Page 11 of Assassin's Prey
She’d never used that word with me. What we had was far deeper, more intense than boyfriend/girlfriend. I wasn’t a boy, for one. I was a killer. And I should be hunting right now, not dragging up the past.
Abby shuddered under my hand. I glanced down, met the uncertainty in her eyes. A corner of my mouth turned up without conscious thought, giving her the reassurance she craved. She leaned toward me, her shoulder, then forehead hitting my hip.
“I’d really like to get her home as soon as possible, gentlemen,” I told Bryant. “As you can see, it’s been a night, and there’ll be a lot of work ahead of us in the next few days.”
Bryant kept glancing between the two of us, a vee digging grooves between his brows. “Of course. Please tell us what you witnessed.”
I did as succinctly as possible.
“Ms. Roslyn, who would be targeting you like this?”
Abby huffed a laugh, shaking her head so that it rolled against me. “I have no clue. As you are aware, I’m sure, there were issues a while ago with my father. Since then, nothing.”
Good girl. Mentioning the incident earlier today would only bring more scrutiny. We couldn’t cover the way the fire had started, but there was no need to draw the police in with more suspicion. Bryant was already too focused on me as it was.
“I live here quietly, no issues, good neighbors.” Abby’s eyes glazed with tears. “Normal.”
Her voice choked on the last word, hitting me like a throat punch.Normal.I could never give her normal.
“We’ll be talking to the fire investigator, see what we can find out, but we’ll need to speak to you again, try to nail down what might have caused someone to do this,” Bryant said. “We have your contact information. If you are available, we’d like to reinterview you in the next couple of days, see if anything new comes to mind.”
Abby nodded, keeping her chin down, her auburn hair veiling her face. “Of course.”
“You have my number,” I said, pulling their attention from her. “Call anytime.”
The men nodded, turned to leave. I couldn’t miss the way Bryant glanced over his shoulder as they walked away. Definitely too much attention.
“I’ll get the EMT, make sure it’s okay to leave.”
Abby nodded, not raising her head. I waited a moment, not sure why, then left to get things settled.
At my text, Eli and Remi met us just down the street from the scene with an SUV. After throwing Abby’s suitcase in the rear, I bundled her into the back seat, taking the spot beside her, Remi opposite me. Eli took off as soon as I had her secure.
Over Abby’s head, I shot Remi an inquiring look.
“I was able to track them two streets over, to a van,” Remi said, his voice quiet in the car. “Too many of them to take out on my own. They were alert.”
They would be considering what they’d just done to draw attention to themselves. If I hadn’t been focused on Abby, they’d all be dead.
“Same deal as the motorcycle: no plates, generic make and model. They were gone before I could grab transport to follow.”
“Any feelers come back positive, Eli?” I asked.
Eli threw a glance over his shoulder, then turned back to watch the road. “Not yet. But that doesn’t mean it won’t. They’re coming in hot and heavy. That won’t go without notice.”
I grunted in agreement.
Eli turned a corner, and Abby leaned hard against me. I couldn’t stand it anymore. She might not want me to hold her, but I sure as fuck wanted to. I needed to hold her, to help her gather back together the pieces of herself that had shattered apart with the home she’d built.
So whether she wanted it or not, I put my arm around her. Her bones always felt fragile, delicate beneath my rough hands, as if the slightest touch might break her. It wouldn’t—Abby gave as good as she got most times. The only time she broke was when she was beneath me, in climax.
She stiffened against my chest, tried to pull away. “Stop it,” I hissed. “Just stop.”
The words were low, though I had no doubt my brothers could hear them. I didn’t care. All I cared about was touching her, holding her. Breathing in the smoky vanilla scent of her that reassured me she was alive.
I turned in the seat, gripped beneath her knees, and forced her legs over mine. Wrapped both arms around her, a shield from the rest of the world. Abby didn’t protest again, but her barriers were up, her body tense. Holding a part of herself away. Protecting it. The only way I’d break through the barrier was with my body, my heat. Sex. But if I tried that tonight, I had a feeling she’d shatter, and not in a good way.
Let her resist me for now. I’d be waiting in the morning. This would all be waiting in the morning.
