Innocent Target

by Katie Reus

  Skye cursed again. “Damn it.”

  “Come on, be patient.” Gage shook his head without looking at her.

  Even Colt nudged her with his hip as he fought a grin.

  “Fine.” But she knew what he was doing. Gage liked to show off his computer skills—which she really couldn’t blame him, considering how impressive they were. But still, if he had information on one of the men who’d been there last night she wanted to know right now.

  “Say it,” Gage said without looking up.

  “Say what?”

  “How awesome I am. Then I’ll show you what I found.”

  “How about I refrain from punching you in the throat? And then you show me what you found.”

  Laughing, he said, “Fair enough.”

  A new screen popped up with a grainy feed showing a…marina, she thought. “Where is this? What is this?”

  “Since you’re being impatient, I skipped over all the other feeds I followed and I’m cutting right to the end. This guy is the only man resembling the description that Hadley gave you for the man who tossed her attacker in that trunk. Using what CCTVs and other video feeds I could hack into, I managed to track this guy—the vehicle, actually—to a local marina. And this is what I found. Keep watching.”

  Skye watched as the man parked, got out, and bent over his trunk for a few minutes. From the angle of the video, it was impossible to see what he was doing inside. When he stood back up, he lifted a huge bag—looked like a military-issue sea duffel—and hoisted it up. Then he made his way to a dock and from there it looked as if he got into a boat. But the angle was too far off to tell. “Anything else?”

  “Nope. Other than the fact that the guy hasn’t returned to the vehicle.”

  “Think there was a body in that bag?” Skye asked, even though she’d already come to that conclusion.

  “Offshore is certainly a good way to dispose of a body, especially if it’s weighted down,” Colt said.

  “Want to go check out the car?” she asked.

  He nodded. “I love our Friday date nights.”

  Snorting, she clapped Gage on the shoulder once. “Thanks, man. That’s incredible work. You know you can go home, right? It’s freaking late.”

  He just shrugged. “Yeah…I’ll get out of here soon but I’ll keep an eye on the feeds through my phone. Buzz me if you need backup.”

  “Will do,” Colt said, and grabbed her hand as he headed to the door.

  * * *

  As she sat on the couch with Axel, Hadley felt nervous for a multitude of reasons. The dinner he’d cooked was great, but she’d only eaten about half of what she normally would have because of the butterflies in her stomach.

  Everything about him was different than the boys she’d dated in college. Everything was different about him, period. Despite his youthful appearance, his eyes told a different story. He looked almost haunted, and apparently she was a sucker for that because he was drawing her in like a moth to a flame or any other bad analogy she could think of.

  “So which one do you think?” he asked, nodding at the screen where he scrolled through the newer movies available to rent.

  When he’d asked if she wanted to stay longer and watch a movie she’d readily agreed. Because spending time with him was no hardship. The thought of going back to her little home or even the ranch alone wasn’t appealing.

  “The action one,” she said because the thought of watching anything with a ton of sex in it with him made her squirm.

  When he slid his arm around her shoulders, she leaned into him. She inhaled that spicy scent and swore it went straight to her head, making her a little dizzy. She’d only had one glass of wine so she couldn’t blame her reaction on that at all. Not that she would. She was in charge of her own body and right now the last thing she wanted to do was watch a movie.

  But she’d never made the first move or put any sort of moves on a man. She wasn’t a virgin, but she also wasn’t swimming in experience. And he made her nervous on so many levels. She was pretty sure he was attracted to her, but he was hard to read.

  Somehow, from the time the opening credits started to before the characters had uttered a word of dialogue, she found herself tugged into his lap as he slid his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head. Oh, yes please.

  Normally she pulled it up so that it was out of her way but she was glad she’d left her hair down tonight because she loved the sensation of him running his fingers through it. Everything about him was larger than life. Sexy, dominating and toe-curling. That was Axel.

  Leaning forward slowly, he gently brushed his lips over hers, the sensation sending little pings of pleasure out to all her nerve endings. His lips were softer than she’d imagined and she wanted more than gentle right now. Her entire body felt as if she was coming apart at the seams with the need for…something more than this.

  She wanted to straddle him, but she wasn’t that bold. If anything, she felt out of her depth with him. Instead, she squeezed her legs together, hopefully subtly, as he nipped at her bottom lip. The effort did nothing to ease the growing ache between her legs. Apparently he had all the time in the world because he was taking his time kissing her, savoring it.

  She slid her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. She wanted to dig her fingers into him but resisted. He seemed so relaxed and she was trying to retain some semblance of control—and not pounce on him like a starving animal.

  His other hand made its way down to her hip, where he held on to her with more pressure than necessary. And every part of her being liked it. He was holding on to her as if he didn’t want to let go.

  Good, because the feeling was mutual. And she wasn’t going anywhere. Not right now anyway. She thought he might shift lower and push her dress up, but he continued teasing her tongue with his, his kisses sensual and expert.

  The ache between her legs grew as he increased the intensity of his kisses.

