Mind Games (Games Thriller Series) (30 page)

“You really want to spend all that time with me?” he asked as he held the door open for her.

“Not particularly, but what else am I going to do?”

His expression fell.

“I’m kidding,” she said, poking him in the stomach when she passed him.

“That was just mean.”

She held up two fingers when the hostess asked how many in their party. “You really don’t know me very well,” she said after the hostess sat them and walked away.

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that, are you kidding?” She allowed a smile to play on her lips.

“I forgot, you like to play games, don’t you?” he said reaching out and taking her hand. He turned it palm up and slowly traced the lines with his finger.

Her cheeks flushed and his smile widened.

She went to pull her hand away and his grip around her wrist tightened.

“I told you a long time ago that I didn’t want to play games with you. I lied.” He continued tracing the lines on her palm and wrist.

“Stop.” She inhaled deeply.

Intimately familiar with all the erogenous zones on a woman’s body, Chris knew how to exploit each and every one and he was pleased that he hadn’t lost his touch. He stopped and released her wrist, closing his own eyes and blowing a slow stream of air from his lips to gain control.

“Can I get you two something to drink?” the waitress asked.

“Ice water
,” both of them said at the same time without taking their eyes off each other.

“Do you know what you would like?”

“Not yet,” Jessica said, breaking eye contact. “But if you wouldn’t mind bringing the water now, that would be great.”

“I know what I’d like,” he said in his smooth
, sexy voice and scanned her up and down after the waitress left.

Jessica blushed. “What is your favorite song?” she asked, changing the subject and opening the menu.

The waitress arrived with the water and took their order. She left a moment later.

“I’m not sure whether to drink this or dump it over my head,” Chris said.

“Same here,” she said and took a sip. “Now, what’s your favorite song?”

Chris thought for a while and shook his head. “I don’t know, right now one doesn’t stick out. There are so many that I’d categorize in my list of favorites.”

“Okay, favorite artist?” she asked, broadening the scope.

“All time or current?”

“All time.”

“Pink Floyd,” he said without hesitation.

“Current?”

“Nickleback,” he replied. “You?”

“Add to your list Aerosmith and Bon Jovi and we pretty much match up.”

He smiled. “A rocker
. I would have never guessed.”

“Babe, I’ll always be a rocker at heart.” She laughed. “Loud music and fast cars, that’s me.”

“Aren’t you getting a little old for that?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m only twenty
-nine.”

“If I didn’t know exactly how old you were, I might actually believe that.”

“How old are you?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’m twelve years younger than you are, almost to the day.”

“When’s your birthday?” He piqued her interest.

“July seventh.”

“Sevens.” She looked at him and laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Seven is my lucky number.” She broke out in goose bumps. “You turn thirty-five this year.”

“You definitely don’t look your age
, Jess.”

The waitress came with their food.

“How old do you think she is?” Chris asked the waitress.

“Chris
,” Jessica scolded.

“I don’t know, early thirties?” she guessed.

Jessica smiled. “How about him?” She pointed to Chris, turning the tables.

“Mid
-thirties.” She smiled at Chris.

“Bingo
,” Jessica replied, laughing. “And don’t you dare tell her how old I am,” she warned Chris and he snapped his mouth shut.

The waitress looked between the two of them.

“I’m a little older than he is,” Jessica replied.

The waitress smiled and wandered away.

“A little?” He picked up the burger and took a bite.

She thought of several different comebacks, all of them crude and all would elicit Chris to do something equally as inappropriate back. Instead, she smiled and took a bite of her salad.

“This is nice.” He leaned back in the seat.

“Yeah, it is.”

“I can’t remember the last time I had a date,” he said and then started to laugh. “Yes I can.” He looked at her as the dinner he brought her flashed through his mind. Her in the white floor length dress, she had looked like a goddess.

“Seriously, that was your last date?” She caught his memory.

“Yes.”

“What about before that?”

He thought. “High School,” he finally said. “Senior Prom. I think my date’s name was Cheryl.” He took a deep breath. “I screwed around in college a little, but the scar made it tough and by the time I got out, Frank had drafted me to set up the complex. That took a few years and by the time it was finished, we already had our first prisoners. He said I was brilliant and the fool that I was believed him.” He glanced out the window.

“You were brilliant at editing,” she said causing him to look at her. “What I saw you do with that video, it was amazing.”

“Really?”

“Yes, just like the pictures you showed me in your apartment. They were brilliant,” she blushed. “You seem to have a natural brilliance that comes through in everything you do.”

He raised his eyebrows.

She laughed nervously. “Even the way you seduce me...”
she paused meeting his gaze. “You were just as brilliant being evil. Now you just have to channel that the right way.” She studied her hands. “So Frank was right, you are brilliant.”

A shadow passed over his eyes.“Evil?”

“Yes Ty, you were the embodiment of evil when we first met.” She met his gaze. “And you were brilliant enough at it to scare the hell out of me.”

“You were scared of me?”

“Yes.”

He was miffed. “The only time I saw fear was the first time in the chair,” he said. “Then all I saw in your eyes was defiance.”

She laughed. “I played the game well, didn’t I?”

Chris recoiled in his chair.

“You started protecting me long before you realized it, didn’t you?”

