CHAPTER NINETEEN
- NOW -
I TOOK AN INAPPROPRIATE amount of time on my appearance the following day. I’d showered, shaved, put some makeup on, and had even take the time to style my hair – which was completely stupid as Kellan has seen me looking my absolute worst.
I was stalling. I could admit as much to myself.
With an irritated huff at myself, I put my hairbrush down, and made my way downstairs. I had a million things that I could have been thinking about, a million reasons for my insomnia last night, but I’d had Kellan on my mind.
What would today be like? One kiss could be explained away, but this was the second time it had happened. Would he mention it? Would we end up acting like nothing had happened like we had last time?
I’d barely allowed myself to think about last time, explaining it away as a heat of the moment thing. But there was no ignoring the truth now. I liked Kellan. I was attracted to him. And I maybe even loved him. But I had no idea how he felt. We hadn’t discussed it.
I felt a little nervous walking into the kitchen. My wayward thoughts were put on hold however when I saw Kellan on the phone. He had it in his hand on loudspeaker. Phoenix stood next to him, both of their heads inclined towards the phone, listening carefully.
Kellan glanced up, his eyes landing on mine and lingering. I didn’t look away. I wouldn’t have been able to even if I’d tried. There was something different in his eyes. I’d always found him hard to read, but today there was something unmistakably warm there.
“What you did last night was reckless and stupid....” the harsh voice, immediately recognizable as Nathan’s, came through the phone.
Last night? For one bizarre moment I thought he was talking about the impromptu make out session in the yard. It took a moment for my brain to catch up with me. I realized he was talking about Antonio’s house, and the fact that we’d technically engaged in breaking and entering. We’d broken the law. How had he found out?
“We needed answers,” Kellan spoke calmly, his eyes still locked on mine.
I stepped further into the room, my stomach a flutter of nerves. I could see by the determination lining his posture, by the very look in his eyes that he wasn’t going to be acting as though nothing had happened last night,
It filled me with relief. It scared me. This was happening. Whatever this was.
“You realize, don’t you, that there were cameras outside of his property?” Nathan said, sounding furious.
“It was taken care of,” Phoenix spoke this time, running a hand through his hair. His hand trembled and he clenched it into a small fist at his side. I frowned in worry.
There was a moment of tense silence. “I could have you arrested.”
I almost snorted. Arrested? He had some nerve. He’d gotten the flash drive, and now it seemed as though he was ready to wash his hands off of us completely.
“But you won’t,” Kellan said, a little chill seeping into his voice. “Or you’ll have to reveal that you were also watching the house. It would jeopardize your whole investigation. Besides, we needed to find Mario, and you weren’t willing to help. If you’ll stop treating us like we’re the enemy, I can tell you what I found there.”
Nathan made a noise that Kellan took for assent. Turning the phone off speaker, he pressed the cell to his ear. He touched my arm gently for a moment, before walking out of the kitchen.
I heard him start to explain to Nathan what we’d found at the house. Although he was pissed, it seemed he was still willing to be civil.
With him gone, my stomach settled a little and I poured myself some coffee. The hot liquid did wonders for my nerves, and I was much calmer by the time Kellan returned.
“I guess we should have expected that the cops – the good ones – would be watching,” I said, putting my mug down.
Kellan paused, picking up an apple from Phoenix’s fruit basket. He took a bite, looking as though he were debating something. “I already knew.”
“What?” Phoenix exclaimed.
“And you didn’t say anything?” I asked, indignant.
“What good would it have done? You were already nervous as it was. Besides, they weren’t going to do anything. I was sure of that.”
Resentment built up within me at the thought of Nathan and his men watching Antonio’s house, maybe watching Dad being held against his will there, and doing nothing. I shook my head. They were the FBI, despite what they were hoping to achieve by waiting to take out the whole of the LSG, they wouldn’t overlook something like that. Would they?
My trust for police officials had long fallen down the drain.
