Dangerous Protector (Red Stone Security #14)(18)

“I’m going to reset the alarm.” Aaron dropped his hand, his gaze still all-consuming as he took a step back from her, giving her the space she desperately needed.

The second he did it was like she could breathe again. She sucked air into her lungs as he strode from the kitchen. Even the way he walked was sexy.

Sighing, she rubbed a hand over her face. She needed sleep. Unfortunately, she had a feeling it wasn’t going to come easy. Not tonight.

*

Sticking to the low speed limit, Alec Rossi drove down Tegan O’Kelly’s quiet residential street. Cute little townhomes and bungalows lined the curving road, and most vehicles were in the driveways and out of sight. Some kids’ toys had been left in front yards, but for the most part all the yards were neat and tidy. The majority of homes had Christmas lights adorning them or at least a wreath on the front door and festive ribbons on the mailbox. It was late, after midnight, but the neighborhood was big enough that it wasn’t strange to see someone driving home.

Of course he wasn’t going home. He didn’t live here.

When Alec saw an unmarked cop car in Tegan’s driveway he kept driving. Hers was one of the few homes without decorations or lights. He cracked his knuckles, frustrated by the extra security. But it was to be expected after the bombing. If there hadn’t been anyone outside her place he would have been even more suspicious.

There were two entrances to the neighborhood so he used the other to leave instead of heading back down the street. If he did the latter, just circling back by the cop car, it would draw attention he didn’t need. For all the cop knew, he lived here, and Alec didn’t want the guy to see him twice.

Not in this vehicle anyway. He’d have to ditch it now and procure another one.

The O’Kelly woman was making things difficult for him by not doing what she was supposed to: die. It wasn’t personal and if she wanted to blame anyone it was that stupid prick Enzo De Fiore.

Enzo should have stayed dead. He had enough money to get out of the country. Or he should have had enough if he was smart. All those years as top dog, the man should have been squirreling away funds. But Enzo thought the woman had a bunch of diamonds and wanted them, had refused to leave the country without them.

Too bad for Enzo she didn’t have jack.

Unfortunately for the woman, she needed to die because of Enzo’s belief. She was a loose end and her death had to be violent and spectacular. To make it look like her nonexistent partner had killed her.

That way Enzo would just walk away. She’d be dead and, without any leads, the fool wouldn’t have anyone to hunt anymore. He would leave the country and be out of their hair. Or he’d just keep hunting her imaginary partner until he got caught by the Feds.

Of course, Alec could just kill Enzo and be done with it, but his boss didn’t want him to do that. Not unless he had to.

Stupid code of honor or whatever. Alec didn’t agree with it, but that was just the way it was with these old school gangsters sometimes. They had rules they liked to follow. At least when it suited them. Because if Enzo got in the way, Alec knew his boss would order him to kill the guy.

Hell, he might kill Enzo regardless. Just because he could. He could make that one look like an accident. Or just kill him and dispose of the body so that no one would find it.

It was certainly something to think about.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw that he wasn’t being tailed so he started heading back to his temporary residence.

The good news was, if the woman had a police detail on her place, she was home. Or it was more likely that she was. Nothing could stop Alec when he was on a job, so a little thing like a bodyguard outside wouldn’t save her.

He’d just have to break in and kill her. Then set her house on fire, making sure the entire place was razed to the ground. It was one option.

Tomorrow he’d head to where she worked and see if he could get to her there. Unfortunately, if she had a police detail it would make his life more difficult.

Which was just as well. His jobs had started to get boring anyway. Livening things up a little wasn’t such a bad thing.

He just wished he knew for certain if the woman was home. He’d tried tracking her phone but couldn’t get a ping on it. She’d probably taken out the battery.

Something he found very interesting. Most people wouldn’t have thought to do that.

But she had been on the run from Enzo for a couple of years so she was adept at hiding. Clearly. Going off grid the way she had would have been difficult for most people. But humans could do amazing things in an effort to stay alive. The survival instinct in some was a powerful thing. Maybe taking out the battery was a habit she’d picked up. Alec just hoped she didn’t go on the run again.

Because if she did, Enzo would try to track her and he’d have to track her, too. All he wanted to do was wrap up this job and head home. Not hunt after some bitch who should already be dead.





Chapter 6





Aaron crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall outside Carlito’s office. He couldn’t hear anything going on inside other than the murmur of voices. He didn’t like that Tegan was in there without him. At least Carlito had insisted on being in there—and he’d been stubborn about it, too—because the Feds had wanted to speak to her alone.

Aaron understood why he’d told Tegan not to let the FBI bulldoze her, because that was exactly their MO. When he’d been in the Corps he hadn’t dealt with them, but since working for Red Stone he’d had the occasional interaction with an FBI agent. With the exception of the HRT guys, who were solid, most agents he’d come in contact with were dicks. It was like it was part of the FBI’s employment requirement. He’d rather deal with any other agency than them.