Shadows at Dawn Read online

  “But—”

  Jax’s stony expression said there was no use arguing, and secretly she was glad. Just thinking about what had happened—what could have been so much worse—made her feel light-headed.

  As she ran through the details of the kidnap attempt a second time, Jax added the partial plate information, as well as basic descriptions of the three men.

  He mentioned little things she hadn’t noticed, like a scar on the back of the big man’s right hand, which Jax believed was probably made by a knife—the man’s weapon of choice. The eye color of the guy Jax called Mr. Average—a pale shade of blue—and the tall man’s sneakers, expensive Giuseppe Zanotti high-tops, black with red leather trim.

  “He had a rough voice, probably a smoker,” Jax added. Mindy shivered at the memory of him calling her a bitch. Then the detective started asking questions that might lead to the reason for the attack.

  “So, no boyfriends, current or otherwise, who might be upset with you?” Gunderson asked.

  “I haven’t been seeing anyone. Not for more than six months.” She glanced at Jax, then away. “I’ve been too busy to date.” Not quite true. She just hadn’t found anyone interesting. After she’d met Jax, no other man seemed to compare. But she’d die of embarrassment if he found out.

  “What about friends or family members?” the detective asked. “Anyone who might be angry with you, someone who might be holding a grudge?”

  “I don’t have a lot of family. My mom’s in a long-term care facility. She was mentally impaired in the same car accident that killed my dad and brother.”

  Jax’s jaw subtly tightened.

  Gunderson asked about her finances, loans she might owe that hadn’t been repaid, gambling debts, anything and everything that might account for the kidnapping attempt, but nothing seemed to point to an answer.

  Finally finished, the detective rose from his chair. “Kidnapping is a serious offense, Ms. Stewart. You need to keep your eyes open. Call us if you think of anything that might help us find the men behind the attack.” He turned to Jax. “I take it you’re on the case?”

  “That’s right.”

  The detective just nodded, clearly seeing something in Jax’s expression Mindy didn’t. Jax let him out the front door and locked up behind him.

  “So you’re going to follow me home?” she asked as they headed for the parking lot.

  “Oh, I’m not just following you home. If you don’t want me sleeping on your sofa tonight, I’ll be in my truck out in front.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “Those men were deadly serious, honey. The way it looks, you weren’t a random choice. Which means there’s a chance they’ll try again. No way am I leaving you alone. Until we know what the hell is going on, you’ve got round the clock protection.”

  “But I can’t pay for something like that!”

  “Don’t insult me.”

  Color washed into her cheeks. They were colleagues, friends of a sort. “I’m sorry. Thank you. And you aren’t sleeping out in your car. My sofa folds into a bed, so you won’t be that uncomfortable.”

  He looked like he wanted to say something about their sleeping arrangements but didn’t.

  “I do have a...um...cat. Her name is Muffin. She usually sleeps with me so unless you’re allergic or something—”

  “I’m not allergic to cats. I’m more a dog person, but cats are okay.”

  Mindy smiled. “She’s very sweet. I promise she won’t bother you.”

  He just nodded. “I’ve got a couple of calls to make, then we can go.”

  * * *

  BEFORE IT GOT any later, Jax wanted to phone Jason Maddox. Though Maddox worked mostly as a bounty hunter, he was also a licensed PI. Jax held the same licenses, and the two men often worked together. Add to that, they were close friends.

  Maddox answered on the second ring, still clearly awake. Not unusual for the guy they called the Hawk. “Ryker, what’s up?”

  “We had some trouble at the office tonight. Three guys in a white van went after Mindy.”

  “What the hell? Went after her? What happened? Is she okay?”

  “She’s pretty shook up, but she’s all right. I’m just glad I was still here when it went down.” He filled Maddox in on the abduction attempt on the cute little receptionist who brought out the protective instincts of every man in the office, and his plan to spend the night at her house.

  “I can come over if you think those dickwads might show up at her place.”

  “I think they’ll take a step back and regroup,” Jax said. “They had the attack well planned. If I hadn’t stayed late and happened to walk out when I did, it would have gone down like clockwork.” He thought of Mindy fighting off three hardened men, and a fresh wave of fury rolled through him. “But I have to say, our girl gave them bloody hell.”

  Maddox grunted. “Good for her.”

  Jax sobered. “She couldn’t have held them off much longer, Hawk. They weren’t pros, but they weren’t amateurs, either.”

  “We need to figure out what’s going on,” Maddox said.

  “Chase is meeting us tomorrow morning at the office.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Maybe we can come up with something that makes sense.”

  “You’ll take care of her tonight?”

  “You know I will.”

  “Yeah...” Hawk said. “I do.”

  Jax ignored the subtle innuendo. He had gone out of his way to make sure no one guessed the attraction he felt to Mindy, but Maddox was his closest friend.

  “Call if you need me,” Hawk said.

  “Will do.” Jax hung up the phone. Pulling open the bottom drawer of his desk, he punched in the code for his gun safe, drew out his .38 Colt revolver and strapped it to his ankle. He took out his holstered HK45 Compact Tactical semiautomatic pistol, the same weapon he had used as a SEAL, and set it on the desk. From now on, he planned to be armed.

