Run From Fear (37 page)

She shook her head. Even though part of her wanted to fling herself into his arms and never let go, she knew there would always be part of her that would feel weak. Useless. Foolish at her misplaced faith in herself. “I can’t.”

He stepped toward her and she kept her eyes glued to the hardwood floor. His big booted feet came into view. His scent hit her, deep and rich and calling to someplace deep inside her even as she steeled herself to push him away. She could feel his warm breath ruffling her hair.

“Please. Please be with me.”

His boots blurred as the tears welled, and she swallowed past the thick knot in her throat and once again shook her head.

“I love you,” he said, the words sounding ripped from his chest. “I love you,” he said again, softer this time.

She felt like she was being eaten alive from the inside out, his words ripping through her so painfully she was surprised there wasn’t blood pouring from the hole in her chest. “You went behind my back and had me followed. I can’t trust you.”

“I promise I’ll never do anything like that again. I’ll show you that you can trust me. We can get past this, Talia. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Part of her wanted to so badly it was like a beast howling inside. How, it wondered, could she be so stupid to push this man away? This man who had never done anything to hurt her and everything to help her.

This man who loved her and, God help her, who she loved back.

But love wasn’t enough, a lesson she’d learned too many times in the past. It wasn’t enough to overcome the black hole of betrayal that had formed in her gut, spinning and sucking her in. Gathering force as it pulled in all the pain of her past and too many examples of why she could never place her faith in anyone other than herself.

“Actually,” she said, the words rasping her throat like sandpaper, “all you’ve shown me is that I can never really trust anyone.”

S
utherland made bail.” Nolan didn’t try to hide the anger in his voice.

“That was quick.” Jack grimaced as he glanced at the clock on the nightstand that flanked the king-sized hotel bed where he’d crashed last night. It was just after 11:00 a.m. Less than fourteen hours had passed since Sutherland had been picked up.

And less than twelve had passed since Jack had his heart ripped from his chest and ground into the floor. The twelve-hundred-thread-count sheets were like sandpaper across his skin, mocking him with their softness.

“They could only book him for assault and stalking. So he got to go straight from his comfy hospital bed to the courthouse, without even a second spent in jail,” Nolan replied.

“You still think he’s the serial rapist?” Jack sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed, wincing as the sliver of light peeking through the curtains seared through his eyeballs and bored into his brain.

“He’s my best lead so far, but I have no grounds to arrest him yet. There was nothing on him or in his rental car to link him, and for whatever reason we’re having a
hell of a time getting a warrant pushed through to search his hotel room.”

Jack forced himself to the mini coffeemaker and managed to get it going with hands that shook a little from last night’s excesses.

“And with him so eager to roll over on Margaret Grayson-Maxwell, the judge was happy enough to get him out of their hair for a few days.”

Jack punched the power button. “Where did you say he was staying?”

“I didn’t. Stay away from him, Jack. You did enough damage last night that he’d have a case if he wanted to bring assault charges against you. Don’t make trouble for yourself.”

Like hell. Jack wasn’t afraid of trouble, especially after last night. What the hell did he care if he went to jail for pounding the fucker’s face in? It wasn’t like he had anything going for him anyway.

Jack said good-bye to Nolan and nipped his pity party in the bud. Jesus, the only thing worse than a guy with a broken heart was a guy who laid around wallowing and moaning about his broken heart.

And he’d done enough of that last night, after Talia had torn him to shreds. He’d told her he loved her and she’d kicked his ass out. He’d tried to protest, tried to convince her that she should keep him around just in case.

Even he had to admit that he’d been thinking less of her safety and more about the fact that if he just stayed close, he’d be able to wear her down. Hell, even seduce her back into his arms and into bed. Show her with words and body how much he fucking worshipped the ground she walked on.

How much he loved her.

Talia wasn’t about to let him play into her fears, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall for his all but nonexistent charm. With her tormentor in jail, she’d pointed out, she couldn’t be much safer.

“I’ll be fine without you,” she’d said, cutting him to the quick, as it was clear she wasn’t just talking about last night. “I don’t need you.”

Part of him wanted to sink to his knees, bury his face in her stomach, and beg for another chance.

But he’d been kicked around enough, cast off by other women he was convinced needed him—first his mother, then Gina. He didn’t have a ton of pride left when it came to moments like this, but he had enough to gather his things and get the hell out.

Though he never spent excessively and took pride in living a lifestyle that didn’t so much as hint at his massive trust fund, last night he’d perversely decided to say fuck it.

Talia was going to fault him for being wealthy, when he would have happily spent every last cent on her if it would make her life better? Well, screw it. He was going to live large and for once take advantage of what his money could afford for his own goddamn self.

Instead of heading back to the efficiency complex that had been good enough on every other business trip here, last night he’d driven across town to the Four Seasons.

Booked a suite. He proceeded to annihilate the minibar and then called down to room service to bring him up a bottle of bourbon whose price had been marked up about a thousand percent.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t drink her
image away. The look of absolute betrayal, the fury when she realized he’d been keeping tabs on her.

The humiliation when he admitted he’d bribed Susie to hire her. He knew it would do no good to tell her that since Talia had started, Susie had told him on several occasions what an awesome job she’d been doing, that sometimes she felt like she should pay him for sending such a great person his way. It wouldn’t take the pain away, so he’d kept his yap shut.

Jesus, all he’d wanted to do was make her happy, and he’d managed to fuck even that up. By the time he made it halfway through the bottle, he felt like everyone and everything in the world was mocking him and his attempts to get Talia to fall for him. Even the luxuries of the five-star hotel seemed to taunt him.