  Giving in to her earlier thought, she shifted and did straddle him, feeling a little out of control even as she moved. When she did, he let out a tortured-sounding groan and grabbed onto her hips as he rolled his against her. She had on panties and leggings under her dress but nothing could hide his erection. She shifted over his hard length, moaning at the feel of his erection teasing her clit. He groaned again, his grip on her hips tightening.

  His chest rose and fell harshly as he pulled back, his eyes crystal clear as he watched her. “Stopping is the last thing I want to do, but I think we need to,” he rasped out, sounding as tortured as she felt.

  He wanted to stop? A hint of embarrassment slid through her. She wanted to ask why, but again, she wasn’t that bold. Not yet anyway. And they were moving really fast. Even if she thought she might want a one-night stand, she wasn’t completely sure, so yes, stopping was probably a good idea. Even if she really, really wanted to see where this led to.

  In response, she nipped his bottom lip once and slid off him.

  She loved that he groaned again, adjusted himself as she sat next to him.

  Just like that, their surroundings came back into place and she realized the movie was still playing. She hadn’t even heard the sound as they’d been making out, as she’d been grinding her body against his. She’d been too focused on his teasing tongue and the way he made her feel.

  Not so subtly, he grabbed a pillow and put it over his lap as she curled into him. She giggled lightly but didn’t say anything else as they settled in to watch the movie.

  She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but everything about tonight felt kind of perfect, even if she was still unsatisfied. But maybe that was a good thing, because she wanted more of this. More of him. And deep down, she was pretty sure she wanted more than one night.

  She’d expected him to take her somewhere fancy and then maybe a movie afterward. Technically they’d done dinner and now a movie, but she liked this intimate atmosphere a lot better than if they’d gone out. Their conversation over dinner had felt mor
e real than small, fake chitchat. Normally she didn’t even open up to people because of the way she’d grown up, but with Axel she felt freer to be herself. Which was strange in itself. And for once she wasn’t going to overanalyze why.

  She settled her head on his shoulder and tried to pay attention to the movie instead of focusing on the sensation of his muscular body against hers. It was damn hard when she had a feeling that if they did get naked, it would be incredible between them. Maybe after the movie he would want to continue what they’d started. She could hope.

  Chapter 6

  —Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.—

  Axel glanced over at Hadley who was dozing on his couch. She’d dropped off a couple hours ago close to the end of the movie and he hadn’t wanted to wake her. Her falling asleep had actually worked in his favor since he was hoping that she would just stay the night in the guest room if she woke up. It was a perfect excuse not to take her home. Obviously he would if she wanted to, but keeping her here would keep him sane—and her safe.

  He might actually get a few hours of sleep since he wouldn’t be constantly monitoring the cameras outside her place.

  At that thought he looked back down at his laptop. He’d been working quietly on the other couch since she’d fallen asleep. After draping a blanket over her, he’d dimmed all the lights and could now focus on her cameras, plus the ones he’d set up at his rental condo, and monitor for any incoming info from Isaac.

  He finished fast-forwarding through another one of the camera feeds outside her house. Nothing out of the ordinary, just as the last one had been fine. Then he started on the next one. Again nothing strange. Just random animals, because he’d set the sensitivity level of the cameras too high. So it was picking up all movement, including raccoons.

  Pressing pause, his gaze strayed to her again even though he told himself not to want her, not to watch her. She was definitely not the type of woman for him.

  But now that he’d gotten a taste of her, he was pretty certain he was screwed. Because she was everything he’d never known he wanted. God, she was going to hate him when he told her what he did for a living. Who he was. He just couldn’t see a way around not telling her.

  When an incoming message softly pinged, he pulled a new screen up. It was from his contact.

  Got some movement at the marina, two individuals are checking out the car you ditched there. Watching them from the local camera.

  Axel stilled at that message. That could mean any number of things. It could just be someone looking to steal it. He had left the keys in the ignition, after all. He’d wiped it down and if someone stole it, even better for him. There’d be so much DNA inside it that it would never be linked back to him. He’d thought about burning it, but ditching it had been easier given the location. And less likely to draw attention to it for a while. He hadn’t wanted to return and grab it, putting himself at more risk. Because of the short nature of this job, he hadn’t realized there was a camera on site. He’d found out about it afterward and was glad there was only one. Instead of tampering with it or removing it, he’d asked Isaac to hack into it and monitor it—for a fee, of course. The man didn’t work for free.

  Fingers moving quickly across the keyboard, he typed back, Teenagers looking to steal it?

  The response was almost immediate. No. They move like pros. Checking every inch of the car. It even looks as if they’re dusting it for fingerprints.

  Yeah, good luck with that. He’d worn gloves and had been sure to have everything wiped down even before he’d grabbed the asshole who’d tried to take Hadley.

  But he didn’t like that someone was checking out his vehicle. It could mean he’d been spotted leaving the college, which was a possibility even though he’d been careful and had worn a hat, gloves and kept his ears covered. The beard had helped too. But this might mean that one of the kidnappers looking for Hadley was working with someone.

  From the information he had on the other two men who’d been hired, it didn’t seem plausible. He typed back, What do they look like?

