Chapter 19
LOCKE
I followed Leo into his private elevator.
Fuck.
I did not need this.
The ride was quiet with Leo rocking back on his heels and only the rattle of whatever it was that he kept in his pocket. When I first was hired I assumed it was change, but it didn’t have the right sound.
It was one of the few tells for the head of The Kendrick Group had. And even then it was more of a contemplative tell more than anything. Leo was slow to speak sometimes. He had a lot going on in that perfectly coiffed head of his.
I wasn’t going to be the one to break first.
When the doors opened, I followed him out into the thickly carpeted vestibule.
Leo didn’t like an office setting. Instead, he had a vast living space on the top floor.
I had a feeling he crashed here more often than he’d like anyone to know.
The 360-degree view of Boston Harbor was stunning and a helluva power play for clients.
Misty gray couches wreathed the entire space for meetings.
Tables were tucked away in the floors when he needed them.
The only formal area was in one corner where there was a bank of screens that were currently black.
A long counter under the screens had ports for people to link their laptops in when necessary.
Leo stood in front of the windows, his fingers linked behind him. “Sit.”
I took a seat closest to the door.
Leo glanced over his shoulder with a raised brow. “Still running.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I might be fucked up, but I can still take care of her.”
“Just how fucked up are you?”
I shrugged. “I like my space. I like the boat and definitely don’t want to give up my freedom.”
“You feel trapped here?”
Backed into that one. “Memories are trapped here.”
“You know Milligan wasn’t your fault, right?”
I didn’t answer him.
Leo turned around to face me. The diluted sun behind him threw him into shadow. “If anyone’s to blame it’s—”
“Don’t.” I gritted my teeth.
He sighed. “We need you back, Locke.”
“You don’t need me. There’re at least a dozen guys just like me if not better on your payroll.”
“You’re wrong there.” He walked over to me, his shoes silent on the thick carpeting. “You’re one of our best security agents. You have tactical knowledge that most of my team doesn’t have without training. Yours is instinct—something that can’t be taught.”
“Right now it is more obsessive than tactical, Leo. That obsession will keep Priscilla alive.”
“Are you fucking her?”
“Jesus, Leo.” I stood and stalked over to the small fridge hidden in the wall. I took out a water and guzzled half of it before recapping it and shoving it in my cargo pocket.
“You guys look very intimate.”
“She’s fragile.”
“The fuck she is.” Leo folded his arms. “She’s anything but fragile, but you are compromised that’s for sure.”
“I’m still good enough to keep her safe.
But this guy came at her twice in the hospital.
I don’t trust that she’d be safe alone. The cops were going to give a cursory drive by of her hotel.
They don’t have the manpower or the budget to protect her.
And that bullshit captain is too worried about optics than to see what’s right in front of his face. She’s staying with me.”
“All right.”
I frowned. “Just like that?”
“You aren’t getting paid from her, I take it?”
“No. I’m doing it as a favor for Stone.”
“And Miss Barlow?”
“You didn’t see her, Leo.” I paced away from him. “There were no photos because it was more important to get her free and the EMTs to save her life. He trussed her up with intricate knots. They’re not boat knots. They’re more—”
“Kinbaku maybe?” Leo went over to his desk and picked up a tablet. “Intricate knot play often used in bondage.” He handed it to me and my stomach jittered.
The knots were very similar to those I saw on her arms. “That’s probably a good call. He tied them in a way that would cut off air on her throat the more she struggled.”
Leo’s jaw firmed. “I see.”
“He was going to rape her. The first few victims were sex workers so rape may not have been picked up on in the investigation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if was a component.”
Leo nodded. “He’s escalating for sure. The cops in Salem are being willfully ignorant of the fact. They’d rather look at it as...what do they call it? Misadventure?”
I fisted my fingers. “More like prey. She wanted to get away from the crowds of a hotel bar and stupidly went down to the docks alone.”
“The real question is how long was he watching her? At the bar or was he just waiting for someone to be alone. Nyx broke into the Salem PD’s system.”
“And?”
