Her Perfect Mate Page 16

  At the girl’s nod, he left, hitting the hallway at a dead run.

  He took the stairs instead of the elevator. On the bottom floor, he discovered why there hadn’t been a doorman in the lobby when he and Ivy had come in earlier. The guy was slumped in one corner of the stairwell, out cold. At least Landon hoped he was only out cold—he didn’t have time to check. It had been at least twenty seconds since Ivy jumped from the balcony. That was a long time to go without backup. Especially when they had no idea how many bad guys they were up against.

  Landon heard a gunshot the moment he raced out of the stairwell. He swore and ran across the lobby but slowed when he got to the glass doors. Across the street, two men crouched behind the sedan he’d seen on the curb earlier. They were firing their weapons toward someone out of Landon’s field of vision off to the right.

  Ivy.

  She was hiding behind a parked Escalade half a block down the street, and as he watched, she put a round into the sedan the men were hiding behind. She didn’t hit either of them, but that wasn’t her intent. She was simply keeping them occupied until Landon arrived, but a lucky shot could still take her out any second. He didn’t have much time.

  Landon burst out the door and dived behind a big, concrete flower box in front of the apartment building. He crouched and quickly peered around the edge, looking for Bosch, but didn’t see him. He hoped Stutmeir’s goons hadn’t stashed the biologist in the trunk of the sedan Ivy was targeting.

  Landon put a round in the kidnapper closest to him. The second guy immediately turned and darted behind the cars parallel parked along the curb before his colleague even hit the pavement.

  Landon stayed where he was, waiting to see if the guy would take up another defensive position. But the schmuck was too smart for that. He kept his head low and took off running down the sidewalk away from him and Ivy.

  Landon threw a quick glance at the Escalade and saw Ivy give him a nod. Trusting her to cover him, he raced across the street to check the sedan. Bosch was curled into a ball on the floorboard of the backseat, his arms protectively over his head. He looked up hesitantly when Landon poked his head in. The biologist’s wire-rimmed glasses were a little cockeyed but otherwise he looked fine.

  “I’m a federal agent. Stay put,” Landon ordered, then turned and took off down the street, keeping the cars between him and the fleeing attacker. Behind him, he could hear Ivy’s barely audible footsteps as she raced to catch up.

  ***

  Ivy cursed as she ran after Landon. She’d felt that nagging little voice in her head the moment they walked into the lobby of the posh high-rise. But it wasn’t like her kitty cat alarm had been screaming at her, so she’d ignored what it was saying. It wasn’t until they were in the elevator and Landon made the comment about the doorman—or lack of one—she realized she’d made a mistake. By then the elevator doors had opened and everything had gone wacky. First the noise on the second elevator, then the sound of Abigail’s sobbing, followed by the unmistakable smell of fear. There’d been too many sensations coming at her all at once, and she couldn’t separate what was important and what wasn’t. If she’d listened to her instincts downstairs, they might have stopped the kidnapping altogether.

  That was probably why she’d recklessly jumped off the balcony without knowing what was waiting for her below. Fortunately, she’d landed in the middle of a grassy community outdoor living space and not on top of a jungle gym.

  Landon glanced at her as she pulled even with him. “Let’s take this guy alive if we can.”

  Good idea. But hard to do when the guy was firing a gun in their direction. Fortunately, he wasn’t very accurate, but she was still worried about innocent bystanders. She yelled for them to get to safety as she and Landon gained on the suspect.

  The guy ran out of ammo, tossed the gun aside, and kept going. Now that they didn’t have to worry about him shooting back, she picked up speed. Beside her, Landon did the same.

  Up ahead, the man darted down a side alley. She slowed, coming to a stop at the entrance. She darted her head around the building for a quick peek, then looked at Landon.

  “He’s hiding behind a Dumpster on the left-hand side about halfway down the alley. I can see his foot sticking out.”

  “Can you jump over it?” Landon asked.

  “The Dumpster? Yeah.”

  “I’ll cover you. If he pops up his head, I’ll fire.”

  Giving her a nod, he ran down the alley, putting a single round through the Dumpster so the man hiding behind it wouldn’t even think about returning fire—if he even had another weapon.

  Ivy followed, hugging the left wall of the alley so the man wouldn’t see her coming, then hurtled the Dumpster. If she didn’t do her part—and quickly—Landon’d be standing square in the middle of the alley with nowhere to duck and cover. She tucked her knees and somersaulted into the air. She landed hard so Stutmeir’s man would hear her. When he craned his head around to look, she punched him square in the nose. He went down just in time for Landon to tackle him, which was unnecessary since she’d already knocked the guy out. But she let him have his fun.

  He lifted the unconscious man and hoisted him over his shoulder, then grinned at her. “Nice work.”

  She grinned back. More like nice teamwork.

  ***

  The NYPD and paramedics were on the scene by the time she and Landon got back to Bosch’s apartment. The biologist, however, wasn’t in the back of the sedan where Landon had ordered him to stay. Something that pissed off her partner.

  “His wife was hurt. You didn’t expect him to stay in the car, did you?” Ivy asked.

  Landon only grunted.

