Targeted Risk (R.I.S.C. #7) - Anna Blakely Page 0,46
already shitty situation would be even worse.
Unable to wait a second longer, Mike thanked Dr. Greer and headed into the room. His chest tightened when he saw Juliet sitting there in a set of scrubs, her legs dangling over the side of the bed.
His heart swelled when her face lit up the minute he walked through the door.
“Jay!” She hopped down off the bed and practically ran to him. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly and began to sob.
“Baby, no. Your back.” Mike tried pushing her back gently so he wouldn’t hurt her, but she wasn’t having it. “The doctor said you’d been burned.”
“It’s nothing.” She held him even tighter. “I’m so sorry.”
Relenting, he kept her close and kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, Jules. What happened isn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it is.” She sniffed. “Your home was destroyed because of me.”
“Look at me.” When he tried putting some space between them, she let him. “I told you on the phone I don’t give a fuck about the house, and I meant it. It was just a place to store my stuff and lay my head whenever I’m not on a job.”
“But—”
“No buts.” He cupped her face and used his thumbs to dry her tears. “You’re okay. Derek and Lydia are okay. That’s all that matters. Okay?”
“O-Okay.” She drew in a stuttering breath and nodded. A fresh round of tears hit, each one ripping his heart in two. “My father—”
“Didn’t do this.”
God, I hope that’s true.
Frowning, Juliet swiped at her damp cheeks. “What? Of course, he did. Schreiber told me my father hired him to kill me.”
“He lied.”
I’m pretty sure he lied.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because I saw your dad today.” Mike swallowed hard. “That’s where Jake and I went.”
“You flew to Vegas to see my father? Are you crazy?”
“I used to work with him, remember?”
“He knew about us back then, Jay. He probably knows about us, now. That’s how he knew to send his men to your house.”
It was a possibility. In addition to the background the CIA had on file for him, Mike had also made sure Derek temporarily changed the name on his mortgage records to Jay Reynolds. Of course, if someone had been keeping tabs on Juliet, they could’ve followed her there, as well.
Either way, Mike was going to find the fuckers and end them for even daring to hurt the woman he loved.
“They could’ve followed us,” he pointed out.
“No. You said no one was following us when we drove from Houston to Dallas.”
“No one that I saw. But whoever these guys are, they’re pros.”
“Exactly. Just like the kind of men who work for my father.”
“Jules, I know it’s hard to accept that someone other than your father is behind all of this, but we have to keep ourselves open to the possibility.”
“I get that. What I don’t understand is how you can be so sure it’s not him.”
“My gut says it’s not.”
“Your gut? Oh, god.” She went back to the bed and sat down.
“Look, Jules. I saw the look on your dad’s face when I told him what Schreiber said to you. He had no idea what that asshole was talking about. And when he talked about finding whoever was behind all this, let’s just say he seemed pretty damn eager to beat me to the punch.”
Her tear-filled eyes rose to meet his, and Mike wished like hell he could take away the pain and fear he saw there.
“If that’s true”—she spoke almost as if she were in a daze—“if he isn’t the one trying to kill me, then who is? And why do they want me dead?”
“I don’t know, but I swear to you, I’m going to find out.”
“How?” Juliet’s long, dark hair brushed across her shoulders and back when she shook her head. “If it’s really not my father, that means it could be...anyone.”
Mike went to her. He took her hand in his, treading carefully with his words. As much as he wanted to spill his guts, she was much too vulnerable to do it, now.
“I know. But, sweetheart, the team I work for is the best in the business. This is what we do, so if anyone can find the person responsible for all of this, it’s them.”
She sat there for a moment, processing everything he’d said before she asked, “So, what do we do until then?”
“I want to take you away from here.”
“Great.” Juliet slid from the mattress and walked around him to the other side of