by Jamie Craig
In the end, she had chosen fake black leather pants that looked like they had been painted onto her shapely legs and a tiny black camisole. The top was held in place by a string around her neck and a wide band around her waist. The front view was modest, but as soon as she turned around, the bare slope of her spine made promises the rest of the outfit didn’t. While the extra fabric at the waist covered her knife wound, she had to be careful with the side view. It would only take one wrong move for the soft swells of her breasts to become visible.
Taking a deep breath to steady her skittering nerves, Remy grabbed her new purse and opened the door to go join Nathan where he waited for her in the living room.
He was slipping his shoulder holster over his arm when she stepped into the room. She waited until he noticed her, but her patience was rewarded by the sudden widening of his eyes. His gaze swept down and then back up. Twice. He lingered on her chest. She didn’t have to look down to know her nipples were hard. She cleared her throat, and Nathan jumped, as if she had startled him.
“You look…nice.”
Remy smiled. The words might have been neutral, but the gleam in his eyes was anything but. His pupils had dilated to swallow the blue, matching the sharp black lines of his shirt and pants. Nathan looked like a living shadow—a gorgeous one—which she guessed was the effect he was going for. It kept him unnoticed by the people he was hunting. It didn’t keep him unnoticed by her.
She did a slow circle, giving him a good view of her bare back and then deliberately shifting her arms to allow a glimpse of breast as she turned to face him again. “Think it’ll get Tian’s interest then?”
“And the attention of every other man in the room.” He pulled on a light jacket, covering his holster. “Here.” He pressed a switchblade in her hand. “I don’t think you’ll need it, but better safe, right?”
It took a moment of looking down at her clothes for her to figure out where to put the knife, finally opting to slide it into the side of her boot. “You’re going to tell me the angle one of these days, right? I mean, other than find Tian, use whatever means I need to get him alone, and then give him to you.”
“No, that’s it. We’re going to wait until after he’s done with his deal. He’ll work the club a bit. Mingle. Talk to the right people. Tian isn’t small time anymore, and he likes to take advantage of that fact. Now, near the restrooms in the back is a fire exit leading to an alley. Get him to follow you out that door.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, as though they were standing in the middle of the club instead of his living room. “Lead him north, to the narrow road behind the buildings. There’s another parking lot at the edge of the block. Tell him you’re parked there.”
“And you’re going to be there in the Mustang?”
“I’ll be there. But if he’s with a man a little taller than me with brown and white hair and a stud in his nose, then it’s off. That’s Cesar, and he’s crazy.” Nathan’s tone and eyes were dead serious. “You avoid him. Isaac doesn’t think he’ll be there tonight, but he’s Tian’s shadow. He shows up, you leave.”
“Avoid the crazy. Got it.”
With one last nod, as if he was confirming the plan to himself, Nathan led her out of the apartment and down to the car, silent the entire way. Remy was dying to talk to him about, well, anything, but he seemed lost in the grim reality of the night stretching in front of them, focused on the job at hand. She wasn’t even sure he had looked at her again since first appraising her attire. Her disappointment that his work was more interesting to him than she was took her by surprise.
“So, this Isaac,” she said, once he had pulled onto the freeway. “What’s his story?”
Nathan checked his watch and drifted into the far left lane. “What do you want to know?”
Remy shrugged. “I don’t think he likes me very much.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but his attention was still on the road ahead. “Does he go mama bear on all the bounty hunters he hires, or does he hold a special spot just for you?”
Nathan smiled. Well, only the corner of his mouth moved, but Remy thought it counted as a smile. “Isaac doesn’t have anything against you. As for his mother bear tendencies, he’s just cautious.” Nathan paused. “We used to be partners.”
“Really? Huh. I wouldn’t have pegged him for a bounty hunter.”
Nathan chuckled. “No, Isaac would never be a bounty hunter. He’s LAPD.”
That explained more than if he’d offered some lengthy dissertation on what his relationship with Isaac was. If there was something Remy understood, it was cops.
She froze. Fuck. She was lusting after a cop.
Ex-cop, she hastened to correct. Used to meant Nathan had quit, and now hired out his services for what he was worth, rather than relying on altruism that would only earn him an early grave. Being hot for a bounty hunter was still twisted, but more realistic than if he’d still had a badge.
“It’s good to have somebody watching your back. I miss that.”
“He’s always been there.” He looked at her and opened his mouth, closed it again, focused on the road. Long minutes passed before he asked, “Does it bother you?”
This time, she shifted to look at him. A bevy of potential answers tumbled through her head, but without being certain what he meant, she wasn’t sure which one he was looking for. “Does what bother me?”
“Isaac? That I used to be a cop? That you miss having somebody to watch your back, somebody you can watch after in turn?” Nathan shrugged. “Take your pick.”
His barrage of questions could have meant he was interested in knowing the answers or he was filling time until they got to the club. Remy decided she was going to believe the former.
“I’ve never been friends with a cop before. Or an ex-cop. It doesn’t bother me. It’s just new.” Her gaze caught the landscape blurring past her window. “A lot of stuff is new.”
