by Cynthia Eden
She didn’t.
“Whether you trust me—”
Not going to happen.
“It’s about you staying alive. I’m going to keep you alive. Count on that.”
Chapter Eight
He was already sorry. Oh, damn, but Rick was sorry. Because while he was cuffed to Kat, he had to stay right beside her. Beside her as in…in the same bed with her. He’d taken her upstairs to his room and even though the bed was king-sized, it seemed a million times too small to him.
She was on one side. He was as far on the other side as it was possible to be. She’d rolled away from him, and his arm extended toward her because of the handcuffs. Darkness surrounded them. Her breathing was light and easy, but he knew she wasn’t asleep.
Neither was he.
“Well, this isn’t quite what I imagined,” Kat finally announced. “If you’d told me that I’d be spending the night cuffed in bed with a sexy guy, I would’ve called you crazy. Though I have to admit, the reality of bondage time with you is just not living up to the fantasy. Very disappointed.”
He stared straight up.
“We can ditch the cuffs. I’m not running tonight.”
Oh, yeah, he wanted to believe that. He just couldn’t.
“Are you pretending to be asleep?” The covers rustled. He felt her turn toward him. “Because I know you’re wide awake. Your body is as stiff as a board and you haven’t so much as twitched for the last five minutes.”
He’d been attempting to stay still so that she would go to sleep.
“Rick.” A sigh. “What am I going to do with you?”
Anything you want. No, that wasn’t the answer he was supposed to give. He could not give that answer.
She rolled closer.
His phone rang. The shrill tone had him jerking in the darkness as his free hand flew out toward the nightstand and grabbed the phone. His gaze narrowed on the number that he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t like his private number was easy to get. Telemarketers didn’t call him so—
The phone rang again.
He swiped his finger over the screen and shoved the phone to his ear. “Who the hell is this?”
“You have five minutes to get her out of there. Her location is compromised.” The voice was flat and hard, and one that he didn’t recognize.
“What?” Rick surged upright.
“You heard me. Stop wasting time and get her out.”
“Listen, asshole, I’m not going to believe anything that you say to me, okay? Obviously, this is a trick, and I’m hanging up the phone.” Because the guy could be trying to triangulate the cell signal and find them.
“You’re at the damn bar. I already have your location. So do they. Move her out now or she’s dead.”
The caller hung up on him.
“Rick?” Kat sat up next to him in the bed. “What’s happening?”
He was already dialing again. Putting in a call to Cole.
“Yo.” Cole answered on the second ring. “Trouble with the princess already—”
“Is this location compromised?” He climbed out of bed.
Kat yelped as their linked hands had her being pulled across the mattress.
“No. No, it shouldn’t be,” Cole assured him.
“Just got some mystery call saying it was.” He rattled off the caller’s number. “Trace it. Now. He said I have five minutes before unwelcome visitors are here.” Rick ended the call. Turned toward Kat. “We’re moving.”
She shoved up on the mattress. “What’s going on?”
“The caller didn’t just guess that we were at the bar.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You need to slow things down. I didn’t hear your phone call. Okay, I mean, I heard what you were saying, but not what the person on the other end of the line was telling you. Explain things to me. Slowly.”
“No time for slow. If the guy is right, then in five minutes, this place is going to be crawling with bastards looking for you.” And if the guy wasn’t right, the location was still compromised. They had to move, right then.
She jumped out of the bed. “Where are my shoes?” She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Uncomfortable clothes for bed, but after he’d cuffed her, she’d refused to change. Since she’d worn her jeans and t-shirt, he’d kept his on, too. Rick had figured the more clothes they wore in bed together, the better. Or, rather, the less temptation.
“Get the cuffs off!” Kat cried out when they both tried to surge into two different directions—each of them looking for shoes.
He hesitated. If they got out in the open and this was a trick—one that she and a mystery partner were working—Kat would be in the wind. She could vanish on him.
And if it wasn’t a trick, then he needed to be as close as possible to her. Close enough to come between her and a bullet. “Not yet.”
“Not yet? Not yet?” She gave a frustrated scream.
Yeah. His soul pretty much felt the same way. They’d deal.
She got her shoes. He got his shoes and his gun. Then he dropped the phone he’d used moments before. The line was compromised. He paused to grab a burner from his stash, and then they were rushing down the stairs. He got them out the back door, down the alley, around the corner…
And shoved her against the side of the building when he saw the two dark vans rushing down the street.
He pinned her between the building and his body, holding her there.
“Why didn’t we take the motorcycle?” Kat whispered.
“Because it’s easier to disappear in a crowd.” The crowd that was right across the street. Heading in and out of the bars. They just had to get into the mix of people, and they could slip away.
The vans braked near the curb. Their headlights cut into the darkness. When the men got out of the vehicles, they were wearing ski masks.
Shit.
They ran for Rick’s bar. He waited until the masked men were inside and then… “Come on.” He and Kat made a break for it. They shot across the street. Left the dark and empty corner behind and headed for the packed bars. They rushed forward, hurtling through the throng, and Rick shoved a hundred at the first bouncer he saw so that they could get in the front door of the nearest club.
