by Katie Reus
“Yep, you’re Sophie Moreno and you live with Ms. Bigsby.”
An alarm bell went off in her head. She stopped on the sidewalk and refused to take another step. There weren’t many white boys who lived in her neighborhood, and he wasn’t one of the few who did. Cute or not, she wasn’t going anywhere with him. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Sam. I just moved into Ms. Bigsby’s house today. She told me about the problems you’ve been having with that stupid girl.” He jerked his head in the direction of Inez’s house.
“Oh . . . I didn’t know we had anyone moving in.” For a foster mother, Renee Bigsby was one of the nicer ones, so Sophie was surprised she hadn’t said anything.
“It was last minute. My last house was . . . It doesn’t matter. Since I already attend Miami Beach High, my social worker wanted to keep me in the same district since I graduate soon.”
“You go to Miami Beach High too?” Sophie frowned at him. He had unmistakable pale blue eyes. Kind of like a wolf. She’d definitely have remembered him.
“Yeah. I play baseball. I’ve seen you around.” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he looked at her.
“Oh.” She bit her bottom lip, unsure what to say. Now she wished he hadn’t taken her books. They provided a nice barrier and she felt exposed as this strange boy stared at her with barely concealed interest. It didn’t make her feel uncomfortable exactly, but she didn’t know what to do about the tingly sensation in her stomach.
He averted his gaze and a light shade of red crept up his neck. “She’s just jealous, you know.”
“Who is?”
“Inez.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” She turned and started walking toward her house.
Sam kept pace with her. “She is. Trust me. You’re pretty without trying and she hates you for it.”
Another strange flutter settled in her stomach. He thought she was pretty? Sophie didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say anyway. Talking to the same sex was hard enough. Talking to boys—cute ones at that—no, thank you.
• • •
Sophie opened her eyes and groaned, banishing the long-buried dream she’d been having. What the hell was that about anyway? She hadn’t dreamt about Sam in a while, and she didn’t like that she was doing so now. It made her feel vulnerable and edgy.
Blinking a couple of times, she tried to orient herself. She felt as if her body had been through a blender. It took a moment to realize she was on her side and lying on a couch. She remembered being drowsy in the car. Must have dozed off, but . . . where was she?
“You awake?” a deep voice from behind her said.
She jerked up at the sound but immediately regretted the abrupt action. Piercing pain fractured through her body. Her arms and legs were stiff and achy. As if she’d just run a marathon in her heels. Probably from being tackled by Jack at that restaurant and then from the impact of that vehicle slamming into them. She shifted around so that she was sitting upright on the blue couch.
It took a few seconds to adjust to her surroundings, but she was in a sparsely decorated living room. Two large prints of underwater ocean life hung on the wall above the flat-screen television in front of her. She focused on them as she steadied herself.
The large room was attached to a kitchen where Jack stood behind a counter. It was the only thing separating them. She eyed him warily. After that hot—and unexpected—kiss, feelings of long-dormant lust battled the soreness shooting through her arms and legs. It was one thing to fantasize about kissing the sexy stranger, but quite another to actually do it. Especially since he was probably a criminal. “Where are we?”
“Marathon.”
“In the Keys?”
“Yes.”
She reached around and gingerly touched her shoulder blade. What if it was already infected? Why hadn’t he woken her up?
As if he read her mind, Jack said, “We just got here. You haven’t been asleep long and I was letting you rest a couple minutes.”
Using the couch arm as a crutch, she pushed up and tugged her oversized T-shirt down. She had about a hundred different questions—like who the hell he really was—but first she wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to bleed to death.
Jack was completely immobile while she walked into the kitchen. The tile cooled her bare feet as she stepped toward him. She figured he was trying to keep her calm, and that was fine with her. He’d already laid out towels, bandages, tweezers, peroxide, and alcohol.
She stared at his large, callous hands as he opened one of the butterfly bandages, and suddenly she felt very small. And terrified. She was in a strange place with a strange man. A man she’d recently shared an intimate moment with. Yes, he’d saved her life, but kissing strangers wasn’t something she did. She’d never even had a one-night stand, yet she’d let a man with a scary gun and sexy muscles kiss her senseless.
Worse, she’d enjoyed it. A lot. The timing had been insanely inappropriate, and even so, she wouldn’t mind a replay. Not to mention she’d fantasized about doing a whole lot more than kissing Jack. But what if he expected more from her? Her throat seized as violent scenarios played in her head. For all she knew, his name probably wasn’t even Jack. From what little she’d gathered, she knew he didn’t work for Keane Flight.
“I need you to take off your shirt.” His words sliced through the quiet room like a machete.
A momentary burst of panic skittered across her skin. She’d been at the mercy of a man before. Defenseless and hurt so badly it made a shiver snake through her even thinking about it. She clutched the counter, fighting to take a full breath.
Jack didn’t move. Just watched her with a preternatural stillness. As if he was trying to reassure her without words, but actions. The man might be a criminal, but he’d also given her a gun—which she’d lost during her swim to freedom. He hadn’t had to do that. The rational voice in her head overrode her fears. If this man wanted to hurt her, he would have by now. He’d had plenty of chances. And she seriously doubted he’d have laid out bandages for her if he didn’t care about her injuries.
