"Oh." I didn't ask what this new client wanted. I didn't want to know. The less I knew about the jobs he did, the easier it was to live in denial.
He rounded the breakfast bar, sliding his arms around my waist when he reached me. Tucking my hair behind my ear, he leaned in and kissed me, full on, tongue sliding against mine until I was breathless. When he lifted his head, he said in that deep, sexy voice, "Morning."
"We've already done this." I was still feeling a little on the pissy side.
He smirked. "You didn't say good morning, you threatened to skewer my manly parts."
Damn the man, he was right. "Okay fine. Good morning."
The smirk turned to a grin, then he glided the tips of his fingers along my hairline to the side of my neck. "Doc's coming by later to take out your stitches."
It took a minute for me to answer, not just because I was estimating how fast I could get him out of the suit, but because that had been one hell of a kiss and all my erogenous zones had gone up in smoke. "Okay." I wriggled closer. "Are you in a hurry?"
His nostrils flared and he pressed his hips into mine. "Yes."
"You can't even spare a few minutes?"
"What I have in mind will take a fuck of a lot longer than a few minutes."
I grabbed his butt and squeezed. "Are you sure?"
He ground against me harder and dipped his head, but the knock at the door had him lifting up again. This time it was my turn to growl. He dropped his forehead to my shoulder and chuckled, then kissed just below my ear.
"I promise I'll take care of you real good tonight, babe. Make up for leaving that pretty pussy wet and aching."
I felt my face get hot. I don't know why; he'd always said stuff like that. My embarrassment just made the cocky bastard grin wider. All beautiful straight white teeth and rugged good looks.
I slapped his shoulder. "You have a dirty mouth, Hunter King."
"You love it."
My face got even hotter, and he threw his head back and burst out laughing. The jerkface was even sexy when he laughed.
I shoved past and stomped to the door, though I wasn't exactly angry-sexual frustration was a better word for what I was feeling-and peeked through the peephole.
I pulled the door open. "Hey Jude."
"Lulu."
He was obviously my minder for the day. I knew Hunter wouldn't leave me alone, not with Pierce still on the loose. Jude walked in, gave Hunter a chin lift, then headed to the kitchen to get a coffee. I slumped down on the couch, disappointed I wouldn't get to peel that suit off Hunter until he came home tonight. He powwowed with Jude for a bit then walked over to me.
"Gotta go."
"Okay. Later," I whispered.
His eyes flared a little then he kissed me, and not just a peck.
"Later," he said against my lips and strode out.
"You want coffee?" Jude asked me from the kitchen when the door closed.
I snapped out of my horny stupor and turned to him. "Ah . . . no. I'm going to grab a shower while Josh is still asleep."
A few hours later, I was feet up, curled on the couch reading. Josh was sitting behind my bent knees, watching his favorite cartoon, eating a sandwich, and Jude was talking on his phone. That's when the one in the kitchen started ringing. I put down my book and went to answer it. Hunter never used this phone, and I'd never heard it ring before.
I put it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Lucinda Frost?"
I stilled. "Who is this?"
"My name is Tomas, I'm sure you've heard of me. I'm a friend of Hunter's." His voice was deep and rough and sent shiver down my spine.
Hunter had mentioned him last night. I knew he wanted Pierce in a bad way. I also knew Tomas and Hunter grew up in the same neighborhood, and that they had a connection because of it, though I thought friends might be stretching it a bit. "Sorry, Hunter's not here."
"Actually, it's you I want to talk to. You and I have a mutual . . . problem," he said. "I think you know what I'm talking about. I'd like us to have a chat."
"I don't think . . ."
"It's really in your best interest to comply."
"I need to talk to Hunter first . . ." I started.
"Hunter won't be in on this conversation."
"I don't know anything . . ."
"Your aunt Sara, she's visiting a friend of hers in Hudson, yes?"
The sudden change in conversation threw me off guard. "Pardon?"
"Small world," he carried on. "I have a friend there as well. He likes meeting new people." He let the unspoken threat hang in the air.
I turned to Jude, who had finished his call and lifted a brow in question.
"You have nothing to fear from me, Lucinda, I give you my word on that. I just want to talk, nothing more."
