“Rowan. I just. I can’t,” Colt almost whispered.
She looked at him as if he had morphed into a cat. He might as well have. “Yes, you can. This is what we have been working toward for over a year now. I have to go. Justin is waiting for me. If I stay, I lose everything. You, the Instructory, Justin. Everything. You know I can’t do that.” Rowan was desperately hiding the panic in her voice.
“There’s nothing out there for me. I’ve been there. You think it’s such a great place, but it’s not. There’s a reason I came here.” Colt blinked back the tears and brushed his long, blonde hair out of his face.
Rowan watched him. His shoulder length hair shaped his boyish face and square jaw. His lips that had made her feel things she never thought possible, those lips that were now telling her he was abandoning her.
“Colt. Why? Why wouldn’t you just tell me you couldn’t come? I have no choice here; it’s not about what I think is so great. I have to go. I can’t stay. I need to protect Justin. I need to get to Talia. I can’t do what he wants. Not again. You of all people know that.” Rowan’s voice was climbing, getting louder, and the panic started to take hold.
“I thought I could, baby. I thought you could carry us both through. I’m not like you. I need this too much. I can’t go with you. I just can’t.” Colt broke down in tears.
“I can’t carry you through. I’m already carrying Justin. He’s almost 16. If we don’t leave now, I’ll lose him forever. 16, Colt. You have no idea what they do to the kids here. Jewel runs the whole show. She makes Saturday exercise look like a pizza party. I can’t let her have him.” Rowan felt her resolve creep back into her bones. “I’m leaving. Are you coming or not?”
She waited, her backpack on her shoulders, for her lover, her confidant, her friend, to decide if he was going to stay by her side as he promised night after night, or if he too was going to abandon her-like everyone else had.
Colt didn’t even speak. He just looked down, tears running down his face, and shook his head slightly. Without a word, she turned and walked out into the night.
“Ro! Breathe!” Justin was screaming at her as he pushed her head between her legs.
She felt the blood drain into her head and she sucked in oxygen. Big deep breaths, in and out. The world straightened on its axis and she sat back up. Only this time, it wasn’t Justin she came face to face with, it was Shane.
“Are you okay?” Shane was watching her, feeling her pulse.
Rowan’s eyes widened in surprise and the world tilted again. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She could hear their voices.
“What happened?” Shane asked.
“I don’t know, man. We were just waking up, and then she just almost fainted?” Justin answered him as if he had no idea what was going on. He even ended his sentence with a question, like many of the kids did at school.
“Jesus. What the hell?” Shane swore.
Rowan felt her blood pressure return to normal, but didn’t open her eyes. She needed to convince Shane she was fine, just a little lightheaded. And, she was still reeling from Justin’s little bomb.
“Shane. It’s okay. I was just up late and felt a little dizzy. That’s all.” Rowan opened her eyes and looked at him. He was standing over her like a guard. He even had his body between hers and Justin’s. Justin had been pushed back, but was still standing, at the ready.
“Jesus, Rowan. Did you eat yesterday?” Shane asked, checking her eyes.
Pushing his hands away, she sat up. “Yes, I ate. I just felt a little dizzy. It’s all good,” She said, reaching for her coffee.
Shane took a step back and turned to Justin who was standing up to his fullest height, glaring at him. The two of them faced off for a brief moment, eye to eye, before Shane nodded and turned to leave.
*****
“Shane, wait,” Rowan called after him.
He paused, dizzy spell my ass. Justin had told her something. He had watched as the boyfriend leaned back to tell her they were being watched. And then he told her something. He couldn’t make out what the boy-that was more like it-had said, but it had an immediate impact. Shane had watched as Rowan froze and all the color drained from her face. It was as if she just forgot to breathe. Before he even got out the door, Justin was up in her face, screaming at her to breathe and shoving her face between her legs. He had to hand it to him, he seemed to know how to handle it-almost as if he had expected it.
