Brutal Obsession (The Safeguard Series, Book One) (23 page)

“Are you saying—”

“I’m saying Sawyer is going to take a look and we’ll have more answers after that.” Keane motioned for Ashlyn to follow behind him before making his way to the kitchen. From there, they should be able to see where the generator was currently positioned on a concrete slab at the back of the lot. She should know. She’d done the perimeter walk with him, seeing as Coen and Sawyer hadn’t arrived until later that day. Keane had refused to leave her alone inside a house without protection. “Stay inside the doorframe so you have a visual of both entry points and the garage entry directly in front of you.”

Ashlyn placed her flashlight between her knees before piling her damp hair on top of her head. She then pulled the hair tie off of her wrist and wrapped it around the bundle of strands, before repeating the action two more times until her hair was secure. She didn’t want it in the way should they need to run. She then grabbed her flashlight and pointed it toward the living room. She found herself thinking about drawing her weapon.

Run?

Ashlyn wasn’t sure where she’d gotten that notion. Keane wasn’t the type to run, and technically neither was she. It was the darkness that unnerved her as she observed the beam of Keane’s light as he made his way past the kitchen table to the back door. He aimed the bright lone ray toward the floor as he maneuvered his back toward the wall and tried to get a visual of the generator.

Neither spoke, making the atmosphere all that more tense. Ashlyn tried to convince herself they had nothing to worry about. After all, she’d left all of her electronics either back at home or at her office. No one knew where she was and that was when she recalled a story her father had told her once when she’d been a little girl.

The darkness brings out one’s fear of what he or she cannot control. Imagine there is light. Now what do you see?

It hadn’t worked then and it wasn’t working now. Her father had tried his best to get her past that stage of being afraid of the dark, but it had taken years. Maybe she hadn’t truly gotten over that fear, because her heart rate was accelerating and the palms of her hands were starting to perspire.

Ashlyn wiped her left palm down her shorts and then did the same with her right. She repeatedly swung her gaze between Keane and the living room, where she had a good view of the front door. It did cross her mind that should someone want in, all they would have had to do was break a window in the bedroom and somehow get past the bars. But they would have heard the shattering of glass, right? She swung the beam toward the hallway.

“It’s pitch black outside with the exception of when lightning streaks across the sky.” It was more than evident Keane didn’t like the fact that Sawyer was outside without backup. He stepped away from the back door and then joined her, indicating she should go back into the living room. He waited until they were by the couch, but he was foolish if he thought she could sit down. He pulled out his cell phone, connecting to the person he sought. “Coen, it’s hard for me to get a visual out the back. The generator is up against the right backside of the lot, out of my line of sight behind the shed.”

Ashlyn held her breath as she tried to hear Coen’s voice on the other end of the line. She couldn’t make out his words clearly and had to rely on Keane’s answers to decipher the conversation. She set the flashlight on its base, so that the beam was illuminating a wider space.

“Okay,” Keane replied to something Coen said. There was a tightness in his hard tone that told her all she needed to know. “Tell him to stay in contact though. I don’t like the fact that we don’t have a visual of the back of the property.”

Ashlyn picked up the matches that were next to some candles and tore one of the thick sticks out of the small booklet. She ran the bulbous head over the black strip, initiating a spark before she held the small flame to the wick of the first candle. She proceeded to light each one individually until all three were lit, wishing she hadn’t completed the task so fast.

“Sawyer’s headed out the door now,” Keane informed Ashlyn, not telling her anything she hadn’t interpreted for herself. She picked up one of the candles and slowly walked toward the kitchen, sensing him behind her with each step. She set the candle down in the middle of the table and then rubbed the palms of her hands down the front of her shorts once again. She inhaled deeply to calm her racing heart. “Let’s go back into the living room.”

“It could be something simple, right?” Ashlyn inquired, thinking of a million reasons why the generator wasn’t working. “Think about it. Coen and Sawyer have been watching this place twenty-four seven in shifts. No one could have gotten near the house without them noticing.”

“You’re right, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to take that point zero one percent chance.” Keane rested a hand on Ashlyn’s lower back as they walked to the couch. His touch encouraged her to relax, but it was his words that had her anxiety lessening. “Sawyer will get the generator up and running. Until then, we’ll keep each other company.”

“It’s a good thing I like you or you might be in trouble now,” Ashlyn said with a small smile, appreciating what he was trying to do. She truly wished Keane would sit on the couch with her, but he remained standing in a manner that gave him a view of all access points. He hadn’t laughed at her small joke, leaving her somewhat bereft. Thirty seconds passed, and then another thirty. The sound of her own breathing was becoming somewhat maddening. “You’re not being such good company…just saying.”

Keane lifted one side of his mouth in a smirk and gave a small shake of his head. Ashlyn smiled as the tension in her shoulders eased with the light talk. She leaned back and tucked her legs underneath her, utilizing their time together for some small talk. She’d been wondering about something and she might as well ask while they had time to kill.

“Do you get frequent flyer miles?” Ashlyn asked, resting her elbow on the back of the couch. She had to believe that Sawyer would get the generator up and running, just as she had to trust that their location hadn’t been compromised. She’d done everything Keane had asked of her. “I mean, think of all the perks we can rack up from the mileage.”

