Barefoot With a Bodyguard (Barefoot Bay Undercover) (Volume 1)

by Roxanne St Claire

  “I have one.” He rooted on the floor for his jeans to get the wallet from his back pocket. “Nino took my ID and credit cards, but left the important stuff.”

  “I wonder if he thought you’d need one.”

  He grinned around the packet between his teeth. “Nino’s a pretty smart old guy.”

  Her eyes popped as the foil ripped. “Do you think Gabe set this up and planned, you know, us?”

  He pulled out the rubber disk and slid it over his shaft, loving that she reached to help him. “If he did, he shouldn’t send me to fucking Costa Rica tomorrow.” The words came out gruff, mostly because he didn’t want to talk. Not about that. Not about anything.

  But she lifted her hands and cupped his face as he got into position on top of her, forcing their gazes on each other. “We’ll work it out tomorrow. Let’s just…”

  “Yeah. Let’s.” The words got lost in the next breath, a gasp of pleasure as he slid into her.

  He kissed her forehead and her cheek, then pressed his lips against her ear as he eased in with a ridiculous amount of control, considering how his body was screaming to plunge all the way.

  She was so hot and tight, a perfect pocket, warm and wet, whispering his name between each strangled breath. He kissed her ear and held her so close she was almost as inside of him as he was in her.

  They belonged together. The thought slammed his head with as much shock as her body slammed his other head. They belonged together, no matter what. Was that possible? Would she…

  “Kate,” he murmured, his mouth barely working as ecstasy took over. “Come with me, baby. Come with me.”

  “Not yet.” She bit the words.

  And somewhere in the fog of his sexed-up brain, he realized she’d taken that the wrong way, and this was no time to tell her. He gave in and thrust all the way, calling out as the pleasure whipped through him.

  She dug her fingers into his shoulders, and he just squeezed his eyes closed because everything was hazy and hot and unfocused as she rocked with him.

  He found a rhythm that felt like heaven, all the way in and out and in again, pushing her closer and closer to the edge, forgetting everything.

  Only one thought with each stroke. One thought. She was his. In and out, harder and faster, more and more. She was his. She was his.

  This beautiful, brilliant woman who didn’t want to belong to anyone. She…was…his.

  He rose higher, as deep into her as he could be, heat bouncing between them, the sounds and scent of sex filling the room, and the hole in his heart—the one he didn’t even realize he had until he met this woman—closed and even disappeared while he claimed her the only way he knew how.

  “Kate, I can’t stop. I can’t stop. I can’t…” With a hard spasm, he surrendered to his orgasm, stunned by the perfection of it. Every nerve exploded, unraveling into a dead spin of pleasure as he released everything he had into her and she lost all control against him.

  “Come with me,” he murmured again, hoping she’d understand what he meant this time.

  “I just did,” she moaned.

  No, she didn’t understand. And, honestly, neither did he.

  *

  An hour later, Kate stared at the ceiling, listening to crickets outside and the easy rhythm of Alec’s breathing. But he wasn’t asleep. She realized that she’d slept with him fifteen feet away for enough nights to know.

  “What’s wrong?” she finally asked, rolling over to look at his profile.

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re lying.”

  He turned and met her face-to-face. “How would you know?”

  “Your breathing. I know when you’re sleeping. I know when you’re…troubled.” She stroked his face, traveling the masculine lines that she once thought were beastly. Now they were beautiful. “Tell me.”

  A smile pulled at his lips. “You have to know everything, don’t you?”

  “No. Yeah. Only about you.”

  “Well, you do now. You know my past and secrets and real name.” He closed his eyes as her finger trailed over his face and chest, slipping under the covers to continue south.

  “I know your soft targets.”

  “Mmm. Keep doing that, and that target won’t be soft for long.”

  “That a challenge, Petrov?” she teased.

  He didn’t answer, still studying her face, his expression so serious it was almost stern. “I asked you to do something when we were making love.”

  She frowned a little, trying to remember all that he’d said. Most of it had been the desperate murmurings of a lover. All of it, right? But from the look on his face, she was forgetting something.

