Falling for Her (3 page)

“Hey, Sugar . . .
darling
.”

Shit. No such luck. Why did he always seem to think it amusing to turn her last name into an endearment? She pivoted, fixing him with a get-away-from-me stare. “Shouldn’t you be behind the bar? It looks busy out there.”

Tall, with green eyes and black hair, he was a handsome man, but the way he’d watched her from the first day they met gave her the shivers. And not good ones. If she’d had a crystal ball and seen him in it, she would have picked a different name for herself. Something like Hortense Ratman. See what he could make of that one.

“Ah, darling,” he drawled, dramatically clutching his heart. “Why won’t you admit you want me and stop playing hard to get?”

The man scared her. Something shimmered in his eyes that just creeped her out. She’d tried to politely rebuke him, but that hadn’t worked so maybe it was time to change tactics.

“You seem like a decent enough guy, but I’m seeing someone so here’s the bottom line. I don’t want you, Kyle, and I’m not playing hard to get. Good-bye.” She turned to head for her office. A hand wrapped around her arm, fingers digging into her skin.

“You think you’re too good for me? Well, I got news for you, Sugar. I
will
have you.”

She jerked away, practically running to her office and slamming the door. Oh God, she had to get out of this place. Why did men look at her and see something they wanted to possess, no matter what she wanted? What was it about her that put a gleam in their eyes, reminding her of the way Rodney’s gaze lingered on the parts of her she really, really wished he’d never noticed? Every time she’d been forced to sit with him in her father’s living room, his gaze had roamed over her as if she already belonged to him.

Maybe that was why Jamie was the first man in her twenty-five years to spark her interest. He didn’t want any part of her, and for some damn reason, she felt safe with him. There was more to it, though. When he’d been in her little car, so close she could feel his body heat, his arm had brushed hers, and something new had taken possession of her body. She had wanted him to kiss her, wanted to know if it could be different. That in itself was something she’d never thought to want from any man. Not after having Rodney Vanders’s lips and hands on her.

No thinking about Rodney. He’s in your past and will never find you.
Although she didn’t doubt he was searching for her with her father’s help. She’d hidden her tracks as well as she knew how, and now all she could do was pray nothing showed up anywhere to give her away. When two cops were looking for you though . . .

No, she wouldn’t even think it. So what if they had access to resources most others didn’t? It wasn’t like they were big-city cops, trained to find their quarry without doing much more than clicking on the Internet. Her father barely knew how to turn on a computer and Rodney, although more proficient, was no technical genius.

Sweat drenched the back of her neck at the thought of Rodney getting his hands on her again. Sometimes she could go days without thinking of him, then something would trigger the memories. It was usually when a man looked at her in a way that reminded her of the bastard.

Yet, the guys at K2 Special Services were different. Not only did she feel safe around them, but not one of them had leered at her in a way that creeped her out. One, Brad Stewart, flirted with her sometimes, and she thought if she gave him encouragement he would ask her out. He had honest eyes, though, and didn’t scare her. Although he was cute, there’d been no chemistry, for her anyway.

No, she had to be attracted to a golden-haired hottie who couldn’t stand the sight of her.

CHAPTER THREE

S
ugar glanced up from the Excel spreadsheet when K2’s front door opened. A woman she’d never seen before walked in, followed closely by Jamie, his hand resting possessively on her lower back.

Sugar’s heart did a stuttering dance in her chest, and it hurt. At the pain, she idly wondered if she was having a heart attack. Resisting the urge to press her hand over the ache, she mustered a smile. It should have occurred to her a man as hot as Saint had a girlfriend.

“Hello.” That sounded cheerful enough, right?

The woman glanced at her, then turned her attention to the K2 lobby, scrutinizing it as if she was assessing it. Kind of weird, really, the way her gaze lit on each item as if calculating the value. Definitely not the type she’d ever have connected with Jamie.

“Wait here, love,” he said, leading her to the leather sofa.

Sugar knew right away he’d never called her
love
before by the way the woman startled. What was going on? She slid her eyes to Jamie to see he was watching her. Was he waiting for her reaction? If so, she wouldn’t disappoint.

She gave her perky cheerleader smile, the one she’d watched the popular girls give, and walked from behind the desk. “Welcome to K2, Miss . . . ?”

“Jill,” Jamie said. “This is Jill. See that she’s happy.”

With that, he strode to the inner door, punched in his code, and put his thumb on the pad. The door slid open and he disappeared inside. All righty, then.

“Ya heard him,” Sugar said, drawing out her southern accent. “What can I do to make you happy? Coffee? Tea? A back rub, maybe?” She probably shouldn’t have said that.

