Absolution (8 page)

Ha. As if he’d ever be subservient.

She’d hurt him more than he let on if his
hasty retreat behind a locked door could be counted on. His refusal
to kiss her spoke louder than words. He’d removed himself
emotionally from her, she assumed he remained by her side because
he’d been assigned to guard her. And, of course, for the sex.

The shower turned off. Something hit the
floor, clattering across the linoleum, and he cursed. Probably the
toothbrushes. Biting back a sob, she rolled to her side, putting
her back to the door. She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on
keeping her breathing even.

Maybe if he thought she was asleep, he would
crawl into bed with her to hold her tight, like he used to. If he
thought she was asleep, maybe he would feel safe caving into his
emotions.

The door opened behind her. She counted to
three between each breath, careful to keep her face relaxed even
when she sensed his shadow over her. Any second now, he would kiss
her forehead or tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

Like he used to.

He shut off the light and crawled into bed
behind her—as far away from her as he could manage without falling
off. On top of the damp covers.

She fought back the tears stinging behind her
closed lids.

***

Joseph lay on his side, propped up on his
elbow, resisting the urge to awaken Eva. The morning sun filtered
in past the shades, bathing her in a soft glow. Her hair lay across
her pillow. Her eyes looked swollen, as if she’d fallen asleep
crying.

Had she?

Anger still controlled his emotions, helped
him feel as though he hadn’t had his heart crushed by the woman
sleeping peacefully across from him. Why should he care if she felt
the need to be upset? He’d treated her like she wanted…a good
lay.

Fuck it all to hell and back. She asked for
it, she got it. If she found the sex lacking, she had herself to
blame. Sighing, he left the bed and pulled on his jeans, eager to
make a phone call in privacy. He grabbed his gun and his prepaid
cell, and after ensuring the key remained in his pocket, he crept
out the door. Shirtless and barefoot, he padded out to the hallway
to punch in Hugo’s cell number.

After three rings, Hugo picked up.
“Hello?”

“It’s me. I’m not staying on long for fear of
being tracked. How is the timeline going?”

“Is she okay?” Hugo asked, ignoring his
questions.

Joseph ground his teeth, taking a deep
breath. The man couldn’t even answer a fucking question when asked
directly. No wonder Eva frustrated him so much. She’d learned from
the best.

“She’s fine. I don’t know how much more I can
take of being stuck in one room with her, though.”
She’s
breaking my heart each time she opens her pretty little
mouth
.

“Suck it up, boy. This isn’t about you,” Hugo
snapped.

Joseph gripped the phone tighter. “You’re the
one who wouldn’t let me explain what happened last month. It’s your
fault she can’t handle being around me.”

“I’m glad I did, too. She doesn’t need a
loser like you in her life,” Hugo retorted.

He ground his teeth together, resisting the
urge to plow his fist through the wall. What an arrogant asshole.
“Listen, Hugo—”

“The meeting got moved up after all the
violence,” Hugo continued in a no-nonsense way. “I told the
frontrunner I demanded to speak to his boss, or I’d send my file of
all our secretly recorded conversations to the authorities.”

Joseph whistled through his teeth. “Why don’t
you just paint a target on your forehead?”

“Anything to move this along quickly. I need
Eva to be safe. From them…
and
you.”

The door to their room clicked closed, and
Joseph jerked around toward the sound. He ran a hand through his
hair and grimaced. Shit, she’d heard him. “I have to go,” he told
Hugo on the phone. “Too dangerous. I’ll call later.”

“Wait! Can I—”

Joseph hung up, smiling at the mental image
of the man glaring at his phone, sputtering in anger. The small
things in life felt too damn good to give up.

With a sigh, he entered their room. She sat
on the edge of the bed, glaring at him.

Why did she have to look so damn good?

***

Eva scowled. He smirked and slipped his phone
in his pocket. Her gaze dipped to admire his bare chest before she
reined her wayward thoughts in. Still, she couldn’t help but
remember how good his skin felt against hers. Asshole. She watched
his muscles ripple when he closed the door.

He turned and studied her with a resigned
expression. “What did I do now?”

