Untouchable: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Kathryn Thomas

  I need you, she thought as she pushed her tongue past the sweet barrier of Lind’s lips. I need you so much closer.

  They kissed for what felt like forever and yet too short a time at once. They only pulled back when they were both seriously out of breath, but even then, neither of them broke the contact. Lind’s arms remained around Eve. Eve’s hands remained on Lind.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said.

  “I’ve missed you, too,” he replied, leaning his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I’m sorry about everything.”

  Eve nodded. “It’s okay,” she said, and for the first time in what felt like a long time, she really meant it. “We’ll be okay.”

  Lind nodded back and kissed her, a light touch of lips on lips that still was able to send a jolt of electricity shooting down Eve’s spine.

  Eventually, Lind pulled back enough so that they could stare at each other and have a conversation.

  “What are you doing here anyway?” he asked. “I thought you hated the headquarters.”

  “I do,” Eve admitted. There was no point in denying it; to her, the headquarters represented all that she was not allowed to share with Lind and all that threatened to take him away from her. But maybe things could be different now that they had turned this corner. “I came to talk to you.”

  “Oh,” Lind said. He looked at her curiously. “Tell me.”

  Eve shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now.”

  He frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  He stared at her for quite a few long moments, searching her. Then, suddenly, a look of realization came upon his handsome features. “I almost lost you, didn’t I?”

  Eve cringed at the pain in his voice and eyes. She couldn’t lie to him. “Yes,” she admitted. “You almost did.”

  In response, Lind tightened his hold around her. It was clearly an automatic reflex, and Eve wondered at this man who could pull away from her one day and respond so readily and intimately to her presence the next.

  “I’m sorry,” Lind said again. “I’ve made things worse for you and I really didn’t want to. I guess…” He hesitated. “I guess I went kind of crazy.”

  Eve gave him a small smile. “Yeah, you did,” she said. “Care to tell me why?”

  Lind sighed. “You know it’s a personal revenge this man is after.”

  Eve nodded.

  “Personal revenges are brutal,” Lind said. “I just can’t stand the idea of anything happening to you, especially because of me. The thought alone makes me mental. I guess I let it get the best of me.”

  Eve nodded again. She still didn’t justify any of Lind’s obsessive actions, but she figured she could see his point. The more she looked into Lind’s once-more gentle eyes, the more she realized that this man did indeed love her. She felt stupid for doubting him, but all in all she figured she couldn’t be blamed either.

  “Promise me that’s in the past now?” she said. “Because I really can’t take any more of it.” She needed to know that Lind’s craziness was really gone. As much as she loved him—and as much as he seemed to love her—she couldn’t be around him if it weren’t.

  “It is,” Lind said readily. “I promise you, Eve. It’s done.”

  Eve studied him carefully. Finally, she was satisfied enough to believe him. She nodded. “Good,” she said. “I’m not one for ultimatums, but you should know that if it happens again, you will lose me. I just cannot live like this.”

  She didn’t mean to ruin the moment, but it needed to be said. Everything needed to be said, otherwise she knew their relationship would never survive.

  Lind blew out a shaky breath and nodded. “I understand,” he said. “I hear you.”

  “Good,” Eve said again. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him again. “Now, about that breakfast…”

  Lind laughed. “Let’s do it.”

  They left Eve’s car and opted to ride on Lind’s Harley instead. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, glad to have an excuse to cling to him some more. She knew that the dark times were far from over, but at the very least she also knew that darkness would not be brought on by Lind. She also knew that she had the chance to have the darkness lift earlier. She would tell Lind what little she knew, she decided. He probably wouldn’t take it well and chances were that he would be furious with Lucas, but he needed to know.

  But first, Eve decided, coffee.

  CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

  There was something wonderfully familiar about sitting in a diner with Lind, drinking coffee. It brought to mind the beginnings of their relationship, when they were both tentative and they would have coffee dates and slip into easy conversations.

  Eve knew the conversation they needed to have now would be anything but easy, but she also knew that it couldn’t be avoided. However, she allowed them both some time to get settled in and get reacquainted with each other’s presence before delving into the topic. She was in no hurry. Perhaps she should have been, but she couldn’t bring herself to break the spell just yet. She had waited too long for this. So what if she relished these moments for a few minutes longer? Had she not earned that?

  She watched as Lind dug hungrily into his plate of French toast—his favorite breakfast dish—and idly wondered when he had last eaten some real food. She had a feeling that he had not been taking great care of himself, and she vowed to make sure that he would from now on.

  Lind looked up from his plate and caught her staring. “Sorry,” he mumbled around a mouthful, swallowing laboriously. “Am I eating too fast?”