“You can’t keep trying to protect me,” I said softly.
Our eyes met.
Things were different. I could feel it, unmistakable, in the air. Say something, I mentally willed. Anything at all.
His eyes darkened, his lashes lowering as a heated, almost predatory look entering his eyes. Things were different alright. Phoenix must have sensed it too. He stood up, ready to leave the kitchen.
“Wait, I’ll make us some lunch,” I told him, reluctantly getting off the table. I’d dawdled so much today that it was too late for breakfast. Plus, it was his house. There was no way I was making him feel like a third wheel.
“I’ve already eaten,” he said, disappearing out of the kitchen door before I could utter another word. I stared after him for a moment, before I busied myself with preparing lunch.
Kellan didn’t say anything else, though his eyes remained on me. I tried to look fully engaged in what I was doing, though every part of my body was attuned to his.
Opening a drawer, I stood on tiptoes, to reach for a cooking pan. Phoenix wasn’t really a tall guy, but apparently the extra few inches he had on me made all the difference.
I jumped when I felt a hand on my waist. Kellan’s scent entered my senses, making me feel almost dizzy. He smelled of musk, wood, and spice. I was heady and overwhelmed. He stretched up, his hard chest pressing firmly against my back as he used his other hand to pull the pan down for me. His palm lingered on my hip.
I hardly breathed as I stared down at his hand, strands of my hair falling into my face. When I glanced back at him, he moved his hand to push my hair back behind my ear, his warm palm grazing my cheek as he did.
He spoke hoarsely. “April–“
“Whoa. Okay–” a voice said from behind us. My head jerked towards the doorway, and I saw Phoenix standing there, two spots of color high on his cheeks. “Sorry, I just needed to, uh–“
“It’s fine, man.” Kellan stepped back, and I tried to quell my disappointment at the small, subtle movement.
Phoenix grabbed a glass of water, and a bottle of pills, before practically fleeing the kitchen.
“Wait, Phoenix,” I called out, following him. I remembered the way his hands had been shaking early, and worried about how he was doing. I found him in the hallway with one foot on the stairs. He stepped down, turning towards me as I approached.
“I really am sorry,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
“Kellan was just helping me to get a pan down from the shelf,” I said lamely.
“Right.” Phoenix nodded, biting his lip. He suddenly looked like he was holding back a smirk.
“I am making lunch though,” I continued, “and I know you didn’t already eat, so don’t even bother trying it.” I shot him a look.
“Thanks, April, but I’m really not hungry,” he told me, his fingers drumming on the banister. “I gotta get some work done. I’ll grab something later.”
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked softly.
“I’m fine, April. I have my up days, and my down days. Really. I’m okay.”
Left with little choice, I took his word for it and went back to the kitchen.
Kellan was on the phone again when I entered. He stood straight, facing the window with his back to me.
I paused, taking a moment to study him. I’d never fully allowed myself the luxury, always afraid he’d catch me looking. He was hot. That was undeniable. The bulge of his arms visible through the short-sleeved shirt he wore, the sharp profile of his face as he stared out the window, and the curve of his ass in those jeans... he was undeniably sexy, and I’d always kind of resented him for it. Well, I had in my teenage years. I hadn’t wanted to find him attractive. I hadn’t wanted to have a crush on him.
I’d known, even then, that it would only break my heart.
Kellan glanced over his shoulder, the look in his eyes, and the raised eyebrow letting me know that he was well aware that I’d been checking him out. I bit my lip. His eyes dropped, following the movement.
“I’ll get there as soon as I can,” he murmured into the phone, before hanging up.
“You going somewhere?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nathan wants to meet with me,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket.
“Why?” I asked, surprised.
“I’ll find that out in approximately two hours.” He took a few steps forward, and then hesitated. “We’re meeting at his office. You can come too. If you want.”
