Sweet Temptation

CHAPTER 36

Micah sat on the edge of the bed watching Angelina sleep. She was sprawled indelicately across the mattress, the sheets tangled at her feet. Her hair spread in a disheveled veil across her pillow, and she looked completely at peace.

When had she managed to creep past his defenses? He almost snorted. What defenses? He didn’t seem to have any where she was concerned.

She loved him. It awed him and scared him shitless. He hadn’t wanted her to love him—she deserved so much better than him—but he wasn’t going to lie to himself. Her love restored life to parts of him that had died with Hannah.

An ache started low in his gut when he thought of Hannah. So young and beautiful. So full of life. His only comfort was that she hadn’t gone alone. David had been there with her, had gone with her. And Micah had been the one left alone.

And you left Angelina alone.

The thought was a fist to the gut. He’d spent so much time alternately grieving for and being angry at Hannah because she’d left him. And then he’d done the same thing to Angelina. Hannah hadn’t had a choice, but he had.

His cell phone rang, and he reached to grab it off the nightstand so it wouldn’t wake Angelina. He moved away from the bed as he flipped it open.

“Hello,” he said in a low voice.

“Micah, this is Chad. Look I have some stuff you need to see. Is there somewhere we can meet?”

Micah shook his head in confusion. “Where are you?”

“In a cab. I flew into Bush half an hour ago. I think I have our guy.”

Adrenaline surged in Micah’s veins. “You know who it is?”

“Yeah, I think so. Now we just have to find him. I brought all the information I could dig up on him with me. Can we hook up somewhere?”

“Yeah, sure. Look, give the cabdriver this address. Have him bring you here.” Micah relayed the address to The House. “Thanks a lot, Chad. I owe you one, buddy.”

“No problem. David was my friend too. I looked out for Angelina the best I could after he died.”

“Yeah, I know,” Micah said quietly.

He hung up and went back to the bed where Angelina was now propped up, her eyes sleepy and her hair falling in waves over her shoulders.

“Who was that?” she said in a drowsy voice.

“Chad. He’s on his way here. He thinks he knows who our guy is.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s great! I mean, I guess it is. Will you be able to find him?”

“Just having a lead on his identity will give us plenty to work with. We can track him then. Learn his habits, his quirks, find out if he has any connections here. If he’s used any credit cards. Yeah, we’ll get him, baby. Don’t worry.”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “You should probably get dressed. He’ll be here in half an hour.”

He got up and walked toward the door. “I’ll wait downstairs for you. Come down when you’re ready.”

She nodded and he went down the stairs to wait for Chad.

Angelina took her time showering and getting dressed. She was in a mellow mood today and her clothing would reflect it. She chose her most worn pair of jeans—her most comfortable—and a cotton T-shirt that had been washed until it was faded and soft. Not bothering with shoes, she padded down the stairs.

She heard voices from the front sitting room, so she ventured in there. Micah and Chad were sitting across from each other and both looked up when she entered.

Micah stood, as did Chad, and she went to stand next to Micah. It was automatic, and he pulled her into his side, a gesture that comforted her.

“Hi, Chad,” she said softly.

He smiled warmly at her. “Hey, kiddo. You doing okay?”

She nodded. “Micah said you’ve found him?”

“Yeah, we were just getting to that.”

Chad pulled out a folder and handed it to Micah. What happened next was a blur. One moment Micah was flipping open the folder, and the next Chad whipped out his pistol and hit Micah in the back of the head.

Micah went down, blood spilling from the wound on his head. Angelina’s knees buckled, and she dropped down next to Micah, her hands going to his shoulders.

“Oh my God, what are you doing?” she screamed up at Chad.

Chad pointed the gun at Micah, his eyes so cold she shivered.

“Get up, Angelina. Do it now.”

“What is wrong with you? I need to call an ambulance. Are you crazy?”

The realization was slow to come, but when it did, it hit her like a sledgehammer. Her gaze flicked to the open folder lying next to Micah on the floor. It held empty sheets of paper. There was nothing there. It was all a trick.

She stared in horror at Chad. Nausea bubbled in her stomach. “It was you,” she whispered. “You’re the creep who’s been stalking me.”

“Not stalking. I never stalked you.”

