Retribution Boxed Set (Books One and Two) (39 page)

She opened his door and walked in.

He’d removed his shirt and had it balled in his
hands when he whirled on her, a dangerous look on his face.

“Sam,” she said in a gentle voice.

“You need to leave.” It was obvious he was
fighting his emotions and wanted to be left alone, but she couldn’t. Not
without speaking her heart.

She stepped closer. He sent her a warning look,
but she didn’t back away. “I’m sorry. I was judging you by the same standards
as my parents, as Paul, but it’s very obvious you’re a higher caliber person.” She
reached out to touch his shoulder. Before she made contact, he snatched her
wrist out of the air, backing her up against the wall.

“I’m not a goddamn saint, Janie. Quit acting like
I am.”

She swallowed. The strength of him made her
tremble even though she knew without a doubt he’d never hurt her. “You are
though,” she said in a lowered voice. “You put your life on the line for so
many. For me.”

That seemed to add to his misery. “I’m not doing
it for you. I’m doing it for
me
. I’m the most selfish bastard you’ll
ever come across. I killed the man who killed my sister because I couldn’t live
on the same planet as him. I’m helping you, going after Castell, because
I
want you. For me. I’m doing it for me.”

A swift shiver encompassed her. “I don’t believe
you.” She’d seen his heart, and there was nothing he could do to erase it.

He stared at her with a hard look, as though his
rigid gaze could force her to change her mind. Instead of backing away, she
slipped a hand behind his neck and pulled him to her.

His lips touched hers, and it unleashed the beast.
He pinned her against the wall, his mouth ravaging hers with rough and
desperate kisses.

Heat exploded through her, intense and raw.

She gripped his shoulders, knowing her nails dug
into his flesh, but her baser instincts had taken over, and she couldn’t stop.

A low growl erupted from his throat, and he
scooped her up and carried her to his bed.

The next minute was filled with frantic grabs and
tugs in an effort to remove their clothes. He quickly sheathed himself in a
condom as she kissed his neck. Then he tossed her back on the bed, his eyes
wild. She felt the same way. She didn’t know if it was her brush with death,
but she needed him, needed to reaffirm she was alive.

She cradled him as he sank into her depths, a
whimper escaping her when he filled her. The sensation of him inside her
quieted her desperate need. It seemed to have done the same for him as well.

Instead of moving, he remained buried inside her.
He lifted onto his arms and stared into her eyes with an intense, searing gaze.
She wrapped her legs around him in an effort to reassure him, knowing she’d die
if he suddenly pulled back.

“It’s okay, Sam.”

“Janie…” he whispered.

She reached up and caressed his cheek, ran her
thumb across his bottom lip.

“I can’t lose you.”

She shook her head, overcome by emotion.

“
Ever
.”

His admission stunned her. She’d known he cared
about her, but… “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying the moment you walked into my life
all those months ago, I knew I would never be the same. I need you, Janie. I
need you like this.” He moved slowly, and she shivered from the friction he
created inside her.

She wanted him, too. But she also needed more
than only a physical relationship. Could she dare hope for more? “It’s just
sex, Sam.”

“No, it’s more than that.”

She couldn’t speak. His argument ripped open the
scars she’d held from previous relationships, leaving her raw. She’d tried to
keep herself protected, but he’d flayed her far too easily.

“You know it is.”

Was it? And if it was more than sex, did he mean
love? Or something less?

He hadn’t said
love
…

Or was this another instance of her overlooking
his faults and making his attraction to her seem like it had more depth than it
really did. How could she know for certain?

It seemed an impossible task to figure out. Instead
of answering him, she pulled him down to her and kissed him. He tasted so good.
His hard body covering hers felt incredibly right, so she put her efforts into
living in the moment.

He resisted ever so slightly, and she knew he
wanted a response. But the only answer she had for him right now was this. She
moved beneath him, letting him slip from her before she pulled him back in.

He closed his eyes for a quick moment, but when he
opened them again, a passion-infused haze covered them, and she knew she’d won
a moment’s reprieve.

