go at each other. Get your key ready.”

She huffed. “I hate to state the obvious here, but what if he shoots us when we get out?”

“If he’d wanted to shoot us, then he would have done it when we came out of the building. No, I suspect his orders are to follow us and hope that we lead him to whatever information you might have. Or to the baby.”

Her heart dropped again. Because as long as someone was following them, she’d never get to see her son.

Kinley got her keys ready, and Jordan stopped his car directly in front of her apartment. It wasn’t upscale by anyone’s standards. A far cry from the lavish Sentron building and Jordan’s palatial estate. But it’d been all she could afford.

“Stay put,” he insisted. “I’ll get out first and then open your car door.”

She glanced back and saw the black car. It’d come to a stop just up the street. Away from the lights but still visible.

Tucking his gun into his holster, Jordan left the car, hurried to her side and helped her out.

He pulled her right into his arms.

And kissed her.

The kiss landed on the side of her mouth. Not a real kiss, of course. But it had a real impact, just as the other kiss had done. It made her wonder just what kind of impact a genuine kiss would have.

She didn’t have the time or energy to find out, even if her body seemed more than willing to explore the idea.

“See?” he mumbled. “No one’s shooting at us.”

Yet. She hoped she didn’t have to say I told you so.

Jordan kept her pressed to him, and he positioned his right hand next to her breast so he could get his gun. He didn’t linger. He kept up the frenzied fake kiss while he maneuvered her to her apartment door. She reached behind her, unlocked it and they practically tumbled inside.

The security system started to beep, and she punched in the code to prevent it from going to a full alarm. Then, Kinley opened her mouth to tell him that she would get the notes, but Jordan put his fingers to her lips. He stayed close. Nose to nose with her.

“Don’t say anything,” he warned in a whisper.

That spiked her heart rate again. God, did he think someone had broken in? But if so, the person would have triggered the alarm. It was an inexpensive unit, one she’d bought at a discount store a couple of days after she moved in, but unless someone knew the code, she didn’t think they could have easily disarmed it.

Jordan reholstered his gun and took out that strange little platinum PDA again. He pressed a few buttons, lifted it into the air.

“Make sex noises,” he mouthed.

And with that, he added a manly sounding grunt and proceeded to walk around the room. After a few steps, he glanced over his shoulder at her and gave her a get-on-with-it bob of his head.

Kinley moaned.

Apparently, it was a good one because he nodded. Grunted. And he flapped his jacket as if mimicking the sound of clothing being removed. While she checked the bedroom and the small bath, Kinley tossed in some deep breathing, though she didn’t think it was necessary. No one else was in the apartment.

Then she heard the whisper-soft beep.

She turned and spotted Jordan next to the sole lamp in the living room. It was on a scarred end table. Kinley went closer, and when he leaned down, he pointed to a small dime-size disk stuck to the base.

He made more of those sex noises. “A bug,” he mouthed.

She pressed her hand to her lips to stop herself from repeating it, but she couldn’t stop the little gasp. Hopefully, whoever was listening would think it was part of the sex that Jordan and she were faking.

He caught on to her arm, and with the PDA device lifted in the air, they made their way through the other rooms.

No more beeps.

But one was more than enough.

Jordan groaned loudly, hit his arm against the bedroom wall, and he maneuvered her into the bathroom. He slammed the door and turned on the shower.

“Any idea how the bug got there?” he whispered.

“No. But it probably happened before I bought the security system.” And if so, that meant someone had been eavesdropping on her for over two months.

Anger soon replaced the shock. Kinley felt violated and wanted to catch the idiot who’d done this. But more than that, she wanted to know why.

Even though the water was running, and the door was shut, Jordan put his mouth right against her ear. “While you’ve been here, have you talked about Gus?”

“No.” Her answer was quick because she didn’t even have to think about it. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to.”

He pulled back. Stared at her as if he wasn’t sure if he could believe her. “You’re positive?”

“Yes.” Now it was her turn to put her mouth against his ear. “I did all my research on the Internet, and my laptop is password protected. Never once did I mention my son. When I did searches about the people connected to Shelly, I only used her name, not yours, not Maddox’s. If anyone was checking, I wanted to make it look as if I were simply investigating the cold-case murder of an old friend.”

During her entire explanation, she kept noticing the close contact.

Correction: she felt it.

Jordan was against her again. Body to body. He stared at her, and she stared back. Their breaths mingled, and she could smell the smooth whiskey and sip of champagne he’d had at the party.

They’d been doing a lot of touching for two people who were at odds. And they were at odds, no doubt about it. Kinley couldn’t mistake the distrust she saw in him. Maybe other emotions, too.

He wasn’t pleased with her arrival.

She wasn’t pleased about it, either. If she’d known she would bring this kind of danger to her son, she would have stayed away.

“I’m really sorry,” she said.

He continued to stare at her. There was a heat in his eyes. Maybe from the contact. Maybe from his anger. “You should be,” he grumbled. He stepped away, turned off the water and threw open the door.

Jordan made a beeline for her kitchen and opened the only cabinet. “Hey, you don’t have any scotch,” he called out.

“No,” Kinley answered tentatively, not sure if this was part of the game they were playing. “I can run out for some if you like.”

“I have a better idea. Grab a change of clothes, and we’ll go to my place. I have plenty of scotch there.”

His place. Where they’d be able to talk without an eavesdropping device. But it would mean going back outside where that black car was likely still parked and waiting.

“What if he follows us?” she mouthed.

“That’s what I’m hoping. You’ve opened Pandora’s box, and now I’m going to see if I can close it.”

Not understanding, Kinley shook her head. “What does that mean?”

He leaned in again. “I don’t want him or anyone else to think I have something to hide.” He glanced around. “And besides, this place isn’t safe.”

Even though he’d whispered that, it rang through her as if he’d shouted it. “But I don’t want to lead him to Maddox.”

“You won’t.” And with that, he motioned for her to pack. “Bring your laptop and your notes, but put them in an overnight bag so they can’t be seen.”

She didn’t question him further. The only reassurance she’d needed was that this wouldn’t put her son in any more danger than he already was. Besides, it might help if Jordan looked at her notes. He might find something she’d missed. And if they found it, they might also be able to figure out who was behind Shelly’s murder.