Page 9

Serenity

O ne lone light shone down over a basketball court, leaving the rest of the area in darkness. The remaining light fixtures on the poles surrounding us were broken, and the parking lot was empty.

A chill ran down my spine. “Are you sure we should park here? It looks a little sketchy.”

Stone smirked. “It is sketchy.” But he drove to the other side of the lot anyway, keeping away from the basketball court and the light. He backed the car into the spot for an easy getaway and cut the engine and lights.

“Besides,” he said. “They’ve already seen us.”

“The… snake gang?”

“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes and didn’t correct me. “Over there.” He motioned to a small playground on the other side of the basketball court. Because of the darkness, I couldn’t see more than a few shadows. “But, uh, don’t call them that to their faces. ”

“As if I would.” He started to open his door, but I grabbed his arm. “Wait! For this to work, I need to touch them.” This was the part I hated most. “I was planning on a handshake, but is there a cool gang thing I need to do?”

His brows rose, and he stared at me for just a moment. “How about I introduce you, and you just shake their hands?” His lips twitched.

“So… no hissing?”

He closed his eyes and huffed, but his lips tilted up. “That would be no.”

I smiled back, grateful to relieve some of the tension. “If you say so.” Taking a breath, I opened my door and got out. Stone waited for me to join him, and we started toward the playground. I wanted to hold his hand in the worst way, but settled for walking as close as I could get. By the time we reached it, the shadows had blended into the darkness.

He stopped at the edge of the playground, and we waited for them to come to us. I chewed on my bottom lip, every muscle in my body tense, listening for sounds of footsteps approaching us. A second later, a figure emerged from the darkness and stalked toward us. He stopped far enough away that I could barely make out his features.

“I wasn’t sure you were gonna make it.”

“Joint.” Stone sent him a nod. “I hope we’re not too late.”

“Nah, man.”

“Are the new guys all here?”

Joint glanced behind him. “They’re here.”

My eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and I could make out the man’s features more clearly. I recognized him from Razor’s place, but for some reason, he seemed more sinister in the dark. His hair was pulled back with an elastic, and a short beard covered his jaw. He twisted his head over his shoulders and called out. “All right boys, let’s make this quick. ”

Five shadowy figures detached from the darkness and came to stand behind Joint. A few were young, no more than seventeen or eighteen. The others wore the hardened look of street toughs. My stomach squirmed. I did not want to touch any of them.

Joint glanced at the group. “This is Stone. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.” A few of the men straightened, and one even took a step back. “Razor owes him, so just tell him what he wants to know so we can get back to business.”

Stone edged closer, so I tagged along, glued to his side. He nodded toward Joint. “I don’t think you were introduced earlier. This is…” He paused, like he’d forgotten my name, but then I realized he wanted to protect me.

“Sen.” I held my hand out. “We saw each other at the shop.”

“Yeah.” Shocked that I wanted to shake his hand, it took him a second to reach out. Luckily his touch was brief.

“All right if I meet your men?”

Joint flicked a gaze between me and Stone, but finally nodded.

“Great, thanks.” Smiling, I quickly stepped to the next man and introduced myself again. “Hi. I’m Sen.”

“Uh, Staples.” After a quick shake, I moved to the next, meeting Ajax, Hammer, and Snake. I held out my hand to the last guy, but he didn’t make a move to touch me.

“Dude… you afraid of her or what?” Staples, one of the younger guys, laughed.

With a scowl, he finally gave in to the pressure. “Grizzo.” The brief touch was enough to let me know that he had a good reason for not getting too close.

My stomach fluttered, but I smiled as pleasantly as I could, and stepped back. Wiping my hand on the side of my dress, I glanced at the street. Were the cops already on their way? Did we have time to question these guys? I hadn’t picked up a thing from them about Stone, so they probably didn’t have anything to do with the phone call that lured him to the blast. Crap. We needed to get out of there. “Well, it was good to meet you, but, uh… we’ve gotta get going.”

I grabbed Stone’s arm and started pulling him toward the car.

He turned around, but didn’t budge, sending me a questioning glare.

I leaned in close. “I think the cops are coming. All these guys are going to be arrested.”

“Wait! Did you just say the cops are coming?” Joint stood right behind us.

Jumping, I twisted to gape at him. “Uh… yeah. We all need to get out of here.”

Hearing that, the group scattered, each of them taking off in a different direction. All but Joint, who stared at me with narrowed eyes. “How do you know the cops are coming? Did you sell us out?” His wild eyes held accusation.

