Want Me (2 page)

Chance’s emotionless mask cracked. Right. Because if anything could piss off the guy, it would be the mention of Daniel’s name. Daniel had hunted and nearly killed Gwen Hawthorne—the woman Chance loved. Daniel was a sick freak and the guy who just happened to be Ethan Barclay’s half-brother. Of course, Ethan hadn’t known that shit, and he hadn’t known that Daniel had spent years working to take out every one of value to Ethan. When Ethan loved…Daniel destroyed. Because he’d thought that Ethan was interested in Gwen, Daniel had stalked her.

But Chance had stopped that SOB. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been stopped before Daniel had hurt Chance, Gwen, Sophie, Ethan…

And Dev.

Too many casualties.

Lex’s attention shifted to Dev. Like Chance, the guy now looked seriously pissed.

“Daniel Duvato is behind bars,” Chance said, his voice rumbling. “No one will be getting to him.”

Lex wasn’t so sure about that. And there was something in Chance’s closed expression…something that told him Chance knew a bit more about Daniel than he was saying. What the hell was up with that? He, Chance, and Dev had been best friends since they were kids—when they’d been tossed into the same group home for a brief period. Their stay there hadn’t lasted, but their bond had.

“Maybe Sophie is the one gunning for Daniel,” Dev murmured. “She certainly has cause, right? The guy left her to die.”

Lex’s shoulders snapped back. “By that logic, you’ve got cause, too.” He pointed at Chance. “So does he.”

Chance just stared back at him.

“Cool down, man,” Dev said quickly to Lex. “I’m just saying...”

“What the hell are you saying?” Lex didn’t like the way Dev was talking about Sophie. Not a bit.

“I’m saying Sophie Sarantos is smart. Crazy, scary smart.” There was admiration and wariness in Dev’s tone. “She defends the worst criminals in the city every day, and she gets them off. Daniel Duvato hurt her. Worse—at least I think she’d view it as worse—the guy went after Ethan Barclay. From all my research on Sophie…”

And Lex knew Dev had done plenty of digging during that last big case.

“He’s the only person she cares about. Daniel hurt him, and knowing what I do about her, well, she just might be the type to want some revenge.”

Lex swiped his hand over his face. “You’ve got this all wrong. She wants protection—”

“Or maybe,” Dev said, “she wants an alibi.”

What?
That was the last thing Lex had expected Dev to say. He rounded on the guy.

Dev lifted his hands. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, okay? You know this shit. Most folks think she got away with murder once, and if Sophie wanted to kill someone, I’m sure she’d set the stage nicely. I can’t think of anyone she’d want to kill more than Daniel Duvato.”

This was bullshit. “She’s our client,” Lex snapped. He had to force his back teeth to unclench. “Not some guilty perp.”

“Is there any evidence that someone actually broke into her house?” Dev wasn’t backing down. “Or is it just a story she’s spinning you?”

He lunged toward Dev.

“Stop.” Chance’s voice was low but sharp.

Lex didn’t stop, though. He grabbed Dev’s shirt front and shoved the guy back against the nearest wall. “What the hell is your problem? The woman is a client. She’s scared. She wants help. She’s not some cold-blooded killer!”

“You didn’t read through all the data I found on her,” Dev’s voice was low. “And don’t you wonder, just a bit, why she came to you and not to Chance? Or to me?”

“She knows me better—”

“She can read people. That’s one of her things. Size up her enemy in an instant.”

“I’m not her enemy.” He really, really wanted to drive his fist into his friend’s face.

Chance was closing in on them. Growling.

“No, but one look into your eyes, and she would have known you wanted her.”

He did.

Chance grabbed Lex’s shoulders and pulled him away from Dev.

Dev made no move to straighten his shirt. Or to take a swing at Lex. “I just don’t want you hurt, man.”

“She’s not going to hurt me.” The very idea was laughable.