“You want me to come?” I said, taken aback. Kellan shrugged and I couldn’t quite read his expression. I shot him a small smile. “I’ll go grab my jacket.”
* * *
I could feel the kiss hanging in the air between us as I drove.
To say that I’d almost tripped over my own two feet when Kellan had actually said yes, when I’d teasingly asked him if I could drive, would be an understatement. I’d long stopped expecting him to say yes, and I’d only really asked out of habit.
Kellan leaned back against the passenger seat, looking right at home against the sleek leather interior of the car. His legs were splayed out in front of him, the breeze from the open window ruffling his hair. I could feel his gaze on me the entire way to Nathan’s office. The. Entire. Freaking. Way.
I was more than relieved once we finally parked up. I rolled my shoulders as I got out of the car, the tenseness of the past hour having left them rigid. I should have told Kellan to take a picture; it would have done my shoulders a world of good. And lasted longer.
The building was huge. There were actually several buildings on the compound. Nathan was in the biggest building, right at the end of the base. We parked in the closest car park, walking towards the sky-rise. There were over a dozen floors in the building. Gleaming, light-reflecting windows were everywhere, making it look expensive and modern from the outside.
Once we were inside, we had to show ID, and get clearance, in order to head up to Nathan’s office on the very top floor.
I sneaked a look at Kellan from the corner of my eye when we stepped into the elevator. He was looking down at the floor, a small indent between his eyebrows.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked, surprising even myself by the question.
“Yesterday… your dad would have killed me.”
“He’d have rung your neck,” I agreed with a smile, though I wondered. The worlds came easily, but felt like they fell short of the truth.
I couldn’t imagine Dad ever being furious if he thought that there was something going on between me and Kellan. At least, not now that I was an adult and Kellan wasn’t living down the hall from me.
Mom... I couldn’t even imagine her reaction. I was fourteen when she’d died, and although we’d had lots of conversations about boys, it had always been in terms of the far off future. I felt a pang go through me at the thought of her, and how different my life would have been, if she’d still been here today. I’d never get to hear her advice.
“Come on, it’s this way,” Kellan said, as the elevator door opened. He nodded at a glass wall further down the corridor that had Nathan Reynolds – Field Intelligence printed on it in large writing. The glass gave us an eye view of the receptionist sitting behind a large oak desk, stapling some sheets of paper together.
The woman looked up as we entered. “Agent Reynolds has been waiting for you,” she said, standing up. “If you will follow me.” She skirted around the desk and walked towards a large door on the left. With a firm knock, she opened it.
We glanced at each other, before following the small, prim woman inside.
Nathan’s office was large and spacious. He sat behind a large desk on the far wall, another man I’d never seen before sitting across from him. Seeing us enter the room, they both stood up, straightening their suit jackets.
The receptionist left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
“Mr. Reed.” Nathan nodded. “Miss. Mansten. This is my colleague, Trace Upton, who has been supervising a lot of the LSG operation–“
“What is all this about?” Kellan asked. “Why am I here?”
I bit my lip, hiding a smirk as Nathan tried to conceal his displeasure at being cut off.
Nathan gestured for us all to be seated. He sat down behind his desk, Kellan and I taking the armchairs next to Trace. “We’re in a bit of a sticky situation,” he said delicately.
“And what has this got to do with me?” Kellan asked, his thoughts carefully veiled.
“You’re a bounty hunter, Mr. Reed. You can enter and exit places that our officers cannot,” Trace said. “You can get into the warehouses.”
“And you can’t?” Kellan asked, eyebrows raised. I looked at Nathan, too, wanting an answer.
“Not without a warrant. Unfortunately, we have reason to believe that as soon as one is issued, the LSG will be made aware. As of yet, they are unaware that they are on our radar. We would like it to remain that way for as long as possible,” Nathan told us.
“You want me to go inside the warehouses… and do what?” Kellan asked.
Nathan’s eyes lit up with a fleeting, anticipatory look that left me feeling unsettled.