Music blared. Bodies gyrated. Drinks poured.
“Oh, wow,” Kat said, gazing around with a smile on her face. “This place is awesome.”
The place was a perfect hiding spot. Crammed with people. Dimly lit.
“Can we dance? Let’s dance,” Kat urged him.
“A hit team just came for you,” he gritted as he yanked her closer to him. “This isn’t a party night. This is me trying to keep you alive.”
She looked up at him. “And we stick out more when we just stand here.” Her voice was low. Husky. “Everyone else is dancing. If we want to blend in, we have to dance, too.” He heard a faint click. Her hand lifted, revealing the cuffs—the unlocked cuffs—that dangled from her fingertips. “And part one of blending in is that we ditch these.”
She’d picked the cuffs. What had she even used to pick them?
Growling, he grabbed the cuffs and shoved them into his back pocket. Then he put both hands on her and hauled her closer. They moved onto the dance floor because she was right. They were sticking out, and they needed to blend.
They needed to look like every other couple there.
“When they search your place and I’m not there…” Her body swayed against his. “What will they do next?”
“Hunt.” Rick’s mind was spinning as he tried to figure out what to do. He needed backup. The other Wilde agents were close by, but he’d been careful when they left the safe house. The Wilde agents might not have even seen them.
He could call in his backup. Have a new car waiting in moments.
But he didn’t.
How did the hit team learn her location?
Kat didn’t have a tracker on her any longer. So did that mean that someone else had given the location away? But the Fed
s didn’t know where she was.
Only Wilde agents knew.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He leaned over her. His mouth brushed against her ear. “I have to talk with Cole.” He trusted his partner. And he trusted Eric Wilde. Those were the two people he needed right then.
She shivered.
Had he touched the delicate shell of her ear with his mouth? Maybe. Had it been deliberate? Maybe.
His head lifted, and he glanced around. He needed a quiet space, but going outside wasn’t an option for him at that moment. He was trying to think through this shit. It was hard to think with blaring music and gyrating bodies that kept bumping into him.
As his gaze drifted, he saw the other men staring. Not at him—their avid gazes were on Kat.
One tall, blond asshole was staring at her like he’d just found a four-course meal.
Rick moved his body, turning so that he was in the blond’s line of sight. Then he mouthed, “Fuck off.” Very clearly.
The guy fucked off and hurried away.
A few others had their eyes on her. Her ass was shaking, her body was swaying, and Kat sure seemed to be having the time of her life. They were running for her life, and she was acting like it was the best clubbing experience ever.
She was also attracting too much attention. So much for blending. Kat wasn’t the blending type. She wore jeans and a tight t-shirt. Other women were in designer dresses and short skirts, but it was Kat who caught the attention of the eager jerks in the club.
The movements of her body were sexy as fuck. She was smiling, her eyes were lit up, her hair was tousled.
And the other men there wanted to fuck her. They saw her, they wanted…and Rick wanted to kick their asses.
His head lowered toward hers.
“Rick?”
His mouth took hers. A hot, deep kiss of possession. He wanted anyone who saw them to see a man obsessed with the woman before him. A man who wanted her more than anything.
She kissed him back. Kat gave a little moan and returned the kiss with wild abandon. Her lips were soft and silken, and her tongue slid against his in the purest temptation. Desire exploded inside of Rick. It pulsed and churned, and he wanted her. Right the hell then.
With a supreme, freaking effort, he tore away from her lips. He locked his arm around her, and they made their way toward the spiral staircase that led upstairs. A guy with bulging biceps stepped into his path.
“Need a room,” Rick snarled at him, keeping a tight hold on Kat. His fingers were curled around her hips. “Need it now.”
The fellow’s knowing gaze went from Rick to Kat. “You’ll have to pay for a VIP space.”
“Tell me some shit I don’t know.” With his left hand, he dragged a wad of cash from his wallet. His right stayed locked to Kat.
The bouncer took the cash and motioned upward. “Second room on the right is free.”
Rick dragged Kat against him. Kissed her again. Wild. Fierce. Then he pushed her in front of him.
She turned back, staring at him with slightly dazed eyes. “Rick. What are we—”
“Upstairs, baby. Now.”
She blinked at him and didn’t start climbing the stairs. And he got the terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that she was about to say something wrong. The kind of wrong that would give away the ruse he was trying to create.
So he scooped her up. Tossed her over his shoulder. Made sure he was holding her carefully as he hauled ass up to the second floor. He went straight to the second room. Kicked the door closed. Locked it. Flimsy-ass lock. Then slid Kat down his body until her feet touched the floor.
She stared at him with her wide, incredible eyes. “I…I don’t know what’s happening. Are we here to—”
“Make a call,” he finished, voice rumbling and low. “I needed a quiet space. Had to get us one.”
She shook her head. “What?”
“I had to make sure everyone downstairs remembered a couple.” He yanked out the burner phone. “Not a bodyguard and his target.”
Kat sucked in a breath.
He dialed Cole, his eyes drifting to the door to make sure that no one had followed them.
