She barely paused, just flicked a glance at him. Then she frowned and stepped closer. “Are you okay?” Her voice was low and melodic.
“Choked on my drink,” he managed to say once he’d got some air back in his lungs. “Went down wrong.”
Her smile lit up her face and he found himself returning it. “I’m sorry. Glad you’re feeling better.” She leant forward a bit and her necklace fell free from her shirt.
He was riveted on the pendant. Gold, elegant in a way he’d never seen before. The symbol on it was one he’d seen before but couldn’t quite place. Everything within him wanted to yank it off her and keep it for himself. Keep it next to him, against his own flesh. His back burned and he shifted in his seat.
“Have a great flight.” She moved by him and he craned his neck behind to see where she went.
The woman had to pass the two men who made him uncomfortable. And the way they watched her and shared a look only increased his feeling. Possessiveness flowed through him—problem was, he didn’t know if it was towards the woman or the pendant.
He leant back and barely moved when the attendant came by to take his trash. His heart rate wouldn’t slow and all he could see was that small gold disc, which hung on a filigree chain around her neck.
Edgy the entire flight back, he got more antsy when they landed. Taking his bag, he was in the front of the pack to disembark. However, he waited against the walkway wall for the woman to appear. She did so, pulling a purple, leopard-print suitcase behind her. It was more like a backpack with a handle and wheels. Her clothing conservative, hair as well. There was nothing about her that screamed ‘look at me’, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Behind her, the two men appeared and his gaze narrowed. Stepping before her, he watched her sidestep to avoid hitting him and carry on without looking up. It was then he realised she had earbuds in and was listening to something. So he fell into step beside her, cautious of where the two men were behind them.
Her strides were purposeful and he liked that she didn’t take small dainty steps, as if her legs were in cuffs. That sent an image through his head, which he wasn’t so quick to vanquish.
The moment they stepped out into the hall of the airport, she looked sideways at him. Her eyes grew wide and she slowed as she took one bud out of her ear.
“Weren’t you ahead of me?”
He flashed his flirty grin. “Guess you caught up to me.” He stared at her neck, wanting to see the pendant again.
“Really? Guess so.” Her disbelief was palpable.
Cale shrugged easily. The men behind them had stopped as well, talking amongst themselves yet obviously waiting for them to continue. Honestly, he hadn’t a clue which one of them they were after now. He couldn’t let her face them alone, though.
“Care to share a taxi?”
“You don’t even know where I’m going.”
“You’re right. How about a coffee, we talk then share a taxi.”
Her laughter made him smile even more.
Taylor Kenyon wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man standing before her. He amused her. And given how he didn’t make her skin crawl, like those two following her did, maybe he would convince them she wasn’t an easy target.
“Coffee sounds wonderful.”
He raked a hand through his dark brown hair and gave her a nod. “Excellent.”
They fell into step and made their way through to the concessions. She watched him out of the corner of her eye.
An athlete. He was fit and had a nice movement to him. Looked good, too. Tanned skin, dark hair, killer smile. She almost shook her head but managed to stop herself at the last minute. A man wasn’t anything she needed in her life right now.
“Preference on where to go?”
We can definitely add nice voice to his list as well.
“I don’t have one.”
They settled on a place and she got some hot tea while he got a cappuccino. She picked a seat by the window where she could have her back at a corner and look out past the man with her to those milling about. It didn’t help her nerves when she saw the same two creeps hanging out.
Stirring the sugar into her tea, she stared at the man sharing the table with her. He had incredible blue eyes which were focused intently on her. She blinked. “Something on my face?”
“Just wondering about your necklace.”
Warning spiked up her spine. But she didn’t lose her composure, it wasn’t in her to do so. “What about it?” She sipped the brew and wished she were able to truly enjoy it.
“It’s unique. Where did you get it?”
“My grandmother gave it to me before she died.” She touched the chain but didn’t reveal the pendant. “She told me it would bring me luck.” A sorrowful laugh. “I’m still waiting on that. But it’s part of her and I love it for that reason alone.”
