Page 11 of Desperate Temptations

“S ettle down,” he ordered . His eyes narrowed on her when she backed away from him with fear in her eyes.

“Don’t you dare be afraid of me. There is no way I’d hurt you.

Not ever.” Cain rubbed the back of his neck, clearly agitated.

“It’s a maneuver the military uses. It doesn’t hurt the person, but it’s very effective in putting them down quickly. ”

“Why the hell did you do that to me?” she nearly shouted, and her voice shook with nerves.

“Because the first time there were men in the warehouse, a lot of men,” he growled.

He watched her eyes widen in realization, a quiver of fear streaking through them.

“You didn’t know that, did you? They came in the back door.

I had to get you out of there quickly and quietly.

I couldn’t take a chance of you screaming or trying to fight me and alerting them.

” It still terrified him to know how close she’d come to that level of danger.

She flinched at the tone of his voice.

“It frightened me to wake up and not remember anything.”

He grasped her shoulders and held her still when she tried to pull away.

“I know, Baby. I’m sorry. I couldn’t stay and explain. I wanted to go back and find out what they were doing. I want to find out what happened to Drew, too. Besides, I think it would have scared you more to have me sitting there when you woke up, right?”

“You’re right about that.” She nodded and rubbed her arms as if chilled. “How’d you get back to the warehouse for your truck, it’s clear across town?”

“I brought you home in your vehicle, and after getting you to bed, I jogged until I caught a cab.”

He watched her and rubbed his chin, contemplating her for a few minutes.

“I’ve got an idea, but I want you to promise to hear me out.

” She looked skeptical but nodded. “How about you promise to never go to the warehouse...” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth.

“Wait and give me a chance. The warehouse, or anywhere else around Martinez. I’ll keep looking into Drew’s murder and keep you up-to-date on what’s going on in the investigation.

If you don’t agree, I’ll spend my time taking care of you instead of finding his killer.

” He eyed her with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He held out his hand. “Deal?”