HIS Choice: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 2) (13 page)

Fear flooded his senses, and his pulse accelerated. Had the man killed her? He needed to know. She had to
be safe.

He reached down and checked the man’s pulse. Dead. He didn’t feel sorry for it. The man had tried to kill his
little dove.

Rage burned deep inside him. He had less time then he’d thought. He had to get her out of here, now if she was alive. He turned toward her house. Tension tightened the knot in his gut. The thought of her dead or wounded had him hustling across the street where he found two police officers and another man dead, weapons still holstered. Hell of a lot of good they did
protecting her.

With little effort, he opened the bullet riddled front door, conducting a room-to-
room sweep.

“Stop the fuck
right there!”

He froze, eyes scanning the room for the body that accompanied the voice. “Trent?”

“AJ? Did you come to finish the job? I have no problem killing you if that’s
the case.”

Finish the job? That meant she was alive. He’d arrive in time. He just had to get them out of here. “No. I’m here to help you get her out
of here.”

Silence.

“I promise.” A thought occurred to him and he added, “Spit in my palm and shake your hand promise.” They’d started that method of promising each other at five years old after watching it on a TV show but kept it throughout
the years.

He heard a chuckle. “In
the kitchen.”

AJ glanced at the bloody handprints on the wall and watched Trent lower himself to a sitting position with his back to the cabinets, his left leg bleeding profusely. AJ grabbed a towel off the counter and put it on his friend’s wound to staunch
the bleeding.

“Goddamn fuckers hit me with one of the first shots.” Trent applied pressure to the wound and grimaced. “Get upstairs and check on Megan. She’s in
the bathroom.”

“You going to
be okay?”

“Fuck worrying about me. Get her the hell out
of here!”

AJ didn’t need to be
told twice
.

Racing up the staircase, he cautiously approached the bathroom. He opened the door and couldn’t believe his eyes. She stood with her back to him, nude.

Warmth radiated through him pulsing with pleasure
and relief.

She caught sight of him in the mirror, turned
and screamed.

He really had to stop making her
do that.

He couldn’t help himself. His gaze swept up and down her body, his mouth curved into
a smile.

She stammered, calling him a murderer. Well, he
deserved that.

“Good to see you, my little dove. All of you. Get dressed. It’s time
to go.”

AJ ducked as a hot pink hair dryer flew past his head. “Megan, calm down. I’m here to
save you.”

Her eyes narrowed to menacing slits. “Save me, my ass. You’re one of the bad guys. You promised to come back if I told anyone.” She hefted a bottle of some hair care product he caught but not before it bounced off
his chest.

“Fuck!” His breath left him in a whoosh. Of all the places for her to hit him. If his eyes hadn’t been on her plump, pale, bare breasts, he’d have deflected
it sooner.

She continued to throw items at him. “What’ve you done
with Trent?”

With the counter bare, she looked down, released a squeak and reached for a towel but not before a blush crept up
her face.

Damn, AJ
craved her.

“Megan, I’m no longer one of the bad guys, remember? Think about it. I wouldn’t have been sent to kill you. I’m here to protect you.” A small pang in his heart developed at the sight of her bloodless face and red
puffy eyes.

“Trent’s okay but he’s injured. He wants me to get you out
of here.”

Her grip tightened on the towel. “I don’t
believe you.”

She shouldn’t. But if he’d been the shooter, she’d be dead instead of having this conversation. “Get dressed and let’s get downstairs and see him. But be fucking quick
about it.”

Damian said if warranted they’d make her death look like an accident. How the fuck did he think spraying her house with bullets look like an accident? It made AJ despise the
man more.

He decided not to sugar-coat it. “I killed your shooter. When he doesn’t return with a confirmation of your kill, they’ll send someone else to finish the job. They won’t stop until you’re dead. They won’t tolerate witnesses, Megan. I thought I’d made
that clear.”

He refused to let them kill her. That need to protect her kept leaping forward. Since Trent couldn’t take her, she’d leave with him. Not what he’d wanted or needed but if she refused, he’d tie her up and throw her over his shoulder. No was an unacceptable answer at
this point.

“You’re safest if you come with me. I won’t let anyone harm you. You have my promise on that.” No matter how hard he’d fought it, he had a desire to be with her, and not just for sex. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe even if it meant swallowing his pride and asking for help from his brothers. AJ was dammed if he would allow another innocent person to be
callously murdered.

“If I don’t go are you going to kidnap
me again?”

“Yes,” he said in a harsher voice
than intended.

She huffed out a breath. “Why would you take me? I’m nothing to you. I was just a
quick lay.”

