Hide & Seek

by Scarlett Finn

  “Go,” cop two said to his partner.

  Torres stepped forward to let the guys past, but just before they exited, he turned and held up a hand. “Guys,” he said, getting their attention. “Do me a favor, update your wills and secure your assets. Tell anyone you ever met to do the same. Friendly advice.”

  The cops exchanged a baffled look, but shuffled out and closed the door. Torres took something from his pocket, pressed a button and put it on the desk. “Blocks all audio and visual recordings,” he said, pointing at the small device before he sat down. “No one can hear us in here, Kero. It’s a neat piece of tech.”

  “How’s your hand?” she asked, linking her fingers.

  He held it up to show a shiny new scar forming and she winced. “Occupational hazard,” he said and she slouched back with a shrug. “But I guess you know that what we do sometimes involves sacrificing a little blood.”

  “Men usually ask nicely before putting their hands up my skirt and forcing me into bed. You should think about that every time you look at your scar.”

  “Par for the course,” he said.

  She drew her eyes from him. “For you maybe. My blood you can have. My body doesn’t belong to you.”

  “No, we both know who has ownership of that,” he said. Inhaling like he was cleaning the slate, he drummed his fingers on the table, and rolled his shoulders. “Want to tell me what today was about?” Rora shrugged. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

  “We’re in a fight.”

  “Does he know that?”

  Smiling, she turned her eyes up to the corner. “I think he’s probably figured it out by now.”

  “Am I going to find his fingerprints in the system here? Erasing your little mishap?”

  Her smile became a grin and she flattened her forearms on the desk to pull herself upright. “He doesn’t have fingerprints,” she said. “And he doesn’t leave evidence… but you know that, Torres, so why don’t you tell me why you’re here.”

  “You’re banking on him making this go away, aren’t you?” he said. Leveling her eyes on his, she was doing her best to give nothing away while making it seem that she was assessing him. “I can make this go away too.” He opened his arms. “And I’m the guy here for you. Don’t see him around.”

  No, and that had been exactly the problem. She needed him around. “Then make it go away,” she said and his brow rose. “Oh, wait, let me guess, there’s a catch.”

  “Testify,” he said, leaning over the desk. “Tell us everything. You must have witnessed—”

  She laughed. “Do you really think I’d roll over on him because you wipe a little property damage from my record?”

  “How about inciting a riot? Aiding and abetting a felon?” he asked. “How about accessory to murder? Extortion? Fabrication of evidence? Misappropriation of funds? I could go on all day, but you get the point.”

  Pointing her fingernail down into the table, she peeked up at him and down before holding his focus. “Are you married, Torres? Is your mom living? Have you always craved destitution? Is poverty a fantasy of yours? How about life in a supermax?”

  He exhaled a grunt of disbelief. “Are you threatening me, Kero?”

  “Tit for tat,” she said and eyed the device on the table. “Gathering evidence against me won’t help you… For one thing, I’m going to bet your bosses aren’t wild about you handing over that little DARPA toy.” His hand moved over the device and her smile grew. “You want something I have.”

  His fingers slid away from the tech and he leaned closer. “What’s the point?”

  She tilted her head. “You know, there was a time that question upset me. Now I think it’s just hilarious.”

  “We can offer you protection,” he said. “A new life. A new identity. Anything you want. Money. Is that what you want? You answer the question and—”

  “What?” she asked. “You’ll make all my dreams come true? Only one man is capable of doing that for me and it’s not you.”

  “What would make you turn on him?” he asked. “There must be something. Everyone has a price. Everyone.”

  Sucking a breath in between her teeth, she considered his statement. “I will tell you absolutely everything you want to know,” she said. “I’ll give you everything, every detail.”

  His eyes flared and she was sure he began to salivate. “What do you want?”

  “Lifelong immunity,” she said. “For me and for him, from every law enforcement agency on the planet… Military protection from every single criminal with a bone to pick… or you could just off them for us.” He sagged back and glared at her. “Oh, and you can throw in a private island… with wi-fi, of course… In fact, if you could just transfer every cent in circulation into an account for us and allow us to figure out how it should be distributed, that would be great… And cupcakes, we want a lifelong supply of those… We want everything from the DARPA vault… and the White House, that could be our holiday home… And, we’d like—”

  “Do you think he loves you?” he asked, getting her attention. “He doesn’t. A woman will be loyal to the man she loves to a fault, until he screws her over. Exile will screw you over.”

  “I don’t know anyone by that name,” she said, feeling the fire of anger licking her belly again.

  He banged a fist on the table. “You don’t know the forces you’re playing with here.”

  Lunging toward him, she extended her arms until her chest was pressed to the table. “I think, out of everyone in this equation, I’m the most educated,” she hissed. “Don’t insult me. I know the answers, all of them! All of the answers you want, I got ‘em!”

  “What’s the point?” he asked.

  She knew the answer to that question; she was the only one alive who did. “Yes.”

  “Who is he?”

  That was another thing she knew, and a truth she was even less likely to give to anyone. “Yes,” she said, sliding back into her seat.

