TWENTY

Ian wanted to squeeze her. To shake some sense into her. This is exactly what Uncle Gil had warned him about.

“Ian, it’s not like the police aren’t involved in this. Detective Claiborne will help us make plans and maybe your friend too. I don’t think we can go in fully sanctioned. If there is law enforcement on the trafficking ring’s payroll, getting that sanctioned go-ahead could cost our lives. You know that.”

Indeed, he did.

The sudden desire to kiss her long and thoroughly entered his mind unbidden. He dropped his hands from her shoulders. She appeared relieved. Standing so close to Jonna messed with his mind and heart.

The inky blackness of the window caught his attention. “You shouldn’t stand there. Someone could see inside.”

She moved and he twisted the mini blinds and secured the drapes. “Doesn’t look like anyone has actually used these in a while.”

“I think they’re mostly for decoration,” she said. “Not to actually cover the window.”

“Hey, guys, pizza’s here. And I want you to meet Nadine.” Claiborne’s voice boomed down the hallway.

“You go on. I need to call someone.” Ian stared at his phone. It showed that he had a voicemail. “Looks like a call came in but I didn’t hear it.”

Jonna nodded and moved past him, then paused. “Ian, for your sake I wish you weren’t involved in this, but for my sake I’m glad that you are. Like I said before, I trust you.”

He followed her out of her room, then went to the room he’d chosen for himself and shut the door. Closed the mini blinds as well. He’d given all the doors and windows a look to make sure all was locked up. Checked their potential exits in case of trouble. As long as no one knew they were here, this was as safe as they could get.

He listened to the voicemail, then returned Patrick’s call, hoping he’d get the guy this time.

“Ian!”

“Hey there.”

“I thought we’d never connect. I’ve been trying to reach you for days. I’ve been worried.”

“I know. Sorry about that, but a lot’s happened over the past few days.” Ian went ahead and told Patrick everything. “And now, we’re here in Miami, camped in the same neighborhood as the mayor’s house.”

Ian blew out a breath. Telling the story, laying it all out there for Patrick, stirred doubt in his gut.

“I need you to listen to me, Ian. The reason I called you was that we wanted to bring on an independent investigator to keep tabs on Miami’s mayor.”

“Say what?”

“That’s right. I knew your uncle lived there, so I thought you could visit him and on the side work for us freelance. Nobody blames you for what happened here, even though you blame yourself.”

“Why is the DSS investigating the mayor?”

Patrick blew out a breath. “This goes no further than you, right?”

“Understood.”

“We have a visiting foreign dignitary coming to Miami. He has connections to the mayor. Those connections might not be aboveboard.”

“Jonna and Claiborne think Mayor Hendrix could be linked to the human-trafficking ring supposedly dismantled three years ago. There was a money trail they never found. Maybe he’s laundering money through his charity. Are other law-enforcement agencies involved?”

“We’re holding this close to the chest since we suspect someone could be tipping him off. Someone on the inside. That’s why I wanted to bring you on to work independently while visiting your uncle.”

“Jonna plans to face the mayor. Go in wired and get him talking. Any chance you can help with that so we can knock this out before it gets messy?”

“No chance. That can’t happen, Ian. Get her out of there. She could blow this all out of the water and jeopardize lives.”

“I hear you. But she’s determined. They came after her, and she wants to end this. I’m not sure what I can do to stop her.”

“How about reason with her? But do not tell her anything I’ve told you. It could threaten everything if not cost me my job. There’s more going on that I haven’t told you.”

“It would help if I could tell her it will end soon. Is anyone going to arrest the mayor?”

“I can’t tell you that, or give you an end date.”

“Okay. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ll call you back with an update.”

“You got it.”

Ian made to end the call.

“Ian...”

“I’m here.”

“I’ll let you know if something changes. Maybe the powers that be will want her to go in after all, but we would be there to protect her. But as things stand, do not let her face Mayor Hendrix.”

“I understand.”

He hung up. And like Jonna, he could make no promises.

* * *

They finished up the pizza Nadine had brought. She ate with them. “Gil is doing better,” she reported. “He still has two officers posted by his door and was resting when I went to see him this afternoon.”

“I say we sleep on it, then tomorrow we put our heads together.” Claiborne boxed up the leftovers.

Jonna frowned. “I don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight. Why not start talking about plans right now? That would give us the rest of the night to think on them.”

The detective arched a brow. “I know what you want to do, but you can’t just march into his house, all wired up, and get him to talk.”

“Don’t insult my intelligence.” Jonna injected a teasing tone, but she was also dead serious.

