“You sure you don’t think I’m a serial killer?” he asked quietly.
She tried to see beyond the surface with him. To understand. To stop feeling so vulnerable and out of her depth. “No. I’m a redhead, and you wouldn’t be able to act so natural around me. Besides, if you were, you’d be trying to wear my skin by now, right?”
He chuckled at her lame joke. “I have no clue if that’s right or not, but I’m not the killer.”
“Loretta said you weren’t, and she was good at her job.” Anya clasped her hands together. “Based on my profile, you don’t exactly fit.” Yet where did he fit? Really?
“I don’t?”
“No. Your attachment to your brothers gives you a hint of normalcy.” She looked around. “So. What do we do now?” Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her hold on her hands.
“You’re safe here.” He stretched from the SUV and reached in for their bags, gaze sweeping the entire area. “We need to get settled in and then discuss a plan. And a contingency plan.” He lifted an eyebrow. “And probably a plan C.”
Why did she feel safe with him? She didn’t know him and wasn’t sure she should trust him. But as he scouted the garage for threats, she knew with a certainty born of instinct that he’d protect her. “I’m in on this plan,” she said. The crazy plan to catch a deadly serial killer. Heath wasn’t arguing with her or trying to force her into somewhere safe and hidden, as appealing as that was. “I’m playing a part.”
He slammed the back door and came around to her side of the vehicle. “You’re playing the most important part.” He paused. “But if you’ve changed your mind, I definitely understand. We can move on to Plan D.” His shoulders relaxed as if he’d been carrying a burden that had suddenly becoming lighter. “We could—”
“No.” She turned fully toward him. “I want to do this. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to just walk right up to the guy and say ‘Take me,’ you know.”
Why couldn’t she figure out who he was? There had to be some sort of clue somewhere. She’d gone over her own life, her entire past, so many times her head hurt.
Heath straightened. “Very true. It’ll be more like you making a couple of public appearances with me and then being visible around town. We’ll have you protected at all times.”
“That was Loretta’s downfall.” Saying her sister’s name hurt. “She tried to go out on her own.” Shouldn’t Anya have realized that aspect in her sister? Maybe her psychology skills had been dulled by her time in the classroom. Reading people and figuring them out was far different from teaching. She rubbed her suddenly chilled arms. “A team is needed to take down this guy.”
“Exactly.” Heath turned as an older wooden door opened behind him.
Two broad men strode out followed by a stunning dark-haired woman with nearly sky blue eyes. She was tall and nicely muscled in an ultra-feminine way.
Talk about an intimidating and strikingly good-looking team. Anya forced a smile and tried not to worry about her wildly curly hair and makeup-free face. Compared to the beauty in dark jeans and a red silk top, she felt like a hick cousin fromthatside of a family tree.
“You must be Anya.” The woman strode forward and extended a hand.
They shook. “Hi.”
“I’m Zara.” The woman’s smile made her appear even more beautiful. “We’ve scrambled to put together apartments on short notice.” She motioned to the first guy, who had black hair, bluish green eyes, and a bad-boy vibe. “This is Ryker, and this is Denver.” The other guy had dark hair, blue eyes, and a tight build.
Both men nodded and offered to shake hands, their expressions revealing nothing. After gently releasing her, without seeming to move, they quickly scouted the very empty garage area.
“Hi,” Anya said weakly, noting scars on their palms. Blood brother scars. The scars were both sweet and somehow threatening. A vow in blood—what wouldn’t they do for each other?
They were a solid wall, without question. What would it be like to want to form a family with somebody? With men like these who seemed so indestructible? She suddenly studied the very put-together Zara. Her gaze was direct and intelligent, and she stood like she could take care of herself. But even now, both Ryker and Denver remained close enough to jump in front of the beauty instantly.
And beautiful she was. It was all Anya could do not to fix her own hair. Why hadn’t she brought her professor clothes?
“Status?” Heath asked his brothers.
Ryker leaned to the side to survey the SUV, his gaze intense. “We need to dump this vehicle and return it to a rental agency since you rented it with our business account. I’ll take care of it. For now, this building is secure. Motion sensors, cameras, a couple of hidden devices if necessary.”
Devices? What was a device? Anya looked toward Heath.
“This is a good headquarters, guys. Thanks. What about the decoy offices? Are they ready?” Heath turned toward Anya. “We have two sets of offices and quarters. This one is secure and secret, while the other one is public and will draw out the killer. We hope.”
Tension suddenly swelled through the room, filling the huge space. Anya’s legs trembled.
“This is not a good idea,” Ryker said, his voice a low rumble.
“Nope,” Denver agreed, his gaze moving to Anya.
