Taking Care of the Target

by Cindi Madsen

  He backed her up against the closest tree, bracing his hands against the rough bark as he kissed her again, hungry, desperate, and completely consumed.

  Right now, in this moment, she was his.

  He’d deal with the guilt later.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As the clock wound down on her shift, Cassie gave herself an internal pep-talk about how she was a strong, independent woman, who wasn’t going to let a random act of violence deter her from living her life.

  Still, she had a moment of weakness when she wished for her beast of a car to take her home and even considered calling a cab, but by the time she pushed out of McCarthy’s, her resolve had returned. Now if her wobbly legs would just get message, that’d be great.

  She’d only taken two long strides down the sidewalk when her steps faltered. Not from fear, but the devastatingly sexy guy sitting on the nearby bench, arms stretched across the top of it. Their eyes met, and her emotions switched gears so quickly her knees nearly gave out.

  Vince stood, and she fought the urge to run over and fling herself into his arms. Work had been especially long, her fears about walking home alone left her frazzled, and all she wanted was to go home and curl up on her couch. Preferably with the guy who’d kissed her so thoroughly in the park it felt as though he were imprinted on her for good.

  Hiding her smile was futile, so she aimed it at him as she started his way. “You know, if you were scared to walk alone, all you had to do was ask.”

  One corner of his mouth kicked up, and her heart skipped a couple beats. “Very funny,” he said, taking slow, deliberate steps in her direction. “Now, get over here.”

  She halted in place, leaving a couple of feet between them. “Oh, one make out session in the park and you think you can just—”

  Vince yanked her to him and covered her lips with his, sending the rest of her sentence right out of her head. She gripped the sides of his waist so she wouldn’t melt to the sidewalk, no chance of ever getting up again. Evidently he’d decided to stop holding back. She was fully onboard with that decision.

  “Hey,” he said, his lips brushing hers as he spoke. “Thought I’d give you a ride home.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  Vince led her to a black Jeep that looked like it ate other Jeeps for breakfast and opened the passenger door. His cologne hung in the air of the interior, woodsy and musky, the same scent that invaded her senses earlier in the park. She lifted her fingers to her still-tingling lips. She’d never been kissed the way he kissed her—deep, urgent, and possessive.

  Vince climbed into the driver’s seat and fired up the Jeep. “How was work?”

  “It was okay, but way too long. Tyra picked a leaf out of my hair when I first got in.” She twisted a strand around her finger. “I wonder how it possibly got there.”

  Vince’s heated gaze slid over her. Her brain was telling her to not go too fast, but the lust pumping through her body didn’t want to listen. Okay, I’ll invite him up so we can get to know each other better, but I should at least date him for a little while before I even think about having sex with him.

  As Vince pulled onto the street, she studied his strong profile, the way the muscles in his arms stood out, how every movement he made was so sure.

  He’d definitely be an adventure, and I am trying to have more of those. As soon as she had the thought, she tried to quickly dismiss it. Adventure or not, she didn’t want to open herself up only to be hurt, and she did barely know the guy.

  Vince wrapped his hand around her thigh, and her hormones went into overdrive. This was what happened when you’d only ever had sex with one gangly, semi-awkward guy, and it’d been years ago.

  She frowned, wondering if there’d been anyone else and hating the idea that there might’ve been. Surely she’d somehow know, right? Her brain flipped through images of guys she’d crushed on in high school, skipped past her one and only boyfriend who’d turned into her sex buddy and then awkward never-again ex, and then placed herself on the TCNJ campus. Even in her imagination it was hard to picture guys asking her out, but she pushed harder, grasping at wisps that might or might not be there.

  A black wall of resistance and an oncoming headache met her efforts, and she shook her head, abandoning her attempt.

  “Where’d y—you okay?” Vince asked.

  She pressed her fingertips to her temples, massaging the ache there. “Yeah. I just space out sometimes, and since the accident I think it’s gotten a little bit worse. But I’m back.”

  Vince pulled up in front of her building, letting the Jeep idle instead of shutting it off. Maybe he’d honestly just come to give her a ride and nothing more. Another worry poked through. What if he needs a break?

  She debated simply thanking him and going upstairs, but decided to stop being a wimp and just go for it. “My plans for the night involve watching a movie on my very pink couch and digging into a carton of ice cream. Just putting it out there in case you want to join me.”

  Vince leaned over the console and kissed her cheek, and she prepared herself for him to say he needed to go. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  ***

  The tangle of nerves twisting in Vince’s gut sent a spike of irritation through him. Really? He was nervous to go into a woman’s apartment?

  Only this wasn’t any woman. It was Cassie. She wasn’t the kind of girl you just slept with and then left after, which was good, because he could not, under any circumstances, sleep with her.

  Not tonight, anyway.

  No, not ever.

  As she unlocked the door, he ran his gaze up her legs to the perfect curve of her ass. His thoughts drifted to the way she’d felt against him earlier and the things she did with her tongue, and all his blood rushed south. Fuck, what am I thinking? Like it’ll be easy to keep from crossing the line when she looks like that and feels even better.

  He needed to be with her to keep her safe, and yet, she wasn’t safe with him.

