A Kitty in the Lion's Den (5 page)

“Kettah.”
He said her name harshly, and she couldn’t help but flinch. She had felt safe with him until that moment, smelled his honest intent to make sure she was okay, and although she still smelled that, this male was a silent killer. And now Kettah knew that he was very much alive when he clearly tried to convince everyone else of the opposite. “Do you want to survive, or do you want to take your chances out there where Viktor’s men will undoubtedly find you?”

Although he phrased it as a question, she knew he wouldn’t let her go. His lion was right on the surface, challenging her, but giving her the hope that she actually had a choice. She continued to stare at him, and then glanced at the door. Could she actually take her chances out there, trying to cover her tracks in hopes that she wouldn’t be found? She would forever be looking over her shoulder until they eventually located and killed her. That was a fact. She slid her eyes back to Maverick. Then again, even though he smelled honest, could she actually trust him? Surely he knew how to alter what people sensed coming from him? He was one of the most lethal hit-men in the organized crime circle. He was also her mate. That went without saying, and although she didn’t think he could harm her because of that, because his inner animal wouldn’t allow that kind of power to be claimed by his human side, there was still that possibility that he was far too deranged.

“Time is wasting away, Kettah.”

She held her purse close to her body. He was so still, hard and tense, and waiting for her to make the next move. Either choice came with risks. The only problem was which risk was she willing to take?

Chapter Five

Maverick glanced over at Kettah, who sat as far against the passenger side door as she could get. He had given the choice of which route she was going to take, but then again if she would have tried to head out on her own he would have just followed her, and dragged her back with him. She hadn’t put up a fight, which had surprised the hell out of him, given the fact he had sensed the exact moment she knew who and what he was. He didn’t question how she had known him, though as far as he knew she had never seen him, but there was no denying the look of horror that had crossed her face when she realized she was in the same room with the male that killed ruthlessly And when she had softly told him she’d take her chance with him, he’d suppressed the need to smirk. His mate was a fiery little thing. It wasn’t like he was trying to be a bastard, but he meant what he said when he told her Viktor’s men would find her and she wouldn’t be able to fight them off once they caught her. She was his mate, and it was his right and duty to protect her. No way in hell was he going to let someone hurt her, take her away from him, and threaten the first good thing that had ever come into his life. He didn’t know what he had done in his miserable life to be given a mate, and he wasn’t even going to dwell on the fact on whose blood she shared, because the bottom line was Kettah
was
his mate. Maybe this would all blow up in his face when it was all said and done, but he had to try if it meant he could save one more life from Viktor. For the first time in his life he felt at a loss, and not like himself at all. Maverick had never wanted a female like he wanted Kettah, had never needed to protect someone with his very last breath, and certainly hadn’t wanted to do a lot of filthy fucking things to her because he knew it was his damn right as her mate. He had nothing redeeming about himself, but this one time he was going to help someone instead of hurt them.

Through her reflection in the passenger side window he could see her eyelids start to drop lower. They only had another twenty minutes before they reached Sweet Water, and then he’d have to figure out where to set her up in his one bedroom house. He had no fucking clue what to do after that, because although he could keep her safe when they did come for her—which they would—he didn’t know what to do when everything was all said and done. Would she stay with him? Could he allow her into his life even if he wanted it more than he had ever wanted anything else? He might see her as a gift in his life, and one he sure as hell didn’t deserve, but that didn’t mean he could be the mate
she
deserved.

He took the last turn that took him onto his street and pulled his truck into the driveway of the garage. She sat up straighter and looked around. “I thought you were taking me to your home?” He shut off the car and turned his upper body toward her.

“This is my house.” He pointed to the one bedroom apartment over the garage. “I own the mechanic shop, too.” She looked out the windshield at the apartment. “Come on. I don’t want to be out in the open with you.” He climbed out, and surprisingly she was out of the truck and right by his side only moments later. It would have been humorous if the situation wasn’t so tense right now. She followed close on his heels. He unlocked the front door and held it open for her. The lights were off, but he wasn’t about to turn them on. He knew they hadn’t been followed, and had been keeping a diligent watch the entire two hour drive back to his place. But it was late, and turning on the lights would only draw unwanted attention.