  I can’t get a good visual—faces are covered by hats, and what are probably wigs covering their ears—and I’m 99% sure someone else is currently hacked into the camera system as well.

  Well that was interesting. And not the kind of interesting that he liked. At least he didn’t have anything to worry about as far as the body. He’d disposed of it well. And he hadn’t returned to the marina, instead docking the boat elsewhere.

  Send me any information including video footage. It was doubtful he’d recognize anyone disguised but it didn’t hurt to watch it.

  It’ll cost you.

  Yeah, no shit. Instead of typing what he thought, he simply said Bill me.

  Any amount of money was worth keeping Hadley safe. But now it appeared as if things had gotten more complicated. He needed to get her somewhere more secure and he needed to tell her what was going on. Hell, he needed to tell her brother too. But…one more day with her. That was all he wanted. Maybe keeping her safe would balance his karma scale. Nah. He doubted it. He’d still protect her though.

  As if she knew he was thinking about her, Hadley’s eyes opened and she gave him a soft smile. Confusion flickered across her features as she sat up and looked around. Her dark hair was a little mussed and her dark eyes were sleepy. Yawning, she pushed the blanket down. “Did I miss the end of the movie?” Her voice was slightly raspy and sexy as hell.

  “Yeah, it ended a few hours ago.”

  Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s no worries. Since it’s late do you just want to stay in the guest room? It’s nice.” The whole place was, in fact. It was secure enough and had a state-of-the-art security system. He lifted a shoulder as if it didn’t matter to him when he really wanted her to stay put.

  “Are you sure?” She seemed to hesitate.

  “Yeah, I’d rather you stay here than get on the road this late. But whatever you want to do.” Please stay.

  “Do you have something I can wear?”

  “Yeah. Everything I own will be too big but fine for sleeping in. Do you have plans tomorrow? I’ll make sure you get home as early as you need.” But he’d have to tell her the truth before he did that. There was no way around it. Because she needed to know, to be able to watch out for herself. Just…a few more hours with her. She could rest easy at least one night without the knowledge that someone wanted to kidnap her. Use her as leverage.

  “I’d just planned to head out to my family’s ranch and go horseback riding. With school being on break I’m taking advantage of the downtime.”

  Good. That should give him some time to contact Brooks and hopefully hunt down another one of the men sent after her once Axel knew she was safe with her brother.

  “Do you want to come with me?” she asked, surprising him.

  Or…he could do that. “I’d love to,” he found himself saying. He would stay with her at the ranch, just to keep her safe. And then he’d tell her the truth.

  He was so full of it he couldn’t buy his own bullshit. Yeah, he’d be keeping her safe, but he was a selfish bastard for not telling her the truth right now. If he thought there was a chance she’d be harmed here or at her family’s ranch then he’d tell her but…

  He rolled his shoulders once and closed his laptop. “Let me grab you something.”

  Digging around in his suitcase he pulled out a plain T-shirt that would come at least to her mid-thigh and a pair of sweats she would have to roll over at the waist to keep up. He preferred to sleep naked at home but when he was on a job he wore clothes in case he was woken up by a threat.

  God, his life was lonely. And she was this bright spot he was soon going to lose. Because in the reality he lived in, no way did they end up together.

  When he returned to the living room, he found her folding the blanket and setting it neatly on the back of the couch. “I really don’t mind going home. I feel as if I’m imp
osing.”

  “Trust me, you’re not imposing.” He just wished she’d be sleeping in his bed. But if that was going to happen, she needed to know who he was first.

  Although then everything would be a moot point because he was certain she’d want nothing to do with him.

  Her smile was soft and sweet. “Okay, then. Is that for me?” She nodded at the bundle of clothes.

  “Yeah.” He handed it to her as he showed her to the short hallway. The place was spacious but not so big she could get lost. “This is the extra bedroom.” It had clearly been professionally decorated in a coastal theme. The kind of place that people traveling on business or for vacation would love to stay at. Not that any of that stuff mattered to him. But he was glad she seemed to like it.

  “I’ll just be a couple minutes.” She looked indecisive, as if she wanted to say something more but changed her mind at the last second because she ducked into the room and shut the door behind her.

  For a moment, he leaned his forehead against the door and tried not to fantasize about her undressing inside, putting on his clothes. Tried and failed. Because he really liked the thought of her wearing his stuff, being covered in his scent. Which was beyond primitive but…he didn’t care.

  Sighing, he stepped back and leaned against the wall in the hallway. He’d just tell her goodnight then put some distance between them. Yep, that was the plan.

  Because he needed distance if he wanted to stay sane. Especially after that kiss they’d shared. She’d been so sweet and teasing and all he’d wanted to do was roll the two of them to the floor and thrust inside her until they were both sated.

  Less than a minute later she opened the door wearing his much too big shirt and… No. Pants. She looked surprised to see him waiting. Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have? Damn it, he was in new territory here. This wasn’t a typical first date, he knew that much.

  “Hey, I just wanted to see if you had face wash or something? If you don’t, it’s not a big deal.”