by Jenny Allen
“I’m sorry to have wasted your time, Officer. Thank you for your assistance, but apparently Mr. Deveraux is just fine…for now.” She swung a heavy look at Chance that was definitely less than friendly. “He just doesn’t know how to answer the phone.”
Tramble coughed on a laugh and nodded as he holstered his weapons. To his credit, he did manage to pull on a serious face, attempting a little professional courtesy. However, there wasn’t a single doubt in her mind that this was gonna be the talk of the station for the next five years. “Well if you are both safe and sound, I’ll return to the scene of the accident.” He nodded again, flashed a humorous look at Chance and turned toward the open door.
“Accident?” Chance moved forward with sudden concern but Lilith held up a warning hand. He stopped short, completely bewildered at first. Then his eyes widened as he finally noticed the bruising on the side of her face, the ripped clothes, the bandages around her wrist, the gauze pad on her temple and the blood matted in her hair.
“Thank you, Officer Tramble.” Lilith saw him out and locked the door, taking her time. She rested her aching head against the door trying to pull herself together. She was completely conflicted. A small part was incredibly moved by the romantic gesture even if it was way too Nicholas Sparks, but the rest of her was pissed.
She was mad he didn’t answer the phone, or call back, but ultimately, some irrational piece of her was angry that while she and Cohen were fighting for their lives, Chance was here playing Romeo. It wasn’t fair. He wasn’t psychic. He couldn’t have seen what was coming any more than she could have. Lilith barely believed what happened and she’d been right in the middle of it. Still, the anger burned like the hot embers of a threatening forest fire.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even see that I had a call. I walked down to the corner store…What happened?” Chance’s voice was definitely shaky. “Are you all right?” She could feel Chance standing directly behind her, feel his warmth, and despite her anger, she just wanted to lean back into him. Of course, there was a reason her father called her stubborn. No, her father used to call her stubborn. Mentally forcing herself to change the tense just made the anger burn a little brighter.
Lilith turned on her heel, facing down Chance, even if he was several inches taller than her. She was painfully aware of the door at her back and Chance just inches from her, but she shoved the hormones away. Right now they were about as welcome as a Mormon at Mardi Gras.
“What the hell is all this, Chance?” He shrank back a step or two, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Confusion and frustration pinched his face as he ran his hand gruffly through his hair. She could see the struggle on his face, trying to find the right words, and it just made something in her snap.
“I am not Sonja or Michelle or Lila…” His eyes jumped up to hers sharply as she started ticking off the names on last month’s dance card. “Dammit, Chance. You don’t need some showy romantic gesture to impress me. Is that all you think I care about?”
“Lilith, that is not…” Chance stepped forward, his jaw clenched as his hazel eyes burned angrily. “You don’t think I know that? After everything that’s happened, Alvarez, Gregor…I just wanted to do something for you, give you a relaxing night.” He huffed at the slightly shocked and repentant look on her face. “Guess I missed the damn mark by a mile.”
Lilith sunk back against the door feeling about an inch tall. She had no idea what to think much less say. Her mind was just a huge jumbled mess of stress and panic. There was a time not long ago when the world made sense to her. It felt like a lifetime ago.
When she finally looked back up at Chance, he was standing in the center of the room with an expectant look on his face. Shit. Was he waiting for her to say something? “I’m sorry for biting your head off…It’s…beautiful, really.” It was all she could come up with at the moment.
Chance snorted a laugh and shook his head, his fingers raking through his shaggy chestnut hair again. “Why don’t you just tell me what the hell happened?”
“An Escalade full of heavily armed men T-boned the car and tried to turn us into Swiss cheese.” Lilith strolled past him to the small table and blew out the tea lights on top of her kit. “Four men, all in black, complete with ski masks.” She popped open the case and pulled out her handgun. She wasn’t going to let it sit in her case for another minute longer. She wanted it close at hand after tonight’s fun-filled fire fight.