He closed his eyes. It may have been a quick fuck at the time but she meant something or he wouldn’t be here instead of saving his own sorry ass. He’d do the same for any woman but protecting Megan was more important than his own life. He captured her gaze. “Megan, I won’t leave you to
your death.”

She made a sound of abject despair. “I want to talk to Trent first.”

“Fair enough, but we have
to hurry.”

“Where will we go? What will we do? Can I keep in touch with my family? Will it be like protective custody where I’m cut off from everything?” she asked in a rush
of breath.

A chuckle painfully escaped him. “That’s a load of questions. We’re heading somewhere they won’t find us.” His immediate answer to all of her questions was “no,” but that would’ve halted their departure. He hoped she wouldn’t fight him on rules necessary to stay alive. Of course she would. This could get very interesting.

“We can’t stand here playing twenty questions. Are
you coming?”

She took a deep breath, stayed quiet for a long minute and then nodded. “If Trent tells me to, I’ll go with you. Turn around so I may
get dressed.”

A smiled played on his lips. “What’s the difference? I’ve already seen your hot body, my
little dove.”

By the immediate reddening of her face and the narrowing of her eyes, he realized that he’d said the wrong thing. If she’d had anything left to throw, he imaged her target would be
his groin.

She pointed her finger toward the door, stomped her bare foot and yelled. “
Get out!”

He turned and walked out of the bathroom, smiling. That little spitfire heated his blood. It would be hard to keep his hands off of her while they are locked up together. If they became involved, she’d expect something he couldn’t give. He wouldn’t let things get
that far.

While she dressed, he pulled out his secure cell phone and dialed. “Change of plan. I’ve added baggage,
female baggage.”

* * * * *

Megan reappeared in lose fitting jeans, an oversized Baltimore Ravens sweatshirt and
brown boots.

She rushed downstairs to Trent and knelt beside him. “Oh my God! Trent, are you okay?” Her fingers tenderly brush hair from his face. “Of course you’re not, you’ve been shot. Should I call an ambulance? What can
I do?”

AJ shifted against
the wall.

“Doll, listen to me, there isn’t much time. Go with, AJ. No matter who he is now, he’ll keep you safe. I
trust that.”

“What about you? I can’t leave you for them to return and
murder you.”

Trent placed a slightly bloodied hand on her cheek, boiling AJ’s blood. What intimacies had they shared? Had they been to bed together already? There had been the light scent of her lip stuff he’d smelled on Trent when he’d leaned over the injured man.
Fuck!

“Come on, Megan. Let’s go,”
AJ ordered.

“Go. I’ve already called someone. I’ll be fine.” Trent rubbed a clean thumb over her lips. “I’ll miss you, doll. Listen to him. I’ll talk with you soon.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly
over hers.

AJ saw red. What the fuck? He’d had enough. “Let’s go.” He didn’t care how dangerous his
voice sounded.

“Let me grab my bags
and Bob.”

He snapped his eyes to Trent
for help.

“She had bags packed for protective custody.” He turned to her. “I’ll take care of Bob. Grab only your hotel bag
and go.”

She bit her bottom lip. Her luscious lip. “Are
you sure?”

“Yes. Now go, Megan,”
he demanded.

“Where’s the bag?” They had to leave. AJ’s patience had stretched to its limit. He couldn’t watch her and Trent any longer, and he sure as hell didn’t plan to wait for
the cavalry.

She turned to him, sadness in her eyes. Son of a bitch! She’d already fallen for Trent. He shouldn’t care. Shouldn’t.

“I’ll
get it.”

“Hurry.”

She raced from
the room.

“Did you call
my brother?”

Trent tightened his lips. “Yes.”

AJ nodded. “
Good call.”

“Keep her safe, AJ, or I’ll hunt
you down.”

Megan returned with a small, wheeled suitcase, a laptop bag and a purse. He snatched the overnight bag from her, grabbed her arm and ushered her, none too gently, toward the door. “Let’
s go.”

She looked back at Trent, worry written on
her face.

“Loverboy will be fine.” AJ gritted
his teeth.

He opened the car door for her and then put her bag in the back seat of the baby blue
Honda Civic.

Damn Trent. Jesse had been right to call him, “God’s gift to women.” He’d only been around her a short time, and he’d already snatched her heart. He’d break it like all of the other women he’
d dated.

AJ almost laughed out loud. Who was he to talk? That used to be his
life also.

“Where’d you get this car? Please don’t tell me you stole it.” She licked her
lower lip.

His hand itched to touch it with his thumb like Trent had. AJ didn’t have the right. She’d probably slap him, and he didn’t need her anger at
the moment.