“Shane. Thanks for coming over and checking on me. Justin is a relative of mine, he’s used to my occasional fainting spells, but you moved pretty darn quick. Thanks.” She smiled at him.
Relative? He couldn’t hide the shock and relief he felt hearing those words. Throwing a glance back at Justin, it hit him. Now that she pointed it out, he was embarrassed that he had missed it. Their eyes were the same shape and seemed to be naturally highlighted, making them pop, and they both looked at him intensely with that same glow. They also had similar posture, the same wariness in their shoulders. He watched as Justin scanned the area, just like Rowan had, looking for exits, people watching, or god knows what.
Why not just say this is my brother? None of this was making sense, but he was pleased to know that they weren’t long lost lovers.
“Oh yeah, look at that. I do see a strong family resemblance. Your eyes are very similar,” Shane said, smiling, feeling his shoulders relax.
As if Justin just got what the tension was about, he jumped back, “So um, yeah. I’m going upstairs now.” He turned on a dime and walked away.
Shane could hear Rowan chortle. He turned to her and smiled.
“You’re right, I was a little worried.” He sat down next to her, glad her color was finally returning.
Sitting up, she peered into his face. “Hey, are you okay? You look really tired.”
“Yeah. I was helping the guys with a case after you, um, kicked me out. It ran late.” He sat back and admired her legs.
“Oh.” She sat back too, but frowned. “Was it another missing persons case?”
“Yeah, in fact, it was. We rescued five women who were being held against their will for god knows what.” He sensed she wasn’t happy about that, so he went on the defensive.
Why he felt the need to justify his job was beyond him. She worked at a snack shack, for fuck’s sake.
“Oh yeah?” She perked up. “Good for you. Did you get the bad guys?”
He laughed. “Yep, the police got the bad guys. We just took the girls.”
“So, you were out late with a bunch of girls, huh?” she said, blatantly flirting with him.
“Yes ma’am. After you kicked me out, I had to do something with all that pent up energy.” He smiled back at her, using all of his will power not to reach across his chair and stroke her inner thigh, the memory of his hands on her taking center stage in his brain.
“Oh! Is that how it is, then?” She stood up, but the head toss she threw his way made her intentions clear. “In that case, I better go.”
He stood up just as she walked past him. Their bodies were so close he could smell her shampoo and feel the heat waves coming off her body. His skin prickled, as if it was reaching out to touch her.
“I’ll see you soon, right?” He leaned over and looked directly in her eyes.
“Yeah.” She held his stare. “I’ll see you soon.”
For a moment they stood like that, just centimeters from each other. He could smell the coffee on her breath and see her rapid pulse rate in her neck. Wanting nothing more than to kiss her, Shane stopped himself. He was afraid that if he started, he would never stop. Taking a breath, he stepped back to let her pass. He watched her turn and start up the stairs. She never turned back; she just walked up and opened her door. But he did admire her ass the entire time.
*****
“Are you insane?” Justin’s words assaulted her as she walked in the door.
“Excuse me?” Rowan jolted out of her reverie.
“That man is a PI! I
heard the whole conversation. Saving women my ass. That man could work for Jolly. He could be looking for us!”
“He doesn’t work for Jolly. He’s a really nice guy who just spent the last two weeks with his sister’s kids. He’s fine and he doesn’t know anyone. And besides, when the hell do I discuss my love life with you?” Rowan spat back at him.
“Well maybe if you had, Colt wouldn’t be a problem right now!” Justin shouted back at her.
“That’s cold, Justin Ross. And you are crossing a line you don’t want to cross.” Rowan glared at him.
She went into the kitchen to wash her cup and get ready for work. After a few minutes, when she thought Justin was calm enough to talk, she tried again, “So what’s the plan? Are you staying here for a while? Did you hear back from any of the colleges?”
He drew out a long breath before answering. “I need to stay with you for a while. Talia’s great, but I needed some space. And college isn’t an option right now. Maybe later. I’ll find a job.”
