Edge of the Enforcer (30 page)

“No, pet.” Zander shook her shoulder lightly. “Yesterday, you refused to talk about this. Today we need to hear it.”

“But…”

His expression held the frightening combination of a Dom’s sympathy…and determination. “All of it, Lindsey.”

Even as she pushed at his hand, his command helped. She wanted to tell someone—needed to—if only it hadn’t been so difficult. Staring at her fingers, she forced the words out. “Agent Ricks said since Travis would kill me, he might as well have fun first. He knocked me down. Kicked me so I couldn’t breathe.” Couldn’t scream.

She had to stop and swallow back the sickness. “I fought.”
But he hit me and hit me.
“He unzipped my jeans and…” The words wouldn’t come.

“Go on, pet,” Simon said softly. Yet when she managed to look up at him, she saw his expression was filled with rage.

“Before he could—the doorbell rang, and I could hear voices. It was the people who’d been in the van.” She realized she was rubbing the scar on the back of her right hand. The big one. “When he put his hand over my mouth, I poked my fingers at his eyes, and he let me go, and I dove through the front window and ran.”

Zander took her arm and pushed her sweater sleeve up, showing the scars. “Did glass cause these?”

“Uh-huh. When I covered my face, the glass ripped my arms instead.” She paused. “I terrified the religious people. They were calling and running toward me. Probably to help, but I panicked. I ran and didn’t realize till I got to the car that I was all bloody.”

The sound Zander made was sheer fury. “Did you go to a hospital?”

She shook her head. “I was too scared. I used socks to stop the bleeding and went to a drugstore. Got a ton of butterfly strips and gauze and antibiotic ointment.” She frowned at the scars. Did they bother him?

He ruffled her hair. “Smart girl. He’d have found you otherwise.”

“Did Ricks give chase at all?” Stan asked.

“Uh-uh. He didn’t even open the door. The religious guys didn’t even know he was there. Heck, they probably figured I was some druggie burglarizing the house.”

“You’ve provided a pretty damning statement of Ricks’s involvement with smuggling.” Stan sighed. “I’ll tell Bonner. And I can see why you’re wary about agents.” He stared at the fire for a moment before looking at her. “How about this—Simon will stay with me while I go through the evidence. Once I know what’s there, we’ll talk some more.”

“I want to see what these guys look like.” Zander stroked her hair. “Will you be comfortable if Dixon stays with you?”

“I’ll let you beat me at pool if you make me a margarita afterward.” Dixon bumped his shoulder into hers.

Dix was a terrible pool player. She gave a tiny laugh. “You’re on.”

* * * *

After beating Dixon at pool and mixing him a couple of drinks—and having some herself—Lindsey pushed all her worries into a corner of her mind. This might be her last chance to hang out with friends; damned if she’d spend it huddled in her cabin.

In the kitchen, Rona was sitting with Jake’s wife, Kallie, at the long center table. Standing at the counter, mixing something, Becca said, “I heard an awful lot of moaning. Did Dixon lose the game?”

“He is one whiny loser.” And he’d gone out of his way to keep her spirits up, bless his heart. A ton of alcohol was bubbling in her bloodstream. “What can I help with?”

“How about cutting up carrots for the salad.” Becca started to hand over a knife and had it plucked away by Rona.

“I don’t think so.” When Rona pointed to a chair, Lindsey obediently sat. “Alcohol and knives—not a good combination.”

“Maybe not for cooking.” Kallie patted her shoulder. “However, from what Logan said you went through, I think you deserve all the liquor you can get.”

“And we’ll keep you company,” Becca said, her eyes warm with sympathy. She held up her spoon. “Since we’ll be playing in Jake’s dungeon, make sure it will wear off by tonight. Perhaps a glass of Bailey’s for now?” Receiving assenting nods, she poured three hefty drinks, and a smaller one for herself.

When Lindsey looked surprised, Becca nodded to the baby monitor. “Can’t indulge much these days; probably not until he goes to college.”

“It definitely puts a crimp in ever getting drunken sex,” Rona said, amused.

“Logan mentioned you weren’t playing in the main lodge anymore.” Before Becca got pregnant, the Serenity Lodge had specialized in “special” parties where a swing or BDSM or leather club might rent all the cabins and take over the place. And last summer, Lindsey had enjoyed the dungeon party held in the lodge.

“Nope. With Ansel here, we’re going mainstream.” Becca grinned. “We can’t use the lodge for play parties if there are non-BDSM people renting cabins. Like this weekend, besides the Dark Haven group, we have an older couple and two single men who’ve rented cabins—all vanilla-straight.”

“The guests are why Jake designed a good-size underground dungeon when we built our house.” Kallie waggled her eyebrows. “It’s really well soundproofed.”

“The parties are smaller, but at least we still can play,” Becca said.

“It’s a shame Abby and Xavier couldn’t come today,” Rona said. “I know they were looking forward to seeing the new dungeon.”

“Lindsey.” Logan stuck his head in the kitchen. “Got a call for you. Use the phone on the reception desk.”

“Oh. Okay.” Lindsey followed him out.

Sprawled next to the reception desk, Logan’s dog thumped his tail on the hardwood floor twice to express his overwhelming pleasure at her arrival.

“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.

Chapter Eighteen

“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.

After locking the cabin, he joined Lindsey on the path. The moonlight shone on her face—and didn’t come close to the glow she radiated.

Fuck, he’d never felt this way about anyone before, and he could almost be grateful to his ex-wife for leaving him. For letting him be free to discover how different love felt if trust was there. If the caring went both ways.

When Lindsey smiled at him, he bent to take another kiss before setting off with her down the path.

Jake’s two-story cabin was well back into the forest behind the lodge. Jake had mentioned that he’d planned to build closer, but he and Kallie had opted for privacy instead.

On the covered porch, deVries tapped on the door.

Kallie opened the door, already dressed in a corset and short red skirt. “Hey, guys. Right on time.” She took their coats and hung them in the entry closet. “So…the rules are pretty much the same as at Dark Haven. The dungeon safeword is red.” She stepped around the massive cat sitting beside the basement door.

“Wow,” Lindsey said. “If people don’t obey the rules, the cat gets them, right?”