Naked Vengeance

by Sophia Rae

  For more than a second, he contemplated throwing his good intentions and manners out the window. Why should he deny his body this insatiable woman? Why should he deny her? They were both adults. They both wanted the same thing, so why did he have to act so stupid?

  Because his latest nightmare confirmed his all his fears—his brother had killed Eve’s dad. Now Nick had a new sense of dread. He’d been in this business long enough to know coincidences didn’t exist.

  Roman, or one of his cronies, had been calling Eve. Had left her death threats. Had blown up her car.

  Nick had to keep his lustful emotions a distant second to Eve’s safety. He wouldn’t so much as let her get a hangnail on his watch.

  “See you in the morning,” he whispered to her in the dark.

  Before she could persuade him to stay—which wouldn’t have taken much—Nick headed back down to his lumpy, small, lonely couch. Sleep wasn’t an option for him. He had to figure out a way to cancel this meeting or find a way to go along with her without his brother knowing.

  Shit. After this assignment, if he didn’t die protecting Eve, he’d retire.

  ***

  A glimmer of hope flickered. Allison hadn’t died, and neither had Junior, which meant Roman didn’t know about the phone call. Two days had passed and the young guard had visited her during his shifts. The visits were brief and when they both knew Roman was busy with something else.

  Allison sat on the edge of her bed, brushing her hair. As always, there wasn’t a tangle to be found, but nerves kept the brush sliding through her long, silky strands.

  Just because she hadn’t been found out, didn’t mean she wouldn’t be. Roman had an eerie way of knowing everything that took place on the estate.

  When the locks on the door clicked, Allison glanced to the nightstand—sure enough, the clock showed the time for another sex session with Roman. Disgust and humiliation filled her.

  Roman came through the door, unsmiling. Without a word, he closed the door behind him and pocketed his keys into his designer black dress pants as he made his way toward her…and the bed.

  The deranged look in his eye crushed any hope she’d had only seconds ago. Did he know? Would he kill her now, or make her suffer more?

  “You look lovely this morning,” he said as he extended his hand for her to take.

  Allison dropped her brush onto the comforter, came to her feet and steadied her own hand before she slid it into his. “Thank you.”

  Her white form-fitted tank ended just below her breasts, leaving her whole midsection exposed. The long, yellow sarong skirt sat low on her hips.

  The outfit left absolutely nothing to the imagination, especially considering there wasn’t one piece of underwear in her room.

  “I’ve been given some disturbing news,” he offered as he undid the tie at her waist. The skirt fell instantly to the floor.

  Oh, God. She never should’ve pulled that young boy into this. Was he already dead?

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  Roman’s hands slid up and down her slender hips. “It seems the new girl I want to bring here to join our party isn’t at all what she seems.”

  Their party? Did that mean he wasn’t going to sell her soon?

  “I’ve known for a little while now,” he went on as his hands moved around to grab her ass. “It seems she isn’t really a dancer at all. She only wants to find me.”

  “What are you going to do?” Allison couldn’t help but ask.

  Roman’s exotic blue eyes turned to ice as a grin split across his face. “Oh, I’ll still bring her here. I think she’ll be a nice addition to our fun. I can’t wait to watch the two of you. Together.”

  Allison couldn’t believe what she was hearing. First of all, she couldn’t believe he wasn’t going to sell her or kill her. Yet. Second of all, she couldn’t believe he hadn’t killed this other woman already.

  Why did this woman want to find Roman? Who would purposely seek out this monster?

  Questions whirled around Allison’s mind as Roman freed himself. He pushed her back onto the bed and forced his way into her.

  No foreplay, no moisture to ease the pain. Allison bit her lip to keep from crying out. The grunts in her ear grew faster and louder as his hips pumped.

  Allison knew it was selfish, but she couldn’t wait for another woman to come along. Maybe they could work together to escape. Or better yet…to kill their captor.

  ***

  The first floor didn’t seem so dull and gloomy with the sunlight pouring through the windows, casting a variety of shapes onto the glossy, oak floor. Eve glanced around the spacious room only to find it empty. The bathroom door stood wide open.

  No sign of Nick.

  Eve padded into the kitchen in the hopes she would find a coffee pot. Granted it was nearly two in the afternoon, but it was morning to her and she needed a jump start…especially after last night.

  Within minutes the strong scent of fresh-brewed coffee filled the house. Eve leaned back against the cracked Formica countertop, waiting for the slow drips to make two cups.

  Across the room, Eve spotted Nick out on the front porch. For a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of staring, considering he’d done his fair share of staring last night.

  He’d thrown on a pair of jeans, no shirt and no shoes. Even from this distance, she could see the tight muscles in his back. He leaned one hand against the wood railing, rubbing the back of his neck with the other.

  What had him so tense? Surely the sex didn’t have him worried.

  Had something new happened with the case? Did they have more information on Roman?

  Eve rummaged through the cabinets until she found two mugs. She assumed he took his coffee black, so she didn’t add anything to it.

