Hitman's Revenge (a Forbidden Bad Boy Romance) (9 page)

I
watched
as the sun sank in the ocean, letting out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding. Ever since I’d been placed in the new space early this morning I had been on edge, looking for any sign of Jack amongst the sand dunes or any evidence at all that the household was on alert. But I had found nothing.

The man with a bandaged-up nose brought me my meals as usual, and I hadn’t been able to hold back the smirk every time I caught a glimpse of his black eyes. Served him right trying to attack me like that.

Colt had kept his distance, too, which wasn’t something I minded so much, but I couldn’t help but think he was watching my every move. Colt made me nervous with the way he talked about Jack and the way he casually mentioned that he was going to kill me. No sign of Colt meant that I was going to stay alive another minute, another hour, another day.

With a sigh, I turned away from the darkening sky, hearing the sound of thunder in the distance. I hated storms. Ever since I was a child I couldn’t stand the lightning or the thunder, all of the above sending me running into Jack’s room. He would be ready for me, allowing me to fall asleep in his bed, and as he grew older, he would put me back into my own bed before the morning.

Walking across the room, I flopped on the bed, turning my face toward the ocean to soothe my soul. At least Colt had given me a view to watch until either Jack rescued me or Colt got impatient with the waiting and finally killed me.

I couldn’t guarantee that Jack was coming to my rescue in the first place, no matter what Colt said. Our last visit hadn’t gone very well. Jack had been hot one minute, cold the next, and back then I didn’t understand why.

Now I did.

He had been pushing me away, protecting me the only way he knew how. He needed to disconnect his old life from his new life, keeping me safe instead of thrusting me into his harsh world—it had to be the only explanation. The alternative was just too awful to think about. I had been heartbroken for weeks, crying my eyes out thinking that Jack hated me and I hated him. I still resented what he did to me, but I could also understand why, as well. It was for reasons such as this situation that I found myself in. It had to be.

Closing my eyes, I allowed the weariness of the last twenty-four hours to take hold. There was nothing else for me to do but wait and hope.

I awoke to the lashing of the rain against the windows, the lightning flashing into the room like some dreadful horror movie. My dreams had been filled with my own death, how it might happen and the image of Jack standing over my grave as I was lowered into it, his face a mask of indifference. It was a disturbing sight, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Sitting up, I wiped a hand over my face and looked over at the alarm clock on the table, frowning as I noticed that it wasn’t lit like it normally was. It had been the only other item in the bedroom besides the furniture and the clothes in the wardrobe—hardly weapons that could be used to escape. I pushed aside the covers and climbed out of bed. I padded to the bathroom and flipped on the switch. When the light didn’t come on, adrenaline started to course through my body. Had the storm knocked the power out? Or was this it, was this to be my last night alive?

Out of the shadows, a hand snaked around my waist and another clamped down on my mouth. Tremors of fear snaked down my spine. Oh god, they had come for me. It was my time to die.

“Do exactly what I say, and we might get out of here alive.”

An altogether different feeling took over, one that was part relief and part fear as I recognized the heady voice that belonged to Jack. He had come! He was here, but I had to warn him.

I nodded quickly, and he eased his hand from around my mouth, his other arm staying around my waist as he turned me to face him. I could only see his glittering eyes from behind the ski mask that he was wearing, but it was enough for me to breathe a sigh of relief. “It’s a trap, Jack… but I knew you’d come.”

“A trap?” he whispered, his eyes searching my face. He shook his head. “Can’t be, not after what I had to do.”

“Colt is going to make you kill me.”

“Not if I can help it.”

I paused. He seemed so confident. Perhaps he was right, perhaps we could get out of this alive. “What’s the plan?”

His eyes narrowed and he released me, bringing a finger up to his lips and motioning to the bathroom. I followed his directions and walked in, closing the door behind us. “Listen,” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “We are going to go out the balcony door and down the side. It’s strong enough to hold our weight.”

“We can’t do that,” I whispered back, my heart in my throat. “There are snipers out there…”

Jack grinned, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “Not anymore.” It was then that I noted how wet his black clothing looked, the way he was making tiny puddles of water on the bathroom floor. “How did you get in?”

“The balcony, of course,” he replied, moving closer. “You’re still a heavy sleeper,” he remarked and I was suddenly aware of the small bathroom, the close proximity of Jack to my body and how the last time we were so close had turned out. I seriously doubted that we were going to have a repeat performance. “I need for you to follow me close. I’ve cut off the power, and the dumbass doesn’t even have a backup generator. We have thirty minutes, maybe less, before they realize that the weather didn’t knock out the power and discover the dead guards. I need for you to listen to me, Hazel, and we might actually survive this.”

