Cut Too Deep, page 19
At a loss for words, Hadley threw her arms around his neck and sealed their lips together. Before long, Hadley was on her back in the bed, Miller between her legs, his hands exploring her body over her pajamas, their lips never parting. The room filled with the sounds of a thousand kisses and whispered promises, and then the heavy breaths of sleep.
Hadley reached across the bed to cold sheets, fearing yesterday was merely a dream, but then smelled toast. She touched her fingers to her sore lips and smiled, remembering the hours of kissing the previous night. With a long sigh, she got out of bed and strolled into the kitchen. Miller was dressed for work and drinking coffee. The businessman in a tailored suit had returned sexier than ever, although as intimidating as ever also. A plate of eggs and toast sat on the serve-through next to a mug of coffee.
“Good morning, Love.”
“Good morning, yourself.” Hadley stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed Miller’s cheek before reaching into the cupboard and removing the tub of Nutella.
“I made you breakfast,” Miller announced, glancing at the tub of chocolate spread with offense.
Hadley grinned and reached for the plate.
“And I sincerely thank you.” He grimaced as she began spreading Nutella over the toast. “But, now, I’m making it better.”
“I sincerely doubt a child’s lunchtime spread is an improvement.”
“Have you ever tried it?”
Miller made a face.
“No.”
Hadley dipped her finger into the tub, coating it generously with the chocolate butter and held it up in a dare. Miller’s eyes glimmered fiercely as he gripped her wrist. He brought her finger to his mouth. Their gazes met, wild with anticipation as he sealed his lips around her finger and sucked it clean. Hadley nearly passed out when he released her finger and slid it slowly over his lips.
Miller licked his lips. “I changed my mind. I love Nutella.”
“I thought you would.”
Hadley smiled triumphantly and bit her toast.
Miller turned, leaning with his back against the counter.
“I’d like to discuss something with you.”
His expression worried Hadley.
“Is everything okay?”
“I think so, but I do have some concerns about retaliation by the men who had me.”
“Do you think they’ll try to hurt you?”
“No.” It was her, Miller worried about. Until he found out why her name appeared on that drive and who thought they owned her, he needed to warn her. “Our communication while I was there was monitored. I might have put you at risk.”
“Oh, my God! Do you think they’ll come here?”
“I’m not sure.” With gritted teeth, Miller ran his fingers through his hair. “Fuck! It was stupid of me to write you.”
“Don’t you dare say you regret writing me!” The tone of her voice shocked him. “Don’t defile our happiness. You writing me changed my life, and I’ll be damned if I let you blame yourself. Look, I’ll be extra careful, but don’t leave me.”
Miller palmed the side of her head, bending to look her in the eyes. “I’m never leaving you. I’m all in here. Your letters changed my life as well. I don’t regret writing you, but I should have been more careful.” He dropped his hands. “I think it’s best if you don’t walk to and from work alone. I’ll drive you, and if I’m not available, I’ll send a driver.”
Her heart began to race with the idea of someone else being in charge of her coming and going. Losing some of her freedom didn’t sit well with Hadley. At the same time, neither did the uneasiness pouring off of Miller. She reasoned his request wasn’t an act of dominance, but more a response to control a situation he felt responsible for.
“Do you think that’s necessary?”
“I do, but only until I’m sure your safe.”
Hadley wanted to know how long that would be, but didn’t ask. She trusted him.
“Okay, if you think it’s best.”
Miller pulled her by the back of the neck and drew her close. She returned his embrace.
“I do think it’s best. I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.”
She shared his fear and hoped Miller would take precautions to protect himself as well.
Hadley kissed Miller goodbye and left him in the elevator. She walked to her office, questioning if Miller driving was any safer. The man had a capacity for speeding, as well as a firm belief that red lights were optional.
Not to her surprise, Mac was in her office waiting for her. Hadley didn’t make it to her desk before the inquisition began. She gave him a summarized version of her last two evenings and then kindly booted him from her office.
Before putting her things away, Hadley went to silence her phone, and noticed a text from a number she didn’t recognize. She swiped the screen, worried it was from the caller she thought had given up.
Miller: I miss you already. What are you doing? x M
Hadley smiled and replied.
Hadley: I’m working. I miss you, too. xo
Miller: What are your plans for lunch?
Hadley: Not sure yet. Did you want to have lunch with me?
Miller: I do, but I can’t. I have a ton of catching up to do here, but I want to make sure you aren’t leaving the building alone.
Hadley hadn’t considered lunchtime when they spoke this morning. She didn’t want Miller to worry.
Hadley: I’ll take Mac with me.
Miller: Well, now I’m jealous of Mr. Walsh.
Hadley: Do you want me to go alone? ;)
Miller: Not funny. Take your friend, but be aware of your surroundings.
The constant anxiety Hadley lived with meant she was always aware, but she didn’t share that with him.
Hadley: Are you grumpy this morning?
Miller: Thinking about something happening to you upsets me. Please be careful.
Hadley: Okey Dokey.