She pushed out a long breath and turned so that her back faced him. “Can you help?” Her left arm was too stiff, so he helped her lift it over her head. Aware of how exposed she was, she froze, unsure what to do when the shirt was off.
He cleared his throat nervously, which actually made her feel better. “Uh . . . you might want to use this,” Jack said as he handed her a hand towel.
Sophie was thankful she wasn’t looking at him and hoped he couldn’t sense her embarrassment. With her back still to him, she covered her breasts with the towel, using one hand to keep it anchored in place. She’d had to lose her bra earlier because it had been soaked through just like the rest of her clothes, and getting warm and dry had been a priority.
She glanced over her shoulder to look at him and saw he was averting his eyes. The apprehension she’d been feeling almost dissipated completely. Almost. He might not be who he said he was, but he wasn’t going to attack her like a rabid animal.
“I’m going to pull out a few shards of glass, then cleanse the area with alcohol. It’ll sting, but these are all surface wounds. You probably won’t even be able to see the scratches in a few days. Do you need to sit down?”
“No. Sorry about earlier. It doesn’t happen every time I see blood. I don’t know why it did this time.” She was beyond embarrassed by the way she’d handled herself. Hyperventilating like that made her cringe.
“A lot happened today. Some people have higher levels of tolerance for stress. You were pretty impressive, so cut yourself some slack.” His deep voice was like a gentle salve against her worries.
Her shoulders bunched when his fingers grazed her skin. As he pulled a piece of glass from her shoulder, her back automatically arched. “What about you? Does this sort of thing happen to you all the time?” Maybe
if she talked, it would take her mind off the pain. And the fact that she was standing half naked and alone with a very dangerous man. Hurting her might not be part of his agenda, but this man was an absolute predator. It was clear in his every move.
He chuckled as he pulled out another piece. “More than you’d think.”
She stiffened again and gritted her teeth as he withdrew yet another. The pieces he placed on the counter were so small, she couldn’t believe she’d bled so much.
“That’s it. Now I’m going to cleanse it.”
“Okay.” She liked that he was walking her through each step. It gave her a tiny sense of control, something so important to her. She also appreciated that he wasn’t touching her more than necessary. It was a small thing, but it spoke volumes about the kind of man he was.
The cool wet cloth against her skin soothed her. Even the alcohol felt good. It burned, but it was a relief knowing she was okay.
He cleared his throat again. “You might want to shower before I put on the bandage. If not, I’ll have to rebandage it later.”
Clutching the towel to her chest, she turned to face him. “Then you’ll answer all my questions?”
He stared at her with those somehow familiar pale bluish eyes that reminded her so much of the boy she’d once loved, and an explosion of butterflies launched in her stomach. Maybe it was the dream she’d just had, but watching him—unwanted memories played in her head with a vengeance.
“As much as I can.” His voice was slightly strangled, mirroring how she felt.
But there was no way he could be feeling or thinking the same thing as she. Sophie decided to take a chance. “Can you answer one now?”
“Maybe.”
“Is your name really Jack Baldwin?”
He paused for a long beat and she wasn’t sure he would even answer. That alone pretty much gave her an answer. Finally he spoke. “It’s Jack Stone.”
At least he was being honest. Or maybe that was simply another alias. She inwardly sighed when she realized it didn’t matter how truthful she thought he was being. She had no way of knowing truth from lies or how to check out who he was. “Where’s the shower?”
He turned around and led her down a short hallway. “This is your room.” He motioned to the room on the right. “That’s mine.” He indicated to the one on the left. “They both have private bathrooms. I managed to dig up some clothes for you, but we’ll get you something more suitable tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” They still hadn’t called the cops, Homeland Security was apparently at her work, someone definitely wanted her dead, and he expected her to stick around?
“Shower first. Answers later.” That pale gaze of his was so damn intoxicating.
Maybe he thought he could hypnotize her into staying. She blinked and forced herself to glance away. After the way he’d tackled her at the restaurant, then their running for their lives, only to be followed by a car crash and an unexpected swim in the freezing ocean . . . Yeah, she could do with a hot shower. “Okay.”
He stopped her with a gentle hand on her upper arm as she stepped through the bedroom door. “I noticed earlier that you’ve got a few scratches on your leg. Will, uh . . .” He scrubbed a hand over his face, and something told her he rarely stumbled over his words.
It was all she could do to ignore what the feel of his callous hand against her skin was doing to her senses. There was something so frustratingly familiar about it, and it was driving her crazy. This man was likely a criminal! She’d never been one to get turned on by the bad-boy image, but apparently her body was making decisions for her now. Her nipples hardened involuntarily under the thick towel. “What?”
“There’s probably a little blood on your legs too. Do you want me to wait outside the bathroom or anything?” He rubbed his hand over his face in a manner so similar to the way her Sam had done, it made her breath catch.
“I’ll be fine. I promise.” Despite the sudden heavy sensation in her chest at the thought of a man who had died way too young, the ghost of a smile teased her lips as she shut the bedroom door behind her. Jack’s tripping over his words gave her a strange comfort.
