The Rules (18 page)

“Don’t tell anybody,” he said, lowering his voice.

Terri giggled. “I won’t. It’ll be our little secret.”

“Good.” He yawned again. “I’ll see you on Friday. Good night, Sweet Ass.”

“Good night, Pretty Lips.”

****

Gavin stared at the phone.

“What’s the matter?” Xavier snapped his briefcase shut and picked up his jacket, on the way to his own room after their quick strategy session in preparation for tomorrow.

“Don’t know. Could be nothing.” He tapped the phone on his palm. “She didn’t sound like herself.”

“Maybe she misses you.”

“Maybe.”

But he wondered if it could be something else.

A bell was ringing. But why? And where?

Terri’s sleep-drugged brain couldn’t discern the details in the limbo state she hovered in between sleep and wakefulness. Rolling over, she rubbed her eyes as the scent of smoke drifted into her nose.

Her eyes snapped open and she glanced wildly around the room in an effort to get her bearings. The loud racket came from the hallway. The fire alarm!

Scrambling from the bed, wearing only a pair of short shorts and a cami, she rushed into the living room. It was warmer in there. Quickly, she released the top three locks, but when she reached for the doorknob, the metal scorched her fingers and she snatched away her hand. The fire must be right outside the door.

Wide awake now, she ran back into the bedroom and flicked up one of the blinds. The parking lot was crowded with her neighbors. Mr. Raymond stood out next to one of the other neighbors from the first floor, holding Max. Other people crowded around, some in pajamas, others wearing street clothes.

Terri swung away from the window and tugged on a pair of jeans. She grabbed her purse from the nightstand, pulled up the blinds, and yanked up the window.

“Help!” she screamed.

A man wearing blue pajamas swung his head in her direction. He pointed. “There’s someone over there.”

Terri stared at the grass three stories down, trying to gauge if she dared risk jumping. Better to have broken bones or a twisted ankle than be burned to a crisp.

She tossed her purse to the ground and then sat on the window and swung her legs out. Moving slowly, she twisted her body so that she faced the outer wall, using her feet to provide friction and her hands to hold her up. Arms trembling, heart beating at a rapid pace, she dropped onto a lip of wood, maintaining a grip on the windowsill above her head.

“Jump! We’ll catch you,” someone yelled. Four men stood below with their hands linked together.

Terri took two deep breaths and summoned the courage needed to let go.

“Come on!” one of the men called. “Don’t be scared.”

The money!

The thought dropped like an anvil into her thoughts.

No. No.
In her haste to escape, she completely forgot the thousands of dollars hidden under the mattress.

Gripping the ledge, Terri tried to hoist herself up. Her right foot slipped and she scraped her arms in the struggle to stay on the ledge.

“Come on, sweetheart, we’ve got you,” a man called from below.

Panting, Terri fought to pull herself up again. Dammit. Why wasn’t she stronger? She couldn’t see the fire from her vantage point, but it was obvious the flames had entered her apartment by the generated heat.

“Come on, honey, jump!”

One more time, Terri made an effort to lift her body higher, but she didn’t have the strength. All the money she spent the last three years saving would be lost. But not just the money, all her books. Her clothes. The snow globes.

Tears of frustration filled her eyes. Shoulders slumped in resignation, she looked over her shoulder at the men below her, took a leap of faith, and jumped.

****

Terri sat with knees pulled up to her chest in the hotel room watching the news through puffy eyes that burned from a long bout of crying.

According to the reporter on the scene, the firefighters suspected arson at Stack Home Apartments. The flames spread quickly because the perpetrator used an accelerant. The fire started on her end of the hall, and her shaggy-haired neighbor died in the blaze because he didn’t get out on time. A few people suffered from smoke inhalation, but other than the rock music lover, no other lives were lost.

Thanks to the American Red Cross, Terri had a place to stay for the next few days and food to eat, but she lost all her possessions, including the phone she left charging on the bureau in the panic to escape.

Wrapping her arms around her knees, she wondered if Talon could have started the fire. Would he risk killing others to get at her? Could he have found her already?

Terri burrowed under the covers and curled up on her side. She didn’t want to think anymore.

Everything she’d accumulated on her own was lost. She’d have to start all over again.

Terri picked up her purse in the back room of the salon. She removed her keys, attached to a pink rhinestone-decorated tube of pepper spray, and then slung the bag over her shoulder. She didn’t think Talon caused the fire, suspecting that when he came at her, he would use the direct approach. He’d want her to know it was him, but she purchased the spray anyway as a precaution.

“See you guys in a couple of days,” she called on her way out. Her co-workers had brought in bags of clothes, all stored in the back of the Jimmy, until she could get on her feet again. She called Alannah from the salon and gave her an update and left a message for Gavin, too, letting him know where she was staying.

She exited the salon into the early evening. A light mist of rain dropped from the sky, and she pulled a mini-umbrella from her purse and popped it open. She paid close attention to the surrounding area, clutching the spray tight in one hand. Hurrying to her vehicle, she almost tripped when she saw Gavin get out of his gold sports car, parked right next to hers at the end of the aisle.

Her mouth went dry, and her knees weakened, almost buckling under the weight and intensity of his gaze. She took him in, from the top of his button down shirt and crossed arms, to the Bruno Magli loafers on his feet. She couldn’t see his eyes, though. They were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

“You can always tell the people who aren’t from Seattle. They carry umbrellas.” He spread his arms wide and she tossed aside the umbrella to fling herself into him. His strong arms folded around her.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said softly into his shirt, so weak with relief she sagged against his hard torso.

