“Now you want me to be worried and take steps to help you?”
I lay my head against the window again and flipped him the bird. We drove through town back toward our safe house, after a good ten minutes of back roads and turn arounds to lose any possible tails.
“Was she there?” he asked on a whisper. As if he dared not hope.
I turned to look at him fully. “I can’t be sure. I think it was her but she’s not the same as you remember, or how I saw her in those sendings from Esteban. If that was her, and I emphasise the if, then she’s a changed woman, so be ready for that.”
He tugged my hand into his. “I don’t care what she looks like or how she acts. If I can see her alive, it would be enough. Will they let me talk to her, see her?”
I locked our hands together and wrapped my other one on top of his. “I’m sorry, they were scared and didn’t even want to help. On the way out, they directed me to take you with me. I don’t think she’ll see you. When she first appeared, I had to talk her into showing her face to me. They’re scared.”
“Of what?” he asked, shifting his gaze between the road and me.
“Of the same thing we are.”
Chapter Eleven
Once inside the safehouse, Fin’s shoulders finally fell away from his ears as he threw himself on the couch with a long-suffering sigh.
“I don’t know why you seem worn out. You’re not the one who went in there to face them. Helix is powerful, although I don’t know what his abilities are. He just feels strong.”
Fin patted the couch next to him. “It can be that way sometimes. If they don’t give you a clear show of power, you can still feel the danger present.”
I took the seat beside him and lay back in the cushions, but he tugged me under his arm to cradle my head against his chest. “Please, tell me what happened, from the beginning.”
Before I could even inhale, he added, “What really happened, not one of your colorful explanations that glosses over the pertinent details.”
This guy seemed to be reading the same damn book as Hawk and the Chief.
I huffed. “Fine. I got out of the car and went to the door. Helix let me in, and we made stupid small talk while we sipped on whiskey. Once we established he didn’t want me anywhere near his boss, she called and ordered him to take me to the basement.”
He jerked beside me. “And you followed him to the basement, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “If it helps, I didn’t actually want to, but it seemed like they weren’t going to talk to me until his boss was comfortable.”
My explanation didn’t seem to placate him because his mouth opened and closed a few times, wordlessly.
I continued on, regardless. “I waited in a tiny room for a while, then she came in, but she wore a disguise. We chatted about the weapon and eventually we reached an agreement and she dropped the disguise and we spoke normally. But she still refused to help us, citing that she knew who owned the weapon and doesn’t want to get in Esteban’s crosshairs.”
He met my eyes, his jaw tight. “Is that it?”
“Yeah, I tried to convince her but she’s too scared and refused. So, then I came outside and there you were, the end.”
A wave of exhaustion washed over me, the headache surging back into the front of my head. “I’m going to go to sleep. This headache is back. I probably just need to sleep it off.”
He ran his hand down my back as I levered to my feet and went into the bedroom. I was already in my pajamas and under the covers before he entered.
While he undressed, I didn’t bother to hide my interest. I might not be in good shape to do anything about my desire for him, but I could definitely look. He gave me a little grin as he stripped his shirt over his head, baring his long lean muscles.
After he left all his clothes in a pile, he treated me to a view of his tight ass on the way into the bathroom.
I sighed and closed my eyes, snuggling into the pillow with that image in my head. The bastard was beautiful, even with me angry at him.
When he exited the bathroom, still naked, he flipped off the lights and climbed into bed beside me.
It was weird sleeping next to someone, but I didn’t hate it. There was something comforting about reaching out in the middle of the night and someone being there no matter what.
His hand met my back over my camisole and when he curved his palm around to my belly, I stopped him. “As pretty as you are, if you aren’t willing to discuss this whole mating thing then we aren’t going there again.”