Killing Game (3 page)

“How about I save you the questions? I come from LA. I stole a few hundred bucks from my bastard of a father and ran away to New York. I was involved in a relationship with a guy seventeen years older than me, twice my age. He told me he loved me and then left me. I went to see him tonight. He wasn’t alone.”

Cain’s jaw tensed as she paused to take a breath.

“I have no money,
no clothes, no place to go
. I have nothing. I’m destitute and
before you ask, I can’t go home... not now, not ever
. I’m sitting in a strange guy’s apartment, after the weirdest evening of my life, and the only thing that makes this whole night worse is I think I should be scared... only I’m not.” She stared into his eyes.

His look softened, showing her that he understood the things she’d gone through all too well.

“You really think I’m strange?” He smiled, hoping to lighten the atmosphere a touch.

She giggled slightly.

“Yep.
What kind of guy brings a girl he doesn’t know back to his apartment? Either you’re after something from me, or you really are just being sweet.”

“Think that’s the first time someone’s said I was sweet.” He winced inside as better words to describe himself drifted into his head.
Gun, hit man, killer, murderer...

“Be honest with me. You really aren’t after something?” Lily didn’t know whether she wanted him to say he was or he wasn’t, but one thing was clear—part of her wanted him to be attracted to her.

“Honestly?” He pulled a thoughtful face. “Not after anything. Let’s just say I have a soft spot for runaways, having been one myself.”

Cain watched her eyes widen slightly and her mouth formed an ‘o’. It was at that moment that he realized he really didn’t want anything in return. All he wanted to do was shield her from the life that most runaways ended up with—a life like his. As his eyes settled back on hers, he felt something flare up in him. She was looking at him with such an innocent expression that he found himself wanting to wrap her up in his arms and protect her from the world.

He stood quickly and, without looking at her, walked into the kitchen. He grasped hold of the edge of the counter and leaned towards it, his head falling forwards as he bent over. Staring at the tiles below his feet, he struggled to level his breathing out. This wasn’t good. He’d survived nine years in New York without feeling so much as an ounce of what she’d just inspired in him and on some remote level he’d panicked. Panic wasn’t good. Panic caused you to fuck up. Panic got you killed.

He brought his fist down hard on the counter and screwed his face up until it echoed his inner turmoil.

“She’s just a girl. Keep your distance, be professional,
get
her out of your life.” He wished it would be that easy, but a tiny voice inside him said she was in his system now. He was going to crave her pretty smiles and warm looks until it killed him.

Walking back out into the living room, he kept his face impassive as Lily turned around to look at him, her eyes large and soft.

“You okay?”

Her words cut into him like a knife, slicing away another part of his defenses.

“It’s been a long day. You should get some sleep. You must be tired,” he said flatly, his voice cold.

She frowned for a split second. “Not really, but... you seem kinda cranky, I’ll just...”

Cain pointed to his bedroom. “It has a lock. I won’t be offended.”

She frowned again before standing and walking over to the room that he was still pointing at, his head hung slightly.

“Cain?” Lily turned around in the doorway.

He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. He felt it in his chest, her soft voice breathing his name and causing his ears to ring with it as another crack appeared in his defenses.

“Yeah?”
He turned his head slightly and looked at her.

“Thanks.” She smiled warmly, and his breath caught in his throat.
“Night.”

The door closed and he ran his hands over his hair in frustration. Slumping down onto the couch, he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

Tomorrow she was out of here. He’d find her somewhere else to go and she’d be gone. Life would go back to normal. He’d forget about her. Something wrenched inside him, and he realized it wasn’t going to be that simple.

Closing his eyes, he let out a long sigh and recounted the events of the evening. It had all gone smoothly until one tiny moment, one infinitesimal point where his world had been somehow turned on its head by nothing more than a young woman.

He’d spent nine years outrunning fate and love, keeping himself free of ties to the world and emotions. Tonight they’d caught up with him and now they were giving him hell to make up for lost time.

