by Cat Miller
This was something Rourke could do. It would make him feel better knowing one of his comrades had Luc’s back. Some of the people who frequented Hell were the farthest thing from moral characters. It would also occupy Rourke’s mind for a while. He’d done nothing but think about Jennifer.
“No, Rourke, you misunderstand me. I don’t want someone else for the job. I want you. I need a chief of security, and I want you to do the job.”
Rourke let that penny roll around his head until it rattled to a stop. Luc wanted him to head up his security team? But he was a career military man. He’d be bored in no time, wouldn’t he?
“Look, man, I know you’re up for reenlistment. This is the time to make the move. You aren’t getting any younger. You can’t be a SEAL forever. What will you do when you can’t keep up with the teams?” Luc asked.
“Fuck you, man. I’m at the top of my fucking game. And I’m only a few years older than you. Why would I want to waste my time guarding your weak ass, you little prick?”
Rourke’s back was up. Yes, he was up for reenlistment, and he was agonizing over the decision. He loved serving his country, but he’d seen so much. He’d lost too many good men in the line of duty. But if Rourke wasn’t a SEAL, what was he? What would he do? Rourke joined the military right out of high school. This life was all he knew.
The insults bounced right off Luc, who was neither small nor helpless, but was a fucking asshole.
“And there is the continued proof that you do, indeed, curse like a sailor.” Luc chuckled. “I’m not saying you can’t do your job. What I’m asking you is how much longer do you think you’re going to want to do it? Your mom is getting up in years. You have no real life of your own. The teams are your life.”
“As it fucking should be,” Rourke snapped. “And Mom is in perfect health.”
“So you still enjoy being away at least nine months of every year? You don’t ever think about settling into the civilian world?” Luc asked with genuine curiosity. “I would never ask you to leave a career you still love. The timing is perfect for me to make the offer. I just can’t imagine I’ll ever find a man as capable as you to help me run the place. I know I’ll never trust anyone the way I do you.”
Luc’s statement of trust and concern for Rourke was as close to a declaration of love as they’d ever get, and it hit Rourke right in his chest. This wasn’t something Luc would say to stroke Rourke’s feathers. He just wasn’t that kind of man. If Luc said it, he meant it. Luc needed Rourke. It would be hard for Luc to admit that he wanted Rourke at his back. Rourke didn’t know what to say.
“I’m not expecting an answer today, Rourke. I know this will take some time. Just think about it before you sign on Uncle Sam’s dotted line again. In the meantime, get me some real fucking men in here. Send me any and all of your veteran friends who might be willing to move to Las Vegas for a good job with more than fair pay.”
“I can do that. It can be hard to find work when you exit the military.” Rourke could already think of at least a half dozen guys who might be interested or know people who were.
“Good. I have drug dealers roaming the back rooms and armed loan sharks roughing people up in my house. My security is practically useless. The ones who are good men are too few to stand up to the dishonest ones. I just have too many people left over from my father’s reign. This place was actually hell under his supervision. I’m trying to run a higher-class illegal establishment here, for chrissake.” They both laughed.
That was another problem. Could Rourke resign himself to working in an illegal business? The Inferno Hotel and Casino were entirely legal and above board. It was the private club that was moral low ground. Rourke wouldn’t be breaking the law, himself. He’d just be witness to a whole hell of a lot of criminal activity.
“I’ll consider your offer.” Rourke had a lot to think about.
“Good. Now tell me what has you looking extra stoic and broody? If your spine gets any straighter, it might fucking snap.” Luc had always been a perceptive man.
Rourke didn’t see any reason to deny the truth. He could use a sympathetic ear since Pastor Davis had banned him from the church because Rourke couldn’t stop questioning him about Jennifer. All Rourke needed was some hint as to where he could find the woman. Three days had passed since she disappeared into the night, and Rourke could hardly take a breath without thinking about her. All he could get out of the pastor was that Jennifer wasn’t married or attached to any man, and she didn’t have any children. So why the fuck did she take off?
“It’s Jennifer.”