  “Where we can find him?” he asked. She averted her gaze. “Ah, not that one. Maybe I’m just a little early, you haven’t reached bitter yet. Ditched you already, has he? Do you think he doesn’t find comfort with other women? You’re nothing special, Kero.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

  But he’d found her raw nerve because for the last two weeks, she’d had nothing but time to torment herself with questions about what she meant to Strike.

  Rising from his seat, he rounded the table and crouched beside her, forcing himself into her eye line. “You know what I think? I think he got bored with you. I think he left you and he’s not ever coming back.”

  “That’s not true,” she said, but her confidence was wavering.

  He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re worth more than that, Kero,” he said. “What kind of life can he offer you? A life on the run? Always moving, never settling down? You can’t marry a man who doesn’t exist. You’ll never have children… Would you give up your natural right to be a mother just to be with a selfish man who thinks only of himself?”

  Hearing him disparage Strike wasn’t easy. “You don’t know what he thinks of,” she said. “I owe a debt that has to be paid.”

  “A debt?” he asked, looking into her. “You think you owe him something?”

  “No,” she said. “I think I asked for something, and it came with a cost, and I think I’m willing to pay that price every minute.”

  This guy was good at false sympathy because she didn’t believe for a second that he gave a crap about her or her future. “What was the price? What did you promise him?”

  Leaning down, she whispered, “To never stop fighting… and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

  His certainty vanished in a blink and he rose to his feet. “So that’s it? You won’t tell me anything? You won’t save yourself or let yourself have any chance of happiness? He’s worth giving up your life for?”

  Shifting in her seat, she sat straighter. Finding her
confidence again, she set her gaze on him. “I would put a bullet in my brain before I’d ever think about betraying my god. Who do you pray to, Torres? How many commandments have you broken?” Scanning his body, she leaned back, settling her hands on her lap. “I think you’re practicing a little coveting right now.”

  A smile became a whisper of a laugh and he took a step back, holding up his hands in accepting surrender.

  “Burke was right about you and him,” he said, heading for the door. He opened it an inch and paused to toss something to the table, the cuff key. Rora didn’t move to take it. “You’re free to go.”

  She nodded once expecting him to leave. “Nice seeing you again.”

  Torres turned, but then twisted back to nod at the device on the table. “Oh, and by the way… that isn’t mine,” he said and she caught sight of his quick smile before he departed.

  The bastard. Though she tried to restrain her smile, it didn’t stay hidden for long. Grabbing up the key, she freed herself, took the device from the table and slid it into her cleavage. Clipping the cuffs onto her belt, she dashed from the room.

  No one stopped her.

  She slowed her pace in the hallway, keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead, offering a half-smirking smile to the cops and perps who watched her strut through the precinct and straight to the front door.

  Just before she went out, she spun to face those she’d just left behind. And blowing them a kiss, she bobbed her brows and then burst out into the night.

  twenty

  There was only one destination on her wish list tonight, but she took her time about getting there.

  Rora wanted to be sure that she wasn’t followed. Being paranoid was starting to become part of her makeup. For better or worse, Strike had had an impact on her, and she was realizing that contingencies weren’t such a ridiculous notion. Course, he was her main contingency and she’d make sure he spent his life cleaning up after her if she didn’t get what she wanted from him: an apology for ditching her.

  The Last Resort had added a special feature for her, a notch in the underside of the door. It meant she could get access whenever she wanted it and tonight, she wanted it.

  Striding through the men she’d come to be familiar with, ignoring the music and the smoke, she kept her focus on one corner. Try as she might to quell it, she did get a rush when she first saw the faint outline of Opal through the shadows.

  Straightening her face, she marched over, tugging the device Torres had left with her from her cleavage. Tossing it onto the table beside his keyboard, she waited for him to stop typing before she planted her palms on the tabletop and leaned over.

  “Apologize,” she said.

  It took half a beat, but he blinked, and his growling eyes ascended to hers. “A private island?”

  “With wi-fi,” she said. “Apologize.”

  “Keep dreaming.”

  Rora gritted her teeth. “Apologize.”

  But he had the gall to remain rigid. “Next time you get yourself into trouble, you’re on your own,” he mumbled, typing on Opal.

  Breathing in, she spun around and examined the room. “Let’s test that theory, shall we?” He grabbed her arm and she turned back to see he’d closed the laptop and was bent over the table to keep his grip on her. “Strike, honey, you’re touching me.”

  Yanking her arm free of his grip, she made short work of getting out of the bar and into the alley.

  “You’re testing me,” he called out and she didn’t bother to turn. “Rora!”

  Spinning around, she walked backwards, her arms rising at her sides. “I learned from the best,” she said. “Hope you didn’t forget that doohickey you gave Torres… You know, if you wanted to know if I’d roll on you, you could’ve waited ‘til I was approached for real. You know it’ll happen… Maybe we’ll wait and see how that works out for you if you don’t apologize for walking out on me.”

  Returning to her path, Rora slipped into the parking lot to head for the bike by the entrance. She tossed her leg over it just as he came around the corner.

  He paused, examining her position. “Where did you get that?”

  “Ad Hoc Rentals,” she said, grabbing the helmet from the back.