He listened to the sounds of movement in his bedroom and screwed his face up, trying to shut out his thoughts of Lily. Even her name was sweet like honey to him, sticky and poisonous.

Grabbing a cushion, he held it over his face and growled into it.

“Sleep.
Shut down. Switch off.
Sleep.”

He willed himself into an uncomfortable and restless slumber.

Lily tentatively eased the bedroom door open a crack, expecting to see Cain on the couch. He wasn’t there. Frowning to herself, she walked out of the room and looked around the apartment. She stared at the locked door for a moment before heading around the corner and into the kitchen.

“Not here.” She mumbled when she saw it was empty and walked back out again.

After another sideward glance at the door, she headed back towards the bedroom and down the little hallway that she’d noticed last night. At the end of it was a
bathroom,
and she saw her clothes hanging up over the bath. She touched them and smiled when she found they were dry.

Standing still for a moment, she listened hard for any sign that he was still in the apartment. When no noises reached her ears, she leaned over the bath and turned the shower on hot, and then closed the bathroom door. Slipping out of his baggy clothes, she stepped under the water and leaned her head back. She sighed. She’d never realized a shower could feel so comforting.

Having cleaned up and dried herself off, she dressed in her own clothes and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She sighed at the sight of herself in the mirror and then looked down at the array of toiletries in front of her. Reaching out, she hesitated for a moment before picking up his toothbrush. Her thumb ran over the bristles. It was already damp. She surmised that wherever he was, he had clean teeth.

Squeezing some toothpaste onto it, she ran it under the faucet again and then popped it into her mouth, scrubbing her teeth hard while staring at herself blankly in the mirror.

She swilled her mouth out, spat it into the sink and then rinsed his toothbrush, placing it back into the holder.

Lily walked out of the bathroom feeling a good seventy percent better than when she’d gone in. Her eyes roamed around his apartment and her feet followed them, her fingers idly reaching out and touching things as she passed. Weaving her way across the room, she found herself standing by the door again. She looked at it as though it was an insurmountable barrier between her and the something that was on the other side, something that was bound to be interesting. Things kept behind locked doors were always interesting.

Reaching out slowly, she bit her lip as it edged towards the handle. Her heart raced and her mouth went dry. The moment her fingertips reached the handle, the front door swung open and she let out a small squeak as she leapt backwards.

Cain arched a brow at Lily. He tightened his grip on the large brown grocery bag held under one arm and slowly closed the front door with his other.

She smiled coyly and waved. “Hi.”

He noted her forced cheerfulness and her proximity to the door. She seemed to be an overly curious kind of girl.

“Hello yourself,” He said, keeping his expression and voice emotionless.

She followed him into the kitchen and hopped up onto the counter, smiling when he looked at her.

“I was starting to wonder where you’d gone,” she said breezily.

He froze midway through unpacking the bag when her words registered in his head. She was wondering where he was?

Shaking his head to clear it of the stupid notions that had started dwelling there, he continued to pull things out the bag. When he finished, he lit up a cigarette and pushed a small white paper box towards her.

“For me?”
She smiled sweetly.

He nodded.

Opening it up, Lily saw all kinds of sweet things but she smiled most of all at the sight of the muffins.

“I didn’t feed you last night. Figured you’d be on the verge of dying now if you had been starving like you said you were.”

“Thanks.” She pulled a muffin out of the bag and picked at it before remembering her manners. “Want one?”

“I’m good.” He took another drag on his cigarette and flicked the coffee machine on. He turned back around to look at her. “See you found your clothes.”

“Yeah.
I took a shower. I hope you don’t mind.” She popped a piece of blueberry muffin into her mouth.

Cain groaned internally over the images of her in the shower that were now filling his head. Instead of answering, he took another long drag on his cigarette and watched her devour the things he’d bought her. She was right—she was starving.

