by Emily Bowie
Walking into the dingy place, I spot Kip sitting at a table with a few others. I recognize most of them. They’re all his crew, who would give their lives for him. Heading to the bar, I sit in my usual spot, where Russ hands me my beer. No words are exchanged, and I can feel the tension in the air. I’m not the only one amped up; something big is going to happen. I can feel it, the same way a junky can feel when their next hit is moments away. The adrenaline in my body increases from everyone else’s eagerness, and it becomes contagious. It’s easy to be swept into it.
Taking a drink of the stale beer, I remind myself of the purpose of me being here. Not only am I here for Sloan, but I need Kip to trust me enough to get close to him once again. Using Sloan has never been my objective, but I can’t deny how this helps both my problems. I can keep Sloan safe while becoming “brothers” with Kip once again to gain intel. I need to separate myself from Sloan and Kip, focusing on the FBI agent I am.
It takes longer than I would like to separate myself. With each sip of beer, I have slowed my heart as best as I can until I’m ready.
The last drop of beer sits at the bottom of my glass when I see Kiptyn get up, nodding for me to follow him out back.
Silently, I get up and head down the small hallway, past the bathrooms, and into the back warehouse.
Our footsteps echo against the walls in rhythm to my blood flowing. When Kip stops, I pull out a chair, turning it backward to take a seat on it, my arms resting on its back in front of me. I look relaxed and carefree, when I feel anything but. I love this part of the job almost as much as the heist.
“You and my cuz?” He looks at me, his jaw moving back and forth as he tries to make up his mind if this is a good thing or not.
“You know me enough to know that I won’t hurt her on purpose.” As those words come out of my mouth, I know I want them to be true and hadn’t realized that, in fact, I may have no control over it.
Kiptyn notices my hesitation immediately and eyes me. “I think you’re a good enough guy to think that.” Silence invades us as we stare each other down. “Is that why you two were spotted back here together?”
My heart falls for a moment, realizing that I have been caught. For that moment, I fail my training and my eyes dart to the room I pushed Sloan into. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.” It’s a smart-ass answer that will hopefully get me off the hook. I lean back, opening myself up, faking that I’m up for any of his questions.
His hand wipes down his face, pulling at his skin before he huffs out a sigh. “If you hurt her, there will be consequences. And no more fucking around back here. She’s worth more than that.”
That is the one thing we both can agree on. “I agree.” Just to keep up my cocky charade, I add, “Now, do you want details, or should we get down to business?”
“That’s gross, man.” He laughs, shaking his head. “Sloan’s ex has been seen in town. Remember the night your cocky ass stole the wrong car for me?”
I nod, remembering the night well.
“The guy who was waiting when you got back, that’s him, Ace. He’s bad news. Somehow, he even managed to slap a lean on our grandmother’s house, to trap Sloan here.” Kiptyn paces back and forth in front of me as he continues to talk. “I’m coming up with a plan, but until then, I don’t want Sloan to leave your side.”
I completely agree with him, already standing up, ready to go to her work. “I’m in.”
“One more thing.”
I look toward him, already knowing I’m not going to like what he says next.
“I need you for a job in a few days. You’ll have to take her with you.”
I open my mouth to protest, knowing how it could affect Sloan. She’s not an innocent bystander if she comes on any of these jobs. She will become one that I hunt.
“Don’t worry. It’s not her first time. She knows what to expect.” He reads my body language, taking it wrong, thinking I’m worried about how she will affect the job.
Protecting Sloan may not be my assignment, but fuck. Each day with her, the lines blur more and more.
*
All I want to do is ask Sloan about Kiptyn’s comment, “It’s not her first time.” How many times has she pulled stunts like this? Why had we never met before?
Sloan has fully taken over every thought I have. Not only how I hope to protect her, but how I can also spend more time getting to know her.
Passing Becca’s house, I get an idea I hope will win me some extra points with Sloan. Knowing Molly would already be at Nelly’s has me turning the corner into their driveway. Taking a chance, I’m hoping she doesn’t mind the interruption.
Before I can knock on the door, it opens with Becca standing right in front of me.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Kellen Steele.” She looks at me curiously. Becca and I were never close growing up, since she was older than me by a couple of years. Knowing she’s on the pro-Kellen side moved her right into the friend zone in my life.
“How’re the little ones?” I ask, genuinely wanting to know. Her face lights up at my question.
“They’re good. Thank you for the popsicles. Lacey and Gibson devoured them in less than two days.” She laughs, obviously thinking back on it.
“Welcome.” I nod, placing my hands in my pockets. “I was wondering if you wanted me to take the kids to the park for a few hours tomorrow.”
I’ve obviously shocked her by honoring my word, as she takes a step back, looking stunned. But just in case I’m reading her wrong, I add, “But if you don’t want me to, I understand.” Now I feel sheepish for coming out here just to say this.
Before I can begin to backtrack, her arms fly around me. “Thank you.” She squeezes me tightly. When she pulls back, her eyes are glassy. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“Pleasure is all mine. Mind if I bring Sloan along with me?”
