Darken (Siege #1) Page 9

  She glanced at Gavin’s profile. For two years, she’d protected him from the endless wondering and questions of someone out there who would never be brought to justice, but by not telling him the truth, she only delayed his healing. Yet, when she found him that morning on the bridge, he’d been lost, trying to process everything all over again. Two years before, hearing the truth might have given him something to focus on, something to keep him moving—healing.

  Hiding the details of her afternoon would only compound the problems she’d created.

  “Someone ran me off the road,” she said after a long pause.

  The Jeep jerked to the side, and she grabbed the panic bar above the window, wincing at the twinge of pain that shot through her head. They slowed as Gavin pulled onto the shoulder. He put the vehicle in park and twisted in his seat to face her. His mouth moved, but nothing came out as if he was trying to figure out what to say but his mind was running too quickly to form a complete sentence.

  “I went into Billings to do some shopping and have lunch.” She decided against telling him about meeting Hailey. “On my way home, I noticed someone following behind me when I pulled onto the back road.”

  “So you saw the vehicle? If it was following you, why didn’t you call someone?”

  “At first, I thought they were simply going the same way. It’s not like they had a sign on their hood saying criminal or asshole. They were just a boring sedan going the same direction.”

  “Okay, so you pulled off the highway, then what?” he asked impatiently.

  “Right before the bridge, he tapped my bumper.” Eyes squinting, she tried to recall the details. “My foot went down on the gas pedal and I managed to get across the bridge. On the other side, the guy hit me again, and I lost control. I went into the ditch and slammed into a tree.”

  “You told the cops all of this, right?”

  The question stung, but she couldn’t really blame him for asking.

  “I told them. Whether they believe me, well … According to the officer who took my statement, it’s all a bit too coincidental. Same bridge, same method.”

  “That’s bullshit.”

  He slammed his palm against the steering wheel then flung open his door. He disappeared behind the vehicle, and she adjusted the mirror so she could she see him. He’d rested his forearms on the back window and pressed his forehead to the glass. Intense concentration lined his face as he squeezed his eyes shut.

  She watched as he craned his head to the side, revealing the tensely corded muscles along his neck that seemed to pulse with each breath he took. He rolled his shoulders, and as he straightened up, she fixed the mirror and stared straight ahead.

  “Is that it?” he asked as he got back in the Jeep.

  His eyes drilled into her, and she realized she needed to tell him everything, no matter how strange it was.

  “I banged my head pretty hard, but I remember my door being opened. I don’t know if he was trying to pull me out or what, but he grabbed my arm and held it for a moment and then he was gone.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know, but …” She rubbed her upper arm then rolled up her sleeve. A dot in the center of a small bruise confirmed her growing suspicion. “Oh God, I think he stuck me with a needle. Why would he do that? Should I go back to the hospital? Get them to do blood work?”

  He rubbed his hand across his mouth and sighed.

  “No, they can’t do anything for you.”

  Her eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I know who did this.”

  “Who?”

  “The same person who killed Lela.” He stared back at her. “Sinclair.”

  “Sinclair? Why would he be trying to kill me?” she asked, confused.

  “That probably wasn’t his objective.”

  “Then what was he doing?”

  “I guess that’s the question. That, and what did he do to you the last time?”

  Every instinct Gavin possessed screamed for him to immediately begin hunting Sinclair. The cop was right; it wasn’t a coincidence. It was Sinclair. But why the fuck would he target Cora?

  When Noah told him about Sinclair being involved in Lela’s death, a suffocating weight had settled on his chest. The idea that her death was linked to SIEGE left him sick to his stomach because he knew Sinclair targeted her to in order to get to him.

  Going after Cora, though? It didn’t make sense.

  Her blue eyes watched him as he drove, and he wondered what she was thinking. He wished he could answer her questions, but most of them were the same as his own. For the moment, though, the questions of why didn’t matter. The only thing they had to determine was when Sinclair would strike again.

  “This isn’t the way to Keeley’s place,” she said.

  “I’m not taking you to Keeley’s.” He pulled into his parking spot in front of his apartment building.

  “Why?”

  He didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, he got out and went around to the passenger side to open her door.

  “Sinclair’s targeted you,” he said. “We don’t know what he’s gonna do or when he’s gonna do it. Do you really want to take the chance that he’ll make his move when you’re at Keeley’s? Get her hurt in the crossfire?”

  “No, but—”

  “You can stay here tonight, and we’ll worry about tomorrow in the morning.”

  It wasn’t until he was unlocking his front door that he realized that while this plan was the best alternative, it also meant that Cora was going to be in his apartment with him. Alone. His hand hesitated on the doorknob.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Gavin cleared his throat. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

  He pushed open the door and flipped on the light before punching his code into the security alarm keypad. A quick glance around had him regretting that he hadn’t taken the time to tidy up when Noah brought him home. Unlike the bare feel of her apartment, his was obviously inhabited. Dishes hadn’t been done for a few days, and he had a habit of undressing in the living room.