A song burst from Sam’s phone, bringing him wide
awake. He reached for his cell and turned off the alarm. It was rare that he’d
been in such a deep sleep that his alarm startled him, but it had today.

He fell back on his pillow, giving his brain a
chance to wake. Images of the previous night flashed into his memory like a
movie, and he turned, reaching for Janie. Cold sheets were the only thing he
found on her side of the bed.

Disappointment echoed through his heart. He’d
known he’d botched his attempt at telling her he loved her the previous day,
but he’d had too many damned emotions wreaking havoc with his thoughts. He
should have just said it, plain and simple. But there’d been something in her
eyes that had held him back, and he certainly didn’t want to scare her off.

And then she’d kissed him…and loved him…and he
couldn’t think beyond burying himself inside her. Over and over, until the sun
set, until dawn crept toward the horizon.

Fucking idiot, he was.

He rolled from bed and crossed the hall to her
room. Her door stood firmly shut. He tried the handle. Locked.

Shit.

Was she pissed? She hadn’t seemed angry last
night. In fact, she’d been the one to initiate several rounds of love-making
between them.

Maybe she needed some space. They’d both been
through an emotional ordeal, her more so than him. He wasn’t the one who’d been
shot at.

He hesitated a moment longer, wanting to knock on
her door, but it was too early in the morning. He could wait until she’d had
enough sleep before he attempted to let her know how he felt. Maybe she needed
time to consider what he’d said, time to see if she felt as strongly.

He’d give her a day.

*        *        *

“The Mustang belongs to a guy named Christian
Monroe.” Clark’s voice came across the line in hushed tones. “The address on
record is the Caora Dubh bar, downtown.”

Paul leaned farther back in his desk chair. “I’ve
heard of the place, but who the hell is Christian Monroe and how does Janie
know him?”

“No idea. You’ve got the information, so I guess
you can figure it out.”

“Yeah.” Ideas rushed through him like
high-quality cocaine.

“It’s a simple enough check.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate that.”

“You can show your appreciation by taking care of
business. The sooner you get things handled, the sooner Hardy will get off my
back.”

“Is he breathing on you, too?”

“Fuck, like a dragon.” The cop’s voice sounded
weary. “I can only do so much before people get suspicious, but he’s ordered me
to help you. Threatened that if I don’t he’ll expose me.”

“He’s a vicious bastard. If I didn’t make so much
money off him…” He stopped. It was pointless to consider alternatives because
there were none. “We’ve got to get things in place, because he won’t move until
all bases are covered. I think he thinks I’m a weak link, and this shit with
Janie ain’t helping. She hasn’t talked so far, and I’m wondering if she will.”

“You can’t take that chance.
He
won’t take
that chance.”

“I know it. She could cause the whole organization
major problems.” He couldn’t forget his personal vendetta as well. He just
wished his involvement with Hardy wasn’t hinged on Janie’s death. He wanted his
payback, and he’d get it, but it ate at him that his personal life had made a mess
out of his business.

“Yeah. You gotta take her out.” He paused for a
moment. “You need more help, let me know.”

*        *        *

Sam walked through the door at the end of his
work day, finding the house filled with wonderful smells. On the surface,
things seemed okay. Janie cooked for the three of them, and they talked, even
laughed with each other.

But underneath, things were churning. Sam had
forgiven Christian for losing Janie, but tension still separated them. Janie
bore the guilt of watching Christian hobble on crutches. Worse, Sam and Janie
hadn’t shared so much as a kiss during the week since he’d tried to share his
feelings.

Something had to give, or the three of them
wouldn’t survive the close quarters much longer.

Instead of heading in to change his clothes like
he’d done every other day after getting home, he walked into the kitchen to
find Janie stirring what looked like some kind of dressing, maybe for a salad.

She glanced up and smiled, but it wasn’t the
soul-wrenching, gut-kicking smile that he missed. “Hey,” she said.

He didn’t answer. He kept his gaze trained on her
as he swiftly closed the distance between them. As he neared, she raised her
brows, and he knew that she knew she was his target.

