No One to Trust (5 page)

“I’ll put out more feelers but I don’t have
anything new yet. I promise to call when I have something. You
don’t have to keep blowing up my phone,” his brother said
semi-jokingly.

Porter cringed. He’d been doing just that all
morning but he felt so damn helpless. “I know.”

“Let me know when she wakes up and we can set
up a time for her to make an official report through me. I’ll come
to your place, bring some pictures of the gang members we have on
file on the off-chance she recognizes one of them.”

She hadn’t seen anyone last night but Porter
knew there was a chance she might remember seeing one of the gang
members before. “Thanks.” Once they disconnected he tossed the
phone onto his kitchen counter and picked up his cup of coffee.

Right now he wished Benny was in front of him
so he could wring his neck. It was obvious how much Elizabeth cared
for her brother, and while her loyalty was commendable, it burned
him up that Benny treated her like garbage. Benny called her for
help or money and she went running to him regardless of how
dangerous the situation. That wasn’t happening anymore as long as
Porter was around. He’d do everything in his power to protect her,
but he had the feeling she wasn’t going to make it easy for
him.

Hell, if their past relationship was any
indication she definitely wasn’t. When they’d been dating he’d made
a few comments about the trouble her brother always seemed to get
into and she’d shut him down fast. Right now he could deal with the
fact that her brother was important to her, but if she wanted to
run headfirst into danger he wasn’t letting her go alone.

* * * * *

The strong aroma of coffee rolled over Lizzy,
forcing her eyes open. Inhaling deeply, she knew she couldn’t stay
in bed any longer. She threw the satiny blue comforter off her and
slid out of the guest bed she’d slept in. Porter’s condo in the
high-rise building was definitely pricey, but the interior was a
little sparse. It almost felt like a hotel. She’d been there a
couple times and with the exception of the carpeted bedrooms, every
other room had tile floors. Minimal decorations, a few family
photos, a kitchen that looked as if it was never used and all the
appliances looked brand new, as if he’d just taken them out of the
box. After they’d arrived at his place last night he’d told her to
get some sleep then had disappeared into his room. Unlike the times
she’d been there before there had been no suggestion that they take
things into his bedroom. It had felt weird to be here again under
such different circumstances.

She’d hoped maybe they’d talk more about that
kiss—or continue it—but Porter wasn’t exactly known for his
communication skills. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t wanted to
chat. Or do anything else. Because if he’d made a move on her,
she’d have gone into his arms willingly and likely regretted it
this morning when it was back to business as usual.

She dug her toes into the plush carpet before
leaving her room to find him. The tiled hallway chilled her bare
feet but the second she found Porter sitting at the center island
of his kitchen sipping a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper,
warmth flared deep inside her. It pushed out from her core,
straight to all her nerve endings like an invisible flame lapping
away at her insides.

He was already dressed in dark jeans, a polo
shirt, and a sports coat. No suit for him today. She liked the
change. Glancing down at her pink pajama pants and matching tank
top, she bit her lip. Maybe she should have showered and changed
first.

When he looked up at her, she froze, feeling
like that clichéd deer in headlights. The absolutely primitive gaze
he raked over her from head to feet had her nipples tightening
under her top. She might as well be naked for how he made her feel
so exposed, so
aware
of her body. Not wanting to draw
attention to her physical reaction, she resisted the urge to cross
her arms over her chest.

She cleared her throat and pointed at the
coffee maker. “Got enough left for me?”

He nodded and his voice was slightly
strangled as he said, “I’ve got milk in the fridge and that silver
tin has sugar if you’d like.”

“Thanks.” Averting her gaze, she grabbed a
mug

“Did you sleep all right?” he asked as she
started to add a spoonful of sugar to her mug.

Not really.
“Yes.” She slid into the
seat next to his, hyperaware of his spicy scent. She’d been wired
after what had happened but the most primal part of her had known
she was safe sleeping under his roof so she
should
have been
able to rest. She’d tried to order her body to listen but thoughts
of what it had felt like to have his lips on hers, had kept her
wide awake.

