Her eyes closed tightly for a moment then opened, her jaw tense. She held her control tightly and he marveled at her strength.
“I played up to Barone a bit more than usual so they’d want me to hang out. The crew Moreno had with him were the vital players in his empire. I remembered them from the pictures Doolittle had at the meeting. Moreno asked me to stay and for a while, it was typical, me sitting on the stool doodling while they played cards and leered at me. I had gotten a good deal of information about dates, times, and inventory but they hadn’t mentionedwhereyet. Barone got a bit more frustrated than usual when he lost and asked me to sit closer so he could run his hand over my leg and butt. After he still had rotten luck he wanted a littlemore. He thought I should go and find someone else willing to provide…more…but Moreno…he seemed to sense my hesitation and asked if I was up for that tonight.”
She closed her eyes and he felt her shiver. A bad feeling crawled deep inside and he wasn’t sure he actually wanted to know what else had happened. He lifted his hand to caress the side of her face and smiled warmly at her to continue.
She took in a deep breath. “I um…I…” her lip started to quiver and he pressed a tiny kiss to her forehead. “I allowed Barone to undo my top and…”
She couldn’t get any more out so he pulled her close against him. Heat, fierce and strong swelled inside him at the thought of what had happened to her. He wanted to rip Barone’s heart out of his chest. To scream, rage, and slug someone. Break something, like Moreno’s face. He didn’t remember ever feeling anger this bone deep before. But none of that would help Meg with the demons she was fighting right now.
“It was horrible,” she choked out, tears filling her eyes. “But all I kept seeing was poor Tina lying there in the hospital all battered and bruised. And the bullet hole in Eddie’s forehead. Moreno needs to be put away for good where he won’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“Oh, Meg,” he whispered wishing she hadn’t done it. He understood why she had but he didn’t have to like it.
“Was it only looking or did they…?” His jaw clenched as his voice trailed off uncertain how to word his question. How would he react to the answers?
“They made sure they had a good view and all stared for a while. Then Barone actually won a hand of poker and got excited. He…touched me and wanted more. I’d already gotten the address so I told him no and ran from the room.”
Pulling back from him she curled into herself, covering her face with her hands. She visibly shook as she tried to stifle her sobs. His heart broke at the distress his strong damsel was in. But this was one dragon he couldn’t fight for her. All he could do was offer his warmth and comfort.
He wrapped his arms around her again and drew her head onto his chest. “I’m so sorry, Meg. I never would have asked you to do that.”
She nodded as her voice came out muffled near his neck. “I know. I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Tina and for me. I did it for all the other girls he’s brutalized and made feel ashamed and coerced into doing unthinkable things. I did it for all of us.”
Chris kissed her forehead again keeping his lips in her hair. And he held her. She never pulled away or made wise remarks, simply let herself be held. After a while she grew heavy in his arms, falling asleep again. He eased her down to the pillow and her arms pulled at his neck.
“No, don’t go, please, Chris.” Her eyes begged him along with her words.
“The nightmare was that bad, huh?”
She gave a tiny nod and he asked, “Are you sure?”
Another nod and she moved a few feet over in the bed. “There’s plenty of room.”
“Okay, let me change out of these slacks.”
He quickly put on sleep pants and a t-shirt and shut off the lights in the large suite. After a minute in the bathroom he slipped under the sheets she held up for him. He didn’t need to ask if she was sure again. Her grateful expression told him she was.
“Want to tell me about the dream? You made me tell you.” She snuggled up next to him under the thick comforter. He snuck his arm under her shoulder and smiled when she placed her head on his chest. Her hand rested right next to her cheek. The warm feeling that stole over him was unfamiliar but he didn’t mind it at all.
“It had Moreno in it and he had my whole family there,” she squeaked out quietly. “You were there too. He was threatening to kill all of you if I didn’t take my clothes off and…well, you know. And dough boy was there and he was waiting on the card table for me to come do him. When I didn’t move fast enough, Moreno took out a gun and started shooting all of you.”
He tightened his hold on her, caressing her back and shoulder. “That won’t happen so you don’t need to worry. Your family is perfectly safe. He has no idea who you really are. And you know I’m fine. I can take care of myself. I’m the last person you should be worrying about.”
“I do worry about you, though,” she sobbed. Was the nightmare fading and reality surfacing? “I know I like to act like I don’t need anyone else to help me with anything. But I hate to admit it’s been great having you around here to get me through this. Andoutof this. If something happened to you, I’d be right back where I started, and Moreno would be a hundred times worse to deal with.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got the easy job,” he confessed knowing it had taken a lot for her to admit she needed him. “I’ve been sitting by the pool and hanging out at the club every night. You’re the one who actually has to do all the dirty work. If this information you got for us pans out, all of this will be over with very soon.”
“All of it over,” Her soft voice repeated and she sounded almost disappointed. Her hand moved on his chest and she snuggled in closer. Her voice was drowsy as she finished, “Not all.”
Pulling the comforter around her shoulder, he inhaled the lavender scent of her shampoo. He didn’t want everything to be over either. Part of it, yes. His temper flared at what Barone and Moreno had done to her, and not just tonight. How had his emotions gotten this volatile? He’d been in situations where he’d seen far worse, but for some reason Meg managed to drag the feelings from an even deeper place inside him. He could easily kill Moreno and Barone for the pain and heartache they’d caused Meg. When had his feelings for her grown this strong and fierce? They had crept up on him and he didn’t know what to do about it.
For now he wouldn’t do anything. She was still his informant and even though he was actually lying in bed next to her, he had to remain professional. This was merely comfort. The case wasn’t over--but it would be soon if everything went according to plan. Moreno would be in jail and Meg’s participation in this assignment would end.
Her soft skin rubbed against his and he inhaled her intoxicating scent. Ending their closeness was something he didn’t want either. And what they were doing now, he could get used to it.
Chapter 18
The warmth of the sun drifted through the slider and settled on Meg’s face, waking her. She’d obviously forgotten to close the thick drapes before jumping in bed last night. She shifted her position to grab the covers so she could block out the light and discovered she was resting on top of an arm that was curled around her. The hand attached to that arm was pressed intimately against her bare stomach where her top had ridden up.
