Proof (Targes Executive Protection Book 1)

“JJ.”

I kept repeating his name over and over because JJ seemed to be locked within himself. His eyes were open and he was still standing in the same spot he’d been in, but he hadn’t spoken or moved.

JJ’s response, or lack thereof, along with the close call was scaring the ever-loving shit out of me.

“Get back in the house,” I yelled at the kid who was still crouched on the ground. “Call 911.”

The kid took off, leaving me alone with JJ and the body of the man I’d shot.

“JJ,” I said again as I carefully turned him toward me. “JJ, baby, can you hear me?” I ran my palm along his cheek. My adrenaline was flying sky high.

Just like the night I’d watched JJ fall to his knees and then onto his back on the hard asphalt of a quiet street, I knew what had just happened would be a memory that would also haunt me for the rest of my days.

When I’d pulled my vehicle to a stop across the street from the actress’s house only a few minutes earlier, I’d been prepared to sit on my ass all day as I shadowed JJ. Then I’d seen him and another man exit their car, guns drawn. I’d immediately gotten out of my car and sprinted to the house, but I’d lost precious seconds as I’d climbed over the fence that lined the front of the actress’s property. My boots had just hit the driveway when I’d heard the gunshot.

The discharging weapon had immediately thrust me into the past and fear for JJ had taken over. I’d reached the back of the house just in time to see him climbing to his feet from beneath the upper floor balcony and running toward the steep slope behind the property. It hadn’t mattered to me who he had been chasing. All that had mattered was getting to JJ so I could back him up. The dry, crumbling soil and long brush had threatened to steal my feet right out from under me as I’d run full speed down the hill.

I’d reached the neighborhood below the actress’s house just as JJ had called out an order for someone to put down their weapon. I’d hugged the shadows of the tree-lined sidewalk until I’d made it to where his voice had come from.

There’d been no preparing myself for what I’d seen.

JJ standing in the entrance of an alley, weapon drawn but no cover to protect himself. The kid I’d ordered to call 911 had been crouched on the ground and there had been a man pointing a gun in the boy’s direction. I’d expected JJ to take his shot while the gunman was momentarily distracted by the kid’s presence, but he had merely stood there, his finger on the trigger. My heart had nearly stopped when the gunman had aimed his weapon at JJ.

And still, JJ hadn’t pulled the trigger.

I had my brutal military training and the chaos of combat to thank for what had happened next. I’d managed to step into the street about a hundred feet behind JJ and had pulled the trigger before I’d even come to a stop. My shot had cleared JJ’s body by a few inches before hitting the gunman in the head. As badly as I’d wanted to get to JJ, my training had forced me to go to the gunman to kick his weapon away from him before confirming he was dead. It was only then that I’d been able to get to JJ.

“JJ,” I repeated as I stroked his ashen face. I could hear sirens in the distance. I hoped to God that an ambulance was among them.

“Cass?” he murmured in confusion. Before I could confirm it was me, JJ moaned and grabbed his head, his fingers pressing against the scar that began at his temple and presumably ran the length of his head.

“Fuck,” he whispered as he bent over in pain.

“Breathe, JJ,” I said uselessly because I didn’t know what else to do. “Just breathe.”

I supported JJ as he crouched down. He didn’t sit, but he did cover his right eye with his hand. Fear consumed me just like it had when I’d held his nearly lifeless body in my arms. This time, though, JJ responded to my words. He began taking in deep breaths and holding them before letting them out.

“That’s it, baby,” I said as I rubbed his back. I kept silent after that as I let JJ work through the pain. Sweat dotted his brow, and his body twitched now and then. It seemed like hours had passed before he whispered something that I couldn’t make out.

“Cass?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I responded. I couldn’t help but press my temple against his as I silently thanked whatever deity had been watching over him.

“What… what?” JJ asked as he tried to stand. He couldn’t do it on his own, so I wrapped my arm around his waist and supported his body until he stood up. I kept my hold on him until he finally started to become aware of his surroundings.

I removed the arm I had around his waist but didn’t fully lower it. I shifted my body so I was facing JJ. He still had his hand pressed against his eye and temple. His skin was ashen but with every deep breath he pulled in, the color began to return. I still had my arm behind him to catch him if he started to fall. I was surprised when his fingers wrapped around my other arm and squeezed it so hard I was sure I’d have bruises later. I didn’t give a shit. My discomfort was a drop in the bucket compared to what he was dealing with.

