Chapter Two #2
The man with the scar, Stone shared a look with the man next to him, T.
Their facial expressions didn’t change but they seemed to be having an internal conversation.
Kenzie tried to swallow but her throat was dry.
She needed to get past them which would be a nearly impossible task since they were blocking the hall. She stepped forward.
“Do me a favor, sweetheart, and take another look, would ya?”
Sweetheart. Her skin prickled when he said it.
His voice smoldered. If he had asked for anything else, she’d probably have given in without a second thought.
This guy and his voice could make a girl do just about anything.
She gazed up and locked eyes with his hazel stare.
She’d always been a sucker for light colored eyes.
She inched forward and took another glance at Taylor’s picture.
She had seen the photo before. It was cropped and blown up just showing her best friend.
Taylor smiling. What she didn’t see was Drew sitting next to her, his arm wrapped over her shoulder.
That was the original photo. Taylor had it hanging on her fridge at her apartment.
Kenzie took a deep breath and tried to relax. She needed to focus and get as much information from them without letting on she knew Taylor. This would be no easy task since she was probably the worst fibber on the planet. Her dad used to say that her face was her confession, too expressive.
She licked her dry lips and lifted her gaze to the hot guy with the beautiful eyes.
“N-no.” She snapped her lips closed, feeling the heat. Stuttering was not going to convince them. She cleared her throat. “No, I don’t know her. What did she do?’
The silence in the hall grew thick. She glanced up to see them watching her closely.
Stone lifted his chin. “Now, what makes you think she did anything?”
Oh shit. Cover your tracks, back it up. She laughed nervously.
Her tight lips spread to a strained smile. “Well, why else would you be looking for her?”
Bogs cocked his head to the side. It was as if he were reading her, getting inside her head.
The weight of her bags was growing increasingly heavy and under his scrutinizing stare she squirmed in her spot.
She curved her hand up to her chest, resting the bag against her.
His eyes immediately shifted to the bag. Or was he looking at her chest?
It wouldn’t be the first time a man took notice of her ample breasts. Most men did. This might be the first time she enjoyed it though. Snap out of it. Focus on Taylor.
“Mexican?’
Was he asking if she was Mexican? With her light hair and green eyes, she was constantly confused with being Irish as opposed to English but never Mexican. She furrowed her eyebrows. “English and German.”
His mouth broke out into a huge grin and he chuckled. “In the bag, I mean.”
“Oh, um, yeah.” This guy made her nervous beyond the fear.
Why did he have to be so damn good looking?
Her heart beat faster and her palms moistened.
She had her fair share of hot guys hit on her but there was something different about him.
A concealed danger behind his playful smile and sweet eyes.
Her head and libido were having an inner battle with her head screaming ‘he’s the enemy’ and her northern region saying, ‘has there ever been a man so sexy?’ Her shoulders sagged. I’m doomed!
“That’s a big bag for one person.”
Her attention snapped back to him. Oh, those eyes and the humor behind them. Focus, Kenzie!
“It’s for me and my boyfriend,” she blurted, regretting it the minute the words slipped past her lips.
A sharp gasp from the left had Kenzie jerking her head to Mrs. Bowers. Oh hell! Please don’t say it, please don’t say it.
“Kenzie, please tell me you are not back with him?”
She frantically shook her head. “No. It’s a new guy, Mrs. Bowers.” She smiled.
The old woman nodded in sympathy but she didn’t seem convinced.
Last month, her boyfriend of a few months showed a side of himself that Kenzie had never seen.
When she showed up late to the apartment, he was waiting on her.
She had been held up at work and her phone had died.
When she got to her place, he accused her of cheating and went ballistic.
He threw a table across the room and screamed about her being a whore.
It was scary, and thankfully, Mrs. Bowers called the police.
The restraining order was in place and she hadn’t heard or seen him since. Unlike her best friend, she had learned her lesson to stay away from the bad boys. She had put it past her, and the last thing she wanted to do was rehash it with a hallway full of strangers.
She nodded again and waved her finger in Kenzie’s face. “You deserve to be treated like a treasure. Remember that.”
This was uncomfortably awkward. She refused to look over at the men but she could feel them staring at her.
