Gage (Contract Killers Book 1)

by Jenika Snow

  She breathed out, fatigue now starting to set in. “What about Rye? Is he dead?” There was a heavy silence, and before he spoke, she knew the answer. “He got away, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll find him. I’ll fucking find him,” he seemed to whisper the last part to himself.

  She let her head fall back against the seat, closing her eyes and wishing that when she woke up, this would all be a bad dream.

  Chapter Eight

  Neeka opened her eyes, looking around and blinking a few times as the room came into focus. She realized that she was now lying across the leather seat of the SUV. A large coat was draped across her legs, smelling of evergreen and something darker, something … comforting. She slowly sat up, keeping the coat across her legs and shivering slightly. She looked out her window, seeing a small gas station on her left, the lights in the parking lot bright and offensive. To her right was a wide stretch of open road, the moon still high in the sky, illuminating the sandy hills that covered the vast expanse of open land. She knew she was far from Shyloh, the mountains she had grown to love distant from this desolated place.

  She shifted to the center of the seat, looking out the windshield and seeing if she could spot Gage. She didn’t dare get out of the car. Neeka breathed out when she saw him emerge from the postage-stamp-sized convenience store, several bags in hand, his face and clothes no longer covered in blood and dirt. Pressing herself against the seat as the driver’s side door opened, all she could do was watch him. The woodsy smell intensified as he entered.

  “I thought you’d sleep longer.” He turned in his seat and looked at her, handing her a full brown paper bag.

  “I haven’t been sleeping well, for obvious reasons.”

  Gage was silent for several moments, his profile shadowed by the lights from the parking lot. He breathed out deeply. “Yeah, they’re fuckers, but you don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

  She opened the bag, seeing chips, candy, plastic-wrapped sandwiches, and an assortment of unhealthy food, but God, did they look good. “Thank you.” She’d lost weight since being Rye’s prisoner, not because he wasn’t feeding her, but because she hadn’t had much of an appetite. And what she did eat, what she’d been forced to consume, she’d thrown up after the guards had left her alone, her stomach in knots. Neeka looked down at the unflattering hospital gown she still wore, and saw the dirt and wounds that covered her arms and legs, and the nasty cut on her calf.

  “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a little of everything. It’s shit food, but right now it’s all there is.”

  She looked up at him, seeing his gaze land first on her dirty bare feet and then flickering to the wound on her leg. It would heal by tomorrow, but right now it looked pretty bad. “It’s perfectly fine, thank you.”

  “Although I want to drive straight through until you’re with your father, I’m taking back roads and it’s doubling our time. You also need rest, so I’ve let the people I work for know I’m getting a motel for the night so you can rest. I also want to keep a low profile as I know the men that took you will be searching for us.”

  She was silent after he spoke.

  “You might not think so, but you’re in shock over everything.”

  She didn’t deny that.

  “Where are we?”

  “We’re about fifty miles outside of West Holmes. I haven’t noticed anyone following us, but I don’t doubt they are trying to catch our trail. I’ll find an offbeat motel, and we’ll bunker down for the night.”

  She wanted to see her father, but she also wanted to be safe. Sleeping in a bed that wasn’t surrounded by a locked prison door or cinderblock walls sounded pretty damn nice, too.

  “Although I can take them if the fuckers want war, I also want to keep you safe. That’s my first priority.”

  “Thank you, for everything.”

  They stared at each other for a suspended moment, and she felt herself warming at the intense look he gave her. His short dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, and his light green eyes seemed almost unreal. Even though he was seated, she remembered all too well how his body looked, felt, all sinew, tendons, and bulging muscles. He had towered over her back at the facility, reminding her of how male he truly was.

  What in the hell is with these thoughts? You should be focusing on getting home, not on Gage’s body.

