Hiding From Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 2) (6 page)

“He isn’t worth your effort.” She gripped the mug between her hands, the heat penetrating her cold fingers. “Alan wanted to control me and for a long time I allowed it. I was virtually a prisoner in his home. I couldn’t leave unless he gave me permission. I was cut off from any friends. Anyone that could have pointed out what a fucked up relationship we had. For the longest time I thought it was normal.”

West stopped in front of her, his fingers brushing against her cheek to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. A gentle, caring gesture she’d never known until he’d come into her life.

“When did you figure out it wasn’t?”

Just thinking about that day still made her shudder. Her knees weak, she sat down at the small kitchen table. The images still haunted her awake or asleep.

“Alan’s employees would come over from time to time. I think he liked showing off for them. The house. The cars. That sort of thing. Anyway, one of the young men Stephen was very sweet and he and I talked for a long time that Saturday afternoon.” She swallowed against the lump that had taken up residence in her throat. West must have felt her distress, placing his strong warm hands on her shoulders as if to give comfort. “When Alan found out he was furious. He had two of his employees hold Stephen while Alan punched him over and over until the man was covered in blood and he had to be carried out of the house. It was then I knew what Alan was capable of, and he wanted me to know. He made me stand there and watch a sick, twisted grin on his face when he was done. It was an unspoken threat and I took it seriously.”

West’s hands cupped her cheeks so she couldn’t look away. “It wasn’t your fault, babe. None of this is your fault.”

“I shouldn’t have been talking to him. I knew that Alan could be jealous. But it was just so nice talking to someone. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

Her voice shook and she blinked back the threatening tears. She was so damn sick of crying. It didn’t change anything and only made her feel like crap.

“It’s not your fault,” West repeated. “It’s this psycho Alan’s fault. This is all on him. So how did you get away?”

“It wasn’t easy. He made sure I didn’t have much money. But one day he accidentally left some cash on his desk at home. He got a call and had to leave quickly so I guess he forgot about it in his rush. It was only two thousand dollars but I didn’t hesitate. I shoved a few things in a backpack, grabbed the money, and ran to the nearest bus station. I took the first bus out of there which was headed to Kansas City. I’ve been looking over my shoulder every day since then.”

West sat on the other kitchen chair, shaking his head. “Son of a bitch. It must have taken guts to leave like that. But I just have one last question.”

“What’s that?”

West slammed his fist down on the table making her jump and the surface shake. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me so I could help you? I’m a goddamn cop, babe. Why didn’t you trust me enough to help you?”

His face was red with anger, his body practically vibrating as he tried to keep it in check. He was royally pissed off and she was the reason. She didn’t blame him. He had a right to be and then some but it didn’t make it easy to admit why she hadn’t.

She buried her face in her hands but he wouldn’t allow her to get away with not looking him in the eye. Gently, he tugged her arms away, his fingers tilting up her chin. She had to face how her decisions had made him feel.

“I couldn’t trust anyone. Not after Alan. I’d trusted him in the beginning and it turned into a nightmare. When I left I decided that I wouldn’t ever do that again and I’ve stuck to that. I know that you’re different but somehow I still couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. I don’t know why.”

She waited for his reaction and at first she didn’t think she was going to get one. After a few moments he jumped to his feet and walked to the window as if he didn’t trust himself near her.

“Gigi, I am so furious with you I don’t even have the words to express myself.”

The whole conversation had gone much better than she’d ever imagined. He hadn’t walked straight out of the door and he was still speaking to her.

But it didn’t change the facts. She had to leave. Telling West about her past didn’t change the future.

Nothing did.

‡

W
est forced himself
to take a few deep breaths and count to ten. Livid with what he’d heard, he didn’t know whether to spank Gigi or hold her close, kissing away her doubts and fears. Before this was all over, he’d probably do both.

“I understand why you’re angry with me. I really do but I can’t begin to describe my life these last few years. I’m afraid all the time. Every single day. And that doesn’t set the stage for making great decisions.”

That hurt. Deeply.

“You were afraid when you were with me? I’d never let anything happen to you, babe. I can’t believe you don’t know that.”

“When I was with you I felt safe. Or as safe as I could be. But I couldn’t be with you twenty-four hours a day could I? It wasn’t your job to protect me anyway. That’s my responsibility.”

Things were about to change and his little Gigi didn’t seem to have a clue.

“How’s that working out for you?” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the tiny woman who had disrupted his entire life. “Was this the plan? Run from town to town every few months for the rest of your life? And as for being with me twenty-four hours a day? Get used to it, babe, because you’re not going anywhere. You have me and I’m going to put every resource I have available to me to solve this problem once and for all.”

Gigi shook her head, her arms wrapped around her torso as if to ward off bodily injury. “I can’t let you do that. I saw what Alan did to Stephen. I won’t let him do that to you, or worse. That’s just another reason why I have to leave Tremont.”

She was cute when she was worried about him. “Do you think I give a rat’s ass what this Alan guy thinks he can do to me? I don’t think I’ll lose any sleep about whether I can take him. Besides I don’t plan to do this on my own.”

