Last Chance To Run (18 page)

Chapter 26

CK needed to do some housecleaning. And he would when this job was finished. Joe was one of his best men, but one more mistake and he’d be demoted.

Demotion in CK’s world was permanent, all the way down to the bottom of a lake.

“I don’t have wings,” Joe complained, his exasperation coming through. “Not much we can do when she takes off on foot through six lanes of traffic. Besides, we had company.” 

“Who?”
  Had Mason gotten nervous and hired a backup group? He’d called CK twice in the past twenty-four hours. Mason was high-maintenance but not usually a nuisance, which meant
someone
had his nuts clamped in a vise.

Who? Now
that
would be valuable information.

Joe said, “Don’t know, but I think that’s why she ran. Some guy jumped out of a dark blue Yukon not far behind her and the pilot in a turn lane. When the girl took off like a bat
outta
hell, the guy from the Yukon jumped back in the passenger side and the truck turned at the light. They were too far away to nail a tag number.”

Joe had just added another demerit point to his next evaluation. CK couldn’t believe this bitch was outmaneuvering some of his best men.

“Cover all the bases and don’t lose the pilot. She thinks she’s safe with him. She’ll go back to him at some point.”

“How long we going to do this? Be easier to grab her.”

Joe echoed CK’s thoughts. “My orders are to pick her up only when she’s alone and without drawing any attention. If those orders change, you’ll know.”

CK ended the call and set the phone on the desk in his hotel room. This didn’t fit Mason’s MO. What was stopping Mason from turning CK loose to grab the girl, and
disappear
anybody else who got in the way?

Mason wanted the girl in hand no later than Saturday and CK wasn’t leaving without getting his bounty. That meant, as far as CK was concerned, that deadline would override the “don’t draw attention” orders if his men couldn’t corner Angel before tomorrow morning. 

And if that happened, Mason would just have to live with the consequences.

Chapter 27

Zane parked the truck then trudged to his apartment, hating the emptiness that awaited him inside. He unlocked the door. When the alarm system failed to sound its warning beep, he tensed.

He’d set his alarm when he left.

Reaching down into his boot to retrieve his
Keltec
, Zane eased the door ajar. Through the dark shadows cast across the room he could just make out a figure in the low light filtering into his living room from the kitchen.

His throat closed.

Angel. He couldn’t believe she was there.

She stood with her back to him, but he’d seen her tense when he’d opened the door.

He stepped inside, closed the door, and dropped the gun back into his boot. He moved gradually into the room, afraid she’d vanish. His lungs struggled to draw air.

She was really here.

How?
The how didn’t matter so much right now as his relief that threatened to take the starch out of his knees.

An arm’s length away, he stopped. She knew he was here, but hadn’t moved to acknowledge him. Scattered thoughts raced across his mind, but only one broke through to the surface.

She’d come back to him.

He swallowed and whispered, “Angel?”

A soft glow from the under-counter lights in the kitchen barely reached this room. With her back to it, her face was hidden in shadows until she lifted her head. The sight of the pain in her eyes broke his heart.

He opened his arms and she came into them. Zane wrapped her in a close embrace, so very glad to feel her warm body next to his.

“I thought you were gone,” he said, his voice raw with emotion.
“Forever.”

She shook her head against his chest. Tears dampened his shirt.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded against his chest, hugging him around the waist.

“How’d you get in?”

“Trish came by. Saw me on the patio and thought I’d gotten locked out.” 

He stroked up and down her back, his fingers massaging along her spine. His chin rested against her silky hair. A lump of gratitude formed in
his throat. She was alive.

Angel tilted her head back. Sad eyes beseeched him through wet lashes. “I had to get them away from you.” 

Her fervent declaration shook him. She didn’t need to protect him. It was the other way around.

He breathed out a deep sigh and leaned his forehead against hers, pleading in a whisper, “Honey, I wish you’d trust me enough to tell me what’s going on.”

She pushed her hands up his chest then clasped each side of his face, stroking lightly until two fingers rested on his lips.

He kissed the soft pads.