“O-okay,” I replied, my voice shaking a little bit. He nodded and turned back to the door, opening it quietly. I followed close behind him as we entered the bedroom and walked to the balcony door. I watched as Jack eased the door open; the rain rushed into the room. It was balmy out, the rain was not cold like I had anticipated. Nervously I watched as Jack stepped out, his dark profile barely visible in the lashing rain. I had forgotten how tall he was and how broad his shoulders were. I had forgotten a lot of things about Jack.

“Are you coming?”

Flustered and scared, I walked out into the rain, the thin t-shirt and shorts plastering against my body. Jack expertly swung a leg over the balcony railing, reaching for me with his hand. “Come on, hurry now,” he replied, motioning with his hand. I hurried over and took it, ignoring the fact that our skin was actually touching for the first time in years. He pulled out a length of rope from inside his jacket and wrapped it around my waist, then tied a tight knot, his fingers so daringly close to my skin. “I’m going to lower you down,” he explained, testing the rope.

“What?” I said, my nerves really kicking in. “No, I can’t do this.” There was no way I was going to allow him to do that. I would be hanging on for dear life to a small rope.

Jack grabbed my chin and forced me to meet his eyes through the rain, the steely strength of them calming me somewhat. “You will do this, Hazel,” he said firmly.

“Okay,” I said, my voice tiny. I didn’t believe this was going to work. Any moment now there was going to be the crack of a gun or the sound of all hell breaking loose as the compound realized we were trying to escape. This was not going to work. But I had to trust him.

“Pull it together,” Jack snapped. “Sling your legs over and jump, Hazel. I am going to hold you and lower you down, I swear.”

Seeing no other choice, I bit my lip and swung my legs over, looking down below. There was nothing but inky blackness under my feet, no indication that there was anything to break my fall.

Oh god, I can’t do this.
I couldn’t make myself do this. I felt a hand at my back and all of a sudden I was hurtling toward the ground, the rope tight around my waist and tugging painfully. But I didn’t even have enough time to scream as my feet touched the soft wet grass a moment later. My heart was pounding in my ears, but there wasn’t any time to think, to react.

“Come on, let’s go,” Jack said quietly when he appeared next to me, grabbing my hand. Together we ran across the grass and out to the dunes of the beach, the feel of the sand putting me one step closer to freedom.

This was too easy, my mind kept telling me with everything single step I took alongside him, expecting at any moment a rush of bright lights illuminating us and a squadron of thugs blocking our way.

But they never appeared.

Jack yanked me to the right, and in the blinding rain I saw a jeep in the distance hidden next to a sand dune. He pulled me toward it, releasing my hand at the back of the vehicle before walking to the driver’s side. I took it as a motion to get in and quickly moved to the passenger side. He gunned the engine and roared down the beach, leaving the house in its wake.

We had done it, we had escaped.

But a tight ball of dread within me told me it wasn’t over yet.

I
drove
like a bat out of hell, off the beach and onto the main road, constantly checking the mirrors to ensure that we hadn’t been spotted. All I saw was the inky blackness, and when no other vehicle with guns blazing appeared in my rearview mirror, I finally took a breath.

I had fucking done it. I had snuck into one of the most fortified houses and had been able to steal Hazel back right under their noses.

I had outsmarted Colt. But as I thought over what I’d had to do to finally get to the balcony, to Hazel’s room, it had crossed my mind that it was a trap.

The snipers had been amateurs—they had no partners to cover them should someone like me appear to take them out. It was like they’d been put there specifically for me to kill… and slaughter them I had. One by one, like dominos they’d fallen. But it didn’t matter anymore; I had her, she was safe. At least for the time being.

Pulling out onto the highway, I allowed myself to look over at Hazel. She hadn’t said one word since I pushed her off the balcony, and for one moment I thought that I’d pushed her too far. I really didn’t know how she would handle seeing me again after the last time; I hadn’t exactly been a gentleman. She’d put me on a pedestal and I’d let her down so bad.

I glanced over and saw that she was staring straight ahead, her hair just starting to curl around the edges as it dried in the warm air of the car. She was drenched, just like I was, her breasts outlined through her soaking wet shirt. The sleep shorts left little to the imagination, and I found myself looking up at her face, my internal need growling. I couldn’t not look… she been all I’d dreamt of all these years. The only image that had kept me sane.

