by Katie Reus
She was being ridiculous. Gah! She needed to stop thinking about him. She shoved all her thoughts back down, willing herself not to think of Ellis Bishop in any sort of sexual way. They were simply working together for a common goal. And even though she knew she shouldn’t invest emotional energy in the outcome of his current situation, she found she cared very much that he was on the run after being falsely accused of killing someone. His best friend.
It was clear he was hurting every time he talked and looked at her. And yeah, she cared because she wasn’t a robot. She wanted this man to get his life back.
“Sorry,” he murmured, so softly she barely heard him.
She started to ask him what he was sorry for, then she shifted slightly against him and realized he had an erection.
Arianna froze in shock, not that she could do much otherwise. She’d read that under intense situations people’s bodies reacted differently, so he must be really stressed right now. She’d been so caught up in her head that she hadn’t even noticed, but now it was all she could focus on. That thick length between them.
And, wow. She couldn’t respond at this point so she remained still and tried to focus on anything but that. But it was impossible.
He wasn’t attracted to her, he couldn’t be—or she didn’t think so. He hadn’t given any outward signs of that. But of course he wouldn’t, because he’d literally kidnapped her and then what was he going to do, hit on her?
Stop thinking about this, she ordered herself. She had way more important things to focus on. Like the next step after they went to that bank and she found out whether or not those accounts were real or not.
She really didn’t want them to be real, wanted all of this to be a giant mistake. But deep down she didn’t think it was. She’d read those emails from whoever had sent him more files and it was looking more and more like someone—very likely her stepfather—had done this to her.
She’d worry about what to do after they got to the bank. One step, one day at a time. She lived that mantra.
She shifted her feet slightly when she heard low murmured voices nearby. Then she froze, digging her fingers into his shoulders as they stood there. If possible, she would step back and give him space but there simply wasn’t anywhere to go. They were squished in here.
What would happen if someone discovered them? Oh God, she hadn’t even thought that far ahead. She’d just been so focused on hiding here and then Ellis’s very clear erection that she hadn’t even thought what would happen if they were caught.
He’d told her he’d admit to kidnapping her, but if he went to jail, he was certain he’d be killed before a trial. He said that was why he’d been on the run and trying to clear his name.
Stop stressing out, she ordered herself. She always did this, and she was really glad he couldn’t read her mind because she was a hot mess up in there.
At the sound of a very specific rap on the door, Ellis waited a minute and then pressed the button, opening the door.
Sucking in a big breath, she stepped out, turning away from him and hurrying out of the small closet. It was like sensory overload as she got out of that small, dark space and into the bright, plush room. The bedcovers were slightly rumpled and the food mostly eaten. Anyone looking at the room would assume the owner had been using this space, so nothing was out of the ordinary. Her heart was still an erratic drumbeat in her chest, but she could breathe easier at least now that they were no longer plastered against each other.
“We’ll wait until we get another knock on the door,” he said quietly, avoiding her gaze.
“Sounds good.”
From here they would be going to a private airstrip and taking a flight to Grand Cayman Island. From there… She had to face reality. She would have to go to the bank. Something she wasn’t looking forward to.
“I’m sorry about in there,” he muttered, still refusing to look at her. “Stress reaction.”
“Yeah, I figured that’s what it was.” Her voice was a little too high-pitched. She inwardly winced but didn’t look at him. She didn’t want to make him feel bad about it. They needed to simply move past it and pretend it hadn’t happened.
Still, she had to force herself not to think about how impressive his thick length had felt against her lower abdomen, about how curious she was to see more of him.
Oh, no. Noooo. This was not good. She hadn’t felt any sort of sexual curiosity or been aroused in so long that the sensation was foreign.
She didn’t know what to do with these alarming feelings.
Chapter 9
An hour later Arianna sat on a white leather couch in a nondescript condo with beige tile, beige walls and cheap-looking tropical-themed art. Though the word “art” was definitely a stretch. She was glad to finally be stopped somewhere after riding on a yacht, then a small boat to another marina, then a short car ride to a private airstrip. And then finally they’d flown in a very plush private plane to Grand Cayman.
Her skin was cold even though sweat beaded across her forehead. She felt clammy and knew she must look pale given Ellis’s concerned expression. They’d just arrived at this place so they could prep before heading to the bank.
The reality of everything was crashing in on her in a sweeping wave. She looked away from him as she dragged in a deep breath.
Before she could take another one, he’d crouched down in front of her, taking her hands in his. “We can turn around and leave.”
She squeezed his hands, feeling the little calluses and taking the comfort he was offering because she desperately needed it. “You’ve got to stop doing that.”
He frowned, that little dent between his brows growing deeper. “Doing what?”
“Offering to leave every time I stress out.”
He held her hands gently. “I just want to remind you that the option is still there. I want to clear my name, but not at the cost of hurting you.”