I didn't answer. It was a lie and we both knew it. No matter how he worded it, he'd just threatened my aunt.
"You're going to meet me in half an hour at the location I text you. I have questions for you and you're going to give me the answers . . . then I'll send you home, back to your son."
Another thinly veiled threat.
I sucked in a sharp breath, feeling sick to my stomach. Jude was still watching me, so I forced a careless shrug and rolled my eyes, mouthing "telemarketers," before turning away.
"When?" I choked.
"Thirty minutes. Give me your number."
I rattled off my cell number. Then he hung up.
My mind felt like it was in a washing machine on the spin cycle, my heart a lump of lead in my chest.
Jude went to use the bathroom, and I quickly worked out a plan. It wasn't a great plan, but I didn't have much time to work with. I was scared out of my mind, but I didn't have any other choice but do what he asked. I also knew Hunter would find me. He'd come for me. He'd turn this city inside out if he had to, but I knew he would. My scrambling brain couldn't think of a way out, not when someone was poised and waiting to go after my aunt.
Scooping up Josh, I took him to his bedroom and tucked him into his bed, heart hammering. He was thankfully due for his nap and dropped off in a matter of minutes. I trusted Jude. We'd spent a lot of time with the guy over the last couple of weeks. I knew Josh would be okay with him.
I went to my and Hunter's room, and dragged a gray hoodie over my T-shirt, then went to the closet and searched for some kind of weapon. I knew he had to have something here. Coming up empty, I went to his bedside table. I found a small switchblade and took it. If I had to do this, I wasn't going in there completely helpless. Grabbing my purse from the dresser, I shoved it inside then strode to the living room. Snatching up my phone from the coffee table, I shoved it in the back pocket of my jeans. I headed for the door without missing a beat.
Jude was sitting at the breakfast bar and shot to his feet when he saw me. I ignored him and kept moving. "Hang on, Lulu. You can't leave the apartment."
"Josh should sleep for a couple hours," I said then dove for the door. Shoving it open, I ran as fast as I could. Jude pounded after me, but I knew he wouldn't leave Josh alone to follow me. I'd counted on it.
He yelled my name, pissed as hell and cursing up a storm. I ignored him and kept on running.
The scarred wood was smooth under my fingers, it was also sticky, and I made sure not to lean on it. I lifted my glass, took a sip of my Coke and stared at the entrance.
This place was the definition of a dive bar. Low lighting, classic rock pumping from the speakers, customers that looked like they were part of the permanent fixtures. I'd run out of Hunter's apartment building, then ran some more until I was struggling for breath. The text giving me directions came a short time after that. I'd grabbed a cab and here I was-I looked down at the damp coaster under my drink-at Big Johnny's.
I'd gotten a few looks when I walked in, mostly because I was panting, red faced, and sweating, but I'd ignored the looks, ordered my drink, and tried to blend in, taking a seat in one of the corners.
I checked my phone. I had it on silent and the awful feeling in my belly tightened when I saw all of Hunter's missed calls and frantic text messages. I made myself ignore them.
A big guy-wide back and shoulders, huge thighs-walked in. He looked like a professional body builder. His hair was blond and cropped short, features broad and prominent. His eyes searched the bar until they found me then locked on. Fear spiked though me. This was my ride.
My jaw started to ache and I realized I was clenching my teeth. He moved toward me.
"Glad to see you can follow instructions," he said when he reached me. "Let's go, Tomas is waiting."
Oh shit.
I curled my fingers around the switchblade in my purse and nodded, getting to my feet.
The big man tilted his head to the door. "We're going to walk out of here now. If you make a fuss, resist in anyway, I'll call our friend in Hudson, understand?"
Fuck. I had no choice but to go with him. He stood and I did too, gripping the knife tighter. He wrapped his fingers around my elbow and led me to the door. We stepped out into daylight. A typical overcast New York day. I struggled to breath evenly, panic hitting me hard enough to hyperventilate. He yanked me to the right, into an alleyway. A car was parked there. My fear reached its peak at that moment and I opened my mouth to scream, but his hand slapped over my mouth. Grabbing my wrist with the other, he pried the blade from my fingers.