Point Blank (Love Undercover Book 6)

by LK Shaw

  Chapter 24

  “Woman? Who does he think he is? Some damn caveman?” I stomped around the bedroom, gathering my things so I could take a shower before we headed to Sam’s.

  When I’d first entered the kitchen I’d been feeling shy and a little insecure. I couldn’t believe what had happened. All I remembered was I’d been dreaming. An actual nice, pleasant dream, unlike the nightmare from last night. I was warm and cozy. Then I started getting that tingly sensation in my core, that thread of arousal that began to grow and spread throughout my whole body.

  A warm hand cupped my breast. It hadn’t squeezed or kneaded or hurt me. It was just there, a comforting presence. The tingles radiated further, and I ached inside.

  The ache only intensified when it moved under my clothes to palm my breast again. Calloused fingers plucked gently at my nipple. A zing of pleasure traveled straight to my core where it lit the nerves up like the fourth of July. It felt amazing, but I needed to be touched right at the source.

  The owner of the hand must have been able to read my mind, because it soon started traveling down my body until finally it reached the spot I needed its touch the most. My clit swelled and throbbed, begging for attention.

  Sweet pleasure rushed through me, rising and crashing like the notes of a symphony, until it couldn’t be contained anymore and came bursting out of me. I’d awoken just as my orgasm crested, and I clutched the strong arm that held me protectively in its grasp.

  Oliver.

  I’d felt the moment he realized what had happened.

  He’d moved away and I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder. There had been an expression of such horror on his face. My heart cracked a bit, but I should have expected it. He’d tried to wipe the expression off his face when his eyes met mine, but it lingered in his eyes.

  I’d needed to escape before he could see how much he’d hurt me with his reaction. I’d been grateful that he hadn’t brought up what had happened during breakfast. The hurt inside only grew when I discover he once again planned on foisting me off on someone else. When would I learn?

  I scurried into the bathroom and took a quick shower before throwing on my clothes and gathering all my belongings. Despite the circumstances it might actually be kind of nice having a room to myself for a bit.

  No one would get annoyed with me if I left my clothes on the floor. No one would complain that I snored too loud or that I had nightmares. It wasn’t like anyone ever comforted me during them anyway. Well, except for Oliver.

  He didn’t count though. Last night was a one-time thing, and I needed to keep reminding myself of that fact. I’d thought we’d shared a moment at the gym the other day. It had been enough to make Sam take note. Of course, based on what I took as a warning, a moment was all Oliver was capable of anyway.

  For the second time since last night, I threw all my belongings into a bag. Before leaving the room, I tidied up as best I could including making the bed, although certainly not as neatly as it had been the day before. I gathered my things and headed downstairs to meet Oliver, who was still in the kitchen.

  “I’m ready whenever you are,” I said.

  “Let me just grab my wallet and keys. Sam’s expecting us.”

  We jumped in the car and soon were pulling into a small paid parking lot a block away from the gym. That was one thing about downtown—no free parking anywhere.

  The gym was dark and quiet when we entered, reminding me of that first day I’d showed up alone. Although this time, it was a welcoming and familiar-feeling. I’d fallen in love with this place even with the constant sweat smell that always managed to linger no matter how much I cleaned.

  Sam came rushing out and threw his arms around me, wrapping me in his warm, comforting embrace, something he’d never done before. I hugged him back, taking in the citrus-y scent of his cologne. This was nice. He pulled back and looked me over with concern.

  “How you holding up, young lady?” he asked.

  “I’m doing okay, I think. Thank you for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. You’ve seen what that room looks like.” His lips tipped up. “But we’ll get it cleaned up as best we can and it should be livable. At least until those bastards get what’s coming to them.”

  Sam’s ferocity warmed me. Between him, Shan, and Yvonne, my circle of friends seemed to be growing. I wasn’t sure where Oliver fit in, but I tried not to think about it. He was confusing.

  “We’re doing our best to find evidence that leads from the death of those two women back to Los Lobos,” Oliver said. “Until we find it and arrest them, we’re stuck in the middle of a waiting game.”

  “What happens if you never find the evidence and they get away with not only murdering those two women, but possibly me as well?” I asked, because until he’d said something, I hadn’t given any thought to the ‘what ifs’. I just assumed they’d get caught.

  “Let’s not worry about that right now,” Sam said, waving his hand around. “It’s a conversation we can come back to if need be. How about we work on getting the room cleaned up first?”

  I wasn’t going to argue. Mostly because I was fine with avoidance. If we didn’t talk about what could happen, then it wouldn’t happen. Wasn’t that how it worked?

  “Here,” Oliver said, handing me something. It was his phone. “Why don’t you call Shoshana and let her know that you’ve found a safe place to stay for a while? If she asks where, let her know it’s best that you don’t tell her. Then, if you feel up to it, Yvonne would really like to speak with you. Hers and the shelter’s numbers are in my contact list.”

  “Thanks.” I took it from him and slipped it into my pocket. “Shouldn’t I help you guys though?”