“Isn’t she? I saw you at the hospital. I saw the way you paced near her room. You’re already in too deep. You don’t know it.” He jerked his thumb toward the door. “She does. She’s a user, bro. She doesn’t get close to anyone but Barclay, and I’ll be damned if I let her get her hooks into you.”

He could only shake his head. Dev was wrong. Flat out
wrong.
“She’s the victim. Are we going to help her or throw her to the wolves?” Lex already knew exactly what his plans were.

Chance’s grip tightened on Lex’s shoulder. “We’re helping her, you know it.”

Damn straight. “Good. Because I already took her retainer.” A check that he’d put in his desk. He shrugged away Chance’s hand. “I’m heading back to Sophie’s place with her now. You guys can get started on recon to find out just who the hell would want to terrorize her this way.”

He turned away.

“Something tells me her list of enemies is going to be long,” Dev muttered.

Lex stiffened. He looked over his shoulder. “Are we going to have a problem?” They could straighten that shit out right then.

“It depends.” Dev cocked his head. “Are you going to fall for Sophie Sarantos? Because if you do, man, there’s going to be hell to pay. I’ve already seen the wreckage that woman leaves behind.” His blue eyes glinted. “I just don’t want you hurt like that.”

Lex laughed, the sound bitter and rough. “I’m not falling for anyone. I’m doing my job. That’s all.” He might as well put all of his cards on the table. “I want her.” Blunt. Basic. “She knows it. Big deal. Maybe we’ll fuck.” He sure as hell hoped so. “But it doesn’t go past that. You don’t have to worry about me being blindsided. That shit just won’t happen. I don’t get emotionally involved with the clients. Never have. Never will.”

Sophie was a case. That was all. He’d do what was necessary to get the job done. Period.

Dev searched his gaze for a moment then gave a grim nod. “Sorry. Just because Chance here fell, doesn’t mean you will, too.”

Chance’s sharp growl got worse. “I’m in the damn room.”

“You went fucking to pieces when Gwen was in danger,” Dev pointed out. Like they all needed that reminder. “I just don’t want to see Lex do the same thing.”

Lex rolled back his shoulders. “Big difference. Chance loved Gwen. Sophie…she’s just the client.” He strode toward the door.

“A client and the woman you want to fuck,” Dev said.

He ignored the guy and yanked open the door. Sophie turned, glancing at him sharply. She’d been waiting outside—jeez, since when? He’d left her in his office, and he had a fast moment of panic. Had she overheard what they’d said? Dev’s bullshit accusations against her?

But, even though she seemed a bit pale, her gaze was steady. “Is the team on board?”

Even if they hadn’t been, he would have still taken her case. He nodded and found himself heading toward her. A lock of her heavy, dark hair had fallen over her eye. He brushed it back. “You’re safe, Sophie. You don’t have to worry.”

Her lips lifted then. That faint smile of hers curled her lips, and all of the breath left his lungs in a sharp rush.

You don’t have to worry, but maybe I do.

***

Devlin Shade watched as Lex led Sophie from the office. The guy was already in her web, and he didn’t even realize it. When would Lex learn? Black widows killed their mates.

And if there was ever a black widow, it was Sophie.

Chance shut the conference room door. “You’ve got a problem with her.”

More than one.

“What do you know that I don’t?” Chance demanded.

He clamped his mouth closed. So far, he just had suspicions—and his gut instinct. Every bit of intel he’d discovered on Sophie had told him that she was one dangerous woman. But he knew that he had to tread carefully now. Especially after the way Lex had just looked at her.

“Dev?”

He rubbed his side. The wound had healed, but he’d never forget lying in that stinking alley, bleeding out, and wondering if his friends were alive. Trust didn’t come easily for him. Actually, there were only two people in the world that he did trust.

Chance and Lex. He valued their friendship, and he’d do anything to protect them. “Read my files. See what you think.” And he’d get to work investigating Sophie’s life even more now—finding her enemies and uncovering all of the skeletons that she still had shoved into the depths of her closet.

He just hoped that Lex could handle what he discovered.

