by Denise McGee
It quickly turned into something more.
Her mouth parted and her tongue teased my lower lip. I groaned and pulled her closer, unintentionally pulling her off balance. Her hands scrabbled for stability - nearly grabbing my injured wing - before realizing my good arm was holding her steady against my chest. She started to laugh, looking up at my face.
I grinned down at her, "Well, that just happened.”
She laughed louder as she disentangled herself from me. "Yes, yes it did." She grinned up at me through shy eyelashes and wound her fingers through mine as we walked towards the waiting vehicle. I'd been wrong, it wasn't a van it was a Ford Flex. "Kyle and Nicki are waiting for us. She was released an hour ago so we ran and picked up her meds."
"I expected you to be holed up in your hotel room. You ok?" I asked. She shrugged as we crawled into the surprisingly roomy back seat. I didn't push it. I was just glad to see her.
"Nice car," I said instead. "One of yours, Kyle?" Kyle had won the lottery a year ago. I was one of the few that knew about it.
"Yeah, you like? I almost got the one with the cooler between the back seats." He glanced into the rearview mirror and noted Laurel and I were sitting thigh-to-thigh. "Bet you're glad I didn't."
I grinned at the mirror and tucked Laurel against my side. "Home Jeeves. I need a shower badly. Poor Laurel's suffocating from the stench back here." I could feel the eye roll against my shoulder but she didn't argue. I really must stink.
"No home for you, especially after that very public display you and Laurel just put on. You're going into a safe house with Laurel and Nicki." I made a face but didn't argue. Being in protection would be boring but it had the benefit of enforced time with Laurel.
"I see we're keeping a low profile in this nice new nondescript vehicle as we go into hiding."
Kyle laughed. "Have you looked out the windows?"
I turned my head to look and my mouth dropped open a little. Every fifth car was a Flex. How the hell...
"What'd you do, Kyle? Buy a dealership?"
He flicked a glance at Nicole. She'd not said a word since I'd gotten in the car. Kyle glared at me in the mirror. "On my salary?" He mocked. "Nah, it's a promotional thing Ford's doing. Test drive a Flex."
"Clever." I wondered how much it'd cost him to arrange it.
"I still don't see why I have to go into hiding," Nicole burst out, almost – but not quite – looking at Kyle Dean. "No one's after me and I can recover just as well at home."
"I told you, Nic. The guy that stabbed you ain't gonna sit around while you could potentially identify him." The patience of the ancients was in his voice. They'd been arguing about this for a while now.
"Where the hell are we going, anyway?" I asked, stopping further argument. I really had no clue, we hadn't gone anywhere near any of the 'approved' hideaways.
"We're here," Kyle said.
"This is your place." I thought about it. His house easily had the best security system in town and no one would suspect we'd be here. "Good choice."
"You live here?" Astonishment colored Nicole's voice. She cast a sidelong confused look his direction. I understood. Kyle's house was a beautiful old Victorian mansion with a high-walled fence surrounding the property. It boasted a gatehouse – currently unmanned – and a vast yard that was landscaped to perfection. There was the sound of multiple waterfalls and I knew there was even a hidden grotto or two. The property looked like what it was. A multimillionaire's home.
"Yes." Kyle's answer was short, almost clipped, as he exited from the car and headed into the house.
Nicole exchanged a look with Laurel before leaving us alone in the car and bolting after Kyle.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Questions
LAUREL
We watched Nicki chase after Kyle, but neither of us moved. I was content to sit there for a bit no matter what Aa-ron smelled like. He seemed to feel the same.
"This isn't normal for me, you know," he said, breaking our comfortable silence.
"What? Sitting in a car with a girl?"
"Not really, no. Well, generally when I do they're in hand-cuffs."
"Kinky."
"Seriously, though. I don't get emotionally involved with someone this soon."
I went still. Was he saying what I think? I suddenly felt like I was crawling through a minefield and one wrong word would ruin everything.
