Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
“End of the road,” Kane announced an hour later. He braked the ride outside of a no-tell motel. “At least for me.” He turned around. “I’ll take the Jeep back. Clear out my things from Asylum and meet up with you later.”
Tyler saw Esme peering at the motel.
“Lucky number seven is all yours.” Kane waved toward the small office. “It’s an old-fashioned place. You actually get to use a real key to get inside. Get it from the guy in the little admin office—his name’s Roger—and you’ll find all the supplies you need waiting in your room.”
“Uh…” Esme cleared her throat. “How did you arrange all of this? And when?”
“I know people.” An easy response that was, Tyler knew, a massive understatement. Kane’s connections were legendary. Sometimes, for the wrong reasons. “This will be a safe place for you to cool down a bit. Regroup. I’ll check Clay’s story with Vanessa, and then we can figure out what our next move will be.”
Tyler shoved open his door and climbed out. Esme scooted over, and he helped her exit, then kept a hand on her waist.
“There is one more thing you need to know.” Kane’s voice had turned halting. His mirrored sunglasses hid his gaze. “Might be better if you and I just talk for a moment, Tyler.”
He didn’t let Esme go. “Say whatever it is in front of her.”
“Oh, so you’re trusting her now?”
He was doing more than that.
“Fine. Got a tip last night while you were all sprawled out in the hospital bed.”
“I wasn’t sprawled?—”
“There’s a bounty on your head, man.” Serious. Hard. “Why do you think I pulled a gun on someone I’ve known for years? You are in danger. You saved my life—twice—so I owe you, and I always will. I would walk into the fire with you a dozen times. Hell, I did once before already, remember? And I’d do it again. People know that you’re the one standing between Esme and death. So they’re gunning for you now. Without you, she’ll fall.”
The hell she would. “I have no intention of letting Esme fall.”
“Figured you’d say something like that. Considering the way you just kept saying her name over and over after you came awake following that blast.” A considering pause. “I don’t think it’s Clay. I can still see his face after that nightmare in Paris. He’d set the devices on our missions before, but never seen the wreckage left after an explosion. People died that day, and it changed him. He got out after that. Stopped his work with the government. Came back to his Asylum.” His jaw tightened. “I just don’t see him wiring a house to kill one of his best friends. ”
Esme edged forward. “Yet you pointed a gun at him.”
“Because my job is to protect Tyler. And you. That is the job of a best fucking friend, and I hold the title with Tyler for a reason.” His fingers drummed on the steering wheel. “There’s a motorcycle behind your room. The keys to it are in your nightstand drawer. After you get changed and you eat some of the food, hit the road. There are two burner phones you can use in the bags you’ll find waiting in your room. We’ll plan a meetup.”
“A motorcycle, too?” Esme whistled. “I am impressed and frightened by your skills.”
“Same, lady, same.” He waved them back. “You know that warning I gave Clay about his feet? Watch yourselves.”
Tyler hauled Esme back right before Kane drove away.
“He’s a really good best fucking friend,” she murmured.
Yeah, he was.
Tyler curled an arm around Esme’s shoulders and led her to the small office. Sure enough, Roger was waiting. He barely glanced their way before tossing them the key.
“Friendly fellow,” Esme commented.
“You don’t make friends in places like this one.” You worked hard to forget faces. A short walk, and they were standing in front of lucky motel room number seven. He put the key in the lock, opened the door, and stared at the paradise that waited for them.
No way could he not wince. This place had to be far, far below Esme’s normal standards.
“Please tell me that bed vibrates.” Esme rushed across the room and hopped on the bed. She spread-eagled and frowned. “After the hell of that hospital chair, I could use a vibrating bed.”
One eyebrow rose. “You usually have to start the vibration. ”
Her head turned toward him. A frown pulled at her brows. She had—quite obviously—not spent a lot of time in no-tell motels.
Despite everything, a smile tugged at his lips. “Sweetheart, that bed won’t vibrate on its own.” But I can sure as hell help.
She pushed up onto one elbow and studied him. “You didn’t tell me that you suspected Clay.”
A very sore spot for him. “I don’t like thinking that one of my friends might betray me.”
“But seven million dollars can buy a lot of things.” A delicate pause. “Including a new friend?”
Maybe. “He knows ballistics. He knew the house, inside and out. But I just…” Tyler turned away from the sight of Esme on the bed—such a tempting sight when he needed to stay focused—and made his way to the small table near the left wall. Two bags were on that table. He opened them. Saw the weapons inside. Two guns. Three knives. Nice. Clothing—for him and Esme. Two burner phones.
Sometimes, Kane’s skills and connections were scary. Even to him.
“You just didn’t want to admit you might have been wrong to trust him? Is that why you didn’t tell me sooner?”
He put one of the guns down on the table. “I didn’t want a friend to have tried to kill me.” His head turned, and, once more, his eyes were on her.
She remained on the bed.
Way too sexy. “Esme…” Where to start?
“I should go shower. I’m pretty stiff from that hospital chair.”
The chair she’d stayed in all night so she could be close to him .
