Deadly Fallout (Red Stone Security Series Book 10) (11 page)

Chapter 9

Sitting half inside the front passenger seat of Carlito’s police-issued SUV, Zoe wrapped her arms tighter around herself. Her legs were half out of the vehicle as she sat sideways, taking in the scene in front of her.

Still trying to process the fact that someone had sent her a finger, probably Klein’s, though it hadn’t yet been confirmed, and that horrific photo was going to take time. She kept racking her brain, trying to figure out anyone in her life who could have done this. She came up blank. Once Klein had started stalking her she’d done research on the stalker mindset and knew that stalkers were often someone in your life. Definitely not always so this could be random, but…it felt
really
personal.

“Have you already talked to Vincent?” Carlito asked as he approached the vehicle, tucking his cell phone back into his jacket pocket.

She slid out of the SUV and nodded. “Yeah. I called Vincent and my mom and they’re going to let my sisters know. My mom’s actually going to stay with one of my sisters for a few days. And everyone is going to stay locked down in their houses tonight.” Just in case whoever had targeted her decided to go after her family.

Carlito snorted. “Bet Vincent didn’t want to.”

Despite the situation, a grin tugged at her lips. “No, but he’s got Jordan to look out for and you’re here. He knows I’ll call him when I leave and that I’ll be getting a police escort to his place.” Even though she really didn’t want to go stay with her brother and Jordan. Not because she didn’t love him, but they were newly engaged and planning a wedding. Zoe didn’t want to get in the way of all that. For a brief moment she’d entertained the idea of calling Sawyer but things were new between them and she wasn’t going to ask to move in with him—that would be insane. Plus she was really unsettled by her growing feelings for him.

“Did you finish the list of people—” He glanced to his left, frowning for a moment, then pulled out his radio.

She followed his line of sight. Police cars and two fire trucks lined the front of her house, blocking off most of the street. She’d always thought it was strange that fire trucks came to the scene of crimes but didn’t care now. Red and blue lights flashed intermittently, creating the perfect ‘crime scene’ atmosphere. Zoe couldn’t see whatever it was that still had Carlito frowning.

Gah, she rubbed her hands over her face. She just wanted to get out of here.

“It’s some of your neighbors, they’re across the street and want to talk to you, make sure you’re okay.” There was a questioning look in Carlito’s gray eyes, as if he would let her go talk to them.

Zoe shook her head. “I’ll call them later.” She really appreciated their support but didn’t have the energy to see anyone else now. Her house had been searched by the police even though as far as she knew no intruders had been inside, and she’d answered a hundred different questions.

“We’re almost done here.” He started to say more but his phone buzzed in his hand. Turning away from her, he said, “Yeah? Okay, yeah, he’s good. I called him.” Ending the call, he faced her again.

Zoe leaned against the side of the SUV, counting down the seconds until she could get inside her house. “I finished the list of people who I’ve ever had any sort of issue with in the last year. It’s all there,” she said, nodding to the open passenger door of the SUV where the pad and paper were. “I can’t really see any of them doing this though.”

“You’d be surprised,” he murmured.

Before she could respond, Sawyer appeared from behind one of the fire trucks. She pushed up from the vehicle and was surprised when Carlito waved him over.

The expression on Sawyer’s face was almost angry. But that couldn’t be right. Why was he even here? She’d texted him to cancel their dinner plans tonight and had planned to call him once she was free and explain what was going on.

“Thanks for coming,” Carlito said as Sawyer approached.

Though it was impossible, as he came to stand next to her, she could swear she felt his body heat wrapping around her. Wait—her head snapped back to Carlito. “
You
called Sawyer?”

The detective nodded, but his attention was on Sawyer. “I’ve gotta take care of something but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

A couple uniformed police officers were in the nearby vicinity, hovering by Carlito’s SUV, but all Zoe’s focus was on Sawyer as the detective left them alone. “I’m confused, Carlito called you?”

“Yep.” Sawyer’s jaw was clenched tight as he raked a gaze over her from head to toe. The look was completely clinical—mostly. “You’re sure you’re okay?” Real concern laced each word as he met her gaze again.

Feeling unnerved by his presence, Zoe shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. The thick, winter coat had a fleece lining, warming her hands immediately. She hadn’t called Sawyer for a reason. He’d already been witness to so much happening to her, she didn’t want him getting even more tangled up in this mess. “I’m good. I just don’t understand why Carlito called you.”

“What I don’t understand is why you
didn’t
.” There went that sexy jaw clench again. The man was definitely angry.

At her.

“You’re mad at me?” she blurted.

“Hell yeah, I’m pissed.” He took a deep breath and glanced around their surroundings, as if trying to contain his anger. When he looked back at her again, all she saw was a simmering annoyance.

“But why? I was going to tell you everything once I got over to Vincent’s house.” Because no way was she staying here tonight. And she’d planned to give Sawyer a watered down version.

Reaching out, as if unable to stop himself, he ran his hands down her arms before pulling her close to him. A shudder slid through her, his presence warming her from the inside out. “Why didn’t you call me about this? I would have been here.”

Oh, crap. That was hurt in his voice. Which was way worse than anger. “I…didn’t think you’d want to come down here for any of this. You’ve already done so much, I just…” She trailed off, feeling lame and guilty even though she’d never meant to hurt him. They might have had intense sex earlier that day but they weren’t in a relationship. She didn’t expect him to take on any more of this nightmare. It would be unfair to ask him.

Sawyer was silent, watching her with green eyes that seemed darker tonight. Instead of responding, he pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her. She didn’t even hesitate, but leaned into him, holding him tight. God that felt good. He’d come here to be with her, something that struck her deeply. She just wanted to get wrapped up in the strength of him and never let go—and that terrified her.

“How’re you doing, really?” he asked quietly.