Her face lights up again. “Of course not. She’s been great with them the few times I’ve had to run into the pub with them in tow.”
Tapping on the door twice, I turn back to my truck. “See you tomorrow.”
“Night, Kellen.” Then the door closes softly behind me.
I’m looking forward to taking the kids to the park with Sloan. I think it would be a fun date for us. I envision her pushing the swing for one as I chase the other one.
This will be a walk in the park.
CHAPTER 25
When I see Kellen step inside Nelly’s, an edge of calm washes over me.
“A draft, when you get a second,” I tap the bar in front of Chance, hoping to get Kellen a beer before he needs to ask.
“Kellen walks in and you’re all smiles?” Chance states like it’s a question, his eyebrow rising. I shrug it off, my smile only growing.
Chance slides the beer toward me, but not before giving me his warning. “Just be careful.”
It’s sweet they all think they need to protect me from him, but what they don’t realize is we both have a past. Maybe if I had grown up in a small town, they’d all be warning Kellen about me.
“Here you are.” I place the cold beer down in front of Kellen. There’s a moment when our hands touch, and a zap shoots into me. I’m lost looking into his eyes, wondering how he’s broken through my walls.
He clears his throat, dissipating this odd sensation I know he’s feeling too. “Thank you.”
Knowing Kellen is close, I feel safe. I’m not worried about Ace finding me here. I’m not worried he’ll be waiting for me at home. All because of this man in front of me.
I’ve forgotten how lonely I’d become, with no one ever staying close to me. I don’t want to let go of this feeling.
When I look over to Kellen next, I see his brother Brax and Luke have joined him, and Molly is over there looking like she’s taking their orders. I shouldn’t feel jealous, yet I do. I hate the feeling. I would rather bathe in the feeling that Kellen gives me each time we hang out.
I watch as Molly laughs with them before walking away,
her hips swaying.
“You looked busy, so I took Table 15’s drink order.” She says it so innocently.
“I could have done that.” I don’t want to back down from this, even though it’s petty.
“I know. I also wanted to take a break but didn’t want it to look like I couldn’t pull my own. Do you mind watching my tables for ten?”
Shit, now I feel bad for getting so prickly. “It’s fine. I can handle this.”
“Thank you.” She looks at me for a moment, like she wants to say one more thing, before she turns toward the back door.
I can’t help but watch her leave, wondering what’s on her mind, and then she turns. “I’m having a girls’ night next week. Did you want to come? Shay will be there.”
I think about it, knowing I do need to make friends other than Kellen. “I would love to.”
“Perfect.” She skips toward the back as I begin to gather up the waiting food and drinks.
I have to admit tonight has been fun. Not long after Brax and Luke showed up, so did Shay and another girl, Jessica. Molly kept bringing me into the conversation, making me feel welcomed. I can’t even be mad that she spent most of the night at my table, when she was going over and beyond for her tables and mine.
“Can I get another water?” Shay asks me, while my back is to the rest of Nelly’s.
“Driving tonight?” I ask mostly to make conversation, and curious as to why she keeps asking for water, while she’s away from the table.
“I rarely drink. I don’t see the point in drinking something I can’t stand the taste of.”
My head bobs, thinking it over.
“Water?” Brax’s voice booms around us. “What happened to this party girl that Raya keeps telling stories about?” Shay laughs, tapping her brother on the shoulder, looking like she’s enjoying the ribbing from him.
“All lies.” She giggles.
Then Brax turns his attention to me. “You will meet her at that girls’ night.”
“She promised she would come,” Shay swear to Brax, making him look happier than I’ve seen him. He seems to be all business, serious-faced. I wonder what holds him back.
“Now stop hogging all of Sloan’s attention.” Kellen’s arm comes around me.
I take a deep breath, pulling in his masculine pine scent, loving how it wafts over me. Soon as his body is close to mine, I feel this pull. My body tucks itself closer into him. My panties become wet just thinking about how his body is able to play mine.
In this moment, I’m happy Ace broke in. Otherwise, Kellen wouldn’t be sticking by my side. I would be going home alone at the end of the night.
“So this is what it feels like to be in the middle of the Steele family,” I joke, causing them all to chuckle.
“Now shoo,” Kellen demands.
“Last call,” I yell out at their backs, just in case they want anything more.
“Don’t tell them that.” Kellen’s voice whispers in my ear, “Otherwise, it will take longer for you to get out of here tonight.”
I shiver as his breath tickles me.
He gives me a small peck on the cheek before his lady-killer wink as he walks away, back to the table.
Unlike all the other times, Kellen stays in his booth as he waits for Molly, Chance, and me to finish up. My nerves begin to get the best of me, wondering if he plans on staying the night. Should I be so forward to ask him?
Now that I’ve had a moment to breathe and relax, all of the little things out of place the other night come rushing in, telling me it was Ace who broke in.
Pincher always roams freely in the house, but I found her locked in the bathroom when I went for my shower. Ace used to do that all the time, because he hated cats. Not only that, the only picture I have of Granny in my bedroom was placed faced down, like he didn’t like anyone watching him while he was in my house. These little actions scare me more that I would ever admit.
