Which meant, the two weeks she’d paid—with her dwindling stash—on this beachfront rental, hoping for some time to figure out what she was going to do next, had pretty much been the end of the line for her.
Unless she went to Max for help.
Didn’t really make sense to go back, though. Not unless she had the guts to tell him what was really going on. As it was, she felt sort of like the girl who cried wolf. Constantly running in circles, never accomplishing anything, and appearing crazy in the process.
Her attention returned to the ridiculously sexy buff guy finishing up his afternoon workout. She didn’t think this was a coincidence that he seemed to be watching her. However, there wasn’t that itch at the back of her neck like she’d felt before when she was in danger. Still, she needed to be careful.
No, she needed to do more than be careful. She needed to change her identity, relocate to another country, and start a whole new life. She hated permanently leaving what little family she had, but if she wanted to stay alive—which she most definitely did—she didn’t think she had a choice any longer. These past four months had proven that she wasn’t capable of doing this on her own. She didn’t stand a chance against this guy—whoever he was.
Movement out of the corner of her eye had Dani looking up in time to see the blond Adonis walking back toward the building beside hers. She remembered the brief conversation she’d had with him when she had originally encountered him on her first trip down to the water.
“Hey, neighbor,” he greeted.
His voice—laced with a rich Texas drawl—was deeper than she’d anticipated.
“Hi.” Dani glanced around, instinctively looking for an escape route. The subcompact .45 she had tucked in her towel was within easy reach. At this range, it would do what it was intended to do. That made her feel marginally better.
“I saw you moved into building one. Vacation?”
Dani nodded, trying to hide her nervousness.
“It’s a nice place to be,” he said, his eyes roaming over her face. It was as though he could sense her tension. “I’m Joe.”
Joe? He did not look like a Joe. Then again, why would he lie to her?
He held out his hand, but she simply stared at him. She didn’t question him or his motives; instead, Dani forced a smile. “Nice to meet you, Joe.”
His gas-flame-blue eyes lit with amusement. He obviously realized she wasn’t going to shake his hand or tell him her name.
That was the first conversation they’d had. It seemed every evening when she headed down for a swim, he was always there. She would see him when she was heading back to shore because he always set up a chair right beside hers.
At first, she’d been freaked, but then Joe had started to chat. Nothing too deep, but enough to keep her company. He wasn’t intrusive with his questions, which was why she hadn’t told him to take a hike. Truth was, Dani was tired of being alone and a little conversation with Joe didn’t seem to be hurting anything.
Yesterday, they’d talked endlessly about his hearing aids. Dani had noticed them right off and she had initially thought he was some sort of agent. They tended to wear those things, she knew. However, Joe had informed her he wasn’t some clandestine undercover agent getting intel fed to him through his earpiece. He was, in fact, hearing impaired. Had been since birth. He’d gone so far as to take one out and let her listen. Sure enough, he’d been telling the truth.
She knew she was being stupid, taking a risk she shouldn’t, but Dani couldn’t help but like the guy. She didn’t have any friends and she was latching on to the man, hoping like hell he was what he claimed to be.
Regardless of their daily conversations, Dani continued to see him out on that deck, religiously going through his workout routine. He glanced her way every time and he caught her looking back at him, which was only slightly embarrassing. He was nice to look at; she would admit that.
And okay, fine. Maybe she had done a little flirting. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to be nice. She knew how to handle herself. It wasn’t like she was going to be alone with him or anything. The beach was overly crowded as it was.
Dani glanced between the wooden slats on the railing in time to see Joe disappear below her, but not before their eyes connected once more.
He smiled and winked, and she felt a strange flutter in her belly.
Shit.
She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It was the same anxiety that’d been coursing through her for the past few days. Ever since she arrived here. Unable to run anymore, she’d had to do something. Staying off the grid always proved futile. Ever since she first bolted nearly six years ago—evading Hunter and her own family, not wanting to answer their questions—she hadn’t been able to stay in one place for long.
Although Dani had put thousands of miles between herself and her old life, it still didn’t feel like enough. And here she was again, not nearly as far away, but in just as much danger as before. Every creak she heard at night made her jump. She couldn’t sleep, hardly ate, desperate to be alert, to be ready for an attack.
And that was the one thing she absolutely could not let happen.
Because no matter what, she was not going to let Samuel Adorite win. She couldn’t. She no longer believed Max when he told her that things would get better, that he could protect her. That tomorrow was a new day.
As far as she was concerned, tomorrow was too late.
KYE GRABBED HIS CELL PHONE after wiping the sweat off his face with a towel. He punched in the familiar number, then let it ring through the Bluetooth linking his hearing aids to his phone.
He’d come to depend on the technology that Austin Trexler had come up with. The day Austin had presented Kye with a receiver that attached to his shirt, allowing him to maintain a communication link between himself and whomever was on the other end, Kye had realized he was finally part of the team. It also worked to merely Bluetooth his phone, which allowed him to use his hearing aids as both earphones for music and to answer and make calls.
