Rock Me Deeper (Licks of Leather #5) - Jenna Jacob Page 0,40
that had always provided a bastion of safety, I suddenly realized, with bone-chilling clarity, that my house wasn’t a fortress or a bastion of safety. It was nothing but a wood-covered shell to keep out the rain and snow. I wasn’t safe here. I wasn’t safe anywhere with Zattman out there wanting to hunt me down and gut me like a deer.
“You can call your boss in the morning and tell him…” Mia paused. “Shit, I don’t know what to tell him. We’ll come up with something.”
“It’s a her…Trudy. She already knows about Zattman.”
Mia blanched. “What do you mean, she already knows? What did you tell her?”
“That he drugged and kidnapped me from the nightclub, then held me prisoner and tortured me. When I saw his photo on the news this morning, I kinda lost my shit, so Trudy sent me home.”
“She sounds like an understanding boss, one who would want you to stay safe, right?” I nodded. “Good. Then you can call her from the limo.”
“And tell her what? Rock queen Phoenix is flying me to a safe house?”
Worry flashed in Mia’s hazel eyes as she bit her lip indecisively. A second later, she waved her hand in the air. “Like I said, we’ll think of something. Right now, you need to start packing.”
“Wait. What if Zattman somehow finds me at the ranch?”
“He won’t. There’s no way he can tie you to Quinn. But we’re still not taking any chances. We’ve hired a couple bodyguards to stay with you at the ranch. They’re outside waiting in the limo.”
“B-b-bodyguards?”
If Mia thought I was going to pack my bags, fly to Texas, and stay with two men I didn’t know, she was crazier than Zattman.
“Yeah, Cole and Brad. Ozzy hired them for me, but right now you need them far worse than I do. Trust me, Caris, they’ll keep you safe.”
Struggling to process everything that was happening at the speed of light, I shook my head. “Why are you going to all this time, trouble, and expense for me?”
“Because I’ll do anything to keep Zattman from hurting you again, and because you’re someone special to a member of our musical family.”
Syd.
It suddenly dawned on me that Mia and Reed hadn’t hatched this plot; she was simply the messenger delivering the details. She didn’t come up with this plan to scoop me from my home and drop me in the middle of Texas. No, this was Syd’s creation. Clearly, the man thought I was weak, helpless, and totally incapable of taking care of myself.
As suspicion marched through my brain, flickers of anger ignited low in my belly.
“How did you find me?”
“What?”
“How did you get my address? How did you find me, Mia?”
“Oh, I didn’t. Cole did. He’s a savant when it comes to computers. I gave him your name, and three minutes later, he had your address.”
“Really?” I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure Syd didn’t tell you where to find me?”
She shook her head, but guilt was written all over her face.
“Who else is out in that limo waiting for us, Mia?”
She opened her mouth and snapped it shut without saying a word.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
I had no clue how to protect myself against Zattman’s murderous plans, but I would find a way. I hated being lied to by Mia, but I couldn’t blame her for trying to help Syd pull the wool over my eyes. They were, as she said, a musical family.
And while every cell in my body wanted to race out the door and fall into Syd’s arms, I couldn’t allow him to rescue me yet again. Not because of my pride but because I didn’t know if I possessed the strength to walk away from him a second time.
Heart breaking all over again, I lifted my chin and drew in a deep breath.
“It’s time for you to leave,” I firmly announced, pointing toward the door.
Chapter 9
Syd
I felt like a pussy sitting in the limo while Mia knocked on Caris’s door. But since the odds were high she’d take one look at me and slam the fucker in my face, I clenched my jaw and bided my time. Convincing Caris to leave Diamond City and hide out at the lodge was far more important than the dent in my ego…or so I tried to convince myself.
I glanced over at Cole and Brad, former SEALs and stone-cold killers. They’d taken out several terrorist leaders during their tours in Afghanistan. When Ozzy first