Page 9

Chapter

Five

“You get everything done?” Jake asked as he came up behind where Alannah was sitting at his kitchen table with paper spread all around her.

After a good night’s sleep, she’d seemed to be in better spirits, and had woken up ready to tackle the mountain of jobs she needed to get done in order to get her gym open and running again.

Seeing lots of encouraging and supportive comments from her customers on social media had lifted her spirits as well, and she’d set about everything she had to do with determination.

Since there was no way in hell he was letting her out of his sight while the final man involved in the conspiracy was still out there somewhere, for the foreseeable future, Jake had already decided he was going to play bodyguard.

Having Alannah staying in his house felt strange since they were best friends and she wasn't a date, not that he brought many of them home, but it wasn't strange in a bad way.

Looking up at him over her shoulder, she shot him a weary smile. “I think so. Thanks for your help and for asking Eagle to pull some strings. Only one more inspection needs to be done, and if that goes well, I should be able to open again later in the week.”

“That’s great.” The last thing he wanted was for his problems to affect Alannah’s life and livelihood.

The gym meant a lot to her, and he knew she’d sunk in most of her inheritance to open it.

Her hard work had paid off and she was very successful, but something like this could change that in a split second.

Even though they’d spoken to her last night about whether there could be anyone out there targeting her, he’d never really believed that was a legitimate possibility.

It was too much of a coincidence that this had only started when he went to hang out with her in person for the first time in three months.

Seeing the devastation on her face as she’d defended herself, insisting she hadn't set the fire had filled him with rage. The cops that put that thought in her head were lucky he had too much on his plate right now, otherwise, he’d make sure they lost their jobs for treating an innocent victim who’d almost died twice in two days so insensitively.

“Yeah, I'm glad the damage is mostly just downstairs. It will be a while till repairs are sorted out and I can reopen the play area, but I know how lucky I am there wasn't any structural damage that would need to be repaired. That would take months, and I might not be able to survive.”

“I'm just glad you weren't hurt.” While he would have hated her to lose her livelihood it was still preferable to losing her life.

Twice in just days he could have lost her.

What would life even look like without his best friend?

Not something Jake had any interest in finding out.

“Me too,” Alannah agreed as she began to rub at the back of her neck. With the way she’d been hunched over her laptop and phone all day, it was no wonder she had some kinks that needed working out.

“Here. I got it.” Nudging her hands out of the way, he moved so he was right behind her and covered her shoulders with his hands. While his fingers worked the tight muscles in her shoulders, his thumbs attended to the ones along the back of her neck.

With a moan, her head tipped forward, and he almost froze.

That sound.

It did … things to him.

Things down south that he should have no business thinking about when it was his best friend moaning like he’d just given her the best orgasm of her life.

What would Alannah look like in bed? Would her creamy skin pinken? Would her golden-brown eyes light with desire? Would she toss and turn her head on her pillow as he worked her higher and higher until her blonde locks spread out around her face like a halo?

Would her hips come off the bed seeking more as he put his head between her legs and made her come with his mouth?

How tight would she feel as he sunk inside her?

How loud would she scream his name as she came, clamping around him and setting off his own orgasm?

“Jake? Everything okay?”

It wasn't until her pretty golden eyes looked up at him that he realized he’d stopped massaging her shoulders and instead was just standing there with his hands resting on them, staring at her with an intensity he couldn’t help but feel was betraying every inappropriate thought he’d just had.

How tacky could he be?

Alannah had just survived two fires. She was scared and vulnerable, staying in his house because her safety was at risk, and there he was, daydreaming about having sex with her. Sex that would without a doubt ruin their friendship.

He wasn't losing his best friend for anything, including sex.

“Uh, yeah,” he said, taking a step back so he wasn't tempted to touch her again. “Just thinking we should order something for dinner since we both worked right through lunch.”

The look she gave him told him she didn't quite believe him, but thankfully, she didn't push. “Actually, instead of ordering, I'd much rather cook. I could use the distraction for a while, and I've got a craving for homemade lasagna.”