“I don’t have much in the way of food but I
think I can scrounge up a bagel or toast.” His expression was
apologetic.

“That’s okay.” She wasn’t a big breakfast
person and as long as she got her coffee she was fine. She lightly
tapped her finger against her mug as she tried to think of the
right way to bring up last night. She’d always felt comfortable in
her own skin except when she was around Porter. Even when they’d
been dating she’d always felt on edge around him. As if there was
some sort of electrical current between them that was almost
tangible. “Listen, about last night…”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about anything. I
already talked to Harrison and he doesn’t have a problem with you
not coming into work today, and Grant wants to talk to you
personally so you can—”

“Wait,
what
? First of all, I’m not
skipping work, but I do want to talk to Grant. And I wasn’t talking
about
that
. I thought maybe…” She trailed off, hating the
way her cheeks heated up. Yeah, talking about that kiss probably
wasn’t the best idea. Obviously they were on two separate
wavelengths. He was clearly more level headed than her. She was
obsessing over it and he wanted to discuss what was actually
important. She definitely needed to pull her head out of the
clouds.

His pale eyes darkened as he scooted a
fraction closer to her. “You shouldn’t be out today.”

“Why? Because some losers burned numbers into
my lawn? I’m not going to live in fear. Besides, I work at one of
the most secure buildings in Miami. I’d rather be there surrounded
by people than cooped up here.”

He sat his mug down with a thud. “Damn it,
Lizzy—”

“Don’t you ‘Lizzy’, me. You only use that
name when you want something and it’s not going to work this time.”
If he thought he could use her attraction to him
against
her, he was out of his mind.

She watched in fascination as a faint shade
of red crept up his neck. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. You always call me Elizabeth
unless you’re trying to charm me.”
Or when you’re kissing
me.
She decided to keep that thought to herself though.

“I’m not trying to charm you,” he
muttered.

Her eyebrows rose. “Then what would you call
it?”

“I’m trying to make you use common
sense.”

She snorted very loudly, earning a surprised
look from him, but she didn’t care. Pushing her chair back, she
stood. “I’m not staying here and there’s nothing you can say to
make me change my mind. I’ll go crazy so if you don’t mind, I’m
going to shower.” Lizzy started to leave, but he grasped her upper
arm.

Not hard, but he exerted enough pressure that
she couldn’t move.

She glared at him. “Let me go.”

“You need to talk to Grant.”

“I will, but it doesn’t have to be here. I
can meet him at the police station or he can come to my office or
wherever.”

“You’ll be
safer
here,” he ground
out.

She dug her heels in but didn’t say anything.
He could argue until he was blue in the face. It wasn’t as if he
could hold her hostage.

At her lack of response, he practically
growled at her. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

“Why do you always think you know what’s best
for me?” she shot back.

“You’re the most frustrating woman I know.”
He let her arm drop and scrubbed a hand over his face. Without
another word he moved past her and disappeared from the
kitchen.

She stared at his retreating figure and
frowned. Porter never let his guard down.
Ever.
But it
seemed he was just as off-kilter in her presence as she was in his.
The realization was strangely refreshing.

* * * * *

Lizzy glanced up as the handle to her office
door jiggled. Before the door opened, she tensed. Porter had been
so adamant that she not come into work this morning—an argument
he’d most definitely lost—but she wouldn’t put it past him to come
here and try to convince her again to go back to his place.

The tension in Lizzy’s shoulders relaxed when
Carla Pickett, the receptionist for the eleventh floor, stepped
halfway inside. “Hey, Lizzy, Mara’s here. I figured it would be
okay if she came back, but I wasn’t sure if you were busy—”

She smiled and pressed the power button on
her computer screen so it went dark. Her friend was a little early
for their weekly lunch date but Lizzy had been working on security
upgrades all morning and her brain was just about fried. “It’s
totally fine.”

Mara was not only her boss’s soon-to-be wife,
she was Lizzy’s best friend. Before she’d rounded the desk, Mara
hurried into the room, an expression of pure panic on her face.
“Harrison told me what happened. Are you all right? And why didn’t
you call me?”

