Chapter 1 #2
“I’m sorry for complaining,” I said, dropping onto the edge of the recliner again.
His eyes cracked open. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. You’re right. The place is a pigsty.”
“I’m going out to get a set of fresh bedding and some cleaning supplies.”
He jerked upright, his eyes flying open. “The hell you are.”
“No one followed us here, James. I made sure of it.”
“You’re not goin’ out alone. I’ll call Carter and have him send someone.”
“The more you involve Carter, the more dangerous it is for all of us.” Carter was in hiding somewhere on his own, because he was also at risk.
He started to protest, then stopped.
We’d left the last safe house because Knox’s men had found it in the middle of the night.
We’d barely gotten away, sneaking out the back door and driving off without our headlights on.
So I understood why James was paranoid. It was now mid-afternoon, and we’d parked in multiple places covering half the state and hadn’t seen any signs of them.
“I have a hat,” I said. “I’ll avoid cameras. Maybe I’ll curl my hair and put on makeup.” I gave him a dark smile. “You know, a disguise.”
He leaned forward, then cupped my cheek. “You’re beautiful just the way you are, Harper.”
I remained still, but inside I was squirming. I wasn’t used to compliments, especially from men like James. I knew I wasn’t beautiful, and I’d never had a problem with it before. But with him…
Part of me wished I were.
“I’ll come with you.” He started to rise.
I gently pushed him back down, then straddled his legs before he could argue again. I cupped his cheek, forcing him to meet my eyes. The bruise around his right eye had faded to a sickly yellow-green.
“You need to rest,” I said quietly. “We just spent twelve hours in a car or in restaurants.”
“I’m capable of ridin’ in a car.”
“You just rode in a car in bright sunlight.”
His jaw tightened. “I got that concussion a week ago.”
“James,” I leaned closer, dropping my voice. “You need to give yourself more time to heal.”
“We don’t have time.” He closed his eyes in frustration.
“We do.” As long as we could stay hidden, we’d be safe. The problem was, James hated safe when it looked like hiding.
I wasn’t happy about it either.
James wasn’t the only impatient one. If Gerald Knox thought we were coming after him, he’d be tightening security, covering his tracks. He might even be moving his trafficking somewhere outside of Little Rock.
I needed to get in touch with my contacts sooner rather than later. But every time I mentioned reaching out, James shut it down. I’d gone along with him up to now, but after hitting dead end after dead end online, it was time to switch tactics.
I wasn’t sure James subscribed to the it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission philosophy unless he was the one asking for forgiveness.
Oh, who was I kidding? I doubted he’d asked permission for anything in his life, and I definitely didn’t see him begging anyone for forgiveness.
“I’ll check in with you every half hour,” I said. “And if I see anything suspicious, I’ll leave immediately and head straight back to you.” When he didn’t respond, I added, lighter, “I used to be a cop, you know. I was pretty good at noticing people who aren’t behaving as they should.”
“I don’t like it,” he growled.
“I know. But you know I’ll be fine.”
He closed his eyes again, and I kissed him softly.
James Malcolm, ex-crime boss, a man who’d helped take down an international crime organization, had never struck me as gentle. And for the most part, he wasn’t.
Maybe that’s why I felt the need to be gentle with him sometimes. Not because he was fragile, a word that didn’t describe him, even injured. But because tenderness wasn’t something he’d gotten much of in his life, I felt a need to show him he was worthy of it.
Even if I wasn’t sure I deserved it myself.
“I’m going to take your silence as a yes,” I said when I pulled back.
“I still don’t like it.”
“I’ll even pick you up a steak and baked potato.”
He cracked a grin. “You’re gonna grill a steak?”
“Hell, no,” I said, laughing. “I’ll find a Longhorn Steakhouse or something.”
“That’s my girl.”
He’d said that phrase a few times since the night Knox’s men had attacked us, and it sent a rush of heat through me every time. I wasn’t a gushy kind of woman. I’d never been very demonstrative in relationships, but my connection with James felt different. I didn’t want to examine why.
“The bed’s not made,” I said, shifting off him. “So take a nap here on the sofa.”
His gaze held mine. “You got the cash Carter left us?”
“I’ll grab it on my way out.”
“Grab one of the new burner phones too.”
“Will do.”
When we’d arrived at the safe house, we’d found a pile of cash, two new burner phones, and a couple of bags of groceries waiting for us.
We’d left our real cell phones at James’s house and had been living on cash and burners ever since.
Anything to avoid being tracked, but they’d tracked us to the last place anyway.
It made me wonder if Knox had a list of James’s safe houses, or if James had a rat in his crew. When I’d asked him, he’d dismissed both possibilities.
He held my gaze now, worry flickering in his eyes for a split-second before he locked it down. “Be careful.”
I gave him a cocky grin. “Somebody’s gotta take care of you.”
“Up until now, I’ve done pretty well on my own.”
I wasn’t sure how true that was. I knew he’d had a right-hand man and best friend, Jed, three or four years ago. He still had Carter Hale, his attorney and maybe the closest thing he had to a best friend now.
He wasn’t totally alone, but I still felt responsible for him. If he hadn’t been helping me find the truth about my mother’s death, he wouldn’t be caught in the middle of it. Even if he’d wanted to be there.
Or maybe it was deeper than that.
And I wasn’t ready to name it.