Risk It All. Anna Perrin
Latschenko, who patrols the grounds. He’s new and eager to impress his boss. He was down at the tennis courts ten minutes ago, so hopefully you’ll miss him.”
And if she didn’t miss him, she didn’t want to think what kind of trouble would ensue. “Thanks for the warning.” When Joe stopped walking, she broke stride in confusion. “Aren’t you leaving, too?”
“Nah. I need this job. Latschenko likes to talk, so I’ll try to keep him occupied while you make your getaway.” His teeth flashed white in his tanned face, and then he veered off in the opposite direction.
Despite his initial bossy manner, Joe had turned out to be a surprisingly decent guy, she thought as she broke into a run. Her sneakers pounded across the lawn toward the driveway, her breath puffing in and out in controlled bursts. Within minutes, she’d be back at her car and the police would be on the way.
A man suddenly appeared from out of the shadow of the lawn-maintenance truck, looming in front of her and blocking her escape. “Stop,” he ordered, and she had no choice but to obey or plow into him.
The guy was heavyset with acne-scarred cheeks and a fierce scowl. He must be the security guard that Joe had warned her about. She’d expected him to be wearing a uniform, so she was surprised by his black leather jacket, a choice which struck her as masochistic on such a hot summer day. Was that bad-to-the-bone thug style really worth the discomfort? Or was Latschenko dressed like that to conceal a weapon?
She quickly eased her right hand—the one holding the camera—behind her back, and not a moment too soon. The guard’s gaze moved over her in a thorough, head-to-toe survey that made her skin crawl as if he’d touched her. “Who are you? Show me some ID.”
“I don’t have any with me.” She’d left her purse locked in her car, wanting to keep her hands free to take photos.
“How long have you been here?”
“Uh, only a few minutes.”
He pointed a finger at her accusingly. “Put both your hands where I can see them.”
The camera. She pressed it harder against her spine, wishing she could make it disappear.
He unzipped his jacket. “Hands. In front. Now.”
If she’d still been a cop, he wouldn’t be talking to her with such disrespect. Or if he had, she’d have told him to watch his mouth and get out of her way. Unfortunately, she was no longer in a position of authority, and his uptight facial expression and body language told her he wasn’t going to back down until she had complied with his demands.
As she moved her right hand with the camera into view, Latschenko’s eyes bulged in their sockets, and he reached inside his jacket. She knew, with absolute certainty, what would be in his hand when it cleared the black leather, and she was right.
He held a semiautomatic pistol pointed straight at her.
Brooke stared into Latschenko’s cold eyes and remembered another time, another place, when she’d found herself staring into the barrel of a gun. Would today end the same way? With bullets ripping into her flesh? With her collapsing onto the ground and blood trickling out of her like water out of a leaky garden hose?
Latschenko’s gaze shifted downward to the camera, then back to her face. “Damn, I thought that was a gun. What the hell are you doing here, lady?”
Fear clogged her throat like a massive rock, preventing her from uttering a word, a sound or even swallowing. She knew her silence would make this confrontation even more dangerous, but her vocal cords had shut down at the first glimpse of his weapon. She knew the damage it could unleash. She knew the physical agony that came with a gunshot wound and the mental terror of wondering whether it was severe enough to result in death.
He made an impatient gesture with the weapon. “Hand over the camera.”
She told herself she had no choice, that he had the power to take it from her, so there was no point resisting, but anxiety had short-circuited her brain’s signals to her muscles. Her arm wouldn’t budge. She was paralyzed. Helpless. Useless. A complete disgrace to the profession she had once revered.
“Yo, Latschenko.”
The yard-maintenance guy was back from the tennis courts, and his calm voice was at complete odds with the tense situation. Was Joe clueless or cocky, or a mixture of both? Given her current situation, Brooke didn’t care. As she watched his tall, athletic figure stroll across the manicured lawn, she experienced a wave of relief so strong her legs nearly gave out. Surely, Latschenko wouldn’t shoot her in front of a witness.
Joe spoke again. “What’s with the gun? Why are you scaring my girl?”
“Your girl?” Latschenko sputtered. “What are you talking about? What the hell is she doing here?”
Joe continued walking until he stood next to Brooke. The mirrored sunglasses made it impossible for her to see his eyes, to gauge what he was thinking. With a half smile, he slung one heavily muscled arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze that felt oddly protective. He still held the hedge trimmers, which hung down beside his jean-clad leg. Heat radiated from his body, and the warmth seeped into her, easing her fear-induced paralysis. “She noticed I’d forgotten my lunch at home and didn’t want me to go hungry.”
“What about the camera?” Latschenko demanded.
Brooke stole a glance at the street. How good was Latschenko with that gun? It was harder than most people thought to hit a moving target. She flexed her leg, relieved to feel the muscles respond. Maybe she should run for it—
Joe’s fingers tightened on her arm, a subtle warning not to do anything rash. “I told her about the terrific gardens here,” he said. “I guess she wanted to take a few pictures.”
She coughed to hide her surprise. Joe was the best liar she’d ever met. Better than her, which was seriously impressive, given her success at her job often depended on her ability to dissemble. She was only screwing up today because of that damn gun.
Latschenko’s scowl intensified. “She came onto the property without permission and she brought a camera.”
“That’s my fault,” Joe said. “I forgot to tell her about the rules here. She was only being thoughtful of her man. That’s not such a terrible thing, is it?”
Latschenko’s gun eased downward until it was no longer aimed at her torso. “No, more women should be like that,” he agreed.
What a load of chauvinistic crap, Brooke thought. Did Joe really believe what he was saying or was it part of his boyfriend ruse? She supposed she shouldn’t complain, as he was doing a good job of bonding with Latschenko, and that could work in her favor. Although being passive ran contrary to her nature, she decided to stay quiet and see if Joe could talk her way out of this mess.
The guard stuck his chin out belligerently. “In spite of her good intentions, your girlfriend’s coming here is a breach of security. I’m paid to make sure only people approved by Sidorov come onto the property.”
“I get that, man. Totally.” Joe’s voice was mild and nonconfrontational. “It was a simple misunderstanding and won’t happen again. Mr. Sidorov doesn’t need to know she was ever here.”
“If he finds out, it could cost me my job.”
Joe’s lips turned down, suitably chagrined. “You shouldn’t get into trouble over something meaningless like this.”
“No, I shouldn’t.”
“She was leaving when you stopped her. Let her go. Please.”
Latschenko stared at Brooke for a long moment while she tried to appear apologetic and naively innocent. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d made strategic