Good God, how did he know that was the perfect thing to say? Her gaze trailed down to his lips and she swallowed hard. She’d never been into guys with beards before, but it looked far too sexy on him.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “We are definitely doing this. I’m just not used to feeling so out of control. I work with third graders every day.” She let out a nervous laugh as she met his gaze again.
He still hadn’t backed away and continued to hold her hands so very gently in his much bigger ones. And damn, did she like it. He was such a soothing, steady presence.
“Well I think you’re pretty incredible,” he said quietly. And when his gaze landed on her mouth, that was definitely raw heat that flashed in his eyes.
Oh, she liked that. Without thinking, she licked her suddenly dry lips.
Abruptly he dropped her hands as if she’d burned him and stood, nearly bumping into the bamboo coffee table behind him. Clearing his throat, he’d put a few feet of distance between them before she could blink.
Okay, then. At least one of them was thinking clearly.
“The good thing is,” he said as he shifted one of the long, vertical blinds over the sliding glass door to the side. “We can still make the scene at your house work for us if you change your mind about going to the bank. I can just give Vitaly a ransom note and we can go from there. You don’t have to get any further involved in this.”
“No. I need to see for myself if those accounts are in my name. I have to know.” Finding her center—and really wishing she could call her sponsor—she stood on steady feet. “And we need to get there before the bank closes. I don’t want to be here another day.”
Though his expression was pinched, he nodded. “Let’s do this, then. The clothes are in the bedroom.”
She wasn’t sure where he’d gotten clothes from but he’d apparently thought of everything, and when they’d arrived at this nondescript condo in a slightly run-down complex, everything had been waiting for them. Whoever was helping Ellis—and she definitely had some guesses on who—was loaded. Which told her th
at with all these resources, Ellis Bishop could have left the country and started over somewhere new with ease. He would have been able to blend in and flourish. Sure, he’d have needed to leave his family. But he’d be alive and could start over.
A guilty man didn’t go back to the scene of the crime and hang out for months while trying to solve it. No, he hadn’t killed his partner, and something very wrong was going on with her stepfather. Something that apparently involved her. She was doing this today.
She was going to help Ellis clear his name even if that meant Vitaly went to prison.
Inside the bedroom, she stared at the clothing that had been laid out for her, a forest green dress of fine material that would make her eyes pop. As she held it up, she saw the brand and her eyes widened.
To complete the look were jaguar-printed suede Louboutin spiked heels that had a teeny tiny ankle strap and a bigger one that went right over the top of her foot. The little gold spikes on the strap added sparkle to it and she decided right then that if she survived this, she was keeping these damn shoes.
After applying a few coats of mascara and lip gloss, she stood in her new ensemble in front of a mirror and understood why Ellis had wanted her to change. She needed to look like a million freaking dollars when going in to close a million-dollar-plus account at the bank. And right now, in the formfitting, expensive dress and shoes, she looked like the kind of woman who didn’t take shit from anyone.
So even if she was a quaking mess on the inside, she was going to do this.
She was going to close out a bank account worth millions of dollars and start getting some damn answers.
Chapter 10
Ellis turned at the sound of the car’s passenger door opening, nearly going for his weapon until Evie said, “It’s just me.”
In disguise as a middle-aged man with a slight paunch wearing khaki pants, Birkenstocks and a loose button-down shirt with wild Hawaiian flowers, she looked nothing like his sister—or a woman. Her experience in spycraft was definitely useful today.
“Holy shit,” he murmured before turning back to the entrance of the bank. She’d told him she’d be coming to him in disguise but he hadn’t expected anything like this. “Where’s Dylan?”
“Around,” she said vaguely. Dylan and Evie had flown here on another private plane owned by one of Dylan’s friends.
Parked across the street in a pay-by-the-hour parking lot strategically out of the way of most cameras, he was keeping an eye on the front of the bank for Arianna. He’d contemplated going inside the bank with her but she had a burner phone on her and had called his phone, so he was currently listening to everything through his Bluetooth. Everything sounded normal so far and he didn’t have reason to believe anything would go wrong. But he was ready to run with her if it did.
“How’s she doing?” Evie asked quietly.
“Good. She can’t hear me, but I can hear her. She left her phone in her purse but she’s not wearing an earpiece.” He’d thought it might look too suspicious.
His sister nodded. “I’m impressed that she’s doing this.”
“Me too.”
“You think she’s going to betray you?”
He’d asked himself that question a hundred times. “No. I don’t. At this point nothing would surprise me, but my instinct is telling me I can trust her.”
“Well her online life and all her movements in life say the same. She’s nothing like her father.” Lizzy had sent Ellis more information and he’d shared it with his sister—who’d then done some research of her own.
“Stepfather,” he muttered.
“How’s she holding up? With you, I mean. Like on the boat ride over here?” Evie asked.
He wished Evie could have met Arianna but he still wanted his sister and Dylan separated from her. He might trust Arianna, but his sister’s safety was paramount. After everything his family had been through recently, he wasn’t making any of them targets again.
