Bitterness entered Kian’s expression. “His bank account said different, and when Brad’s informant tipped him off about possible racketeering with your cousin at the center, I asked him to wait for me. He thought he had a handle on it and was murdered.” Evie pivoted and started toward her bedroom. Kian moved swiftly and caught her a second time. “I’m sorry. Forget the past. Look, I want you to trust me. Tell me whatever you know.”
“Get out.”
He stared at her, and she folded her arms under her chest.
“If I tell you I don’t know anything, you won’t believe me. Instead, we’ll stand here all night, and you’ll bully me trying to get me to tell you what I don’t know. I’m not your wife anymore, Kian, so unless you have a warrant, you can get out of my apartment.”
She marched over to the door and wrenched it open. He hesitated and then walked over to her and pushed a business card into her hand. “Call me if you need to.”
She kept herself from telling him she remembered his cell number. Kian left, and she slammed the door behind him and sank against it. Just when she thought her life was getting on point, this happened to drag it back to emotional turmoil. Well, she would not be a party to it. With any luck, Kian would find Anthony and put him back where he belonged, and then her ex-husband could leave her alone. With the same grit she’d used to get on her feet the first time, she would survive. That was a promise to herself she would keep no matter what hell came her way.
Chapter Three
Kian unstrapped his holster and laid it along with his glock on the bedside table. He removed his clothes and stepped into the shower with the water setting as hot as he could stand it. Why had he thought seeing Evie again would be easy? All he’d been able to think about was dragging her into his arms and taking her, feeling her warmth around his cock, and hearing her moan as he came inside her. Instead, he’d been reminded that she had run to him, her ex-boyfriend. Current boyfriend now, he supposed. He despised thinking of that bastard touching Evie because he still thought of her as his, but he’d let her go. That’s what she’d wanted or she wouldn’t have left him.
Of course he had enough training and discipline not to let it show how much he’d missed her. He’d thrown up the past as a shield, but shortly after she’d gone, he realized his mistakes in how he had treated her and why she left. Not to say he was over it entirely. He wasn’t. Brad had been like a brother to him, and it killed him inside to lose him to murder. He hated Anthony, and for a moment, he had felt like he hated Evie for not telling him about her cousin’s illegal activities. She’d had a responsibility as his wife to uphold the law along with him, but she’d chosen Anthony over him. For awhile, he couldn’t forgive her, and he knew he’d punished her with his attitude, with his words, and his actions—until she had no choice but to leave.
“Ouch.”
Kian stiffened. He had been so deep into his thoughts, he hadn’t heard the bathroom door open or pay attention to Meghan stepping into the shower behind him. Irritation prickled his skin.
“The water is too hot,” she complained.
He turned the nozzle to a cooler setting. “It’s all yours.”
“Hey, where are you going? I thought we could shower together…after some fooling around.”
“I’m tired.” He didn’t even try to sound regretful, but toweled off and headed out of the bathroom.
Too soon, she joined him in bed. He kept his back to her, pretending to have dropped off already, but she wouldn’t be denied. An arm encircled his waist, and her breasts flattened against his back. He resisted shaking her off.
“Kian, when are we going to have the discussion?”
He feigned a yawn. “What discussion?”
She sighed and whined, making him grit his teeth. “You know, about me moving in here. I mean, I already have a key, and I’m here so often. Shouldn’t we make it official? I don’t have a lot of stuff, and my lease is up in another month. I can let my apartment go.”
“No.”
He sensed her offense, and he shut his eyes. “No, you don’t want to discuss it now?”
“No, you’re not moving in.”
She flew off the bed and clicked the light on. He rolled to his back to find her naked, rage rolling off of her in waves. “Excuse me?”
Kian searched for words to placate her, but found none. His mind weary as well as his body, he had no energy to let her down easy. In fact, he regretted giving Meghan a key to his house and allowing her in this bed. The house had become his and Evie’s the day he brought her home as his wife, and they had planned to raise their children there. While he’d been sleeping with Meghan for a year, he could hardly call what they had a relationship. She had assuaged his physical desires, and he never told her he loved her. Maybe he was the bastard Evie thought him to be.
“I’m sorry, Meghan.”
“It’s her, isn’t it?”
“What?”
Meghan sneered and strode over to a chair to grab her robe and drew it on, its sheer material not covering much of anything. “She pops up again, and you don’t want me anymore. Did you forget she caused Brad’s death?”
“Shut up,” he warned, and sat on the side of the bed, his back to her.
“It’s true. She didn’t give a damn about you two years ago, and she doesn’t give a damn now. Let me guess, she didn’t tell you where to find her cousin, did she?”
“She doesn’t know.”
“I don’t believe that. She helped him escape. I guarantee you, and she knows where he’s holed up.”
“You don’t know that, Meghan. Just drop it.”
“Do your job, Kian. Don’t let that—”
He rolled across the bed and stood before her in a heartbeat. “Please, say it,” he ground out. “Tell me how I am letting my wife interfere with my job.”
She stood her ground as a trained agent, but he saw doubt in her gaze, questioning whether he would act on the impulse that brought him across the room to where she stood. “Maybe we need time apart.”
