Slaying the Dragon (Deception Duet #2) (13 page)

“Don’t worry about any of that, Mack. If you need to swap cars with me for a while, I’m fine with it. Believe me. I think James would love cruising around in your convertible.” He winked.

“Thanks, boo.” I stood on my toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best. I’ll make sure to fill it with gas.”

“Don’t even think about it. But if you need gas, here.” He reached into his pocket and handed me a stack of bills.

I held my hand up. “Brayden, I don’t want your money.”

“Well, I don’t, either. So if you’re not going to use it to fill up
my
car with gas, you can go buy my little nephew some toys or…whatever babies need.”

I laughed at how little he knew. Hell,
I
didn’t know much more. I had been looking online at all these baby stores and was completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of everything. I didn’t know the purpose behind half the stuff. I thought all I’d need would be a stroller, a car seat, and some diapers. I soon found out how wrong I was. For something so small, babies required a ton of stuff.

“I’m serious,” he insisted. “You need to start thinking about getting some things for that little guy.”

“It could be a girl.”

“Whatever,” he said, brushing me off. “Let me take you shopping this weekend.”

“Brayden, I–”

“If you don’t want me to buy you anything, I won’t. But you should at least have a registry so people can buy your baby things he’s going to need.”

I rolled my eyes, sitting in the chair across from him. “Like who? You and Jenna are the only people who give a shit about me.”

He glared at me. “That’s not true and you know it. Stop with the pity party, Mack. It’s getting old.” His normally light and buoyant voice turned harsh. My spine straightened and I did a double take.

“What do you–”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about,” he shot back. “I get it. You’re pissed. You’re angry. You’re hurt. But don’t let what happened between you and Tyler become
who
…
you
…
are
.”

I slouched into the lush chair, placing a hand on my stomach. “But it has, and I don’t know how to change it.”

“You don’t have to change who you are, Mack. You know the best revenge, don’t you?”

“What’s that?” I tilted my head and his eyes softened, reminding me of the special bond we had that I didn’t have with anyone else in my life…Jenna included.

“Living a happy life, Mack. People love you. Your employees. Your friends from college, who you’ve cut out of your life. You’d be surprised how many people will be at your side to support you if you’d just let them. I know you love the challenge of trying to prove you can overcome any obstacle, but it’s okay to let other people do things for you once in a while.”

I eyed him, the sincerity in his gaze warming my heart. “Fine. We can go shopping. I know how much you love it.” I winked, easing the tension between us.

“You know me so well, baby girl.”

Spying the time on the clock behind Brayden, I stood up from the chair and grabbed my purse. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll drop your car off before my doctor’s appointment tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Call me when you get to wherever you’re going.”

“I will.” I placed one more kiss on his cheek and left his office. Taking the elevator down to the garage beneath the building, I found his mid-size SUV, hoping the change in vehicle would throw off my mysterious tail.

Getting behind the wheel, I checked my rearview mirror as I pulled out of the garage and onto the street, relieved when the dark sedan idling against the curb didn’t follow. However, almost immediately, a nondescript gray compact car pulled out from beyond the sedan and came to a stop behind me at a light. I squinted my eyes to see the man driving the car bore a striking resemblance to Wyatt, one of the security guards at my condo building. Was
he
following me, too? I hated that I was paranoid, but I couldn’t risk anyone finding out about my father.

A horn sounded, snapping me back to reality, and I looked up to see the light had turned green. Instead of taking a right, as my turn signal indicated, I pressed my foot to the accelerator and took a quick left, my heart racing in my chest as I waited to see if the car followed. Several anxious miles passed as I constantly looked into my rearview mirror, seeing no sign of it.

Beginning to relax, I pulled up to a stoplight, getting ready to make a left onto the interstate. As the light turned green, I spied the gray car a few yards behind me, Wyatt at the wheel. Irritated, I pulled a U-turn. He swung his car around, as well, tailing me down the street. Swerving into a nearby gas station, I parked Brayden’s car, and stormed up the street toward him.