Her grandmother had said a whole lot of other things, but she wasn’t going to share them with this man. He didn’t ask to see it, which had her wondering if perhaps he
wasn’t
another after her. A thought that was nice, although brief, for it vanished when he looked in the direction of the two men who’d definitely been after her.
I have to get away from him.
“What’s your name?” he asked. “Just realised we haven’t been introduced to one another.”
“Taylor.”
“Cale. Cale Mattox.”
Another practised smile. “Nice to meet you.” She drank more of her tea and chatted with him about being in France. He’d been skiing, as she’d been. Same lodge, and how surprising it was they hadn’t run into each other there. “Excuse me, I need to use the facilities.”
“Then we can get a taxi.”
She stood and gripped the handle of her suitcase. “I still have to go to baggage claim. We could meet there.”
He sent another glance to where she knew the men were. “Sounds good to me. See you in a bit, Taylor.”
Not if I have anything to say about it.
She gave a nod and walked to the nearest bathroom. She sank against the wall and rubbed her arms as she tried to figure out what step to take next.
“You okay, sweetie?” A cleaning lady asked her.
“No. There are two men following me and they’re making me really nervous. I also think another man is, but I’m not positive.”
The woman’s face grew dark and thunderous. She pulled a radio off her belt and spoke into it. “What do they look like?”
She gave the men’s description and after a brief hesitation, gave Cale’s as well. If it was only her imagination that had her thinking he was with them, well, that was her mistake. But she couldn’t risk it.
A female officer showed up in the bathroom and they left together. She saw two more uniforms talking to the men. All three. One on the two and one on Cale. She didn’t make eye contact just allowed the woman to escort her.
“Do you need to get any luggage?”
“No, ma’am. This is all I have. Just need to grab a taxi.”
“I’ll stay with you until you do.”
“Thank you.”
“Just doing our job.” True to her word, the lady didn’t leave her side until she closed the door of the cab.
“The Hilton, please.” She leant back as the driver pulled out and merged into the busy airport traffic. Lord, her nerves were shot. She closed her eyes and willed the stress to drain from her. Didn’t quite work, but when he parked before the hotel, she felt marginally better.
After paying him, she thanked him as she climbed out. Gripping her handle, she walked into the lobby and up to the front desk to get a room. Hopefully—it wasn’t anything she’d set up ahead of time. Thankfully they had space and she was soon soaking in the tub with a glass of wine beside her.
The men were not the usual ones she’d seen since her grandmother had passed. They were Caucasian and Hispanic instead of black—perhaps her cousins had hired other men. All she knew was she was exhausted, and needed a few days of not racing across the globe.
Suddenly nervous, she rose and wrapped up in her robe before taking her glass of wine with her to stand in front of the large window that offered her a lovely view of Seattle. This was a nice city—maybe she could lose herself in it. At least for a little while.
She called down to the front desk for a paper and some food. While she waited for those to be delivered, she changed into one of her few outfits and briskly ran a towel over her head, drying her new short haircut. She’d just done it and the dye job in the hotel.
Staring at her reflection, she touched the shorn locks and sighed heavily. Her hair had been long and one of her vanity points. So she’d chopped it off in order to help her escape detection. She patted the style. Textured short layers with a long neckline, short sideburns and a slightly diagonal fringe. It had red streaks through it, which kind of reminded her of flames. Different, that was for sure.
“It’ll grow on me,” she told herself. “I just have to figure out why they want this thing so bad.”
Taylor lifted the pendant and stared at it. Delicate. Intricate. And gold, but for the life of her she couldn’t pinpoint why they wanted it so bad. “They can’t truly think this will bring them treasure beyond their wildest dreams.” Meeting her own gaze she shook her head. “Remember who we’re talking about. They may believe that.”
