Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (6 page)

“
It
’
s just that
—”

“
Lisa, I
’
m in love with you.
 
I will protect you.
 
I
’
m a former SEAL.
 
Do you understand what that means?
 
Do you know how I
’
ve
been trained?
 
I hope you do,
because that
’
s who I
am.
 
Seeking out men like Kevin is
what runs in my blood, especially for someone I love.
 
I don
’
t judge you for any of this
—
you need to know that.
 
I remember what it was like to be
seventeen.
 
Who the hell knows
anything at seventeen?
 
He
did this to you
—
not
you.
 
He
took advantage of
you, and now he wants to bilk you for a cool million. That
’
s not happening on my
watch.
 
OK?
 
It
’
s not happening.
”

And that was that.
 
I
’
d done the right
thing.
 
I
’
d told him everything.
 
I
’
d told him about parts of my life that I
’
d forgotten, and he didn
’
t judge me for them.
 
He did love me.
 
It was as clear as the anger in his
voice.
 
I needed to listen to him
now.
 
And trust him.
 

And so I did.

“
I
’
m so sorry all of this
happened to you tonight,
”
he
said in a softer voice.
 
“
And here I thought that
tonight was going to be one of the best nights of your life.
 
I
’
m sick that that didn
’
t happen for you.
 
I
’
m sick that
I can
’
t be there with
you.
 
I hope you know that.
”

“
I can feel
you from here.
”

“
Cutter will
be there in twenty minutes
—
just
as soon as I call him.
 
I
’
ll also call the doorman
and let him know that there
’
s
a situation, and that Cutter and others will be on site to make certain that
you
’
re safe.
 
I might be far away from you in
distance, but not in heart.
 
I will
protect you from this.
”

“
I love you,
Tank.
”

“
I love you
more.
”

“
Before you
left today, I thought that two weeks without you would be interminable.
 
Now I know it will be.
 
I don
’
t want to come off as some weak, dependent, ridiculous
girlfriend, but I feel like one now.
”

“
You
’
ve been threatened.
 
That fucker actually chased you
tonight.
 
I hope you understand the
difference of what being a ridiculous girlfriend means, because I do
—
and you
’
re not one.
 
When you wake in the morning, go and
introduce yourself to Cutter.
 
If
you have the photo from Katie, put it on a thumb drive and give it to him.
 
If you don
’
t, call her and ask her for it.
 
Tell her that you need it ASAP.
 
When you have it, go with Cutter to
Wenn.
 
The team will take care of
the rest.
 
With your memory of what
Kevin looks like now, we
’
ll
construct a clear composite of him and we
’
ll use it to seek him out.
 
OK?
”

“
I know it
’
s selfish, but I wish you
were here with me now.
”

“
I do,
too.
 
More than you know.
 
But I can tell you this
—
I
’
m there in spirit.
 
I
’
m all around you.
 
Can you feel me?
 
Close your
eyes and try to feel me.
”

I closed my eyes and imagined Tank standing behind me while I sat at the
computer, and God help me if I didn
’
t
feel a whisper of his hands on my shoulders.
 
He was there with me.
 
We had a connection that couldn
’
t be divided by space.

“
I feel you,
”
I said.
 
“
I
do.
”

“
Get some
sleep.
”

“
That
’
s not going to
happen.
 
I
’
m way too wound up.
 
I
’
ll work on Boss
’
edits and try to make some headway on the book.
”

“
Maybe, by
tomorrow morning, Boss will be out of your life.
”

“
I wouldn
’
t mind that, but then I
’
ll need to deal with a new
editor and all of his or her wants for the book.
”

“
Try to sleep,
”
he said.
 
“
I
’
ll see if I can take care
of that, too.
”

CHAPTER
FIVE

The next morning, I awoke with a start and found myself leaning back in
my desk chair with my hands resting on my stomach.
 
What woke me?
 
It was a sound
—
and then I knew exactly what it was.
 
Apparently, I
’
d just snorted in my sleep so loudly that I
’
d rattled myself awake.

Classy
, I thought.

At some point in the night, I must have reclined, closed my eyes, and
fallen asleep.
 
I looked up at the
ceiling for a few moments. Then, I wiped my eyes and squinted around the room,
which was blindingly bright from the sunlight pouring through the window at my
left.
 
My head was so thick with
thoughts of all that had happened the night before, I felt as if I was in a
fog.
 

Coffee
, I thought.
 
No
—
espresso.
 
