Chapter 13
TOMMY
The sound of my alarm stings more than I thought it would. I knew Danika would try to run. She’s too terrified not to. So why do I feel a stab of betrayal knowing she did exactly what I expected her to do?
I must have been holding on to some shred of hope that it wouldn’t happen. That kind of irrational nonsense only adds to my irritation. The one silver lining to this turn of events will be getting to gut the man she’s protecting, should she lead me to him.
I towel off and check my phone. The trackers I placed in her things triggered my geofencing perimeter alarm when she exited the building. All three are still on her and sending a strong signal from down the block. Time to get dressed and see where she’s going.
Most people would jump on a train and be halfway to Philly by the time I caught up with them. Not Danika. She’s two blocks over at a Holiday Inn Express.
I swear to Christ, if I find her in a room with a man, I’ll bury the motherfucker.
A hundred bucks buys me the room number. GPS works great on flat ground but can be a nightmare when it comes to high-rise buildings. Fortunately, money helps fill in the gaps.
As I ride the elevator to the third floor, I check my weapons one last time. I came prepared. When the elevator door chimes my arrival, I envision the bell ringing in a boxing match. Time for the show to begin.
I knock on the door to the room number given to me by the dickhead kid at the registration desk.
Danika swings the door wide open as if welcoming a long-lost friend.
She didn’t even check the peephole, for Christ’s sake.
She was expecting someone, and judging by the sudden horror on her face, it wasn’t me.
“Tommy?”
I push past her and scan the room for other occupants. If she planned to meet a man here, her reaction to my arrival leads me to believe I got to her first, but I’m not making any assumptions. I don’t see any signs of anyone else, just an empty room with a TV playing an old 90s sitcom.
“Did you track me?” she demands from behind me while I check the bathroom.
“Of course I did.” I peek under the bed next, but like most modern hotel beds, it’s enclosed. She’s alone, but she was definitely expecting someone. Good. I’ll be waiting when he gets here.
Satisfied, I turn my attention to her with a withering look. “Care to tell me who it is you’re meeting?”
Her brows knit together, and she nips at her bottom lip. “No one?” she asks as if that might suffice.
I step forward. She takes a step back.
“Don’t lie to me, Danika. I know you were expecting someone other than me at that door just now. Who is it?” I bite through clenched teeth.
“Just a friend who was going to help me get out of town, okay? It’s no one to you.”
“No one? It’s someone you’re willing to trust over me.”
“I barely know you, Tommy.” Her shoulders sag. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this. Why not just let me go?”
“Because that’s not the kind of man I am. Why not have waffles for breakfast or skip my morning run? Why clean my gun when I just cleaned it last night and the night before? Because I have to have things a certain way, or I feel like I’ll crawl out of my skin.”
“What does that have to do with me? If I’m gone, you can get back to having things the way you want them.”
“Not if you’re the thing I want.” My words linger in the air like a single delicate snowflake.
“You made me a part of this, Dani. I can’t just erase you from my mind.
” She’s rooted herself more deeply inside me than she could ever know.
Moving on wouldn’t just be a matter of erasing her.
I’d have to lobotomize a part of my brain.
“What do you want from me, Tommy?”
“I want you to let me help you.”
“Help me … or keep me?” she asks hesitantly.
I use the pad of my thumb to free her bottom lip from between her teeth. “Would it be so bad to be mine?” I ask quietly, cursing myself the moment the words are out because they reek of vulnerability.
“That depends,” she answers honestly. “If by yours, you mean lock me in a room and control—”
“No, Danika,” I cut her off, engulfed in frustration.
“I know it’s started off poorly, and I can’t explain any of it except that I don’t want you to go.
I want to see you paint and watch the funny way you spread jelly on your toast. I want to stare at the tiny hint of ass cheek that peeks out from under your shorts, but most of all, I want to know that you’re safe.
I locked the door because I was scared this exact thing would happen, and Biba would get his hands on you before I could stop him. ”
My tirade ends, blanketing us in a suffocating silence.
“Oh.” One syllable, two letters, and a world of meaning encapsulated in the tiny word.
“If I promise no more locked doors, will you come back?” It’s my only concession and the only time I’ll ask, and I’m only doing so because I’d rather have her return of her own free will than force the issue. Not just because it would be easier. I want the damn woman to want me.
“But you and your family are going to end up in danger. You may not believe me, but that’s a big part of why I left. I’m terrified someone will end up hurt because of me—it’s not right for me to let that happen.”
“It’s right if I say it is.” I step closer, and this time, she doesn’t retreat.
“I don’t understand, Tommy,” she whispers.
“Neither do I,” I admit before pulling her close and kissing her.
It feels so incredible to have her in my arms that I’m able to set aside my desperation and relish the taste of her.
While her tongue is sweet, her surrender is the most delicious thing I’ve ever known.
Her body molds into mine on a sighed breath that I devour with ardent intensity.
I try to show her with each press of my lips that I don’t care about the danger surrounding her or the limited time we’ve known each other.
I don’t care that none of it makes sense. I’ll walk through fucking fire for her.
A knock on the door turns our blistering kiss into a pile of smoldering ashes. Her eyes lock with mine, a flash of fear turning emerald irises to evergreen. We turn toward the door at the same time. She reaches for the handle, but I angle myself in front of her and take the lead.
