“Why don’t you tell me what you’re really upset about? Because last I checked, we don’t have to tell each other what we do when the other one isn’t around.” His gaze darkened and his face turned rigid. “Were you afraid I was going to find someone to take home and fuck? Because that could be arranged.”
He pushed me back into the bathroom and spun me around to shove me up against the door. “You won’t be fucking anyone but me.” He ran a hand down to my waist and gripped me tight. “I’m the only man that will ever be inside that pussy again.”
“Why would I agree to that when you come and go as you please? Usually I get a few days with you. Last time I got a few hours. Tell me why I should hold out for you when you don’t seem to care about me except when you’re inside me.”
“You agreed to this. What the hell happened that all the sudden you’re pissed with me? This can’t just be because I wasn’t around in the morning.” I didn’t say anything as I held his gaze. I didn’t want him to know that Cole’s reaction had made me question why I was with him. “Just tell me that you don’t want this any more and I’ll walk away,” he said, pushing up against me and spreading my legs with his thigh. His mouth skimmed across my neck and down my shoulder.
“No you won’t,” I whispered.
“No, I wouldn’t. I already told you there’s no way I’m walking away. So, stop overthinking this.”
He pulled back suddenly and grabbed my hand, dragging me through the door of the bathroom. We didn’t head for the front door though. He pulled me down a dark hallway to an exit at the back and tugged me into an alley. I could barely keep up as he dragged me further into the darkness.
“Why are we going this way? My car is out front.”
“I told you I wouldn’t let anyone see us together.”
The cock of a gun shot through the night and Garrick pulled me in close to him. A man stepped out of the shadows that normally would have scared the crap out of me, but with Garrick beside me, the man didn’t look anything more than a puny kid.
“Give me your wallet,” he snarled.
“If I were you, I’d put down the gun,” Garrick growled at the man.
“I don’t think you’re in the position to make demands.”
I watched as the man stepped closer and I tugged on Garrick’s sleeve. “Don’t do it. Please, let’s just leave.”
“Shut your bitch up.” The man’s hand waved in the air as he yelled. He obviously wasn’t as good with a gun as he thought.
One second, the man was talking and the next, he was on the ground in a bloody heap. He had a hole in the middle of his forehead where Garrick had shot him and I hadn’t even seen him pull his gun.
“Oh my, God. You shot him.”
“Let’s go.” Garrick started to pull me away, but I couldn’t move. I was still staring at the man who was just threatening us moments ago.
“I can’t believe you did that,” I said, my voice shaking. I knew that there was nothing I could do to help the man, but my instincts told me to go to him.
“He threatened you,” Garrick said as if that was the only reason necessary to take another person’s life. My head snapped up to meet his gaze and I stared at him in shock.
“You didn’t have to kill him. You know you could have stopped him easily without killing him.”
“I may not have had to kill him, but I sure as hell wanted to. I won’t let anyone threaten me and I definitely won’t allow anyone to call you a bitch.”
I stared at him in amazement. “You killed him because he called me a name?”
He pulled me roughly against me and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck possessively. “I told you that I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”
“But he wouldn’t have.” My voice rose as my adrenaline surged. I was close to hysterics. “Don’t you see that there are other ways to deal with people than to kill them?”
“If he did that to us, he would have done it to someone else and they wouldn’t have been so lucky. Imagine if it was your friend, Samantha out here. Do you think she would have been able to get away from him?”
When I didn’t say anything, he stepped back. “That’s what I thought. You may not like what I do, but you’re safer for it. Someone has to be the one to take out the garbage.”
He dragged me out of the alley as we heard sirens in the distance. My body was trembling and I was finding it difficult to walk in my high heels. I wanted to sit down and wait for the tremors to pass, but Garrick wouldn’t slow down enough or let go of my hand. He took me through a maze of streets before we came out a few blocks away where we could see the police lights that were surrounding the alley. I was crying and I wasn’t sure if it was because I had seen someone shot for the second time in my life or if it was just my body reacting. Garrick gave me a strange look that I couldn’t begin to decipher and shook his head slightly before pulling me further into the night.
After the first few minutes, I tried to block out what had happened and just let my mind go blank. I didn’t want to keep seeing that man being shot in front of me or see his lifeless eyes staring back at me. It was just too much for me to deal with tonight. I didn’t know how long we walked, but eventually he pulled me across a street where a truck was waiting. I was a little shocked to see Hunter sitting in the driver’s seat. How had he known to come get us?
“Back in town one night and you’re already causing a mess,” Hunter said as Garrick lifted me into the truck when he saw I wasn’t able to do it on my own.
“Just make sure that we weren’t seen. I don’t want any of this coming back on Kate.”
“I’ve already got Becky on it, but she thinks you’re good. She doesn’t think there are any cameras in the area that would have caught you. Cap sent someone to get her car.”
Their casual conversation pulled me out of the murkiness I was feeling and brought me back to reality.