Nadine averted her gaze and busied herself cleaning up after them.

“You don’t need to do that,” Jonna said. “We can clean up after ourselves.”

“I need to keep busy and you need to talk this out.” Nadine smiled and continued removing the paper plates. Sweet woman but also no-nonsense.

Jonna desperately wanted to know what Ian was thinking, as long as his ideas weren’t going to nix her plans. She was counting on him to be all the way in with her.

Ian pushed from the wall where he leaned. “I heard from my buddy in the DSS. He’s going to get back to me tomorrow, so we wait. We shouldn’t make plans or any moves until I hear back. In the meantime, we can look into the charity. Follow other leads as long as that doesn’t include leaving this house.”

Right. Finding more evidence could only be a good thing, but still, Jonna wasn’t going to wait forever. “The whole point in this is the element of surprise. The longer I’m here, the better chance the mayor, or whoever else is involved, will have time to prepare.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Claiborne said. “Someone shot at you at the hospital. They already know you’re here.”

“But the mayor can’t know I’m coming for him, specifically.”

“Why does it have to be you who confronts him?” Ian asked. “There are any number of others who could face him and ask the hard questions.”

Jonna’s throat tightened. She fisted her hands. “The whole reason I came to Miami was to face him and end this. What are you doing, Ian?”

He pursed his lips and leveled his gaze at her. “You said you trusted me to protect you. I need you to trust me now, when I say it’s best if you don’t go in to face him just yet. At the very least, we should wait to hear back from my contact.”

“If it were up to you, you’d have us get back on a plane tonight and head to a safe house somewhere in another state. Am I wrong?”

Ian glanced at Detective Claiborne and Nadine, who stared at them wide-eyed as if they were watching a lover’s quarrel.

“If you guys will excuse me, I need to talk to Jonna alone.”

Ian gently grabbed her elbow and urged her out of the kitchen. Jonna wasn’t sure she wanted to go, but she’d give him the benefit of a doubt. There could be something he didn’t want to say in front of Claiborne and his wife.

“What are you doing?” Her whisper was forceful as he guided her down the hallway of the luxurious home.

He ushered her into the room where she’d planned to stay tonight if she could actually sleep.

“Jonna, you said you trusted me. Is that true or not?”

“It’s true. To a point. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I have new information but I’m not at liberty to share it, all right?” His expression suddenly turned soft, his next words tender. “Please, I’m begging you—just hold off for now. It isn’t all on you.”

The tenderness in his expression and tone could turn her to mush when she was trying to be strong. More than anything she wanted him to kiss her, but a more completely foolish thought she’d never had. She sagged and slumped against the wall.

“I set my mind on something and I’m like a bulldog.” Then she realized he had a way with those attack animals, just the same as he had a way with her. Was that such a bad thing?

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you it’s that you’re determined and strong.”

“Something else I hope you’ve learned is that I trust you, Ian. And I’m going to keep trusting you. Maybe I coerced you into coming down here against your better judgement, but now that we’re here, I’m going to follow your lead. We’ll wait. I’ll give you a day. You have tomorrow, and then we’ll make our plans unless you can give me some new information that changes the game.”

“Fair enough.”

Jonna offered him a small grin. How could she not? “Now, if you’ll excuse me, since we’re not strategizing, I’m beyond exhausted. I think I’ll sleep while I can.”

He headed for the door.

“Ian, wait.”

He paused but didn’t turn.

“You probably plan to stay up and remain on guard and protect me, but that’s not necessary. Nobody knows we’re here. Detective Claiborne and his wife are here too. Take this chance to get some rest for once in your life. You look awful.”

Turning, he eyed her and laughed. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

She watched him leave, then shut the door. Jonna fell onto the bed, afraid to sleep, but she couldn’t remember ever being this exhausted. Fear twisted with apprehension over what she might face in the next few hours and days. But what right did she have to fear what was coming? Hadn’t she brought this on herself?

No. She hadn’t. She’d walked away from this kind of danger, only to have it follow her. In the darkness, lightning flashed, then a roll of thunder.

She closed her eyes as rain pounded outside. Maybe, just maybe, she could fall asleep if she let herself pretend she was back in her cabin on the Washington coast and all was well with her life.

She could also pretend that Ian Brady hadn’t found a way through her barricade and into her heart.

* * *

A sound startled Jonna awake. What was it? She sat up in the dark and looked around. Her smartphone glowed. A text?

“What?” She mumbled and rubbed her eyes. Who would be sending a text this time of night? She blinked the blurriness away and read the text from Aunt Debby.

Her heart hammered at the next words.