Authors: Billi Jean
“You can wear a suit, too. I won’t complain if you do,” she teased.
He snorted. “I’m not built like you, so you won’t have to complain.”
“No, you’re built like you. I can see all the women staring at you, Mac.”
“Nuts, you’re nuts. Certifiable. No one’s staring at me, sugar, but you can.” He liked that she seemed to enjoy touching him, especially his chest and arms. She ran her hand up from his wrist to his shoulder and shook her head.
“You’re the nutcase, not me.”
He opened the door to the hotel, wishing they hadn’t made it back so soon. He didn’t want to have this night end, and he sure didn’t want to go to his room, alone.
“Wanna let me sleep on your couch?”
“What? Why would you want to do that?” She looked up at him and crinkled her nose, clearly thinking he was being funny.
“Why not? I’d sleep better.”
She hit the elevator button and stood back against his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders again and contented himself with having her close.
“You probably snore. No way.”
“I don’t snore, sugar.” He laughed and shouldered her into the elevator, catching her when she stumbled and shot him a grin. “Careful.”
“You shoved me.”
“Nah, just a gentle get up and go, not a shove.”
“Huh.” She tried not to smile but he saw her dimple flash before she looked down. “Well, warn me next time, okay?”
“Sure thing. I’m going to kiss you. You know that, right? Before you let me sleep on your couch.”
“Mac”—she narrowed her eyes up at him, the dimple flashing a few times but she managed not to smile—“you’re not sleeping on my couch.”
“I’m kissing you, though.”
The elevator door opened and two guys entered, both dressed for the clubs. Mandy edged closer. His heart contracted oddly when she wrapped her slim arm around his waist. Shit, it felt so good. He eased her closer and simply enjoyed the ride. Maybe she did need time or maybe she simply didn’t trust him yet.
They reached their level and he kept her by his side while they walked down the hall. Ahead of them, a maid came out of a room and Mandy tensed.
“What? Why would a maid be in my room at this time of night, Mac?”
His neck shot cold like it did when he was under fire. He reached for the gun he carried under his shirt and kept his hand on it behind his back.
The maid turned and glanced up at them, clearly startled as if they’d caught her at something. “I’m sorry. I thought I could deliver more towels before you returned.”
Mandy took a shallow breath and glanced up at him, looking confused. “I didn’t ask for towels.”
“Who asked for towels?” he demanded of the older woman. She looked nervous, suddenly shaking her head, and tried to get by him.
“I’m sorry, sir, someone from the desk said you would need more towels because you’d been to the beach.”
Mandy eased under his arm and shrugged. “Lacey, probably. Thank you,” Mandy said with a smile.
He nodded to the maid and watched her relax. Sometimes he intimidated women, especially now with the scar, he thought. Mandy dug her key card out and slipped it along her lock, opening the door and quickly going in. He caught the door and followed. She smiled back at him but stopped him inside the doorway.
“You’re not seriously sleeping in here, Mac.”
“Aw, come on.” He glanced around the suite, then inside the open bathroom doorway, relaxing when he saw the towels folded on the sink with a square hotel note attached to a bar of soap on top. “We could watch a show.”
“You told Daren you’d be back down to talk.”
He had, but suddenly he wanted to call Dare and tell him to go on without him. “I can stay for a bit.”
“Okay. Come in, I wanted to talk to you anyway.” She shivered, and he watched her rub her arms.
“Cold?”
She glanced up at him then looked away with a small laugh. “No, not really, just, a goose, you know, walking over my grave.”
“Damn, I hate that, but usually it means something.”
He stepped closer as she turned to set her shoes down and watched her walk to the open curtains. “Look, I know that you have to go down, but I just wanted to—Oh my God!”
Her gasp had him at her in seconds. She turned to him, burying her face in his chest with a muffled cry. He turned her so her back was fully to the bed and saw the shredded comforter and the double-sided throwing blade stabbed down into the bed. Someone had written a note next to the knife. He could read the bold strokes from where he held Mandy tight.
Fucking whore, I warned you what I’d do if you came near him again.
You’re going to die this time, filthy bitch.
“Mandy? Stay here, stay here.” He cupped her upper arms and made her look up at him. One glance at her frightened, pale face and he couldn’t leave her.
“Scratch that, you’re coming with me. Stay close, I mean, close,” he said. As soon as she nodded, he raced from the room. The maid gasped and stumbled back from where she was waiting at the elevator. She screamed when he hauled her closer by the front of her uniform and got in her face.
“Who sent you in that room?”
“Mac, don’t, God, don’t do that!” Mandy grabbed his wrist but he set her back with his free hand so she couldn’t interfere.
He shook the woman by the uniform and heard it rip. “Answer me!”
“The office, sir. The office.”
“To hell with that.” He dragged her back in the room and shoved her against the bed. “You see that? Did you do that?”
She scurried up from where she’d half fallen on the bed, shaking her head. Her black hair slipped out of her ponytail holder and her eyes grew round with fright.
“Answer me.” He took a step towards her but she backed up, blinking over at him, then sending Mandy a desperate look.
“Mac, stop, stop,” Mandy said, “You know she didn’t do this.”
“I don’t know shit, Mandy,” he snarled at Mandy when she tried to stop him again. She came to a dead stop, but stayed silent. He turned back to face the maid. “Answer me. Did you do this? I’m not asking again,” he said.
She shook her head, twisting her hands at her waist. Mandy moved closer but he kept his arm out straight to keep her back from the woman.
