Under Pressure (Body Armor #1)(94)

For half the night, he’d stayed awake in the darkness, hard and hurting because of it, wanting Cat, listening to her breathe and wondering how he was going to save her.

He never had come up with an answer.

With no other clothes to choose from, Leese had stuck with his slacks and nothing more. It might be disrespectful in front of his boss, but Sahara was now more than that. She’d seen him naked, helped him conspire to keep authorities in the dark, and had tacitly accepted his relationship with a client. They’d left the employer/employee boundary in the dust.

Justice continually yawned, his eyes barely open even though he frowned. He looked to be in a similar state of antsy unrest. His Mohawk listed to the side in an odd sort of bed-head style. He, at least, had been able to change into jogging pants and a white T-shirt.

In the too-big pajamas she’d pulled back on, Cat looked adorably small. She also looked uncertain and vulnerable.

Sahara, the only one with her eyes wide open, had her long brown hair pulled over her shoulder in a braid. Even without makeup, she was beautiful. She wore a gown and matching robe in soft gray with pink trim, and pink slippers. Very pretty.

Justice nodded at Leese’s bandaged side. “How do you feel?”

“I’m fine.” He gave his friend a “drop it” look. The last thing he wanted was for Cat to start fretting. He turned to Sahara. “I’m heading to the agency today. I need to grab a few things.”

She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Give me another hour and I’ll call the attorneys to see if they were able to hustle the cops along. The last I heard yesterday evening, it shouldn’t be a problem. There’s no question that those men intruded, and that you did only what you needed to do.”

Justice asked, “Why do the cops think they were there?”

“They know Catalina is from a wealthy family. The general consensus, without any truth volunteered from us, was that they hoped to rob her.” Sahara shook her head. “But that’s flimsy at best. Still, there’s no one to tell them otherwise. Not unless we decide to share the whole truth—”

“We can’t,” Cat said, without looking up from her coffee.

“No, we can’t,” Sahara agreed. “Not yet anyway.” Distracted, she glanced at Leese, down to his chest, then away. “I meant to tell you yesterday, but in the middle of the confusion, I forgot. Those two men you ran into at Catalina’s house?”

“What about them?”

“They’re missing.”

Interest sharpened, Leese sat forward. “Missing, as in they didn’t show up for work, or they’re presumed dead?”

“I’d go with the latter. My PI checked into it, of course, and they haven’t been seen since the day you found them at her house.” She nodded at Cat. “My guess is that someone didn’t like the way they’d screwed up.”

Brows beetled, Cat went back to sipping her coffee.

“Also, that license plate you got back when Tesh first approached you? It doesn’t match any registered car, yet it’s the same plate on the car that Enoch escaped.”

Well, hell. Leese sat back in his seat. “Completely fake plates?”

“On a now-abandoned car.” She sipped her coffee and sighed. “Under normal circumstances, it could be days before the crime scene is cleared. But my attorneys explained that we didn’t have days. After all, Body Armor is a business...” She waited a heartbeat before adding, “...and we have a party tomorrow.”

Disbelief hit Leese. “You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I am.”

Just as stunned, Justice said, “That’s fucking nuts.”

Cat sat frozen, silent, her eyes huge.

Sahara stood to refill her coffee. “I have important clients coming.” She carried the carafe back to the table. “And it’s also part of my plan.”

Less controlled than Leese, Justice said, “So share the damn plan already.”

“So surly.” After refilling each cup, she took her seat again. “The list of attendees for the party includes some of our most important clients. Those who had high-profile cases, nothing secretive. But we executed our obligations with professionalism, so we now have their loyalty.” She smiled. “And that means Senator Platt will also be in attendance.”

Leese nearly lurched out of his chair. “What?”

With a casual shrug, Sahara said, “He is—or rather was—a preferred client. It’s well-known that Body Armor provided security during speaking engagements and special appearances. He’s endorsed the agency with other important clients.” She glanced at Cat. “Of course, that was before I knew of his proclivity for rape, violence and murder. Now that I do know, I need to destroy him.”

Churning with fury that hadn’t really died from the day before, Leese demanded, “By using Cat as bait?”

“How else? And while nothing is without risk, I do have several ways to ensure her safety.”

Done with the discussion, Leese said a flat, “No.”

“It’s not up to you,” Sahara told him, and her gaze again shifted to Cat. Gently, she said, “Don’t you want to end this? Once and for all?”

Cat drew a slow, shaky breath, and nodded. “Yes. Very much.”