Slowing to a stop on the side of the road, Wyatt quickly opened the driver’s side door and looked over his shoulder in a frantic manner. “Get in the car, Mackenzie,” he said, his voice grave. He ran around to the rear passenger side and opened the door.

“I don’t think so,” I scoffed. “Not until you tell me why you’re following me.”

“I’ll tell you after you get in the car!” he ordered in an agitated manner.

“I wasn’t born yesterday. There’s no way in hell I’m getting in the car of a man who’s following me!”

He opened his mouth, but must have noticed something in the distance. Moving swiftly, he covered my mouth with his hand and lifted me up. I struggled against him, my screams muffled as he placed me in the back seat. He slammed the door and ran around to the driver’s side, the entire time my mind racing as I attempted to open the door…to no avail.

Once he was situated, he turned around to face me. “
I’m
not following you,” he said finally, insinuating someone
was
following me. His expression was soft and compassionate, making him look…human, and not like some former military guy with a stick permanently shoved up his ass.

“Then who is? The guy in the dark sedan that’s been parked outside my condo building the past few nights?”

“You mean him?” He gestured up the street and my spine stiffened. I watched the dark sedan pull up next to Brayden’s car, the sole occupant getting out. He peered into the SUV, circled it, then paused briefly before looking beneath it.

“Who is he?” I asked, my voice soft as I observed him scanning the area for what I assumed was my location. He fished his phone out of his pocket and made a call. After a brief exchange, he got back into his car and peeled out of the gas station. As he drove by, I crouched in my seat, trying to hide.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Wyatt said, “but I’m treating him as a potential threat to your safety.”

“Taking your new position a bit seriously, aren’t you? Or did Paul not tell you that your job was to simply look out for anything suspicious occurring in the
building
, not follow me to see my friend.” I climbed into the passenger seat, hoping the childproof locks were only installed in the back. As I was about to open the door, a strong, calloused hand clutched my arm and I was once again facing Wyatt’s concerned gray eyes.

“That’s not my real job,” he admitted through clenched teeth.

“Then what is?” I hissed.

“That’s confidential, ma’am.” He released his hold on me. “All you need to know is it’s my job to make sure nothing happens to you.”

I raised my eyebrows in a somewhat contemptuous manner. For years, I put up with vague declarations that I was in need of protection. I still didn’t really know from what.

“I’m twenty-six, almost twenty-seven!” I shouted. “Nothing’s happened to me yet. I’d appreciate it if people would finally be honest with me and tell me what the hell is
really
going on. Are you willing to do that?”

“Miss Delano…,” he began, his eyes still stern. I knew there was no way I was going to get any information out of him. My guess was he would carry any secret to his death before putting his job in jeopardy. I knew his type. I fell in love with his type…twice.

I threw open the door and walked at a fast clip back toward the gas station.
 

“If you get in that car,” he shouted after me, “you’ll lead whomever it is straight to your father. Is that something you’re willing to do?”

My breath hitched and I stopped in my tracks, slowly turning around to face him. I craned my neck to stare at him, my mouth agape in shock.

“I told you,” he said. “It’s my job to protect you. I can only do that if I know everything about you, including who I need to protect you
from
.”

“You mean…my father?” I asked in a muted voice, almost too scared to hear his response. I raised my eyes to his and he exhaled, shaking his head.

“No. I don’t think he’s a threat to
you
.”

The way he said it made me think he still considered my father a threat. I tore my gaze from his, not saying anything in response.

“Or should I be concerned?”

“No. My father would never hurt me.” He nodded his head. “Or anyone else, for that matter,” I added, my eyes fierce.

“Like the sixty-plus people he’s accused of killing all those years ago at the embassy in Liberia?” he asked. I could feel the burn of his eyes on me.

“How do you know about that?” I glanced at him, lowering my voice. “How do you know who I am?”

