by Eliza Jane
A second later, a guy with shaggy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes is standing in front of me. “Hi.”
“Hi?” I say, more than a little confused.
“I’m Ted.”
“Taylor.” I raise up on my stool and glance around him, still searching for Colt. But the mess of bodies crowding the bar makes it impossible.
“It looks like your friend left with my friend, so I thought I’d keep you company,” Ted says, bringing my attention back to him.
So Colt did leave with her. Huh. I try not to be annoyed and remind myself that this was my idea. I wonder if she’s in our car right now, sitting where I just sat, on her way to the hotel room I’m sharing with him. The vodka churns in my stomach. Ted sits down in the stool across from me. Colt’s stool. It feels like even more of an invasion.
“I’ve never seen you here before,” he says, flipping his longish hair off his forehead.
“Never been here before.” I down the rest of the drink. Probably not wise, but I’ll do anything to defy Colt right now. Ted’s cute actually, but I’m so on edge about Colt’s fling with the plain brunette who I swear could pass as my sister, I can’t focus on anything around me.
We pass about fifteen minutes with Ted trying to engage me in a conversation (he goes to school at the nearby university) but my mind twirls with thoughts of Colt and what he might be doing at this very moment, not to mention worrying about how I’m going to get back to the hotel.
A few minutes later, Colt appears with the brunette smiling by his side. Another satisfied customer. They stroll up to the table together. He introduces her as Sarah. Awesome. Colt drops a few bills on the table to pay our tab and we say goodbye to Sarah and Ted. She and Colt don’t even exchange phone numbers, not even a thank you. Huh. I guess that’s how it’s done. Though it certainly isn’t something I’m used to.
Outside I storm ahead of Colt, heading straight for the car.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he calls from behind me.
I hold up my hand, waving him off and keep walking. If I tell him what’s wrong, it won’t be pretty. I have no clue why I’m so emotional, why this whole thing is conjuring up memories of Wes I can’t deal with.
“Why are you pissed at me? This was your idea.”
I swing around to face him. “Yeah, well I didn’t think you’d leave me alone in a bar while you fucked some random girl in the parking lot.”
A group of guys getting out of their car next to us bursts into laughter. I walk away from Colt as their laughter grates against my nerves.
“We didn’t fuck, actually,” Colt’s voice is low. He stands inches from me, looking frustrated.
Anger and jealousy pulses through me and I force air into my lungs, trying to push the irrational feelings away. I take a moment to gather my wits and notice that Colt’s hair seems no more rumpled than before. His shirt is still neatly buttoned.
“I just let her go down on me.” He grins a cocky half smile and glances at me through his eyelashes.
I push past him, walking ahead.
He chuckles and quickens his stride to catch up with me. “God, I’m kidding, Taylor, calm down. She went out for a smoke and I kept her company. We just talked. You’d like her actually, she’s an art student.”
His words should ease my mind, but instead, I feel even more disgusted with myself. I needed to keep my feelings for Colt in check. They are swinging wildly back and forth between hatred and lust.
We climb into the car and ride in silence to the hotel. When we get inside our room, I mumble an apology to Colt.
“What was that?” He puts his hand to his ear, urging me to say it louder.
“I. Said. I'm. Sorry,” I say it slowly, enunciating each word.
He grins. “What were you so mad about anyway?” He unzips his duffle bag and pulls out a worn gray T-shirt. “It was your idea that I needed to get laid. Which reminds me – I didn’t, by the way.”
I watch as he unbuttons his shirt, my eyes traveling south along the path of his fingers. He peels the button down shirt off his shoulders, and stands in front of me in a snug fit white T-shirt and jeans riding low on his hips.
I blush and look away. “I’m going to go change,” I mutter.
I grab my backpack and head into the bathroom. Begging myself to get a grip, I splash cold water on my face and catch my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks are flushed pink, my eyes shining brightly. All my senses are lit up around him. Colt is a manwhore. I repeat in my head, and I am not this girl. I will not be this girl. I need to remember that.
