In The Trenches: An OPS Protector Romance, page 25
I stopped pacing and grinned to myself. Why couldn’t I just pretend none of that happened? I was putting on her sling and…and my lips found her shoulder and then trailed along the curve of her beautiful neck? Fuck, I was screwed.
The door to the bathroom swung open and she stepped out, still fucking naked. I was at a loss for words. She was fucking gorgeous. The curves of her body, the weight of her breasts…and her pussy on full display. I did the only sensible thing a man in my position could do. I pretended nothing had happened.
“You ready to go?” She stood in front of me, her hand on her hip as she waited on me. For what, I wasn’t sure. “Do you need me to get you some more clothes?”
“Clothes? You think that’s what I need?”
I stared at her in pretend confusion. “Well…you are naked.”
“You kissed me,” she accused.
My mouth opened, and then closed. “Right, but that was an accident,” I came up with. “I was helping you with your sling, but I was never—”
“Is this because of what I told you?”
Okay, now I really was confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you that my step-father nearly assaulted me, and then you got all weird.”
“After I kissed you,” I pointed out.
“Exactly!” she snapped, catching me in my own lie. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Can you put on some clothes first?” I asked, already feeling myself getting worked up.
“Why? You can’t talk to me like this?”
“Naked? No, I’m pretty sure no man could talk to you like this.”
“Well, that’s just too bad. You’re going to tell me what’s going on, or I’ll just stand here naked.”
“That’s going to be pretty embarrassing when I carry you out of here.” I glanced at my watch. “We need to be on the road in an hour.”
“I can wait.”
“So can I,” I said, taking a seat in the chair by the window. I crossed my arms over my chest, once again pretending that this was totally normal. That I could stare at her naked body and not react to it. It was damn fucking hard, and so was I, but I wasn’t giving in on this point. I would not get involved with a client.
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
“I’m not stubborn. I’m logical.”
“You’re a pain in the ass,” she retorted. Biting her lip, she walked over to the chair and snatched her dirty clothes, tugging them on. I shifted in my chair, growing more uncomfortable by the minute as I watched her ass sway as she pulled on her pants, struggling with only one arm. “You could help, you know,” she shot over her shoulder.
“I’m pretty sure I can’t,” I said, clearing my throat. I was painfully hard now. If I stood and walked over to her, I would do things I really shouldn’t do.
“Fine. Be a jerk.”
“Trust me, you want me to be a jerk.”
But that all went out the window the moment she pulled the sling off and cringed in pain. Getting to my feet, I stalked over to her and grabbed the top to help her into it. She slowly looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes asking me for something I couldn’t give. We had issues to deal with, and none of those would be solved with a quick roll in the sack.
“Let’s get this on you.”
“I thought you didn’t want to help.”
I gripped the shirt even tighter, fighting the urge to do what I really wanted. “We have to leave,” I said, sliding the shirt over her head and helping her arms through. After getting her flannel shirt on, I stepped back, rubbing my hand across the back of my neck.
“I’ll be in the truck.”
I turned and stormed out of the room, berating myself for being so weak. As I sat in the truck and waited for her, I wondered if it would really be that terrible to give in and take what I wanted. But as she walked out of the room, looking a little more than dejected, I realized too many people had already used her. I wouldn’t be one of them.
“Ready?” I asked as she got in the truck.
“Sure.”
I put the truck in reverse and pulled out of the lot. It was going to be a long drive to Kansas.
* * *
We drove for most of the morning in silence. The air was broken in our new-old truck, so the windows were down and the hot breeze was the only thing keeping us moderately cool. We would stop in Colorado for the night before continuing in the morning. I had a lot on my mind, worrying about how Hayes was involved in this, what Beth knew that might get us into trouble, and my own company.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as I glanced over at her, trying to find a way to move past what happened this morning. The only thing I could think of was to tell her exactly how it was, and that might cause a greater fallout in the end. But it had to be done.
“I don’t sleep with clients,” I said bluntly, not bothering to look over at her.
“Excuse me?”
I pressed my lips together, irritated I had to talk about this. “You’re a client, and I get it. I saved your life and now you think there’s something between us. It happens a lot. But Beth, no matter how many times I save your life, nothing’s going to happen between us.”
I sat there, waiting for a response when she finally gave a one word answer. “Wow.”
I waited for more, but it didn’t come. Finally, I tore my eyes from the road and looked over at her. “Wow, what?”
“You really think a lot of yourself.”
“That’s not at all what I meant.”
She spun toward me, her face pinched in anger. “You really think I’m so desperate for affection that I would fall to your feet and beg you to sleep with me?”
“Again, that’s not what I meant.”
“I’m not some damsel in distress!”
I snorted at that. “Then why do I keep having to rescue you?”
“You know, it’s like you open your mouth and the stupid just falls out.”
“I think I liked it a lot more when you were timid and shy,” I muttered.
