Misguided Target (9 page)

“Yes, I could use a break. Pizza would be great,” I answered, standing up from the floor. He nodded, as he rose from his crouched position heading towards me. I tried to move past his towering frame but I was sandwiched between the couch and the coffee table, causing us to do that really awkward 'trying to pass each other' thing. Eventually he stepped around me as I quickly gathered my things and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I stood with my back against the closed door, trying to calm my rapid breathing and pounding heartbeat. I wished Kane and I hadn't met before all this madness happened. At least that way I wouldn't be so distracted by him. At least for the love of God I wouldn't have to know how good a kisser he was and how good it felt when he touched me. I walked over to the bathtub and turned the knobs, deciding to make it a cold shower.

Kane

After I ordered the pizza, I poured myself a glass of whisky courtesy of the room's mini-bar. I wasn't exactly thrilled at paying ten dollars for an ounce of booze, but I needed something to take the edge off because at that moment I found myself pacing the room unable to stay still. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Kendall was naked showering in the room next to me. This thought had an arousing effect my body. Given everything going on, I wished sex wasn't on my mind, but let's face it — it was nearly impossible to be around Kendall and not think of it. My mind might still be working though everything with her, and I wasn't sure how I felt, but my libido clearly didn't have those reservations. I liked Kendall and wanting nothing more than to be inside her.

I wished she could be annoying or idiotic because then at least I could find something unsexy about her, but she wasn't. She was far from it; in fact, she was bright, kind and strong. She'd kept up with me every step of the way through all the chaos without complaint. Those were all things that only made her sexier, and I found myself even more attracted to her the more time we spent together.

I heard the bathroom door open and Kendall walked out. Her hair was dripping water onto a tight white tank top. “Fuck,” I hissed under my breath, feeling my cock harden at the sight. I needed to get a grip because this was ridiculous. I just prayed she couldn't tell how my body was reacting around her. She bent over to retrieve a hair tie from her bag and it was all over for me. I had to get the hell out of there immediately.

I slammed the rest of my drink. “I'm going to go wait for the pizza in the lobby. Be right back,” I said abruptly, heading out the door without saying another word. I walked down the hall, my jeans tight from my hardened cock, all the while feeling like a total tool. I was a grown-ass man acting like a fucking teenager with no self-control. Previously I'd been relieved we hadn't slept together the other night, but now I couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't have been better to get it out of my system. Still, something told me she wouldn't be the type of woman you could ever really get out of your system, especially after getting a taste.

I got to the lobby just in time to grab the pizza. I paid the guy and slowly made my way back up to the room, which had thankfully given me enough time to calm my body down before seeing her. There were so many other, more important things to think about right then, and yet they all shot straight to hell when I saw her smile as I entered the hotel room, “You're my hero! I'm so hungry!” she said, following me to the table where I set the pizza box down.

I laughed watching her devour two slices within minutes, “Wow, you really are hungry.”

“Yeah, I am,” she laughed. “And I bet you are too. I don't think you even ate today.”

I hadn't eaten, but I hadn't really thought about it until now. There were many days while on missions when I'd had to go without a proper meal, “No I guess I haven't.”

“You're probably trained to push past hunger though, right? Like a sort of survival skill? I imagine some of the places you go for missions don't have food readily available,” she commented, her eyebrow arched in anticipation.

For whatever reason, probably curiosity, I was feeling inclined to oblige her prying at the moment. “You think you have me all figured out, don't you?”

“I've already told you what I've figured out. Navy SEALs, where you're clearly involved with computers, given your ninja cyber skills. I think you're probably a high ranked officer because I know you've been doing this since you were eighteen and, well, you seem good at it,” she stated confidently, taking a bite of her pizza slice. I was actually pretty impressed at how much she managed to pick up about me without me saying anything. She was bang on, but I still wasn't going to let her know that.

“You have a vivid imagination, Kendall,” I offered simply, not acknowledging any of what she just said to me.

“Tell me I'm wrong. Look me in the face and tell me I'm way off and I won't bring it up again,” she insisted, her eyes now intensely focused on mine. I found myself tongue-tied by her gaze. For whatever reason, I was unable to spit out the required denial to convince her. I was usually good at convincing people about pretty much anything, but right then I couldn't. This woman has rendered me speechless. “That's what I thought,” she answered with a smug smile on her lips.

My phone buzzed, announcing a text message from Jeremy.
Got something,
I read, my pulse quickening slightly. I quickly texted him back,
22h00? Still ok?
I asked knowing tomorrow would be an instrumental day in this situation. It had been 48 hours, and everything was starting to unravel. The kidnappers would be trying to tie up any lose ends, which included getting rid of James and Kendall. I needed answers.
Sounds good. Meet me at The Loft
, he texted back.

I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, which told me we still had an hour before I had to meet Jeremy. The Loft was a hotel bar about four blocks from here. It was a good-sized venue with enough clientele that we could blend in for some privacy. It was also close enough that we could easily make a run for it if needed.

“Everything okay?” Kendall questioned, eyeing me curiously.

“Yes, I have to meet a friend nearby at eleven,” I stated, taking a large bite out of my pizza slice.

“Can I come with you?”

“No, I think you should stay here,” I answered, not really wanting to have to worry about her at every turn.

“No please, hear me out. I'll go incognito; I'll wear a hat and a baggy sweater. People will think I'm a guy,” she offered, nodding her head enthusiastically as though this would somehow convince me.

“Give me a break, Kendall; you couldn't look like a guy if you tried.”

“I can be whatever you need me to be, just please don't leave me again. I'll go crazy sitting here worrying about everything. I feel safer when I'm with you,” she stated, her voice edging on the point of desperation. A part of me knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn't handle that look on her face. I reluctantly nodded, cursing myself internally as I did it, watching as relief washed over her. I guess this way I could keep an eye on what she was doing. At least, that's what I told myself.

