Dead Running (27 page)

“Ouch.” I wanted to yell louder but I was just too tired. “Hot.”

Damon put his hand in the water again. He plugged the drain and shook his head. “It’s barely above lukewarm. You have hypothermia.” He glanced over my reddened legs. “And probably frostbite as well.”

The water stung. I tried to move away from it. Damon held me in place. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but you need to stay in this bath until your temperature gets back to normal.”

“Don’t call me sweetie,” I muttered. I put up a futile struggle against his warm hands as the tub filled with scalding water. Gradually my toes and legs stopped prickling and the water felt cool. I stopped fighting him and Damon turned up the heat. Closing my eyes, I wished I could go to sleep.

“No, Cassie. You need to stay awake.” He shook his head and mumbled, “Who but you would sit in an ice bath until they had hypothermia?”

“Hey,” I protested. “The book says ice baths are helpful.”

“For a few minutes. The book.” Damon exhaled. “Why didn’t you ask me?”

“You were too busy tutoring Elizabeth.”

Damon glanced at Nana. “Where do you keep the towels? I think we can get her out now.”

Nana had been surprisingly quiet throughout this exchange. She suddenly bustled to life. “You get out of here. I’ll help her get her wet clothes off and she’ll come talk to you in a minute.”

I scowled at Nana.

Damon gave me one more look and stood up. “I’ll be downstairs.”

With Nana’s help I stripped off my wet clothes and washed my face and armpits.

“How did Damon get past our watchers?”

She smiled. “I told them he was okay. He checked out on your father’s scans. A financial planner with no ties to any of this mess. Exactly the kind of man you should be dating. Damon’s not going to hurt you.”

At least not physically
. I shrugged into my robe. “I can’t go down there like this,” I said.

“You’ll be fine. Just keep the robe tied.”
           
“Great advice,” I muttered. Painfully, I descended the stairs. I couldn’t resist a softly muttered, “Ouch,” on each step.

Damon must’ve heard me coming. He waited at the bottom of the steps and helped me into the living room like I was an invalid. “I’m sick of you avoiding me,” he said, settling onto the couch next to me. “I’m not leaving here until you tell me why you won’t return my calls.”

I blinked at him. “You’ve called?”

He exhaled. “Cassie. Please talk to me.”

I stared out the window, studying the patterns in the neighbor’s brick. My dad labored to preserve children from slavery. I had an amazing life and an amazing man trying to make it better. I needed to forget about Jesse and concentrate on the man who wanted me. “Well, I guess I’ve been acting like a twelve-year old.” It was as good of an excuse as any. I wasn’t going to tell him that I’d been avoiding him on the hope that Jesse would call.

“Sixteen,” Damon said.

I swung my gaze to his face. “Really? You think I’ve been that mature?”

A small grin appeared in his eyes. “I’m trying to be nice.”
           
He was such a nice guy and as Nana said, “No ties to any of this mess.” I really liked that. There was no reason I shouldn’t give him another try. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”
           
His gaze swept over me. I noticed my robe gaped. I gathered it and cinched the strap tighter.

“I like the outfit,” Damon said.

“I think you’ll like the one I’m wearing tonight even better.”

A warm smile spread across his face. “Does this mean I’m taking you to dinner?”

“And ice cream.”

Damon pulled me into his arms, gave me a quick kiss then jumped from the couch. “Your outfit tonight better be as nice as that one.” He hurried to the front door. “See you at seven.”

I sat on the couch, twisting my robe ties in my fingers. Why wasn’t I more excited?

“Well, that was the easiest makeup I’ve ever seen,” Nana said from the doorway. “Especially with how you’ve been acting.”

I smiled. She didn’t know why I was so confused. “I think he’s a keeper. I can’t imagine another man forgiving me so quickly.”

Nana clucked her tongue. “Why do you think I told you to wear the robe?”

“Huh?”

“Look down,” she said and disappeared through the doorway.

*
         
*
         
*

Damon decided we should try out the new Japanese restaurant. We opted to sit in a back room rather than watch our food be cooked in front of us so we wouldn’t have to wait so long. Another couple were at a table across the room and two men sat in a booth not far from ours. The men didn’t talk to each other. They alternated between staring at their menus and casting glances at us. My spine tingled. Were these guys FBI and part of my protection detail or friends of Muscle Man?

Finally I could stand it no longer and excused myself to go to the restroom. I could hide in there and call my dad. I walked briskly down the corridor to the bathroom, praying neither of the men or Damon would follow me. Footsteps sounded behind me, I increased my pace. Yanking open the bathroom door, I screamed as a hand wrapped around my waist. The man spun me into his chest, placing a hand over my lips.

“Shh, Cassidy, it’s me.”

I glanced up. Jesse. He smiled. Removing his hand from over my mouth, he gently traced my lips with his forefinger. I knew I should pull away. I couldn’t do it.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

I just stared at him. I couldn’t talk with him touching me like that. Jesse lowered his head and replaced his finger with his lips. I melted into him for several wonderful seconds before remembering I was with Damon. Dredging up strength I didn’t know I had, I pulled away from him. “Wh-what are you doing here?” Too bad I couldn't catch my breath, he had to know how his kiss affected me.

Jesse sighed, his dark eyes gazing at me like a puppy dog whose toy had been taken away. “I wanted you to know that I’m close by, watching out for you, even when I can’t make contact.”

I studied his chin. “That's nice, but I’m with Damon now. He can protect me
and
date with me without making excuses.”