  Temporary. It’s all temporary. That’d be his new mantra, to be repeated at least once an hour whenever he was with her.

  Her keys clanged together as she tossed them on the kitchen counter. “Hey, I forgot to ask about the police.”

  Vince froze in place, watching her closely as his brain grasped for what she meant. Had she figured out who he was? Was this where he found out he’d been conned, and she’d actually been undercover the whole time? “The police?”

  “Yeah, did you get a chance to report the drive-by? What did they say?”

  “Oh.” He slowly let out the breath he’d held trapped in his lungs and worked to sound calm. Damn lies. On the bright side, the police mention put his libido in check. “They said they’d put an extra patrol on the area and check out the scene, but without a look at the guys or the license, they’re not able to do much. But don’t worry.” He ran his hand down her arm. “You’ve got me to keep you safe.”

  The concern in her features didn’t fade as much as he’d hoped. “I just feel bad for everyone who doesn’t have a personal bodyguard.”

  “Don’t forget the gym rat part.”

  She flashed him a smile before tipping onto her toes and giving him a peck on the lips. “I’m just going to change out of my uniform real quick. You already know where everything is, so make yourself at home.”

  A few minutes later she came out in skintight jeans that hugged her hips and the ass he was quickly becoming obsessed with, and a lacy black top that showed hints of a pink bra.

  Cassie reached into the freezer and pulled out a carton of ice cream. “Should we bother with bowls or just eat it out of the carton?”

  Is eating it off your body out of the question? He cleared his throat. “Carton.”

  She joined him on the couch and turned on the television. It was kitty corner across the room, off to the left of the window, and he remembered her talking about watching the sunset. Clearly she put that view over her TV viewing—he didn’t know how she could watch for very long
without getting a permanent kink in her neck.

  She extended him a spoon and dug into the Neapolitan.

  “I feel like a chick,” he said after his third or fourth bite. “Isn’t this what chicks do after breakups? Get together and eat ice cream out of the carton while watching whatever this is…” He gestured to the drama unfolding on the TV.

  “Yes. And don’t pretend you’re not enjoying it.” Cassie licked ice cream off her lip. A groan escaped him, and she slowly closed the distance between them pressed her mouth to his. Her lips were cold, and when she slid her tongue against his, he discovered it was, too, in addition to tasting faintly like chocolate. “I hardly ever kiss them, though.”

  Want pumped through his body, his mouth dropped open, and he grew harder by the second.

  “And that’s how predictable guys are,” Cassie said, a vixen smile on her lips as she patted his chest. The sweet girl definitely had a naughty side. Like she needed another tempting feature.

  She dug into the ice cream again.

  “Why do you bother buying that kind when you only eat the chocolate part?” he asked.

  “No, look…” She lifted the spoon. “I just like mostly chocolate with a little vanilla and strawberry. Why did you think I really invited you up? It’s so that you can even out the other part.”

  He leaned forward and stole her bite with all of the chocolate.

  “Hey!” She scooped out another spoonful, blocking him when he made like he was going to steal it.

  Then he obliged her request to even out the other flavors.

  “Looks like we make the perfect team,” she said once it was level. When he waved off her offer of more, she put the ice cream back in the freezer and disappeared down the hallway. She returned with a yellow and blue patchwork blanket. “The ice cream made me cold,” she said as she scooted next to him and draped the quilt over her, offering him part of it.

  “Did you make it?” he asked, taking the corner of the blanket even though cold was the last thing he was.

  “My mom did. Before I was born.” She hugged it tighter, and he could tell how much it meant to her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he decided her hair was what always smelled faintly of coconut. Must be her shampoo.

  He curled her closer and kissed her forehead, enjoying her happy sigh. After being shot at and having intense discussions—not to mention his thoughts never straying far from the fact that if he failed, some guy named Jackhammer might come after her—a simple movie night cuddling on the couch ended up being the perfect way to unwind.

  He’d always done more of a your place or mine thing with women, where either he or she left shortly after. Suddenly he understood why people dated.

  This is only temporary, he reminded himself. With her future and his in the balance, he knew it couldn’t last forever, and a tip in the wrong direction would be disastrous.

  Usually he prided himself on his control, but he’d completely lost it in the park today, and he didn’t care to get it back. Once Carlo backed off, he’d have to find a way to end things, and he hoped he could do it in a way that wouldn’t leave Cassie crushed, even though he had a feeling he’d never be the same again.

  Until then, he decided to just enjoy it.

  Call him a hypocrite.

  He was owning being a complete asshole, too.

  But he wasn’t strong enough to stay away anymore.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cassie and Vince fell into a routine. He’d pick her up from work every night and stay at her place until late. Not wanting to lose the exercise or chance to enjoy the pretty fall colors and weather, she walked herself to work, and each day she got a little less jumpy about passing cars. She told herself she could walk home alone in the dark if she had to, but she liked that she didn’t have to.

  She’d also received an email from Annie, who said she was sorry to hear about her accident and wished her a speedy recovery. According to her former neighbor, Cassie decided on TCNJ because of the scholarship they offered her. Other than that, she said they hadn’t kept up very well, something she apologized for, but she said her job at the rehab center consumed most of her days. So no new information there, but they both promised to keep in better touch.