“Kendall… you have to do everything I say, okay? If I say be quiet, I expect you to be quiet and if I say run, you run. Got it?”

“I know, Kane. Thank you for letting me come with you. How long do we have before we need to leave?” she asked, walking over to her bag and pulling out a flat iron.

“An hour,” I stated, watching her. “You packed that?” I asked, dumbfounded that this was one of the items she'd deemed as essential.

“Of course I did. I need this,” she stated matter-of-fact, as though it was the most ridiculous question. “Oh, you just worry about your own stuff!” She grimaced as I rolled my eyes in disbelief. In fact, I was suddenly aware of how very little I knew about women. I'd never really had to share space with one before for this length of time, and it was odd being in such close quarters.

“I meant to ask you,” she called out, walking into the bathroom, “Did you find anything on James' computer?” I wasn't sure if it was the sleep deprivation or the more um… primal urges that had me so distracted, but I'd forgotten all about the data I'd collected on his computer. “I was just wondering if you found anything that might explain any of the initials.”

Holy shit, this woman was a genius! I had found files on his computer that contained initials, locations and time stamps, along with some encrypted data. I'd bet money they matched the ones on these papers. I ran over and grabbed her computer and opened the stored folders I'd retrieved from the deleted files on James' computer. I compared the initials on the sheets of paper to the different electronic folders and sure enough, they matched.

“Well?” she asked after several minutes, walking towards me with her freshly straightened hair, “Anything?”

“I think so. See these files here,” I offered, pointing them out to her. “The initials appear to match the ones on the paper sheets. I still don't know who they initials belong to, but we now know that the documents are linked. We now have time and location stamps. Additionally, I also noticed these second sets of initials on the bottom corner of the electronic pages.”

She furrowed her brows as she scrutinized the initials. I watched as the color drained from her face. “I think I know those initials.”

“Really?”

“Even though I didn't know them by their real names until this morning; M.N. is for Moira Nickson, L.M. for Lindsay Martin and C.P. for Casey Peters,” she said, swallowing hard.

“The dead escorts?” I asked and she nodded in response. We'd been right all along; they did die because of something to do with James, and this was proof of that. Whoever was behind this killed them for it.

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand, seeing it was time for us to get going. I shut the computer and placed it down on the table. I could tell Kendall was a little shaken by all this, “Kendall are you all right?”

“I'm okay, or at least I will be,” she answered in a small voice, her eyes meeting mine. I found myself mesmerized by them — they reminded me of an intense storm – profound, powerful and unpredictable, while all the while being terrifyingly beautiful. I don't know how it happened, but I felt like I was swept up in an electric current. I was overcome with the urge to kiss her. I tried to push it back down, but my body felt almost physically pained with need. I watched her breathing increase and knew she could feel it too. There was something between us, and at the moment we were like magnets being pulled together, our bodies getting more and more charged with every passing second. We both sat motionless, unsure what to do. I broke first, overcome with the need to touch her, and no matter how loudly my head protested, I couldn't stop myself. I reached over and pulled her to me, our lips locking into a passionate kiss. She ran her fingers through my hair as our bodies began moving into each other, trying to get as close as we could. Her kiss intensified and my body was kicked into overdrive. I suddenly found myself in a mystified limbo of feelings. Thoughts of James came rushing into my mind and I was torn between anger and hurt, all the while battling my primal desire to touch every part of her. I wanted to know all of her.

I would do anything to protect her, I'd give up my life for this woman, which I knew was madness, but it was the truth. I wasn't sure if it was lust or something more, but whatever it was, it was the most intense feeling I'd ever had. My phone vibrated in my pants pocket, snapping me back to reality. What was I doing? This was insane; we shouldn't be doing it right now. We didn't need the additional complication and besides Jeremy was waiting for us.

“We can't do this. We should go,” I breathed, pulling away from her, severing the electric connection we'd been lost in a moment ago. She closed her beautiful, lust-filled eyes, running her fingers through her hair and breathing fast and hard. She nodded, walking over to her jacket. I followed suit and grabbed my own. I faced her, feeling like a complete asshole as I noticed the hurt expression on her face.

Kendall

I followed Kane to our destination and I found myself getting angrier with every step. How could I be so stupid? How could I give up my control to him so easily? I'd completely lost myself just now in that hotel, which shouldn't have happened. I knew better. I might not have been an escort anymore, but the skills I'd learned were transferable. The rules were the same —
Don't let anyone seduce you.
No matter how much he liked to play it off like he didn't, Kane wanted me. But wanting me wasn't enough. Plenty of men and women have wanted me, but I'd never lost my self-control with them, which was exactly what I kept allowing to happen with Kane. He was getting under my skin, and I didn't know what it was about Kane that affected me the way he did. I'd been in control of every aspect of my life all these years, and yet with him I just seemed to give away so freely. Perhaps it was the whole 'protector' thing he had going on, which was something that I felt like I needed right now. I was just so afraid — I'd let it overpower me. I felt lost. Powerless.

It needed to stop, and I needed to be in better control of my emotions. It meant not doing things based on impulse or desire for him. I'd forgotten myself in all this. I'd forgotten who I was and what I was capable of. I'm a strong, independent and intelligent woman who knows what she wants when she wants it. I needed to remember that. I am and always will be a survivor. I'd given up too much of myself to fear, and it was weakening me. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for Kane. He was a man with a very useful skill-set given these outrageous circumstances, but I needed to start acting like my own hero too. At the end of the day, no matter what happens or how this ends, I will not let this define me. I will survive.