Close Range Cowboy (WEST Protection Book 10), page 15
A thick fog still hung in her drugged brain, but she was piecing it all together now. She dropped to the sofa and cradled her throbbing head. That dream was her subconscious mind telling her to fix her ways. Her actions got people in trouble back in school when she changed Evan and Landon’s grades.
Now she’d put people she loved in the path of danger. Landon, for one—right in the line of fire. After she was ripped away from him back in the hotel, she lost track of what happened to him. Was he even alive?
She had to believe that he was—the alternative was too painful.
And Evan. Was he all right? His wife, those two adorable little girls Ells hadn’t spent nearly enough time with…
When this was all over, she would be the best sister and aunt in the world.
She lifted her head from her hands and looked around the room. She was alone. But that couldn’t be right—they wouldn’t trust her in Tomlinson’s office by herself, not after what she’d done.
But they needed her to get into the system and wipe it clean, didn’t they? That must be why she was here.
Slowly, she stood. Out of habit whenever she neared the big boss’s office, she smoothed her hands over her clothes to get out any creases. But a glance down at herself told her it was far too late for that. The clothes she’d thrown on back in the casino suite had seen better days. What had those thugs done with her, anyway? She looked like she’d been tossed into the back of a delivery truck and left to roll around on the filthy floor.
Well, she wasn’t here to impress. Those days were long gone. She needed to think of a way out of this mess.
She strode to the desk. Mr. Tomlinson always liked his desk cleared off after he left for the day so that when he returned, he could have a blank slate to begin anew. It was completely empty now, and there wasn’t even a phone in sight.
She rushed around it and yanked at the drawers. All locked.
If only she’d gotten a chance to rifle his desk months ago, she would have realized something was wrong in the company. Maybe she would have even looked for a new job.
Everything was too little too late. Her entire life felt like a series of events that could have turned out better if only she’d acted differently.
She refused to operate like that anymore. From this moment forward, she was making better choices, starting with how she’d handle the door she heard opening behind her.
Freezing with her hand on the desk drawer, she straightened and peeked over her shoulder.
The head of security stood in the doorway, a smirk on his ugly face.
And the CEO was right behind him.
Mr. Tomlinson closed the door in a relaxed manner that pushed her off-balance with how casual it was.
She pivoted to face them, the desk at her back.
Neither man carried a weapon that she could see. And did they intend to kill her in the bigwig’s pristine office?
“Miss Watson,” Tomlinson breezed out, crossing the spacious room.
“Joe.” She tipped her chin up and met his glare with one of her own, well aware that using his first name was office suicide. But what did she care now? She was already sacked.
He pointed to the sofa. “Have a seat, Elliot.”
It was shocking he knew her name at all.
When she didn’t immediately move from the spot where she stood, the security guard took a menacing step toward her.
With as much steel in her spine as she could muster, she walked woodenly to the sofa where she’d been dumped and sat down. As if she’d been asked over for tea, she crossed her legs. Even wearing grungy, stained clothes, she wasn’t going to let this guy see that she was about to pee her pants in fear.
Tomlinson leaned on his desk, facing her. Why was his office so big and empty anyway? Rumors among the peons were that the CEO liked to keep his space uncluttered so in turn his mind was left uncluttered. But now she guessed he liked to use it to intimidate.
The security guard drifted to the door and folded his arms over his bulky chest. He stared in a blank, bland way at nothing while taking in everything.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions, Elliot.”
She wouldn’t correct him about her name—she didn’t want to ever hear it roll off this man’s lips. Her nickname was reserved for her near and dear.
Like Landon. Oh, where was he now? Was he all right? Had they kidnapped him too?
She curled her fingers into her palms. She would not break down. Not here. Not now. Not in front of this man who threatened her with a power play.
Tomlinson extended one polished shoe on the floor in front of him, still leaning against the desk. “Did someone help you access our files?”
She almost laughed. Leave it to a misogynist to believe a mere woman couldn’t possibly get through their security measures. The fighter in her already had a heap of words on her tongue, ready to slice him down. But the new, smarter Ells held them in check.
When she didn’t respond, Tomlinson eyed her. “I can get the answers I need from you the easy way…or the hard way. You choose, Elliot.”
“Nobody helped me,” she told him.
He leveled her with a hard look. His steel-gray hair went with the office décor and coordinated with his black heart. How could he have such disregard for human life as to have people killed for insurance money?
“You accessed the system yourself?” he said in an amused way.
“Are you going to believe anything I say? You already have your mind made up about me or you wouldn’t have sent all those guys after me.”
An echo of a smile touched the corner of his ice-sculpture mouth. “You were very smart to jump into that wedding. But did you think we wouldn’t find out that the person getting married was part of a big family that owns one of the top security companies in the country?”
Chills rippled through her but a feverish heat seemed to pulse in her face.
“Look, I don’t need all this chitchat,” she spat. “Just tell me why I’m here and what you want from me.”
He straightened from his nonchalant pose on the desk. “We want the passcode you used to lock down our files.”