“Are you willing to give up your weekends and possibly some weekdays?” Keane asked now that Ashlyn had finally caught his attention. His dark gaze didn’t contain one gold fleck from where she was seated. The intensity heated her blood and reminded her of what she’d given up all those years ago. “Our schedules won’t always coincide and we certainly don’t work the average forty-hour week.”

“No, we don’t,” Ashlyn concurred softly, watching as the candlelight flickered across Keane’s features. His expression gave nothing away. She took the first step, her heart racing now for a totally different reason. “I woke up this morning to find your eyes closed right in front of me. I don’t think you were sleeping, but I laid still so you wouldn’t know I was watching you. I used to do that before, but then it dawned on me that it was for a totally different reason.”

Keane continued to watch Ashlyn with curiosity, although he didn’t ask about her objective. They
had
changed from their time together. They were both older, wiser, and at a different place in their lives where their priorities had changed. This horrific situation had opened her eyes in a manner she was afraid to admit might not have happened until it was too late.

“I didn’t need to memorize the way your lashes curved or the shape of your lips,” Ashlyn continued, needing Keane to know she wasn’t going to change her mind this time. “I didn’t need to imprint anything to memory, because I could see it every day. I don’t need to sacrifice a part of myself to serve the justice system. I don’t want to be like Jarod…living, breathing, and dying at his desk. I—”

Keane was in front of Ashlyn before she could finish her next sentence. He pulled her forward, causing her to unfold her legs and lean into his warmth. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and then pulled back so that they weren’t more than inches apart.

“You will
not
end up like Jarod Garner,” Keane whispered harshly, as if to imprint those words in her mind. His belief that everything would turn out okay and that they would finally have a chance to get things right had her throat tightening with emotion. She so wanted to believe him, but this constant fear had chipped away at her defenses. “We have a future together, Ash. We do. We’ll figure things out as each day passes and—”

Ashlyn inhaled sharply at the sound of Keane’s phone vibrating in his pocket. He squeezed her hand before releasing his hold on her and answering the call. Her chest constricted when she comprehended his reply.

“One tango?”

Keane disconnected, pulled Ashlyn off of the couch, and withdrew the firearm from his holster simultaneously and without pause. She reached for her own weapon, palming the Px4 Storm. Why didn’t she feel safer?

“Coen confirmed Sawyer made it to the back of the house, but he isn’t checking in.” Keane took Ashlyn by the hand and guided her around the couch, toward the hallway. “Someone is approaching the front door. I want you in the bathroom, deadbolt latched. Coen’s coming our way now. You don’t open that door for anyone but us.”

“What?” Ashlyn whispered, not really knowing why since Keane hadn’t lowered his voice. “I’m not leaving you to—”

A resounding knock came on the door.

“Now, Ashlyn,” Keane instructed briskly, releasing her hand and then starting for the front door. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going down that hall without a flashlight. Technically, she wasn’t going to lock herself up in some small room trapped while Keane was out here by himself with no backup. Was Sawyer lying dead somewhere? How soon before Coen made it across the street? “Do as I say!”

“And what if someone comes through the other entrance?” Ashlyn pointed out harshly, not willing to leave the safety of Keane’s side. She positioned herself against the wall, giving herself the advantage when the lights finally flickered…only to go out once again. “I’m safer here.”

Keane was shaking his head in disagreement, but he didn’t have time to argue when another blow came on the door. The wood shook from the strength of the action. Who took the time to knock and give themselves away? This wasn’t making any sense and it was evident Keane was thinking the same thing. He still didn’t answer, most likely delaying long enough for Coen to reach them. Keane’s sharp gaze swung to hers when a voice called out.

“Ashlyn, it’s me! It’s Parker. Open up!”

*

He smiled as
he stood over the man’s body. The electric shock Sawyer Madison had received was enough to stop his heart, given the fact that he hadn’t been well grounded standing in that puddle. At least, he thought it was Madison. It could easily be Coen Flynn, but that didn’t matter. One was as good as another.

He didn’t take time to feel for a pulse, knowing this would be over in a matter of minutes. He would eliminate those who stood in his way and then put Ashlyn Ellis with the others—where she had always belonged.

He lifted his face to the rain and opened his mouth, allowing the fresh liquid to slide down his throat. The cleansing this night had offered him was most welcome. He then tilted his head, listening for the sound of his cue.

‡

K
eane didn’t like
the loss of positive control and the fact that his backup wasn’t interfering with a suspect currently trying to gain access through the front door of the safe house. Sawyer should have easily observed Parker Davis in the vicinity, although the flickering lights indicated one of the support team agents was working on the generator at the back of the property. Why, then, hadn’t he answered Coen’s call? Nothing was adding up the way it should.

Sawyer should have easily heard Parker call out, thus making his way back to the front of the house. The only thing to prevent that from happening was if the two had gotten into a confrontation, ending in a manner where Davis had the upper hand, however unlikely that might seem.

“Keane?”

Ashlyn had whispered his name, but he put a finger to his lips. He needed to decide how to handle this in the most effective manner. Leaving Davis outside where no one could see him or control him wasn’t a viable option. A visual of the target was essential, but where the hell was Coen? He should have crossed the street by now and been able to eliminate or detain this potential threat.