Chapter Three #2
“All set here, too,” I say.
With the details taken care of, we head for the parking garage, where Simon and Chelsea, who arrived minutes before, pull out first in a nondescript sedan. Once the decoys are on their way, Talia and I exit in a similar vehicle.
Each of us heads in opposite directions, neither one toward Portland, though I will eventually circle back that way when I am certain we don’t have a tail. After we are well into the trip, I can relax a little and focus more on Talia.
* * *
Talia
Shane doesn’t talk much during the initial ride out of Dallas, and I respect his silence, knowing he is focused on making sure we leave the city without anyone following us.
I am too wired to relax, and it doesn’t help when we stop an hour into the trip to switch cars with another agent, a safeguard Shane and Hutch prearranged.
I wonder how my lab job turned into such a nightmare. Even if Jonah prepared me for just this kind of eventuality, I never believed anyone would come after me, I think, and rub my arms with my hands.
“Are you cold?” Shane asks, reaching to turn down the air conditioning inside the car.
“No.” I shake my head. “Just wound tight,” I murmur.
“I can only imagine. But you’re safe. We’ve taken every possible precaution,” he says, his voice deep and reassuring.
“I know. And I appreciate you dropping everything to help me out. I mean, after all these years, I’m basically a stranger and—”
“You’re not a stranger, smarty-pants.” He meets my gaze through his aviators and grins, causing my belly to twist and a jolt of desire to travel through my veins.
“No, I guess I’m not. You’re Tate’s best friend.”
He inclines his head, eyes on the road. “Long distance aside, he’s like a brother to me.”
Does that make me like a sister? The thought doesn’t sit well with me, and I’m not surprised. When I was younger, I had a crush on him and freaked out when things got too intense. Now that I’m an adult, I recognize the desire he inspires in me is stronger…and not going away.
When he searched me earlier, the wand moving around my body parts, his face nearly between my thighs, a definite sense of arousal pulsed through me. My nipples grew hard, my panties wet, and if we hadn’t been in the middle of a serious situation, I might have jumped him right there.
And from the muscle I saw ticking in his jaw, I assume he was affected by my nearness, too. Of course, that could be wishful thinking. Either way, I don’t want him to treat me like family or consider me a little sister. Because I definitely don’t feel that way about him. I never have.
“But this isn’t all about Tate, is it? You’re helping me, and I’m grateful.”
“It’s my pleasure. Seriously.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek. “Okay, good.” I blow out a deep breath and stare at the dry landscape through the car window.
“So how have you been?” I ask him. “I mean, we have time to talk now, right?”
“I think we’re pretty safe,” he says, glancing in the rearview mirror.
From his posture and general wariness, he never lets his guard down, which I appreciate.
“I’ve been good,” he says. “Working at McKay-Taggart suits me.”
I can understand that. His boss is a unique man. I have a feeling the rest of the office is similarly interesting.
“But didn’t you always want to be on the police force? At least that’s what you told me back in high school.”
He frowns, but that doesn’t detract from his good looks. “Back then, I didn’t know what being a cop would mean.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, curling a leg beneath me. I am intrigued by the fact that something he was so drawn to didn’t work for him as an adult and am curious to know why.
“I had this case. A young girl was killed.” He grips the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white under the strain. “My partner and I, we did everything by the book. Dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. And in the end, the guy walked because the jury found reasonable doubt.”
I wince at the outcome that obviously hurt him so badly. “I’m sorry.”
He inclines his head. “I couldn’t handle the job knowing my best wasn’t good enough. Protection means I can stop a threat before it hurts someone, or at least have the chance to. I get more satisfaction here than fighting the law in an attempt to get justice after the fact.”
“Makes sense.” I nod, rubbing a hand along the thigh of my pants.
While I work in a lab, I do so knowing I am trying to help people in the long run, so I understand his frustration about working within a tightly controlled system.
Time for a subject change, I decide, not that he’ll like my next choice. But I can’t help wanting to know more about him and the man he’s become.
“So… I heard from my brother you were married.”