  She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, confused at how her body could light up after the ordeal she’d just been through. Something dark, intense, crossed over Gage’s face, and he turned back in his seat. After starting the SUV he pulled away from the gas station and got back on the road. She grabbed a cupcake and bottle of water out of the bag, not really hungry, but wanting something to do to help keep her mind off of everything.

  Although she was away from Rye, she also didn’t want to think this was truly over.

  It’s not, and you know it.

  ****

  Thirty minutes later, Gage was pulling into a small, rundown motel off of the deserted road they’d been traveling on. He looked in the rearview mirror for the hundredth time, seeing Neeka sleeping. Something shifted in him, broke even. The feelings inside of him for her were foreign. All he could think about was holding her, running his hands through her hair, and promising her everything would be okay.

  Push the thoughts back. They’re dangerous.

  He stopped in front of the main entrance, keeping the car idling as he quickly got out and retrieved the key to their room. He got back in the vehicle and pulled the SUV around to the back of the building and behind the large dumpster that resided there. He turned off the car and just sat there for a moment, watching Neeka through the rearview mirror, transfixed by the way she was breathing easily, as if she had no worries. A part of him wished they’d met under different circumstances. The way it was, she was his assignment, his target that Edward McCarthy had paid his organization to find.

  If things were different, maybe he wouldn’t have felt so guilty for looking at her the way he was. The hospital gown was unflattering, true, but while she slept, it molded to her petite form, her breasts small yet firm looking. Although she was tiny in comparison to him, her legs were long and slender, and the images that he conjured up of what he wanted to do to her should have made him feel shame, not unyielding lust. They were filthy images, dirty thoughts. They had his cock hard, his arousal pumping through his body.

  He shifted in his seat, his dick so fucking hard it ached. She started to move, and everything in him froze. She moaned slightly in her sleep, the gown slipping up her creamy thighs as she twisted in the seat, maybe having a bad dream as her face was pinched in what looked like worry. He placed his hand on his crotch, pressing down on his shaft, the traitorous organ pulsing and aching.

  You sick motherfucker.

  After breathing out and trying to calm himself, Gage got out of the SUV, grabbed the bags, and made sure the doors were locked before leaving her sleeping in the back. At least he could give her a few more minutes of rest as he surveyed things. Gage unlocked the motel room door, walked over to the lamp, and after turning it on and checked out the place.

  There was only one fucking bed in the room.

  After checking out the front of the motel, and the highway that ran parallel to it, he closed the curtains. The truth was it was hard as hell keeping his arousal for Neeka in check. The moment he saw her on that table he’d felt something tighten in him, had this sense that she was his. It was a fucked way of looking at it, thinking of her in that way, but Gage couldn’t help himself.

  Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on his mission. That was all this was.

  It’s just a mission, an assignment.

  Is it, though?

  He went back to the SUV to get her, and opened the back door and stared down at Neeka. Gage didn’t mean to make a sound, but fucking hell, the groan came from him on its own as he looked at her. She was sprawled out on the back seat, his coat covering her upper body, her hospit
al gown high on her thighs. Although blood covered her shin from the cut on her leg, she was fucking gorgeous. He spied her white panties, so pure and feminine that his cock gave a mighty jerk.

  Get a damn grip.

  “Neeka?” His voice sounded gravelly even to him. “Neeka, come on, we’re here.”

  “Here?” she whispered, her voice thick with sleep, her eyes still closed.

  Damn.

  He loved that sound on her.

  She turned onto her back, her legs opening slightly and giving him a prime shot of her panty-covered pussy. His pulse throbbed in his shaft as her gown twisted on her body. His jacket fell off of her and to the floor, and he could see the material of the gown mold to her chest, her nipples poking through the fabric. His mouth went dry, his heart hammered against his ribs, and he cleared his throat, trying to distract himself.

  “Neeka, come on,” he said a little more forcefully, angry with himself for how he felt.

  “We’re here?”

  “Yeah.”

  She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes, and clearly oblivious to the way her gown was practically around her waist.

