Her Perfect Mate (22 page)

round into the sedan the men were hiding behind. She didn’t hit either of them, but that wasn’t her intent.

She was simply keeping them occupied until Landon arrived, but a lucky shot could still take her out any

second. He didn’t have much time.

Landon burst out the door and dived behind a big, concrete flower box in front of the apartment

building. He crouched and quickly peered around the edge, looking for Bosch, but didn’t see him. He

hoped Stutmeir’s goons hadn’t stashed the biologist in the trunk of the sedan Ivy was targeting.

Landon put a round in the kidnapper closest to him. The second guy immediately turned and darted

behind the cars parallel parked along the curb before his colleague even hit the pavement.

Landon stayed where he was, waiting to see if the guy would take up another defensive position. But

the schmuck was too smart for that. He kept his head low and took off running down the sidewalk away

from him and Ivy.

Landon threw a quick glance at the Escalade and saw Ivy give him a nod. Trusting her to cover him, he

raced across the street to check the sedan. Bosch was curled into a ball on the floorboard of the backseat,

his arms protectively over his head. He looked up hesitantly when Landon poked his head in. The

biologist’s wire-rimmed glasses were a little cockeyed but otherwise he looked fine.

“I’m a federal agent. Stay put,” Landon ordered, then turned and took off down the street, keeping the

cars between him and the fleeing attacker. Behind him, he could hear Ivy’s barely audible footsteps as she

raced to catch up.

***

walked into the lobby of the posh high-rise. But it wasn’t like her kitty cat alarm had been screaming at her,

so she’d ignored what it was saying. It wasn’t until they were in the elevator and Landon made the

comment about the doorman—or lack of one—she realized she’d made a mistake. By then the elevator

doors had opened and everything had gone wacky. First the noise on the second elevator, then the sound of

Abigail’s sobbing, followed by the unmistakable smell of fear. There’d been too many sensations coming at

her all at once, and she couldn’t separate what was important and what wasn’t. If she’d listened to her

instincts downstairs, they might have stopped the kidnapping altogether.

That was probably why she’d recklessly jumped off the balcony without knowing what was waiting for

her below. Fortunately, she’d landed in the middle of a grassy community outdoor living space and not on

top of a jungle gym.

Landon glanced at her as she pulled even with him. “Let’s take this guy alive if we can.”

Good idea. But hard to do when the guy was firing a gun in their direction. Fortunately, he wasn’t very

accurate, but she was still worried about innocent bystanders. She yelled for them to get to safety as she and

Landon gained on the suspect.

The guy ran out of ammo, tossed the gun aside, and kept going. Now that they didn’t have to worry

about him shooting back, she picked up speed. Beside her, Landon did the same.

Up ahead, the man darted down a side alley. She slowed, coming to a stop at the entrance. She darted

her head around the building for a quick peek, then looked at Landon.

“He’s hiding behind a Dumpster on the left-hand side about halfway down the alley. I can see his foot

sticking out.”

“Can you jump over it?” Landon asked.

“The Dumpster? Yeah.”

“I’ll cover you. If he pops up his head, I’ll fire.”

Giving her a nod, he ran down the alley, putting a single round through the Dumpster so the man hiding

behind it wouldn’t even think about returning fire—if he even had another weapon.

Ivy followed, hugging the left wall of the alley so the man wouldn’t see her coming, then hurtled the

Dumpster. If she didn’t do her part—and quickly—Landon’d be standing square in the middle of the alley

with nowhere to duck and cover. She tucked her knees and somersaulted into the air. She landed hard so

Stutmeir’s man would hear her. When he craned his head around to look, she punched him square in the

nose. He went down just in time for Landon to tackle him, which was unnecessary since she’d already

knocked the guy out. But she let him have his fun.

He lifted the unconscious man and hoisted him over his shoulder, then grinned at her. “Nice work.”

She grinned back. More like nice teamwork.

***

apartment. The biologist, however, wasn’t in the back of the sedan where Landon had ordered him to stay.

Something that pissed off her partner.

“His wife was hurt. You didn’t expect him to stay in the car, did you?” Ivy asked.

Landon only grunted.

Ivy frowned as they neared the patrol cars. Two cops were checking out the bullet-riddled car, while

another was crouched beside the body of the man Landon had shot. No doubt there’d be more cops on the

way, which meant they needed to take control of the situation. She flashed her badge, identifying herself

and Landon as Homeland Security, then explained they needed to leave the man they’d apprehended in the

back of a police cruiser until their backup got there to take the guy in.

The cops looked uncertain for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” One of the officers glanced at

her as he led the way to one of the squad cars. “Who is that guy? A terrorist or something?”

“Let’s just call him a person of interest for now,” she said.

Landon dumped the unconscious man in the backseat, then slammed the door. “When your duty captain

gets here, let him know my partner and I are up on the fifth floor in apartment five twelve.”

Ivy had been right about Phil Bosch. He was sitting on the couch with his wife and daughter. A red-

haired paramedic was tending to his wife Deidre’s wound. Upon seeing her and Landon, Abigail jumped up

and ran over to hug Ivy. She almost laughed when the girl threw her arms around Landon next. He looked

like he’d been attacked by a small creature from Mars. He had no idea what to do. Finally, he hesitantly put

an arm around the girl.

Abigail beamed up at him. “I knew you’d save my dad.” She handed Ivy her iPhone. “I called the

police, just like you told me to.”

Phil Bosch murmured something to his wife, then stood and came over. “I have to thank you as well.

Though I have no idea who you are or who those people were who tried to grab me.”

