Hidden Prey Page 21

  But she was too upset, too torn, too confused to argue. Feeling sick to her bones, she stared out of the window, raindrops rolling down the pane, the rainy landscape blurring when they passed it.

  Landon had killed her brother.

  Dear God. She had fallen in love with the man who’d put the bullet into her brother and taken his life.

  Falling in love with? She fought back tears. How could she already have fallen for Landon? And what did it mean now that she knew the truth? Damn it, he should have told her before they’d become intimate.

  Dylan had told them he would call ahead to have Tori escorted into the building. Once they reached headquarters, before they allowed her out of Landon’s truck, they put a Kevlar vest on her. She walked into the DHS office, surrounded by Landon, Dylan and four other agents.

  Rain soaked her clothes and her damp hair clung to her cheeks. The summer storm had grown worse as they’d driven to the DHS office.

  She didn’t like what churned inside her at all…the feeling of being constantly in danger and the fear someone she loved would be killed. Not to mention the two agents, O’Donnell and Danson, who had died protecting her after the house they’d been in had exploded. Thoughts of Gregory and his intern, both murdered because of what she’d seen, remained in her mind.

  A shiver caused goosebumps on her skin and she rubbed her wet arms with both palms. Four people had already lost their lives and Landon and Johnson had been injured.

  When they walked into the office, Landon escorted her to a room with no windows. He helped her take off the Kevlar vest and he set it aside on one of the chairs at the table. They were alone and she took a seat.

  He braced his hand on the table’s surface and studied her. “Do you want water or something else to drink?”

  She swallowed and her dry throat ached. “Water.”

  He watched her as if she might get up and run screaming from the room. “How about something to eat?”

  “I’m still full from breakfast.” That was partially true. Mostly, she doubted she could eat anything if she tried.

  “Will you be all right here alone for a while?” She heard concern in his low voice. “I can send someone in if you’d like.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t need anyone to stay with me.” She paused a moment and met his gaze. “Please arrange for a call on a secure connection between my mom and me.”

  Landon looked thoughtful. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “That’s not good enough.” She leaned forward and spoke in a firm tone. Anger flared in her. She deserved to talk with her parents and there had to be a way to do it safely. “Make it happen, Landon.”

  She refused to keep running. She was tired of being afraid, tired of fearing for the lives of her loved ones, and tired of people dying. Tired of everything being out of her control. Somewhere, somehow, she had to regain some semblance of control over her own destiny and over what happened at this very moment.

  He rested his hand on hers, his touch heating her. She remained motionless, not wanting his comfort at this moment. He nodded before letting his hand slide away from hers, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

  She stared at the door for a long moment, trying to think all of this through. There had to be something she could do now, something to help end this nightmare. Maybe she was finally waking up.

  “Absolutely not, Sofia.” Landon clenched his jaw as he stood in his RAC’s office and stared at her. “We’re not going to use Tori as bait.”

  Sofia Aguilar leaned back in her office chair behind her desk and gave Landon a hard look. “This has to end and we need to rope in Alejandro Jimenez. Our best shot right now is using Ms. Cox to lure him in. The marshals will help and between them and us we’ll make sure she’s safe. It’ll be quick and she’ll never be in any real danger.”

  “No.” Heat burned beneath Landon’s collar. “We’re not doing that to her. Hell, what if we get Alejandro? His father will be right behind him.” Landon shook his head. “No.”

  “It’s not your call, Landon.” Aguilar narrowed her gaze. “We’ll let Ms. Cox decide for herself.”

  “Decide what?” Tori’s voice came from behind Landon.

  Frowning, he turned and faced her. “You were to stay in the room.”

  “You didn’t say I couldn’t leave.” She looked from Landon to Aguilar. “What is it I need to decide for myself, Special Agent Aguilar?”

  Landon angled his gaze to Aguilar, but she looked past him, directing her attention to Tori.

  Aguilar spoke with quiet authority, “Ms. Cox, we would like your cooperation in setting a trap for the cartel and specifically Alejandro Jimenez.”

  Fear flashed in Tori’s eyes, but then it vanished. She gave a slow nod. “What do I need to do?”

  “Tori, it’s too dangerous.” Tension gripped Landon like an iron fist. “You don’t need to do this.”

  “I do need to.” She straightened and raised her chin. “We’re going to get them.” She fisted her hands at her sides. “Everything that happened—all the sacrifices, all the deaths—is not going to be for nothing.”

  Landon rubbed the bridge of his nose, his mind rejecting the thought of intentionally putting her in harm’s way. When he looked at Tori again, she focused on Aguilar.

  “Just tell me what you want from me and I’ll do it.” Tori moved closer to the RAC’s desk. “My only condition is I get to speak to my mom. However you can do it, with some kind of secure connection, that’s what I want.”

  Aguilar nodded tersely. “We’ll get you that phone call.”

  Landon’s gut tightened. He wanted to argue they shouldn’t take a chance by using her as bait. By the look in Tori’s and Aguilar’s eyes, he knew whatever he said wouldn’t make a damned bit of difference. Tori had already made up her mind.