“No! I’ve got—I know things. Look—we all need to go. I am not getting picked up by the police tonight.”

“Fine, but this ain’t over.”

“We’ll talk later,” Stone replied.

“Yeah, we will.” With a scowl on his face, he lumbered off toward the houses across the street. He didn’t seem in any hurry, but I lost sight of him as we continued toward our car. I quickly opened the passenger door and jumped in.

Stone started up the car. Driving out of the parking lot, he glanced my way. “What did you see?”

“I saw most of them in jail cells. I’m not sure when it happens, but from the impression I got, I think it’s tonight.”

“Most of them? Did a few get away?”

I hesitated, unsure if I should tell Stone about the last guy I’d touched. In my vision, I’d seen him talking to one of the cops, but he wasn’t in jail. He was working undercover to bring them down.

“Serenity? What is it?”

“I think the last guy, Grizzo, is an undercover cop. But you can’t tell Razor, okay?”

“Dammit.” His mouth twisted.

“You won’t tell him, right?”

He sighed. “I can’t make any promises. This puts us in a tight spot, and it’s not helping our case.”

“I know, but if they find out Grizzo’s a cop… they’d do something bad to him, wouldn’t they?”

Stone’s lips twisted. “Let me worry about that.” He paused. “So, what now? If you didn’t see anything else, does that mean the guy we’re looking for isn’t one of them?”

“Yeah, I don’t think it is.”

He huffed out a breath. “Dammit. I thought we had a lead.”

“I know… it sucks.” We drove in silence for a few seconds, then an idea popped into my head and I turned his way. “Hey… why don’t we go back to the trailer park and check on Cash? Even if you’re convinced it’s not him, I think he’s connected in some way, and it’s late enough that he’s probably home. You could convince him to talk.”

Stone raised a brow. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” He turned the car in that direction, and I kept my eyes peeled for anyone following us. Traffic was sparse, and nothing stood out to me, so I settled back into my seat and worried about other things, namely, that Stone had found out about Brandon.

As much as I hated to admit it, Brandon had struck a nerve calling me a psycho. But that wasn’t near as bad as saying he wished I would have died in the accident. That stung. He’d loved me, once… even cherished what we had. I never thought he could be so cruel.

And… then there was Stone. I hadn’t wanted to touch him again after what I’d seen in the car, but then he’d interrupted me on the dance floor. I definitely hadn’t liked dancing with the other guy, but it was all part of the job. I hadn’t expected the dude to try feeling me up, though, and Stone had appeared out of nowhere, fierce and protective.

After that, I couldn’t resist getting him to dance with me. I knew this attraction between us wasn’t going anywhere, but it had been so much fun seeing him loosen up. He’d actually smiled and laughed. It had been wonderful.

Not only that, but dancing with him had brought out the old me again. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that part of myself until then, and it was all because of Sexy Stone. Grouchy, my-way-is-the-only-way, Stone. I’d kept my gloves on, so I didn’t see more. But I couldn’t believe how much fun I’d had flirting with him.

It was the most fun I’d had in… I couldn’t even remember. Touching him had seemed so natural, and to say he was a good dancer was putting it mildly. Even all the women watching him with lust in their eyes made my enjoyment ten times better.

But now I had a problem. How on earth was I going to keep things professional, when all I wanted to do was touch him all the time? Even now, I wanted to lean against him, take his hand in mine, and feel the callouses on his palm. I sighed, my stomach fluttering just at the thought. Ugh. This was so bad.

Stone pulled off the road to park beside the entrance to the trailer court and cut the engine, bringing me back to the present. “I don’t want him to see us coming and ditch us again.”

“Makes sense to me.” I sighed, wishing I wasn’t wearing my skimpy red dress and heels. Stone began to open the door, but I stopped him. “Hang on. Let me touch you again. Maybe I’ll get something this time.”

The last time I’d touched him without my gloves, I’d seen him bare-chested and kissing a woman. It had about knocked my socks off. But realizing the woman was me had sent white hot flames dancing through my entire body.

Besides that, I wasn’t wearing anything in the vision, either. Of course, seeing us like that didn’t mean it was going to happen. Honestly, though? I wished it would, more than I liked to admit, which meant I was in deep, deep trouble.

But I had a job to do. Mainly finding out if Cash, or his friend, Johnny, were in there waiting to kill this man I was crushing on. So really, it was perfectly acceptable to hold his hand. Nothing violating the client-investigator professional relationship I was trying to maintain. I was just doing my job. It also didn’t hurt that being with him was something I really wanted to have happen.

