by Cynthia Eden
Lights hit them. Bright lights as a souped-up truck thundered toward them.
Latonya and Tess surged forward, their feet rushing frantically over the crosswalk as the vehicle blew by them. They were inches away from being hit.
“Hey, dipshit!” Latonya yelled after him. “Pedestrian right of way!” She flipped him off. “He could’ve killed us! Idiot!”
Tess’s heart was racing. She could only see the truck’s tail-lights. It had happened so fast. The truck had just flashed on its lights and raced right at them.
And for just a moment, she remembered the phone call she’d gotten that morning. She’d been so sure it had only been a wrong number. She’d even convinced herself that maybe she’d imagined the words she’d heard…
Found you.
“We need to report that asshole. Did you get his tag number?”
Tess shook her head. “I was too busy running.”
Latonya sniffed. “Me, too. Scared the hell out of me.”
Me, too. The driver was long gone, and Tess knew there were no street cams in that particular area. Tracking him would be pretty impossible.
“I need to get home.” Tess squeezed Latonya’s hand. “I want a raincheck on the diner, okay? But I have to go. I-I’m really tired tonight.”
“Hey, don’t let that jerk ruin your night. He’s just an idiot.”
Tess forced a smile. “Raincheck?” she pushed again. “Please?”
Latonya nodded.
Tess hurried toward the Jeep. Latonya’s car was parked right in front of her ride.
“But one thing…”
Tess paused at Latonya’s words.
“How can you not be sure if your man broke up with you? He either said we’re done or he said fuck me some more.”
Latonya. Yes, she could definitely be blunt. She could also cut right through the bullshit. One of the things Tess admired about her. “James wants more. He just has conditions.”
Latonya leaned in close. “Kinky shit?”
“He wants me to…share my life. My past.” Me.
“Oh.” Latonya cleared her throat. “Would that be so bad?” Her gaze darted over Tess’s face. “To actually let a man in? To let a lover get close enough to care?”
But what if he didn’t care? What if he found all the dark parts that she kept hidden and he turned away? Her chest ached. “You know how busy my life is. You—of all people—understand how crazy it is to be working in the ER. It takes up so much time and—”
“You can always make time for the things that matter.” Latonya pointed across the street. “You’ve made time for this place as long as I’ve known you.”
Yes.
“If he matters, you’d make time for him.”
Tess didn’t speak.
“But we both know what this is really about.”
“We do?”
“I love you, Tess, but you’re scared. You’ve always been so scared that people won’t like the real you.”
“No…no, I don’t care what people—”
“You don’t care what most people think. You couldn’t give a damn what God Complex thinks. But people who get past your guard, those lucky few, you care about them.”
Tess pressed her lips together.
“You care about me,” Latonya continued in her easy, no-nonsense voice. “Hell, you love me.”
“I do.”
Latonya blinked, as if Tess’s quick agreement surprised her. “Well, you should. I’m fabulous.”
The ache in Tess’s chest eased a little.
“But you need more than a fabulous best friend, and I think you know that. Maybe the hero is the one for you. Maybe he’s not. But if you keep hiding from him, if you keep closing yourself off, you’ll never know for sure, will you?”
“What if he doesn’t like who I really am?”
“Then fuck him. He wasn’t worth your time, anyway.”
***
“Did you kill him?”
James sighed as he lifted a beer bottle to his mouth. Barnes had been skulking behind him as James stood in the VIP area of the club, staring down at the crowd. Another packed night. Bodies were gyrating on the dance floor. The band was pumping. And she wasn’t there.
“Did you?” Barnes repeated, voice breaking a little bit.
James turned toward him. Offered a cold smile. “See…when you ask questions like that, it makes me suspicious.”
Sweat covered the younger guy’s brow. He had on his glasses again. Clark Kent, in full effect.
“I get suspicious and I think to myself…Barnes was once an informant for the FBI. How do I know he’s not still working for the government?”
The sweating seemed to get worse. “But you worked for the government, too.”
“Not the FBI.”
Barnes licked his lower lip. “You think I’d rat you out?”
“I think you once made a living doing that very thing. And I think you’re crazy if you believe I’d make any kind of confession to you.” He didn’t like the suspicion, but there had been a few red flags waving lately.
Barnes straightened his spine, surprising James as he confessed, “I asked because I’m worried about you.”
“That is so freaking sweet. But I’m not your mama. Don’t worry about me.”
Barnes gave a little growl. Or a hum. Kinda hard to tell the difference. “I thought you were starting a new life here. I thought we both were. If you’re going back to the old business…” A hard nod. “I can’t go with you.”
This was interesting. And, for a moment, it distracted James from the not-so-little matter of Tess. Or the fact that he hadn’t heard from her all damn day. I pushed her too hard.
“Let me correct that statement.” Another nod from Barnes as his cheeks reddened. His breath seemed to be coming awfully fast. “I won’t go with you. I’m going to do things right from here on out. I won’t be involved with—”
“Barnes, before you pass out, the guy was breathing when I left him, okay?”
Barnes expelled a loud sigh. “Thank God.”
James turned away and let his gaze sweep over the crowd once more. “Though if he ever hurts Tess again, he won’t keep breathing for long.”
