In the Line of Fire Page 4

  Jett put his elbows on the table and held his head in his hands. “Dear God, you need more than a bodyguard, you need a goddamn keeper.”

  And why did he keep thinking that he was the man for the job?

  A thought struck him and he snapped his head up. “And who the hell is Will?”

  Chapter Three

  Sam, sitting in her home office, read the message from Will on her phone and looked at her watch. She and Jett were leaving for Little Siberia in an hour and fifteen, so if Will hustled, she had time to chat. Sam replied to the message and stood up. Will would soon be on her doorstep and she didn’t want her Special Forces bodyguard to shoot her favorite NYPD detective.

  Over the past week, the three of them had settled into some sort of routine. Since Jett still had his duties at Pytheon, Kelby took the day shift, Jett the night shift and, so far, so good. Wherever she went with Kelby, the brown-eyed, ripped blond, turned heads. He was quiet, undemanding, and easy on the eyes and, with his dry wit, was pretty good company. She could relax around Kelby...

  Jett was another bag of fish...

  Thanks to him, she couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t think, her concentration was shot. He normally arrived back at her place around six and from five onward she was a bundle of nerves, unable to decide whether she was dreading his arrival or dying to see him. She was the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof.

  As soon as she heard his voice, her heart would start hammering away and the saliva in her mouth disappeared but she also felt peaceful, grateful that he was back. He made her feel equally crazy as he did stable, as up as she felt down. And, dammit, utterly and incredibly turned on.

  All the flippin’ time...

  “You forget where you were going?”

  Sam snapped her head up to see Kelby standing in the doorway to her kitchen, looking effortlessly, fantastically, gorgeously golden. And all she could think was...

  Meh.

  “Uh, no, I was on my way to tell you that I have a friend stopping by.”

  “Okay.” Kelby stepped back into the kitchen and gestured to the coffee machine. “Coffee?”

  “Thanks.” Sam settled herself on a barstool at the long counter that ran the length of the kitchen and dropped her chin into her hands. She released a loud, grumpy sigh.

  “Yep, that’s the Jett effect.”

  Sam immediately sat up straighter. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “Sure you don’t,” Kelby mocked. “All day you are calm and collected and when he’s due to arrive you’re like the Energizer Bunny, running around trying to find things to do so that you don’t have to interact with him.”

  “I don’t do that!” Sam protested. She so did that...

  “And I find it very interesting that he threatened to rip my head off if I tried to flirt with you.”

  Sam grinned at him, her ego feeling all warm and fluffy. “You would’ve flirted with me?”

  Kelby raised his hands in confusion. “Sure. You’re a hot woman. Men are programmed to flirt with hot woman.”

  Hot damn. Kelby, the golden god, thought she was hot. Woo-hoo. She wasn’t attracted to him but she rather liked the idea of him trying to impress her.

  Sam sent him a slow smile. “I don’t believe you can flirt; you’re going to have to prove it to me.”

  Kelby shook his head and backed away. “Oh, hell to the no. I like my head where it is, thank you very much. Besides, you aren’t attracted to me.”

  Sam wrinkled her nose. “I’m really not.” She flipped Kelby an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

  “It’s the Jett effect,” Kelby said, smiling. He handed her a cup of coffee and leaned up against the counter, crossing his feet at the ankles. “So, who is on their way to meet you?”

  “Will is a detective with the NYPD. One of the youngest to ever make the grade,” Sam replied, proud of her friend’s achievement.

  Kelby didn’t look all that impressed. “Okay. He a friend? A colleague? Why is he popping around in the middle of the day?”

  Sam tried not to grin. “Will often pops in to chat criminals and cases and psychology.”

  The doorbell rang and Sam hopped off her barstool, intending to answer the door. Kelby’s hand caught her elbow and jerked her back. Sam looked up at him when he walked in front of her. “I open the front door. I check credentials while you stay here.”

  “Are all you Special Ops guys this bossy?” Sam tossed the question to his departing back.

  “Jett is worse,” Kelby replied as he walked into the hall.

  Now that she could believe.

  Sam heard the front door open and walked into the hall, determined to see Kelby’s reaction to first seeing Will.

