She gave me a warning stare. “I have meetings. I have employees. And I have a huge piece of legislation that needs to get passed if the Crescent Towers are going to survive.” She softened her tone. “It’s not that Crew isn’t the most important thing right now, but I have to make sure the company is running for a lot of other people.”
I tipped her chin forward. “You don’t have to explain it to me. I get it. There might not be anyone else on this planet who gets it, but I do.”
Her eyes closed slowly. “I need to be back in my office today. I agreed to stay here for the night, but Kimble’s back. I don’t need to be hidden away any longer.”
“Almost back,” I corrected her. “I need to get to the airport first and pick the beast up.”
“You don’t actually expect me to stay here until you come back at lunch?” She pushed forward on her palms. The quilt slipped off her shoulders. My chest seized with how fucking incredible she looked. Her hair was a mess. Her lips swollen from kisses. Her body roughly and sweetly fucked.
My fingers brushed over hers as I took the first step away from the bed. I looked at her over my shoulder.
“Wait,” she called. She rushed across the room and threw herself in my arms.
“Hey, I’m coming right back. It’s only a few hours,” I assured her.
“I know I know but it just feels off. Something feels very off right now, and I wanted to hold onto you one more time. Is that okay?”
“Baby, it’s always okay.” I reached into my pocket and withdrew the key to the cabin. It unlocked all of the locks, including the main deadbolt. “Here.” I placed it in the center of her palm. “Just hold onto this and…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I didn’t want to. She knew what it meant.
“What? Now you’re making me nervous. You’re giving me a way out of here?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m… I’m just giving you the key. That’s all. There’s nothing more to it.” Something in my stomach was churning.
“Lunch. You promise?”
“Of course.”
“Because the entire office will notice when neither Crew nor I show up for work. That’s going to be noticeable. I have to be there today.”
I exhaled. I didn’t want her in the office. It seemed like an unnecessary risk, but I understood. “Yes, I’ll get you to the office. I promise.”
She smiled. “And, just so you know…I love you too.” She reached on her tiptoes and kissed me. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to break away from it. The way her tongue danced in my mouth made me want to take her back to bed and repeat the entire morning.
I pushed her from me swiftly and headed out the door towards the city and the airport.
Chapter13
Knight
Iwas early. I waited outside the baggage claim exit. I was at the international terminal with strict instructions to keep circling every five minutes. Kimble was easy to spot in any crowd. I thought it made him both a bad bodyguard because he drew attention, but also an asset because he was large and intimidating to most people.
The door to the backseat opened and he tossed in his bag before sliding into the front seat.
“Any updates?” he asked before his seatbelt was even buckled.
I took my foot off the brake and merged into the flow of traffic. “No.” It wasn’t the answer I wanted to give him. It was close to nine and there was still no ransom note or call. I was running out of back roads and alleys to explore. Crew’s parents weren’t going to wait much longer.
“Where were you? How long was the flight?” I glanced at him quickly. He didn’t give me a flight number or an airline, only an exact time to circle around baggage claim.
“Working on something for the boss.” I’d never heard him refer to Kennedy that way before. It didn’t sound natural.
“How long were you gone?” I was willing to push this cat and mouse game as long as I could. I had seen him two days ago at Kennedy’s house after a long stare down. Nothing about his trip made sense to me. I didn’t think there was enough money to force Kimble away from his boss.
“Not long enough to get everything I wanted accomplished,” he grunted.
“Well, that I believe. You look like hell.” The giant’s face was pale, and his eyes slanted from too little sleep. I knew he had taken whatever flight was available, but there were still many unanswered questions.
“It seems I shouldn’t have left.” I felt his eyes on me. The stare was hard. Brutal.