  “I asked you to come with me.”

  “And I told you I did.” She gave him a playful squeeze. “Couldn’t you tell?”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  It wasn’t? Had she done something wrong? Disappointed him in bed? Was he…oh. Oh. Oh, God. “You mean tomorrow? To Costa Rica?”

  He nodded, and a million emotions clashed in her chest like fireworks. He wanted her to be with him, and he wanted her to move and hide and run with him. Could she live a life like that? “No,” she mumbled. She couldn’t. There had to be another way. There had to be some solution for him to live a normal life and for her to live it with him. Because that’s what she wanted. Costa Rica and Australia? “No,” she said again.

  “Shit.” He rolled off the bed, and she realized how he’d misinterpreted that.

  “Alec, no. Don’t leave. I just meant—”

  “My phone’s ringing.”

  She scrambled to the side of the bed. “Ignore it. This is important. Please.”

  “It could be Gabe.” He marched down the hall, the sound of a man wounded in every way.

  Damn it. Damn it all. She pushed off the bed, hitting the floor as she heard him say, “Hey, Gregg.”

  His mentor and friend. Ignoring the fact that she was as naked as he, she followed the sound of his voice, stepping over the evidence of their lust littering the hallway.

  Come with me.

  Could she?

  Better question: Could she not?

  “He has her? Are you sure?” His voice cracked with fear, the same way it had cracked when he’d told her about the teenage girl. Of course. Vlitnik had Robyn.

  “Where is he?” Alec asked.

  In the silence that followed the question, Kate tiptoed closer, already knowing where this call would go.

  “Okay, tell him I will.”

  He will what? Except, she already knew.

  “Hey, he’s dangling the bait, Gregg. I’m just taking it.”

  She swallowed hard. He was going to Vlitnik to save that girl. No doubt he was the ransom itself.

  “Sorry, but I don’t have anything to lose,” he barked into the phone.

  Not now. Now that he thought she’d just refused his offer.

  “What do I give up if that SOB kills me? Some fake life on the run, always missing out on real life? Sorry, but that girl has a baby on the way and a life and a future. She can have mine to save hers.”

  How could she have even doubted that she’d follow this man to the ends of the earth? He was so worth it.

  “Production Park. Naples. Domestic Drive. Last warehouse. Got it.”

  So, so worth it.

  “Then I have to come up with a way to explain how I know where he is,” Alec said. “I’ll tell him I put a tracker on Robyn. I won’t blow your guy’s cover. You get him to video that fat fuck trying to kill me. That ought to fly nice with the FBI.”

  She heard the truth in his voice. He’d die or Vlitnik would, but this life had to come to an end before another fake one started.

  “Thanks, Gregg,” Alec said, lowering his voice to make his point. “You’ve always been there for me, man, and if this helps you bring in Vlitnik, then maybe I’ve come close to paying you back.”

  But what if he died trying?

  Kate took a deep breath, stepping out of the sh
adows as Alec hung up. “I’m going with you.”

  “Like hell you are.”

  “Alec, I’m going with you.”

  “Don’t even—”

  “I mean to wherever you’re going. Costa Rica. Australia. Wherever. I want to come with you.”

  He let out a soft grunt. “You didn’t seem to love the idea five minutes ago.”

  “I don’t. But I’m pretty sure I could love you. I might already.” She wrapped her arms around him. “You’re going to save Robyn, aren’t you?”

  “I have to.”

  “Yeah, I already love you.”

  “I know how that feels.” He pressed his lips to her head. “One more good-bye, Kate. Let me do this.”

  She inched back. “Come back to me.”

  “I will, but if you tell Gabe where I went, it’s a deal breaker. The only way to stop him is to catch him in the act.”

  “Of killing you?”

  “I have a helluva reason not to let that happen now.” He tipped her chin up and looked at her. “You belong with me. Not to me, but with me.”

  She waited for the revolt possessive words like that always caused, but for some reason, there was none. She kissed him lightly. “Yes, I do.”

