Page 14

Serenity

I sent Stone a professional smile, hoping to convince him that the kiss we’d shared was no big deal. Of course, since it had shattered every last shred of defense I had against him, he’d see through my facade pretty quick. Still, if it got me out of his house without me throwing myself at him, I’d have a chance to control my impulses and make sure it never happened again.

Something inside me wilted at the thought. All those imagined kisses had never amounted to a sliver of how amazing the actual kiss had been. Stepping away from him had taken more will-power than I knew I had.

I wasn’t sure I could do it a second time, let alone a third or fourth. I was doomed. Thank goodness for that phone call, or I would’ve gone all the way with him. It didn’t help that seeing him get shot and die in that stupid vision made me want to throw myself at him right this very minute .

If he died, I’d never have the chance to make love to him and know how it felt. Just the thought was nearly enough to make me throw caution to the wind and shove him back into his bedroom.

I glanced out the window. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but as long as we didn’t stay outside, he wouldn’t die today. That gave me plenty of time to figure this out, right? “You coming?”

Stone raised a brow, but didn’t budge. It was almost like he was testing me to see how long it would take before I gave in and rushed into his arms.

His intense gaze left me even more shaken than normal, and I swallowed, unable to look away. If something didn’t happen soon, my heart would probably burst right out of my chest.

His lips twisted into that sexy smile of his, only this time a small smirk crinkled his eyes. He’d gotten to me, and he knew it. That smirk unfroze me, and I managed to breathe again. I even sent him a small eye-roll. Go me.

He let out a huff and shoved away from the table, following me to the door. He tapped in the code and opened the door. I hurried to the bike while he re-set his alarm.

I pushed my helmet on, but had trouble fastening the strap. It might have had something to do with my shaking fingers. As much as I tried to look cool and collected, I was far from it.

This time, Stone pushed my fingers away and snapped it himself. He met my gaze with a knowing smile and mounted his bike. I huffed out a breath and got on behind him, though wrapping myself around him only heightened the sexual tension. But it was fine. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment. Holding him like this would be enough to sustain me for now, but I knew it would be hard not to touch him as often as I could from now on.

I was doomed.

Stone maneuvered through traffic like an expert and took us all the way over to the west side of town. We came to an area with a corner drugstore and a few shops.

Across the street, a square building with a blinking neon sign over the double-doors read “Tiki-Tabu Bar.” It fit right in with this part of town, and I couldn’t wait to see what the inside looked like. Stone pulled in front of the bar and cut the engine.

“This is it.” He pulled off his helmet and held out a hand to help me get off the bike.

I got my leg over the bike and stood beside it. While Stone dismounted, I pulled off my helmet and set it on the seat, then took off my right glove so I could fix my hair. Satisfied that it wasn’t a huge mess, I slipped the glove back on.

“You ready?” Stone glanced my way. At my nod, he started toward the door. Pulling it open, he held it for me and we stepped inside. The lights were dim, and I had to blink a few times before I could see much.

The walls had wood paneling and an open ceiling, with spotlights that shown down on the walls and the side tables. The clean floor and shiny counter showed a great deal of care. Whoever owned it kept it up.

Only a few people sat at the bar, but there were several others in the back shooting pool at a couple of tables. One of them noticed our entrance and headed straight for us. He was a Pacific Islander with a straight nose and a huge build. I could picture him playing professional football somewhere. As he approached, I stepped back, bumping into Stone’s chest .

Amused, Stone raised a brow at me, and I glanced between them, realizing they were about the same size. Stone stepped forward and gave the man a complicated hand shake. “Keola… how’s business these days?”

“Not so bad, bro. It’s been a while since you’ve been in. Who’s this pretty lady?” Keola glanced at me and his brows rose. “Never seen my bro bring a woman in. You must be special.”

Delighted by his warm nature and open face, I sent him a smile while pulling off my glove, and held out my hand. “I’m Serenity.”

Smiling, he took my hand and held it. His warm touch sent a wave of dizziness over me, but it wasn’t because of a vision, it was more a feeling of power. Whoa. This guy was going places. Taking a breath, I pulled my hand away and blinked a few times.

“So, what can I do for you?” Tilting his head, Keola glanced at Stone. “Does Vanetti need something?”

“No. I’m here on my own, looking for Anna. Does she still work for you?”

He shook his head. “Not anymore. She got into some trouble and took off.” He huffed out a breath. “If you catch up with her, tell her I want the five grand she stole from me.”

“Damn. Then I guess she’s not coming back.”

“Not if she knows what’s good for her. Last I heard, she was headed to Texas.”

Stone shifted his stance. “Okay. Well, I knew it was a long-shot, but I had to try.”

“She owe you money, too?”

“No.” Stone glanced at me before meeting Keola’s gaze. “Someone’s trying to kill me. I thought she might have something to do with it.”

“Bro, that’s mental. Don’t they know who you are? ”

“Doesn’t seem to matter.”