Landon told him they were with Homeland Security, then added, “Just doing our job.”

Ivy glanced at Deidre. “How is your wife?”

“She says she’s fine, but I still want a doctor to take a look at her. She might have a concussion.” His

eyes were clouded with concern when he turned back to them. “You said you’re with Homeland Security.

Were those men terrorists?”

“We can’t give you details at this time,” Ivy said. “All I can tell you is that those men were interested in

you because of what you do for a living. We’ll be able to explain everything later, but for now we’re going

to have to ask you to play stupid when the NYPD asks you anything.”

He gave her a wry smile. “That shouldn’t be difficult since I have no idea why the kind of work I do

would interest anyone, much less prompt this much violence. I’m just glad you showed up when you did.”

Ivy’s cell phone rang. “Excuse me.” She moved off to the side and held it to her ear. “Halliwell.”

“It’s John. A team is on the way to pick up your prisoner, as well as another one to debrief Bosch and

his family and take them to a safe house. When they arrive, I want you and Landon on the next flight back

to DC. I want to move on Stutmeir as soon as his guy talks.”

She made a face. “If he talks.”

“That’s not going to be a problem,” John assured her.

Ivy pocketed her phone and turned to find Landon beside her. She was about to fill him in when

Abigail came running over. She didn’t want the girl knowing about the safe house until they’d talked to her

parents.

“I wanted to thank you again,” Abigail said.

Ivy smiled. “You’re very welcome. We’re glad we got here in time.”

Abigail glanced at her parents, then lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I didn’t tell my mom and dad.”

Ivy frowned. “About what?”

“About you jumping off the balcony. I figured that was supposed to be our secret.”

Ivy looked at Landon, stunned. She hadn’t even thought about the girl seeing her when she’d done that.

Rule one in the Shifter Rule Book—Don’t Let Anyone See You Shift. And if someone did, deny it.

Something told her Abigail wasn’t going to buy that. Better to not make a big deal of it.

“Thank you, Abigail. I appreciate it.”

“I wanted to ask you something.” The girl hesitated, looking suddenly unsure of herself. “I was

wondering…are you a superhero? You know, like in the movies?”

The way the girl was looking up at her all wide-eyed with admiration made Ivy blush. She’d never

thought of herself as a superhero.

Landon grinned. “Yeah, she’s a superhero.”

Ivy did a double take.

Abigail’s smile was smug. “I thought so.” She looked at Landon. “Are you a superhero, too?”

He chuckled. “Me? Nah. I’m just a sidekick.”

The girl nodded. “Being a sidekick’s cool, too. And don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

Giving them a wave, Abigail hurried back to her parents.

Ivy leaned in close to Landon. “Sidekick, huh? You, Agent Donovan, are so much more than that.”

Leaving him standing there, she turned and walked over to talk to Phil and his wife about moving to a

safe house.

Chapter 12

“Want to come over for dinner?”

The words were out of Ivy’s mouth before she could stop them. She wished she could chalk it up to

being tired—she and Landon hadn’t had more than a catnap (he’d teased her so much about that stupid

word she’d almost hit him) on the flight back to DC that morning, which had been followed by a

ridiculously long debriefing—but she couldn’t. She never thought she’d say it, but she liked spending time

with her partner. And since they’d already demonstrated they could be alone with each other without tearing

off one another’s clothes, she didn’t see a problem.

“Want me to grab takeout?” he asked.

“I’ll make something.” She smiled. “Have to get some use out of that fancy kitchen of mine.”

But cooking dinner—even if it was for a partner she had a completely platonic relationship with—made

it feel suspiciously like a date. And if that didn’t, standing in front of her closet wondering what top to pair

with the jeans she had on sure did. Muttering under her breath, she grabbed a fluttery flower-print retro

shirt and slipped into it just as the doorbell rang.

Landon was at her door, a bottle of wine in his hand.

“My contribution to the meal.” His mouth curved. “I didn’t know whether to get red or white.”

“Red’s terrific.” She stepped back, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

He’d showered and changed before coming over, and she had to keep from taking a big whiff as he

walked in. She closed the door, then led the way into the kitchen.

“This is nice.”

“Thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Where did they put you up?”

Now that they were done with training, they didn’t have to stay at the complex down at Quantico.

“An apartment down in Alexandria. It’s nice, but not this nice.”

Probably meaning it had a bed, a television, and not much else. “The bigger square footage comes as

part of the EVA benefits package. There are some really good home decorating stores around here. If you

want, I could go with you and help pick out some stuff, spruce up your place.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Great, Ivy. Way to put some distance

between you and your partner.
Who looked even more scrumptious than usual in a pair of jeans and a T-

shirt. She gave him a sideways look and saw him flash her a grin.

“I just might take you up on that. My decorating skills are limited to figuring out where the TV goes.”

“Dinner’s almost ready.” She set the bottle on the counter. “There’s a corkscrew in the top drawer if you

want to open the wine.”

As she took the lasagna out of the oven, Ivy tried not to watch him work, but the way the muscles in his

forearms flexed as he uncorked the wine was mesmerizing. His hands were pretty fascinating, too. Big with

long, tapered fingers. The kind of hands that would feel so good on her naked body.

She gripped the edge of the casserole dish tightly as she carried it to the table. Even the lasagna couldn’t

mask the pheromones Landon was emitting.

“This table looks like it’s an antique,” he remarked as they sat down. “Is it?”

Not exactly where her mind had been going, but talking about her dining room table was much safer

dinner conversation than what she’d been thinking.

“You have a good eye.” She dished out the lasagna. “I picked it up in an antique shop when I was in