He took her shoulders and kissed her until she
dropped her whisk in the bowl and kissed him back. When he pulled away, they
were both breathless.

“What was that for?” she asked, her tongue
darting across her bottom lip.

“Because I love you.” There. He’d said it.

She stared at him as though incapable of
processing what he’d just said.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes,” she said softly. She watched him a moment
longer before breaking eye contact and picking up her whisk again.

Shit. Had he made a huge mistake? She still
seemed stunned. Or freaked out. Or something. Damn it. “This isn’t working. Let
me start over.” He kissed her again. “Did you like that?”

She seemed surprised. “Yes.”

Good thing. “Do you like
me
?”

A smile twitched at her lips. “Yes.”

Relief washed over him. “I can work with that. I’m
going to change before dinner.” As he left her standing in the kitchen, his
heart swelled with possibility.

*        *        *

Janie took a sip of wine and placed her glass on
the dining table, smiling at a joke Christian had told her and Sam. Things were
better. Sam had blown away whatever cloud had been hanging over them the past
few days, and she couldn’t be more grateful.

“Since I cooked, Sam gets to do the dishes.” She
grinned at his groan.

“What about Christian?” he complained.

“
He
took a bullet for me,” she teased, and
Christian nodded.

“I won’t go into all the reasons that’s messed
up,” Sam said, obviously enjoying their company. “Instead, I’m going to sit
here for a minute and…” He lifted his glass. “To beautiful women and good
friends. May we never take them for granted.”

Christian laughed with her, but before they could
clink glasses, Sam’s phone rang. He’d left it sitting on the table next to his
plate, and the ringing drew all of their gazes.

“Speaking of beautiful women,” Christian said. “Who’s
she?”

Janie recognized the image of her attorney on
Sam’s cell phone screen, and just like that, her carefree evening evaporated. She
looked to Sam. Awkwardness instantly filled the space between them.

“Eliana Conway. Janie’s attorney.” Sam hesitated,
then snatched his phone. “Hello?”

Janie kept her gaze trained on Sam, wondering if
it was a social call or something else. Neither sat very well with her.

He studied her in return, listening intently to
whatever Eliana was telling him. “Really.” Disdain echoed in his voice. “I’m
having a hard time believing that. What was the basis? He blinked and looked
away.

Janie stared harder at him, wanting to
re-establish the connection, needing to be able to look into his eyes to gauge
what Eliana might be saying.

Sam listened a moment longer, then nodded. “Thank
you for keeping me updated.” Another pause. “Umm…” He flashed a look at Janie
and quickly looked away again. “Things are a bit hectic for me right now. I’ll
have to get back to you later.”

Eliana had asked him out
. There was no
doubt in her mind. And Sam hadn’t told her no. He hadn’t said yes, but he
hadn’t said no.

That stung more than she cared to admit.

Sam turned off his phone and pocketed it. He
heaved a sigh before he caught her gaze again. “Good news and bad news.” He
glanced at Christian and then back to her.

Her stomach churned, and she braced herself for
what was to come.

“Paul pled guilty to a lesser degree. You won’t
have to testify.”

Fifty pounds of stress slipped from her, and she
smiled. “That’s…
really
? She couldn’t picture Paul admitting guilt for
anything. “How long will he be in jail? She could, like, walk free on the
streets again. His incarceration would be her freedom.

“He didn’t get jail time.”

“What? Christian nearly exploded out of his seat.

Janie grabbed her stomach as a sharp, nauseating
feeling gripped her. “Why not? This couldn’t be right.

“As I mentioned to Janie before, he has a fairly
clean record. No previous assault charges, and I guess the D.A. felt it would
be hard to prove intent.”

“That’s bullshit,” Christian said.

“Always is,” Sam said to his friend. Then he met
Janie’s gaze and took her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

She blinked back her emotion, wondering if she’d
ever catch a break where Paul was concerned. “I need to leave and get out of
Portland.”

“No,” he said gently.