“The kid?” JJ grated.

“He’s fine. Gunman’s down,” I added.

He should have asked me what I was doing there, but he didn’t. He remained silent, his fingers still clutching my arm.

“Are you hurt?” I asked and then cursed myself for my own stupidity. “Anywhere besides your head,” I clarified.

I’d already checked JJ over when I’d reached him and hadn’t seen any external wounds, but what if he had internal ones? Was the pain in his head a result of hitting it at some point or something else?

JJ didn’t answer me but after a handful of seconds, his breathing became less labored. The sirens were closer now. I knew what would happen next, but I didn’t care. I just needed JJ to be okay.

“Where’s your ID?” I asked.

“Left inside pocket,” he bit out.

I grabbed his official Targes ID and put it into his free hand. I bent enough that I could place his weapon on the ground several feet in front of him. I did the same with mine.

“Hold it up,” I said to JJ as I turned him so we’d be facing the police cars when they arrived. “Remember to keep your arms up so they can search you,” I added before I grabbed my own ID. Since every officer on the force likely knew my face, I wouldn’t need the damn thing. The authorities didn’t and wouldn’t see me as an innocent man. I was still the murderer who’d gotten off on a technicality caused by one of their own and now they had the reason they needed to put me back where they thought I belonged.

The idea of handcuffs being slapped on my wrists had me shaking.

“Hold it together,” I whispered to myself. I couldn’t lose my shit right now. I needed to keep it together for JJ. I needed to make sure he got the attention he needed.

Despite the thought, I could already hear my cell door closing behind me. There was only silence.

I shook my head and forced the thoughts away. It didn’t matter. JJ was safe. I could survive in a world in which all of my rights and freedoms were taken from me. I couldn’t survive in one that didn’t include JJ.

He shifted next to me, his side briefly brushing mine. I thought he was going to collapse so I grabbed his arm, but he pulled it away.

“JJ—” I began as the scream of the sirens grew closer and closer. The cops were just seconds away.

“Shut up,” he responded, his voice sounding weak and tired.

Before I could say anything else, JJ did something I never would have seen coming. He stepped forward and swapped our guns so that mine was in front of him and his in front of me.

JJ quickly stepped back and held his arms up, his ID in hand. Whatever pain he’d been in seemed to have eased enough for him to be an active participant in what was happening.

“What are you—?” I began as I tried to make sense of what he was doing.

“Is your gun registered?” JJ asked.

“What—?”

“Cass, is your gun registered?”

“Yeah, it’s the one I owned before I went in.” I was sure JJ flinched when I mentioned the start of my incarceration. I had no clue what was happening. What I did know was that he had the perfect opportunity to do what he’d wanted to from the moment he’d confronted me on the canyon road.

Even though I knew JJ was going to let me hang out to dry, I couldn’t make sense of how he was planning on doing it.

JJ’s safe. He’s safe.

I couldn’t get the image out of my mind of JJ standing point blank in front of the gunman and not even attempting to defend himself. My heart was still beating so hard that the pulse point at my jugular actually started to hurt.

Too close.

It had been way too fucking close.

I was dimly aware of JJ identifying himself, which meant the cops had arrived. I didn’t move as strange hands began patting me down. I could hear the jingle of handcuffs.

“Bruce, it’s me,” JJ called.

“JJ?” a strange voice responded. “What the fuck?” the guy added, his voice sounding downright cheerful considering the scene he’d arrived upon. “How you been, kiddo?”

The interaction was so unusual that it snapped my attention back to the present.

A paunchy older officer with a scraggly beard was striding toward JJ. JJ had already lowered his arms so when the officer reached him, there was a brief handshake and then a quick embrace where the older officer patted him on the back.

“Been better,” JJ said. “Case went sideways,” he added as he glanced over his shoulder toward the body of the man I’d shot. As a formality, the paramedics were checking his vitals.

“Oh yeah, you’re working for your brother’s company, right? Heard you were babysitting that cute little thing with the big tits; the one from that show my girls can’t get enough of,” Bruce said with a hearty laugh.

“Jenna Masters,” JJ supplied. “She lives up the hill. She’s pretty shaken up. Not sure who the guy is, but he took a shot at me and my partner. I chased him on foot down here and cornered him,” he said easily.

“This your partner?” Bruce asked. His voice faltered when he finally got a look at my face. “Wait, aren’t you⁠—?”

“He is and no, he’s not my partner,” JJ said.

