It’s easy enough to hide in Mexico. He’s probably looking at an eleven-to-twelve-hour drive, though that’s not considering any breaks that they might need to have. Plus, he would need to get them both fake passports. “Easy enough.” He picked up his phone and thumbed through his contacts.
A quick series of texts, and documentation would be ready for him in little under an hour. He could hoof it to the meeting point and see about securing another vehicle on the way back. The door to the bathroom opened, then after she saw the clothing he offered up, closed again. He didn’t bother to look if she came out, not wanting to guess at her state of dress. That was a frame of mind he definitely didn’t need to be in. Would it be wrong to want her?
He wasn’t aware of her until she tossed the shorts onto the bed next to him. “Thank you for the thought.” He looked up to see her wearing just his shirt. It fell to mid-thigh and he found his gaze tracing down the length of her legs. “But nothing I do will make them stay up.”
“I . . .” he started slowly, distracted by her exposed legs. It’s not like he didn’t see them before, when she was wearing the short dress out at the bar. Maybe it was more intimate because she was wearing his shirt. “I’ll be sure to get you something when I go out.” He gestured to his phone, forcing himself to meet her gaze. “I’ve got a contact with some things that I need to go get. Then we can see about getting on the road when I get back.”
“It’s three am,” she protested, sitting down on the other side of the bed, tugging at the hem of his shirt. “How are you going to get anything this late?”
“The wicked never rest,” he assured her as he grabbed his wallet. He tucked it and his phone into his pockets. “I’ll be gone for a couple of hours. Two at most. I suggest you get as much sleep as you can now, because we’ll be heading out as soon as I get back.”
“I’ll try.” She didn’t look as if she was attracted to the idea. Whether it was going on so little sleep or the prospect of being alone, he didn’t know. He didn’t want to think it was the latter.
He didn’t wait to see if she got settled. He plucked up the room key and was out the door before he got distracted by the sight of her bare legs again. There was something about a woman who was fresh from the shower that was hard to resist. Especially when she was wearing his shirt. The damned memory of it made him hard, and he spent the majority of his walk cursing.
Jovana had gone into a light doze when a knock shook her awake. Was that Scott? It didn’t seem like he was gone very long. She stood and stretched, feeling the trials of the day begin to catch up with her. She didn’t question who was at the door. She went to it and unlocked and opened it without a thought. All of that was a mistake.
She was greeted by the woman who had bumped into her before on the sidewalk. She had a deceptively sweet face. “Hello there!” There was a feral grin tugging at her lips as she started to barge in, pushing past her with a force she couldn’t resist. Warning bells started to go off in her head as the pretty woman turned to speak to her. “I have waited quite long enough for the pretty boy to leave us for some girl time.” Her grin widened. “It is time that you and I talk.”
Self-preservation must have kicked in, because without a care to her lack of dress or a thought for shoes, she bolted out the opened door. She made it halfway through the parking lot before the other woman plowed into her. “Ah, ah.” Her accent seemed to thicken with the fact that she was out of breath and probably surprised. “It is impolite to try to run away from a friend.” Her voice turned into a snarl, and Jovana felt a hard prick stick into her neck. “You and I are about to become very good friends.”
This woman stuck a needle in her! She had no idea what she was shooting into her system, but she had a vague memory of the last time she had been duped. This time, it was going to be much worse. “Scott!” she managed to shriek before the other woman hefted her up and began to drag her back to the motel room.
“Oh,” she purred as she dumped her onto the bed. “Dear, you are a pretty sight. Unfortunately, the boy is gone and it is just you and me.” She turned to close and lock the door, and then going the extra measure, she wedged a chair under the doorknob.
“If you are a good girl,” she murmured as she turned to eye Jovana, taking advantage of the sight before her and seeing the length of her legs. “And tell me what I want to know, then Sasha will be glad to reward you.” She went the extra mile to lick her lips, making it quite obvious what she was implying would be a reward.
“I–I do not know what information you think I would have,” she protested. She tried to back up onto the bed, tried to put distance between them. But she couldn’t move. Her limbs felt heavy. She couldn’t even pick up her head. “I can’t move!”
“Shh, shh,” the other woman crawled up onto the bed beside her, her fingers trailing over the t-shirt she wore and a look of distaste coming over her features. “You looked so much more attractive in that little blue dress. I am disappointed that you would change out of it.” She leaned close to her, lips skimming along her cheek. “You were a CIA Analyst, da?”
She tried to nod, but she couldn’t. She tried to turn her cheek away as the other woman pressed light kisses against her skin. “Yes! Please! Why can I not move?”
“I gave you a special medicine.” Sasha pulled away to give her a light smile. “It makes it impossible for you to escape and is perfect for me to find out what I want to know.” Fingers tangled in her hair and shifted it away from her face. “What was the name of your director? Hmm? Let us start with easy questions.”
“Adam.” She struggled, growing panic making it hard for her to pinpoint answers. “I–I do not remember his last name. It was nearly a year ago!”
She gasped out as Sasha shifted to sit on her middle, tsking lightly. “Last name. I have harder questions, and if you stall, you will not like the consequences, precious.” She hummed and rocked on her stomach as she seemed to consider her course of action. “You had an account and password, yes?”
