her, but she’d deliberately lost them, then tried hiding again? Leese wasn’t sure what was going on, but he had an objective, and he’d see it through. “I showed your photo around and tracked you here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Since when do bodyguards track people?”
Since clients paid a small fortune to make it happen. Balanced on the balls of his feet, Leese let his wrists rest over his knees. “I learned a lot of neat tricks,” he told her.
“Like?”
So she wanted to have this whole conversation while exposed to the elements? Appeared so. “Like how to locate people.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
She strained away. “What are you doing?”
Her unmistakable panic helped him to rein in his impatience. “Your seat is probably damp by now. The back of your coat too. You need to get somewhere warm and dry.”
“Where?”
“Let’s go to the car and we’ll talk about it.”
She balked. “So you’re taking me home?”
That sounded like an accusation. Leese tried to ignore the cold. “Is that where you want to go?”
Her brows lifted. “Not really, no.”
“Okay then, want to clue me in?” His balls were starting to freeze.
Puzzled, she narrowed her eyes on him. “You weren’t told to take me anywhere?”
“I’ve only spoken to my boss, and she said to keep you safe, period.” Why did he feel like he might be missing the big picture here? “That’s the beginning, middle and end.”
Incredulous, she asked, “For how long?”
He shrugged. “My understanding is that it’s pretty open-ended at this point.” Given her reactions so far, he could see why those who cared about her assumed she’d need protection.
But to be sure, at the first opportunity he’d give Sahara a call and have her fess up all the facts. Sahara Silver, the new owner of Body Armor, did like to do things her own way—and it was never conventional.
Catalina kept her gaze locked with his while working out something in her mind, and suddenly she stiffened. “Oh my God.”
“Problem?”
Her hair whipped around as she searched the area again.
Who was she looking for? “Catalina—”
On a heartfelt groan of despair, she gripped the front of his coat. “You’ve probably led him to me.”
Leese didn’t know who she meant, but he saw honest fear in her expression. “Let’s get out of the area, somewhere safe.” He noticed that she limped a little as he led her quickly to where Justice waited with the car. “We’ll talk more once I know you’re secure.”
Justice sat behind the wheel of the black Lexus SUV, the engine running, so the car would be warm.
Catalina balked again at the sight of him, then squared her shoulders and hastened her pace.
“You don’t have to worry about Justice.” Leese reached the SUV ahead of her and opened the back passenger door. “Colorful as he might be.”
She said, “He’s fine.”
Right. Height and a brick build were enough to make Justice intimidating, but he also had black-as-sin eyes, a dark Mohawk and a goatee badly in need of a trim. His earliest fighting days had left him with a crooked nose from too many breaks and a right ear thickened from too many hits.
Overall, despite his massive size and capability, Justice was easygoing and considerate—especially to pretty girls.
“Let’s lose the wet coat, okay? You’ll be more comfortable.”
She bit her lip, then quickly stripped her coat off. Leese took it from her as she climbed in.
She was so skittish that he didn’t trust her to stay put and he definitely didn’t want her trying to hop out of a moving car. Still holding the door open, he said, “Scoot.”
“What?” Catalina pushed back her hair and blinked at him in question.
Rather than explain again, Leese took the expedient measure of getting in next to her, forcing her to make room for him. He watched her rump as she quickly crawled across the seat, moving as far from him as she could get.
As he draped the coat over her lap, he told Justice, “Go,” and to Catalina, said, “Buckle up.”
“Where to?” Justice asked.
“Head for the highway.” Because she hadn’t done it yet, Leese reached around Catalina and buckled her seat belt, then tucked the coat around her again. “We’ll go south.”
She pressed back in her seat. “Where’s my suitcase?”
“In back,” Justice told her, taking several peeks at her in the rearview mirror.
She confirmed that by twisting around to look in the cargo area. When she saw the battered suitcase, she dropped back into her seat and closed her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Welcome.” Then to Leese, he asked, “We expecting more trouble?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Yes,” Catalina said. “Expect it, because it’s definitely coming.”
Leese shared a look with Justice, but both chose to stay silent. As they drove out of the small town, the streetlights faded away and only the headlights of the SUV and the few other cars on the road lit the area.
After about twenty minutes, Catalina slumped in her seat and yawned. “I don’t suppose you have anything to eat?”
The guys shared another look.
Justice said, “Sorry, no. I take it you’re hungry?”
“Mmm. I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”
If true, that sucked, but Leese shook his head at Justice. “Don’t stop yet.”
“If I can’t eat,” Catalina said, “then do you mind if I nap? I’ve been even longer without sleep and now that I’m warm, I’m having a pretty hard time keeping my eyes open.”
Every minute with her got more confusing. “Why haven’t you slept?”
“I was planning my escape from Wayne’s little cult. He considers himself this benevolent guide, but he’s actually just creepy. I had to sneak out a window. Should have known he’d find out.”
Tension knotted the muscles of Leese’s neck. “You were in a cult?”
“Well, not an official cult or
