Promises (12 page)

She was more delicious than any spice, any culinary concoction he could devise, and still he wanted more.
 
The way she returned his kiss, delving her tongue into his mouth thrust for thrust sent a pulsating wave of heat throughout his body.
 
But he needed to stop.
 
He needed to pull away before it was too late.
 
Before he went too far.

With strength he didn’t know he possessed, he lifted his head.
 
“You’re not safe.”

“From you or from Phillip Steele?”
 

Her soft, breathy voice dealt a heavy blow to his resolve, but he remained steadfast.
 
“Both.
 
But I have to get you out of here.”

“They won’t find me.
 
They won’t recognize me.”

He smiled at the stubborn set of her jaw, and let his eyes drink in the rest of her face.
 
“You did a good job disguising yourself, but I have to admit I miss that red hair of yours.”
 

He immersed his fingers into the bleach blonde strands, and looked deeply into the myriad of colors staring dumbfounded up at him.
 
“You’ve grown into a beautiful woman,” he murmured, caught up in everything that was Bobbi.

“I have?”

Grinning, he shook his head.
 
“No, you’re more than beautiful.”
 
She was damn near perfect and it was killing him.
 
It wasn’t smart to get tangled up with her, but deep down he knew he was already in way over his head.
 

Giving in to the overwhelming need to kiss her, he feasted on the delicacy of her sweet lips.
 
With every taste, every touch, the tether on his desire grew tighter.
 
His brain nagged at him to stop, whispering reminders of Sylvia, of how she died, how he had screwed up, but he brushed the past aside.
 
This was where he wanted to be, this was the woman he wanted to be with, and he never wanted it to end.

Rocky’s barking interrupted the greatest kiss of his life.

“There’s someone here,” she said with a shaky voice.

Reluctantly, he pulled back.
 
Her kiss-swollen lips drew his gaze, and he ached to taste her again and again, but with Rocky’s continued barking, the memory of another man’s mouth touching those same sweet lips cooled the burgeoning heat.
 

Not bothering to disguise his snide tone, he said, “It’s probably your boyfriend again.”
 
Slowly, he rose from the floor.

“Rocky wouldn’t bark at Ted like that.”
 
She got to her feet and followed him into the living room.
 
“And he’s not my boyfriend.”

He kept his back to her and grinned.
 
She didn’t need to know how much her little declaration pleased him, and he shouldn’t be so damned happy about it, either.

Lifting the corner of the curtain, he covertly looked out the window.
 
His heart dropped to the floor like a rock as a sick wave of fear slid down his spine.
 
Fear for Bobbi.

“Looks like you won’t be going with me after all, sweetheart.
 
They’re Steele’s men.”
 

He’d failed.
 
Plain and simple.
 
They were both good as dead.
 
Or worse.
 
He still didn’t know what Steele wanted with Bobbi.
 
Him, they’d kill.
 
Her, he wasn’t so sure.
 

He dropped the edge of the curtain.
 
“Here’s the way this is going to work.
 
I’m going to go out there and distract them.
 
After a minute or two, I want you to make a run for it out the back door.
 
I want you to run as fast and as far as you can.”
 

He turned to see if she was listening and stopped cold.
 

Wearing a ball cap with the brim pulled down low, casting her eyes in deep shadow, and wearing the light-weight raincoat that was several sizes too large, Bobbi had turned back into the odd little waif he’d seen the first day.
 
But the biggest surprise was the rifle clutched firmly in her hands.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he choked out.

“I’m going to greet our guests.”
 
She finished checking her rifle for ammunition and shoved it up under her arm.

“I thought you said you didn’t like guns.”
 

“I never said I didn’t know how to use one.”

This woman was going to drive him insane.
 
One minute he wanted to make love to her, the next he wanted to wring her neck, but first he had to keep her alive.
 

He quickly adjusted his strategy.
 
With the rifle he’d at least be able to take out one or two of them before they got him.
 
As long as Bobbi got away.
 
That’s all that mattered.

He held out his hand.
 
“Give it to me.”

“For the love of
—
between you and Jase you’d think it was the nineteenth century.
 
I can take care of myself.
 
I’ve been doing it for some time.
 
Now, do me a favor.
 
Shut-up and sit down.”

He moved toward her, but stopped when she swung the rifle around and pointed it at him.
 
“Sit.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go out there.”

“Sit,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
 

He slowly sank to the couch, clenching his jaw.
 

“They still don’t know me,” she said.
 
“They know you.
 
And I have two things in my favor.
 
This,” she said motioning with the gun.
 
“And Rocky.”
 
The smile on her face was almost evil.
 

She moved quickly out the door before he could do anything that wouldn’t get them both killed.
 

He shook his head, wondering if he had just landed in the twilight zone.

Bobbi stepped through the door and stopped next to Rocky where he stood growling on the front porch.
 
Terrified, her stomach twisting and churning furiously, she donned a mantel of complacency for her unwelcome guests.
 