Lizzy hadn’t called her friend because she
hadn’t wanted to worry Mara. Better to deflect with another
question. “Is Harrison with you?” His presence at the office had
been scarce over the past couple weeks. He was still coming in to
check up with the various teams of guys he oversaw, but he wasn’t
taking any direct security jobs due to his and Mara’s upcoming
wedding.

“No, he’s working on… Don’t change the
subject. What’s going on? And why did I hear it secondhand?” Mara
shook her head as she pulled Lizzy into a tight hug.

“I honestly don’t know what’s going on. I
think Benny might have gotten in a little over his head this time,”
she murmured as she stepped out of the embrace. That was an
understatement considering how much he owed Salas.
One hundred
thousand dollars.
If she knew how to get in contact with her
brother she would, but the cell phone he’d called her from last
time had already been disconnected. She needed to get to her
parent’s house to check out what he said he’d left for her in his
note. First she’d need to convince Porter to take her there.

“A little? Porter told Harrison that a gang
left their symbol burned into
your
front yard.” Mara raked a
hand through her short blond pixie cut.

“Yes, but I don’t know why or even if it’s
connected to my brother.” She didn’t actually have any doubts but
she didn’t want to throw her brother under the bus.

“Well I certainly doubt they targeted you for
any other reason,” Mara shot back, her expression grim.

Lizzy knew that much was true but held back a
response. She didn’t want to talk about Benny’s shortcomings now.
Her brother had protected her when she was younger in a way her
parents hadn’t. If it hadn’t been for him…she shuddered, not
wanting to think about the past. “I’m supposed to talk to Grant
later today and look at some mug shots—not that I think I’ll
recognize anyone—and I stayed at Porter’s last night so please
don’t worry. Whatever is going on I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” If
only she truly felt that way. Her insides quaked every time she
thought about a gang knowing where she lived.

“Well at least lunch will be safe, and we’re
not
staying here. Harrison has given me a freaking security
detail. I swear, our wedding is making him more paranoid than
usual.”

Lizzy bit back a grin. Yeah, that definitely
sounded like her boss. And right now she was thankful for his
paranoia. She’d planned to eat downstairs in the cafeteria with
Mara. When Porter dropped her off earlier this morning she’d
promised she wouldn’t leave the building, but if her boss thought
it was okay then she supposed it was.

Lizzy smoothed her hands down her charcoal
pencil skirt as they headed for the door. “Something sort of
happened last night.”

Her friend’s green eyes narrowed knowingly.
“With you and Porter? Did you guys finally—”

“Mara!” Lizzy glanced around but no one was
anywhere near the elevators. When she looked back at her friend,
she was smiling like she’d just won the lottery. Lizzy had told her
about her short, sort-of fling—just without the sex—with Porter
because she’d had to tell
someone
. That didn’t mean she
wanted the entire building to know. At the time she and Porter had
made a deal to keep it quiet from everyone, namely his family,
until they figured out if they even had a future. After they broke
up she was very thankful she’d been insistent on secrecy.

She’d worked hard to earn a respected
management position in the security department at Red Stone and she
didn’t want people to think she’d gotten it by sleeping around.
Sure, she still answered to Harrison, but as a senior systems
security manager, she had a lot of people who answered to her and
she didn’t want to lose their respect. Even though she’d been
working at the company years before she’d even met Porter in
person, it wouldn’t matter. People talked and judged. “You didn’t
tell anyone about…us, right?”

Mara snorted loudly. “If you’re asking if I
told Harrison, the answer is
still
no. Your secret is safe,
but you did stay at Porter’s place last night so…” She trailed off,
a silent question hanging in the air.

Lizzy sighed as they stepped into the open
elevator. “We sort of kissed. But this morning he didn’t want to
talk about it.” Which maybe wasn’t such a bad idea. She could
probably forget if he didn’t stare at her with such raw heat in his
eyes every time he glanced in her direction.