“I think it’s a little too late for all that, don’t you? The FBI’s already made arrests. I’m surprised you’re standing here right now and not behind bars. The authorities know what you’ve done and what lengths you’ve gone to in order to get that money. I gave them everything. I shared the login information with the FBI.”
“You mean with your boyfriend.”
Her heart must have given her away because Tomlinson’s lips twisted.
“Yes, I know about him…the bodyguard. Landon Trace.”
Her insides locked.
“He was your brother’s friend growing up, wasn’t he?”
Oh god. He knew about her ties to Landon…and about her brother. She didn’t even want to think about what that meant.
Her mind was telling her to keep calm, stay cool. But her body was ramping up for battle.
She got to her feet and stared her boss down. “What do you know about my family?”
With an evil smile, Tomlinson twitched his head at the guard. He opened the door, and Ells’s stomach bottomed out when her brother stepped into the room.
Chapter Fourteen
“Just fucking staple my leg! I don’t have time for stitches or shots.” Landon gripped the edge of the gurney, prepared to leap off and go after Ells himself. But how was he going to find her? After the guys stuffed her into the van and rolled off casino property, the security cameras stopped tracking them.
Judd pressed down on his shoulder hard enough to keep him in place. This motherfucker was strong and tough. Under any other circumstances, Landon would be glad to have him on his six. However, Judd wasn’t doing him any damn good at the moment.
“Staple it, goddammit!” he yelled at a nurse.
The woman continued to set up the medical tray with supplies for a suture procedure.
Judd leveled him with a look. “Dude, there’s a bullet in your leg. You have to get it removed, and that means stitches. You’re lucky the doctor agreed to do this under local anesthesia and didn’t knock your irritating ass out.”
“I have to find her. Jesus Christ, does nobody understand that my ward’s been taken?”
Fresh horror rolled through him at the sound of his own words. Ells, gone. The last glimpse he’d had of her, she was being carried away, while he lay there fighting to gain his feet.
“Your team has your back, Trace. Put your faith in their skills,” Judd said.
Landon met his stare. “It’s your team too.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I forget I’m not working for myself anymore.”
The leg of his jeans hung open where the nurse had split it with scissors. Thick snowy bandages were taped to his skin. Blood bloomed on the crisp whiteness.
He swung his head to see the nurse. Those smiles he was so good at doling out to women in order to get what he wanted in the timeframe he wanted it would never work on a hard-ass like her. Good, because he couldn’t muster a smile anyway.
“Just give me a medical stapler. I’ll do it myself,” he bit off.
“You’re already getting special treatment for your situation, sir. This is the best I can do.”
“Well can you at least ask the doctor if he’s ready to begin?” Judd asked in a suspiciously nice tone. When Landon looked at him, he saw his new teammate wore the “pretty please” smile that Landon used too often.
The nurse eyed him, lips twisted in mistrust. Judd held his smile. He might have even put on a little smolder.
“I’ll see what’s keeping the doctor.” She turned on her soft shoes and walked out of the room.
As soon as she was out of sight, Judd dropped the grin and adopted his don’t-fuck-with-me scowl.
“Nice one,” Landon muttered.
“I don’t like using that on women. But you know how it is.”
Actually, he did know, but nothing more was said as he sank into the fear and worry for Ells that were burning him up.
Judd removed his hold on Landon’s shoulder and focused on his phone. He grimaced and then pocketed the device again.
“What’s that look for? Is it about Ells?” Landon demanded.
The doctor entered with the nurse right behind him, cutting off any response Judd would give.
Giving his leg a cursory examination, the doctor pulled on a pair of latex gloves. “I understand you’re with WEST Protection.”
“That’s right.”
“I graduated with your cousin, Ross.”
“I’m sure he appreciates you doin’ us a favor and getting me out of here as fast as possible.”
“Let’s see what I can do.” He bent over Landon’s thigh and set to work. In seconds Landon was numb and the doctor had the bullet that was lodged in his quad removed. He dropped it into a bowl on the tray.
Judd leaned in to study the bullet. “You were lucky, Trace. It could have seriously fucked up your leg.”
“I think I caught a ricochet, actually. It wasn’t a direct hit or it would have.” Landon watched the doctor cleaning the wound in his leg in a detached way. He didn’t register that the limb belonged to him, or that he’d sustained the injury. All he could think about was Ells.
Was she alive? Was she being mistreated? Some of the images playing through his head sickened him and made him want to end lives. He cut those off and focused on the steps it would take to find her.
Where would Marvis take her? And what would they ask of her? The cat had been out of the bag for days now—the government had all the information they needed to end Marvis’s reign. Was it possible that the corporates who were part of this treachery didn’t know that the FBI was ready to jump them? If they didn’t know, they’d still be under the delusion that they could force what they wanted from Ells.
He felt a tug on his flesh and glanced down to see the doctor placing a precise row of stitches.
This was wrong on all levels. He should be out there, searching for the woman he loved, not in here getting stitched up.
When the last suture was snipped, he waited only long enough for the nurse to slap a dressing over it before he jumped off the table.
