Although, at the moment, Gray looked to be an even bigger hazard to herself.
Proof positive, he watched her climb out the second-story window of the redbrick building. The opportunity too good to pass up, he took a picture of her perched on the ledge, and adding the subject line,Lose someone, he sent it to the JTT number Adam had provided.
With the easy confidence of an adrenaline junkie who spent a great deal of time involved in activities that could inflict bodily harm, she jumped from the window to grasp the bottom rail of the fire escape. Swinging her long legs, she let go and dropped to the ground. Her feet hit the pavement with a solid smack, her knees bending to absorb the impact.
Hair flying, she whirled around at the sound of Grant’s applause, and her eyes went wide. Jesus. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He expected her to start running. He should have known better.
Catching him off guard, she smiled wickedly and marched straight for him, head up, back straight, strides long and purposeful. “Jesus Christ. Thank fuck it’s you. Where the hell did you get a Stars cap?” She grabbed his hat, jammed it on her head, and settled it low over her eyes. “Let’s go.” She reached for the door handle and pulled hard.
Her frown was comical. Grant was one hundred and ninety-five pounds of stunned stupid. The car door wouldn’t budge unless he did. Arms crossed and his pose casual, he leaned toward her and smiled. “First, women do tend to shout ‘Oh God’ a lot when they’re with me. But I’ve never claimed to be Jesus Christ. Second, I had to pay the busboy at the diner to replace my stolen Bruins cap. You owe me twenty bucks, by the way. Third, where is it you think we’re going?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Funny,” she said, her tone suggesting he should go pound salt. “I like this whole new goatee thing you got going on, very manly. Who the hell stitched your brow?”
As much as he wanted to formulate a witty response, he didn’t have the time. Gray’s escort had flung open the side door of the building, and given the nasty expression on his face, and the fact he had his gun out and pointed in their direction, Grant figured an intervention would be required in short order. Shoving her behind him in case the moron accidentally discharged his weapon, he put himself in the line of fire.
Hate-filled eyes locked on the escapee, his weapon held on a diagonal like he was an inner-city gangster and not a pansy-assed numpty, the red-faced idiot approached without considering the risks. “You stupid cunt.”
Wrong move.
Within reach, Grant grabbed the wannabe’s wrist and twisted the Glock from his grasp. Coldcocked with the butt of his own gun, the fucknut went lights out in one, folding like a paper origami turtle until his face hit the pavement.
Not the least bit concerned about being called a cunt, or for the condition of her companion, her gaze stayed steady on Grant. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. So if we can”—she hitched her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the car behind her—“hit the road, I’d appreciate it.”
“Hit the road? What is it you think I’m doing here, sunshine?” He jammed the fully loaded into the back of his pants.
Her eyes narrowed, and her brows knit together in apparent confusion. “Don’t fucking call me sunshine, dickhead. You’re here to take me to Bodak, right?”
“Ah…” Goddamn it, those JTT bastards hadn’t told her about him.
She took a step back. “You work for Bodak. Right?”
He shook his head. “I work for your brother, Gray.”
Her worried expression turned to outrage and then panic in a matter of seconds. “No.” She backed away, arms up, palms facing him like she expected him to make a move. About to land on her ass after her heels connected with the body of the excellent, albeit unconscious, candidate for mall security, Grant grabbed her by the wrists to keep her on her feet.
“No.” Her eyes filled with moisture until her tears spilled over, leaving trails of dewy skin down her pale cheeks. “You have to take me to Bodak. Please! You have to take me.” Fingers curling into his jacket, she backed him up against the car. “I’ll do anything…” Green eyes begging, she looked deep into his. “Anything you ask if you take me to him.”
Grant didn’t have the slightest idea why, but well aware of what she was doing, she’d offered herself to him, taking her best shot at getting what she wanted. Why she wanted to give herself to Bodak, he had no clue. Didn’t matter. Over his dead body would he allow that sadistic fucking prick to get anywhere near her.
He palmed her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. Her bones were delicate beneath her soft skin. “Gray, honey. You know I can’t.”
“Please,” she cried, pressing herself to his chest. “He has Tara. She’s my only friend. You have to take me.” Undone, she trembled against him, her tears running faster than he could wipe them away. “Please!” Sandwiching his upper lip between hers and proving to what lengths she’d willingly go, she licked at him to open, each velvet stroke of her tongue demanding he give in.
“Gray,” he groaned against her mouth, and taking advantage, she slid between his teeth, taking his mouth and his breath in a single move. The spark of her kiss sent a heat wave through his core, coaxing him along with the smooth glide of tongue on tongue. With every ounce of resistance he could muster, he gently pushed her away, his hands still cupping her face.
She lifted her eyes to his. Shaded under the brim of his cap, the heartbreak they held crushed him. “Please,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry, sunshine.” In preparation for the onslaught of her anger, he placed his hands on her waist. “Mackenzie’s already here.”
Her spine snapped straight, and she spun in Grant’s arms. “No!” She attempted to break free, her body angled to run in the opposite direction of the black Suburban braking hard at the side of the road. “Let me go!”
Before the tires came to a full stop, Mackenzie jumped out of the vehicle, “Take your fucking hands off her, Kincaid.” His homicidal urges plain on his face, the well-trained marine left enough distance and the downed man between them.
He had the distinct advantage of having his gun out, although he kept it safely angled away from them. Grant wouldn’t have time to pull his own piece once he handed Gray over. Not that having a gun in his hand would help the situation, considering the muscle and the muzzle that had Mackenzie’s back.
Two additional men took up strategic positions close by, guns at the ready. Grant shook his head. “If I didn’t have my hands on her, she’d be in Bodak’s or Wright’s by now, thanks to you fucking morons.”
Gray bucked violently, almost breaking his grip. “Fuck you, Rusty Eyes. And fuck you too, Rambo. You bastards can’t stop me.” He dodged the back of her head in time to avoid a broken nose, grunting as her attempt to break his face glanced off his cheek. “Let go of me!”
