Rose of Jericho (Lilith Adams Series Book 2) (17 page)

Lilith and Cohen broke into semi-hysterical laughter as four police cars and an ambulance pulled up to the scene. There was no more time for mental breakdowns. They had parts to play for the local cops, although their victim story really wasn’t much of a stretch. They weren’t gonna have to hide much and that made the story more believable. It was time to take a cue from Cohen and pull on her acting face.

A uniformed officer escorted Lilith over to the back of an ambulance. He looked familiar but it took Lilith’s jumbled brain a few minutes to realize he’d been at the morgue earlier with Detective Blaire.

The EMT worked to clean up her head wound while the officer finally opened his notepad. Lilith stuck to the literal facts emphasizing that she had no idea who these men were or why they would attack them. She went over the shooting sequence with him a few times before he was satisfied. The entire time she held the burner cell in her hand, praying for it to ring. Why wasn’t Chance calling her back? She tried to stay calm and focused on answering all of the officer’s questions, but her chest felt tighter with every passing moment.

The EMT patched up her head wound and wrapped up her right wrist but Lilith stopped him when he tried to put her arm in a sling. It still hurt like hell, but it would heal. He did, however, make her sign a form that she was refusing treatment. By the time she escaped the EMT’s disapproving glare, Detective Blaire showed up. He pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose and looked around the scene which was a buzz of activity.

There were forensic photographers, lab techs, hundreds of yellow number tags, flatbed tow trucks waiting on the wrecks, and cops throwing up yellow tape to restrain the decent size crowd hovering around the perimeter. Apparently, they were the neighborhood’s chaotic entertainment for the night.

Blair and the two officers that took their statements all compared notes while Lilith carefully watched their facial expressions. They definitely weren’t considering her or Cohen bad guys. The only angry judgment that flickered across their faces appeared when they looked at the SUV or the bodies of the mysterious henchmen.

Lilith walked slowly towards the three cops as she dialed the hotel again. The desk clerk put her through to their room, but the phone just rang and rang with no answer. Dammit. Where the hell was Chance? Lilith swallowed the bubble of panic that threatened to send her into a tailspin.

Cohen was right. There were dozens of mundane reasons why Chance might not answer the phone. Still, she couldn’t help but think the worse. What if there was another team that went after Chance? What if he was already dead or worse? What if he was being tortured while they waited for her and Cohen to return? Her chest felt impossibly tight. She needed to get there. Now. She didn’t have time for this.

The detective saw her approaching and walked forward to meet her. The deep wrinkles around his eyes seemed even deeper than they had earlier. A Hollywood style, professional assassination attempt on consulting police officials would definitely do that.

“Ms. Adams. I’m glad you and Detective Cohen are all right.” His voice was softer and more pleasant than it had been this morning even if it was still a bit nasally. Maybe she’d been too hasty to dismiss him earlier as a woman-hater.

“Thank you, Detective.” Cohen flashed a smile as he walked up behind Lilith. “We were lucky that they weren’t better organized. I only wish we knew more.”

Blaire pushed at his glasses and nodded toward Cohen. “We’ll figure out who was behind this.” His voice was confident but the twitches around his mouth and the pinching around his eyes betrayed the truth.

Lilith knew he’d ever learn the truth but she flashed the Detective a confident smile. “I ‘m sure you will. I wondered if I could ask you a favor. Mr. Deveraux stayed at the hotel while we were picking up dinner. He hasn’t answered his phone and I’m worried that whoever was behind this might have sent someone to deal with him...”

“Yes, could you have a uniform officer drive Ms. Adams to the hotel? I will stay behind and help in any way I can.” Cohen took over for her. Maybe he sensed her struggling to control her rising panic. For once she was actually thankful for his assistance.

“Of course, of course.” Blaire called over the officer that had taken Lilith’s statement. “Tramble, give Ms. Adams here a lift to her hotel. She may need some backup there.”

“Thank you, Detective Blaire.” Before she took off, Lilith glanced back at Cohen for a moment. He merely nodded and flashed a reassuring smile.

