Master of the Game (Rush Series Book 3) (24 page)

She
paused as thoughts of the past swirled around her. “A couple weeks ago, Miguel
called and demanded I attend a dinner function at their house. He… he told me
he’d had my father killed and that he had
a
proposition I couldn’t turn down
, I believe his words were. He was ‘giving’
me to
Lex
in trade for information. I didn’t know at
that time about the missiles. I just couldn’t do it… couldn’t stomach what it
would mean having
Lex
basically own me, and I was so
angry at Miguel for killing my father, who was a wonderful man. So I picked up
a heavy ashtray and hit him with it. He fell against the hearth and I… I
thought I’d killed him. My mother convinced me to run. I didn’t want to, but
she was insistent and I was scared, so I did. Roman convinced me to come with
him on the dig. He was afraid Tag wouldn’t let me on the site unless we were
married.”

“Wow.
That wasn’t what I was expecting,” he said softly.

“I
wanted to tell you so many times, but I… I just couldn’t,” she told him
haltingly.

He
lifted her arm and washed down its length. After rinsing it off, he leaned
forward and pressed his lips against her shoulder. “I’m sorry about your
friend,” he said simply.

On the
inside, he felt guilty for feeling a huge weight lift from his chest as he
understood her reasoning for the deceit. Guilt, because her life was turned
upside down and was still that way, and yet her explanation lessened his own
recriminations about being involved with a woman who he thought was involved in
nefarious dealings.

There
was also another shift in his chest as the last barrier between them lifted. He
swallowed at the torrent of emotions which seemed to flood over him then gather
back in his chest to replace the anger. He’d become attached to this woman and
that made him angry all over again… not at her this time… but at himself. She
had so much emotional baggage and so much yet to endure. Since he’d buried his
wife, he’d promised himself he would never get involved with someone who was
dependent on him for their emotional support. Not wanting to betray his inner
turmoil, he slipped on a mask of impassivity.

“He was
a really good man,” she continued regarding Roman. “He was my best friend,” she
said, as sadness rushed over her.

“Who killed
him?” he asked her as gently as he could.

“
Lex
.
For no reason, really.”

Reaching
behind her, he retrieved his discarded washcloth and rinsing it once again, he
gently grasped her jaw within his fingertips. With soft swipes, he began to
clean the wounds on her face. He winced when she jerked her head involuntary as
he touched the tender areas. “Oh, Little Devil, I hate this happened to you.
Who beat you like this?”

She
waited until he finished wiping the blood away from her mouth before answering.
“
Lex
.”

“Why?”

Her
eyebrows furrowed as she regarded the
inaneness
of
his question. “He’d just shot Roman, and then you, and I was trying to gouge
out his eyes.”

Alex
paused to stare into her face as the shards in his chest shifted again. Pride
shone in his eyes as he smiled and praised her, “Good girl!”

She
winched when she attempted to smile back. The pain reminded her of her
circumstances, and her smile faded.

 
“Who killed
Lex
?” he
asked, again just as gently.

“Miguel, for some reason.
I’m
not sure why he stopped
Lex
from killing me. It makes
no sense.” She let out a shaky breath. “A little part of me wishes he’d just
let
Lex
finish the job.”

He
gathered her wet body up against his chest and kissed the top of her damp hair.
”Hey, none of that,” he murmured, stopping himself from telling her everything
was going to be all right. He wished he knew what words to say that would make
it better. But there were none. Her best friend had been killed right in front
of her. She’d recently found out her step-father had had her father murdered,
and now, her mother was missing… probably dead. There was nothing that could be
said that would make all that go away. He knew time was the only thing that
would help her.

“What
am I going to do? How do I go about finding my mother? If she’s not at her
house, and she doesn’t answer her phone, how do I find her?” she muffled into
his neck.

Now
this was something he could help her with. He pulled back and brushed his hand
over her face softly, mindful of her injuries. “If she has her phone with her,
I can get a trace on it.”

She
pulled back to study his face.
“Really?”

Slowly
he nodded, his face growing somber. He knew he should warn her of the chances
of her mother actually being alive, but found he just couldn’t dash the hope
flaring in her eyes.

“Of course.
Let’s finish up in here then
I’ll make a couple calls and we’ll see what we can find out. I can’t promise
your mom will be where her phone is, but it’s a place to start.”

She
studied his face, her smile fading back into its thin lines, “Why would you
help me? After… after all that’s happened?”

He
contemplated her for a long moment as he considered his answer. With a small
shrug of his shoulder, he said, “This wasn’t you fault. I can’t fault you for
fighting for your own survival.” With a gentle smile and an equally gentle
touch, he forced her to lie back in the tub while he washed her hair. They
didn’t speak again until he’d thoroughly rinsed the shampoo away.

He rose
to his feet and grabbed a towel before helping her to her own feet. He wrung
the water from her hair and dried the water from her body as well. He kept his
touch mechanical and impersonal as he ran his towel-shod hands over her body.
When she was dry, he helped her from the tub and wrapped the towel around her
body,
goosebumps
appearing as the cool air hit her
bath-heated flesh.

When he
made to step back, she clutched the front of his soft T-shirt and pressed into
him. “Don’t go,” she whispered into his chest.

He
tensed as he thought of the hundreds of reasons he should now avoid her like
the plague. Deliberately misconstruing her meaning, he said, “I’m not going
anywhere. I just need to put the ointment the Doc gave me on your wounds.” He
refastened her towel that now threatened to slip to the floor – God knew he’d
lose his resolve if he had to stare at her naked flesh for any longer.

