When she turned around, a man in track pants and a gray polyester running shirt that barely fit his wide shoulders and huge biceps stood in front of her. Startled, she realized it was Colin. “Oh, hi.” She crossed her arms over her chest. What had she been thinking going out in public half dressed? “What are you doing here?”
“Going for a run before Tara comes over for dinner.”
Was it a coincidence that he was here, or had he been following them? And where the hell was Mick? He wasn’t that slow. Goosebumps spread across her skin as her body cooled. Or maybe it was Colin’s presence. Despite all the glowing things Tara had said about him, he scared her a little. “You live nearby?” she asked.
He nodded and pointed toward a string of buildings down the street. “I have an apartment where I crash when I’m home,” he said.
Okay, so maybe it was just a coincidence.
“Speaking of which, Tara told me about your house,” he said. “That’s tough.”
Understatement of the year. “Not my best week, for sure.”
He nodded and frowned in sympathy. “Do the police have any suspects?”
Was he curious, or could he be fishing for information? She held back a tired sigh. This sucked. Not knowing who to trust, constantly thinking the worst of everyone. And if someone was following her, she’d left her protector in the dust. Way to go, Jenna. When had she become a hothead, acting without thinking? Now was not the time to toss logic out the window.
“No suspects yet. It’s starting to look like the explosion was an accident, unrelated to the break-in.” Not that she believed it. These special forces types could blow up anything. Surely they knew how to engineer an “accident.”
“Yeah, fire makes it tough.” His eyes flicked to her chest and then back up to her face. “Do you need a ride or something? You look like you’re freezing.”
She pulled her arms tighter around herself, shook her head, and glanced back toward the trail. Come on. “Mick’s right behind me. Maybe he had to stop and tie his shoe.”
Colin snorted. “More likely he ran into a cute girl.”
Her body flushed with angry heat at the idea. She could vividly picture Mick chatting up a cute little redhead in spandex.
“Tara said you guys are just friends,” Colin continued. “That’s probably smart on your part. He’s not exactly a one-woman kind of guy,” he said, not telling her anything she didn’t already know.
“And you are?” she asked, surprising herself as much as him.
“I am now.” He smiled and glanced at his watch. “Are you going to be okay? I need to get moving or I’ll be late.”
She looked back and saw Mick cresting the low hill, headed her way. Was he limping? “There’s Mick now. Thanks. Enjoy your run.”
Colin gave her a little two-fingered salute and started jogging. He and Mick exchanged nods, but didn’t speak. As soon as Colin passed him, Mick’s head whipped around to watch him go.
Jenna ran over to Mick, her anger temporarily forgotten when she caught sight of his bloody knee. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Fine. What the hell is he doing here?” he asked, jerking his thumb behind him.
“Running.”
“Right now, when we’re here? Doesn’t that seem a bit too convenient?” Mick asked as he flopped onto the bench and examined his leg, brushing away tiny stones and dirt with his fingers.
“Maybe, but he lives nearby. This trail is closer to his place than yours.” She knelt in front of him for a closer look at his injury. “What happened? If I’d known you were hurt, I would have come back for you.”
He used his key fob to unlock the Camaro’s doors and stood up. “A bicyclist collided with me.” His voice was hard. “Big, tall guy. I thought it was an accident, but after seeing Colin here, I’m not so sure. I think maybe it was a diversion so he could talk to you.”
Her stomach jumped. Could it be the same guy who’d talked to her before Colin’s arrival? “Red helmet? I think I might have talked to him too.”
“Christ, Jay.” His words vibrated with anger. Or fear. Or maybe a bit of both. “Either one of them could have taken off with you and I wouldn’t have been there to stop it. I don’t care how mad you are, don’t run away like that ever again.”
She started shaking. “I’m in control of what I do, not you.” A minute ago she’d been relieved to see him, but the hurt and anger roared back, his domineering manner fanning the flames.
“How am I supposed to protect you if you won’t let me?” he asked, his frustration evident.
“I’d be more inclined to listen if you didn’t kiss me one minute and hurl insults the next.”
He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair and pinned her with a look that made her knees weak. “What’s your game? This isn’t like you.” He waved a hand at her clothes. Or lack thereof.
“Did it ever occur to you that sometimes I get tired of being like me?” She’d been trying to build up the confidence to break out of her tightly controlled bubble for years. Inside, she was colorful and passionate, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to put it on display. Could a person learn to be more spontaneous, more playful, less rigid? Or was she stuck?
One thing was for sure. Every time her world came crashing down, she crawled back into her shell to take comfort, and spontaneity left the building.
“I’m not a cure for your control issues,” he said. “You need therapy for that.”
“Well thank you so much, Dr. Freud.” She had control issues? “Can we go now?” She was tired of showing the world her belly button, because the one man she wanted to notice it was busy looking anywhere but at her.
After a silent drive home from their run, Mick showered and threw together spaghetti and a jar of sauce while Jenna got cleaned up. When she joined him, damp hair curling around her in a cloud of pale silk, tension filled the air like bitter smoke.
His normal wit failed him, so he opted to keep his mouth shut. Better to maintain the distance between them than to say something stupid.