Moments later Officer Tramble and Lilith were speeding toward the Clarion hotel complete with sirens and lights. The closer they got, the more anxious Lilith became. When they were a block away from the hotel, Officer Tramble killed the sirens and the lights. If there was an intruder, they definitely didn’t want to panic him. They pulled up right in front of her room and the Officer handed her his backup weapon.

“Just in case you need it. I’ll back you up.” He nodded and quietly exited the car while Lilith did the same. There was a flickering light shining through the sheer hotel curtains. Fire.

Panic stole Lilith’s breath and she rushed up to the door.  Images of the hotel fire in Knoxville flickered through her mind. Dammit. No! She wasn’t going to lose another person in her life. The officer put his back to the wall beside the door and nodded to her.

Lilith steadied herself, making sure the gun’s safety was off. Her right arm blazed painfully as her fingers tightened around the grip, but she ignored the sharp throbbing. She took a deep breath and kicked in the door. The two of them rushed into the room, guns drawn, scanning every inch. Lilith’s mouth dropped as her gun fell to her side. Of all the things she had imagined, this definitely wasn’t one of them.

Chapter 13

C
hance jumped to his feet, lighter in hand, with guilty surprise slapped across his chiseled face. Sheer harmless panic. Every single flat surface in the room was covered with tea light candles. It was like a scene from some overly dramatic romance movie that usually gave Lilith the dry heaves. She could feel her face turning red in complete embarrassment as she became painfully aware of the police officer behind her. With her jaw set tight, she turned to Officer Tramble and slapped the gun into his hand.

“I’m sorry to have wasted your time, Officer. Thank you for your assistance, but apparently Mr. Deveraux is just fine…for now.” She swung a heavy look at Chance that was definitely less than friendly. “He just doesn’t know how to answer the phone.”

Tramble coughed on a laugh and nodded as he holstered his weapons. To his credit, he did manage to pull on a serious face, attempting a little professional courtesy. However, there wasn’t a single doubt in her mind that this was gonna be the talk of the station for the next five years. “Well if you are both safe and sound, I’ll return to the scene of the accident.” He nodded again, flashed a humorous look at Chance and turned toward the open door.

“Accident?” Chance moved forward with sudden concern but Lilith held up a warning hand. He stopped short, completely bewildered at first. Then his eyes widened as he finally noticed the bruising on the side of her face, the ripped clothes, the bandages around her wrist, the gauze pad on her temple and the blood matted in her hair.

“Thank you, Officer Tramble.” Lilith saw him out and locked the door, taking her time. She rested her aching head against the door trying to pull herself together. She was completely conflicted. A small part was incredibly moved by the romantic gesture even if it was way too Nicholas Sparks, but the rest of her was pissed.

She was mad he didn’t answer the phone, or call back, but ultimately, some irrational piece of her was angry that while she and Cohen were fighting for their lives, Chance was here playing Romeo. It wasn’t fair. He wasn’t psychic. He couldn’t have seen what was coming any more than she could have. Lilith barely believed what happened and she’d been right in the middle of it. Still, the anger burned like the hot embers of a threatening forest fire.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even see that I had a call. I walked down to the corner store…What happened?” Chance’s voice was definitely shaky. “Are you all right?” She could feel Chance standing directly behind her, feel his warmth, and despite her anger, she just wanted to lean back into him. Of course, there was a reason her father called her stubborn. No, her father
used
to call her stubborn. Mentally forcing herself to change the tense just made the anger burn a little brighter.

Lilith turned on her heel, facing down Chance, even if he was several inches taller than her. She was painfully aware of the door at her back and Chance just inches from her, but she shoved the hormones away. Right now they were about as welcome as a Mormon at Mardi Gras.

“What the hell is all this, Chance?” He shrank back a step or two, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Confusion and frustration pinched his face as he ran his hand gruffly through his hair. She could see the struggle on his face, trying to find the right words, and it just made something in her snap.

“I am not Sonja or Michelle or Lila…” His eyes jumped up to hers sharply as she started ticking off the names on last month’s dance card. “Dammit, Chance. You don’t need some showy romantic gesture to impress me. Is that all you think I care about?”