  “You need to fix your gown,” he said with a thick as fuck voice.

  She looked at him with a confused expression, and then glanced down at herself. “Oh, God,” she whispered and reached for his jacket on the floor of the SUV to cover herself up.

  “Come on.” He held his hand out, looking down and noticing her battered legs and feet. His chest clenched with a feeling he wasn’t used to, or comfortable with. He scooped her up, kicked the car door shut with his foot, and made his way back toward the room. Gage slipped inside and shut the door. He stood there for a moment, holding her as she rested her head against his shoulder.

  “You smell so good, all woodsy and fresh.”

  She spoke, her eyes still closed, her voice soft. She was so tiny, her body easily fitting in his arms and weighing nothing. Gage made sure she’d get more to eat, because no doubt she’d been in hell during these last couple of weeks. He set her on the bed, her eyes still closed even though she stayed upright.

  “I’m so tired,” she murmured. “I need a bath, though.” Neeka slowly opened her eyes and stared up at him.

  He nodded, going into the bathroom and running the water in the tub. He checked the temperature several times, turning it off when it was a little over half full, and then walked back into the room. A part of him wanted to be the one to bathe her, not for some sexual factor, or because he was a sick fuck, but because he wanted to give her that security, that comfort.

  “It’s filling up.”

  She slowly stood, standing and then wincing as she made her way toward him. He was by her in the next instant, and picked her up, remembering her battered feet. Once in the bathroom he set her on the edge of the tub and turned to leave.

  “Thank you, Gage.”

  Her words had him stopping and turning to face her. “You’re welcome.”

  And with that he left and shut the door slightly behind him, feeling his cock throb even harder.

  She’s traumatized. Stop with the fucking thoughts.

  If he ever came across those bastards again, he would make sure to kill each and every one of them slowly and without mercy. He went over and sat on the bed, resting his elbows on his thighs and hanging his head. The sound of clothing ruffling in the other room had his pulse picking up. Against his better judgment, he turned and looked toward the bathroom. The door was only partially closed. He hadn’t shut it all the way because a part of him didn’t want her closed off, didn’t want her too far away or him, like he was fucking afraid she’d be taken once more.

  He could see her bare shoulder as she slipped the gown off. This was wrong, watching her like a pervert, but fucking hell, he couldn’t stop. Forcing himself to look away, he scrubbed a hand over his face, felt the day’s worth of stubble and didn’t know how in the hell he was going to make it through the rest of the time with her. As it was he wanted her under him, wanted his cock deep inside of her, and that made him feel like the sickest fucking bastard in the world

  ****

  Neeka let herself sink into the bathtub, the water the perfect temperature. Her whole body ached, the cuts and scrapes on her legs, feet, and hands stinging, but in a good way that made her feel clean, like she was washing this nightmare away. She looked to her side, seeing Gage through the crack in the door. The light from the lamp above the table shone on him. He was lying on the bed, his big body making the mattress seem tiny in comparison.

  He’d saved her life, and for that she would be eternally grateful.

  But there is something else you see in him … want.

  She soaked for another fifteen minutes, letting her skin become like a prune, but still not feeling nearly clean enough to wash away the remnants of her time in Rye’s possession. After getting out of the water she grabbed the towel, realizing she didn’t have any clean clothes.

  How could she go out there in nothing but a towel? Gage was an attractive man, and she didn’t know if it was because of the situation, or because she was someone damaged, but looking at him had this desire coursing through her.

  It’s misplaced. It has to be.

  Standing and telling herself they were both adults, she left the bathroom, turning off the light on her way out. Keeping the towel securely around her body as she stepped out, the chill immediately consumed her. He turned then, not rising, but locking gazes with her regardless. Even after her ordeal, she felt herself warming, her pussy becoming wet with arousal, and she knew this was wrong. He was here to help her get back home, and she had no right to feel anything like this. Had her time with Rye made her someone defective all of a sudden? Never had she felt an attraction so intense it rivaled everything else, but right now, with Gage, she felt that lust.