“Course you do,” he said with a smile and an eyeroll.

Alannah was a great cook, and it was often her go-to when she was stressed.

She’d taught him everything she knew about cooking, and as kids they’d spent hours in his house cooking dinners for the three of them.

Whoever was babysitting him and Jax was always happy to have one less job to do and her parents didn't care where she was and what she was doing. So, the three of them had banded together, and thanks to her, they’d been able to eat delicious homemade meals rather than frozen junk.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think my cupboards are prepared for that.”

“Oh.” Disappointment lit her face, and she chewed on her bottom lip. Something he’d seen her do hundreds of times before, but never once had he thought about replacing her teeth with his own as he kissed and nipped at those plump lips of hers.

To shove all thoughts of kissing his best friend out of his head, he offered something that wasn't the best plan given their situation. “We can hit up the grocery store down the street. I'm sure they’ll have everything you need.”

Immediately, her eyes lit up with hope. “Are you sure that’s okay to do?”

“We can be quick. Straight there and straight back. You stick close, and if anything feels off we’ll leave immediately.”

“Done, done, and done. Let me grab my shoes.”

While she ran upstairs, he found a pair of sneakers by the door and shoved them on. For some ridiculous reason this almost felt like a date. Taking her to the store, helping her cook dinner, and eating it together while they watched a movie.

No.

No date.

Stop it, Jake.

His reminder to himself did little to help when Alannah came back downstairs looking adorable in a simple pair of black leggings and mint green oversized sweater, with her hair in a messy ponytail.

Together they headed outside, and when a scan of the busy little street he lived on didn't reveal any potential threats, they started walking. As they walked, Jake couldn’t quite get out of his mind how Susanna had been attacked after a late night trip to the grocery store.

These people were always watching, and once they marked you as a target, they didn't let up.

It was too late to pretend that Alannah wasn't an important part of his life, but maybe he could see if she’d be willing to go with the others to stay with Delta Team until this mess was over.

The guys had finally made the decision to send Willow, Susanna, Becca, Essie, and Gabriella away.

No one was happy about it, but the Delta Team guys were …

something else entirely, and Cassandra was already staying with them.

There was literally no safer place in the world right now, no one even knew where those guys lived.

Well, he suspected Eagle did, but no one else, and it wasn't like Prey’s CEO and founder was going to tell anyone.

“All right, we’ll be quick. Grab what you need and get out,” he reminded Alannah as they stepped inside the small store. It was about a fifth the size of a supermarket, but it sold pretty much everything you’d need, just in smaller quantities and with fewer brand choices.

“Agreed.” Alannah shivered, betraying her nerves.

Even though he’d love to split up to get this done quicker, it was safer to stick with her. So he followed her down the aisles as she grabbed the ingredients she needed to make her lasagna.

“Oh, I forgot the tomato paste,” Alannah announced, quickly spinning around. “It’s just down the other end of the aisle.”

Before he could stop her, she was hurrying back the way they’d just come.

One second she was there, the next, items from the shelves were crashing down around her as flames leapt to life.

October 15 th

5:40 P.M.

One second, she was turning to search for the tomato paste on the grocery store shelf, the next, cans were flying off the shelves toward her.

Not just cans and bottles.

Something was on fire.

Alannah felt the searing heat as it brushed against her skin before whatever it was landed on the floor beside her.

People screamed around her, and she could hear footsteps. Most seemed to be moving away from her, but one set drew closer.

Jake.

Somehow, she felt him before she saw him. Before his arms wrapped around her, snatching her off her feet and carrying her away from the small fire already dying out on the linoleum floor.

Three days.

Three fires.

No coincidence.

This one, like the last, seemed to have been aimed solely at her, but she still couldn’t figure out a single person who would want her dead or even suffering.

She just didn't make that kind of impact on other people.

People liked her, seemed to enjoy her company, but they didn't love her.

They didn't become obsessed with her to the point of wanting to destroy her.