The Man I Want to Be (Under Covers)(30)

"Shhh," he said. "We're going to be fine. We'll get out on the roof. I'll go first and then I'll catch you. It'll be simple."

"Simple?" She choked out a laugh. "That's not simple!"

"Suspect is out of the car," Reese said. "Walking to the front door now. ETA is approximately twenty-three seconds."

Placing his hands on either side of her cheeks, Tyke stared at her. "Do  you want to get out of here? Or do you want this guy to catch us rooting  through his house?"

"Go. I want to go."

"Good girl." He reached for her hand and started to drag her to their getaway.

Flicking the knob to unlock it, Tyke threw the window up.

"Entering the front door now," Reese said. "Get out of there."

"Working on it." Like Bo Duke, Tyke threw his long legs out first, then  propelled his body through the opening. He turned with his arms  extended, encouraging her to follow. "Come on, Kenna."

"He's in," Reese said. "Get. Out. Now."

"Kenna, let's go!" Tyke hissed.

She must have heard the front door close downstairs, and freaked out,  because she chirped and sailed through the window, kicking Tyke out of  the way in the process. He lost his balance and tilted backward. He  reached for anything to find purchase, but all he could get a solid  handle on was open air. He tucked and rolled, knowing there wasn't any  way he was saving himself from falling. His shoulder hit the edge of the  roofline, so he shot a hand out, got two fingers on the metal  rainspout, but it wasn't enough. He slid off and fell the ten feet onto  the ground, landing in a large bush. His feet were over his head, and it  felt like a branch was wedged between his legs and another was lodged  in his kidney. He locked his back teeth in an effort not to groan out  loud.

"Bryan," Reese said. "What's your location?"

He winced. "A fucking bush."

"Suspect just walked out the front door. He's heading toward his car. Must have forgotten something."

This time Tyke did groan.

"Oh!" Kenna said in a hushed tone, looking over the edge of the roof. "Oh God! Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Tyke managed to say.

"Are you still going to be able to catch me?"

"Yeah," he said. "Go ahead and jump right now."

There was a pause, then, "Seriously. How am I going to get down?"

"Suspect just turned out of the driveway and down the road," Reese said.

"Just go out the front door, Kenna," Tyke said. "I'll be there as soon as I figure out how to get my legs away from my ears."





Chapter Fifteen


Kenna walked across Tyke's hotel room with warm cloths, rubbing alcohol, and bandages they'd taken from Reese's bag.

"I feel so horrible," she said, sitting next to him.

"You should."

Tyke was propped up in bed, hugging his right arm against his tattered,  blood-and-dirt-stained T-shirt. His shoulder ached from breaking his  fall; he was pretty certain one of the smaller branches impaled his  spleen, not his kidney; and he might have pulled his groin muscle.

She laid the items in her arms out on the bed like she was about to  perform surgery. Which was a crock, because he wouldn't let her within  five feet of a scalpel, even if his life depended on it. Not the way  she'd twisted and contorted his shoulder back into place. No way.  Halfway through she'd nearly dislocated it in the opposite direction  from where he'd started.         

     



 

"I can't believe I completely spazzed like that," she said. "I mean, I  heard the door close, and I guess I lost it. I was so scared he was  going to find us in his house. You were so calm. Weren't you scared,  too?"

Of course he was. First, because he didn't know how Clint would've  reacted if he'd found them in his house. Guarding himself was one thing,  but he'd had Kenna to think about, too. Plus, he didn't want to explain  to the cops why they'd been there. Even as law enforcement, Tyke didn't  get a free pass for breaking and entering without a warrant. Of course,  he would've taken whatever punishment was necessary-hell, he would  endure the worst of the worst for her-but he wouldn't want Kenna to face  the same consequences.

She was looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer, so he said softly, "I'm always scared when I'm with you."

Scared of how he felt. Scared for the future they could've shared. Scared of her reaction once he told her the truth.

