Trained To Kill (16 page)

Isa got him a bottle of water out of
the fridge, “It was very nice. We laughed.”

“
That’s nice. So, what do
you like about him?”

She walked over and sat the bottle in
front of him and sat across from him at the table. She put her
elbows one the table, and her chin her hand, regarding him
thoughtfully. “Why do you want to know?”

“
Maybe I want to know the
competition,” Alex’s smile was predatory.

“
He’s not competition. I
told you, nothing can happen with us.”

“
Isa, things have already
happened with us.”

“
Taking a nap together
does not mean we’re a couple.”

“
I didn’t say it did. But
I like you, and I’m pretty sure you have feelings for
me.”

"Like. That's a funny word. Do you
like me as a person? Do you like me as a woman? Do you like me as a
friend?"

"Yes." Alex said simply and Isa turned
her head toward him with a sad smile.

"I do too."

"You like me as a woman?"

Isa's laugh rang out and Alex saw
Renée stop dead in her tracks on her way into the kitchen. To his
surprise, tears were gathering in her eyes. She gathered herself
and continued walking. She turned toward Isa and placed a hand
briefly on her cheek, smiling. Isa decided not to explain what that
was about, and he didn't want to get on another subject, so he let
it go.

"I can't do this Alex," Isa said after
Renée had gone back out.

Alex thought his heart stopped for a
minute. "Do what?"

"I can't become involved with you. I
can't do that to you because I do like you. And I can't do it to
myself."

"How much worse than the hacking," he
asked faintly. "Hypothetically. What if I don't care?"

She shook her head. "You'll care," Isa
said it with a finality like stone. "And there is no hypothetical
for this. Look, I want to help you with Malone and The Inferno. But
after that it's done. It has to be."

"We can work it out."

"Why?" Isa turned and faced him fully.
"Why does it have to work out?” Isa moved to stand.

"Because I don't give up. Ever." Alex
stood with her. He took her by the shoulders and kissed her softly
once. He felt her tense up but he wrapped his arms around her and
simply held her. After a few minutes Isa relaxed into Alex’s
hug.

He loved the feel of her in his arms.
Her slender body was firm with lean muscle, but she had lovely
curves his hands automatically went to. He rested them now on her
hips and kissed her again. Softly just feeling with his lips and
inhaling her scent.

The kiss became more urgent but he
still resisted plundering her mouth. Something told him she
wouldn’t want that so soon. His hands ran up her back and down to
the gentle slope of her ass then back up to her neck. Wrapping one
hand around her neck, he gently massaged there to help her
relax.

Her shoulders were no longer rock hard
and she leaned into him. Her hands were gripping his waist. He felt
her exploration as she carefully ran her finger under the hem of
his shirt. It nearly undid him. He wanted desperately to shove his
tongue down her throat but he was no Neanderthal. He knew how to
seduce a woman.

“
Alex,” Isa whispered.
Alex stopped, not wanting to force her. “You’re making me
dizzy.”

Alex chuckled, “Is that good or
bad?”

“
Definitely good,” Isa
paused. “But remember the things I just said five minutes ago?
That’s all still true.”

“
I know, but right now I
want to take you upstairs and lie down again and be still with
you.” Alex trailed his hands down her arms and clasped her hands in
his. “Is that ok? We won’t do anything you don’t want. We can talk
some more, it’s late anyway.”

“
You want to spend the
night?”

“
If that’s alright. It’s
been snowing pretty hard.”

“
That depends. Can you
spend the night as a friend?”

“
If that’s what you want.
Yes, for now.”

“
Ok.”

She led the way up the stairs and Alex
watched her for any signs of hesitance. He felt that she was
hesitating, so he moved passed her and bounced on to the bed,
pulling her down and rolling her around. She squeaked something and
laughed.

“
What was
that?”

“
Alex!”

“
I couldn’t hear
you.”

“
That’s because you were
smothering me!”

“
Oh forgive me,” he
laughed down at her. He shifted aside and laid next to her, and
resisted pushing himself against her which he desperately wanted to
do.

Isa sighed and relaxed on her side.
She had pulled on some pajamas in the bathroom. Alex had kicked off
his jeans.

“
What made you get
tattooed?”

“
You don’t have any?” Alex
asked. He couldn’t think of many people he knew without at least
one. Isa shook her head. Tattoos are good for identification, and
she couldn’t have that.

“
First, teenage
rebellion.” As he spoke he pulled up his shirt and shucked it off
the side of the bed. He pointed to a saint on his left bicep.
“Then, peer pressure.” Grinning, he pointed to a Tribal on his
right forearm that trailed down to his wrist. “Next, friendship.”
Rolling on to his side facing away from her, he patted the Chinese
Dragon on his back with the tail curling around his hip and
disappearing into his pants.

“
How far does that tail
go?”

Alex grinned his boyish grin and said,
“You want to find out?”

Isa smiled and shook her head. Alex
chuckled and continued, “And finally, loss.” He pointed to a
woman’s name and dates elegantly scripted inside a bleeding
Catholic Heart over his own heart. “My mother,” he
explained.

“
Oh Alex. I’m sorry.” Isa
calculated the dates on the tattoo, “She was very young.” Isa
stroked the tattoo over his chest.

“
Yeah. I was two, so I
don’t remember her but my Dad and older brothers were pretty messed
up for awhile. I have a very hazy memory of the day of the funeral
sitting in Aunt Marie’s lap and listening to her heart beat,
wondering why Mom’s didn’t beat anymore. Aunt Marie helped us out a
lot after that.”

“
How did she
die?”

“
A bus accident.” Alex was
gazing into the past. “Her head hit the window at the wrong
angle.”

