“Or responsible for it. I’d already thought of that.”
“Have you swept the room?”
“What?” Mystery didn’t understand, not with her heart racing, her fear spiking. “Searched it, you mean?”
Axel nodded. “Did you?”
“No.” Stupidly, she’d assumed that whoever had left her the picture had simply dropped it off and stolen out again, not wanting to be seen. In retrospect, if someone plotted to leave her a death threat, they were likely serious about killing her and might have hung around to do the job.
His head snapped up. He looked around the room. “Sit in that chair.” He pointed to the elegant piece with curved legs, upholstered in white damask, until she followed directions. “Phone in hand. Dial 9-1-1 and keep your finger hovered over the call button. If you hear or see anything out of the ordinary, hit it. I’ll be nearby.”
Mystery did as he demanded. Her finger shook as she stabbed at the buttons on her screen and waited. She followed him with her stare, feeling so much safer with him near. Axel alone understood where she’d been held, the harrowing ordeal of her kidnapping and rescue. She hadn’t had to explain why that photograph had terrified her or what it meant. He knew.
Around her, he opened the closet, checked behind the drapes before he pulled each one closed. Then he searched under every stick of furniture, including the bed—anywhere a person might lie in wait.
Finally, he emerged from the bathroom, its mirror still steamy from her shower. “The coast is clear.” He sat on the edge of the bed and dragged her chair closer to him. “Did you ever find out who paid for your abduction and why?”
“No.” She swallowed hard. “When we moved to London, I focused on putting it all behind me. My father swore that was the best course of action. I refused the tell-all book and movie deals. A lot of conspiracy theorists and crackpots wrote my dad and I about why they thought it had happened. I read the first few, but . . . I know I wasn’t abducted by aliens or the mafia or a super-secret sect of the government.”
“Of course not,” he agreed, looking around. “You didn’t know this Heath guy before your move to the UK?”
“No. He’s former MI5. He’s a good guy. His wife died. Um, I think he considers himself an unofficial uncle, if I had to guess. If you’re thinking he would ever hurt me, then no.”
Axel sat back. “I’m going to have you involve Heath in what happens next only because if I don’t, I suspect your father will freak out and hop on the next plane here.”
He’d figured her father out quickly. Despite the grim situation, she gave him a faint smile. “To say the least.”
“Call Heath, then. I’m going to reach out to some people myself. We’re going to figure this out. And once we do, you’re going to answer a whole lot of questions about why you lied, why you fucked me, and why you left without a word.”
* * *
RAKING a palm over the top of his shorn hair, Axel paced the room, watching Mystery have a trembling conversation with Heath. He’d check this guy out himself shortly because anyone who could look at Mystery and feel like her uncle had to be dead below the waist—or lying like a motherfucker.
Despite the danger, Axel’s desire to wrap his hand in her dark hair and watch her hazel eyes widen just before he captured her parting lips rode him hard. The need to have a long talk with her about the whys of her seduction today and all the reasons he found her deceit unacceptable needled him, too. But he’d handle those items once she’d calmed and he’d ensured her safety.
Cursing, he pulled his own phone from his belt, trying to decide who could best help with this situation. He needed Stone’s hacking ability again. But that would only get him so far. To keep Mystery safe, he needed to figure out who had abducted her years ago and why. He could count on one hand the number of men he thought capable of hunting down a ghost from someone’s past—but at least he knew that many. One in particular jumped out at him.
He hit the contact button and connected the call.
“Axel?” said the man on the other end with obvious surprise.
Yeah, they hadn’t exactly started off as the best of friends—accusing the guy of abduction and rape tended to make one unpopular with a new acquaintance—but they’d come to an understanding.
“Joaquin. Hey.” He winced. “I’d, um . . . start with some small talk and ask how you and Bailey are doing in Lafayette and how the wedding plans are coming—”
“But you need something.”
“Badly. You were able to solve Bailey’s past and get to the bottom of the threat that hung over her for years. I’m protecting a woman who needs the same.”
“She’s in danger?”
“Imminent.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Axel breathed a sigh of relief. “I owe you.”
Joaquin snorted. “Hunter and Logan will probably send you a bill. They’re beasts on the shooting range and in the weight room. But holy shit, they are meticulous about billable hours.”
If the situation weren’t so dire, Axel might have laughed. He’d bet that taking over his retired stepfather’s security firm with his new stepbrothers, both former Navy SEALs, had been interesting.
“Whatever it takes,” he found himself saying.
Axel didn’t know why Mystery and her safety were so important to him. He could tell himself that he’d worked hard to rescue her once and refused to see her die now. He could say that she’d been through enough and didn’t need to endure more. He might even bullshit himself and claim he was only helping her because he didn’t like the idea of any woman in peril.
But Axel knew it was because of this sense of possession brewing deep in his gut. Right now, she was his. He wasn’t done with her—not by a long shot.
“What do you need?” Joaquin asked.
Axel filled the man in on today’s incidents. “Can you peek into Mystery Mullins’s past? See if you can find anyone who might have wanted to harm her then or now. I don’t have a lot to go on.”
“Fair enough,” Joaquin shot back. “I’ll start digging. You involving the police?”
“I don’t think there’s a way around it, but they won’t investigate the reason behind tonight’s incident. They’ll treat it as a simple B and E and move on.”
“Yep. I’ll let you know when I’ve got something.”
“Thanks a bunch. I’m, um . . . sorry I accused you of hurting Bailey when we met.”
“I was an asshole and probably deserved it.”
They laughed, and Axel hung up.
He had one more person to phone, but Mystery’s driver/bodyguard wrapped her in his arms. Axel watched, not at all happy. She might believe Heath saw her as his sweet surrogate niece. Axel snorted. No chance in hell.
She introduced them, and they sized one another up with a wary handshake.
Finally, Heath turned to Mystery. “You’re not hurt?”
“No,” she assured. “Scared, but whoever it was had come and gone before I even knew they’d been here.”
“When did you arrive on the scene?” Heath grilled him, his proper British accent unmistakable.
Axel didn’t like the man’s intimation. “If you’re asking whether I left this photo in her room to upset her enough to send her into my arms, the answer is no. I rescued her from that abduction years ago. Until earlier today, I hadn’t seen her since then. But didn’t you drive her here from my house? Haven’t you been just down the hall all this time? You have a key to her room, I’ll bet.”
Heath bristled. “Yes, I drove her here and I’ve been down the hall. And I do have a key. It’s my job to watch over her. Why would I try to frighten her this way?”
Axel shrugged. “Job security. As long as she thinks you’re necessary, Mr. Mullins will keep signing your paychecks.”
Or more likely the stiff Brit just wanted to fuck her. He understood that need completely.