“What’s keeping you up?”
She shrugged.
“Nightmares?” he asked.
She nodded.
Damn, but he had a few of those.
He toed off his boots and circled the bed to sit next to her, his back against the headboard.
“I still have nightmares,” he said.
“About what?”
“My dad’s stories. My dad. Being over in the sandbox. Jobs going sideways.” Her.
“Do they ever go away?”
“Some of them do. Mostly you just start realizing it’s a dream, and it’s not as bad anymore.”
“How long does that take?”
“I’ll tell you when it happens.”
She chuckled, and an invisible fist squeezed his heart.
“I was hoping for a better answer,” she said.
“I’ve never been good for good news.”
“Good news, talking, sex, what else are you self-proclaimed to be bad at?”
“Hey, I never said I was bad at sex.” As he recalled, it had been quite good. Hadn’t it? “You seemed to like it.”
“I did.” She stared straight ahead.
He reached over and took her hand in his. Touching her calmed the anxious voice in his head that said this was all a dream. That she was still out there somewhere, waiting on him to save her.
She should be in her own room, not here with him. And yet, he couldn’t make himself say those words. It was selfish, but he wanted to be near her, to assure himself that she was safe. He didn’t have any right to her. In fact, she should hate him. But he still wanted her.
“You’ve got to get some rest.” He drew little circles on the back of her hand.
“I can’t be alone,” she said, so quietly he didn’t think he’d heard her right.
He hadn’t protected her the first time, but here she was, trusting him again.
“Do you want me to stay with you? Or would you rather I go get Jade?” The two women could bunk together with little to no issue. Besides, Jade might get through to Bliss where Connor had failed.
“Would you mind?” she asked.
Travis swallowed. It was temptation straight from hell, but for her he’d do just about anything.
“No.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go back to your room.”
“Why?” She let him pull her to her feet.
“No windows. One point of entry. It’s the safest place for you.” He grabbed his bag from the dresser, his boots, and turned the light off.
“Oh.”
He guided her out of his room and across the hall to hers. All the lights from downstairs were off. He wished Jade a peaceful sleep.
“Get in bed.” He gently pushed Bliss toward the big king bed. The pillows and blankets were rumpled, as if she had attempted sleep to no success. “I’m going to use your bathroom.”
That, and give her a moment of privacy.
He took his time in the bathroom while keeping one ear tuned to Bliss’ movements. He brushed his teeth, flossed, and stared at his reflection for several minutes. When he ran out of things to do, he opened the door.
Bliss wore the same thermal shirt from earlier, but her jeans and boots were discarded at the foot of the bed. She stared at the ceiling, her brow lined with worry.
There was no real way for this to go well. It wasn’t like he slept in much besides his boxers. Plus, he had the memory of what it was like to hold her, be inside of her, stuck on repeat. She didn’t need a trip to horny town, she needed a safety blanket.
“Can we leave the bathroom light on?” she asked.
“Course.” He flipped the light back on and closed the door until just a crack of light slashed through the darkness.
Travis shed his jeans and shirt before sliding into the bed.
This was about her needs, not his. He rolled to his side and stretched an arm out over her, trapping her against the mattress. Every muscle in her body was tense, ready for something to happen, and none of it good.
He wished he could take this burden from her. Clear her mind. Let her be free to not be like him.
Eventually she blew out a breath and her hands slid up to grasp his forearm. She turned, drawing him closer until he spooned her from behind. He did his best to stay relaxed, even when she wiggled her ass against his groin in a move to get comfortable. Minute by minute the tension eased, until her breathing relaxed and he knew she’d passed out. Only then did Travis allow himself to drift off to a dreamland where a beautiful, curvy woman waited for him with mischief in her eye.
8.
Bliss’ nose itched, but she didn’t dare move. It had to be early morning sometime. Already she could hear sounds below and the occasional door open or close on their floor. Any moment Travis would wake up, and they would have to face whatever today held in store for her.
She hadn’t slept as much as dozed off and on until her body just decided it was time to be awake. Though her dreams were uneasy, they hadn’t terrorized her like before. A difference she attributed to Travis’ presence.
It was Christmas Day.
Usually she would pack up her car and head to her parents’ house for a busy morning of presents and baking. It didn’t feel like the holidays anymore, though Travis had given her a present. Her freedom.
Guilt gnawed at her. Out there, she hadn’t believed he would save her, and he had. Then last night, she’d doubted him again when she allowed fear to cloud her judgment. It wasn’t his fault Daniel was crazier than they thought. She’d allowed herself to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There was no anticipating psycho.
Travis’ eyes opened and he looked straight at her. There was no groggy, half-asleep period, just full alert aimed at her.
“Morning.” His sleep-roughened voice was a comforting sound.
She smiled and scratched her nose.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
“Hm, it is, isn’t it?” He tightened the arm around her, pulling her across the mattress until he had her pressed up against him.
Her heart beat faster for a new reason, one that had nothing to do with fear.
“Sleep okay?” he mumbled into her hair.
“Yeah. You?”
“The best.”