“Sir, you need the aftercare instructions!” the nurse called at his retreating back.
He entered the hallway and took a right to the exit. Judd’s boots thumped behind him. They hit the outside.
“Truck,” was all Landon could get out in the moment.
Judd jerked a thumb and they crossed the parking lot. Landon’s injury didn’t even slow him down.
As soon as Judd was behind the wheel, he said, “I have orders to take you to the office.”
“No fucking way. We’re getting on the road, Judd—now. We’re going after her.”
Judd started the engine with a lazy flick of his wrist. “We don’t even fucking know where she is, man.”
Landon stared at him harder. “I don’t like the way you said that. I think you’re lying—you do know something. What?”
Judd rolled out of the parking lot and hit the road. “My orders are to take you to the office.”
Landon grabbed for the wheel. “No, goddammit! Tell me what you know!”
Judd batted him away. “I can’t go against Ross.”
“You and I both know you don’t follow the rules. You’re known for not following the rules. I know you’ve already been called into Ross’s office because of it. So why are you listening now?”
“Because the situation calls for it.”
“It calls for me not going after the bastards who stole my girlfriend?” Fury pounded in his temples. The quick pump of adrenaline had more blood seeping from the fresh wound on his thigh.
“Girlfriend, huh? Mathias was right. Guess I lost that bet.”
He bit back a thousand curses on Judd, all his descendants—even his horse or Harley, whichever he rode—and tried to focus on the real matter.
“Judd, you know something. What if I was one of your brothers? That’s what we are now, you know—brothers on the team. Tell me what you know and for Chrissakes, help me.”
Pushing a breath through his nostrils, Judd stepped on the gas pedal harder. They shot down the road headed back to Montana.
After a long silence, Judd said, “Her brother’s missing.”
Landon went dead still. He was pretty sure not a single cell in his body moved. His heart sure as hell stopped beating.
Judd tossed him a look. “He was last seen by his wife heading out to do some fishing yesterday afternoon.”
“Ffffuck.” Landon leaned forward in his seat, curling around the explosion of pain in his chest. If they’d gotten to Evan, Ells didn’t have much of a chance. They’d use her brother against her.
And she’d do anything—anything—to make sure that her brother returned home to his family.
* * * * *
A cry burst out of Ells. She rushed across the room to reach Evan, but the guard whipped out an arm the length and circumference of a small tree. His arm slammed into her.
She continued pushing against his restraint. “Evan!”
Her brother’s brows pinched into a harsh line over a furious glare. “Let her go!”
The guard continued to bar her way until her boss—former boss—snapped a word. He dropped his arm, and she fell forward into Evan’s arms.
She hadn’t seen him for a while and hugging him felt like a homecoming. Tears welled up in her eyes as she plastered her face against his cotton shirt.
He cupped her head to him. “Are you all right?”
Pushing away, she met his eyes. Concern mixed with anger in the depths that were the same blue shade of her own. Inherited from their father.
He also sported a hell of a shiner. The deep black crescent beneath one eye had her whirling to glare at the guard. “Did you do that to him? Did you bruise his eye?”
Evan gripped her hand, tugging at her to remain at his side.
The guard only sneered.
“It wasn’t him,” Evan’s words came at her ear. “Two guys jumped me at my SUV when I was leaving the river.”
She cupped her hands over her mouth to trap in a cry. “Is your family okay?”
His eyes narrowed. “They fucking better be,” he ground out.
Before he could stop her or the guard could act, she stormed across the room to Tomlinson. With arms out, she slammed her palms into his chest, knocking him backward with force.
The guard was on her in a blink, yanking her up like a rag doll. Her feet dangled off the floor, and she bucked and kicked out madly.
“Ells! Let her go!” Evan bellowed.
Tomlinson regained his feet and brushed off his trousers and the casual polo shirt she never saw him wear in the office. He must reserve the casual attire for confronting employees he had kidnapped.
A laugh bubbled out of her, causing the guard to give her a shake. Her toes brushed the floor.
“Release her,” Tomlinson told the guard offhandedly.
He dropped her, and she crumpled. Evan’s arms spun around her, and his voice was back at her ear. “Don’t do anything to get us killed.”
Heart pounding with rage, she nodded. Only minutes before she’d given herself a stern talking to about acting on impulse. And what had she gone and done? Her inability to control herself could have gotten them both killed just now.
With all the control she could muster, she drew herself up to her full height and faced her former boss. “You want me to open the files,” she said.
He gave her a calculating look as if weighing the odds of her coming for him again. But she understood now that she didn’t have the skills to fight her way out of this situation. She’d have to leave the fighting to Landon and the WEST Protection team.
The only way she and Evan would walk away unscathed was to use her wits, as scattered as they were right this minute.
Tomlinson waved a hand at his desk. She blinked at him. Was he asking her to take a seat?
She started toward the chair, but Evan caught her hand, giving it a squeeze.
She turned back to her brother. “I need to see what they’re asking of me.”
“I don’t know what kind of shit you got yourself into, Ells…” he started in a low, furious whisper.