His jaw dropped.

“I was trying to survive and the videos you played for me that first day on the treadmill, they gave me exactly what I needed to do just that.”

“What was that?”

“Your weakness,” she said.

“Which was?” He shifted uncomfortably in the seat.

“You needed to hear them beg and you needed to win.” She finished her water. “I never gave you either of those things.” She paused. “I never gave you the power you so desperately wanted over me. If I had, we wouldn’t be sitting here today.” She sat back in the chair. “The only thing I didn’t plan on was falling for you.”

He laughed and ran his hand through his hair. “You have got to be kidding me.”

She shook her head. “I am almost as good as you at playing games and Mike could have told you that.” She smiled at the frazzled look on his face. “You were absolutely right though. I did want you, but I wasn’t ever going to tell you that down there.”

“You continue to surprise me.” He waved for the check.

“I am far from an angel, Chris. Not quite as far as you, but.” She shrugged. “I know how to drive someone crazy and I know how to make a man fall in love with me.”

“You mean you know how to manipulate people,” he said and the waitress headed over. Chris peeled two hundred dollar bills and handed them to her.

“Keep the change.”

The waitress became completely flustered at the massive tip, thanking them over and over again and Chris glanced sideways at Jessica.

“I guess,” Jessica said answering his earlier statement as they headed outside. “But I’m not really a manipulator, I’m a motivator.”

Chris laughed thinking about the junkie he put in rehab. “So you did know how to use the power.”

“No, I didn’t know how to use it,” she said seriously.

He looked down at her as he held the car door open. “You may not have realized it, but that’s probably what you were doing.” He kissed her on the lips. “Either way, I’m glad because in some way, you granted me this freedom that I have now.” He walked around the car and slipped into the driver’s seat.

“Ty, what do you really want?”

“The dream,” he said without hesitation. “To be with you,” he added for clarification as he glanced over at her. “For the rest of my life.” He put the car in gear and slid smoothly onto the road, heading back toward Maine.

“We have to deal with Frank’s ghost before I can think about a future anywhere,” Jessica said as she watched the scenery pass by.
If we live through that then I’ll worry about what I’m going to do about you.

Chris cast a sideways glance at Jessica. “All I know is when I’m with you
, I’m the person I want to be.” He paused. “And when I’m not, I’m more likely to revert back into the old Ty we know and love,” he said sarcastically.

“You don’t have a split personality
, Chris. You can control that if you want to.”

“But without you, I don’t necessarily want to control it.” He let the silence fill the car. When he pulled into the garage and cut the engine, he sat still, mulling over what he wanted to say. “I used to think you ruined me, but actually what you did was save me.” He slowly got out of the car and stretched. “Are you coming in?”

Jessica hesitated, studying the hopeful glint in his eyes. He had done an amazing thing for her this morning and she was grateful, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tempt fate.

“I promise, I’ll be a gentleman,” he said, trying to alleviate her fears.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” she spouted before she could stop it, making her blush.

“I’ll teach you how to play chess then I can dazzle you with my culinary expertise.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling. “And if you’re game we can watch the show here and I’ll burn it to a DVD for you.”

“I don’t know.” She hesitated and closed her car door. It would be refreshing to have a man cook for her. With the exception of pancakes, Tom was a disaster in the kitchen.

“I promise.” His eyes pleaded with her.

“Can you really keep your hands off me for that long?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Can you?”

Jessica shrugged.

“You just have to understand the ramifications if we can’t,” he said.

“Do you want me to stay or don’t you?”

“Yes. I want you to stay.”

“All right, I’ll stay.” She followed him into the house amazed that it was already four in the afternoon. “You know where I was supposed to go today?”

“No, where?”

Her breath hitched. “I was supposed to go to the doctor’s today.” She turned to Chris. “Tom wanted us to have a baby.” She blinked back the tears, gritting her teeth against them.

Chris took her in his arms, holding her as she cried, knowing that she had to go through this if she was ever going to let him go. He cloaked his mind, thinking about the child she was now carrying. His child. Smiling, he kissed the top of her head. “Shhhh,” he cooed.

She finally pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. “I can’t have children anymore.” She sniffled.

“I know.”

“How?”

“Medical records.”

Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as she studied Chris.

“I pulled medical and dental records for everyone I kidnapped,” he said. “That way I’d know what issues we might be dealing with medically, and the dental records.” He shrugged. “We altered them so they matched back to the person we wanted the world to think was dead.”

She looked at him with disbelief. “How’d you do that?”

“I’m a w
hiz at computers and can hack into any system. There isn’t a firewall built that I can’t hack through.”

Jessica laughed. “What, are you a member of Mensa or something?”

“Ty was. He’s a fucking genius.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Wow. Is there anything that you can’t do?”

He thought for a moment. “I can’t get pregnant,” he replied with a silly smile.

Jessica couldn’t help but laugh
. “No, you can’t.”

Chris grinned.

“Are you really considered a genius?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, you’ve got the whole package going on, haven’t you?” she said and sat on the couch.

“I don’t know about that.” He shrugged and walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a beautiful marble chess set. He set it down on the coffee table and took a seat in the chair. “Chess is a game of logic and strategy forcing you to think at least a move ahead,” Chris started.