Keola shook his head. “I’ll ask around. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks man, I appreciate it.”

“No prob. You have time for a game? You could show Serenity your mad skills at the pool table.” He glanced my way. “He’s got his own stick here, but he hardly ever uses it.”

Stone shook his head. “Thanks, but we should go.”

Keola nodded. “Sure. I hope you find your guy.” He glanced at me. “Come back sometime, Serenity. You don’t even need to bring this jughead with you.”

I grinned. “Thanks. Maybe I will.”

“Later.” Stone’s lips twisted, and he turned toward the door without waiting for me. I gave Keola a quick wave and followed him back outside.

Meeting Keola had given me a lift, totally different from the last people Stone had introduced me to. I wanted to ask Stone how they knew each other, but held back, since it was clear he wasn’t in a talking mood.

At his bike, Stone glanced at me. “You got a dazed look when you shook Keola’s hand. Did you see something?”

I slipped my glove back on and shook my head. “No, but I got an impression that Keola is important. You should keep in touch with him.”

Stone’s brows rose. “So you get impressions, too?”

I shrugged. “I guess. That’s never happened before. Well… I take that back. When I shook Vanetti’s hand, it was kind of the same thing… only more powerful.”

“And what about me? What did you get when you shook my hand?”

My eyes widened. I didn’t want to tell him that his touch took my breath away and just about knocked me over. “ Um… you know… I can’t remember, so I guess it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Liar.”

I grabbed my helmet and ignored him. “So what should we do now? Go back to the office? Maybe you should check your messages and emails in case the killer’s trying to set you up again.”

Stone’s lips twisted. “I’m beginning to think that baiting him might be the only way to flush him out. Since you saw me get shot, I guess that means he’s not giving up any time soon.”

A chill passed over me. “Yeah… in fact, we should get going. Don’t want to stand around in the sun for too long, you know?” I glanced at the street with different eyes, looking for anyone suspicious. Could the killer be watching us right now?

I glanced at Stone’s chest, remembering the blood that spread over his gray t-shirt. The shirt he wore today was black, so he was fine, right? “Is there somewhere else we could visit? Maybe the other places where he tried to kill you?”

“I go to the gym a lot. You want to try that?”

“Sure. Maybe you could take me up to the roof of the building where the AC unit fell. I might pick up something there.”

Stone shrugged. “I guess it’s worth a try.”

With that decided, I slipped on my helmet and even managed to snap the chin strap all by myself. We motored off, heading closer to the downtown area and the office.

On the way, a shiver ran down my spine. It didn’t help that the sun had gone behind a cloud, but that was a good thing, right? Still, it felt like we were just running around in circles, while the killer just got closer and closer to cornering us .

I was missing something, but what?

We arrived at the gym and I got off the bike. After pulling off my helmet, I waited for Stone to do the same, and couldn’t help admiring how handsome and commanding he looked.

His chiseled jaw and tousled hair sent butterflies through my chest. Then he glanced at me and grinned, like he knew I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I sighed. Why couldn’t he be ugly? He stepped to my side with a raised brow. “What?”

Flustered, I improvised. “We should get out of the sun.”

He rolled his eyes and followed me inside. The smell hit me first, and I tried not to wince, but I hated that locker room scent. Glancing at all the equipment, and people on the machines, my heart sank. “I just realized something. With so many people in and out of the gym, I’m not sure I’ll find anything specific enough to give us a clue.”

His brows rose. “So you don’t want to try?”

My lips drew down. “No… I mean… sure I’ll try, I’m just warning you that it might not work the best. You know?”

“I guess.”

“There’s also the fact that I’ll probably see stuff I’d rather not, so I hope you appreciate what I’m putting myself through for you.”

That startled a chuckle out of him. “Hey… you’re getting paid very well, so don’t expect any sympathy from me.”

I shook my head. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.” Keeping my gloves on, I followed Stone to the counter, where he explained that I wanted a tour of the facilities, and he’d show me around. The attendant nodded, and I followed Stone to the weights.

He picked one of the hand weights up. “I always use these when I work out. Want to try it? ”

He held it out, and I took hold of it. He let go, but did it gradually. Still, I staggered and nearly dropped it on my foot. “Holy hell. This is heavy. Here. Take it back.”

He took it from me like it weighed nothing, and a big grin split his face. “You know it won’t do any good with that glove on.”

“Oh… right.” I pulled the glove off my hand and glanced around at the equipment. Touching the handle of the multi-functional work-out machine, I braced for a vision, but nothing happened. Maybe there were just too many hands on these to get anything. Since that seemed to be the case, I felt along the rest of the machine, but came up empty.

“Nothing.”

“Try this.”

I followed behind Stone, touching all the other surfaces he pointed out, and still got nothing. “Sorry. I’m not getting anything.”

He led me around the rest of the gym, and I got one or two images, but they had nothing to do with Stone or my previous vision of the guy, so I shook my head. “Nothing. Is that it?”