The brownstone didn’t look particularly intimidating. Sophie slammed the car door—the door to Lex’s very sleek ride—and stared up at her home. Too bad the place didn’t feel like home anymore. Last night’s attack had spooked her so much that the thought of going back into that place had her stomach in knots.

“Sophie?”

She glanced over at Lex, and, as always, she wasn’t quite prepared for her reaction to him.

Sure, she’d encountered plenty of handsome men in her life. Suave, sophisticated guys. Guys who wanted to wine her and dine her and get into her pants. She knew exactly how to handle those guys. But Lex, he was different.

He wants in my pants, too, though.
She wasn’t naive enough to have missed that. Only fair, though, considering she’d thought about pouncing the guy herself.

She cleared her throat and tried to study him objectively. His face was hard, strong. He had a perfect square jaw. Cut and defined. Actually, that was how she’d characterize him…cut and defined. A powerful build. Wide shoulders. Obvious strength in his body.

His blond hair glinted in the sunlight. Normally, she wasn’t attracted to blondes. She liked men who were tall, dark, and a bit dangerous. Lex was golden—hair and tan skin. His blond hair was thick, but short. His green eyes were dark. Deep. And his face really was almost too handsome.

Until he smiled.

And he was smiling right then. “See something you like?”

She did. Because when Lex smiled, something rather unusual happened. The smile didn’t soften him. It made him look harder. More dangerous.

My type.

Of course, she already knew that Lex was plenty dangerous. She’d done some digging on him. After a man saved a woman’s life, it was only natural to be curious about him. She’d learned that Lex Jensen was ex-military. That he’d been black ops. The guy knew his way around some deadly situations.

Good—for him, and for her.

He stepped closer to her. They were alone on that street corner. She was wearing a thick coat because DC wasn’t showing signs of warming yet—the city wouldn’t, not for a while. But as she stood there, Sophie could have sworn that she felt heat sliding from Lex’s body. Wrapping around her.

Maybe they should just put everything out in the open. She pulled in a deep breath, hoping it would cool the sudden tension, the fever, that she felt. “You know there’s…something between us.”

He just stared back at her. Did his pupils widen a bit? Maybe so.

“You want me.” There, she’d said it. Just tossed those words out there. All loud and proud.

His smile came again. Half of it, anyway, as his lips hitched a bit. The danger flashed on his face then. “You’re used to men wanting you, aren’t you, Sophie?”

Yes, she was. She was also well versed in using that desire against men. They didn’t care about who she was, not beneath the careful surface she presented to them.

She realized he hadn’t answered her question. That was fine. Maybe it was her turn for some honesty. She put her hands on his chest. Tipped back her head. Even in her heels, she was woefully small compared to him.

The bigger they are…

“I thought you should know,” Sophie said, “that I want you.”

He blinked and she saw shock slide across his face.

Satisfaction trickled through her. His hands lifted, to curl around her shoulders, but Sophie pulled back. “Now, let’s get this over with. The sooner we’re in and out of this place, the better.” Her heels snapped over the sidewalk. It hadn’t snowed in over a week, so she didn’t have to worry about slipping. A plume of cold air appeared before her mouth when she paused to open her door. It took her a few moments to disengage the locks, and she was aware of Lex standing behind her. A strong, silent shadow.

Not like the shadow that loomed over me last night.

Her heartbeat quickened as she pushed open the door. The brownstone’s main door actually led inside into a small foyer. Two other doors were in that foyer, one on the left and one on the right. The brownstone could be split in half and have two perfectly equal living areas. When she’d first purchased the place, she’d had plans to rent out one side of the large dwelling. Only her plans had derailed a bit. She lived in one side of the brownstone, and very slowly, she was working to have the second side renovated.

When she headed for her door, Lex hesitated. She saw him glance toward the other living space. “Nothing is in there but a mess,” Sophie said.

“Maybe…”

As soon as she unlocked her door, Sophie’s alarm immediately started beeping and she punched in her access code. When she turned back around to face Lex, a furrow was between his brows.

