I could feel everything now. Her heat. Her pulse.
“You’re either going to help us or we’ll get the information another way. Either way, my brother and I will find out who you work for.”
I could feel the thump thump thump of her heart.
I moved my head back, studying every detail, every hair strand. “You shouldn’t have fucked with my family,” I said softly.
“I don’t even know who your family is.”
My gaze lingered on her mouth, wanting a taste. “If that’s the truth, you’ll soon find out. And you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
“Let’s move,” Tanner announced.
I stepped back, catching her as her knees sagged.
I turned to see Tanner at the door.
Still holding her hand, I pulled her forward, and we stepped out into the hallway.
An entire wall of guards waited there. As one, we moved to the exit.
* * * *
CARSON
My social media research skills were lacking, severely.
I never would’ve found any of this about him, whoever he really was. Was his whole doctor charade just that? A farce?
He had my hand in his, and as we stepped into the hallway, twenty bodyguards surrounded us. Six on one side. Six on the other side. We had men in front of us and men behind us, and while we were walking, the blond asshole scrolled through his phone and acted like we were going on a casual stroll through some park.
It pissed me off.
I had no clue who these guys were, but they thought I worked for the guy who’d killed Jonah’s fiancée? I guess? That didn’t bode well. They were wrong about me, but my God... How to convince them? I needed to get out of this alive.
Just stay alive.
I started trembling again, because I shouldn’t ever have had to think something like that.
Jonah tightened his hold on my hand.
I’d thought he was nice. I’d been wrong.
So fucking wrong.
Chapter Fifteen
CARSON
We drove north out of the city, eventually turning in at a well-hidden driveway.
There was a gate. And woods. Lots of woods.
The driveway wound up to the front of a huge, sprawling one-story house.
I watched Jonah and his brother. Neither seemed worried about me studying our location.
Jonah took my hand again and led me inside. My heart sank. There were armed guards all over, a huge and expansive lawn, and trees.
There were so many trees everywhere. Inside, the house had more trees in a center atrium, and even sort of a yard. If I hadn’t been brought here against my will, I would’ve thought that was super cool.
The front entryway was glass, and with glass doors opening to that atrium area, I could see all over the house. The kitchen was to the right, a living room across, and the room on the left looked like a library. There were a couple bedrooms. This was my dream house.
Fuck these guys. Just fuck them and their obvious extreme wealth.
Tanner’s phone buzzed, and he halted.
Jonah turned back, waiting.
“I gotta go,” Tanner said.
Jonah’s hand flexed against mine, holding tight for a second. “What do you mean?”
Tanner was still focused on his phone. “I need to go meet the guy for the phone.” He looked up, grinning as his gaze found our entwined hands. “I’ll be gone the night. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
Jonah snorted, taking me down the hallway to the left. “That’s literally nothing.”
“Not true, little brother.”
Jonah tugged me forward through a myriad of hallways and took a left that seemed to go into an entirely different building. He pulled me into a back bedroom, and then through to the bathroom, which included the biggest shower I’d ever seen. It took up the entire side of the bathroom, and except for the tile against the wall, everything was clear glass. Not the smoky glass to help with privacy—this was totally clear. There was no privacy at all in this bathroom.
Jonah dropped my hand, stepped into the shower, and turned it on, ducking past the waterfall showerhead.
He tested the water, waiting until a bit of steam began to rise, then came back out.
“Strip,” he said.
I closed my eyes, because no way was this happening to me. Not me. This was a scene from a movie or something. But when I opened my eyes, he was still there, still waiting, and the look in his eyes was set. He was not messing around.
“No,” I croaked, stepping backward.
“Take your clothes off. Now.”
I shook my head again. “No. This is not happening.”
“I’m a doctor. I don’t give a fuck about nudity. Strip now, or I will strip you. I have to see if you have a tracker or not.”
A what? I frowned, but he wasn’t wasting any more time.
He came forward, taking my hand and spinning me. He trapped me against his body, and in the next second, my shirt was up and off. One snip, and my bra was gone. He ran his hands over me. He was moving fast and efficiently, but thoroughly.