  “Thank you for arranging the call.” Tori’s chest rose and fell. “What’s the plan?”

  Landon dragged his hand down his face. It took everything he had not to jump in yet again and insist Tori should not be used as bait. It involved too much risk. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he’d do.

  Aguilar picked up a pencil and tapped it on the desk pad, which had doodles down the left side. “Now that we know we have your cooperation, we’ll take care of the rest.”

  Tori’s throat worked. “Now about my phone call?”

  The RAC turned to Landon. “Set it up.”

  Landon couldn’t hold back the terseness in his voice. “Yes, ma’am.” He met Tori’s gaze and gave a nod in the direction of the door to Aguilar’s office. “We’ll take care of it now.”

  A relieved expression made Tori look more relaxed, the furthest thing from what he felt.

  “You shouldn’t put yourself in danger.” He nearly growled the words once they were out of Aguilar’s office. “Anything could happen.”

  Tori pursed her lips before speaking. “I can’t sit on my hands and do nothing anymore. All I’ve been doing is running and running and running. I have to do something that will help end this and all the death.”

  Landon grasped her arm and brought her to a complete stop in the hallway, facing him. “This is beyond dangerous, Tori.” He scowled. “You could get yourself killed trying to play hero.”

  She jerked her arm away from him, her face flushing as though her temperature had just gone up by twenty degrees. “I’m not trying to play hero. I’m trying to do what’s right and I’m trying to keep more people from getting killed.”

  He struggled to cool the anger burning inside him. What Aguilar discussed had been done before with other witnesses and most had gone as planned. It wasn’t logical to be so concerned about Tori being used as bait. DHS agents would protect Tori and bring down Alejandro Jimenez at the same time.

  Fuck logic. I’m not a god damned Vulcan.

  Diego would be out for blood when the dust settled.

  He opened his mouth to say something to her but she shook her head. He dropp
ed his gaze to the floor a moment before meeting her gaze again. “All right. I’m not happy about it, but I will protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She looked away from him. When she met his gaze again, she said, “You took my brother’s life and I’ll never get him back.”

  Landon’s gut sank.

  “But…” Her words were soft and the light in her eyes told him she meant every word. “I trust you with my life.”

  Landon studied her beautiful features, the strong pull he always felt around her threatening to turn him inside out. “What is it about you?” He didn’t mean to say the words aloud.

  She cocked her head, looking puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  That wasn’t entirely true. He did know. He had fallen for Tori and he had fallen hard, a bad idea on all counts.

  This precious woman fought to remain alive and make it to the witness stand. After that, she could end up in WITSEC, where he couldn’t follow. If he did fall for her, it might take him off his game, making him the weak link.

  Instead of trying to explain himself, he turned the subject back to what they were supposed to be doing. “We’ll arrange that call to your mom.”

  He escorted her to his office. “Stay here. This is my office. I’ll be right back with a phone.”

  “Okay.” She took a seat on the left side of the desk. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He met her gaze one more time. He felt as if he should say something comforting, like she’d be okay and they’d make sure nothing would happen to her.

  The agency would do everything in its power to keep her safe, but the Jimenez Cartel had powerful tentacles reaching across the U.S.-Mexico border. No one knew how far those tentacles went.

  Considering the cartel had found Tori not once, but twice, Landon wasn’t so confident they wouldn’t find a way to harm her, even with every bit of protection the agency had to offer.

  He should have said something, done something, but he simply turned and walked away.

  * * *

  Tori sat at one side of Landon’s desk, staring at the doorway long after he’d left. An irrational part of her feared he wouldn’t return, that she’d never see him again. Everything in her life seemed to be disappearing piece by piece. Even if for a short time, Landon had become one of those pieces in her life.

  But the man she’d fallen head over heels for had killed her brother.

  Her brother.

  She tucked her damp hair behind her ear. Her thoughts turned to the fact she’d just agreed to be bait so the agency could get Alejandro Jimenez.

  A stronger emotion took hold of her, surpassing her fear.

  Anger. It burned hot and bright inside her chest, like a flaming torch.

  She turned her gaze from the doorway to the blank wall directly in front of her and listened to the rain on the rooftop. She had meant what she’d said to Special Agent Aguilar. Tori would do anything she could to help take down those men who had already destroyed so many lives from drugs, human trafficking, and murder. The people they’d killed—they’d all had families and friends who would never see them again. Would never hold them in their arms again. The men and women who’d died, including Gregory and her brother, were…gone.

  She swallowed. Just gone.

  A deep, soul-wrenching shudder came over her. It felt as if this nightmare would never end.

  “Tori?” Landon’s voice had her looking back to the doorway. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She straightened in her chair. “Yes.” Her gaze dropped to the phone he held in his hand and he set it on the tabletop. She met his eyes.

  “Your mom is on the line.” He pressed the Speaker button. “Mrs. Cox, you and Tori need to remember, no matter how secure we believe this line to be, do not give out anything that might reveal your whereabouts, or anything else in relation to this case. Understand?”

  Tori nodded. “I do.”

