Red Hot Obsessions (80 page)

Griffin crept between the tiny trees that formed the barrier between our house and the neighbor’s and made his way to the car. He tried the door.

It opened.

He closed it, straightening.

The light in the other house came on and the front door opened.

“Hey, you!” yelled a male voice. “What do you think you’re doing to my car?”

Griffin turned. “Sorry, sir. It’s a misunderstanding.”

“Do you have a gun?”

Griffin tucked his gun away. “A gun? No. No, sir. I’m just leaving.” He started to back away.

“I saw a gun! I could swear it.”

“No gun.” Griffin kept backing up.

*

“Must have come down early,” I said, handing Griffin duct tape.

He had a towel draped around his shoulders as he held a piece of cardboard over the broken window. “Yeah, just regular neighbors, I guess.”

“We’re safe.”

“We are.” He taped the cardboard down. “You know, this cardboard isn’t going to hold forever. And if we don’t get it fixed, it might be suspicious.”

“Should we pay to get it repaired, then?”

“That seems like a waste of money. I think we’re going to have to think about going someplace else soon.”

“But we just got here,” I said. “And we have all those groceries.”

“Well, I’m not saying tomorrow,” he said. “But this can’t be permanent, you know.”

“Nothing’s permanent, is it? They’re always coming for us.”

He sighed.

I watched as he finished securing the cardboard over the broken window.

“I don’t want to have to run forever,” he said. “That’s no kind of life.” He turned to me. “But it’s better than being taken by them. Being killed.”

He was right.

“I’ll find a way, though,” he said. “For you. I know I could hide you someplace.”

“For both of us,” I said.

He kissed my forehead. “I’m a little harder to hide than you, doll.”

Beth’s words came back to me.
He’ll abandon you too
. But she was just bitter and angry, wasn’t she? “I want us to be together.”

“I want that too,” he said. “If it’s possible, then we will be.” He shrugged. “If you still want me.”

“Why wouldn’t I want you?” I said.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe at some point, you’ll get sick of me.”

“I doubt it.” I kissed the tip of his nose.

“Maybe you’ll get sick of my issues. You’ll see me for what I am. Half a man. Damaged. Broken.” His shoulders slumped.

Where was this coming from? I didn’t understand why he was saying this again. “I would never think that. Besides, we’re going to work on it, right? You said that you didn’t want them to steal things from you.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” he said. “Like where you want to go next.”

“Where I want to go next is out of these wet clothes and into the shower,” I said.

“Sounds good.”

I winked at him. “You want to come with me?”

He blushed. It had been a while since I’d seen him do that. “I don’t know, doll.”

I took his hand. “Come on. It’ll be fun.” I gave him my best naughty grin.

He eyed me appraisingly. My shirt was clinging to my chest and the outline of my bra was pretty visible through the wet fabric. “Well...”

I tugged on him. “Come on.”

He let me lead him into the bathroom. It was decorated in lighthouses and sea shells. Griffin looked around. “This is like a grandmother bathroom.”

I laughed. “It’s always looked like this. I think my dad bought the place furnished.” I yanked my shirt over my head.

His eyes widened, taking me in. “For some reason, I’m not nearly as interested in the bathroom décor all of the sudden.”

I giggled.

He reached for me.

I danced out of his reach. “No, not until you’re out of those wet clothes.” I took off my bra.

He pulled his shirt off.

I smiled at the sight of his chest. I unbuttoned my pants and wriggled out of them. Then I raised my eyes to Griffin.

His hands settled on his fly. He looked nervous. “It’s only that I’ve never been totally naked with you.”

“Do you want me to turn around?”

He licked his lips. “Maybe?” He laughed a little.

I turned my back, opened the shower curtain, and turned on the water. I put out a hand to test it. Cold.

The water began to get gradually warmer. I adjusted accordingly, until the temperature was just right.

And then I felt Griffin press against me from behind, his skin still damp from the rain. His lips tickled my ear. “You’re cold, doll.”

I twisted in his arms. “I need you to warm me up.”

And then we were face to face, both nude. My breath caught in my throat. It felt magnificent.