“I’ve never been timid and shy, just cautious.”
“Bullshit,” I spat, glancing over at her. “When I met you, I could feel the fear coming off you.”
“Because you’re twice the size of me!”
I jerked the wheel to the side of the road and put the truck in park. “You know what I think?”
“Why don’t you tell me,” she said snidely.
I put my hand on the back of the seat and leaned in closer. “I think your step-dad did a lot more than you’re letting on. Maybe he didn’t go as far as I thought, but he fucked with your head, and now you look at every man like he’s going to do the same thing.”
“That’s not true,” she said weakly. “If it was, would I have walked around in front of you naked?”
I couldn’t explain that one, other than she was attracted to me. “It doesn’t matter what you did this morning. I remember when we met, how terrified you were of me. You didn’t want anyone touching you. You back away from men when they walk by. You flinch at sudden noises. Every action you take tells me everything I need to know.”
I watched as her throat bobbed. “And what is that?”
I stared at her intently, reading the fear in her eyes—not from me, but that I knew the truth. “He cornered you, probably a lot. He said things, maybe even did things that suggested he was going to take something you weren’t willing to give. He probably jacked off in front of you.” Her nostrils flared and her pulsed thrummed hard in her neck. “He may not have raped you, but in your head, he did. And that’s just as fucking bad, because you can’t ever escape that.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she quickly brushed them away, refusing to look at me any longer.
“I’ve seen it before, and the only reason I can think of that you aren’t terrified of me anymore is that you trust me,” I said quietly.
“It doesn’t matter if I do. We’re stuck together for now.”
“It matters to me. I know it’s hard to put your faith in anyone after your trust has been broken, especially when you were so young. I would never do anything to make you think I was like him, and that’s part of the reason I won’t sleep with you.”
She scoffed at me, wiping the last of the tears from her face. “You wish I would sleep with you. The truth is, you’re just too damn cocky for your own good. I’d rather sleep with Fox.”
I smirked at her, putting the truck in drive. “Yeah, and then you could have sing-alongs every night before bed. But the truth is, Fox is crazier than I am. You haven’t even begun to see what he’s capable of.”
“Trust me, I’ve seen worse than him.”
“Worse than your step-dad?”
“Definitely,” she muttered.
“So, who are you running from?”
She huffed in irritation. “Bad guys.”
“I figured as much,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Who?”
“I’m not sure exactly,” she mumbled. “I was taking a friend home. She lived in Southern California. I took a wrong turn and ended up on some long road to a farm or something. Except it wasn’t a farm.”
“What was it?”
“A heroine distribution center.”
“No shit?”
She nodded sagely. “And stupid me, I had no idea something was wrong until I wandered into a barn looking for someone and found myself surrounded by a shitload of drugs and at least thirty armed men.”
“So, what you’re saying is you just sort of stumble into trouble.”
She laughed slightly, shaking her head at me. “I guess you could say that after what happened at the research facility.” She went quiet for a moment. “I thought it was just Adam after me.”
“Do you know what those men wanted?”
“No, and I wish I had never been there. I only took the job because it paid more. I was trying to save up to get further away and maybe live a normal life.”
I frowned at that. “How did you get away from them?”
I glanced over at her when she didn’t respond, but she was lost in thought, staring out the window. “Beth?”
36
BETH
I had been driving down this road for nearly a half hour, with no signs of life anywhere in sight. A few times I saw signs that it was private property, but I kept driving because there wasn’t really a place to turn around on this narrow, gravel road. Finally, up ahead I spotted an old farmhouse. I just needed some directions to get out of here and back home.
I pulled to a stop in front of the house and stretched as I got out. Maybe if they were really nice, they’d invite me inside for a drink of water. I was so damn thirsty. I walked up to the house and banged on the door, but no one answered. The sun was already setting, and from what I could tell, there were no lights on in the house. I walked around the porch, looking in windows, but there was nobody.
I heard a noise off in the distance and walked down the steps toward the barn. Something was going on in there, so they must have been working late. So glad that I was finally going to talk to another human being, I didn’t notice the odd smell, or the fact that when I flung open the door, a heavy white powder hung in the air.
Stumbling back a step, I hid behind a crate, looking at the massive production in front of me. I’d been around drugs growing up. My mom was one of the biggest buyers on our block. But I’d never actually seen the whole operation in motion. I glanced back at the door, wondering how the hell I was going to get out of here without being seen. I quickly pulled out my phone, making sure it was on silent as I opened my camera. If I got caught, I needed to have evidence on my side.
Peeking around the corner, I started snapping photos, zooming in on what I thought were important things around the warehouse.
“Tucker’s on his way here,” one of the men said loudly. “Let’s get this place cleaned up. He’ll be here any minute. And he’s bringing a friend.”
“Who?”
“Who do you think?”
“Christ, not that fucker. I hate Walton.”
