Crossing Lines by Adrienne Giordano

18

“You wanna tellme what that fuck that was?”

Shane stood in yet another hotel room — a Hampton they’d checked into because they needed to get off the street. Having no idea if Brutus might be following them, they weaved through pedestrian traffic, circled blocks, hid in a few alleys before deciding they were probably clear.

Probably.

Total shitshow.

Seemingly undeterred, Faith used a tissue to open the laptop. A multitasker. Oh. Goodie.

“Excuse me?”

She heard him. And her tone? That holier-than-thou one he despised whenever he heard it. From anyone.

He crossed his arms. “I told you to wait.”

Now she full-on faced him, pushing her shoulders back. For a small woman, she knew how to make herself large. “You certainly did. The opportunity presented itself and I didn't intend to lose it because you had to play superhero.”

Superhero? What. The. Fuck? And now it was his fault? What was he supposed to do? Leave that woman to get attacked? He never did find the asshole following her. That chapped his ass even more. “You could've waited. We could've done it tomorrow.”

“Sorry. That wasn’t in my plan. What if he checked out? Then what? We'd start from scratch and I'd still be on the run.”

“I'm on the run with you.”

“But he's here for me. We still don’t know if he even knows who you are. So, yes, Shane, I saw an opportunity to help myself and I took it. Sue me.”

She went back to the computer. Total dismissal. Amazing how easily she disposed of people.

“Working alone,” he said, “as usual.”

Keeping her eyes on the computer, she scoffed. “Don't start with the team player crap.”

“We had a plan.”

“And you chose to deviate from it. Seems to me, I was the team player today.”

For the first time in his godforsaken life, Shane was speechless. Seriously? She expected him to leave that woman on her own? “Was I supposed to ignore her?”

She swung her head to him, meeting his gaze. “The bartender could have called a cop.”

“Call a cop when we're about to assassinate a man one floor up.” He snorted. “Brilliant.”

That stopped her cold. Good.

“Whatever, Shane. Keep in mind, we got this laptop because of me.”

At that, he rolled his eyes. Queen of the Pivot. “You’re killing me, Faith. I don’t give a shit about who did what. We’re in this together. I’ve been straight with you since the second we met. Did I get sidetracked helping that woman? Yeah. That's on me. Knowing what I know now, maybe I'd have done it differently. I don't know. But I never expected you to go into that room on your own. And the fact that you did scares the hell out of me. And it shows me that you don't trust me.”

Her mouth opened, but immediately closed. Hell, maybe they were finally getting somewhere. All he knew was this had to stop. And the two of them at odds with each other wouldn’t help them find Brutus.

Pressure built behind his eyes. He squeezed them closed and pressed his palms against them. What did he have to do to get through to her? To make her understand they were in this together. No matter what.

“It’s not…”

He dropped his hands and looked straight at her, waiting for her to finish. Nothing. “It’s not what? Tell me.”

She shook her head. Blew out a breath. “I trust you. It's . . .”

The whirring of the laptop’s fan broke the silence. She shut it and the room went quiet. He’d wait her out. Maybe finally get an indication of where her mind was.

“I don't know,” she said, her voice quiet and, hell, totally defeated. “I’m so used to doing things a certain way. Going it alone. It keeps me focused. Flying solo means not worrying about where my partner is. Today, it frustrated me that I had to think about where you were while our plan was falling apart. That's new and completely uncomfortable for me. I don't know what I’m supposed to do with that.”

If he was smart, which he believed he was, he’d tread carefully here. Pretending to understand was useless. Given the short time they’d known each other, she’d bust him on that. Compared to her, he’d grown up in paradise. Perfect family unit.

He made an effort to keep his voice level. “Why do you have to do anything with it? You, of all people, know that when you're in the field anything can happen. Today was no different.”

“It was different. You want me to change the way I operate.”

He stepped closer and she popped out of the chair sending it rolling back against the wall. Whoa. She tilted her chin up. Body language for come-near-me-and-I’ll-kill-you. Whatever her thoughts were right now, she did not — in any way — want him closer.

And, since he wasn’t in a rush to die, he stayed put. Forced himself not to move. “No,” he said. “What I want is for you to open your mind to options other than going rogue. You came to me for help and I gave it to you. That was my choice. Now, whether you like it or not, we have to work together. That means we both make adjustments. Next time, I'll figure something else out for that woman. That was my mistake. I’ll own it. If we’re gonna get through this, I expect the same from you.”

