Chapter 6
KIERA
Suffice it to say, tandem motorcycle travel was not ideal when you were still mad at the person with whom you were sharing the seat. There was just no way to avoid smushing my breasts against his back or wrapping my arms tight around his waist, feeling his every muscle flex… Gah.
Then there was the warm, woodsy smell of his loaner jacket, giving me this odd feeling of home, even though I hadn’t grown up in the woods, or sat around a log fire, or even gone on a family camping trip. Far from it.
Honestly, I would have preferred to tilt. At least that didn’t create so much sensory overload. Tilting had knocked me out flat, and right now, that sounded awesome.
The wind pulled tears from my eyes as we raced through the woods, then rural fields, suburbs, and finally into the outskirts of Minneapolis.
Sean leaned into a turn, and I tightened my arms and thighs around his waist and hips.
Then we were upright again, and I rested my chin on his shoulder until, eventually, he coasted to a stop in front of my unassuming apartment building.
He turned off the engine and shifted his weight to the side. The bike tipped, and I dug my fingers into his tight abs before he knocked the kickstand down and told me to dismount.
I did.
“Thanks for letting me come back for clothes.” I glanced toward my front door. The breeze wafted the scent of soy sauce from Chop-Suey Bob’s unit at the end of the building.
“No problem.” Sean got off the bike, too.
“What are you doing?” I took off the helmet.
“Going in with you.”
“Why?”
He gave me a deadpan look, and I glowered. Point taken. The money-bag people knew where I lived.
I got the front door unlocked, and we stepped inside.
“Wait here,” he said. “I’m going to do a sweep.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that wasn’t necessary, then thought better of it.
Someone could be lurking, and between the two of us, Sean was far better equipped to deal with a surprise attack.
He was a professional athlete, and a nymph of the dryad variety.
By definition on all accounts: strong, quick, agile, and able to tilt faster than a bullet.
“Okay.” With a wave of my hand, I gestured for him to proceed.
Sean opened my coat closet, peered inside, then strode quickly through the kitchen, around the peninsula, and into the small living room and office area. Satisfied with that, he headed down the hall and out of sight.
I wrapped Sean’s quilted flannel jacket tighter around myself and listened as the shower curtain swished open, then one, two, three closets opened and closed.
This was followed by the familiar creak of floorboards beside my bed, a soft thud, more swooshing fabric, and Sean returned, looking satisfied.
“All clear,” he said. “I’ll wait here while you pack your bag and get changed.”
I hadn’t said anything about wanting to change my clothes, but he must have known how badly I needed to get out of this outfit—if you could even call it that.
I went to my bedroom, closed the door, then dashed to my en suite bathroom.
My business concluded, I pulled on high-waisted black trousers with a wide leg, a tight white tank, and an olive green, double-button front, military-style velvet blazer.
Satisfied with that, I threw a few more outfits into a small duffel—only because I couldn’t bring my big suitcase on the bike.
I checked myself out in the full-length mirror, floofed my hair, then slipped Sean’s jacket back on, over my killer outfit. It was just so I could have an extra layer of warmth on the road, not because I liked the smell of it or anything.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
When I emerged from the bedroom, Sean looked me up and down, but his expression remained unreadable.
“All better?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling strangely sheepish.
“At least you look like yourself again.”
I assumed that was a good thing but before I could think more about that, Sean dragged me outside and we were back on his bike, heading toward the heart of downtown Minneapolis.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into an empty parking spot half a block from Lukas and Elli’s high-rise apartment.
He turned off the engine, and I swung off the back of the seat.
“Thanks, again,” I said. “For everything.”
“No problem,” he said, and he got off the bike again, too. “I’ll walk you in.”
Uh…what? I’d understood why he wanted to take precautions in my neighborhood and with the bad guys knowing where I lived, but he didn’t need to do that here. And frankly, I needed a break from the onslaught of all that was Sean-Ohmygod-Murphy.
I didn’t know if it was his eyes, the long hair, or the smooth way he moved that did it for me. Maybe it was the woodsy smell or the solidness of his body. Maybe it was all of it wrapped up together.
“That’s super cool of you.” I took off the helmet and shook out my hair. “But not necessary.”
He looked down at me with those moss-green eyes, which had lost all traces of anger and gone back to their normal softness. “I’d feel better if I did.”
“Sean…” Now, he was being way too nice, and here I’d been such a bitch, getting all pissed about him reading the note and following me to the bodega.