“Shit. Farren’s men?” It was a valid question considering Farren’s love of hiring anonymous henchmen to do his dirty work.
“I don’t think so. They weren’t in tactile gear like his usual flunkies and they didn’t seem nearly as organized.” Lilith slid the pistol into the nightstand drawer as her mind really worked through the question. “Besides, that would be a little counterproductive considering he wants us to find this book.”
“Jesus, Lily. I should have been there. I didn’t think…” She felt his hands slowly slide over her shoulders, relief rippling over her in their wake. When his lips brushed against the nape of her neck, the noise in her head finally dulled to soft roar. She had zero desire to fight with Chance, especially not over her own damn insecurities.
“How could you? I sure as hell didn’t think there was the faintest possibility of mercs trying to assassinate me on the way back from a Chinese take-out. Honestly, I think you staying here saved all our lives.” Lilith turned to see Chance’s brow furrowed in a bewildered look. “They hesitated, waiting for orders. I’m fairly certain it’s because you weren’t in the car.” Lilith leaned her forehead against his chest with a heavy sigh. “I swear, Chance. Two car accidents in as many weeks. I think I have car trauma.”
“I’m sorry, Cher.” He brushed a blood-soaked strand of hair from her face and chuckled softly. A shadow flickered behind his eyes, but before she could wrap her mind around it, he pulled away. “Let me grab the first aid kit and you can tell me exactly what happened...”
He started purposefully toward her forensic case, but she reached out and grabbed his arm lightly. “Chance, The EMS already checked me out. I’m fine. All I really want right now is a long, hot shower.” With a reassuring smile her fingers fell away from his arm and she took a step toward the bathroom.
“You are not fine, Lily.”
She stopped halfway to her destination and a weak smile tugged at her lips. “I will be.” The quirked eyebrow and arms crossed over his chest said he remained unconvinced.
“There’s something else bothering you. I don’t think you were just pissed about the candles. Why did you bust in her guns blazing?”
Lilith took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as her mind rattled to a stop on one thought. “I was sure they’d send someone here. They had to know where we were staying. And when I called and called…I’m just glad you’re okay, Chance.”
There was a split second of pure disbelief in his eyes. In that moment, Lilith knew he was confounded by the fact that someone was genuinely concerned about him. It wasn’t logical, it was pure ingrained instinct. Then, just like that, it was gone, swallowed down to the dark depths.
“I was so damned worried that they’d gotten to you and when I saw the flickering light through the curtain…” She managed to keep her voice from breaking but she couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. To her complete surprise, she could feel tears welling in her eyes. Once the adrenaline wore off, it left her raw and off-balance, struggling to find a foot hold. She felt like a rock climber trying to find grips in a mud slide.
Chance stalked right up to her, his strong hands suddenly sinking into her hair. His lips crashed against hers with a deep hunger that completely stole her breath. After a split second of shocked paralysis, Lilith slid her arms around him, clinging to the intoxicating feeling rushing to her head as her lips pushed hungrily against his. Then Chance brushed his lips feather-light against hers before placing a kiss against the tip of her nose. The sudden wildfire dimmed to smoldering embers as his hands softly moved
down her neck to her shoulders. Well that knocked all the conflicting stuff right out of her head and burned it to ash.
Slowly, reluctantly, she pulled away, her eyes lingering on his chiseled jaw and soft lips. “You…” Lilith released a slow steadying breath, her head still spinning from that kiss. “I really need a shower.” The words escaped her lips in a disappointed sigh. As much as she wanted to just forget the world and hide in bed with Chance, she wanted a shower more. She could feel the blood and tissue crusting in her hair, feel the sticky splatters of it on her skin. She needed to wash it all away.
Lilith took a step to the right, heading for the bathroom, but Chance lightly gripped her arm. A tight smile crossed her lips as her head began to pound again. She rubbed at her temple with a soft sigh escaping her lips. “Chance…I’m covered in blood…”
Before she could say anything else, Chance scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a china doll and carried her into the bathroom. He carefully set her down on the countertop and immediately turned his back on her, leaning in to start the shower. A soft smile tugged at her weary lips as she watched him testing the water temperature every few seconds.
