“Relax,” he said, and I glanced up to meet his knowing gaze. “I’m not gonna throw you over my shoulder and haul you off to the nearest bed, Leah.”
“Why not?” Eli asked from across the room.
“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Remi barked.
God, I needed to get out of here before the blushes consumed me and all that was left was a pile of ash.
“Come on,” Remi said, taking my elbow. I couldn’t help but notice that his first couple of steps were stiff, awkward. Guilt spiked again. “We’re out,” he called as he escorted me to the elevator.
I resisted. “But shouldn’t we—”
“No worries, sweetheart,” Eli said over his shoulder, ignoring Remi’s muttering at the endearment. “Everything is pretty much on automatic right now, but I’m still digging. If I find anything else, you’ll be the first to know.”
I looked to Remi, who nodded. I let him pull me into the elevator. Remi hit the button for the third floor.
I cleared my throat.
The door slid open.
Remi glanced at the thick black watch on his wrist as we exited. “I have something I need to take care of. You’ll be all right for a few hours? Eli will make sure you’re kept informed.”
Disappointment stirred in my stomach.
“Eli will, but what about you?” I asked. “I want my phone.” I needed that connection to Brooke, however nebulous.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
All those lovely endorphins did a rapid disappearing act. “It doesn’t matter what you think, Remi. I want my phone.”
“Lea—”
“Don’t!” I planted my hands on my hips. “If you can’t trust that I’m going to stay put, that I recognize you are my best bet of getting my daughter back, then...” Honestly, I didn’t know what. All I knew was I needed this.
“It’s not about trusting you,” he said.
“Yes, it is. Either you think I’ll stay, or you think I’ll run.” And whatever happened downstairs meant nothing. Was that what he was telling himself? Because after those moments in his arms, I could no longer deny what I knew was the truth—there was something between us. Where it would lead? Who the hell knew.
Remi stared at me for so long I thought he’d flat-out refuse. Until his hand slid into his pocket and he drew out my phone.
“Come find one of us if anything happens, got it? My number is programmed into your phone. Call immediately,” he said.
I grasped the only lifeline I had to my daughter. “Immediately,” I agreed.
Remi nodded. He turned, hesitated, turned back. “I won’t be gone long.”
The reassurance settled something uncertain inside me. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He disappeared into his room.
Too restless to be confined to my bedroom again, I wandered downstairs. My mind raced, wondering how I’d fill hours of waiting, of doing nothing while Brooke was somewhere out there, missing me, wishing she was home. The longing to see her, hold her and know she was safe was killing me.
Yes, even when I had been in Remi’s arms, she hadn’t been far from my thoughts.
Except there at the end.
Well, yeah. I rolled my eyes at myself. I wasn’t one of those moms who thought I couldn’t have something for myself apart from my daughter; I was too practical for that. The nurse in me, probably. I just never had, but that was more lack of desire than anything else. Still, I couldn’t deny the hint of guilt knowing Brooke was alone and I had...what? Taken comfort from Remi? Relief? I didn’t know what to call it, and right now I didn’t care.
I reached the foyer just as Abby entered from the direction of the kitchen. She shot me an understanding glance. “Restless?”
Abby, probably more than anyone, understood my position, I was sure. “Limbo sucks.”
“To put it mildly.” She gestured toward the front door. “I have just the distraction.”
The massive door opened smoothly to Abby’s touch. I followed her outside as a black Expedition with darkly tinted windows pulled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. The driver’s side door opened, and a man I could only describe as a Viking stepped out. Tall, blonde, muscular. A bit more polished than his Nordic ancestors, but it only took one look into those piercing blue eyes to see the warrior the business suit he wore did a lousy job of hiding.
The man rounded the vehicle and opened the passenger door for a petite woman who exited slowly, carefully, her long, dark hair hiding her face. Abby squealed and rushed toward her. The Viking’s eyes narrowed, his mouth tensing. Just before he jumped in front of her, Abby slowed, coming up against the woman gently for a hug.