“The less you know
the better.”

He had to put as much distance as possible between her house and Magic Shop turf before they found out she’d survived. They had an advantage. Her pursuers wouldn’t be looking for
a couple.

She turned to him. “Where are
we going?”

Her vulnerable gaze shattered his determination to remain cold and distant into a million pieces. “You’ll see when we
get there.”

“I’ve heard that before,”
she mumbled.

He laughed.
Damn it. That fucking hurts.
He’d been oblivious to the pain when he’d been rescuing her as adrenaline had pumped through his body at record speed. Now that he’d found her alive, the pain hit his body with
a vengeance.

“Get used to it with me, my little dove. I’m glad this time you’re with me on your own. I didn’t want to hold a weapon on you again or throw you over
my shoulder.”

“Yeah, why did you hold me hostage? You didn’t need me.” Her hands fidgeted in
her lap.

“I needed a way out of there, and I needed to get you to leave before anyone showed up, or you talked to the police. I didn’t expect you to take me where I needed to go so I took the situation in hand.” When would she understand that even though he was an asshole, everything he’d done had been to protect her? No way would he have left her at the scene knowing what would happen to her. “If you’d have asked I might have
taken you.”

He glanced at her. “I notice that ‘you might have,’ not would have.”

“Well, I’m thinking about whether I would’ve or not.” She kneaded her hands, her
gaze forward.

He merged onto the interstate. “It doesn’t matter. It’
s over.”

“What’s your last name?”
she asked.

He looked at her and smiled. “Sands. AJ Sands.” Before today, guilt had never taken hold of him when he’d lied to a woman. Sure, the “I’ll call you,” was a standard lie all men told, but this…this was bigger. She’d hate him if she ever found out the truth. But he couldn’t suddenly become AJ Hamilton. Then his family could be used
as bait.

He pulled a ringing phone from his pocket, looked at the number
and answered.

“Yeah?” he
asked harshly.

“It’
s Todd.”

“How’d you get this number?”
AJ growled.

“The old man called. He thought you might need some help since someone’s trying to kill you and
that reporter.”

Fuck. AJ trusted him, but the more people who knew, the greater the risk to him
and Megan.

“I hear you ran into more trouble. Anything I can do
to help?”

“Not unless you can remove the hit
on me.”

Todd laughed. “I wish that I could. So, now you’re on the run and have a woman with you. I know you, AJ. You aren’t going far. You aren’t going to let this go. Why not move on and
stay alive.”

“I’m not moving on. The Magician tried to have me killed. I will find out who that
fucker is.”

“If they find you, they will kill you and the
girl too.”

AJ didn’t need to be reminded of the situation. It surprised him that Todd would even speak with him, must less offer assistance. Most of his old buddies didn’t wish to taint themselves by being associated
with him.

AJ checked the rear view mirror. “Then I’d best make sure they can’t
find us.”

The man sighed. “Do you know where you’
re headed?”

“I have an idea. When I get there, I’ll let
Arthur know.”

“Okay. Let me know when you need me. I’ll
be there.”

He returned the phone to his pocket. He’d have to give Arthur a piece of his mind. This was unacceptable. If AJ had wanted other people to know his situation, he’d have told them. He’d wanted help from Arthur and Arthur alone. Otherwise why the hell would he call him and
not Jesse?

“Where are we going?” she
asked again.

Did she ever stop asking
fucking questions?

AJ glanced at her tense body. “We need to stay out of sight so we’ll find a hotel and park in it for the night. But don’t get too comfortable, we’ll be changing
hotels often.”

She gasped. “We’re stopping soon. Why aren’t we heading out of state or something? I thought you said we had
to leave.”

“Because I have some
unfinished business.”

His direct statement ended
the conversation.

* * * * *

Their hotel surprised Megan. She’d expected a seedy motel that rented by the hour. Some place that kept your privacy for a price. Not a chain hotel. She definitely watched too
much television.

AJ swiped the card key and opened the door. “If all goes well, this is home sweet home for a couple
of days.”

“Why can’t we have separate rooms?” she asked nervously. Sex between them couldn’t happen again. Dang if she still didn’t desire
him though.

“Because I can’t protect you if you aren’t near me. Now that we’re here, you and I need to have a
little chat.”

She removed her shoes and sat on the bed he’d dropped her bag on. At least there were two queen beds. These were close quarters but she could sleep in her bed and him in his. But the thought of sharing a bed with him warmed her blood. If his quick performance on her dining table was an example of his lovemaking, she needed more. She
sighed hopelessly.

“What in the hell were you thinking? I told you not to go to the police,” he yelled, pointing his index finger
at her.