Witness Pursuit (Bodyguards #1)

“It’s anyone’s guess. Gilchrist would’ve had her completely made over.” Brigs pointed to the Mega Store. “That place has everything, including clothes and wrapping paper. We’ll need a suitcase too.”


“If we find the same paper stocked here, we’ll request video surveillance and go through it.” Eager to move on this, he strode through the parking lot. Automatic doors swished open for him, and for every reason, he couldn’t enter fast enough.



Crouching in front of the vacuum cleaners, Lydia ran her hand over a compact model she could easily carry upstairs and maneuver around the rooms.

Perfect, and only two-hundred and ninety nine.

She heaved it from the shelf and set it into her trolley.

She dusted off her hands and adjusted her Stetson.

She froze.

No way! She swore under her breath.

She whipped off her glasses and scrubbed her eyes. Two very familiar looking men had just passed her aisle.

Im-poss-i-ble.

Jamming her glasses back on, she focused. It wasn’t as if they’d be in her neck of the woods by chance. Nooo. Tyler and Brigs had tracked her down. She scooped up her long hair and shoved it underneath the brim of her Stetson.

She tiptoed to the end of the aisle then peeked around the corner.

Oh boy. Tyler wore a pair of black pants low on his hips, his blue dress shirt crumpled as if he’d slept in it. He turned down the far aisle at the end of the store.

She shrunk back against the shelves. A mountain of thoughts dumped into her mind making her dizzy. She’d gone through re-identification to keep him safe, yet still he’d found her. Well, almost found her. Heck, if he’d found her, could the killer too?

Adrenaline surged through her veins and her stomach rolled. Fear for his safety shot through her. Only a heartbeat later, her desperate need to see him overruled. She wanted to step out of hiding and go to him.

Tyler was here, and more than anything in the world, she had to see him.

Before she knew it, she was at the end of the luggage aisle. Ahead, he snagged a case from the top shelf. His midnight black hair curled around his nape and onto his shoulders, an inch longer and still not cut. Sweet heaven, he looked gorgeous.

She glanced in either direction, but no one was nearby.

Tyler passed the case to Brigs.

“Tyler.” His name shot from her mouth.

He rocked on his heels. “Brigs, tell me I didn’t just hear my name.”

“Shoot, you did.”

Tyler whipped around and faced her. “Hell, Lee?” He stumbled toward her, his eyes rolled until the whites showed, then he slithered to the floor and landed in a heap at her feet.

Okay, that was not quite the welcome she’d expected.

Brigs stared at her. “I’d swear right now, but I’m too happy to see you.” He knelt and pressed a finger to Tyler’s pulse. “Mate, this is really the wrong time to flameout again.” Brigs grabbed her hand and tugged her down beside him. “And you, don’t move.”





12




“Tyler, wake up.” Brigs propped him against the shelves and slapped both his cheeks. “Nope, he’s completely out of it, Lydia. We’re lucky we’re in the back corner.”

She crawled between Tyler’s splayed legs. “You said again. How many flameouts has he had before this?”

“Last time was after you left. We had to wait it out at the hospital on the main island. It took him twenty-four hours to come around.”

“Twenty-four hours?”

“Yeah. After he woke, it was with fragmented pieces of memory, but only from the moment he got shot. That’s the one memory which came back.”

“I didn’t know. Was he in any pain?” Why hadn’t Gilchrist told her about this when they’d spoken? “He didn’t recall anything new?”

“No.”

She took Tyler’s hands lying limp at his sides and rubbed them between her own. “C’mon, sleepyhead. Open your eyes for me. I can’t wait twenty-four hours to see you again. It’s been weeks.”

Brigs cleared his throat. “Keep talking to him. I’ll go keep a lookout and make sure no one comes down here. You’ve gotta wake him up.”

She leaned in and touched her nose to Tyler’s. “I can’t believe you’re here. I also can’t believe you’re out of it.” No answer, so she touched her lips to his. “I’m sorry about the way I left you.”

Still nothing, not even a flicker of movement.

She nibbled at his ear. “I am going to ravish you in the middle of this aisle, and this is your last warning before I do.”

His legs twitched and he groaned. “Lee?”

“About time.” She smiled as he rubbed his eyes and looked at her. “It was the word ravish, wasn’t it? I’ll have to use that more often.”

“That and the fact I don’t have time to lie about when you have a habit of disappearing before I know it.” He gripped her around the waist. “My head’s a little fuzzy with new images, but ravish away.”