Page 8 of Point of Contact

Not that she imagined a man like Reed lost control. He kept an iron grip on that shit.

Her eyes ‘accidentally’ skimmed down his naked body and she almost let out a groan of frustration. Of all the men they could have sent here, why did it have to be this one? There was something about him that always made her feel a little warm and tingly inside, in spite of his bad attitude.

Or maybe it was because of it. Maybe it was the constant frown he wore in her presence. The disapproving stares he shot her way. The constantly aggravated expression on his too-handsome face.

Whatever it was, she could never seem to stop herself from pushing his buttons. Shoving him closer to an edge that had to exist. Because she was unexplainably interested in discovering what happened when he reached it.

"I don't know what game you're playing right now, but I'm not gonna be a part of it." Reed tried to step around her, like he thought he'd be able to get away.

Silly boy.

Courtney stepped with him, blocking his path. She moved closer, enjoying the way he backed up as she closed in. How flustered he got as her body nearly touched his. "If you think this is a game, then you haven't been paying attention."

She couldn't really blame him for thinking that's what this was. And maybe a year ago it might have been.

Not now.

She held his gaze as she laid out the offer she’d worked hard to be able to make, just in case she ran into a situation just like this. "I have ten thousand dollars with your name on it if you help me get to Alaska."

After stealing a few bucks from her ex fake friend’s cash stash, along with jeans and a T-shirt from her basic bitch wardrobe—and maybe hiding a can of tuna in the heating vent—she hadn't been able to resist the temptation of sneaking back to see who showed up at the sight of her untimely demise. And thank God she did. Because, from where she hid in the bushes, she’d been able to clearly hear Heidi disclose the location of Reed’s hotel through the speakers of his rental car.

After he drove away, she’d picked up a few items at the local Walmart, hoping to disguise her identity before stopping at one of her storage units and snagging the cash she’d stashed there just in case.

Just in case ended up saving her ass more than once today.

Reed's eyes flicked to the bag she brought where it sat next to the bathroom. They lingered just long enough to make it clear the possibility of a little tax-free income appealed to him. But when his eyes came back to hers, they were angry and narrowed. "You can't buy me off, Courtney."

But it seemed like she could.

She inched in a little closer. "What if it was twenty thousand dollars?" She'd been raised by a father who taught her very little about life. But what he had passed on was to always look over your shoulder. Always expect the unexpected. Or, in this case, the expected.

Her father had more enemies than she could count, and over the past year it became more and more obvious they were outnumbering his friends. So she’d stashed weapons in her house and cash in storage units she rented under fake names. She wasn’t excited about visiting another one, but if that’s what it took to get Reed on board, she would.

His nostrils barely flared as he hesitated, thinking it over. When his jaw set, she knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"Not fucking happening."

Damn. He always did enjoy telling her no.

Courtney pushed her lower lip out, batting her eyes at him. "Please?"

She didn't imagine this angle would work with him either, but it was worth a shot. She was willing to do whatever it took to get the fuck out of Miami. And to do it fast. She'd been able to obscure her identity on most things, but there was a chance someone would figure out she had storage units and go sniffing around, asking questions and looking at camera feeds.

If that happened, they would know she didn't die. And her days would be as numbered as her father’s now were.

Reed leaned closer, the tip of his nose almost touching hers. "No."

Oh yeah. He definitely loved getting to tell her no.

But she wasn't giving up yet. She’d thought up more ideas than she could count when putting this plan together. Some more appealing than they should have been.

"Are you sure?" She reached out to trail one finger down the center of his bare chest. "I'll suck your dick every day until we get there." Her mouth watered a little at the possibility.

Being the daughter of a Colombian drug lord made it surprisingly difficult to get laid. No one wanted to end up on her father's bad side, so her opportunities for any sort of physical connection had always been limited.

Reed’s dark eyes snapped to her mouth, lingering a second before coming back to meet hers. "That offer makes me even less likely to say yes."

This time she didn't have to force her pout. "Ouch. Careful. You might hurt my feelings."

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