Whatever it was, it was enough for them to try to kill her for it. And that had eradicated any thought she’d once had of giving it to them. To be honest, she wasn’t sure they wouldn’t still kill her after they had it.
Her musings were broken by a knock on the door. “Room service.”
She opened the door and paid for the food. Ignoring the table, she spread out on the bed, food to her left as she opened the paper to the classifieds. As she finished off the last of her dessert, she had several options circled for both apartments and jobs. Given the time of day, she would call in the morning. Placing the tray outside the door, she looked up and down the quiet hall. Then back in her room, she locked the door and engaged the chain.
Curtains drawn and lights off, she went to bed. The sleep helped her immensely and when she woke at six, she felt so much better. She had the place for one more night, yet she still took her bag with her as she headed down to get a spot of breakfast. After she’d finished and had paid her bill, she had the bellhop secure her a cab to take care of her business for the day.
The taxi took her through the neighbourhoods of the circled apartments—she wanted a look at the surrounding areas before she even tried for one. When she’d paid the driver and stepped out before the first job location, she had one apartment picked out. Sure, she’d not even seen the inside, but she needed a place to stay where she felt safe. If the actual rental was subpar she wouldn’t take it, but the other places she wouldn’t stay based on location. Avoiding her cousins because they wanted to kill her was defeated if she was killed trying to get back to her place.
Spying a pay phone, she went to it to call the landlord and set up a meeting to view the apartment. Then she called the job and set up a time to come for an interview. After all that, she walked to one of the numerous coffee shops on the street corners and sat outside while she waited for time to pass.
* * * *
Taylor got the apartment and took the job at the small diner. That night, she ate dinner in her new place. It wasn’t furnished and she ate out of the takeout containers, but she’d had a bed delivered and had got some new sheets for the bed. Other things would come in time. In the meantime, she would tuck her head in and blend in best she could. That worked wonders until the night she came home from a double shift and found someone on the steps waiting for her.
Cale Mattox stood when she approached. His blue eyes pierced her and he arched an eyebrow. “Good thing I’m a forgiving type of man. Care to tell me why the TSA guy detained me?”
“How did you find me?”
If he did, would the others?
“I asked first.” Some of her panic must have shown on her face for he immediately held up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you, Taylor. I promise.”
Funny how she believed him. It didn’t make sense, but she got a warm, safe feeling from him. Not one that had her looking for the nearest exit. “Can we talk inside?”
His smile was sin. Pure, raw, sexual sin. “Anything you want.”
Chapter Two
Cale watched the woman who’d allowed him into her apartment, no matter how reluctantly. He’d known she was suspicious of him but to actually have him detained, okay, he’d not thought she had it in her.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“Whatever you’re having,” he said. Pivoting around in a circle, he took in the apartment. Not much to speak of. Bare necessities but clean.
A bottle of Coke appeared before him and after he took it from her, she waved him into the small living room where she sat in an overstuffed chair that had definitely seen better days. He took the couch where he could see her and the door.
“Care to tell me what that was all about?” He opened his drink and took a nice long swig.
“Did Jeremy send you?”
He blinked a few times. “Who’s Jeremy?”
Her sigh was telling. “I’m sorry about earlier. My cousin has sent men after me. He wants the pendant from my grandmother. He and the others are under the foolish belief it will bring them all the treasure they could ever want.”
“Why didn’t you just give it to them instead of having them chase you around?”
She fiddled with her bottle. “I had planned on it. Even though Grandma wanted me to have it. I went to their office and overheard them talking, debating about killing me after they got it.” She shook her head. “So why give it to them if they’re going to kill me? I may as well keep it myself.”
Protective instincts raged within him. How could someone do such a thing? He wanted to know Jeremy so he could kick the man’s worthless ass.
“When I saw you continually looking at them, I thought you were part of their group.” A gentle half smile. “Sorry.”
Cale leant back and rolled the bottle in his fingers. Those men hadn’t been after her pendant. At least, not for the reasons she was thinking.
“And you’ve been running from them since France?”