The bedroom was furnished but sparse. There was a bed with a white-and-yellow paisley comforter, a dresser, a nightstand, and two inexpensive pictures of palm trees hanging on the wall. A man had definitely “decorated” this place.
He’d laid out a green halter-style summer dress on the bed for her. It looked a little too big, but at least she had something to put on. A small part of her wondered where he’d gotten it from, but she really didn’t care. Clean clothes sounded pretty damn good at the moment. No underwear, though, so she’d be going commando for a day. Thankfully the dress had a built-in bra.
After stripping off the sweatpants he’d given her, she opened the bathroom door and some of the tension ebbed from her shoulders. There was a toothbrush, a washcloth, shampoo, a razor, and bath soap. She pulled back the nautical-themed shower curtain and twisted the shower knob. As soon as steam rose, she stepped under the pulsing jets, but quickly turned the pressure down.
Bruises were starting to show up on her right hip, and she could only guess where she’d gotten them. She also had a few dark splotches dotting all down her arms and legs. And they were only going to get bigger. She’d probably look as if she’d been in a bar brawl.
Her movements were sluggish, but she managed to wash her hair and scrub the dried patches of blood off her legs.
When she was younger, she used to pass out at the sight of blood all the time. But she hadn’t passed out since after . . . that night. Bile rose in her throat as a sudden image of her last foster father flashed in her mind. To this day the smell of whiskey made her ill. Despite the hot water, a chill skittered over her skin, giving her visible goose bumps. When another unwanted shudder snaked through her, she grabbed the bar of soap and began vigorously scrubbing her arms. She had more important things to worry about. Like why was someone trying to kill her and who was the man supposedly helping her?
Jack Stone. The name lingered in her mind and on the tip of her tongue.
Sophie wished she was dealing with anyone but him. Every time she looked at Jack, she was reminded of Sam. He’d been her best friend. The boy she’d lost her virginity to. He’d been her everything. Her whole damn world at one time. The one person she could count on for anything and the one person she’d been able to completely be herself around.
Inevitably, she was also reminded of the last hateful words she’d said to him. She tried to pacify her guilt by telling herself she’d been young and hurting, but there was no excuse for the way she’d blamed Sam. Nothing that had happened had been his fault. And she’d never get the chance to tell him how sorry she was for shutting him out of her life. They’d been so close and she’d just ended things. She’d been in pain and as awful as it was to admit, she’d wanted him to suffer too. God, she’d been a wreck back then.
A few errant tears escaped. For Sam’s memory, or for herself, she wasn’t sure. She brushed them away as the last soapy suds rushed down the drain; then she turned the water off. Despite her burning questions, Sophie took her time. She found lotion under the sink and smoothed it over her arms and legs. After running a towel over her hair and combing it with her fingers, she slipped the dress on. The thin material was soothing against her skin. She spared herself one last glance in the mirror before opening the bedroom door.
Jack wasn’t going to hurt her. Nothing he’d done so far indicated that was his intention. She found him in the living room on a laptop and hated that little tingling sensation she got when she saw him. He was working on a laptop, his long fingers flying across the keyboard. His forearms slightly flexed, drawing her eyes up the length of his arms to those wickedly broad shoulders. She wanted to smooth her hands over them, dig her fingers into his bare flesh while he kissed her again. Okay, not the time to indulge in that fant
asy, she chided herself. “Where’d you get the computer?”
He closed the computer and looked up. “It was here.”
For a brief moment, his eyes darkened as they raked over her body. The look was quick, but he did a complete sweep from her head to feet and there was no denying the way his gaze lingered on her breasts. Men. Not that she could judge since she’d been checking him out too. She curled her toes into the plush carpet as she stood in between the entrance of the hallway and the living room, every inch of her aware of his raw masculinity.
He saved her by standing. “Come on. I want to bandage your shoulder before we do anything else.”
Sophie nodded and followed him to the kitchen. At least with this dress she didn’t have to take off her clothes again. His hands were gentle as he pressed the butterfly bandage to her exposed shoulder. A flutter settled in her stomach as his fingers glided across her skin, but she ignored the strange sensation. He still hadn’t mentioned that kiss and it was doubtful he ever would. She’d been freaking out and it had obviously been the only way for him to calm her down. He had enjoyed himself, though. Of that much, she was sure.
When he was finished she took a couple of steps forward and turned to face him. Using the counter as a support, she found her voice. “Ready to answer my questions?”
“Do you want to sit?”
“No. I want to know who you are and who you work for and why you wanted to meet me today. I know you don’t work for Keane Flight, so don’t even go there. And I want to know who the hell was shooting at me.”
His dark eyebrows rose slightly. “That’s a lot of questions.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why don’t you start with who you are?”
He leaned against the other counter, eyeing her with an expression she didn’t understand. “That’s a complicated question.”
Her temper ignited. “Well, how about you try to answer anyway?”
He was silent for a long beat and she was under the impression he was sizing her up. What, did he think she knew what was going on? The thought was so stupid she almost rolled her eyes.