Page 10

Stone

A s soon as the bathroom door shut, my shoulders sagged, and I ran a hand through my hair. I was in trouble. Not only in the I almost got blown up twice today kind of trouble, but Serenity was something else. Yes, I wanted her like I needed air, but I also liked being with her… our day together had been fun. When was the last time I’d had fun?

Taking a few calming breaths, I stalked to my room and closed the door firmly behind me. I needed a shower. A cold one. I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into my master bathroom, the tile cool against my bare feet. As the water sluiced over me, I leaned against the tiles and caught my breath.

So much had happened today that it was hard to keep everything straight. Besides the attempts on my life, I had a beautiful woman staying here to protect me. But she was quickly becoming more than that. What had I gotten into?

Thinking of Serenity naked in the bathroom just down the hall sent my pulse racing. I needed to figure out who was targeting me and why, before I completely fell for her. Of course, that would mean our time together was over. But wasn’t that what I wanted?

Too bad everything about her drew me in. I’d never had such an immediate connection to anyone before, and I didn’t like the feeling. Usually, I could take ‘em or leave ‘em, but Serenity just seemed to get under my skin, and her allure ran deep.

The fact that she had a soon-to-be ex didn’t even deter me. I usually stayed far away from women like her, but after meeting him, something deep and primitive rose up inside me. What a prick. When he told her he wished she’d died in the accident, I almost came unglued.

She was damn lucky to be rid of him. If he couldn’t handle her touch, then he didn’t deserve her. Yes, it was a little disconcerting to know she saw things sometimes, but it was also fascinating.

Since Cash had to be the link to my stalker, she’d definitely proved me wrong. I hadn’t been sure her visions were actually related until now. It seemed that, even though they didn’t always make sense, there was a connection between events. Plus, she seemed to believe that whatever they showed was always for a purpose.

So why was her ex so upset? Did he have something to hide? I’d seen the fear in his eyes when he looked at her. It was almost like he used sarcasm and meanness to cover it. Something didn’t gel, and I wanted to know what it was. Next time she saw him, she should try to touch him; then she’d see how fast he ran away .

Breathing easier, I got out of the shower and dried off. I needed to see if Serenity would let me help bandage her cute little ass. Now that we’d both had time to collect ourselves, it wasn’t a big deal. Besides, I was a cool and collected hitman with nerves of steel. Nothing got to me.

I had a couple of new scrapes and bruises myself, but nothing as bad as Serenity. Of course, my black blazer was toast, along with Serenity’s sexy red dress, which was a huge shame, because she looked amazing in it. At least we were still alive. The image of Serenity standing nearly naked washed over me, and I groaned. Maybe I wasn’t so cool and collected after all.

Slipping on a t-shirt and gym shorts, I left my room to check on her. From the sound of the shower running, she was still in the bathroom, so I headed down the hall for a snack in the kitchen.

Pulling out a yogurt, I heard the water turn off and leaned against the counter to eat. A few minutes later, I heard the door open and her bedroom door shut pretty hard. I huffed out a breath and decided to give her another minute before offering to help her again.

She’d probably send me on my way, but, since she’d saved my ass by putting hers in the line of fire, I had to ask. I grinned at my pun, but quickly sobered. I genuinely hated that she’d been hurt, so maybe I should leave her alone. But what if she needed my help? Besides, it didn’t hurt to ask, and I loved it when she got flustered around me.

After throwing the empty yogurt container away, I stepped down the hall and knocked on her door. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Need any help?”

“No.”

“You sure? ”

The door opened, and she stood there in a loose t-shirt that covered her to mid-thigh. “Yes. But I could use some pain reliever. Do you have some handy?”

“Sure. It’s in the kitchen.” I kept my gaze firmly on her face. Her dress had been revealing, but somehow, seeing her like this excited me even more. Maybe I should have worn my jeans. Turning, I led the way to the kitchen, and she followed slowly behind me. “How’s your butt?”

She huffed. “Not too bad. I found the burn gel and slathered it on.”

“Good. Would you like me to take a look at it?”

Her brows rose. “Uh… no. It’s all bandaged up.”

“Oh… okay. Well, let me know if you change your mind. Can you sit down?”

“Yeah. It’s not in the worst spot, even if it is uncomfortable.”

“That’s a bummer.” I snickered, unable to resist the stupid joke.

She smacked my arm. “That’s not funny.”

“Sorry… it’s not fun to be the butt of a joke.”

Groaning, she held out her hand. “Tylenol. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I opened the cabinet doors over the sink. Rummaging around, I found the bottle and handed it to her.

“Ma’am? Really” She took a couple out, filled a glass with water, and swallowed them down.

“Would you rather I addressed you as sir?”

She rolled her eyes. “No. Thanks for the pills.” She set the glass in the sink and leaned her elbows against the counter. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“It’s nearly two in the morning. Why don’t we start at nine? That would give us a few hours of sleep.”

“Sure.”

She straightened, but I wasn’t ready to let her go. “Hey… do you think Cash was in the trailer when it blew? ”

“Yeah… from my vision, I’m pretty sure of it. Plus… there’s something else—”

She lowered her head and wouldn’t look at me.

“What?”

Taking a breath, she glanced up at me, and her mouth twisted. “You’ll never believe this, but I heard a Johnny Cash song when I touched the doorknob.”