Miracles.

That what Shane expected. He expected her to abandon the one thing — her independence — that had kept her sane most of her life.

And that, she couldn’t do.

She cocked her head. “It’s easy for you. You’re accustomed to a team environment. I’m not.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Look what you’ve done. You've been on your own for years. You got out of Venezuela on your own. No credentials and minimal money. You did that. There is nothing you can't do. You just have to commit to it.”

Commit to it. He made it sound so easy. Like all she had to do was decide, hey, I'm going to flip this switch and change everything about me and it'll be easy because I decided it would be.

Good.

Luck.

But even she had to admit something had to change. Her aching skull and neck were proof of it. Her actions today, her insistence on going into that room alone, might have resulted in an innocent man dying.

That would have been her responsibility.

She lowered herself to the king-sized bed. Of course, the king room was the only one available. Ironic and yet another sign that she'd have to figure out how to share her space. It was, in fact, a major fuck-you from the universe. She let out a frustrated laugh.

“What's funny?” Shane asked.

“Aside from the universe flipping me off?” She waved it away. “You're right. I'm sorry.”

A long pause ensued and she peered up. A slight smile quirked his lips. Oh, the bastard. With the mood she was in, it took a strong man to gloat.

“Believe me,” she said, “that was intensely painful for me to admit.” She gave him an all-teeth smile. “See, already I'm learning to be a team player.”

At that, he barked out a laugh. “I'm wildly impressed.”

At least one of them was. Placing her hands on her knees, she blew out a long breath. “I lost Brutus.”

“We lost him. But we’ve got the laptop. We’ll call Dusty. See if he can get us into it. He’s pretty good with that stuff. If he can’t, he’ll know someone.”

He sat down next to her, the bed giving way to his much heavier weight. He bumped her shoulder. “We’re okay. The day wasn’t a total bust. “

Giving her an out. Shane, as usual, doing the kind, compassionate thing by simply moving on. Where the hell had he been all her life? She nodded, but couldn't quite meet his eye.

“He won’t go back to that room,” Shane said. “If he's smart, which we know he is, he has his arsenal stashed off-site. In case he needed to bolt. That's what I'd do.”

She lifted her head and finally met his gaze. “Thank you. You could have been an ass about this whole thing. Drilling it into me about all the mistakes I made.”

“I made mistakes too. We're human.”

“It's most definitely been a learning experience.”

On more levels than she'd like to admit. The first being that she might be falling in love.

“Shane Quinn,where have you been all my life?”

With Faith, Shane was learning, a guy never knew what to expect. Total chameleon this one. One second, she’d jump into the fray, totally unafraid, and the next . . . Well, hell, that was the intriguing part. A guy just never knew what came next.

Kinda like the question she’d just hit him with. Could be a joke. Maybe not.

She sat there, staring up at him with her soulful brown eyes that had pretty much slayed him from the beginning. “Ha!”

Chickenshit answer, but a safe one considering he didn’t know where this conversation might go.

“I’m serious,” she said. “You call me on my crap and do it in a way that doesn’t make me want to kill you. That alone is a miracle.”

He shrugged. “We’re different, but the same. Both afraid of losing what we have. Even if what we have isn’t optimum. It’s ours. The one thing we can control. That first day, when you walked up to me on the street and I saw the faded bruise on your face, it lit something in me. All I wanted was to protect you. I still feel that way.” He bumped her shoulder again, smiled down at her. “It’s worse now because there are other things I want. Seriously naughty things that my mother would scold me for.”

Faith snorted. “Pig.”

“Most men are.”

“So, I guess we both want what we shouldn’t have. I could come up with plenty of reasons to go our separate ways.”

He met her gaze, holding it for what felt like a year but was probably only a few seconds. “You’ve got a list of reasons we shouldn’t get involved. So do I. As long as those lists are, I’ve got an alternate one.”

Companionship being number one.

Emotional connection running a close second.

And, yeah, regular sex with a woman who excited him wouldn’t hurt.

Beside him, Faith rested her head on his shoulder. Probably more from fatigue than anything, but he'd missed this part of being with a woman. Lately, sex had been more about fulfilling a physical need. Getting that release. He’d get the job done and hit the road before anyone got too attached. Most of the time he felt damned shitty about it.

A selfish prick really, but why spend too much time thinking about it. He couldn’t offer anyone a relationship. Relationships required honesty and intimacy. Neither of which were possible. Not with him. Golly, honey, did I mention I’m not really Shane Quinn?

