Burned: Black Cipher Files #3 (Black Cipher Files series) (20 page)

“Wait. What?” She’d stopped, her hands propped on her hips.

“We’ve got to get out of here.”

He was burned. Burned. Fuck. What was he going to do now?

“You don’t need to take me with you.” She shook her head. And she didn’t move.

“This isn’t just about you and your stepfather.” Zeke grabbed the laptop and shoved it in the carrying case.

Luckily he’d packed both a duffel and a ‘go bag’ inside his duffel. They’d need to secure his laptop and other identifying things at the storage unit he’d scoped out on his way here. He’d packed the cylinder lock and key in his duffel as rote, just like he packed his toothbrush and toothpaste.

Who would have thought he’d need to use the EPA, Evasion Plan of Action, that he had prepped for? The standard planning had become second nature whenever he went anywhere. His OCD tendencies hadn’t let him ignore preparations. Which was a damn good thing.

“I get that,” she said stubbornly.

No, she didn’t. His mouth hardened and he growled, his voice low and harsh. “And I don’t have time to coddle you. We need to fucking move.”

Sunshine blinked, her silver gaze narrowed. But she finally seemed to understand his urgency. “You can drop me off somewhere.”

“Fine.” Whatever it took to get her in the damn car. And then he just wouldn’t stop.

He dampened a washcloth from the bathroom and began wiping down all the finger printable surfaces, taking extra care anywhere that Sunshine might have touched. They would know he had been in this room, but he didn’t want them finding proof of her presence.

Zeke took one more pass through the room after she finished packing.

The bed was wrecked, sheets and comforter and pillows littered the floor. He flashed back to their night. Of course the best night of his life had been followed by the worst morning ever. The Hawthorne curse continued to rear its ugly head. Hawthorne men didn’t have good, normal relationships with women. They burned hot, then crashed hard. And the women left.

But this time, he couldn’t let her leave. Not yet.

Twenty-Five

I had no idea how I ended up here.

There didn’t seem to be one single decision that landed me on the run with a man I barely knew. Rather, a series of small changes in my normal method of dealing with life put me squarely in brand new, uncharted territory.

Zeke had asked me to drive his car. And because I thought driving would give me a measure of control over the out of control that had spiraled since he answered his phone, I’d agreed.

So now I was driving a high end SUV. The Range Rover was bigger than what I was used to maneuvering and I swear I was driving like an old lady.

“You can probably pick it up a notch. Won’t hurt to go a whole twenty miles an hour.” I didn’t want to take my eyes off the road, but I was pretty sure he was smirking.

I ignored him.

“Turn left at the next light and then pull into that self-storage facility.”

I glanced in the rearview mirror, his obvious paranoia was starting to rub off on me.

“I can’t go into the office of the storage company. I’m going to need you to do it for me.” Zeke said, “Do you think you can?”

I was quiet. Storage facility? Burned? NSA, sleeper cells, treason? When had my boring, unassuming life become a spy novel?

“Sunshine?”

“Yeah.”

“I need to secure my laptop,” Zeke said softly. “There’s too much sensitive information on it, even though there isn’t anything classified, of course.”

And geez, I wanted to bail. But instead, I turned the car into the storage company parking lot, and parked in the spot closest to the office. Zeke was slouched in the passenger seat, a Billabong cap on his head, blocking his face from view. “What do you want me to do?”

“Rent the smallest unit you can, pay in cash if possible, and rent under Sunshine Smith. They’ll be looking for a rental in my name.”

It all seemed a little crazy to me. “Why are you storing your laptop?”

“GPS tracker.”

Zeke barely moved his mouth and my gaze zeroed in on his lips and I remembered what he’d done with his mouth last night. Wow. I needed to shut that down right away.

“I disabled it at the hotel, but I need to get rid of it. Just in case.”

I pulled on the door handle.

“Wait. Here.” He pulled an odd-shaped lock and key from his worn duffel bag and pressed it into my hand.

I curled my fingers around the cool metal, my fingers tingled at the fleeting, innocuous contact, and I was a little breathless as I told him, “Be back in a sec.”

“To be clear. We need to get this locked up and get gone.”