“I told you, you’re the one person I
do
trust, but I’m not taking you down with me if my situation goes bad. If that happens, you need to be able to distance yourself from me.”

There was one problem with that advice.

He couldn’t distance himself because he couldn’t let her go. With or without her help, he’d get to the bottom of this and find a way to stop whoever was after her. 

Her sheer breath flowed against his neck. She trailed her fingers across his face and neck, tormenting him with the wispy touch. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come back here, but I had nowhere else to go.”

“I’m glad you came back. You can always come to me.”

“My being here puts you at risk. I never meant to
cause
you trouble. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

He hugged her close. From
what
was she trying to protect him? “Who’s the guy that’s after you?” he urged.

She shook her head “no” against him.

He’d have laughed at her favorite word if he weren’t so damned worried. “I can’t keep guessing. Help me out here,” Zane said. “He’s not your boyfriend or husband, is he?”

“No,” she said, barely above a whisper.

“Then you either did something to make him angry as hell or you have something he wants,” Zane said.

“Yes.”

“Which is it?”

“Both.”

What did she have? Zane had the compass, but that couldn’t be it. Could it?

“If you give it back, will he leave you alone?” Zane asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t belong to him,” she explained.

Zane drew his head back. She was killing him. None of this made sense.

All his questions fled when she blinked up at him through wet lashes.

Nothing mattered at that moment. Not her past, not his future, nothing but the luxury of her in his arms.

Zane lowered his lips, gently raking across hers. He kissed her cheek, her nose, her eyes, tasting the salty tears.

He moved his lips along her chin up to the crest of her ear and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the wonderful fresh smell. She’d showered again. Between that sweet scent and her wearing nothing but his T-shirt, relief gave way to a want so deep and hungry his hand shook when he stroked his hand along the smooth contour of her back.

Caution sirens screamed in his head.

Her scent overrode them.

Her fingers twined around the back of his neck, drawing herself up against him. His lips swept softly over her warm mouth when he wanted to do so much more.

She surged up, returning his kiss with an intensity that rocked him.

He clenched a fistful of her T-shirt. Her mouth urged him to take what she offered. He scooped her bottom and lifted her against him.

Her legs wrapped around his waist then she rubbed up and down against his arousal, sending what blood was left in his body surging into his groin.

Holy mother of...

He held her with one arm and used his other hand to reach up under her T-shirt to cup her breast. The minute his finger brushed over her nipple, she surged against him again.

One more time
like
that and they’d end up on the floor.

He turned and lowered her to his sofa then hovered above her on his knees. Now he could touch all of her. Pushing her shirt up, he stared at her plump breasts rising and falling with labored breaths. His gaze raked down across all that smooth skin blanketing her abdomen to a thatch of dark auburn hair.

When he lifted his gaze back to her face, eyes hot with passion stared up at him until she looked away, embarrassed. “I’m skinny.”

“No, baby, you’re magnificent.”  Then he lowered his mouth to her
breast, bent on proving just how perfect she was. He licked her nipples and she squeezed her legs against him. Then he suckled one breast while teasing the other one with his finger.

She clenched harder against him. “I want...”

He lifted his head then gently tortured both nipples with his thumbs. “This?”

She made a sound that was half cry and half yes.

Not enough. He wanted more. He released one breast, sliding his fingertips lightly over her skin, watching her tremble. When his fingers tangled in the curls between her legs, she started panting. “Please don’t...”

He stilled his hand. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t ... stop.”

Damned glad to hear they both had the same idea. He caressed the soft folds that were already damp and pressed a finger inside her.

She cried out, shaking, so close ... but not quite.

He bent down and nibbled on her breast, lightly scraping his teeth over the turgid tip. At the same moment, he pulled his finger out of her and drew a wet stroke to the spot that sent her arching. He’d only flicked back and forth twice over the sensitive nub and she tensed. He quickened his pace and she shrieked while he held her there until she collapsed.

Nothing could be more beautiful than watching that.

He kissed her, sending his tongue in to enjoy the sweet taste that could only be Angel. Her arms had fallen limp, but she lifted her hands again, holding his head to her.

A chirping noise broke through his fervor.

What the hell was that?

