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She grabbed for his arm as he choked off her breath. “You admit you broke in and attacked me?”
“Imagine what I plan to do to you next.”
Sick laughter filled her ear. Just before everything went dark, she hit Send and dropped the phone.
* * *
HOLT WALKED BACK into the family room from the bathroom to find Shane sprawled on the couch. Legs up on the cushions and a stack of papers in his hand. Now that they knew about Lindsey’s side business, she’d opened up her office, and with Joel’s computer help at increasing her security, they had an easier line to Connor and the office.
The information flowed back and forth, as did Connor’s warnings. He didn’t like what he was finding on Simon Falls, which was nothing. The photos that Cam took showed large stores of weapons.
Other people might miss the signs; Connor didn’t. He recognized boxes and specific weapon types. Grenade launchers and a surface-to-air missile. That was the truly scary one. All of that corroborated what Holt had seen up there.
This Simon Falls, whoever he was, had access to serious firepower. He could cause a lot of damage. If he was a true believer or someone bent on revenge, he likely would. Holt had to hope he was the militia no-government type, not looking for trouble, and not someone seriously delusional or looking to make a name for himself.
But then, Holt had never been the luckiest guy. He wondered if meeting Lindsey had changed all that. Danger and women did not mix. He’d seen his friends turned around and shoved deeper into risk over the decisions they’d made in the name of love.
After spending his entire life honing his skills, Holt couldn’t imagine abandoning them for anyone. Of course, Lindsey wasn’t just anyone. In a short period of time she’d turned into someone who mattered and he just didn’t know how to process that potential vulnerability.
He’d learned the hard way not to trust. A person Holt thought was his friend picked dealing drugs in Afghanistan over him. Shot and left him for dead. But Holt instinctively knew Lindsey would never make that deal. She’d stand up beside him.
It was the same certainty that helped him learn to trust the team, that kept him so close to Shane and Makena. Now he had to figure out if he had room in that circle for Lindsey...if she even wanted to be included.
Shane waved a piece of paper in the air. “We got the intel back on Lindsey and her past. There’s not much under that name, but Joel managed to pull a lot from the fingerprints I scanned and sent.”
“What?” Holt looked around for her. Glanced out the window and saw her headed for the flower bed. He’d give her five minutes before he went out there and dragged her back in. During that time he’d watch...once he figured out what Shane was saying.
Shane’s sneakers hit the floor as he sat up. “You ordered that we do a full background check on her to be safe.”
“I actually didn’t.” Holt specifically hadn’t wanted to go down that road.
“Right.” Shane shot him a side eye. “Maybe that was me trying to protect your butt.”
Holt remembered the discussion and meant to circle back and stop Joel’s digging. He’d even told Connor to put the brakes on. Looked as though the word never got back or Connor purposely ignored the request.
In their shoes Holt would have done the same thing—charged ahead. But that wasn’t really the point.
Shane continued to hold up one piece of paper. “Did you get the part where it says Lindsey Pike isn’t her real name?”
With one last look in Lindsey’s direction and a second of watching her pick flowers or whatever she was doing out there, Holt went to the couch. “I knew that.”
Shane’s arms fell against his thighs. “Were you planning on sharing?”
“She was raised at the camp, escaped and took on a new identity.” Holt glanced at the file and the photo in the abducted child report. A sunny girl with a big smile and missing tooth stared back at him. He saw the intelligence in her eyes but did think the glasses were a nice touch. “And look, apparently.”
Shane cleared his throat. “You seem happy with the current version. Can’t blame you. The woman is fine, and I mean that in an entirely clinical don’t-punch-me kind of way.”
An understatement on the looks. The fresh-faced attractiveness appealed to him. So did the smokin’ body and smart mouth. If Holt was being truthful, everything worked for him except for maybe the stubbornness, and even that had its moments.
But there was more to it than that. He thought about her all the time, watched her when she was puttering around the house and even enjoyed her off-key humming. He’d never gotten this attached, this sucked in. Never dreamed he could feel secure and messed-up and vulnerable all at the same time over a woman.
