JAMES
NINE
Stockholm Syndrome probably starts with road-trip snacks and good music.
She’s beautiful when she sleeps. She’s arresting all the time, but like this?
Relaxed, free from whatever chases her in her waking moments, the thing that makes her look over her shoulder when walking down the street, the reason she shies away from the limelight when she should steal it, it gives me a glimpse of everything she should be.
However, she is also stubborn. Ridiculously so.
I could have spent the rest of the day arguing with her about how much danger she is in, but the result would still be the same.
Stephanie King has been marked, and the FBI is playing a dangerous game, so I took out an unwilling participant.
Now it’s time to deliver her into Camryn’s care so I can distance myself from this enticing woman.
I have a couple of engagements where I know Burnside will be.
I want to assert myself into his orbit, remind him of his ties to my organization so that he knows every move he makes is being assessed and that going after Stephanie will not be tolerated.
But if I thought that would work, then I would have done it already. He’s the type to believe he’s untouchable, and the more forbidden the fruit, the more enticing it becomes.
She stirs in the passenger seat next to me as a call echoes in the small space. I flick the button to answer.
“What did you do?” Camryn snaps.
“Whatever do you mean?” I drawl.
“Tell me why I’m intercepting a police call for a missing woman named Stephanie King from the Alderidge residence?”
Damn, that was quick.
“How did you know it was me?”
“You made a point of leaving your car in full sight of the house cameras.”
My lips twitch. “It’s almost as if you’re a real detective.”
“I’m an agent who is going to nail your ass to the wall if you’ve done what I think you’ve done.”
“Kinky, Camryn. But I’ve only done what you already should have.”
“We had an agreement.”
“We did, and you broke it.”
She sighs as Stephanie mutters something under her breath.
“Where are you taking her?” Camryn demands.
“Your lilac safe house.”
“Do I even want to know how you got that information?” She knows Eleanor is one of the most skilled hackers alive. I give her silence as an answer, and she sighs. “Fine, what’s your ETA?” she asks.
“Two hours.”
“I’ll be there. And James?”
“Yep?”
“I am not fucking happy right now.”
“You’d be even less happy if she’d been taken, Camryn.
As it is, she spent the better part of this morning sipping coffee while seated across from him.
If you thought he was working on a timeline, one that you could predict, you couldn’t be more wrong.
The biggest danger with Burnside is how he adapts to every hunt. ”
“I’m not unaware of this morning.”
My hands tighten on the steering wheel. “That makes it worse, not better, agent.”
“Where am I?” Stephanie murmurs.
“Gotta go, Camryn.”
“Wait, why doesn’t she know where she is, James?”
“James, is that you?”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Camryn growls. “You kidnapped her, didn’t you?”
“Er, more like forceful removal from a dangerous situation.”
“I have no words.”
My lips twitch. “I doubt that.”
“Two hours, and you best come with excuses for the crime you just committed and the operation you just fucked up.”
I end the call to give Stephanie all of my attention because I’m under no illusions that she’s going to be chill about this turn of events. She shifts, and her head touches the cool window, making her jerk upright.
One… two… three.
“Where the hell am I?” she snarls. “James, why are you here?” Her head whips around. “You drugged and kidnapped me? My brother is going to end you.”
“No, he’s not. He wanted you out of there.”
“And moved in with him, not you.”
But she’s not moving in with me. I couldn’t think of a worse torture.
“You know that’s a dangerous move. It’s where Christopher would look if you disappear.”
She folds her arms and huffs. “So being sequestered with the leader of the trafficking ring that Christopher is part of is, what? A good idea? A better option?”
“I’m the removal, not your safety net.”
“Then where am I going?”
“FBI safe house.”
“Take me back.”
“No.”
“James, I will fight you every step of the way. Take me back now.”
She’s eerily calm and put together for someone being kidnapped.
“Happy to sedate you again if that helps.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “You know this behavior isn’t acceptable, right?”
“Neither is what he’s planning on doing with you, Stephanie. Now call Honor and your brother and let them know I have you and you are safe.”
“Am I, though?”
That question hurts, but it’s not unreasonable. “Safer than you were. Agent Sinclair is an excellent and capable woman. You’ll like her.”
She frowns. “I’m not going with you?”
Is that disappointment I hear in her voice? “No. As you said, it would be too dangerous.”
Although I have a place if needed. But having her in close quarters day in, day out is not healthy for either of us.
“Then why didn’t the FBI collect me?”
She may have been sheltered these past years, but she is perceptive and also dangerous.
“Because they were waiting for Christopher to get even closer.”
“So this isn’t sanctioned?”
“No.”
“But you already stated you trusted the agent and her decisions.”
Remind me never to pick an argument with this woman. “I do, but I think they’re underestimating how much he wants you.”
“Because of my link to your sister?”
Fuck me. “Yes.”
She turns to look at the back seat. “You packed my bag?”
“Only the essentials. You can buy anything you need at the safe house.”
“Did you go through my underwear drawer?”
I snap my gaze to her, finding a smile playing on her lips and her eyes lit up with amusement.
“Those would be essentials, so yes.”
“Curious what you picked.”
“I just grabbed a handful and shoved them inside the bag.” I may have stolen a pair like a freak while I was in there.
“Do we have snacks?”
“What?”
“Snacks for the road trip. Do we have them?”
“No.”
“Then stop at the next gas station. I need snacks.”
“Don’t try anything cute.”
“I’m always cute. But less so when I’m hangry.”
“Why aren’t you freaking out more?”