Chance stepped away from the shower, padding smoothly across the tile floor until he was right in front of her again. To her surprise, his eyes never met hers, they focused instead on her wounds as he carefully removed her bandages. Then his broad hands slipped over her shoulders, slowly pushing her suit jacket off and letting it crumple to the countertop.
“Chance, this is incredibly sweet, but…” He pressed a finger against her lips, cutting her off, and his hazel eyes rose to meet hers. There was a quiet seriousness in them that was a far cry from the impish grins and half-hearted quips she was used to. It scared the hell out of her. Sure Chance claimed be holding a decade-old torch for her, but all too often the fantasy doesn’t live up to the reality. However, the way his hazel eyes lit up, the way they seemed to see right through her, it all made her feel ridiculous for bringing up his checkered past earlier. This was no more a week-long fling to him than it was to her.
Chance returned his focus to his nimble fingers as they moved from button to button on her blouse. By the time he slid her shirt off and tossed it to the floor she no longer cared that she was covered in blood. Everything about his movements, even as he unclasped her bra, was the very opposite of that alley in Tennessee. This wasn’t a mad rush of emotions and hormones that had them tearing off each other’s clothes. His hands moved purposefully, tenderly, the fingertips caressing over her skin as if it was made of the finest porcelain.
Lilith let her shoes clatter to the floor and slid slowly off the counter, watching his calm, collected face the entire time. Warm fingertips played over the curve of her hips and then the whir of her skirt zipper echoed off the tiled walls. Palms caressed over her hips now, ever so slowly pushing the fabric down until it pooled on the floor.
For a moment, Lilith forgot to breathe, the cool air tickling over her skin as she stood there exposed and vulnerable. Without warning, Chance scooped her up into his arms again and carried her right into the warm shower, still dressed in his T-shirt and jeans.
“Chance, what are you doing?” Lilith chuckled and grinned as her set her back on her feet, the warm water splashing at her back.
“You obviously aren’t a candle kinda gal. You wanted a shower instead.” A wide grin cracked his serious demeanor as he gently tilted her head back into the water, his hands massaging the hotel shampoo through her hair. It was enough to make Lilith completely melt, her eyes fluttering closed in complete nirvana.
When he’d rinsed the last of the shampoo from her auburn curls, she grabbed the front of his soaking wet T-shirt and pulled him closer. Her lips crashed against his in a sudden fiery kiss as the last of her self-control burned away.
It wasn’t an escape from grief that fueled the moan tickling across their lips as he gripped her hips and pinned her against the wall. It wasn’t the need to feel alive that sunk her fingers into his wet hair as his tongue caressed against hers. It wasn’t animalistic lust that moved his hips intoxicatingly against hers. It was something deeper, something mysterious and unknown to her that kept them in the shower until the ice cold water numbed their skin.
Chapter 14
Lilith was tugging on a pair of jeans and a Wal-Mart t-shirt that read “Keep Staring, I might do a trick” when there was a knock on the hotel door. Chance peeked around the corner from the bathroom, one hand holding a towel loosely around his hips. Lilith’s eyes caught on the lily tattoo just below his navel and it brought a sly smile to her lips. For a moment she forgot about Farren, the bodies in the morgue, even Ashcroft.
Sadly, the insistent knocking woke her out of her little dream state. It was probably Cohen with dinner. Suddenly, she was ravenously hungry, for actual food this time. “I’ll get the door. You may want to… put on some pants.” Lilith grinned and flashed him a wink as she sauntered off for the door.
“Yes, Ma’am.” The sound of Chance’s warm chuckle from the bathroom made her smile all over again. “If that’s what you really want…”
Lilith glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes playfully, even as her cheeks flushed a rosy red. “Necessity, smart ass.”
