Sweet Vengeance (33 page)

An
odd look crossed his face.  "So, do it.  Go back to California.  Get
married.  I'll leave you alone."

That
wasn't what she wanted to hear.  "You're agreeing then if I go back you'll
leave me alone?"  The sound of the rain against the windowpane grew louder. 
"Or only if I marry Ryan?"

"Ryan?" 
A shot of emotion darkened his eyes, but he quickly blinked it away.  He
shrugged.  "If I know you're taken care of, I won't worry.  You just need
to get out of this city."

Allie
studied him.  His face might be a blank slate at the moment, but she'd seen the
anguish in his eyes.  Did he really care for her after all? 

Honestly,
she couldn't say she was over him.  Maybe she should stay a little longer and
try to help him.  How could she leave him to suffer the cruel reality he'd
created for himself? 

"What
if the Trasatti family was no longer a threat?"  She might not have a
future with him, but she knew she couldn't leave without trying to pull him out
of his dark existence.  "I found out some information that might help
you."

He
narrowed his gaze as his stance stiffened.  "What do you mean?"  He
wouldn't take the next piece of information very well, but she had to tell him.

"I
went to the police station today."  She pulled the pillow tighter to her. 
"I assume you know this since you kidnapped me not far from there."

He
didn't answer, but waited for her to continue.

"I
spoke with Sergeant Cates—"

"I
know Cates.  Don't trust him."

"Why
not?"  She crossed her arms on top of the pillow, not liking the attack on
her judgment.  "He seems like a decent guy to me."

"Yeah,
well, that tells me right there you're not capable of taking care of
yourself."

Allie
stood up and threw the pillow at him.  "You can be such a jerk. 
Obviously, you don't need to hear anything I have to say." 

She
headed for the bedroom.  She'd wait in there until her clothes arrived, and
then she'd leave, torrential rain or not.

"Allie." 
Jase caught her arm before she left the room.  "I'm sorry.  That was
unwarranted."

She
pulled free.  "You're damn right it was.  I deserve a little respect.  I'm
not a nineteen-year-old kid anymore."

He
had the decency to look repentant.  "You're right.  Please, come back and
tell me what Cates said."

She
hesitated, not sure she wanted to continue the conversation.  In the end, she
knew she would cave.  "Fine."  She walked back into the room, but
didn't take a seat.  Instead, she went to stand by the window where Jase had
been moments before.  He joined her there and insisted they sit down.

"First
of all, why don't
you
tell me why you don't like Cates," she said,
her hand bumping the cold window. 

Jase
exhaled.  "He's cocky.  I tried to work with him years ago, but he's an
ass.  Only looking out for himself, and he won't release any information."

Allie
curved her lips into a smile.  "Really?  Because I had no trouble getting
info at all."  She shrugged and gave him a flirtatious blink of her eyes,
glad that she now had the upper hand.  "Of course, he does have a soft
spot for women's legs." 

"Shit." 
Jase shook his head.  "That's exactly why I don't trust the jerk.  He
obviously can be bought."

"You're
just jealous." 

"You're
damn right, I am."  Jase eyed her with a serious look, and her
lighthearted feeling flipped right into an intense sexual awareness.  A very
dangerous place for her to be.

She
licked her suddenly dry lips.  "Well."  She pretended she hadn't
noticed the surge of energy that had nothing to do with the electrical storm
raging outside.  "I did learn a few things from Cates.  Did you know there
was a politician killed three days before Joey's murder?  His name was Gregory
Winslow."

Jase
nodded.  "I remember the story.  Some guy connected with the Trasatti
organization killed him.  I always figured there was more to it than what we'd
heard."

"Exactly." 
Allie nodded.  "More often than not, the organization pays someone to take
the hit for them.  That's exactly what happened this time, too, only they
didn't pay him well enough.  After he was incarcerated, he told a different story,
one where Franco Trasatti pulled the trigger."

"The
big guy, huh?  It surprises me he'd get personally involved."  He
scratched the stubble on his jaw.  "Winslow must have really pissed him
off."

Allie
agreed.  "I guess he had some good dirt on Trasatti, and he was in a
position to use it."  She jumped when a huge boom of thunder shook the
window panes.  "That one was close.  I think it's time for me to move away
from the windows—whether they're opened or closed."  She gave him a
nervous chuckle and stood. 

He
grabbed her hand, keeping her from leaving.  "No, come on.  Hang with me
here for a little while longer.  The show outside is amazing."  He
grinned.  "Even if it's a little unnerving."

She
hesitated, knowing it would be a mistake to pretend he wanted to share this
moment with her because he loved her. 

"We're
safe, and I'll protect you."  He tugged her back to the window seat,
sitting closer to her than he had before.

She
swallowed and tried to focus on their conversation.  "I was saying, the
part I found really interesting was Cates said somehow Joey might have
witnessed the murder
and
recorded it."  She smiled, proud she'd
managed to uncover some useful information.  "I'm sure that's why they
killed Joey."

He
scowled at her.  "Allie."  He shook his head as though greatly
disappointed.  "You have no business getting involved again.  The
information you just gave me is dangerous to know."

What? 
"How can you say that?  Doesn't this help you at all?"  And here she
thought he'd be grateful.

"I
appreciate the info, but look what we went through to get you a new life.  Why
can't you let me worry about this, and you stay safe?"  He stopped and
took a deep breath.  "Men died protecting you.  You have a good life.  You
need to go back to it."

She
leaned away from him.  "That's just it.  You've helped me get a better
life, and I'm extremely grateful.  But I didn't ask anyone to protect me.  And
it's
my
life.  If I can't make my own choices and go where I want to go,
what good is it?"