“Will that get you to turn around and take me back? Because I can cry on command. Maybe a little wailing? A gentle yet escalating series of screams?”
“Forget I asked.”
“The genuine answer is that freaking out makes me feel even less in control than I am now. An added bonus is that my lack of freaking out is freaking you out.”
She leans forward and switches on the radio, fiddling with the stations until it settles on a smooth country station I can get behind.
She bobs her head and hums along to the tune.
Her fingers dance on her thigh. Piano? Guitar?
She plays something, but I swallow the need to ask her what.
I need nothing else to add to the mental picture already formed in my mind.
The little details, the way the setting sun turns her dark hair a little auburn. I don’t need that.
I clear my throat and indicate to take the exit to the gas station. “You need to call Honor and Hunter.”
She grimaces but nods as I hand her my phone. “Where’s mine?”
“Back at the pool house. Best not have any tech that can be tracked to the safe house, just in case.”
“But you’ve brought yours.”
“Eleanor checked mine this week.”
I put the brakes on and tap my thumbs as I wait.
“Aren’t you getting snacks?” she wonders.
“After you’ve made the calls.”
“I’m not stupid, James. I don’t think for one minute you’re here because you want to be. I know you can hardly stand me, and this is an act born out of loyalty to your sister.”
She thinks I can’t stand her? It’s for the best, but I don’t like the way it makes me feel.
“Fine, any snack preferences?”
“Something salty, something sweet, something savory, and a bottle of water. Gotta keep me looking like a healthy abductee.”
I shake my head and jump out, taking a few minutes to fill up the tank.
I can hear her on the phone to Honor, who seems to be handling it about as well as I’d expected.
Camryn seems to have smoothed over their worries by claiming it was a planned operation that was time-sensitive.
Honor and Fox are among the few who know I’m working both sides, but they can’t be so na?ve as to think Camryn would send alone for Stephanie. She can be very convincing, though.
I stroll into the station, grab a basket, and toss a little of everything inside, as requested.
There’s enough to have her hyped up on sugar or dozing in a carb coma.
I glance out the window, smiling as I see her hands flying in the air as she no doubt argues with her brother.
It’s still going on when I climb back inside the car and drop two bags of goodies on the back seat.
“He’s right here now,” Stephanie grumbles. “Hunter wants to talk to you.”
“Hunter wants to fucking murder him,” her brother snaps.
I guide the car back onto the road and settle in for an ass-whooping by another King. Although something tells me he doesn’t have shit on his sister if she chose to verbally hand me my ass. The thought doesn’t send my blood anywhere but south. Get it together. Her brother’s on the phone.
I let him say his piece, giving me a ten-point list on why he is the most appropriate person to keep her safe. He’s not wrong, but because of who he loves, he’s also not right.
“The first place he will come looking is anywhere you are,” I interrupt as he repeats himself, as if he could wear me down.
He has no idea of my upbringing and the mental fortitude it’s taken to survive.
“If I thought differently, I would deliver her straight to you. But you have someone precious to me, too. I won’t put her at risk, no more than you would my sister. ”
“But you aren’t in love with my sister.”
I blink. He’s right, because I don’t know how to love, and I don’t deserve anything good, and not from someone like Stephanie.
“Maybe not,” I answer. “But her being hurt would hurt both of you. Also, I’m the delivery boy. The FBI will take over soon.”
“That makes me feel better.”
“Fucking hell,” Eleanor groans.
“I trust Agent Sinclair,” I tell my sister.
“Dangerous ground, brother. Trust no one.”
Stephanie giggles as she rummages in the bag. When did she even grab it from the rear? Also, those bags are heavy. Like lifting weights.
“Something funny, Steph?” Hunter growls.
“Ellie was just referring to an FBI agent with the trust-no-one mentality.”
“I’m not following,” he mutters.
“X-Files reference,” Eleanor adds. “I’ll explain later.”
“You will call me when you arrive. I want to speak to this agent myself,” Hunter demands.
Stephanie looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t see any issues with that,” I answer her unspoken question.
“If you did, we’d have more than issues,” Hunter adds. “You might think the sick fuckers you hang around are the baddest guys in the world, but I have a legion of bikers across the country who would unite to save one of their own at the snap of my fingers.”
Stephanie rolls her eyes. “Yes, yes, you are both very macho. Now, if we are done with posturing, I have snacks to devour.”
“Call me.”
Stephanie ends the calls with a sigh. She leans her head against the seat rest and closes her eyes for a beat. I pull my gaze away, scared I’ll wrap us around a tree if I get pulled into her orbit.
“My brother means well,” she whispers.
I turn down the music to catch everything she’s saying. “He loves you.”
“He’s still stuck in a past I’ve left behind.”
She tugs at the ends of her sweater, pulling it down over her wrists. I’ve seen the scars. I already know the basic facts, but not the details. How she walks around with this amount of light and love is a miracle.
“I think he’s stuck making sure your future is without pain.”
“That’s not real life though, is it?” she mumbles, flicking her eyes open to stare out her window. “For some of us, we just attract it.”
She can’t believe that? Right?
She grins as if she’s trying to shake off the seriousness, but I can see it for the lie it is. When she truly smiles, it lights up the room. This is brittle, like she’s reinforcing herself against the world with a breezy attitude.
“Now the real question is why the hell did you get the salty and sweet popcorn in one bag?”
“Space saving? It fulfilled two of your needs.”
“It’s abhorrent. Don’t do it again.”
As if I’ll ever be able to buy her popcorn again.
“But you redeemed yourself with these delights.” She waves the bag of Twinkies at me, and for the first time in forever, I laugh for real.