If he could get to Alisa, he knew he could convince her to tell him the truth. Reggie had been looking out for Dwight since they were kids and his death wouldn’t change that. When he found out who had killed his little brother, that person was dead.
“You make the best coffee,” Travis murmured as Noel pulled into the parking lot of the hospital.
“I’d better, or I need to find a new job.” Noel zoomed into a spot right up front, thankful they’d found one so quickly.
Despite the early morning hour, the sun was already up, creating a gorgeous display of reds and oranges streaking across the sky. Everything seemed so calm and quiet this morning, the near cloudless day making it hard to believe everything that had happened yesterday. Not only that, but Noel couldn’t believe one of the sexiest men she’d ever met had slept over at her house last night—in her guestroom.
After that hot kiss they’d shared, they’d eaten, talked, and yes, flirted. But there had been no more kissing. Then she’d surprised herself yet again by offering to let him stay over. He’d looked exhausted and the truth was, after yesterday she hadn’t minded the company. He hadn’t even paused when he’d said yes, something that still warmed her inside. It was clear he was comfortable around her. When she’d told him she planned to go to the hospital to check on Juanita this morning, she was pleased he’d wanted to come with her. So here they were and now she found herself nervous around him.
It was a strange sensation. She’d grown up with all boys, surrounded by not only her brothers, but their friends too. She knew how guys thought and acted, but Travis kept her on edge. The man was impossible to read and the few times she’d seen past that guarded exterior of his she’d been floored by the raw lust in his gaze. It kept her off balance. He’d never shown any blatant interest in her before other than typical male appreciation, but she’d never considered that she was really his type. He was so edgy and tattooed and she was so not any of that.
Her breath curled in front of her as she stepped out of her car, but she didn’t bother with mittens since the walk to the sliding glass doors would take only seconds. It was an unusually cold winter in Miami so she’d been able to pull out actual coats, hats and boots. Normally winters in South Florida were mild, but there had been a series of cold fronts move through and she loved it. She’d finally gotten to wear the knee-high boots she’d bought in Chicago last Christmas while visiting one of her brothers.
“So how many tattoos do you have, exactly?” she asked as Travis met her at the front of her car. It was a question she’d been dying to ask, but she couldn’t believe she’d just blurted it out all of a sudden. What was it about this man that made her so nervous she spoke before she thought?
He’d been blowing on the top of the travel mug she’d let him use, but he stopped and faced her, his eyes darkening. “I’ll let you find out on your own.” There was a sensual note in his voice that she felt all the way to her toes.
His response surprised her yet again, but she grinned. She’d like nothing more than to discover what the rest of his body looked like. How many tattoos he had, what they looked like, what body parts they covered… “You like getting me flustered.”
“I like it when you blush,” he admitted. “It’s…hot.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, but didn’t say anything as they headed for the main doors. After speaking to the woman behind the information desk, they found that Alisa wasn’t in the ICU anymore, but had been moved to a different floor. That meant she was stable. Definitely a good thing.
Once they were in an elevator, another thought occurred to Noel. Probably inappropriate, but her curiosity got the best of her. “Why did you take your piercings out?” She’d noticed that his eyebrow and ear piercings were gone. He looked good with or without them, but she’d been wondering.
He shrugged those broad shoulders, making her entire body flare to life. She wanted to stroke her fingers over them, to feel the strength and muscles under what that sweater was hiding. “I had to for my last job and haven’t had time to put them back in. But…I didn’t take
all
of them out.”
She blinked at his last words, trying to wrap her mind around the intent when it hit her. Immediately her eyes dropped to his groin area, then her face flamed. Again. Damn him for getting her all bothered like this. She snapped up to meet his gaze only to find him watching her with amusement. “You don’t really have a piercing…down there, do you?”
He shrugged in that maddening way of his, not really giving her an answer, but the wicked glint in his dark eyes told her everything she needed to know. He most certainly
did
. She really wanted to know why he was so into tattoos and piercings, especially since he had one in the most sensitive place ever.