“Wait. Please don’t tell me that you’re okay with what he did?” I asked incredulously. I couldn’t believe how nonchalant they were being about Garrick murdering someone.
“I could lie to you, but what’s the point? Knight doesn’t just pull a gun on random people. If he shot the guy, he had a reason.”
“How can you say what he did was alright? He murdered a man. Right in front of me. He could have easily taken him down some other way, but he chose to kill him instead.”
“You’re right. He could have taken him down uninjured, but you were there.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that men who pull guns on people are desperate and you can’t trust their decision making abilities. If Garrick had tried to disarm him, which he could have done easily, the guy could have had a happy trigger finger and accidentally shot you. Sometimes the risks aren’t worth it.”
I looked at Garrick who was staring out the window. “So, if I wasn’t there you would have just taken his gun away?”
“Most likely. But then again, if you weren’t there, I wouldn’t have been in that alley and it might have happened to someone else.”
I sat back in my seat, a little stunned by this revelation. I hadn’t really thought of anything other than the fact that Garrick could have done things differently. Garrick had thought about all the things that could have happened in about five seconds and made a decision. In hindsight, I never would have been able to judge the situation and all the outcomes, and then make the decision to end someone’s life. Now, I wasn’t so sure how I felt about what happened. A huge part of me didn’t want to be okay with what Garrick had done because I knew that killing someone was wrong. But the other part of me understood that Garrick did what he thought he had to to protect me. My confusion left me with a guilty feeling because I was starting to sway more toward Garrick’s side than sticking with my own morals.
✯✯✯✯✯
I hadn’t seen Garrick in over a month. I was cranky and irritable because I was getting horny. I needed some kind of signal to let him know that I n
eeded his touch. Not only that, but I was constantly worrying about him. I had no way to know if he was okay out there. What would happen if he was killed? Would his body be disposed of and nobody would ever know? Would Hunter have some way of knowing? And if so, would he tell me? I came to the conclusion over the past two weeks that I was starting to feel way more for Garrick than I should given the circumstances. I desperately wanted him to fuck me, but I was really starting to miss just lying in bed with him or the feel of his arms wrapped around me when I made coffee in the morning.
I was in serious danger of becoming way too attached to him and I didn’t know what to do about it. He had made it clear to me that this would never be more than it was and I understood why he put those limitations on us. I made a point over the past few weeks to focus on work and try to stop daydreaming about Garrick. When whatever we had was over, I still had a life to live and I couldn’t let my business suffer because I was falling for a killer.
“Kate, your next appointment is in room two,” Kathy said as she picked up the ringing phone.
I gave her a little wave and headed back to room two. The chart was in the box hanging on the wall outside the door and I quickly scanned the notes, noting that Mr. Dick Cummings was here for a blood pressure check. Dick Cummings, what an unfortunate name.
“Mr. Cummings, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Kate-” I paused as I looked up and saw my dark killer sitting on the table with a smirk on his face. I quickly shut the door behind me and walked over to him.
“Dr. Whittemore. I’m glad you could fit me in to your,” his eyes skimmed over my body, “tight schedule. I think I need you to check my blood pressure.”
“Garrick, what are you doing here? I thought we couldn’t be seen together outside of my house?”
“It’s Dick Cummings and believe me, I fully intend to do just that. Like I said, I’m here for a blood pressure check. If we could proceed, I would appreciate it. I’m on a tight schedule and I only have time for a quick check before I have to get back to work.”
My lips threatened to break out into a huge smile. I had never really seen a playful side to Garrick before. He was always so serious and dangerous that I walked back to the door and locked it, fully intending to take advantage of my man.
“I think the first thing we need to do, Mr. Cummings, is check to make sure you’re getting proper blood flow to all your..assets. Why don’t you stand up for me?” He did as I asked and I pulled the zipper down on his pants, noting the bulge that was growing beneath. “Drop your pants, Mr. Cummings.”
He pushed down his pants and boxers and I gripped his erection tightly in my hand. His eyes flashed and his gaze darkened as he stared at me. I stroked him hard, feeling the tip of his erection moisten in my hand. A rumble rolled through his chest and he pushed me down to my knees. His playful side was gone and back was scary Garrick that wet my panties with just one look.
“Suck,” he hissed.
I took him in my mouth, keeping my eyes on him the whole time. He rocked his hips, pushing himself further into my mouth. I could feel wetness seeping into my panties and I desperately wanted for him to touch me. I slid my fingers down and hiked up my skirt, rubbing my fingers over my clit. I moaned at the electricity running through my body and his eyes narrowed in on my hand. He pulled me up and laid me out on the table, pushing my skirt up around my hips.
“Do you need me to eat you?”
“Yes,” I breathed heavily.
He grabbed my stethoscope from my white coat and put the eartips in his ears. He popped the buttons on my blouse and placed the diaphragm of the stethoscope on my chest over my heart. His gaze darkened as he slid a finger down into my panties and my heart went off like a rocket. Pulling my panties aside, he bent down and thrust his tongue inside my heat, lapping at my juices until my body was so out of control that I thought I would break apart. The paper on the table under me was making so much noise from my writhing that I was sure that even if I wasn’t making any noise, everyone would hear the paper and know what we were up to.