Turning,
he tugged her out of the bathroom and into the alcove connected to it and
carefully lifted her up to sit on the counter next to the sink. He exhaled
deeply when he moved into the bedroom to retrieve the ointment. He was
internally conflicted. He wanted two very different things. He wanted distance
from her, and he wanted nothing more than to be thrust deeply inside her.

His
belly burned with that need… to feel her surrounding him and hear the sounds of
her sighs when she reached the pinnacle of release. His body betrayed him by
hardening beneath his sweatpants. He raked his hand through his hair in
frustration. She made him feel like a randy high school boy on his first date.
He took several cleansing breaths before moving back to where she sat on the
counter’s edge.

“Is
everything okay?” she asked softly, sensing him pulling away from her.

He gave
her a strained smile. “Of course,” he said as he unscrewed the cap from the
ointment. He started with her face and applied the ointment with gentle
fingers. His lips tightened once more when he took in the strangulation
markings on her throat. “I’m glad he’s dead,” he murmured without thinking.

She
blinked at his words as she replayed the scene in her head when Miguel had shot
Lex
. She flinched as she felt the spray of blood on
her face once more, the feel of his dead weight crushing her beneath him when
he fell. She could once again hear Miguel’s evil laugh as he’d murmured, “Dumb,
horny bastard. You should have just given it to him and maybe you’d have been
spared all this. But when have you ever done was what was best for yourself?”

She
shook her head to distill the memories. Now, back to the present, she realized
Alex had applied the ointment to her shins and was now pushing the towel aside
to apply it to her thighs. She tensed at the feel of his hands sliding up her
flesh. The movement caused her towel to become dislodged and slide down to the
counter. She watched Alex’s hand still in his ministrations. She lifted her
eyes up to his face and saw him staring intently at her exposed flesh. It
wasn’t as if he’d not just seen every inch of her just moments before… but now
it was different. “Alex?” she whispered.

His
whispered name had him snatching his head up to meet her heated, questioning
eyes. Slowly, he shook his head.”I… I don’t think this is a good idea,” he
replied softly.

She
swallowed as need pooled in her lower regions. Her desire lessened, however, at
the set clenching of his jaw. She fluttered a hand against his chest, but he
stepped back and gave a shake of his head. It seemed to be to convince
himself
more than her. Her chest burned and she clamped her
lips together to keep them from trembling. “You’re right,” she rasped, “It’s
probably not a good idea,” she continued, letting her hand drop, her chest
rising and falling rapidly.

He
reached forward and refastened the towel around her. He licked his lips and
handed her the ointment. “I… I… uh… need to make that call. You finish up.
Here’s a robe,” he said, handing her a white robe provided by the hotel.” It’ll
have to do until we get your clothes from the site.” He paused to study her
face. With a gentleness which hurt her heart, he reached forward and brushed
his knuckles against her cheek.

She
leaned into his touch, her heart pounding. “Alex?”

He
smiled tenderly at her before allowing his hand to fall away. “Let me know when
you’re ready and I’ll order something from room service.” With one last look,
he turned away and walked into the bedroom.

She set
the ointment aside, slipped off the counter, and pulled the door to the
bathroom quietly closed once again. She sat on the toilet lid and raked her
hands through her hair. What was wrong with her? Here she was lusting after a
man while her mother was out there somewhere, probably in danger. How selfish was
that?

A voice
in her head said she deserved this small moment in time. Soon, he’d be gone and
she’d be alone… really alone, once again. But now it’d be even worse. Before
she hadn’t known what she was missing. She’d never had anything be so all-consuming.

She
tried to pinpoint the exact moment when he’d seeped into her being. He’d been
charming and charismatic from the beginning and he’d really captured her
attention that first night when he’d tried to help her – had reached out to her
– even though he hadn’t even known her name at the time. But the absolute
moment when she’d known he’d captured her heart was the morning she’d walked
off the elevator and she’d seen him striding toward her, with such tenderness
in his eyes… desire and tenderness. The look he’d given her in that moment had
said
not only do I want you, but I care
about you as well
. She’d felt important to him in that moment. She’d
reveled in that look and the tender caress of his hand against her cheek until
it’d been snatched from her grasp through circumstances outside her control.

Alex
practically ran into the next room.
Dammit
!
He didn’t want to be ensnared in her life. He’d barely endured it when Addie
had died. He couldn’t… no… he wouldn’t go through that again. His heavy bulge
argued with him. Instead of thinking of something to lessen his erection, his
mind involuntarily remembered the need written on her face. It was apparent she
wanted him nearly as much as he wanted her. But as he’d told her, it was a bad
idea… a very bad idea. He’d be leaving in a couple days.
Going
home to start a new life… a different life.
He didn’t need her mudding
the waters. He sat down on the end of the bed and ran a hand through his hair.
What did he really know about her? Nothing, that’s
what
.

With
another shake of his head, he sighed deeply, rose from the bed, and grabbed his
phone. Punching in a saved number, it rang once before it was answered.

“Hello,
Alex.”

“Hey, Jay.
I need a favor.”

~*M*~

It was
late afternoon and Devon and Alex had called an unspoken emotional cease-fire.
When she’d returned from the bathroom wrapped in a hotel bathrobe, he’d given
her a pair of his boxers and a T-shirt to wear until they could get something
delivered. They’d ordered room service and he’d told her what Jacob Roundtree
had told him - that being, he’d trace the phone and let them know what was
found. They were to wait in the hotel until Jacob called them back. Once he’d finished
giving her the information, room service had arrived and they’d both picked at
the food before lying on opposite sides of the bed to try and catch up on some
much needed sleep. Both had lain lost in their own thoughts for a long while
before eventually drifting off to sleep.