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  “I hurt you?”

  “No, it’s… I’m fine.” She didn’t want to admit she hadn’t had a lover since him. She kissed his chin and inched up until their lips touched in a soft but hot kiss. “I want all of it.”

  He took his time, pushing inch by inch into her. She wanted to grab his ass and shove him deep and hard, but he held onto her hands and wouldn’t let them go. He insisted without saying so that they take their time. His gentle invasion drove her need higher. I love you, her mind screamed, but she kept herself from the admission by tasting his lips, his neck, his shoulder. Moisture made his skin glisten, and she knew he struggled to maintain control. He wanted it as wild as she did, but he seemed determined to prove he could take it slow and still give her all she needed.

  When his cock was buried to the hilt in her, Kian found her lips, and his sensual exploration of her mouth matched the deliberate thrusts between her legs. He moved their hands down to their sides, and held hers against the bed. Still the dominant, he conquered her in a new way, and she couldn’t get enough.

  “Yes, don’t stop,” she pleaded. “Your cock feels so good, Kian.”

  He silenced her with another kiss, and he pulled all the way out until his cock head just touched her entrance. She raised her hips, but he released her hands to hold them down. She waited for the hard thrust, but his shaft parted her folds and sank in degrees. Evie cried out and dug her nails into his back. She raised her legs, running her feet along his calves. Kian pushed deeper. His weight came down, smashing her into the bed. Her pussy clenched around his shaft, holding him in, craving more. Kian reached under her and grabbed her ass to pull her toward him while he pushed into her. Her thighs began to tremble, her core muscles spasming out of control. She clenched her teeth, and the next instant she couldn’t hold back. A scream ripped from her throat as an orgasm tore across her being. Kian kept pumping, slow and steady. She moved under him, willing him to find his release. When he grunted and held still, buried to the hilt inside her, she knew he did. The warmth spread over her abdomen, and she sighed.

  He pulled out and rolled off of her. Evie peeked at him through her lashes, but she could barely make his face out because the sun had gone down, and the shadows lengthened in the room. She realized they had made love without a condom, but she never went off the pill after she’d gone back on it at his suggestion. She didn’t feel like reassuring him at the moment, because it would dredge up old hurts.

  “You can lay on my chest if you want.”

  She hesitated, and then rolled into the crook under his arm. The top of her head fit so right in the hollow at the spot between his neck and shoulder. His arm circled her shoulders. They were as awkward as two teenagers getting it on for the first time, and she covered a grin. Evie laid at Kian’s side, her emotions a whirlwind. She knew soon enough he’d begin questioning her about Anthony to learn more about him. Two years ago, when the FBI learned of his activities, Kian had called her to tell her he had some questions about her cousin. He’d asked Brad to wait for him, but his hotshot best friend had something to prove, and to everyone’s surprise, Anthony had shot him at point blank range in the chest. Brad never had a chance, and all of a sudden, the FBI was looking at her. Leading the pack was her heartbroken husband, and she’d never been so alone. While in many ways, this situation was different, it felt the same, her standing by herself and the one person she needed most on the opposite side.

  She rolled over so her back faced him, and pulled her knees up. Deep, steadying breaths helped the emotional roller coaster to slow rather than create a derailment. The bed springs creaked, and she figured Kian rose to go get cleaned up so he could get back to work, but she felt his warmth just before his arms encircled her waist. He spooned her ass and reached to pull the sheet over the two of them. His hand slid along her hip, and he pushed a knee between hers. She raised her leg, and his cock glided into her pussy. She moaned. His hand found her breast. She arched, pushing her ass into his groin, loving the feel of his thrusts. He pumped deep, pulled back, and drove in again. Just like before, he wasn’t rough or fast. He took it slow, and she took all he had to offer. When he moved to stroke her clit, she let him, gasping at the pleasure he gave. Her orgasm came quick, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder, shaking until it was done.