  Ivy frowned as they neared the patrol cars. Two cops were checking out the bullet-riddled car, while another was crouched beside the body of the man Landon had shot. No doubt there’d be more cops on the way, which meant they needed to take control of the situation. She flashed her badge, identifying herself and Landon as Homeland Security, then explained they needed to leave the man they’d apprehended in the back of a police cruiser until their backup got there to take the guy in.

  The cops looked uncertain for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” One of the officers glanced at her as he led the way to one of the squad cars. “Who is that guy? A terrorist or something?”

  “Let’s just call him a person of interest for now,” she said.

  Landon dumped the unconscious man in the backseat, then slammed the door. “When your duty captain gets here, let him know my partner and I are up on the fifth floor in apartment five twelve.”

  Ivy had been right about Phil Bosch. He was sitting on the couch with his wife and daughter. A red-haired paramedic was tending to his wife Deidre’s wound. Upon seeing her and Landon, Abigail jumped up and ran over to hug Ivy. She almost laughed when the girl threw her arms around Landon next. He looked like he’d been attacked by a small creature from Mars. He had no idea what to do. Finally, he hesitantly put an arm around the girl.

  Abigail beamed up at him. “I knew you’d save my dad.” She handed Ivy her iPhone. “I called the police, just like you told me to.”

  Phil Bosch murmured something to his wife, then stood and came over. “I have to thank you as well. Though I have no idea who you are or who those people were who tried to grab me.”

  Landon told him they were with Homeland Security, then added, “Just doing our job.”

  Ivy glanced at Deidre. “How is your wife?”

  “She says she’s fine, but I still want a doctor to take a look at her. She might have a concussion.” His eyes were clouded with concern when he turned back to them. “You said you’re with Homeland Security. Were those men terrorists?”

  “We can’t give you details at this time,” Ivy said. “All I can tell you is that those men were interested in you because of what you do for a living. We’ll be able to explain
everything later, but for now we’re going to have to ask you to play stupid when the NYPD asks you anything.”

  He gave her a wry smile. “That shouldn’t be difficult since I have no idea why the kind of work I do would interest anyone, much less prompt this much violence. I’m just glad you showed up when you did.”

  Ivy’s cell phone rang. “Excuse me.” She moved off to the side and held it to her ear. “Halliwell.”

  “It’s John. A team is on the way to pick up your prisoner, as well as another one to debrief Bosch and his family and take them to a safe house. When they arrive, I want you and Landon on the next flight back to DC. I want to move on Stutmeir as soon as his guy talks.”

  She made a face. “If he talks.”

  “That’s not going to be a problem,” John assured her.

  Ivy pocketed her phone and turned to find Landon beside her. She was about to fill him in when Abigail came running over. She didn’t want the girl knowing about the safe house until they’d talked to her parents.

  “I wanted to thank you again,” Abigail said.

  Ivy smiled. “You’re very welcome. We’re glad we got here in time.”

  Abigail glanced at her parents, then lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I didn’t tell my mom and dad.”

  Ivy frowned. “About what?”

  “About you jumping off the balcony. I figured that was supposed to be our secret.”

  Ivy looked at Landon, stunned. She hadn’t even thought about the girl seeing her when she’d done that. Rule one in the Shifter Rule Book—Don’t Let Anyone See You Shift. And if someone did, deny it. Something told her Abigail wasn’t going to buy that. Better to not make a big deal of it.

  “Thank you, Abigail. I appreciate it.”

  “I wanted to ask you something.” The girl hesitated, looking suddenly unsure of herself. “I was wondering…are you a superhero? You know, like in the movies?”

  The way the girl was looking up at her all wide-eyed with admiration made Ivy blush. She’d never thought of herself as a superhero.

  Landon grinned. “Yeah, she’s a superhero.”

  Ivy did a double take.

  Abigail’s smile was smug. “I thought so.” She looked at Landon. “Are you a superhero, too?”

  He chuckled. “Me? Nah. I’m just a sidekick.”

  The girl nodded. “Being a sidekick’s cool, too. And don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

  Giving them a wave, Abigail hurried back to her parents.

  Ivy leaned in close to Landon. “Sidekick, huh? You, Agent Donovan, are so much more than that.”

  Leaving him standing there, she turned and walked over to talk to Phil and his wife about moving to a safe house.

  Chapter 12

  “Want to come over for dinner?”

  The words were out of Ivy’s mouth before she could stop them. She wished she could chalk it up to being tired—she and Landon hadn’t had more than a catnap (he’d teased her so much about that stupid word she’d almost hit him) on the flight back to DC that morning, which had been followed by a ridiculously long debriefing—but she couldn’t. She never thought she’d say it, but she liked spending time with her partner. And since they’d already demonstrated they could be alone with each other without tearing off one another’s clothes, she didn’t see a problem.

  “Want me to grab takeout?” he asked.

  “I’ll make something.” She smiled. “Have to get some use out of that fancy kitchen of mine.”

  But cooking dinner—even if it was for a partner she had a completely platonic relationship with—made it feel suspiciously like a date. And if that didn’t, standing in front of her closet wondering what top to pair with the jeans she had on sure did. Muttering under her breath, she grabbed a fluttery flower-print retro shirt and slipped into it just as the doorbell rang.