Taking in his words, she waited. No college, no Talia’s, no safety. This was bad. She needed to come up with a plan.
“Okay. I’m going to be looking for work too. This gig at the pool is only going to last a little while longer. Do you have a lifeguard certificate? You might want to get one this winter. The lifeguards work long hours here. Just a thought for next year.” She paused to look at him.
Justin’s hair was so short and spiky it looked almost fuzzy, and his sharp green eyes looked back at her while his wide, straight jaw and protruding Adam’s apple screamed out manhood. This boy had grown up over the last two years, no question about it; he was definitely a man now. He was actually handsome, and she was proud.
“What?” he asked her.
“You’re a man now. Wow. You look good, Justin,” she said in awe.
“Thanks, Ro. You can stop embarrassing me now.” He smiled shyly at her and walked down the hall. “I’ll look for work while you’re gone. I’ll come up with something by the time you get back. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. I gotta run!” She said as she ran out the door.
Chapter Eight
Standing in the tiny kitchen, Shane swallowed his last sip of coffee, thinking about what the next two days were going to be like. He had a lot of slow, boring work to do and wasn’t looking forward to it. He knew he needed to start tailing Mr. Clark -strangest hire ever. What daughter hires a PI to find out if her father is having an affair? The wife yes, the daughter, not really-ever. But as a personal favor to Cody, he said yes.
And now he was looking at two days in the car watching some old dude get it on with his secretary. Cody was going to owe him big, that’s for sure.
The knock on his door surprised him, but what shocked him more was opening the door to Justin.
“Hi,” Justin said, looking confident and a little defiant.
“Justin,” Shane said, slowly.
Justin stood outside the door, tall and built. Shane just couldn’t pinpoint his age. He looked like a teenager, but his eyes had the look of someone who knew the dark secrets of the world.
Justin laughed a little, “So yeah, can I come in?”
Shane waited a bit and then stepped aside, letting him in. He walked in and looked around the apartment. It was the same basic layout as Rowan’s, only this one was bigger, with a second bedroom and bathroom. It also had a couch and a real bed, but who was thinking about those details?
“So listen, I heard you work as a PI? And, I’m going to be around for a bit and need to find a job. Wondered if you needed any help?” Justin turned and looked Shane directly in the eye as he spoke.
Shane couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing. This was not what he was expecting. He figured he was there to bust his balls about Rowan.
“Oh! Okay,” Shane said, reigning in his laughter.
Justin’s face tightened and his shoulders rose a bit. “I know how to handle a gun and I’ve done work like this before. Just thought I’d ask.”
That got Shane’s attention, “You do, huh? Sorry, I wasn’t laughing at your request, I just expected the ‘stay away from my sister’ speech.”
Justin looked at him, still tense. “She’s not my sister. And yes, I can handle a gun, been training for a while. We all have been. I’m good, just don’t have LPI yet.”
That got Shane’s attention. If this guy knew he needed one, he knew more than Shane thought. “Okay. What have you done?”
“Mostly trained. Did some tags and BEs. Never any mispers, though.” Justin puffed up a little as he spoke.
“What the hell are those, man? I’m assuming you’re talking about missing persons when you say mispers, very English of you, but tags and BEs?” Now Shane was even more curious. Where had this guy trained?
“Tags. Ya know, trailing people to see what they’re up to. We called them tagging. And BE is breaking and entering-going into a space and searching it. A home, office, things like that.”
“Whoa! Just to be clear, LPIs don’t break into people’s spaces, that’s against the law. And Jesus, I don’t know where you worked before, but that shit don’t fly here. How old are you, anyway?” Shane looked stern as if reprimanding a child.
“I’m 18. But I know what I’m doing. Just try me,” Justin said matter of factly, almost as if he had had this conversation a number of times before.