She should be here with him, sinking her bare feet into the plush carpet. Soaking in the Jacuzzi tub big enough to take a swim in.

Rolling around on that giant bed.

He’d wanted to treat her like a queen. Wake up every morning and tell her that he loved her. Give her everything she ever wanted because he wanted to make her happy, not because he expected anything back. Show her that everything he gave her was given freely, with no strings or obligations attached.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and muddled his way over to the window. He threw back the curtains and let the bright sunlight penetrate his skull. Hoping the pain would distract him from the empty, hollowed-out feeling. Hoping it would drown out the voice in his head that mocked him for being a stupid idiot.

What made him believe this thing with Talia could
end up differently, when nothing had ever worked out before?

He sucked down the contents of the minipot and pulled up his phone. Jack knew Talia would freak out if the news of Sutherland’s release caught her off guard. He quickly texted both Talia and Rosario that Sutherland was going to be released on bail soon. And while he didn’t think the guy would be stupid enough to try anything, especially when the woman bankrolling him was lawyering up and refuting every one of his claims against her, it would be a good idea for them to be careful.

Not that Sutherland would get close to them even if he wanted to. Jack would see to that. After a shower and breakfast of room service, Jack made short work of finding out where Sutherland was staying. Amazing what a good relationship with the local cab companies and a couple of twenties could get you.

He let out a mirthless laugh when the cabdriver told him he’d dropped Sutherland off at the same hotel Jack had been staying in up until last week. Jesus Christ, the guy had been right under his nose and he hadn’t known a thing.

A quick diversion in the form of activating the emergency exit alarm was able to distract the desk clerk from his post long enough for Jack to duck behind the counter, call up Sutherland’s room info, and make himself a card key.

Blocking all thoughts of Talia, he walked across the hall and called the elevator. He cautioned himself not to let his temper get away from him, but before his visit was over, Sutherland would have no doubt what would happen to him if he or Megabitch Grayson-Maxwell ever tried to fuck with Talia again.

He slipped from the stairway and was headed for the first camera on the floor when the elevator’s ding nearly sent him to the ceiling. Heart beating a million miles an hour, Gene ducked back behind the door, but not before he got a good look at the familiar broad back and hard profile of Jack Brooks. He watched, barely breathing, as Jack stepped off the elevator and headed toward Sutherland’s room.

Fury surged inside him. Sutherland was his prey. He’d stuck himself in the middle of Gene’s plan and tried to harm Talia.

The bloodlust had risen up the night before when she’d been attacked. It had screamed at him to take revenge on the man who messed with his claim. He’d kept his control by a thread, knowing that if he lost it at the restaurant and killed Talia’s would-be attacker right then and there, he’d never get to Talia.

He’d never complete his mission.

Now that last thread threatened to snap. He would kill Sutherland, and he would kill Brooks too, for keeping him from Talia this long.

He watched as Jack used a card key to gain entry, heard Sutherland shout in surprise as Jack shoved the door open. Gene eased the door to the stairwell open and crept along the wall, keeping himself out of the camera’s view. Fortunately the hotel’s security system was far from sophisticated, and with a few slices of his knife, the camera was out of commission.

He systematically took out the rest of the cameras on the floor. As he got closer to Sutherland’s room, he heard
shouting. As he reached up to knock, there was a loud thump of a body hitting the door hard enough to shake the hinges.

His hand froze.
What do you think you’re doing?
For once he didn’t try to shove his mother’s voice from his head. What was he doing, taking on these two men, bigger than him and obviously trained fighters to boot?

They might have brawn, but he had the far superior brain—or at least he should. The high emotions and lack of sleep the night before were clearly affecting his processing. No, Jack had added another layer of perfection to his plan, and Gene nearly hadn’t seen it.

Clutching his small duffel bag in one hand, his knife safely tucked up his sleeve, Gene retreated back to the stairwell to wait.

He didn’t have long to wait. In less than ten minutes, Jack reemerged. Nearly delirious from anticipation and the lack of sleep, Gene had to stifle a laugh. For someone who was supposedly a security expert, Jack was totally oblivious to the fact that he was being watched as he walked down the hall and called the elevator.

Gene waited a few minutes after he disappeared behind the elevator doors. When the hallway remained deserted, he made his move.

He walked swiftly down the hallway to Sutherland’s room. With all of the security cameras out, he didn’t worry about his presence being detected. He gave Sutherland’s door three swift raps.

As he hoped, Sutherland assumed it was Jack again. He flung the door open. “What the fuck do you want now?” he demanded.

Gene knew from watching Sutherland this morning
that the other man was in bad shape from the fight the night before, and now Jack had roughed him up even more. Good thing, since under normal circumstances, it would have been hard for Gene to overpower this man.

Today, though, it took only the split second from the time Sutherland flung open the door to when he realized the person outside wasn’t Jack for Gene to make his move.

Lunging forward, Gene caught Sutherland by surprise as he shoved him back into the room and simultaneously kicked the door shut. Sutherland tried to fight but Gene landed a blow to his already bruised ribs. Sutherland doubled over, wheezing in pain.

He started to straighten up. “What the he—”

His words broke off on a gasp of pain and shock as Gene sank his knife deep into Sutherland’s abdomen. Right below the sternum so he wasn’t hampered by any bone. The blade sank to the hilt with a meaty, tearing sound. Sutherland’s eyes bugged out and he made a choking sound as he tried to push Gene away with hands that had gone weak.