This Heart for Hire

by Marie Ferrarella

  Much the way her eyes did.

  The dress was held up by two very flimsy-looking ties that made his hands itch and his mind wander into regions that could get him slapped.

  He saw her looking at him, bemused. He held her a little closer as he smiled into her eyes. “I’d forgotten just how long your legs were.”

  It was a lie. Though he’d tried more than once, there was absolutely nothing about her that he’d forgotten. Especially the way holding her had made him feel.

  “Long enough to get me where I want to go. Speaking of which,” she glanced toward the door. From here she could barely make it out. “Are you ready to leave yet? I think I’ve had enough.”

  He nodded. “Maybe you’re right. It’s getting too hot in here.” The warm press of bodies had quickly evaporated any cool air around them less than five minutes into their arrival. The hour they’d remained seemed longer.

  Ushering her toward the front, Logan shepherded her out, using his own body to block other people who got in their way. Jessica wasn’t happy about the reversal in roles.

  “I’m supposed to be the one protecting you,” she said into his ear. If they were any farther apart, he wouldn’t have been able to hear her.

  Logan winked at her. “I’ll let you make it up to me later,” he promised.

  The man never gave up, she thought.

  Pushing the heavy door open, Logan held it there as he let her walk out first.

  As they stepped outside the club and past the guard at the entrance, a blast of cold air went right through them.

  The same, fortunately, couldn’t be said for the two shots that were fired.

  The man in the alley felt pain, dull and throbbing, traveling from the man’s hip down to his right calf. Both his legs were beginning to feel stiff and his back was aching.

  He wasn’t used to standing like this. Not unless he was leaning against a crap table. Damn it, where was Buchanan?

  Maybe he should have hired someone to do this. But no, that would only leave him open to blackmail, and he was in enough trouble already.

  How, how had he come to this place in his life? Desperate, hunted.

  He didn’t want to die.

  Perspiration poured along his body, even though the evening was cool. The scent of onions clung to him, a telltale marker of his fear.

  No one had seen him hugging the shadows of the alley across from The In Place. The activity was all over there. Here, in the alley, it was desolate.

  Except for that one old wino who had come into the alley to relieve himself. The filthy smell had almost made him retch.

  But the old man had ambled off, clutching his torn-paper-bag-shrouded cheap anesthetic, oblivious to the man who was barely inches away from him.

  His head was aching. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and his eyes flickered, alert, every time he saw the door to the club open. But every time, he was disappointed. It wasn’t Buchanan.

  Were they going to stay in the damnable club all night?

  Chapter 9

  The instant she heard the loud, popping noise, Jessica threw herself against Logan, pushing him to the ground and knocking the air out of him. Rolling on top of him, she shielded him with her body.

  The crowd restlessly milling outside The In Place, waiting to gain entrance, reacted to the sudden evasive action. They screamed and squealed, scattering like multicolored leaves in an unexpected blast of wind and diving for any cover they could find.

  Tuning them out as best she could, Jessica scanned the area, looking for the shooter. There was no doubt in her mind what the sound belonged to. Still on top of Logan, she twisted and pulled out the Smith & Wesson from her purse. She felt him moving beneath her.

  Logan’s head ached where it had made contact with the pavement. A little dazed, he was still very aware of her. He would have had to be dead not to. Slipping his arms around her, Logan held her to him.

  “Why Jessi, this is so sudden.”

  She didn’t bother to look down at him. Frustration echoed through her. There were too many people in the way for her to make anything out.

  “Shut up, you idiot. Someone just took a shot at you.”

  He thought she was overreacting and causing a panic around her. How could she discern a gunshot from the rest of the din? He hadn’t heard anything.

  “Jessi, there’s nothing but noise out here. It was probably just—”

  This wasn’t the time to get into a discussion about acoustics. “I know gunfire when I hear it.”

  Cautiously, gun still drawn, she looked around one last time before finally easing off his body. She remained crouching as she scanned. Despite her heightened awareness, or maybe because of it, every inch of her body that had come in contact with his vibrated like a sharply plucked harp string.

  Scrambling to a sitting position, Logan brushed himself off. The large bouncer who ordinarily stood guard at the door made his way over to them, crouching as low to the ground as he could manage. He reminded Logan of a gorilla, policing his territory.

  “What’s going on?” The nervousness in his voice was inconsistent with his size.

  Jessica rose to her feet at the same time Logan did, ignoring his outstretched hand. The cars parked at the curb were empty. The alley was the only possible place the shots could have come from. Muttering an oath, she sprinted in that direction.

  Damn, now what? Logan was quick to follow her. “We’re making a movie,” he tossed over his shoulder to the bouncer.

  A sheepish look washed over the wide face as the man, obviously feeling foolish, stood up again. His hands were fisted at his waist as he shouted after Logan. “Oh, yeah? Then where’re the cameras?”

  Logan didn’t bother creating an answer for him. He was too worried about Jessica. If someone was shooting at them, she should be running from the gunman, not toward him.

  “Jessi,” he yelled after her, “are you out of your mind?”