“Yeah. We might as well head to the building with the AC unit.”

“Sure.”

Only a short distance down the street, Stone pointed out where the AC unit had landed on the sidewalk. “It was right here.”

“Okay. But you go stand next to the building in the shadows.”

His brows rose. “Really?”

“Yes… really. Sunshine, remember?” Stone let me push him into the shadows, and I knelt down to touch the cement, hoping for something, but came up empty as we ll.

I met Stone’s gaze. “Nope.”

He scowled. “Too bad. Let’s head up to the roof.”

I followed him into the building and exited on the roof. “Stay here in the doorway. Just point out where I need to go.”

Stone sighed before pointing straight ahead. “Look for scuff marks.”

I followed his directions and found them. Kneeling down, I touched the marks, but only got a vague impression of anger. I tried again in several different places, but not one vision opened up to me.

Standing, I wiped my hands on my pants, and returned to Stone at the door. “The person who did this has a lot of anger issues, but that’s all I’m getting.”

Stone let out a breath. “All right. I guess it’s a bust.” He checked his watch. “We missed lunch. Why don’t we grab a sandwich and head back to the apartment?”

“Sounds good.”

Half an hour later, we pulled into the parking garage at Vitality Ventures with a couple of sandwiches, and took our food up to the apartment to eat.

At the door in the hallway, I stopped Stone and laid my hand on the doorknob. “It’s clear.”

Stone unlocked the door and we stepped inside, putting our food on the table. I cleaned up in the bathroom, while Stone got a couple of sodas from the fridge.

Grateful I didn’t have to worry about Stone getting shot, I sat down to eat. Just as Stone finished up, his phone rang. He pulled it out and scowled. “I’ve got to take this.” Throwing his napkin on the table, he pushed his chair back and went around the corner to talk in the living room.

From where I sat, I couldn’t hear him well enough to know what he said, but, from his tone, I knew he wasn’t happy .

I began to clean up, grabbing his sandwich wrapper to throw away. He still had some chips left, so I stepped toward him to see if he still wanted them. I came around the corner and caught sight of Stone as he stood in front of the large, plate-glass window. A sudden vision of him standing closer to the glass window filled my mind. A crack sounded, and Stone fell backwards, shock on his face and blood pouring from his chest.

I blinked out of the vision and found Stone standing in the same spot. With the sunlight streaming into the room, his black t-shirt had turned gray, and the light washed the color out of the room, just like in my vision. Shit! Shit! Shit!

“Stone!” I began to move, hoping I could make it in time. “Drop! Now!”

Before he could respond, I barreled into him. A loud crack sounded, and we both fell to the floor. The glass on the painting behind us shattered, and the painting flew right off the wall.

“What the hell?” Stone’s harsh breath came fast.

I raised my head to glance out the window, but Stone pulled me back down and away from the window. “Stay back. They might take another shot.”

My chest heaved. “But where did it come from? We’re up on the twenty-sixth floor. It was supposed to happen outside!”

“It has to be the building across the street. The upper floors are at the same level as this one.” He felt at his pocket and swore. “Dammit, my phone.”

The device lay in a bright patch of sunshine in easy view of anyone waiting to take another shot. A whistle of wind came through several bullet holes in the window, sending a shiver down my spine. Holy hell .

“We need to move.” Stone tugged on my arm. “Stay low and crawl to the kitchen. We should be safe there.”

I followed his lead and breathed easier after making it to safety. Stone jumped to his feet, ready to rush out the door.

“Wait.” I got to my feet. “Where are you going?”

“I need to—” He glanced at me and froze. Raising his hand to my head, his fingers came away bloody. “You’re hurt.”

I blinked, suddenly feeling the sting on my head and something wet running down the side of my face and neck. Touching the area next to my forehead, blood coated my fingers, and I gasped.

“Here… sit down.” Stone pulled me into a chair and moved my hair out of the way to uncover the wound. “It looks like a piece of flying glass hit you. Maybe from the painting. I think you just need a few stitches and you’ll be fine.”

“Oh… good. For a minute there, I thought maybe I got shot in the head.” Dizzy, I slumped back in the chair and closed my eyes.

“No. It’s nothing like that. Do you feel pain anywhere else?”

“No. I’m fine.” I shook my head.

Nodding, Stone left my side, coming back a few seconds later with a washcloth. “Here. Hold that against the wound. It should help stop the bleeding. I have to go. Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

He nodded. “Hang tight, and I’ll be right back.”

Stone rushed out the door, leaving me holding the cloth to my head. My vision began to fade, so I slipped off the chair and laid down on the floor, hoping I wouldn’t faint.

The sight of blood always did this to me, but hopefully I’d feel well enough to get back on the chair before Stone came back. If he was headed to the building across the street to catch the shooter, there was nothing I could do to save him now.

I just hoped he didn’t run into another trap while I was stuck here, lying on the cold floor.