Page 86 of Hearts and Hidden Secrets

CARSON

A little while later, he found me in what I assumed was the library.

One wall was the floor-to-ceiling glass, facing the atrium, but two of the other walls were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

And books lined every inch of those shelves.

The other wall was painted black with a leather couch against it that looked hella comfortable.

Two afghans were folded on one end. The place should’ve been in a design magazine.

I hadn’t a clue how to describe the rug, except that it was fuzzy and white, and I could’ve taken a nap on it. For twenty-four hours.

Jonah stood in the open doorway.

I glanced over at him as I perused the shelves. He looked ragged, and cautious. He tipped his head back, a soft sigh leaving him as he put his hands in his pockets. “I’m tired.”

“Sorry for going all Sixth Sense on you.” But I wasn’t, actually. Not at all. It was my truth, whether he took it or not.

“You believe what you said to me?”

I paused, but then nodded. “I do. It’s—I’ve never felt something that strongly. It was… I couldn’t forget it.”

He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to the side. “Can you—I mean… Do you feel her now?”

“I’m not psychic, so no. Whatever that was, it was a one-and-done thing.”

“You said you’ve felt them before?”

“Yes. Sometimes it’s a presence, like if you’re sitting somewhere and someone comes up behind you. I feel ’em once and then not again after.” Goose bumps lined my arms as I remembered some of those times. “I’ve never told anyone about that stuff. It makes me sound like a freak.”

He snorted. “We have a situation, or I have a situation. I’m dead on my feet, and knowing my brother, when he gets back here, he’ll be raring to go. So while I’ve adapted not to need a ton of sleep, I’d still like to get some.” He raised an eyebrow.

I shifted my feet. “What?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“I’m not a fan of tying you up, or using handcuffs, or even locking you in a room. So yeah. You’re the situation.”

“I’m not going to run.” I motioned toward the glass wall. “Run where? And who buys a place in the middle of a forest, but has cameras and lights installed? That’s insane.” I thought about it, and a shiver went through my body. “Don’t answer that. I won’t run.”

“I’m hoping you won’t kill me either.”

“Huh?”

He moved across the room and grabbed my wrist, then switched his hold. He dropped his hand into mine and led me from the room. We went down a hallway and back to the other building. Then we went down some stairs, and he tugged me into a back corner room.

It was large, dark, and the bed was enormous.

Releasing my hand, he waited till I stepped all the way inside before shutting the door. There was a code set next to it. He pressed and held the bottom button. Two green lights flashed, and there was a locking sound in the door.

“If you put in the wrong code even once, the room will light up, and an alarm will sound. We’ll have guards at the door within ten seconds.”

Okay, then. No trying to hack a coded breaker.

He went to the far end of the room and opened another door. A light switched on. “Here’s the bathroom if you need it.”

He disappeared into a walk-in closet and came back with clothes. “Here. For sleeping.”

He had everything I would need: a soft tank top, pajama bottoms.

He went back into the closet, leaving me alone in the room.

Guess it was bedtime?

But I felt dirty from my forest jog, so I went to the bathroom. I cleaned up as much as I could, rifling through the drawers and finding a toothbrush still in its wrapping. I brushed my teeth, and after I couldn’t stall anymore, I opened the door. But I wasn’t ready.

Who could be?

I should’ve been, because I’m a forensic technician. Bodies weren’t new to me. They were my job on the daily. But no. No one could’ve been prepared because holy fuck me , Jonah Bennett’s body was glorious. Glor-i-ous . Emphasis on all of that.

He was standing, his head cocked to the side, in a pair of sweats.

They dipped low, resting on his hips. My mouth went dry.

It wasn’t that he was ripped, because he wasn’t.

I didn’t like that look, but he was lean, and there was definite muscle definition.

He took care of his body. That was evident.

He had the penis landing strip, the two muscles (I knew the scientific names, but they weren’t coming to me right now) that if you kept following them down…

there you go. As a colleague would giggle sometimes, you’ve landed on home base.

I’d never been infatuated with those muscles (on live people, of course), but on Jonah, they made my knees a bit weak.

And his arms.

I was a puddle of a gooey virgin, acting like I’d never been around a guy before.

I hadn’t moved from the bathroom doorway.

“I’m not doing the floor,” he announced. “So you can, if you want, or suck it up and share a bed with me.”

“What?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m not lying. I’m exhausted. It’s almost six in the morning. I need some sleep before Tanner comes and ruins the weekend.”

Oh. He thought… I shuffled to the side. Yeah. I wasn’t flustered because we were sharing a bed, but now looking at it, those were satin sheets. Satin . Now I had a whole different kind of fluster going. Down south. In my vagina.

I cursed under my breath as he went into the bathroom.

What am I doing?

I’d run for my life forty minutes ago. Jonah came after, brought me back, and cleaned up my wounds. But had I forgotten the whole kidnapping part before that?

I went to the far side of the bed and got under the covers, and oh my God! This was pure heaven!

I should’ve been freaking out—again. I should’ve been planning my escape.

I should’ve been…I didn’t even know. But as I touched those sheets, my eyes closed and that was all…

JONAH

Soft, light, feminine snores floated through the room when I opened the door.

I had to stop a second to appreciate them because it’d been a long time since I’d heard sounds like that.

I’d been with women since Melissa’s death, but never at my place and never overnight.

It was usually a hookup in a bar, or outside in the car, or a hotel room.

I never went to their place, and I never let them come to mine. Nothing personal. Nothing humane.

Just sexual need, and then I’d go back to my place.

My phone lit up on the nightstand.

Tanner: Her phone is legit. As far as the hacker can tell, she’s legit, too.

My gut shifted. I felt a certain way about that.

Me: You serious? A coincidence?

Tanner: Seems like. The guy went through everything. Kai sent someone to her apartment. It was clean. We can’t find anything on her. Finances are good. Her home life is normal. Nothing’s getting flagged.

I looked down at her. She was turned toward me, on her side. The cover was tucked over her chin, and damn… Damn . We were assholes.

Tanner: What are you going to do with her?

Me: Not a clue. I have surgeries lined up starting Monday. When is this thing with the hitman?

Tanner: Kai is still in negotiations for the details. Stay put. Can you cancel your surgeries?

He had no clue how that worked.

Me: No.

Tanner: What about your med school friends? You were supposed to be with them this weekend. Will they be a problem?

Me: No. They reached out, but I handled it.

Tanner: I’ll be back later today. Have you slept? Where’s the girl now?

I snapped a picture of her and sent it to him.

Me: We’re in the lock room.

Tanner: Make sure to hide the guns. You’re crazy.

Yeah. Yeah, maybe I was.

Me: I need sleep. Don’t wake me up when you get here.

Tanner: Nighty night. Keep your balls.

I rolled my eyes and fought another yawn as I blacked my screen and put the phone on the charger in the drawer beside me.

I went to sleep listening to Carson’s snores.