Before he could talk through all the cons and argue against the idea, he put his hands on her upper arms. The touch sent a shot of electricity through him. It wasn’t until he blinked out the need clouding his brain that the coolness under his palms registered. It had to be eighty degrees outside, but her skin felt as if she’d walked through a gusting fall wind.
She moved in as he bent his head. His lips pressed against her forehead and into her soft hair. The scent of strawberry hit him a second later.
He mumbled against her skin, trying to forget they weren’t alone in any sense. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll get you out of here.”
Instead of answering, she nodded and kept doing it as she wrapped her arms around his waist and tucked her head under his chin.
At her touch, his body stiffened. Not that he didn’t crave the feel of her but because he’d imagined her like this for weeks, burrowed against him, and the live version blew the fantasy away.
This was the wrong place and about as wrong a time as she could pick. But he let it happen. Closed his eyes for the briefest of moments and fell into the heat that sparked just from holding her close. His shoulders relaxed but the rest of him kicked into gear.
What he wanted with her started with closeness, but it blew way past that fast. He was a normal guy with serious needs. He’d been watching her for weeks, dreaming about her every night since, imagining her in his bed with her clothes on the floor. A minute more of this and it wouldn’t matter who stood just outside the door or listened in.
Since he refused to have their first time together happen on a dark staircase with danger lurking nearby, he had to let go. She probably only wanted comfort anyway. A sure arm and a minute to gather her strength. Taking advantage of that, letting his fantasies fuel his actions, made him a complete jerk.
Gritting his teeth and forcing his thoughts away from the softness of her skin and the perfect fit of her body against his, he slipped his hands behind his back and felt for her hands. Bringing them around and trapping them against his chest as he held on, he met her gaze. He saw eyes clear yet wary, but something else lingered there. Determination.
Now there’s a good woman.
“We’re going to head up to your apartment and call in reinforcements.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I like that plan.”
That’s funny because he hated it, but there was a limit to how much she could take. She wasn’t an operative or trained in serious combat. He’d seen hints of a self-defense class graduate, but that didn’t mean she could fight a bullet or men twice her size.
He nodded toward the top of the stairs. “Head up.”
“Not without you.” Her hands clenched against his stomach as she whispered.
They both kept their voices low, barely registering above a hum. “I’m going to be right behind you. I just want to double-check the door lock.”
“Pax—”
“You can watch me as you go.” He guided her around him. Not an easy task, since only a breath or two separated them already.
“Somebody move,” Joel said, breaking through one kind of tension to remind Pax of the one that should be his focus.
Still, Joel’s breathing and sarcastic tone didn’t kill the mood. Kelsey’s body brushed against Pax and his brain caught fire.
Beating back every stupid male thought, he mentally counted to twenty. When that didn’t work, he tried it in Spanish. Finally, she stood above him, close enough for him to reach out and touch, but far enough for some of his lost air to rush back into his body.
Pax descended the last three steps and stood at the small foyer leading to the outside. He knew from Kelsey’s rundown of the property back at the team house that this door locked automatically. She used the key from the outside to double lock it. From this side it was a matter of throwing the dead bolt.
With a slow, steady turn, being as quiet as he could, he set the top lock. He winced as it caught with a soft click. Later he’d talk with her about a new security system complete with blaring alarms and a direct line to his phone, but right now he wanted the extra insurance the door would hold.
He looked around for reinforcements. There was a hook on the wall and a lock on the door. Neither would keep out a guy determined to bust his way in.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kelsey nearing the top of the staircase. She walked with her back skimming the banister against one wall and her gaze trained on him. He nodded to let her know she was doing great.
Any other civilian he knew, except maybe Davis’s wife, Lara, would be curled in a ball on the floor. Certainly crying and clinging. Not Kelsey. She fought back and didn’t run.
Just when he thought she couldn’t get any sexier, she did.
He reached into his back pocket and took out another security tie. He wanted to wedge something under the door, but there was nothing there to work with. That left strengthening the lock’s hold.
“How’s it coming?”
Pax answered Joel’s question with a grunt. It was all he could manage and more than he could afford if he wanted to keep his presence just inside the door hidden.
Without turning the knob, he slipped the tie over the handle and stretched it. The mail slot on the opposite side of the door was his only choice. He worked his finger into the plaster behind one side of the metal rim until he made a small hole. Wedging the thinner end of the tie through the space he made, he shoved and pushed until it came out the other side. He finished it off by looping it around and clicking it into place.
He heard the rustle of clothing and glanced up. Kelsey hadn’t moved from her position on the stairs, leaning against the wall. He had to smile at the way she lounged up there, as if being inside with him made her feel safe. She was, just not from him and the need kicking hard against his gut.
He couldn’t fight off a smile as his feet fell on the steps with a practiced light touch. The muscles in his right leg had stiffened until bending his knee proved difficult, but nothing was going to stop him from getting up there to her.