  Instead of looking and feeling flustered at the tall, blonde, supermodel look-alike standing on her doorstep, Kelby just leaned his massive shoulder into the doorframe and gave Will a long up and down look.

  “Whatever you are selling, I’ll take ten of, darlin’.”

  Will reached around and pulled out a set of handcuffs. “How about these, jackass?”

  “It’s a bit soon in our relationship but I’m game if you are,” Kelby replied, his voice now buttery smooth and as slick as snot. He hadn’t lied; the guy could pour the charm on.

  “Get out of my way, Hulk,” Will ordered and tried to step past Kelby, whose arm shot out to bar her progress through her front door.

  “Not so fast, Blondie,” Kelby said, all trace of sexy gone from his voice. “Name, badge, and what are you carrying?”

  Sam leaned her back against the hallway door, content to watch the show. Will pushed her long, nearly waist length braid off her chest so it hung down her back. She shoved her sunglasses off her face and her eyes held her don’t-fuck-with-me fire. Sam had seen police chiefs to district attorneys and countless criminals wither under that hard, blue stare.

  Kelby didn’t flinch.

  “Kate Williams, Detective, 16th Division. I’m carrying a Glock under my left arm.” Kate held her badge so close to Kelby’s face he had to pull back to read the number. “Now let me through.”

  Kelby’s arm stayed exactly where it was. “What else are you carrying?”

  Will tried to outstare Kelby but after thirty seconds she dropped her eyes. “Another nine millimeter in an ankle strap and a knife tucked into the small of my back,” she admitted.

  Kelby nodded. “All weapons on the table. I’ll hand them back when you’re done.”

  Will looked past Kelby’s muscles and scowled at Sam. “Is he for real?”

  “Meet Kelby Marrow, my bodyguard.”

  “There is no way in hell that I am surrendering my weapon.” Will folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot. Uh-oh, that was a sure indicator that Will was about to lose her temper and if that happened, Sam would bail and leave Kelby to handle her. He was a big boy, he might survive.

  “She’s not going to shoot me, Kels,” Sam told Kelby who eventually without, not once, breaking eye contact with Will, lowered his arm.

  “Good boy.” Will patted his arm and Sam rolled her eyes so hard she was sure she was in another dimension. God, Will was playing with fire.

  “So, in the last minute, I could’ve taken you out, blown a hole in the pretty detective and waltzed away with Samantha.”

  At the drawling but super-pissed voice, Sam’s eyes flew past Will to land on Jett’s face.

  Yep, super, super pissed. “Would somebody like to tell me what the fuck is going on here?”

  “And, also,” Jett added, his voice low but full of disgust, “who the hell is that?”

  Sam looked past Jett and saw Ross standing at the bottom of her stairs, clutching his leather briefcase to his chest, his eyes wide behind his trendy glasses. Now that, is the type of man I should be dating. Well-cut, dark suit, perfectly knotted tie, artfully ruffled hair. Smart, so smart. Ross had a PhD in criminology and they had so much in common.

  On paper, he was perfect except for the fact she was more sexual
ly attracted to a lump of concrete than she was to Ross. Once, a year or two ago, they’d had far too many drinks and had ended up in a tangle of tongues and limbs. Sam kept waiting for the spark to kick in, to enjoy his touch and his taste but it never happened.

  She couldn’t understand it. She should be attracted to Ross, she wanted to be; it would be far easier to have an affair with him than the mammoth slab of muscle who was currently glowering at her.

  “Ross Knox, Jett Smith-Jones,” Sam said as Ross walked up the steps to join them.

  Ross reluctantly held out his hand for Jett to shake and when they were done, Sam arched her eyebrows. “What’s up, Ross?”

  Jett ushered Ross into the hallway and then took his customary slouch by the door. Ross kissed her cheek before pushing back the cuff of his suit to look at his watch. “I thought that we could go over your questions for Wooly before we leave for the airport,” Ross stated, walking toward the door to her office.

  “We?” Jett asked.

  Sam hurried across the room to grab Ross’s elbow. He stopped and turned. “Problem?” he asked, looking from her to the door and back again.