  I gestured toward Sam with my eyes. It wasn’t that he was ‘old’, and he was still reasonably fit, but for some reason it didn’t feel right letting them do all the hard work. Especially since it was supposed to be my room while I was here. I’d never say that to Sam’s face though. It would definitely hurt his feelings.

  Oliver waved me off. “We can handle it. Besides, it’ll give the old man something to do besides run his mouth off at ringside. He needs the physical labor. No sense in him getting soft.”

  My eyes went round at the insult. Sam slapped Oliver upside the head and stormed off toward the back of the gym muttering under his breath about ungrateful little shits. I covered my mouth with my hand, holding back my laughter. Oliver, who was rubbing the back of his head, met my gaze and winked.

  “He hates when I tell him that. It pisses him off to no end,” he chuckled.

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Then why on earth would you say that?”

  “Because he secretly enjoys me giving him a hard time. Besides, Sam wouldn’t ever let you help even if you begged. That’s just not the type of person he is. It’s his gym, and he’s the one who takes care of things.”

  Oliver was right. Sam wasn’t the type to ask someone to do something he wasn’t prepared to do himself.

  “Well, no matter what he says, if you need an extra hand with anything, let me know. I’m stronger than I look.”

  His eyes scanned me from head to toe in a lazy way. The look in his eyes was completely different than it had been that first day at his house. He certainly wasn’t looking at me like I was some bug. I cursed the fact my nipples hardened and heat built deep inside. Oliver’s eyes traced a path back up, pausing on my chest. His eyes sparked with arousal, then he raised those bright green gems to meet mine. I stood frozen under the steely gaze.

  “I don’t have all day, son,” Sam’s dim voice came from the back of the gym, breaking the spell between us.

  We both looked away, and Oliver coughed into his fist. “I guess I should get back there and help him.”

  “Yeah, and I should probably call Shan and Yvonne,” I said nervously, twisting my hair.

  He gestured behind him with a thumb and walked backward a few steps. “Holler if you need any
thing.”

  “I will.”

  Finally he turned and walked away, glancing over his shoulder a couple times before he disappeared around the back corner to where the storage room, and Sam, waited. I sagged with a fluttery feeling inside. Oliver’s gaze had me ensnared. Damn him for making me so confused.

  Shaking off anymore thoughts of him, I dug his phone out of my pocket and scrolled through the contacts until I found the number to the shelter. It surprised me a bit that he’d saved it.

  “Brenda’s House, this is Shoshana, how can I help?”

  Her voice eased a tension inside me. “Hey, Shan, it’s Charity.”

  “Oh my god, are you okay? Oliver called me last night to check in. Said you were in bed at the time.”

  “I’m fine,” I told her. “I’m not sure if he told you or not, but a couple of the women who were in that basement with me have been found dead. He found me a place to stay for a bit while they try and prove Los Lobos are the ones behind it.”

  “I won’t ask where,” she said, and I was grateful. I didn’t want to have to tell her she couldn’t know. “Try to check in when you can, though, please?”

  “I will,” I promised her. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “You take care of yourself, you hear?” she scolded like the mother hen she was.

  “I’ll do my best,” I assured her.

  The call ended. Several loud crashes came from the back room, but no yelling or cursing followed it, so I assumed Sam and Oliver were handling things.

  Tired of standing, I walked over to where the stack of mats were and dragged one off the top. I unfolded it and slid it up against the wall. Then, I took a seat and leaned back before pulling out Oliver’s phone again. I had a feeling that my conversation with Yvonne was going to take a while.

  Chapter 25

  “I really do appreciate you letting Charity stay here, Sam,” I said as the two of us slid the last piece of equipment into place. We’d managed to push everything against the far wall, moving and shifting each one like puzzle pieces, until we’d cleared out more than half the room.

  “Son, if you say that one more time, I promise I won’t be responsible for my actions,” he growled.

  I held my hands up in surrender knowing I should have just kept my mouth shut. “You’re a good man, that’s all I’m saying.”

  Sam snorted, but he was obviously pleased about the compliment. He moved to grab the broom he’d placed in the corner after I walked in earlier.

  “Let me have that,” I said.

  While I swept up the room, I tried to think about all the things Charity would need while she stayed here. Bed. Pillows. Sheets. Would it get cold at night? Did she have enough toiletries? What about food? I’d have to stock the fridge for her. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather wait until the gym is closed before bringing a bed in here. I don’t want there to be too many questions.”

  “That makes sense,” Sam agreed.

  “I hate asking you to stay late.”

  He waved me off. “Don’t you worry about it. I’ll give Dottie a call in a little while and let her know that I’m helping some friends. She won’t mind.”

  “She’s clearly a saint. Especially if she’s married to you,” I joked.

  He barked out a laugh. “She says the same thing all the time. The Lord made her a saint in order to put up with me.”

  I chuckled. Sam had been married for forty-eight years, and I’d never seen a man as in love with his wife today as he’d been when they got married. I’d heard so many stories about Dottie in the five years we’d been friends. He always smiled when talking about his wife.

  “How do you do it?” I asked suddenly.

  His forehead crinkled. “Do what?”