Ugh! I was so messed up.

He settled back into his seat and held out his hand. He had nice, big hands with long fingers, and I tried to keep my hand from trembling when I took his. As my hand fit snugly inside of his, tingles zipped over my skin. I tried not to think of all that passionate kissing from my earlier vision, and closed my eyes, concentrating on the vision of when he got hit by the truck.

This time, darkness swirled around him, and I couldn’t see through it. I sensed something else, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Holding his hand a little longer, I waited to see more, but nothing came.

Letting out a breath, I shook my head. “I think we’re okay to go? But let’s be careful. Maybe I’ll know more once we get closer. ”

“All right.” He reluctantly pulled his hand from mine to open the door, and I already missed the warmth of his touch.

Getting out, I followed behind him. He kept to the shadows until we made it to the last trailer at the end of the row. There weren’t any lights on inside, but that didn’t mean Cash wasn’t there. Maybe that’s what the darkness in my vision meant?

Still, what if he was dead and lying in a pool of blood? Just thinking about it gave me the shivers. “This is starting to freak me out.”

Stone raised a brow. “You want to go back to the car?”

My eyes widened. “Oh. No. I’m good.” I shouldn’t have admitted I was scared. “Where you go—I go.”

He grinned at my cheesy line, and I did a mental head slap. Ugh, I was such a dork!

“Let’s go then.” His lips twisted before he continued up the stairs to Cash’s front door.

“Wait! Let me touch it first.” I managed to step in front of him to touch the knob. If we were lucky, it would be open just like it had been earlier.

Taking a breath, I touched the doorknob. Darkness hit me, the same as when I’d touched Stone, but it seemed like there was more to it. Trying to see more, I grasped the knob. It turned slightly in my hand, and I heard a raspy voice singing burn, burn, burn, that ring of fire.

What the hell? Suddenly, a searing heat burned my palm, and I jerked my hand away. “Oh, shit.” In a panic, I backed into Stone and nearly fell. “Run!”

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me down the stairs. Running as fast as we could, we didn’t make it far before a fiery explosion blasted through the silence.

The concussive wave sent us flying, and we both landed hard on the pavement. Debris showered around us, and something hard landed on my lower back. Stone crawled to my side and shoved the debris off me. He draped his body over mine, shielding me from the rest of the fallout.

Seconds later, the remnants of the blast had finished landing on the pavement. We both turned to find a blaze of white-hot fire and thick, black smoke billowing into the night sky. Stone spoke, but my ears were ringing so hard that I couldn’t make out what he said. “What?”

“Can you get up? We need to move.”

Nodding, I swallowed and pushed to my hands and knees, feeling pain in my knees from the fall. Stone staggered to his feet and helped me stand. I didn’t realize my shoes were gone until Stone tugged me away and I faltered. Taking in my bare feet, he slung my arm over his shoulder and picked me up.

People came running out of their trailers, most in pajamas and slippers. With their eyes on the blaze, no one paid much attention to us. Luckily, Cash’s trailer was the last one on the lane, and not close enough to the others to catch them on fire. Still, with a blaze that big, people were beginning to panic. Not to mention that their neighbor’s house had just exploded.

While they called nine-one-one, we made our way toward Stone’s car. He set me down and opened the door. After I got in, he hurried to the driver’s side and slowly drove away. We made it back to the main road before the sound of sirens cut through the ringing in my ears.

Stone glanced at me, his voice raspy. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. But I lost my shoes! I really liked those shoes.”

He raised a brow. “You wanna go back?”

“What? No.” I swallowed, my head still a little fuzzy. “What about you? Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that was too close. ”

“I know. I didn’t see it coming until I turned the doorknob. I must have triggered it somehow, but I should have known something was off.” I shook my head. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I did know something was off, but I thought it meant Cash was dead inside, not that there was a freaking bomb.”

Now that the excitement was over, pain began to radiate from my knees, along with a few other places. In fact, sitting down wasn’t so comfortable, either, and I was starting to shake. I’d nearly died. We’d both nearly been blown up. Holy hell.

We arrived back at Vitality Ventures, and Stone pulled into the parking garage. Still shaking, I got out and limped toward the elevator.

“Hang on, let me help.” Stone carefully wrapped an arm high around my waist to help me walk. “I can carry you if you want.”