Silence.
There were plenty of women downstairs. Women in short skirts. Women in tight jeans. Gorgeous. Tall. Short. Curved. But…
“She got to you, huh, boss?”
James squeezed his eyes shut. “Why are you still here, Barnes?”
“Uh, because there’s someone who wants to see you. I was supposed to announce the visitor.”
And the guy hadn’t led with that? James opened his eyes and craned his head toward Barnes. “Who?”
“Didn’t give a name. Just said he was with Wilde. I’ve got him waiting at the bar.” Barnes moved to stand beside James. They both looked down at the bar. “He’s the one in the white t-shirt, the one with all the tats. Don’t know if I buy his story about being with Wilde. Guy looks more like a criminal than a security agent.”
James studied the muscled, dark-haired man with the tattoo sleeves. He grunted. “We’ve crossed paths before.”
“Oh. So he is with Wilde?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want me to bring him upstairs?”
Maybe a case with Wilde would be exactly what James needed to clear his head. Or, rather, to get a certain lady out of his head. “Sure. Why the hell not?” He drained his beer. “Maybe he needs me to kill someone.”
Barnes staggered and nearly fell.
James caught the younger man’s arm. “I was kidding. Jesus. Lighten up, would you? And tell Cole to come up here.”
“Cole?”
Now it was James’s turn to sigh. “The jackass at the bar with all the tats. Send him up.”
***
Her condo was dark when Tess shoved open the front door. Her alarm beeped, and she hurriedly shut her door, locked it, and then reached to disarm the system. Her fingers swiped over the pad that was lit with a
soft, green light, then she flipped on her overhead lights and—
Oh, God.
Her place was trashed. The couch cushions appeared to have been cut open. Stuffing littered the floor. Her TV had been smashed. In the kitchen, she could see plates on the floor. Broken glasses. Destruction.
Destruction everywhere.
She stumbled back. Her shoulders hit the closed front door. And that was when she realized…
He could still be here.
That stupid phone call earlier that day hadn’t been a wrong number.
Found you.
Her time was up.
Chapter Seven
“Welcome to the big leagues,” Cole Vincent said as he lifted his bottle of beer and saluted James. “I’m here with an official job offer from Wilde.”
James turned his back on the floor-to-ceiling windows of his special VIP room, and he raked his new visitor with a fast, assessing sweep of his gaze. “Didn’t realize I wasn’t already playing in the big leagues.”
Of all the Wilde agents that he’d met, Cole was the one that he couldn’t quite figure out. Ex-Delta Force, the man was obviously a badass, or, at least, Cole thought that he was one. James did like the swirling tats that the fellow sported, but when he’d dug into Cole’s background, he’d found a few…discrepancies.
A few little slides into the dark.
“Hmm…” Cole lowered his drink. His eyes locked on James. “Here I thought you’d be jumping for joy.”
“I never jump for joy.”
“Noted. Neither do I. But you were the one who appeared in my boss’s office a while back, correct? You were the one asking Eric Wilde for a job because you were looking to, ahem, clean up your image?”
“My image is spotless, thanks for asking. Though I do have to wonder about yours.” Because he was watching so closely, he caught the faint hardening of Cole’s jaw.
“I’m here to tell you that your probationary period is over.”
“Probation, huh? Thought I was a freelancer. You know, the kind of freelancer who gets shit done that the Wilde agents can’t. Like on that last case…the woman in New York who went missing. I mean, you were supposed to find her, weren’t you?” James tapped his chin as he pretended to think about things. “But then you got caught up in all that pesky red tape so I swooped in and saved her for you.” Now James winced. “I hate to tell you—and this is awkward—but I believe my thank you package must have gotten lost during delivery. I never got the bouquet of cookies or flowers or whatever it was that you sent to me.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Of course, I am.”
Cole’s lips quirked, just a little. “Do you want the job or not?”
“I want more details on the job. In case you missed it, I’m kinda busy being a mega awesome club owner at the moment. Maybe I don’t want to end my non-stop partying merely to act as a bodyguard for some bored, too rich society princess. I mean, that is what happens at Wilde, isn’t it? You watch the rich and pampered?” He yawned. “I do like more action.”
“You know we do more than that. There’s what the world sees, and then there is everything else.”
Yes, he’d rather suspected as much. “Again, I want more details. Specifics are always appreciated.”
A frustrated growl. “You are such a—”
A knock sounded at the door.
James frowned. He’d told Barnes to make himself scarce because James didn’t want the guy overhearing this chat.
The knock sounded again. James marched forward and yanked open the door. “What in the hell? I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed, Barnes.”
“But this is different.” Barnes was almost vibrating.
“Is the club on fire?”
Barnes shook his head. “No.”
“Are we being robbed?”
“No.”
“Then what do you—”
“She’s here,” Barnes announced, all dramatic-like.
James actually felt his heart lurch in his chest. “If you’re shitting me, you’re fired.”
Barnes opened his mouth. Closed it. “I’m not shitting you.” He pointed behind James. “Go look through the window. She’s downstairs, near the bar.”
He whirled and stalked right back to the window.
