He could come back. Was he alone?
I carry her through the splintered door, down the stairs, and up to the SUV. Jackson has the door open, eyes wide as I deposit her into the vehicle. He jumps into the backseat with her, already opening his med kit.
“He got into a white van. Sam went after them.” Sam is one of my security guards that follows me from a distance.
I collapse into the driver’s seat, tearing out of the parking lot as he explains what happened after the attacker ran off.
“Do we need a hospital?” My heart is in my throat as I ask, glancing back to see him tying a cord around her arm.
“No. I’ve treated worse in the field. She’ll be fine.”
I blow out a breath, sending up a prayer of thanks. The Sunday lunchtime traffic is bad, but I weave in and out of the cars, earning honks as I go. I get out my phone, sending a quick text to my pilot.
I was almost too late.
I was on my way to Bradshaw Enterprises to search through Georginne’s office. If she was the one who hired Kate without the qualifications, she could have planted the bugs in my penthouse. If she’s working for Tycos, this all is starting to make more sense. Kate working for me after our night together is still too much of a coincidence, but some of the pieces are beginning to fit together.
And now, this.
I was nearly at my downtown office when Jackson texted me to tell me that Kate went to see her dad and that she was upset.
I don’t know why I cared or wanted to comfort her, but I felt compelled to go see if she was okay.
What would’ve happened if I hadn’t gotten there when I did?
A tight feeling in my gut reminds me that I have let myself get more involved than I should have before knowing what her true agenda was.
“Did you see his face?” I ask.
“Nope, fucker kept the mask on. I got the plates, but I’m sure they’re stolen.”
I grit my teeth, bloodied knuckles gripping the steering wheel tighter.Who was he? Why was he after Kate?
After what she told me about getting hired the morning after we slept together, I’m assuming there was another party involved. Someone could be using her to get to me.
But who and why?
Unless the whole thing was a setup.
Would Kate really go so far to let the guy stab her?
I’ve seen my enemies do far worse to gain the upper hand, but this is Kate.
“We need to get to the safe house until I can find out who he was and who he’s working for. He wasn’t a cheap mercenary. He was a pro,” I tell Jackson.
The rubber screeches against the pavement as I make a left turn on a yellow light, nearly careening into a crowd ofpedestrians standing on the edge of the street. We’re a few blocks from my penthouse, where the helicopter should already be waiting.
“Did you notice anything about him that we can start on?”
I think back to the aggressive confrontation in the apartment. It happened fast, and I was focused on taking him out, so I could help Kate.
“He’s got a knife wound in his ribs. Had a tattoo on his neck and hand. Couldn’t make them out. I also saw the ends of his blonde hair sticking out the bottom of the mask. Had to be long.”
Stephen Rail and his stringy hair appear in my mind. Could the guy nursing a blunt in the middle of a weekday in a filthy apartment be the same one that I fought with? I want to say no, but my instincts have been betraying me lately.
Kate screams unexpectedly from the backseat as I pull the SUV into the parking garage, rounding up to the top level at breakneck speed to get her to safety. My bloodstream turns to ice as I listen to her cries of pain.
I should’ve killed him, but I wanted him alive for questioning. Now, he’s gone, and if they aren’t working together, he’ll no doubt be back to finish the job.
