Ultimately it had been the attorney general’s call to offer a deal and witness protection.
None of which mattered now, though, with the bookkeeper’s execution.
“What are your plans for the witness you do have?”
Ky blew out a breath and swiped his free hand around his neck to massage the tightening muscles. “Her brother-in-law’s in private security. He can keep her under wraps.”
“Not a good idea, Papps. I don’t want any more civilians involved in this.”
“The guy owns his own business, boss. Protection is what he does.”
“I don’t care. You and Winters take care of it. Put her in a secure place and have her guarded. What happened today shouldn’t have been possible. No one was supposed to know where Calafano was being kept. The fact someone did has me wondering if there’s a leak somewhere down the chain.”
Ky rubbed his eyes with the pads of his fingers. “Yeah, I was wondering that as well. Okay. We’ll take care of it.”
He ended the call and went back to a waiting Josh.
“From the look on your face,” Josh said, “I can tell that wasn’t pleasant.”
Ky shook his head. “My superior.” He slid the phone back into his pants pocket. “He wants your sister-in-law secured.”
Josh nodded. “I can do that.”
“No. He doesn’t want any non-agency people involved in this. We’ll be providing her with protection and some place safe to stay until this is resolved. She can’t go back to her condo now, since they know where she lives.”
Josh blew out a breath. “Good luck getting her to agree. Gemma’s not known for taking orders well. You’ll have a fight on your hands for sure.”
“Can’t be helped, Mr. Keane. I’ve got my orders.”
“It’s Josh, and I know. I just want you to be prepared for what she’s going to do when you tell her.”
* * *
“No frigging way!” Gemma jumped up from the bed with a lopsided jerk, causing the IV pole to tumble to the floor. “There’s no way in hell I’m going into hiding.”
Ky reached for the pole and righted it. “I’m afraid there really is no other alternative, Miss Laine. They’ll come after you again, try to find out what you know, what you saw.”
“But I don’t know anything. All I did was take some pictures. That’s it. I don’t even know who the dead men are.”
“Gemma, lower your voice,” Kandy said. “We can all hear you.”
“I’m sorry, Kan, but this is ridiculous.” Gemma crossed her arms over her chest. “Why do I have to go into hiding? I didn’t do anything.”
“It’s for your own safety,” Ky told her.
“Can’t I just go with them?” she asked, pointing to her sister and brother-in-law. “Josh can keep me safe.”
“Think that one through, Miss Laine. You’d be putting them in potential danger as well as yourself. No, we need to put you in a safe house for a few days until this situation is resolved.”
“A few days? I’ve got work to do, photographic commitments to honor. I’m booked for two shoots this week alone. I can’t afford a few days away from all that.”
“Gem, calm down,” Josh said, his voice soft, but firm. “Agent Pappandreos is right. The FBI can do a better job of protecting you than I can. It’s that simple. They have better resources, more manpower.”
“But I don’t trust him.” Gemma pointed a finger at Ky, her voice rising again. “I trust you.”
“I know, kid.” Josh rubbed a hand down her arm. He looked over at his wife, raised his eyebrows.
Kandy nodded. “We’ll take you back to your place and get everything you need,” she told her.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you go back to your apartment,” Ky told Gemma, noting she was now squinting at him, her brow creased, her fury aimed directly at him. “It might still be staked out by whoever did this to you. It’s not safe.”
Before she could protest, Josh said, “Kandy and I will get what you need and bring it all back here. Okay?”
“Do I really have a choice?” Gemma said, dragging her hands through her hair. “This sucks. Big time.”
Silently, Ky agreed.
* * *
An hour later Kandy kissed her goodbye after dropping off Gemma’s overnight bag, the laptop she used for editing her photos, and two of the cameras she’d requested, nestled in their carrying cases.
When Josh leaned in to give her cheek a brotherly peck, he whispered, “Be good. This guy is just trying to keep you safe. Don’t be a pain.”
She narrowed her eyes at him when he pulled back, but didn’t say anything.
Right after they left, Jon Winters came into the cubicle. “It’s all set,” he told Ky. Looking at Gemma he asked, “Are you ready, Miss Laine?”
Without a word, she nodded and grabbed for her bags. Ky reached for them at the same time. When his hand twisted over hers, they both stopped moving. Gemma lifted her gaze up to his and tightened her grip over the suitcase handle. His large palm engulfed her hand and all she could feel was heat flowing from it, warming her, searing her. A strange, unexpected spark fired right through her system, down to her stomach—and lower—causing a quick shudder to blast from deep within. For a moment Gemma forgot to breathe.
“Allow me,” he said, looking down at her. With his lips curving slightly at the corners, he added, “I’ll take this, since I figure you don’t want either one of us to touch your cameras.”
Gemma’s mind stopped working and all she could do was stare at his mouth. The center of his top lip held a small bow that indented and outlined the upper half of his lips. The bottom one was full, and on a woman, it would have been called pouty. On him, though, it was sensual, erotic, and just begging to be kissed.
Gemma couldn’t stop staring at it. For a few seconds her gaze stayed glued to his mouth, forgetting everything else.
“Miss Laine?” he said. “Is something wrong?”
Gemma tore her attention from his sexy lips up to his eyes, where a question filled them.
It was as if she was seeing his eyes, really seeing them, for the first time. As adept as she usually was at describing things, she couldn’t find the words to do justice to the unusual flecks of colors and shades filtering through his irises. The green was so light it appeared crystalline, with a darker rim that mimicked deep moss circling the inner, lighter colors. The lids were heavy-hooded, so even when wide awake and staring straight at her, he gave the impression he was just pulling out of sleep.
Bedroom eyes, Grandma Sophie had called a look like his. Sensual, sexual, and carnal, as if they could look right into your soul and know your deepest, darkest, most erotic secrets.
Gemma realized in that instant she would love nothing more than to commit those eyes to film. But even thinking it, she knew no photograph could ever capture the beauty and the essence of the colors staring back at her.
“Is something wrong?” Ky repeated.
The quizzical expression on his lined brow snapped Gemma out of her thoughts. With a slight shake of her head she glanced down at her hand, his still over it, and said, “No. No. I’ll take the cameras.”
Ky relaxed his grip and let