Miller: You’re not taking this very seriously. Perhaps you need to stay in.
Text communication didn’t allow Hadley to see Miller’s expressions, but his implied tone stirred memories of a man she hated. Her father had been a man who made similar types of request, albeit for different reasons. Hadley breathed through the pending panic attack. She reminded herself for the second time today that Miller didn’t want to control her. He felt responsible and took his concern for her safety to heart.
Hadley: I’m sorry, and I do take this seriously. I’ll stay close to Mac and pay attention.
Miller: Thank you.
That was it? Thank you. Miller was indeed grumpy, but Hadley figured his first day back at the office was taxing. She quickly programmed his number into her phone, considering naming him Grumpy, or maybe Pig, but thought better of it.
On the walk to lunch, Hadley was busy answering Mac’s personal questions, such as how it felt to kiss the G-man and did he have a big package. Mac assumed he did and Hadley declined to answer, choosing to punch her friend in the arm instead. Had she not been preoccupied and blushing furiously, she would have noticed the bulky man in the dark shirt, trailing her and her lunch companion.
While eating lunch, it was Mac who noticed the mysterious stranger watching them curiously through the glass. He spotted him when they first left the office, sitting in the lobby, then again at the crossing light.
“Um, I don’t want to alarm you, but is there any reason someone would be following you?”
Hadley froze, her posture stiffing immediately.
“Why?”
“The guy sitting outside to your right has been with us since we left the office. He’s been watching us and he isn’t having lunch. Not even a drink.”
She turned her head slightly, observing the man through her hair. He didn’t appear to be Thai, but then Hadley remembered what Miller said about the ring out of New York being Russian. This man definitely looked European. Panic wrapped around her neck and strangled her. She spoke to Mac, but choked out the words.
“Miller is worried the people in Thailand might come after me.”
That was all she could tell him before a panic attack crushed her lungs. She couldn’t speak. She could barely breathe.
“Jesus, Hadley.” Mac took in his friend clutching her chest, her wide eyes full of fear. “Give me your phone.”
Hadley didn’t move. It took all of her focus to keep breathing. Mac reached across the table, pulling the strap of her purse from the chair. He riffled through her purse and pulled out her phone. With the push of a button, he waited for Miller to answer.
“Hadley, are you all right?”
“Mr. Genetti, this is Mac Walsh.”
Miller stood and was on his way out of the office before Mac said another word.
“What’s happened?”
“We were at lunch when I noticed a man. I pointed him out to her and she shut down.”
“What did he look like?”
“White, bald, big, tan pants, dark blue shirt.”
“Where are you?”
“Franklin Street Deli.”
“Do not leave her side, Mr. Walsh. I’ll be right there.”
Mac ended the call and moved closer to his friend.
“Miller’s on his way. It’s going to be fine. Hadley, please look at me.”
Hadley turned her head toward her friend, her thoughts adrift, and smiled weakly. Her new life wasn’t any safer than her old life.
Mac looked out the window when a dark SUV skidded to a stop at the curb. Two large men exited the vehicle, both dressed in black with blue tooth devices in their ears. They looked like secret service. The pair split up and walked in different directions, talking to whoever spoke in their ear.
Mac turned his attention on the man who followed Hadley only to find him missing. The two men from the SUV regrouped in front of the deli. When they turned their heads in the same direction, Mac followed their line of sight to Mr. Genetti sprinting up the street.
“Mac.”
He turned his head to his friend, relieved to hear her voice.
“Oh, thank God! You scared the shit out of me.”
“Is he still here?”
Mac took her hand and tipped his head toward the window.
“No, but the G-man is, and he brought back up.”
Hadley looked over Mac’s shoulder out of the front window. Miller stood next to two very large men. All three men were casting glances up and down the street. Miller's hand worked through his hair and up and down the back of his neck. He moved his gaze inside, meeting a pair of terrified brown eyes. He shook hands with the two men who got back in the SUV and drove away. Miller walked through the front doors. A man near the front stood up, attempting to introduce himself. Miller ignored him and was at Hadley’s side before she could blink.
Miller squatted down in front of Hadley and took her hands.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded, tears forming.
“What the hell is going on? Who was that guy?”
Miller watched Hadley’s eyes widen before turning toward the angry voice. For her, he would try to remain calm while addressing Mr. Walsh.
“I don’t know, but I’ve got this now.”
“Well don’t you think you’d better find out?” Mac asked, before making air quotes. “And, clearly, you don’t ‘got’ this.”
Miller stood, slipping his hands in his pockets. If asked, he would deny it was so he didn’t punch her friend in the mouth.
“I’m working on it.”
Mac noted Mr. Genetti’s stiff posture and sharp tone, but he wasn’t intimidated.
“You’d better be.”
“Is that a threat Mr. Walsh?”
Mac stepped up close and annoyingly had to stand on his tiptoes to make eye contact.
“Call it what you like, but if anything happens to her, you can bet I will go all kinds of aggro on your ass!”