A growl resounded from Jesse’s chest. “You have no idea who the good guy is, do you?”
           
“No,” I snapped, “I don’t and nothing you’ve done has convinced me it’s you.”

Jesse’s hand trailed down the side of my face. “Really? Even when I do this?” His lips brushed over mine.

I tingled from my mouth to my heels. “All that does is confuse me,” I murmured.

“Maybe I’d better try it again.” He pulled me against him, working his magic on my mouth. I was ready for him to sweep me into his arms and carry me away on a white horse when he released me from the kiss. “I’ve missed you, Cassidy.”

I took a couple of calming breaths, closing my eyes so I couldn’t see him. “You don’t even know me.”

He gently massaged my back. “I know more than you think.”

I buried my head in his shoulder, wishing I could be with him yet more confused
 
than ever about who he really was and what he wanted with me. “I can’t do this, Jesse. Damon is there for me. All you do is mess with my mind.”

Jesse sighed. His lack of response did nothing to reassure me. I forced myself to pull away and walk around him. “I’ve got to get back to my date.”

Jesse caught my arm. “I need you to trust me.”

I turned to look at him. The sincerity in his gaze almost got me. “Sure. When you tell me all about yourself, why you’re ‘close by but can’t make contact’, and who you’re supposedly protecting me from.”

He shook his head. “You don't know what you're asking.”

“Neither do you.” I pulled from his grip, needing to escape before I threw myself at him again. I risked one last glance before I rounded the corner. Jesse watched me, his shoulders slumped, one hand reaching out to me. My breath caught. My feet stopped. Relying on all the self-control I possessed I turned my head and commanded my legs to carry me back to Damon. His welcoming smile did nothing to alleviate the ache I felt for Jesse.

I sat and buried my face in the menu. Feeling someone studying me, I turned, half-expecting it to be Jesse. It was the two mystery men. Seeing Jesse had distracted me from calling my dad. Should I claim to need the restroom again? I glowered at the men. The dark guy darted his eyes to the window, the one with bright blue eyes and prematurely grey hair gave me a wink.

Shivering, I turned back to my menu, maybe they were just a couple of buddies who liked Japanese food. “So, what looks good?” I asked Damon, the forced brightness in my voice obvious.

He didn’t answer. I glanced up to see him glaring at my watchdogs and then looking back at me. “You know those two?”

My blood gelled. “Um, which two?” I turned my eyes to the other couple in the corner. “The girl does look familiar. Do you think she went to Utah State? Maybe I had a class with her.”

Damon scowled. “I’m not talking about those two.” He gestured with his chin. “I’m talking about the men you keep looking at that just winked at you.”

I needed to stop worrying about who those guys were and act normal. We were safe for the moment. Surely, they wouldn’t attack us in the restaurant. Thinking of going outside after dinner turned my empty stomach. I swallowed. Was Jesse still close by? Was he really watching out for me? “They winked at me?” Feigning surprise, I fluffed my hair. “Both of them? I knew I looked good tonight, but sheesh.”

Damon smiled, though the lines on his face stayed tight. “You do look good. So you’re telling me you don’t know those men?”

I had to force myself not to look at them again or allow the terror of who they might be radiate from my face. “N-no.”

“Why am I not convinced?” Damon cocked his head to the side, dissecting me with his eyes.

Luckily the waiter came at that moment. I started twenty-menu questions and distracted Damon by my annoying chatter after the waiter left and throughout dinner. I’m not sure why he let the scary men subject rest, but I was grateful.

We got up to go. The men threw down some money on their half-eaten meals and followed us out the door. Damon looked back over his shoulder at them like he was ready for a fist-war. I tugged Damon out of the restaurant and towards his car, fear rising in my throat. Were those two good or bad? I wasn’t going to chance a confrontation to find out.
 

Damon kept looking over his shoulder. He hurried me to his Chrysler and settled me inside. I couldn’t resist checking in the mirror. The men climbed into a white car.

Damon started the engine and gunned out of the parking lot. He studied his rearview mirror. “They’re following us,” he said.

I swiveled. Sure enough. They were observing the rules of trailing, two cars behind. “No,” I gulped down the fear, digging the tips of my fingers into the leather seat. “They’re just going the same direction as us.” Where was Jesse?

Damon dropped the pedal to the floor and spun around a silver minivan.
Yes
, I thought,
drive faster, drive faster
. “They hardly even ate their food,” he said. “When we got up to leave, they jumped. They watched you all through dinner like I was going to throw you down on the table and take advantage of you.”

“Probably just over-protective old guys.” I prayed that was the case, grateful Damon was trying to get us away from them.

“They looked our age.”

“So, they don’t have much of a life.” I grabbed the “oh crap” bar. Damon was right. They were young and I was having a hard time convincing myself they were FBI.
 

Damon gripped the steering wheel with both hands. His eyes flickered to the rearview. “They’re still behind us. Grab my cell phone.” He gestured towards the console. “If they try anything we’d better call the police.”

“Um, I . . .” Should we call the police? Could they protect us if these were Muscle Man’s friends? Just then my cell phone played, “My Brown-Eyed Girl.” I ripped it from my purse. “Hello?”

“Cassidy. Why are you running from the FBI? Is this Damon guy really okay?”

I exhaled and turned away from Damon. He was so caught up in the high-speed chase he probably wouldn’t listen, but I covered my mouth just in case. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought they were with, you know . . .”