“She’s tough. Tougher than I expected.” He had a feeling that her being a recovering alcoholic had a whole lot to do with it. “She’s holding up better than some of the newbies at work.” And he couldn’t help but be impressed by that.
“You like her,” his sister blurted. When he raised his eyebrows, she gave him a pointed look, her eyes narrowed slightly under the ball cap, makeup and short wig.
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if I do.”
“Are you kidding me? You cannot get involved with her right now.”
He turned away from her, watching the bank again. “You think I don’t know that?” Ellis wasn’t going to make a move on her or do anything stupid. Back in the secret hideaway on the yacht, he’d been so tempted to kiss her but it would’ve been a mistake of epic proportion. Getting romantically involved with a woman he was depending on to help clear his name? No.
“Just make sure you remember what’s at stake right now.”
He didn’t bother looking at her, focused on keeping an eye out for Arianna. And if he was being honest, some deep part of him was craving seeing her again. “You think I can forget? I’ve been living in hiding for months.”
“Yeah I know. I’m sorry.”
Ellis had missed her wedding and he hated that. Evie was his little sister—he should have been there. And he hadn’t been there for his brother Evan after he’d been nearly killed in a bombing that had scarred him and put him in a coma. It was a miracle Evan was alive. So yeah, he knew what was at stake. His whole life.
“Look, I’ll make sure that none of this falls back on Arianna,” Evie said. “No matter what happens, she’s not going to get dragged down by her stepfather.”
“Thank you.” Ellis couldn’t control what happened to him, and if he got killed, he wanted to know that someone was looking out for Arianna. It wasn’t just about him anymore. She was in this now too, and he’d realized that he couldn’t keep working alone anymore. He needed help if he was going to bring down Vitaly and his former boss—and anyone else involved in this mess.
“Showtime.” Ellis started the car as Arianna stepped out of the bank into the waning sunlight.
Though he was across the street, he nearly sucked in a breath at the sight of her. Wearing a knee-length, formfitting green dress that looked tailor-made for her sweet curves, and the spiked heels his sister had somehow procured, she looked like a million bucks. Her long, dark hair was down around her shoulders in soft waves, the breeze blowing it away from her face as she moved in smooth, sinuous strides. Damn, it was hard to breathe right now.
“I’ll see you later.” Evie ducked out of the car, making a hasty exit across the parking lot before Arianna reached them.
There was no way Arianna would be able to put Evie together with that middle-aged man, but he understood Evie’s need to work in the shadows regardless.
“Any problems?” he asked as Arianna slid into the passenger seat, even though he’d been listening through his earpiece. It had been all mundane paperwork.
“No problems. They were surprised I was closing the account but they couldn’t do anything about it when I had my ID.” She let out a shaky breath and leaned back in the seat. The windows were darkly tinted, obscuring anyone’s attempt to look inside. Not that anyone was paying attention to them.
A few tourists strolled along the street in front of them as he pulled out of the parking lot. There was little traffic this time of day, the red, Mediterranean-style roofs of the nearby shops casting shadows under the setting sun.
“It’s possible that someone at the bank will be contacting your stepfather if he was directly involved with opening the account.” They’d already been over this, but he liked to think out loud. Her stepfather either had someone on his payroll at the bank, who’d opened the account in her name, or more likely he’d used someone who looked very similar to her to open it. Ellis was betting on the latter given the travel records in Arianna’s name that he’d discovered.
“I know.” She sighed and looked out the window at a
two-story restaurant with purple, peach and green-painted walls with a huge neon sign that proclaimed Cheap Margaritas.
Next door was a building with bright blue walls and a neon sign advertising Shirts and Souvenirs. God, this place was such a tourist trap.
“Who was that who left the vehicle before I got in?” she asked quietly.
“Someone helping us.”
“You won’t tell me who?”
He slid his sunglasses on as he turned directly into the setting sun. “I don’t want to lie to you.”
“Fair enough. I’m keeping these shoes, by the way.”
He let out a snort, surprised by her words. Though maybe he shouldn’t be after getting to know her a bit. At the next light he took a left turn and passed a set of orange buildings with various international flags and plants hanging off the second-story balconies.
“So what happens now with the check?” She was starting to fidget again.
“We’re going to hold on to it.” They weren’t doing anything with those funds other than keeping them secure until he could get to Vitaly.
“At your safe house?” she asked, watching him carefully.
He could hear the note of worry in her voice. “I think we should put it somewhere. Not at your house, but I’ll do what you want. You have a stake in all this too.”
At his answer, she shoved out a breath. “I don’t want it. And I definitely don’t want it at my house.” She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself.
He took another turn onto a two-lane highway lined with palm trees and blue-green water stretching out for miles on the right side of them. “When we get to the airfield, I’m going to have to put a pistol on you. It’s not loaded. But—”
“Ellis, I know all this. We’ve gone over this part already.”
He liked the exasperated way she said his name. His real name, not asshole or Mr. Kidnapper. “I know. I just…don’t like the idea of putting a weapon on you.”