Kenna had been reaching for one of the splayed items, but his comment made her freeze. Her gaze flicked up to his.

He tried to shrug, but then he winced slightly when his shoulder ached.

She swallowed and looked away, but not before he caught the slight flush  in her cheeks. "Stop moving. You'll hurt yourself more."

He chuckled. "I don't think it's possible to hurt any more than I do right now."

Opening one of the warm cloths, she began wiping the dirt and grime from  his face. Which was nothing compared to his injuries, but he'd take the  TLC nonetheless. It's the least she could do after almost murdering  him.

"We should probably take your shirt off," she said. "I can't see how badly you're hurt underneath."

Ignoring the dull pain in his shoulder as he moved his arm, he sat up so  she could pull his shirt over his head. Once off, he relaxed against  the headboard, bringing his arm across again.

She stiffened, her arm outstretched in the air. He flipped a glance up,  noticing her staring at his bare chest. Her eyes sparkled as she perused  from one pec to the other and then down his stomach.

He was fit and bulky. Much more than when they'd been together. He'd hit  the gym hard after their breakup. He'd taken out a lot of aggression on  the weight bench. What used to be a tall, broad, lean body was now a  tall, broad, very muscular physique. Tyke had packed on more than forty  extra pounds of muscle. He was a big boy. Big and strong.

And judging from her expression, she liked the beefier version a lot.

He cleared his throat, which made her jump. He smiled. No matter how bad he hurt, he'd always be ready for that.

"Right." She dabbed the wet cloth across his chest like it was made of  glass. So he took his free hand-the one not currently attached to his  previously dislocated shoulder-and he flattened it over hers, smashing  her palm against his heated skin. Likely on reflex, her fingers clamped  down on his skin. So he flexed his pec muscle, making her gasp.

That was all it took.

No more waiting.

"You know," he said. "My stomach is really hurting, too."

"Hmm?" She dragged her gaze away from where her hand was implanted on him.

"My stomach." He started to drag her hand toward his abs. "It hurts. Do you mind?"

Kenna hesitated, like she wasn't sure it was the best idea to get a closer inspection.

"You did push me off a roof," he reminded her.

She groaned and a look of guilt covered her face. "To be clear, I didn't  push you. You were in the way when I came out of the window."

"Flew. You flew out the window."

A slight frown. "I feel bad enough. You don't have to rub it in."

"Take a look at my stomach, and we'll call it even." He tried to pop his  bottom lip out like he'd seen Calder do a million times to Cass. Tyke  must've done it well enough because Kenna sighed.

"Let me see."

She gently poked and prodded him. Her touch was heavenly. Just what he needed to get his mind off his injuries.

"Better?" she asked, placing another warm cloth across his stomach.

"Mmm, yeah," he said. "Much better. What about this side?" It wouldn't  be long until she caught on to his game. In a few seconds, it would be  obvious how her touch affected certain parts of him.

One corner of her mouth kicked up. "You're just sore all over, aren't you?"

There we go.

He stuck his bottom lip out farther and nodded.

She leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his oblique. Too quick.

When she looked back at him with bright-blue eyes and a mischievous  grin, he did his best at giving her a convincing wince. Didn't take much  effort since his entire body was sore. "Everything hurts. Maybe it  would help if you explored a little more."         

     



 

"Aww, poor guy. You think that would help?"

"I think so. Yeah. You might find a few other spots I don't know about yet."

She made a thoughtful sound deep in her throat and swept a hooded look  down his body. "That's true. There's no telling the damage that might be  hidden under here." Her finger dragged up one of his thighs, and it  curled under the hem of his shorts.

A charge of something hot and powerful hit him low in his stomach.  "Yeah," he said, voice rough. "Better be thorough. Just in case."

Kenna turned to face him fully, resting her knees under her on the  mattress. She reached for the button on his bottoms. Making quick work  of it, she slid his zipper down, slowly easing him out of them. The  movement caused a slice of pain in his shoulder, but he bit his tongue  so he wouldn't yelp.