I frowned, wondering who Walton was. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I slipped around some more crates, sticking to the shadows as best I could, then snapped a few more pictures when I came across a crate not sealed. Peeking inside, my eyes widened. It was filled with stacks of hundred dollar bills. After a few more pictures, I uploaded the pictures to my secure cloud account.
Slipping my phone in my back pocket, I made my way back to the door, ready to get the hell out of there. But when I pulled open the door, I knew I wasn’t leaving. Someone was standing by my car with a radio in his hand. I was so fucked.
“Mr. Walton,” another voice said.
I gasped, pressing myself against a crate just as a man walked past me. Narrowing my eyes, I finally realized who they were talking about when I saw his face. It was the governor, and he was here at a drug distribution center, or whatever the hell this was.
“Tucker,” Walton said as he approached. I quickly pulled out my phone and snapped a few pictures just as the men shook hands. “I’m assuming everything is running smoothly and on time.”
I quickly switched to video and stayed as far back as possible.
“We just got another shipment from Mexico.”
“That was supposed to be here a week ago. What’s the holdup?”
“Our drug runners had a little trouble getting through the border inspection.”
“I thought you bought off a guard,” Walton said angrily. “That’s why I’ve been feeding so much money into this organization. Hell, I need to put the funds back before anyone notices.”
“Hey, I didn’t tell you to allocate money from the state to this project. It was supposed to be a personal loan.”
“You needed more money,” Walton snapped. “I couldn’t pull that much money without someone noticing.”
“Yeah, just the whole goddamn state government now,” Tucker snapped.
“Relax, I have it covered. No one will find out, not as long as you keep your fucking mouth shut and get these drugs onto the streets.”
The door opened where I came in and the man by my car walked through. “Boss, we’ve got a problem. There’s a car out front. From what I can tell, it’s a woman,” he said, holding up my purse.
I ended the video and quickly sent it off to the cloud. Then I sent a text, telling my aunt to check our cloud account. I held my breath as I listened intently.
“Where is she?”
“No idea. She’s parked right by the house.”
“Then fucking find her!” Tucker yelled. “Christ, what the hell did you do with the dogs?”
“Boss—”
“I don’t want your fucking excuses!”
I stepped back, trying to blend further into the shadows, but I accidentally kicked a bucket and everything went silent. I stood still, but I knew I just gave myself away. I glanced around for a place to hide, but they would eventually find me. I had the evidence, but anyone could hack into my phone and see what I’d done. A few feet away was a large barrel that had bleach written across the side. I had no idea if throwing my phone in there would erode it or not, but I had to try. I quickly pried the lid, grimacing at the smell, and tossed my phone inside. All the images and video were on the cloud, and I had to hope they couldn’t access that.
I ducked down behind the barrels, closing my eyes and praying they didn’t find me. Moments later, I was hauled up by my arm and dragged out in front of thirty men who all stood around armed to the teeth and glaring at me. The man gripping my arm tossed me to the ground. I barely caught myself before my head slammed into the concrete. Shaking from fear, I looked up at the men in front of me, but didn’t dare stand.
“Who are you?”
“No one,” I shook my head. “I just got lost.”
“This is private property,” he spat.
My eyes flicked to the governor. Part of me hoped that he would take pity on me, that he would stand up for me. Instead, he glanced at the man who spoke to me and shook his head. My heart sank as he motioned for the man behind me to pick me up. I was grabbed roughly and dragged to my feet. They started pulling me away and I knew that was the moment I would die.
“Wait!” I shouted. “If you kill me, everything I took pictures of will go to the news outlets!”
“Stop!” the governor shouted. He stalked toward me, his face mottled with anger. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I shook as I stared the man in the face. If he was going to have me killed, I would only have this one chance to save myself. “I saw what you were doing and I took pictures. And that conversation about you supplying the state funds to a drug operation? It’s all on video.”
“Where is it?” he asked angrily.
“You’ll never know,” I answered, thinking I was being pretty clever.
He turned away from me and then spun around, slamming his fist into my face. I fell hard to the ground, blood gushing from my nose and mouth. Then his foot landed hard in my stomach multiple times until I felt like I would pass out. He grabbed me by the hair and lifted me bodily off the ground.
“You tell me where the fuck it is.”
I gasped for air, staring at him through bruised eyes. “In the bleach,” I murmured.
He dropped me to the ground and walked away. I wanted to watch the reaction on his face, but I couldn’t move to save my life. Everything on me hurt. But I heard his reaction after someone fished my phone out of the bleach. His anger surged through the building, and I momentarily wondered if I had made a mistake in telling him what I knew. Maybe my death would have been swift.
“Tie her up in the other room. I want to know what the fuck is on that phone!”
I was carted off to a room with no windows at the back of the barn and locked inside. They didn’t even bother to tie me up, probably because I was too banged up to move. I wasn’t sure how long I lay there for. I was pretty sure at least a day had passed, but I had lost consciousness at some point and the time flew by.
