Edge of Danger (San Antonio Security #2)

Chapter Twelve

Brax cursed himself the entire way to the location where Tessa had parked his car.

What had he been thinking? Had he thought at all?

It didn’t seem that way, looking at the situation through new eyes. Now that his mom had set him straight, he couldn’t believe he’d thought he was being the good guy by practically forcing Tessa out of the house for the weekend.

He didn’t know the first thing about her. Not really. Nothing substantial. Only that she loved Walker. At least they agreed about that.

Otherwise? He’d imagined her going to a hotel, maybe getting a manicure or whatever young women did when they wanted to pamper themselves. A facial, a haircut. It wasn’t like he knew a lot about those things.

Now, he tried to imagine the situation through the eyes of a woman with nowhere else to go.

But why didn’t she have any other options? That was the question. He had nothing but questions about her.

She was behind a strip mall. He rounded the corner of the store on the end and instantly made out the shape of his car parked in the shadows of a line of trees behind the loading area.

And the sight of another car swinging into view at the opposite end of the mall, headlights washing over the glass-strewn concrete. It was barely dawn. What were they doing there?

It was clear soon enough as the car stopped and two men jumped out and headed straight for his car, marching with fisted hands swinging at their sides.

Brax acted before he thought, flooring the gas pedal, tires squealing as he raced their way. His approach startled them both into stopping.

“What are you doing?” he demanded on rushing out of the Jeep. “Get out of here.”

One of them snorted. “Get lost, boy scout.”

“I don’t know who you’re looking at, but I’m well past the age of being a boy scout.” When the second man continued toward the car, even trying to open one of the doors, he shouted, “I said, leave it alone.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m the guy whose car you’re touching, and you might want to take your hands off it right damn now.” Brax didn’t raise his voice.

Suddenly, so suddenly all three of them jumped in surprise, the door swung open and out popped Tessa.

Brax didn’t have time to figure out the implications of this—Had she slept in the car? Why?—before he caught sight of what she held in one hand.

The bat he’d forgotten he’d left in the back seat.

“Get in the Jeep!” he shouted, moving forward to put himself between Tessa and the men now stalking toward her.

One of the men shoved him, or tried to, and was visibly surprised when Brax didn’t budge. And even more surprised when Brax’s fist crashed into his jaw and sent him falling back.

Tessa grunted. Brax turned to her, ready to kill whoever had put their hands on her, but found that she’d grunted in the act of swinging the bat and it connecting with the second man.

“He was going to jump you from behind,” she gasped, looking down at the man who’d collapsed with both hands against his lower back.

Brax didn’t waste time waiting for the guys to recover. He took her hand, running for the Jeep. She jumped inside and within moments, they’d fled the lot.

“They’ll follow us.” She sounded so confident. And so flat. Matter-of-fact.

“I trust they will.” It was the Riviera cartel. It had to be. They’d been searching for his car.

And he might’ve gotten her killed.

She turned in the seat, peering behind them. “Yeah, I see a car coming out of the parking lot. Turn as soon as you can. They might not see us yet, especially if they’re both dazed.”

“They’ll be dazed and furious,” he grunted, knowing the lengths men like that would go to make somebody pay for hurting them. He took a quick right, tires squealing, and thanked his lucky stars there weren’t many cars on the road at this time of the morning.

She faced forward again. “Maybe that little side street,” she suggested, pointing up ahead. How was she still so calm? Was she in shock?

She should’ve been screaming. Demanding answers. If he hadn’t gotten there when he had...

He turned onto the side street and cruised a little more slowly. They were now in a residential area. The last thing he wanted was to strike an innocent bystander out for their morning jog.

Tessa looked behind them again. “I think they just turned onto the street three blocks back. I can’t really make out the car.”

“Okay.” He took a left, then another quick left, before making a right, which led back to the commercial area. There was a road ahead that he knew led out of town.

“How did you know where to find me?” she asked, still looking behind them.

“I wasn’t sure I’d find you there. I was looking for my car.”

“Why?”

Guilt raced through him. She’d really flip her lid now. Bracing himself, he explained, “I was worried, so I tracked the car’s GPS. I tried calling you earlier, but a man picked up and shouted at me. Did you lose your phone?”

“I left it at a diner.”

He waited for more explanation. She didn’t offer one.

“Okay.” He drew out the word. What was she trying to get at? Why would she leave her phone behind?

That choice of words too. She’d left it. She didn’t lose it. She didn’t forget it. She’d performed a deliberate act. And it didn’t seem to come as a shock that he’d tracked her. Like she didn’t care.

Why?

“Wait.” She clutched his shoulder. Now he was in for it. This was where she’d lose it on him. “Where’s Walker?”

“He’s fine. He’s with my parents.” She let out a sigh that sounded a lot like relief before letting go of him. Was that all she cared about?

Not the fact that two men had almost attacked her?

“I’m so sorry.” He checked the mirror for signs of them on his tail. “This is all my fault. I’ve put you in danger. It’s unforgivable.”

She didn’t reply. It had to be shock. No wonder. She’d been through something that had probably traumatized her.

He had done this to her.

After an hour of driving aimlessly, erratic turns and more than a few blown stoplights, Brax was positive they’d lost their tail. Tessa sat upright, unable or unwilling to relax.

“I think we’re safe. Let’s go back to my parents’ house for now. We’ll figure out what to do when we get there.”

“Okay.”

He glanced over and found her checking the mirrors. Still watching.

Seeing her like that was the final nail in the coffin. He knew what he had to do. There was no excuse for dragging her into his problems, for ruining her life, for putting her through this.

“Tessa, I have to tell you this. You can’t work for me anymore.” It was one of the hardest things he’d ever forced himself to say.

He didn’t want it this way. In fact, now that he’d said it, he knew just how much he wanted the opposite. For her to stay. To be part of his life. But she didn’t deserve to be hunted and attacked. Having her in his life was too risky. Her safety mattered more than his feelings for her.

She made a sound that seemed almost like a wounded animal. “No, please. I can’t... I can’t...”

“I’m sorry. You can’t understand how much I hate this.”

“But...no. Please. I need...”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. She was scared of losing her income. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll give you another two weeks’ salary to hold you over until you find another job. Can you find a place to stay? I’ll help you with that too.”

He glanced over at her. She was shaking, wrapping her arms around her middle like she might fly apart. Her eyes were darting around the Jeep. “What did I do wrong? Why are you sending me away?”

He recognized a panic attack when he saw one and sped up. “Tessa, you have to breathe. We’ll get you through this. Don’t panic.”

“Don’t panic?” She laughed—bitter, jagged—then sucked in a breath. “I can’t leave you and Walker! Don’t make me, please. I’ll do whatever you want, I swear. Don’t make me leave.”

“This is for your safety.”

Her arms wrapped tighter around herself. She was rocking back and forth. “Please let me stay. Please.”

By the time he pulled up in front of his parents’ house, she was almost hysterical, shaking from the force of her emotions. Some of this had to be residual from this morning, but he couldn’t add to it.

“Hey.” He reached out, touching her shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. If you really want to stay, you can.”

She nodded over and over. “I do. Thank you.”

She was thanking him ? He was just hoping he wasn’t about to put her in danger again.

He offered her a smile that started out forced but became genuine once he saw her palpable relief. And he couldn’t deny the relief he felt in turn. He hadn’t wanted Tessa to leave, even if it was for her own safety.

Now all that was left was figuring out how to move forward.