Page 46 of Fast Kill

“You don’t have to—” Taylor began.

“I want to.” He wanted to be there for her as much as he could, and he already knew that would push her out of her comfort zone.

The grateful smile she gave him made his heart squeeze. “Okay then.”

Her boss gave him the address and Logan followed her to the door. The boss stopped him, pulled him out of earshot and gave Logan the stare down. “You’ll take care of her?”

“Yes.” Nice to see he cared enough to double check.

He seemed satisfied by that. “She’s under a lot of strain, and she already works too hard at the best of times. I’m worried about her burning out or having a breakdown if this goes on much longer. I wish I could take some stress off her.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe see if you can get her to take a few hours off tomorrow. Somehow. I would order her to, but I don’t want to take away her control right now.”

“Okay, will do.”

The man gave him a half-smile. “Good luck.”

On their way out, Taylor hugged Charlie and Jamie and promised to call them when she got settled. Logan reached for her hand as they headed for the elevator, trying not to limp.

She flashed him a questioning look but didn’t protest or pull her hand away. He considered that real progress.

“You’re not supposed to be walking on it already, are you?” she asked in a dry voice.

“Not really.”

She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t want to be responsible for setting your recovery back.”

She was seriously worrying about his knee now too, on top of everything else? “You won’t be. And it’s already way better than it was a few days ago.”

In the lobby, he led her out the back entrance. “I switched vehicles with a teammate, just in case anyone got my license plate yesterday.” He led her to Zaid’s dark gray truck and handed her up into the cab.

The building of the unit the agency had reserved for her was a fifteen-minute drive across town to an urban area full of apartment complexes mixed with commercial buildings, shops and restaurants. An agent was waiting for them by the main elevator when they arrived. Logan showed the man his agency ID, then took Taylor’s hand again as they headed up to the ninth floor where another agent waited outside the apartment.

“Everything’s clean and ready,” the woman told Taylor with a quick smile. “Your suitcases are in the bedroom and the fridge has been stocked with the basics. The building’s security has been briefed and there are two agents posted outside to keep watch. Here’s my number.” She handed Taylor a card. “I’ll be accompanying you whenever you leave the building, until further notice.”

“Thank you,” Taylor murmured, sounding tired. Not at all surprising. It was almost two in the morning now, and with the emotional toll of all this, she had to be exhausted.

The female agent nodded. “Try to get some sleep.” She handed Taylor the key and left.

Inside, Logan locked the door behind them while she took a look around. The place was small, only one-bedroom, and from the size and cheap furnishings it looked like it catered to the student crowd who populated this area of town since it was close to campus.

Taylor wandered toward the bedroom where her suitcase was visible through the open doorway.

“You hungry?” he asked, walking over to open the fridge.

Eggs, butter, milk, bread, a jar of jam and peanut butter, along with some apples and bananas. Enough to get her through a day or two. He’d grab more stuff for her tomorrow unless someone else beat him to it.

“No, just tired.”

Shutting the fridge, he walked through to the bedroom and stood in the doorway, watching her. She’d put her suitcase on the bed and was in the process of unpacking it. “Need a hand?”

“No, I’m good.” She didn’t look at him as she bustled back and forth to the closet, hanging up her skirt suits. “I’m a freak about unpacking right away and getting everything in its place.”

He slid his hands into his pockets and leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb. “That’s probably why you’re so good at your job. Making sure all the numbers line up in the right column and add up to what they’re supposed to. Tracking down things that don’t make sense, finding out where all the money’s hidden.”

She flashed a grin at him over her shoulder, and he was glad to see some of the strain lifting from her. “Exactly.”

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