“Lilith, that is not…” Chance stepped forward, his jaw clenched as his hazel eyes burned angrily. “You don’t think I know that? After everything that’s happened, Alvarez, Gregor…I just wanted to do something for you, give you a relaxing night.” He huffed at the slightly shocked and repentant look on her face. “Guess I missed the damn mark by a mile.” 

Lilith sunk back against the door feeling about an inch tall. She had no idea what to think much less say. Her mind was just a huge jumbled mess of stress and panic. There was a time not long ago when the world made sense to her. It felt like a lifetime ago.

When she finally looked back up at Chance, he was standing in the center of the room with an expectant look on his face. Shit. Was he waiting for her to say something? “I’m sorry for biting your head off…It’s…beautiful, really.” It was all she could come up with at the moment.

Chance snorted a laugh and shook his head, his fingers raking through his shaggy chestnut hair again. “Why don’t you just tell me what the hell happened?”

“An Escalade full of heavily armed men T-boned the car and tried to turn us into Swiss cheese.” Lilith strolled past him to the small table and blew out the tea lights on top of her kit. “Four men, all in black, complete with ski masks.” She popped open the case and pulled out her handgun. She wasn’t going to let it sit in her case for another minute longer. She wanted it close at hand after tonight’s fun-filled fire fight.

“Shit. Farren’s men?” It was a valid question considering Farren’s love of hiring anonymous henchmen to do his dirty work.

“I don’t think so. They weren’t in tactile gear like his usual flunkies and they didn’t seem nearly as organized.”  Lilith slid the pistol into the nightstand drawer as her mind really worked through the question. “Besides, that would be a little counterproductive considering he wants us to find this book.”

“Jesus, Lily. I should have been there. I didn’t think…” She felt his hands slowly slide over her shoulders, relief rippling over her in their wake. When his lips brushed against the nape of her neck, the noise in her head finally dulled to soft roar. She had zero desire to fight with Chance, especially not over her own damn insecurities.

“How could you? I sure as hell didn’t think there was the faintest possibility of mercs trying to assassinate me on the way back from a Chinese take-out. Honestly, I think you staying here saved all our lives.” Lilith turned to see Chance’s brow furrowed in a bewildered look. “They hesitated, waiting for orders.  I’m fairly certain it’s because you weren’t in the car.” Lilith leaned her forehead against his chest with a heavy sigh. “I swear, Chance. Two car accidents in as many weeks. I think I have car trauma.”

“I’m sorry,
Cher
.” He brushed a blood-soaked strand of hair from her face and chuckled softly. A shadow flickered behind his eyes, but before she could wrap her mind around it, he pulled away. “Let me grab the first aid kit and you can tell me exactly what happened...”

He started purposefully toward her forensic case, but she reached out and grabbed his arm lightly. “Chance, The EMS already checked me out. I’m fine. All I really want right now is a long, hot shower.” With a reassuring smile her fingers fell away from his arm and she took a step toward the bathroom.

“You are not fine, Lily.”

She stopped halfway to her destination and a weak smile tugged at her lips. “I will be.” The quirked eyebrow and arms crossed over his chest said he remained unconvinced.

“There’s something else bothering you. I don’t think you were just pissed about the candles. Why did you bust in her guns blazing?” 

Lilith took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as her mind rattled to a stop on one thought. “I was sure they’d send someone here. They had to know where we were staying. And when I called and called…I’m just glad you’re okay, Chance.”

There was a split second of pure disbelief in his eyes. In that moment, Lilith knew he was confounded by the fact that someone was genuinely concerned about him. It wasn’t logical, it was pure ingrained instinct. Then, just like that, it was gone, swallowed down to the dark depths.

“I was so damned worried that they’d gotten to you and when I saw the flickering light through the curtain…” She managed to keep her voice from breaking but she couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. To her complete surprise, she could feel tears welling in her eyes. Once the adrenaline wore off, it left her raw and off-balance, struggling to find a foot hold. She felt like a rock climber trying to find grips in a mud slide.