“No… it’s fine. I walk barefooted all the time.” In the light, I gasped to find charred holes in my dress. Several burned spots dotted the red material, and my leather jacket had taken a beating. At least it had protected my elbows. But a sharp pain low on my back side was growing with each step. I tightened my jaw. It really hurt.

I’d felt something hit me there, but I didn’t think it had burned through my clothes. What if it had? I reached back to tug at the bottom of my dress, but Stone stopped me.

“Don’t do that. You’ve got a burn on your… uh… back. I’ll take a look at it in the apartment.”

“My back or my butt?”

He raised an eyebrow at me and I blanched. Could this get any worse? Based on the pain, he’d get a decent look at most of my bare butt if I let him help me. Just the thought of being so vulnerable made it hard to breathe .

Stone used his key-card to call the elevator, and we stepped inside. Closing my eyes, I tried to compose my nerves, but my legs wouldn’t quit shaking, and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. My stomach grew queasy, too. I did not feel good.

Pulling me a little tighter against him, Stone kept his voice even and calm. “Hey, it’s okay. Breathe. Just breathe. I’ve got you. You’re safe. Breathe in… breathe out. Deep, slow breaths.”

“I don’t feel so good.”

“I think you’re in shock. Nearly getting blown up will do that to you.”

“Uh, yeah. I guess you should know.” I licked my lips and took a long, slow breath. The ringing in my ears got softer, and I could focus more clearly again.

The doors opened, and Stone helped me walk to the hallway door of the apartment. Unlocking it, he pushed it open and guided me inside, stopping to lock it behind us. Snaking his arm back around me, he helped me through the hall to my bedroom.

Next to my bed, I let go of him and tried to give him a smile. “Thanks. I think I’ll be okay for now. You can go.” Turning, I sank onto the side of the bed. As soon as my butt hit the bed, I sprang to my feet. “Ow! That hurt.”

“Yeah… it’s pretty red.”

“You can see my skin?” I reached back to touch my dress and found a big hole right over the top of my bum. “Dammit!”

“Let me help. I promise to be a complete gentleman. I won’t even peek.”

I studied him with narrowed eyes.

“I swear.” He met my gaze, his deep brown eyes warm and sincere. “Besides, I’m an expert at undressing women.” A hint of a smile played on his lips .

“Oh, jeez.” I couldn’t help laughing. “Fine. But go get me a towel or something first.”

“You got it.” He sent me a lopsided grin. “Don’t go anywhere.”

I rolled my eyes. As if I could. He was back in no time with a fluffy robe in hand.

“I thought you could get your arms out of the dress and slide this on backwards.”

“Oh, good idea.”

He laid the robe on the bed in easy reach. “You ready?”

“I guess.” I huffed out a breath and carefully tugged the jacket off my shoulders. Now came the dress. The side zipper was under my arm, and I tugged it down. I’d worn a strapless bra underneath, so at least I wasn’t totally naked under there. I pulled the dress strap off my shoulder and got my arm out, baring both my shoulders and my back to Sexy Stone. At least the long scar down my side and under my breast wasn’t visible.

I quickly snagged the robe and put my arms through the sleeves, letting the top of the dress fall. I hissed as the material rubbed against the burn. “Okay, Mr. Expert. Show me what you’ve got.”

“I don’t think you could handle what I’ve got, but I’ll make sure this doesn’t hurt.” He gently took the hem of my dress and pulled the material away from my skin, sending a pleasant tingle over my stomach and legs.

I focused on the burn, fighting the urge to turn around and throw myself at him as he gathered the rest of the material and gently tugged the dress off my hips. It fell to the ground, pooling around my feet. I let out a shaky breath and stepped out of the dress, pushing my hair away from my face.

“Nice thong. ”

I threw the open ends of the robe around my back. “You do not get to comment on my underwear.”

“What? I said it was nice.”

I turned to face him, my lips twisting. “Thanks. I think I can take it from here.”

“You still need help treating your burn.” He shook his head. “You can’t even see it.”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for your help.” I swallowed. Being this close to him and practically naked was setting me on fire.

Before I could do something I’d regret, I made a beeline for the bathroom. Before shutting the door, I turned and met his gaze. “Oh, and Stone?”

“Yeah?” He perked up like he thought I’d invite him in.

Yeah right. I smirked. “For the record… I just saved your life.”

A grin broke out on his face, and he chuckled. “Thank you, Serenity. I’m only sorry I couldn’t save your ass.”