  “Yes,” came Josie’s agreement over the speaker.

  Tori’s heart felt as though it jumped into her throat as she settled her forearms on the table. “Mom?”

  “Mija.” The relief in her mother’s voice brought tears to Tori’s eyes. “You are all right?”

  “Yes.” Tori barely got the word out, a tear rolling down her cheek. “How are you and Dad?”

  Josie sighed. “Your father is slowly being weaned off the whisky, but once we’re home again, I don’t think it will last.”

  Tori sniffled, trying not to think of the possibility of any of them not being allowed to go home and heading straight into WITSEC. “But otherwise you’re okay?”

  She could picture her mother nodding. “Yes. Everyone is good to us.” Josie hesitated. “Are you someplace safe?”

  Tori met Landon’s gaze and he shook his head. Another tear made its way down her cheek. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

  “I miss you, mija.” Josie had tears in her voice.

  Tori wiped her own tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “I miss you too, Mom.”

  Landon reached for the phone. “Time’s up.”

  “I love you,” Tori got it out in a rush. “I’ll talk with you soon.”

  “You have our love,” Josie’s voice cracked. “Don’t wait so long to call again.”

  “I won’t.” Tori managed to get the words out right before Landon disconnected the call with a push of his finger on the End button.

  Tori buried her face in her palms. Her emotions pinged all over the place, from one thing to another. People dying, Landon having killed her brother.

  But mostly anger at the cartel burned hot and furious inside her. The Jimenez Cartel had done this to all of them.

  When she raised her head, Landon now sat at the table, watching her. By the tightness in his expression, she had a feeling that whatever he was thinking couldn’t be good.

  She wiped away the rest of her tears. “What’s wrong, Landon?”

  He clenched the phone on the tabletop, his knuckles white. “I don’t like putting you in danger.”

  “Have other witnesses done this before?” She knew the answer without him responding. “Of course they have. So what’s so different about me?”

  “Because you’re special, Tori,” he spoke in a quiet tone. “You’re special to me.”

  Her eyes widened a bit. Of all the things he could have said, she never expected to hear those words.

  She reached for his hands. His fingers felt big and strong beneath her palm. “I will be fine. Everything is going to work out.”

  He rested one of his hands over hers while she squeezed his other. “Yes. It will all work out,” he spoke firmly, but she couldn’t tell if he meant to reassure himself or her. Maybe both.

  “Thank you for being here.” She swallowed. “You’ve saved my life more than once. It’s a debt I can never repay.”

  “It’s not something you repay.” He leaned closer to her. “It’s my job. I protect people.”

  Then he cleared his throat before continuing. “But you will be going into WITSEC shortly and I can’t be with you while you are in the program. You’ll be taken out of hiding for only a short time to get Alejandro Jimenez, but then you’ll go right back into the program.”

  It was happening. A cold chill traveled over her skin and she wanted to scream she didn’t want to go into the program. She wanted to say she’d be safe with Landon, but he couldn’t always be there for her. And as long as she stayed with him, he would be in danger too.

  Even though they might—would—get Alejandro, his father would still be at the top of the ruthless organization. The head of the snake, El Demonio, would still be free somewhere in Mexico. So, more than likely she would end up staying in WITSEC, unless somehow Diego and Alejandro Jimenez were taken out. Dead.

  The thought of being in WITSEC echoed in her mind and her chest squeezed. What if the cartel got to her family and friends once she disappeared? What if the carte
l hurt Paula, Sue, and Janice while trying to find Tori?

  An explosion ripped through the air.

  Landon grabbed Tori, pulling her out of her chair. He landed on her back, pinning her to the floor, knocking the breath from her. She heard his muffled cry as the impact jarred his shoulder.

  Debris rained down on them when the whole building rocked.

  Terror filled her at the shouting and screams.

  Oh, God. The cartel had found her again.

  Chapter 24

  A section of the ceiling slammed down on Landon’s injured shoulder. He barely held back another shout of pain. His ears rang from the volume of the explosion and his head swam. The lights had gone out and darkness enveloped everything beneath the debris.

  Landon’s body pinned Tori and he tried to push himself up so his body weight wouldn’t crush her, yet he could protect her. His heart pounded. More debris rained down on them and he gritted his teeth to keep from crying out every time something hit his shoulder.

  It seemed to last forever, but mere moments had passed before everything went still. An alarm blared, all Landon could hear. He rose, feeling a little dazed, the debris on his back sliding off and falling away. Fortunately, the panels making up the ceiling were fairly light.

  Emergency lighting came on, allowing him to see.

  He got to his feet, unsteady from the ringing in his head and the pain in his shoulder. He looked at Tori who pushed herself to her haunches and held her head between her hands. Clearly shaken, her eyes were wide as she pressed the sides of her head. No doubt her ears rang like his.

  His heart pounded like thunder in his head and his adrenaline spiked. His colleagues, his friends, were in the building. He had to get to and help whomever he could.

  Jesus. How many had been hurt or killed in the explosion?

  He looked at Tori. Thank God she hadn’t been injured.