“I’d tell you to join me, but I know you’re supposed to be careful with those stitches of yours.”
He’d almost forgotten them. Turned out he’d cut open his side and his arm during the blast. He barely felt the pull of the stitches. His attention was centered somewhere else.
Esme had swung her legs to the side of the bed. But she hadn’t stood yet. Her bedroom eyes were completely on him. “Where are we going next?”
He knew where he wanted to go.
In her.
Yeah, but he was trying to hold the hell back. Danger stalked them. He shouldn’t be jumping the woman at the first opportunity. Even though that was very, very much what he wanted.
“Get some rest,” he said. “You didn’t sleep much last night. You grab a few hours of sleep, and I’ll make arrangements.”
She nodded. But, again, didn’t move. “Are we going to hide somewhere else?”
“Not like I’m planning to just turn you over to the bad guys.”
Her head tilted forward. The dark curtain of her hair hid her face, and then, she rose. Came right to him. Her hand lifted and pressed to his chest. Right over the heart that raced for her. “I think that is exactly what you should do.”
What the fuck? Tyler could only shake his head. He must have heard wrong. Was the concussion impacting his hearing now?
“Running and hiding didn’t work so well for us the first time. Did we even make it forty-eight hours? Seventy-two?” Her lips pulled down. “Our safe house exploded. We almost exploded with it. Now you’ve turned away from an old friend because you suspect him. In a short time, I’ve pretty much destroyed your life.”
No, she hadn’t. “I’m not just going to give you up.” He would never do that.
“Not even if it winds up saving your life? Because Kane said a target is on you now. How much is the going rate for a U.S. Marshal’s life? Or rather, his death?”
He didn’t know.
“Trade me,” Esme urged him, and she appeared completely serious. “Save yourself. It’s the smart thing to do.” Then she walked away. The woman actually dropped that bombshell BS on him and headed toward the bathroom like it was absolutely nothing. She paused by the open bags. Trailed her fingers over them. Grabbed a change of clothes.
Kept moving. Like nothing had happened.
Totally no big deal. Just a little matter of her dying so he could live.
The hell that would happen.
The bathroom door closed behind her. The shower thundered on. His gaze remained locked on the door.
Had those been tears gathering in her eyes before she marched away? Jaw locking, he headed right for the door. His fingers curled around the knob and twisted. Nothing happened.
She’d locked the door.
“Esme.”
“I’m showering.”
“Open the door.”
“I’m showering.”
His gaze bored into the wood. “I’ve finally figured you out,” he muttered. Then, louder, for her, he said, “I’m going to kick the door in if you don’t open it. So…make sure you step back, would you, sweetheart? ”
“You would not dare!”
A breath and a prayer seemed to be holding the old door in place. Probably wouldn’t even take a kick. “Move back,” he commanded. He waited. Gave her time, then he rammed his shoulder into the door.
It flew open. He’d been right. No kicking needed.
And, sonofabitch, those were tears on her cheeks.
“You have an issue with bathrooms and barging in on people.” A shudder swept over her. “You need to work on that. It’s weird.”
His hands fisted. No way was she going to distract him. “You ran away so I wouldn’t see you cry.”
Her right hand swiped over her cheek. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“When you lie, your voice gets extra haughty. You better watch that tell in the future.”
She stopped mid-swipe. “I can’t believe you broke down the door! Seriously, what is it with you and bathrooms?”
“The door needed breaking.” He motioned toward the pile of clothes she’d taken into the bathroom. “I’m guessing a burner phone is currently hidden under there? Did you tuck it under the shirt when you realized I was coming in after you?”
Her hand fell. “I have no idea what you mean.” She frowned. “I have no idea what you mean.” She clearly had tried to change up her tone. Less haughty. Kinda cute.
But she knew exactly what he meant. “The tears are a problem for me. A big one. I hate for you to cry. Didn’t we cover that?”
“Well, you didn’t have to come in after me. Why can’t a woman cry in peace?”
“Because your tears break me apart, when I see them and when I don’t. From now on, no more crying. ”
“You can’t order someone not to cry and just make it magically happen.”
Really? He was pretty sure he just had given the order. And it would happen. But, fine, for now… “I’ll just kick the ass of the next person to make you cry. Fair enough?”
“Tyler…”
He reached out and lifted up the shirt. Sure enough, a burner phone was right there. “Who were you gonna call, sweetheart?”
Her hands went to her hips. “You know so much, tell me.”
“Your father.”
She didn’t deny it.
“You were going to call him. Offer to meet him.”
Again, no denial.
So he kept going. “I figure you were probably going to seduce me at some point.”
“You wish.”
Yes, he did. Fervently. “You were going to give me mind-blowing sex. And then you thought I might fall asleep afterwards. While I slept, you were going to sneak away and meet your father because you believe you can convince him to call off the hit on my life. You think he is the one who put out the hit. Both on you…and on me.”
“Why would he put out a hit on me? I’m his daughter.”
“Because you were in federal custody. He was afraid you’d tell the wrong information to the wrong people. People not on his payroll. So the hit was placed, and a killer came calling for you. But I was there. I stopped him.”