She was only wearing a thermal top and panties. It wasn’t a lot of material between them. Was it wrong to think about sex at a time like this?
A knock at the door interrupted her mental tango.
“Travis?”
“Yeah?” he called over his shoulder.
The door creaked open just a hair. She could spy Mason’s profile, conspicuously looking away from them.
“Got breakfast. Doctors are taking Ethan into surgery now, thought you’d want to know,” he said.
“Be out in a minute.” Travis sat up, blocking her view.
The door closed, leaving them alone again. The sheets rustled and the bed bounced as he got to his feet. He clicked the lamp on and checked his phone. The dim light was more than enough to illuminate her fantasy material. Travis reached for the ceiling and stretched.
God, he was a work of art. Rough art, but still a thing of wonder.
A conspicuous bulge tented the front of his boxers. They’d had sex a few days ago, but she could still remember the feel of him inside of her.
Travis planted his knee on the bed and loomed over her, trapping her with one arm on either side of her shoulders.
“Looking at me like that gives me ideas.” His voice dropped and her nipples perked up.
Ideas? The naked kind?
He buzzed her mouth with a kiss, and she stopped breathing. It was just a scant few seconds of skin-to-skin contact, but she felt it to her core.
“Up.” He slapped her thigh.
She gathered the sheets and watched him step into the bathroom. Unlike last night, he didn’t close the door.
What were they?
Lovers?
Fuck buddies?
Frie
nds with benefits?
He wasn’t sticking around, not for her, so it wasn’t a relationship. None of those labels felt right. She cared about him. They’d been through enough together in a week that even when he left she would never forget him.
She got dressed in her same jeans and boots, but changed out the thermal top for a sweatshirt. It wasn’t the height of fashion, but it was comfortable, and she was covered.
“What are we doing today?” she asked.
“Food. Check on Ethan. See what the cops dragged in.” Travis was half-dressed, which wasn’t a bad trade-off. She still got to see those abs. They were unreal. The kind of thing people painted on advertisements. He could sell just about anything with that bit of skin if he wanted to. Women would line up for miles to... She did not want to think about another woman touching Travis. This holiday season, he was hers.
“Any chance I can call my family?”
“I’m sure the feds can get you a line to their safehouse.”
“Safehouse?” She blinked at him.
“Yeah, given how he had you all under surveillance, they thought it would be safest if your immediate family was under protection.”
“Oh my God.” She blew out a breath and her eyes watered. “What did I do wrong?”
“You did nothing wrong. Nothing, understand?” Travis wrapped his arms around her tight.
“Yeah, but—”
“No, buts. Daniel Campbell is a fucked up man. He picked your sister and your family based on some parameters only he knows. You did nothing wrong. Nothing.”
She clung to him and buried her face against his shoulder until the tide of overwhelming fear abated.
Bliss lifted her chin and stared at him. A few days ago, she’d thought he was the sketchiest human being she’d ever seen. Now, he was her personal hero.
Travis lowered his head. Slow and tentative wasn’t his style, but he understood where she was at. She lifted herself up on tiptoe and kissed him, hooking her arm around his neck. A deep-seated ache throbbed low in her belly. He went on kissing her until her toes curled in her boots, and her nipples chafed the cups of her bra.
He lifted his face from hers, and she gasped for breath.
“Please don’t leave me.” As soon as the words left her mouth she cringed. Her whole life, she’d been the capable, independent one. Not this.
“I’m here. Nothing bad will happen to you.”
Travis squeezed her and rested his chin on top of her head.
She prayed he was right, that the nightmares were over.
TRAVIS THANKED THE nurse and entered the ICU bay, Mason on his heels. Ethan’s body was relaxed, his head lolling to one side at an angle that was bound to leave a crick.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ethan’s words were slurred and quiet. The anesthesia hadn’t worn off yet.
“Making sure they took the right leg.” Travis reached over and prodded Ethan’s left knee.
“You rat bastard. Stop.” Ethan pushed Travis’ hand away.
“Looks like they knew what they were doing.” He stepped back and hooked his thumbs in his pockets.
They’d been here a few times over the years. Sometimes they’d been in beds next to each other. Every time they’d pulled through.
“What’d the doc say?” Mason asked.
“Like I fucking know.” Ethan was perhaps the grumpiest when he was hurt. His soon-to-be ex-wife had often commented on his inability to handle pain or a little direction. Over the years she’d lost the fondness for his grouchy behavior. Maybe Travis should have seen their split coming, but he didn’t know the first thing about relationships.
“Go find the nurse or the doc, let us know what needs doing,” Travis said to Mason.
“Sure thing.” Mason pushed to his feet and strode out to the nurse’s station, a big smile on his face.
Nurses.
Of course.
“Where’s Bliss?” Ethan asked.
“Safe from you.”
Ethan flipped him the bird.
“Nah, I left her back at the cabin with the feds. They can keep an eye on her.”
“Found him yet?”
“Not a whisper or a word. Snow set in and covered his tracks. ATV trails run all through that area. He could be anywhere.”
“You think he’s gone?”
Travis sat in one of the two chairs and rubbed his chin. The profilers probably had a better idea of what Daniel would and wouldn’t do, but Travis had a gut feeling.