Isa propped herself up on his chest
and laid a soft kiss on his lips.

“
What about
you?”

“
Me?”

“
Your parents.”

“
Well my father, my
biological father, left my mother when I was four. He was British.
He was here for work and then had to go back to England. He refused
to marry my mother for a green card even after she got
pregnant.”

“
Have you met him since
then?”

“
Yes, a few
times.”

“
You’ve been in London
recently, did you see him?”

“
I did.” Isa grew
thoughtful. “He’s not a bad person. He’s just…British. Reserved. My
mother could be difficult. She was a drama queen, sometimes wholly
selfish, and tended toward hysterics when she thought things were
too difficult.” She paused, thinking about her mother as she really
was. Isa tended to see her through Anna’s eyes. “She married Roger
Thorn when I was 10. She died giving birth to A…to my sister when I
was 13.” Isa swallowed roughly, she didn’t want to talk about Anna,
especially after that dream.

Alex was quiet as she spoke. She could
imagine what he was thinking about Roger Thorn and her sister. But
he said nothing, just gathered her close and held on. She sank into
his warmth and felt his heat all the way to her bones. This is what
she had been craving last night in her office. His warmth, his
skin. But, she couldn’t run and hot and cold. She told him just
friends and she meant it. She scooted away and said, “I’m
ok.”

Alex let it go and told Isa the story
about the Chinese Dragon on his back. He explained how his
girlfriend in high school, or one of them, had been Chinese and her
grandmother had taught him how to play mahjong while he waited
around for her. The grandmother had become one of his best
friends.

“
She was a hoot. She told
me about being in an all girl gang back in China as a teenager. She
was a tough little thing.” Alex smiled sadly. “I still miss her
when I’m in Chinatown.” He was quiet for a moment. “Anyway, I was
in Chinatown one night playing mahjong and the best tattoo artist
in the City happened to be playing, so we bet on a game. If he won,
I would take care of his parking tickets. If I won he would give me
a free tattoo. Anything I wanted,” Alex grinned at Isa. “He
regretted that. It took a long time to finish it.”

“
I bet,” Isa pushed him
over and she studied it at length. It was so detailed, she could
see each individual scale on the dragon’s hide and yet it was
delicate and smoky at the same time. She didn’t know how else to
describe it. Alex lay on his stomach with his chin resting on his
arms. His back was so broad it made her want to wallow in it. He
lay still letting her paw at him. She was amazed at his patience
and self-control after what she just put him through. He fell
asleep like that, in her bed on top of the covers with her gentle
rubbing of his back. Isa soon followed.

Chapter 20

They slept for 8 hours straight. Isa’s
hair was trapped under Alex’s shoulder when she tried to get up
without waking him. He simply rolled over and held her close to his
chest.

“
Good morning.” Alex
lifted his head, “At least I think it’s morning.

“
It is.” Isa gave up
trying to free her hair. “Good morning.”

“
Did we sleep all night?”
Alex looked perplexed. “I can’t remember the last time I slept all
night.”

Isa considered him. “I’m glad I could
help.”

“
You definitely helped. Do
you have mouth wash?”

“
Of course. Under the
sink,” Isa pointed to the bathroom.

Alex got up and stretched and Isa’s
gaze devoured his back muscles rippling as he moved. He was ripped.
His skin was fair but it looked good with his hair and brown eyes.
He had scars mixed in with his tattoos.

Isa’s conscience was getting the
better of her. Why had she let him stay? He was still a cop. She
was still a killer. He didn’t know who she was, what she had done.
Isa got up and changed her clothes, going to the guest bathroom
down the hall to freshen up.

Renée had breakfast ready in the
kitchen when Alex walked in. He kissed Renée on the check and
called her an Angel. Isa was staring out the window with a cup of
coffee. With one swift glance, Alex quickly and correctly
interpreted her mood and decided it was best to leave her be for
now. He chatted with Renée about her cooking.

Isa was grateful for that. She was
grateful for a lot of things Alex had done. He deserved better than
to waste his time with her. But she found herself hesitant to show
him to the door. She was enjoying the conversation between Alex and
Renée. She was telling him of her mother’s cooking in the
countryside of Louisiana.

Sighing, Isa signaled to Renée to give
them some space. Renée left after telling Alex to come back soon.
Isa would have given her a death glare if Alex hadn’t been watching
her.

She sat across from him, propping her
chin on her hand and studied his face for a moment. He studied her
eyes looking for clues as to her thoughts, she knew.

“
Are you Irish?” Isa
asked. “Although Jackson is more of an English name, maybe
Scottish.” Isa was lost in thought.

“
Uh, yeah,” Alex tilted
his head in confusion, that wasn’t what he had been expecting.
“Irish. I don’t really know much about my heritage I guess. Why do
you ask?”

“
Just curious. You have
dark hair and eyes but your skin is fair.”

“
Ah.”

“
What are you? You said
your father is British.”

“
British, French, and
Cajun.”

“
Cajun?” Alex asked. “The
same as Renée?”

“
Yes, though not as much
runs in me. I got it from my mother’s side. Her Grandfather was
full blooded Cajun.”

“
Well if they all cook
like Renée, I’d say it’s an amazing culture.”

Isa had been ready to kick him out,
but she couldn’t do it. She was relishing the conversation and
banter at the kitchen table. She didn’t want him to
leave.

“
What are your plans for
the day?” Alex asked her.

“
Haven’t thought that far
ahead yet.”

Alex considered her for a minute.
“What do you say we go talk to Ben some more.”

“
Isn’t it your day
off?”

“
It is. I want to do this
on my own time, with you.”

Isa wrinkled her brow. “So it wouldn’t
be official?”