He didn’t deny her suggestion and saw the hurt in her gaze.
“I’m the one who loves you, Kian. I’m the one who has been here all this time when she ran away because it got too hard.” He said nothing as she began to dress, and he caught a distinct sniff. Saying he was sorry again would be empty. She moved toward the door, but paused as if she waited for him to ask her not to leave. “I’ll still be here when this is over.”
Kian pushed a hand through his hair and sighed. “Meghan.”
She turned to face him. He winced at the hope in her eyes.
“Please…leave the key.”
“You son of a bitch!”
She ignored his request and stomped down the steps to the first floor. Soon after the front door slammed, he picked up the sound of her tires peeling out of the driveway. Kian figured he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so he drew on pants and headed barefoot down to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. In the morning, he would go into the office to get a run down on where they were in the investigation. Taggert had gone to the prison to interview anyone who knew Paine and might have information about what he’d planned and who might have helped him. Kian also knew that racketeering meant Paine had an underground network, people who might be able to get him a fake passport to get out of the country. They had already set agents at the bus station, the train station, and the airport as well as getting the word out to other agencies around the country to be on the lookout for Paine. If it was the last thing he did, he intended to find the man and put him where he belonged.
* * * *
“Who is this woman?” Kian asked Taggert as they left the car and headed into the mom and pop pizza joint.
“An old lover,” his partner said. “Apparently, she’s not too fond of him since she caught him sleeping with her sister.”
“That might be a cover,” Kian mused. “Hoping we won’t check into it.”
Taggert shrugged. “Maybe.
From the mom
ent Kian stepped through the door into the restaurant and someone pointed out the woman, he knew they’d been sent on a wild goose chase. The ex-lover Anthony supposedly had cheated on was old enough to be Anthony’s grandmother. He swore and glared at Taggert. Before he could say a word, his cell phone rang, and he pulled it from his jacket, indicating his partner should ask questions anyway. Kian stepped outside.
“Sloane.”
“Kian, looks like a hit was ordered on that address you gave us,” Wesley, one of the agents assigned to watch Vitali’s bar, said. The bottom dropped out of Kian’s world.
“Give me the details,” he ordered.
“A drive-by. They shot up the place. We’re going in now.”
Kian jerked the door to the restaurant open and whistled. When Taggert turned, he signaled with his hand and turned back to the street. He scarcely gave the man enough time to jump into the car before he tore out of the parking lot. Pain pulsed in his head, and he prayed Evie was safe. If she wasn’t, someone would pay with their life, but he couldn’t think that way. He had to focus, and most important of all, get to her apartment.
A short time later, Kian drew up to the street invaded with police and crime lab vehicles. Bystanders crowded around, craning their necks to see what happened, and he shoved through to get beyond the police tape. When a uniformed officer turned his way, Kian flashed his badge, and the man nodded in greeting. Kian moved past without response, hearing Taggert behind him greet the man.
The bar’s front window, which had displayed the establishment’s name, was now shattered. He thrust the door open, and glass crackled beneath his feet. Holes from gunshots riddled the walls, and technicians carefully dug each out to drop into evidence bags. Kian ignored all the familiar activity and scanned the personnel to identify the detective on duty.
“Any casualties?” He marveled his voice remained steady.
“One of the agents was grazed in the arm, but—”
“Evie Sloane, where is she?” he interrupted, right now not giving a damn about the agents.
The annoyance in the detective’s stance grazed off him as the man thumbed over his shoulder. “In the back.”
Taggert thanked him as Kian headed to where he’d indicated. Kian’s gaze was for one person and one only. Several officers crowded into the smaller space, but what Kian focused on was Evie, in Vitali’s arms.
“Evie,” he snapped, and she looked up at him. Her brown eyes were wide in obvious fear, but they were dry. He figured the full impact of what had happened hadn’t hit her yet. She pulled from Vitali’s arms and approached him. He told himself not to, but his hand snaked out anyway, and he lifted her chin. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?”
She blinked at him in confusion, and a desire to protect her took such sharp hold, he had to steel himself. Her hands fluttered, and she clutched them together. Knowing her, she didn’t like to be seen as weak.
“I’m fine. I wasn’t home, but Leo was here.”
He frowned at the man, who appeared none the worse for wear. Vitali grinned at him and approached. “I’m immortal.”
Kian grunted. What he had guessed was correct. Paine wanted Vitali dead, but not Evie, but that didn’t mean he would trust her safety to a psychopath’s whims. He looked down at Evie. “You’re going into protective custody.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Don’t argue with me.”
She straightened her back. “Leo will need help cleaning this mess up so we can reopen as quickly as possible. I’m not leaving.”
To his surprise, Vitali agreed with him. “Cupcake, I want to know you’re safe. You might not have been here today, but what about the next time? I think we can afford to close shop for a little while until the agent here does his job.” He wrapped an arm about Evie’s shoulders, and a muscle twitched in Kian’s jaw. “How about we go on a little trip, just you and me?”
