All Tied Up

He leaned close again, the warmth of his body penetrating her wet skin, the stubble of his chin brushing her cheek with an intimate touch. “Don’t come out until I say to.”

The contact disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving Nicole with a fluttering heart. Constantine shifted his weight, poised to dart away, then male voices sounded nearby—one she recognized.

Nicole grabbed his arm, relief flooding her. She whispered, “That’s David Wright. He’s an FBI agent. A good one.” They were saved. She started to move, ready to get the heck out of the woods. About to stand, she quickly found herself yanked downward. Suddenly, her back was molded to Constantine’s chest, his chin on her shoulder, lips next to her ear. “Trust no one,” he warned. “No one.”

Irritated at being manhandled, she half hissed her low reply. “I know him. He’s honest.”

“You can’t know that. Not with Alvarez involved.”

“I do,” she insisted. Her instincts were rarely wrong, and they’d served her well in her job.

“And if his family is threatened, then what? Would he protect you over them?” He didn’t give her time to respond. “Choose now. Trust me or trust David. But if you go to David, go with your gun drawn because you’re going to need it.”

He let go of her with such abruptness, she barely steadied herself from tumbling over. She maneuvered around to face him, and the look he fixed on her was hard with steely anger.

Time seemed to stand still, just as it often did in the courtroom when she found herself under fire, when she was forced to make an educated gamble. She had to roll the dice here, and her money was on Constantine.

Her chest was tight with conflicting emotion, but her decision was made. She settled back down on her heels, planting herself, silently telling him she was staying. The voices were coming closer. Out of her peripheral vision, she realized Constantine had drawn his weapon and was aiming it through the cover of the bushes. She followed his lead and did the same.

“Damn it. Where the hell are they?” It was David. He was close enough that Nicole could see his face through the branches.

“Relax,” the other man said. “The gunshot puts them within reach. If they aren’t already dead, we’ll make sure they get that way.”

“Relax?” David’s voice was filled with disbelief. “My wife, my children…everyone I care about has been threatened.”

“Alvarez gets what he wants no matter what it takes. You should have taken the money he offered you and run. I did.”

Nicole felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. It wasn’t news that someone like Alvarez would stoop so low, but the magnitude of his reach was downright chilling. If she wanted to stay on this case—and all this experience did was make her more determined to put the brakes on Alvarez—she would have to go underground until the trial. And she would have to do so with Constantine. The one person she knew she could trust to help her stay alive. She slowly inhaled. A man who was dangerous to her for reasons that had nothing to do with this case.

David and the other man exchanged a few more words before splitting up. For long minutes, neither she nor Constantine moved. He was like a statue—completely, utterly still, yet somehow alert, ready.

Abruptly he pushed to his feet and stared down at her, his expression hard, his anger toward her obvious. “Let’s move.” And he took off walking. This time there was no offer of his hand. He was pissed.

Nicole watched in disbelief as he pushed through the bushes and walked away. How could he be pissed? She had every right to doubt him, every reason. He turned back to her, and glowered. “Now.” His voice was low, but, oh-so-lethal.

She glowered at him and then did what she had to do—marched forward. What choice did she have? Right now, he had the upper hand. She needed his ability to survive against Alvarez and his thugs. She’d gain back some control though—somehow. This was about more than surviving this night.

She didn’t want to die, but then, she didn’t want to lose Alvarez, or even the careful confines of structure she’d put around her world. Not now, not ever. And certainly not because of some hot Latino man with attitude who thought he could steal her orgasm under false pretenses as if he had every right as long as he cloaked it in work-related precautions. Well, he hadn’t the right. And they hadn’t fully explored that topic yet, but they would. Oh, yes, they would.

***

HEAVY RAIN TORTURED them for a good hour until minutes before they arrived at their destination. He turned to Nicole then, the first time he had even considered speaking to her since their clash over trust. His acute irritation was irrational but no less real. So real it had driven him to be a coldhearted ass, pushing Nicole harder than he should have, ignoring the pain he knew those damn boots were causing her, communicating nothing. But the simple truth was, he wanted her to give him her trust without question. Hell, he wanted more than her trust—he wanted her.