  “Yeah, there’s a problem,” Sam replied, pleased that she sounded reasonable. “I told you that I’m making my own way to Little Siberia, that you can meet me there.”

  “And I told you that it was an inefficient means of travel,” Ross replied, looking genuinely confused. “We are heading in the same direction, we should travel together.”

  Jett’s arms wrapped around her waist and she let out a strangled gasp when he moved her hair away from her neck to nibble at the spot just below her ear. “That won’t work for me, Knox,” Jett murmured. “Sam and I have recently reunited and I’m enjoying having her to myself.”

  “I’m sure you can spare her for a few hours,” Ross said, his voice stiff with annoyance.

  Jett nipped Sam’s jaw and a bolt of fire headed straight for her womb.

  “Actually, we need to take this trip, to be in a situation where we can’t take our clothes off so that we can talk, reconnect. Sam and I tend to strip whenever we’re alone and not much talking happens.”

  Really, Jett was just causing trouble. Sam pushed Jett’s hands away and nailed him with a hard look. Ross looked from Jett to her, his expression distasteful. “So, this is new.”

  “Fairly,” Sam agreed, keeping it simple. Since Ross tended to fuss, to prod and pry, she didn’t want to go into why she needed a bodyguard so keeping it simple was her new motto.

  Sam reached for the handle to the door but Jett beat her to it.

  Ross ignored Jett and sent Sam another worried glance. “Are you sure you can handle Wooly yourself?”

  “I’ll be fine, I promise.” Sam placed both hands on Ross’s shoulders and stood up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, my friend. Now, did you call that girl, the one I met at that art exhibition?”

  Ross shook his head. “The last girl you set me up with didn’t work out so well.”

  Sam laughed. “Sorry.”

  Ross ignored her apology and looked down at her, deeply concerned. “You’ll be careful around Wooly?”

  “Of course.”

  “You’ll let me know the instant your interview is done, just to let me know that you are okay?”

  “I will,” Sam replied, touched by his concern.

  “Good luck, Sam,” Ross said, still gravely serious. He walked down the steps and turned around, pushing his elegant hand through his hair. He stared at her for a long thirty seconds before lifting his hand and walking away.

  Sam stepped back into her house and Jett put his arm over her shoulder to flip her dead bolt. “Not your type, princess,” Jett said, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

  “You have no idea what my type is,” Sam retorted.

  Jett dropped his head to touch the corner of her mouth with his, sending shivers dancing over her skin. “Yeah, I do. And I’m it.”

  Sam stepped back and sent him a long, cool look. “You really should talk to someone about your delusions, Legend. They are not healthy.”

  Sam stomped her way into the kitchen, saw Kelby rummaging in her fridge and glanced at the clock. They had forty minutes before they needed to leave, time enough for a quick cup of coffee and a chat with Will.

  Sam reached for the coffee mugs as Jett sat down at her kitchen table. He introduced himself to Will, they traded identifications and within a few minutes their wariness disappeared and conversation flowed.

  Sam darted a look at Kelby and saw his eyes were firmly fixed on Will’s lovely face, his expression stoic, his eyes unimpressed. Strange that since men tended to feel like they’d been hit by a two-by-four after first seeing Will, she was that compelling. It didn’t hurt that she carried a big ass gun and was as tough as nails; guys dropped like flies at her feet.

  Will, who immediately saw Kelby and Jett for what they were, Sam’s personal security, immediately started peppering Jett with questions. Sam made coffee and listened to Jett explaining, without mentioning The Recruiter, that they were concerned about a threat directed at the Stone’s and that Sam now needed protection.

  Sam placed Will’s coffee in front of her and Will didn’t notice, too engrossed in what Jett was saying and, after asking Jett some questions, finally nodded her approval for all the security measures they were taking.

  “She’s Samantha Stone and, as the daughter of Jasper Stone and brother to Smith Stone, she’s a target. The only one who doesn’t seem to realize it is her,” Will stated.

  “She is standing right here listening to you talking,” Sam said, dividing her glare between Will and Jett. The problem with alpha personalities, male and female, was that they tended to think that nobody else had an opinion worth hearing.