Just contemplating living that life exhausted him. At least alone he didn’t have to lie.

Truth of it was, he hadn't come across a woman that made him want anything serious.

At least until now. What did that mean for either one of them? He kissed the top of Faith's head, giving himself another minute to not think. To not make himself crazy worrying and what-if-ing everything to damned death.

One day. That’s all he wanted. One day of peace.

Then she did it. She reached up, dragged her hand down the center of his chest and curled her fingers into his T-shirt.

His body immediately responded. In a big way. “Uh-oh,” he said. “Keep that up, and you'll be in for a long night.”

She laughed. “I won’t complain.”

His mind went crazy, leapfrogging all over the place. Do it, don’t do it. Let go, don’t let go.

All of this could be stress relief. Two people who’d been on the run and ready to blow off steam.

Bullshit.

He knew it.

Didn’t care either.

He dipped his head and she lifted her chin, meeting him halfway. She upped his game by sliding her hand underneath his shirt, her warm fingers sliding over his skin. Holy shit. His body erupted into a flaming ball of heat.

He wanted her.

She eased back, drew his shirt up. “Take this off.”

“Faith, we’re—”

“I know what I’m doing.” She lifted the shirt up. “Can we not dissect it? For the next few minutes or an hour or five hours, please, just stop.”

For two years, it’d been constant vigilance. Avoiding missteps. Not being reckless.

Now, he wanted reckless. He wanted to be Bobby MacGregor again and take a chance. On something. On someone.

On the worst possible woman he could imagine, but the one woman who understood his hell.

Together, they lifted his shirt over his head and her hands were immediately on him, those fantastic fingers exploring his chest, his neck, his shoulders.

She dragged her thumb over the scar on his right shoulder. “What’s this?”

“Bullet.”

She kissed the spot. “I’m sorry.”

“I was lucky.”

She lifted her lips from the spot, then gently bit him.

Oh.

Baby.

He stood, grabbed her hand and brought her to her feet. She slid her hand free and lifted her shirt over her head, tossing it behind her. Then she smiled at him and it was like the brightest sunrise bursting in his chest.

Her bra went next. Unlike in the bathroom in Alabama, where he forced himself to not look at her body, he took her in. Her lean legs and hips. The soft swell of her tits. Her hard nipples.

This woman had beat the crap out of two monsters. And killed them. Little Bo Peep turned badass.

So goddamned impressive.

He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “You’re beautiful.”

In response, she toed out of her sneakers, bent low to peel her socks off and wiggled out of her jeans and her underwear, the movement somehow insanely sexual — at least he thought so — and making him hard.

Clearly on a mission, she reached for him, going straight for the button on his jeans.

“Time to ditch these. Let me see the rest of this yumminess.”

He toed out of his shoes, dropped his pants, kicked them aside and sat to rip his socks off.

His wallet. He’d tossed it on the bedside table behind them. He drew her down to his lap and kissed her long and slow, taking his time, letting his tongue explore hers.

Who knew where they’d be tomorrow? Or in an hour. They might as well enjoy it.

He hooked his hands under her thighs and stood, carrying her to the side of the bed where his wallet and the condom he kept stashed inside waited.

Setting her down, he snatched the wallet up.

Behind him, she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, pressing herself against his back and sending zings of heat shooting in all directions while he dealt with the rubber.

“I love this,” she said.

“What?”

“Touching you. Being close.”

Again, she kissed his shoulder and — game over. Still in her arms, he shifted to face her. “Should have known,” he said. “That first day. I should have known you’d change everything.”

Faith lay backon the bed, watching Shane, anticipating that moment, that glorious moment when he’d lower himself, drawing closer and closer and covering her much smaller body with his.

She’d fantasized about it. From that first day on the Ferris wheel when she’d snuggled into his side and felt . . . what?

Surrounded by him. Protected.

“I don’t want to crush you,” he said.

She drew him closer. “You won’t. I want to feel you.”

He propped himself on his elbows, then kissed her, letting his tongue slide in and out of her mouth, revving her system.

She explored the taut muscles of his back, his rear, his thick shoulders. Anywhere she could touch.

Breaking the kiss, he eased back an inch. “When you touch me, I’m on fire. It’s insane.”

“I feel it too. Like I can’t get enough. All I want is my hands on you. All the time.”

“Well, don’t ever let me stop you.”