Swallowing hard, Noel turned back to face the metal doors in time for the soft ding of the elevator announcing their arrival on the fifth floor. The thought of having sex with a guy who had a cock piercing—she was sure there was an official term for it—turned her on more than she’d ever thought possible. Okay, the thought of
Travis
having one was what made her hot. She’d heard stories from one of her girlfriends about how intense the stimulation could be, but she’d never even known anyone who had one. Or she guessed she didn’t. It wasn’t something people talked about, she supposed. And when had she decided to have sex with him anyway? They’d only shared
one
kiss. A really intense one where she’d wanted nothing more than to feel his bare chest against hers.
Sighing, she stepped out onto the linoleum hallway. Who was she kidding? They’d been building up to this for months, dancing around their attraction, though she couldn’t figure out why. She’d been nervous because Travis was seriously gorgeous in an edgy, dark way, but for the life of her she didn’t understand why it had taken him so long to make a move. It didn’t matter now because something was definitely happening between them. She just wasn’t sure what Travis’s exact intentions were when it came to her.
They were buzzed into the ward where Alisa was. Her room was the third one down the long hallway so they didn’t have to go far. The door was half-open and Noel could hear murmured female voices so she knocked as they stepped inside. “Hello?”
A white curtain was pushed back and Alisa was sitting up in her bed. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and bags circled her eyes, but she looked to be in good spirits. Probably because her daughter was right by her side. An older woman who Noel had seen in pictures at their house, sat in a chair by the window knitting. It was Alisa’s older sister and she was pretty sure there was a big age gap between them. Close to twenty years if she had to guess.
Juanita jumped up from her spot by the bed, racing around it. She practically tackled Noel, wrapping her thin arms around Noel’s waist. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
She returned the hug and kissed the top of the young girl’s head. Before she could respond, Juanita had tugged away and embraced Travis in a similar, binding hug. He looked stunned and a little uncomfortable as Juanita started going on about how wonderful he was.
Smothering a smile, she left him alone and strode toward Alisa’s bed. “I’m glad to see you doing so well.”
“Thank you, and not just for being here today. I’ve been working too much and I should have been there. I should have known what was going on with my own daughter. I’m so glad Juanita called you, but it never should have happened in the first place.” Alisa’s voice broke on the last word as tears tracked down her makeup-free face.
Noel knew she’d had Juanita very young, at fifteen, she thought. Right now the woman looked impossibly young herself. She was only a couple of years older than Noel. “What’s done is done and you didn’t do anything wrong. You’re trying hard to provide for your daughter and she knows that. What’s more, you’ve got a good kid with a smart head on her shoulders. Whose idea was it to put her in the Big Sister program?”
“Mine,” Alisa sniffled.
“Exactly. No one would question your love for your daughter. What happened was awful, but Juanita never saw anything and by the time you go home, we’ll make sure everything is cleaned up.” She needed to talk to Travis about that to make sure she could actually do it, but she’d try. There was no way Juanita needed to see any traces of what had happened in her home.
Travis cleared his throat, drawing both their attentions to him. Juanita was standing there, looking up at him adoringly and Noel bit back a smile. Juanita had a crush on a different boy every week at school. It seemed Travis was now her newest crush. Noel couldn’t blame her.
“I’d like to talk to Alisa about some security options, so maybe…” He nodded subtly toward Juanita.
Understanding what he meant, Noel jumped up. “Of course. Juanita, why don’t we hit up the cafeteria? I’m starving and I’m sure you must be too.”
“I’m not hungry.
Tia
Ivette cooked me breakfast before we left her house this morning.” She stuck out her bottom lip defiantly, making her look much younger than fourteen.
The aunt finally spoke as she pushed up from her chair. “We can eat again, little one. Come on, let’s give them some privacy.”