“I do appreciate that.”
I will always be there. “You still have the drive.” He’d given it to her at the hospital. Not like there had been a lot of places to hide it when he’d had to don the hospital gown .
“I might.”
He waited.
“I do. ”
“You’re going to give him the drive, and, in exchange, you think he’ll cancel the hit on me.”
“That’s a whole lot of suspicion pouring from you.”
“That’s a whole lot of zero denial coming from you , sweetheart.”
Her hands dropped from her hips. Her shoulders squared. “Let me make sure I’m following along properly.”
“All right.” He waited.
“You think I’m the evil villainess who is about to seduce you. Then leave you.”
“Never said you were evil. I’ll punch out the next bastard who does.”
Her lashes swept down to conceal her gaze. “I don’t think you can actually have sex so soon after a concussion so my plan—if that was my plan—it’s flawed.”
Cute. “Esme…”
Her lashes lifted.
“Sweetheart.” He smiled at her. “It will take one hell of a lot more than a concussion and some stitches to stop me from fucking you.”
“You say the most romantic things.”
He eliminated the space between them and towered over her. All traces of humor were gone. “How’s this for romantic? You try to sacrifice yourself to protect me, and I’ll fuck you so long and hard that you won’t walk for a week.”
She bit her lower lip as she seemed to consider his words. “We need to work on your romance.”
“You didn’t call anyone.”
“You didn’t exactly give me the chance.” An exhale. “ How’d you know I took the phone? I thought my technique was flawless.”
“You palmed it perfectly, but, sweetheart…”
She’d been staring at his neck. He waited until she had to look up and meet his eyes. He didn’t like the way she kept avoiding his gaze. As if she had something to hide. As if she was afraid to see him.
Only when that beautiful darkness was locked on him did Tyler finish, “I know you now. Inside and out.”
“Tyler… I want you safe. ”
“I will be.” His hands reached out and curled around her waist. He lifted her up against him. “But you will never sacrifice yourself for me. That’s not how this works between us.”
Her hands grabbed his shoulders. “Your stitches?—”
“Told you they wouldn’t stop me.” He took her mouth. Thrust his tongue inside and felt the control he’d been trying to hold fracture. “Nothing is gonna stop me when it comes to you.”
A low moan pulled from her.
Thought I wasn’t gonna get her out of the house in time. Thought I was gonna lose her. Another explosion. Her gorgeous eyes closed. Her body limp.
In truth, he hadn’t needed the freaking hospital or even the stitches. He would have survived just fine. Not like he hadn’t stitched himself up before. But he’d wanted to make absolutely sure Esme was safe. So he’d gone in the ambulance—with her—and when he’d been at the hospital, he’d ordered her checked out, too. Then, because the place had good security, he’d kept them in the room overnight. He’d known that Kane was working to get a new place set up for them. A new identity. An escape path.
And, sure enough, Kane had delivered .
But Esme hadn’t realized Tyler was staying in the hospital for her safety. She’d been worried about him. Holding him tight all night.
He’d been so very wrong about her. She wasn’t some heartless villain. In fact, he thought her heart might just be too big. Esme wanted to save the world. She just pretended that she was trying to wreck it.
He carried her to the bed. Lowered her down. When she was settled, he eased back and stared at her.
The minutes ticked past.
“Uh, Tyler?” Her hair trailed over her shoulders as she stared at him. “Something wrong?”
“I’d kill for you.”
She blinked.
“Not because of the job. Not because I’ve been assigned to protect you. But because it’s you.” He wanted her to understand this. “You’re not a job. You’re Esme. My Esme.”
Her smile came then. The smile that drove him wild. Slow and pure, it flashed her dimples and made the sparks of gold shine in the darkness of her eyes.
“I want to be gentle,” he told her.
She nodded. “Because of your injuries. I promise, I will be so careful with you.”
“No, sweetheart, I want to be gentle because it’s you. But…” He grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it up. He sent that shirt flying and didn’t give a damn about his stitches. “I don’t know if I can be… because it’s you. I want you more than I have ever wanted anything in this world.”
She tossed her shirt aside, too. Her black bra teased and tempted. “Then come take me.”
He was trying to warn her. Tyler knew he was walking on a razor’s edge of desire.
“But if you pop those stitches, I will be very angry with you.” She reached for his hand. Brought it to her mouth. “Very angry.” She nipped his palm.
Lust shot through his body and straight to his already straining dick. He kicked off his shoes and tumbled her back onto the bed. Her hands reached eagerly for him. He kissed her and he tasted his Esme, and he wanted so much more. He wanted to take and take and have her screaming his name.
But the walls in that motel had to be paper thin. And the sounds Esme made?
Mine.
Just as Esme herself was…
Mine.
He yanked the bra away and feasted on her breasts. Those tight nipples drove him into a frenzy. He licked. Sucked. Had his turn to lightly bite with his teeth.
She jolted beneath him. “Tyler!”
“Shh.” A rough order. “Don’t want any bastards next door to hear.”
Her breath panted out.
He licked her nipple again.
“ Ty … ler!”
He loved it when she moaned his name that way.