If she could just keep her hands from shaking like her knees, they’d never suspect Travis stood on the other side of the door or that she wasn’t Jill Proffit.

A tall fair-haired man approached the steps.
 
The sharp planes of his face and collar-length hair gave him a European look.
 
The kind of suave demeanor some of her friends drooled over, but with his sly smile and pale gray eyes, he appeared more demonic to her than handsome.

He casually placed his foot on the bottom step.
 
“Good afternoon.”

Bobbi suppressed a shudder as the smooth tone of his voice oozed across her skin.
 
Rocky snarled, deep and low.
 
The men standing near the car slipped their hands inside their jackets.
 

She knew they’d be armed, but faced with the reality that their lives could end at any moment created a sickening wad of fear in the pit of her stomach.
 
All the running and hiding had been nerve racking, but it never prepared her for the possibility she could actually die from the information she carried around in her head.
 
Just like Jase.
 

No, he isn’t dead.
 
I’m certain of it
.

Thinking about her brother and what he’d entrusted to her, Bobbi’s courage swelled to meet the challenge.
 
Knowing that anything she could do to disguise herself further would work in her favor, she adopted her best imitation of a backwoods farm girl.
 

“I reckon that’s fer enough.
 
If’n y’all come any closer, Rocky’ll get a might upset.”
 
The annoying nasal tone vibrated against her growing headache.
 

She definitely didn’t sound like the professional art dealer she’d been months before.
 
A woman with little to no southern accent, who spent her days, and often nights, making deals and conversing with people all over the world, and often in several different languages.
 
She doubted even her closest friends would recognize her now.

The sleazy man eyed Rocky for a moment then stepped back down and motioned to the others.
 
She breathed an invisible sigh of relief as they slowly removed their hands from inside their jackets.
 

“What you fellers want?” she asked.

“We were hoping you could help us.
 
We seem to have lost a friend of ours in the woods near here.
 
We thought he might have come this way.”
 
His smile reminded her of a hyena, prepared to kill at any moment for what he wanted.

“I ain’t seen no strangers but you.”

“I see.
 
Well, if we could have a look around?”
 
Moving to the side, he glanced around the house.
 

Rocky growled again.
 
She cocked her rifle and aimed in the man’s general direction.
 
“I done told ya.
 
Ain’t nobody here.”

A flash of annoyance crossed his face then quickly transformed into a slick smile.
 
“Do you live here alone?
 
You see our friend isn’t quite himself.
 
He may actually be dangerous.
 
I’d hate for anything to happen to such a nice young girl like you.”

Was he actually threatening her?
 
Oh God, they would never stop looking for her and Travis.
 

What to do?
 
What to do
?
 

A fleeting image of Rocky chasing the scum back under the rock he’d crawled out from, crossed her mind, but they were outnumbered, and she wouldn’t risk Rocky getting hurt anymore than Travis.
 
That’s why she’d jumped into this little meeting in the first place.
 
There had to be another way.

Perhaps some sort of fabrication to go along with her country twang would suit.
 
This horrible episode of her life had taught her how to lie rather well, something she didn’t particularly care for.
 
Everyone in town thought she was someone else, including dear sweet Ted.
 
But like it or no, she had to play out this scene to its end.
 

“I’ll sic the dog on’em if’n Pa don’t shoot him first,” she said.
 
“And if’n y’all know what’s good fer ya, you’d git.
 
Pa don’t like strangers no more’n Rocky here.”

“Well.
 
If you should see our friend
—
”

“Like I said.
 
We don’t cotton to strangers.”
   

The sleaze ball in the Armani suit turned a faint shade of red; obviously not happy with losing this small battle of wills.
 

She swallowed the small lump in her throat as slowly and inconspicuously as possible.
 
If they didn’t leave soon, she’d blow the whole thing.
 
Her legs weakened with every passing second while stars slowly popped in and out of the edge of her vision.
 

Please, God, don’t let me faint
.

With a calculating look, the man backed away from the porch.
 
He nodded to the others, and they got into the car while the sleazy one made his way in their direction.
 
His fists clenched as he walked to the car.
 
If they ever found out who she was
—
she quickly dismissed the thought.
 
She’d faint for sure if she let the awful images of what they might do to her take root.
 

Holding her breath, she watched as the car moved slowly down the drive.
 
Not until they were completely out of sight, did she sink to her knees and gasp for air.
 

Travis burst through the door, removed the rifle from her numb fingers, propped it against the house, and gathered her up in his arms.
 
Rocky didn’t make a sound.

“You did good, bright eyes.
 
Jase would be proud of you.”
 

She buried her face in the curve of his neck, her body quaking with adrenaline.
 
They were safe for the moment, but she was still in hiding with vital information safely tucked away in the back of her mind.
 
Oh, how she wanted to tell someone, to unburden herself, but Jason was still missing.
 
Not dead.
 
And she’d promised him.
 

She considered telling Travis everything, but could she trust him?
 
Of course she could, and she did, but it went against her brother’s instructions.
 
