Brad knew instinctively that Simone wasn’t going to be happy with his plans for her, but he would do anything he needed to do to keep her safe from harm.
Still, he could already feel her tension radiating toward him in the car. It felt very negative and as if she’d closed herself off.
“Headache still gone?” he asked in an effort to break the uncomfortable silence that had grown between them.
“Yes, thank goodness,” she replied. “Last night I could scarcely think it pounded so hard.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better today.” He flashed her a smile, hoping to break the tension.
“I’m just glad I’m finished up with all my classes. I’ll also just be glad to get home and relax for the next few days.”
Brad didn’t reply because that wasn’t at all what he had in mind for her. Again silence fell between them until he pulled up in a parking space across from her condo. Thankfully the rain had stopped, but the skies were still dark gray.
She released what sounded like a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s good to be here instead of the hospital,” she said as they got out of the car. “The first thing I want to do is take a nice, long hot shower.”
Instantly a vision of her naked and beneath the shower spray filled his head. He could imagine the soap sliding down her body... The scent of her filled his head and a rush of heat took over his body.
Jeez, what was wrong with him? Where was his professionalism when he needed it? How could he be thinking of her in that way when it was possible her life was in danger? He gave himself a hard mental shake.
As she unlocked the door to the condo, he was interested in what her home looked like. You could tell a lot about a person by the things they chose to have around them.
She opened the door and ushered him into an attractive living room. The floor plan was open and airy. Pictures of her siblings and parents covered one wall. It was proof that the person who lived here had strong family ties.
The color combinations were relaxing and the overstuffed sofa looked inviting. The whole space felt warm. He could also tell there was a place for everything and everything was in its place, whispering of a bit of a control issue? Or just a person who was well organized?
“It’s after noon. Do you want me to make you something for lunch?” she offered.
“No, thanks, I’m good. Why don’t you go ahead and take that shower you wanted,” he replied.
She gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Take your time.” As she disappeared from the room, he stepped over to the wall of photos. He couldn’t help the way his heart responded to the pictures of Alfred with his wife and three daughters. His murder had been so senseless and now there would never be a family photo with all of them present in it again.
As he heard the water turn on in the bathroom, he sat down on the sofa and went over the plans he had made the night before. He’d been up all night making sure his plans were in place and everything was taken care of.
It was really perfect, but he had a feeling Simone was going to kick and buck, which was why he’d invited her sisters to be here for backup and support.
He hadn’t gone into much detail when he’d spoken to each of them, but his instinct in this matter was that they were definitely going to be on his side. He hoped Simone would be reasonable and realize she needed to do what was necessary.
Twenty minutes later Simone walked back out. She looked amazing in a pair of jeans that hugged the slender length of her long legs and a blue-and-white sleeveless blouse that emphasized the thrust of her breasts and her small waist.
She smelled like clean female with a hint of the perfume that made him think of snuggling and hot sex. Criminy, this was going to be the most difficult thing he had ever done in his entire career.
“Are you sure you aren’t hungry?” she asked. “I’d be glad to make you a sandwich or something while we wait for my sisters to get here.”
“Yes, I’m sure, but feel free to make yourself something if you’re hungry.”
“I’m not,” she replied and sank down in the chair facing him. “Brad, I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with all this. I’m sure there are far more important things you should be doing with your time right now.”
“Actually, there isn’t. I’ve got a good team and they all know what we need to do. Of course, the main goal is to get Leo behind bars.”
She frowned. “Do you think he’s somehow managed to get out of the country?”
“No. I don’t even think he’s made it out of Chicago. My guess is that he’s hunkered down someplace and is waiting for the heat to ease off him before he’ll make a move.”
“But how is he existing? His parents have to somehow be getting money to him,” she said.
“If they are, we can’t figure out how. We have eyes on all their financials and nothing suspicious has shown up. We also have tails on them, but again they haven’t done anything to indicate they have aided Leo. They’ve told us they’ve washed their hands of him and have no desire to help their son given the crimes he will be charged with.”