“It was boat rope. Heavy duty, not the nylon kind that you probably use on yours. So it means he went there with intent. If it was as ritualistic as you mentioned, it’s not exactly the amount he could lift off one of the boats in the area.”
I cracked my knuckles. “No. And the way he did it meant he took his time. That was bold as fuck.”
“Another escalation.”
“It is.”
“This is kind of a delicate question.”
“Just spit it out.”
Leo dipped his hands into his pockets. “You left everything behind when you left. Do you have something for protection on your boat?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“And I can trust you not to do something stupid with said weapon?”
“Is this your delicate way of asking if I’m going to off myself?”
“You do look a bit strung out, Locke. You can’t deny that.”
My best friend is talking to me in my head—no big deal. And I think about that bottle of bourbon over the sink far too often, other than that I’m peachy.
“I didn’t ask for her to be my problem.”
Leo’s eyebrow arched.
“I’m just speaking plainly. I wish I’d never seen her on that dock—but if I hadn’t, she’d probably be dead. So she’s mine.”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
I stared at the floor. “All it can be.”
“You know my feelings on getting involved with a client.”
I lifted my gaze to his. Leo didn’t have to say it. It was what got Milligan killed.
Once Milligan and Alyssa got involved he never should have been on her detail. I should have been the one to cover him. Instead, I got him killed.
“Just be careful.” Leo’s voice was understanding. “This isn’t one of our usual cases. Stalkers and assassins we have protocols for—this is something else entirely. If you need help, I want you to call us in.”
“She’s not a paid client.”
“I don’t fucking care. I’m not losing another one of my team.” His silvery blue eyes were sharp with anger. “I’m going to have Nina dig deeper into the files and see if she can find anything else that overlaps. Keep your damn SAT phone close will you?”
I nodded.
“And don’t go off grid again. I want check ins every other day.”
When I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off, he stared me down.
“Every other day.”
“Fine.”
“Good. Gear up before you leave. I don’t want you flying—or floating—blind out there. You have help here, fucking use it. For her sake if nothing else.”
I nodded. “Can I go now?”
He sighed. “Yes. And for fuck’s sake get that animal off your damn face.”
“Why is everyone so obsessed with my beard?”
“That’s not a beard, it’s a crime.”
I huffed out a half laugh. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
I crossed the carpet to the archway leading to the elevators.
“Locke?”
I paused at the threshold.
“Quit punishing yourself.”
I didn’t look back, just kept on walking.
It was my fault and there was no penance in the world that would make up for it.
Since Jackson had eyes on Priscilla, I took the elevator down to Mason’s domain. He was the head of our tech branch and had all the toys as well as the arsenal. Leo was right about one thing—I needed gear to protect her.
When the doors opened, the soaring vocals of Bad Company thundered around the vast space. Mason Kendrick was barely thirty-five, but his musical taste was firmly rooted in the ‘70s. He was hunched over his work bench with a soldering tool in hand and micro-goggles on his face.
I leaned against his table, waiting until he came up for air.
Mason’s focus was as legendary as his music taste. But it did mean that he could leave you hanging for a damn long time. It was my lucky day because he lifted the soldering tool, then peered at me through his ridiculous specs.
He quickly fumbled them off his face. “Locke?”
“Hey Mase.”
He got up, his stool clattering to the floor as he came around to meet me. I grunted as he dragged me in for a hard hug. “I’d almost given up on you coming back.”
I slapped him on the back. “I’m not back.”
He pushed me away. “Then what are you doing here?”
I gave him the quick rundown on my situation.
His eyes narrowed. “Okay. I think I have a few things that will help you out. You can check in at the armory first and I’ll meet you there.”
I nodded. My skin felt tight and my shoulders tense. I hadn’t been here since the week before Milligan had passed. He and Alyssa had a whirlwind romance, and he’d gone off to get married without telling any of us.
His reasoning?
He wanted to lock her down.
He’d fallen hard and fast—which was just like Jake. He never did anything in half measures. From the first days in the army, in the trenches of bootcamp, and finally in the Rangers with me—no one worked harder or fought more fiercely. He’d also been impulsive as hell.
Alyssa Rawlings had been a typical bodyguard case.