  Chapter Thirty-one

  If she died, her baby died.

  The words had echoed in Robyn’s head since she’d been dragged from the laundry truck—by a son of a bitch she once thought she loved—and tied up, taped shut, and thrown in a corner of some dark, giant metal box that stank like fish and was hotter than hell.

  If she died, her baby died.

  So Robyn had to do whatever it took to stay alive. The problem was, she had no idea what that was.

  Her hands ached to rub her hard belly, especially when her baby kicked, but they were tied behind her, the rope Cole had tied her in burning her wrists every time she moved.

  Cole. She couldn’t believe what he’d turned out to be. A thug. A mobster. A heartless yes-man who worked for that horrible Dmitri Vlitnik. She hadn’t seen the fat bastard yet, but she put it all together easy enough.

  But what happened next?

  Not knowing was the hardest part.

  She tried to adjust her position, the hard concrete painful on her backside. Someone would be in here soon, and she had a feeling she knew what they wanted from her: Alec Petrov. Would she tell them?

  Only if that would save her, and her baby. Or she could play dumb, and then maybe they wouldn’t hurt her or her baby. Or maybe she should just tell them where Alec was, and they’d let her go.

  Yeah, and maybe angels would drop from heaven and take her home. Except she didn’t believe in angels and couldn’t remember ever feeling like somewhere was home.

  A low-pitched rumble and a splash of bright light told her the big garage door was opening and a car was pulling in. From where she was, she couldn’t see the car or who was in it.

  What if it was someone who’d come to save her?

  No, Robyn, no one is going to save you. No one even knew she was here. Poppy probably figured she’d bolted, and they’d left it at that. And that Gabe guy was just so pissed, he probably didn’t care if she died. And Alec? Well, she’d blown everything for him, so he certainly wasn’t going to save her. The lump in her throat grew, and a sob she couldn’t swallow threatened. She was so alone. Just Robyn and this—

  “Where is she?”

  Vlitnik. Her heart dropped, and her stomach rolled and not in the feeling the baby way she’d come to love. No, this was more like, I’m going to die now.

  And so would her baby.

  Heavy footsteps pounded on the concrete floor, but the exchange of conversation was too low to hear. The only light went off almost immediately, making everything so, so dark. Words and snippets floated to her, mostly Vlitnik’s low voice and occasionally Cole’s despicable voice.

  Alec Petrov.

  Pussy.

  Bait.

  Reel that fucker in for good.

  The last few words grew louder, closer, and were punctuated by footsteps.

  “We meet again, Miss Bickler.”

  She blinked up at Dmitri Vlitnik’s obese figure looming over her.

  “Take the tape off. No one can hear her.”

  Cole leaned down, avoiding her gaze, and ripped the tape off her mouth so hard he had to have taken skin with it. She bit back a cry, not wanting either one of them to see how weak and scared she was. So weak and scared. And pregnant.

  And so not the street-smart runaway she liked to imagine herself as being.

  “Chair!” Vlitnik barked to Cole, who ran to do his bidding like a pathetic lackey.

  God, she hoped her baby didn’t take after him.

  Cole hustled back with a folding chair, placing it behind Dmitri and stepping back as though allowing the king to sit.

  “Not for me, you dumbass. For her. Put her on the chair and untie her hands and feet.”

  Cole looked suitably shamed, tearing at the tape and pushing her into the seat, untying her as he’d been told.

  “Don’t hurt her,” Vlitnik said, the words and tone surprising her, and giving her hope. “Or your baby.”

  Cole choked. “We don’t know it’s—”

  Vlitnik pushed him so hard, he almost fell over. “Fuck you, Daddy. We know whose it is.” He speared Cole with a harsher look. “Go watch the door.” As Cole walked away, Vlitnik turned to Robyn. “You missed our appointment.”

  All she could manage was a nod.

  “And I had to send this nitwit all the way down the East Coast to find out what I need to know.” He leaned closer. “Where the hell is Alec Petrov?”