“I got your message,” he murmured in her ear.

Terri lifted her head from his chest. “The past day or so has been hectic. I don’t have a phone. I don’t have anything. I lost my clothes, my shoes, everything. I took off work tomorrow so I could just…think. I don’t know what I’m going to do, where I’m going to stay. If—”

Gavin cupped her face and stemmed the rapid flow of words. He looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m here.” The words had the desired effect, calming her beating pulse and letting her know she wasn’t alone.

Swallowing against the lump swelling in her throat, Terri lifted her arms around his neck. Rain sprinkled dew on their skin and created a light haze around them. She pressed her lips to his, and his mouth moved gently over hers in a sweet and comforting kiss.

“Let me take you to dinner, but I want to show you something first.”

“Gavin, I don’t have anything to wear out. These jeans and T-shirt are the nicest clothes I own right now.”

He smiled into her eyes with such tenderness, her heart melted and she forgot the fears of the past couple of days. “What you’re wearing is fine. Come on.”

Terri didn’t argue, relieved that for now, she could stop thinking and let someone else take the lead. She walked around to the passenger side where he waited with the door open and slipped onto the seat.

When he was seated behind the wheel, she asked, “Where are we going?”

He started the car and glanced at her. “You’ll see.”

They drove into the heart of downtown Seattle and pulled up to the door of the Four Seasons Hotel. She frowned at him, but he didn’t say a word. The valet opened her door and Gavin came around and handed the young man the keys to the car.

They rode the elevator in silence and then exited on a floor where there were only two doors, one to the left and the other to the right.

Gavin used a key card to open one of the doors and held it wide so she could pass through before him. She stepped onto the hardwood floors and gasped at the beauty of the place. “It’s an apartment?”

“Condo. You can buy private residences here at the Four Seasons.”

Terri’s mouth fell open at the spectacular view before her. “Is that Elliott Bay?” She dropped her purse on the table beside one of the sofas and rushed over to the window but took a step back when a wave of dizziness hit her after she looked down. A place like this must cost millions.

“It is. Let me show you the rest of the place,” Gavin said. He kept a reserved tone to his voice.

He walked ahead of her, opening doors and acting as tour guide as they went to the back. “Two bedrooms, a home office, and a media room between the two bedrooms.”

The view in the master bedroom was just as breathtaking as the one in the living room. Plenty of glass with more views of the water, and a terrace with a view of the mountains in the distance. The ginormous walk-in closet was literally larger than her entire apartment, with shelves and racks waiting to be filled with the finest wardrobe.

They left the bedroom, and he showed her the well-equipped kitchen with top-of-the line appliances, and even a wine cooler and a huge pantry with a step stool inside the door.

“What do you think? You like it?” Gavin asked, leaning against the counter.

“Of course I like it!” Terri gushed, which prompted a smile on his face. “It’s absolutely beautiful. You did good. Are you giving up the house and moving in here?”

“No,” he replied.

Why show her all of this if he wasn’t moving in? “This isn’t your condo?”

He shook his head. “It’s my sister’s old place, and she was going to put it on the market since she and Lucas found a house, but I convinced her to hold off before selling it. I like the location and it’s really nice. I leased it from her for a year, but I won’t be staying here.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you…?” Comprehending what he’d done, she hesitated, an almost undetectable flutter of apprehension filtering through her bones. “I-I don’t understand.”

“You’re going to stay here,” Gavin said. “It’s yours, for the next year at least, to help you get back on your feet. You have a concierge at your disposal, 24-hour staff to accommodate your needs. Fitness center, pool—all the amenities of the hotel and then some.”

“You can’t do this,” Terri said quietly. “It’s too much.”

“Already done.” He removed the sunglasses, stuck them in the pocket of his shirt, and locked eyes with her. Holding up the key card, he said, “This is yours and this is your home. It is absolutely and completely yours to do with as you wish. If you don’t feel like cooking and want to have a meal brought up from the kitchen, that’s fine. Come and go as you please.”

“What you’re doing doesn’t make any sense.”

“Of course it makes sense. I want you to stay here.”

“
Why
? I can get another place. You don’t have to—”

“Terri.” Slowly, he came toward her and she looked up and saw the anger flickering in his eyes. “What kind of man do you think I am? How could I not take care of you when I have the means to do it?”

Terri glanced away, mind racing.

“I’m not going to impose on your space because I know how important it is to you to have your own place. I have a key, too, but I won’t use it unless you tell me it’s okay. Good enough?”

An affirmative answer should’ve tumbled easily from her mouth, but she worried about what this would mean. The control he’d have over her. A familiar fear squeezed her heart. “Gavin, I—”

He crowded her against the wall, forearms resting on either side of her head, not a single part of his body touching hers, but she felt his energy just the same. Their faces were less than six inches apart and his eyes burned into hers. “I was in Portland when I got your message and I couldn’t reach you. I felt so damn helpless.”

“You’re not responsible for me, Gavin.”

“Maybe I want to be.” Neither of them blinked. They just stared into each other’s eyes. “You’ll have a car and a driver, an allowance and accounts at any store you want to rebuild your wardrobe.”

The torture of being so close to him and not touching angled its way through her body.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I’ll pay you back.” She didn’t know how or when. If it meant working eighty hours a week, she intended to repay every cent.

“This isn’t a loan, and no matter what happens between us over the next year, this place is yours, free and clear. What else do you need? Tell me.”