“What? No way! Which one?”

She shook her head. “The burn, burn, burn… that ring of fire one.”

I nearly choked. “Holy hell!”

“Yeah… pretty crazy, huh?”

“Damn. So, I guess they’re connected then.”

“That’s what I’d say.”

“Shit… then I guess talking to Cash about Johnny is a dead end.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, but her lips quirked up. “You’re just full of puns tonight, aren’t you?”

I shrugged, not admitting that last one had been unintentional. “I guess so.” A chuckle burst out of me, and I couldn’t stop laughing. “I’m gonna be singing that song all night, now.”

She chuckled and shook her head as well. “I know… me too!”

We mused together in comfortable silence for a minute before Serenity sighed and met my gaze. “Okay… well, I’m going to bed. I sure hope we can figure this out by tomorrow.”

Really? Was she that ready to get away from me? I raised a brow to hide my disappointment. “Me too. I’m kind of tired of dodging bombs.”

“No kidding.” She rolled her neck to work out the kinks. “It’s got to be someone who wants revenge pretty bad, because they’re going to a lot of trouble to kill you.” Sighing, she moved her hand toward my chest, like she was going to pat me, but caught herself and pulled back. “Uh… goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

My heart twisted, and I shook my head as she limped away as fast as she could. I opened my mouth to ask her if she wanted some company, but her door shut before I could. It was probably for the best.

A woman like her wanted different things than I did. And, since I was a cold hearted bastard, I didn’t want to hurt her. Besides that, nearly getting blown up twice in one day was tiring. Plus… I wanted her to enjoy my company, and she couldn’t do that with a burn on her butt. I grinned before downing a couple of pills, and turned out the lights.

Lying down on my bed felt amazing. Still, as tired as I was, my mind wouldn’t rest. Serenity was right. Someone was going to a lot of trouble to end my life, and I needed to figure out who it was before they succeeded.

Like she said, it had to be someone with revenge in mind. In my line of work, that added up to a lot of people. I’d kept most of that information tucked away, but now it was time to look a little closer.

Sure, I’d killed a few people, but they were all criminals who’d gotten out of control. Vanetti lived by a code, and I helped him maintain it. It’s how he’d become so successful. Hell, even the police appreciated that we could clean up things they couldn’t.

It was time to dig deep into the past. Something I should have done before now. Three people came to mind, and all of them had the guts to use explosives.

First was Needles. I’d killed his brother in a shootout, leaving Needles wounded and several members of his gang in the hospital. I’d tipped off the cops, and they’d conveniently found all the drugs and money he and his gang had been dealing. He’d gone off to prison, along with several members of his gang. I hadn’t thought of him for a while, but what if he’d gotten out?

There were a couple of others who came to mind as well. That gang fight last month was one. I’d stepped in to settle things between the members who didn’t want to play by Vanetti’s rules. They didn’t like that much, and I’d had to make an example of the biggest asshole of the bunch. I’d left Jangles alive, but in hindsight, maybe that had been a bad idea.

The last person I worried about was Anna. She’d tried to cheat Vanetti out of a boatload of money, and it had backfired. Her boyfriend had ended up in jail, and she’d lost her job along with her reputation. She definitely had a bone to pick with me.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, too tired to think anymore, and finally drifted off.

∞∞∞

A noise brought me awake, and it took a minute to remember where I was. I sat up and tried not to groan. Every muscle in my body had stiffened during the night, and I spent the next few minutes stretching the kinks out.

The noise sounded again, and I realized it was coming from the kitchen. I almost ran out in my boxers, but remembered my shorts just in time. I hurried out, hoping Serenity hadn’t destroyed my expensive coffee brewer.

I found her wearing the same t-shirt as last night and standing beside my coffee grinder. She glanced up, and her eyes widened. Her gaze landed on my bare chest, and her mouth dropped open. “Uh…” She swallowed. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I thought I’d make some coffee.”

“It’s fine.” I shook my head and crossed to her. “Do you know how to use that?” I motioned to the coffee grinder .

Her lips turned down. “Of course I do.” She pulled the ground coffee beans out and stepped to my precious coffee brewer. She hesitated, and it was all I needed to hurry to her side.

“Here. I’ve got it, why don’t you sit down?”

She pushed my reaching hands away. “You don’t think I know how to make coffee?” She settled the beans into the top of the machine and moved to push the button.

“Wait. Do pre-infusion. It’s this button.” I pushed the button and waited for the beeps. “There. Now you can start it up.”

Twisting her lips, she pushed the start button and glanced my way, freezing when she realized how close we were standing to each other. “I’m, uh… it’s a little chilly in here. I’m going to get dressed while it’s brewing.” Her throat bobbed as she stared at my lips.

“You sure?” My voice went husky. She wore a too-big t-shirt, and all I had on was my shorts. I could remedy that. “I could give you my shorts if you’d like.”

Her eyes widened. “No— I mean, yes .”

I grinned, wanting to step forward and run my hands under the shirt and over her bare stomach and waist. “So… no, you’re not sure about getting dressed, or yes, you’re sure you want my shorts?”

A bright red blush covered her cheeks. “I’m only sure that you’re bad news.”

She quickly turned and practically ran to her room. The sound of her door slamming brought a smile to my lips. Shaking my head, I hurried back into my room to get dressed for the day.