Page 102 of Protecting Bianca

I shivered at the savagery in his voice. “Do you want me to stop?”

He swallowed. “Never.”

I smiled. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. He bent his head lower and cupped my face. His eyes scanned mine, and I worried that he would see the bags underneath them. I hadn’t been able to sleep the last couple of nights. I’d been waking up to nightmares of being in confined spaces. “Soon,” he whispered. “When you’ve gotten some rest.”

He pressed his lips to mine again. I teased him with my tongue, and he responded in kind. “Soon,” I repeated. An expression crossed his face, one part agony, one part lust, and a large part resistance. For a moment, I thought he had changed his mind.

The doorbell rang, and I jumped. “Are you expecting someone?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Wait here.”

Jager checked the camera on his watch and turned back to me. “It’s Detective Khan. Are you up to seeing him?”

I nodded. “Yes. Let him in.”

Jager unlocked three locks and opened the door. “Hey,” Khan greeted him. “I’m sorry I didn’t call, but I was speaking to Will, and I thought I would drop in and check on Bianca.” He turned to look at me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m much better, thank you.”

“Can I come in?” Khan asked Jager.

Jager took another look at me, and I nodded. “Sure,” he said, stepping away from the door to let Khan in.

“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked.

“No. I won’t be staying long.”

An awkward silence followed. I hadn’t wanted to know about the case while I was recovering, so Khan never shared the details with me, but I got this feeling that there was something he wanted to tell me now. “Will you sit?” I asked, taking a seat on the couch.

“Yes, thank you.”

Khan sat next to me on the couch and placed his elbows on his knees. “What is it, detective? You can tell me. I feel strong enough to hear it now.”

He rubbed his mouth and looked up at Jager. Jager stood over him with his arms crossed and his face stern. He looked angry and I couldn’t understand why. It made me more anxiousto hear what Detective Khan had to say. “Please, tell me everything. Are they letting Tagert and Walsh go?”

My worst fear was that Walsh would use his influence with the powerful people he associated with to get him out of this.

He shook his head. “No. They’re still in custody, and we’re still investigating. In fact, there’s more we’ve discovered.”

Jager dropped his arms and paced in front of the window. Tension emanated from his body, and I clasped my hands in front of me on my lap. “What have you discovered?”

“Well, first of all, you were not the main target. That was always Towers.”

“Why?”

“It was Walsh’s idea to purchase Grapevine and Towers was supposed to make him president not vice president of the company, but he kept that role for himself, along with greater shares of the company and other financial benefits. Walsh was upset and wanted Towers out. He thought Towers would step down as president when the threats started, but when he didn’t, he planned to get him away by any means necessary. Including kidnapping.”

“Was he planning to kill him?”

“No. A boat docked shortly after we found Bianca. My men questioned the crew, and after some relentless interrogation, discovered that they were going to take Towers to a private island. You were supposed to be on that boat with him. We found fake passports for both of you inside one of the cabins.”

“But why me? How could I possibly be a threat to Walsh?”

Jager swore harshly under his breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “You were caught up in this because of me.”

I frowned. “Because of you?”

Khan put his hands together and rested his chin on top. “Jager had thwarted Walsh’s plans. His security was too tight, and it was impossible to get to Towers without Jager watching.But in the days leading to the incident, we think he noticed Jager’s feelings for you and used that to his advantage. He knew if you went missing, Jager would follow that trail.”

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