“The lovely little socialite from the soup kitchen,” Luc smirked lasciviously. “I knew you were going to run her down.”
“That’s just it. I can’t fucking find her. I wish I could run her down. She gave me the green light, and everything was fucking incredible. Amazing in fact. Then she was gone. The pastor knows a lot more than he’ll say.”
“You’ll never get that man to crack unless it’s life or death,” Luc agreed.
“He banned me from the church except for service. Can you believe that? Maybe I was a little unreasonable when I went to talk to him, but banning me . . .” Rourke tried not to blush. It said a lot about how desperate he was to find Jennifer that he’d been willing to push Pastor Davis to lose his temper to get information.
“Let me look into it. I’ll see what I can find out.” Luc picked up his tablet and tapped out a note.
“You think the pastor will crack for you?”
“Oh, hell no, but I have other avenues to find out what I need to know,” Luc grinned.
It wasn’t a pleasant sort of smile, and Rourke was sure he didn’t want to know how Luc would get the information, but he needed it badly enough not to refuse the offer. Rourke was on leave, but he knew he could be recalled at any time. He had to find Jennifer, and he had to do it fast.
FIVE
Dressed in a slightly too tight pair of men’s khakis –damn her bubble butt- and a plaid shirt that was a little too big but helped conceal her breasts if she slouched, she turned and looked at herself from behind. The shirt covered her shapely ass. Jennifer felt sure nobody would recognize her if she kept her head down and didn’t speak. She pulled up her hair into a ponytail and stuffed it into a paperboy hat. The previous owner of this outfit had no idea how grateful Jennifer was for the donation. She looked in the mirror one more time and smiled.
Jennifer urgently needed to get into the apartment she’d been forced to abandon before she was evicted. She was taking a chance, but Jennifer couldn’t imagine Evan would still have her apartment under surveillance. He knew Jennifer wasn’t stupid. She couldn’t go home. Not that Jennifer could pay the rent to stay there, anyway.
She planned to catch the bus to her part of town and watch her building and the parking lot for a while before approaching. If she saw anything even remotely suspicious, Jennifer would get away as fast as possible. She was desperate enough for the money she had saved in her apartment to at least try it.
Jennifer practiced walking like a man on the way to the bus stop. She passed Pastor Davis in front of the church, and he didn’t recognize her. The pastor nodded politely to Jennifer and kept moving up the church steps without giving her a second glance. He’d barely noticed Jennifer, much less recognized her. Feeling even more confident, Jennifer strode on with her head down.
The bus stop was just around the corner. She watched the cars passing closely. If Evan’s men approached, it wouldn’t be on foot. Again, she just couldn’t imagine they were still randomly driving the streets of Vegas looking for her. If they ever had been. All Jennifer knew for sure was that she couldn’t go back a life of captivity with Evan. Maybe she was paranoid, but just being out the open made her heart race and a sweat dampen her skin.
It would take Jennifer twenty minutes to get there by bus. She needed to get inside her apartment, because she only had enough change to get her there, not enough for a round trip fare. If her place were being
watched, Jennifer would be walking back. Her borrowed loafers made that idea very unappealing. They had hard inner soles with no cushioning whatsoever. It would be a long, painful journey, but not as bad as it would be in her stilettos. Just the idea of walking any distance in those shoes made her cringe.
Jennifer turned the corner with her head down and walked into a solid wall of a man. She bounced off the guy and would have landed on her ass if his quick reflexes hadn’t saved her. The tank-sized man clutched Jennifer’s upper arm and kept her from an embarrassing ass plant on the sidewalk.
“Excuse me. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was walking,” she lowered her voice to what she hoped might sound like that of a young man to apologize.
“Sorry, man, I didn’t see you,” said the man of steel from above her.
Jennifer righted herself but forgot to keep her damn head down when that familiar rumbling voice startled her. She tilted her face up, and the hat, which had been dislodged in the collision, fell off her head, setting the mass of her blonde ponytail free of its confines. Jennifer tried to pull away, but it was too late. Recognition lit Rourke’s eyes. That light ignited a flame that shouldn’t have been possible in the ice of his eyes.