She released a deep sigh and then leaned back in the chair. “So, you want to tell me now why you’ve invited my sisters to meet us here?”
“I’ll wait until we’re all here together. It won’t be long before they’ll be here,” he replied.
“You’re driving me crazy with your mysteriousness.”
He smiled at her. “Normally I’m not mysterious at all. I’m pretty much an open book kind of guy.”
She returned his smile. “Brad, I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done. Not just for me, but for my entire family.”
“I’m just doing my job,” he replied.
“Being at the hospital to take me home was certainly going above and beyond your job,” she replied.
“Simone, you’re a party of interest in an ongoing investigation. What happens with you is part of my job,” he replied. And he needed to keep reminding himself that he was just doing his job and it had nothing to do with his intense, inexplicable attraction to Simone.
For the next few minutes, they talked about the case and threw out speculations on where Leo might be hiding. At precisely two o’clock, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Brad said and quickly jumped up from the sofa. With his hand on the butt of his gun, he opened the door. He relaxed at the sight of Tatum. She greeted him and then quickly beelined to Simone.
She grabbed Simone’s hand and pulled her up off the chair and into a big hug. “Oh my God, Simone. Are you okay? I couldn’t believe it when Agent Howard told me what happened to you last night.”
“I’m fine,” Simone assured her. “I’ve just got a little bump on the back of my head.” She returned to her seat and gestured for Tatum to sit on the sofa.
“I’ve got a million questions to ask you about exactly what happened, but I’ll wait until January gets here because I know she’ll have the same questions I have.” The words had barely left Tatum’s mouth when another knock sounded at the door.
January flew through the door and more hugs were given. Finally, everyone was settled in. The two sisters and Brad on the sofa and Simone in the chair.
After a fifteen-minute session of asking Simone for all the details concerning exactly what had happened to her the night before and Simone answering all the questions, they then looked expectantly to Brad.
He cleared his throat and stood. “I’m sure you all are wondering why I’ve brought you together. Now that you know what happened to Simone last night, I have to tell you I don’t believe it was a carjacking or a random attack.”
“Then who do you think attacked her?” Tatum asked.
“All my instincts tell me it was Rob Garner, or somebody working with him,” Brad replied.
“Why would Jared Garner’s father be after Simone? What would he have to gain by attacking her?” Tatum stared at Simone and then looked back to Brad. “We know about the two encounters she had with the man, but do you really believe he’d follow through with physical violence?”
“This is what I think,” Brad said. “I believe Rob now believes that Simone is actively working to see his son put away in prison forever. I believe he sees her as a danger to his family, and because of that, he’s a real danger to Simone. I think he tried to kill her last night and was unsuccessful. I think he’ll try again. My plan is to get Simone out of town and hidden away until either Jared confesses or Leo is captured.”
“Oh, no,” Simone instantly said. She halfway rose from the chair and then sat back down again. “I’m not leaving my home because of this bigmouthed bully.”
“Simone, he’s more than a bully. Even you know that he beats his son. He’s a brutal man and I believe he’ll come after you again,” Brad said firmly.
“Then you have to go, Simone,” Tatum said firmly.
“Simone, there’s no question about it. You must go,” January added. “We can’t take any risks with your safety. I refuse to lose another family member. Mom would want you to go, too.”
“I think you’re all overreacting,” Simone said, her slightly narrowed eyes telling Brad she was irritated with him.
“But what if I’m not?” Brad replied. The whole situation had burned in his gut all night long. He’d tried to make himself believe that the attack on her had been random and had nothing to do with Rob Garner, but he’d been unsuccessful.
He truly believed he needed to get her away from Chicago and he’d made the perfect arrangements. The only thing he needed to do now was convince her to go with him.
“Simone, you have no work to worry about right now. You have nothing on your plate that is more important than your very life,” Tatum said.
