by C. Luca
When I enter the living room, I can see Tessa in the kitchen, standing in front of the stove as she cooks. She’d showered and looks fresh and clean with her hair up in a casual ponytail. It’s nice to see her embracing the shorts I’d bought for her paired with a simple, tank top.
Not that I will ever admit it, but I’m beginning to regret buying the shorts. They’re doing exactly what I’d intended, making Tessa deal with the fact that her leg doesn’t need to be hidden.
However, there’s a downside that I hadn’t considered, and it’s that they hug every curve of her ass and hips. I can easily envision what she’d look like naked, and it taunts me all the time.
I shove my thoughts aside, noting that the inside of the trailer is warm even with the air conditioning unit installed in one of the windows. Even so, it’s better than the stale, humid air back at the loft.
Tessa must notice me out of the corner of her eye, because she looks up, her eyes a bit guarded. “Hungry? I made plenty and had planned on putting yours in the refrigerator to reheat later.”
I hate that guarded look, but I can’t blame her. The past twenty-four hours have been a nightmare for both of us. “Starved,” I admit as I walk over.
“Sit,” she urges, nodding towards the table.
I sit down in one of the chairs, relieved that she hadn’t opened any of the blinds. Despite that, the interior is comfortably bright as the sun leaks in from behind them.
Tessa dishes up a plate and brings it over to me. She’d made boneless chicken breasts with lemon pepper seasoning, and a side of green beans.
“Thanks,” I say lightly, picking up a fork.
She settles into the chair across the table from me with her own plate and picks up her fork, cutting into the chicken. “The refrigerator and freezer are well-stocked,” she informs.
I can see the questions lurking in her eyes, and I take a bite of chicken and chew before speaking. “Ask away,” I tell her.
She immediately sets down her fork and turns her full attention on me. “How is this place safe?” She winces. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, but a mobile home is the last place I was expecting. How is it secure? How do you know we weren’t followed?”
I hold up a hand to ward off further questions. “One question at a time,” I say dryly.
She falls silent and watches me expectantly with brown eyes that are intensely inquisitive.
Usually, I hate when I’m asked a bunch of questions, but I like that Tessa wants to know everything that’s going on. Information is vital with her type of situation, and she knows it.
“First off, the movies are nothing like real life,” I tell her. “The bad guys aren’t going to pursue us throughout the city with guns blazing. The entire point of taking out your enemy is to go on living without them in your way—not to spend the rest of your life in prison because you got caught acting stupidly.”
I pause and take a bite of green beans, chewing before continuing, “Real life is much less action. Days and weeks can go into a hit, and if it doesn’t go as planned, a new plan needs to be formed. There’s usually regrouping to be done as well, especially if team members were lost. That being said, I assumed they wouldn’t follow us with the intent of continuing what they started. However, it isn’t unusual for one person to tail the target to know where the target’s going. I tried to make certain we weren’t followed last night, but in any case, it’s necessary to prepare for the unexpected.”
Tessa nods, appearing to listen intently. “Were any of your men hurt?” she asks with a hint of concern.
I like that she cares, and I shake my head. “No, they’re fine.”
“Okay, so why here?” she asks, looking around the interior of the trailer.
I lift my eyebrows. “Would you expect us to be here?”
“No…”
“Exactly.” I cut into the chicken on my plate. “Eat, or it’s going to get cold.” I chew a bite of chicken while I watch her begin to eat.
After a few minutes, I continue with our conversation. “They’re going to be searching warehouses and bigger places with better security. It’ll take a while for them to figure out where we are.”
Her fork pauses halfway to her mouth, confusion flickering across her features. “But doesn’t that leave us vulnerable when they do figure it out?”
“This is plan B, Tessa,” I assure. “It’s been planned to the best of our ability. In the mobile home across the street, one of my men has been living for the past week. He’s the one who prepared this place for us,” I inform her.
She stares with surprise. “You have someone across the street?”
“Yes. In a week, Bryce will move into one of the vacant homes down the block. Three days later, Leo will move into one down the next street. They’ve already been purchased, but we want to avoid suspicion. We also bring them in slowly to make certain they’re not being followed. When the people after you do come, we want to see them coming, not be caught off guard.”
She’s still staring at me oddly as if gathering further questions to ask.
“Sean prepared this place during the night hours, so no one should be suspicious. As far as neighbors go, he doesn’t know me, and I don’t know him. You’re going to remain completely unseen. When Bryce and Leo arrive, our only contact will be by phone,” I explain.
She’d continued eating while I was speaking, but now she sets her fork down. A wrinkle forms between her eyebrows as she asks, “How many of them got away last night?”
This would be over by now if their reinforcements hadn’t joined them. We still don’t know who we’re dealing with, but taking into account the amount of men being sent after Tessa, whoever is behind all this has to be a powerful crime figure like Mario Escudero. Which is very, very bad, but I’m certainly not going to admit that to Tessa.
“Kane?”
“Three, maybe four,” I tell her.
She looks crestfallen. “And they’ll regroup again?” Her expression betrays she already knows the answer, but I suppose it’s natural to hope otherwise.