I could feel the noose closing around my neck. One of the officers was already in the process of reaching for my arm so he could lower it to cuff my wrist. It was all I could do not to deck the guy so he wouldn’t be able to put those metal rings on my wrists.

“He’s my backup, though,” JJ added. “My brother felt sorry for him and hired him to shadow us so we’d have backup if we needed it. We needed it,” he explained. “My partner’s up at the house with the client. Like I said, she’s pretty freaked out about all this.”

“Understandable,” Bruce murmured as his cold eyes raked over me.

Yeah, I was fucked. I would have plenty of time to think about why JJ had made up the story about me being his backup. I doubted Sully had told his brother I’d been following him at Sully’s request. I hadn’t seen Sully since I’d walked out on him a week earlier. I also hadn’t told him that I was, in fact, still shadowing JJ. Sully had mentioned that he had people watching JJ twenty-four seven, but who knew if he was still doing that. As it stood, JJ’s older brother might already know I was still keeping my eyes on his kid brother.

Despite the white-hot fear racing through me, I allowed the young police officer tasked with cuffing me to bend one arm behind my back. When the first cuff snapped around my wrist, I felt my knees start to buckle, but I managed to keep myself upright.

“You’re telling me your brother is letting the guy who shot you—” Bruce began.

“Not my idea,” JJ said angrily, his cold eyes raking over me like I was nothing but shit beneath his shoe. “Sully’s always had a soft spot for him, and you know what Sully’s like.”

“Yeah,” Bruce said with an unamused chuckle. “Yeah,” he repeated. I could see the hunger for vengeance in the man’s eyes. “So he’s the one who shot the—” Bruce began, keeping his eyes on me even as he motioned in the direction of the man I’d killed.

“No,” JJ interjected. “Like I said, he’s just backup. I shot the suspect when a civ walked into the middle of the scene.”

I nearly choked on my own saliva at JJ’s words.

Bruce kept his eyes on me. The officer behind me had lowered my other arm to cuff it but seemed to be holding off after hearing JJ’s admission.

“Bruce,” JJ said firmly. He waited until Bruce’s eyes shifted back to him. “No one wants to see this asshole behind bars again more than me, but facts are facts. He was the witness, not the shooter.” JJ motioned toward an officer holding our weapons. “I shot him with the Glock. Ballistics will prove it.”

I still had no idea what JJ was doing, but the mere mention of ballistics would be another nail in my coffin. The Glock was registered to me, so once the bullet I’d put through the suspect’s head was compared to the bullets from my gun, it would be over.

“Sir,” one of the officers called. “This is the kid who saw the whole thing.”

The teenager who’d been crouched behind the garbage can when I’d shot the man was standing nervously next to a female police officer.

“You saw which one of these men shot that one?” Bruce asked as he pointed toward the lifeless body behind us.

“Um, yeah, it was that guy,” the kid stammered as he pointed at JJ. “He saved my life,” the teenager added. “He,”—the kid pointed at me—“was the one who told me to call 911.”

It took me a second to realize the kid truly believed what he’d said. He must have covered his head when JJ had told him to get down, so all he would have heard was the shooting itself. The boy was assuming the fatal shot had come from JJ.

“Okay,” Bruce said. “Take his statement and get him back to his folks,” he instructed the officer standing next to the teenager. Then he was motioning to the officer behind me.

My mind was still trying to process what kind of game JJ and Bruce were playing with me when I felt the cuff on my left wrist click and then it was gone.

One of the officers returned both guns to JJ while Bruce said, “You’re free to go. Both of you. I’ll send someone to your brother’s office to get your statements in the next day or two.”

“Appreciate it, Bruce. Definitely not in the mood for red tape today,” JJ grumbled. “And I sure as shit want to get the fuck away from him as soon as I can, if you know what I mean,” he added as he jerked his head in my direction.

Bruce nodded and reached out to shake his hand. “Stay safe,” he murmured.

“You too,” JJ returned. Then he was grabbing my arm and leading me past all the officers. I waited for one of them to jump out and grab me.

“Don’t say anything,” JJ said tightly.

Several minutes passed as we made our way back up the hill to Jenna’s house. One of the officers had offered us a ride up there, but I’d been grateful when JJ had said we were okay. I had absolutely no desire to sit in a cop car.

