Stolen Vengeance: Slye Temp book 6

by Dianna Love

  Can’t dress up crap by changing the name.

  She headed toward the kitchen, but stopped in her tracks. A light filtered from the opening.

  That hadn’t been on this morning.

  She didn’t leave any lights on. She was as miserly spending money for her own benefit as a retiree on a tight pension. Every dollar she saved was one more dollar she could use to keep her dad in decent care.

  Stepping back out of the doorway to pull her Walther .380 from her purse, she did a quick sweep of the space around her and slipped silently toward the kitchen. I’m going to feel like an idiot sneaking up on an empty room.

  When she peeked around the corner, no one was there.

  Thunking her forehead with her gun hand, she placed the weapon back into her purse and yawned. Maybe she had left the stove vent light on. Her front door had been locked and even she couldn’t get in the place with a key some days. She tossed her purse on the counter and turned toward the bedroom.

  She was dead tired, but this was only a pit stop for a shower before she faced Henri if he was still at work. Yes, she was vain enough to want to look smoking when she walked into his shop.

  He’d been the one to bail on their marriage.

  She didn’t have a lot of pride left when it came to doing whatever was required to insure her father survived, but she would not suffer Henri’s pity when she faced him.

  Not when he was blissfully happy in his new relationship.

  She unzipped her pants, stepping out of them on the way to her bedroom, and undid the buttons on her jacket. Second time wearing that outfit. She’d have to bite the bullet and drop it at the dry cleaners.

  She dropped the clothes next to the dresser on her left as soon as she entered her dark bedroom, a place even more depressing than the rest of this dump.

  She’d made two steps toward the bathroom and had reached around to unclip her bra when she heard, “Stop, Valene.”

  Her brain froze with instinctive fear for two seconds. That was all it took for her mind to sort through the voices she’d heard today and pin the tail on that donkey. “What the hell is it with you?”

  When she turned around, her eyes had adjusted to make out a shape in the corner. He was propped against the wall with his arms crossed, just the way he’d been the last time she’d found him in her bedroom. That was a long time and a river of heartache ago.

  Long enough that her body shouldn’t go into happy-to-see-Dingo mode just because he was four steps away.

  Four steps and seven years.

  “I need to talk to you, Val.”

  She’d held onto her composure and a tide of emotions balled up inside her from the first time she’d seen him today, but he’d caught her off guard, showing up here.

  “Now?” she said. “No. You had your chance years ago and you couldn’t waste the time to call me and tell me you were leaving. No more talking. I’m so over this you have no idea.”

  She was so lying he had no idea.

  Her throat was tight with wanting to yell at him for breaking her heart, even after all this time. She hadn’t been nearly as hurt when Henri told her the marriage was over.

  And no, she didn’t want to think about how wrong that sounded.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back then, but I couldn’t.”

  She wanted to pretend this didn’t matter, that just hearing his voice didn’t brush pleasure across her mind the way his hands used to stroke her skin. But seeing him again, even in this crummy bedroom in her crappy apartment, stirred up memories she’d failed to bury after all.

  But she had just enough pride left to shut him down.

  “You know what, Dingo? I don’t give a damn about you being sorry now. I don’t believe you couldn’t call me. I don’t care what happened back then. I moved on.”

  The shadow shape of Dingo moved as though he lifted away from the wall. “You got married as soon as I left.”

  “It was almost a year later!” Why had she said that? She wasn’t the one who had to apologize.

  “Didn’t take you long to forget me.”

  The sound of longing in his voice struck hard, but he didn’t get to question her choices, no matter how bad they’d been in retrospect. “It wasn’t as though you ever wanted any more, Dingo, so what’s your point?” she asked, sounding flippant to cover the pained sounds her heart was making.

  ~*~

  Dingo unfolded his arms to tuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He had to keep them from reaching for her to soothe the pain she kept trying to hide with her words.

  He’d never forgive himself for what he did to her, but until now he’d fooled himself into thinking she might.

  “What’s the matter, Dingo? Cat got your tongue or don’t you have a point to make?”

  He had something to say, but if he started on that right now it would end with her calling him a liar, or with the two of them tangled up in bed like past fights always ended.

  His gaze strayed to the bed again.

  What had happened to her luxury apartment downtown? And all the beautiful antiques she’d constantly brought home to enjoy before she sold them?

  Guilt chipped away at him, laughing at his honor for not delving into Valene’s personal life. Part of it had been that he truly wouldn’t invade her privacy any more than he’d invade someone’s mind if he could read minds.

  The other part that would have stopped him even if he hadn’t cared about her privacy?

  Fear of turning what was left of his heart into a black stump incapable of feeling anything.

  But damn, look at this place.

  The only thing antique in this place might be that miserable lock he’d had a hell of a time picking. That reminded him he wasn’t here to explain what happened when he’d disappeared years ago. Much as he’d like to deal with that now and clear the air, the one thing he’d learned from back then was to give Valene as little information as possible or she’d dig up a death sentence.