“You live here?” She covered her nose, and for the first time in longer than he could even remember, he smiled. It might have just been a tilt at the corner of his mouth, but it was one nonetheless.

“Kind of stinks, yeah?” She snapped her eyes up to his and dropped her hand instantly.

“I’m sorry. That was unbelievably rude.”

He waved off her apology. “You don’t need to be sorry. I’m pretty immune to the smell of grease and exhaust now, but I know it can be pretty intense to the ones not used to it. It doesn’t smell upstairs, though. Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” He led her through the short, narrow hallway and opened the door that would take them upstairs. Once they ascended the stairs and he opened the thick metal door that blocked off his apartment from the rest of the garage, he moved to the side so she could step inside. He shut the door behind them and bolted it. The door had enough locks to ensure if someone was talented enough to get through it, it would take them a hell of a long time, and they would need to be pretty fucking experienced with locks. She eyed the door but didn’t otherwise say anything about it. He led her into the living room, and only then did he turn on the lights. When he bought the garage and then built the apartment above it, Maverick had done extensive work on it. The windows were bulletproof and mirrored so that he could see out, but no one could see in. He had two escape routes built into the floor plan. There was one in his office, under his desk. That led to an underground tunnel that ran under and parallel to the property. The exit came out inside the oversized shed in the back property. The upstairs had one that was hidden in the bedroom closet, and he had built a staircase behind the wall that led underground and met the other escape tunnel to the shed. Even though he had given up a life of murder, that didn’t mean he could relax. And tonight was a prime example of how shit could turn upside down in the blink of an eye.

****

Kettah stayed by the door that had so many locks and latches on it she didn’t think anything shy of a bomb could get through it. It was thick and brushed metal, and made her feel very safe, but it also frightened her. The fact Maverick needed something so impermeable scared the shit out of her.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink? I have water,” he started walking toward the kitchen and stopped when he got there. He ran his hand over the back of his neck and then looked over at her. “Or I have beer. Yeah, that’s all I got.” She couldn’t help but offer him a smile. “I might have some bread and lunchmeat, but I don’t eat in much.” It was a nice gesture, even if he seemed awkward in asking her, like he had never had anyone up here. But come to think about it he probably hadn’t.

“I’m not hungry, but a glass of water would be great, thank you.”

He nodded once and walked into the kitchen. Kettah took that moment to look around at his home. It was small, but much larger than what it appeared from the outside. The living room was to her
right,
with a flat screen TV hanging on the wall, a long brown leather couch across from that, and a matching leather chair sideways so it faced the lone window. That was it, and Kettah found it very depressing. No pictures of friends or family, and no sentimental items sitting in odd places around the room. But she reminded herself, for the millionth time it seemed, that Maverick was not a normal male, especially not with the life he had led. He held a lot of secrets, and ones she didn’t want to know. The kitchen was to her left. It was black marble with stainless steel appliances, but it was also bare. No coffee pot, knife block, or toaster … nothing. He came back out and held the glass of water out to her. She wasn’t really thirsty, but she had asked him for it because it looked as though he needed something to do. The fact he seemed on edge was crystal clear, and it was all because of her.

“Thank you.” She took a small sip and watched him over the rim of the glass. He nodded again, and they stood there for a moment just staring at each other until she started to feel slightly uncomfortable and looked away first.

“All right, well follow me, and I’ll show you where you can sleep.” He turned, and she had no choice but to follow him. There were only two doors down the hallway, one on each side of her. She presumed the one they passed to be the bathroom. He pushed opened the other door and stepped aside for her to enter. The room was just as barren as the rest of his place. The bed was the main focal point, but it was nothing more than a mattress on a frame, and covered with a dark comforter. A nightstand sat lonely beside that, and a stainless steel lamp atop it. “You can take the bed.”

