Goddamn Sam Liberty. She knew working with someone from Baron Industries was going to be a mistake. And now she had confirmation it was.
She was like a robot…no, an actress pretending she was still who she’d been, but that skin had been ripped away, and in its place was someone who didn’t know who she was.
“Justine?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear what I said?” Anna asked, her accent clipped.
“Sorry, no. What?”
“I said we can’t get anyone on the phones and the car has stopped moving. We need to get Nigel to the safe house while we go to the car.”
“No,” Nigel said. “I’m going after my daughter. If both Constance and your driver aren’t answering their phones, something is wrong.”
“Exactly,” Anna said, giving her a strong look.
“Right. Nigel, we can’t keep you safe in an area that may have turned hostile. Let Anna go after the car.”
“I will not. And I’m tired of talking about it. Let’s go before another minute passes. For all we know, Piper could be in peril.”
“Fine, we’ll all go, but you need to realize that if you won’t listen to us, we can’t keep you safe.”
Nigel gave her a hard, cutting look and she knew that something had changed between them. Of course it had.
“You didn’t keep my daughter safe,” he said.
“You said the nanny would be protection enough,” Justine said, before realized that she was deflecting. It wasn’t his fault. They should never have allowed him to bring the girl. “Forget I said that. Arguing isn’t going to do us any good.”
Justine walked to the door and heard Nigel fall into step behind her. She pulled her gun and checked the clip before she opened it. No more rookie mistakes. She was going to be all about the job and forget about the woman Nigel had made her wish she could be.
“Wait.”
She shook her head. “There is nothing more to discuss here. Your daughter’s life is in danger and the clock is ticking. I think we both know—
He jerked her to a stop and she turned, ready to attack, stopping at the last moment as she realized her emotions were running high and she was spoiling for a fight.
For a fight, or something else physical. Oh, God, she wanted him. This was more than just curiosity about kissing a man. She had serious case of lust for Nigel Carter, and that was what was bothering her the most about Piper’s disappearance.
She couldn’t impress men the way other women could. Justine knew she had only her skills as a bodyguard to back her up, and she’d let him down.
She’d failed both Nigel and Piper, and as she pulled free of Nigel’s grip and walked away, she realized she had failed herself.
N
igel was frustrated and worried about the women in his life—Piper, Constance, and Justine. Piper was such a big concern that he couldn’t focus on his anger and worry. Instead, he focused on action. Going to Piper, getting her back by his side. Once he did, everything would be okay.
Constance was a concern only because he knew that she was with Piper and if she wasn’t answering her phone…she would have to be dead. Constance always answered, even if she had a fever of 104 and was on her way to the emergency room.
Justine…she was the closest woman to him at the moment, and the one he focused on. He had no idea what had happened earlier, and as he sat behind her in the Hummer Utility Vehicle as they drove out of the city of Lima, he let himself dwell on thoughts of Justine. Because if he didn’t, he was going to lose it.
Piper was way too young to be alone and scared, and every time he thought about his daughter, he started picturing horrible scenarios.
“Why are we leaving the city?” he asked as the lights of Lima faded in the distance.
“We are tracking the GPS signal in Jesse’s phone,” Justine said.
“The house we were to stay at—
“We know where it was. Something must have gone wrong,” Anna said. She was sitting in the passenger seat and following the signal on her small computer. The women were ultra-efficient and seeing Justine like this underscored the fact that something had happened outside that was more than just the kiss.
He couldn’t understand her reaction. The only explanation he could come up with was fear, but that emotion didn’t fit with the woman driving with skill and confidence. In fact, the only explanation he could come up with made him feel ridiculous even thinking it.
She couldn’t have been afraid of him or of any man. She had the skills to flatly take a man down. He was still a bit sore and tender between his legs. But that didn’t stop him from wanting her.
It was more than just lust. Lust would have died when she’d reacted the way she had earlier. But instead, he now felt an insane desire to cuddle her. She was as prickly as a porcupine, and all he could think about was wrapping his arms around and holding her until she told him what had spooked her.
“Stop staring at me,” Justine said.
“I’m watching the road,” he said. It was dark outside and her features were illuminated by the dashboard, so delicate and feminine. Another dichotomy. The pixie features and petite body that housed a firecracker, kick-ass woman.
This was the worst possible time to be feeling anything like this, and yet he knew if he’d met Justine under normal circumstances, he would have brushed right by her and let his job consume him. But here in Peru, there was…only a situation he didn’t want to lose himself in.
It was odd to think that his attraction to Justine might be the less dangerous of the two situations.
“Stop.”