“I do not remember Adam’s last name!” she ground out. “And any accounts or information I had to the system would have long been deleted. I was fired. They would not keep it in the system! I have nothing I can give.”
A hard slap connected with her cheek, jerking her face away from the vision of the woman seated on her. She gasped out because it had been a very long time since she had been struck by someone. Her vision blurred momentarily, and before it righted, her chin was gripped and her head was jerked back so that she met the icy gaze of Sasha. “Try. Think harder. Do not make me hurt you.”
Jovana panted, trying to keep from panicking, but for the life of her, her chest wouldn’t stop heaving and she just couldn’t move. She stared fearfully at the woman who was planted solidly on her stomach and struggled to think of anything useful. She had nothing. “Please,” she managed through her numb lips. “I know nothing.”
“I have been nice,” the other woman said lightly. “But if you continue to refuse to tell me what I want to know, I will have to be not so nice.”
“Please,” she managed again, her voice pitching higher with fear. She choked slightly, panic making it hard to breathe just as it was making it difficult for her thoughts to connect.
The door slammed open, the chair that had been blocking it skidding across the room, and she saw Scott standing in the doorway. He looked surprised for a split second before he pulled a handgun from seemingly nowhere. Sasha remained on top of her, but the only apparent weapon she had was the syringe she had used to inject the paralyzing agent into her. “You were dead the second I walked in the door,” he said coldly. “Who sent you?”
“President.” She smiled icily. “You say I was dead as soon as you walked in.” She licked her lips. “You should have taken the shot then.” With that, she hurled the syringe at Scott like it was a dagger.
It happened so quickly that Jovana gasped out, watching as Scott dodged and dove toward Sasha. He hit the bed, but the other woman was up and
at the door in a matter of seconds. Her movements had been a blur. “Until next time, lover.” She blew them a kiss and escaped into the night.
Chapter 8
“I can’t move,” she gasped out. “I can’t move!”
Scott jerked back and shot her a look. “Why did you open the door?”
“I thought it was you,” she shrieked at him. “Help me! Why can’t I move?”
He growled low and crawled onto the bed beside her. “You were drugged, most likely.” He shifted her head to one side then the other, evidently looking for something. She felt him probe at a tender bit of skin on her neck. “She paralyzed you. Fortunately for you, it’s not permanent.” He tugged her up further on the bed. “The best thing you can do is sleep it off.” He then felt around her throat for her pulse, seeming to track it for a moment.
“You’re probably going to feel sluggish for a while anyway.” When he seemed to have her arranged to his liking, he sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “This effectively traps us here.” He rubbed his face and his shoulders slouched slightly. “Staying the night wasn’t something I wanted to do.”
She whimpered, wishing she could move because she had the sudden urge to want to comfort him. “I am sorry.” She shifted her gaze to the ceiling, seeing the stained plaster and finding no comfort. She was on the verge of tears now. So many mistakes. Did they ever end?
“Well,” he grumbled as he reached to turn off the lights. “The least we can do now is get some rest. You’ll be able to sober up, and hopefully, in the morning, you’ll have regained some movement.”
“I will?” she asked, doubtful.
“The paralysis is temporary.” He lay beside her then groaned as he stretched out. “It's a drug that’s used to subdue, not kill. I imagine she was trying to get more information from you, right?”
She tried to nod and when she found herself unable to, she cursed. “Yes.”
“Did you tell her anything?”
“No,” she breathed. “I could not answer her questions.” She tried to relax but failed. Earlier, she had been able to doze and was nearly fully asleep when that woman had knocked on the door. Now, she was struggling. Panic still coursed through her. The inability to move was frightening. Scott lay beside her, and she could feel his warmth against her arm and side. Silence began to weigh in.
She didn’t know if he was asleep or awake. His breathing seemed normal, though not particularly deep. The room was dark. The only light was a sliver coming from where the curtains didn’t close all the way. It didn’t give her a view of anything.
She struggled for a second, managing to pick up her head. “Oh,” she gasped out, then dropped her head back to the bed. “Oh.” She winced, though being able to move just a little had been some sort of victory.
“Sleep,” he rumbled from beside her.
“Easier said than done,” she huffed. “I have never had to deal with being paralyzed before. This has been nothing but a nightmare. It keeps going on and getting worse.” She felt tears begin to burn her throat. “You should have killed me,” she managed. “You would have been putting me out of my misery.”
He hushed her, and before she could say more, tears burning trails down her cheeks, he tugged her close. His arm wound around her waist and her breath caught when his other slid beneath her head, propping it up. “You’ve fought this long to get this far,” he murmured, his mouth close to her ear. “Are you really ready to give up because of one mistake?”
She relaxed because there was comfort in his arms that she didn’t understand. His scent coiled around her, dark and musky, and she managed to curl into him. “Not a mistake to make light of,” she murmured, deciding she would take what he was giving her, this comfort she needed.
“It ruined everything. It has taken everything that I have fought for. If I had been vigilant, it would not have happened, but I am careless and it did. As I was careless for opening the door for Sasha. Had it not happened, I would be at home now. I would be happy. Because it happened, you were sent here to kill me.”
