by J. S. Scott
“Yeah. I’m sorry that I had to tell you about it so soon. I was hoping I could get you to trust me, instead of freaking you out like this. But I don’t know that we have the luxury of time. It’s Saturday. The hit was placed last night, and it wouldn’t have taken long for somebody to find you once someone took the job. You weren’t exactly hiding.”
“I didn’t know somebody wanted me dead,” she replied in a forlorn tone.
“I’ll keep you safe, Charlie. I promise.”
“Where are we going?”
“My place. You and I have no previous association, and I have a damn good security system. We’ll figure things out from there. Right now, all I want is to keep you safe.”
“I still can’t fathom that all this is true, but if it is…thank you.”
“For what?”
“You may be saving my life.”
I didn’t bother to explain it might get a whole lot worse before it got better. “I have some government contacts. I’ll call them when we get to my house.”
“What if it’s a false alarm, or a misunderstanding?”
“I’m damn good at what I do, Charlie.” I was skilled enough to land myself in prison for doing it, but I wasn’t about to tell her that at the moment. “There is a hit out on you. It’s not an error. I want to call in the FBI and a couple of friends to help.”
“I’ll tell them anything I can.” She let out a ragged breath, as if she’d been holding it. “In some ways, I’m actually relieved.”
“Because you have somebody out there who wants you dead?” I asked in a bewildered voice.
“No. I’m glad that at least the information I saw is going to be investigated. I’m generally not the type to panic, but I wasn’t really buying what my boss told me. I guess it’s possible that somebody was just messing around, but they’d need the virus to study in order to get the results I was seeing. And Doug, my boss, seemed really nervous. I’ve been thinking about this whole situation since he took the file back from me yesterday.”
“Gut instinct?” I suggested.
“Yeah. Not to mention the detailed report. It was not good, Gavin.”
“You were already thinking about talking to somebody, weren’t you,” I guessed.
“Yeah… I just wasn’t sure where to go. If it was nothing, I knew I’d lose my job, but I was willing to take the risk.”
I nodded. “That’s why they want you dead.”
“The pieces all make sense, I guess. But is money really worth killing somebody?”
“You’d be surprised how many sick people are out there who think it is. But being rich only feels good to me when I’ve actually earned it honestly.”
She turned her head to look at me. “Does that mean you’re wealthy?”
I tossed her a smile. “Just a little, though I’ll admit, I’m pretty damn proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish. Me and my partner, Kane… we’ve worked our asses off for every damn penny we earned.” I took pride in my success now. But there was a time when I’d hated myself for the things I’d done.
I turned into the driveway of my Medina waterfront home and stopped at the gate to enter the code.
“Holy crap! You live here?” Charlie’s voice was filled with excitement.
“I love this place,” I answered as I navigated through the gate and up the winding drive.
“Who wouldn’t?”
There had been a time when I couldn’t have even afforded the bus fare to get to this obscenely rich neighborhood. Remembering those times kept me grounded. “I’ve been lucky. I have a good partner. And our business is lucrative.”
“I’m sure you’ve worked hard,” she argued. “Nobody does that well without a little luck and a lot of ambition.”
I shrugged, almost embarrassed by her praise. I really didn’t deserve it. I’d gone to prison and done some horrible things in my past. Anything good I was doing now was never going to change my past.
I took her and the dogs inside after parking my vehicle in one of several garages. When we entered the kitchen, I asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Honestly, no. Finding out somebody might be trying to kill me kind of ruined my appetite.”
I put my hands on her shoulders. When she looked up at me with her expressive dark eyes, I nearly lost it. “Charlie, I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ll find out who set this up and why.”
“What do I do now? Do I go to work and pretend like nothing ever happened? Do I resign? My work is my life, Gavin.”
“I know how hard this must be for you.” I spent most of my time in front of a computer, obsessed with my job, and my personal pursuits to end as much of the bullshit as possible on the dark web. “But you can’t go to work. You can’t call them. Give me some time. Please.”
Hell, I was desperate to put her mind at ease, but there was no way in hell she could get near that lab until we knew who put the hit out on her.
“Right now, I just want to go back to my boring life,” she said in a voice so sad that I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly in my grasp.
Her arms crept slowly around my waist, and even though she didn’t cry, I could feel her body trembling with fear. “Don’t be scared, Charlie. I know this is all really weird, but we’ll figure it out.”
I cursed my unruly dick as it sprang to life the moment I felt her body against me, inhaled her scent, and felt her warm breath against my neck. Fuck… The sensations were intoxicating as hell.
I was disappointed when she drew away to look at me. “Why are you doing this, Gavin? Why get involved in a situation that has nothing to do with you.”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” I knew I was being vague, but I didn’t want to explain how I’d learned the hard way about right and wrong.
“I guess I’m crashing at your place for a while,” she said with a nervous smile.
Charlie could move in permanently, and I doubted that I’d ever regret it. She affected me just that much. It wasn’t comfortable, and feeling this way wasn’t something I wanted, but damned if I could stop myself from wishing I could get this woman into my bed.
