by Anya Nowlan
“No, Holland is not now nor has he ever been my boyfriend.”
The fact that the answer seemed to be truthful was somewhat surprising, and for whatever reason also came as a major relief to Arlen. Hell, he practically leaned back and sighed. The way she narrowed her almond-shaped eyes at him a little made him realize that he’d smiled at the answer.
Goddamnit, Arlen.
“Okay, just to clarify – you’ve never been intimately involved with Holland or any other member of the Crimson Claws?” he specified.
“No, I hate them all,” Sienna ground out.
Technically, that was all Arlen needed to know, but he kept going.
“Did he hurt you while he kept you with him?”
“How is that relevant?”
“Did he?” Arlen repeated, more forcefully this time.
“No, no one hurt me. Are we done now?”
She yanked her hands back and Arlen slid his palms out from under hers with not a little bit of reluctance, grazing her soft skin with his fingertips in the process. He could have sworn he heard Sienna’s breath hitch, but she shot up from her chair at the same moment, so he could have been mistaken.
“Are you happy now?” she demanded, cheeks even redder than before as she started pacing around the apartment.
“I had to be sure.”
His response was matter-of-fact, even though his insides were burning with the need to touch her again.
“And now that you’re sure, what are you going to do?”
What am I going to do?
He was saved from coming up with an answer by one of his burner phones ringing.
“How convenient,” Sienna muttered with a roll of her eyes as her hand flew to her hip.
Arlen pulled out one of the drawers in the kitchen, filled with cell phones, and picked up the one that was buzzing. He looked at the number taped to its back. It was the same one he had given to Sienna’s driver not too long ago.
Holland. His timing is fucking impeccable.
Eight
Sienna
One look at Arlen’s face told Sienna all she needed to know. It had to be Holland calling, either to find out who the man who took out both of his goons was, or to negotiate her return. Probably the former. Revenge had to be more important to mobsters than a good massage, right?
But then again, what did she know. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore lately. Kidnapping her and keeping her prisoner for a couple of massages seemed like overkill in the first place, yet Holland had no problem with that.
She didn’t stop to wonder how she could be so sure of it being Holland calling, having barely been around Arlen. Definitely not enough time to know his facial expressions. Yet for some reason, she could read him easily.
Whatever reason Arlen had for taking her in the first place, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t for her benefit. He had thought she was Holland’s girlfriend, so he was probably planning to use her in some sort of blackmail scheme. He wasn’t the good guy in this.
So why did she think he just might turn out to be not quite as dark and gloomy as she had pegged him after seeing him brutally murder a man right in front of her?
At least it was a fair fight, she thought, pushing away the memory of Holland gunning down his own employee.
“Go ahead, answer it. But just know, whatever you were planning on demanding in exchange for my safe return, you might have to dial it down a couple of notches. Holland doesn’t care about me, and I’m not the only masseuse in Chicago.”
Sienna hoped telling it like it was wasn’t a fatal mistake. She could try to exaggerate her importance, but the truth would come out sooner or later. On top of that, she had a feeling Arlen was pretty good at telling when she was lying, even when he didn’t have his hands on her pulse.
She sat down on a Spartan-looking couch, crossed one knee over the other, and gave the man what she hoped was a withering glare. For what it was worth, he didn’t look anywhere near appropriately uncomfortable under her stare.
He had gotten to play twenty questions with her while she still remained in the dark about who he was and what his intentions were. In her mind, that was distinctly unfair. Arlen stared at the phone for a couple of seconds without picking it up, before setting it back down.
“He’ll call back,” he shrugged before taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
That was definitely unexpected. Did he ignore the call for Sienna’s benefit, or was it just a negotiation tactic meant to make Holland squirm? Maybe his plans for her had changed, now that he found out her involvement with the Crimson Claws was involuntary? Maybe she was about to get acquainted with that knife he was so good with?
Maybe you’re useless to him now and he’s thinking up ways to dispose of your body, a dark place inside her whispered, making her shy into her corner on the couch a little.
She wasn’t afraid of him, but her sense of personal health and safety had taken a bruising lately and it seemed to her that it would have been dumb to misjudge this guy, no matter how much she wanted him to be a hero instead of a villain.
Sienna had trouble getting a read on the man. Sure, she could pick up on his expressions easy enough, but those could be faked, though she hoped they weren’t. She’d seen a few ticks of promise and despite herself, she wanted to see more.
All she knew for sure was that his presence had an inexplicably strong effect on her. Even now, just sitting on the same couch with him made her stomach fill with butterflies. The pull she felt towards him defied logic, but that didn’t make it less powerful.
How she had gotten through his little polygraph test still baffled her. As soon as she had placed her hands in his, it seemed as if a charge ran through her skin, connecting her body with his. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her heart must have been beating wildly.
Maybe I’m still in shock? I did witness a man’s murder today… A man who totally deserved it, but still.
“So, I’ve turned out to be pretty worthless as a bargaining chip. Does that mean you’re going to let me go or are you just going to kill me?”
