Page 48 of Traitor

I pulled into the gym parking lot, amid the fire department trying to put out what was left of a burning car. Lauren’s burning car. I jumped out of my truck and ran for the crowd, hoping like hell that she hadn’t been anywhere near the damn thing when it happened.

Her skyscraper of a gym partner met me just as I reached the sidewalk. “Where is she? Were you the one I talked to on the phone?” I demanded.

He jerked a thumb toward the building and nodded. “Yeah, she’s okay—they’re keeping her calm inside for now.”

I ran my hands roughly across my face before pacing. “What I need to know is why she was here. She doesn’t work out in the mornings—it goes against her entire routine.”

The giraffe squeezed the back of his neck and grimaced. “She stayed with me last night, man. We were just here to get her car.”

I kept my face passive, but my blood was boiling.How was that for a nice kick in the balls first thing in the morning?I couldn’t convince her to have dinner with me, but Chuckles over here was getting her overnight?Fuck.

He’d been inside of her—nope, I was not dredging that shit up right now. I needed to concentrate.

“Who would’ve known that she’d be here?” I asked pointedly. Obviously, I knew nothing when it came to her now.

He shrugged. “Look, nothing happened between us. Well, we did fool around a bit, but—”

I held my hand up. “Please stop. I don’t need the details of your love life. This is a case—nothing more. If I’m going to help her, then I need to know who knew her schedule, besides you.”

Stretch reiterated, “I don’t really know her schedule. We work out together at night and last night she came over. That’s it. As far as knowing her schedule, she mentioned some Mike guy?”

She mentioned me.

My face broke into a grin as I asked, “Oh, yeah? What’d she say about Mike?”

“That he has a big head and an even bigger mouth,” said a voice from behind me.

I turned and Lauren gave me a tired smile, her elbow cradled in the palm of her hand. I ached to hold her, but not with the Eiffel Tower standing here. I knew my limits and, while I could handle a black eye, this guy would obliterate me.

“Sounds about right when it comes to him,” I answered, trying to keep the mood light before Lurch decided to pound me into the pavement.

Lauren bit down on her lip and looked between the two of us as if deciding something. Then she shocked the hell out of me by stepping forward and wrapping her arms around my waist.

I winced and looked over at Treetop, but his face was a mask of indifference, so I brought my arms around her as she cried into my chest. “How did they know I was here?” She whispered.

I brought my hand up and cupped the back of her head. “I don’t know, Darlin’, but I’m going to find out. You didn’t tell anyone else you were going downtown today, did you?”

She shook her head. “I only told you—Mike, if Jimmy hadn’t been here, they would’ve—I wouldn’t—”

I silenced her before she could finish her thought and my shirt grew damp with more of her tears. For the first time since January, I felt like I was glimpsing the sunlight. This wasn’t me kissing her in a parking lot in between bouts of fighting. She’d come to me willingly this time and I wasn’t about to let my mind wander back into the dark, thinking of her near death.

I looked up at Jimmy. “Thank you.”

He nodded as another detective walked up and handed him a leather wallet. “That was some quick thinking, firing back on them like that.”

I watched them both while Lauren moved to get closer, like she was trying to crawl inside of me. The guy had to be another badge; his jargon on the phone wasn’t something a civilian would come up with. If he was a cop, I would’ve recognized him. Maybe he was ex-military?

“Hey, Red?” I asked, so only she could hear me. “What happened exactly?”

Lauren looked up at me with her tear-streaked face and my heart damn near stopped in my chest. A million years could pass and I would still want only her. I glanced toward Jimmy and Detective Rangel, but they were still immersed in their own conversation. Lauren followed my gaze and nodded.

This was why she was so goddamned perfect for me. We didn’t even need words; she almost always knew where my head was at.

With a low voice, she replied, “We were walking out and I’ll admit, I wasn’t paying much attention to anything else. Jimmy shoved me down, covered my body with his, and somehow had his gun drawn before they’d even gotten within range of us. He hit one guy and then they took off. It was like Rambo or something.” Lauren started to laugh, but then immediately began crying again.

I tucked her head up against my chest and rocked her. “I’ve got you. It’s alright.”

It wasn’t alright though. Someone had tried to kill her; and the only people who knew what her plans were for this morning were me, her, and Silent Phoenix.

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