Lawless (20 page)

She aimed and pierced the tin of another can. 
Bored out of her mind, she'd spent a considerable amount of time shooting, and
it was starting to show.  More times than not, she'd hit the coffee can first
shot.  She'd even moved farther away from the targets and could still hit them
a good portion of the time.

But enough was enough.  She barely had a week
left with Milo, and she was surprised to find she now spent more time worrying
about leaving him instead of testifying.  In fact, she almost looked forward to
accusing her father face-to-face and watching him pay for his crimes.  Now that
she'd seen the possibilities life had to offer, she cursed her father for
ruling over all the lives around him like a vicious dictator.  He deserved to
die for that if anyone asked her.  Years in jail would not replace the precious
time he'd stolen from those around him, whether it was out of fear for their
lives or for the lives he'd carelessly taken.

No more wasting her life on fear.  She'd own
her time and live each day to the fullest.  If that meant she died sooner, at
least she'd perish while she was living.  And this mess between her and Milo,
this not talking to each other, was ridiculous, and she'd had enough.  She
slipped the gun into Milo's holster and headed inside.

She left the handgun hanging on the pantry door
and moved to the entry of the living room.  He sat on the brown leather couch,
his eyes glued to the pages of his book.  She knew he knew she was there.  If
he could sense her presence while he was asleep on the couch, he damn well
could sense her now.

"We need to talk."  She walked
forward until she stood directly in front of him.

"No, we don't."  He didn't spare her
a glance.

"I say we do."

He looked at her beneath his brows.  "Are
you safe?  Are you cared for?  Then my job is complete."

If she didn't know his background, she'd be
deeply hurt.  "I'm sorry our night together had such a profoundly negative
effect on you.  For me, it was a night I'll cherish forever."

He slammed the book shut and shoved it to the
side as he stood.  His black t-shirt showcased the outline of his well-defined
chest, and she had to refrain from reaching out to him.

"Damn it, Ariana.  Don't make it sound
like I'm some insensitive cad and that making love didn't mean as much to me as
it did to you."

She much preferred the fiery side of him to
being ignored.  "If it meant so much, then why are you so cold to me?"

"Because staying away from you is the only
way I can guarantee I won't make the same mistake again."

"So making love to me was a mistake?" 
Even though she understood what he meant, it still stung.

"Don't twist my words.  Don't make me out
to be a jerk.  You know very well why we shouldn't have done what we did."

"That's just it, Milo.  I really don't
understand.  You're not doing any less of a job because of it.  Nothing bad has
happened.  Nothing has changed except for the fact you now avoid me.  Help me
understand."

He drew his brows together, a pained looked
echoing in his eyes.  "Being close to you messes with my perception.  It's
hard to keep a clear head when all I can think of is us by the lake, and the sight
of you laying there."  He closed his eyes, and she wasn't sure if that
helped him block her out or gave him a more vivid picture of them together.

She put a hand on his chest.  "I want you
like that now," she whispered.

He opened his eyes, agony and confusion
reflecting from within.

"Deny it all you want, but I can tell you
need me, too."  She moved her fingers to his jawline, tension pulsing
beneath her fingertips.  "Why do we have to resist?  Why can't this just
be what it is?"

"Because."  He heaved a sigh and took
a step back.  "Because you have a price on your head.  Because I was
charged with protecting you.  Because not keeping a clear head could endanger
you.  The list goes on.  Beyond all that, you're leaving in a week, and we won't
see each other again, so what's the point of allowing myself to grow more
attached to you?  It will just be a bigger heartbreak in the end."

That hurt the most of all.  She'd fallen for
him, too, and it seemed like such a tragedy if they never had the chance to
find out how deep their love could grow.  They deserved that chance.  "What
if I come back?  After the trial?  What if I ask Quinn to make this my home?"

Emotions played across his face, and he didn't
answer for a few moments.  "Is that what you want?"

An excited, yet terrified tremble rolled
through her.  She'd never fully given herself the luxury of dreaming that staying
with Milo might be a real possibility.  She'd yearned for it, but never
believed it had a chance of happening.  "I know I don't want to lose you."