“I know the feeling.” Signaling, he switched lanes. A large sign proclaimed the Wilshire exit was only one mile away. “Look, Remy, are you sure you want to do this?”
Her answer came without pause. “I don’t do anything I don’t want to. That goes double for people. If I wasn’t interested in you, I would’ve sallied off long before you rolled out of bed this morning.”
“I didn’t mean…” He stopped to consider something for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.” He exited the freeway and pulled to the red light at the foot of the ramp. “Traffic permitting, we’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
He was changing the subject. The problem with that was she wasn’t done with the old one.
“Listen to me.” Unbuckling her seat belt, Remy slid across until her thigh was pressed to his, startling his attention away from the stalled traffic in front of them. “I don’t trust easy. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned in life, it’s people always find a way to stab you in the back. I didn’t have to do this tonight. I could’ve stayed at the apartment, waited for you to get home, then jumped your bones when you got in. Hell, that would’ve been smarter. But I heard you and your friend talking, and the only thing I knew was…” She had to lick her lips; her mouth was dry. “You didn’t have to help me last night. But you did. No way am I going to turn my back on that now.” She couldn’t. Even if she wanted to.
The light turned, flashing green across his face. He rolled through the intersection before stopping again behind a long train of cars. When he turned his intense gaze upon her, she held her breath in anticipation of what he would say. But Nathan surprised her. Again. Instead of speaking, he dipped his head and kissed her. His lips touched hers so briefly she barely had a chance to respond.
It left her floundering in the wake of her roaring nerves to try and understand.
Carefully, she scooted back to her side of the car. She couldn’t read him. She wasn’t sure she had ever met a man as unfathomable as Nathan Pierce before in her life. But she did know one thing.
She hadn’t been
this excited about someone new in…ever. Maybe the fresh start offered by this escape back in time could mean sticking around L.A. for longer than she had angled for. It might even mean having the luxury of discovering what made Nathan tick and seeing where that information led her. It was risky to want it so bad, but then again, her whole life was a risk.
The traffic didn’t thin as they crawled through each intersection, and ten minutes stretched to twenty. Remy was about to say something—anything—to break the silence, when Nathan made a sharp right turn without warning. The side street was crowded with pedestrians, and she couldn’t believe the way they swarmed down the middle of the road without thought or consideration for the oncoming traffic. Nathan just pushed the Mustang through, until they reached the end of the block and the small parking lot.
“We’re here.” He put the car in park and killed the engine. Glancing at his watch, he added, “Tian might be finishing up with his meeting by the time you get inside.”
Remy nodded as she watched everyone stream in and out of the club area. There was laughter and drunken stumbling. One girl held another girl’s hair back as she got sick in the gutter. Remy smiled. In spite of the chaos, some things never changed.
“Give me half an hour.” Her eyes twinkled as she pushed open the door. “If I’m not back by then, send in a search party. Just make sure he’s tall with a killer accent.”
His ghost of a smile followed her as she slammed the door and headed for the club. The distant music made the air pulse, echoing through her skin and into her blood, charging her for what she was about to do. She wasn’t scared, but the anticipation of the encounter had her a little jumpy. For Nathan’s sake and for her own peace of mind, she didn’t want to fuck this up. She needed to know she could survive here. She needed to know once she and Nathan parted ways, she wouldn’t be worse off than if she’d stayed in 2084.
Every step drew an appreciative glance from both men and women. The ends of her hair tickled along her spine, the slight breeze lifting loose tendrils around her face. By the time she reached the burly black bouncer, the faintest touch could have set Remy off.
His eyes bored into hers. “You on the list, doll?” He didn’t even have to raise his voice. The deep bass undercut the music like sliding across silk.
Though her smile didn’t waver, a moment of panic sent Remy’s mind racing to improvise. She leaned forward, pressing her breasts along his tree trunk biceps, her mouth hovering at his ear. “I’m here for Tian. And he was expecting me ten minutes ago.”
Mentioning the gang leader did as she’d hoped. The bouncer tensed, head snapping up as his gaze swept over her one more time. Remy didn’t have to wait more than a few seconds before he stepped to the side, releasing the catch on the red velvet ropes to clear the path for her to enter. Giving him a wink, she walked past and went into the club.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, the intoxicating scents of sweat and alcohol assaulted her. She hesitated, eyes flickering shut as she focused on how alive the place felt, wondering if it was possible to forget everything she had promised to let the crowd swallow her up. It would be easy. Too easy. She was a pretty girl, and nobody knew her here. A fresh start. That was what she wanted, after all.
But blocking out the club’s visuals brought the image of Nathan’s solemn face, the green light strobing across his skin, as he’d looked at her in the car.
She straightened. Opened her eyes.
She wasn’t going anywhere.
Spotting Tian was simple. Nathan had shown her picture after picture of the gang leader until she had him memorized. As Tian rose from a table tucked in an upper alcove, Remy decided the photos didn’t do the man justice. He wasn’t tall, but his compact build was clearly displayed in the silk shirt and trousers he wore, and his dark eyes were bright with intelligence, even from that distance. His black hair was shorn close in the back, but a long hank fell across his forehead, making him seem almost boyish as he worked the crowd.
