“No. It’s covered,” said Caleb with more disgust in his voice than he would have liked.
“Ah, I see. Trouble in paradise.”
Caleb felt his fists clench. “You wanna be part of this or not?”
Hart held up his hands. “Point taken. Don’t talk about your love life. Or lack thereof.”
Caleb shot Hart a glare. “I’m going to regret working with you on this, aren’t I?”
Hart just grinned. “Without a doubt.”
Kara kept a close eye on Caleb as he spoke to the police. She couldn’t make out what they were saying from this distance, but Caleb’s manner was not that of a man with an immediate sense of urgency. Whatever they were talking about, it had nothing to do with her or the fire.
Good. She didn’t need any more of Caleb’s interference.
The stench of smoke in the area was stifling, but Kara ignored it as she snapped photos of the scene. Lana’s parents sat huddled together under blankets, like refugees.
Their fingers were laced together as they stared at the smoldering remains of their home. The sun sparkled off the tears streaming down the woman’s soot-smudged face.
How touching.
Kara froze the image on her digital camera so she could save it with al the rest. She knew it was risky to have this kind of evidence on her, but she couldn’t help that. She had to show Marcus what she’d done. He was going to be so proud of her.
After snapping a few more pictures with her zoom lens, Kara moved her car several blocks down the street so it wouldn’t be spotted. She puled over and got out to retrieve her laptop from the trunk so she could download the images and e-mail them to Marcus.
She opened the trunk and her laptop wasn’t there. The trunk was empty.
Kara had put her computer in her trunk only a few hours ago. She’d been out of her car for no more than five minutes when she went in to get a cup of coffee.
Apparently, that five minutes had been enough for it to be stolen.
A sickening suspicion rose up inside her. Kara scanned the area as she made her way back behind the wheel. She saw nothing. Whoever had taken it was gone, but she was pretty sure she knew who had done it—or at least who had ordered the laptop to be stolen.
Marcus hadn’t been pleased about that video of him. He would have been livid if he’d known she had a backup of the video hanging from her keychain. She should have kept the whole thing to herself, but when it came to Marcus, she had so little self-control. She wanted to please him too much.
Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe she was trying too hard.
Maybe she wasn’t trying hard enough.
Yes. That was it. He’d taken her in, fed her and clothed her, and protected her when no one else cared. And now she had to show him just how grateful she was. She had to try harder.
If she couldn’t take care of Lana with Caleb guarding her, then she’d have to take care of him, too. Get rid of al of her guard dogs at the same time in one nice, neat bundle.
The bigger the explosion, the better.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Lana sat on her living room couch waiting for Caleb to show up. Her fingers had a mind of their own as they doodled over the paper. It wasn’t until they stopped that she realized what she’d drawn. The face of the man who had beaten her. The man Caleb had kiled.
With a jolt of panic, Lana tore the sketch up into tiny pieces and flushed it down the toilet. She was going to have to be more careful. If that mindless drawing had taken place where someone could see, she might be dead before she had time to flush the evidence.
Lana set the paper out of reach and curled up on the couch, hoping Caleb would hurry. She wanted this over with.
It was nearly midnight, but she knew he would come here. What she hadn’t expected was for him to let himself in as if he lived here. He stepped through the door, pocketing a key. How he got it she had no idea, but he wasn’t leaving here with it.
His dark eyes slid over her, taking in her floppy robe and the bare feet sticking out beneath it. “You’re stil awake.”
“I was waiting for you,” she said.
A relieved smile curved his mouth, and Lana’s heart sped at the memory of just how good that mouth could make her feel. “I was hoping I’d given you enough time alone.”
“That’s not why I was waiting. I wanted to make sure you understand that what happened between us last night was a onetime thing. You’re a great guy, but I’m just too busy for any kind of relationship right now. Even just sex.”
She saw his abdomen tighten abruptly as if she’d hit him. The smile faded from his face, and he gave her a hard, black stare. “Is that what it was to you? Just sex?”
Make it a clean break. It’s better that way. “Great sex, but yeah. Just sex.”
He moved closer, as if stalking her. He towered over her, and Lana had to stand up from the couch to help even the playing field. Ending things with him was hard enough as it was without the added disadvantage.
“I don’t believe you,” he told her. “You came apart in my arms last night. You can’t tel me that something that good is a one-shot deal.”
“I needed that kind of release last night, but not anymore. I appreciate that you think you have to protect me, but I think we’d both be better off if you just left.”
“Not against orders I won’t.”
“Then convince Monroe that I don’t know anything. Tel him you believe me.”
“You want me to lie for you?”