  Carrying two full mugs and a mountain of nerves, she pushed her butt against the screen door. Nick didn’t even glance up as the door creaked open then slammed shut.

  “I thought you might want some coffee,” she said.

  Still leaning on his hands, Nick eyed her over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

  Eve moved in beside him, setting his mug on the railing. The first sip burned her tongue, but the pain dulled in comparison to her jitters. She nearly laughed aloud at herself. If Grady could see the way her hands shook, he’d never let her live it down. She’d been known as the agent of steel. Nothing ever penetrated her emotionless mask.

  “Heard from Grady?” Eve asked as she looked out onto the small yard surrounded by hundreds of trees.

  Nick’s fingers tightened around the handle of the mug he’d yet to lift to his lips. “I talked to him about an hour ago.”

  Short and to the point. Eve waited for him to elaborate or at least look in her direction. But then it hit her.

  He regretted sleeping with her.

  Shame covered every part of his face. The dead stare, thin lips, clenched jaw. Fine, she was a big girl. She didn’t need to be coddled or fawned over. It would be better all around if they devoted all their energy to finding this madman who killed her father.

  What a shame. She had really enjoyed herself last night. How would she do that with anybody else? She couldn’t imagine being that comfortable with another man.

  “I have a question,” Nick murmured, breaking into her thoughts.

  “What’s that?”

  Finally, he looked over. “Why hadn’t you slept with anybody before last night?”

  Now Eve took her turn and looked away. That was one question she thought she’d covered the night before—and the one question she didn’t want to answer truthfully.

  Eve shrugged and took another scalding sip. “I never wanted to.”

  Picking up his mug, Nick turned and leaned against the railing. His eyes, however, remained on her face.

  “There had to have been someone,” he pushed. “You’re how old? Twenty-eight?”

  “Yeah.”

  “All those adult, not to mention teenage years, and nobody sparked anything i
n you?”

  “So?” Eve hated the defensive tone in her voice. “Just because I didn’t hop into bed with the first guy that I found attractive, that makes me odd?”

  Nick crossed his arms over his bare chest, still holding the steamy mug with one hand. “That’s not what I’m trying to say.”

  She slammed her mug down onto the wooden rail. Coffee sloshed out onto her hand. She must have winced enough from the hot liquid, because Nick cursed, set his own cup down and grabbed her hand.

  “Now, you see what happens when you get all riled up for no reason?”

  She jerked her hand back, rubbing it against the side of her gray boxers. “I’m fine.”

  With a disbelieving look, Nick snatched her hand back and examined the red skin. “You’ve got a burn. Let me go get some ice.”

  “It’s fine,” she insisted again. “Leave it alone.”

  She so wished he would let go of her hand. It was impossible to touch him like this and not want him all over again. But once he knew the truth, all of it, would he still want her?

  Nick sandwiched her hand between his and stepped closer. “You said something last night and I want to know what you meant.”

  “I said a lot of things last night.” She smiled.

  The serious look he gave her faded her smile and filled her with dread. What had she said that made him look at her with both worry and pity? The only thing she remembered was great sex and more great sex. Conversations weren’t really in the forefront of her mind right now.

  “You said something about not wanting a man to touch you before.” Nick’s thumb slid gently over the back of her hand, soothing her burn. “Is there something more to that statement?”

  A confession was on the tip of her tongue. Eve bit it to keep her secret from slipping out. Now that he mentioned it, she vaguely recalled saying something like that. At the time, she’d thought the statement had only been in her mind.

  “Eve?”

  She pasted her grin back on and pulled her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t read into that too much, Nick. I guess I was just trying to explain why I was still a virgin. Nothing more.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t believe you, but if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s up to you. I just want you to know I’d listen.”

  With a tilt of her chin, she forced herself to keep her eyes locked onto his. If they wavered even the slightest bit, he’d know.

  “There’s nothing to tell,” she said.

  Nick looked away first…thank God. He stepped back, rested his thumbs through his belt loops and looked out onto the yard. A shiver of relief rippled through her.

  “When did it happen?” he asked softly.

  Every muscle tensed, every nerve went on alert. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  Yeah, she had, she just didn’t have an answer. “I don’t want to have this discussion, Nick. Just let it go.”

  “You haven’t talked about it ever, have you?” he pushed.

  “Dammit, Nick!” Eve forced her way past him and went back into the house, allowing the screen door to shut with a bang behind her.

  She really had no idea what to do now that she’d made such a dramatic exit, especially since Nick followed right on her heels, so she opted to go into the kitchen to clean the coffee pot.

  Seeing as how she lived her daily life as a slob, Nick probably figured her actions were guided by nerves. She didn’t care what he thought right now.

  While she waited for the water to heat, she dumped the remaining coffee down the sink. Even though Nick said nothing, his looming presence irritated her more than words.

  He just had to keep pushing. Maybe if she told him what he so desperately wanted to hear, he’d finally shut up.

  “I didn’t want to make you mad, Eve.”

  She turned off the water. The warm coffee pot sizzled as she dunked it and when her new burn came in contact with the warm water, she nearly yelped.