He kissed her again, this time crushing his mouth to hers, kicking things up a notch or twelve as he ground his hips against hers, letting her feel the hard press of his erection against her inner thigh.

If the size of that erection was any indication, Shane was about to make her a very happy woman.

She bit him. Right on the shoulder. Just nipped into flesh and he let out a gasp. He liked that. Apparently a lot.

He nuzzled her neck, trailing kisses up and over her jaw until he got to her mouth where he plunged his tongue in again and she forced herself to stay present. To enjoy every touch and murmur. Every slide of her fingers over his body and the euphoria that came with freedom.

“Thank you,” she said.

He inched back, met her gaze. “Haven’t done anything yet.”

“Believe me. You have.”

She opened her legs and he slid inside her. One long, easy move that seemed to go on and on and on.

She let out a gasp and tipped her head back. This moment. This one amazing moment with his weight on her, his body connected to hers for the first time, she wanted to bottle it. Save it forever.

She would love him.

After everything she’d lost, it should have terrorized her.

It didn’t.

That alone was a gift.

She raised up, pumping her hips, silently begging for more. For him to take her over that amazing edge she hadn’t experienced in so, so long.

And, God, the way he moved. Total command of his body. All that strength and control zeroed in on her, making her feel cherished.

“Please,” she said.

He nuzzled her neck again “I don’t want it to end.”

She clapped one hand over his ass, then reared up, sending him so deep inside her that she cried out.

“That’s it,” he said, picking up his pace, pumping, pumping, pumping. “You’re killing me.”

She pulled her legs back, crying out again as he managed to push even deeper inside her. He might break her in two, but . . . so good. So, so good.

And then his finger was inside her, pushing her even closer. “I can’t hang on,” he said.

“Keep that up and I won’t either.”

They both laughed and the sound, the two of them having fun — fun — filled the room.

I will love him.

Shane pumped his hips and plunged inside her over and over again. Friction, the all-out intensity, spun her mind and body into a chaotic swirl.

More, more, more.

For the first time in a very long while, she surrendered. Just let her body take control.

She opened her eyes, found Shane’s crystal blue gaze on her. Whatever happened between them, she’d never get those amazing eyes from her mind.

She grabbed his cheeks and pulled him to her, kissing him with everything she had, driving her tongue into his mouth and giving as good as she got.

He broke the kiss, threw his head back and . . . game over. The two of them went over that beautiful edge.

Together.

Four hours later,Shane stood inside the mausoleum hideaway with Faith and Dusty across from him in the soccer chairs. Dusty, as usual, had the surfer vibe going with his shaggy hair and scruffy beard.

The guy should be on a beach in Southern California selling T-shirts to tourists. Instead, they were in a filthy abandoned coal mine trying to crack open the laptop of an international terrorist.

James Bond had nothing on this crew.

Dusty pulled the laptop from the cheap backpack Shane had stuck it in three hours ago. They’d delivered it to him via a dead drop at a coffee shop where they’d set it on the floor next to a stool Dusty had commandeered. While they were getting their coffee, Dusty and the backpack disappeared.

“The short of it is,” Dusty said. “I can’t get into it. Way above my pay grade.”

Dusty had talent with computers, but a hacker he wasn’t.

Shane blew air through his lips. “Dang.”

Faith held a hand up. “Don’t panic.”

“I’m not.” He faced Dusty. “Options?”

Dusty slouched back, tented his fingers in front of him and shot a glance at Faith, the two of them exchanging some sort of unspoken message that, if Shane were a betting man, probably involved that asshole Sully.

“Don’t say it,” Shane said.

“Okay,” Dusty shot back. “I don’t know what else you want me to do. I don’t have the skills to hack into this thing. Farming it out is the only way and Sully is already in the loop. If not him, there’s a guy I know. Former NSA vulnerability analyst. But the more people who see it, the more risk.”

“You don’t trust him,” Faith said.

Dusty met her gaze for a few long seconds. “I don’t trust anyone besides Shane and Trevor.” He smiled. “Maybe you.”

Shane pushed off the wall, did a slow lap toward the door and back. “You trust Sullivan.”

“He comes with an asterisk.”

Fucking Dusty. “What the hell does that mean?”

“He’s the least likely to screw me.”

“My God,” Faith said. “I thought I was cynical.”

Shane let out a sarcastic laugh. “You’re no slouch in that department, but we might have you beat.”