They stood a few feet apart with him on the stair below hers. “Let’s get in your place so we can put another lock between us and the guy outside.”
“Definitely.”
Pax tapped the mic to press it snug in his ear after all the up-and-down pounding on the stairs. “Joel, let Connor know we need some help here.”
“Already done.”
Pax put his hand on Kelsey’s lower back and guided her up the remaining steps. There were two doors at the top of the landing. She went to the one with the peephole. He stood in front of the other.
“What’s this?” He pointed at the unidentified door.
“Hot water heater.”
Sounded small and cramped. Pax nodded and turned away. Then he turned back to it. Closed doors made him twitchy. The entrance to the outside had been locked down with no obvious signs of a break-in. Still, Joel’s cameras didn’t capture this area, and the in and out of this operation had run smoothly. Well, better than most operations, including the last one, which got him shot.
Kelsey stood with her hand on the doorknob. “Where’s the key to my place?”
He slipped it out of his jeans pocket. “I’ll open it.”
But he couldn’t force his body to move or his gaze to meet hers. An ache started at the base of his neck and moved right up to the back of his head. In seconds he went from a vague sense of uneasiness to a pounding in his brain.
Kelsey stepped over and put her hand on his arm. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. He’d just opened his mouth to respond when the utility door slammed open, right into Pax’s head. His neck snapped back and his vision blinked out. A wave of black threatened to swamp him, but Kelsey’s sharp intake of breath stopped his downward slide.
She couldn’t screa
m. He couldn’t shoot. Not without bringing the guy outside crashing in.
Before his vision refocused, Pax kicked out. A sharp whack followed by the crack of bone. The attacker fell back into the heater. The tank shook and metal clanged against metal as the attacker’s gun hit it.
Pax had just enough time to shove Kelsey into the corner and as far away from the fight as possible on the six-by-six landing before taking a punch to his side. He bent double, his free arm moving too late for the block.
“What’s happening?” Joel yelled his question into the comm.
“Guest.” That was as far as Pax got, all the words he could force out over panting and groaning, before the attacker hit him dead-on.
Head down and shoulder aimed, the guy made a run for Pax’s already sore midsection, pounding him against the far wall. Air choked out of Pax’s lungs as his right leg slipped underneath him and his gun fell to the floor. He shifted his weight, and the bottom of his shoe hit the edge of the first step. Throwing his body to the opposite side, he put a little distance between him and a serious fall.
He traced his foot over the floor in search for his weapon. He struck something hard and lifted his foot to grab it the best he could, but he hit only carpet. He tapped around and nothing. The gun was gone.
Pax resorted to punching. The attacker huffed and grunted as his stomach weathered the punishing blows. Still, he kept a hold on Pax, shoving him against the wall and screwing the leverage he needed to put his full strength behind the hits.
The attacker let up and then plowed against Pax’s stomach even harder a second time. Momentum doubled the pressure and pushed him harder against the wall. Before he could catch his breath, the guy laid his forearm against Pax’s throat and pressed.
Pax heard Joel’s voice in the distance but couldn’t make out the words. Something about being quiet and hitting square. Pax was too busy trying to stay on his feet and not get killed to analyze the words. He needed an opening and fast.
With his jaw locked, the attacker opened his mouth, baring his teeth in a snarl. “I’m done playing with you.”
“I’m not stopping you from leaving.”
“I’m taking the girl with me.”
No way in hell was that happening.
The guy leaned in until his face hovered just inches from Pax’s. “Nothing smart to say to that? No comeback?”
Pax said a silent thank-you to the idiot attacker for getting so close. Knowing it would hurt but not having a choice, Pax slammed his forehead into the attacker’s nose. There was a crack and a wave of dizziness just before Pax felt something pinch in his neck.
At least he wasn’t alone. The attacker reeled back, bringing his empty hand to his face as he let out a battle-cry roar that cut off when Pax punched him in the jaw. When the attacker looked up again, a seething rage filled his eyes.
Pax knew he had seconds only. He shook his head, trying to fight off the sensation of the room spinning around him. Blinking and stumbling, he scanned the floor for his gun but didn’t see it. How was that possible?
Panic clawed at him as he lifted his head, prepared to block the oncoming blow as he made a last grasp for the attacker’s weapon. Pax had barely focused on the guy when he saw Kelsey, arm raised and the butt of a gun ready. He couldn’t figure out where she got it or where she found the courage to leap in.
Without any hesitation or even a glance in his direction, she brought the weapon down in a slamming arc. Then did it again. The multiple shots did the trick.
The guy’s eyes rolled back right before his body went limp. He dropped the gun and followed it to the floor. He hit the landing and bounced off the top step...and kept going. His body rolled, feet slamming into the wall as he picked up speed, until he landed in a heap.
Pax glanced at the lifeless body of the once-fierce attacker. The guy lay in a sprawl on the bottom landing with one leg bent back at an odd angle and his head tucked under his arm in a way that looked unnatural.