She looked at him, and then again at the bed. She couldn’t help the image that slammed into her head, the one that had her picturing both of them on that mattress without a stitch of clothing on.
God, control
yourself
. She cleared her throat, hoped her face wasn’t as red as she thought it was, and looked over at him. “But where will you sleep? I don’t want to take your room. The couch will be fine for me.” She was suddenly struck by how much bigger he was than she. But maybe that was because she was currently picturing them naked and between those sheets? He was tall and so very muscular, and although she wasn’t thin by any means, and had even been called fat by her father and brother on more than one occasion, Maverick made her feel tiny.

“You’re fine. I’ve slept on far worse, believe me.” She didn’t bother arguing, because she knew she wouldn’t win regardless. His scent saturated everything, and the idea that she would be sleeping in his bed, becoming covered in the dark smell that came from his inner lion, was like an olfactory orgasm. “I don’t have anything that will fit you, but you’re more than welcome to my t-shirts.” He moved past her, and the side of his arm brushed against her. Even with her life on the line, her father and his men no doubt hunting her down right now, and the fact she was in the bedroom of the once most feared and revered hit-man to run in the organized crime circle, she couldn’t help the tightening of her body, of the fact arousal started to take hold of her. It had only been that one small brush against her, and she hadn’t even felt any bare flesh, but her cat rose up and started purring. It was
an odd feeling to have her animal take
an interest in this male. Her Pallas’s cat was more reserved, kept to itself, and never emerged because survival was far more important than intimidation. The males she was constantly around had no qualms with shifting often, but they didn’t, because even though they were fierce and dangerous, their inner animals were of the smaller breed. There had been people that laughed when they realized her father and the majority of the males who worked for him were Pallas’s cats. They thought their breed wasn’t intimidating or something to fear. Needless to say all of those people were dead.

But right now her inner cat wanted out, wanted to rub all over this alpha lion until there would be no mistaking that they were mates. She blinked a few times, realizing where her thoughts had gone, and that Maverick stood by his dresser, his hand on the handle, but his eyes on her. His lids were at half-mast, and his chest rose and fell with an almost violent tendency. Even if she had been human and hadn’t been able to smell the arousal that came from him, the way he looked right now, like he was barely restraining himself, forcing himself to stand still, would have told her of that fact. After they stared at each other for what seemed like forever, he finally turn around, opened his drawer, and grabbed a white t-shirt from inside. He held that material in his hand for a second longer than was normal, and she saw the way he was clenching his hand around it. Letting it fall to the top of the dresser, he kept his head lowered as he moved past her and toward the bedroom door, but before he left her alone he stopped, and without turning around said, “Bathroom is down the hall if you want to get cleaned, and if you need anything, just let me know.”

She nodded, but she felt stupid since he still wasn’t looking at her and couldn’t see the act. Without another word he shut the door behind him. Kettah stared at that closed door for far longer than she should, and despite the fact she couldn’t see him she could feel his presence still on the other side. After a minute he left, the sound of his footsteps retreating down the hall. She turned and eyed the t-shirt, and although there was a part of her that wanted to wear it, to smell like him and feel the material on her body that he had worn, she wasn’t about to get undressed. What if something happened and they found her tonight? She would need to make a quick escape, and being fully dressed was the smart thing to do.

It didn’t take long for exhaustion to finally settle in, and so she walked over to the bed. It was massive, but then again she supposed it needed to be to fit a male like Maverick. Climbing onto it she brought her knees toward her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. She eyed the door again. He was just a few feet away, a lethal killer that was now her mate.
Her mate
.
It seemed fate was a clever entity, bringing together two people that were trying to get away from the same evil. She should and shouldn’t be tired. The fact she was trying to escape a horror-filled life should have had Kettah on high-alert, but the fact she was doing just that had drained her to the point she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. She had spent countless hours on the bus, and then another couple of hours with Maverick. She just wanted to fall asleep and pray that when she woke up all of this was a nightmare and she lived a different life.