Behind him, completely hidden in the
shadows, his friend Justice complained, “My balls are freezing.”
Still watching the surrounding area,
Leese said, “You should try wearing underwear.”
“The ladies would complain. They like me
commando.”
Leese started to smile, until a shadow
shifted from the right side of an alley that bisected the station from a cheap
hotel. He said, “Shh.”
“This is it?” Justice whispered. “You
see her?”
“Quiet.” Leese pressed farther back into
the darkness, his gaze alert, his senses zinging.
A woman, small in stature, emerged
dragging an enormous suitcase with a broken wheel. As it tried to pull her
sideways, she relentlessly forced it through slush and blackened snow. Her narrowed
gaze scanned the area with nervous awareness.
Leese didn’t
move, but still her attention shot back in his direction. She stared, watchful
and wary, until he stepped out.
Trying not to look threatening, Leese
propped a shoulder on the brick facade of the vacated building. He glanced at
her, then away, as if dismissing her.
She continued to stare.
Now what to do?
“What’s happening?” Justice whispered.
“Nothing. Be quiet.”
The girl wore jeans with snow boots, a
puffy coat that covered her to her knees and a black stocking cap pulled down
to her eyebrows. Straight brown hair stuck out from the bottom.
When she finally looked away, it was to
drop the suitcase and whip around, facing the way she’d come.
Two men stepped out, followed by a
third.
The third smiled at her. “Going
somewhere, Cat? Without saying goodbye?”
Suspicions confirmed, Leese watched
Catalina Nicholson take a defiant stance. That didn’t surprise him. As soon as
he’d been given this assignment, he’d learned what he could of her.
She came from a wealthy family of
lawyers and CEOs, people with far-reaching political and business connections.
They were the movers and shakers of the world, influencing other powerful
people effortlessly.
But Catalina had
bucked convention by becoming an elementary school art teacher, something her
family hadn’t liked. She clearly enjoyed her luxuries, but wanted to earn them
herself. Some inheritances helped to pave the way on that, but from all
reports, she’d proven herself to be headstrong and independent. Small in size
but not in attitude.
Here, in the slums of Danbrook, Ohio,
she was far away from her usual routine of dealing with middle-class families
and their grade-school children.
“That’s right, Wayne,” she said, her
voice strong. “I’m leaving.”
“I don’t think so,” the man called Wayne
said, and his two cronies moved to surround her. “Not just yet. Not until you
pay up on all those promises you made.”
Strangely enough, Catalina looked back
at Leese again, her expression a touch desperate.
Even from a distance, he felt her silent
request for help.
“Stay put unless you see that I need
you,” Leese told Justice. He was pretty sure he could handle things without
drawing his gun, but there was always a chance he’d cause a ruckus and then, to
protect her, they’d need to make a run for it. “Be ready with the car.”
Justice grumbled, “I miss all the fun.”
His boots crunching in the frozen snow,
Leese headed toward her in a casual stride.
Relief took the starch out of her
shoulders. If he could defuse things without violence, that’d be for the best.
Right now, the bus station was all but empty. But if a brawl broke out, for
sure it’d draw attention from somewhere.
As he approached, the men all went
still, watchful, before deciding he didn’t matter.
Idiots.
Leese stepped up in front of her,
blocking the pushiest guy, forcing him back a step.
“Hey!”
“Excuse me.”
Insinuating himself between her and the big goon, Leese insulated her from
trouble, then turned to face her. Catalina was probably a foot shorter than
him, and even in the thick coat she seemed slim all over. She tipped back her
head and stared up at him with big blue eyes that were both wary and defiant.
By silent agreement, she trusted him,
when that was the very last thing she should have done. No wonder he’d been
sent to her.
Leese hefted her bag, which weighed a
ton, and maintaining the casual vibe said, “This way,” indicating where he’d
been standing watch.
Without bothering to look at the other
men, she drew a careful breath, braced herself and nodded in agreement.
Insane. The woman had no self-protection
mechanism. She didn’t know him from Adam, but was willing to blindly saunter
off with him.
When he’d been assigned this case, not
once had he expected it to be this easy. On the contrary. Everything he’d been
told had led him to believe it would be a total pain in the ass to keep her
safe.
She took two steps.
The closest goon said, “This is
bullshit.”
Pausing, Leese huffed out a breath. “Let
it go.”
“The hell I will.”
Hearing the elevated voice, he turned
just in time to dodge a thick fist. Still holding her bag, Leese landed a knee
to the man’s midsection, then flattened him with an elbow to the chin.
The guy’s eyes rolled back and he
collapsed like a rag doll, one leg bent awkwardly beneath him, his jaw slack.
Eyeing
the remaining two, Leese popped his neck and waited. “Anyone else?”
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