Chance stalked right up to her, his strong hands suddenly sinking into her hair. His lips crashed against hers with a deep hunger that completely stole her breath. After a split second of shocked paralysis, Lilith slid her arms around him, clinging to the intoxicating feeling rushing to her head as her lips pushed hungrily against his. Then Chance brushed his lips feather-light against hers before placing a kiss against the tip of her nose. The sudden wildfire dimmed to smoldering embers as his hands softly moved down her neck to her shoulders. Well that knocked all the conflicting stuff right out of her head and burned it to ash.

Slowly, reluctantly, she pulled away, her eyes lingering on his chiseled jaw and soft lips. “You…” Lilith released a slow steadying breath, her head still spinning from that kiss. “I really need a shower.” The words escaped her lips in a disappointed sigh. As much as she wanted to just forget the world and hide in bed with Chance, she wanted a shower more. She could feel the blood and tissue crusting in her hair, feel the sticky splatters of it on her skin. She needed to wash it all away. 

Lilith took a step to the right, heading for the bathroom, but Chance lightly gripped her arm. A tight smile crossed her lips as her head began to pound again. She rubbed at her temple with a soft sigh escaping her lips. “Chance…I’m covered in blood…”

Before she could say anything else, Chance scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a china doll and carried her into the bathroom. He carefully set her down on the countertop and immediately turned his back on her, leaning in to start the shower. A soft smile tugged at her weary lips as she watched him testing the water temperature every few seconds.

Chance stepped away from the shower, padding smoothly across the tile floor until he was right in front of her again. To her surprise, his eyes never met hers, they focused instead on her wounds as he carefully removed her bandages. Then his broad hands slipped over her shoulders, slowly pushing her suit jacket off and letting it crumple to the countertop.

“Chance, this is incredibly sweet, but…” He pressed a finger against her lips, cutting her off, and his hazel eyes rose to meet hers. There was a quiet seriousness in them that was a far cry from the impish grins and half-hearted quips she was used to. It scared the hell out of her. Sure Chance claimed be holding a decade-old torch for her, but all too often the fantasy doesn’t live up to the reality. However, the way his hazel eyes lit up, the way they seemed to see right through her, it all made her feel ridiculous for bringing up his checkered past earlier. This was no more a week-long fling to him than it was to her.

Chance returned his focus to his nimble fingers as they moved from button to button on her blouse. By the time he slid her shirt off and tossed it to the floor she no longer cared that she was covered in blood. Everything about his movements, even as he unclasped her bra, was the very opposite of that alley in Tennessee. This wasn’t a mad rush of emotions and hormones that had them tearing off each other’s clothes. His hands moved purposefully, tenderly, the fingertips caressing over her skin as if it was made of the finest porcelain.

Lilith let her shoes clatter to the floor and slid slowly off the counter, watching his calm, collected face the entire time. Warm fingertips played over the curve of her hips and then the whir of her skirt zipper echoed off the tiled walls. Palms caressed over her hips now, ever so slowly pushing the fabric down until it pooled on the floor.

For a moment, Lilith forgot to breathe, the cool air tickling over her skin as she stood there exposed and vulnerable. Without warning, Chance scooped her up into his arms again and carried her right into the warm shower, still dressed in his T-shirt and jeans.

“Chance, what are you doing?” Lilith chuckled and grinned as her set her back on her feet, the warm water splashing at her back.

“You obviously aren’t a candle kinda gal. You wanted a shower instead.” A wide grin cracked his serious demeanor as he gently tilted her head back into the water, his hands massaging the hotel shampoo through her hair. It was enough to make Lilith completely melt, her eyes fluttering closed in complete nirvana.

When he’d rinsed the last of the shampoo from her auburn curls, she grabbed the front of his soaking wet T-shirt and pulled him closer. Her lips crashed against his in a sudden fiery kiss as the last of her self-control burned away.

It wasn’t an escape from grief that fueled the moan tickling across their lips as he gripped her hips and pinned her against the wall. It wasn’t the need to feel alive that sunk her fingers into his wet hair as his tongue caressed against hers. It wasn’t animalistic lust that moved his hips intoxicatingly against hers. It was something deeper, something mysterious and unknown to her that kept them in the shower until the ice cold water numbed their skin.