  As he rose from the chair, Mindy looked at him with big, worried eyes. She still wasn’t completely used to working around men and women in the security business, but she was learning.

  “You ready?” he asked as he clipped the pistol to his belt.

  Mindy eyed the gun, looked up at him and nodded.

  He had already retrieved his laptop from where he had dropped it in the parking lot. Fortunately, the padded case had protected it. He grabbed the handle and they started for the door.

  Mindy was also carrying her laptop. “I have some work to do in the morning so I planned to leave my computer here overnight, but the way things are going, I think I better take it with me.”

  “Good idea.” There was a chance the laptop contained information that might help them figure out what the kidnappers wanted. He planned to take a hard look at it once he got Mindy home.

  She slung the strap of the computer over her shoulder and grabbed the battered purse she had retrieved from the parking lot. As they walked outside, she started toward the little red Volkswagen Beetle that seemed to fit her just right, but Jax caught her arm.

  “It’s after midnight. You might as well leave your car here, and I’ll drive you back to work in the morning.”

  She hesitated. He could tell she was still trying to come to grips with the notion he would be spending the night. “I...um...hate to waste gas so, okay, I guess that works.”

  He walked her over to his pickup and opened the passenger door, glad he had installed running boards along both sides of the extended cab. Then again, if she’d needed his help to get in, he would have an excuse to put his hands on her again.

  Until tonight he had never touched her. Now he’d fantasize about the soft fullness of her breasts against his chest, the long, silky strands of her hair teasing his cheek as he’d carried her into the office.

  Jax swore a silent curse. He’d be sleeping on Mindy’s sofa tonight, a task made nearly impossible with her asleep in a bed down the hall—with her cat. He hated to admit he was glad it was a cat curled up with her and not some other guy.

  He sighed as he rounded his truck to the driver’s side. For weeks, he’d steered clear of her. She was Chase’s employee, the receptionist at The Max. That made her completely off-limits. The attraction he’d felt from the first time he had seen her had no place in his life or hers. But little by little, her sweet smile and vivacious, always cheerful attitude began to melt his iron resolve.

  He’d begun to wonder about her, think about her even when he wasn’t in the office. He hadn’t realized how much he’d come to care for her until he had walked out into the parking lot and seen three masked men attacking her.

  A fresh shot of fury burned through him as the scene flashed back into his head, and his hand unconsciously fisted. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax.

  He needed to table whatever feelings he had for Mindy, bury his fantasies and do his job. Keeping her safe was all that mattered and to do that he needed to remain objective.

  Strapping himself in behind the wheel, Jax made a final scan of the parking lot, saw nothing out of the ordinary and started the engine.

  “Put on your seat belt,” he said. He didn’t call her sweetheart or honey, which he shouldn’t have done in the first place. Instead, he focused on the address she had given him, which was not far away. He’d be watching for a tail, taking evasive measures until he was sure they weren’t being followed.

  From now on, he was on the job. Mindy Stewart was a client, nothing more. Jax planned to do whatever it took to keep it that way.

  CHAPTER THREE

  MINDY LAY IN bed staring up at the ceiling. It was late, quiet and dark, Muffin, her little black-and-white short-haired cat, curled up at her feet.

  Her bedroom was decorated in rose and cream, a feminine room she had designed herself. She usually found it comforting. Tonight her nerves remained on a jagged edge, and even having Jax Ryker, armed and staying in her apartment, didn’t put her worries to rest.

  She kept thinking of him in her living room, stretched out on the foldout sofa that was far from comfortable but better than outside in his car.

  She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Jax had saved her from being abducted. He had come to her rescue just like in her fantasies. He had fought for her, held her in his arms, and even called her honey. If the circumstances were different, it could have been the best night of her life.

  Unfortunately, reality intruded. Men had tried to kidnap her. She had no idea why or what would have happened if Jax hadn’t been there to stop them.

  A chill washed through her just thinking about it. Were they rapists? Murderers? Did they want her to drive to an ATM and clear out her bank account? She had heard of that happening. But she didn’t have much in her checking account and only a rainy-day amount in her savings.

  Surely it wasn’t enough for the kind of risk the three men were taking in a kidnapping attempt. For God’s sake, it was potentially a death penalty offense!

  Mindy closed her eyes, but she couldn’t fall asleep. Would the men try again? What could they possibly want? Jax couldn’t protect her forever. What if they just waited until he was gone?

  She listened for sounds of him. She had left her door cracked open so Muffin could reach her food and water in the laundry area off the kitchen. Every once in a while, she could hear Jax moving around in the living room or turning on the tap at the kitchen sink. Eventually the knowledge that he was there and not leaving lulled her enough to fall asleep.

  The sun was up when she awoke the next morning. She was halfway to the bathroom when she remembered she wasn’t alone. Jax had spent the night in her living room!

  Being up so late, she had managed to oversleep. Was he still there? But she knew deep down he wouldn’t leave her. Not while he thought she still might be in danger. He just wasn’t that kind of man.

