HIS Choice: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 2) (16 page)

* * * * *

They set the grocery bags on the small desk in their room. Thank goodness she’d made a list because AJ had rushed her through the store in
record time.

Megan couldn’t help herself. She had to get to know him better. “Where did you grow up?” She put away the cups of yogurt. She loved the Strawberry Cheesecake flavor and wanted to hug whoever had
created it.

He hesitated. “
Silver Springs.”

Interesting. Nice area. “What made you move
to Baltimore?”

“
A job.”

When he didn’t expound, she asked, “Was it
this job?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “No.”

“How long have you
lived here?”

“
Long enough.”

Hmm. Still evasive. “I’ve lived here four years and still haven’t become accustomed to
the winters.”

He smiled. “
I noticed.”

Megan removed bananas from a bag. “Growing up in Maryland must be what toughened you up so you can wear only a light jacket.” He looked sexy in that jacket. Of course, he flat out looked sexy. Muscled but not like a body builder and thankfully he didn’t have that chest where his breasts were lagger than hers. Not sexy
to her.

He grunted, moved the desk chair in front of the television and turned on
the news.

“Do you have a girlfriend or a wife?”
Please, say no. Please,
say no.

He turned, looked at her with a half-smile. “Why? Are you interested in
filling in?”

“That’s not why I asked,” she stammered. “I’m just trying to get to know you. We’ll be stuck with each other for a while so it seemed like the right thing to do.” She shouldn’t have asked that question. It was none of her business. She wouldn’t be either to him. Wait. He didn’t answer
the question.

His gaze drifted down her body. “Oh, I think we know each other
pretty well.”

Her body tingled as he stopped on her breasts and continued scanning the rest of her. Had he noticed her nipples hardening? She didn’t dare look down to see if they showed through her bra
and sweater.

He captured her gaze, his eyes hooded with desire. “But I’m willing to learn more
about you.”

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She hadn’t been talking about learning more about each other in that sense. But it did
sound good.

He chuckled and winked
at her.

Dang him. He toyed with her and enjoyed it. Did that mean he wanted more sex with her or not? Maybe he hadn’t enjoyed it more than
just coming.

The problem was that her body hummed remembering their short
time together.

“You may ask questions, as long as when we talk about me, it’s off the record. I don’t want to find my profile in
the newspaper.”

She barely caught what he’d said. She had to get hold of
her libido.

“What’s in your
head now?”

Did he know what she’d been thinking? She cleared her throat. “The police planned to call the FBI, but my friend didn’t trust them. She’s calling them herself. She was worried about my safety with the police. She was right. I should have listened to her when she, well both of you, told me to
avoid them.”

He looked at her and something dangerous flashed in his eyes. “FBI? Great. Now we’ll have them on our trail, too. They want you since you have the ability to put Damian away,” he paused. “I can bring you to them if you want. You’d
be safe.”

Megan shook her head. “No. I don’t trust any of them. I doubt anyone in the FBI is on Magic Shop’s payroll, but I’m not
chancing it.”

She’d again forgotten he was a criminal. He may be wanted. Would protecting her put him in prison? “Are you running from the FBI?” Her heartbeat skipped, afraid of his answer. Picturing him behind bars forced a sick feeling in
her stomach.

She tossed the plastic bags in the garbage can and moved to her bed, sat
and waited.

He captured her gaze. “No. Don’t worry about me. I’m not running from anyone except the Magician.” He turned away and added, “At least
not yet.”

A rush of relief pulsed through her. She couldn’t hold back the
joyful smile.

* * * * *

“Shit. You made the national news. Now your picture
is everywhere.”

Megan rose, moved closer to the television and cringed at her photo. “What do we
do now?”

AJ looked at her and absorbed the fear in her eyes. Maybe he should hand her off. She’d be safer. His plan would take him into the devil’s lair at some point. He couldn’t take her there. He rubbed his temples to ward off the growing headache. She fucked up his mind too much just by
being near.

“This means if you’re staying with me you’ll have to change that lovely hair, and going out to breakfast is no longer an option. We’ll also be
moving soon.”

He should’ve expected her to make the national news. She was a journalist,
after all.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with the FBI or my brother instead?”

Jesse had suggested putting something in her drink to knock her out so they could move her to H.I.S. headquarters, but AJ couldn’t let her go even though he knew it would be a better option
for her.

“No, I’ll stay with you, if you’ll
let me.”

He nodded, wanting to hold her and reassure her that it would be all right. Hugging her wasn’t an option. Touching her wasn’t an option. She was Trent’s girl. He wouldn’t do that to his
old friend.

She climbed back on her bed with her knees pulled up, her arms wrapped around her legs, resting her head on top of her knees. Her vulnerability flashed brightly to him whenever she sat in
that position.

He stood, walked toward her bed and sat beside her. “Don’t worry about it, my little dove. I should’ve expected it. You’ve been working a high profile investigation, you witnessed a murder, your house was shot up and you disappeared. There’s no way the media would overlook all
of that.”

“Maybe something else will happen that will knock me off the national news,” she
said hopefully.

“It would only bump you down, but they won’t drop your story.” He had to rethink his plan. No matter what he told her, this was bad news. She stood out and would easily be recognized. His only regret was that they would need to change her silky, pomegranate
smelling hair.

She looked up. “What color should
I go?”

He studied her. “How about auburn?” He’d always had a thing for auburn hair. He should’ve said a dark raven because he’d already been irresistibly drawn to her since they’d met. He didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire that burned within him
for her.