Something he didn’t take pleasure in because, Jesus, living his life this way sucked. One day, he’d wake up and not feel instant pressure in his chest. One day.

He paced back to his spot on the wall and propped his foot against it. “We’re not bringing the NSA guy in.”

Dusty’s eyebrows hiked up an inch. “You’re agreeing to Sully then?”

“I’m not agreeing. He’s the devil we know. In terms of risk assessment, he’s the best option.” He looked over at Faith. “What do you want to tell him about how we got it?”

She shrugged. “We tell him the truth. Let him decide what to do with it. It’s not as if we can say we found it. He’ll know we got it illegally, but half the stuff I discovered while in the field was obtained by playing outside the lines. If this laptop gets us something we can use, I’m not worried about it.”

“All right then. Call him. See what he wants us to do with it.”

In a caseof déjà vu from just days ago, Faith walked across the open field of the cemetery while speaking to Sully, who was equal parts intrigued and irritated.

The upside? They had Brutus’s laptop.

The downside? They’d shot up a hotel room, left a bunch of witnesses on the sidewalk and called attention to a situation they shouldn’t be calling attention to.

“Seriously,” Sully said. “You people are destroying me.”

“Yeah, well, welcome to my world.”

At that, he laughed. Something he hadn’t done a lot in her experience with him. She’d managed to lighten up the ultra-serious Jonathan Sullivan.

“Okay,” he said. “Let me clear this with the brass, but plan on me coming to get that laptop tomorrow. I’ll let you know details soon.”

She disconnected and turned back to Shane and Dusty, who trailed behind in the dark.

She waited for them to close the short distance, their silhouettes backlit by moonlight. What an interesting pair. Shane, the broad-shouldered, clean-cut warrior and Dusty, a hippy just off the fuzzy bus.

She waggled her phone in the air. “He’s flying in tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Shane’s head dipped forward. “That fast?”

“Yep. He’s half in freak-out mode about us shooting up a hotel room. He’s running the trip by the big shots, but told me to plan on it. There’s no way they won’t want Brutus’s files.”

“Whoa,” Shane said. “Once we turn it over, it’s gone. We might be able to use something on there.”

She cocked her head. Ye of little faith. “I’m on it, Shane. I told him he has to give us a backup.”

“I knew I liked you,” Dusty said. “Even I don’t have big enough balls to ask for that.”

“Please,” Shane said. “You really think he’ll give you a backup?”

And ohmygod, she might have to kill him. She understood his sense of loyalty to his friends and his being pissed at Sully for selling out Dusty, but right now? When they were all literally running for their lives? Shane needed to set aside his personal feelings and play nice.

She poked her finger at him. “Don’t be an ass. Yes, I really think he’ll do it. He gave me his word. When it comes to Sully, that might not mean much to you, but I have to believe in something. Have you even thought about what this could mean?”

Shane got quiet — too quiet — and took a step forward, meeting her gaze with a hard stare that even in the dark told her she’d hit a nerve.

“I’ve thought about nothing but your freedom,” he said. “I’ve risked my own freedom — and Dusty and Trevor’s too — for it.”

Ouch. That stung.

Dusty stepped closer, drawing their attention. “Cut the shit and take a breath. You’re both being stupid.”

“Stupid?”she and Shane said in unison.

At least they were in agreement on that.

“Yeah.” Dusty pushed his shoulders back, refusing to back down. “That laptop might link Alfaro to all sorts of nastiness. At the very least, it’ll drive him out of power. At best, we’ll get him thrown in prison.”

This, Faith had to admit, was true. Alfaro in prison? She’d love to see it. “He wouldn’t survive a day in there.”

“Of course not,” Dusty said. “The rival cartels would hang him.”

Oh, oh, oh. “And with him out of the picture, no one will care about his revenge. His supporters will distance themselves from him in a hot second.”

Shane.She reached for him, wrapping her hand around his forearm and squeezing. “You’d have your life back.”

And she’d have given it to him. Instead of complicating things, making him vulnerable, wouldn’t it be something if she could free him? Free him and maybe be a part of that freedom.

She’d been avoiding emotional attachments since her mom left her, but the thought of waking up next to Shane — as stubborn as the man was — each morning? She liked it.

A lot.

“She’s right,” Dusty said. “If we get Alfaro out of the picture, you go back to your family.”

She spun and started toward the car on the other side of the field. “Damn straight, I’m right. We’ll get that laptop to Sully and see what kind of secrets it might tell us.”