Simone looked at both her sisters and then released an audible deep sigh. She looked back at Brad. “Okay. What do you have in mind?”
“My buddy has a small fishing cabin about five hours from here. Nobody will know we’re there and I can keep you safe .”
She frowned. “Do we really need to do this?”
“Yes,” both of her sisters exclaimed at the same time.
Simone looked at Brad once again. “When would we have to leave?”
“Immediately. I already have my bags packed and in the car. All you need to do is pack whatever you need for a week or two and then we’ll get on the road,” he replied.
Tatum got up from the sofa and grabbed Simone’s hand. “Come on, I’ll help you pack.”
“You’ll keep her safe?” January asked him as the other two left the room.
“I’ll die before I let anything happen to her,” he replied with all the determination in his heart, in his very soul.
January held his gaze for a long moment and then nodded, as if satisfied. It was true. He would protect Simone with his life, not just because it was his job, but also because it was his desire. He couldn’t imagine anyone hurting her and it wouldn’t happen on his watch. The Colton families had already endured enough.
“Let me go see how they’re doing,” January said and then disappeared into the room where the other two had gone.
Brad walked over to the window that looked out onto the street. He was eager to get on the road, but before they left town, they needed to stop by a grocery store and get food and anything else they might need for the next couple of weeks.
If he remembered right, Glen’s cabin was fairly isolated and there was just a very small general store a few miles away. The store sold only the very basics but had a large supply of alcohol.
Rain had begun to fall again from the gray clouds above. He hadn’t heard any weather reports in the last couple of days, but he was definitely hoping the clouds would break up and the rain would stop once they got underway.
He’d received permission from his superior to get Simone out of town. There were only a few people at the police station who knew where he was taking Simone. He definitely hoped there would be no leaks that might let the Garners, or anyone else nefarious, know where they had gone.
He turned around from the window when the three women returned to the room. Simone carried one medium-sized suitcase and Tatum had a smaller one.
“All set?” Brad asked.
“Not really,” Simone replied. “I’m not happy about any of this.”
“Simone, I’d rather have you unhappy and safe than happy and dead,” Tatum said. “Go with Agent Howard and don’t be stubborn about things.”
“You need to listen to him and do everything he tells you to do,” January added. “We’ll explain all of this to Mom.”
“Let’s get on the road,” Brad said.
He took her bags and they left the condo. The sisters all hugged and said their goodbyes and then it was just him and Simone in the car and he pulled away from her condo.
“Well, that was certainly quite manipulative of you, Agent Howard,” she said coolly.
He shot her a look of surprise. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Planning ahead to have my sisters there to coerce me into coming with you. It was a really sneaky thing to do.”
“Okay, I’ll admit it was a little manipulative, but I just wanted to make sure you came with me. As far as I’m concerned, this is a matter of life or death and I would do it all over again for this intended result.”
“I much would have preferred if you had approached me on an intellectual level rather than on an emotional one,” she said, her voice still decidedly cool. “If I were a man, would you have had my two brothers waiting to talk me into coming with you?”
“It would depend on how stubborn you were as a man,” he said in an attempt at levity. It didn’t work. Without even looking at her, he felt the weight of her baleful stare.
He released a deep sigh. They were about to be alone for a week or two in an isolated cabin by a river in the woods. He hoped she managed to forgive him soon. Otherwise, rather than being a hideaway of protection, it would wind up being the hideaway from hell.
The foul mood had Simone around the throat and she was having trouble climbing out of it. There was no question that she was irritated with Brad for involving her family members in her drama, but she could admit to herself that she probably wouldn’t have agreed to come without her sisters’ insistence.
However, her real irritation was at the whole situation, at the fact that she was now in a car heading to a cabin in the woods because some psychopath decided she was a danger to him and his family. Her well-structured life was now no longer in her control and she felt as if her world had been tossed on its head.