“I told you. It’s my job to know everything about you, including who you really are.”

“So you can know everything about me, but I’m not allowed to even know who you’re working for? You want to protect me from some unknown threat? Trust is a two-way street, Wyatt,” I sneered. “How do I know this isn’t some sort of sick, twisted joke?”

I spun on my heels, my irritation loud and clear.

“Did you know Tyler refused to go back to his house after you ran from him?” he shouted.

Stopping abruptly, I inhaled quickly, my eyes growing wide as I turned to look over my shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I hissed.

“Yes, you do,” he said, taking slow steps toward me. He stood in front of me, his expression soft. “It was the last Sunday in March. It was foggy in the morning, but it cleared later so when you got into that cab, it was a picture perfect day. But not for Tyler. That was the day he stopped living.”

“How do you–”

“That was also the day he found out his own life could be in danger. You see, his brother realized Tyler knew where your father was. I’ve known Alexander for longer than I care to admit.”

I rolled my eyes at the mention of that name, my animosity toward Tyler’s brother obvious.

“You may not like some of his decisions, but his main concern has always been his family. Watching out for them. Protecting them.”

“So…what? He was an ass to me to make me want to walk out on his brother? To protect him from me?”

“No. Truth be told, until you get to know him, Alexander can be a bit of a cold person.”

“His behavior was normal?”

“Yes, ma’am. But your presence certainly took him by surprise. When it all went to hell, he needed to do something to regain control over the situation and protect his brother.”

“So he sent him away?”

He nodded. “Tyler didn’t want to go, but he reluctantly agreed after making Alexander promise you’d be safe from harm, as well.”

I absorbed what Wyatt was telling me. Being angry at Tyler for disappearing was so much easier when I thought he simply used me, then abandoned me, despite what his mother had told me. Now that I knew he was
ordered
to leave, that he did everything to ensure my safety, it softened my resentment.

“When will he be back? And why hasn’t he picked up the phone?”

Wyatt’s expression hardened once more. “It’s not my place to say, ma’am. However, you should know that Mr. Burnham considers your safety to be a top priority.”

“What does he know?” I asked, placing a hand on my stomach. An uneasy feeling washed over me at the prospect that Wyatt had been working for Alexander and was communicating with him about me.

“Only what is necessary to successfully complete the assignment, nothing more, ma’am. And nothing of a personal nature,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Wyatt.”

“It’s not my place, ma’am.”

I nodded and fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable about the heavy silence. “Well,” I said, clearing the air. “I have an appointment I can’t miss.”

“Right,” he replied, escorting me up the block and back to the gas station. As if he knew precisely what he was looking for, he lowered himself to the ground and pulled a flashlight out of his pocket, shining it on the undercarriage of the SUV. “Just as I expected,” he commented, reaching underneath the car. After a few seconds, he raised himself.

“What is it?” I asked.

“GPS tracker,” he said. “Government-issue, too. Identical to the one I pulled off your convertible this morning. It looks like our friend stuck it beneath Mr. Weller’s car so he could track your whereabouts.”

“Government-issue?” I asked. I didn’t know what was worse…an unknown entity keeping tabs on me or a federal agent. “Why didn’t you remove it?”

“Because if I keep the tracker on, I can lead him straight to me and find out who he is and what he wants.”

“Do you think he’s looking for my father, too?”

“It would appear that way, wouldn’t it? Give me your keys. We’re switching cars,” he said, tossing his keys at me. I reached into my purse and handed him the keys to Brayden’s SUV. “You go do what you need to do, but I will check in every hour. Understand?”

A million thoughts circling in my head about who the man in the sedan could possibly be, I remained in a daze as Wyatt walked me to his car and helped me into the driver’s seat. With each day that went by, my life was spiraling more and more out of control, ghosts of my past resurfacing. I feared it would only be a matter of time before it all came crumbling down on top of me.