"At
least, you're alive."  He said the words softly, but his eyes were full of
meaning.

It
was more than she could take.  She stood up.  "I'm tired of being
grateful.  Tired of feeling like I owe the world just because I'm alive.  I
live my life looking over my shoulder, worried someone's coming after me.  You
don't love me, but you won't stop sending money.  Ryan says he loves me, but he
won't be with me until you butt out."  She threw her hands in the air. 
"I feel like everyone owns my life
but me
." 

Jase
rose, standing mere inches from her.  "I'm sorry."

His
apology didn't help.  In fact, it made things worse.  "That is
not
what I wanted to hear."  She held up her hands in a frustrated gesture. 
"I don't want your pity.  I just want everyone to quit telling me what to
do and leave me the hell alone." 

"I
can't."  His whispered answer was in direct contradiction to her loud
tone, and it sucked out all her anger.

"Why?" 
The crazy ping-pong of her emotions made her want to cry.  "If you can't
love me, why can't you just let me be?"

She
could sense the emotions warring inside him, too, and she felt torn.  She
wanted desperately to assert her independence, but more than that, she wanted
to hear him say he needed her, too.

He
wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.  "I can't
because—" 

He
stopped and looked away as though what he wanted to say was stuck somewhere
deep inside him.  And somehow she knew the words were what she wanted to hear
most.

Allie
pushed against him, not accepting his withdrawal.  "Why, Jase?"

His
gaze returned to her, full of fire and anguish.  "Because I love you. 
Okay?  I've loved you from the moment I hauled you over my shoulder and threw
you into the car.  When your eyes met mine as we hunched down with bullets
flying overhead, I knew I could never walk away from you."

His
declaration stunned her.  She remembered that moment, vividly, wondering if
they'd make it out alive.  Did she know, even back then, this man would play
such an important role in her life?

She
searched his eyes, looking for something to tell her she'd really heard what
she'd always longed to hear.  Part of her was afraid she'd imagined the whole
thing.

Then
the reality of what he'd said sank in, and her frustration returned.  "But
you did walk away from me.  You
pushed
me away."

He
agreed.  "But can't you see it's because I care about you?  My life is
contaminated with death and fear, and I don't want you anywhere near it." 
He touched her face.  "You deserve so much better.  I wanted to give you
that."

Her
throat grew thick with emotion.  He
loved
her.  She leaned into his
strong chest, sliding her fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair,
loving the feel of him.  She should be angry with him, but all she could think
was he was there, in her arms, and he loved her.  At that moment, nothing else
mattered.

She
tugged his head down to hers.  When his lips were less than a breath away, she
whispered, "I love you, too.  I love you so, so much." 

He
claimed her with a fierce kiss that lifted her off her toes.  He crushed her in
his embrace, sending tremors through her that rivaled the exploding thunder
outside.  She wrapped her arms and legs around him as he leaned back against
the window frame.

A
knock on the door ruined their perfect moment.  Jase pulled away and set her
down.  He caressed her bottom lip with his thumb.  "Hold that
thought."

Allie
laughed as he stumbled into a coffee table on his way to the door.  Once Jase
opened the door, she could see a young man in a courier's uniform, his face set
in a frown.

"I'm
so sorry, sir.  We tried to get your request here sooner, but the rain's
pouring down, and traffic's a mess."

Jase
pulled out his wallet.  "No problem."  He glanced back at Allie. 
"Tell you what, I'll give you two hundred if you take them away and bring
them back tomorrow morning."  He slapped two bills in the kid's hand and
shut the door.

He
hurried back to Allie with a smile on his face that left her feeling giddy. 
"Was that my clothes?"

"Maybe." 
He took her chin in his hand and kissed her.  "But don't worry, if it was,
you won't need them until tomorrow."

"Jase." 
She laughed as he leaned her backward over his arm and placed a possessive kiss
on her lips.  Then with his free arm, he scooped her up and turned to the
window seat.  He laid her down softly and followed her until he was on his
knees in front of her.  He kissed her again, and she wondered if she'd ever get
enough. 

He
ran a thumb over her cheek.  "I don't know how you can love a monster like
me."

How
could she possibly explain how happy it made her just to be with him?  "I
do love you, Jase.  I don't know why you think you're a monster."  She
placed a soft kiss on his lips.  "I think you're perfect."

He
scoffed.  "Hardly.  I'm a man who willingly lives in a world filled with
hate, murder and revenge.  Why would you want to have anything to do with
me?" 

Before
she could answer, the power went out, intensifying the darkness of his words. 

Allie
reached out and found his face as her eyes adjusted to the loss of light. 
"You're just lost in all the madness.  The death of your family. 
Revenge.  I think you know it's not a good place to be."

He
snorted.  "Yeah, well, it's the only place I know.  And it's not a place I
want you to be."

Lightning
flashed, and she caught a glimpse of his tortured face.  She was not going to
let him push her away.  Not again.  Not now that she knew he loved her. 

He'd
once saved her.  Now, it was her turn to save him.  And she'd do it in a way so
he'd have no chance of stopping her.

She
pulled him down to her, finding his lips in the dark.  "I don't want to
talk about me leaving right now.  You've just told me you love me, and I want
to bask in that for a while."  She tightened her hold on him.  "So
shut up and kiss me."

He,
apparently, had no trouble complying with her request.  His kiss was no longer
demanding and possessive, but had switched to a much slower tempo.  As he
kneeled next to the window seat, he moved his lips over hers, slowly, softly,
and when she tried to deepen their kiss, he pulled back.  "No," he
whispered.  "I want to savor this."