Headhunter (With Me in Seattle Mafia #2) - Kristen Proby Page 0,6
fast. I don’t know who the hell he was.”
“I do,” Shane says. “We’ll talk about it all when we get to my place.”
“Your place?”
He just looks at me with those gorgeous brown eyes that always seem to hypnotize me.
“Shane, I have to work. Annika needs me. Oh my God, Annika!”
“We’ve already told her that we found you safe and sound,” he assures me. “We’ll stop and see her before we go to my place in the mountains.”
“Shane, I can’t go with you to the mountains.”
“And I can’t let you go home,” he says. “Not until we have a full picture of what’s going on here. I’m going to keep you safe, no matter what. A little time away from work won’t hurt anyone.”
“I don’t—”
“I’m not asking,” he says, his voice sharp, and I gape up at him.
“I was just kidnapped once. I won’t do it again, Shane. I care about you, and I enjoy being with you, but I’ll live my life under my terms.”
He rubs his hand over his lips in agitation. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
My head is throbbing. “I don’t want to have our first fight on this plane.”
His expression softens, and then he chuckles. “Fair enough. Have you eaten?”
“My captor didn’t offer me room service.”
“Let’s go eat something,” he suggests and reaches out for my hand. He leads me into a different part of the plane where the others are seated. Carmine and Nadia are curled up on a loveseat, looking at an iPad. Rafe is staring out the window. All their heads come up when they hear us enter.
“How are you feeling, sugar?” Nadia asks, rushing over to hug me.
“I’ll be okay. I’m hungry.”
“I have a tray ready for you, miss.” I look up at the formal voice and blink at the older gentleman who’s smiling kindly at me. “I’m Charles, and I’m happy to help you today.”
“Thank you.” I glance up at Shane, but he just nods and gestures for me to sit at a table. Within a few seconds, Charles sets a charcuterie board full of cheeses, meats, nuts, and olives in front of me, and I immediately dig in. “This is awesome.”
“What would you like to drink, miss?” the attendant asks.
“Water, please.”
He nods and turns to fetch my drink. Shane sits opposite me, watching me wolf down the food.
“Want a cashew?” I ask him, holding out the nut.
“No, you eat,” he says.
“How long has it been?” I ask, suddenly not sure how long the jerk had me. “Since I left the clinic?”
“About twenty-four hours,” Rafe says.
“This is pathetic,” I reply with a laugh. “I just ate twenty-four hours ago and I’m starving. I can’t even consider this a fast.”
“Killing people burns a lot of calories,” Nadia says.
“And so does adrenaline,” Carmine adds.
“True. And probably the drugs. What a crazy turn of events. So much for living a boring life.”
“I have questions.” I look up at Shane’s statement, and my stomach tenses. “Questions I need answers to so I can do my job here and protect you.”
“I’m not your job.”
His jaw clenches. “Yes. You are.”
“No. I’m not.” I eat a grape and consider him. “Don’t get me wrong. You’ll never know how much I appreciate all of you for saving me. I shudder to think what might have happened to me if you hadn’t come to find me. I would have died. Whether that was a long, slow death with a corpse decaying next to me, or a quick one when the other bad guys got there, I don’t know. But I wouldn’t have lived through it. So, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude that I can never repay.”
“You don’t owe us anything,” Nadia says. “This is what family does.”
“We rescue each other from kidnappers?” I ask, suddenly feeling emotional. Annika and Nadia are the only family I’ve ever really had.
“Among other things,” Nadia says with a wink.
“I’ll answer your questions,” I say with a sigh. “But can I please eat this delicious cheese and get some rest first?”
“I don’t see why not,” Shane replies, seemingly placated for now. I need to think about how much I’m going to tell him.
It’s not that I don’t trust him. It’s that I’m embarrassed. Of what and who I come from. Of what I had to do as a child. And I’ve always hoped that my past was so far in the rearview that it was forgotten.
Over.
But now, out of the blue, it’s front and center. Exactly where I never wanted it