  The next moment he was forced to come to a skidding halt behind her. She was at the mouth of the alley, her gun raised and poised like so many movie cops he’d seen, making her way in by inches. He could swear she’d even stopped breathing. He knew he had.

  She didn’t spare him so much as a look. She couldn’t afford distraction. “Damn it, Logan, stay back,” she hissed in a low whisper.

  “And let you have all the fun?” he asked against her ear. “Not on your life.” He wanted to be there to protect her if anything happened. Logan stared into the darkness, not seeing anyone.

  A second later a cat screeched, knocking over some debris and tripping over a stray, metal garbage can lid. The resulting clatter set jarring shock waves through both of them. The animal almost got himself shot for it. Realizing at the last moment that it was a cat, Jessica lowered her weapon.

  She let out a long breath. There was no one in the alley. Only a lingering stench she tried to place. Probably just the garbage.

  Whoever had fired at them, at Logan, was gone.

  It was only then that she glared at him. How could she protect him if he insisted on shadowing her every movement?

  “This isn’t ‘fun,’ Logan.” Leaving, she put the safety on and shoved the gun into her purse again. “And it would have been your life if the shooter was any kind of a marksman.”

  Annoyed, not waiting for him to reply, she hurried back across the way to the front of the club.

  The long, curling line was reassembling itself slowly as people warily trickled back, their desire to enjoy themselves outweighing their fear. The smell of panic faded, giving way to the scent of excitement.

  The bouncer met her half way. “C’mon, where’ve you got the cameras stashed?”

  Jessica shook her head uncomprehendingly. “Cameras stashed?”

  “Yeah,” the bouncer insisted. He looked at Logan as the latter came up behind her. “For the movie you’re making.”

  Turning, Jessica looked expectantly at Logan. “Movie?”

  Broad shoulders moved in a ca
reless shrug beneath Logan’s navy jacket. “Seemed like the thing to say at the time.”

  Maybe it was at that. It was better to avoid panic, she thought, and since they couldn’t afford to call in the police, because of the bomb threat, Jessica let the impression stand.

  She pointed vaguely around. “They’re out of sight, to add realism.”

  Looking off in the general direction she’d indicated, the burly man looked properly impressed. She moved past him and began to examine the front of the wood-trimmed building.

  Logan joined her. He glanced at the building but saw nothing. “What are you looking for?”

  She didn’t answer immediately, concentrating hard as her eyes swept along the boards. If the front had been made of stucco, it would have been harder. And then she found the holes.

  “These.” The single word rang with triumph.

  Taking out a Swiss Army knife from her purse, Jessica dug out first one bullet, then another, from the wall just to the right of the entrance. She had to stand on her toes to do it and still had to reach up high.

  Finished, she looked at them thoughtfully. They had both been fired far too high to have hit either her or Logan. Which meant only two things. Either the shooter had a perception problem, or he wasn’t aiming to hit either one of them.

  If it was the latter, why?

  Another riddle. But at least neither one of them was hurt. Dropping both spent slugs into a handkerchief, she looked at Logan.

  “More things for the lab,” she murmured. She would send the slugs out first thing in the morning. Albert was going to love hearing about this.

  Logan pretended to be more taken with the contents of her purse. “What else do you have in there?” He tugged on it. “A high-powered rifle, a pup tent?”

  She slipped the handkerchief and its contents into her purse. “Just the essentials.” She closed it. “C’mon,” she motioned him to follow. People were staring at them. For all she knew, whoever had fired at them had slipped into the crowd to watch them firsthand. The thought made her uneasy. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “My sentiments exactly.” Catching up to her in one stride, he took her elbow.

  “Hey, just one take?” the bouncer called after them as they left.

  The man looked ready to ask for a walk-on. Jessica kept moving. “Just one,” she called back. “It was perfect”

  Logan had to hurry to keep up with her.

  When they found his car in the back lot, Jessica raised a hand against Logan’s chest, silently warning him to stay back.

  “What’s the matter?” Looking around, he didn’t see anyone except the disgruntled valet they had bypassed.

  Opening the door, she checked out the rear of the car’s interior. “I just want to make sure the back seat is empty.”

  He amused himself by watching the way her body moved as she conducted her search. No doubt about it, the woman looked good coming and going.

  Logan stepped back as she straightened again. “This line of work makes you paranoid, doesn’t it?”

  She shut the rear door and opened the passenger side. “You were just shot at.” Getting in, Jessica tugged the seat belt into place. “I have a right to be paranoid.” Her eyes followed him as he rounded the hood. “It wouldn’t hurt you to have a healthy dose of it, either.”

  Logan slid in behind the wheel. “Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?”

  She wasn’t in the mood for word games. “Don’t get technical on me.”

  The brief contact between their bodies, enhanced by the pulsating excitement of imminent danger in the air, had only heightened Logan’s awareness of her and of his own desire.

  “What should I get on you?” He started the car. “Speaking of which, I’m beginning to think maybe I should be grateful to whoever was firing at me. At least it got you to jump on me.”

  They sped out of the lot. Logan had a habit of wanting to conquer every stretch of road he came in contact with, she thought. “I’ll jump all over you unless you start taking this seriously.”