“Charlotte.” She stepped back, eyeing the woman. “How are you? Healing okay?”
I couldn’t hear the woman’s response; her voice was soft, almost as gentle as the hug Abby had given her. What wasn’t gentle was the Viking’s searing gaze as it transferred from Abby and the woman to me where I stood at the top of the stairs. I didn’t miss the step closer to his charge, the way his arm came up to pull her close, shelter her against his side.
Either the man was in the same business as Remi and his brothers, or something very close. That eagle look in his eyes, the body built like a brick wall—he had dangerous written all over him.
Abby moved to Charlotte’s other side, gesturing the couple up the steps. “Leah.” A bright smile lit her face. “Let me introduce you to my good friend, Charlotte Alexander. Charlotte, our...houseguest, Leah Marrone.”
Nice save. I moved to shake the woman’s extended hand, keeping a sharp eye on the Viking’s tense muscles. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you, Leah,” Charlotte said, her voice both formal and warm at the same time. “This is my fiancé, King Moncrief.”
A large hand with long, elegant fingers came my way.
“Of course,” I said, shaking the man’s hand. “It had to be either Viking or royalty; I wasn’t sure which.”
One side of King’s mouth turned up. Charlotte’s rich laugh pealed out between us.
“She does have you pegged,” Abby said, smirking. “You have to admit.”
“I admit nothing,” the blond god said, eyes lightening with amusement. He gathered Charlotte close once more and urged her toward the door. “Where is your other half?”
“Right here.” Levi was descending the staircase as we entered the house. I’d never seen the man in person in anything but T-shirts and fatigues, but now—holy cow. The suit he wore fit him like it had been molded to his body, the fabric smoothing over his muscles like silk. But if he looked delicious, the man descending behind him was a gourmet meal ten times over. Remi was taller and broader than his brother, and the navy-blue fabric of his suit set off his coloring to perfection, somehow soothing his ragged edges while enhancing the power his big body naturally projected. Where Levi wore a silk tie, Remi had left his white dress shirt open at the throat, the vee of darker skin making me want to bury my face there and taste the rough texture, nip at the hard edges of his collarbone.
I squeezed my thighs together as unobtrusively as I could. Remi’s eyebrow arched, and I knew he’d caught the gesture.
Beautiful bastard.
“We won’t be gone long,” Levi was telling Abby when I was finally able to notice anything but Remi. “Eli’s downstairs.”
“I expect you to rest,” King said to Charlotte. “And call me if you need anything.”
Charlotte cupped his face, her look indulgent. “I won’t lift a finger, promise.”
“I won’t let her,” Abby chimed in.
“Better not,” the Viking growled before leaning down to give his fiancée a kiss that sent a blush burning across my cheeks.
Levi nudged Abby back from the crowd, his broad shoulders blocking any view of his goodbye to her. That left Remi and me standing awkwardly alone. Did the other couples’ open affection make him as uncomfortable as it did me? Would he march out the door without a goodbye?
Di
d I want him to?
Remi moved into my space until I couldn’t see anyone but him. “A couple of hours. If you hear anything, have Eli call me. Promise.”
Not a question, a demand. And yet it soothed me instead of irritating me. Remi was as concerned about Brooke as I was.
“Promise,” I said.
Without warning Remi reached up to grasp my chin, holding me steady for a quick, hard kiss. “Back soon,” he muttered, and then he was gone, leaving me standing in the middle of the foyer with a stuttering heart and confusion clouding my brain.
Chapter Thirteen
Leah —
Abby brought tea to a room at the back of the house that I hadn’t seen yet, a library. The long, soft couch was the perfect place for Charlotte to put her feet up. I helped her settle while Abby set up the refreshments.
“Do you mind me asking about your injury?” I gave her midriff a nod. “I’m a nurse.”
Charlotte gave me the soft smile that I was quickly coming to associate with her. “Knowing that might’ve made King easier about leaving me.”