She had to wait.
 
Jason would turn up soon, and she’d be free to go back to her old life.
 
A life without guns, without criminals, without lies, and without a certain FBI agent.
 
An agent who swept her heart up in a whirlwind whenever his lips met hers.
 

She’d never experienced such a soul rendering kiss before, and wondered how far things would have gone if they hadn’t been interrupted.
 

To a glorious and heartbreaking end, she mused, and against her better judgment she wished for that very thing.
 

The hypnotic stroke of his hand against her back and his soothing words drove away the fear gripping her heart.
 
Before pulling away, she inhaled deeply, savoring for a fraction of a second the spicy scent of him.

With her eyes cast down, she steeled herself against the comfort of being in his arms.
 
Nothing good would come of it.
 
They were all wrong for one another, and she couldn’t live with the thought that she might lose him someday to someone like Phillip Steele or the evil man in the Armani suit.
 

Pasting on a plastic smile, she lifted her head. “I’m all right now.”

With a sigh, his arms fell away as she got up from the floor.
 
“Woman, you amaze me.”

Favoring his good leg, he shook his head as he stood and snatched up the rifle, then followed her and Rocky inside.
 

He placed the rifle on the mantle above the fireplace.
 
“Do you have any other guns in the house?”
 

She let out a heavy breath as she divested herself of her disguise.
 
She’d never felt so tired in her life.
 
“No.”
 

“Then it’ll have to do for now.
 
How soon can you be ready to leave?”

“I told you before, I’m not leaving.
 
But you are.”
 
It was the only answer.
 
Those men were still after him and didn’t know about her.
 
He had to go.
 
He had to leave and take their threat with him, and the threat to her heart.

“Listen, bright eyes.
 
I’ll admit it looks like you know how to use a gun, but I’m not leaving you here.”

“Would you stop calling me that?
 
And stop telling me what to do.”
 
She almost stamped her foot.
 
How did he manage to reduce her to such a state?
 
She felt ten years old again, arguing with her brother.
 
Jason was always telling her what to do and trying to protect her.
 
She was a grown woman, for heaven’s sakes, and perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

“Would you rather I called you Barbie?”
 
A crooked grin slipped across those wonderful lips.

Growling, she placed her fists on her hips, her waning strength renewed by his baiting.
 
“If you recall, I despise that particular nickname.”

“I seem to remember something like that.”
 
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
 
“But I always thought it was kind of cute.”
 

Crossing the room in two awkward strides, he looked down at her through dark laughing eyes.
 
“But now that I know the woman, the nickname doesn’t fit any longer.”
 
His voice softened as he stroked her cheek.
 
“I prefer bright eyes.”
 

Uh-uh.
 
No way was he going to win her over so easily.
 
“My name is Barbara.
 
Or Bobbi if you prefer.”

“Oh, I prefer a lot of things.”
 
Quickly lowering his head, he placed a lingering kiss against her lips.

Her objections died instantly amidst the onslaught of his delicious massage.
 
She couldn’t remember what they were arguing about.
 
As the kiss ended, someone mewed a small sigh of protest.
 

Had that come from her?
 
This was not good.
 
But before she could regain her composure, he nipped and kissed his way toward her ear.
 
Oh, heaven.
 

Pressing against his firm body, her fists opened and gripped his broad shoulders.
 
How wonderful to be in his arms, to feel his warm breath against her neck, his teeth nibbling at her earlobe.

“I have to take you away from here.”
 
His murmured words jarred her from his sensuous assault.
 

What was she doing?
 
He was using her attraction for him to get his way, just like Roger.
 
He’d tried every thing to get her to forgive him for his wandering eyes
—
as if that was all that wandered
—
and she’d almost fallen for the touches, the caresses, the soft spoken endearments.
 
But not this time.

She shoved away from Travis’ chest.
 
“Get this straight.
 
I am not leaving.
 
A little caressing and kissing won’t change my mind.”
 
After taking several rapid steps backward and nearly toppling over the dog, her anger quickly turned into overwhelming hurt as the truth settled over her heart.
 

Travis didn’t really want her.
 
He’d known her true identity from the beginning.
 
The compliments, the flirting, the kissing, were merely a means to an end.
 
He was trying to seduce her to gain her cooperation.
 
After all, he had someone named Sylvia waiting for him somewhere.

The blood slowly drained from her face.
 
“You were pretending all along.
 
You didn’t
—
”
 
Swallowing hard, she said, “Don’t you
ever
touch me again.”
 
She raced down the hall and out the back door.

“Bobbi!”
 
Travis hurried after her, but was no match for her speed with his bum leg.
 
He muttered a few choice words, as the screen door slammed shut in his face with a loud bang.
 
How could she believe they could share kisses like that and it not mean anything?
 

With a sigh, he rested his forehead against the screen.
 
“Great,” he groaned.
 
The kisses
had
meant something.
 
More than they should.
 
More than was safe.
 

He watched as she ran down the pebbled path to her workshop with Rocky trotting behind.