“Humor me,” he said, sliding his palm against my arm from shoulder to wrist.
I shivered at his touch but continued my protest. “Their building has 24/7 security.”
“Yeah?” The corners of his eyes tightened as did his hand around my wrist. “Didn’t exactly stop an abduction now, did it?”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sean stared at me as if I were insane, then his eyebrows drew together in confusion before giving his head a small shake.
“What?” I handed him the helmet.
“Nothing. Let’s—” He glanced over his shoulder. “—get out of the street. We’re too exposed.”
He took my elbow and hustled me up the sidewalk and into the apartment building. It was only after we got past the front desk guy that he let go of my arm, though he still didn’t leave my side.
He punched the elevator call button and when the doors opened, he got in with me. I didn’t ask why.
We both faced forward, neither of us speaking, and if the tension had been thick in his cabin, it was worse now that we were trapped together in a small elevator.
My thoughts slid back to the first time Sean and I had met in this very same spot. I’d been taking this elevator up to deliver moving boxes to Elli. He’d been heading up to check on Lukas, who’d been injured.
I’d tried to play it so cool that day when in reality, I’d had a hard time looking at him directly. He was so freaking handsome, but what had really moved me was his genuine concern for his friend. I’d hoped to someday have a friend like that.
An errant tear leaked into the corner of my eye, but I wasn’t a crier, so I blinked it away.
A second later, the elevator doors opened onto the twentieth floor, and we stepped out. Lukas and Elli’s door was halfway down the hall. When we reached it, Sean knocked.
We only waited a couple of seconds before Elli flung the door open. She grabbed both of my wrists and pulled me inside. “Oh my god,” she exclaimed, “your poor apartment!”
For a second, I forgot what she was referring to. Fortunately, Sean rescued me (again) saying, “The plumbers should have it fixed in no time.”
“All your beautiful clothes!” Elli said. “And your couch! Please, tell me you have renter’s insurance.”
“Uh…yeah,” I said, letting out a guilty exhale because now I felt like a piece of crap for deceiving her. “It’ll be fine.”
After all my efforts to keep my family drama from affecting other people’s lives, here I was, intruding on the last few hours of Lukas and Elli’s peaceful weekend. And I was doing it based on a lie.
A lie and perhaps—I was starting to admit—an overreaction to Sean’s protectiveness. His concern, after all, had been justified. And I was alive because of it. Maybe we should have stayed at his cabin.
“Murph,” Lukas said in greeting. “Kiera.”
He stood on the far side of the couch, facing us with his back to the massive TV screen that was mounted on the wall. A hockey game played on the screen.
“Yo,” Sean replied. “You going to the team meeting tonight?”
“Planned on it,” Lukas replied.
I was glad to hear this. Lukas was still on the injured reserve list, even though Elli said his shoulder (and ribs) were fully healed.
Next, Lukas turned his berserker-wolf eyes on me and—it had to be said—even with that nasty scar running from the corner of his eye and down his cheek, he was still one of the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen.
Next to Sean, of course. I preferred soft, warm moss-green eyes to Lukas’s icy blue.
“Sorry to hear about your apartment,” Lukas said.
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks for letting me crash here. I promise I won’t overstay my welcome.”
“Stay as long as you need,” Lukas said.
“Come with me,” Elli said. “The guest room is all set up for you.”
I shucked off Sean’s flannel jacket, tossed it over the back of the couch, and followed Elli down the hall. I hadn’t explored this far into the apartment before. The last time I was here had been a weird, drunken crafting night designed to get Elli over the heartbreak of losing Lukas.
How things had changed since then.
“You should be comfortable here,” Elli said, smiling from the guest room doorway. “And don’t worry. However long it takes to get things fixed and the mess cleaned up, that’s fine.”
“Thanks, chickie. You’re the best.”
I set my bag on the bed and opened my mouth to say something more. I wanted to apologize for intruding, but that would mean telling her the truth. That simply couldn’t happen.
I may have been a terrible liar, but I’d had over twenty years of practice hiding the truth. There was a difference. And this was the biggest secret I’d ever needed to hide.
Besides, if I told Elli the truth, she’d worry, and our friendship was still relatively new. I didn’t want to burden her. I didn’t want her to think I was more trouble than I was worth. She wouldn’t be the first friend to ditch me after getting a peek behind the curtain of my life.