The elevator opens, and we step to the side as even more police and federal agents step into the area. Quinten nods before urging me into the car.
“They’re not going to take me to jail?” I whisper once the doors close us alone inside.
“No, Hayden. You’re not going to go to jail.” His words are gruff and distant, and I can’t help but feel like what I’ve done has somehow changed his opinion of me.
Chapter 27
Quinten
I’m thrumming with unspent energy as I guide Hayden to my truck.
“They have my purse, my ID, my car keys,” she mutters almost as if she’s speaking her thoughts out loud rather than having any real concern for her belongings.
“We’ll get them back,” I assure her as we step up to my truck.
I don’t hesitate lifting her to the seat, even though she made it clear back at her office that she would flay me open if I lifted her in front of everyone.
“I need my keys to get into my house,” she says absently when I climb behind the wheel.
“You can’t go home.”
All of the danger hasn’t passed, and fuck if I’m able to let her out of my sight just yet.
“He didn’t say it, but I’m pretty sure the man I sh-shot was the one who broke into my house.”
I squeeze her hand across the console, but she keeps her eyes focused out the passenger window.
“The guy you shot was a middleman for a crime family. He’s only a small piece of the puzzle. Chance Harrison was into some pretty shady shit, and until the guys on the upper tier of that family are arrested, I need you with me.”
She nods in agreement, but I know her lack of argument has more to do with the crash of adrenaline more than anything else. Or she’s more scared now than she’s ever been, and that makes me want to go back to her office and kick the shot man in the head. She’s had enough damn trauma, and I don’t know if it helps to know that what happened today and the break-in at her house are related, but it’s too much for any one person to handle. I don’t expect her to be able to process much of anything today.
She doesn’t budge when I pull up to my parking spot, and she’s still distracted when I open the passenger door.
“Hayden?” Her eyes find me, and she looks devastated and gorgeous. “Let me carry you?”
She gives me a slight nod, and I don’t give her a second to change her mind before she’s in my arms and cradled against my chest.
She tucks her face into my neck, and I find myself walking slower to the elevator than I normally would, if only to drag out the contact a little longer. The sound of her breathing fills my ears on the way up to my condo, and I manage to only shift her a little to unlock my door.
I don’t know if she realizes it or not, but she’s got blood on her clothes from the incident. I carry her directly to the bathroom in her room, standing silently until she pulls her head back.
“I figure you want a shower,” I whisper.
When her eyes fall to my mouth, my body instantly responds to the attention, and I’m helpless to think things through when she inches her mouth forward, pressing her lips to mine.
My eyes flutter closed as a harsh intake of air echoes around the room.
When she teases the slit between my lips, I open to her command, throbbing to the point of pain when her tongue swipes across mine. I hold her tighter, clinging to her like a lifeline as her fingers dig into the back of my neck.
The soft kiss turns feral in a flash, and I angle my head to taste her deeper, needing to live in this moment. The fear I felt, completely helpless, watching what was happening in her office was enough to make me crazy. Having her in my arms, especially if she wants it as much as I do, isn’t something I’m going to let go of any time soon.
Releasing my neck, her fingers pull at my shirt, and although I know she’s probably in shock and working through the last burst of adrenaline, I place her on the bathroom counter, stepping back only far enough to pull my shirt over my head.
With reverence, her hands trace over my shoulders and down my chest. My eyes flutter closed as her fingers trace the muscle definition on my chest.
“I wanted to do this the first time I saw you shirtless yesterday morning.”
“Hayden,” I whisper as her eyes leave my chest and float back up to mine.
I press my lips to hers again, my own hands working open the buttons on her blouse before searching blindly for the zipper on her slacks.