Hide and Seek - Lara Adrian Page 0,87
it.
He’d insinuated himself in her life with lies. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Unfortunately that didn’t stop her from caring about what happened to him. She’d spent a wonderful night with him and experienced a closeness to him that she hadn’t felt with any other man before.
It’s only sex, a voice in her head cautioned her. Was that true? Maybe. Then why was her heart contracting in pain when she imagined Nick lying on the ground, a bullet in his head? She tried to shake off the image. She couldn’t let that happen. Somehow she had to help him. She wanted to believe that he would do the same for her in the same situation, though she had no idea if he would really risk his life for her.
However, there had been that brief moment when the gunman had shown up, when Nick had shielded her with his broad back, almost as if it had been an automatic reaction. A protector instinct that had kicked in. Because she was a woman? Or because she was the woman he’d slept with the night before? If only she knew.
His words still echoed in her mind.
I didn’t need to get this close. But I wanted to.
Was it the truth? She was inclined to believe it, not because she was a hopeless romantic—which she was—but because Nick clearly had the skills to get to the information he wanted without sleeping with her. Hell, he’d managed to steal her flash drive and return it without her noticing, because, yes, she’d checked her key ring the moment they’d thrown her into the shed. And the flash drive dangled from it as if it had never been gone.
Nick could have easily broken into her apartment while she slept and taken what he needed. There’d been no need to even make her acquaintance. Had that been his plan at the beginning?
“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered to herself.
Being in Nick’s arms had felt right. And now he’d offered her a way out of her current predicament, and—goddamn it—she wanted to accept his offer and believe that he could deliver what he promised. But for that to happen Nick had to stay alive. She could always kick his lying ass later and tell him what she thought of him.
The sound of a rattling chain tore her from her musings.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Panic rose from her stomach to her throat, sending her heart racing and making her breath stutter to a halt. She gripped the shovel’s wooden handle more tightly, holding onto it with both hands now, raising it for leverage.
Somebody pulled on the chain. The door moved back and forth on its hinges for a moment, before opening outward.
“There we go.”
It was the voice of the stranger.
Without another thought, Michelle took two steps forward, clearing the door frame, before she swung at the dark figure waiting there for her.
“Shit, no, Michelle!”
Nick’s outcry came in mid-swing, too late to pull back the shovel and divert its path. The dark figure—the stranger—lunged to the side, avoiding a hit to his head, but a second person—Nick—stood beside him. As the shovel completed its arc it landed right on Nick’s ass, sending him flying into the dirt.
Nick grunted.
She dropped the shovel and was already running to him, crouching down next to him.
“Fuck, Michelle, what did you do that for?”
“Oh my God, did I hurt you?”
A belly laugh from the stranger made her whirl around.
“I think you guys have some real relationship issues you’ve gotta work on,” the stranger said.
“I was aiming at you,” she ground out.
“Maybe you wanna teach her some target practice, Fox.”
Groaning, Nick pushed himself up to stand and reached for her, pulling her up, looking past her to the other man. “I blame you for that hit, not her. If you hadn’t insisted on locking her into a shed full of gardening tools, that wouldn’t have happened.” Then he looked at her. “Michelle, meet Stingray.” He paused for a moment. “An old colleague of sorts.”
She turned slowly, looking the stranger up and down. His gun was holstered at his side now, and he looked somewhat less scary than earlier. But only just somewhat. “Mr. Stingray.”
The guy chuckled. “Not mister, just Stingray. You know, like Bono.”
Michelle nodded, then glanced over her shoulder at Nick. “You gonna tell me what all this was about?”
“Later. We’ve gotta get out of here first.” He motioned to Stingray. “Lead the way.”
Nick made a motion to follow the guy, but Michelle grabbed his arm. “You’re forgetting something.”
“I