“Is everything okay?” Cole asked, his voice tense. “There a problem here?”
James ignored him and glanced down below. Sure enough, she was there. Standing close to the seat that Cole had abandoned just a little while ago. Tess’s hair was pulled up into her signature bun, and she wore faded jeans that hugged her like a second skin. Paired with the jeans, she was wearing a black tunic, one that flowed loosely around her though it sure did dip to reveal a gorgeous expanse of her cleavage, and—
She glanced up.
Even though the windows were tinted so she couldn’t see through the glass, James felt like Tess was staring straight at him.
“Bring her,” James growled. “Bring her up here, now.”
He’d told her his terms. Thought that he’d blown everything to hell and back, but she was there.
She was ready to agree to his new deal?
He heard Barnes scramble from the room and slam the door shut. James didn’t move. He kept staring down at her. She didn’t look away, still gazing up as if she could see him, too.
But something was off. Her expression wasn’t—
Cole coughed. Loudly. “Yes, so…we were kind of in the middle of something.”
“The meeting is over. Feel free to hit the bar. Whatever you get will be on the house.”
There was no sound of retreating footsteps. “I came to offer you a job. You told me you wanted to know more. Now you want to kick my ass out?”
“Glad you get the picture. Thanks so much.” Barnes was making his way through the crowd, carefully navigating his way between the crush of bodies in order to reach Tess.
Her gaze had dropped. Her body was tense. Her movements a bit jerky as she turned and looked through the crowd—
I’m right here, baby.
“What’s going on?”
Cole was certainly a nosey one. “Our meeting is over, and you’re leaving.” James motioned behind him with a vague roll of his hand, but didn’t look at Cole. “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.”
“Does that mean you’re rejecting the job offer?”
Barnes had reached Tess. He spoke quickly to her, then they both headed for the stairs. James realized he’d tensed.
“To be clear…is that no or a yes?”
The man was still there? “It’s a fuck off for now. I have something more important to deal with.”
Ah, finally, James heard footsteps. But they weren’t retreating. They were coming closer. And then Cole was at his side and peering down below. “What is so fascinating down there?”
The thing that fascinated him wasn’t downstairs any longer. She was on her way to him.
Cole grunted. “I don’t get you, man. You move heaven and hell so that Eric will give you a shot at being a Wilde agent. I mean, I understand that part—redemption quest, am I right? Brother, I have been there.”
“We’re not brothers.” He didn’t have time for Cole’s crap. “Get the hell out.”
“Your people skills need work.” A long sigh. “You said you wanted specifics, but now you’re kicking me out. That makes zero sense.”
“You are far more astute than I initially suspected. Good for you.” His hands had fisted. He couldn’t see Tess in the crowd any longer. She had to be on the stairs. Getting closer and closer. And if Cole wasn’t going to take his none-too-subtle hint, James would just force the guy out.
James spun and marched for the door. “We’ll talk later. After I attend to some other business that’s waiting for me.” He opened the door. “Go get your ass drunk downstairs—” He broke off because Tess was there. Tess stood in the open doorway, and there were shadows under her eyes. She looked too pale. Her lower lip trembled, and
when he stared into the darkness of her eyes, James saw fear.
“What happened?” He didn’t wait for her response but immediately curled his fingers around her shoulders and hauled her across the threshold and closer to him. God, he needed her close. As soon as he touched her, a weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. Her warmth surrounded him, and he could pull in a deep breath but…
Something is wrong.
She hadn’t come to him in order to renegotiate their terms. Fear had brought her to his door.
And a sick, twisted part of him thought…I’ll take Tess however I can get her.
No, no, he fucking wouldn’t. He was better than that. He would be better for her.
“You were right.” Even her voice was wrong. Too hollow. Dazed. “My alarm system was shit.”
“Tess?”
“Someone broke in.” She blinked a few times. Seemed to focus on him. “My place is wrecked. The cops came by. They wrote down some notes. Told me to take inventory and see what was missing and—and that’s it.”
No, sweetheart, it’s not.
“Why am I here?” Tess shook her head. “I shouldn’t be bothering you with this. We’re over. You left, and I don’t know what I—”
“We’re not over.” Guttural. “Slow down. Tell me everything.”
The tremble in her lower lip got worse. “Whoever it was…he cut up my couch cushions. Broke my picture frames. Shattered my TV. I swear, I don’t even think anything is gone, so there won’t be a list for me to give the cops, but the place is wrecked. And after the phone call this morning, I had to—”
“Ahem.”
Cole.
James had forgotten about the SOB for a moment. Hell, how was that for losing his edge? He’d been so focused on Tess that he’d ignored the Wilde agent in the room.
“You’re with someone.” Tess pulled back. Broke his hold on her. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Barnes just—he came up to me at the bar, introduced himself, and said that you were waiting.” She looked over her shoulder. “Where did he go?”
Barnes had made himself scarce because he was smart.
Tess gave a shake of her head. “Doesn’t matter.” She pushed back a lock of her hair. Most of her hair was in her sexy bun, but tendrils had escaped. They always did. “I shouldn’t have come here. But I was scared, and I thought of you.”