  “After all these years being married, you still seem so happy. How do you do it?”

  Sam’s expression shifted to understanding and then a warm smile spread across his face. “I choose to.”

  This time I was the one confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “Every morning, I wake up and tell myself that today I’m choosing to only see all the amazing things Dottie has done in the fifty years we’ve been together.” He leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms, his eyes still on me. “I choose to remember that time during my senior year that I got terribly sick, and she showed up at my house with homemade chicken noodle soup. I choose to remember our first dance together, and how it felt to hold her in my arms. We’ve had our share of terrible times—arguments and fights—just like any couple, but if I dwell on all the bad times, then I’m not remembering the good times, which far outweigh everything.”

  It sounded so simple. Thoughts of my dad drifted in. He was the complete opposite of Sam. I thought about how bitter he was. He focused on the bad times he’d had with my mother. How she’d trapped him with her pregnancy. How she tricked him into caring about her, only for her to turn around and leave. I couldn’t remember a single good thing he’d ever said about her. Ever since she’d left, he’d always refer to her as that woman.

  “You all right over there?”

  I shook off the memories and glanced over at Sam and nodded. “Just thinking about something, and finally realizing some things.”

  “Don’t think that it’s always easy to choose, because it’s not. But I love my Dottie more than life, so I work hard every day at choosing.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Charity stuck her head in. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but the guys are starting to show up.”

  Sam pulled away from the wall. “I guess that’s my cue to get to work.”

  She opened the door fully and stood off to the side to let him pass. He stopped next to her. “If you’re still feeling up to it, I’ll see you in the beginner’s class.”

  Then he left, and Charity and I were alone. Her eyes darted around the storage room.

  “Wow, you guys really cleaned this place up. It’s a whole lot bigger than I expected it to be.”

  She walked around the small space, studying the area like she was picturing how she was going to arrange everything. My eyes followed her until she stopped and glanced up at me.

  “Thank you for this,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. We’re going to wait until after everyone leaves for the day before bringing a bed in here. No sense advertising that you’re moving in.”

  “Oh, yeah, I hadn’t even thought of that.”

  I took the space in. “Let me know where you think you’ll want the bed, and anything you’re going to need, like blankets and pillows. If you want to make a list of groceries, I can pick some things up for you.”

  “What? No, you don’t have to do that for me,” she argued, shaking her head.

  Crossing my arms, I stared her down. “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

  Charity’s nose wrinkled adorably. “Why?”

  A sense of deja vu washed over me. I uncrossed my arms and closed the distance between us. She backed up several paces until she collided with the wall. I kept moving until I caged her in, placing my palms on either side of her head. I leaned in close until our noses almost touched. “I’m doing this for you, so stop asking why.”

  Her eyes widened, and she licked her lips, drawing my attention to them. I felt, more than heard, her swallow. “Okay,” she whispered.

  We stood like that for several moments, neither of us looking away from the other, our breaths mingling together. It would be so easy to lower my lips to hers. To slip my tongue inside and taste her. My mouth watered just thinking about it. It took everything I had to not touch her and my arms nearly shook from resisting.

  I pushed away with more effort than it should have taken and added some distance between us. Charity’s eyes stayed on me, and I nearly groaned at the arousal in them. My cock was protesting, but I ignored it’s nagging voice. I cleared my throat.

  “What’s this about joining Sam’s beginner class?” I asked.

  She blinked a few times before she could ans
wer. “He’s teaching me how to fight. Yvonne thought it was a good way for me to flush some of my anger out. Basically, she thought beating the shit out of an opponent or a punching bag was great anger management therapy.” She chuckled.

  Mine followed. That sounded exactly like something Spencer would say. It gave me an idea.

  “Why wait until then? I called off work today. I’ll teach you.”

  “Now?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  I smothered my smile. “Yes, now. It’s not like you have anything better to do, right?”

  “Um,” she drew out the word, like I should already know what she was about to tell me. “I kind of have to work.”

  “You can take a couple hours to practice with me and still make it to work on time,” I smirked.

  Charity faux-laughed and glared at me with hands on her hips. “Ha, ha, you’re so funny. I’ll have you know that I take my job very seriously. I don’t want to let Sam down.”

  I reached out for her hand. “I’m sure he isn’t going to mind if you start work an hour late and work an extra hour as long as you get your stuff done. And if you need help, I’m happy to pitch in.”

  She still seemed unsure, but finally she nodded. “Fine, but if I get fired, I’m blaming you.”

  Smiling, I tugged on her hand and led her out of her new room and out to the gym floor. We walked over to the hanging bags. “Wait here.”

  I disappeared back into the locker room and grabbed a roll of tape before hustling back to where hopefully Charity had stayed where I’d put her. She still stood there, but her arms were crossed in a mulish gesture and she tapped her foot in impatience. I had to hold back my laughter.

  She was such a tiny thing, but her personality was bigger than her. A fierce little woman with an extremely vulnerable and fragile side. It was the fiery part of her I wanted to nurture and let grow. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but something made me want to ride it out and see where the train ended.