The whole scene that played out with her ex had been humiliating.
She hadn’t done anything wrong but she’d become the talk of the building.
Deep down she knew it wasn’t her fault but there was guilt for not seeing the kind of man he was.
The old woman turned to the men. “Hurting women doesn’t make you a real man, it makes you a real asshole.”
The tense growl from the bald guy, T, had Kenzie straightening her back. “Couldn’t agree more.”
“Got yourself a new man, huh?” Mrs. Bowers giggled.
“Yup.” She could hear the lie and felt the burn from her neck cross over her cheeks.
“Well, good for you. I always did think you worked too much. You’re young, you need to have fun.” The old woman wiggled her brows. “The kind of fun a good man can provide.”
The idea that her eighty-six-year-old neighbor was referring to sex had her face blazing, which was only intensified by the masculine snickers.
What the hell was happening? How did their search for Taylor somehow transform to her sex life?
She clutched her warm bag of food closer to her and looked over at the men.
T and Stone stared at her. Their faces were masks she couldn’t read.
But when her gaze shifted to Bogs, her knees rubbed together.
His brow cocked up and his lips spread in a sexy, dirty thought kind of smile.
Then he winked. Not a creepy innuendo wink, but the kind that had the corner of her mouth curling up uncontrollably. It was a flirty sexy wink.
“Then I guess we’re done here. Ladies, thanks for the help. Now, we gotta go see a man about an elevator.” He nodded at Mrs. Bower and followed the other two strutting her way. She lowered her head and moved to the side, giving them room to pass her.
One set of boots, two sets of boots. By the third set she was tempted to look up.
She didn’t. She walked past and smiled at Mrs. Bower as she closed the door.
The stammer of heavy steps descending down the stairs, echoed in the hall.
As she rounded the railing to go up the last flight, her eyes caught a red flash and locked eyes with Bogs.
His lips spread into a seductive smile and remained in place until he was out of her sight.
What the hell just happened?
She had no doubt they were the guys who had been parked outside her place last week.
Her fear crept up another notch. These were not the type of men you messed with or lied to.
Shit. They may have left but they weren’t going to end their search just because she claimed she didn’t know Taylor.
She had kept herself hidden away in the apartment but a neighbor must have seen her.
At least one. She sighed staring down at the empty staircase.
Taylor was not the forgettable type of girl. Someone would remember her, most likely a man. It was only a matter of time before they came to her door. The sound of footsteps from below knocked her back into present day. She darted up the stairs.
She made it to her door in record time and flew through the door. She zoned in on Taylor’s confused face.
She slammed the door and leaned back against it.
“We’re so fucked.”
Taylor hopped off the stool quick. “What are you talking about?”
Her breath was heavy from her panic, running the flight of stairs, and if she were being honest, the effect Bogs with the hazel eyes was having on her. She moved forward dumping the bags on her small kitchen island.
“The guys from the SUV? They are now in the building showing a picture of you to all my neighbors. I just ran into them.” She widened her eyes. “They asked me if I’d ever seen you, Taylor.”
“Oh fuck.” Taylor turned into the living room dragging her hands through her long black hair. They’d been friends for years. Taylor was well aware of what a horrible liar Kenzie was.
“I tried to sound convincing.”
Taylor snorted. “Yeah, we’re fucked.” She paced around the small room.
It was true.
“What are we gonna do?”
“We?” Taylor turned and shook her head. “We, aren’t gonna do anything. I’ll handle it.” She kicked the foot of the couch. “Shoulda never come here, dragging you into this.”
For all the trouble Taylor, had gotten into, she never purposely involved Kenzie. Unfortunately, Kenzie involved herself. When she had gotten the call from Taylor a few weeks ago, she had insisted she’d come to Houston and stay with her until everything was sorted out.
“I’m in it, Tay. It’s at my doorstep, and don’t think for one second you’re leaving to figure it out on your own.” She nibbled on her nail, which barely had a nail left.
“Kenzie, I’m not putting you in the middle of my shit.” There it was, the protective side of Taylor. Not many saw it but Kenzie did. Taylor had been taking up for her and having her back since the ninth grade.
“You would do it for me.”