Kissed Blind (A Hot Pursuit Novel Book 2) (16 page)

His eyes shimmered and locked on mine. “Great. I think my stomach has a hole in it.”

“What medicine do you need? The gas station up the road is one of my regular stops. It has a decent selection.”

“Oh, you live close by?”

“No, my boyfriend does. The gas station has one of those coffee stations with a million different options. I stop by often to fill up… and fill up.”

“Caffeine is its own addiction.” He smiled and listed off a couple of different medicines that could help settle his stomach.

“Okay. Can you think of anything else you might want?”

He shook his head. “Not unless they sell new stomachs.”

“It’s a well-stocked store, but I’m not sure they sell those. I’ll check, though.” I grinned.

I paced through the living room and kitchen until, out on the street, headlights lit up the front of the house. A car parked at the curb behind mine.

“Looks like he’s here,” I said. Footsteps approached the front door, and I peered through one of the sidelights to see Greyson. “Hey, thanks for coming on such short notice.” I opened the door and welcomed him in.

Greyson stepped inside. “No, problem. The kids are all in bed so it was easy to sneak out.”

“Oliver, this is Lee Greyson. He’s one of the two men working with you this weekend.”

Oliver stood. “It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for coming over.”

Greyson noticed Oliver’s busted lip and swollen eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” He turned his gaze on me. “You guys all right?”

“Yeah, we’re all good now.”

He shifted back to Oliver. “You should probably put some ice on that eye.”

“In a bit. I need to sit for a few more minutes. Were it not for this woman here, I might not be breathing.”

I smiled. “The worst is over.” I twisted the door knob. “Be right back.”

Greyson nodded. “Take your time.”

Five minutes later, I pulled into the gas station parking lot. Inside, I roamed the shelves looking for a couple little packets of long-lasting antacid pills and a roll of the chalky tablets he could chew for more immediate relief. I bent over and searched for the fruit flavored ones Oliver had asked for.

“Now there’s a vision,” a voice said from behind me.

I recognized it immediately. “Gabe? What are you doing here so late?”

“My date cancelled, so I stayed at the office and worked my way through a stack of contracts. I was filling up before I went home, and then I saw this beautiful woman walking in here. Thought I’d stop in and introduce myself.” Gabe leaned against a shelf of candy bars. “Gabriel Montgomery, I’m in mergers and acquisitions. What’s your name?”

“Cute.” I raised my brows and laughed.

“What’re you doing here? Were you coming over?”

“No, I needed to grab some medicine. Oliver’s stomach is upset.”

“That’s nice of you to run errands for a client. A bit unusual, hmm?”

“What can I say? I’m a nice person.”

He furrowed his brow. “I thought he was staying in the city.”

“He is. I had to take him to a safe house.”

He straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. “What happened?”

“Nothing. We got into a little thing, and Oliver and I have to hang at the house until I get the all clear. Standard procedure.”

“Where’s Vance?”

“He had to tie up some loose ends.”

His eyes twitched, and he grunted. “Sounds like something major went down.”

“No, it was just a silly media thing, that’s all. No big deal.” Yes, I lied.

“So then when you get back it’ll just be you and Oliver in the house?”

I tilted my head down and looked up at him. “Yes.”

He rubbed the growing stubble on his chin. “And you’re going to be sleeping alone in a house with the man you’re rumored to be having an affair with. I’m not so sure I like the sound of that.” There was a touch of humor in his voice, but there was nothing to laugh about.

“Ha. Ha. We talked about that already. It’s too bad I only have eyes for you.”

“It is too bad for him, isn’t it?”

“Mm hmm.” I returned to searching the shelves and grabbed a roll of tropical flavored antacids plus two packets of pills. “Look, I need to get back. I called someone over to cover for me. You should go home. You look exhausted.”

He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. “I wish you were coming home with me.”

I held my hands together behind his back and looked up at him. “I wish I were too. I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I can.”

He leaned down and kissed me, inhaling against my cheek. “Throw that stuff on the counter and I’ll walk you out.” After getting rung up, Gabe escorted me to the Rover. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

He gave me another kiss and shut my door before walking back to his car at one of the gas pumps. As I drove past him, he waved from inside his car.

When my tires met the open road, thoughts of Vance filled my head again. At the first traffic light, I checked my phone. I’d hoped to have heard something from Vance or Commander Rivas by this point, but there were no missed phone calls or texts. At the second traffic light, I dialed Vance. His phone rang and rang; he probably still had it set to silent. I tossed my phone in the center console and turned onto Bayberry Drive. I drove down to the long, dark street and parked in front of Greyson’s car. As I was grabbing the bag off the front seat, a neighbor pulled into the first driveway at the top of the street and shut off its lights. I headed back inside.

Greyson was seated in a chair across from Oliver. “Hey, back so soon?”

I held up the medicine in my hand and closed the door behind me. “Yep, I have a couple of things for you.” I handed the bag to Oliver. “I’ll get you some water.”

“Thank you,” Oliver said, exhaling through puffed cheeks.

“Well, it was great to meet you. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Greyson said.

I returned to the couch and handed Oliver a bottle of water, looking to Greyson. “I’ll give you an update in the morning and let you know if anything’s changed from the schedule. I’m hoping to hear from Vance any second.”

“Sounds good. Have a nice night and try to get some rest.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Oliver said, shaking Greyson’s hand. “See you tomorrow.”

I saw Greyson out and locked the door behind him. Oliver swished water around his mouth, rinsing down the chalky residue left behind from the tablets he’d chewed. He tore one of the packages of pills open with his teeth and dumped the contents in his mouth.