“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” she said, desperation in her voice.

West was losing his patience again and had to rein in his temper. He’d never realized how stubborn Gigi could be when she’d set her mind to something.

“I’m going to protect you. I’m going to find this Alan and get him off your back. And I’m going to help you find your brother and sister. None of this is up for negotiation or discussion. We did things your way for three months. Now we’re going to do it mine and see how things turn out.”

If an expression could be happy, relieved, and pissed off all at the same time that’s exactly how Gigi looked at the moment.

“You’re bossy. Really, really bossy. I didn’t realize that about you until today.”

That was as close to acceptance as he was going to get. It would have to do.

“Then you’ve been lucky. According to my brothers, sister, parents, and friends, I’m an ornery cuss who likes things my way as much as possible but then you and I were only doing the no strings relationship thing before. Oh, that’s changed too, by the way. This relationship comes with lots of strings and complications. People throughout history have managed to make it work so I expect we will too.”

“I can’t make you any promises,” she whispered, her gaze on the floor. “I don’t know if I’m capable of what you would call a regular relationship with love and a future. I might be too screwed up.”

He wanted to make sure she heard his words loud and clear so he knelt down again and looked into her watery eyes. She needed to believe in West down to her very bones.

“Then I’ll make a promise. I promise to protect you with my own life. You don’t ever have to be scared ever again. I will always be there for you.”

She pressed her face into his chest and he heard a small sob as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now I’m scared for you.”

It might be one of the nicest things she’d ever said to him. Because it spoke volumes about the feelings she didn’t want to feel or talk about.

It gave him hope.

“Now tell me about the search for your siblings and what you’ve found. Then I’ll call Jason and see if his firm can give us a hand with this.”

*     *     *

“I appreciate your
help, bro. Gigi’s been on the run way too long. We need to find this guy and fast. I’d be shocked if he’s your basic law abiding citizen,” West said, cradling his cell between his cheek and shoulder as he carried another of Gigi’s boxes into his house. He hadn’t taken no for an answer when he’d brought her home so he could keep an eye on her. She’d kicked up a fuss but he’d handled it fairly easily. She wanted to be with him, he could tell, but she kept believing she needed to be alone.

After her sleepless night, West had tucked her up in his bed and she’d been out in record time despite her protests that she wasn’t tired and didn’t need anyone to take care of her.

She needed it more than anyone he’d ever met. Clearly she’d been taking care of herself since she was a child and was used to it, and he respected the hell out of her for it. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t lean on him when the going was rough. It didn’t make her weak but it didn’t appear that she was convinced. She was going to fight him every step of the way. He’d have to be strong because eventually – and he didn’t know when – Gigi wasn’t going to be able to keep up this facade of having her life handled and under control.

“We shouldn’t have any trouble finding him and what he’s up to. I hate to ask this but how does Gigi know that Alan Morton is following her? Maybe when she left he gave up and moved on.”

If only that were the case.

“He had his henchman follow her to the bus station and she barely got away. They also found her when she was in Nashville although luckily she was able to outrun them by ducking into a busy mall and getting lost in a crowd. Turns out they found her when she took a regular job instead the cash under the table places she’d worked before and since. Morton is a tech geek so if her name goes through a computer somewhere…he’ll find her.”

“He sounds like a sick bastard. I’m going to enjoy investigating this one. You’re probably right about him. If he’ll have a man beaten up for talking to a woman then crossing other legal boundaries probably isn’t a big deal.”

“That’s what we need to be concerned about. If this asshole is as arrogant as he sounds he won’t be thinking straight when it comes to Gigi.”

“Arrogance and stupidity often go hand in hand,” Jason chuckled. “He may be smart about business but that doesn’t mean he’s a genius when it comes to other subjects. If there’s something to find we’ll get him, don’t worry.”

“Gigi’s worried about my safety.” West slid the last box onto the dining room table. “She thinks Morton might hurt or kill me. It was real sweet.”

“Brinley likes to worry over me too. It’s a sign they care so appreciate it. Now, are you okay until the morning? I can come by and help out until Logan gets here. Jared’s going to stay in Seattle and do the background research on Morton and the brother and sister unless you think I need to call him in as well.”

“We’ll be fine,” West assured his brother. “I had her call into work and say she has the flu so she won’t be expected for a few days. We’ll be fine here in Tremont. There’s no evidence that Morton knows where she is at this point. Then as soon as you and Jared get something concrete on Zachary Rogers we’ll head out to find him.”

“With Logan and myself shadowing you. I know you think you can handle this guy with one hand tied behind your back but that doesn’t mean you should do anything–”

Jesus, Jason was as bad as Gigi. Married life had turned him into a fussy old lady. “I get it. No running off by myself. We won’t but just be warned. She’s anxious to get on the road and find her brother. I practically had to wrestle her into bed to get some rest and give you a chance to confirm that the lead she has is legit. If she was running the show we’d be on the way to Las Vegas this very minute.”

“First thing you need to learn is that when your woman ain’t happy, you won’t be happy,” Jason laughed. “Let me get back to work then. Hopefully we’ll have something for you by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest.”