Heavy breathing echoed through the small space. It took Pax a second to realize it came from him. He crashed back into the wall and rested his palms on his knees as he inhaled big gulps.
One look at Kelsey and he saw an openmouthed stare. Her focus didn’t shift from the sick scene at the bottom of the stairs.
Joel’s voice cut through the odd quiet a second later. “Someone talk to me.”
“We’re okay.” Pax slipped his gun out of Kelsey’s limp fingers. She didn’t try to tighten them or start when he touched her. He knew that was a very bad sign.
Taking the steps two at a time, sliding across the wall to keep from putting any more weight on his leg, Pax got to the bottom of the stairs. A quick check told him what he already knew. “The guy’s dead.”
It was rough and messy, but it was over. This round anyway.
“Did she do it?” Joel asked, shock evident in his voice.
There was only one “she” around here. Pax’s gaze zipped back to Kelsey. She stared at him with a face tight with stress.
“No, she knocked him out. Looks like the fall is what actually killed him.”
“I did it. Oh, my God, it was me.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, and her body rocked.
He made his way back up the stairs to stand in front of her. “You stopped the attack. You didn’t kill him. Don’t take that on.”
She nodded but it wasn’t convincing. Her gaze bounced off the walls and to the ceiling. Anywhere but to him and the guy at the bottom of the stairs.
He bowed his head until she looked at him again. “That guy picked the location at the top of the stairs. It’s not your fault he fell the way he did.”
She swallowed several times. “I just did everything he told me.”
Pax still had no idea what was happening. “Who?”
“Me. Didn’t you hear me calling out directions over the comm?” Joel scoffed. “Not bad for doing it blind, and it sounds like our girl did great.”
Pax’s mind exploded in fifty different directions. Kelsey saved him. He shook his head as he let that fact sink in.
“Kelsey?” He reached out to her but grabbed only air when she slid down to sit on the top step.
“That was more than I expected. It looks so easy on television. And back at the office? It sounded clear and simple. Go in, get the box and get out.” She said the words nice and slow, putting a long pause between each one. “But in real life—”
“I know.”
She held out her arm in the direction of the dead man at the bottom of the stairs. “That happens. I didn’t expect how it would look or how empty I’d feel. I mean, I get that I didn’t have a choice, but...”
She choked and Pax worried she’d throw up. “I’m sorry it was you.”
“I’m sorry about all of this.”
Pax did an internal assessment and couldn’t come up with a body part that didn’t ache. From his head to his leg, every muscle begged for a rest. “Makes two of us.”
She pulled back her arm and held her hands out in front of her. Turning them over, she studied every inch. They shook hard enough to make the key in her hand jingle. “I...yeah, I kind of need to sit down.”
“You already are.” He braced his palm against the edge of the landing and sat down hard on the step below her. “You okay?”
“No.”
He took her cold hands in his, rubbing them in an attempt to bring life back into her cells. “Breathe.”
“I can’t remember how.”
“Don’t talk.” He put a hand on her thigh and held it there until she looked at him. “That’s it. You’re doing great.”
She frowned. “How can you say that?”
“I’m witnessing it.” Man, she had no idea how amazing she was. She held it all together when it counted. “You rushed in and saved me.
You didn’t worry about the danger to you, and I’ll lecture you about that later when I’m not feeling as grateful, but I gotta tell you not many people have stepped up to rescue me.”
It was an odd feeling. He sensed lightness and darkness moving through him. It was as if his brain couldn’t analyze it even as a part of him wanted to smile.
Davis had stepped up for him. The guys on his team and former teammates at the DIA.
But this was different. She didn’t have a tie to him, and yet she didn’t hesitate. It was heroic and stupid and fierce...and he didn’t see how he’d ever build a shield against her now.
“I would do it again.” She squeezed his hand hard enough to cut off the blood circulation. “But I have to admit I was scared to death.”
“Congratulations, you’re human.” He’d let her hold him—even strangle the life out of him. Whatever she needed to get through the next few minutes, he’d do.
Without any warning, she switched into hyperdrive. She talked in a rush, her words tripping over each other until he had to strain to separate it all out and understand what she was saying. He leaned in to pick up the harsh whispering.
“—and despite everything, the terror the pain, the panic, all I want to do right now is kiss you, which is totally wrong, and not something I should want.”
He sat back, sure he was dreaming because she was saying what he wanted to hear not what he ever expected to hear. “What?”
“Crazy, right?” She rubbed her thumb over his palm. “We’ve known each other for a day, and it’s all I can think about right now.”
“It’s been weeks.” He knew the exact number because he’d started measuring his day by the number of times she smiled at him and how she’d make time to talk with him.
Man, he had it bad for her.
She rolled her eyes the same way she did when rude people left her shop and she thought no one was watching. “I agree I knew a version of you for that long. I’m talking about this side of you. Actually, I don’t know what I’m talking about since those two parts seem to be merging and my anger at you pretending to be this injured sweet guy is gone.”
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