  After a week of spending pretty much every moment either working or hanging out with Vince, Cassie decided it was time to stop putting off the other part of her life she still needed to figure out. She gathered every textbook she had at her disposal, sat on the couch, and flipped through page after page, trying to cram all of the information she’d supposedly already learned into her brain.

  In a little over two months, she could retake the college classes she’d only gotten partway through this semester. They’d be higher-level courses covering comprehensive topics she couldn’t remember learning, and the thought of it made her lungs constrict. But she told herself she’d just have to study twice as hard.

  Yeah, in all my spare time. Defeat pressed against her, threatening to crush her before she’d even tried. But between work and classes and studying, she wasn’t sure how she’d have any time with Vince.

  I’m not seriously considering putting off college for one more semester for a brand new relationship, am I? At this rate, she’d never finish and actually get started on…whatever she decided to be. Yet another question that needed answering.

  Plus, she couldn’t be one of those girls who wrapped her entire life up in a guy. Even if it was rather tempting, considering what the guy looked like—and how he kissed. She nearly pinched herself every time he showed up just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

  Her phone rang, breaking out of her happy Vince thoughts, and she frowned at the unknown number before answering

  “Cassie, it’s Tom Duffy. Just calling to check up on you.”

  Cassie told him she had a new job, had settled into her apartment, and was well. The silence on the other line made her nerve endings prick up. “Is there something else?”

  At the knock on the apartment door, she said, “Just a second.” Vince was coming by, so she was sure it was him. She nearly opened the door without looking, but last minute peeked through her peephole, just to be safe.

  Gah, he’s so damn sexy. She swung open the door, leaned in for a quick kiss, and then pointed at the phone and held up a finger to let him know she was almost done.

  “Sorry, what were you saying?” She returned to the couch, pulling one of her textbooks onto her lap to give her hands something to do.

  “I…I’d like to meet up and ask you a few follow-up questions about your accident.”

  Cassie closed the book in her hands. “I don’t know how much help I could be, considering I don’t even remember the accident. Did you guys find out something new?”

  Vince jerked his head toward her. She waved it off, trying to tell him everything was okay, even though something in Tom’s voice gave her pause.

  “No, not really,” Tom said.

  “What does ‘not really’ mean?”

  Tom sighed. “I was hoping we could meet and chat. Completely casual, no need to worry. Just one friend to another. Are you free for lunch tomorrow?”

  Cassie rolled her eyes to the ceiling, working to recall her work schedule. “I could do lunch. There’s this cute little deli by where I work if you’d like to meet there.”

  They finalized the details, and when she hung up, she glanced at Vince. The deadly expression on his face made her swallow hard, and her heart forgot how to properly beat for a second.

  “Who was that?” he asked, sitting down next to her.

  “Officer Tom Duffy. He’s the cop who came to see me when I was in the hospital. We’re going to meet up for lunch tomorrow. Just one friend to another,” she added, using Tom’s words to try to soothe the angry muscle tightening Vince’s jaw. When that didn’t work, she smoothed her finger over it, a thrill going through her stomach at the brush of rough whiskers. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.”

  “Maybe y
ou know me better than you think,” he said. His voice came out all hot and growly, too, which shouldn’t cause her pulse to rapidly accelerate, but it did anyway.

  “It’s just lunch so he can check up on me. He’s a really nice guy, and he helped me get settled when I didn’t know how to pick up the pieces of my life, even though it wasn’t part of his job.”

  “Yeah, I’ll bet.” Vince grinned, but the gritted teeth made it a big-bad-wolf-type grin. “So now you’re going to meet up with the pig at the local deli and have a nice little chat? That’s just great.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Be nice.”

  “What?” he asked, his voice all false innocence. “Sometimes cops are called pigs—maybe you don’t remember, but I assure you, it’s true. Lots of people call them that.”

  “Oh, I’m aware, but I don’t think that’s what they prefer to be called, so again, be nice.”

  He grunted, and she decided to take that as it was currently under consideration. He looked at the textbooks littering the couch and coffee table and picked one up. “What’s all this?”

  “I’m trying to learn everything in these books real fast so I don’t have to start over on my education. If I don’t hurry, I’m going to be the oldest person there besides the professors. Maybe I’ll just tell everyone I’m law or pre-med so it makes more sense.”

  “Law? Like criminal law?”

  Cassie straightened, putting on her best serious expression. She couldn’t tell if he was shocked or intrigued. “What? Don’t I look like a lawyer?”

  “Hottest lawyer I’ve ever seen.”

  Cassie shook her head but couldn’t help smiling. “And you’ve seen a lot?”

  “I plead the fifth,” he said, nudging her with his elbow.

  “Hey, I already know that one without even going to school. I’m halfway there.” Cassie picked up the economics book she’d skimmed through and tossed it aside—no thank you to that course. “I can’t see myself being a lawyer. I’d like to think I could be a hardcore prosecutor, but that’s not really me, and I could never defend criminals.”