“He’s either right under our noses, or he’s long gone,” he said at last.
“Think he’s still after Bliss?”
“Wendy is the one he wanted, but now, who knows? He got caught because he took Bliss. If he’d left, I’d never have knocked Grayson for a favor and found her. Only reason the feds came here is because we were here. They had nothing.”
“This ain’t over, man.”
Travis shook his head.
“Wish I had both legs under me so I could have your back. This sucks, man.” Ethan sighed and let his head drop back against the pillow.
“Any idea how long you’re down for?”
“Couple weeks, then PT. I bet it’s two or three months before I’m back on the job.” Ethan’s face twisted up. They all knew the kind of work the guys on sick leave got. Menial crap that needed to get done, but the kind of stuff no one used to field work wanted to do.
“Home office is making arrangements to fly you home in a day or two, as soon as they release you. You’ll be in Mamma Dean’s infirmary before you’re released.” One of the perks about working for Aegis Group was the medical facility on the property. Mamma Dean was a retired Navy surgeon who didn’t know the meaning of taking it easy.
“Good. When you and the kid headed back?”
“I think Mason’s looking at getting out of here today or tomorrow. I don’t know when I’m leaving.”
“Want some advice?”
“No.”
“Too bad, fucktard.” Ethan jabbed at the buttons on the side of his bed until he figured out which one raised the head of the bed a bit.
“That’s it?”
“Fuck you.”
“You’re a real ray of sunshine.” Travis played it fun and easy, prodding Ethan for a reaction, when inside he went over every second at the campsite yesterday. Could he have done something different to keep them all safe and get Daniel?
“You should take some time. Spend it in Vegas or wherever with her.”
“Bliss?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?” He couldn’t deny that was what he wanted to do. Actually, he wanted to bundle her up and whisk her away to someplace where he knew she’d be safe. Somewhere Daniel wouldn’t look for her.
“Don’t be stupid. You like her.”
“I’ve liked a lot of women.” But none like Bliss.
“Bullshit.” Ethan’s words were clearer now, his face more animated. He was coming out of it, for sure.
“If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t be here now.”
“If it weren’t for your sorry ass, I wouldn’t be alive now. Sometimes we have to take the good with the bad. I’m just saying, you like her. I’ve never seen you take to a woman like this before, so you shouldn’t let it go. Don’t be like me, man.” Ethan stared up at the ceiling.
Mason knocked on the door, followed by a woman in a white coat with a tablet and a folder of papers.
“Doc’s here to see ya, gimp.”
“Fuck you, too, Mason,” Ethan said. His jaw went a bit slack when Mason moved. “Sorry about that, Doc.”
“It’s okay.” She laughed and pulled up a seat.
Travis tuned out for most of their discussion. Bliss was still heavily on his mind. She didn’t need him in her life. He was too much trouble, his schedule haphazard, and the likelihood that one day he’d come home in a body bag was high. It was a price too high to ask any woman to pay. Most of all someone with their history. But he couldn’t deny that if anyone asked
him what Santa could bring him today, it would be Bliss, in a smile and nothing else.
9.
Daniel dropped the tool belt onto the bed. The right uniform, and no one cared what he was up to. Just went to show how stupid people were. The lot of them were only good for one thing: dying.
He checked the camera feed he set up that morning. The camera didn’t tell him more than who came and went at the FBI cabin headquarters, but at least he knew when certain members were there.
Bliss hadn’t set foot out of the building since she went in. He’d seen her through a few windows, enough to know the FBI hadn’t spirited her away somewhere else. They were making this easy for him.
By the end of the year he’d have Wendy and Bliss all to himself. And then he could get started. No one would find them, because they were all going to die.
BLISS CLUTCHED A PILLOW to her chest and tried to focus on the Christmas Day parade on the television. The FBI apparently didn’t know how to take a day off and were already discussing routes of escape Daniel could have taken. Try as she might, their voices were the only thing she could focus on.
“Everyone take a half-hour,” Ryan Brooks announced. Frustration vibrated through his voice. She couldn’t blame him—she was frustrated they hadn’t caught Daniel, too.
“Hey, Bliss?”
She looked up at the red-headed woman. There was something just a little off about her, but Bliss liked people who were different.
“I’m going to run out to pick up a few things. I didn’t pack enough clothes for this trip. Need anything?”
“Sure, whatever you can grab, I’d appreciate it.”
“Want to make a list? I know Travis said he had a bag for you, but...”
“Yeah, I think he got most of my dirty clothes in there.” Plus a few things...she couldn’t fathom how he’d grabbed those.
“Here. Write down your sizes. I can’t promise I’ll get anything fashionable, but at least you’ll have something else to wear.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Bliss chewed her lip. Her money and credit cards were still at home. It was the one thing she wished Travis would have grabbed.
Jade sat on the sofa next to her, holding her phone with both hands.
“I don’t have to, but I want to. Just write up a list. Plus, we can’t promise when you’ll be able to go home. You could be living out of that bag for a while.”
Dangerous Attraction Page 15