“He’s as territorial as Levi,” Abby put in.
“Especially now. I was shot,” she explained as casually as if she were discussing an ice cream sundae.
My gaze jumped to Abby’s, my heart speeding up at the thought of this tiny woman in front of a gun. I’d thought King was dangerous; had he brought a threat into Charlotte’s life? Was he more like Levi than I’d thought?
Seeming to sense my rising anger—and its focus—Abby stepped in quickly to place a pillow behind her friend’s back. “Charlotte’s fiancé works for JCL Securities, the largest security firm in the nation,” she said.
Oddly enough, I’d actually heard of them. A few years ago one of the founding partner’s girlfriends had been stalked by a psycho ex and then kidnapped. They’d later discovered the man was a serial murderer. The whole episode had made headlines.
So King was a legit killer instead of a criminal one?
“This had nothing to do with King’s job, though,” Charlotte was saying.
“So how did it happen?”
Charlotte waved her hand as if the how didn’t matter, although the lurking shadows in her eyes said differently. “It’s a really long story. What gets me is that King took the same bullet—I was standing in front of him—and he barely acts like he’s hurt. I think he’s just faking it.”
No doubt his injuries, based on his body weight and the fact that he’d gotten a less severe impact, weren’t as extensive as Charlotte’s. I’d seen plenty of gunshot wounds in my time and knew how much damage they could do to such a petite body.
“A man like him wouldn’t want to admit a weakness.”
“See?” Abby passed Charlotte a teacup. “I told you. Even Leah knows, these badass men want us to believe they are invincible.”
A memory of Angelo the last time I saw him, moments before his death, flashed in my mind. “No one is invincible.”
“That’s what I told him,” Charlotte complained. “It managed to keep him home with me for the first couple of weeks, but now...”
“I doubt it was anything you said,” I told her, a smirk tugging at my lips. I might not know King personally, but I knew his type. “He just didn’t want you out of his sight.”
“Right?” Abby handed my tea across, gesturing to a nearby seat. “All it takes is one gun in your face or your house burning down, and the next thing you know, they go all Neanderthal on your ass.”
Outrage mixed with indulgence on Charlotte’s and Abby’s faces, telling me they didn’t mind as much as they might let on.
“I think the light duty is getting on his nerves,” Charlotte said after a sip of her drink. “He’s ready to get back to his team. He volunteered to help get this new team installed at Hacr, but as much as he doesn’t mind administration, he wants off desk duty and back in action.”
Abby was nodding as if she completely understood. No doubt she did. I couldn’t see Levi being content with “desk duty.” Those few days when Remi had been unconscious, Levi had been like a bear with a sore paw tied to a telephone pole. Any action was better than waiting.
Exactly how I felt right now.
“So how do you know each other?” I asked, sitting back in my seat. This felt good. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sat around and chatted with other women outside of work. Hospitals were the biggest gossip rings around, but who was sleeping with whom and who was about to get themselves fired didn’t exactly interest me. I’d been too focused on Brooke and—
You should be focused on her now too.
The guilt hit me broadside, followed by a frustration chaser. For a few moments I’d forgotten how helpless I was in this situation.
“We’ve known each other for years,” Abby was saying. “But we really only connected recently.”
The shadows reappeared in Charlotte’s eyes. “The price of being raised in wealthy, influential families. Nothing seems to matter but them.” She flashed a bright smile Abby’s way. “But we made it despite them, didn’t we?”
“We did.”
Abby had been forced to shoot her father shortly after I’d been released. He’d tried to kill her, the official story said, after she discovered evidence that he’d had her birth mother murdered. With family like that, maybe being with Levi didn’t seem all that foreign to her. The man might be a killer, but no one could deny the authenticity of his feelings for Abby.
Knowing Abby’s history made me all the more curious about Charlotte’s story.
“So, Leah, what about you?” Charlotte asked.
I shook away my thoughts. “What about me?”