The phone rang. Rang—
“Hello?”
“Cole, we had visitors. The kind in freaking ski masks.”
Kat kicked Rick’s shin.
He frowned at her. The kick hadn’t hurt. He’d barely felt a thing. But why was she kicking him?
She pulled back her foot to kick again.
He rushed forward, pinning her against the wall and his body. “Don’t.” He had a lot of shit to deal with at the moment. Getting kicked by Kat wasn’t something else he wanted on his list.
“Don’t what?” Cole asked.
Rick growled. “Who called me? Did you trace the number?”
“Yeah…yeah, but you’re not going to like it.”
What did he like about the night?
“It came from Wilde Securities. That’s the number for some assistant on the seventh floor. It looks like—shit, Eric is going over the security footage right now, but it looks like someone broke into our building. They called you from inside Wilde. Do you know what kind of skill it would take to pull off something like that?”
He had a clue.
Cole added quickly, “The agents watching your bar called in the arrival of the black vans and they swarmed fast, but not fast enough to stop the bad guys.”
“Seriously? What the fuck?”
“Your unexpected visitors blasted their way inside, and, when they saw the place was empty, they raced away. Our agents tailed them for blocks, but then got held up when one of the perps shot out the tires on a Wilde car.”
“Wonderful. This shit is insane.” Shots flying on the streets? When civilians were around? The Atlanta PD would freak.
“Listen, Rick, we have boots on the ground. They’re searching the streets and more backup is on the way. Just tell me where you want the Wilde agents to pick you up.”
How had the mystery caller gotten into Wilde? It wasn’t that easy. You didn’t just waltz inside the place. It would take some serious skills to pull off a move like that.
Kat glared at him. “You’re an asshole.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he muttered right back.
“Uh…I thought I just had told you something,” Cole responded, sounding confused. “The call came from inside our own agency. If that doesn’t set off a million alarms for you, I don’t know what does. So let’s get you hooked up with the agents who are close by and then we can—”
“No.”
“No?” Cole’s voice rose.
Kat kept glaring at Rick. Probably because he was trapping her with his body. “Don’t kick me.”
“I’m not kicking you,” Cole snapped. “Though I’m wondering what the hell you are thinking.” A long breath. “What do you mean, ‘no’?” Cole asked.
“I mean I don’t know who the hell to trust right now. The night is going to shit, and I have to get Kat away from this scene. I’ll call you—only you—when I have her secure.”
“But, Rick—”
He smashed the phone against the wall. Then he whirled away. Tossed the remains into a garbage can and looked back at Kat.
Kat watched him with huge eyes and then said, “Okay, Hulk, how about you take a breath and settle down?”
His jaw clenched as he gritted, “Princess, you’re the one kicking.”
“Because you’re jerking me around! You’re using me! You’re kissing me and making me think you want me when really you were just doing some kind of cover crap and—”
Dammit. He marched right back to her. Locked his hands around her shoulders and hauled her close.
She stopped talking.
“I’m not jerking you around. Let’s be clear. I want you so badly my whole body aches right now.”
“But…What? You do?”
“Move your hips two inches closer, and you’ll know the fucking truth on that.
”
Her body stiffened.
“I kissed you down there because I pretty much always want to kiss you.”
Her lips parted.
“But I did also need a cover. You were attracting too much attention.”
“I wasn’t doing anything!”
“Yeah, you didn’t need to do much more. Men noticed you. They were remembering you. I had to get you covered.”
“And you thought you’d cover me with your mouth? Interesting.”
Had she inched closer? One inch?
“If the people down there are questioned, they’ll remember two lovers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.” His hands were very much on her, and he didn’t want to let go. “Like I said before, they won’t remember a bodyguard and his target. They’ll remember a hot and heavy couple. Maybe a jealous asshole guy who wanted his woman more than anything else.”
She bit her lower lip.
“Right now, I only trust Cole and my boss, Eric. I can’t put my faith in anyone else because your life is on the line. So we aren’t turning to the other agents. I’m getting you away. I’m getting you off everyone’s radar, and then we’ll figure out our next move.”
She moved closer. Last freaking inch.
He saw her pupils expand.
A shudder worked the length of his body. She didn’t get it. The woman was playing with fire. They were both about to go up in flames. “Kat.”
“Tell me how I can help.”
Oh, the things she could do…No, no, he had to focus. “Stay close to me. We’re going back downstairs. We’re getting out of this club.” Out of the city. “We’re going to need a new phone and transportation.”
She nodded. “Okay. Got it.”
“You don’t leave my side even for a moment, understand?” For all he knew, the people after her could already be in the club. He was starting to think the bad guys were everywhere.
“I’ll stay close.”
He kissed her. Lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers in another frantic, hungry kiss. He shouldn’t be touching her, Rick knew it, but…screw that. He wanted her. The more he was with her, the wilder he seemed to become. He’d been so careful over the last few years. Ever since his best friend—a damn psychopath—had gone down in a hail of flames and fury, Rick had been careful. He’d done his job. He’d gone through the motions of living. He’d done everything the right way. The boring, safe way.