“What is this place?” the must-be-made-happy Jill asked.

If Jamie hadn’t shared K2’s purpose, she wasn’t about to, but it pleased her that Jill was clueless about what he did. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m only filling in for their regular receptionist for a few days.” Apparently, the devil was at work, because she added, “My regular job’s at the Booby Palace.” Languid brown eyes looked her up and down, giving Sugar the impression she was found lacking. Go figure.

“Why am I not surprised? Jamie’s taking me to see a black-and-white movie, a film noir.”

So the gloves were off. Was that supposed to put her in her place? Was she supposed to ask what a film noir was as if she were some backwoods, ignorant idiot? And why was she supposed to care, anyway? “No kidding? Bet he’s looking forward to that. You seem a little tense. Would ya like me to make you a cup of soothing tea, a ginseng or chamomile perhaps?”

“No thank you,” the apparently-not-happy Jill said.

Well, she’d tried. What did Jamie see in her? In a million years, she’d never have put him with Jill. The woman was just too . . . beige. With her brown eyes and hair, she really should opt for colors in her clothing other than, well, brown. It wasn’t her problem though, was it? When she heard the door behind her open, she grabbed the phone and pretended there was someone on the other end. At the last second, as Jamie escorted Beige Jill out, he glanced over his shoulder, their gazes colliding.

“Y’all have a great time,” she called after them.

When he disappeared from view, Sugar exhaled, the air rushing out of her lungs. What had just happened? Some kind of strange spark had seemed to travel on a direct line from him to her, stealing her breath. She rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and tried to decipher exactly what she’d seen in his eyes when he’d looked at her. It hadn’t been his usual dismissive expression, but something similar to what she’d seen in her cat’s eyes when stalking a bug—intense focus and want.

But he didn’t want her. He’d made that very clear. Shaking off her ridiculous notions, she gathered the billing statements she’d printed out from the spreadsheet and took them to Maria’s office.

“I’m done with these,” she said, standing in the doorway.

“Come on in.” Maria rotated her shoulders, then sighed. “I could use a break.”

Sugar pulled a chair over to the side of the desk. “Jamie’s girlfriend seems nice.” Well, hell, why’d she say that?

Maria’s eyes lit with interest. “You met her? When? He’s never brought this one around.”

This one? How many were there? “Just now. He brought her here, parked her in the lobby with me. Guess he needed to see the boss or somethin’. They’re on their way to the movies.”

“What was she like?”

The conversation was turning a little uncomfortable. For some reason, she didn’t want to talk about Jamie behind his back. “Like I said, nice. Kinda bland though.”

“Hmm. Aren’t they all?”

What did that mean? “Are you saying he has more than one girlfriend, and they’re all bland?”

Maria shrugged. “Seems that way, although he only sees one at a time and never for more than four or five months.”

Sugar wanted to ask more questions, but she was still uneasy talking about him. She handed Maria the statements. “I think you should take a look at two of these before they’re mailed. Based on the work y’all did for them, I think the billing hours aren’t enough.” She handed over the two statements in question, watching as Maria pulled up the spreadsheet on her computer, narrowing her eyes as she scanned it.

“You’re right. Good catch.”

“Thanks.” The praise warmed her and gave her hope that maybe Maria would consider her for the accounting manager’s position.

After printing corrected statements, Maria handed them to Sugar. “My time’s spread so thin, sometimes I get in too much of a hurry. I’m good at the financial side of the business, but my love is the law. As soon as I can get everything organized enough to bring in someone to take over this part, that’s where I’ll put my efforts.”

Interesting. “In what way?”

Maria stood and went to a small refrigerator in the corner of her office. “Water? Or if you’d prefer, I have sodas.”

“You got a root beer?”

“I do. Saint drinks them, so I keep them on hand.”

They liked the same soft drink? Not that it meant anything, but at least they had one thing in common. She took the offered soda and sat back, listening to Maria’s future plans for K2. Her friend must trust her if she was willing to share the information.

They’d met six months ago when Maria had come to Jake’s condo, looking for him. To Maria’s disappointment, Sugar hadn’t known the whereabouts of her next-door neighbor. Nor did she know the full story on what had been going on between the two of them then, but the second time Maria came by, she’d had Saint with her. Having fully embraced her persona as Sugar Darling by then, she’d acted the quirky, flirty role she’d adopted for herself. The kind of woman Rodney would never think to look for.