But I didn’t need that reaction right now. She depended on me now, for her safety and the ability to get her back to her normal life. Her face was pale, but in the shadows of the car I saw tell-tale marks upon her normally clear skin. I frowned then, hating the fact that she was caught up in this mess. They’d hurt her, and she had the bruises to show for it. God, she should’ve been at home in her bed, oblivious to all this shit. Not with me, definitely not with me.

Turning my attention back to the road, I tried not to think about the woman next to me. She was a woman now, no longer some girl who used to follow me around.

When I’d broken into the room after subduing the snipers and cutting the power, I’d taken a moment hidden in the shadows to look at her curled up in the bed. She was so damn innocent, and I had rubbed my chest at the feeling, the familiar ache that was inside me. Her hair was longer than I had remembered; the dark circles under her eyes and the cuts on her face angered me to no end. There was also a sense of relief knowing that she was in my sights and almost out of danger.

But now we were away from the action. The stress of the situation was dissipating, and I had no fucking idea what to do with her, what to say to her.

“Jack?”

“Yeah?” I asked, my hands gripping the steering wheel, reveling in the way she sounded out my name, a whisper upon her lips.

“Thank you.”

Some of the pain eased in my chest, and I fought back a smile, ripping off the mask I had forgotten I was wearing. “You’re welcome.”

“What made you come, Jack? It was too dangerous…”

That was the million-dollar question, but I couldn’t tell her the answer and further involve her in my life. Not after this. It was Hazel, for Christ’s sake. Of course I wasn’t going to leave her at the mercy of Colt.

She was all I had left, all that I cared about in this pitiful world. But no, I told myself again, I couldn’t tell her that. No, she would take it and run with it, and unfortunately I couldn’t allow her to do that.
We
weren’t in the cards. There could and would never be an us.

“I owed it to Nixon to see you safe,” I finally decided on. My answer was a cop-out, and immediately I knew I had disappointed her. She wanted the fairytale ending, but I wasn’t her prince slaying the dragons anymore… I was the devil in her life.

Hazel didn’t say anything, and I forced myself not to look over to see the reaction on her face that I knew was there.

We needed to get as far away from Colt as possible. That was the objective, not these heavy-sided feelings that I was having for Hazel. She was an objective, and I would be smart to remember that.

Anything else would be just asking for trouble.

I
studied
Jack as he swung the jeep into the motel parking spot, glad that we were going to stop for at least a little bit.

For three hours he had driven silently, putting miles between us and Colt, allowing me to breathe a bit easier with each passing minute. By now Colt would know that I was gone, and I knew he wasn’t just going to let me go like that and move on with his life. Jack had embarrassed him, and he wasn’t going to take that lightly… unless having Jack save me was his plan all along. My head buzzed with questions, but exhaustion was setting in.

Jack shut off the engine and climbed out of the jeep, grabbing a bag from behind his seat before he looked up at me, his eyes boring into mine. I wanted him to give me some kind of comfort, something to make me feel like he cared, but the look in his eyes told me I wasn’t going to get it. This was the all-business Jack, the one I didn’t know.

“Come on,” he said briskly, reaching into the glove compartment and extracted a handgun. “Let’s go inside.”

Swallowing hard, I climbed out and followed him into the motel room, wrinkling my nose at the musty, old-people smell. Jack closed the door behind me and threw the locks with precision, barring the outside for now. I sank onto one of the double beds and ran a hand over my face, the events of the past couple of hours, and days, starting to sink in heavily. I had gotten away; Jack had come to save me in my biggest time of need, just like he had always promised. My protector—but at what cost? And I didn’t know how I really felt about it right now.

“Are you okay?”

I looked up to find Jack leaning against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. I took in his dark tousled hair, the sharp features of his face, and I shook my head, the tears threatening the back of my eyes. Jack might have come, but I had still sustained damage. “N-no, I’m not okay. I’ve been kidnapped, beat up and pushed off a balcony, and I don’t know why!”

He choked back a laugh, and I crossed my arms over my chest, not finding the humor in my words. “It’s not funny, Jack.” Why was he being so cruel?

“I’m sorry,” he said, the laughter fading from his eyes. “I just forgot how honest you could be, Hazel.” His eyes took on a menacing look as he realized what I’d said. “I’m sorry they hurt you.”

I shrugged and his expression darkened, the anger on his face alarming, twisting his once kind features into something nasty. “Where?”