  “Come on in,” he said and held the door open for her. “It’s a bit of a mess, but …”

  A breathy laugh fluttered from her lips. “Would you be mad if I told you didn’t expect anything less?”

  A smile cracked his face as he locked the door behind them.

  “How’s your headache?” he asked.

  “It’s gone.” Her fingers probed the bandage. “Do you mind if I clean up?”

  “Yeah, sure. The bathroom’s the door on the right.”

  At the door, she paused and glanced back at him. “Do you have a shirt I could use?”

  “A shirt?” His forehead wrinkled and she plucked at the front of her T-shirt, pointing out the bloodstains. “Oh. Yeah, let me grab one.”

  He brushed past her to go to his room and pulled a shirt from the closet. When he handed her the shirt, she took it and raised a brow looking from the shirt back to him.

  “This explains a lot,” she said. She held the shirt up in front of her, and he realized why she’d given him such a strange look. He snorted at the gag gift his brother had given him for his last birthday.

  If you think my gun’s big, you should see what I’m packing.

  “You can thank Josh for that.”

  She clutched the material against her chest, and the movement drew his eyes to her breasts. The hallway seemed to shrink, the space between them reduced to a breath. The temptation to reach out and touch her left his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

  Cora had just been through a traumatic car accident; she was covered in blood for God’s sake. She didn’t need him going all horny on her.

  “Towels are under the sink.” He reached around her and flicked on the bathroom light.

  In the kitchen, he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and cracked it open. From the bathroom came the sound of the shower running, bringing with it the image of Cora standing naked u
nder the spray, water sliding down her chest only to catch on her nipples. His cock hardened, pressing uncomfortably against his zipper.

  He was in hell.

  Chugging his beer, he tried to put the image out of his mind. As he tossed the empty can in the garbage, his cell phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket. Keeley’s name was illuminated on the screen.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Where are you guys?”

  “Change of plans. Cora’s going to crash at my place.”

  There was a brief, stunned silence before Keeley ripped into him.

  “What the hell do you mean she’s crashing there? Boy, I know there’s some kind of thing between the two of you—”

  “There’s not a thing between us,” he denied.

  “Yeah, whatever. She’s just been an accident. She doesn’t need you pawing at her.”

  “I’m not planning on touching her at all. There was something strange about the whole incident and I figured it would be safer if she stayed here.”

  “What you mean strange?”

  “It’s probably nothing. I’ll tell her you called. See you tomorrow.” He disconnected the call before she asked any more questions. The shower was still running, so he figured he had time to call Caleb.

  “Hmmm, hello?” the woman answered in a sultry bedroom voice.

  “Is Caleb there?”

  “Caleb? Is this joke?” she said with a giggle. “Come back to bed.”

  He and his twin were used to being mistaken for each other both in person and on the phone, but he had to say having his brother’s hook up invite him back to bed was a first.

  “This is his brother, Gavin.”

  “Oh, sorry.” More giggles. “Hold on a moment.”

  He listened to the rustling of sheets as she left the bed to search for Caleb. A few minutes later, his brother was on the line.

  “Took you long enough to call me back,” Caleb said. “I left like three friggin' messages. Did you even listen to them?”

  He’d listened to them, but they were identical to the ones he had from Noah, Logan, their parents. Hell, the only one who didn’t call was Dean, and that was probably only because he was in college halfway across the country.

  As much he appreciated their concern, he had no interest in hashing over it seven different times.

  “We have a problem,” he said, ignoring Caleb’s question. “Sinclair.”

  “That’s not new. Sinclair’s been a pain in the ass ever since he was released from custody.”

  “He almost killed Cora tonight.”

  “With the fuck do you mean, almost killed her?”

  “As in ran her off the road right by the bridge almost killed her. She’s with me right now, but—”

  There was a noise behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to find Cora standing awkwardly at the end of the couch wearing that horrible T-shirt that reached almost to her knees and her jeans. He started to tell her to have a seat when he realized a pile of laundry was scattered across the couch.

  “Gavin? You still there?”

  “Hey, let me give you a call back.”

  He hung up on Caleb and rushed forward to gather the clothes in his arms. He carried them to his bedroom, tossing them into the dirty laundry hamper even though he suspected they were clean.

  “Sorry about that,” he said.

  “Who was that?” She sat down, curling her legs underneath her until it looked like she wore only the t-shirt.

  “Caleb. I was going to ask him to check on a few things.” He went back to the kitchen area and grabbed a couple beers then traded one for a bottle of water. “Keeley called wondering where you were.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That you were over here.”

  Cora groaned and dropped her head into her hand.

  “Was that the wrong thing to tell her?” He placed the water in front of her on the coffee table and pulled over his computer chair to sit.

  “No,” she said and sighed. “It’s fine. I still think this is a bit extreme. I get not involving Keeley, but I could have gone home.”