“Let go.” She tugged on her arm, but Rourke’s grip was like an iron shackle.
“Not on your life, lady. You’re coming with me.” Rourke scooped up her hat from the ground and dropped it on her head. He turned around and marched her back in the direction he came from. Rourke was mumbling about a troublesome woman who disappeared only to show up looking like a man and driving him even crazier with her sexy mouth. His spine was a hard line of displeasure. His shoulders were broad enough to block out the sun.
Jennifer did her best to adjust her hat while being dragged along behind the muttering SEAL. If she was trying to be inconspicuous, this wasn’t helping at all. She looked longingly at the bus stop as they passed it. The bus was just pulling into view down the street.
“I have a bus to catch,” she argued and struggled to free his hold on her arm. Rourke spun around and pinned her with that cold, blue gaze. His grip on her arm became uncomfortably tight.
“I’m holding onto my temper by a thread here, Jennifer. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut that pretty mouth of yours until we get to my place.”
Jennifer recoiled. Memories of being dragged by her hair and smacked around flooded back to her. “Or what, Rourke? Are you going to hit me? If so, be a big man and do it here. Why wait until we’re behind closed doors?” Jennifer’s face tipped up defiantly, daring Rourke to hit her. She was afraid, especially since Rourke was a far bigger man than Evan was, but she wouldn’t cower. Jennifer did enough of that on a daily basis in her little room. Jennifer didn’t know so brave now, but he was just sick of being around.
While she watched Rourke, he completely deflated. The wind leaving his sails limp and without purpose. He blinked several times, and the grip on her arm loosened. He raised his other hand, and Jennifer fought the urge to flinch away. Rourke’s fingers lightly brushed over the flushed skin of Jennifer’s cheek. Then, he released her completely and took a step back, putting distance between them.
“I would never, ever raise my hand to you or any other woman, Jennifer. Never. Do you understand me?” he asked with a voice that trembled with anger, but his expression as his eyes roamed over her face was soft and searching. He’d seen the fear in her and interpreted it correctly. She had been abused, and he was irate about that fact and trying not to frighten her any further.
“Do you understand me, Jennifer?” he asked again. “I will never put my hands on you in anger. I apologize if I scared you. It’s just that I’ve been looking for you everywhere. It’s been driving me crazy. When I saw you just now, my only thought was to drag you back to my place so we can speak in private. I needed to know why you took off on me, baby.” Rourke took another step away from Jennifer and ran one large hand over his shorn, wheat blond head. “I crossed the line. I’m sorry. You don’t owe me an explanation if you don’t want to give me one. You didn’t promise me anything. Neither of us did.” Rourke looked away, blinking rapidly. His hands fisted at sides. The lines of his body were tight with restraint and frustration. “I would never hurt you,” he repeated.
Rourke’s intense gaze caught Jennifer’s and held. “I can’t force you, but I’m asking you, begging you if I have to, to come back to my place and talk to me. Please?” he finished and took another step away from her, letting her know that she could walk away if she wanted to. He wouldn’t chase her, and he wouldn’t argue. It was her choice to make. Rourke couldn’t know how much that choice meant to a woman who’d had all of her choices stolen from her.
Jennifer didn’t know what to say or do. She wanted to go with Rourke, but she didn’t want to endanger him. Her eyes ate up the sight of him standing there looking like a thundercloud about to burst. She’d missed him so much. This was odd considering they’d only met once. Every part of Jennifer screamed at her to go with Rourke. Stay with Rourke forever, but that wasn’t possible. Indecision and sorrow overwhelmed Jennifer. She’d lost so much. Her job. Her home. Her freedom. And she was quite sure she’d even lost a large chunk of her sanity. She was so tired and lonely and sick of being afraid all the time.
When tears filled her eyes, and she began to shake with suppressed sobs, Rourke lost his ability to hold himself away from her. He crossed the distance between them in a couple of steps and wrapped his arms around her lithe frame.