  Doing her best to ignore Nick, she searched through drawers looking for a dishrag. The jerk simply stood, leaning against the small counter that separated the kitchen from the living room.

  “I just think you’d feel better if you talked about it,” he said.

  “I’d feel better if you’d shut the hell up and quit asking me questions about my past that have nothing to do with you.”

  Not a word came out of his mouth while she washed and rinsed the pot, dried it, and put it back in the cabinet. Unfortunately, she didn’t figure he was finished with this particular topic.

  “I’m going to call Grady,” she told him as she left the room and headed for the steps.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to,” she yelled without looking back.

  It took all her effort not to stomp up the steps, and Nick more than surprised her when he didn’t follow.

  At the top of the stairs, Eve froze. Memories of the night before came flooding back the second her eyes landed on the red leather on the floor. She could never wear that on stage, especially not while Nick loomed in the back of the club. Even though the outfit was trashy, in her opinion, the scraps of leather held more sentimental value than she cared to admit.

  Ignoring the mixture of hurt and regret, Eve grabbed her bag off the floor and dug out her cell phone. The ID screen on the front showed she had one new message.

  She wasn’t foolish enough to wonder who would be on the other end when she answered. She already knew.

  After listening to the ten-second message, not only did she worry about her own safety, she worried for Nick’s. It would probably not be a bad idea to come clean to him about her true identity.

  If he knew she worked for Grady—okay, maybe not right now—they could come up with a plan to catch this bastard. She hated acting like she needed protection. Even more so, she hated that she actually did need Nick—in more ways than one.

  Eve punched Grady’s number and waited for him to pick up. She paced the small room, making a U-shape with her path from one side of bed to the other.

  “Yeah,” he answered.

  “It’s me.”

  “Something happen? I just talked to Nick a while ago.”

  “I think maybe I should tell him,” Eve blurted out.

  “Tell him that you’re a fed? Probably not a bad idea,” Grady said. “But are you sure?”

  “No,” she admitted, stepping over a pair of tennis shoes. “I’m not. But I think if he knew the truth, we could work together and come up with some sort of plan. As it is, he’s exerting the majority of his energy into my safety.”

  Grady’s silence always made her grin. She could easily picture him leaning forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his desk calendar while rubbing his forehead. Stress seemed to be Grady’s best friend.

  “Do what you think is right, but keep me informed. I don’t like being the last to know things.”

  “I’ll tell him today,” she promised. “I should probably let you know I just received a voice mail on my cell from the psycho.”

  “And?”

  Eve sank onto the edge of her bed and examined her feet. Wouldn’t hurt to throw a coat of polish on them before her shift tonight; unfortunately, she hadn’t packed any.

  Oh well, it wasn’t as if the men would be looking at her toes. Her greatest asset was a little more to the north.

  “Just another threat,” she said.

  “Eve,” Grady warned. “I know from that tone there’s more to it. I’ve known you since well before you went to Quantico, so don’t try to hide anything from me.”

  She sighed as she fell back onto the mattress. “He threatened Nick, too.”

  “What did he say? Exactly.”

  Eve closed her eyes, recalling the chilling words. “He said, ‘You can’t hide for too long, Eve. I’ll find you and when I do, the end will come for both of you.’”

  “You didn’t delete it, did you?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Good. So far we ha
ven’t been able to trace where these calls are coming from, but we’re going to keep trying. I think it would be best if I came down there.”

  Eve shot up. “Sir, I don’t really think that’s necessary.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’ve got it under control for now and I’ve never known you to take any time off.”

  Grady laughed. “Well, Eve, when one of my own is in trouble—not to mention, Nick is one of my best friends—I think I can make an exception.”

  Even though he’d suspended her, he still referred to her as one of his own. The decision to give her a leave of absence hadn’t been an easy one for him, she knew.

  “You really think this is going to get worse, don’t you?” Eve whispered.

  Just as the question came out of her mouth, Nick came up the steps. He leaned against the wall and stared at her. Instead of concentrating on his still-bare chest—which was what she really wanted to do—she tuned back in to what Grady said.

  “I don’t want to take any chances with you or Nick. When all this is over, I want you back in the field immediately.”

  Hearing Grady say he wanted her back made her smile widen. “I can’t wait.”

  Nick’s eye’s narrowed for only a second, enough for Eve to wonder what had brought on his sudden bad mood.

  “I’ll try to wrap things up here in the next day or two,” Grady went on to say. “I’ll be in touch, but if anything else happens, you call me.”

  “Will do. Bye, Grady.”

  Eve snapped her phone shut, tossed it on the bed beside her and leaned back on her hands. “Is there something you needed?”

  In an instant, Nick’s face went from suspicious to cocky. He quirked a brow and grinned at her. “I always need something. But first I want to know what you and Grady talked about.”

  “Nothing much. I just wanted to check in.”

  “I already told you I did that this morning.”

  Eve sat back up and came to her feet. She felt an argument on the rise. “So you said earlier, but I wanted to talk with him myself.”