“What the hell would you call it then?” she spit out. “You made my life hell. I lived in constant fear. I had to pack up and move in the middle of the night.”

“You should have come to me,” he said calmly. “I took good care of you. For a little while you leaned on me. You should have seen that I was perfect for you.”

Oh, sweet Jesus. He was insane. Out of his ever-loving mind, and now Micah lay on the floor with a head injury.

“Get out of the way, Angelina. I don’t want to accidentally shoot you when I shoot him.”

Terror blew through her chest, robbing her of breath. He was utterly serious. There was no emotion, no reaction in his eyes. He would calmly kill Micah without a second thought. Unless she could stop him.

She rose to her feet, careful to keep her body in between Chad and Micah. Her knees shook, her palms were sweaty, and if she so much as breathed wrong, she was going to puke.

“Please don’t kill him, Chad,” she said in her softest voice. “I’ll go with you. I’ll be whatever you want me to be. We can be together. I won’t fight you. But don’t kill him.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stared at her, but the gun never moved. “I’m supposed to trust you? After you betrayed me by sleeping with him? You’ve been holed up here acting as his sex toy for weeks now.”

“I didn’t know it was you. You should have realized what a crush I had on you. Why do you think I went to you for help? But you ignored me. You treated me like a kid sister. Like David’s sister. What was I supposed to think?”

“Why do you care what happens to him then?”

Angelina glanced down at Micah and prayed he was still alive, that she could buy him enough time.

“He was David’s best friend. And if you kill him, you’ll go to prison for murder. How can we be together then? You’ll leave me just like Micah left me, like David and Hannah left me. I’m tired of being left behind, Chad. If you care for me like you say you do, then you won’t leave me either.”

His eyes flickered and he slowly lowered the gun. She held her breath as tension knotted her belly. Then he gestured toward the door.

“Let’s go.”

“I need my stuff. My clothes. It’s all upstairs.”

Suspicion glittered in his eyes again, and his lip curled upward in a snarl.

“Forget it. I’ll provide you what you need. For now we’re getting out of here.”

Swallowing back the stark terror that swelled in her throat, she took a step forward and made herself not look back at Micah. It would enrage Chad, and she needed him calm if she ever hoped to escape him.

He took her arm roughly with his free hand and kept the gun pointed at her side as they walked out of The House.

Sunlight accosted her vision and she winced, blinking away the brightness. She stumbled when he yanked her forward. How could this be such an utterly gorgeous day when her entire world had gone to hell in a matter of seconds?

“Get in,” he ordered.

She stood inside the open car door and everything inside her balked at getting into this vehicle.

Like the cop he was, he put his hand on her head and shoved her down into the car just like she was some criminal he was arresting.

The magnitude of her situation slammed into her brain with the force of a hurricane. She was being kidnapped by a lunatic cop. Crazy or not, he was a good cop. He’d be hard to find. He knew how cops thought.

She clamped her lips shut to quell the desperate moan that threatened to escape.

Think, Angelina. Keep your cool.

Chad slid in beside her, and to her relief his gun was at least holstered. To her dismay he clapped one cuff around her wrist and proceeded to secure the other cuff to his.

“Just in case you get any stupid ideas,” he said as he yanked her arm forward so he could start the engine.

“Where are we going?” she asked with fake calm.

He drove onto the highway, ignoring her question. There was sick determination on his face, and she knew no one was going to find them. If she was going to get out of this alive, she was going to have to do it herself.

Real calm descended over her. Her mind quit screaming. Her gut, which was knotted in worry over Micah, loosened, and she began to think. Really think.

Images from when David had taught her self-defense at the gym came to mind. He stood over her, making her repeat her moves until she was sore and exhausted.

You can beat anyone if you use your head. Intelligence always beats brawn. No matter how small you are or how big the guy, you can find a way to win, Angelina. You just have to outwit him.

Chad drove on, obeying all the speed limits. He was careful not to bring attention to them. He made all the correct stops. In fact he looked decidedly casual, one arm on the steering wheel in a nonchalant manner. He firmly believed he was invincible. He’d won. He’d gotten the girl.

Or so he thinks.

Somehow, someway, she was would escape. She only prayed she would get an early opportunity, before she had to endure whatever he had in mind for her.