"Are you saying you're emotionally involved with me?" I felt scared, filled with anticipation, hopeful, doubtful and completely unsure of where we were going with this conversation. I watched him with eyes that felt too large.
"You know I am. Lying in the hospital while all this horrible stuff kept happening around you nearly drove me out of my mind."
I nodded but felt a twist of fear in the region of my heart. My mouth dried out and I could barely force out the question that had to be asked. "You don't think you focused on me to take your mind off the pain and your boredom?" I held up my hand to stop his automatic protest. "I want you to think about it before you answer. You're an active man, Aaron, and enforced inactivity has to drive you crazy under normal circumstances. And we're under extraordinary. I just want you to be sure of what you're feeling before you say any more. I’m enjoying this." I indicated our closeness. “But if there isn’t anything more to it, then that’s ok.”
He sat there, not speaking. A muscle clenched in his jaw as he stared the direction Nicki and Kyle had gone. I held my breath, waiting for him to say something. Anything.
"Well, obviously you don’t feel the same. I'm sorry if my outburst caused you discomfort. It won't happen again." He slipped awkwardly out the door and took long strides towards the house. I stared after him in shocked disbelief as he left me alone in the car.
"For a writer, Laurel, you sure are horrible with words sometimes," I told myself. Disconcerted, I made my way to the house.
***
"....you left her out there by herself," Nicole was saying over her shoulder as I walked through the door. She halted her march on the door when I appeared, a look of relief flowing across her features. My anxious eyes sought Aaron's face. There was a glimmer of what might have been relief in his eyes before he turned away from me, teeth set and a vein pulsing in his temple. I bit my lip as I blinked back tears.
Nicole looked from Aaron's averted face to my strained one. "Would either of you like to explain what's going on?"
I shrugged at her, the words not coming.
"I think it's better that I don't say anything. It might be offensive to some." He bit the words off.
"Aaron..."
Kyle came back from wherever he'd been hiding and cut off whatever I'd been about to say. He quirked an eyebrow at Nicki as he caught the tension in the room. She made an 'I have no clue' face. He shrugged.
"Aaron, dude, you stink. There's a shower at the end of this hall or you can use the one in your room. Whichever one you like. There are sweats and tees at both."
"This one is fine." Aaron set off down the hall without a backward look at me. I tried to not feel hurt but failed miserably. I felt like crying for a week.
Instead, I took a deep breath, looked at Kyle and asked, "Where did you say my room was?"
"Up the stairs, third door on the right." He shot a glowering glance my way. "There's an interconnecting door but it locks from both sides and I'll be sure to tell Aaron so."
I gave a laugh that sounded unconvincing even to my ears and clumped up the stairs. His words had tasted of suspicion. That rubbed my already raw senses more than I would have expected. I hadn't spent much time with Kyle Dean but I'd liked what I'd seen and thought he and Nicki would – eventually – make a pair of it.
As I turned the corner to go down the hall I heard his voice floating down the hallway behind me, "Don't leave the house, Laurel."
Oddly, this admonition steadied me. I'm not an idiot. I knew not to leave without an escort, but his tossing this advice at me, when Aaron had already deserted me in the driveway, s
truck me as ludicrous.
So I yelled back as I stood outside my room, "It's a bit late to worry about my being alone outside, isn't it?"
There was a muffled, "What does that mean?" followed by Nicki's voice. She spoke too low for me to hear her words but I was sure she was filling Kyle in on Aaron's transgression.
I opened the door on a large room that was Victorian in flavor but not overblown or crowded. So many Victorian decorators seem to think rooms should look like early versions of Hoarders but this was tastefully understated. Kyle Dean was definitely an enigma.
There were a couple of bags lying on the bed. I was glad to see my suitcase from the hotel had made it. The other bag was a mystery, however. I didn't recognize it at all. Had I gotten someone else's things by mistake? I tried to not think of them as filled with Aaron's things.