“All done.”
He looks up from his phone at the sound of my voice.
As I hop into his truck, it smells like him. The seats are worn but allow you to sink in comfortably. My head leans into his headrest and I close my eyes, soaking it all in.
“Tired?” Kellen asks me.
I don’t open my eyes as I answer him. “No, just relaxing.” I can feel the weight of his hand on my thigh, causing my lips to twitch upward.
We drive home in comfortable silence, something I have always found hard to do with anyone. The small act reminds me why I want to stay in this town.
Ace has already found where I’m staying. Who’s to say he won’t find me in the next town? I’m tired of running, and I like the people around me too much to let them go. I don’t know if I could have ever said that before.
I feel the truck lurch forward, telling me that we have stopped before I open my eyes.
“Want to come in?” I want to tell him about Ace. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t know where to start.
“I’ll stay till you feel safe enough to be by yourself.” The way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he can see into my heart and soul. I don’t have to tell him I’m afraid or pretend to be strong. He can sense it without me saying a word. The thought is comforting and scary, all rolled into one. This connection we have is unlike any other. He has the power to discover all my secrets.
When I look back into his dark eyes, I can see his own secrets he tries to cover. It reminds me we both have something to lose.
“You up for a game of Jenga, the drinking game type?”
“Darling, you just may be looking at Three Rivers’s Jenga all-star.” He flexes his muscles, acting like it involves some of what’s he’s dishing, causing me to laugh.
“Well, it looks like you’ve met your match.”
Stepping into my house, I can’t help but look around, waiting to hear any noise. The house is silent, the front door securely bolted closed. The house still smells of dust and sugar cookies from Granny. I don’t try to beat the memory and smell away from me like I’ve done before. This time, I allow it to soak in. Soon, I will miss this smell and want it back.
“My liquor is up there.” I point to the cabinet on top of my fridge, while I go to the closet by the front door. I pause, looking at the door Kellen replaced. Before I allow myself to think of the what-ifs, I open the closet door to pull out the wooden game.
Pincher is at my feet, rubbing himself against me and purring like I’ve been gone days instead of hours.
“Not a fan of vodka?” Kellen’s deep voice travels through to the other room.
“What can I say? I’m a scotch girl.” I chuckle, realizing I only had the one bottle up there.
Taking the game down, I start to explain the rules. “So we set this up like regular Jenga, but each block has something written on it. When you pull a block, you have to do what it says.”
I hand him a few pieces. One says, take a drink, while the other one says, give out 1 drink. He looks at it, getting the point, as I start to set it up.
“Did you make this?” Kellen places the two pieces I handed to him on the tower I’m building.
“Kiptyn and I did the last time I was here.” I was a wreck, I recall. It was then I decided to live as a gypsy, moving from place to place, never growing roots.
“I have a difficult past,” I blurt out a few minutes into the game, not knowing how else to explain Ace to him. His eyes lift from the wooden piece he was about to remove from the lopsided tower.
“That makes two of us.” His fingers go back to the wood piece and slowly take it out, placing it on top of the structure that wobbles a bit.
I fill up both of our shot glasses, ready to play an impromptu round of “my ex is so crazy.”
“My ex is so crazy I think he broke in here the other night.”
He knows where this game is going. I watch him think before I down my hard liquor shot.
Past
“Kip, I fucked up this time.” I’m pacing in McGrath’s mansio
n, almost on the verge of hysterics.
“Calm down.” He puts his arm around me, guiding me to the back.
“I can’t live like this. He shot a guy because he didn’t have the same view as him.” My hands pull at my hair, twirling it before messing it up again. My fingers want to move but have no direction. Bringing them to my lips, I take a fake drag. I hold the deep intake of air in my lungs, remembering how the smoke would burn and fill my lungs before exhaling.
“The cops stopped by. Told me I could be charged as an accessory if what I told them wasn’t the truth.”
“Did you tell them the truth?”
“No!” I gasp. “I left town right after. I didn’t want them to look too far into his past, because then they would find you.”
“Would he rat you out?” Kip asks seriously.
I’m not innocent by any means. I have done my fair share of car thefts, needing the money and having no easy, legal way of making some quick cash.
I think about that. “No,” I say slowly. “He likes to have power over me. He would never.”
“Go to Granny’s, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Slowly, I nod. I had one more thing I needed to take care of before I left Three Rivers. The wrinkled envelope sits in my pocket. I was too scared to mail it before now, in case he could follow my trail.
Entering the small town, I stop at the first mailbox I see. Dropping the letter in. This is my last chance to cut all ties.
*
Present
“Come on.”
Kellen is pulling my arm, trying to drag me out of bed. My head pounds, telling me I drank way more than I intended to. Why do I do this to myself? I was feeling too much, so I had to go numb myself by drinking. I groan, thinking back to see if I remember embarrassing myself.
“Why?” I pout, lying as dead weight while he pulls my arm up. I allow one eye to open for a quick second. The room is still dark, making my head not hurt any more than it already does. Kellen looks all fresh, like he had ten hours of sleep. How can he look so sexy when I feel like crap? The world is unfair.