  It was endearing the way he still worried about making a good impression on her. Doing his best to mind his manners was Lind’s way of acknowledging Eve’s background.

  She smiled and shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’m just happy to see you eat.”

  Lind frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “Well, I’ve got the feeling solid food hasn’t been exactly your priority lately,” Eve said, digging into her scrambled eggs.

  Lind smirked. “You worry about me?” he teased.

  Eve mock-glared at him. “Jerk,” she said, with no real heat behind the word.

  Lind’s grin softened into a smile, and he leaned over to kiss her briefly. He tasted like maple syrup, and Eve hated having to spoil the sweetness of it.

  She didn’t venture on to the subject until they had both finished their food and only the caffeine remained. Eve had skipped her customary latte for black coffee, feeling like she needed something stronger. She did her best not to grimace every time she took a sip of the bitter liquid; she really didn’t like it, but it kept her mind sharp. The last thing she needed right now was a sugar rush.

  “There’s something you should know,” she finally said.

  Lind looked at her curiously. “What’s that?”

  Eve took another sip of black liquid courage. “It’s about the man you’re after.” Or who was after Lind. Eve still wasn’t sure who the hunter was and who was the hunted in all this. All she knew was that they were both incredibly dangerous.

  Predictably, Lind tensed up right away. “What about him?” he asked carefully.

  Eve took a deep breath. “I know who he is.”

  Lind stared at her. “How would you know who he is?”

  “I’ve seen him.”

  The mug almost fell from Lind’s hands. “Where?” he hissed. “Has he approached you?”

  “No,” Eve said quickly. She reached out and grabbed his hand on the table, squeezing his fingers reassuringly. She could have kicked herself; way to send the man into a panic. “No,” she said again. “He didn’t approach me. I saw him before I even knew who he was.”

  Lind continued to stare. The searching look in his blue eyes was unsettling. “I’m not following, Eve,” he said. He looked at her like she was a bomb about to go off.

  “He came to the nightclub a few times,” Eve said. “I figure there wouldn’t be many other men wi
th burns on their back who were also involved with Gary.”

  Lind’s suspicion grew visibly. “How do you know he has burns on his back?”

  Here we go. Eve took a deep breath. “Lucas told me.”

  “What?” Lind all but growled. “What did he tell you?”

  “Everything.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Lind slammed his fist down on the table, so hard and sudden that it made Eve wince in surprise. “He’s dead. I’m going to fucking kill him—”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Eve interrupted him sternly. “It wasn’t his fault. I insisted.”

  “Oh, sure.” Lind snorted. “What did you do, hold him at gunpoint? He should’ve fucking kept his mouth shut.”

  “No, he shouldn’t have,” Eve argued. “It was about damn time someone told me just what the hell is going on.” She glared defiantly at him. “You’ve said it yourself, the way you were handling it was all wrong. Part of that wrong was keeping me in the dark, and you know it.”

  Lind seemed to deflate then. He blew out a long breath and disentangled his fingers from Eve’s to run his hand over his face. “Fine,” he finally said. “Ok. So you know everything now.”

  Eve nodded.

  Lind stared at her, and she could now spot a hint of fear in his fierce eyes. “And you’re still here,” he said. He sounded genuinely surprised.

  “Where else would I be?”

  “You know what I did,” Lind said.

  Eve nodded. “It’s not for me to judge,” she said after a moment. “I’m sure you were at your last resort. I’m sure you did everything you could to keep her safe.”

  Lind looked at her like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing—which was probably just the case. “I should never have put her in that position,” he said quietly, looking down at the table.

  “What’s done is done,” Eve said. She surprised even herself with how practical she was being about the whole thing. And yet, it was the most logical approach she could think of. Lind couldn’t keep dwelling on his past mistakes, and if she really wanted things to work out between them—and she really did—then neither could she. “What matters now is how we stop him.”

  Lind shook his head. “I’ve looked everywhere,” he said. He, too, was clearly trying his best to focus on the here and now. “It feels like I’ve hit a dead end. I’m stumped.”

  “Maybe I know someone who could help us out,” Eve said.

  Lind looked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “Aileen and Kelly, the twins who used to dance with me at the Cobra.”

  “What about them?”

  “They used to…uh…entertain Taylor whenever he came to the club, and it didn’t stop there. They told me they had been to his house multiple times. It’s a long shot, but they may still be in contact with him.”

  Lind weighed her words carefully. “If they are, do you think they might know where he is?”

  Eve smirked, confident. “If they are still in contact, it’s not just to chat.”

  Lind grinned back despite everything. “You’re a fucking genius, you know that?”