But it was more than that.
I actually…liked her. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and definitely kind to animals. It wasn’t a lot to go on to explain my attraction to her. I’d met plenty of beautiful women. But this one was different. I felt like we understood one another, and I’d never experienced that before.
I shrugged. “Make yourself at home. I’ll start making some calls.”
I let go of her completely so I could go to my office and start phoning some of my contacts. I wanted to start looking around the dark net for any other clues about who was after Charlie.
“Gavin?” Her voice was hesitant as I started toward my office.
I turned back toward her. “Yeah?”
She didn’t speak. Confusion, fear, anger and several other emotions flashed in her eyes, and she opened her mouth and then closed it again.
I moved closer to her again. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head, making her braids bounce around on her shoulders. “I don’t think I am. This all seems so surreal. Maybe I’m just feeling…lost.”
I cursed myself for not handling all of this a little bit smoother. This was a woman who had never lived in my world, a woman who’d been educated and had probably never come close to a bad neighborhood, or a prison for that matter.
I held out my hand. “Would it help if you stayed with me?”
She seemed to consider my words for a moment and then nodded. “I think it would. I just don’t want to be alone.”
The fact that she was starting to trust me made my chest ache. “Come on. We’ll do this together. If two geeks can’t figure it out together, I’m not sure who can.”
Just like I’d hoped, she
smiled, then placed her hand in mine. “I’m the science geek,” she answered.
“I’ve been a misfit most of my life,” I told her openly, honestly. It was the truth. I’d never quite fit in, and very few people understood me. I was different, the type of person who was just fine in my own little world.
“Me, too,” she confessed.
Maybe I’d never realized how lonely I’d always been.
Or there was a chance that Charlie was a kindred spirit.
Whatever it was, it felt good to have her here. And I was damn happy that thinking about something from the dark web had kept me up all night until I figured out the mystery.
If I hadn’t, there was every possibility that this adorable, smart female might already be dead.
I had to struggle with my anger at the thought of anyone harming Charlie as I threaded my fingers through hers and dragged her toward my office.
CHAPTER 4
Charlie
I couldn’t get my thoughts to slow as I curled up on the lounger in Gavin’s office and attempted to read a book I’d grabbed from his massive library. How the hell did I, of all people, end up with a hit out on my life? Everything I did was as risk-free as one could get. I didn’t take chances or put myself in danger, and I sure as hell didn’t ever put my life on the line.
My one brush with death had been more than enough for me, teaching me a lesson early in life, when I was just ten years old. And it was one hell of a lesson to learn. I knew how lucky I was to still be alive—especially when my seven-year-old brother didn’t survive that tragic day. I was here, but he wasn’t, his precious life cut short.
I’d wished a million times over to trade places with Jessie, to have it be him who got pulled from the freezing water and cracked ice instead of me, to have his life be spared instead of mine. But those weren’t the cards fate dealt us that day. No… I was the one who got to live another day and my brother didn’t—something my father never failed to remind me of.
“Hey… you okay?” Gavin swiveled away from the multiple monitors that lined his desk, and reached over to run a comforting hand down my arm.
“Yeah… no… sorry, I guess I’m not. I just can’t believe that this is actually happening to me. I swear, I don’t think my boss knows the first thing about hiring a hitman.” It’s not that he wasn’t a big enough asshole to develop a viral weapon if it meant lining his pockets. But putting a hit out on me felt like such an extreme, especially when I’d done nothing more than stumble across the data and bring it to his attention. “Honestly, I didn’t even quite realize what I’d come across when I first found the data on those viral specimens. I thought it was just a dangerous mistake—until I took a closer look. But… this just all seems surreal.”
“I know I’ve only just met you, but I suspect you always see the best in people. And if you do everything by the book, you probably think everyone else does too. But there’s no point in worrying about this when we’re already doing all we can to keep you safe.” Gavin got to his feet, stretching out his massive form, and then offered me his hand. “Come on, sweetness… I’m starving, and I work better when I keep myself fed. Besides… you should really eat something. There’s nothing like low blood sugar levels to make everything seem a million times worse.”
Setting the book aside, I let him pull me up out of the chaise, though having him so close only served to remind me that I hadn’t been on an actual date in so long that I’d actually need both hands to count the years. “I can cook if you want. I’m not half bad.”
Our two pups got to their feet the moment they realized food was being discussed. Gavin smiled, shaking his head. “I see Ripley has food ESP too. I swear, if I so much as think of food or a walk, Thor immediately picks up on it without me ever speaking a word or moving a muscle.”
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Though what was crazier was the fact that I had a hit out on my life and I was flirting with the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on.
Not that I was flirting.
Because flirting when someone was trying to kill you just did not make sense. Nor did trusting someone I’d only just met. Yet here I was, even though I could hear my father’s voice telling me that I was nothing but a useless fool to trust someone I didn’t know.