Her gaze scanned the room. Nobody matched Cesar’s description.
Here goes nothing.
She navigated through the throng, ignoring the various pinches and grabs from wandering hands along the way. Once or twice, she lost sight of him, taller bodies blocking him from her view, but then the masses would thin and she’d spot the purple shirt gleaming under the lights a few feet from where he had last stood. She was about to brush against his arm and get his attention when a man with a stud in his nose melted out of nowhere to stand in front of him.
Remy stopped. It was the crazy Nathan had warned her about.
Cesar leaned down to whisper in Tian’s ear, but the music and distance made it impossible to hear what he was saying. The smile Tian had sported since she’d spotted him vanished, and for the first time, she saw the danger Nathan had hinted at settle like a mask over his face. Without a glance at the others surrounding him, Tian pushed past the crowd, angling for the front of the club. Cesar was close on his heels.
Her disorientation lasted only for a moment. Turning on her heel, Remy took off after them.
* * *
Nathan leaned against his car, checking his watch every minute. As soon as Remy left, he regretted sending her. Not because he thought she would fail. If anybody could lead Tian out of the club, she could. But he shouldn’t have involved her in the job at all. Shouldn’t have involved her in his life. She wasn’t his partner, and though she thought she owed him something for helping her the night before, he didn’t want anything more from her.
Nathan couldn’t stop thinking of what she had said. He couldn’t stop hearing her husky, honest words. They were the sort that were too good to be true. And what had he learned about words too good to be true? They never were. But he was beginning to think Remy didn’t have an insincere bone in her body. She told the truth and damned the consequences.
Or she was a convincing liar. One of the best he had ever seen.
He needed to focus. Tian would be out of the club any minute, and he wouldn’t have a second chance. No hesitation. No distraction. He needed to neutralize Tian before he had the opportunity to analyze Remy’s role in his capture.
Straightening, Nathan paced to the edge of the parking lot, then back to his car, marking the seconds with each impatient step. She should be back. A woman skirted the lot, but she was too tall, the man with her too short. They laughed as they got in their car. Their headlights illuminated the darkness, flashing across another couple attached at the mouth. The second pair fell into the backseat of an old Cadillac, oblivious to the world.
“Come on,” he murmured. “Come on.”
The lot was silent once again. Silent enough to hear footsteps approaching from the north end. From the wrong direction. Remy would approach from the club. But the back of his neck tingled, and chills spread down his arm to his fingertips. Nathan reached for his gun without thought, but his fingers were still inches from the holster when the footsteps stopped.
“I want to see your hands, Officer Pierce,” Tian said, in his familiar, mocking tone.
Nathan raised his hands slowly. Tian had known just where to find him. She told him. The thought was immediate and heavy and undeniable. She told him.
“What are you going to do, Tian?”
“Turn around. I don’t shoot people in the back.”
“I do,” a second voice drawled.
“Cesar does,” Tian agreed. “But I promise, Cesar won’t be shooting you. Turn around.”
Careful to keep his face a mask of cool composure, Nathan turned toward the two men. “Are you going to kill me right here? You’re surrounded by witnesses. You won’t get down the block before the police swarm the area.”
Cesar smirked, looking left then right. “I don’t see anybody around.”
But Nathan did.
She slipped between the parked cars, silent as a shadow as she crept ever closer. The blade he’d demanded she take was poised expertly in her palm, but Remy’s solemn gaze wasn’t on Nathan. It
was on Tian and Cesar. Neither man seemed aware of her approach.
Nathan focused on Tian, careful to keep his eyes away from her. Both men had their guns pointed at his head, and he knew the threat of one hundred witnesses wouldn’t stop them. Men like Tian came and went in Los Angeles, each thinking they were invincible until time or the law caught up. “How’s your arm? I’d like my knife back.”
“Yeah, I’ve got it right here in my pocket.”
The only reason Nathan knew Remy had thrown her knife at all was because the streetlight caught the blade and sent slivered reflections dancing across the lot.
Cesar’s scream of pain shocked Tian. His head whipped around to see the knife protruding from the other man’s back.
Nathan took advantage of Tian’s distraction, yanking his gun free. His finger was slick against the trigger, and no obstacles stood between the bullet and his target’s chest. But Tian wasn’t even looking at Nathan. All his attention was on his fallen friend. Nathan had lost sight of Remy, but he hoped Tian hadn’t caught a glimpse of her. Just as Nathan was about to fire, somebody shouted, “Look out!”
Whether the warning was meant for him, or for Tian, Nathan didn’t know. He dove on instinct, shooting as he rolled behind a nearby car. Tian threw himself to the ground, his body covering Cesar’s. The Cadillac roared by, its headlights like angry eyes, its tires only an inch from Nathan’s feet.
The driver braked hard just as the car’s bumper loomed over Tian. Tian didn’t hesitate. He jumped to his feet, shooting in Nathan’s direction as he dragged Cesar’s body with one arm to the open passenger door. Nathan stayed low as the bullets whizzed by and shattered the windows of the BMW to his right. He looked up as the barrage ended, in time to catch the red taillights of the Cadillac disappearing down the road.