No, he wasn’t.
“I need to think, so I want you gone.”
“We both need to go,” he said, fighting to keep the emotion from his voice. He didn’t want to force her to leave, didn’t want to reveal just how much he’d already been in her life, but…I can’t risk her.
“I’m not leaving. I-I can’t.” She slid a hand over her face, and he noticed the tremble in her fingers. Hell, she was still recovering from the gunshots. She needed to be sleeping right then, not dealing with this mess. “I want you to walk away from me, Ethan. Just like you did before. If the FBI comes at me, I’ll—”
“Don’t tell them the truth.” Because that would be another nightmare.
Her hand fell. “I’ll handle them, and I won’t incriminate you, okay? If that’s what you’re so worried about, just relax.”
“I’m worried about you.” Why couldn’t she see that?
She slid around him, no longer meeting his stare, and she turned off the storm of water. “Leave now, Ethan.”
Hell. “This is a huge mistake.”
“Then it’s my mistake to make.”
He didn’t move. He couldn’t. “You’re going to need me.”
“I haven’t needed you in years.”
At those words, he flinched.
“You have a way of wrecking my world, Ethan,” she said softly. “I don’t want that anymore.”
Every muscle in his body had turned to stone. “You mean…you don’t want me.”
She didn’t speak.
Fuck. He’d waited too long with her. But sometimes, you didn’t realize just what the hell you had…until you saw her bleeding out in the back of an ambulance. I can’t lose her. “When you get scared,” his voice was gruff, “when you think the world is going to pieces around you, I’ll be there. I can help you. I will help you.”
Her solemn gaze finally rose to meet his.
“Don’t forget that.” And, because he couldn’t help it, because he had to taste her before he walked away, Ethan closed the distance between them. His head lowered toward her, the movement slow, giving her the chance to back away.
She didn’t. Her hands rose to his chest once more. Would she push him away? Shove him again?
She didn’t.
“Ethan…” There was desire in her voice. A need. He understood—they both felt that physical connection, one that nothing could ever seem to sever. “You are so wrong for me,” she said.
And she was the only right thing in his world.
His lips brushed over hers. Slowly. Carefully. He savored her. Tasted her just enough…just enough to make him want so much more.
Then her mouth parted. Her tongue slid out and licked against his lower lip. That sensual touch went straight through his body, and his cock—already eager for her—jerked up even more. He took the kiss deeper. Made it harder as he tasted her—as he thrust his tongue into her mouth and thought of all the things he wanted to do with her.
To her.
If he’d been a better man, he never would have gone back into her life.
But…fuck that. Screw being good.
Ethan’s head lifted. “I’ll be close, when you need me.”
Then, before he could change his mind, before he could give in to the temptation to strip her right there, Ethan turned and walked away. He kept walking, until he was outside of her place. He paused on the front steps, glaring into the approaching night, his hands clenched at his sides.
It was easy enough to see the non-descript van parked at the curb. The FBI—so predictable. They’d be watching Carly for the night. So she’d be safe enough.
He’d give her this night. Long enough to realize that she needed him.
Then he’d have to take her away from the life she’d built. Because there was no choice. Not for either of them.
***
He wasn’t the first one to find the target. Watching from the shadows, he saw Ethan Barclay stalk out of the building, anger evident in every line of his body as he paused to glare at the van on the corner.
FBI agents were in that van.
Well, well…so the gossip he’d learned had been true. The woman called Carly Shay was an important piece in the puzzle—the puzzle that was the disappearance of Quincy Atkins.
He’d been trying to solve that mystery for years. A man like Quincy didn’t just vanish, not without plenty of help.
As Ethan marched away, he settled back into the shadows. He knew the right time to approach his prey. And he also knew the right time to wait.
The FBI wouldn’t be around forever. Carly Shay wouldn’t always have a guard. The minute she was vulnerable…
Then it will be my turn for a little one-on-one time with Carly…
Chapter Two
Carly hadn’t packed a bag. She also hadn’t slept much, either, but the next morning, she was dressed and ready for work and she hurried out of her building with the intention of getting her life absolutely back to normal.
She wasn’t going to run. She wasn’t going to let Ethan scare her.
She also had decided—around two a.m.—that a big reveal to the FBI probably wasn’t in her best interest, either. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in jail. Not for the death of a murdering¸ raping bastard like Quincy Atkins.
Her heels clicked over the pavement. There was a cable company van parked a block away and she glanced over at it quickly. Maybe they’d finally get her service back up and running. Maybe—
Her phone rang.
Pausing just a moment, Carly pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the screen. When she saw the number there, Carly couldn’t help but tense. She’d been avoiding this particular call for a reason.
She started to ignore the ring but…
Deal with it. Deal with him. Her finger slid across the screen and she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello.”
“Carly?” The voice was smooth and deep, easily recognizable even though the caller then said, “This is Dr. Nelson. I’ve been worried about you.”
Right. Because he was the worrying type.
“You missed your last appointment…”
That would be due to the fact that she’d been in the hospital, unconscious. But she didn’t tell him that. He’d probably freak out. “Sorry about that,” she said, quickening her pace even as she glanced around her. Because of Ethan, she felt a bit hypersensitive, as if a boogeyman might jump out at her any moment.
I met a real boogeyman once. He’s dead.
“I was…out of town,” she added, voice a bit breathless as she hurried.
There was a tense pause. “Is everything all right?” Dr. Nelson asked, obviously, he was worrying again.
All right? No, not even close. “Yes,” she lied. “It’s great.” It was way easier to lie to her shrink over the phone than in person.
“Are you planning to come in for a make-up appointment?”
“Actually…no. No, I think I need to take a break.” Dr. Nelson had been helpful enough when she’d first started seeing him, but lately… “Thank you for all you’ve done, but I—”
“Carly, I can tell when you’re hiding something from me. I want to help you.”
She paused at the crosswalk.
“Come in today. After you get off work. We’ll tie up loose ends, and if you want to discontinue your therapy, that is certainly fine with me.” There was the faintest hum of sound then he said, “You should know, though, some…visitors have been here, inquiring about you.”
The light changed. She didn’t move. “What kind of visitors?”
“The FBI.”
No, no. “You didn’t…you didn’t tell them anything, did you?”
“Absolutely not,” he assured her at once. “You’re my patient, but the questions they asked—I’m concerned, Carly. We really must talk.”
Jeez. Right. “I’ll be there after work.” But that would be her last visit. She was sick of poking into that particular wound and sick of being told that she’d alwa
ys have to face the monster in her mind.
Why couldn’t she just shove him into some deep, dark hole and move on?
She pushed the phone into her purse and moments later, she was hurrying down the stairs that would take her to the subway. Her eyes adjusted quickly in the stairwell, and she rushed forward, moving as fast as she could until—
Someone grabbed her. Hard hands yanked her back into the shadows at the base of the stairs. Carly opened her mouth to scream, but a sweaty palm was slapped over her mouth even as the sharp point of a knife pressed into her side. “Not a word,” her attacker rasped. “Not a—”
She slammed her high heel down on his tennis shoe. As hard as she could. In the same instant, her elbow plowed back into his stomach. Her attacker’s hold eased on her, and Carly screamed—as loudly as she could even as she leapt forward.
“Bitch!” The knife slashed down. Carly saw the glint of the blade coming for her. She didn’t stop, but hurtled forward—right into…Ethan?
His hands closed around her and a fast glance at his face showed a mask of cold, absolutely lethal fury. Her heart was pounding frantically in her chest and yes, maybe, she was glad to see him.
“Ethan—” Carly began.