Megan smiled. “That’
ll work.”

He didn’t like what he would have to do. “When we go to buy the hair dye, I’ll have to leave you alone in the car. You’ll need to keep your hat on and your
head down.”

The panicked look in her eyes shoved a knife in his heart. “I’ll only be gone for a few minutes, Megan. I’ll return your weapon and make sure it’s safe before I go into the store.” There was no other way. If she walked in, even with the ball cap, she could
be recognized.

Someone would call in and then their car would be on camera, their pictures all over the news again with him as a kidnapper. He had to take the better of the two bad situations and that meant trusting her to take care
of herself.

“Okay,” she said with a
determined smile.

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his hand lightly touching her cheek. “Let’s wait to do it
late tonight.”

He wanted to run his fingers through her hair before they changed it. He wanted to wrap it around his hands while he devoured her deliciously flavored lips and made her his in body and soul. And then what? Break her heart because they didn’t belong in the
same world?

“What do we do now?”
she asked.

He rose from the bed. “We can watch television. It’s about our only option.” Sex could not be an option no matter how much he craved it. To cool his blood and slow the rush of it to his groin, he kept repeating in his mind, “Trent’
s girl.”

“The TV will be your best friend for a
little while.”

She stood and picked up the TV remote. “I have cards in my bag, but I’d rather watch TV. Can we order
a movie?”

“That’s a good idea.” Anything to keep him from dragging her
to bed.

“I forgot to ask. How are we paying? I don’t have much cash. I’m guessing you don’t want me to use my
credit cards.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got
it covered.”

* * * * *

Megan stared out into a darkness only broken by the headlights of the car as they made the long drive to a drugstore. AJ shifted the car into park, turned in his seat, one arm rested on the steering wheel, the other on the back of
her seat.

“I’ll be quick. I’ll leave the car running so you’ll have heat. Here’s your weapon. Do you know how to
use it?”

She’d shot a twelve gauge shotgun growing up. What true southern girl hadn’t? “I’ve had this for a while but haven’t fired it.” She stared at the pistol she’d carried around all those weeks on the streets. Things had changed. This was surreal. She might actually have to
shoot someone.

She released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d held, reached out and reluctantly accepted it, expecting it to burn
her hand.

“This is serious, Megan. You have to shoot. You can’t hesitate, or you will
be dead.”

“Okay.” She hoped she could pull the trigger. The thought of this added pressure to her rapidly
beating heart.

“If someone recognizes you, jump in the driver’s seat and get the hell out
of here.”

Her eyes widened. “What about you?” She couldn’t leave him. They were in
this together.

“I’ll find you.” He looked at her for a minute longer. “Ready, my
little dove?”

She took a deep breath and let it out on a ragged sigh. “Yes.”

He turned off the dome light, opened the car door and stepped out into
the night.

She watched him walk into the store and then she nervously looked around. Snow had built on the lone car in the parking lot. Probably the employee’s car. A siren screamed somewhere. A jet flew low, coming in for a landing. Dogs barked back
and forth.

Nothing out of the ordinary so far as she
could tell.

The seriousness of their situation didn’t elude her. Her curiosity and determination were the reason for her need to run. She jumped when another car drove into the parking lot. Could they have found them already? She tightened her hold on the pistol and watched the
car closely.

An elderly man stepped out of a Cadillac. He briefly glanced her way before walking into
the store.

She relaxed a little and loosened her grip on the pistol. She looked toward the door of the store.
Hurry up, AJ.
She expelled a sigh of relief when she saw him walking toward
the car.

* * * * *

AJ checked the area, slid behind the wheel and tossed the bag in her lap. “Everything okay?” He quickly put the car in reverse and exited the parking lot. He’d been in there too long. Sweat had built on his forehead by the time the clerk came out of the back room, the scent of pot cloaking him. AJ had been close to leaving the money on the counter, but wouldn’t risk an alarm raised
for shoplifting.

“The old man looked my way, but he looked for only a second.” She checked the hair dye he’
d purchased.

Fuck! It would only take a second for someone to recognize her. He drove to this store out in the middle of nowhere in Dundalk to avoid people. AJ hoped the man had
bad eyesight.

While it might throw the enforcers off track on where they were located, it told them they were together and hadn’t
run far.

“Shouldn’t you color your hair too? It could throw them off when they
see you.”

AJ glanced at her and grinned. “Only if you promise to do it for me. I’d like you running your fingers through my hair.” He couldn’t help himself. He liked to see
her flustered.

“Ass.”

* * * * *

Megan walked out of the bathroom with her damp hair framed around her face. “Well?”

He stared. No, gawked would be a better word. Was there any way she wasn’
t sexy?

“It’ll lighten a little when I blow dry it.” She ran her fingers through the
long strands.

“It’ll work. It’ll fool most people,” he
croaked out.

“Okay. I’ll dry it then.” She turned and disappeared into the bathroom.

I am so fucked. When I look at her, I have to think about saving her not exploring
her body.

He paced the small hotel room. He needed a new plan to draw out the Magician, but all he could think about was Megan. Remembering her naked stirred him. He wanted to touch her and taste her all over. Not just another
quick fuck.

Having sex with her again would be a mistake, but damn if he wasn’t weakening. All he could do was smell her. . . remember her taste, her hot moans. His resistance was fast crumbling where his little dove
was concerned.

* * * * *

Megan exited the bathroom with dry hair wearing Hello Kitty fleece pajama pants and a white long sleeve t-shirt.