Protective Custody. Debra Webb

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СКАЧАТЬ she would consider second best, and begging had never been her style. Remorse trickled through him before he could stop it. He knew her too well.

      “Well, then, I hope you’re right.” Victoria folded her arms over her chest. “I hope she can take care of herself.”

      “I stopped caring one way or another a long time ago,” he affirmed aloud. Who was he trying to convince? he wondered with self-disgust. Victoria or himself?

      As if to refute his words an earthshaking explosion rattled the glass in front of his face. Debris from what used to be an automobile flew in a dozen directions. Black smoke mushroomed skyward as flames licked the remaining, mutilated frame. Ian’s heart lurched. He frantically scanned the parking lot. Panicked pedestrians rushed toward the building for cover. He clutched the edge of the windowsill as his heart stilled in his chest.

      Nicole! Where was Nicole?

      Chapter One

      The ground trembled beneath Nicole’s feet. An invisible wall slammed into her face, shoving her backwards until the pavement stopped her. Her head hurt. Badly.

      Nicole struggled to open her eyes…to fight the vortex of thick, heavy darkness sucking her toward oblivion. She had to wake up. To run from the danger! But her body refused to cooperate. She couldn’t move…couldn’t scream.

      Nicole heard herself groan, the sound giving her hope that she wasn’t dead after all. Pain exploded inside her head. She clung to the pain. You had to be alive to feel pain. She felt herself move, a simple side-to-side motion of her head, which initiated another burst of fiery pain at the back of her skull. She groaned again. Louder this time.

      “You’re safe, Nicole.”

      She stilled. That voice…

      Ian. Her lids fluttered open and her eyes labored with the effort to focus in the near-darkness. The face that had invaded her dreams for more than three years finally came into focus.

      “Ian?”

      “It’s okay,” he said soothingly.

      Nicole closed her eyes and savored the erotic sound of his voice. Memories flooded her mind. The explosion. Hitting the ground. And then Ian was there…taking care of her. A weary sigh eased past her lips, her body aching even with that tiny exertion. He had insisted on having her examined at the ER, then he had taken her back to his place. She remembered falling into an exhausted sleep in his arms.

      “My head hurts.” She opened her eyes, and her gaze connected with his. Those emotionless gray eyes gave nothing away.

      “I know.” With gentle fingers, he brushed a wisp of hair from her face. “I’m sorry.”

      Ian’s refusal to accept her case suddenly hit with the same impact as that invisible wall. “Why are you doing this?” Nicole sat straight up with the surge of adrenaline that accompanied that thought. Pain twisted inside her head. She rubbed at the tender spot on the back of her scalp.

      “You were badly shaken. The doctor said you shouldn’t be alone,” he offered quietly.

      Bracing her hands behind her to maintain her upright position, Nicole leveled her gaze on his. “The explosion?”

      “Your rental car apparently.” He searched her eyes. “I’ve taken care of things with the police. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

      This time had been too close. Nicole clenched her teeth and forced herself to breathe deeply and slowly. She needed to be calm—to think. She surveyed the darkened room. Ian’s bedroom. His scent, so familiar, suddenly enveloped her. That clean, subtle musky scent that was his alone. That stirred her blood even under current circumstances.

      His bed. She was in his bed—with him hovering over her. Why had she let him bring her here? He wasn’t going to help her. He had made that point quite clear. Anger shot through her veins, sending her heart back into double time.

      “I have to get out of here.” Nicole scrambled from beneath the covers. She wasn’t safe here. She wasn’t safe anywhere. She had to run as fast as she could.

      “We need to talk.”

      Instinctively Nicole rolled to the other side of the bed, out of his reach. She jumped to her feet and immediately regretted both moves. The insistent throb inside her skull erupted with a vengeance, threatening her unsteady legs. Not quite a concussion, the doctor had said she would be fine. She had been very lucky to only be close enough for the force of the blast to knock her to the ground. Nicole squeezed her eyes shut and focused on blocking out the pain. There was too much to be done. No time to waste. She had to reschedule her flight. She had a witness to relocate and protect. And she couldn’t trust the regular channels to handle it. Someone wanted her and her witness dead. How had the bastard tracked her to Chicago? She had been so careful. No mistakes! No one knew her location.

      No, that wasn’t true, Nicole realized grimly, because he had found her. And he would find her again. She needed her things. Did she dare go back to the hotel and get the few items she had brought with her? She would need a change of clothes.

      Clothes.

      Nicole stared down at herself. The shimmering glow of moonlight from a nearby window confirmed her sudden realization. Her clothes were gone. She wore nothing but her skimpy, lacy bra and matching blue panties.

      “Where the hell are my clothes?” Nicole looked up to find Ian towering over her, his tall, dark frame almost lost in the shadows. Something, some emotion flitted across his features too quickly for Nicole to analyze, and then that mask of iron control fell back into place.

      “I thought you would be more comfortable like this.” His gaze moved slowly over her. “I sent your clothes to be cleaned,” he added in that maddeningly calm way of his.

      That tone. That controlling, no-arguments-tolerated tone. He had no intention of working with her, yet he had taken charge of the game strategy. She was no different than one of his fugitives. He would handle the situation until he could wash his hands of her. That was his way. Ian Michaels always did the right thing. He never deviated from the straight and narrow—never failed.

      Except once.

      And then he had turned his back on her as if nothing had happened between them. As if what they had shared hadn’t mattered in the final scheme of things. He hadn’t given her the benefit of the doubt. Hadn’t waited around for her to explain. Ian had simply walked away. From her. From everything.

      Because she had betrayed him. The fact that she had only been doing her job was of no consequence—even if she had been able to tell him the truth. Nothing she could have said or done would have altered his opinion of her. If the man were capable of emotion he might display some sort of reaction. Anger, pain, remorse, something. Nicole almost laughed out loud. But this was Ian Michaels. She glowered at him. He didn’t allow himself to feel. Hadn’t she learned that three years ago? Hadn’t she learned anything at all?

      “Where are my clothes?” she repeated with all the force she could marshal. She should have known better than to come to him. Why would he care if she lived or died? And how could she blame him?

      “I’ve already answered that question.”

      “This was a mistake. СКАЧАТЬ