Page 9 of Black Bay Protector
That took the wind out of her sails. Grumpily, she pointed out, “You know, taking someone somewhere against their will is technically kidnapping.”
He smiled and huffed out a little laugh. “I like to think of it as taking you into protective custody.”
The truth of just how deep this hole was hit her like a slap in the face. In a small voice, she asked, “Am I ever going to get my life back?”
The look he shot her was sympathetic. “As soon as I take them down. And I assure you, Paige, aside from keeping you safe, that’s my highest priority.”
Paige was delighted to see the rest stop they were heading for was one of those big plazas and when she made her way inside, the warm, sweet smell of cinnamon from the Cinnabon set her stomach to growling.
Jace stuck close by her side, his exotic yellow eyes scanning seemingly everything, looking for any sort of threat. Feline eyes, she suddenly thought. His eyes reminded her of a large hunting cat. Maybe a panther.
He nodded his head toward the sign for the ladies’ room. “You go ahead. I’ll keep watch.”
“Can we get some food while we’re here? I’m starving.”
With her mom so upset, that family dinner hadn’t happened and Paige had been too tired to fix something once she’d gotten home.
A sharp nod. “We can do that.”
Hustling into the bathroom, Paige made quick work of relieving herself but took a few extra minutes once she was done to thoroughly scrub her hands which were stained with the rusty shades of Jace’s blood. She was still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened, and everything her companion was capable of. She was pretty sure when it came to Jace No Last Name Given, she’d barely scratched the surface. But she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything. She found him… Intriguing.
Glancing up at her reflection, Paige grimaced. She looked like a wreck. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was a rat’s nest of snarls and tangles that she did her best to finger-comb into some semblance of order but there was nothing she could do about the dark circles around her eyes or the lines of strain around her mouth.
At least she hadn’t gotten any blood on her clothes that would freak people out if they saw it. Paige blanched as she took a closer look. Had this shirt always been so see-through? Under the bright, unflattering fluorescent lights, she could clearly see her silhouette under the thin cotton as well as the dark shadows made by her nipples since she wasn’t wearing a bra.
The blood returned to her face in a rush as her cheeks went rosy with embarrassment. Holy crap. She may have been starving, but her first stop was going to be a gift shop if this place had one to buy a better shirt.
Shit. She didn’t have her purse. No money, no card, no way to buy anything.
Keeping her arms firmly crossed over her chest, Paige left the restroom to find Jace still standing guard outside.
“Ready to grab some grub?” he asked as soon as he saw her. She wouldn’t meet his gaze. Had something happened? His eyes swept over her, lingering first on the tight way she was holding herself, then on the heightened color riding her cheeks. “What’s the matter?”
Despite there being no one around, Paige whispered, “My shirt is see-through.”
Yes, it was, and personally, Jace rather liked the view, but it was obvious she was uncomfortable. “Come on. I’ve got clothes out in the van. You can borrow one of my shirts.”
He should also probably change his own considering it had been Swiss cheesed by the earlier fight and was stained with blood. No need to freak out some sleepy food court clerk and leave them with a lasting impression they could bring to mind if someone came asking questions later.
Back out at the van, he opened the sliding door and grabbed his duffle.
“Have you been living back here?”
“Last few days.” Stakeouts took time.
Unzipping the bag, he grabbed out his olive-green sweater with the shoulder patches and handed it to her. “This should keep you warm.”
As she pulled it on over her T-shirt, Jace shed his own shirt.
Chapter Five
Paigewasgawking.Openmouth, eyes wide, full-on entranced. Wow. Jace wasbuilt. She’d known he was strong – his shirt hadn’t exactly hidden that muscular physique – but seeing all that bare flesh, the thick bulges of muscles, and how beautifully he was formed, made her mouth go positively dry. He had tattoos she absently noticed and when he glanced over at her and caught her staring, she pretended the ink was what held her attention.
On the muscular bulge of his upper arm, there was a depiction of claws that looked like they were slicing out of his skin. Four bloody furrows slashing diagonally down. Across his chest, just under his collarbones, there were words tattooed in a stylized cursive script she couldn’t quite make out at this angle in the low light, and on his rib cage, just below his armpit, there was a square that almost looked like a QR code. How odd.
“Is that scannable?” she asked, motioning toward the last, practically dying to run her fingertips over it.
His grimace was unmistakable as he yanked down the fresh long-sleeved T-shirt and covered the mark. “Yes.”