Her stomach turned cold as she lay it all on the table, blurting it out for as much her own benefit as his. If she was going to die, she’d rather know now.
“Is there nothing in between?” he countered vaguely, pursing his lips.
“Can you just be straight with me? I’ve told you the truth, isn’t it time you do the same?”
He quieted at her words and she studied his face, looking for more signs of being worthy of that good guy title she wanted to give him. He seemed to be struggling with something. Whether that was a good sign or not, she couldn’t yet tell.
“I’m not going to kill you. But I can’t let you go, either,” Arlen answered.
Well, that sure does clear everything up, Sienna thought, frustrated.
“When you took me, thinking I was Holland’s girlfriend, what was your plan?” she tried again, hoping for a clearer answer this time.
I’m bound to stumble onto something that loosens his tongue, eventually. I can’t believe I’m trying to negotiate with a murderer!
His jaw tightened.
“You did have a plan, right?” she queried, growing even more nervous.
Could it be he’s just some random psycho with an axe to grind with Holland?
“I have a mission,” he said finally. “I work for… a certain organization. My employers want Holland dead. I don’t get to ask a lot of questions. I did some research - he’s a bad guy, and took the job. He’s become very reclusive lately.
“Something to do with someone high up in the Claws getting killed recently. Taking someone he cared about would likely draw him out, or at least get me some more intel on the man.”
Sienna was taken aback for a second, having expected another non-answer but getting a lot of information to process instead. His story seemed too farfetched and came too easily for her to think it was a lie, and it seemed to track with his actions up to this po
int.
He had this military strictness about him. She could certainly believe he worked as an agent of some kind, though he obviously wasn’t about to tell her which kind.
She was relieved that they seemed to be somewhat on the same side at least. The anti-Holland side, that is. If Arlen’s mission was to get to Holland, then she was still his best link to the man, she could see that.
Arlen said he wouldn’t hurt her, but he didn’t say he wouldn’t use her.
I’m not his bargaining chip.
Sienna had sworn a long time ago to never again let a man control her life. Holland had already violated her free will. Was it going to be more of the same with Arlen?
“And if you had found out he was a decent guy? Would you still be on this mission?”
“I don’t kill innocents. But I guess innocence is subjective, isn’t it?”
Arlen shrugged, making Sienna frown. She didn’t quite know what to make of that. Her body, however, appeared all too sure about the next course of action, as she caught herself edging closer to Arlen by imperceptible amounts.
Are my instincts telling me I can trust him or am I just losing control over my motor functions?
“That still leaves my fate dangling in the breeze. You won’t kill me, but you won’t let me go. Where does that leave us?”
Arlen’s features hardened immediately. He sat up straighter and angled his body towards her.
“I’m not going to hand you back over to Holland, there’s no use in that. You’ve spent time with him, at his house. You may have information you don’t even know is important. You won’t be safe out there. Holland knows you’re a loose end and he’s a powerful man with many connections.”
It almost sounded like he was trying to sell her on the idea instead of telling her how it was going to be. She had to appreciate that, at least a little.
Sienna rubbed at her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She was tired of being thrust from one perilous situation to the next. But the truth was, she really had no other option than to take what Arlen said at face value.
Trust didn’t come easily for her, but that wasn’t the most important thing right now. She was low on options and Arlen felt like a better choice than Holland, at least.
“What do you propose?” she asked.
God, why does he have to be so cute? she thought, watching him run his hand through his hair again and catching herself wanting to do the same.
“You help me finish my mission by providing me with information and I keep you alive and away from the Crimson Claws.”
It seemed pretty straightforward when he put it like that. And it had the added bonus of taking down Holland. And staying around Arlen for a while.
Because he’s the only guy who could protect me from Arlen’s men, she hastened to add to herself.
“Okay,” was all that Sienna managed to get out before the phone rang again.
Nine
Arlen
They sat on the couch, eyeing the phone. Holland was actually calling him. Just hours ago, Arlen wouldn’t have hesitated even for a second before taking the call. Now, things seemed so different.
The mission should always come first, but he couldn’t just ignore Sienna’s part in all of it. His tiger certainly wasn’t. She didn’t ask to get dragged into this mess. Not to mention, all of his instincts were telling him he needed to keep her safe and close.
The primal side of him had taken a strong, if irrational liking to Sienna the moment he laid eyes on her. He could admit it to himself now. A very big part of the reason he’d been focusing on her in the beginning was because he got a feeling about her.
Maybe it was because she stood out in the crowd of professional criminals flocking to and from Holland’s house. They were either stern-faced and stiff or cocky and swaggering, while the mere way Sienna walked exuded a carefree self-assuredness.
Like she knew what she was worth, and didn’t need anyone else’s approval.
But even if these were different circumstances, she could never be his. It wouldn’t be fair. He was a soldier of The Firm, which meant his life was filled with danger and violence. It left no room for a relationship or a family.