I change into my pajamas, and practice deep breathing. When I come out, Colt’s in his room with the door closed, which is probably for the best.
I drift into a restless sleep wondering how it is one guy can both infuriate me and fascinate me so much.
Chapter 14
We’re both quiet on the drive into Cleveland. I think about the disapproval written all over Taylor’s face last night when I led Sarah back inside and introduced her.
I could tell it unnerved Taylor how much she and Sarah looked alike. But her reaction was the last thing I expected. She seemed genuinely upset. I didn’t understand why, but I knew I didn’t ever again want to be responsible for making her big blue eyes look up at me like that.
We make it to Cleveland in the late morning and check into the same hotel that Lars Kaiser is staying at. McAllister’s instructions in the envelope I gave Taylor say that she’s supposed to access his computer and copy over his files so we can find out who he’s working with, names and locations of where they may be planning to make their deals. This is a non-contact mission. He won’t even know we’re here. But still, it makes me nervous. Especially since we’re right under his nose. But I know McAllister’s right, he’d have no idea that we even exist.
Inside our hotel room, another two-bedroom suite, I drop my bag on my bed, then join Taylor in the living room. She gets straight down to business setting up her laptop on the desk. I have nothing to do, so I opt for pacing beside her, wearing a path in the thick carpeting, turning each time I reach the wall. I stop and watch over her shoulder as she eagerly clicks through screens I’ve never seen before.
“Anything I can do to help?” I ask.
She digs around inside her laptop bag, pulling out a few crumpled dollar bills. “Go get me a Diet Coke.”
I refuse her money, but head for the door. “On it.”
While in the hallway, I use the time to explore the layout of the hotel. I note where the fire exits are, the distance of each stairwell to our room and the location of the janitor’s closets. Then I go to the vending area and get Taylor her beverage.
Back inside the room, Taylor doesn’t even glance up as I set the drink on the desk beside her. She’s furiously tapping at the keys, an adorable look of concentration on her face. Her hair is pulled tight into a ponytail that hangs down her back. I sit down on the couch, feeling useless.
Taylor’s insistence that I needed sex bothered me. At first it was funny, until I realized what kind of a guy it made me in her eyes. This girl was fucking with my head and I never doubted myself. Ever. And that look on her face when she thought I’d slept with that girl last night? She looked so hurt. Even though she acts sarcastic and tough, there’s something she’s hiding, and I don’t want to hurt her, which is why I need to stay away from her. She’s far too fragile. We’re partners on an assignment. Nothing more.
Chapter 15
“Got it.” Colt strolls into the room, looking quite pleased with himself and waving a key card at me.
“How?” I thought breaking into Lars’ room would be the hardest part.
“Young girl working at the reception desk. I told her Lars was my uncle and even though it was against policy, I sweet talked her until I got it.”
I shake my head. Of course he got it.
“The cleaning service comes through in a little while, so hopefully he’ll leave during that, and we can slip in.”
I nod
my consent, but my stomach curls into a tight knot.
Colt’s tense and on edge, constantly leaving the room to do God knows what, but he bursts in a little while later and motions for me to come with him. “Come on. He went out.”
I scramble to my feet. It’s show time.
We take the stairs two floors up to Lars’ room and Colt delicately slides the card into the card reader. I hold my breath, waiting for someone to bust us. But the light flicks to green and the lock clicks open. My breathing is shallow as I follow Colt inside the room. It’s similar to ours, but with a large king-size bed unmade in the center of the room. My eyes meet the laptop sitting on the desk. I begin working right away, not needing any prompting from Colt. I want to get this done as quickly as possible and get the hell out of here. My hands are shaking as I insert the jump drive into his USB port. I wipe my sweaty palms against my jeans and force a breath into my lungs. I can do this. It will only take a few minutes.
Colt paces the room, throwing glances my way to check my progress. He doesn’t have to tell me to hurry, it’s written all over him.