  He continued to grind against her ass. She squeezed her internal muscles to massage his shaft and give him ultimate pleasure. Reaching behind him, she stroked his ass and pulled him close. His hand spasmed on her breast, and his sigh heated her earlobe. Still, he didn’t come for a long, wonderful time, and then they fell asleep together.

  Chapter Five

  Kian was gone when Evie woke the next morning. The fact didn’t surprise her. He’d made love to her in the gentlest of ways for half the night, probably shirking his responsibilities, and then rose after a delicious kiss and a command to stay put and rest. She showered and dressed, then went to find something to eat. The empty tuna container sat in the sink, and she shook her head that he hadn’t washed it out. Well, at least she’d been able to feed him. He could think of her when he ate his sandwich, but that meant she needed to figure out something else to eat. Breakfast food had never appealed.

  A message dinged on her phone, and her stomach tightened, but Kian’s name appeared. “I had to go in. We have a lead. We can talk about last night and about the code later.”

  She texted back simply, “Okay.”

  He wrote again. “I have to send an agent to take you to get your clothes.”

  “I understand. Thanks.”

  Evie made a cheeseburger for herself and found chips in the cabinet and added those to her plate. Sweet tea rounded out her late morning breakfast, and she sat in the living room watching mindless TV, bored. Then she figured the agent might be hungry, so she’d fix him something to eat. She stood and then realized she had no idea when the guy would show up. At the same instant, a key sounded in the lock, and her heart began to pound. She pressed a hand to her chest.

  “Stupid, calm down,” she murmured to herself. “Kian must have changed his mind about taking me. At least I get to see him sooner than I thought.”

  Words and thoughts died when the door opened and in walked none other than Agent Meghan Blythe, the woman who had told Brad’s wife his death was her fault. She held a bunch of keys in her hand as she paused and glared, and Evie came to two conclusions. One, Meghan had a key to Kian’s house, evidenced by the fact that she’d just used it. Two, of all the people Kian could have sent to pick her up, he’d sent the one agent who hated her and whom she hated right back. Of the most insensitive moves, this was the worst. Maybe it was his way to tell her last night would not happen again because he was already involved with Meghan. So he’s no different than a cheater! I thought he was better than this. Silly me.

  Evie dropped the idea of making the agent food. Meghan could starve for all she cared. “I don’t need you.”

  Meghan’s brows rose. “Excuse me?”

  “You came to pick me up, didn’t you?”

  The woman’s scathing gaze traveled over Evie from head to foot. “If I’d known Kian brought you here, I’d have told him it was a bad idea. No, I came home to grab something before I head back out to find your cousin.”

  Evie caught the tone of blame in Meghan’s voice, but she was too busy fighting the pain in her chest at the words themselves. “Home?”

  A slow grin spread over Meghan’s face, and she wriggled her set of keys in the air. “That’s right, home. Unless you think I stole the key to get in here.”

  “I don’t know, Meghan. It wouldn’t be the first time you stooped low to get what you want.”

  Her face reddened. “Don’t act like your divorce was my fault. You did that all by yourself, but then I’ve always felt Kian made a big mistake in the first place marrying you.”

  “And you let the whole world know. I guess you moved in for the kill as soon as I left.”

  “Someone had to stick by him in his hard ti
me. You didn’t.”

  Evie hated her for the truth in her words. “I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. Like I said, I can get my stuff without your help. In fact, forget that. You don’t have to worry about me getting in yours and Kian’s way. I’ll find somewhere else to go.”

  An expression of alarm came over Meghan’s face, surprising Evie. “Hold on. You can’t just leave. He’ll think—”

  “I don’t care what Kian thinks!”

  Evie started past her, but Meghan stepped in the way, holding up her hands. “If you go now, you’re letting Anthony Paine get away, and who do you think that will affect most? What do you think Kian went through two years ago? For once, think of him and not yourself.”