  Landon was at her door, a bottle of wine in his hand.

  “My contribution to the meal.” His mouth curved. “I didn’t know whether to get red or white.”

  “Red’s terrific.” She stepped back, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

  He’d showered and changed before coming over, and she had to keep from taking a big whiff as he walked in. She closed the door, then led the way into the kitchen.

  “This is nice.”

  “Thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Where did they put you up?”

  Now that they were done with training, they didn’t have to stay at the complex down at Quantico.

  “An apartment down in Alexandria. It’s nice, but not this nice.”

  Probably meaning it had a bed, a television, and not much else. “The bigger square footage comes as part of the EVA benefits package. There are some really good home decorating stores around here. If you want, I could go with you and help pick out some stuff, spruce up your place.”

  The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Great, Ivy. Way to put some distance between you and your partner. Who looked even more scrumptious than usual in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She gave him a sideways look and saw him flash her a grin.

  “I just might take you up on that. My decorating skills are limited to figuring out where the TV goes.”

  “Dinner’s almost ready.” She set the bottle on the counter. “There’s a corkscrew in the top drawer if you want to open the wine.”

  As she took the lasagna out of the oven, Ivy tried not to watch him work, but the way the muscles in his forearms flexed as he uncorked the wine was mesmerizing. His hands were pretty fascinating, too. Big with long, tapered fingers. The kind of hands that would feel so good on her naked body.

  She gripped the edge of the casserole dish tightly as she carried it to the table. Even the lasagna couldn’t mask the pheromones Landon was emitting.

  “This table looks like it’s an antique,” he remarked as they sat down. “Is it?”

  Not exactly where her mind had been going, but talking about her dining room table was much safer dinner conversation than what she’d been thinking.

  “You have a good eye.” She dished out the lasagna. “I picked it up in an antique shop when I was in Italy a few years ago. It was pretty beat up, but I fell in love with it anyway. At the time, I didn’t know how much work it’d take to get it in shape, but it was worth it.”

  He lifted a brow. “You refurbished it yourself?”

  “Clayne helped, but I did most of it.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  It was silly to feel so darn pleased by the compliment—it was only a table—but she did. She’d put her heart and soul into refurbishing it, along with a heck of a lot of sweat and hard work. Knowing Landon appreciated her efforts made them even more worthwhile.

  But putting so much worth into what Landon thought was dangerous. The more comfortable she got with him, the harder it was to convince herself not to give in and do what her body was screaming for—lean across the table and kiss him until their clothes happened to fall off.

  It didn’t get any easier when they’d moved into the living room after dinner. Even though he sat on the other end of the couch, Landon’s scent was driving her wild. He might as well have been lying on top of her. Like she needed that image in her head. She stifled a moan.

  She reached for her wineglass, only to freeze when she saw her claws were out. Crap. She hadn’t even felt them extend.

  “Are you okay?” Landon asked.

  She quickly retracted her claws before he could see. “Yeah. Why?”

  “Because your eyes are glowing.”

  Damn. She forced them back to their normal color. Could she play it off as a natural response to the lowered light in the room? Landon might buy it. That would be a lie, though, and a lie of any kind between them felt wrong. But she couldn’t be honest with him, either.

  She picked up her nearly
empty wineglass. It was easier not to give in to her animal urges if there was some distance between them. “I’m going to get a refill. I’ll grab you another beer.”

  She hoped Landon would leave it at that, but she should have known better. He followed her into the kitchen and gently put his hand on her arm. His touch was electric on her skin and she had to bite back a moan.

  “Whatever’s wrong, you can talk to me about it. You know that, right?”

  She kept her gaze fixed on the bottle of wine, afraid if she didn’t, she’d do something crazy. She knew this was stupid, but she couldn’t stop herself. Maybe it was time to give in to her animal instincts. Maybe if she had sex with him, she’d finally get it out of her system once and for all.

  “Remember when I told you my feline side comes out whenever I’m feeling any intense emotion?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it doesn’t have to be just fear or anger. It can be any powerful emotion—hatred, happiness.” She looked up at him. “Arousal.”

  He said nothing, but his eyes suddenly smoldered. “So, if I had to guess which of those emotions you’re feeling right now and I said arousal…?”

  Her pulse quickened. “You’d be right.”

  Something flared in his eyes. “Back in South America, we both said we weren’t going to do this. Go where this is heading, I mean.”

  Landon stepped closer even as he said the words and Ivy breathed in his scent. He was as aroused as she was. She could smell it. And damn did it smell good. “My head keeps reminding me of that, but my body won’t listen. Being so close to you every day and not touching you… It’s driving me crazy.”

  He brushed her hair back from her face, his fingers gentle. “It’s been like that for me, too. You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to kiss you again. It’s all I’ve thought about since we came back from Venezuela.”

  She swayed toward him, her lips parting. “Me, too.”

  “If we do this, there won’t be any going back, Ivy. One night of sex with you won’t be enough for me,” he said softly. “I’m okay with that. Hell, I’m more than okay with that. Are you?”