  It was Saturday. Mindy showered and brushed her hair, dressed in dark blue skinny jeans and a loose-fitting lavender print blouse, shoved her feet into low-heeled sandals, put on her glasses and opened the bedroom door.

  The aroma of freshly brewed coffee made her smile. She hurried down the hall to her sunny yellow galley kitchen, and saw Jax sitting at the round white table next to the window, a steaming mug next to a big, powerful hand.

  “Good morning,” he said, sensing her presence without turning his head. When he did, her lungs seemed incapable of filling with air. His short dark hair was uncharacteristically mussed and he hadn’t shaved, leaving him with a day’s growth of beard along his hard jaw.

  There were words for a guy who looked as good as Jaxon Ryker, but they all seemed to have escaped her head. Only the basics formed. Hot. Sexy. Incredible. Thank God he was wearing a T-shirt over that massive chest. Although...

  “Good morning,” she finally managed to say as she poured coffee into a mug for herself and loaded it with sugar and cream. “Did you sleep okay?”

  “I wasn’t here to sleep. I was here to make sure no one bothered you. But I managed to catch a few hours off and on.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to stay awake all night for me.”

  Something flashed in his eyes; then it was gone. “I need to look at your laptop. I didn’t want to do that without your permission.”

  “Of course. That’s not a problem. I’ll get it.” She hurried into the living room to retrieve her computer from where she had left it on the coffee table last night.

  Her apartment wasn’t large. She preferred a smaller, cozier place to live, where she felt safe, more in control of her environment. Her decorative tastes ran to the traditional: a moss green carpet, a rose-and-moss-green-flowered sofa and wingback chair with matching throw pillows. Brass lamps sat on delicate mahogany Duncan Phyfe tables.

  She had lots of antiques and family heirlooms: crocheted doilies that had belonged to her grandmother, Hummel figurines her mom had collected, some Blue Willow porcelain dishes. The items made her feel closer to her mother, and family she had lost in the accident.

  She grabbed her laptop and carried it into the kitchen. Jax set it on the table and opened it. When he sat back in the chair, Muffin jumped up in his lap.

  “Muffin!”

  “She’s all right.” A big hand stroked gently over the cat’s soft black fur. When Jax rubbed beneath her chin, Muffin started to purr.

  “I hope she didn’t bother you last night.”

  “She paid me a visit, didn’t stay long.”

  “She...um...doesn’t usually get along with men.”

  He smiled. “Maybe she’s just choosy.”

  Mindy smiled back. “Maybe she is.”

  Jax set the cat on the floor. Muffin ambled away, and Jax returned his attention to the computer.

  “My password is c-o-u-r-a-g-e,” Mindy said, spelling out the letters.

  He typed it in and looked up at her. “Courage?”

  “It’s from the Stewart clan motto. ‘Courage Grows Stronger at the Wound.’” She glanced away. She didn’t tell him how much courage it had taken to survive the loss of her dad and brother, the mental impairment of her mother, which still hurt every week when she went to visit her.

  But when she looked back at him, Jax seemed to understand.

  “I’m sorry about what happened to your family,” he said.

  She swallowed. “Visiting my mom is tough. It’s worse because she doesn’t know who I am.” She managed to smile. “Mom seems happy, though, in whatever world she lives in now. And the facility does a great job of taking care of her.”

  He nodded. “I guess that’s something. How old were you when it happened?”

  “Seventeen. I was visiting my grandmother on the night of the accident. We were always close. Gran raised me after that. She passed a few years ago.”

  “I never had much of a family. My dad took off when I was ten, and my mom suffered from depression. They’re both gone now. I’m still tight with a couple of my cousins, some of my SEAL buddies.”

  She felt a pang. She knew what it was like to be without family. “You and Jason seem close.”

  He smiled and took a sip of his coffee. “Maddox is a good guy. Which reminds me, we need to get going. I’m meeting him and Chase at the office this morning. Since I’m not leaving you alone, you’re coming with me.”

  “All right. I planned to go in anyway.”

  He checked his watch. “We’ve got a few minutes before we have to leave. Let me take a look at your laptop first.”

  Mindy looked over his thick-muscled shoulder to her computer screen. “So what are you looking for?”

  “Not sure. What kind of records do you store in here?”

  “Nothing much. I do my personal banking online at Wells Fargo, but there isn’t much in my account.”

  Jax perused the files on her desktop, apparently saw nothing out of the ordinary, then went to her email.

  He glanced up. “Anything personal in these? You said you hadn’t been dating for a while.” His eyes found hers, looking at her as if the answer were important.

  “I don’t have a significant other, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “I’m asking if anyone’s been pushing you to go out, following you, sending you unwanted emails, anything like that.”

  She shook her head. “No.” She smiled. “The pizza delivery boy flirts with me when he shows up at my door, but that’s about it.”

  The corner of his mouth edged up. “We’ll let him slide for the moment.”

  She grinned. “Since he’s still in high school, he probably isn’t much of a threat.”

  Jax chuckled and went back to work. He got her Facebook password and took a look around. She didn’t go on very often, so there wasn’t much there. Twitter wasn’t really her thing. Too time-consuming. She used Instagram, but he didn’t find anything there.