Shane stood back and assessed him. 18? How does a person get eyes like that in 18 short years? Might not be such a bad idea, hanging with the cousin, or whatever he was. He might get some more info on Rowan. God knows she wasn’t flowing with information, and she was his greatest mystery these days.
“I have to tail Mr. Clark for infidelities. How are you at sitting still for hours on end?” Shane asked, thinking maybe he’d balk at that.
Shane watched as Justin took in his words. A smile spread across his face and his shoulders relaxed back down. “I’m good with that as long as you don’t start singing show tunes.”
Shane burst out laughing again. “Show tunes, huh. Who the hell have you been working with?”
“You don’t want to know, believe me.” Justin said, almost sounding like a kid again.
*****
Several hours later, Justin and Shane sat in the dark blue Kia with tinted glass. Justin had sat the entire time, never once complaining, never needing a break or even a quick pee. Shane was impressed. Even Rob couldn’t handle this long in the car without cracking annoying jokes or needing to get out and run or do push ups behind the vehicle.
Mr. Clark was in fact having an affair, but not with his secretary. The woman was a tall, dark haired beauty queen. They had pictures of the entire tryst. That was the one moment Shane was worried that Justin would get squeamish. But he just picked up the camera and took photo after photo; close ups of faces, pulling the camera back for atmosphere shots.
Shane had to admit, he was impressed. At 18, this kid knew what he was doing and did it professionally.
“These are good, kid. You take photography in high school?” Shane asked, trying to break the ice a little. Even after all this time, Justin didn’t talk much-another trait just like Rowan.
“As a matter a fact, I did. Two years up north. Graduated as the editor of the school newspaper. I even won an award with one of my photos,” Justin said while staring at the office building Mr. Clark had disappeared into about three hours ago.
Shane stopped looking at the photos on the camera. That was the most personal information Justin had divulged the entire day. Shane wanted to keep digging.
“Oh yeah? You graduate last June?” he asked, pretending to still look at the camera.
“Yep.”
“So, what have you been up since then? Tagging and BEs?” Shane asked.
Justin laughed, “Naw. Just drifting. Trying to stay out of my aunt’s way. Helping her with her kids.”
Shane was processing that nugget of gold when Justin sat up.
“On the move.” Damn if the kid didn’t know his shi
t.
Shane started the car and Justin took the camera, switching back from view mode, ready for whatever happened next. Shane watched as the woman who hired him and the beauty queen walked right up to Mr. Clark.
“Um,” Justin said, before snapping photos of the three of them.
“Yeah, I see it.” Shane knew then why she had hired him and not Mrs. Clark. Tiffany Clark was friends with the beauty queen and sensed something was up. He wondered if she had staged this little rendezvous for their benefit. So they could get photos of the two of them pretending to barely know each other.
Justin took pictures of the lovers awkwardly shaking hands, of Tiffany hugging her father, and of the three of them conversing on the street. After about five minutes, the two women left and Mr. Clark continued to the garage across the street.
Seven minutes ticked by before Mr. Clark’s car drove out the exit. Shane slipped into traffic behind him and tailed him home.
“A little early to be going home,” Justin commented.
Shane opened the file and handed it to Justin. As Justin read the report, he smiled. According to the information from his daughter, this was his normal routine. He never wavered from it. In the office by 8, home at 5. Which meant leaving the office just after 4:30.
“Nice. This guy has a cushy job. Barely works 8 hours and has nooners with a beauty queen from time to time. What a waste.” Justin spoke with a disgust Shane hadn’t heard before.
He noted it and saved it for later. He had to admit that after his time with Justin, he was now more confused yet intrigued with the pair of them than before. They parked two blocks up from a nice big mansion on a tree-lined street and watched Mr. Clark’s garage door lower and shut.
“Well, that about sums it up. I think the client has enough, don’t you think?” Shane spoke. He was getting anxious and wanted to get out and take a run. He knew Rowan’s snack shack was closing at 5, and she might be home in about an hour. Maybe sooner.
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 116