“Yes.”
That’s the biggest problem. This shit could go on for years if I can’t manage to wipe out the entire current team. It’s the only way I’ll have a chance to make Tessa disappear without any tails.
She’s silent a moment before concern flashes over her features. “We’re in a mobile home community. There could be collateral damage if they come for me, Kane.”
God, she’s such an innocent soul. My heart softens a little over her concern for complete strangers.
“This isn’t the movies,” I remind. “They’re not going to shoot up the entire community to get to us. When they find us, we’ll be their only target.”
She’s looking at me doubtfully. “You can’t tell me someone might not accidentally get caught in the crossfire,” she argues.
“No, I can’t,” I say steadily. “But I can tell you that killing innocents won’t be part of their plan.”
She presses her fingertips to her temples, gently massaging them as if she’s trying to prevent an oncoming headache.
I know it’s a lot to process, so I continue eating while patiently waiting to see what else she’ll ask.
Her gaze once more roams around the interior of the mobile home, and her expression turns troubled as her eyes return to me. “There’s no back door, no escape route except in and out the front door. I thought it was important to have a secondary exit?”
I set down my fork and rise to my feet. This is exactly what I’d wanted to discuss with her. “Come with me.”
With a slightly puzzled expression, she stands and follows me as I head for her bedroom.
I walk over to the small closet and open the doors. There’s a rug across the bottom of the four by two closet. She has yet to transfer any of her new belongings from the emergency bag I’d prepared for her in case of a scenario like last night’s.
I kneel down and pull back the rug.
A crude, twent
y by twenty square had been cut into the floor with hinges attached on one side to make a hidden exit. There’s a slight gap in the seams, and a nail is keeping the edge of the door lifted a quarter of an inch so that it can be easily pulled up in the case of an emergency. Using my finger, I pull it open and it silently lifts, the hinges well-oiled.
Tessa leans close to peer over my shoulder, and I catch a whiff of her natural, feminine scent.
I ignore how close she is and focus on what I’m showing her. The mobile home is situated about two feet off the ground with lattice fencing all around the bottom to keep the critters out. This is why I’d bought the place. Below, all that can be seen are dirt and weeds even though it’s still light outside.
“When they come for you, you’ll climb down and crawl north, about four feet,” I explain. “Two feet of the fencing can be pushed aside. That’s where one of my men will be there to grab you and safely rush you out of the area. If they don’t tell you the safe word, you fight for your life.” I look at her hard. “What’s the safe word?”
She’s still hovering over me, her face far too close. “Dandelion,” she says softly. Then, as if realizing our close proximity, she casually backs away, rubbing the side of her neck with a fidgety hand.
I grunt with satisfaction over her response and close the escape hatch, smoothing the rug over it. When I rise to my feet, Tessa is standing a few feet away, her arms folded across her chest.
That’s certainly a defensive stance if I ever saw one.
The kiss has probably been wearing on her mind, and it’s important to address it before things become too tense.
I rub the back of my neck. Shit. I’m not good with stuff like this. “About that kiss…”
Her eyes immediately become shuttered. “I get it. It was a mistake and you weren’t thinking clearly.”
Well, hell.
Tessa’s emotions are always so close to the surface, and I can tell that I’d somehow hurt her.
I mentally scramble, trying to get this conversation right. “It wasn’t a matter of not thinking clearly—”
“Kane, I get it,” she fairly snaps, fire stirring in her gaze as her shoulders stiffen.
This attitude of hers has to do with her leg, and I’m sick of her acting like the deformed calf muscle and limp are all that people see when they look at her.
I look her dead in the eye, staring her down. “Yeah? So you know I’ve fucked you in my dreams more times than I can count?”
Internally, I wince the moment the words leave my mouth.
Christ.
That is not how to put out this damn fire that I’ve begun. Acknowledging my desire will only make things worse, but I can’t take it back now. I’m not sure I would even if I could. Is it that so unbelievable to her that a man would lust after her?
Apparently so, because her mouth has fallen open, and she’s staring at me as if I’ve just sprouted a second head. Then, a hint of pain flashes in her luminous eyes, and I swear I see a glimmer of tears.
Fuck me.
Not tears. Not again.
“Don’t,” Tessa says thickly, her arms dropping to wrap around her waist. “Don’t play that card with me.”
My brows slam down into a frown. What the fuck? How the hell did this conversation go so wrong? My intention was to ease the tension, not make things worse. “What exactly do you think I’m doing?”
“Pitying me!” she hisses, her eyes blazing.
Damn she’s got spirit, and something deeper within me stirs. “Do I look like the type to lie simply to make someone feel better?”
Her eyes narrow on me, and I can practically see her thoughts racing as she struggles with the truth.
I patiently hold her gaze and wait.
She knows better than to doubt me. I’ve been nothing but honest—brutally so, since the moment I’d said the safe word and held out my hand to her.
Slowly, bewilderment shifts across her face. “I don’t understand…” she says, her voice trailing off.
A low sigh escapes me. “I know you don’t, and it pisses me off.”
