Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Wave heard his sister leave, and he turned to Gina. Now they could talk openly about Gina’s situation. “So this guy, Pete. He owns the auto body shop in town.”
“Yes. I was walking past and saw something. I should have taken off, but there was this woman being beaten up. I yelled at them, and the woman was able to break away. She stumbled toward me and clung to me. We were able to get away in a taxi.”
“Was the taxi there before?”
She shook her head. “No, it was passing by.”
“That was lucky.”
“Or the woman had called the taxi. I don’t know. I was driven round the corner, so I didn’t go far with her before I got out. I have no idea what happened with that woman, but she didn’t give me anything like Pete thinks she did.”
“Do you have any idea who she was?”
Gina shook her head. “No, I’ve never seen her before.”
“And you haven’t seen her since?”
“No. Just Pete and his goons.”
“I’m sorry they are targeting you. I wonder what she got hold of.”
“It is something he wants to get back. I guess when they let me out of the taxi, Pete or one of his men followed me to the hospital. That’s why they know where I work. I need them to leave me alone. Otherwise I’ll lose my job.”
“So the bruises…has anyone from work asked about them?”
She reached up, grabbing her neck as her gaze slid away. “No.”
“What are you going to tell them if they ask?”
Her shoulder lifted. “I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry they beat you up. I don’t know what to tell you. You need to be careful, but you already know that.”
She nodded, as a faraway look crossed her face. “I’m being careful. I don’t know when they’ll stop hounding me. I fear that if they don’t stop, eventually they’ll figure out where I live.”
He didn’t have a solution for her. Soon enough, he would leave town. He was planning on heading home to California in two weeks or less. He figured that would give them plenty of time to go through everything and get the house ready to sell.
“If it makes you feel better, you could stay here.”
Her gaze whipped to his. “What?”
“There are four bedrooms. We’re waiting to get rid of the beds and some of the nicer furniture. There’s an extra room that isn’t being used. I can’t vouch for how comfortable the bed is, but it’s here.”
Gina looked like she was actually contemplating staying with them.
He pushed away the excitement at having her here and tried to look like it was no big deal to him if she stayed.
After a long moment, she shook her head.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. Not yet. I mean, if they find my place, maybe then. ”
“If they find your place, it will be too late.”
He was right, but she didn’t want to impose. It would be weird staying here. They didn’t know her. For all he knew, she was lying about the entire experience. She wasn’t, but he didn’t know her.
“Thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll stay at my place.”
His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out, reading the text. “It’s not Cassandra, but it is the guy I sent the information to. He sent a report.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Let’s look at it.”
He moved to the kitchen and opened his laptop, pulling up his personal email. He saw the one from Tex and opened it immediately. He moved a chair around so she could sit beside him while he looked at the file.
“Come sit.”
Gina seemed hesitant, but after a moment, she moved to the chair and sat beside him. He didn’t want to come on too strong, so he made sure to keep everything business-like. The last thing he wanted was to offend her. He just wanted to help.
Tex had packed a lot of information into the email.
Pete had a few arrests for theft and racing.
The racing made sense since he was into cars.
The thefts were mostly small, but there was one car theft that he’d gotten off with a slap on the wrist. Was he running a chop shop? Probably, but they had no proof.
“There aren’t any drug arrests,” Gina said.
“No, I don’t see any drugs.”
“What do you think she could have had?”
He shook his head. “No clue.”
Gina sat back, crossing her arms over her midsection. “He was so insistent I give it to him. He got angry when I said I didn’t know what he was talking about. He thinks I know her, but I don’t.”
“I wish I had answers.”
“Same. At least we have the address where he lives. And now we know the makes and models of his cars, and other property he owns.”
“What good does that do?”
Wave shook his head, his stomach tightening for her. “I’ve got to say he seems dangerous. You need to be careful.”
She nodded slowly, looking very sad. “I will. I need to move.”
“Where would you go?”
“I don’t know.”
Wave sat back, staring at the information on the screen. He didn’t know how he could help her. With this guy after her, she was in danger. Maybe he would give up, or maybe he would intensify his attack. He didn’t think any of it would work out in Gina’s favor.
Gina watched Wave’s arm as he flexed his biceps. No question, he was strong. She hadn’t had much luck in the love department. Not that any of her exes had been abusive. They just hadn’t been for her.
She needed to keep in mind that she wasn’t looking right now. Plus, Wave was leaving town. They would never see each other again. She didn’t need to get involved with anyone.
“You’re very kind. Not very many people would help like you’re helping me.”
“I think more people would help if they could. They just don’t know what to do. When you had the opportunity, you helped that woman. And if you hadn’t been there, she might not have gotten away.”
“True.”
“Just because there are more than eight billion people on the planet doesn’t mean those who want to help are where the help is needed.”
She blew out a slow breath, thinking about his words. “There are a lot of people out there. I think people are scared to help because of stuff like this and worse.”
He nodded. “It sucks that the reality for many who step in is they end up injured or killed.”
“I appreciate you helping me.”
“I’m happy to help. But really it’s just a fluke that I even know who you are. It took my mother being sick and in the hospital while you were working here.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I believe in fate, but it’s kind of hard not to draw those conclusions.”
He nodded, and his expression turned serious.
“I’ve been in places with unimaginable things going on.
And there were times I swear I was there just to do something that wasn’t planned.
Like, there was this one time I wasn’t supposed to be in an alley.
I should have been able to leave an area going another way, but something cut me off, and I had to take a different path.
There was this kid who almost got run over.
I pulled him back to safety. If I hadn’t been there, he would have been hit and probably died. ”
“Yeah, I can’t explain stuff like that.”
“Maybe it’s just the fact that a lot of stuff happens, and every day there are opportunities for us to help and change a life, and sometimes we’re there to do it, and other times, no one is there.”
“You’re making me feel.”
He leaned his elbows on the table and then turned to look at her. His eyes were kind. She’d met a lot of people working as a nurse, and she could tell when people had kind eyes. Wave may be a badass, but deep inside, he was a good person.
“I think we’re supposed to feel. I get the idea of shutting emotions down. Your job is tough, and if you were always feeling things, it would be impossible to be an effective nurse.”
He was right. If she let her feelings run wild at work, she would never get anything done. She loved being a nurse. Helping people gave her deep satisfaction. But with nursing came an emotional drain equivalent to a dam bursting unless walls were put up, blocking the emotions.
“I would die if I felt it all.”
He nodded. “But feeling in this situation isn’t bad.”
She shook her head. “No. I guess it isn’t. But where do the feelings stop?”
His eyes narrowed a small amount, and if she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she might have missed it. He reached out and ran his fingers over a strand of her hair. “Maybe we don’t stop them.”
Desire that she’d kept in check spilled out, and she closed the distance, pressing her lips to his. It had been so long since she’d dated, and she wanted the touch of a man. That it was Wave made her even more excited.
She knew he was strong, but when he scooted his chair back, then picked her up and placed her on his lap, she could feel just how strong he was.
Wave’s thigh muscles under her legs, supporting her, felt so good. Her hands were on his shoulders, which were firm with muscles. He wrapped his arms around her, and she could feel his forearm muscles on her back. It all felt so good that her head spun with desire.
Would he agree to get naked? Maybe she should step back and tell him to slow down, but she wanted to feel all of him up against her body.
She ran her hands down his back and grabbed hold of the hem of his shirt, lifting it slightly.
Instead of ending the kiss, he took it deeper and then pulled her closer so she could feel the hardness of his cock through his pants.
Heat burst through her, and she let out a deep moan, hoping he knew she wanted more.