I punch in a string of commands that will launch the tracking bug I’ve created. Colt leans over my shoulder to watch as I finish up, and pull the jump drive free of his computer. “Almost done,” I assure him.
A noise at the door startles us both. Someone’s trying to come in. Colt grabs my elbow and hauls me to my feet. I drop the jump drive and it clatters to the carpet, landing somewhere under the desk. I jerk towards it, but the door has clicked and is about to open. Colt pulls me toward the bathroom just in time. He ushers us to the bathtub and pulls the curtain to conceal us both. My heart thunders in my chest. I’m praying that it’s just the maid service, but it’s quiet. I hear keys clatter to the dresser, and the TV flips on a second later. Shit.
Colt holds me close to his body, partially shielding me behind him, my back is pressed against the cool tile wall.
Lars has turned on a sitcom and the laughter from the television is disturbing. There is nothing funny about this situation, it seems so out of place. The footsteps advance toward us, and Colt’s grip on my hips tightens, pulling me in closer to his body. I’m pressed up against his firm chest, and even though I shouldn’t, I somehow feel safe.
The bathroom light flicks on overhead and my knees go weak. Colt’s arm around my waist supports me from falling.
The porcelain toilet seat is lifted and a loud steam of urine pierces the silence. Lars is mere feet away. I breathe as quietly as possible, terrified the sound of my labored breathing will somehow give us away.
Colt reaches up, dragging his fingertips along my back. I can feel the heat from his fingers on my skin, despite the thin material separating us. He continues lightly rubbing my back. At first I think he’s doing it to keep me calm, but then I feel him trace his fingertip along my spine, spelling out the word shhh.
I press my lips together, smiling while my heart pounds erratically. Who knew I was such an adrenaline junkie?
A second later, the toilet flushes, and I drag a ragged breath into my lungs, unaware I’d been holding my breath.
We wait for several agonizing seconds in the, but Lars’ footsteps can’t be heard. He’s still in the bathroom with us.
The shower curtain flings open.
I recognize Lars from his photo. Bald head, dark, unfeeling eyes. And he looks pissed.
For a tense moment, we stand and stare at each other.
Lars steps forward. “Who the fuck are you?” I stumble back, but Colt snakes his arm around my waist, keeping me upright.
Colt springs forward, knocking Lars out of the way and we flee from the bathroom. Colt pulls me toward the door, but I’m stopped hard in my tracks. Lars has grabbed me by the neck, his fingers biting into my skin, pressing against my windpipe. I stumble back toward the wall.
Holy shit. Is this really happening?
I claw at his fingers. Can’t breathe. Need air. Now. Colt grabs Lars like he weighs nothing at all and deposits him across the room. I rub my neck, sucking down lungful’s of air. My heart gallops at an alarming pace while I watch them struggle.
Colt hits Lars in the jaw, the collision knocks his head back violently. They tumble toward me. Lars meets my eyes and grins. He leans back and sends a kick straight at my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs. His hit knocks me back and I crumble to the floor. The shock of it leaves me breathless, reeling with pain and tears blurring my vision. I struggle for breath, but I clamber on my hands and knees, scooting myself away from them.
I watch as Colt and Lars go at each other, fists flying. I have no idea what I’ll do if Colt loses. Lars will come after me next. But Colt’s pissed. I can tell he won’t let that happen. The dull thuds of flesh connecting against flesh and male grunts pierce the otherwise quiet hotel room.
A few minutes later, Colt has got Lars by the neck choking him out from behind. And after struggling for a few seconds, Lars falls unconscious to the floor.
“Come on.” Colt pulls me up and we run for the door, heading back up to our room.
The stairs are harder to navigate this time, my legs are wobbly, and I’m still struggling for air. Without Colt helping me, I’d be jelly on the floor.
When we reach our room, Colt sits me down on the couch while he storms through the hotel room, grabbing bags, shoving my laptop into its case, and throwing all the bags over his shoulder. Then he’s hauling me to my feet again.