I was making my way around to that side of the bed when there was a knock at the door and Nicki said, "Lo? It's me."
"Come in," I said and changed direction to the cute seating area in the corner. There were two comfy chairs separated by a low table. A decanter and some glasses were arranged on a silver tray on the table. My head was starting to pound and I really wanted a drink just then.
"So what happened?" Nicki asked, seating herself in the other chair and picking up the glass I poured for her.
I threw up my hands, sloshing my drink over my wrist. "He's not the type of guy to sit still, Nicki. And for the last several days he's sat in a hospital bed and stewed over things he couldn't take part in. I merely wanted to know if maybe he fixated on me because all this stuff is happening to me."
"Oh, Lo. You are such an idiot."
"What?"
"Look, I know you and Nathan didn't have much of a relationship but that's no reason to push Aaron away. He's a great guy. You could do so much worse."
"You think I don't know that? Everything I've seen of him only confirms my first impression. He's smart, sensitive, has a great sense of humor and is dead sexy. I couldn't have written a better hero for me."
"Then what's the problem?" I didn’t like the smile she was giving me but continued.
"I'm afraid it's the situation and not me he's infatuated with. I'm just this dorky writer. I hole up in my room and dream about adventures. I don't have them. And he's a guy whose life is an adventure. He's getting a false idea of what me and my life are normally like." I took another drink, feeling the liquid burn a trail down my throat. I had no idea what it was but I liked the warm sensation it was brewing in my midsection. "Sooner or later he's going to realize I'm nothing special and then he'll leave me." I stared intently at the now empty glass in my lap.
"Oh, honey. You've got it bad. But you're still an idiot." My head shot up and I gave her an indignant look. "Don't glare at me like that. It's true. Now you listen to me. I've known Aaron for a very long time and I have never seen him like he is around you. Never. And I've seen him with lots of different women."
"But what if..." She stopped me with a look.
"You can 'what if' until the cows come home but you'll never know unless you take a chance."
I nodded, still feeling uncertain. We sat in silence for a few moments until the bags on the bed caught my eye.
"Are either of those yours?" She gave me a look. I was changing the subject and I gave her a 'please roll with it' grimace.
"Nope, Kyle said to tell you that he'd sent out for some things for you. He thought you'd be pretty tired of your current wardrobe by now. Especially since we never did get your clothes from your house."
"Gotta love a guy with an eye toward details like that," I said with genuine appreciation, moving towards the bed once again.
"Yes." Nicki's voice was dry as the Sahara as she watched me dive into the goodies contained in the new suitcase.
I took a peek at her from behind the safety of the suitcase lid, my hair falling forward to help conceal my glance. She was looking pensively at the glass in her hand.
“Speaking of good guys,” I said.
“Uh-uh.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated and there’s too much else to deal with right now, she said with that tone that I knew meant she wouldn’t talk about it anymore.
I gave her a contemplative look as I reached into a pocket and encountered what felt like a Hallmark card. I pulled it out and burst out laughing.
Nicki was startled out of her funk and as she took in the object in my hand her lips quirked. "I guess he thought some things were a little too personal."
The card was a gift certificate for Victoria's Secret. "$1000? How much underwear does he think I'll need while here?"
"A thousand? Really?" She got up and joined me at the side of the bed. She turned troubled eyes to mine. "Where's he getting all this money, Lo? Cops don't make this much and I know his parents weren't rich. This house, everything. It’s too much."
"Well, you know him better than I do, since I don’t know him at all. What do you think is going on?"
She opened and closed her mouth several times before taking a deep breath and saying, "Everything in me screams there's no way he's dirty. But my head still wants to know about the money."
I nodded then I walked to the door and pulled it open. "Let's go find out."
Nicole and I wandered around Kyle Dean's vast house for a while before we finally tracked the guys to a patio in the backyard by following the clinking sound of their bottles.