  Again, the words hurt, but Kian should have told her about Meghan. He had to know the two of them living with him would be awkward. Then again, maybe he thought he could have his cake and eat it too. Maybe he and Meghan were into the threesome thing. Whatever. She wasn’t going to stick around to play sex games with the both of them.

  “Get out of my way, Meghan. I might not have the training of an FBI agent, but I can damn well do a little damage.”

  Meghan’s eyes blazed with dislike. “You’re threatening an officer of the law.”

  “You want to charge me? See how far that gets you with Kian.”

  They stared each other down for a few minutes, but Evie refused to back off. She’d been inches away from total recovery, and now here she was getting slapped in the face with this mess. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, feeling sorry for herself, but she refused to give into emotions—certainly not in front of the size two Ms. Thing who thought she was better than Evie. No, wait. Two years hadn’t been that kind to Meghan. Evie noted how she’d gone up a couple sizes and almost grinned in satisfaction.

  “Well?” she said. “Are you going to move, or am I going to have to make you?”

  Meghan smirked. “You could try, and you’d fail.” She stepped to the side and gestured toward the door. “By all means.”

  Evie grabbed her purse and left the house with her head held high. She walked out onto the driveway and then remembered she’d left her car back at the club and Kian had driven her to his house. Sighing, she searched the Internet on her phone for the nearest bus stop and plotted the course to the bar. By three in the afternoon, she’d collected the car and found a hotel to stay in. She dropped onto the bed and pondered her next move. Kian had the phone tapped, but could he do GPS on it? Of course he could, but then she wasn’t trying to duck him. She needed time to sort through her feelings and get a grip.

  Hunger struck an hour later, and she decided against the hotel’s menu because the cost of staying there would start dipping into her savings as it was, and who knew when the bar would open again? In fact, it might be better to just look for another job. Leo had insurance to cover his losses. She didn’t.

  She remembered coming across a Harris Teeter a mile down the road and headed that way. A burger and chips for breakfast meant she needed to eat a healthier meal, so once inside the grocery store, she headed toward the deli and picked up a readymade salad then doubled back to the fruit section. The plums were hard, so she knew they weren’t sweet. An apple might work, but the flavor got old fast. She stood in front of the tangerines and debated those when a ding on her phone distracted her. Her stomach tightened as she assumed Kian was contacting her to demand what she thought she was doing leaving his house. A short combination of numbers and symbols marched across her screen, and she swallowed.

  Unlike the last message, which she’d figured out right away, this one posed a challenge. The symbol that looked like an S on top of another one, the double S, what meaning had Anthony given it? She wracked her brain, feeling a headache coming on, and rubbed her temple. The original meaning of the symbol meant section, but how had Anthony changed it? Then it came to her. Himself. The symbol meant I or me. Her heart thundered in her ears as she translated the message. “I’m here.”

  All strength left Evie’s fingers, and she dropped her phone in the middle of the tangerines. She looked to the left and right. A woman stood nearby, eyeing her with suspicion. A man pushing a cart filled with various items headed in the opposite direction and soon disappeared out of sight. That couldn’t have been Anthony anyway because the man was a good foot shorter, and her cousin stood at six-two.

  Attempting to calm down, she reached for her phone and started to dial Kian. Another message came in. She understood this one right away. “Don’t do that.”

  Evie abandoned her basket and left the fruit section. She considered leaving the grocery store altogether, but that might be a bad idea. With bright lights and plenty of people around, she would be safer. Besides, there was a good chance the FBI had already deciphered Anthony’s code, and they were headed to her location now. All she needed to do was stall her cousin and this nightmare would be over.

  She strode from aisle to aisle looking for him, but there happened to be no big black guys shopping that evening. She almost believed her cousin was playing a trick and he was nowhere around when she came to the frozen foods section. Anthony leaned on one of the refrigerator doors with arms folded across his chest. He smiled at seeing her.

  “Hey, cuz.”