She tugged on his hair when he tore his mouth away. He moved his lips along her shoulders. She stretched against him, a sated feline leaning in to be stroked.

The chirping grew more constant.

Damn. What was that?

Ah, hell, his damned cell phone was ringing. He pictured it sailing across the room and slamming against the wall. 

With each loud chirp of the phone, consciousness hammered his aroused senses back to reality. Angel said Trish had been by today. His sister and her friend Heidi had the number for emergencies.

High Vision’s dispatch could be calling.

Just once, Zane wished he was undisciplined enough to ignore his responsibilities.

Every nerve in his body stood on end. He was so hard the zipper outline had to be embossed on his erection.

Resigned to his fate, Zane pulled his hand from Angel’s breast. He stroked her shoulder and kissed her face. God, he didn’t want to take his hands off of her.

“Honey, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Sorry they weren’t in his bed, sorry his life was not his own, sorry some jerk had invented cell phones.

Angel lifted her head. She stared at him as though he’d said there were elephants coming at them. Her swollen lips begged to be kissed.

If their lips touched again, he wasn’t sure he could back away.

Quiet reigned for several seconds once the phone ceased, but then the irritating sound resumed.

“Damn.”  He kissed her forehead. “I’ve got to take this call.”  He eased out of her arms, off the couch and stood, pulling the phone from his hip.

“Zane,” he snapped, anger, frustration and self-disgust wrapped around the short salutation.

“This is Heidi. I’m sorry to bug you, but you said to call if Trish ever needed you.”  As his sister’s best friend from Houston, Heidi had decided to stay in Ft. Lauderdale after one visit. She was the closest Trish had ever come to having a sister. Her concern for Trish rivaled Zane’s, the reason she was the only person besides his sister who had his cell number.

“What’s wrong? Where is she?”  Several possible situations crossed Zane’s mind, all of which soured his stomach.

“She’s okay,” Heidi said. “But she’s at the Pink Baby and some guy is giving her a hard time. I dropped her at the shop earlier and was supposed to meet her there, but when I went home to let Dazzle out in the yard my car died. I can’t get it started. I know you don’t want her walking to a bus at night.”

Zane growled under his breath.

“She heard from one of the other girls this guy’s into weird stuff. I think he scares her. Trish didn’t want to bother you, so I told her I’d get a ride and come get her, but you’re only fifteen minutes away. I’m close to an hour once I get the car going.”

Zane looked over at Angel. She was standing a foot away now, staring out the patio doors. In the minute since he’d answered his phone she’d withdrawn. The distance between them felt as wide as the ocean crashing against the beach outside.

“Okay, Heidi. I’ll get her.”

He snapped the phone shut. “Angel...”

She held up a hand to stop him. “I’m torn between thanking you for that and apologizing for letting it happen. I shouldn’t be doing this, but it’s not your fault and I won’t let it happen again.”

He closed his eyes then opened them. When would his life get any easier?

“Look, Angel, there is no fault. I want you, and I’m pretty sure you feel the same way, but this probably isn’t the time. Not until we solve your problem.”  Because she wouldn’t listen to what he had to say until then. He
would
convince her that she belonged with him.

“If you say so.”
She looked at the phone in his hand. “Is something wrong?”

He hadn’t realized he was gripping the phone so hard. “I’ve got to go pick up Trish. Do you want to go with me?”

“No. I’d rather stay here,” she said.

Zane sighed. Trish had to be picked up now.
Before she got hurt.

“Will you promise me you won’t leave the apartment?” he asked. “I don’t think I can take too many more surprises today. When I get back, I want you to tell me why you took off earlier.”

“I won’t leave,” she said,
then
added, “I promise.”

Based on her posture – arms crossed, back straight, chin high – a casual observer would think her confidence had returned. Not Zane. He’d noticed her habit of chewing on her bottom lip when she was nervous.  “That’s not all I asked for.”

Disappointment filled her eyes. “I can’t tell you the truth about why I left earlier and I’d rather not lie to you.”

They’d tackle this when he returned. “After I get Trish, I’ll pick up something to eat on the way home. What would you like?” 

“Pizza?”