Lori Harris - Someone Safe

His gaze traveled lower still, to the closed jacket. He knew what it covered. “Maybe I should take a look?” Without asking, he pulled the zipper down.

She stopped him. He could feel the tremor of her hands where they loosely wrapped his wrist. “No. I’ll do it later. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“So he just roughed you up?”

After several long moments in which he sensed she fought to stay in control, she answered him, her voice so low he barely heard her. “If you’re asking if he raped me, no. He was too busy showing me what could be done with a steel blade and a burlap sack.”

She lifted her eyes to his and, making no move to cover herself, seemed to almost invite his gaze.

Her words, the added details, made what she’d gone through that much more real for him. Though he tried not to, he envisioned the attack, the sack covering her head, a knife pressed to her throat. The anger came, as he’d known it would. Maybe even as she’d known it would.

The blood on her blouse had long ago dried, as had the dark circles the psychotic bastard had drawn on the material covering her breasts, but the cut at her collarbone still seeped.

The most intense wound, though, shone in her eyes. She’d been terrorized, and even now he suspected the assault played over and over and over in her head like a gritty film clip.

Nick forced himself to look away. He’d keep her safe. For tonight. For longer if she’d let him, but he was afraid she wouldn’t. Maybe he could convince her to turn herself in, turn state’s evidence against Binelli.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured and, lowering his hands, stepped back. Now wasn’t the time to think about the future. Right now he needed to focus on their immediate survival.

“I dropped my phone back at the hotel. Do you carry a cell or does your aunt have one I can use?”

“Battery is dead on mine. There’s a pay phone two blocks over. Occasionally it even works.”

“No good. Too risky.”

“The dive shop has one. Rod’s a good friend. He usually opens early.”

Nick nodded.

“In the meantime,” she said, “we should take care of your leg.”

“Maybe we should talk first. About what you know. And exactly what it is Binelli wants back.”

“I’ll say it one more time. I don’t know Binelli.”

Nick rubbed his face. “You expect me to believe a criminal intelligent enough to run an operation the size of his, breaking every law on the books without leaving enough evidence for any government agency to get him off the street, doesn’t know who works for him?”

Kelly’s chin edged up. “Do I expect you to believe it? No. I don’t even believe it.” She arched a brow. “But it’s true.”

Nick shifted to ease the ache in his leg. “That’s bull!”

“Okay, Nick, what evidence do you have linking me to Binelli? More photos?”

“For starters.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Isn’t it?” he asked. “Since February, Binelli’s attorney has been using your airline on a weekly basis, always flying into Marsh Harbor on Fridays, back out on Sundays.”

“Jeff Myers is Binelli’s attorney?”

With one brow raised, he offered a hard smile. “You want me to believe you didn’t know that?”

“The only thing Jeff Myers is to me is a fare. As far as his frequent trips, he claimed he had a boat over here. Liked to dive. I didn’t believe him, of course.”

“Why?”

“It’s hard to spend any time on a boat without getting a suntan, or at least a burn.”

“Then what did you think he was doing on all those trips?”

“Actually, I didn’t much care. But if I thought anything, I suppose I figured he had a boyfriend over here and that whatever he was doing was none of my damned business.” She crossed her arms. “What else, Nick?”

“Past history, of course.”

“That would play a prominent role. Do I need to remind you once more that I was never tried in a court of law, never found guilty of anything?”

“Doesn’t make you innocent. Where did the extra fifty thousand in your account last month come from?”

Her eyes narrowed. He’d hoped to surprise her, and perhaps he had. But there was no way for him to be certain.

“Ben,” she said after a several-second hesitation.

“And where did Ben come by that kind of money?”

“A relative passed away. A distant uncle or something. He left Ben his estate.”

“Estates aren’t settled in cash, Kelly.”

“The deposit was in cash?”

Nick arched a brow. “You didn’t know that, either, huh?”

“Ben insisted on taking care of the banking.” She kept her gaze level and steady with his.

“Didn’t you find the inheritance story a bit coincidental? Ben producing cash just when you were turned down for a loan?”

“No.” She paced away. “Maybe. I don’t know,” she said, her frustration coming through in her voice this time.

“Is it possible Ben works for Binelli? Could he be loading and unloading the money without your knowledge?” At her hesitation, he added, “It wouldn’t be difficult for him to convince Binelli you’re in on the scheme.”

She shook her head. “I do the preflight checks. I handle most of the cargo. To smuggle something without my stumbling onto it at some point is nearly inconceivable.”

“Which, since you’re a two-man operation, leaves you.”

“You would see it that way.” She flattened her lips and frowned. “This is getting us nowhere.”

“It’s getting us to a consideration you haven’t even entertained.” Kelly might not fear him, but there was one thing she was truly frightened of. “The scum who assaulted you tonight wasn’t playing at being tough. Binelli only hires the best. And he’ll use whatever methods are necessary to make sure you either can’t or won’t talk to the government. My guess is, if he can’t get to you, he’ll start with those closest to you.”

He saw the horror in her eyes. There was a part of him that regretted being the one to lay it on the line for her, but she needed to know what she was up against.

“Don’t you think I’ve thought of that?” She turned away. “I’ll get a towel and some supplies for your leg,” she said, her voice dull and flat. “The bath is through the door.”

WHEN SHE RETURNED ten minutes later, he had a towel wrapped around his waist. A small amount of blood trailed down his damp leg. She placed the gauze and alcohol, along with scissors, tweezers and tape, on the mattress, then indicated the space next to the supplies.

He sank onto the edge of the bed. “Just take it easy with the alcohol. I’m not big into pain.”

Kneeling in front of him, Kelly shifted the towel slightly to get better access to his upper thigh. The bullet had punched a hole through the thick cord of muscle, taking only a slightly larger piece of flesh as it exited.

“Maybe I should be thankful he was using a copper jacket.”

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