Miller refrained from laughing at her colorful friend. He was about to thank Mr. Walsh for looking after her, when Hadley pushed between them.
“Stop it!” Hadley shouted. “If the two of you want to partake in a pissing contest, please do it elsewhere.”
She pushed passed them and moved toward the exit.
Miller gripped her arm before she made it to the door.
“You’re not going anywhere by yourself!”
Hadley yanked her arm from his grasp and glared at him with fury. “I was going to wait outside.” Miller glanced around and noticed they had an attentive audience. He held the door for her and then followed her out. Mac joined them a second later and handed Hadley her purse.
As the two men in her life engaged in a minor stare down, Hadley couldn’t help but notice how completely opposite they were. In every way, right down to their damn eyebrows, which they both had knitted, sizing each other up. Mac’s were thin and perfectly lined, whereas Miller’s thick with a few haphazard strays.
Both men were handsome. Mac, with eyes palest blue and a smattering of freckles that swept over his cheeks, was not as tall as Miller and leaner. His friendly face, combined with his welcoming personality, drew you in. Mildly feminine, but not overly flamboyant, he never hid who he was. Hadley admired his confidence.
Miller’s confidence on the other hand, often scared the crap out of her. Combine broad shoulders and towering height with eyes black as night and a scared chin, Miller was a force that men and women cowered to. However, when he smiled with those sparkling white teeth and a quarter size dimple appeared in his left cheek, hearts melted.
It was the heart you couldn’t see when admiring the powering masculinity that Hadley loved most about Miller. Today, he’d shown a different side to Mac and she remembered she was pissed.
Miller could feel the tension radiating next to him as well as feel her gaze searing a hole in the side of his face. He extended his hand to Mac. “Mr. Walsh, my apologies for my behavior. I’ve been told I can be a pig sometimes.” He felt Hadley relax and turned his head to see her smiling. “It’s nice to see you again.” Miller flashed that sexy dimple at Mac and Hadley almost laughed. “Thank you for calling me.”
Mac held Miller’s gaze with skepticism, but then felt faint looking into the eyes of pure male hotness. He accepted the apology and the men shook hands. Hadley couldn’t believe Miller used his flirtatious charms on her friend, but wasn’t at all surprised it worked.
“Mr. Walsh, would you mind telling your boss that Hadley will not be returning to work today and that he can call me if he has an issue.”
Mac agreed, and Hadley swore her friend blushed. Hadley wanted to argue and tell Miller she didn’t need him to take care of her, but she did. She needed him to reassure her that he would fix this and no matter what happened, it wouldn’t come between them. She had a million fears and threw them all atop the pile she now dubbed Insecure Mountain.
Hadley stretched out on the sofa with her feet in Miller’s lap. He removed her shoes and massaged her feet, paying close attention to her arches before moving up to her calves. Hadley closed her eyes and considered if she should tell him it may be possible the man following her didn’t have anything to do with Thailand. The probability her former guardian paid someone to track her movements was slim. Hadley wanted to believe it, but couldn’t bring herself to accept Harold Duwatski would put someone else in charge of his dirty work. He took too much pleasure in tormenting her. When warm lips pressed into the soft skin on the curve of her foot, she set all thoughts of Mr. Duwatski aside and focused on the intensity burning in Miller's gaze.
Miller smiled and placed her foot back in his lap.
“You don’t have dancer’s feet.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, especially given your preference for ballet. I expected to see mangled toes.”
“Oh really?” Hadley chuckled. “You had expectations about my toes?”
His eyes darkened. “Oh, Love, there isn’t a part of your body I haven’t thought about.”
Hadley swallowed, warmth spreading low in her belly.
“Well then, I assume my toes survived because I didn’t start dancing until I was fifteen.”
She’d become rather skilled at deflecting his advances. He rubbed his top lip with his index finger, his expression slack.
“Hmm…remarkable.”
“What?”
“Starting late, but being offered an apprenticeship at the ballet.”
“It came naturally, but I worked my butt off to improve. I feel alive when I dance. At first dancing was an escape I greatly needed, but now it’s part of me.”
“Yet, you gave it up?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
“Not for me.”
Miller didn’t like her answer, but the day had already taken a toll on Hadley emotionally. He didn’t want to make her think of things that made her sad.
“I’m sorry about today,” he said softly.
“Thank you for taking care of me. I think I’m okay now. If you need to go back to the office, I understand.”
“What I need to do, is continue taking care of you.”
His emphasis on need sent her mind running again. Hadley didn’t want to end up like his wife, always calling on him to rescue her. She feared Miller would then be merely trading one addiction for the other.
“I’m fine.”
“I can see that, but I’m not! If anything had happened to you…” He shook his imaginative thoughts away.
“But, nothing happened to me. Mac was there, and I’m fine.”
“I should have been there.”
“You can’t be with me every second of the day.” He smiled secretively. “I mean it. I value my independence a great deal. You have no idea what it means to me.”
“I don’t like the idea of you being alone.”
“At times I might have to be.”
“Fine! We’ll compromise. You can pee alone.”