I was trying not to be totally annoyed. And I wondered how he had convinced me to stick with him and do this, but the truth was that his freak out while he was on the phone earlier had touched off an unexpected protectiveness in me.

I’d taken care of my mother for years. And I don’t know why but I had the unshakeable belief that Zeke really needed my help. Needed
me
.

My shoulders tensed.

“Relax. Act casual.”

Yes, because I was totally relaxed, on the run with a stranger, my stepfather after me and my mother, and who knows what else or who else was dogging me and Zeke.

Acting relaxed was going to be a bit of a stretch. But I would try.

I opened the glass-fronted door to the little office and smiled at the small Indian man behind the counter. His deep black eyes were kind as he waited patiently for me to get to the counter.

“Can I help you?” He smiled back, and his gaze shifted to the car in the parking lot.

“I’d like to rent a storage unit.” I fluttered my hands toward the secure units behind the gated entrance and hoped that would be enough to bring his attention back to me and away from Zeke.

“Yes, okay.” He pulled out a single Xeroxed form and slid the piece of paper across the Formica counter. A small television sat on the desk in the corner, the sound low as he watched what looked like an Indian soap opera. Even though I couldn’t understand the words, the drama on the screen was obvious.

I quelled the urge to run and slowly, methodically filled out the forms with a steady hand as he watched me patiently. “Do you need a lock?”

“Nope.” I held up my right hand, the cylinder-shaped lock and key clutched tightly. “All set.”

“Ah, so you come prepared.” His words lilted in an almost lyrical manner.

I smiled tightly. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Very good.” He handed me the rental agreement forms.

“You mind if I give you cash for the six month rental?”

“That is very unusual.” His black brows crinkled over his dark eyes. “But not a problem as long as you also give me a credit card for renewal.”

I gave him my ‘on the run’ Visa. All my existing Sunshine Smith cards were locked away in the safe at the store. That was the plan Mama and I had put into place. Dump everything that we’d been using, and then use cash unless it was an emergency. Only use the black credit cards if there were no other options. I was thinking this qualified. “I’ll probably come in and pay cash when it is time to renew.”

“Very good. Unit 350 is around the corner and up the hill in the third row.”

“Thank you.” That was good. I wanted away from the inquisitive eyes of the manager. Although I noted that now the television screen showed security shots of a row of storage units, then the screen switched again, showing another area of the complex. I shoved the papers into my purse.

“You are very welcome.” He tilted his chin down in a parody of a bow. “Do you need any further assistance?”

“No, thank you. I’ve got my muscle in the car.” I smiled and jerked my thumb towards the Range Rover as he peered over my shoulder into the parking lot.

“That is most excellent.”

“Thank you again.” I turned and headed out to the SUV, hoping it didn’t look like I was running even though that’s what I wanted to do. Head for safe ground. And when I realized I was thinking of Zeke Hawthorne as safe I wanted to turn and run the other direction. I trusted him, but what did I really know? I could be an accessory to some horrible crime that I didn’t even know about. Destined to be on one of those true crime shows as the naïve, unwitting sidekick to a criminal mastermind. As I made tracks to the Range Rover and Zeke Hawthorne, I had a moment where I wondered just what the hell I was doing.

But an adrenaline rush fizzed through my bloodstream, and my step lightened as I swung into the driver’s seat of the fancy car. Far fancier than I’d ever driven. Range Rovers were not low profile.

“I did it.” The urge to giggle was strong.

I drove up the hill to unit 350. We made quick work of putting his laptop in the unit. Cobwebs and a smattering of debris littered the dark corners. Zeke pulled a smaller bag out of his duffel and placed the backpack carefully on the cement floor.

He’d wanted me to stay in the car but for reasons I couldn’t name, I didn’t want him doing this alone. He squatted down by the unassuming backpack, his bronzed legs spread as he rested his butt on his heels.

He opened the zipper and looked inside, closed the zipper, opened the zipper and looked inside, closed the zipper, and then did it one more time for good measure. Zeke patted the backpack and stood.

His little quirk made me smile.

“What?” He crossed his arms defensively over his chest, but my gaze was drawn to his muscled biceps and the light dusting of blond hair on his forearms. And I knew he was being defensive about the quirk, but suddenly memories from last night came rushing back to me.