Guiding Juanita toward the door and ignoring her complaining, Noel shot a quick glance at Travis over her shoulder. He gave her a half-smile full of sensual promises that had her toes curling in her boots. Noel was dying to know what Travis planned to talk to Alisa about, but knew he’d tell her later. The truth was, that wasn’t the main thing she was even concerned about. Right now her thoughts were so focused on what kind of piercing he had and when she would get to see it.
* * * * *
Reggie tugged on his Santa beard, making sure it was in place. He knew a janitor who worked at the hospital who owed him a favor so he’d gotten an ID badge that wouldn’t hold up if someone asked him to take off his hat and beard, but it worked well enough if all he had to do was tug down his beard to quickly ID himself. It wasn’t as if he was trying to get into the maternity ward. That place was like Fort Knox. He just wanted to get to the fifth floor to spread Christmas cheer. He nearly snorted at the thought.
All he needed to do was get Alisa alone for a few minutes. Either her or that brat daughter of hers who’d clearly been spreading lies about his brother. He wasn’t going to let anyone malign Dwight and he sure as hell wasn’t letting his death go unpunished. Fucking cops wouldn’t be doing shit about it. They were probably glad his brother was dead. The guy who’d called him sure hadn’t sounded broken up about it. He’d delivered the news as if he was talking about the weather.
His black boots thudded along the hallway as he kept his pace even. He couldn’t appear to be in a hurry. When he saw a woman wearing scrubs rolling a young boy down the hallway in a wheelchair eye him curiously, he let out a loud, “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!”
The blonde woman smiled and the boy giggled, not giving him another glance as he continued walking.
When he neared the door, a bunch of people were hurrying out. A tall, very sexy woman with pale eyes glanced at him. Her arm was wrapped around Juanita and an old woman who looked vaguely familiar was with them. The pale-eyed beauty smiled as they all brushed past him and from their conversation, he guessed they were headed toward the cafeteria.
It was too much to hope that Alisa might be alone, but this was definitely her room number and Juanita was leaving it. He doubted anyone else was inside. Heart racing, he stepped in, but froze when he saw Alisa sniffling and talking to a giant of a man.
Tattoos peeked out from the neckline of his sweater and he could see different patterns and colors of ink along his forearms. And the guy was huge. Someone Reggie wouldn’t want to get caught alone with in a dark alley. This was the kind of man you’d have to take out from behind.
Reggie immediately wondered if this guy had been involved with his brother’s death. Maybe he was Alisa’s new boyfriend. Another guy she was stringing along and using. Why else would he be at the hospital visiting her? Alisa didn’t have any brothers and she wasn’t the type of woman to have male friends.
He smiled jovially at them and muttered “wrong room,” before hurrying away. Even though he had a disguise on, he couldn’t take the chance that Alisa recognized him. At least he knew where she was for the time being. And when she was released, she’d most likely be going home. He didn’t have a problem waiting to get her alone. Patience was the one thing he’d never struggled with.
“So, are you gonna tell me what you wanted to talk to Alisa about or will I have to drag it out of you?” Noel asked, her voice teasing, as they headed across the parking lot to her car.
“I talked to my boss about installing a security system at her place pro-bono and wanted to talk to her about it. The company occasionally does stuff like that for people in need and it won’t be as high grade as our industrial installations, but it’ll work for her needs.” While Travis couldn’t go back and change what had happened, he could hopefully give both Alisa and Juanita peace of mind since they’d be returning to their home soon.
“Wow, that’s very nice. Thank you. Why didn’t you want to talk about it in front of us?” She pressed the keyfob to her car when they reached it.
“I grew up with a single mom—my dad bailed before I was born—and I remember how she struggled. I didn’t want to embarrass her or for her to think it was charity so I thought it might be best if it was just us two. Juanita and Alisa deserve a sense of security after what they went through and this is the best way I could think to help.” He and Noel had talked about families before, but he’d never come out and admitted he’d never known his father until now. But he wanted her to know everything about him. Just as he wanted to know more about her.