I was regretting the decision now as I watched JJ trudge up the hill. He was sweating profusely and stumbled every few steps. I had a million questions for him, but they could wait. He might have managed to cover his pain while he’d been interacting with his former coworker, but he was drowning in it now. I walked close enough to catch him if he fell but kept enough distance between us so he wouldn’t feel the need to move away from me. Despite covering for me, I doubted anything had changed between us. JJ was a good man, and one of the things that had attracted me to him upon my return from the military was his honor. From some of the stories he’d told me about his unique cases, I’d gleaned that he was the kind of guy who did the right thing.

What he’d just done had proven me right.

“Is it your head?” I finally asked when JJ stopped halfway up the hill and leaned over like he was going to puke. He answered me by doing just that.

Puking.

He retched over and over even after his stomach was empty. I tried to put an arm around him to support him, but he held out his hand to prevent me from moving any closer to him.

I remembered what Sully had said about JJ’s injury and the memory loss it had caused. He hadn’t said anything about the pain JJ was currently experiencing, and he sure as shit hadn’t mentioned the possibility that he would freeze up in dangerous circumstances. If Sully had known that, he never would have put his brother in the field.

So why was JJ keeping it from Sully?

Several minutes passed before JJ could continue. By the time we reached the top of the hill, he’d sweated through his shirt. I’d wanted to tell him to take his suit jacket off, but I was already riding a thin line with him. Whatever weird, temporary truce we’d reached was something I wanted to hold on to for as long as I could.

The man working with JJ appeared from the lower level of the house. I could tell he recognized me the moment he saw me.

“Are you okay?” he asked JJ.

JJ nodded. “How’s Jenna?”

The two quickly exchanged details about what had happened to the assailant. I was too focused on JJ’s condition to pay any attention to what they said. He looked like he’d pass out any moment, but he was keeping it together, probably for his partner’s benefit.

More likely, it was so his partner wouldn’t tell Sully what condition JJ was in.

“Can you call this in to my brother?” I heard JJ ask. “Cass and I need to go down to the station to give our statements, so it’ll be a while before I’ll be able to call him.”

I kept my mouth shut at the bald-faced lie. Bruce had told JJ an officer would come to Sully’s office to get our statements.

JJ’s partner, Boone, agreed and told him to look after himself before he trotted back to the house, presumably to take care of the young woman who was likely in a state of shock.

JJ wasn’t much better off, though I didn’t know if it was shock or pain or something else entirely that was draining the energy from his body with every second that passed.

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

“Just outside the driveway,” I responded.

JJ kept putting one foot painfully in front of the other as we made our way around the house, but as soon as we were out of sight of the residence, he pitched forward. I managed to wrap my arm around his waist before he hit the pavement. His skin was hot to the touch and one touch to his pulse point confirmed how hard his heart was working to keep his body going. His blood pressure was likely skyrocketing either because of the pain or, like the actress he’d protected, he was in a state of shock.

I got him settled in the passenger seat of the sedan I’d rented so he wouldn’t recognize me tailing him. JJ didn’t seem to notice the change in vehicles. He was barely awake.

I got the seat belt on him and shut the door before quickly hurrying to the driver’s side. I got the car running so the air conditioning would kick in. I put my fingers against his pulse point again.

His heart was still racing.

“JJ, I need to take you to a hospital,” I said. I was in the process of putting the car in gear when his fingers closed over mine.

“No. Your place,” he grated. His eyes were still closed.

“JJ—” I began.

“Promise me, Cass,” he said softly, opening his eyes only long enough to catch mine. He didn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, he let his eyes drift closed, his long, dark lashes fanning across his pale skin. “Promise me…” he repeated in a barely there whisper.

“I promise, JJ,” I murmured, more to myself than anything else since I doubted he could hear me.

JJ’s fingers were still wrapped around mine as I got the car moving.

“Cass,” he breathed. I glanced at him and saw that he was looking at me. His skin was still pale, but he wasn’t shaking as violently as he had been when I’d gotten him into the car. I desperately wanted to pull the car over so I could take him in my arms and feel the life still running through his body.

“Yeah?” I responded quietly as I tightened my fingers around his.

“Don’t tell Sully,” JJ whispered. Then his head dipped so it was resting against the side of the seat. His fingers loosened and fell away from mine. I quickly checked his pulse again and nearly cried in relief when I felt it beating beneath my touch. It had slowed but was strong. That was the only thing that kept me from breaking my promise and taking him to a hospital.

Between what Sully had told me about JJ’s health after he’d been shot and his behavior today, I had no fucking clue what was happening.

But I sure as shit was going to find out.