To hell with that. “I’m okay.” She sat up, gasped in pain and quickly looked around.
Tesh lay facedown on the ground, the headlights of a police car showing the pool of blood around him. Another officer pulled the driver from the van, already locking his hands behind him.
It appeared everything had changed in a heartbeat.
“What hurts?” Leese carefully brushed snow and ice from her hair. “You have to talk to me, honey. Let me know you’re okay.”
Her heart started thumping. In a whisper, she said, “You have to trust me now, Leese. Please.” When he started to question her, she put her fingers to his mouth. “Trust me.”
“I do.”
She flashed him a grateful smile, then, taking him by surprise, launched away and threw herself on Tesh. “Bastard,” she yelled, sounding as hysterical as she could. She pounded on him, grabbed his shirt and yanked. Cops came running, but before they got to her, she got her hand in his pocket and grabbed the flash drive. No way would she allow Platt to use his influence to buy his way out of this one. Sahara had promised to see it through, and Cat believed her. With the evidence they needed held tight in her fist, she glanced back at Leese.
“Don’t touch her!” he bellowed, halting the cops in their effort to drag her away.
Now that she had it, now that she knew Georgia Bell would finally be avenged, all the pain came screaming back and her face crumpled. She shifted to her butt, moaned, and Leese carefully supported her as she stood.
“My ribs,” she gasped, leaning into him. “And,” she whispered, “a flash drive.”
Surprise drove his brows high, but when she slipped it into his hand, he took it. Seconds later the EMTs reached her.
And Leese never left her side.
*
CAT LOOKED EXHAUSTED by the time they left the hospital. A fiery dawn, filled with promise, edged the sky as Leese drove. He knew Sahara had wanted to be with them, but she was still being grilled by law enforcement.
Though Cat winced with every small movement, her ribs weren’t broken, just very badly bruised. The attending doctor explained that the pain actually came from the traumatized muscles and cartilage around her ribs. She’d be sore for nearly a month...but she was alive.
And by God, she was his.
Leese lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. If Tesh Coleman wasn’t already dead, Leese would have taken pleasure in killing him.
“I’m okay,” Cat told him again, her beautiful mouth curled in a small smile. “But I don’t think I’ll be exercising with you for a while.” She hesitated. “I mean...if I’ll even be around—”
“You’re not going anywhere.” If he had his way, she’d never again be out of his reach. He rubbed his thumb over her soft skin, then returned both hands to the wheel.
Cat just sighed. “Good. I’m not sure I have the energy anyway.”
“I’m taking you to my house.” He waited, and when she didn’t object, some of the tension eased from his shoulders. “The agency is under siege by investigators, and they’re starting to spill over to Sahara’s house too. It won’t take us long to get to my place. You can nap on the way if you want.”
“Mostly,” she said, “I just want to look at you and know you’re safe.”
His molars locked and he tightened his hands on the wheel. “I was never in danger, honey. But you...”
“He threatened you. He said he had guards watching you, ready to take a shot—”
“I know what the bastard told you.” As far as Leese was concerned, Tesh had gotten off easy.
Everything kept replaying in his head like a horror flick. Seeing Cat jump to the road, her body rolling like a rag doll. That was bad enough, but when Tesh had emerged too, yelling Cat’s name and then aiming a gun at her... Leese shook with the memory. Leese had known he wouldn’t be able to get his weapon drawn in time and in that awful moment, he’d thought he would lose her.
But the officer behind him was ready, and he’d taken Tesh’s life with a single bullet.
Leese knew if he lived to be a hundred, he’d never be able to repay Sahara for her calm, commonsense thinking. She’d had the chip sewn into Cat’s dress as an added precaution, and in between giving him directions on where to go, she’d notified the police. With men in the area, they’d shown up just in time.
“Webb was innocent.”
“Yes. Sahara’s PI knew something was up, but he didn’t know what. He’d told her too many pieces weren’t coming together.”
“Tesh thought the same. That’s why he got suspicious, I guess.” She curled a little tighter in her seat, shoulders down, arms around herself. “He was in as much danger as me. Tesh planned to kill him. But I...I assumed the worst.”
“For good reason, considering the evidence you had.” Leese hated to see her hurt, physically, but emotionally too. “Sahara spoke with your stepfather.”
Cat stared at him with big eyes. “He’s okay?”
“From what she told me, he was relieved to know you’re okay.” Okay being a very relative term. “He claims he knew the rep of the Body Armor agency, so when Platt insisted that he come up with a plan to get you back, he hoped for the exact scenario that played out.”
“I’d like to believe him.”
Getting her life back would be good, and that would have to start with knowing her family could be trusted. “Sahara believes him, if that helps. She says when he called, he worded things in a way that made it clear you were the priority. It was ambiguous enough to get past Platt and Tesh, who were in the room with him, but direct enough that when Sahara assigned me, she told me I worked for you, not for anyone else. And Webb did pay in advance, ensuring Sahara wouldn’t pull your protection for lack of funds.”
Cat watched him. “Would you have—”
“Quit? No. Not after knowing you a day.” It hadn’t taken long at all for Cat to get under his skin. After that first night when she’d slept with him...he’d known he was a goner. “Webb claims he also has evidence that will help to corroborate everything we’ve told authorities. Extra details so he’d be better able to offer an alibi.”
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
“After we’ve all gotten some sleep,” Leese agreed. “You’ve had a pretty momentous day.”
Cat held silent for a few moments, then whispered brokenly, “I thought Tesh was going to hurt you and it almost killed me. I knew I had to do something to stop him.”
She’d done something all right. She’d attacked a madman. Jumped from a moving van. Then hoisted a flash drive from a dead body with police looking on. “You’re amazing. And reckless.”
“I couldn’t risk you,” Cat whispered.
Because she loved him? She’d said so, but her timing had sucked and now Leese wanted to hear it again. “We’ll talk about that after you’re rested.” Never again would he let her put him first. If she thought risking him was bad, she should try it from his perspective.