I was about to stand when I recalled my
conversation with Tank.
 
He
’
d specifically asked me
for that photo of Kevin, and I couldn
’
t
let him down.
 
So, I sat up in my
chair, collected myself, woke my computer from its slumber, and got to it.

I checked my email to see if Katie had sent the photo, and was surprised
to find that she actually had.
 
I
opened it, and the person I saw smiling back at me was now a shock to me.
 
This version of Kevin looked nothing
like the man I saw last night.
 
Only
six years had passed since this photo was taken, but now, because of how he
’
d chosen to live his life,
he looked a good fifteen years older.

I reached into my desk drawer, removed a thumb drive, stuck it into a
slot on my keyboard, and saved the photo onto it.
 
That
’
s when my phone rang.
 
I looked at the screen hoping that it
was Tank, but it was Blackwell.
 
I
wished it had been Tank, but I
’
d
always take Blackwell.
 
I answered.

“
Barbara,
”
I said.

There was concern in her voice when she said,
“
How are you?
”

“
You
’
ve spoken to someone about
what happened last night?
”

“
Alex called
me after Tank spoke to him.
 
I know
everything.
 
I
’
m sorry.
 
None of that should have happened to
you, from Marco Boss
’
drunken
antics straight down to your ex-boyfriend openly threatening you in Times
Square, of all sordid places.
 
Can
you meet me at Wenn by nine?
”

“
What time is
it now?
”

“
Six-thirty.
”

“
Of course I
can.
 
What
’
s the issue?
”

“
Things tend
to get lost in translation when they
’
re
handed down from one person to the next.
 
I want to hear your version of all of it
—
straight from you
—
so I understand exactly what happened.
 
Cutter is waiting for you
downstairs.
 
You haven
’
t met him yet, but you won
’
t be able to miss
him.
 
He
’
s a giant, but a kind one.
 
You
’
ll like him.
 
Take a shower.
 
Have some
coffee.
 
Then meet me in my office
at nine.
”

“
When do they
land in Singapore?
”

“
Around six-thirty
this evening.
 
They
’
ve been flying all
night.
 
It
’
s an eighteen-hour flight from LAX.
 
They have another twelve hours to go.
”

After seeing Kevin last night, I longed to speak with Jennifer, who
never had liked him.
 
What is she
going to say when I tell her
that
story
…
?

“
I
’
ll be there at nine,
”
I said.
 

When I hung up the phone, I realized just how much I wanted to see
Jennifer.
 
She
’
d give me the perspective
that I needed.
 
I pushed back my
chair, and dashed into the bathroom, where I showered and then did my hair
—
just loose enough so
it curled up along the tops of my shoulders.
 
I put on some makeup, my favorite dark
jeans, and a white silk blouse.
 
I
paired my outfit with a funky chain-mesh belt and killer Dior heels.
 
Then, after putting on the cashmere coat
Blackwell herself had purchased for me, I had one last thing to do.
 

And so I did it.

*
 
*
 
*

I arrived in the lobby with two steaming cups of espresso in my
hands.
 
I didn
’
t know how Cutter liked
his, so I took a chance and went with how most liked theirs
—
with a solid dose of
sugar in it to soften its bitter edge.
 

As Tank and Blackwell had promised, it was impossible to miss him.
 

When I walked across the lobby, my heels tapped with purpose.
 
He was standing guard at the front entrance,
and, unfathomably, he was even taller and more muscular than Tank or Boss.
 
Where did these people come from?
 
Some alien world?
 
I
’
d never seen men so tall or so built.
 
Or handsome.
 
Cutter was dressed in a black suit with
a blue tie, over which he wore a long black winter dress coat.
 
He had curly dark hair, and, after
standing here all night, more than a trace of stubble on his face.
 
When he turned to me, he straightened.

“
Ms. Ward,
”
he said.

“
Please,
”
I said as I closed the
distance between us.
 
“
It
’
s Lisa.
 
You
’
re Cutter?
”

“
I am.
”

“
You
’
ve been out here all
night.
 
I can
’
t tell you how much I appreciate that.
 
Your feet must be aching, and you must
be bored as hell.
 
I
’
d extend my hand to shake
yours, but as you can see, my hands are full.
 
Would you like an espresso?
 
I brought one for you.
 
I thought we could each have a massive
infusion of caffeine before we left for Wenn.
”

“
Thank you,
”
he said, taking one of
the mugs.
 
“
I need this.
”