“Then I need to fight back. I can’t sit here any
longer and wonder how long it will be before he finds me.” She gave both men a
leveled look. “It’s only a matter of time. If he didn’t get jail time, then
there’s nothing to keep him from coming after me.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Angry undertones
echoed from Sam’s words. “He might have escaped jail this time, but I’m not
finished yet. Hell, I’ve barely begun.”

She started to shake her head, but he cut her
off.

“Damn it, Janie. I’m not going to turn you over
to him. If you tell Eliana where you are, she’ll have to give up the
information, and they’ll serve you immediately with a summons. It will cost us
time and take away our options. He wants you, but he’s not going to get you.” Sam
turned to Christian. “I think it’s time we take this into our own hands.”

His statement pounded a spike of fear into her
heart. “And do what? Kill him? That’s the only way he’s going to leave me
alone.”

“If that’s what it takes.” Sam’s chair grated angry
against the kitchen tile as he stood and started piling dishes.

She stood, too. “You’re not going to kill someone
on my behalf. I won’t let you.”

He met her gaze, his irises turning to sharp
obsidian. “This is what we do, Janie. We protect the innocent when the justice
system fails.”

Christian nodded his head in agreement.

She looked from Sam’s determined gaze to
Christian’s serious one. “You’re both crazy. This is against the law.” She
focused on Sam. “You
are
the law.”

Christian finally stood as though he needed to
join forces with his friend. “We don’t go looking to kill people, Janie. We’re
not that savage. But we
will
stop him. You
will
be safe.”

“If Paul ends up dead, it will be because of his own
actions, not any of ours,” Sam added.

Her heart pounded in erratic beats. She couldn’t
let them do this. “Then how will you deal with him?”

Sam shrugged. “In a case like this, the best way
is to get his cohorts to turn against him. They can take him out if they want. If
nothing else, he’ll be too busy defending himself to come after you.”

The tension in her eased a bit. That didn’t sound
so bad. “How do you do that?”

“We have ways,” Christian said.

“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?”

Sam took the plate from her hand. “Because it’s
better if the justice system can handle criminals. Less risky for us, and we
can focus on the really bad ones.”

And do what they needed to do. Her thoughts
echoed Sam’s previous statement. “But you’d kill him if you had to.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Sam finished
off the remaining wine in his glass and headed for the sink.

“I’ve got to get to the bar,” Christian said, leaving
his plate and glass on the table. “Enjoy those dishes.”

Just like that, they switched back to the
fun-loving guys she knew and liked.

*        *        *

“There goes the other guy.” Paul slumped farther
into his seat as the black Mustang backed out of the driveway and headed down
the road. He and Clark had been sitting in the confines of his dark-blue,
non-descript sedan, something Paul had been doing regularly since learning
where the bar owner spent his days. Once he’d found Holden going to the same
place, he
knew
Janie was holed up inside.

Clark’s breath reeked of garlic, and spending the
past hour breathing it, left Paul disgusted and itching to lash out. He lifted
the neck of his shirt and stuck his nose inside for a breath of untainted air. He
didn’t care if Clark got offended. “He doesn’t work on Mondays, but the rest of
the days, he leaves around six-thirty or seven.”

“By then, Holden is back home,” Clark responded.

“Exactly.”

“You don’t want to mess with Holden. He’s a
deadly shot, and if he’s got her hidden here, he’s taken extra precautions to
keep her safe.”

The fact that Clark vouched for the cop’s
abilities irritated Paul further. “I’m not afraid of him.”

Clark laughed. “Then you don’t know him very
well.”

“Shit.” Paul glanced out the car window, through
the darkness, toward the blazing windows where Janie hid. “Just help me figure
out how to get her alone. As much as I’d like to pump a few rounds into the
fucker, I don’t need the whole Portland PD breathing down my neck.” One cop’s
garlic breath was enough.

“I guarantee he’s got a security system, but I
could tell you how to break it.”

He nodded. “The thing I need to know is how we’re
going to get them to leave her alone.”

Clark grinned. “I’ve got a plan.”