At least that’s what we originally thought.
The daughter of a billionaire, she was an easy target.
Her father, Michael Rawlings, had hired us on to make sure she was safe during a tenuous merger.
Our entire focus had been on that external surveillance, not on her ex-husband who had become unhinged at seeing Alyssa with Milligan.
I should have seen it.
It had been my job to assess the threats.
“Got what you need?”
Mason’s voice dragged me back into the now.
I’d been staring at the locker of weapons without seeing a single one.
I wiped my damp hand down my thigh before opening the cage.
I lifted a Glock 19 out of the rack. The familiar weight of it eased something inside of me.
I took two magazines and a box of ammunition as well as a pair of knives that I usually kept in my belt.
When I’d taken off after Milligan’s death, I’d left everything behind.
Unlike me, but I’d been such a goddamn mess that the idea of a weapon on me had been nearly as terrifying as the thoughts I’d wrestled with. When I turned back to Mason, he had a black case open on the table.
“This should help with some eyes on the boat.”
I unhooked a weapons belt off the door of the locker and slid it around my waist, frowning down at the series of cameras. “Not sure she wants to be watched like that all the time.”
“These are mostly for off the boat for you.” He lifted out a trio of slim disks. “You can put these on the side of the boat. Waterproof and has night vision.”
“Okay. That works.” I nodded to the rest. “What the hell is that?”
“Prototype.” Mason dug into the foam lining the case.
“Figured you could test it out for me.” He held it over the table, and a stand came out of the bottom.
The top opened and four mini drones hovered out.
They were little more than the size of dragonflies.
They lifted into the vaulted ceiling and spread out to the four corners of the room. Mason handed me a tablet.
Each of the drones had a bird’s-eye view of the room.
I’d used drones for aerial views of a large home before, but nothing as specialized as these.
“Works just like the larger ones we use only these can get into smaller spaces. They also are a bit smarter and work with an AI interface I designed. I thought it might work for you when you are on open water and need to see who is around you.”
“What’s the distance?”
“That’s the prototype portion of it. They feed off one another to give increased distance. It doesn’t have military grade function, but for surveillance it could be a game changer. No blind spots for this on whole house security.”
“Impressive.”
“Thanks. I’ve been working on it for the last year.
Might be exactly what you need.” Mason took the tablet from me and hit a few keys, and the drones came back and filed into the small dock.
The whole thing folded up tight into a cube that fit in the palm of a hand.
He tucked it into the case. “Instructions are in the tablet if you want to play with it.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Any bugs let me know and I’ll work on the programming here.”
“Got it.”
Mason took the ammo and clips and tucked them into the slots in the foam. “I also added one of our new Tasers and charger. Anything else you need and I’ll get it to you.”
“Appreciate it, Mase. This will definitely help. I want to keep her on the boat until she’s healed up enough to be mobile.”
“Sure that’s the only reason you want to keep her to yourself?”
“Don’t listen to Leo.”
He grinned. “Nyx just messaged me actually.” He leaned a hip against the counter. “She was very interested in our newest client.”
“She’s not a client.”
“Even better.” Mason gave me a sly smile.
“It’s not like that.”
“Sure.” He straightened. “Totally like you to selflessly help a stranger.”
I shoved my Glock into the holster at my side and pulled my shirt over it. “I saved her life. No way am I letting this asshole find her again.”
“Maybe she’s not the only one who got saved. First time I’ve seen life in those eyes in a long damn time. Even before Milligan.” He slapped my arm.
What the hell did that mean?
But Mason was already on his way back to his workstation.
I closed the case and locked it, adding my passcode to the lock for added measure.
I caught my face in the mirror of the armory locker door.
I touched the overgrown hellscape of my face.
It had been so long since I’d even noticed how far gone I’d gotten.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth in the shower to conserve water so there was rarely a reason to look at myself. Especially when I hated what I saw.
Behind the armory was a changing room with clothes, gear, showers, and toiletries. We often had to be in the field at a moment’s notice and needed to change up from tactical clothes to a suit depending on the job. Before I could think about it too hard, I went through the doorway.
It was time to come all the way back.