He particularly liked it because most people never would’ve thought anything about it since Kye did wear hearing aids because of his hearing loss. Now they were merely multifunctional and discreet.
A deep voice sounded in his ear. “Yeah?”
“She’s still here,” Kye explained, making his way to the refrigerator. He snatched a bottle of Gatorade. “But she’s seriously spooked this time. You find anything out about what happened in that last safe house?”
“No,” Ryan Trexler said with a sigh. “We tried to recover what the writing on the wall said, but she did a good job of cleaning it.”
Damn. He’d been hoping to get a clue as to why she was running.
“You sure Moroso isn’t watching her? Or someone else? Someone who’s not us?”
“Not that I can tell,” RT stated firmly. “I’ve had Claire looking into it, but we can’t trace anything. She’s definitely running, but I have no idea who it is coming for her.”
Well, Kye got the feeling someone was, and he was starting to doubt it was Moroso. Although he didn’t know why.
“Any news on Moroso?” Kye asked.
Kye made a point to call in several times a day, keeping RT abreast of the situation, which up to this point had proven to be not much of a situation at all. Although Hunter and everyone else believed Kye had left Sniper 1 Security, he was actually on an undercover assignment for RT. Watching none other than the elusive Danielle Davidson. Kye had become a glorified babysitter ghost, had been since he attempted to resign, only to be ordered to tail the twenty-seven-year-old beauty four months ago, not long after she had high-tailed it out of town. According to RT, everyone believed Max was keeping Dani in one of his many safe houses. But Kye knew the mob boss had no idea where his cousin was.
“Not yet. I talked to Max. He seems to think Dennis is in the process of getting all his ducks in a row.”
Kye had no idea what that meant when it came to illegal guns and drugs, but h
e wasn’t going to question it.
“Well, I’ll check back in with you later. And if you hear anything in the meantime, let me know.”
“Will do.”
With that, the call disconnected and Kye was left staring at the ugly blue walls of the desperately-in-need-of-some-updating condo he was staying in. Not that he gave a shit about the décor. Sniper 1 Security was paying for the digs, and Kye was not in a position to complain. When the assignments were handed out, he took them, no questions asked.
Well, to be fair, he had asked a few questions regarding this particular assignment, only he’d gotten exactly zero answers. After his last meltdown with Hunter—which he wasn’t proud of—Kye had gone into the office the following morning and handed in his resignation. RT had refused to accept it but took advantage of the situation. Only two people knew he was still on Sniper 1’s payroll. RT and whoever paid him on a monthly basis.
Kye had been ordered to keep it that way.
Not too difficult considering he’d spent the past four months tracking Dani across the country and then back again. It wasn’t until she had settled in here that he’d decided to get a little closer to her. Not only had he stuck his neck out and managed to get cameras set up inside her condo, Kye had taken it upon himself to officially introduce himself to the incredibly hot Danielle Davidson.
He shouldn’t have done it, but after months of tracking her, he was starting to go stir-crazy. Up until now, he had remained in the shadows, ensuring she didn’t see him. It hadn’t been all that difficult to do, but that was because Kye was good at his job. Having done a short stint as a private investigator prior to coming to work for Sniper 1 Security, he’d gotten rather good at being discreet and keeping a low profile.
However, his patience had finally run out.
Since no one was willing to divulge the details of Hunter’s past relationship with Danielle, Kye figured he’d make a move, attempt to get to know her a little. At first it didn’t help. She had kept him at a distance.
Of course, persistence was key and now Kye was getting to spend every evening by her side, down by the water. It was quickly becoming the highlight of his day.
Granted, she wasn’t much of a talker. Most of what he knew about the woman, he’d garnered from the hidden cameras he’d planted outside the houses she’d been staying in. This was the first time he’d managed to get inside, though.
During their chats, the only thing she’d copped to was that she was an only child, and her parents were dead, but other than that, she hadn’t gone into detail, nor did he think she was going to.
Not that he was going to stop trying.
So, Kye spent most of his time waiting, coming up with all the questions he wanted to ask the woman. Questions that wouldn’t tip her off to who he was or why he’d joined her on this little stretch of beach in South Padre. Since his only job was to keep an eye on her, to follow her if and when she bolted—which she was certainly prone to do—he damn sure didn’t have much to bitch about.
Thankfully, she’d paid two weeks’ rent on the condo she was staying in, which allowed Kye to relax a little. It was unlike her, but he figured she felt safe here. The beach was busy this time of year, which probably helped. She could easily blend in with the other beachgoers. However, her decision to dig her heels in for the short term meant Kye was going to have to find something to keep his attention. As it was, other than their brief evening conversations, he was fucking bored to tears.
As he made his way to the bathroom, he tossed his cell phone on the bed, then swiped his finger over the track pad on his laptop. He typed in his password, and a second later, the screen came to life. Several different camera angles filled the screen. He focused on the one in the kitchen of Dani’s condo. She’d obviously gone inside to eat. Peanut butter and jelly, from what he could tell.
