The Bodyguard: A BWWM Bad Body Romance(60)

It took Juliet a few half-awake moments to realize what he said, but once she did, her eyes widened in shock. “We’re leaving? Right now?” That couldn’t bode well. Who the hell stole away in the middle of the night with a posse of thirteen protecting them?

“Yes, now. You’ve got twenty minutes to pack your things then Hicks will escort you to the car.” With that curt order, he turned on his heel to leave.

“Simmons, wait!” Juliet grabbed for his hand. When she caught two of his fingers, she held them, tightly, uncaring of who might see. “What happened? Where are we going?” She hesitated a beat before continuing. “Does Hank know we’re changing locations?”

Simmons mouth drew into a tight line. Taking a gentle, but firm hold of her wrist, he slipped his hand from her grasp. “No questions, Juliet. Just get ready.”

Almost immediately, her heart was in her throat. Juliet didn’t like the way Simmons looked at her when she mentioned Hank. If something had happened to him...She rose from the bed and rushed for her bedroom door, only to be blocked by the tall, skinny form of Hicks, the agent currently on duty. “Hicks, let me go, I need to speak to Simmons.”

“You need to pack your things.” Unlike Crowley and Bosh, this man was immune to her charms. He was nothing more than a stern vessel for Simmons orders, and he had proved many times in the past three days that she was nothing more than an inconvenience for him. “Right now.”

Juliet swallowed the lump that rose in her throat, turning angrily back to her room. Now wasn’t the time for her to lose her head. As long as she did what Simmons said now, there would always be time to demand answers later. And she would demand them. If something had gone wrong with Hank there was no way the man was keeping her in the dark.

Twenty minutes later she was hauling two suitcases of her things along with her guitar into the chilly night air. Both Hicks and another agent accompanied her down the steps and into the idling car, where Simmons was waiting. When she slid inside, he was on the phone, speaking in a hushed voice.

“I want a copy of that video in my hands the moment we arrive. Not a second later. Jesus Christ, when did this happen?”

Though she did her best to pretend she wasn’t listening, Juliet felt her heart drop. Something had happened. “We need to contain this. Question the rest of the department. You handle it from your side and I’ll deal with mine. We have to find out if it ended with Crowley.”

If what ended with Crowley? “I’ll call you when we arrive. Yes, Sir. This is a complete clusterfuck. I’m on it.” The moment Simmons hung up, he cursed again, shoving his phone into his pocket a moment before drawing his hands down over his face. The man looked as exhausted as Juliet felt, but she didn’t dare say a word. Not when things were so uncertain. She had no idea where she was going, no idea where Hank was, and, apparently, something significant enough to upset Simmons had happened. It occurred to Juliet in that moment that she had never really seen Simmons lose his temper. The man had a knack for keeping his cool when everyone else was falling apart.

Whatever had driven them from the cabin must be pretty damn bad.

They drove in silence for almost an hour before Simmons spoke again. “You and Hank...you were involved.”

Juliet was too preoccupied to be very concerned that Simmons knew that she and Hank were sleeping together. She merely nodded, afraid to look over at the older man lest he stop speaking. “Juliet, you, more than anyone else, know how dangerous this line of work can be. And you know Hank was fully aware of what he was walking into.”

Her chest tightened and, for a few seconds, Juliet forgot how to breathe. No. No, no, no. “What’s going on, Simmons?” She found herself whispering hoarsely. “What happened?”

He exhaled a long breath. “Crowley. Apparently, he was feeding information to Solomon...at least, he was before he was killed. We’re not sure if he was the only leak or if this is indicative of a deeper problem.” Juliet’s eyes widened in horror.

Crowley might have been a jealous bastard, but she had never imagined him capable of leaking information to Solomon. How long did he plan on letting her imagine she was safe before dropping the curtain on her? Had he planned on simply handing her over and betraying the FBI? Betraying Simmons?

It was almost enough to make her regret grieving for him. She stared down at her hands where they were clenched in her lap. Had Crowley intended for her to be taken in that convenience store? If that was the case, then things must have gone horribly wrong. “You can understand why we have to change locations,” Simmons went on in a low tone, “We have to ensure your security, and make sure this leak is contained.”

Juliet nodded stiffly, ready to thank him for the information he’d imparted on her. At least, until he continued, his voice tightening. “I think you should also know that Hank has been compromised.”

Somehow, Juliet managed to swallow the scream that welled in her throat, even as her heart twisted violently. “Compromised?” The word escaped her in the barest disbelieving whisper.

“We’re not sure of the exact details yet, but I’ll be working on it as soon as we get where we’re going. We’ll do everything we can to get him back.”

Dear God, they knew who Hank was. All those months of infiltration - of coming back beat up and bruised - had been for nothing. If Solomon had discovered Hank’s identity, Juliet couldn’t imagine him doing anything but putting a bullet in his head. The Aguiler family had never had the healthy fear of authority that seemed to permeate the rest of the drug world. They knew they were untouchable and liked to flaunt that power - Solomon most of all.