She blinks. “What?”
“You have no idea how attractive you are.”
“From the waist up, maybe,” she mutters under her breath.
She’s so damn stubborn.
“I’ve seen your leg, Tessa. The sight doesn’t bother me, otherwise, why would I have manipulated you into wearing shorts instead of those stupid leggings?”
Her brows furrow. “You didn’t manipulate…” her voice trails off, and then she gives me a look. “Okay, so maybe you did,” she admits grudgingly.
“Tessa, you are one hundred percent all woman with sexy curves in all the right places. I don’t give a shit about your leg or limp.”
Now, she remains silent as she processes everything I’ve said. She appears to be biting her lip, worrying it as she wraps her mind around the fact that I want her.
I need to quickly shut this down before it develops into something far too tempting. “As I was saying earlier, about that kiss…”
Her eyes sharpen as she waits to see what I’m going to say.
“It can’t happen again,” I say carefully. “I need to remain professional. Keeping you safe is my top priority; this can’t become personal.”
Her eyes search mine as if she’s struggling to find a reasonable argument.
“I’m also too old for you,” I add before she can begin the ‘what-if’ game.
That brings an immediate scowl to her face. “I’ll be twenty-two in three days.”
“Sweetheart, I’m thirty-five,” I say bluntly.
“We’re both adults,” she reasons.
I lift an eyebrow. “Are you trying to talk your way into my bed?” I ask, knowing exactly what will make her give up on the direction this conversation has taken.
She’s startled by my frank question, and a flush creeps across her neck and into her cheeks.
Bingo.
That innocence…
It’s fucking enticing as hell but also what keeps me in check—mostly. There’s no way she’s not a virgin. A casual screw is the very last thing Tessa needs.
Her lips part but nothing slips past them—she’s momentarily floundering for something to say.
“Chicken’s getting cold,” I tell her, motioning for the hall, deliberately ending the conversation.
Fourteen
Tessa
It’s impossible to sleep that night.
The conversation with Kane keeps replaying in my mind, and I’m still struggling with the knowledge that he’s attracted to me. Every so often, I begin to doubt his admission, but yet the man hasn’t lied to me once. He’s been nothing but honest to the extent of verging on rudeness.
Now that the doubt is fading, it’s being replaced by awe. I never thought that anyone would ever want me in the way that I’ve yearned for. The fact that he desires me is exhilarating.
For the first time ever, someone sees beyond my disability. It makes me feel good but also strangely let down.
I’m his job.
He is a professional, and he’s not going to let anything get in the way of that. He’d said as much straight to my face.
I stare blindly up at the dark ceiling as my thoughts consume me.
Kane thinks he’s too old for me. I don’t agree with that. I’ve watched men my age, and they seem like complete assholes that don’t know what they want. Of course, they have the luxury of going out whenever they want and exploring relationships. I guess someone like myself is going to be a heck of a lot pickier, so maybe it’s not fair to judge. Still…some guys out there like to play with a woman’s emotions. I’ve witnessed it a time or two simply waitressing in establishments.
A man like Kane isn’t going to play those games, though. He’d be upfront from the very start.
“Shit,” I whisper out loud to myself.
I’d thought Kane was attractive before, but now I’m seeing him through different eyes. I’m wondering wh
at it’d feel like to be held by him, to have him touch me, for him to be inside me…
A warm flush sweeps over my entire body, and I become aware of how warm it is in the room. It was still pretty humid when I’d climbed into bed, but thinking about sex certainly isn’t helping matters.
I push aside the light sheet, hoping it’ll help me cool down.
I need to stop thinking about Kane.
And sex.
Easier said than done.
I’m naturally curious about it considering I’ve never experienced it. Is it really as good as everyone claims?
Dang it, there I go again.
Stop thinking about it, I chastise myself.
I roll over onto my side with frustration and gaze at the closet in the shadows. Think of something else. Like the hidden exit beyond those doors. The idea of dropping down into the darkness below is daunting.
In the silence of my room, I can hear Kane moving briefly about in the living room. How can the man possibly live on such little sleep?
The minutes slowly tick by as I toss and turn.
Eventually, I give up and ease out of bed. Sleep won’t be coming anytime soon, and since Kane is awake…
I’m wearing a simple tank and panties, so I move about the small room in search of something decent to slip on. In the moonlight streaking in from behind the blinds, I find one of the pairs of shorts that I’d left discarded earlier, and I pull them on.
When I’d unpacked the duffel bag Kane had prepared for me, I’d found plenty of shorts, tanks, and summer tops. The bras and panties were simple cotton, and everything I’ve worn so far has fit comfortably.
I should be peeved by the deliberate lack of leggings, but after Kane’s confession earlier, I’m kind of…flattered.
After opening the bedroom door, I limp down the hall to the main room.
Kane is sitting on the sofa, taking a break from the laptops. The lamp is on, and the window nearby is cracked open two inches beneath the blinds while he smokes.
I’d thought I’d caught a whiff of cigarettes from my room.
He looks up, eyes drifting over me until they pause momentarily on my tank top before returning to my face.