If I hadn’t been sitting in the massive vehicle, fighting back puking, I’d have found it hilarious. We were on two-lane back country roads. Barely any traffic, sliding through small towns where their town squares had died and crumbled decades earlier, our ridiculous caravan appearing like we were the president of the country or one of the most well-known celebrities.
“It feels like we’re drawing more attention to ourselves than hiding,” I muttered. “Isn’t this overkill?”
“Nothing is overkill when it comes to your protection.” His hand slid to my thigh, and the heat from his palm seeped through the leggings another man on Jaxon’s team had delivered to the hotel that morning. “I’ll do anything to keep you from being hurt again.”
His hand reached out and dragged along my wrist that still had the red burn marks from being restrained.
“Shawn—”
His voice turned wretched, and I hated that he blamed himself for what had happened to me. I was the one who’d insisted on going to work instead of hiding.
“Don’t. Don’t try to make me feel better. I won’t until your body is completely healed, and I won’t apologize for being overprotective until we know you’re safe.”
Outside a few scrapes and bruises from the binds that had been wrapped around my ankles and arms, even the smack I’d taken to the temple wasn’t all that painful. I rubbed at it, catching the swollen lump and the slash one of Jaxon’s men had butterfly-taped together.
I swore Shawn growled as I did, and I turned to him. His thick blond brows were pulled in, and his face matched sketches I vividly remembered learning about in Greek mythology.
His fierce fury reached out, skittered down my spine, and heated my blood. Why did he manage to look even sexier when he looked like he was fighting down the urge to tear someone’s limbs off than he did when he was moving inside of me?
The image of him doing just that the night before pushed to the forefront of my mind and I squashed it down.
Yeah. Those two faces were in a tight race for first place on the hottest faces Shawn Blakely makes list.
As if he needed to seal his statements to a promise, he reached out and brushed his thumb over the lump at my temple. I shivered from his touch, that tiny connection sparking fire deep in my core where I still felt the effects of my night with Shawn hours later.
I licked my dry lips, and they parted. “Where are we going when we get back to Raleigh?”
“My place. We’re going on the assumption that it hasn’t been compromised. Jaxon has some safe houses we can take you to, but I didn’t think you’d like that.”
I considered it for a moment even as I fought down a psychotic laugh at the idea of me being a person who needed a safe house. But if Daniel was in New York with MaryAnne like they suspected and had told me after I woke up that morning, was I in immediate danger?
“I don’t like the idea of it while everyone else fights for me.” Not that I could do much, but the distance might make me less informed, and I needed to know everything that was happening as it happened.
“I figured.” His hand fell from my temple and settled into a fist on his lap. “But you have to trust me, and if I think it becomes necessary, we’ll be gone.” He flashed a wink, and his gaze heated as his voice lowered. “But if you’re a really good girl, I’ll let you choose whether we hide in the mountains or at the beach.”
My head spun with visions of us screwing in a hot tub in the mountains or on a secluded stretch of sand late at night. His lips brushed against my throat before he pulled back.
He left me heated, burning with desire for him…and I’d completely forgotten about my near panic attack or fear.
Which I was pretty certain had to be his point.
“Thank you,” I whispered, grinning at him.
“Any time, honey.”
As we pulled into Shawn’s neighborhood, two of the SUVs continued on the main road while the remaining three headed to Shawn’s townhome.
“Stay here a minute,” he said.
As he spoke, the four men who had been in two of the other SUVs unloaded. With their guns drawn, they entered his home, one holding a key Shawn must have given him.
“What are they doing?”
“Making sure it’s safe and that no one’s been inside and there’s no one hiding outside.”
Oh. My fingertips tingled with nerves that slowly slid up my arms as my reality continued to surprise me.
Cort, who stayed in our SUV and kept it running, grabbed his phone. “All clear text came in.”
With that, he turned off the engine, opened his door, and hopped out, heading toward my side of the vehicle.
With Cort on one side of me, Shawn meeting up with us and taking my other, they escorted me into his home, where the other men stood in the kitchen, talking with muted voices.
Once inside, Shawn turned to me and cupped his hands over my shoulders. “We’re going to be busy setting up some more security around here and figuring out a schedule for who will be helping guard you. Why don’t you go upstairs and take a bath, and I’ll order some food for when you’re done.”
I considered arguing, reminding him I wanted to know everything, but truthfully, sitting in a bath sounded like a much better way to spend the next hour instead of in a room bulked up on testosterone talking about me and my problems.
A break from them sounded perfect, even if it’d only be in my head.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Any requests for lunch?”
I’d barely had anything to eat since we reached the hotel the day before. A few bites and some broth at dinner then a couple of eggs and sausage this morning. My stomach was still too knotted to eat, but as I considered what I’d like, my stomach grumbled.
My hand flew to my abdomen, and I chuckled. “I guess that answers whether or not I’m hungry. Can we order Chinese? I’d love some shrimp lo mein.”
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Then that’s what you’ll get.”
My eyes closed as he gently held me, comforting me and taking care of me.
“Thank you.”
He guided me toward his master bath, where a soaking tub larger than I expected to find in such a modest townhome caught my eye, along with a couple jars of bath salts stacked in a corner.
“You take baths?” It was so…not a thing I’d think a man like him would do.
“Gift from my mom, but I bet you’re happy I have them.” He playfully tapped my ass then bent over, plugged the drain, and started the water. “I’ll set out some clean clothes for you, but take your time. Listen to music. You’re safe to relax here, Addi.”
At the mention of music, a thought popped into my mind, and God, how had I been so distracted I hadn’t thought of it earlier? “My purse,” I murmured. “Do you have that? I don’t…I don’t have it, and I should probably call Jillian.”
I’d been a horrible friend. She had to have seen the news by now and must have been freaking out. I could only imagine the texts and missed calls I’d have on my phone from her. I thought I should probably call my mom again, too, see how she was.
So much for taking a break from my problems with a bath. I had a feeling they’d be rolling through my head on a non-stop loop for the foreseeable future.