“Great.” Kye admired her for a moment, then took a deep breath. He needed a shower. Time to wash off the sand so he could spend the rest of the evening with his thumb up his ass while he waited for Dani to do something.
Several minutes later, Kye stood in the shower, allowing the hot water to rain down on him. He couldn’t stop thinking about her for some fucking reason.
He knew she was running from someone and he was relatively certain it wasn’t the sleazy mob boss’s brother. Originally, he’d thought she was trying to evade Hunter, but that didn’t make sense, either. Kye didn’t believe she was on to him. If she was, she obviously didn’t consider him a threat.
No, he was fairly certain she was running from someone or something only she could see. What or whom, he had yet to determine. The way her eyes were constantly darting around as though she expected danger to be lurking in the flora covering the dunes… It brought out a protective instinct in him, something he’d been born with. Not to mention the gun that was practically glued to her hand. Oh, yeah. He’d noticed.
All in all, he couldn’t complain. He had a beautiful woman to keep him company in the evenings and endless days to spend doing whatever he wanted. Well, as long as he kept an eye on her, that was.
Ever since he started working for Sniper 1 Security two years ago, Kye had finally found some peace with himself. At the ripe young age of thirty, he had now found his calling. At first, he had considered Hunter to be a bonus, although that had died four months ago.
Of course, Kye still spent plenty of time thinking about Hunter.
Add Dani into the mix and Kye could spend hours lost in a ridiculous fantasy. Hell, the mere thought of that beautiful woman there with them while Hunter fucked him into oblivion made his dick twitch. The image of the woman next door flashed in his mind. She was naked, Hunter’s dick tunneling in and out of her mouth while Kye ate her pussy. Writhing, moaning.
Fuck.
It wouldn’t do him any good to start fantasizing about a woman he might never see again. Every day he went to work out, he expected her balcony to be empty. One day it would be, and she’d be nothing more than a fantasy. One that might fuel some pleasurable encounters while he was alone, sure. But that wasn’t enough. Not anymore.
Shaking off the reverie, Kye shut off the water and reached for a towel.
Seriously, something had to give because it’d been too many damn months that Kye had been following the auburn-haired beauty, and up to this point, the only thing he’d done was log a shit ton of miles following her. He could only hope that she was getting ready to pack it up and head home since she’d worked her way back to Texas.
Maybe once she did that, someone would tell him what the hell was going on.
Then again, if that someone was supposed to be Hunter … probably not.
*
Kye waited exactly twenty minutes after Dani left her condo to head down to the water. He knew she would spend some time in the ocean before returning to the beach to sit and watch the last rays of the sun disappear behind her. Kye had made it a point to spend those few minutes by her side.
When he reached the sand, he realized she had moved from her normal spot and she hadn’t brought a chair with her this time. It made him smile, but it didn’t deter him in the least. He stuck his chair near the walkway back to the condos and then trekked over to her spot, laying his towel out beside hers.
This was the best part of his day and no way did he intend to let it pass him by.
Sure as shit, a few minutes later, Dani emerged from the ocean, water dripping from her body, the sun highlighting all that smooth, luscious skin.
Christ Almighty. He needed to mentally lock this image down so he never forgot it.
“I’m starting to think you’re stalking me,” she said when she joined him.
“Who me?” He gave her a brilliant smile, keeping his eyes on her face rather than trailing over all those delicious curves. “Now, why would I be stalking a beautiful woman?”
One dark eyebrow quirked upward, but surprisingly, Dani smiled back at him.
“I don’t know, Joe. Why would you?”
He pe
ered out at the water. The sun was setting behind them, making the sky dark, even as the water glittered from the last rays.
“I think this is my favorite part of the day,” he admitted, releasing a breath when she finally sat down.
Kye noticed she pulled her clothes closer. He had learned that was where she kept her gun.
“Watching the sun set?” she asked as she reached for the familiar purple and blue water bottle she had brought with her. It was how he’d learned where she was sitting.
“No,” he told her, looking her way. “Talking to you.”
“Now why do I find that hard to believe?”
“You think I’d lie about that?”
“You’re a man, aren’t you?”
Oh, he was definitely a man, all right.
Rather than give her reason to criticize him, Kye smiled as he reclined on his towel and stared up at the sky. “It’s surprisingly peaceful out here.”
He turned his head to the side, watching as several families were packing things up for the evening. On the weekend, there were plenty of people who camped along the shoreline, but during the week, he had learned it was relatively scarce. Especially on a Monday, when most people had gone back to work.
“Except for the chatterbox,” Dani teased.
Kye turned his head to look at her. He noticed she was lying down as well. His eyes trailed over her body, cataloging every curve that was revealed by that teeny-tiny bikini. The woman made his mouth water.
For a brief moment, he thought about Hunter, thought about how angry the man would be if he knew Kye was putting the moves on this particular woman. No matter what Hunter said, Kye knew the man still had feelings for her.
Tomorrow's Too Late (Sniper 1 Security, 3) Page 9