  Her head spun. She hadn’t seen him in person since just before he killed Brad. He’d worked as a bartender at Leo’s bar, but he’d never been very good at it. Leo had told her Anthony didn’t give it much effort. Leo kept him on for her. Evie knew her cousin kept the job as a cover for the work he’d done under the table, but she had been foolish enough to believe it was all little stuff that didn’t amount to much. Still, she should have known. No one could afford the kind of lifestyle Anthony enjoyed back then. He had hated being poor with a passion and promised her they would never wonder where their next meal would come from once he grew up. She had refused his support and made her own way, but he kept pushing until she met and married Kian.

  Evie licked her lips. “Don’t hey cuz me, Anthony Paine. The FBI is looking for you, and you know it. Why did you break out?”

  “I came for you.”

  “That’s why you shot up my job?” She spoke like she’d seen that type of thing every day, but despite their upbringing, she had been somewhat sheltered. Before Anthony shot Brad, no one could have convinced her he was capable of it or that he owned a gun. “I don’t know why you’re looking for me, but just leave me out of your decisions. It cost me enough, and I’m rebuilding my life.”

  He sneered and pushed off the door to approach her. She took a step back, but he grabbed her arm. The pressure from his hold hurt, and she noticed for the first time in the last two years, he’d bulked up. She tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held on.

  “You call working for that snitch rebuilding? I was glad to hear you divorced the cop, but then you go backward. Are you fucking him too?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “I’m making it my business.” He slid his hand from her arm to the back of her neck and compelled her toward the rear of the store. “I promised you I’d look out for you, and you’re the only family I have now that your dad has passed and your mom is in a home. I paid her bills up for the year, by the way.”

  She glared at him. “I was handling it.”

  “And now I am.”

  Evie weighed her options. If she didn’t scream or get away somehow, she might be in real trouble. She stomped Anthony’s foot, and he groaned then hauled her off her feet. “Don’t be stupid, Evie.” He pulled his jacket back, and she saw the gun. She nearly threw up in her mouth.

  “Y-you’re not going to shoot me.”

  “No, but I will shoot anybody who gets in my way. If you keep me here, I’m thinking your ex will be along in a little while. Do you hate him enough for me to shoot him?”

  Hate Kian? That was the problem. She didn’t hate him, but she had no intention of telling Anthony that. “Don’t do this, Anthony. You’re in enough trouble
. You can’t kill the police. They’ll shoot you on sight, and what about me? Who will I have when you’re gone?”

  He smiled. “That’s what I’m saying. Now come on.”

  They moved through the rear of the grocery store, Anthony pulling her behind stacks of boxes when someone came near. Before she knew it, they had reached the loading dock. An eighteen-wheeler with the grocery store’s name on the side was parked in front of the wide door, but enough room remained for them to jump down to the ground. When her cousin pushed her toward the opening, her cell phone rang. He paused and jerked it from her hands to look at the screen. He smiled and held it up for her to see. Kian phoned.

  Anthony chuckled. “I was stupid the last time letting him catch me, but I’m not going back in. I should answer and tell him that. Naw, better to have him wondering. I should have already put a bullet in his head.”

  He threw the phone across the cement floor, and she heard the screen shatter. Her legs gave, but he hauled her to her feet. As soon as they jumped down to the ground, she spotted the car waiting. She searched her mind for words that would get him to let her go.

  “Anthony, um, Kian and I were thinking of getting back together. That’s why I stayed with him instead of going to a safe house. I know you want me to be happy, and I’m happy with him. Please, just let me go. I won’t tell anyone you were here. I’ll tell him I dropped my phone, and that’s why I didn’t answer.”

  He glared at her and then dragged her across the back lot to the car. When he wrenched the door open and shoved her toward the passenger seat, she placed a foot on the frame and elbowed him in the side. She didn’t see the hit until it caught her on the chin, and her head snapped back. Darkness fell like a thick blanket, and she saw no more.

  * * * *