  “You’re right, Val. I admit that I never gave you reason to think any more was ever going to happen between us than late night rendezvous.”

  She looked away, squinting her eyes shut tight.

  Still hurting.

  Why couldn’t he have Josh’s silver-tongued-devil gift?

  What could Dingo do to make this easier for Valene?

  She turned back to him, chin jacked up and attitude following close behind. “Now that we have all that cleared up, what exactly do you want so I can get on with my life?”

  Nothing had been cleared up, but he’d come here with a plan. Much as he hated to give credence to what Sabrina had said, he wasn’t leaving without finding out about Charlie. “I was serious this morning. I’m worried about you, Val.”

  “Oh, puhlease! You can’t pull this crap just because you don’t like seeing me with another man.”

  Ouch. Who knew a heart could talk?

  Was she with somebody else? “Are you involved with someone?”

  “That’s really none of your business is it?”

  No, but that didn’t stop the idea of her with someone else from eating at him. “Fine. You’re right. None of my business who you’re shagging.”

  “I didn’t say I was–”

  “You’re not?” Damn. Had he really asked that?

  She crossed her arms and squared her jaw. “You are so annoying. What do you want?”

  You. He clamped his lips shut to keep from allowing that word to climb out and screw this up any worse. “I just want you to be safe. If you’re, uh, seeing someone, then he might be at risk too.” Like if the buggar touched Val when Dingo was watching.

  “I knew it.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. “What?”

  “You’re stalking me and Charlie, aren’t you?”

  “Charlie? Who’s he?” Dingo forced himself to stay put and not beat his head against the wall. That would be easier than encouraging her to talk about being with another man.

  She do
esn’t belong to you. Got it.

  “Charlie’s my best client right now.”

  “How much do you know about this client?” Sure, he could pretend that he was hunting intel to do with his mission, but the truth is he was a sick bastard who wanted to know just who had taken his place this time.

  That didn’t mean he wouldn’t know whatever Sabrina knew, and maybe more, the minute Dingo got a little time with his laptop.

  “I know everything I need to know about Charlie,” she stonewalled. “We work together a lot, or do you already know that by snooping on me?”

  He wanted to shout at her that she was being too trusting, but then she’d turn that one on Dingo. He pushed off the wall. “How often do you work together? Like today?”

  Valene must have taken his move as a signal for combat. She surged forward, shouting, “You can not come in here and ask me questions about my life or who I see for lunch.”

  Dingo didn’t want her to throw him out, but if she pushed it, he’d leave. Then what? He couldn’t tell her about Satan’s Garden Club or she’d dive into that with both feet and draw their attention for sure. “I’m not stalking you, Val, but the group that Giuseppe was connected to has resurfaced. There’s a chance they might snatch you off the street.”

  That got her attention. “Why would they come after me now when no one cared seven years ago?”

  How could he tell her that he’d taken a bullet and suffered much worse so that Garcia would leave her alone? Then he’d have to tell her why he’d done all that. She’d be devastated with guilt because she’d feel responsible.

  Hadn’t he hurt her enough? “I can’t answer that, because I don’t know what this group is after. My people are hunting them.” He let that sink in.

  “I’ll ask the police to make some rounds here.”

  “If they come for you, the police won’t stop them.”

  “What about if they come for you?” She crossed her arms, giving him a look much like Sabrina’s.

  “I’m prepared, because this is what I do. But I’m concerned about your safety so I’m just asking how long you’ve known this guy.”

  “Long enough.”

  Dingo changed his tactics. “These people can infiltrate a lot of places. You don’t want to find out you’ve been dealing with a criminal, do you?”

  She dropped her arms and curled her fists. “Charlie is not a criminal. I investigated him myself and checked his references. Don’t you dare come here threatening him,” she closed the distance between them, getting right up in his face. “I’m trained in two different martial arts. I’m a damn good shot. This sounds like smoke and mirrors. Unless you have hard evidence to show me, do not screw up my relationship with this client or I will not be responsible for my actions. Do you get that?”

  He got it. And he could ignore a lot of things, but seeing her all fierce and ready to do battle only turned him on. He’d spent many a night tweaking her temper just for the passion that followed.

  His body came alive with her this close.

  All systems go and target locked.

  If he touched her right now, though, she’d try to break his arm or he might hurt her accidentally by defending his favorite parts.

  Dingo backed up, but he was cornered. Not a smart place to be if Valene decided to make him pay for showing up here and breaking into her place.

  Did that matter to his dick that was giving her a standing ovation? Not one bit.

  She poked him hard in the chest. Val liked using that finger. “This has to stop. You’re making me crazy, Dingo.”

  Welcome to my world.

  She pushed again and his body begged her to use all those wild fingers on him.

  When she jabbed a third time, Dingo grabbed her wrist, holding his breath that she wouldn’t jerk it away.

  He could feel her pulse racing.

  His was doing its own version of heading for the checkered flag on a NASCAR straightaway.