Lilith swung the door open and ushered Cohen inside. As soon as he stepped in the room, he stopped in his tracks and just stared. “Well, I’m guessing Chance was all right after all.” There was a deep sarcasm in his voice that sounded a little hostile. “Thank you for the phone call and I see he found a suitable use for the emergency cash.” His eyes glared around the room at all the burned out tea lights littering every surface.
Lilith felt the burn of embarrassment in her cheeks which just bristled her defenses. The last thing she wanted to do was have a discussion with Cohen about her romantic life. Sure he had a right to be upset that she hadn’t called and that Chance had wastefully spent part of the emergency funds, but he was disproportionately angry.
“Please, by all means, come on in. Make yourself comfy.” Lilith stalked away from the door, leaving Cohen to close it behind him. She sunk into one of the chairs at the table and cut right to the chase.
“Obviously, the gun happy foot soldiers found us some other way. If they’d followed us from the hotel, they would have known Chance wasn’t in the car. They wouldn’t have hesitated and we’d both be dead. They tracked us some other way, Cohen.” Lilith cleared the tea light husks off the little prefab table and set her kit down on the floor so they could eat.
Cohen stiffly moved over to the table, putting the takeout bag down in the center. “Unless they didn’t give a shit that Chance was here.” There was definitely a hostile tone in his voice. “Assuming this has something to do with the case, you and I are the only ones worth going after.”
Men and their damn posturing. She really didn’t give a crap about Cohen’s issue with Chance. It had nothing to do with her, no matter what either of them thought. Cohen was used to getting his way. It’s how he lived his life, his little super power. He just became whatever he needed to be to get what he wanted, right down to his eye color.
Chance strolled out of the bathroom in a dry pair of jeans and a fresh black t-shirt with all the grace of a satisfied jungle cat. “Or they could have pinged the GPS built into the rental car. From what Lilith said, it sounded professional. Hitting the GPS would make more sense than tailing us around all day. The risk that they’d be spotted would be too high. Don’t really see that many big, black SUVs in this town.” His hazel eyes were intent on Cohen’s back, his own hostility barely restrained.
“While you two were playing house, I called Luminita to fill her in. Obviously, she wasn’t too thrilled about the attempted hit on us. Someone doesn’t want us to find that book. Either because they already have it or they want to get to it first.” Cohen was completely ignoring Chance and his input. The whole vibe in the room was awkward and hostile. It left Lilith frowning as she started unpacking dinner.
Cohen only snorted in response, his jaw and weak chin set completely on edge. He was barely holding on to his anger. As long as he was in this fuming state, he wasn’t going to be any logical help. Whatever his problem was, it was clouding his vision. Lilith put Cohen’s meal back in the bag and handed it to him. “I need to make some calls. I think you should eat in your room.” Lilith fixed him with a steely stare.
Cohen glared at the bag and then stared hard at her with his pale blue eyes. There was an anger broiling in their depths that Lilith really didn’t understand and she didn’t want to. “Excuse me?”
Lilith pushed herself up from the table and stared Cohen down. “Did I stutter? Your attitude is not constructive. Go cool down, eat your damn food. Maybe we can have a rational, sane discussion in the morning when I get the lab results from the cops. Right now, I’m not interested in finding out what bug has crawled up your ass.”
“Not constructive?” Cohen’s eyebrows flew up in genuine surprise that quickly melted into pure animosity as his sharp eyes fixed on Chance. “You know what’s not constructive? A billion tea lights in a fucking hotel room!”
With an irritated huff, Cohen turned back to Lilith. “You can’t tell me that you aren’t the slightest bit angry that while we were being slammed into and shot at, Chance was here trying to recreate some damn Harlequin book?!”
“I am not having this discussion with you, Cohen.” She wasn’t sure if she was more pissed that he wasn’t completely wrong or that he was saying it at all. It was absolutely none of his business what happened between her and Chance, much less his responsibility to lecture her about it. “Just walk away and go eat your food.”