“If you’re so miserable, why don’t you sit in
the corner and ignore me? Go in time-out or something.” She tried
to hide the hurt feelings behind a snide tone, but feared she’d
failed. If only she could find the right words to make him see she
wasn’t rejecting him. She just needed some time to process all the
new information he’d shoved down her throat.

Was that so much to ask for?

“If I needed to, I would.” With a blank
expression, he leaned back, one shoulder resting against the wall,
his arms crossed. “If you don’t want to hear a private
conversation, then don’t eavesdrop.”

“I wasn’t spying.” She shot to her feet,
advancing on him. “I wanted to see if you were still here or if
you’d left.”

“You should know better than to think I’d
shirk my duties.”

“Is that all I am to you now, a duty?” She
shoved his shoulders, and he stumbled a bit before righting
himself. “Some stupid assignment you’re forced to handle?”

Stubborn silence. Reaching toward her, he
picked her up, placed her out of his path, and walked to the pile
of clothes resting by the door.

He shrugged on his T-shirt and faced her.
“What am I supposed to say, Eva? What do you want from me?”

“I don’t like you being so cold. So distant,”
she said as she fiddled with the hem of her nightie. “Why does it
have to be all or nothing with you?”

He growled and stalked toward her, seeming to
double in size the closer he got. With her chin tilted up and her
face squared to him, she stood her ground.

“I haven’t been anything but what you asked
for. You asked me to make love to you. I did. You told me you
didn’t want a relationship. I said fine. I give you sex. You
complain it isn’t enough. It seems to me you’re the problem here,
not me.” He snatched his shoes off the floor, shooting her a dirty
look.

“Are you running out again in the middle of
another fight?” she taunted, not wanting him to leave. So, she’d
spat out the first thing that popped into her mind, sure to make
him angry enough to stay. Maybe he’d be so angry he’d shut her up
with a kiss. And she could continue the pretense of her not wanting
him. Or his kisses. “I don’t remember you being so cowardly
before.”

He clenched his fists, pivoting to face her.
His face darkened even more than before, the muscle in his jaw
ticked in warning. “First of all, you have to care about someone to
have a fight. You already decided we weren’t supposed to have those
feelings for each other. Second, the only coward in this room is
you
. You’re too scared to love me and too scared to let me
go.

“Well, pumpkin, you can’t have both. You
might be happy in limbo, but I’m done with this shit. I’m moving on
with my life. Until then, I’m stuck with you and your drama. So,
I’m going to go get us some breakfast. In case you hadn’t noticed,
we have no food. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

The door slammed behind him.

God, when had she become such a bitch? She
burst into tears. Why did she continue to yell at him, blame him
for everything? He was right—she’d done nothing except tell him
everything he’d done wrong. She’s driven him further away with each
jab she took. Maybe this time she’d struck too hard. She’d called
him a coward. He, who served in the war in the Marines, worked for
the ATF. She’d never felt so ashamed in her life. She couldn’t even
find the courage to apologize. She should run after him, stop
him.

She dashed to the door, heedless of her
pajamas and bare feet, and jerked the door open only to skid to a
halt in the hallway. Joseph was gone. A man stood right next to her
door, dressed in black.

“Antonio? What are you doing here?” she
asked. “How did you find me?” Why would he be in the same hotel? He
couldn’t have tracked her down. Unless…

He’s Cartel
.

She spun and ran for the room, but he’d
latched onto her hair and stopped her short. Antonio dragged her to
him until her back crashed against his chest and his hand slapped
over her mouth. The tip of a knife pressed on the side her
throat.

“Hello, darling. You’re going to come with
me, or your precious agent will be dead before he knows what hit
him. Even as we speak, I have a man following him, simply waiting
for my cue. Come with me like a good girl, or he dies.”

Foul breath dusted her ear, and disgust
rolled down her spine to make her shiver. She bit down on his hand
until he yelped and released her mouth. “You son of a bitch, you’ll
never outsmart him. He’s probably already shot your man and is
heading here as we speak. You’ll be nothing but a bloody carcass
once he’s done with you.”