Unfortunately, Jamie took an instant dislike to her, and his opinion hadn’t changed in the times she’d been around him since. For a while, she’d thought maybe Maria was playing matchmaker, inviting her to cookouts and lunches where Jamie was present. Nothing had come of it, and if her friend once had intentions in that regard, she’d apparently given up.

Maria pulled out the bottom drawer and propped her feet on it. “Our plan is to branch out by offering consulting for corporations wishing to do business in foreign countries. We can ease their way by taking care of all the legalities. That’s my specialty, international law.”

Sugar didn’t know what all K2 did. There was a lot of secret stuff going on, and unless she missed her guess, some of it involved dangerous missions. She was pretty sure Jamie had just returned from one. Hannah would have feared being anywhere near the place, but Hannah was dead. Sugar, on the other hand, thought it beyond exciting.

Although she’d planned to wait a few more days to bring up the subject, it seemed an opportune time to express her interest in the accounting manager’s job.

Furtively crossing her fingers, she made a little wish as she took a deep breath. “If you’re taking names, I’d like to throw mine in the hat.”

Maria raised a brow, then picked up a band from the top of her desk. She swept her long, black hair back and deftly wrapped the band around the ponytail. Was she stalling for time to figure out how to say no? Sugar pressed her lips together to keep from jabbering on, which she would do if she tried to talk. To her ears, her heart sounded as loud as a jackhammer busy tearing up asphalt.

“You’ve certainly impressed me, Sugar, but I think the position requires someone with an accounting degree and experience in managing a company’s finances.”

“Both of which I have.” During the days while Rodney was at work, she had secretly taken online classes from the University of Alabama, earning her bachelor’s degree.

Not wanting to draw unwelcome attention to herself, she never shared details of her life. She’d never implied to anyone she did anything more than work as an accounting clerk for the Booby Palace. Her love of numbers was one of only two things she hadn’t been able to bear giving up. The other, her eye color, was unique enough that people noticed it. Both of which her father and Rodney could use to eventually find her if they exercised what few brains they had.

The job at K2 would be higher profile, but she’d weighed the risks and decided being surrounded by a gang of badass ex-SEALs tipped the scale. Proof of how badly she wanted to get away from the Booby Palace.

It was time to take the plunge. “I have a Bachelor’s of Accounting degree and plan to get an MBA. At the Booby Palace, I have full control of all their finances and payroll. I’ve worked there for almost two years, and my boss, the owner, has even turned over his personal investments to me. He won’t be happy to lose me, but . . . but I hate working there, Maria.”

“Why?”

Damn. She hadn’t meant to say that last part. Maria might be a friend of sorts, but this was a job interview, and she shouldn’t be saying she hated the place she worked. The door had been opened, however, so she trudged on.

“There’s a guy, the bartender, and he creeps me out. He doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. I just think it’s time to move on.”

“Would you like my brother to have a word with him?”

Oh, wow and holy mother moly. Maria’s brother was scary as hell. Kyle would probably crap in his pants if Logan Kincaid cornered him. What if it turned into a fight and someone called the police? The last thing she needed was that kind of attention.

“Ah . . . although tempting, it’s probably better if I just find a new job.”

Maria stared at her long enough for Sugar to want to fidget.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

My life story
. “I’m not sure what you mean. If you don’t think I’m qualified, I understand but reserve the right to disagree.”

“You’re hired.”

What? What? “Pardon?”

Her friend smiled. “You have secrets, but don’t we all? I know I do. Maybe someday I’ll tell you mine. The job is yours if you want it after we talk salary and benefits.”

It was a close call, but Sugar managed to resist slobber-kissing the hand Maria placed over hers. “Okay, so I make thirty-five thousand a year at the Booby Palace. I think I’m worth more than that.”

“Have I ever told you how much I like you, Sugar? I know I asked you when we first met, but is that really your name?”

“No and no.” Well, hell. Might be a good idea to slap some duct tape over her mouth. Much to her surprise, Sugar found herself telling Maria about Hannah Faith Conley. Not everything, but enough to explain why she’d changed her name.

Hannah crept out of the bed with practiced stealth. If the sleeping man caught her, there would be a punishment, but she couldn’t bear to spend another second next to him. That had been happening more and more lately, her repulsion toward him causing her to take such a risk. It wasn’t her; not really. She didn’t have the courage to defy him. A stranger had taken up residence in her head, one who seemed to take control of Hannah’s body and make her do things that she was too scared to do on her own.

She curled up in a dark corner of the room, and watched the man sleep.
You have to escape before he kills you,
the woman’s voice said in her mind. “I don’t know how,” she whispered. Where would she go? How would she live? Those questions worried her, but the most frightening question of all; if she did run, what if he found her?