I pulled up my shirt to reveal my sore ribs. The ache had become worse since my little drop from the balcony, but they weren’t the only wounds I’d suffered.

“I was kicked some there and on the other side, as well. I was punched once in the jaw, but it’s just about healed now.” I’d examined my face in the mirror right after Colt had taken me to my new room. The bloom of the bruise on my jaw had faded to a sickly yellow; my sides looked like I had been run over a few times with a car. But at least I didn’t think I was bleeding internally, and nothing felt broken, so I felt lucky in that regard. It could have been so much worse.

Jack pushed away from the door and leaned down, his warm hands examining my jaw with surprising gentleness that made me want to cry. “You have a nasty bruise,” he replied, his breath on my cheek.

“Tell me about it,” I said weakly, all of my attention on the hand that was gently probing my skin. “At least it’s yellow now. Probably matches my hair.” I caught a glimpse of a quick grin then, gone so fast that I thought I had imagined it.

“Lie back,” he said briskly, removing his jacket. My mouth went dry as he revealed the fitted t-shirt, the outline of a well-defined chest and abdomen on display for my eyes to feast on. Jack had definitely maintained his physical appearance over the years. Me, I had enjoyed a good bit of fast food, and the freshman 20 wasn’t doing me any favors either. Between school and holding onto the garage duties, I didn’t have much time to run anymore. In high school running cross-country had been my life. I enjoyed the fact that I could clean my mind and focus on the scenery for miles on end. Life had been so simple back then. The days when Jack wasn’t so distant… or so hard.

“Hazel.”

Realizing that Jack was still waiting for me to lie back, I forced myself to do just that, focusing on the water stains on the ceiling as his hands pulled up my shirt right under my breasts and started to press on the sore ribs. “Ouch.”

“How bad does that hurt?” he asked, his hands sliding across my skin to touch the other side.

“It’s just a twinge,” I replied, feeling the warmth of his fingers as they gently probed my ribs. My stretching and walking during my time in the cement cell had no doubt helped take some of the soreness out of them.

“Good, I don’t feel anything broken,” he said, pulling my shirt down before leaning over me, his eyes mirroring something akin to concern. “I think you got lucky.”

I nodded and he helped me back to a seated position before resuming his post at the door, no expression on his face.

“I will kill the bastards for what they did to you, Hazel. I will get revenge for you and your father.”

I should have felt relief at his words, but the mention of my dad and Jack wanting to put himself in harm’s way yet again left me feeling empty. It was like he wanted to get himself killed. But the conviction in his voice reminded me that I didn’t know this version of Jack. This was the man who lived in the shadows, the boogeyman that every person feared would murder them in their sleep. As much as I wanted to believe that Jack, the Jack I knew was still in there somewhere. I just wasn’t so sure that he still existed.

I swallowed hard and looked away from his piercing stare, unsure of what to even say next. We hadn’t been this close in years, and though a thousand questions ran through my mind, I couldn’t bring myself to ask the important ones. Not yet anyway. “So,” I said instead, “what’s the plan now?”

“The plan now,” Jack started, “is for you to get some rest and for me to figure out our next move. Colt won’t give up looking for you, or me. But I need time to figure out where we go from here.”

“But I’m not tired,” I said softly, wringing my hands together as I took a sudden interest in the wall next to me. I wasn’t. I was too keyed up on what I’d been through and the man that was now in my sights.

“Hazel, just do what I tell you and get some sleep,” he replied, opening the door. I looked up and caught his eye, his expression still blank. He sighed and his voice softened. “I don’t know when we will be able to sleep again, so you might as well try to get some now. I will be outside for a few minutes, so make yourself comfortable.”

He shut the door behind him, leaving me alone and suddenly furious. I’d had enough of this cold-hearted bastard of a man, and I needed to come up with my own plan to get the old Jack back before it was too late.

I
stretched
my arms out over my head before sitting up gingerly on the bed. My ribs were still sore but not as bad as yesterday, so I took that as a plus. Looking around, I didn’t see Jack straight away. Good. I wanted to go and freshen up a little before he returned.

Moving off of the bed, I padded to the bathroom and threw open the door, gasping as my eyes collided with Jack’s. He was just stepping out of the shower, his hands frozen in midair as he toweled off his shoulders. I couldn’t help it, my eyes travelled over his tanned, muscular, scarred chest. His abdomen trail dipped to his well-defined obliques in the center of his body. His penis lay semi-hard against his dark nest of hair, outlined by two powerful, muscular thighs. My mouth went dry at the sight, my fingers itching to run down his muscles and feel every inch of him.

