Hidden Sins (28 page)

Hannah

“Hey, girl,” Mia said, pretending to knock. “We’ve had a slight change of plans.”

“Plans?” I asked. “I didn’t think I had any other than to go to sleep. What do you mean?”

“Some congressman needs to be babysat or something.”

“Somehow I doubt that’s all.” I eyed her suspiciously.

“My brother’s the best in the business,” Mia assured me, but it felt like she was saying it more for her own benefit.

I didn’t doubt it, but that didn’t calm my fears any.

“Does this happen often? Middle of the night excursions,” I asked Mia. “I heard Mitch and Luke in the hall.”

Mia let out a sigh. “More than most people would enjoy. But honestly this one tonight is no big deal. He’s just doing a quick once over or something.”

“Was there a bad guy involved?” I half-joked.

“Yeah. There was,” she acknowledged.

“And they’re still out there, aren’t they?”

She sighed, “Yup.”

“Well, that’s not safe in my book,” I muttered.

“It’s what he does. But anyway, he’s getting ready and just wanted me to fill you in.”

“Thanks.”

“Have a good night. If you need anything, come find me.” She smiled and left my bedroom.

The thought of Luke going somewhere in the middle of the night was unnerving and unease crept up my spine. There was so much more I wanted to learn about Luke. The thought of getting to unwrap him and discovering what created him strummed through me. The way he looked at me, his smile, humor, and touch were all things I wanted more of. I needed to see Luke. I couldn’t let him leave without thanking him for everything he’d done so far. He’d saved my life.

I threw off the duvet becoming more and more determined to tell him thank you. As I walked down the hall, rehashing what I wanted to tell Luke, I realized it sounded like I was worried he wasn’t coming back. Reworking my words came to an abrupt halt when I heard Luke speaking into a cell. He was in the master bedroom at the far end of the hall, but I heard enough that garnered my attention.

I walked slowly along the wall, listening to him explain everything and more. The NLC’s drug connection and everything else Luke had dug up on his own was hurriedly coming out of his mouth, followed by what I explained earlier. The door was open and I walked into the room, not expecting to see him half naked. Luke’s back was turned toward me as he changed into dark clothing. Luke wasn’t wearing a shirt and my eyes fell along his beautifully chiseled back. The dips and curves of his muscles were even more carved than I had imagined. As he turned, his green eyes caught mine and a flicker of amusement appeared before he continued his conversation.

“Yes,” Luke replied. “And I understand that. We’d like to meet with you in two days.”

His eyes looked to mine for confirmation, and I nodded.

“Okay. Take care.” Luke disconnected the call and turned to look at me.

I looked away quickly, blushing. I’d been caught. But rather than look at him, my eyes drifted along his chest, committing every beautiful curve of his body to memory. I imagined my fingertips running across his flesh, feeling every dip of definition. The tattoo I’d only seen glimpses of was now in full view. The black outline of a scorpion, tail up and ready to sting, caught my eye. I wanted to know the story behind it.

“Interesting how chemistry works, isn’t it?” Luke asked, his voice lowered.

My eyes darted to his. “How so?”

“Even in the darkest hours we’re still human. We still crave touch…love.”

I took a step forward and debated what to say, but as I stood quietly taking in this God of a man, wondering what my next move should be, he closed the gap. His hands gripped my shoulders and his gaze fell on mine. He was only the distance of his arms from me, but it felt like miles. I wanted to be in his arms. I wanted to be held by him. I wanted this entire mess to vanish. The frisson of electricity that ran between us was impossible to ignore. It cut through everything else that attempted to overtake our lives. It made the fight seem worth winning. I knew he felt it, the slight buzz of current running through us with every step closer we took toward one another. So why was he ignoring it, pretending it no longer existed?

“Tonight’s no big deal,” he muttered.

“As long as everything goes according to plan,” I replied.

His grip tightened and his gaze intensified. “Everything will go according to plan.”

I tried to take a step forward, but his arms stiffened, keeping the distance between us.

“I don’t understand.” I searched his expression for answers and found none.

“I’ve jeopardized too much that’s important to me because I was impulsive. I didn’t follow protocol.”

“That’s why I wanted to leave. I had no intention of putting your sister in harm’s way. I thought if I could just get enough—”

“I was referring to you,” Luke interrupted, his voice low, almost hoarse. “I missed signs. I didn’t enforce rules to help protect you, hide you. That needs to change. I never involve myself with clients. Impulse doesn’t work in my world.”

“I was never a client. I never asked to be protected.” My pulse raced as the words left my mouth. “You’re not running from this because you’re worried about protecting me. You know very well, you can protect me with your eyes closed. It’s what you do, remember? You’re running because you’ve never done a relationship. Well, neither have I, and I’m willing to try. I’m willing to get hurt, have my heart broken, if it means that I get a chance to give my heart to you in the first place. I’ve never fallen in love, but I’m willing to bet that I’m about to, if you’ll let me have that chance.”

There was silence and I wondered if I assumed too much, misread our signals.

“You’re right,” he murmured at long last.

My heart started pumping faster at his admission. His hand moved along my jaw and framed my face, as he brought me closer. I never expected my words to hold such power over him, but they did.

His other hand ran along my hair, stopping at my shoulder. “You’re beautiful…so beautiful. Your heart is filled with love in a world full of ugliness, and I don’t want to damage that about you. I don’t want to be part of the ugliness.”

“Why do you think you would be?” I asked, breathless.

“Because I don’t do this…” his words trailed off as his mouth curved slightly, only inches from mine.

I traced my hand along his bare skin, feeling the hardness of his abdomen underneath my fingertips. The coolness of his skin as my fingers trailed up his torso made my breath quicken. The thought of being this close to Luke without ever getting to truly have him made my heart want to shatter into a million little pieces.