She ate with her head down, not making eye contact. “Thanks,” was all she said before loading the dishwasher and claiming a spot at the breakfast bar with her laptop.
He cleared his bowl and punched Kurt’s number into his cell phone while he stared at Jenna’s back. What the hell was he going to do with her?
“Smitty is still in town,” Kurt said after they exchanged greetings. “He’s been looking for work, but Claymore has blackballed him.”
That was a risky move on Claymore’s part. If Smitty grew desperate, he could start talking. “Any idea where I might be able to find him?”
“I know you said you just want to find out if he knows who’s after you and Jenna, but I’m sensing something more in your voice, man.”
Mick struggled with how much to say. Kurt had known him for too long not to read his moods. But he couldn’t be the one to tell Kurt about Rob’s pictures or the truth of how he’d died. He hated lying to his friend, but he didn’t have a choice.
He took a slow breath and focused on getting his temper under control. ”I just want to talk to him.”
Kurt was silent for a minute before he let out a sigh. “Be careful with this guy. He can’t get a job, his wife just left him, and his friends have abandoned him. He spends every night getting drunk. He’s got nothing to lose.”
“Thanks, Mom, but I’m not paying you to dispense advice,” Mick said. “Besides, I’m not going to lay a finger on him.” He had questions for Smitty, and he needed to look the man in the eyes as he gave him the answers. That was all. He wrote down the information. “Thanks, man. I’ll be good.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to regret this,” Kurt said before he hung up.
Mick chuckled and glanced over at Jenna, who jabbed at the keys on her computer as if she was stabbing the machine with each letter she typed. Her project was due tomorrow, and her boss had already called twice today to check on her progress. Each time she hung up, her f
ace was splotchy and pinched. She’d explained to Mick in elaborate terms how much she hated the guy.
“The project due date isn’t even real,” she’d said. “He just made it up to give me a deadline. The customer—the shipping department—won’t be ready for it until they get their new computers in two more weeks. I have no idea how Carl got this far. Maybe people kept promoting him to get him out of their departments.”
Watching her now, tense enough to crack, he couldn’t resist saying something. “Maybe you should quit if your boss is such a prick.” He leaned against the wall a few feet away from her, keeping his distance in a vain effort not to smell her shampoo or accidentally brush up against her soft skin.
“I was trying, remember?” she answered without stopping her work. “I had an interview lined up the day you called me with the news.” She quit typing and looked at him, the pain of that memory still fresh in her eyes. “I’m sure they’ve already filled the position by now. I probably didn’t have much chance of getting it anyway. Finding a job in this town is all about who you know, and that’s just not my thing.”
He’d forgotten about the interview. “I thought you wanted to work for yourself.”
She grimaced and shook her head. “I love the idea of it, but the reality? I don’t know.” Her fingers flew over the keys for a few more seconds, and then she slapped the counter and sat back. “There, now it’s done and submitted. A day early. Maybe the jerk will finally get off my back.”
“Until next time. Seriously, what’s the worst that can happen if you go out on your own?” he asked.
Her cell phone rang again before she could respond. She listened quietly, jaw tight, hand trembling as the loud-mouthed bastard on the other end of the line railed at her. For a minute Mick thought she might break down and cry, but then color stained her cheeks, her lips compressed into a flat line, and her eyes sparked.
Atta girl. He nodded at her and leaned forward to speak to her in a low voice. “Life’s too short, Jay.”
Her eyes locked with his for a second before she nodded back. Then, clearing her throat, she said, “Carl? I quit.”
Jenna stared at the phone after ending the call with Carl, her whole body shaking. God, had she really just quit her job?
She dropped the phone into her lap and stared at Mick.
He reached across the granite, gripping her shoulders as he met her gaze. “You did the right thing. No one should have to put up with that kind of treatment, especially not when you work so hard. That guy didn’t appreciate you and he didn’t deserve you.”
“I’m not so sure this was a good idea.” Resting her elbows on the counter, she put her head in her hands and tried to take normal breaths around the tightness filling her chest. Her job had been the last tether to her old life. This had to be the dumbest thing she’d done in a long time. How could she have made such a big decision on impulse?
And yet…a small part of her was doing a little dance. The little part inside of her that had always pushed to be free began to assert itself. She finally had an excuse to make the changes she’d yearned for. She could do whatever she wanted with her life, and she wavered between hyperventilating and cheering.
Mick stepped back and watched her carefully. Other than touching her shoulder just now, he’d been giving her a three-foot berth since they returned from their run.
“Well, I guess that settles it,” she said, looking up. “I don’t have to go back to work tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry, Jay.” He looked genuinely distressed for her. “I know you wanted to have something else lined up before you left QDS.”
“Yeah, but maybe this is a good thing.” Looking at it any other way would only bring her to tears. “Now I truly have nothing to lose. I could go anywhere, do anything.” She’d never imagined having no strings, no attachments to a particular place.
“Where would you go?” he asked.
“Good question. I’ve never considered it.” No, that wasn’t entirely true. “Well, except that I’d love to live near the ocean.” Some of her happiest moments had been at the beach with her family, back when things were good.