“There’s a grocery store a couple of blocks from here,” he said. “We’ll stop there to shop for food to take with us. I’ve got a cooler in the trunk full of ice for the trip.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” she replied. Good grief, even to herself she sounded cranky.
“I’ve tried to,” he replied, as if oblivious of her current mood.
Minutes later they entered the grocery store and she walked beside him as he pushed the cart. As they shopped, she felt her bad mood slowly lifting.
Even though she didn’t want to be here, she needed to make the best of things. Just as it really wasn’t her fault that Rob Garner had a problem with her, it wasn’t Brad’s fault, either. He was just trying to keep her safe and that was what she needed to remember.
They passed an aisle with candy bars and she grabbed a chocolate bar and tossed it into the cart. “Chocolate makes me less witchy,” she said and then laughed when Brad grabbed a handful and added them to the cart.
Forty-five minutes later they were back in the car. “I think we bought enough groceries to last a month,” she said as he pulled out of the grocery store parking lot.
“I’m sure we won’t be gone that long, but I like to be prepared,” he replied.
“Could you please do something about this rain?” she asked as the wipers worked overtime to keep the car window clean.
“Ha, wish I could. Hopefully it will stop soon or we’ll eventually drive out of it.”
“So, tell me about this cabin we’re going to.”
“Glen Tankersley works as a police officer in a small town in Wisconsin. I met him while investigating a serial killer that was working there and we became good friends. He’s a fishing freak and years ago bought a cabin that’s on the bank of a small river. He did tell me it’s been a while since he’d been there.”
“You still haven’t told me about the cabin itself,” she replied. She looked at him, unable to ignore his handsome profile.
“It’s been years since I’ve been there, but it’s a one-bedroom with pretty much everything you need. It has a stove and fridge, a wood-burning fireplace and a bathroom. Unfortunately, there’s no tub, just a shower. I remember it as a cozy little getaway.”
“Sounds like the perfect hideaway,” she agreed and then looked back out her passenger window. A one-bedroom cabin. Did he assume that they would sleep together in the bed?
And why did the very idea shoot a tiny whisper of a thrill through her? It was going to be difficult to share a small space with him and stay as completely distant from him as she knew she should.
Still, she couldn’t remember ever feeling the kind of physical attraction that she felt toward Brad for any other man. She had to keep reminding herself that he was just doing his job, and when his job was finished, he’d go back to his life in Washington, DC.
The windshield wipers beat in a rhythmic manner that, along with the grayness of the day, slowly relaxed her. Oddly enough she hadn’t felt any danger, but right now in this moment with Brad taking control, she felt completely safe and protected. She closed her eyes and let the movement of the car and the patter of the rain against the window lull her to sleep.
She awakened to the darkness of night and the windshield wipers still working overtime. “Wow, how long have I been asleep?”
“About four and a half hours. We’re pretty close to the cabin now,” he replied.
“I’m so sorry. I certainly didn’t intend to fall asleep or to sleep so long,” she said. She hadn’t realized how bone-weary she’d been since her father’s murder. Between the grief and the nightmares, she’d apparently gone without any real, good sleep for too long.
He flashed her a smile, his perfect white teeth visible in the illumination from the dashboard. “Don’t apologize. You must have needed the sleep.”
“Are you doing okay? Do you want me to drive for a little while?” she offered. “You can tell me the way if you’re tired of being behind the wheel.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I see the rain is still falling,” she said. She sat up straighter in her seat.
“Yeah, although it’s lighter than it was. I’m still hoping it stops altogether by the time we get to the cabin.”
“At least there’s been no thunder or lightning with the rain we’ve had.” She wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to think of her irrational fear of storms.
“I’m definitely ready for some sunshine. Have you ever been fishing?”
“Never,” she replied. “I like my fish perfectly cooked on a plate and served with maybe some rice pilaf on the side.”
He laughed. “And I’ll bet you’ve never been camping before, either.”
“You would win that bet. But please don’t tell me there isn’t really a cabin and we’re going to be living in a tent and catching our own fish to eat,” she said.