She tried to hide the tremor of fear at his
words. Could Joseph be caught off-guard, distracted by their fight?
Maybe he wouldn’t see the attack in time to stop it. When she
pictured him lying dead in an alley somewhere, her heart skipped a
beat. How could she go on with her life knowing she’d been the
reason he died? Knowing her stupid temper had shoved him away,
making him forget to watch his back. Even now, he could be dead.
Because of her.

But he’d never be so careless, no matter what
she said, would he? He was a professional. He wouldn’t leave
himself open to attack.

Antonio grabbed her hair and jerked until her
neck arched backward and she was forced to look in his eyes. “I
wouldn’t be so sure. He looked awfully handsome in his green
T-shirt…and missing gun. He had quite the scowl on his face, as
well. Did you fight, perhaps? Make him angry enough so he forgot
his protection? Such a shame for him to go out unarmed in this
town.”

He twisted the hair in his fist, pressing the
knife deeper. Blood trickled down her neck, and she moaned. A
bluff? Or had Joseph left without his gun? She’d never seen him be
so careless. Of course, she’d never seen him so upset before,
either. She had to save him, or she’d never forgive herself.

“Why don’t you just kill me and be done with
it? You’ve tried twice already.”

“The game plan has changed. Your father is
getting too cocky. You’re our leverage. If he fails to do as I
demand, then you’ll be dead soon enough. But, I might need to have
a little fun first.” He used the knife to trace a path down to her
breast, and he groped the globe, squeezing hard. The handle dug
into her skin almost as much as his fingers. Eva squirmed.

“Weakling. Is this the only way you can get a
woman? With a knife and threats?”

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll see exactly how I
treat women.”

He slammed her face into the stucco and
groped her ass from behind. He bit down on her neck, and she
flinched at the pain. The wall scraped her cheek raw, but she
refused to whimper.

“Now, here’s how it’s gonna work, sweet
cheeks. You follow me without a fight and look happy to be doing
so. Any word out of you, and he’s dead. Got it?”

She nodded and mumbled a question into the
wall. He spun her by her hair until she faced him, and her back
rested against the rough stucco.

“What did you say?” he rumbled.

“I said, won’t it look odd for me to be
walking around in my pajamas in broad daylight?”

He laughed. “Not my problem. They’ll just
think you’re a slob.”

She spit in his face, smiling when he growled
and wiped his cheek clean using his free hand. He slapped her hard,
making the room tilt at an odd angle before her eyes. She flinched,
fighting the pain. The hell if she’d show him any weakness. The
bastard might kill her, but he wouldn’t break her.

He released her hair but kept the knife at
her throat and brought the phone to his ear. “Pedro? Are you still
on his tail? Good. I’ll let you know when I secure her in the car.”
He turned to Eva and gave her a mockery of a grin. “Okay, your man
is still alive…for now. Come with me, and he’ll stay that way.”

She hesitated. “How do I know you won’t kill
him?” She knew she would leave with him no matter what if it kept
Joseph safe, but she also needed to stall. The longer it took her
to get in his car, the less time she would be in his possession.
And the less time he would have to rape and mutilate her. “Why
should I trust you?”

He laughed in her face and shoved her toward
the elevator. He jammed the down button with his free hand, yanking
on her hair in the process. She bit back a cry.

“You don’t. And you can’t. But it’s the only
choice you have.”

She tried not to think of Joseph being
attacked without his weapon as Antonio shoved her inside. She tried
not to picture him shot in the head like the men in her building
had been. All brains and blood—sightless eyes. She hit the button
for the bottom level with a shaky finger. Eva slipped her hands
behind her back in an attempt to hide her weakness from her captor.
Joseph would be all right. He’d survived war and countless
missions. He knew how to stay alive.

And he’d save her before Antonio killed her.
She had to be brave and bide her time. The elevator opened, and
Antonio led her into the lobby and outside into the daylight. She
scanned the lobby, examining any men who lurked in corners. Maybe
Joseph would jump out and rescue her. When she realized she had no
one to help her, her heartbeat sped up.