  How I feel isn’t what this is about.

  That might be true, but she couldn’t stop her emotions, and she knew what she felt for Gage wouldn’t just disappear.

  I don’t understand how I know that, but it’s the truth. I know it deep inside of me.

  Chapter Nine

  Gage slowly sat up, keeping his eyes on Neeka. The towel she wore wasn’t that concealing, and in fact he could make out her form through the thin fabric. Droplets of water dotted her flesh, and he lowered his gaze down the swells of her breasts and to her legs, which were clearly visible. Lifting his gaze back up, he stopped on her breasts once more, feeling like an asshole for watching her. But Gage couldn’t stop looking at her, and as she moved further into the room she had her gaze trained right on him as well.

  He could see her nipples poking through the too-thin material, and although he should turn his attention away, or hell, stand up and move away from her, he didn’t do either of those things. His cock was rock hard, and standing would mean she’d get a prime shot of the fucker pressing against his fatigues. Because her hair was wet from her bath, the strands were even darker against her alabaster skin. Water droplets fell from the ends of the locks, sliding down her chest and arms and making him grit his teeth, trying to control himself.

  He heard her swallow and could see her pulse beating wildly in the base of her neck. He wanted nothing more than to make her realize he would never let anything harm her again. It felt like this was how it was supposed to be, how he was supposed to feel with her. Even though he shouldn’t feel desire for her, and even though he knew nothing could ever happen between them, it didn’t stop him from wanting her like a fiend.

  “I don’t have any clothes.”

  Her voice was soft, almost hesitant. He willed his body to calm, but of course that was like telling a bull not to charge. Standing and turning to give her his back so she wouldn’t see his cock straining against his pants, he walked over to one of his bags, which he’d grabbed from the SUV. Gage turned around, and gave her one of his shirts and a pair of sweats he’d pulled out. They’d be huge on her, but they’d cover her up.

  “It’s all I have right now, but yo
u’ll be home tomorrow, so these should work for now.”

  She nodded. “Thank you again.”

  He watched her as she grabbed the clothing, holding the material close to her body, and looking him in the eyes. She then turned and headed to the bathroom again. He balled his hands into tight fists, needing to get under control. But all he could see, even though she wasn’t standing in front of him anymore, was her creamy skin, her slender back, and her long legs.

  Adjusting his cock again so the asshole wasn’t digging into the zipper of his pants, he turned and went back to the duffle bag. Grabbing a first aid kit, he knew he’d have to tend to her wounds. At least he hoped that would help keep his arousal down.

  A few minutes later the bathroom door opened. He gazed at her, every part of her. Of course she looked fucking incredible in his clothes. His shirt hung off her slim body, and the sweats were oversized. She swam in the clothing, but she looked good, and this spike of proprietary need slammed into him.

  “Have a seat on the bed. I want to clean up the cuts on your leg and feet.” Getting those words out was harder than he’d thought. Gage pulled up a chair in front of her, taking her leg with the nasty wound and placing it on his thigh. Rolling up her pant legs as delicately as he could, he looked at the cuts. They were superficial, but would still need to be tended to.

  “They’ll be healed by tomorrow.”

  He glanced up at her.

  He could smell her, a sweet and flowery scent that had his desire moving into overdrive. Gage needed to control himself because acting on his lust for Neeka was going to have things spiraling pretty fucking fast.

  ****

  Neeka watched as Gage bent over her leg and cleaned her wounds. He was so big, yet his touch was soft, gentle even. She sucked in a breath when he pressed the peroxide-drenched cotton ball to the open cut on her shin. He glanced up at her, stopping instantly.

  “I’m sorry. I know it stings” His voice was soft and gentle, but still deep and hard. “The wounds on your feet probably hurt like hell, but they are only superficial and should heal fairly quickly.”