  Her knowledge, that information, was her only bargaining chip. She couldn’t waste it. “I…I don’t know for sure.” She rubbed her bruised and chafed wrists, a lump of fear growing in her throat. Why did he have Cole untie her? What was Vlitnik going to do to her now?

  He was strong, and ruthless.

  So the only decent weapon she had was information, and she needed to use it wisely.

  Cole disappeared, and a few seconds later, the garage door opened. The sound echoed over the metal walls, and there was enough light to see that, oh, God, Vlitnik had a gun in his hand.

  Then he came very close to Robyn, leaning all the way over her, sour breath on her face. “Where is he?”

  She looked up at him. “Let me go, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Don’t be stupid, girl. I can’t do that.”

  Then what was going to happen to her?

  He bent over in front of her chair, holding the gun to her head. “Where is he?”

  If she told him, she’d be dead, she knew that. And if she didn’t…she’d still be dead. Either way, she was—

  The gun clicked, and she sucked in a breath and nearly fainted.

  “Oh, that one was empty.” He chuckled softly. “Let’s try the next one. You know this game, right, little girl? It’s named after my country.”

  Russian roulette.

  “There’s one bullet. Six chambers. Well, five now. Where is he?”

  Okay, she should tell him. But then he’d kill her anyway, right? But if there was any chance, then—

  Click.

  Blood whirred through her brain, pounding and screaming. If she died, the baby died. What was the best thing for her child?

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s…” She stole a glance at the gun. “He’s…” He pressed the trigger harder. One in four chances that she’d be dead on her next breath. “He’s…”

  Click.

  “I’m right here. Put the gun down and let her go, Vlitnik. You have no reason to hurt her.”

  Blood rushed so hard from Robyn’s head, she fell over, out before she hit the floor.

  *

  Alec lunged forward to try to grab the fallen girl, but Vlitnik was closer, instantly on her, the gun pointed directly at her belly. “I knew you couldn’t resist the bait.”

  Is that why it had been so easy to take down
the kid? Vlitnik wanted Alec in here and put weak sauce on guard. Alec had left Cole flat out on the driveway, but he wouldn’t stay out for very long.

  And neither did Robyn, who moaned, waking up.

  “Let her go,” Alec repeated. “You don’t need her anymore.”

  She came to quickly, giving a soft whimper.

  “Oh, no. We’re going to have some fun with her, Alec.” Vlitnik gave her a kick in the side. “Just like old times.”

  Alec breathed slowly, memories threatening to swamp him, but this time he had training. He knew how to be still and forget. He knew how to ready his body for an attack. He knew how to fight to kill.

  And he would kill or be killed tonight.

  Vlitnik lowered his girth so all two-fifty of him was smashing Robyn’s belly, his gun at her head. She cried out, and Alec vaulted to push him off and—

  Click.

  The hammer fell on another empty chamber. And Robyn shrieked louder.

  “What do you want from me?” Alec demanded, not willing to take the fifty-fifty risk that was left in this sick game.

  Vlitnik let out a long, slow sigh, rich with some meaning only he understood. “I want to know what you’re made of, Aleksandr.”

  “I think you know that already, or I would have been working for you for the last ten years.”

  He couldn’t move fast or take any chances. The next shot could end Robyn’s life, and she knew it by the way she was sobbing. If it was empty, Vlitnik would just fire again and that chamber wouldn’t be empty. So he had to talk this through, but he had to get that fat bastard off the poor pregnant girl.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not armed, I’m not here to fight. I’m here for you. What do you want?”

  “I told you.” Blessedly, the position was uncomfortable enough for him that he pushed up, but didn’t move the gun away from Robyn’s tear-stained face. “What are you made of?”

  “I’m not a killer, no matter how hard you try to turn me into one.”

  He moved the gun down, pointing it at Robyn’s chest now. “Some people are born that way. I guess I thought you would be, too.”

  As much as Alec didn’t care about the asshole’s chatter, something…wasn’t right about that last sentence.

  “You thought I would be…what?”