Chapter 19
19
L eslie thought she heard a freight train charging down on her only to realize she wasn’t hearing anything in the house—she was hearing the pressure build in her head. That was her heart pumping wildly. Her knees buckled and she reached out to steady herself on the sofa.
She was going into shock as she watched Alex go through the pockets of all the men, pulling out more phones but nothing else.
She stared at the man closest to her.
Minutes ago, he had scared her. Hurt her.
Now he was dead.
“Don’t look at him” Alex ordered. “Look at me.”
She ripped her gaze away from the dead man at her feet. Alex’s gaze was steady, firm. She could lean on his strength, because hers was sapping away.
“You’re going to be okay. I swear it.”
“I know,” she whispered.
Still staring at her, Alex tapped the earpiece in his ear.
“Luke,” he said.
His conversation with Luke was a series of questions and commands that blurred together in Leslie’s mind. Then the conversation was over.
“Leslie, you need to followmy directions,” Alex said. “Put on a jacket and boots. Grab your purse, cell phone, and charger. Any prescription medicines. Put everything in your jacket pockets."
“Why?” she asked dully.
“Because I don’t know who these men are. Because more men are coming, and I don’t know how far away they are. Because I’m getting you to safety.”
She started stumbling around her studio, grabbing her cell phone and charger the way he’d instructed. After grabbing her jacket, she turned to see Alex standing in front of her, a pair of hiking boots in his hands.
“Put these on. Now. We don’t have time to wait.”
With shaking hands, she put on her boots. Gun drawn, Alex led her downstairs. He scanned the interior, then opened the door and scanned the outside. Crouching low, he guided her to his truck and got her bundled inside.
In minutes, they were in the middle of cross-town traffic, weaving in and out of cars—Alex’s way to ensure they weren’t being followed.
“Where are we going?” she finally. “Will you take me to Branden’s penthouse?”
Alex shook his head. “No. I don’t know if those men were targeting you because of your brother. I’m taking you to a hotel.” His gaze darted to his rearview mirror, and she grew silent.
Her mind whirled, trying to sort through all the events of the last twenty minutes. She had so many questions, so many fears. Her mind felt fuzzy, as if unable to form clearly delineated thoughts and instead was seeking meaning in shadows. But one thing she knew was that she was in the safest place possible—with Alex.
The hotel he picked was luxurious and exclusive, near Park Avenue. Instead of using the valet, he parked the car in the underground lot himself, murmuring to her that he needed to know the exact location of his car and keep his keys with him. He helped her out of the car, then walked with her held tight to his side, his gaze darting around in all directions until they reached the hotel lobby. Instead of stopping and speaking to the front desk, he headed straight for the elevators.Inside, he checked his phone.
“When I called Luke to tell him I had you, I had him arrange a room for us. I also told him to double security on your family, Leslie. They’re safe.”
Thank God, Leslie thought.
A few minutes later, they entered their suite, where Alex made a quick sweep of the place before gesturing for her to take a seat on the sofa.He tilted her chin up, staring down at her face, his expression murderous while his thumb caressed her cheek. “We need to get you some ice for that bruise. I’ll have some brought up.” He sat beside her, one hand on her knee while he used his other to make another phone call.
“I need ice, then I need the concierge to arrange for things to be bought and brought to us. A few outfits. Toiletries.” He rattled off sizes, shockingly accurate with her measurements down to her bra size. He asked for a few more other items, everything from a deck of cards to a specific type of backpack, then ended the call. He leaned forward, his forearms against his thighs, his hands held loosely in front of him.
“Alex—”
“I’m sorry.”
She cocked her head, uncertain if she’d heard right. “You’re sorry? For what?”
“For all this. For those men.”
“Why would you be sorry? This isn’t your fault. You saved me.”
“Those men were professionals. I think they came after you because of me.”
“How do you know that?”
“There was one guy outside. I took him out, but not before he referred to you as my girlfriend.”
“Oh.” Obviously she and Alex weren’t dating—they were friends who had hooked up and shared the most intense night of her life in a sex club. Still, she could see how someone observing them might think that. “What did the person on the phone say, Alex? Did he mention my name? Your name?”
“He asked, ‘Do you have her?’”
“Then this is more about me than you. We’ve hung out, it would be natural to assume we were dating. It could be one of Branden’s enemies. Maybe it’s Raj’s men.” Mason Raj was Leslie’s stepsister Deena’s biological father. He’d been abusive to her, a threat to the entire Duke family, and he’d been killed by Dex, another one of Alex’s bodyguards before he could kill Deena.