In his line of work, any close connections were just liabilities. Liabilities he didn’t need or want. Right?
He thought he knew all of this with absolute certainty, but he didn’t sound quite as resolute to himself as he wished he did. The only reasonable thing to do was to assume that it was the heat, clouding his judgment.
A deep burning from within urged him to find his mate before it was too late. And there was an all too delicious woman right in front of him. Biologically, it made perfect sense.
That was the curse of being a tiger shifter – once the heat took you, the clock started ticking. If you didn’t find your mate before it subsided, then that was that. There were no second chances, no trying it again at a more convenient time in your life.
It was unfair, Arlen had always thought. Most other shifters could go through life, waiting for the moment where they found their fated, the one meant for them. Sure, there was a high chance they might never find that perfect mate, but they had a lifetime to try. Tigers only got a few weeks.
It was why arranged marriages and matings were such a big thing with tiger shifters. Traditionally, they’d always had their mate chosen for them.
Arlen would rather not have a mate than have one forced on him – he’d decided on that a long time ago and he had never questioned, not until now, at least.
Since Arlen wasn’t about to involve a child in the chaos he called a life, he had made his peace with his lonely future. He’d ride out his heat and carry on living like he always had. That was the plan, anyway.
“You’re really not going to get that,” Sienna mused, sounding more like she was stating a fact rather than asking a question. “Isn’t that kind of counterintuitive to your whole mission and all?”
She clearly still had some doubts about Arlen’s motivations and he couldn’t blame her. She didn’t know him. He had to give her a reason to trust him. Their deal would never work otherwise.
Would she trust me even if she knew me? Why would she? I’m a murderer. A weapon for hire.
Sienna kept rubbing at her temples and her eyes looked tired. She could probably use some sleep, and Arlen could use some time away from her so he could stop thinking about how good it would feel to kiss those full lips of hers.
“It can wait. Holland is not going anywhere. You need some rest. The bedroom is all yours. We can talk things out and come up with a course of action when you’re rested,” he offered, gesturing toward the room in the back.
Sienna looked unsure of how to respond. Arlen stood and picked up the phone that had finally stopped buzzing, throwing it at her. She fumbled but caught it.
“So you know I’m not making any deals behind your back,” he commented.
He spotted a hint of a smile on her face as he said that. It made him feel good, seeing her like that.
“I am feeling pretty spent. I guess a little nap won’t hurt,” she replied, getting up from the couch.
He loved watching her move. A little too much, to be honest.
“Make yourself at home,” Arlen said, averting his gaze and busying himself with opening his laptop.
It was better to avoid looking at Sienna. Or thinking about her in his bed. Tangled up in the sheets he’d slept in just last night.
Soft footfalls landed on the carpet and when he looked up, she was gone and the door to his bedroom was closed. With a sigh, Arlen sat down at his kitchen table and typed up a report to send to Foster, his supervisor at the intelligence department.
He explained the situation with Sienna, saying she had inside information on Holland’s operation from her time being kept as his prisoner. He also asked that The Firm consider setting her up with a new identity if the data she provided turned out to be useful.
He knew it was a long shot. The Firm didn’t concern itself
with civilians, let alone human civilians, but he had to at least try. Stranger things had happened, and with Shifter Squad Six having gone rogue a couple of times in the past, Arlen had gotten glimpses that The Firm was not as unflappable as he thought them to be originally.
Maybe he could get lucky.
And there were far too many ‘maybes’ in his thought processes lately.
Sienna’s ‘little nap’ turned out to be more than three hours long. He used that time to map up all the locations he had followed Holland’s men to. It was the best he could do to keep himself busy and keep his mind off of her. It was already growing dark outside when she emerged from his bedroom, hair wild and rubbing her eyes.
“Hey,” she muttered groggily as she plunked down on the seat opposite him.
Arlen’s plan to keep his eyes off of her immediately flew out the window. Having her so close, feeling the warmth of her body and smelling her delicious scent was already enough to drive him crazy, so why deny himself the pleasure of looking at her beautiful face?
“Sleep well?” he asked neutrally, tucking his computer away.
“Like a baby. I was always too anxious at Holland’s place to get a good night’s sleep. I feel a lot better now,” she replied, stretching.
It sounded good to know that she felt at ease with him in the other room. Better than he would have liked to admit.
Arlen’s gaze followed her movements, snaking around her ample curves, imagining how soft her skin would feel under his touch. Not that he would ever find out. His tiger growled, dissatisfied. “What was that?” Sienna asked, picking up on the sound emanating from deep within his chest.
“Just my stomach rumbling. You hungry? I know a great Thai place that delivers,” he replied smoothly.
“Some food would be great, thanks,” she replied, giving him a small smile.
Crisis averted, he thought, cursing his lack of self-control around her.
She was like catnip and he was one hell of a large feline.
Arlen made the call, ordering a selection of his favorite dishes while Sienna settled in on the couch, channel surfing. He kept stealing glances at her while waiting for the food to arrive.