“You didn’t have your alarm set last night?”

“Actually, I did.” She always set it now. Thanks to Daniel. “I set it right before I went to bed, but it didn’t go off.”

He slid past her and examined the alarm box.

“It should have gone off,” Sophie muttered. That had been bothering her. “If any windows or doors were disturbed, the alarm should have started shrieking.”

He grunted and looked back at her. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”

“That my alarm is shit?”

He shook his head. “Maybe he was already inside when you set the alarm.”

Sophie felt her heart stop. “What?” No, that just wasn’t possible. For him to have been inside the house. It-it couldn’t be—

“It makes sense. If he didn’t break in last night, then that means the guy had to already
be
inside your place. Waiting. Watching.”

Nausea churned within her. “Are you trying to scare me?” Because, if so, his strategy was totally working.

“I’m telling you what I think.” His eyes gleamed at her. “Now are you ready to show me your bedroom?”

She was ready to get out of that place, ASAP. Sophie intended to stay in a nice, wonderfully luxurious hotel while her place was rewired for security. Again. But for the moment, she straightened her shoulders and headed for the stairs. The bottom stair creaked beneath her foot. Before she could take another step, Lex had wrapped his hand around her wrist, stilling her.

He’s so warm.

She hadn’t realized that she was still cold.

“You didn’t hear that squeak last night, did you?”

Had she? Sophie shook her head as she struggled to remember. “I don’t know what woke me up.” Something had, luckily. “One minute, I was asleep, and the next…he was standing right above me.”

He gave a grim nod. “Then it wasn’t the stair that you heard. He was already up in your bedroom. Something in there must have tipped you off.”

She looked down at his hand, still holding her. As a general rule, Sophie wasn’t so much for touching others. But she liked it when Lex touched her.

She rather liked too many things about him.

Because she did, Sophie pulled her hand from his and she headed up the stairs. She was incredibly conscious of him following closely behind her. He made her nervous, and Sophie heard herself start to talk as she quickly said, “I was at the top of the stairs when he caught me. He grabbed for me, but I-I slipped away—I hit the stairs and tumbled down.” That crazy tumble had probably saved her ass. “I rolled down the stairs in a blink and managed to rush out of the house.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck.”

Yes, she knew that. “I’m lucky he didn’t kill me,” she retorted flatly.

Silence. The thick, uncomfortable kind.

She didn’t pause at the landing. She could almost see that SOB standing there, lunging for her. Beneath her coat, Sophie was sure that she had goose bumps rising on her body. She hated being afraid. Fear made her remember her past, and Sophie couldn’t stand going back to those terrible days.

She opened her bedroom door. Stepped inside. Light filtered through her thin curtains. The room was just as she’d left it that morning. The four-poster bed was fixed. Her books were perfectly arranged on her shelves. No clutter was out on her dresser or her chest and—

“You like being organized, don’t you?” Lex murmured.

No, actually, she didn’t.

For an instant, the lid she kept closed on her memories vibrated and she heard a familiar roar in her head.
“Sophie, I’ve told you too many damn times…clean up your mess!”
Her hand lifted, brushing over her cheek, as she remembered the blow that always followed that refrain. She swallowed back the memory. “My father thought it was always important to keep a clean home.”

But he was long gone. So why did she keep letting him haunt her? Sophie’s hand moved to rub at the back of her neck as she felt the tension thicken there.

“Nice bed,” Lex murmured.

Yes, it was. Her gaze cut toward him, but Lex wasn’t looking at her. He was carefully walking around her bedroom, moving slowly on the hardwood. There were no creaks beneath his feet. The boards in her room had never creaked.

So that didn’t wake me.

He paused in front of her closet. His fingers lifted, curled around the knob, and when he opened the door, the hinges gave a low, long squeak.

For an instant, her heart seemed to freeze. No, no, the intruder
couldn’t
have been inside the whole time. That was…worse, somehow, than him breaking in and coming straight to attack her. The idea that he might have been in her home, watching her all along, when she thought she was safe—
no!