Abby smirked, a knowing look in her eyes. “That was a very interesting goodbye Remi gave you earlier.”
I choked on the swallow of tea I’d just taken.
“Remi, huh?” Charlotte grinned. “He’s a handsome one.”
“Handsome.” Abby nodded. “And big.” One eyebrow arched.
You have no idea. The visceral memory of him between my legs, of exactly how big he was, sent heat rushing to places I really didn’t want to think about right now.
“Look at that blush!” Abby threw back her head, her laughter filling the room. “We must know all!”
“Dish, girl,” Charlotte said teasingly.
“I—” Oh boy. I didn’t want to talk about this. “There’s nothing between me and Remi.”
“That’s not what Eli told me,” Abby said.
I groaned. Charlotte snorted. “He gossips more than a gaggle of women in a hair salon.”
I dropped my head into my hands. I didn’t even want to know...
“You know, if you don’t tell details,” Charlotte said, “that just means we get to speculate more.”
“And isn’t that fun?” Abby laughed.
Oh hell.
I peeked up from my hand, then straightened, giving them both a little smile. “I’m just...uh...” I shook my head. Did I really want to admit this out loud? “I don’t think Remi and I are the best idea,” I said, throwing Abby a significant look. She of all people should understand why I felt that way.
A sympathetic look said she did.
Charlotte was nodding too. “I thought that for a long time with King.” She eased forward to settle her cup on the low table between us, then eased back to the cushions with a sigh. “Stupid gunshot,” she muttered, voice husky with pain. “We go way back, King and I. But for the longest time I thought we weren’t good for each other. Or he thought we weren’t.” She shrugged carefully. “Sometimes what you thought you wanted is what kept you dead inside all along. Only taking a chance can change that. It was a lesson we had to learn together.”
I stared into my now lukewarm tea as Charlotte’s words sank into my heart. Was that really what this was? A chance to come alive? I’d been trudging along for so many years, treading water, Brooke the only real light in my life. Earlier, in Remi’s arms, I’d felt more alive than I had since Angelo’s death.
But was it worth it? When this was over, Remi would be gone. Did I want to feel alive now, only to go back to feeling numb? If I was lucky. Men like Angelo and Remi brought just as much pain as joy into your life. After Angelo had been killed, I’d wanted to die with him. Only the child growing inside me had kept me going. And now...
Thoughts whirled in my head as Abby and Charlotte moved on to talk about an upcoming charity event. It was a bit surreal, hearing them discuss thousand-dollar-a-plate dinners when, just downstairs, an assassins’ lair waited. Upstairs was civility; downstairs was danger, which only underscored the conflict in my own mind.
A conflict that got shoved aside when the phone in my pocket buzzed.
I jumped a good foot, like someone had goosed me in the ass. Abby frowned my way.
“I have to—” I fumbled the phone out of my jeans. “Please excuse me.” A glance told me the caller was a fellow nurse from work, Meredith. “I’ll be right back.”
Hurrying from the room, I put the phone to my ear. “Hey, Meredith.”
“Hello, my dear.” The cultured greeting was typical of Meredith. An older nurse with a vast reserve of both knowledge and patience, she never lost her manners, her compassion, or her calm.
So why did she sound on the verge of frazzled?
“Is everything all right?” I asked carefully. It wasn’t unusual for us to chat at lunch or call each other on an off day, but her voice...
No, this wasn’t a casual phone call.
“Honestly, no. Or rather, I’m not sure. It could be nothing...”
“It’s all right.” Just tell me! “What’s up?”
“Your locker here at work was broken into.”
My feet were already rushing for the elevator. “My locker?”
“Yes.” The sound of people talking came and went. “I was getting off shift, and as I went to leave, I noticed the bolt was broken on your lock. Security hasn’t found anything, and I can’t tell if anything is missing.”
Likely nothing since I never kept more than a change of clothes in there when I wasn’t on duty.
“I was hoping you could come in, check the contents?”
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