  Jett ignored her comment, keeping his eyes on Will’s stunning face. “What do you think about her interviewing Thomas Wooly?”

  Will groaned. “Stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. The guy is a psychopath; every word he speaks is pure BS.”

  “And cons will take any gap to have a break in their routine, even if that means spending time with a psychologist they’ve threatened to kill. They’re like feral cats, toying with a mouse,” Jett said, sounding annoyed.

  Sam caught Kelby’s eye and smiled at his eye roll. At least someone was on her side.

  “Judging by the way they are speaking you’d never think that I have interviewed many convicts, that I have a PhD. I just sound like an absolute idiot.” Sam directed her words at Kelby, using her favorite I-am-a-calm-therapist-but-you-are-full-of-crap voice.

  Will and Jett looked at her and both, once her words sank in, looked almost abashed. Well, Will did. Her friend pushed her chair back and walked around the counter to give Sam a quick hug. “Sorry, hon. That was rude but I still think it’s idiotic for you to talk to an unrestrained Wooly.”

  “Mmm.” Sam looked at Jett and raised her eyebrow with more hope than expectation.

  Jett just sent her a small smile and her breath caught as she caught a flash of the elusive dimple in his cheek. He gestured to Will. “What she said.”

  That was as much of an apology as she was going to get. Sam ducked her hand into the cookie jaw, pulled out a couple of macadamia nut and chocolate chip cookies and gestured to Will to follow her.

  “Let’s go to my office and we can talk.”

  Will wrinkled her nose. “Actually, we can talk here. Jett extended me the professional courtesy of filling me in on your situation and what I have to say might have a bearing on that. I want to run something past you and maybe Jett.” She darted a look at Kelby and blushed. “And Kelby can help.”

  Sam’s eyebrows lifted higher. Will never blushed and Sam had never seen her look flustered. How interesting was that?

  “You never discuss your cases with anyone outside the PD, Will.”

  A blush stained Will’s cheekbones. “I know. But I think, given your current situation, that I need to.”

  Jett sent a puppy dog loo
k at her jar of cookies. “Are you not offering?” he asked, mournfully.

  “After your half-ass apology for talking over me?” Sam asked, narrowing her eyes. But she couldn’t resist the glint of amusement in his eyes so she picked up the jar and plonked it in front of him.

  “You eat them all, you have to replace them. And that involves begging and nagging,” Sam, warned, darting a look at Will.

  “I made them and I’m sure I can find an hour to whip up another batch for you,” Will explained, jumping up on the counter, her long legs dangling. She sent Kelby another uncertain look. “They are pretty good, try one.”

  “I don’t eat sugar,” Kelby said, dismissing her offer with a few hard words.

  Sam opened her mouth to contradict him, after all, she’d seen him polish off three Snickers bars and a key lime pie last night but Jett spoke before she could.

  “Okay, let’s hear your theory, Will.”

  Will stared at the slate floor for a moment before speaking.

  “I picked up a case three months ago, Mark Adamczak. He’s a reporter.” Will looked at Sam and Sam felt like there was a subtext that she was missing. “And a pretty ambitious guy. When he didn’t check in at work for the best part of a week, patrol officers did a welfare check. They found him in the shower, he’d been dead for days.”

  Sam winced, easily imagining the horror. Central heating and dead bodies were a cruel combination.

  “The perp took his time with Adamczak, he really enjoyed torturing him. It was violent and sustained. Due to his injuries, which included him being sodomized, I thought it was a sex crime, a hookup that went very wrong,” Will stated, her words flat. “Because of the level of violence, I thought that the perp had done this before so I entered the details into VICAP.”

  The lecturer in Sam started to tell Jett and Kelby that VICAP was the FBI database that allowed law enforcement officials to identify similar cases nationwide but pulled the words back when she saw the two men were very familiar with the acronym.

  “You had hits,” Jett stated.

  “I did. In Dallas, an FBI agent was killed two years ago in nearly the exact same way with the same injuries. She was also raped and sodomized. Six months later, in Chicago, the brother of a convicted serial rapist, was killed in his house while his family was out of town.”