“I’m sorry, baby, please don’t cry.” Rourke held her tight and made soothing noises while she broke down. The stress of all that happened to Jennifer was a weight that just kept growing. She was exhausted from the nightmares that never went away and emotionally spent. Rourke’s strong arms and gentle touch dissolved the rest of her crumbling bravado. Holding back the tears was impossible in the face of such tender support.
If Jennifer was trying not to draw attention, she was failing spectacularly. There she stood, dressed as a man being held by another, far larger man on the street while she cried. People passing by stared in fascination. Jennifer pulled away from Rourke and straightened her hat.
“Let’s go.” Jennifer wiped her tears away and looked around cautiously, being careful not to reveal her face. “I need to get off the street.”
Rourke also scanned the area. His nostrils flared with annoyance, and she could tell he wanted to ask her a million questions without delay. He knew Jennifer was afraid. It was apparent that she was in hiding. There would be no hiding the truth from Rourke now.
“Come on.” He turned away in the direction he’d been dragging Jennifer before she began to put up a fight.
Maybe having Rourke’s help would be a good thing. Or maybe she would get him killed. Jennifer would never forgive herself if anything happened to Rourke. She wouldn’t want to go on if she were the cause of such a good man’s death. He was a sailor, by all accounts serving his country with honor.
His dark expression deepened when he looked over his shoulder to see her walking far enough behind him that it wasn’t obvious they were together. He was going to expect a full and detailed explanation that Jennifer wasn’t sure she could give.
Jennifer followed Rourke at a distance for a few blocks to his apartment, which was on the upper level of a three-story private residence that housed three separate dwellings.
Rourke waited for her to enter before shutting and locking the front door. The entry to the building was dimly lit, but Jennifer could clearly see the fire in Rourke’s icy blue eyes when he looked down at her from his considerable height. Without a word, Rourke threaded his fingers through Jennifer’s and lead her up the three flights of stairs to his apartment. As they climbed, Rourke stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. It was an intimate and oddly soothing gesture. She liked holding his hand. It felt somehow right. When they reached the uppermost floor, Rourke released her hand to unlock the door. He held the door open for her, and Jennifer entered
the small but extremely tidy space.
Rourke closed and locked the door before turning to lean against the portal. Was he blocking her escape? She wasn’t sure. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He opened it again and closed it again. Like Jennifer, he didn’t seem to know where to start this conversation. His countenance suggested he wanted to shake her until she told him everything he wanted to know.
Jennifer decided to look around the apartment when Rourke passed the short distance in the living area. Neither of them was ready to speak. There was a storm building, but he was working to control his temper. Jennifer’s tears and the reference to being abused had curbed his anger considerably.
Jennifer let him brood and get his thoughts while she absorbed the details of his home. She didn’t know what she would say when the questions began, anyway. The living area and kitchen were separated by a counter with two stools for eating. There was no table. There were no dishes in the sink. The kitchen gleamed with cleanliness. Not a speck of dust could be seen on any surface. Either Rourke had been raised right, or he carried that Navy regulation behavior home with him. It was likely a little of both.
The living room boasted a huge television that covered one wall and an entertainment center with several gaming systems. An incredibly cozy looking leather recliner and a side table with a lamp were it for furniture. There were no pictures on the walls. No personal touches to tell you anything about the man who lived there. Rourke apparently didn’t entertain at all. There were two doors off the main room Jennifer assumed led to a bathroom and Rourke’s bedroom.
Being alone with Rourke so close to his bed had Jennifer’s mind running down a path that she wanted to follow. Preferably naked and in Rourke’s arms. Jennifer peeked over at Rourke. He stopped pacing and stood there with his hands fisted at his sides again. He was watching her take in his home.
“We had unprotected sex.” It was a statement and a question. When she and Rourke came together, it was so explosive neither of them stopped to think about precautions. Maybe this was why he was looking for her. Rourke just wanted to know what his chances of contracting an STD were. Was he worried she might become pregnant? If that were the case, she’d put his mind at ease and go.