“I don’t think so, little thief,” I tell her quietly.
“It’s just my friend,” she says with a note of urgency in her voice.
“Good, I love meeting new people,” I say dryly, then open the door to a tiny, doll-like woman with black and purple hair gaping up at me.
“Sach, I’m here.” Danika pushes past me and hugs her friend. Her very female friend.
“ That’s who you were meeting?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise.
“Yeah, why? Who did you think it would be?”
I slip my mask of composure back into place. “No one.”
The woman continues eyeing me like she expects me to pull out a machete and massacre them at any second.
“Sachi, this is Tommy,” Danika introduces. “Tommy, this is my best friend, Sachi.”
“This who you’ve been texting?” I ask.
She studies me for a second, probably wondering how I know what she’s been up to. “Yeah, and my mom, except I haven’t heard back from her. It’s got me worried.”
Sachi leans in and whispers something to Danika.
“He’s okay, really,” Dani says with a tiny glance in my direction. “We’ve been talking, and I think there’s been a bit of miscommunication.”
Her friend continues to watch me warily. Smart of her except gaining her approval would probably go a long way in convincing Danika to trust me.
“Okay, so what does that mean?” Sachi asks.
“It means …” Danika peers at me again. “I think I’m going to stay with Tommy for a bit.”
I swear to God, relief has me sprouting wings and lifting three feet off the ground.
Sachi nods. “In that case, I can run by and check on your mom and gran.”
Danika chews her lip, something I’ve noticed she does when she’s uncertain. It’s fucking adorable and highly inconvenient because it makes me hard.
“I’d love that, but I’m also worried about putting you in danger.”
“You won’t. I’ll borrow my roommate’s Instacart lanyard and roll up with a bag of groceries. Easy peasy.” She grins broadly.
“I don’t know. I’m still not crazy about it. What if he’s watching the place?”
“Then he learns your mom needed grapes and a loaf of bread. It’s going to be fine, trust me.”
“Okay, but you better be careful.” Danika gives her friend another hug, then looks back at me. “No more locks, right?”
“No more locks,” I agree.
Sachi narrows already slender eyes at me and points a finger in warning. “You better not hurt her, you hear me?” The girl’s got balls for someone so tiny.
“Only did it for her own good. I knew she’d take off the first chance she got, and she’s a hell of a lot safer at my place than on the run.”
She grunts as if to say we’ll see about that, then turns back to Danika. “I’ll go check on your mom as soon as I leave here, okay?”
“Sounds good, and thanks again. You be safe.”
“Ditto, babe.” The two hug fiercely. I’m glad Danika has a friend like that and fucking thrilled that the friend doesn’t have a dick.
We head out at the same time. Sachi goes south while we head north back to my place.
“I’ve got some emails to catch up on,” I tell her once we’re back in the safety of my apartment. “You good?”
“Yeah.” She nods, then takes her things back to her bedroom before returning to the living room. We spend the next couple of hours on our computers in a companionable silence. I think we both appreciate the break from constant tension and chaos.
She keeps her phone beside her the whole time, and I make a mental note to get her a real goddamn phone. The piece of crap she’s using isn’t remotely reliable enough. It serves its purpose, though, chiming halfway through our sandwich lunch.
As she reads a long message, her chin starts to quiver.
My entire body goes rigid, ready to shred whoever or whatever has upset her.
“Sachi says Mom was hurt. She hasn’t answered my text because she was at the doctor getting checked out. Sach says Mom has a black eye and claims she’s fine, but Sach can tell she’s moving stiffly.” Tears stream down her cheeks. “I knew this would happen.”
“You think it was Biba?”
“I know it was,” she says hoarsely, emotions choking back her voice.
“He threatened to hurt them if I ran. This is a warning, and I’m scared to death of what he’ll do next.
I didn’t even want to run because of this exact reason, but they made me.
They said they’d rather die than let him take me, but how am I supposed to live with that? ”
She’s inadvertently given me a world of information, her distress hampering her inner filter.
I’m not sure what to make of it, though.
Biba warned her not to run? Did he do that before or after she stole from him?
How does he know her well enough to find her mother?
They had to have had contact prior to the theft—maybe even an ongoing connection.
And if he wanted to use Danika’s mom to draw her out, why not kidnap her mother?
I did a basic background search on Danika already, but I think I need to dive a little deeper into her family.
With her Slavic last name, her father might even work for Biba—there’s no telling how she might be connected to the man.
The city hasn’t digitized the records I want to access, and working hours are almost over, so I need to hurry if I’m going to get this done today.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I tell her in a calm but firm voice. “We’re going to find a safe place for your family to stay while we sort this out. I need to look into a few things to get that all sorted, though.”
“What kind of things?” she asks, her anxiety creasing her forehead.
I smooth the skin with the caress of my thumb. “Nothing you need to worry about, but I need to know that if I leave, you’ll still be here when I get back.”
Once Biba knows I’m involved, I won’t want to leave her unprotected, but at this point, he has no clue where to find her. She should be safe, so long as she stays put.
She nods, and while I can sense she’s scared, I think she’s telling me the truth. I suppose I’ll find out when I get back.
I lean in and allow myself a brief inhale of her sweet scent, then murmur, “I’ll be back soon.”