"What happened to not going outside?" I asked as Nicki and I walked onto the stone courtyard. The area was an immense entertainment space nestled between two wings of the house. It had a vaulted roof with several skylights and terrific views of the gorgeous grounds.
I gravitated over to Aaron, who was sitting on an outdoor couch, his arm propped up on a pillow. As I sat down beside him, he looked down at me. I gave him an uncertain smile, my heart in my mouth, glad he was at least looking at me now. He gave me a reassuring smile and put his good arm around my shoulders. My heart started beating again and I gave a great sigh of relief. He'd gotten his shower and smelled wonderful. I snuggled into his chest.
"It really only applies to the front yard." He shot a glare at Aaron and continued. "Obviously stay within the fence and within eyeshot of the house at all times. It was easier to just yell 'don't go out' instead of trying to go into specifics." Kyle's tone was light but unyielding.
"Well, I have no plans to go anywhere, so we're good."
"Details, darlin'. This way there's no mistakes."
"Yeah, I noticed you were detailed-oriented when I found the Victoria's Secret gift card. A thousand dollars? How much underwear do you think I need, Kyle?"
Beside me, Aaron choked on the swig of beer he'd just taken. "What did you just say?"
I grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Not much. Just commenting on something Kyle left in my room."
"Kyle?" There was a wealth of undertones in that simple name. Uppermost was amusement, though.
Kyle Dean shifted a little. Not much, but enough that I noticed. "They have more than just underthings you know. I just wanted to be sure you had enough...clothing...to be comfortable while here."
"And just how do you know what Victoria's Secret carries, Kyle?" asked Nicole in her light husky voice.
He grinned at her, not willing to be baited further, "I'm a man of many talents. You should see what's been left in your room."
Nicki flushed, then paled, then flushed again, harder than before. He gave her a wicked grin and turned back to where Aaron and I were watching the byplay with interest. At least, I thought we were both watching, but when I glanced at Aaron he was watching me instead.
"What?" I asked.
He smiled lazily, "When you pick out your...garments" with a sidelong look at Kyle "I want to be there to help."
I laughed, thrilled he was willing to ignore our conversation in the car for now and pick up where we'd been going. "You'll be disappointed. I only wear highwaisted granny panties and sports bras," I lied.
"As long as they're blue, that's ok. It's my favorite color." I punched him lightly in the stomach. It was like hitting a moss-covered rock. I poked at the spot with the tip of a finger then massaged the area with the rest of my fingertips. He was very muscular. A strangled laugh from Kyle made me realize what I'd been doing. I would have pulled my hand way but Aaron covered my fingers with his bandaged arm, capturing them against his abs.
"You're supposed to keep that arm elevated," I said absently, caught by the expression in his eyes.
"Ok," he said and lifted it to the back of my neck. He drew my head forward and rested his cheek on the top of my head.
I sighed and snuggled a little closer. His free hand made little patterns up and down my back and I drew comfort from his embrace. It'd been a very long time since Nathan and I had done more than chat casually over breakfast. I had missed physical contact more than I imagined. It didn't hurt that he was everything I could want in a man and I was already more than half in love with him.
I looked up and saw Kyle watching us, an enigmatic look on his face. I wondered what he was thinking, but before I could more than part my lips, Nicki found her voice again.
"How much property do you have here, Kyle?" I could tell she was still thinking about the money. She'd been so deep in thought I don't think she even noticed Aaron and me.
"This is a three-acre lot. You worried about security?"
"A little." She looked around the beautifully lush grounds. "There's an awful lot of vegetation. It could make a great cover."
"The grounds are wired with cameras and other fun gadgets. It's more secure than any safe house we've got. In a couple hours I've got a team arriving with dogs to patrol the perimeter." He looked apologetically at Aaron. "I couldn't get them here any earlier. The gate is manned now, though, so that's no longer an issue."
"And where did you get all the money for this, Kyle? I know it's not in the precinct budget for manpower like that."