“You should do it,” he said. “When this is over, you could start your own consulting business and move to the beach. You can work from anywhere now.”
When this is over. When would that be? What was this? How would she even know when it was over?
“Trying to get rid of me already, huh?” If she moved away, he wouldn’t feel obligated to watch over her anymore. He’d probably welcome the reprieve.
“No, it’s not that,” he said, apparently missing the teasing note in her voice. He ran a hand through his hair, giving it a sexy disheveled look. “I want you to be happy. Nobody should have to go through everything you’ve survived this last week. Hell, these last few years.” His look of concern deepened. “It’s time for something good to happen to you.”
Yes, it was. “And when do you get to be happy?” she asked, shutting her laptop and pushing it aside.
He gave her a wry smile. “Who says I’m not?”
Liar. “Okay, fine then. I think we should celebrate all of this unexpected happiness.” She was suddenly feeling reckless. Reckless and numb.
His eyes narrowed and he put his hands on his hips, stretching his ratty Air Force T-shirt tight across his chest. Her belly did a little flip and she swallowed hard. Now that they were speaking again, she finally realized something that should have been obvious to her all along. His harsh words on the trail had been his attempt to push her away. It was that damn promise to Rob again.
She wasn’t going to give up. Now that she’d given herself permission to give in to her desire, she was impatient with longing. But she’d have to be more careful this time. She’d have to lure him in before he knew what was happening.
As if she knew how to do that.
“What did you have in mind?” he asked. “We could go out for ice cream.”
She laughed. How old did she think he was? “I was thinking beer.”
He frowned. “That’s not a good idea. For either one of us.”
“For years you and Rob have been telling me to loosen up, lighten up, let go a little, and when I finally want to, you tell me it’s not a good idea?” She stood up, a sudden surge of energy shooting through her body. “How about this? I’m going out. Either join me or don’t. I may not have Tara’s glam, but I’m sure I can find someone who’s willing to drink with me.”
Besides, she needed to lose a few inhibitions if she wanted the confidence to come on to Mick again.
He sighed and shook his head. “Fine. Someone has to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”
“Hah. But who’s going to watch out for you?”
“Good question,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?”
“Get changed. I know the perfect place.”
For the first time in her life, Jenna was going to let go. She was either really excited or scared out of her mind. Maybe both.
CHAPTER NINE
TARA SMOOTHED HER HAIR in Colin’s bathroom mirror and walked through his bachelor bedroom with its plain oak furniture and bare walls, moving past the disheveled bed where they’d just had incredible sex. Her hunger had been forgotten the minute he opened the door and pulled her in for a kiss. Five days and his touch still turned her to putty.
But now she was ravenous and almost shaky with hunger. Lunch had been a long time ago. She reached for the handle of the door leading to the living room, but stopped when she heard his voice.
“No suspects.”
He paused, and she could hear cupboard doors squeaking open and being slammed shut.
“I can’t really talk right now…yeah, keep it up and let me know.”
Pots clanged and the kitchen faucet started running.
“Roger that. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She forced herself to wait at the door for another thirty seconds so he wouldn’t know she’d listened to part of his con
versation. But why did she feel like she had to hide? She hadn’t overhead anything incriminating. He worked in security, and he probably wasn’t supposed to talk about his work with her, but it wasn’t her fault if she heard something she shouldn’t. Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be on R&R right now?
She thought of Mick’s warning and frowned, but Colin had given her no reason to doubt him. He was probably just talking shop with a friend. And, truth be told, she didn’t want to doubt him. He was tender and thoughtful when she needed it. Rough and wild when she wanted it. The first guy in years who’d stayed interested for more than one or two nights. She was probably just getting paranoid because she really liked him.
Shaking off her thoughts, she walked into the living room that adjoined the kitchen. “It smells great out here. What are you making?”
“Nothing fancy. Spaghetti and meatballs. My grandmother’s recipe.” He reached her in two steps and took her hands, twirling her toward the stereo where he punched a button. Slow, sexy jazz filled the tiny room. “Dance with me while the sauce simmers,” he said, leaning in to plant a hot kiss on her mouth.
God, she loved this big man who cooked and danced and kissed like a dream.
Oh, no. Her heart skipped a beat and her steps faltered. It was too soon, but she still couldn’t deny the truth.
She was definitely falling for him.
Mick scanned the large room crammed with billiard tables, video games, and low-slung club chairs gathered around short tables. The sharp crack of someone breaking the rack on a nearby pool table reverberated in the dark green room. Smoke hung in the air, filtering the dim light, as music with a heavy bass pulsed over the din of conversation.
Nobody in the crowd looked familiar.
According to Kurt, this was Smitty’s favorite hangout, but it was early yet, only eight. Bringing Jenna to this place was probably not his best idea ever. Still, she wanted to go out, and he wanted to talk to Smitty. This way they could both get what they wanted.
“I thought you couldn’t smoke in public places in Virginia anymore,” she said, waving her hand in front of her nose. She wore a green v-neck top over blue jeans that showcased her cute little ass. Her white-blond curls hung loose, almost to her shoulders, glowing brightly in the dimly lit room.
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