“Those are possibilities,” Alex conceded.
But she could tell he wasn’t convinced. Not by a long shot.
Alex knew Leslie was trying to help, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow related to him. To his past. To the horrible things he’d done in a quest for vengeance.
Now the worst thing he could have imagined was possible – that his past had brought danger to Leslie’s doorstep.
To the doorstep of her entire family.
“While we wait for our things to arrive, I’m calling your brother. Do you want to wash up? Lie down?”
She hesitated. “I’ll wash up,” she said quietly.
She stood and headed toward the bathroom.
“Leslie.”
“Yes?”
“Keep the door open. Don’t go anywhere, and do not answer the door if anyone knocks.”
She swallowed and nodded. A rush of warmth flooded his heart at her expression, her eyes so lost and confused. “Tell me you understand.”
She raised a brow. “What, you think I’m a child and need to be coddled?”
“No. I think you were just attacked and saw me kill three men in front of you. I think you’re holding up but still in shock. And I just need to be sure there’s no room for misunderstanding.”
She sighed. “Fair enough. I understand.”
He waited until she went into the bathroom, leaving the bedroom door open, before he placed his call.
“How is she? Talk to me, Alex.” Branden said, his voice urgent. Luke had obviously done what Alex asked and given Branden a rundown of the situation so far.
“She’s safe, Branden. We’re at a hotel.”
“Put me on video.”
“No.”
“Damn it, Alex, I’m the one who pays your bills, so do as I—”
“Trust me,” he said. “I’m not giving anyone any ammo they could use against Leslie. If you so much as guess where I’m at, that puts Leslie at risk on the off chance someone gets to you. So no, I’m not telling you where I am or putting you on video until I get a clearer picture of what the hell is going on.”
“And what the fuck is going on?”
“I wish I knew. Did Luke give you the specifics?”
“Yes, but he might have left something out.”
Luke? No way. “He didn’t, Branden.”
“Fine. What now?”
His mind went back to the man who’d called Leslie his girlfriend. To her argument that she had been his objective separate from Alex. But right now it didn’t matter why Leslie had been targeted. What mattered was keeping her safe.
“I’m going to put out feelers,” he told Branden. “Call around, see if I can get any hints about threats to you, to Leslie, to me. I’ll let you know when I have news.”
“Keep her safe, Alex. Whatever it costs, I don’t care. Just keep my sister safe.”
“I will do everything in my power to do that, Branden. Trust me.”
“I trust you, Alex. With Leslie, there’s no one I’d trust more. I’ll talk to Logan though and—”
“Don’t,” Alex snapped. Logan was a Brooklyn cop who’d just been shot while undercover. He’d made it through surgery and was now adjusting to the fact his lower half might be permanently paralyzed. His pregnant girlfriend, Iris, was Branden’s fiancee’s best friend.
“Why the hell not? He’s in a wheelchair but he can help. He’s got connections.”
“And any one of those connections can be on the take, Branden. We don’t take that risk. Not with Leslie’s life at stake.”
A heavy silence filled the line then Branden said, “I don’t like this, Alex.”
“I know, but will you do as I ask? Don’t talk details about this to anyone but Lee or Luke. Not even your families. Not even Cara. We have to lock down this situation first. Get a handle on what we’re dealing with.”
“I don’t keep secrets from, Cara. But as for the rest, we’ll handle it your way. I want regular updates.”
“I’ll try my best, Branden.”
After another minute, Alex hung up on Leslie’s understandably going-crazy-with-worry brother. He saw a couple of texts had come through and determined they could wait. Then, eyes on Leslie in the bedroom, he made more calls.
Soon, the ice arrived. Immediately after that, the concierge delivered a package. Inside was a sealed envelope marked “Duke Family”.
Inside were passports and drivers’ licenses for Leslie, her siblings and her mother, all of them with different names on them.
Suddenly, he caught sight of Leslie leaving the bedroom and walking up to him. She looked at the documents he’d spread out on the table.
“You got us all fake ID’s?” she asked quietly.
He nodded. “Security measure. In case my team needs to get one of you somewhere safe and off the grid.”
“Wow. That’s…”
He turned to face her and took both her hands in his.
“Necessary. And I will do anything necessary to protect your family and you, Leslie, I won’t leave your side until you’re safe. I swear it.”