“One of his buddies from the police department got kicked out by his wife, so the guy has been bunking on Brian’s couch until he finds an apartment.”
“Great, just great.What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”KC put his hands on his hips in exasperation.He didn’t want to drive back to Little Creek and spend his leave on the base, and Sean lived too far away in Florida.He still had many friends in Whisper, but none he wanted to impose on for a month.
“Watch your language, and there’s a perfectly good bed back at the cottage.”
Dan pretended to readjust a few things on the shelf behind the counter to hide his smile, but KC still noticed it anyway.What the fuck is the old man up to?“Your renter has made it perfectly clear she doesn’t want a housemate.”
“She has, has she?Well then, why don’t I just talk to Maura, explain the problem, and see if she wouldn’t mind putting up with your surly butt for a few days?”He shrugged.“Until I get a new couch, that is.”
KC grunted.“I’m not surly.”He ignored his uncle’s snort of disagreement.“And I don’t need you to solve my problems for me.I’ll talk to her.”
A chuckle escaped his uncle.“Well, the least you could do is turn on some of the famous Malone charm you allegedly inherited instead of looking like an ogre.”
He laughed even harder when KC rolled his eyes and pasted an unnatural smile on his face before flashing the older man his middle finger.
Moriah scanned the deserted beach in both directions before descending from the elevated deck to the patio.It was early in May and too cool for sunbathers and swimmers.Children were still in school, and tourist season didn’t start for another week or two.Over the weekend, there had been a few body surfers in the water and several people walking or jogging on the beach, but today was a workday, and no one was in sight.
She checked the driveway and the street and saw nothing or anyone out of place.Sighing with relief, she returned to the patio.Like most beach houses in the area, this one was built on stilts, and in combination with the dunes, it had avoided flooding during the worst of storms over the past sixty years.Ducking under the house, she crab-crawled over to one of the middle supports and knelt.The sand didn’t seem to have been disturbed since she checked it the day before.Digging with her hands, she uncovered a black nylon gym bag and pulled it partially out of the hole.Unzipping the bag, Moriah stared at the contents.Cash.Cold, hard cash.Almost one hundred thousand dollars.She still couldn’t fathom that much money.The money her family had been killed for and the reason she was on the run.
Brushing back her tears, she took several hundred-dollar bills from one of the many bundles, zipped up the bag, and buried it again in the hole.She tried to make the sand look untouched in case someone glanced under the cottage.Stuffing the money into her back pocket, she crawled out to the patio again.Looking around and still seeing nothing amiss, Moriah brushed the sand off her jeans and hands before heading back into the house.
She decided that after lunch, she would walk the seven blocks to Main Street and the general store to pick up a few things.Not too much, because she didn’t want to be bogged down with extra baggage when she eventually left Whisper.She was positive the money wasn’t marked—it was doubtful drug dealers would do that sort of thing—so there was no way she could be traced by using it.The money was one of the few things keeping her alive, and she intended to stay that way.
While preparing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a car pulled into the driveway, and the engine cut off.She knew who it probably was, but she was still wary.Peeking out the kitchen window, she saw KC climb out of a shiny, black Dodge Charger.The car fit the man—sleek, dark, and sexy.A few moments later, as she was pouring a glass of milk, she was startled when the back door suddenly opened and KC walked in.The man walked so softly that she had never heard him come up the steps to the deck.Moving over to the table with her lunch, she sat down, trying hard not to look distressed, as he entered the kitchen.
“Hi.”She figured, at least, she could try to be nice, even though she was asking him to leave.“Did you get everything straightened out with your uncle?”
“Yeah, well, about that ...”He paused, looking everywhere but at her.
Uh-oh.This doesn’t sound good.
“It appears I have nowhere else to go at the moment.Everyone’s sofas are either already taken or out of service.”
“But ...but you can’t stay here,” Moriah stammered, beginning to feel like a broken record.There was absolutely no way she could let him stay with her—only if hell froze over.
Holding his hands out to the side, he gave her a pleading expression.“Look, I know you didn’t plan on having a roommate, but I’m only here for a few weeks, and then I’m gone.Back to work.I’ll stay out of your way and give you money for the utilities and food.”He kept talking as Moriah stood, shaking her head.“I promise I’ll clean up after myself, and you won’t even know I’m here.”
She almost laughed in his face.There was no way she couldn’t, andwouldn’t, know he was there.All sexy, six foot five, 220 pounds of him.All solid muscle.Top it off with hair she was dying to touch and smoldering eyes that seemed to see straight through to her soul every time he looked at her.No, she would definitely know he was there.
“I can even help you out.”
At that, Moriah stopped shaking her head and eyed him curiously.She nibbled on her bottom lip briefly, wondering what he was talking about.“How?”
A devilish grin spread across his handsome face as if he knew he’d found a chink in her armored resolve.“Uncle Dan told me about your ex and how you’re running away from him.The gun is good to have for protection, but if you get caught without it, how do you plan on defending yourself?”
He did have a point as much as she hated to admit it.Without that gun, she was helpless.“I hadn’t really thought of that.”
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.“Do you know how to shoot that thing, anyway?You were holding it right, but it didn’t look natural in your hands.”
“A gun is supposed to look natural?”She let out a very unladylike snort.“That sounds like an oxymoron.”
The corner of KC’s mouth twitched in amusement.“If you know what you’re doing and practice enough, it becomes natural after a while.I can give you a few lessons and show you some self-defense moves in exchange for the spare bedroom.”He paused.“I also have a good ear if you care to talk about anything.”
Moriah stood silently for a minute, mulling over what he was offering.She could actually use the training.If the people chasing her found her, she had no experience fighting for her life.Hell must be having a blizzard warning because she straightened her shoulders and looked him right in the eyes.“The ear I don’t need.The lessons I do.You have a deal as long as you respect my privacy while you’re here.”
“Deal.If you want, we can start training right after you have lunch.”
Moriah nodded in agreement, but inside, she was wondering if she just made the second biggest mistake of her life.