He kissed me, cupping the curve of my ass, pulling me against him.

I felt him pressed against me, stiff and warm. I looked down, and I saw it for the first time, between our bodies, standing up straight, like an exclamation point.

I wanted to touch it. But I stopped myself. I drew in a long, slow breath, and I looked into his eyes.

He gazed back at me.

“You, um, want to get in the shower?” I said. Steam was starting to pour out behind the curtain.

“Okay.”

I stepped into the tub. I deliberately didn’t watch him get in after me. Instead, I stuck my head under the warm jets of water, letting them run over me.

“Shower hog,” said Griffin, pulling me out of the way and getting in front of me.

“No fair,” I said. “You’re way huger than me. And you block everything.”

“You were blocking everything too, doll,” he threw over his shoulder.

“I was not. I’m smaller than you are.”

He whipped around, laughing. He pinned me up against the wall, water gushing over both our bodies. His mouth found mine. He tasted wet and warm, and his hands moved over me, slippery against my breasts, between my legs.

I moaned, surrendering to him, letting his expert caresses pull me into rapturous pleasure.

His lips moved over me, nibbling and tasting. The hot water made everything seem hazy and languid.

I ran my fingers over the stubble on his head, over his neck and broad shoulders, down his back.

He sighed into my skin, seeking out one of my nipples, suckling me.

I gasped, electric thrills shooting through me. I touched his stomach. It was flat and defined. He was slick with the water from the shower.

His fingers flicked me, teased me, rubbed me. It was bliss. Elation. I let my touch move lower on his body, searching with one hand...

Until I grasped him. Wrapped my fingers around the rigid girth of him.

He let out a strangled noise.

My eyes had been closed, but they flew open.

He was staring back at me. His jaw was clenched tight, and he looked like he was concentrating.

“It’s okay,” I murmured. “It’s only me.”

But I was losing him. He was softening, deflating in my grip.

I let go.

He turned into the stream of water.

“It’s okay.” I kissed his neck. “It’s a step. It was more than you’d done before.”

He moved away from me. “Please don’t do that again, Leigh.”

“What?”

“Don’t touch me there.”

“I’m sorry. I thought—”

“Did you?” He turned to me, his gaze fierce. “Because I don’t think you did. After what I told you, I can’t believe that you would do that. Weren’t you listening to me at all?”

I was taken aback. “I thought that I could help you. I thought you wanted—”

“No,” he said. “I don’t want you to do that. Ever. Okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

He shoved aside the shower curtain and vaulted outside.

“Griffin, wait.”

He wrapped himself in a towel. “No. I need to be alone for a minute. Stay there.” He yanked the curtain closed on me.

I heard the door to the bathroom open and slam.

Damn it.

I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I never wanted to do that. But now I realized that what I’d done had been cruel. He’d trusted me, allowed himself to be completely vulnerable with me in a way that he’d never been before. And I’d betrayed his trust by going too fast.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I whispered.

I wanted to make him feel good. That was the only reason I’d put my hands on him. I wanted to bring him pleasure. But all I had done was make him frightened and angry. I felt horrible. I felt ashamed. I wanted to apologize to him, but I didn’t want to bother him.

He’d told me he needed to be alone.

Still, I couldn’t let him think that I’d meant to hurt him.

I turned off the shower.

I stepped out, wrapped a towel around my head and one around my torso, and left the bathroom.

He wasn’t in the living room.

He wasn’t in the kitchen.

He wasn’t in the den or in the dining room.

He wasn’t downstairs.

I went up the steps and opened the door to the bedroom.

He was sitting on the bed, still wearing the towel.

“Griffin, I didn’t mean—”

“
Alone
, Leigh,” he said. “Do you know what that means?”

Great. He was still mad.

I retreated from the bedroom. But now I was standing out here wrapped in towels, and all my clothes were in my duffel in the bedroom. I was going to have to get in there eventually, but I guessed—

My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of a phone.

Griffin had made me ditch my phone. But he’d picked up one. But no one called Griffin. Who even had that number? He’d barely had it for a few days.

