Under Pressure (Body Armor #1)(73)
“I look forward to hearing from you.”
He paused once more. “You should know, Ms. Silver. If you’re jacking me around, spinning a trap, you’re going to regret it.” His black gaze crawled down her body. “And you know what? I almost hope you are.”
With that last implied threat, he turned and strode away.
Furious, Justice said, “What the hell—”
“Shush.” After a telling glance, she squeezed Justice’s hand. “Let’s get out of the cold before we talk. Even my bones are starting to shiver.” Of course, that could be pure reaction to Tesh. In every way, on every level, he repulsed her.
Catalina was smart to run from him. But she couldn’t run forever.
Justice reached for the back passenger door, where she usually sat.
“I’ll ride up front tonight.”
He didn’t question her on that. He got her door open with a little effort, thanks to the ice, then waited for her to get in before going around to the driver’s side. Once he started the vehicle, he cranked up the thermostat and flipped the switch for the heated seats.
“I need to scrape the windows, but keep an eye out, okay?”
“Of course.” Not that she could see much through the ice.
Justice worked with quick efficiency, clearing each window with a scraper while also continually checking the area. Normally the car would have been protected in the covered lot, but he’d parked close enough to the opening that the ice had blown in everywhere. As she’d said, it was a miserable night. Hopefully they wouldn’t lose power.
Once back in the car, Justice put it in gear and pulled away. As soon as they were on the main roads, he said, “Leese is going to be severely pissed.”
“On the contrary, he will be thrilled, because now, Justice, we have a way to get to them.”
The light of realization dawned in his eyes. “You aren’t handing her over?”
“Of course not. I’ll forgive you, just this once, for doubting me. Just don’t let it happen again.”
Justice slowly unleashed an enormous grin. “Yes, ma’am.” He waited a moment more before laughing. “You’re scary, you know that, right?”
Flattered, Sahara smiled at him. “Why thank you, Justice.”
“Welcome.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know what you have planned, and neither did Tesh. That makes him even more dangerous.”
“Yes, it does.” And somehow they had to keep Catalina safe. She drew out her cell and dialed Leese.
After she explained, she found out that Justice was right, after all.
Leese was pissed.
She thought about reminding him, despite her very lenient attitude, that he worked for her. But in truth, she enjoyed the protective anger. It reminded her of her brother.
Scott, too, had often worried for her.
But he’d also taught her to be strong and smart and independent. Tomorrow she’d meet with Leese and they’d work out details.
“Until then,” she told Leese, “you should worry about Catalina, and let me worry about me.” She disconnected on his protest, smiled at Justice and asked, “How would you like to spend the night?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LEESE’S MEETING WITH Sahara didn’t happen.
Shortly after he’d gone to the store for more protection, the snowstorm worsened and they ended up with the second largest snowfall to ever hit Ohio. From Toledo to Portsmouth, record cold, snow and ice shut down cities. Road crews couldn’t keep up and the mayor declared a snow emergency, recommending that everyone stay home for safety reasons.
Sahara got through to him twice, but the landline connection was iffy and speaking over the cell phone was too dangerous. Only a few people had made it into the agency, and Sahara wasn’t one of them. Given how many wrecks were reported, Leese was glad she didn’t try.
He figured Tesh and his cohorts were equally disabled by the weather, so it was probably a wash; he and Sahara couldn’t make plans, and the people after Cat couldn’t cause problems.
Through the next two days, the power went off, came on and went out again. There were plenty of candles in the penthouse, they had enough food and the propane fireplace in the center of the room radiated heat everywhere. The switch, of course, didn’t work, but Leese was able to manually turn it on.
The building was still secure; even when the power blipped, the auxiliary power, run by a generator, kept everything locked up right and tight.
It didn’t make sense, even to him, but he didn’t mind being snowed in with Cat. In fact, it felt like a forced respite, an ensured time period with her. He couldn’t research, couldn’t go out, and that meant no one else could either.
All he could do was enjoy her.
And he enjoyed her a lot. “You know, Cat, I could get used to this.”
Glancing over her shoulder at him, she asked, “What? Posing?”
Leese smiled. He rested in bed, naked, his shoulders propped against the headboard, one corner of the sheet barely covering his lap.
Catalina, equally naked, stood in front of a makeshift easel sketching him. She’d pinned up her fawn-colored hair in a loose, tousled bun that threatened to drop free at any minute.
“Actually, I meant watching you work naked.”