“I didn’t.” His voice was low and gravelly, making something tighten within her. “But I found you again and I’m going to keep you safe.” His fingers began to toy with her hair, and there was something comforting about his tentative touches and the way he spoke.
Relief flooded her now, and she finally relaxed. He was going to keep her safe. Darkness swallowed her up and she surrendered to sleep.
Light filtered into the room. It was soft and comfortable. It would have been so easy for him to just relax back with the warm body against his and drift back to sleep. Jovana shifted closer to him, her hand gripping his shirt. Her head was resting on his chest and she looked right at home lying against him.
He needed to get up. Enjoying the feel of her wasn’t something he needed to do. He didn’t need to enjoy the way her breasts pressed into his side and the smell of her clean hair. Her scent seemed to have gotten stronger since she showered. He growled, finding a morning problem getting his attention. He needed to get up. He managed to untangle himself from her and sit up, watching curiously as she shifted into the spot he had vacated.
Amused, he stood and went to his laptop. It sat open on the table, still surprisingly undisturbed. He booted it up, not waiting for the desktop to come up he went to the bathroom to relieve himself and give his teeth a much-needed brushing.
It had been maybe five hours since they fell asleep. He made quick work of his teeth and stretched aching muscles. It wasn’t enough sleep. He could still feel fatigue tugging at his senses. He had to check to see if Austin had gotten the picture and if the payment for the job had been made.
He walked back to the table, unable to keep from looking at the picture of Jovana on the bed. His borrowed shirt had ridden up, showing the expanse of her thighs and a flash of lacy underthings. He swallowed hard as he eyed the curve of her hip. He shouldn’t want her, he told himself again. She should be off limits. He shook his head and looked back to his laptop, opening the email account. Only, it opened up blank. The account had been deleted.
“Fuck.” He swore as he straightened. Now they were both fucked.
Chapter 9
“Where would we go?” she asked, and it was obvious she was striving to sound brave despite the tremor in her voice.
“Mexico,” he said without waiting a beat. He paused, looking at the expanse of her legs. “We’re going to have to walk until we can get another car.”
“We are not going to take your truck?” She looked at him curiously, as if she couldn’t fathom why he would want to leave on foot.
“I kinda made a spectacle when I picked you up.” He offered her the basketball shorts again. He wasn’t going to be able to take it with the full view of her thighs for too much longer.
She was far too tempting, and knowing that they were both in danger only seemed to add to it. “Plus, there’s a really obvious dent in the front grill. So, if I ride around with a hot blonde in the front seat, we won’t be inconspicuous.”
“Hot blonde?” she echoed, her brows raising. “They do not fit,” she said about the shorts with a frown. “If I try to walk in them, they will just fall around my feet.”
“Here.” He held them out for her to step into them, trying not to be amused by the prospect of them falling around her knees. “We can knot them at the hip and see if they’ll stay up that way.” He gave her a look. “You can’t walk around in just my t-shirt.” Even if it was an appealing sight. “I think that would fall under indecent exposure.”
“I could put my dress back on,” she offered then faltered. “But if anyone gave a description of me to the police, that would only create more trouble. Okay, let us try your way,” she said with a sigh, stepping into his shorts without any more protest. He struggled not to touch her skin, knowing it was probably as soft as it looked.
He caught a glance of the lacy front of the panties, and he found himself swallowing hard again. He wasn’t going to be able to r
esist this. She was close and he couldn’t deny that she was attractive. He wanted her, and the longer he was around her, the worse it would likely get. He pulled the elastic waistband taut, then tied a knot at her hip. “There.” He looked at her, noting the closeness now. “That should work for now until we can get you something that fits.”
She smiled. It was a slight pull of her lips, and it his drew his gaze down to them. How did she taste? Would she get offended if he kissed her? “Thank you.” She brought his attention back up. “This will work for now, as you said. Let us get going.” She sat on the bed and put the strappy things she had been wearing the night before on her feet. “How long do you think it will take us to find a replacement car?”
He grimaced. “With you wearing those things, I’ll have to make it quick.”
She looked up at him curiously. “I can handle wearing these.”
“That sounds like a challenge.” he grinned at her and hefted up his duffle bag, slinging it over a shoulder. “Let’s put you to the test.” He opened the door to the motel room and stepped out, leaving it open behind him. If she chose to run, now would be the perfect opportunity for her to make an escape.
But she didn’t. Instead, she followed him out and watched him put the gun case into the truck and stick the keys into the ignition. “If you are not going to take the truck, why are you doing that?” Confusion colored her voice.
“Well, maybe other people will assume I killed you and dumped the truck. Walking around with a gun case with a woman dressed like you will make it seem pretty fishy.” He closed the truck door and offered her a hand. “We’re trying to go for a nonchalant look. Like maybe you’re doing a walk of shame and I’m tagging along or something. Not at all like I kidnapped you and I’m holding you hostage. Understand?”
Lethal Seduction: A CIA Romantic Suspense (CIA Agents Book 1) Page 4
