Page 93 of Nowhere to Hide

It wasn’t a question.

“I might be fucked up, but I can still take care of her.”

“Just how fucked up are you?”

I shrugged. “I like my space. I like the boat and definitely don’t want to give up my freedom.”

“You feel trapped here?”

Backed into that one. “Memories are trapped here.”

“You know Milligan wasn’t your fault, right?”

I didn’t answer him.

Leo turned around to face me. The diluted sun behind him threw him into shadow. “If anyone’s to blame it’s?—”

“Don’t.” I gritted my teeth.

He sighed. “We need you back, Locke.”

“You don’t need me. There’re at least a dozen guys just like me if not better on your payroll.”

“You’re wrong there.” He walked over to me, his shoes silent on the thick carpeting. “You’re one of our best security agents. You have tactical knowledge that most of my team doesn’t have without training. Yours is instinct—something that can’t be taught.”

“Right now it is more obsessive than tactical, Leo. That obsession will keep Priscilla alive.”

“Are you fucking her?”

“Jesus, Leo.” I stood and stalked over to the small fridge hidden in the wall. I took out a water and guzzled half of it before recapping it and shoving it in my cargo pocket.

“You guys look very intimate.”

“She’s fragile.”

“The fuck she is.” Leo folded his arms. “She’s anything but fragile, but you are compromised that’s for sure.”

“I’m still good enough to keep her safe. But this guy came at her twice in the hospital. I don’t trust that she’d be safe alone. The cops were going to give a cursory drive by of her hotel. They don’t have the manpower or the budget to protect her. And that bullshit captain is too worried about optics than to see what’s right in front of his face. She’s staying with me.”

“All right.”

I frowned. “Just like that?”

“You aren’t getting paid from her, I take it?”

“No. I’m doing it as a favor for Stone.”

“And Miss Barlow?”

“You didn’t see her, Leo.” I paced away from him. “There were no photos because it was more important to get her free and the EMTs to save her life. He trussed her up with intricate knots. They’re not boat knots. They’re more?—”

“Kinbaku maybe?” Leo went over to his desk and picked up a tablet. “Intricate knot play often used in bondage.” He handed it to me and my stomach jittered.

The knots were very similar to those I saw on her arms. “That’s probably a good call. He tied them in a way that would cut off air on her throat the more she struggled.”

Leo’s jaw firmed. “I see.”

“He was going to rape her. The first few victims were sex workers so rape may not have been picked up on in the investigation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if was a component.”