He shoots me a surprised glance. “Yes. I was. It ended a couple of years ago. Amicably, as far as those things go. Amy wanted a husband she wouldn’t have to worry about getting shot, maybe killed in the line of duty. And she wanted one who was home at a reasonable hour. That’d never be me.”
I purse my lips and nod. When Tate went to his wedding, I experienced a pang of sadness at the prospect of him being taken. Which is silly because at that point I hadn’t seen Shane in years.
“Okay, time to turn the tables,” he says, breaking into my thoughts. “How are you?” he asks, his shoulders finally relaxing now that the spotlight is on me.
“Other than running for my life?” I ask, wanting to keep the mood light.
“I’ve actually been good. If you consider busy good.
I’ve been wrapped up with my job and working the kinks out of this formula.
It’s been an exhilarating ride. Until today.
And now I’d like to bring it to fruition.
I want the drug to get to the public so it can help people as planned. ”
“So they don’t suffer like your mother did?” he asks, his voice going soft.
I stare out the window, trying not to let sadness engulf me as it usually does when I recall losing my mom. The slow way her body gave out along with her heart.
“Yes. So their families don’t have to go through the hardships when one parent is on disability and another has to work extra hard to afford treatment.” So the kids aren’t at loose ends because the adults’ focus is on illness and fear.
He reaches over and touches my shoulder, sending a ribbon of warmth flowing through me. “I’m sorry you guys had to go through that kind of childhood.”
I sigh, knowing there is so much worse. “My parents loved us.” And I lost them too early, prompting me to guard my own heart zealously from hurt. “It just wasn’t all sunshine and roses. But whose life is?”
“Still pragmatic, I see.”
I grin.
“So what about you? No marriage in your past?” he asks.
Despite the sunglasses, I can see he is getting a kick out of asking me about my personal life, and I deserve it.
“No. Like you, I work too much for any rational human being to understand. And it’s not something I can see myself giving up any time soon.”
“I guess we have that in common,” he says.
“Besides, with love comes inevitable loss. I’d like to minimize any more pain in my life,” I say, surprised I opened up to him that way. “I keep my relationships light.”
“Too pragmatic,” he mutters. I’m not about to argue. “So I take it that means no boyfriends you’re leaving behind?”
I tuck my hair behind my ear and glance at him, wondering if this is just tit for tat conversation. Or whether there is something more behind the question.
“No. My last relationship was about a year ago.” If you could call it a relationship, I muse, thinking back.
A colleague wanted details on my research and decided he’d sleep with me to work his way in. I wasn’t even that hurt on an emotional level, just royally pissed he tried to piggyback on my work.
“Interesting,” he says in a gravelly voice.
My stomach flips in anticipation of him asking or saying something more…something that will let me know if I am the only one experiencing this desire at such an inappropriate time. But he remains silent.
A little while passes, each alone with our thoughts, when Shane speaks.
“How about lunch?” He gestures to a sign indicating an upcoming rest area.
“Yes. Feed me, please.” I press a hand to my empty belly.
We stop for lunch before getting on the road again.
We talk more, revisiting some of our shared past, the tutoring I did with him, the fact that he always had a hot girl sniffing after him…but neither of us brings up the last time we were together. Or the kiss.
By the time we see signs for Albuquerque, we’ve been driving for over ten hours total. My legs are cramped, my butt hurts, and I want nothing more than a hot shower and a warm bed.
“Are you hungry for dinner?” he asks.
“I could eat.” In truth, I am starving, but I haven’t said anything since lunch. I don’t want to hold us up or be a problem when we have a timetable to stick to.
He nods. “Me, too. And we should stop someplace where we can get a room and a good night’s sleep. We’ll start fresh in the morning.”
“A room? As in one?” I blurt, immediately wishing I stopped the words before they spilled out of my mouth, because really, I don’t want to come off as a prude.
“One room, two double beds. That’s as far as I’m willing to compromise and still be able to keep you safe.”
I nod, biting the inside of my cheek so I don’t speak again and say something stupid. It is bad enough I was an awkward teenager around him, but I am an adult now, and I don’t want him to see me as anything but a capable woman.
A sexy woman he desires might be too much to hope for. I know myself. I attract brainy guys. Scientists. Not hot-as-sin bodyguards like Shane.