He laughed again. “I promise you there really is a cabin and I believe you were with me when we bought all the meat at the store to bring with us.”
She really liked the sound of his laughter. It was a deep and smooth rumble, and it warmed her insides like a jigger of good whiskey. “So, are you a camper and a fisherman in your spare time?” she asked curiously.
“Not really. I visited the cabin with Glen a couple of times and we did some fishing, but I’m not really the type to sit around and commune with nature.”
“Too high-strung?” she asked, half-teasingly.
He flashed a grin at her. “Probably, and I’ve been called a lot worse.”
“Oh, interesting. So, what else have you been called?” she asked.
“Arrogant, demanding and a control freak, just to name a few.”
“People have called you those things to your face?” she asked incredulously.
He laughed again. “Rarely to my face, but I eventually hear about them anyway.”
“And are you all those things?” She hoped he said yes. She hoped he was actually an arrogant jerk. That would certainly cool her attraction to him.
“I hope I’m not really those things. Yes, I expect a lot from the people I work with, but I expect the same things of myself. I can be demanding when it comes to hunting down a killer. I never lose sight of the victims and the need to get a murderer behind bars.” He shot her a glance. “What about you? What do your students say about you behind your back?”
“Probably that I’m arrogant, demanding and a control freak,” she replied with a small laugh.
“Then I think you and I might have issues,” he replied lightly. “But I’m sure we’ll work together just fine for the duration that we’re in the cabin. And speaking of the cabin, it’s just up ahead.”
She looked out the front window. The headlights shone on a small, rustic-looking cabin tucked inside a stand of tall trees. It looked like a pretty picture postcard, a serene little place in the woods.
Maybe this short getaway would be good for her soul. For the last six months she’d been totally immersed in grief and thoughts of murder. Maybe she could find a little peace here in the charming cabin and then go back to her life with a new perspective. She knew her sisters were right, that she hadn’t even begun to move on from her grief. And it was time.
Brad pulled up and parked, and then together they got out of the car. Thank goodness it had stopped raining again. She could immediately hear the sound of the nearby river running in its bank, a sound that, along with the wind rustling through the tops of the trees, was oddly soothing.
“Why don’t we go inside and check out everything before we unload,” he suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” she agreed. They both got out of the car and approached the cabin.
He turned on the flashlight on his phone and stepped to the right of the small porch. He moved aside some of the tall grass and then picked up a rock and grabbed a key that was hidden beneath. He turned and flashed her a grin. “I think this key has been hidden under that rock for the last fifteen years or so.”
With the key in hand, he grabbed the handle of the screen door and opened it. It screeched like a cat in heat. “We’ll definitely have to find some oil for that,” he murmured.
He unlocked and opened the front door. He flipped on a light just inside and then ushered her in. The air smelled nasty, like layers of dust and old wood with a hint of mildew.
The sofa was a horrendous lime-green color and appeared to be lumpy and half-broken-down. A beige-and-green-striped chair looked to be in the same poor condition.
Large cobwebs hung from every corner of the room, looking like creepy, dirty lace. It was obvious that nobody had been inside for a very long time. A large supply of split logs was stacked next to a blackened stone fireplace and the nearby oven and refrigerator looked like they belonged in another century. She was scared to even look in the bedroom and bathroom.
Was this some kind of a joke? Did he really think she would be comfortable here? She wasn’t a snob, but this place was absolutely filthy.
She turned to stare at him. He offered her a weak smile. “Maybe everything will look better in the morning,” he said.
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “Are we really going to stay here?”
“We are,” he said firmly. “We’re completely off the grid here and my number one priority is keeping you safe. Now, you just relax and I’m going to unload the car.”
The moment he left the cabin, she gingerly sat on the edge of the sofa. She might be safe here, but she was pretty sure there wouldn’t be any peace. In fact, she’d be lucky if she got out of this experience without completely losing her mind.