“No, no I didn’t. Oh, God, I didn’t. I just dropped off more towels. A man, he said he needed to leave a note, but I didn’t—”
“What man? What fucking man?” Anger surged through him so hot he couldn’t breathe.
Someone has threatened Mandy. Threatened to kill her. Hurt her
.
Pieces clicked into place so fast he shook with rage. Things Mandy had said. Reactions that had felt wrong. She needed time. Things he’d said, jokes he’d made with her about sex. How she’d responded to him. How she’d pulled away and held him close all at once. All of that could have been caused by her thinking he’d cheated, but it could also be explained by something a great deal worse.
He took the maid’s arm and held her in place when she tried to back farther from him. Her pulse raced under his hand. From fear, or guilt? “Answer me.”
“Mac, stop, you’re scaring her.”
“Answer me. Did you see him?”
The maid shook her head frantically. He watched her face, saw the truth there, and released the hold he had on her arm. She backed quickly away from him.
“Tell me what happened. Again. From the beginning.”
She exhaled shakily and nodded. “I was in the bathroom, I didn’t see him. He asked if he could leave a note. I barely had time to clean the tub out—I saw someone had forgotten, you see—then I heard him leaving. He said thank you and then he was gone. I swear it. He scared me, at first, but he sounded…okay. I’m sorry. So sorry. I didn’t see him. I swear. Just the towels. I just cleaned the bathroom up a little. I swear. Then I left her the towels she asked for.”
Mandy circled his wrist with her small hand halting him in the process of grabbing the maid again.
“Mac, please, you’re scaring her.”
He blinked and glanced away from the maid to see Mandy’s grimace. Did he frighten her as well? He watched her carefully. She reached out with her other hand and tugged the bottom of his shirt.
“Mac, come on, you’re being a knucklehead. She didn’t do this, you know that.”
Obviously, he didn’t scare Mandy. But he didn’t
know
shit. The world was risky, and anyone could knife you as soon as look at you if the money was right. He turned back to the maid. She was telling the truth, though—her dark eyes were wide, and she looked ready to faint.
“Don’t say a word about this to anyone. Not anyone. Do you hear me?”
She nodded rapidly, clearly willing to agree to anything at this point.
“Don’t come in here again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go, and don’t say a word.”
She nodded again and quickly left. He could feel Mandy watching him, and he suddenly didn’t have a clue what to do. They needed to get her out of here. They needed to get out of this room. The heavy weight of his Glock resting against his spine eased some of the tension running through him. He’d sworn to protect Mandy, to make sure she was never hurt. He picked up the note and examined it. The team would scrutinise it, but he would bet his left nut they’d not find a trace of a fingerprint or any kind of DNA.
“We have to go to my room, now. Get your things. Did you unpack?”
“No, no, not yet.” Mandy sounded faint, distant, no doubt in shock.
He wanted to ease her, to hold her tight and promise it would all be all right, but he knew it wouldn’t be. His guesses were killing him and, although she’d asked for time, he doubted now he could give her that. Is this what she’d kept from him? What was holding her back from them? He watched her pick up her suitcase, gather her things from the bathroom and within seconds she stood waiting for him.
“Baby, this isn’t going to touch you. That, I can guarantee.”
She looked away instead of saying anything but what was there to say? She knew he’d not let her out of his sight now, she knew he’d call the men, and she knew he’d kill the bastard who’d touched her.
Yeah, she knew that five years ago, too.
Chapter Eight
Mac ushered Mandy into the room to the right of hers, ignored her immediate grumble about him having a room so close, and pressed her inside and shut the door. He’d got a room next to hers? When?
“When did you—?”
“While you were swimming.” He read the note, probably memorising the handwriting as well as the threats there. Without looking up, he said, “This changes everything. You gotta know that.” He threw the note down on the bed and watched her.
It changed everything, didn’t it?
What would they have been like, without this lunatic attacking her five years ago? Would Mac have come home and explained what he’d meant? Would they be happy now, in love and maybe even married?
“It’s what I wanted to tell you,” she whispered and stepped backward when he spun around to face her. The sheer anger on his face, the disbelief in his eyes made her swallow before she could reassure him. “Not that, not that, Mac. I wanted to tell you that I was, I mean, way before, I was…” Staring at the horror filling his hazel eyes she bit her lip, unable to voice what had happened to her.
“This bastard touched you?”
She winced and hugged her arms around herself. “Yes, he—” She broke off again, amazed at how hard this was.
“Mandy? You gotta be strong now. You gotta tell me everything.”
Everything.
She looked at his hard expression and knew, simply knew that she couldn’t do that. Not everything, but she finally nodded.
“How long has he been after you?”
“Years.” She couldn’t meet his eyes when she said it, afraid of what she’d see. Mac couldn’t know when it had started.
“Is he a stalker?”
“I shouldn’t have come,” she whispered over his words
He stopped halfway to her. She watched him reach behind his back and pull a gun out that he set down on the table before he pulled her into his arms. He’d been armed the entire time. She hadn’t known.
“Sugar, you should have come to me right away. Even when you thought I was a cheating jerk, you should—”
“Mac, don’t. Just please, I don’t want to talk about this right now. Right now we should go somewhere safe.”
“You are safe, here. With me, you’re safe.”
She nodded against his chest, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart against her cheek. His arms were so strong, so hard with muscles, but he held her carefully, so tenderly she wanted to cry.
“We do need to go, though. I’ll call the guys, we need the room swept, but I’ll get us somewhere safe, sugar. Don’t sound so scared, I’m right here, huh?”