  He said nothing for a second and then blinked. “You stole it?”

  She shrugged. “Guy left his keys in it. He’ll never do that again.”

  Turning the key, she was about to click it into gear, but he marched over and turned off the engine. “Did you go to all this trouble just to walk out on me, Cupcake?”

  “Doesn’t feel good, does it?” she asked and pushed his hand from the key. “Get out of my way, Strike.”

  “No.”

  The pulse in her throat had to be from the beat of her heart, but the bass of it was racking her whole being. Every hair on her body rose when he edged closer and leaned in, fascinated with the pout of her lips.

  Just before his met hers, she leaned away. “Apologize,” she whispered.

  “You’re something else, Cupcake,” he breathed. “You were a very bad girl.”

  Smacking his chest with her helmet, she persisted. “Apologize already, Strike!”

  “I’m sorry, ok,” he exclaimed. “I’m fucking sorry.”

  She smiled and hung her helmet on the handlebars. Then, curling her fingers around the edges of his jacket, she gave him responsibility for the weight of the bike. “I missed you, baby,” she purred and pressed herself to him.

  After breathing him in for a second, she pushed away and climbed off the bike to stride from him.

  “Now where are you going?” he asked, following her progress through the parking lot.

  Peeking over her shoulder, she tapped a finger on her lip and scanned around. Identifying where she wanted to go, she pointed and followed her finger, stopping next to a bike with its own custom Opal pouch. “I prefer riding bitch.”

  He didn’t argue, just came over to join her. Getting onto the bike, he held it while she climbed on. “That’s ‘cause you are one,” he muttered,

  Rora smacked his arm with the side of her fist, but smiled. He’d come back to her. Maybe not in the most romantic way, but they were together again.

  Strike rode into an alley and parked the bike beneath a fire escape.

  Rora let him take her inside the dilapidated industrial building and up the cracking, broken stairs. Dampness bled through the walls. There was water dripping from various places in the ceiling and weeds growing from random cracks.

  But when they got to the top floor, he pulled her into a dark, but wide-open space that was a little cleaner than the rest of the place. The walls were grey, the floor the same cold concrete. The windows were covered with moss and grime, and there was a chill in the air.

  There was little in the room except a mattress on the floor with a flashlight beside it and a chest behind it.

  Seeking Strike, Rora turned and found him up close, glaring down into her. He’d discarded Opal at the top of the stairs and come to crowd her. Adjusting his jacket, she smoothed her hands on his tee-shirt beneath.

  “If those are your bedroom eyes, we’re going to have to work on those too.”

  “You stole that bike,” he snarled, his eyes narrowing further.

  “Yeah, I did,” she said. “What you gonna do about it?”

  Hauling her against him, he forced the air from her lungs. “You trashed all those cars.”

  “And took out a parking meter,” she said, scratching a finger along his jaw. “And a few store windows… One guy called me crazy.”

  “Don’t you worry about him, baby,” he murmured. “Turns out he owes the IRS and stashes illegal porn.”

  Dropping her weight, she sagged, hissing in her arousal. “My Flame,” she purred, boosting up to graze her teeth on his chin. “I knew you’d have my back.”

  Ripping off his jacket, he tossed it away and grabbed her arms again. “I’m gonna have all of you,” he growled. “I’m done playing nice.”

  Need and h
ope and passion boiled her blood. “Say it first, Strike,” she exhaled.

  Holding her up, he began to walk, forcing her backward one slow step at a time. “What you want me to say now, Ro? You’re naughty? You’ve been a bad, bad girl who better get used to misbehaving?”

  “No,” she said, digging her nails into his tee-shirt. “Tell me why you came back for me.”

  “Because you were naughty,” he said, pushing her back another step.

  “Not that.”

  His arousal was filled with pride. “You’re fearless. You acted out on purpose to drag me back to you.”

  “Because I love you,” she said and grabbed his arms before he could think about running away from her. He stopped, but didn’t let her go. “There’s an implied response, Strike.”

  Pushing her back another step, she was encouraged when his grip tightened, that meant he wasn’t looking for an excuse to retreat. “I don’t imply.”

  “Then tell me,” she said. “Tell me you love me, Strike.”

  His eyes were still probing hers, enamored with her need. “And if I don’t?”

  “Tell me or love me?” she asked, pushing her nail into him. She gasped when he yanked her up higher, onto the tips of her toes, bringing their mouths closer. “We both know that you love me.”

  “Maybe,” he murmured.

  But there was no maybe about it. She tried to push up to kiss him, but he tipped his head out of the way, making her grin. “Don’t tell me my daunting devil is afraid of telling little innocent me the truth.”

  “You’re not innocent,” he said. “You’re corrupted, Cupcake.”

  Bending her knees, she leaped up onto him, forcing him to catch her with one arm under her ass. He pulled her higher and drove his other hand through her hair, trying to pull her lips to his.

  “Not yet, Flame,” she breathed into his mouth.

  “I can take what I want from you. Don’t underestimate my need. I’ve been holding onto it, ignoring it for too long. I’m about ready to snap and you don’t want to be in my path when that happens. You know what’s in my blood, what I’m capable of.”