Lana’s mouth clamped down tight before she could say something she’d regret. She knew better than to think that a man as noble as Caleb would ever lie to his commanding officer. No matter how desperate she was, she couldn’t ask that of him. “Fine. Then tel him it’s hopeless. You even seduced me and I stil couldn’t tel you anything. Tel him whatever you want, just leave. Please.”
He settled one big hand at the base of her throat, stroking over her colarbone with his thumb. Shivers of remembered pleasure flooded her, making her bones go soft. She tried not to make any noise, but she failed; a soft sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she tried to regain control over her hormones. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Please, Caleb,” was al she could manage to say before her voice broke. She swalowed hard against the tears that clogged her throat but didn’t fal.
His finger glided along her skin, warm and slightly rough. “If I leave, who wil hold you when the nightmares come?”
Lana had been trying not to think about that al day. Caleb had given her peace, and now that she had to push him away, that peace would go with him. “I don’t need you or anyone else to hold me. I’m a big girl.”
“Someone should be there for you. You shouldn’t have to do this alone.”
“It’s easier that way.”
She heard anger sharpen his words, but his hand remained gentle. “So you’re just going to suffer? Push everyone out of your life so that you won’t care if one of them gets hurt because you’re too stubborn to see you need help?”
It was her turn to get angry. How dare he accuse her of not caring? “You have no idea how I felt when I saw Stacie was shot, when I saw my parents’ home burned to the ground.”
“Don’t I? How do you know? How do you know I haven’t been through exactly what you have? You’ve never asked about my life, my family, my friends. Not once. Was it because you didn’t care or because you didn’t want to?”
He’d nailed her motives so completely that Lana was stunned silent. She backed away, stumbling against the couch. She had to put some distance between them before she was stripped bare of every one of her secrets.
Caleb folowed her, backing her into the little kitchen. She realized her mistake in choosing the kitchen when she realized there was no place left to run.
His skin had darkened with anger, and his nostrils flared as he folowed her, backing her against the counter. “You can’t run from me. You may not give a shit about me, but I don’t feel the same about you. Push al you want, I’m not going away until I know you’re safe. I nearly got you kiled once, and I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
This was a side of Caleb she’d never seen. She’d seen him angry. She’d seen him furious when he’d kiled the man that had hurt her, but she’d never seen that anger turned on her. “You may not want me in your life, but I’m staying until the job is done. You don’t have to let me in your bed, but that’s the only choice I’m giving you.”
“It’s not your choice to give. It’s my life. You’re not welcome in it.”
“And yet here I am, sticking around. Get used to it. As stubborn as you are, I may be here for a while.”
“Caleb, please don’t do this.”
“If you want to get rid of me so badly, then tel me what I want to know.”
“There’s nothing I can tel you.”
He stared at her for a long time, his mouth pressed into a hard line. “Who’s going to be next, Lana? Your sister? Her son? When are you going to learn that we aren’t meant to do the big things alone?”
She almost believed him. She almost caved under the weight of her secret. What if he was right? What if her silence was causing the people she loved to be hurt?
Then again, what if he was wrong? She knew what would happen if she ever let on what she knew. For now, Kara could only guess. If Lana pretended long enough, Kara would believe she knew nothing and go away. If she told the truth, Kara would know she was a threat. Even if Lana went into protective custody, Kara or one of her goons would rip through her family, kiling every one of them until they found a way to destroy her. Or maybe just to torture her for hiding from them for so long.
Her choices were limited, but the possibility of violence was better than the guarantee of violence. She had to stay quiet, but she also knew now that she had to leave. The fundraiser was in a few days, and after that, she’d disappear. If she wasn’t around to watch her family suffer, it would no longer amuse Kara to do it. She’d have to focus on finding Lana instead. She hated the idea of leaving her home and family, but she had no choice. Not anymore.
Lana looked up at Caleb, knowing he was one of those people she’d have to leave behind. Part of her wanted to open her arms and let him give her what little bit of joy she could squeeze out of life, but the smarter part of her knew that would be a mistake. She’d never asked any personal questions, because she knew that if he became a real person in her eyes, she’d have no defenses left. Right now, he was just a hero that had saved her life and made her body sing. He was larger than life—not truly human—and she needed him to stay that way. If he became human to her, she knew she’d fal in love with him, and walking away would be only that much harder.
“Give me back my key,” she demanded.
Caleb puled in a deep breath that made his shirt stretch over his chest. What she wouldn’t have done to possess half his physical strength. Too bad she wouldn’t be able to continue the self-defense lessons he’d given her. That would have gone a long way toward making her feel safe.