  Out of pure insanity, he started rubbing his thumb softly across her skin. He could smell her. He’d always been able to identify her just from her scent.

  Now she vibrated with a mix of anxiety and anger, and her shallow breaths interrupted the silence piling up between them.

  Dingo tried to remember why he was here, but the call of her body kept sidetracking him.

  He swallowed and dug around for some way to reach past her anger. Words weren’t his forte, but when he spoke it was in the same low voice he’d once used to wake her before daylight on mornings when he showed up unexpectedly.

  “I don’t want to fight with you.” He wanted to kiss more than he wanted anything else at this moment, but he hadn’t come here for that. Not as his primary objective, anyway. “I’m not trying to interfere in your life. You can hate me all you want, but please don’t lock me out right now when I can’t sleep for fear that I won’t be here when you need me.”

  She’d either hear him out or kick him out.

  What worried him was option three brewing behind those eyes that were showing no sign of surrender.

  If he kissed her, would it thaw the ice formed around her heart, or would it destroy his one shot at staying close to her? Or was he just rationalizing a way to feel her close to him after an eternity apart?

  Yeah, he knew the answer to that one.

  Chapter 10

  Valene sucked in another shaky breath.

  How could Dingo show up again in her life and wreck the emotional walls that she barely held together with willpower and fear?

  She was determined to never hurt again as deeply as when he’d left without a word.

  And she was terrified that the only person who could make her lose that battle stood an inch away, touching her.

  Not really touching her the way she wanted, but just this small contact had her insides quivering for more. The feel of his hands dredged up memories of him waking her with tender kisses, holding her in his arms, in her bed, when she’d gone to sleep on the sofa.

  She’d ask, When’d you get here?

  An hour ago.

  Why didn’t you wake me?

  I was content to watch you sleep. He’d kiss her and add, I’m just happy to be with you when I can.

  He’d say those things, squeezing her heart until she couldn’t breathe.

  Damn him for what he’d given her then taken away.

  Having him here, close enough to kiss again, had her emotions under siege. She couldn’t afford to lose this war.

  His free hand came up slowly until his knuckles brushed softly across her cheek.

  She clenched her eyes shut. Had that last breath come out on a shudder? Way to hide her feelings. Her eyes burned, but no tear had better dare slip out.

  Dingo had gotten all of the tears that she intended to donate. “I can’t go there again, Dingo.” Yes, that was her pleading for him to stop. She clearly couldn’t.

  “I never meant to hurt you, Val.”

  “Little late for that.” She didn’t even try to hide the bitterness swimming through those words.

  His fingers grazed her ear then swept down her neck.

  She shivered and cursed herself. If she wanted to prove he no longer had a hold on her heart, then that had been a major fail. She wanted to touch him so much it hurt physically to stand this close to him. “Don’t, Dingo.”

  “Don’t what?” He leaned in and whispered close to her ear. His lips grazed her neck then her chin.

  Now would be a great time to show him the new defense moves she’d learned since the last time they were this close. She used to come home excited to show off and impress him, but he wouldn’t expect the one she had in mind that would bloody his nose and send him home limping.

  Any time now she’d unleash Valene the Terminator on him.

  Any minute now. Just as soon as he stopped kissing her neck.

  God she missed his lips.

  Her next breath came out with soft keening.

  He paused.

  Well, hell, now they b
oth knew how much he was affecting her. If he leaned in any closer he’d feel the hard tips of her nipples that had thrown in the white flag without even trying to ignore him.

  “I’ve missed you, Val.” His words smoked through her mind and wrapped around her senses, warm and soothing.

  It had been so long since she’d felt cared for, since a man had really touched her. And no man’s touch had ever been anything close to Dingo’s, to the way he sent her body screaming with need.

  He let go of her hand and now had both of his in her hair, holding her carefully as he placed kisses in perfect spots along her cheek.

  Years of anger slid away, leaving a raw yearning that had never disappeared. Was this his way of letting her know she meant more than he’d ever let on? Dingo had shown her he cared in so many ways, but he’d never uttered words that promised anything more than the moment he was with her.

  How could she trust him now?

  Trust that he was here only for her?

  “I can’t ever get enough of you, Val.”

  And with that admission, he must have decided he’d given her fair warning, and captured her mouth.

  She reached around his neck and murmured, “I’m glad you’re back.”

  “You and me both.” He kissed her, taking her mouth and body prisoner.

  When Dingo started to pull away, Val followed him, taking back the mouth he’d offered. He jumped right back in where he’d paused, running his hands up her shoulders and gripping her to him. It had always been this way with him. He let a woman know she was in the arms of a man who wasn’t letting go, at least not while he was focused on her.

  There was no place better than being under the intense scrutiny of Dingo when he had nothing but making love on his mind.

  He had her bra unclasped and she shook it off, letting it fall to the floor. She gripped his arms and yanked, pulling him down on top of her when she fell backwards onto the bed.

  Please don’t break, bed.