  He slowed down as they melded into light traffic. “I am taking it seriously, Jess. I’m just not letting it paralyze me.” He glanced at her. The illumination from the streetlights glowed along her face, playing hide-and-seek with the shadows that alternately passed through the car. “And if he’s such a lousy shot, I don’t have anything to worry about.”

  They were lucky, that’s all. “You have plenty to worry about. Those shots were fired at you from across the way. Next time he might be closer.” The thought gnawed at her. The stakes had just gone up. “Maybe he’s a better shot close-up.” She fervently hoped not.

  Logan put a positive spin on the situation. “I guess that means you’re going to have to stick even closer to me.”

  She laughed shortly. “If I was any closer to you, Logan, you’d be wearing me.”

  The grin she saw spreading along his mouth told her she’d walked right into that one.

  “Gets my vote.” Stopping at a light, Logan ran his hand along his neck, rotating his shoulders slightly. It was enough to draw her attention.

  Jessica caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Did I hurt you?”

  He shrugged carelessly. A dull pain whispered along his shoulders. He was going to hurt like hell tomorrow, he guessed.

  “You didn’t, but the pavement did.”

  The light was an inordinately long one. Taking his chin in her hand, Jessica moved his head toward her so she could get a better look at him. Drop-dead gorgeous, as always.

  “No cuts or bruises to speak of,” she pronounced, dropping her hand.

  He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. “None that are visible at any rate.”

  She’d at least had him to break her fall. He’d only had hard cement. Jessica had no doubt that he was going to hurt. “Soak in a hot tub when you get home.”

  “Join me?”

  The question throbbed with sensuality she found almost impossible to resist. She did her best. “Only if you’re coming apart.”

  Unwilling to give up, he looked at her and played the game a little longer. “Emotionally or physically?”

  The man was incorrigible. Jessica pointed at the light. “It’s green, Logan. Shut up and drive.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he intoned obediently.

  Closing her eyes, Jessica let out a huge sigh and sank back against the seat. They’d been lucky. This time. But what about next time?

  The cold chill that snaked up her spine went deep into her bones, refusing to leave.

  She went through the ritual of getting dressed for bed, even though she knew it was futile. She was far too keyed up to fall asleep. Exhausted, Jessica gave it a try, anyway.

  Still tossing and turning an hour later, she found she was right. Sleep was miles away from coming. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered what to do with herself. She hated being inefficient with her time, and nothing made the night longer than inactivity. She didn’t want to just lie here, thinking and worrying about Logan.

  Maybe—

  There was a light tap on her door. Jessica bolted upright, instantly albert It was almost one o’clock in the morning. Not knowing what to expect, she hurried to the door and opened it.

  Logan stood there, looking far more sobered than she’d ever remembered seeing him—except for that last evening.

  The memory drove thorny spines through her. She grasped them, knowing she was going to need them to keep her on the straight and narrow.

  Slowly, one tension left her body, only to be replaced by another. “I thought you were going to soak in a hot tub.”

  Logan didn’t answer immediately. She was wearing a lavender sleeveless nightgown that, though loose, seemed to slip and slide lovingly along every slight curve of her body with each breath she took, each movement she made. He was having trouble finding his tongue.

  “Too restless to soak,” he said finally. “May I come in?”

  She didn’t think that was wise, but blo
cking his way seemed hopelessly Victorian. Making the best of it, warning herself not to weaken, she stepped back. “It’s your house.”

  He caught the terse note in her voice and wondered if they were adversaries again. Too much had happened tonight for him to allow that.

  Walking in, Logan was aware just how vulnerable he felt right now. Not because his life had been threatened. He’d raced cars, he understood facing a certain degree of danger. But because he suddenly felt needy. And needing her.

  He turned to face her. “I realized that I hadn’t thanked you for saving my life.”

  She shrugged away the words. The strap of her nightgown slid off her shoulder. She tugged it into place, aware that he was watching her.

  “I’m just doing what Dane’s paying me for, and we’ve already established that unless you’d suddenly decided to sink a jump shot, there’s no way that gunman could have hit you.”

  “Damn it, Jessi, just let me say thank you.” He didn’t realize how frayed his temper was until he had snapped the words out.

  “All right,” she replied almost primly. Jessica folded her hands in front of her. “Say it.”

  She made him want to laugh. She made him want to shake her. “Thank you.”

  Jessica covered the doorknob with her hand, her message obvious. She wanted to usher him out. “Anything else?”

  Reaching over her head, he pushed the door shut, surprising her. The look in her eyes warned him not to make a mistake. He forged ahead, anyway.

  “Yes, there’s something else. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Since you came back into my life—”

  She stopped him right there, wanting things perfectly clear between them. “I didn’t ‘come back,’ Logan. I’m just visiting. Long enough to keep you safe until your meeting on Saturday. After that, I’m gone.” Try as she might, she couldn’t make herself sound as impersonal as she wanted to.

  Did she mean it? If he stood aside, would she leave once this was over and never look back? Well, they’d find out soon enough, wouldn’t they?