Chapter 39 #2
“No.” She rubs her stitched eyebrow, and I mutter a curse. She’s in no condition to fight… for real or practice. If people would stop coming after us, that would be extremely helpful.
“Are you sure? I—”
She tickles my left armpit. My fear of crushing her has me rolling onto the floor. She latches onto me, coming with and landing on top of me.
“Ha! I told you I could do it.”
My brain is only capable of processing so much, and right now it’s trying to catalogue every inch of her body against mine. I've lost something. My resolve. She’s taken it all, and at this moment, I don’t care if I ever get it back.
“You cheated.” I manage a hoarse whisper as she lingers over me, her hair creating a curtain around our faces, trapping us in this moment. I’ve never been so happy to be caught.
“I know.” Her lips are so close.
“You should, uh, get off.”
“I should,” she whispers, bringing her face even closer. “But you’re not going to make me.”
I'm drawn into her tempting eyes, falling victim to her ocean irises. “I’m not?”
“No. Because you like the way I kiss.” Her lips graze over mine, a simple brush of skin.
My commitment to keep her safe shifts to a more carnal desire to hold her. Touch her. Taste her. I may be a strong man, but I’ve never felt so weak.
Her mouth parts against mine, her breath warm on my lips… and then she pulls back.
I blink. And then I act—on impulse. Kissing her is a mission I must accomplish. I drag her to me, taking possession of the mouth that has taunted me endlessly.
Her soft gasp is all the confirmation I need to deepen the kiss.
She responds in every way I want her to, cupping my jaw as her mouth moves with mine in a way that numbs and electrifies me.
I can no longer fight my desire for her.
I want her. All of her. All her laughter, all her terrible nicknames, and sassy comments.
I grab her hip, my fingers curling around her back, digging into the smooth skin there.
I lift her to me, needing her closer as I part her lips.
Her mouth caves to mine and I angle her head for more.
She’s consuming me, ransacking my bunker of insecurities, blowing it to pieces, and building it into something greater. A foundation for a future.
This connection is what I’ve been missing for years. I drove everyone out of my life, and they went. I’ve pushed and pushed this woman, and here she stays.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the best timing.
It takes every ounce of restraint to roll her over, settle her on the floor, and stand.
“Seriously?” she moans.
I hold out a hand and help her to her feet. “I want to kiss you. I want to do nothing but kiss you. But right now… I need to keep you safe.”
She clings to my bicep as if she can’t bear to part with it. “Can’t you do both?”
My lips twitch. “I’ve never been a great multitasker, and I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt because I was distracted.”
“Sounds like something you could use therapy for.” Her gentle fingers skate across my chest and up my neck.
“That’s your answer for everything isn’t it?” I scoop her into my arms and toss her onto the bed. “Therapy could never do what you’ve done for me.”
She arches a brow as she claims my side of the bed. “And what is that?”
“I’ll tell you… later.”
She flops back on to the bed, shading her face from the light.
I watch her longer than I should but far less than I want to, my back pressed against the wall, as far from her as I can get. I don't trust myself to be near her right now.
“Pierce?” she says suddenly. “I have to tell you something.”
My defenses immediately rise. I don’t like the sound of this already. “What?”
“You know the formula on the drive?”
“The one people have tried to shoot us over? I’m familiar.”
“My dad developed it.”
I shove off the wall and kneel on the edge of the bed. Her body rolls toward me, and I pry her arms from her face, forcing her to look at me. “Explain.”
She sits up, cradling my pillow to her chest and squeezing the life out of it. When I lay down to sleep, it’s going to smell like her.
Not a helpful thought.
“I had a memory,” she says. “My dad developed that drug, whatever it was, and I found evidence of it.”
She… what? I jump to my feet, a bullet train taking off in my chest. This is it. This is what we’ve been searching for.
“Where is it?”
She bites her bottom lip. “I think I took it to SciTech.”
SciTech.
Thea took the drive to Gavin. And he… sent Henry to bring the drive to me. It wasn’t safe with Lifeline Laboratories also trying to get it. So he sent a construction worker who would be enticed for a low price.
But the formula didn’t belong to SciTech. They used Thea to get it—stole it from her and prepared to sell it out from underneath her. Is that why Henry was in her room, why he possibly drugged her? To make sure she didn’t have anything else on her? To prevent her from following him to the meeting?
Some of it makes sense, but there are still gaps. I need all of Thea’s missing memories to make sense of the rest of it.
“Hey…” I drop beside her on the bed, choosing to focus on the good part of what she just told me. “You had a memory. That’s great.”
“No, it’s not. I screwed up. I had a chance to get my dad help, and I lost it. I thought I could get my dad’s retirement back, but I don’t think I did. They took the drive, and gave me nothing.”
“That’s not your fault.” Somebody, most likely Henry, drugged her. Purposely. It was never an accident.
She was the target all along.
Did she know they were bringing it to me in Mexico, and she followed, trying to get it back?
There’s no use asking her; she doesn’t remember, and I don’t want to frustrate her more.
I think Henry knew she followed him and drugged her to get her off his trail.
Then he died. SciTech thinks he went rogue and sent people after us, assuming I have it.
If I can just get to Gavin I can clear the confusion and get Thea out of the crosshairs.
“I’m going to help you. We’re going to fix everything.”
Her bottom lip trembles. “Why? This is all my fault. Why are you still here?”
I’m still here because I want to be. But I choose to tell her the truth. “Because it’s my job to see this through.”
She gives me a skeptical look, waiting for more. I must be used to the silent inquisition because I elaborate.
“I was going to retire after I received the final payment from this transfer.”
She laughs, but it’s dry and unamused. “You? Retire? What would you do?”
“Private security maybe?” I truly don’t know anymore.
I just know that I’m sick of being the middleman.
In the last few days, I’ve found my purpose again—keeping things and people safe from the danger surrounding them.
“I was only supposed to bring the drive from Point A to Point B, but there’s more to this situation.
And I truly want to help. Do you trust me? ”
“With my whole heart.”
I settle onto the bed, and she rolls into my side. I hold her until she falls asleep, and then I get up and get to work.
The first thing I need to do is send an email to the man who brought me this job. I don’t know who he is. Just his email address. If anyone knows more about what’s going on, it’s him.
I type a quick message and hit send.
Things have become complicated. We need to talk ASAP.
For the first time in a long time I’m afraid, not for myself, but for Thea. So I go back to the bed and hold her close, while I still can.