“Cain?”

He raised his eyes to meet hers as she spoke his name. It caused a thrill to run along every nerve in his body.

“Yes, love?”

Lily’s stomach flipped over the term of endearment spoken so softly on his lips.

“I... you’ve been great, really... and I was wondering if you would... I kinda need a favor.” She paused. His brow arched. “Can you help me?”

“Help you what?”

“Settle here... in New York. I don’t want to end up in some back alley cockroach infested motel.” She felt sick with nerves and anticipation as she
asked,
part of her fearing he would say no.

Cain thought that was the least of her problems. He was more worried about her winding up as a prostitute or dead.

“I can find you a place to stay and I have a mate who could probably give you a job as a waitress in his club.
Anything else?”
He kept telling himself it would be for the best. He’d find her somewhere to live and she’d be out of his life. Only it didn’t seem to be sinking in.

Lily looked awkward. He’d already offered her so much that she felt it was rude to ask for more but necessity forced her to speak up.
“Clothes?”

“Right.
Can’t have you wearing the same outfit forever.”
Cain ran his eyes down the length of her body and parted his lips slightly, letting the cigarette smoke curl lazily out of his mouth.

“Cain?” Lily felt hot where his gaze was resting on one of her hands. She moved it off her knee and noticed his eyes followed it. Something about what he said next and the hunger in his eyes set her on edge.

“Here’s the deal.” Cain snapped himself out of his thoughts and stubbed his cigarette out, his tone becoming business-like.

She tensed and he chuckled.

“Nothing like that.”
He cocked his head to one side. Her expression turned awkward. “I’ll lend you money for clothes, find you a place and get you a job.”

“What do I have to do in return?” Lily asked shakily. Clearly, she wasn’t convinced that he was being one hundred percent honest with her. He knew what she thought he was after.

He curled his tongue up against his front teeth and read the panic in her eyes. It would have been so easy for him to say what she was thinking, to tell her to go to his bedroom and wait for him, but the thought of her whoring herself, even to him, made his stomach turn. He wasn’t that type of man. He only wanted a woman if she wanted him in return. When it came to her, he wanted to protect her from reality, himself included.

“Pay me back. Whatever money I give you, I want it back. No ridiculous interest rates or tricks.
Plain and simple.
I’ll get you a job, each week you can pay me back whatever you can afford to.”

“Sounds like a deal. You’ll get your money back.” There was such a look of relief in her eyes as she smiled at him and then finished her muffin.

As he turned around and checked the coffee machine, Lily’s eyes wandered across his shoulders and down to where his waist dipped in. From the angle he was at, she could see the muscles in his right forearm working as he poured two mugs of coffee. They seemed to writhe under his pale skin, twisting with each move he made. When he turned back to face her, she moved her eyes up to his bicep and a smile played on her lips at the sight of it all tensed up. A long vein weaving its way down to his elbow caught her attention and as she followed it, she noticed he was holding something. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him. He was patiently waiting for her to take the mug of coffee from him.

“Sorry.” She reached over and took the mug out of his hand.

“No worries, sweetheart.” Cain used the time it took to drink the coffee down to steady his heartbeat. It had gone off the scale when he’d noticed her staring at him with a fascinated look in her eyes.

Placing the mug down beside him, he pushed off from the counter and started toward the living room. He listened to the sound of Lily hopping down and following him.

“Think you can keep yourself entertained?” He gave her a small smile.

She settled down on the couch and looked at him.

“Why, where are you going?” She looked confused.

“Got to see a guy about a job.
I’ll be back in a couple of hours. There’s daytime telly and stuff to keep you occupied.” Cain glanced at the clock in the corner. “Frasier is on in twenty.”

“Frasier?”
A stunned look settled on her face. “You seriously watch that crap?”

“Little more complex than you had me down as, eh?” He chuckled again.

“Little.” She grinned.

He couldn’t help smiling back at her.