Lex turned on the light in her closet. She found herself creeping toward him. It was a big, walk-in closet. Shelves for her shoes were on the right. All of her clothes were carefully arranged on the left, put in order by garment type. So neat. So perfect.

Why do I still do that?
She shouldn’t be letting a ghost control her. Rage built within Sophie, twisting with her fear, and she wanted to grab those clothes and toss them onto the floor.

Instead, she held her body perfectly still.

Lex started pushing her clothes to the side, examining the wall behind them.

She cleared her throat. “You don’t really think he’s still here, do you?”
He’d better not be.

Lex paused in front of a small door, one that had been concealed by her clothes. The door only rose halfway up the wall.

“That’s attic access,” she said quickly. “Storage space.”

He opened that little door. A yawning darkness waited inside. Lex stared into that darkness, then said, “It would have been easy enough for him to wait in there, then come out when he knew you were asleep.”

Her cheeks burned red hot, then turned icy cold.
Inside with me, the whole time?

Lex crouched and headed into that darkness.

“No!” Sophie grabbed him. “Let’s call the cops, let’s—”

“This is why you hired me.” His voice was low. So confident. Too confident. “If the bastard is still here, I can handle him.”

His fingers slid over her cheek in just the briefest of caresses, warming her cold skin. And then he turned away and slipped through that narrow opening.

Hell. She went in right behind him.

***

Sophie had been a busy woman.

He stared at her house. At the car that didn’t belong near her curb.

He’d known that she could come back, sooner or later. He just hadn’t realized she wouldn’t be coming alone. She was in the house now, with that blond guy who’d touched her far too intimately. What were they doing? Who was he?

Sophie, if you’re scared, come to me.

She’d misunderstood last night. Her fear had been so strong. Too strong. She hadn’t listened to him. He hadn’t been there to hurt her. He’d just needed to make sure she was all right.

Sophie made the wrong choices in life. She always had. She lived too dangerously.

She picked the wrong lovers. Men who were twisted, no good.

She trusted the wrong friends. Friends who would leave her if they ever found out her dark secrets.

She needed him, so very much. And she didn’t even realize it.

But that was okay. Soon enough, she would. He knew it was time he stepped from the shadows. Her near-death had terrified
him
far too much. Now was his time of action.

Sophie would soon appreciate all he’d done for her. She’d be overwhelmed. She’d forget the lovers—those fools who should never have been with her—and she’d turn to him.

Finally.

He stared at the brownstone.

But…

Who is that blond bastard with my Sophie?

***

A light flashed on in the attic space, and Lex glanced over his shoulder. Sophie had followed him inside, and she’d just pulled the cord to turn on that overhead light. As he watched her, Sophie wrapped her arms around her waist, shivering a bit. It was much colder up in that attic, but there sure was plenty of space.

Plenty of room for the jerk to hide.

It infuriated him to think that the perp had been in Sophie’s house all along. Just waiting, biding his time until he waited for the perfect moment to strike.

“I don’t see any sign that someone’s been up here,” Sophie said, her voice sounding a little too sharp.

She was nervous, afraid. She should be. Because if she had a stalker who’d actually been so confident as to go in her house and stay there while she slept…

And then he’d made the move to approach her, with a knife…

Not fucking good. Those kinds of actions spoke of a serious, dangerous obsession. A fixation that would not end well.

He glanced around the space. There were some old boxes up there. They didn’t look disturbed. Nothing really seemed out of place there, at least, not on first glance.

“I don’t think he’s been here,” Sophie said, “and it’s cold, so let’s just—”

“Is that your gown?” Because he’d just seen the small scrap of red silk that lay pooled near another attic door—a second exit. Another small door that only reached up to the middle of the wall. A door that led—where, exactly? To the other side of the brownstone? The side that Sophie had said she was slowly renovating?

Sophie hurried forward. The attic had been floored so he didn’t have to worry about her falling through the ceiling. Before he could stop her, she grabbed that red silk.