“Better?” I asked after he gulped more water.

“Should be, in a few minutes. I hope.”

“Do you wanna get cleaned up? I’ll get some food ready, and hopefully your stomach will feel better by the time you come back down.”

“A shower sounds nice. My head’s all foggy still.”

“The bathroom is at the top of the stairs. Towels and soap are already up there.” I walked into the kitchen and opened a few of the cupboards until I found the one with all the canned goods. “There should be some clothes up in one of the bedrooms too. Just poke around and look for what you need.” I palmed some chicken noodle soup, but when he didn’t respond, I looked back. His attention was rapt on me, and he wore a mysterious grin.

“Okay, be right back.” His smile faded, and he was gone.

I took a few minutes to just be and leaned against the stove, telling myself everything was going to be all right. When I was nearly convinced, I pulled the lid off the can and located a small pot in a cabinet next to the stove. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I mixed water with the condensed soup. Vance’s name displayed on the screen.

I glanced to the ceiling and let out a huge breath. “I called you.”

“I saw. How’s it going?”

“Fine. How’re you?” I stirred the soup.

“I called Cavanaugh and the cops. Rivas got here a few minutes ago and said you called him. Thanks for that.”

“I had to. I was worried.”

“I know you were. I’m good. The paramedics are on scene, but we’re going to have some questions to answer. Cavanaugh is beyond pissed. He should be here any minute.”

“And you called Camille, right?”

“Yeah, I called her and gave her the run down. Told her you’re in a safe house for now.”

“Okay, good.” I took a deep breath in through my nose and watched the coils glow orange on the stove. “We’re going to get fired over this, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re not. I’ll take care of it. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. We didn’t have time to alert the office. If we hadn’t acted when we did, he could have been killed and that would have been far worse for the company than what happened.”

“You think Cavanaugh’s going to buy that?” Little bubbles formed around the edge of the soup as it simmered. I shut off the heat.

“Of course he is, it’s the truth… well, kind of. It’ll be fine so long as our stories match up, which they will, because like I said, it’s the truth.”

“What about the money?”

“What money? And don’t you dare explain to me what money. They don’t need to know about that. We’ll work it out later.”

“How’re the two men?”

“The guy by the table was confirmed dead at the scene and the other is still alive, but I’m not sure for how long. They had to shock him a few times before they took him away. He wasn’t lookin’ good.”

“Okay, let me—” Loud chatter in the background forced me to pull the phone away from my ear.

“Sorry, Cavanaugh’s here. Gotta go.” The call disconnected.

“Whatever it is, it smells good, like my childhood,” Oliver said.

I gasped, closing my eyes, and put my hand over my heart.

“Sorry.” The dewy scent of his shampoo began to permeate the air. “Snuck up on you, huh?”

I grabbed the pot off the stove and turned toward the table, but my breath hitched when I saw him leaning against a small wall connecting the kitchen to the living room. He’d found a shirt but had it draped over his shoulder, and small droplets of water clung to the center of his chest. The temperature inside the kitchen rose a few degrees, and the skin between my breasts beaded with sweat. “Totally fine. Just didn’t hear you come down.”

He took a couple steps toward me with a confident stride. His abs flexed and every muscle and chiseled line drew my eye. It was one thing to see his body on the big screen, but it was another to have it standing in front of me only half dressed.

Vivid thoughts seized my mind from his most recent movie. His mouth devouring his leading lady’s, his hands forcing her against the wall, his bare, undulant backside as he thrusted into her, all flashed before my eyes. The fire burning under my flesh grew hotter. As his steel eyes threatened to pierce my skin, I looked down and poured the soup into the bowls. I replaced the pot on the stove and rummaged through a drawer for a couple of spoons. 

“Hope you’re not expecting too much. It’s only
Campbell’s
chicken noodle,” I said.

He laughed and pulled a chair out. “I haven’t had it in years. I’m sure it’s going to taste great.”

“So your stomach feels better?”

“Tons. It’s amazing what a little medicine can do.”

“Then dig in. Do you want some more water?”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

I grabbed two bottles from the fridge, taking an extra moment to let the frosty air glide over my skin like a slow moving cloud. When I’d cooled off a little, I shut the door and set the bottles down on the table, sitting opposite him. I’d taken a couple of bites and noticed him studying me. “What?”

“In all the people I’ve ever met—and I’ve been all over the world on many movie sets—I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered someone like you.”

“How do you mean?” I spooned more noodles into my mouth.

“Well first of all, you eat. So many of the women in my life starve themselves. It’s refreshing to see a woman with an appetite.”

“I’m hungry.” I answered wide-eyed. Vance always told me I had the appetite of a thirteen- year-old boy.

“I know, and that’s what’s so great.” A warm, soft expression took ahold of his face. “But there’s this other thing about you.” He tilted his head to the side. “At first glance you’re this petite, beautiful, and dare I say, delicate looking woman, but you’re actually this massive powerhouse in a compact frame. Your looks are deceiving.”

I grinned. “Thanks, I think.”

“You’re very welcome.” He dipped his spoon into his bowl and took a bite. A noodle dropped and splashed broth on his stomach. He used his fingers to lick his skin and slipped the shirt on his shoulder over his head. At least the elephant in the room was now clothed. “You know, when I was in the shower, I kept replaying this vision I have of you.”

The soup I’d spilled into my mouth suddenly felt like a huge bite of a meatball sub. “What?”

“When I was strapped to that chair, and the gun shots went off, I came to with you covering my body with yours. I…” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you did that.”