For a second, he thought she meant his thoughts, but he quickly realized there was a car on the side of the road. The same one that he had made sure Piper was safely ensconced in earlier this evening.
He had his door open and was out of the Hummer before it had completely stopped. “Nigel!”
He didn’t heed Justine’s call, though he knew she wanted him to stop. He was pulled toward the car, running flat out, and ripped open the back door to find the backseat empty.
“Bloody hell,” he said. The coppery smell of blood registered, and he glanced to the front seat, where he saw Jesse slumped back in the seat. He had bled from two wounds, one in the chest and one in the neck.
There was no sign of blood in the backseat, and when Anna moved Jesse’s body, he realized the women were just as shocked as he was by what had happened.
He paid little attention to the women and what they were doing, and climbed into the back of the car and searched for anything left behind. Piper’s notebook was on the floor.
The little sketchbook that she’d drawn a picture of Justine in earlier. He flipped through the pages, searching for a note, or something from Piper. But she was nine and too young to think of that.
“This seems like it was an ambush,” Justine said. “But I still don’t like having you out here.”
“Where should I go?” This entire situation was out of hand. Sam Liberty was going to know just how displeased he was with the service he was getting.
“Our vehicle. That way I can keep an eye on you and make sure that you are safe. What’d you find?”
“Piper’s sketchbook.”
“Try not to disturb anything. Anna is going to use our mobile crime scene processing kit to check for fingerprints and DNA.”
“Sorry. I’m worried about my daughter. I’d think you guys would be, too.”
“Of course we are. But we also need to know what happened here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we need to know why Jesse pulled off the road here.”
“Are there other tracks?”
“I’m going to check on them once you are secure.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“It’s dark outside, Nigel, and I don’t know that there isn’t a sniper waiting out there for you.”
“What do you know, Justine? Because so far, my daughter has been kidnapped, and that’s not exactly what I hired you guys for.”
“You said she’d be safe with Constance. She worked for you.”
“Pointing the finger is the first sign that you know you aren’t providing good service.”
“Believe what you want, but Jesse was shot in the back of the head, and we think he may have pulled over because someone directed him to.”
Justine was tired of things not going according to plan. Liberty Investigations was known for quality. But since they’d landed in Peru, nothing was working the way they liked for it to.
That mess with Maldano, and now Piper being missing, made her want to find the person who kidnapped the child and take justice into her own hands. Constance had been vetted twice—once when Nigel had hired her, and again when they’d taken on working with Nigel. If she had been working for someone else, they should have caught it.
If she wasn’t working both sides, then there was a good chance the nanny was dead, which meant Piper was on her own. And how long she would survive was anyone’s guess. Justine knew from personal experience how strong a nine-year-old girl could be.
“What are you implying?”
“Nothing but what we know. Jesse was shot in the back of the head…it could have been Constance. Either way, we know whoever has your daughter is more than likely the killer.”
Nigel blanched, balled his hands into fists, and punched the back of the seat with enough force to rock the car. Justine took a step back. She’d give him a moment to process everything.
She took the Maglite and left Nigel alone. “I’m going to search for tire tracks.”
“I’ve talked to Charity and she’s on her way. Once she’s here, we’ll have you take Nigel to a safe house.”
Justine didn’t think he would go but kept that to herself. Instead, she went to search for tire tracks or boot tracks. They’d need to rule out the shoes they were all wearing. Standing on the asphalt, Justine skimmed the beam of light over the shoulder of the road, searching for anything out of the ordinary.
“Tell me how to help,” Nigel said. His voice was low, almost hoarse. Her heart ached for him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and offer comfort. To maybe make a few promises that she wasn’t sure she could keep.
“Nigel—”
“Don’t say anything. Just give me something to do so I don’t have to think about Piper.”
“Okay. We’re searching for a track we can use. Trying to see if they were forced off the road by another car. Then we will try to identify the tire tracks and any prints left by the occupants.”
“How will you know that they are the people who have Piper?”
“We won’t. It’s a process-of-elimination thing.”
“That’s it? That’s the best you can do?”
“For right now. Do you have a GPS tracker in Constance’s cell phone?”
“Yes. And one in Piper’s stuffed bunny.”
“Why didn’t you mention that earlier?”
“I didn’t think about it until this moment.”
Justine knew it was a lie. She could hear it in his voice. Why would he hold on to that information?
“Sorry, it’s my backup. No one knows about the bunny, not even Constance, and since she’s a suspect…”
His voice cracked, and Justine couldn’t keep silent a minute longer. “We’ll find her.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I’m not. One way or another we are going to find your daughter and the person who took her.”
“And then what?”
“Then they’ll wish they’d never taken her,” Justine said.