The trip downstairs is a blur, but somehow we reach the car. Colt opens my door and directs me onto the seat, buckling my seat belt around me like I’m a child. Only once I’m in the safety and silence of his car again do I let myself analyze what’s just happened. Without meaning to, I begin to cry. Fat, soggy tears fall down my cheeks and I struggle to breath. I’m not cut out for this. I can’t handle field work if this is what’s it going to be like. Lars could’ve had a gun. I could’ve been paired with someone less capable than Colt. And then what would’ve happened?
Colt glances over. “Are you okay?”
I sniff and wipe at my eyes. “No I’m not okay. We just got attacked!”
“I’m taking you back to the school. Assignment’s over.”
I let out a muffled sob, despite my best attempt to hold it in.
“Fuck!” Colt slams his palm against the steering wheel.
The noise startles me and I jerk in my seat. The movement sends a spike of pain through my side. Ow. I clutch at my ribs.
“Taylor, you’re shaking.” His voice is soft, worried.
He’s right. My teeth are chattering, despite the heat outside and my knees are trembling. “I’m…I’ll be okay…”
“You’re in shock.” He puts his hand on my knee and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll get us out of Ohio, then we’ll stop for the night somewhere. We’ll get some sugar in your system and lay you down to rest. Just hang in there for me.”
I don’t argue. I feel safe with Colt, I do, but today’s been more than I can handle. I lean my head back against the head rest, and close my eyes.
Chapter 16
I pull into the motel, letting the car roll to a stop so I don’t wake Taylor. No luck. Her eyes blink open, and she looks up at me. I don’t think she’d realized when she drifted off to sleep that her head was resting in my lap. I hadn’t minded at all.
“Sorry.” She sits up and looks around out the windows.
We’re parked beside a cheap one-story motel. The sounds from the highway hum nearby.
“This okay with you?”
She doesn’t speak, but manages a nod.
It’s nothing like the luxury hotel we stayed in last night, but after what happened there, that’s fine with me.
“Wait here.” I get out of the car, locking the doors behind me, and head into the motel’s office, leaving Taylor safely inside the car.
I return a minute later, dangling a room key from my little finger. I open Taylor’s car door, and help her out, using extra care around her ribs. With
the way she’s moving, I can tell they’re already bruised from Lars’ kick.
“Can you stand here for a second?”
She nods.
I retrieve our bags from the backseat, slinging them over one shoulder, then help Taylor walk, placing one arm around her waist. I lead her to the door of our room, only a few paces away from the car.
When the door swings open, I notice instantly there is only one bed. But Taylor’s breath catches, and the fact that she’s in pain reminds me we have more pressing issues. I’ll deal with the sleeping arrangements later.
I sit her down on the edge of the bed. Once she’s sitting, I toss our bags on the chair beside the door, then I kneel on the floor in front of her. She watches me untie her shoes laces. I slip her shoes off one at a time, then peel off her socks. She peers down at me with those big blue eyes, her chest still heaving.
I wanted to punish that bastard the second his eyes fell on her. And after he kicked her, I wanted to destroy him, but I couldn’t hang around. I’d had to get her out of there. Out of danger.
Her feet dangle from the edge of the bed, and her toes are painted pink.
“Let me see,” I say softly.
She nods her approval.
I gingerly lift her shirt, and hesitate. “Do you mind?”
She shakes her head.
I pull the shirt over her head, leaving her sitting there in just a lacy pink bra, which I desperately try not to stare at. I trace my fingertips along her side, pressing slightly at the ribs that are already showing signs of bruising.
At my touch, she winces and grips the comforter in her fists.
“Here?” I ask, tracing the spot again, more carefully this time.
She nods.
I don’t allow myself to look at her the way I want to drink her in. But I still notice more than I should. Her skin is incredibly soft, she has three tiny freckles dotting her left shoulder and her belly button is the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen. I refocus on her as though she is a patient. Nothing more. “Doesn’t feel like anything’s cracked. You’re not having trouble breathing, are you?”