When I came, Garrick stood suddenly and shoved his cock into my pussy while I was still coming down from my orgasm. He kept the diaphragm pressed to my chest as he pumped harshly in and out of my body. I bit my fist to keep from screaming out, but the table gave us away as it screeched across the floor with every thrust until it slammed against the wall.
My heart was beating so wildly as I started to come that I was sure I was going to have a heart attack. It seemed to spur Garrick on to hear my heart going crazy because his face turned dark and lethal. He tore the stethoscope from his ears and flung it across the room as he gripped me by the hips and pulled my ass off the table, ramming his hips into me over and over until he crashed into me one last time and stilled inside me.
My hips were sore from his grip as I lowered my legs down, trying to touch my toes to the ground. Garrick was still pressed against me and I was suddenly very aware of the time and other appointments that were waiting. I was ready to push him away when he leaned forward and pressed a kiss right over my heart, melting me instantly. If I was hoping to come out of this without a broken heart, I was well and truly fucked.
I avoided Garrick’s gaze as I quickly stood and straightened my clothes. My skirt was wrinkled beyond belief and there was nothing I could do to make myself look presentable again for patients. I quickly looked in the mirror, seeing that my hair looked like a good case of bedhead. Shit, I was a mess. I needed a quick clean up before I saw anyone else.
Checking to make sure Garrick was put back together, I hurried to the door and unlocked it, opening it to look into the hallway. Garrick stepped up behind me and pushed the door shut harshly, pressing me against the door. His breath trickled down my neck as he left kisses along the nape of my neck.
“I have to go out of town for a few days. I won’t be long this time.”
He spun me around and kissed me breathless, then pulled me back and opened the door. He was gone in a flash and I took a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever awaited me. Kathy walked back to me while a slight blush tinged her cheeks.
“You have that spare outfit in your office and I put a hairbrush and hair tie on your desk,” she winked. “Your 4:00 cancelled, so you still have some time before your next appointment.”
She turned and walked away, not saying another word the rest of the night about what happened or anything she heard. I finished my night and went home alone, anxious for the next few days to finish so I could see Garrick again.
CHAPTER NINE
Knight
I HELD MY gun in my hand as I opened the door, but dropped it to my side when I saw Pappy standing there. “Is there some reason that you’re showing up at my woman’s house?”
“Funny, I thought you were out on a job, but then I saw on the footage that you were here again.”
I shrugged and stepped aside for him to enter. “It’s really none of your fucking business.”
“You made it my business when you asked me to watch out for her. You’re lucky I recognized the way you move when you showed up at her house in the middle of the night. I could have blown your fucking head off.”
“Not likely. Remember who you’re dealing with.”
“Yeah, the almighty Garrick Knight. Just don’t forget who saved your ass.”
“Believe me, I haven’t forgotten. So, what are you doing here?”
“Just came to check in. Since you’re back, I figured I’d better find out if it was for good or just a quick fuck.”
I didn’t like anyone referring to Kate as a quick fuck and if it weren’t for the fact that Pappy was already well aware of my obsession with Kate, I might have knocked him out for it. “What I have with Kate isn’t really any of your concern.”
“It is when it starts showing up on our doorstep.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He shoved a folder at me that I quickly flipped through, whipping my head up and narrowing my eyes. “What the
fuck did you do?”
“I didn’t do jack shit. You’ve been fucking the woman for months. Did you really think that no one would notice?”
The folder was filled with information on Kate and pictures of her going to her clinic and coming home. There were also photos of her around town. In another section, there were pictures of me from when I was in the military and pages of information documenting my time in the military. There were also photos of me from the past few months. Pictures of me sneaking into Kate’s house in the middle of the night. Someone had been following me and they had done a damn good job of making sure I didn’t know they were there.
“No one could have gotten this information from just anywhere. There has to be a leak.”
“Right,” he snorted. “You just can’t admit that you fucked up, can you?”
“I’ve been careful.”
“Is that what you call showing up at her clinic and pointing a gun at a cop? How is that being careful?”
He was right. I had gotten sloppy because of my infatuation with Kate. Not being able to stay away from her had drawn more attention to both her and me.
“I don’t get how they found me though. I’m always careful that shit doesn’t follow me when I leave a job. How did they track me?”
“I don’t have a fucking clue, but someone knows who you really are and they know that you’re linked to Reed Security. And since you won’t leave Kate alone, they know about her too. So, what the hell are we going to do about this?”
Fuck, this was such a mess. I had to take care of this right away. If I didn’t see this person coming, that meant someone good was on the job and it was going to take a lot of time to get to the bottom of this. I was going to have to draw the attention away from Kate. If I could get somewhere isolated, I could make my move and get all the information I needed.
Knight: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 4) Page 12