“It was awful.” Her voice cracked, her words coming out muffled against his chest.

He rubbed a soothing hand down her spine, helping ease some of her tension. Not much but enough that she didn’t feel like she was about to split apart at the seams.

“Come away with me for a few days,” Sawyer murmured, his chin resting on the top of her head.

Surprised, Zoe pulled back so she could look up at him. “What?”

He fingered some strands of her hair before sliding his hand around to cup the back of her neck. “Instead of going to your brother’s place. Let’s get out of town. I know somewhere we can go. You can get some distance—which I think you need after Klein’s death and your arrest anyway—and take a fucking break. The police can do their job and you can actually rest. Unless you really want to stay with your brother?”

The truth was, she didn’t want to be around her family because she didn’t want to inadvertently put any of them in danger. She knew they’d never worry about that because family was family and she’d feel the same if one of her siblings was in trouble. But…getting out of town sounded perfect. Still, she couldn’t ask that of Sawyer. “You just started a new job.”

“I know.” His intense gaze never wavered.

She didn’t know how to respond to that. He couldn’t take off time right now. Or he shouldn’t. And she wouldn’t ask that of him. But his offer touched her on such a deep level it left her speechless for a moment. She must mean more to him than just hot sex, right? Or maybe he was just that honorable and didn’t want to turn his back on someone in trouble. She bit her bottom lip, feeling way too indecisive.

Before she could respond, Carlito returned. “We’re clearing out of here now. They’ve dusted the place for fingerprints just in case, but after the party you had, I doubt we’ll get much. And there’s no evidence he or she was ever inside anyway, but I want to cover all bases. Zoe, whatever’s going on here is fucking personal. It’s why I called Sawyer. Everyone in your life needs to be aware of this. And it wouldn’t hurt for you to get out of town. I know you’re going to Vincent’s, but—”

“We’re heading out of town tonight,” Sawyer said, his voice commanding.

“Good. I’ve got a list of everyone you work with, the hospital staff you and Klein both worked with, your personal list and some other names we’re going to be looking into. We
are
going to find this person but if you get out of Miami, I’ll sleep easier.” A harried-sounding male voice came over his radio, dragging his attention away again. He gave them an apologetic look and held it up to his mouth as he strode a few feet away.

“We’re leaving tonight?” Zoe’s eyebrows lifted as she turned to face Sawyer.

“Yes.”

“Did you plan on asking me?” She wished she could put some heat behind the question but she was all out of steam. And the idea of getting away with him for a few days sounded like heaven.

Sawyer didn’t back down, his expression hard. “Can you take time off work?”

“Yeah.” Gerard wanted her to take off anyway. Once he heard about this, he’d likely pull rank and insist.

“Then no, I’m not asking.” He glanced around, then lowered his voice before focusing on her again. “One of my brothers has a beach house in Saint Augustine. It’s safe and not linked to either of us. We can be there in five hours.”

“You’re very bossy,” she muttered.

“Where your safety is concerned? Yeah.” His expression was like granite, hard and unforgiving.

“Wait, what about your job? You can’t just take time off when you just started.”

“It’s not an issue.” His voice was clipped.

“Sawyer—”

“Trust me. It’s not.”

She knew she should probably be annoyed by his tone and high-handed manner. She’d never put up with that from anyone before. Otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten to where she was in life. But if she was being honest, it was nice to let someone else take over right now. And not just anyone, but Sawyer. She might still have no clue where they were headed relationship-wise, but she trusted him with her life. And the idea of leaving the city was so appealing, the answer fell from her lips without pause. She just hoped he wasn’t putting his job in jeopardy. “Okay.”

Normally she analyzed stuff to death, but not with Sawyer apparently. It was like he’d brought out a different side to her.

He nodded once. “Good. I’ve got a call to make then we’ll talk to Carlito about where we’re headed.”

“I need to call Gerard too.” Everything was happening so fast and she hated that she’d have to pass off some of her appointments, but she was terrified to stay home right now.

* * *

Across the street from Zoe’s house, she blended into the shadows, careful to keep her body language neutral. She didn’t want the glee on her face to show. Not that anyone was paying attention to her right now. She looked just like any other woman out for an evening stroll, curious about the police presence in such a quiet neighborhood.

She’d only gotten to see Zoe briefly when the bitch had been talking to a uniformed police officer. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to see Zoe suffer, to see her expression of pain and fear. Just the thought made her entire body heat up with glee. A feeling similar to arousal swept through her. Her nipples pebbled against her bra and she shifted against the sidewalk, her sneakers silent on the concrete.

The more she thought about messing with Zoe, the more joy it brought her. That bitch deserved it more than she’d ever know. She just took and took and thought she could have anything she wanted.
Anyone
she wanted. Well, no more.

When a sexy-looking man in casual slacks, a jacket, and a police badge on a chain around his neck strode out from behind an SUV and waved at another man, her heart rate kicked up a notch. She recognized the man approaching the policeman.

Tall, muscular, dark hair, a hardness about him that was impossible to deny. He was definitely sexy, in a rough-looking sort of way. Not her type, she liked her men polished, but she could see the appeal. It was the man Zoe had been with before. Now he was here? Oh yes, he must mean something to her.

Probably here to support poor, pitiful Zoe. Too bad no one would be able to protect her for very long. It didn’t matter where Zoe went, she had a way to track her. There was nowhere she could run. And if her lover got in the way, she’d end him too. Maybe she’d hurt him anyway and make Zoe watch.

Chapter 10

Carlito sat on the edge of the seat in Letty Nieves’s kitchen. Another uniformed police officer was with him, standing near the door that led into the backyard. Zoe had given them a list of people in her life who she didn’t get along with. Since the Nieves woman lived in her neighborhood, he was starting with her.