  “I aim to please,” Eve said. “Let me put in a call to them. I’ll ask them to meet me for a drink and introduce the subject. I don’t want to do it over the phone.”

  Lind nodded. “All right, but Lucas and I will be with you to keep an eye on things. Don’t look at me like that,” he said when Eve tensed and glared at him. “You still need to be protected.”

  “I can shoot that gun now, you know.”

  Lind gave her a smile that was more like a grimace. “I hope you never have to.”

  CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

  As it turned out, Kelly and Aileen were still in contact with Douglas Taylor. In fact, he had sought them out pretty much the moment he had gotten back to L.A. Men’s vices are hard things to overcome, and Eve was not surprised to learn that Taylor had not overcome his.

  They had been to his hideout in the hills, the twins said. He was still as gentlemanly as ever, they said. Eve refrained to tell them that their flawless gentleman was out to kill her. When they asked her why she was looking for him, Eve told them as much of the truth as she could—she told them he had wronged the Diamondbacks. It was enough to make them stop asking questions, and hopefully it would also be enough to keep them away from the man.

  Eve thanked her ex-coworkers for the information, and then they proceeded to drink like old times and chat about anything and everything—that is, anything and everything that wasn’t Douglas Taylor, the Viper, or the Diamondbacks.

  All in all, Eve thought the final evaluation of the evening was a great one; she had scored some pretty crucial information and gotten a fun night out of it in the process.

  Lind and Lucas didn’t look as thrilled as they lurked in the pub amongst the customers and were forced to keep an eye on three women gossiping and getting progressively drunk. Eve caught Lind watching her with an amused grin on his face a couple of times, so she figured he couldn’t really complain that much.

  The breath of fresh air that the night out with the twins brought along vanished quickly, however. Lind let her have that one night, but the next day it was down to business as usual.

  “The Hills.” Alec shook his head in disbelief when they filled him and the others in the next morning. “Son of a bitch, who would’ve thought? How did he even get the money to get himself a house up there?”

  “Maybe he’s squatting,” Freddie ventured.

  Everyone looked at him like they had never heard anything more stupid in their life, and he settled back in his chair with a grunt and a mutter.

  “So what’s the plan?” Phil enquired.

  “We go in, guns blazing. And we take the bastard out,” Lind said, his blue eyes alive with fury and purpose. It made Eve shiver.

  “Is that wise?” Eve ventured. It was the first time she had been allowed to sit in at one of their meetings. She had promised herself she would only deliver the information she had gotten for them and remain silent for the rest of the time, but she couldn’t help it.

  “What do you mean?” Alec said. “It’s one man.”

  “What if it isn’t?” Eve said. “Think about it. He’s had accomplices before.” She suppressed a shudder as she thought about Jacob and Jessica, and about Gary. “He may have them now.”

  “So?” Freddie said. “We take them down, too.”

  “Yes,” Eve conceded. “But it might not be so easy. Maybe someone should test the waters first.”

  “Eve, what is it that you have in mind?” Lind asked, cutting to the chase. He knew her too well.

  “He knows all of you,” Eve said. “So it needs to be someone he’s not familiar with. I could go over and—”

  “No fucking way,” Lind hissed furiously. “You are not getting anywhere near him.”

  “But—”

  “He’s right,” Alec said, surprising her. Since when did he care what happened to her? “You’re staying put.”

  Eve scowled fiercely at him. “What if I don’t?”

  “I’ll tie you to one of these chairs. I’ll swear to God,” Alec growled back.

  “He’ll do it, too,” Lucas echoed.

  Eve sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. She was aware that pouting wasn’t exactly the most mature response she could have, but she couldn’t help it. She was tired of being on the sidelines.

  “You’re not being left out, Eve,” Lind said, guessing her thoughts. “You’ve been a crucial element in all this. If it weren’t for you, there wouldn’t even be an operation to begin with. But now it’s our turn; you have to respect that.”

  He was being gentle, but firm. He was telling her, Eve realized, that if she really wanted to be part of his world she needed to learn to play her role.

  She nodded, reluctantly. “Fine,” she finally conceded. “I’ll stay put.” She looked over at Alec, unable to stop herself. “What’s your plan?”

  CHAPTER FORTY SIX

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nbsp; The plan, as it turned out, was indeed to storm Taylor’s place and drag him out like one drags a prey out of their lair. It was a simple plan, but effective. Once again, the Diamondbacks proved to be insanely good at what they did and scored yet another kill.

  It wasn’t, however, entirely without consequences. Taylor, in his insanity, was also insanely good at what he did and managed to get in a few well-aimed shots before he finally succumbed. One hit Lucas square in the thigh, luckily without nicking the artery. The other bullet went straight through Lind’s shoulder.