Evie shook Vitali’s arm off and moved a few steps away from him. “I’m not going on a trip with you, Leo. Don’t try to take advantage of the situation. This is not the time.”
The fact that she’d rejected him made Kian wonder if they were indeed seeing each other, but he also heard the tremor. She needed to be elsewhere before she broke down. He took her elbow, ignoring Vitali, and guided her toward the exit. When he passed Taggert, he told him to interview Vitali and anyone else who might have seen something.
“And get Vitali to the safe house!”
When Evie didn’t argue about him tucking her into his car, he knew he’d made the right call. He got three blocks away before she broke down in sobs, and he pulled to the side of the road.
“Baby,” he murmured, and lifted her onto his lap. She buried her face in his neck, shaking all over. He hugged her tight to his chest, willing his strength to pass to her. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not. It’s not.”
“Shh.” He stroked her hair, and she shook so much his heart ached. He didn’t know what else he could do to calm her other than to raise her chin and kiss her lips. Soft and sweet, they tantalized him and made his cock grow hard. He tried his best not to think of her naked and under him, writhing and crying out his name, and then groaned when he did think of it. At first, she gave in to him, parting her lips and letting him delve into her hot little mouth. He consumed her sweetness and breathed her unique scent. Evie. A year and a half since he’d last tasted her seemed like an eternity. The prospect of not getting another chance was worse.
He slid an arm about her waist and drew her closer until her breasts smashed against his chest. The feel of the soft globes reminded him of all the times he’d sucked her nipples, marveling over how big they were. He’d feed there like a newborn babe, never satisfied. She would arch into him and beg him to stop while dragging him closer. The tip of his tongue swirling over the sensitive peaks had brought her to countless orgasms with just a brush at her clit. That was how attuned Evie’s body was to his touch, and no other woman compared.
When he realized his thoughts led him to slide a hand under her ass, seeking her heat, he stilled. She’d stiffened in his arms, but hadn’t yet pushed him away. Then another memory flooded to the forefront of his mind, the night of Brad’s funeral when he had taken Evie in their bed. He had been rough and cruel, almost punishing her despite pleasuring them both. She’d allowed it as if it were her duty, and that just wasn’t true. He could never make up for hurting her, and he understood why she’d left.
He raised his head to meet the fire in her gaze. Not lust, but anger. “If you’re done assaulting me.”
“Evie, I would never…” He straightened and cleared his throat. “I apologize. I saw it as the only way to help you to calm down.”
“Is that how you calm down everybody you meet on the job?”
“No, just my stubborn wife!”
She opened her mouth, and he expected her to correct him, but she closed it again and climbed back to her own side of the car. He coughed and tried rearranging his cock inconspicuously, but she side-eyed him. His face burned, and he started the car to drive again. “The safe house is a few hours—”
“No.”
“Evie.”
“I said no. I’m not going, and you can’t force me. I don’t want to be holed up in some box of a house with a couple boring agents, unable to go anywhere or do anything. Besides, unless you made some changes in the last couple of years, you don’t even have a house here in Charlotte.”
She paused, waiting for his response, but he said nothing, impressed she remembered the details of his job he’d deigned to share. Of course he had never told her where the safe house was located, just that they shared houses with other agencies in locations that were a few hours out of North Carolina.
“Also,” she continued in an even, if not calm tone, “Anthony isn’t looking to hurt me. If I’m in Charlotte, wouldn’t it work out better for you?”
Kian admitted she had a point. “I can’t use you as bait, Evie.”
; “I’m not asking you to. Just let me stay here.”
He ran a hand over the back of his head and hesitated. “You could stay at the house. I have good security. There’s the extra bedroom.” He expected her to turn him down flat, but she nodded.
“That might be the best solution. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” She looked at him, and it came to him what she meant.
“No, you’re not.”
“Okay, then it’s settled.” She gasped, and a haunted expression came over her face. He started to reach for her hand, but she drew in a deep breath and blew it out. He recognized that determination. “I need to go back for my clothes and my laptop.”
“I’ll get someone to pack a bag for you.”
“No way some agent is rifling through my panties, Kian. I need to do it.”
He bit off a grunt at her use of the word panties. Inviting her to stay with him might not have been as good an idea as he thought. “I’ll take you over there later. Right now I have to get moving on locating the men responsible for the drive-by and re-interview another.”
“Are there any leads?”
“Not yet, but we’ll find him. I promise.”
Kian drove Evie to the house they’d shared and watched as she walked inside. Her eyes showed recognition, but she turned her head so he couldn’t see if she experienced a feeling of coming home. Having her there did something to him. For weeks after she left, he’d run into her scent or evidence of her in various spots. When he’d broken down to do laundry one day, he’d come across a T-shirt of his she had loved to wear. The material smelled like her even after he’d washed it, and he had lay in bed with it on his chest. At that time, he’d refused to go after her, deciding they were better off apart. He had blamed her and didn’t want to see differently.
Evie strode past his bedroom without looking in. He followed her, noticed the pantyhose on the floor, and grimaced. Meghan had left them. He frowned and swooped them up to stuff into his pocket. Evie paused at the spare bedroom and looked back at him. “Anything wrong?”
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