I pushed away all thoughts of my father, not wanting to start doubting myself. Following behind Gavin, he led the way towards his kitchen, which gave me the chance to see more of his amazing home. It was the perfect blend of casual masculinity with touches that made it uniquely his, with sci-fi collectibles gracing the walls and shelves throughout the home. Clearly, he wasn’t someone who was out to impress, but rather had put together a home that was truly his.
That said, the kitchen we walked into would’ve impressed even the top chefs of the world. “Holy smokes. Tell me you actually use this kitchen, and it’s not just for show.”
“I cook a fair bit, though to be honest, it’s more out of necessity rather than passion. I tend to keep the local take-out joints plenty busy, but that doesn’t really work for the five meals I eat a day, not to mention the three am binges that happen when I’m working late—which is all the time.” Gavin pulled open the fridge door, and poked around. “Not sure what you’re in the mood for. I’ve got a few steaks I could grill. It’d give the dogs a chance to run around a bit before settling in for the night.”
“Steaks are great.” I loved how he didn’t just think of me, but also the dogs. Yet given that someone might be out to kill me, I wasn’t sure how careful I needed to be. The last thing I wanted to do is get taken out by some sniper. “And… it’ll be safe for me to be outside?”
“My property is well secured, and at the moment, no one knows you’re with me. There’s nothing connecting the two of us. And with luck, your boss hasn’t noticed that I took down his job for a hitman. Until he puts another one back up, you’re safe.” Gavin grabbed everything he’d need to cook us dinner and led the way out onto the back deck, off the kitchen, the dogs zipping past us to run around. “Make yourself at home. These shouldn’t take long to cook.”
“Anything I can do to help?” This all felt so surreal as I stood there by his side.
Not only did I not know him, but this was a completely unfamiliar environment, and I was simply handing my life over to him. Sure, he was funny, and he seemed really nice, but I didn’t exactly have a whole lot of experience when it came to men, or even being street-smart. My father always said I was too naïve for my own good. And maybe he was right.
Yet as I looked over at Gavin, nothing about him set off any warning bells—other than the fact that he was a complete stranger. And though there’d been no visible threat, he had still whisked me away in his vehicle and into his home. I didn’t know the first thing about him, and yet I was essentially putting my life in his hands.
Maybe I just needed to get to know him better. Then I wouldn’t feel as naïve and trusting, and maybe my dad’s voice rattling around in my head would just shut the hell up. Not that it ever did. He’d never been happy with anything I’d managed to accomplish, no matter how hard I’d tried. Never a kind word, or a show of affection. Nothing was ever good enough. Because I wasn’t his boy—and nothing could bring Jessie back.
Determined to prove my father wrong, even though it was all in my head, I wandered over to Gavin’s side, determined to get to know him a bit better so that I’d know for sure that he was just a nice guy and I hadn’t been wrong to trust him. “I have to admit, this all feels so bizarre. I don’t even remember your last name… And anything other than knowing that you wander about the dark web trying to save clueless scientists from getting their head blown off.”
He let out a laugh, tossing me a smile that had my heart pounding double-time. “Last name’s Reid—and honestly there isn’t much else to know. You already know that I have a tech security company with my best friend, and I’d like to think I’m the top
in my field. I grew up dirt poor, so I appreciate the things I now have. I have a younger brother and sister, both of whom work for me, in different capacities. I have no kids, never been married or engaged, and other than work and Thor, my life is pretty uneventful. How about you?”
The last thing I wanted to do is tell him about my messed up family life. That would have to wait. And so I gave him a smile, hoping he wouldn’t ask too many questions.
“My life has been pretty boring—up until this morning. I have a feeling that meeting you… it’s changed everything.”
CHAPTER 5
Gavin
I felt guilty about giving Charlie nothing more than the cursory facts about my life, taking care not to mention anything that might freak her out—like the fact that I’d done a couple stints in prison. Granted it was for hacking, rather than anything violent or more serious, but the time I spent on the inside had certainly changed me—and not for the better.
Behind bars, it was all about surviving to see another day, even if it meant doing things you would never in a million years do under normal circumstances. You made enemies you didn’t want, brutal and unconscionable men who changed the very person you were… changed the very fabric of your being.
I had secrets—and those secrets came with a lifetime of guilt for the things I’d been forced to do, even if I had no control over what happened. Because there was no changing what was already done, and that meant the guilt was mine to bear.
I shook my head free of my thoughts and turned my focus back to Charlie as we finished eating dinner, having opted to dine indoors, given that the temperature had dropped as the sun set.
“I’m stuffed. That was really good, Gavin.” She put her fork down and sat back in her chair. “Um… I don’t mean to be a pain, but… I don’t have any of my stuff here. And… I can’t just stay here indefinitely, though I really do appreciate you going out of your way to help me out. At some point, I’m going to have to head home.”
“I’ll buy you a new wardrobe first thing in the morning. New laptop, new dog bed… whatever you need. It’s not safe for you to go home. Even though I eliminated the hit on your life, I can’t guarantee that your boss didn’t go another route, and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take when it’s your life that’s on the line.” I didn’t want to freak her out, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her take unnecessary risks.