"Could you be happy here?  When I first
met you, you insisted to Quinn you wanted to be sent somewhere tropical."

"That was before I knew what existed
here.  I'll admit I'm surprised Aspen has stolen my heart, but I think I've
fallen for this quaint little place and the people here."

He wrapped an arm around her, and she happily
fell against him, her heart bursting with joy.  He claimed her mouth in a
desperate kiss, and she answered with equal hunger.  The taste of his kisses
was her own special paradise.  He turned and laid her on the sofa, following
her down until he covered her.  She wrapped her arms around his neck as she
sent him a glowing smile.  "Who needs tropical when I have you to keep me
warm?"

He laughed as he moved in for another kiss.  "Who
knows, with the two of us around, this place might turn tropical."

She wiggled beneath him, loving the weight of
his warm and hard body pressing against her.

A rumbling sound interrupted their silliness,
and Milo turned to give his vibrating cell phone a dirty look.  The offending
device continued to pulsate on the coffee table next to them.

"Whoever it is can call back later." 
Milo captured her mouth again, and the phone stopped.

He pushed her t-shirt up over her breast and
tugged down her bra.  "Mmm…turquoise.  My new favorite color."

She gasped as he sucked a nipple into his
mouth, knowing she'd never tire of the tiny explosions he set off inside her.  "I
have to admit, I was worried I did everything wrong the other night."

He stopped and looked up at her.  "What do
you mean?"

"I just…you know, don't have much
experience with men."

"You weren't a virgin.  You told me about
Danny."

She smiled, loving the concerned look in his
eyes.  "Danny was the only person I've slept with besides you."

He paused as though digesting the information. 
"Shit, Ariana.  I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No."  She trailed her fingers down
his cheek.  "It was amazing, and I'm glad it was you."  She arched
toward him, offering her breast again.  "Make love to me, Milo."

He stared at her, and she was afraid she'd
ruined the moment for them.  Then he nodded.  "Okay."  His mouth
closed over her, and she shivered with delight.

The phone vibrated again.

"No," he whispered as he moved to her
other breast.

She slid her fingers through his hair, holding
him to her, not caring if his touch made it hard to breathe.  The hard proof of
his desire pressed against her, and she moved, allowing him to settle more
firmly in her apex.  She knew from experience the other night, she needed to be
patient and enjoy all the facets of lovemaking, but the anticipation of having
him slide into her, of him stretching her as he filled her sent a sharp quiver
straight to her core.

The phone vibrated for a third time, and Milo
stopped.  "Damn it.  Why the hell can't they leave us alone?"

He shifted and grabbed his impatient cell phone. 
His annoyed features chilled as he looked at the screen.  "It's Quinn,"
he said, sending her a worried glance.  "Hey," he said into the
phone.

He listened intently, never taking his eyes off
her.  Something about his gaze left an uneasy mark on her intuition.  "Uh,
no.  She didn't."

She tried to swallow past her building fear.

"No, she didn't tell me that, either." 
He frowned.  "Okay.  You could be right, and that would be a problem.  Let
me check."

He stood and headed into the hallway toward their
bedrooms.  Ariana jumped up and followed.  She was pretty sure she knew what
Quinn had told him and where he was headed.

Ariana entered her bedroom to find Milo
glancing about the room, the phone still at his ear.  "Where is it?" 
He directed the question to her.

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling as
she stepped forward and removed the cell phone from her dresser drawer.  He
shook his head at her, a look of deep disappointment on his face.  He turned on
the device and pushed a couple of buttons.  Her call log popped on the screen.

He wouldn't meet her gaze then, and she knew
she'd broken something between them.

"There are three calls.  One to your cell,
one to what looks like your office, and one to someone with a seven-seven-three
area code."  He glanced at her then, his gaze harsh and demanding.  "Who'd
you call, Ariana?"

Shame swelled inside her.  She'd thought she'd
completely trusted Milo, but she hadn't.  If she had, she would have told him. 
"Kenzie.  My friend."

