Page 70 of Protecting Kelli
Kelli immediately turned her head into Flash’s neck once more, even as she obediently thrust both hands up where they could be seen.
Realizing his weapon was still on the floor of Kelli’s closet—where he’d put it when he saw that pile of clothing move—Flash lifted his own hands into the air. It didn’t take long for the cops to be reassured that they were no threat.
It took longer for Kelli to tell them the story of what happened. It took even longer toretellthe story once the detectives arrived. Then when NCIS showed up, she had to recount the evening all over again.
By that time, Kevlar had arrived with the rest of his team and the sun was peeking over the horizon. Kelli had literally been up all night, and Flash could tell she was on her last leg. He needed to get her someplace safe where she could sleep.
Dude had been the one to tell Kevlar and the others what happened, so Kelli didn’t have to tell it a fourth time. It wasn’t until she was talking to her apartment manager that Kevlar approached Flash…and reminded him of something that hit him hard.
“Brant Williams is still in the wind. And he took both your IDs in Jamaica, which have your addresses. Could this have been him?”
Flash’s first inclination was to say no. No way. But he stopped himself.
Whycouldn’tit be him? The man had to be pissed that his kidnapping plan was foiled. Not only that, but the bus he’d probably paid a good amount of money to modify and bury was no longer viable for future kidnapping plots. He’d had to leave the country to escape the long arm of the law and was now a wanted fugitive. So why wouldn’t he come after Kelli in the States? Or Flash, for that matter?
“Fuck,” he said belatedly. It wouldn’t be safe to bring Kelli back to his apartment. Not if this was Williams…not when the man knew where he lived.
“Here. Stay at my place,” Smiley said, holding out a set of keys to Flash. “He doesn’t know where I live, and I can stay at your place. Sit in wait. If he does dare show his face, he’ll regret it.”
It was a very generous offer but Flash hesitated, reluctant to put Smiley in danger, even if he knew his friend could handle himself. Plus…he really wanted to get his hands on Williams.
“Take them,” Kevlar prodded. “It’s a good solution. Since the rest of us have our women to look after, it makes sense.”
Because Kelli’s safety was more important than hisown pride—and his desire to take Brant Williams down himself—Flash took the keys. “Thank you,” he told Smiley. “Be careful.”
“It’s not me who should be careful,” Smiley said with a pissed-off glint in his eye. “And don’t thank me yet,” his friend said. “You haven’t seen the place. In fact, it kind of looks a little like this.” Smiley gestured to the mess around them with his head.
Flash groaned as his teammates chuckled.
He saw Kelli heading toward him and immediately turned his back on his friends to meet her halfway.
“I feel bad that the police are asking the manager so many questions,” she said, when Flash took her hands in his.
“Don’t. He has a key to your place, it’s normal for them to question him.”
“Still.”
Flash didn’t feel bad in the least. In fact, he was pretty sure Preacher and MacGyver were making plans to talk to the man themselves after the cops left.
“You ready to head out?” he asked.
Kelli looked around her apartment. There were still crime techs coming and going.
“Remi, Wren, and Addison are coming over in a bit to start going through your things…separating out what can be salvaged from what will have to be thrown away. Wolf and Mozart are going to replace your locks, probably with something that will take four keys and a fingerprint scan to open. Josie and Maggie will talk to Julie about replacing any clothing that was damaged, and they’ll wash the rest so everything’s fresh and clean.”
“Oh. They don’t have to do that,” Kelli said.
“Of course they don’t. They want to.”
“I just…” Her eyes filled with tears.
Yeah, she was definitely at the end of her rope. “Come here,” Flash said, pulling her into him and holding her tight.
“I don’t know what to say. To do.”
“You don’t have to say or do anything. What you need is some sleep. Things will look brighter when you wake up.”
He felt her take a deep breath. “Are we still going to your place?”
