Chapter Twenty: Hannah
After I stuffed the flash drive into my purse, I headed to the ladies’ room to splash water on my face. Every time I came to this office I got a case of the flop-sweats. The owner never spoke to me, though his eyes said volumes. Now, like I’d done for the past three deliveries, I’d walk down that hot sidewalk and head to Starbucks for a coffee I didn’t want. I’d gag it down, trying to look like a woman relaxing after work but really trying to calm my nerves, and then call for an Uber to take me back to the club.
Such a small assuming thing nestled among the tissues and makeup in my purse, but to me it felt like a cement block pulling me deeper and deeper into dark waters. I knew what it held, and my seemingly insignificant part in whatever my brother had planned with this legitimate thug seemed incredibly significant to me.
No amount of education was worth what these trips did to my sanity. I might not be a criminal, but my involvement brought me closer and closer to that fine line between innocent bystander and conspirator.
I stared at myself in the mirror above the sink, hating the girl who stared back. I’d chewed off all the lipstick while waiting for the man to give me the latest message, and my lips looked raw and ragged. Like my nerves. Like my thought process. Like my life.
“You’re losing it,” I whispered.
I tried shaking out my hands to remove the pinpricks of anxiety. I splashed some more water on my hot cheeks. Finally, I reapplied the lipstick, but nothing could cover the damaged skin.
“Fuck it. Get your coffee, relax, and get home.”
I slung my purse on my shoulder, yanked open the door, and made my way to the office door. Just as I stepped out into the hallway, an arm snaked around my waist and spun me toward the wall. Someone grabbed my hands and lifted them over my head. I tried to cry out, but a mouth slammed over mine, and I would have slumped to the floor if he hadn’t pressed his body against mine to hold me up.
Danny…
He kissed me thoroughly, his tongue sweeping into my mouth, and I reveled in the taste of him again. I’d missed it. I’d miss the smell of him, that cool musky scent that seemed to belong to only him. His tongue touched every corner of my mouth, slid over my teeth, and then he sucked my tongue into his mouth. With each suck of his mouth, my cunt clamped hard on emptiness. His fingers tightened on mine, and his hard cock pressed against my body, so warm, throbbing with the same need I felt.
Finally, he pulled away and put his forehead against mine, staring into my eyes.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi.”
“I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
Under his spell, that magnetic pull we seemed to have between us, I simply stared into those dark eyes, feeling his breath on my skin.
And then it hit me.
I tugged my hands free and pushed him away. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? I followed you. The better question is, what are you doing here?”
I pulled my purse tighter against me. “None of your business. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I started down the hall, but he spun me around.
“I don’t excuse you,” he said, holding me in place.
I cast a glance toward the door for Armor Security. “Can we at least get in the elevator please?”
His gaze slid to the door then back to me. “Shall I go in and find out why you were here?”
My heart lurched and ended up somewhere in my throat. I could barely get the word out, but out it finally came after a choked gasp. “No!”
He twined his fingers through mine and led me to the bank of elevators. He hummed a bit as he pressed the button.
We made it to the lobby in blessed silence, but I knew it wouldn’t last. He put his hand around my waist outside and started down the street. I had no choice but to keep walking with him.
“So,” he said conversationally, “we could play a guessing game, but that’s such a waste of time, and I suck at games. Besides, I have to be at work soon. Why don’t you just tell me?”
He’d never let it go. Thoughts flew through my head so fast I couldn’t even latch onto one. Finally, I just blurted out, “I was meeting my boyfriend.”
He stopped dead on the sidewalk. I waited for the questions to start, but he burst out laughing.
“Honey, I’m your boyfriend.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Oh, I am, and I know you’re not the cheating type. If you’d had a boyfriend when we hooked up for that one afternoon of glorious sexcapades, you’d have dumped him the morning after. Believe me, I can tell a one-man woman once she’s hooked.” He leaned closer and whispered, “And I’ve hooked you.”
“I am not hooked.” My voice had risen, and a man turned from the parking meter and glanced in our direction. He and Danny exchanged a look I couldn’t begin to decipher, but it pissed me off.
“Yes, honey, you are.” He dropped a kiss on my forehead.
I wanted to deck him. “Oh, so you’re that sure of yourself, are you?”
He just smiled and said, “I am. I’m also sure that the best thing to do is tell me what you were doing in that office.”
I clenched my fist around my purse strap and lifted my chin. I caught the way his gaze shifted for just a split second to my purse. He took my hand and started walking again. We made it all the way to a grocery store before he stopped, tugged me to him, and held me loosely around the waist.
“Hannah,” he said lightly, “there are good choices and bad choices in life. This”—he gestured between us with his free hand— “is a good choice. But what you did today was probably a bad one.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he kept talking.
“I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that Richie is involved in whatever this is, and I can guarantee you that my aim, even in the dark, is pretty damn good. This is bad, Hannah. You need to back away.”
“I can’t,” I whispered, though I couldn’t meet his gaze.
He drew in a deep breath and hugged me. “Then I’ll help you.” He lifted his chin toward the parking lot. “Come on. My car’s here. I’ll give you a lift and let you out a couple of blocks from the club.”
Being with Danny had both calmed my nerves and rattled my thoughts. He was good for me. I knew that. I just hoped when this was over—whatever it was—he looked at me the same way.