My face flushed, and I turned away finally, averting my gaze even though I didn’t want to. “Sorry,” I said, looking over at the door. “I didn’t know you were in here.”

“That was apparent,” he replied, the sound of him toweling off bringing another flush to my cheeks. God he was gorgeous. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah… What about you? I didn’t hear you come in or go to bed. Why are you being so distant?”

He didn’t reply and pushed past me, our eyes meeting for a moment, the tiny towel wrapped around his midsection, much to my disappointment. I really could have looked at him all day.

The conversation was over.

With a sigh, I closed the bathroom door and used the facilities, taking a moment to look at myself in the mirror. God I was a sight. My t-shirt was wrinkled, the thin material nearly transparent in the bathroom light. My shorts were a shambles and definitely not fit for traipsing about the east coast on the run. I had no shoes, no brush for my unruly hair, no makeup to cover the horrific bruise on my jaw.

“No wonder he doesn’t want you,” I mumbled to myself, splashing my face with water. Jack looked like a goddamn model with all his rugged scars and disjointed nose and day-old stubble, and yet one bruise made me look hideous.

I pulled open the door and tried not to look disappointed as I came upon a fully clothed Jack, dressed in all black once more. Naked he was gorgeous, clothed he was dangerous.

“There’s clothes in the bag,” he replied evenly. “Take a shower, get dressed. I don’t know when we will get another.”

“Do I stink?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

His eyebrow raised and he turned away from me, placing some things into the bag on the dresser for me to take.

“Hurry. We have got to get on the road.” So much for that then, I thought, as I picked up the items off the bed and dresser and moved back into the bathroom. If he was going to give me the silent treatment, then fine; two could play at that game. But as I dug into the bags, I grinned and pulled out my favorite shampoo that smelled of tropical islands—coconut and vanilla. Jack could pretend that he didn’t want to remember the past, but some things he couldn’t allow himself to forget, apparently. I set the shampoo aside and proceeded to grab more of the bathing items he’d acquired for me, glad to see that he had thought of all the things a woman might need.

Did he have some experience in that arena? Surely a gorgeous man like Jack hadn’t lacked for girls. The thought soured my stomach, and I forced it away. I tried to tell myself that I didn’t care who Jack slept with… he had rejected me long ago, back before he had become so absorbed with his work, and yet I still clung to my virginity, hoping one day he’d change his mind.

Quickly, I took a shower, dried off, and slid on the matching panty set, smiling ruefully as they fit like a glove. Surely he hadn’t measured me in my sleep? Next came the jeans that were of perfect size, followed by a sleeveless top and pair of sandals to cover my aching feet. Jack had thought of everything. I brushed my hair and gathered all the items, shoving them back into the bags. I wasn’t going to just leave them here. Jack made it seem like we wouldn’t be home for a while, and I didn’t want to go without the basic necessities.

Jack waited by the door, his bag in his hands, and before I could say thanks for the supplies he cut me off abruptly.

“We need to establish some ground rules.”

“Okay,” I replied, holding my bag in front of me, trying desperately not to picture what his body looked like under his clothing. My mind should’ve been on more important things, I knew, but I hadn’t seen him in so long I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

His expression was stone cold as he eyed me, those blue eyes I knew so well were now hard and unfeeling. “You need to listen to everything I say. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to walk away, you walk away. No questions, no comments or back-chat. You just do what I say when I say it, and maybe you’ll make it out of this whole damn mess alive.”

“You mean us, right?” I asked softly, catching his words. He shrugged, the movement slight, but it was not the answer I was looking for. He was hiding something from me. What, I wasn’t sure. Maybe he’d found out why Colt was after him and me. Maybe he had found out the full reason why Colt decided to turn on my dad. Whatever it was, I was concerned; his words had no comfort to them.

“Do you understand what I am telling you, Hazel? These things can save your life or get you killed.”

“Yes, okay,” I said with a shrug of my own. “Run, walk away, I got it. Want me to be your fucking slave, too?”

Jack licked his lips, impatience flickering over his features as he eyed me and crossed the room to grab the bag out of my hands. His fingers grazed across my knuckles. I steeled myself from making a complete fool by throwing myself at him, longing for a simple hug, the touch of another human after what I’d been through. I stood in place as he stepped back, gathering both bags in his large hands.

“Maybe you shouldn’t talk, either.”

I smiled behind his back. I was getting to him, that much I did know. And there was only so long he could keep up this tough guy act… at least I hoped so.