“I wish I could change your mind,” I murmured, touching my lips to his.

His mouth parted as his hands moved to my waist, bringing my body next to his. With each deepening kiss, I imagined new possibilities as I melted in the feel of his soft, warm lips pressed against mine. His firm hands skated along my back, sending a frantic wanting through me, as if every kiss and touch provided a new thrill to be discovered. But the moment had to come to an end. Reality had to be dealt with.

“Did you try a Jedi mind trick or something?” Luke murmured, smiling, as our bodies slowly parted and my fingers crawled up his chest.

“I just may have. What’s it to you?” I teased. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“It did.” Luke’s smile absolutely melted my heart. “This is a lot to handle. You know, my lifestyle isn’t for everyone.”

I laughed. “I can imagine not, but I’d like to try.”

He grinned as a spark flicked through his green eyes.

“You believe the NLC will be brought to justice, correct?” I asked.

His brow arched and he nodded.

“Then someday soon, my life will be
my
life again. When that moment comes, I’ll have a lot of things to think about and a future to plan. But until then, I can only put one foot in front of the other. And I think that’s all I can ask of you. I’m not asking for anything more than you can give in any one second. So go kick some ass,” I laughed. “And we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

“You’re so intriguing,” Luke whispered, his mouth crashed down to mine once more. His lips warm, as our kisses intensified before he quickly broke away. The strength behind his eyes made my body quiver as I imagined what it would be like to unleash that desire between us. I wanted to experience that moment with him so badly it almost hurt.

“I’ve got to get going,” he replied.

I nodded. “I understand. I actually just came in here to say thank you for everything. I’m not sure where it all went wrong.”

“That was quite a thank you.” He grinned. “And a wake-up call.”

I smiled as his gaze lingered along my body.

“I get too wrapped up in myself sometimes, a lot of the time, actually. It’s nice to be reminded that there’s more to life than just my rules.”

“Love doesn’t follow rules,” I replied, not realizing what slipped out. But I didn’t try to correct it.

Luke touched my cheek gently before slipping his black Henley over his head and let out a sigh.

“No, it doesn’t, does it?”

I nodded and followed him out of the room.

Luke clipped a pistol to his pants, along with a knife. Even though it wasn’t supposed to be a dangerous outing, it was hard to watch Luke prepare for something like this. But this was part of him, and if I wanted to be included in his life I needed to accept all of him. Mia caught my glance and smiled before taking a step forward to give her brother a hug.

Luke grabbed a jacket and slipped it on.

“Alex will meet you at the congressman’s,” Mitch replied.

“Thanks,” Luke answered, his gaze avoiding mine.

Mia and Mitch left the entry and I just stood in place.

“I’ll see ya in the morning,” I said.

“Yes, you will,” Luke murmured, his fingertips tracing along my arm.

I looked into his green eyes and felt my body responding to him immediately.

“Be safe.”

“Always,” he assured me before touching his lips to mine.

Luke

The congressman’s house was trashed and his family scared, but from the looks of it, everything would be fine with just a few men on site until the person was in custody. It wouldn’t take too long for the man to be caught. His face had been captured on camera. He was an amateur and really nothing I wanted to be bothered with today. Today was about Hannah. I wanted her to have one day to just have fun. She charged me with finding a spot that would take her cares away and I had done just that. I’d barely had four hours of sleep, but I felt completely reenergized at the thought of getting to spend the day with her.

“So are we still sticking to my original rules?” Hannah giggled.

Hearing the beautiful ring to her voice made my body respond to her instantly. There was something so innocent about her, but she wasn’t naïve. She was just good, a good person.

“I am. I honored your request and happen to know about a little place built on dreams that allows everyone to be a kid and imagine a different kind of existence.” I glanced in the rearview as I turned off the exit into Anaheim. I had several employees who’d be watching us so I wouldn’t feel so exposed. They were two cars back.

“I can’t even imagine that such a place exists. What makes you so certain that it will have this effect on me?”

I laughed and drove along the busy West Ball Road that was lined with gingerbread hotels and candy themed motels. “Anywhere that can turn a rodent into a beloved hero obviously has magical powers to wipe away all sense of reality.”

“A rodent?” Hannah asked, turning in her seat.

“Yeah. A rodent who is worshipped by millions,” I chuckled.

“This is really not calming my fears. I’m not sure you got what I meant.”

“Oh, I think I did.” I turned into the drive and passed through the large gates, stopping at the booth. I rolled down my window and handed the attendant my debit card.

“Anywhere in the blue area that’s marked Mickey and Friends,” the man replied, handing me a ticket. “Enjoy your day.”

I looked at Hannah who was glowing.

“Welcome to Disneyland,” I told her.

“I can’t believe I didn’t guess this! I’ve never been.”

“No kidding,” I teased, as I pulled the car next to Daisy duck grinning at us all. I found an empty stall on floor two and turned off the engine. I could feel Hannah’s excitement filling up the car, and I loved every second of it.

“I’ve heard about Disneyland. Actually, more so Disneyworld, but I always knew that wasn’t in the cards,” she said.

“Well, Disneyland is the best place to put all of your problems aside and just enjoy life. Plus, their frozen lemonade is pretty good. And the churros.”

“Sounds like my kind of breakfast,” she said, opening the door and hopping out before I had a chance to say anything more.

Hannah was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a camisole. She had a sweatshirt tied around her waist, and I prayed it didn’t get cold enough for her to want to put it on.

Hey, I was only human.

We walked through the parking garage to the elevator. A family of five stepped on with us and so did my three agents. I had assigned two males and a female so it didn’t look like a bunch of creepy men hanging around an amusement park.