“As soon as we are finished here, we need to get Anna the information on the GPS tracker you planted on Piper’s stuffed bunny.” Justine gave the ground one more look and saw a track she thought they might be able to get a good print from. And to be honest, she didn’t want to wait to see if they could find Piper’s GPS signal.
She bent down and marked the area before leading the way back to Anna.
“Did you find something?”
“I’m not sure. I marked a tire track, but before you check it out, Nigel just mentioned that Piper’s stuffed animal has a GPS tracker in it.”
“Nice. Let me get the computer, and let’s see if we can find her.”
“Was Jesse shot from the backseat?” Nigel asked.
“I can’t tell yet. There is a lot of blood and I’m just starting to look at the splatter. I’ll figure it out,” Anna said.
Anna was good with crime scenes and could figure out whatever had happened. She’d let them know if Constance was who they should focus on. But right now, getting to Piper was the most important thing. They needed to move, if they could just find a signal to where she was.
Nigel gave Anna the information on how to log in to the GPS tracking system he had set up for Piper. And they all held their breath as she entered the information on her computer.
A map of the world came up, and they could see the maps processing as the satellite narrowed in on the GPS signal. They saw it start blinking and realized at once that it was moving.
“It’s moving,” Justine said, stating the obvious.
“Yes, heading toward…Cusco, I think. They just put in that new highway…let me see if we have a current map.”
“Can we take your computer?”
“Of course, but you know this just means the stuffed animal is moving,” Anna said.
“Piper wouldn’t let that animal out of her hands,” Nigel said.
Justine remembered how the little girl refused to be parted from either her nanny or her stuffed bunny. “Why not?”
“I told her that the bunny was…” he leaned in and spoke even softer. “I told her he was sent by an angel from her mother, and that the bunny would always watch over her.”
Justine felt her throat tighten. Nigel was a good daddy. The kind of father that every child deserved, and as much as she regretted how deeply she was starting to care for him, she made a vow to ensure that they found Piper.
Nigel didn’t feel embarrassed by what he’d admitted. Piper had needed something after her mother had died, and he’d done everything he could to make sure his daughter was taken care of. That she felt safe and loved and that he had every resource available to take care of her. Anna moved away to leave them alone.
“When her mom died, I had to do something.”
“I understand. We have a choice, Nigel.”
“We do?”
“Yes. We can stay here with Anna, process the scene, and then wait for Charity before tracking this signal, or we can go now. You should know there is a chance we could be following a dead trail.”
“What’s that mean?”
“That the GPS signal could be compromised and we’d be following the wrong trail.”
“I’m the only one who knows about the bunny,” he said.
“How confident are you of that?”
“99.9 percent sure. I ordered the GPS unit and put the tracking unit into the bunny myself. It’s not stock-ordered.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
“Go after Piper. I’m going to keep trying to reach Constance…can Anna find her signal from a cell phone number?”
“Depends on the wireless device. Anna?” Justine raised her voice. The other woman signaled to give her a moment.
“Before we leave…” he said.
“Yes?”
“We are going to be alone in the car for a long time…I want to know what happened back there at the airport. Why’d you knee me like that?”
Justine looked unsure for a moment. Then she turned away from him. She actually turned her back on him, and he knew she had to have forgotten that she was working, guarding him, because it was the first time she’d done it.
“You can trust me,” he said, reaching for her. He caught her small shoulder under his hand and drew her back against him. She turned and it seemed almost nonchalant the way she stepped away from him.
“I don’t really trust anyone,” she said.
He didn’t trust many people, but in business, he had to. He had to when he glanced at a signature on a contract, and knew that legally someone was bound to honor their own word.
“Not even your boss?” he asked, wording it carefully. “Or your teammates?”
“I trust Anna and Charity.”
Interesting that it was the two women on her team that she mentioned first. He wasn’t surprised because he was beginning to suspect that Justine had had a bad experience with men. He wondered if it was a broken heart.
“But not Sam?”
Justine glanced at him. “Why did you ask that?”
“Because of something he said when I talked to him.”
“What did he say?”
“That you and Charity and Anna had the best instincts he had ever seen when it came to people, and if you three decided I wasn’t telling the truth, he wouldn’t take the job.”
Nigel had been surprised—not many businessmen would turn down money. But Sam had been serious. And he had seen firsthand how competent the Liberty Investigations team was. Sam had assembled the best, and Nigel figured that was why he didn’t have to worry too much about clientele.
“Sam knows we won’t work for someone who lies to us. As far as that goes, I trust him not to send us a client we can’t work for. But Sam keeps his own counsel on things, and occasionally he acts like he knows what’s best for me.”