I pushed the door open again.

Griffin was standing up, a look of confusion on his face.

“Who would call you?”

Then his eyes widened. “Beth.” He dove for the phone, picking it up. “Hello.” He listened, his expression hardening. “Fuck you, Knox. How do I know you even actually have her?” He was quiet, stony-faced. “Beth?... I’m coming to get you.... No, I’m—” He ripped the phone and dashed it against the floor. “Motherfucker.”

He threw his towel off and began getting dressed quickly.

“What happened?” I said.

He didn’t answer me. He tied his shoes.

“Griffin, who called you?”

“Op Wraith,” he said. “Guy named Knox. The fuckwad who knocked up Beth. The fuckwad who didn’t give a shit when I told him I was supposed to kill her and his unborn child.” He got up, throwing his pack over his shoulder, and stalked out of the bedroom.

“Griffin,” I called after him. “Where are you going?”

No answer.

I picked up my duffel bag. I darted down the stairs.

He was heading out the front door.

I ran after him, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Wait!”

He turned to me.

My towel was falling off. I struggled to tuck it back in. “Where are you going?”

“He’s going to kill her,” said Griffin. “I
promised
her I would keep her safe.”

“How did they even find her? I thought she’d been there safe for months?”

“I don’t know. But I talked to her. And he got my phone number out of her. She begged me not to come. She said they’d kill her anyway. But I have to go. I promised her.” He went through the door.

“Griffin, wait for me,” I said.

He didn’t stop. He just walked out into the rain.

I was still in my towel. I didn’t have shoes on. It was cold outside.

And he was going without me.

I hurried out into the rain, clutching my duffel bag tight against my chest. Maybe my clothes wouldn’t be ruined.

Griffin was inside the car next door, the one he’d checked out earlier.

I dashed over to the passenger side. It was unlocked. I crawled inside.

Griffin had the wiring out underneath the dash. I’d seen him do this before.

I pulled the door closed. He didn’t even acknowledge me.

The door to the house opened. The same man leaned out. “What are you doing?”

Griffin got the engine to start. He closed the door and backed out of the driveway.

“You’re stealing my car!” the man yelled after us.

Griffin ignored him too.

*

I changed out of my towel on the road. I combed my wet hair with my fingers. If Griffin noticed that what I was doing was strange, he didn’t let on. He wouldn’t talk to me. He ignored every question I asked him. He drove eighty miles an hour, swerving around slower cars. His face was set and firm, his gray eyes steely.

He didn’t say a word until we made it back to Beth’s neighborhood.

Then he seemed to notice me again.

“They’ll know I’m coming,” he said. “They’ll be waiting for me. They probably did this because they know we’re together. They want to draw you out. You’re what they’re after. They don’t care about me. You should probably stay in the car.”

“No,” I said.

“You should have stayed in Nantucket,” he said. “Why are you here?”

“Griffin, I’m not going to be separated from you. I want to help. Tell me what to do.”

He shook his head. He seemed different than I’d ever seen him. Colder. “Every second I waste here is a second she doesn’t have. They don’t need her anymore. You understand?”

“No,” I said. I had no idea what he was talking about. And I had no idea why he was acting the way he was acting. He was almost a different person.

“They needed her to talk on the phone to me,” he said. “Once she did that, they knew I was on the way. They could have killed her right after we hung up.”

I grimaced. That was awful.

“That’s why she told me not to come,” he said. “That’s why she told me she was as good as dead.” He rubbed his forehead. “God damn it. They used her to get to me.”

No. If what he was saying was true, they had used her to get to
me
, hadn’t they?

Griffin parked the car. He didn’t bother to hide it like he had when we’d checked out Stacey and Jack’s house. He parked right in front of the apartment complex in a handicapped parking space. “Stay here,” he told me, jumping out of the car.

I watched him sprint across the sidewalk to the landing. He’d have to climb the steps to get to Beth’s apartment.

I found his pack and looked through it until I found a gun. I loaded it, disengaged the safety, and went after him.

He was already up the first set of stairs, cresting over the second landing.