The power in his body as he’d spread me wide and erotically licked my body in his signature pattern. The tenderness in his touch. The fascination and appreciation in his gaze.

My breath caught. The air in the little room was stifling. I couldn’t breathe and my body was melting at the sensual memory of him between my thighs and the residual ache that I felt not only in my sex but in my heart. The swell of emotion kinda freaked me out.

Zeke stepped forward.

I stepped back, an involuntary, instinctive reaction to the predatory almost feline movement of his body as he stalked toward me. With my heart thudding in anticipation, I let myself be caught.

Zeke tunneled his fingers through my hair, his palms warm and commanding against my neck as he lowered his mouth to mine.

Anticipation hummed through me. Oh Goddess, he was going to kiss me again. Against my better judgment, I melted against him. The puff of his breath was soft on my lips as he pressed his mouth to mine in a fierce, quick kiss. He sipped at my mouth, sucked my top lip in between his, then kissed the left corner, then right corner, then nipped my bottom lip in the zig zag pattern, just like he’d explored my body last night.

His touch soothed me even as he aroused, and I calmed with his hands on me.

Then he skimmed his hand along my shoulder and traced the curve of my elbow and the length of my forearm before he threaded his fingers through mine. “We’ve got to go,” he said against my mouth.

I nodded without speaking.

Zeke secured the lock on the storage unit, hefted his duffel over his shoulder, all without letting go of my hand. As if he intuitively sensed that I needed the contact.

We’d switched places and now Zeke was driving the rental Range Rover up Highway One keeping just at the speed limit. A cool dreary fog lingered close to the black top, and a low cloud layer enveloped us in a cocoon of gray and white. Traffic was sporadic after we bypassed my current hometown of Cambria. As if sensing our frenetic mood, the ocean waves crashed white foam against the kelp-strewn brown sand, and the bellow of the sea lions could be heard even through our closed windows.

We were traveling away from the home I’d had for the last nine years and a wave of melancholy rolled over me. I was so tired of living in fear. I just wanted a normal life. College. A boyfriend. I thought about last night. A sex life.

Instead, I was running from yet another threat. One that had nothing to do with me. So after years of hiding, years of not getting to do what I wanted, and making the decision less than a day ago to take control of my life, seize my destiny and claim my due right, and triumph over John Stanley, here I was…still running.

The earlier calm instilled by Zeke’s kiss began to dissolve into an escalating panic.

Thoughts whirled furiously, mind in a state of chaos as I tried to figure out what I was doing here, with him. That nerdy, somewhat goofy guy had disappeared with one bad phone call and in his place was a harder, more confident, in charge man. But I had no doubts that this guy could keep me safe. I might have been a master at hiding mama’s and my identity but as far as physical safety, I knew I was no match for John Stanley or the threat that now followed Zeke.

Zeke had never really explained what burned meant. They didn’t need him anymore didn’t sound that ominous. But I knew from his actions and his paranoia and urgency in getting out of that hotel and on the road that it meant more than not being needed.

I concentrated on that rather than the fact that I’d lost my virginity last night. Somehow I thought my change in status would be more climactic, or more obvious. I’d always known that the event wouldn’t be romantic. I’d never had the luxury of getting close to anyone. No friends, man or woman, because of our secrets. And while the night had been lovely, satisfying, and hot, even knowing it wasn’t logical, I’d hoped for something more romantic from the day after than running again.

Last night, having sex with Zeke had been beautiful and as necessary as breath, but right now I was seriously questioning my decision.

Since we’d gotten on the road, Zeke’s tension level had escalated until I thought he’d snap. He hadn’t said a word. And I didn’t want to interrupt his intense concentration. But his silence gave me far too much time to think. And my thoughts weren’t giving me warm fuzzies. My thoughts were freaking me out.

I glanced over at him. His jaw was clenched, a muscle ticked in the corner and he was tapping an unconscious rhythm on the leather steering wheel.

I had to wonder if he wasn’t crazy. I’d entrusted my welfare to him and if he was nuts I could be in danger. But he’d seemed so worried, so concerned for my safety, that I’d squashed my misgivings and gotten in his car. All those doubts came flooding back as I watched the asphalt roll by. At least Mama was safe with Blue.