Milo relayed the information to Quinn, who
spoke to Milo for another minute before their conversation ended.

He pocketed his phone, eyeing her with such
distrust that it clawed at her soul.  "How could you do that, Ariana?  Worse
yet, why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know.  I didn't think you'd
understand.  I knew you'd be mad, and I didn't want to cause any more problems." 
Her lip trembled as the first brick in her world crashed to the ground.  Others
would surely follow.

"How can I understand if you don't give me
the opportunity?  And cause problems?  Really?  Five minutes ago, we were
planning a future together, and yet you couldn't trust me enough to tell me? 
I'd say that's a problem."

"I'm sorry."  More than she could
say.  She swallowed, trying to get a grip on her breathing.  "Kenzie was
on TV, very upset.  She thought I was dead.  I couldn't let her believe that. 
Not after her mother just died."

"You should have told me.  I could have
helped."  She couldn't bear the accusatory look in his eyes.

"I did call Quinn, but he didn't answer. 
I couldn't let her suffer, Milo."

"So you put your life in jeopardy.  Not
only yours, but mine."  He shrugged.  "This whole town, really.  If
these guys traced that call, they're going to come here looking for you, and
who knows what will happen if someone gets in the way."

She covered her mouth with a shaking hand and
blinked, forcing unshed tears down her cheeks.  "I wouldn't do that."

"You did, probably without a second
thought."  He shook his head.  "That's a pretty selfish way to live."

His blow sliced deep into her heart.  Maybe she
was more like her father than she realized.  No.  She folded her arms and tried
to swallow.  She'd reached the farthest edge of her corner, and there was no
way out but to tell the truth.  It would come at a hell of a steep price
though.  "No one is going to come after me here."

He snorted.  "You don't think?  Whoever
your father has hired has some far reaching guns.  They've tracked you down to
four different locations, and Quinn is a master at disguising and protecting
people.  For all we know, they're on their way here right now.  Where did you
put my gun?"  He turned toward the door.

"They're not coming, Milo," she
nearly yelled.  She covered her mouth as a whimper escaped.  She couldn't be
more ashamed of herself.  "They haven't found me.  They never did."

He stopped and turned toward her, eyeing her
with a piercing look.  "What do you mean?"

"I made it up."  She sniffed, praying
she could get her words out before her tears overtook her.  "I told Quinn
I'd been spotted so he'd move me.  I was going crazy, being holed up in the
same spot for months."

Milo's jaw went slack for several seconds
before he closed his mouth.  "You're kidding me.  You let Quinn risk his
job so you didn't have to be
bored
?  Good God, woman."

"I'm sorry.  I had no idea Quinn would do
that," she whispered.  She slumped on the mattress and wrapped her arms
around her, afraid if she didn't, her soul would shatter into tiny pieces.  She
dropped her gaze to the carpet, no longer able to meet Milo's condemning look.

"Well, that's just great, isn't it?" 
He slammed a fist against the door, making her flinch.  "Quinn will be
here tomorrow to pick you up.  I'm sure it will be a comfort to him to know
your life isn't in danger."

The room went silent.  Milo turned and left.  A
few seconds later he slammed his bedroom door.

Ariana got to her feet and quietly closed her
own door before she curled into a ball on her bed.

*        *        *

"Got it, Tony."  Manny turned to his
nephew with a triumphant smile.  He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he'd
started to question his ability.  He'd expected Ariana to make another call
that day or even that week.  When that hadn't happened, his life had started to
look like a very expensive bet gone wrong.

He could have lost it all.

Tony looked up from his own laptop sitting
across from Manny's on the tiny round table in their cheap-ass hotel room in
Salt Lake.  "You serious, man?"

"I told you she'd call her friend, and I
told you she'd turn on the phone again."  He leaned back in his chair,
pretty damn pleased with his brilliance.  "Boss is gonna be real happy
with me."

"With us," Tony corrected.  "You're
giving me some credit, right?"

"Yeah.  That's what I meant."  At
least that's all Tony needed to know.