  “The whole point of you staying with someone was so they could look for the symptoms of a concussion. Second, if Sinclair is targeting you, then you definitely shouldn’t be alone.”

  She took a sip of her water then traced a pattern through the condensation clinging to the bottle. When she placed it back on the table, she stood and paced the narrow space between the couch and the coffee table before walking over to the window.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said.

  “Staying here? Why?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she peeked through the blinds out onto the street below. Finally, she turned and leaned against the window and stared at him. With her hands holding onto the sill behind her, the T-shirt pulled taut across her breasts and beneath the thin material, he made out the tightened peaks of her nipples.

  “Things happen when we’re alone,” she said.

  Things. Their tongues locked in a battle of wills, his dick pressed snug against her pussy. His cock twitched as he mentally told it to keep down.

  He stood and slowly moved toward her until only a few inches separated them. He cupped her face with his hands, tipping her head back until he could look into her eyes.

  “Cora—”

  Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a knock at the door.

  Chapter Nine

  CORA GAZED UP AT Gavin. His dark brown eyes pulled her in, and she wanted to lose herself in their depths.

  The knocking came again, but neither of them moved, reluctant to break the spell between them. It was only at the sound of the key in the lock that Gavin went on alert, moving quickly toward the opening door.

  In only a few long strides, he reached the door, pressing his hand against the wood to prevent it from opening any further.

  “Hey!” Caleb’s voice came from the other side of the door. “You going to let us in?”

  Gavin lowered his hand and backed up to let Caleb, followed by Noah and Logan, into the apartment.

  The four brothers focused their eyes on Cora, and she crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously. Noah stepped forward, taking in the white bandage and bruise on her forehead.

  “How are you doing? Did the doctor give you anything?” Turning on his “in charge” mode, Noah grasped her elbow and guided her over to the couch. “You should be sitting.”

  “I’m all right. It’s worse than it looks,” she reassured him, but she followed his advice and sat.

  “She has a concussion and eight stitches.” Gavin cut through the small space between Noah and Cora to sit beside her.

  Cora gave him a sideways glance. “It’s a headache, not a concussion. I just need a good night’s rest.”

  Noah’s eyes narrowed on Gavin. “Have you been watching her for symptoms?”

  “Do I look like an idiot? Of course I have.”

  “Guys! Enough.” Caleb slashed his hands through the air, looking back and forth between his two brothers. “As far as I know, neither of you are Cora’s father or her boyfriend. So back off.”

  Cora wasn’t sure if she should be blushing or laughing. The thought of Gavin worrying about her like a boyfriend sent a thrill through her, but she appreciated Caleb’s straightforward, cut-the-crap attitude.

  Seeing Caleb always threw Cora for a moment. Despite his more clean-cut appearance, he and Gavin were nearly identical. For a hot minute back in high school when she first met the two of them, she thought she might have a crush on him, then she’d found herself falling for Gavin.

  She knew a lot of people got Gavin and Caleb confused just by looking at them, but Cora had never had a problem figuring out who was who.

  Caleb was always alert, ready to make his move. He didn’t mess around or let anything distract him from his goal. It was a trait he carried on the outside. Formal posture, hands hanging loosely by his side, eyes that p
erused the room, evaluating each detail to determine its value to obtaining his goal.

  Gavin, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t care less about what was going on. Oh, he knew every little thing that was happening; it wasn’t in his nature to not be observant, but he didn’t show it. He always appeared relaxed, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

  “Maybe we should all stop giving Cora a hard time,” Logan said. “Although, it would help if we all knew what the hell was going on. Gavin?”

  “I’ll let Cora tell you what she told me.” Gavin rested his hand on her knee, and she jumped at the contact.

  She knew he believed it all had to do with Sinclair. And yeah, there was a small part of her that considered he might be right, but it was a small part and not enough to make her think that everything was more than some bizarre coincidence.

  He nodded his head encouragingly, and she looked from one brother to the next then back to Gavin. If she was right about it all being a coincidence, they might be able to convince Gavin.

  For the next ten minutes, she recounted the events from the time she left Thompson Creek to when Gavin picked her up at the hospital. It wouldn’t have taken long, except Caleb continually interrupted to ask for details that seemed of little consequence.

  “When I told Gavin all of this, he thought it had something to do with this Sinclair guy,” she said, finishing her tale. “And that’s why he had me come here instead of going to Keeley’s.”

  “You did the right thing,” Noah told Gavin. “We don’t need Keeley involved in this. Though, if Sinclair is willing to target Cora, he may already be watching her as well.”

  Cora’s eyes widened. That was not the response she expected. Where were the reassurances that this was just some random act of violence? Some idiot hopped up on drugs thinking it would be funny to see if her little car would make it through the accident unscathed?

  “This is crazy.” She shook her head. “How can any of you be sure? The picture you had of that guy Sinclair, he didn’t look anything like the guy driving today.”