No Reason to Run (9 page)

Shane also
discovered details about the two men who’d been sent to harass her at the hotel
room she’d been staying in. A hotel she’d run to after her ex had stalked her at
her house and scared her with his calls. Those men were low scale muscle but
dangerous none the less. For the right price, they’d do anything according to
their reputation.

Shane didn’t have
the rest on the calls and text other than what he’d glimpsed this morning. But
he did have her phone records from her previous phone number and in one day
alone, the bastard ex had called her forty-two times.

“He’s paying
s-someone to kill me?”

Unable to stand the
hurt look on her face, Shane pulled her into his embrace, his arms locking
around her. The disappointment and fear in her voice tore a deeper hole in his
gut. “Hey, don’t think about it. No one’s gonna hurt a hair on you or that
kid’s head.”

She stomped on his
foot. “Her name’s Chloe.”

His bit his inner
cheek to hold in his laughter. She was a fighter and he found that he liked it.
A lot.

Chapter 16

Lunch time allowed
Olivia another opportunity to view Shane in the kitchen. She admitted to the
sight being every bit as riveting the second time around. Watching him maneuver
around the spacious room and his apparent comfort with cooking held her
immobile. She had two female co-workers who’d love a picture of him making
grilled cheese sandwiches with mounds of real butter, cheese and bread. She
wished he hadn’t put his shirt back on.

His body had been a
veritable feast. She didn’t know what had come over her. Touching, stroking and
kissing him had been her only thoughts. If not for the phone call interrupting
them, she knew they would have ended up having sex in his chair.

The pan on the stove
top sizzled and popped, his wrist moved easily flipping the sandwiches until
they were lightly browned. Considering she and Chloe each had a sandwich on the
plates in front of them, she assumed the growing pile to the side of him was
for later. He already had three sandwiches stacked not counting the one in the
pan.

“I have two men
coming up today to help with your situation.”

Finishing half her
sandwich, Olivia tuned in. She still had trouble wrapping her mind around the
fact that Brian wanted someone to kill her. All because he didn’t believe she
wouldn’t talk about what she’d seen. It wasn’t out of any misguided loyalty
that kept her silence but her fear of being in the media storm and having Chloe
caught in the midst which guaranteed she didn’t want anyone to find out any
more than Brian.

“Do they know
everything?” It embarrassed her to think strangers knew her personal secrets.
Knew that her ex-husband, a respected politician would stoop to this level.
Murder. She couldn’t even comprehend what Brian was thinking. In a distant part
of her brain she realized she should be hurt but her feelings and emotions
involving her ex were all locked away alongside her teen years and life with
her parents. The only thing that mattered at this point was the impact on
Chloe.

Shane adjusted the
knobs on the stove, dousing the flame and brought his plate to the table. Four
sandwiches and the tempting aroma of melted cheese between the browned bread
sat on the dinnerware. Chloe smiled across the table at him and he returned her
smile with a brisk nod that her daughter must have interpreted as a greeting
because she nodded back.

The solemn nod
cracked Shane’s façade and his mouth curled up in the corner. Olivia laughed at
the whole byplay. Then he ruined her mood with his answer.

“They’ll know by the
time they arrive. I emailed a brief to each of them and they’ll read it before
they get here.” He reached for the knife and fork he’d brought to the table.

‘What will I need to
do?” She curiously watched him cut a triangle from the first sandwich and chew
thoughtfully.

“I expect you to
tell us everything about him, including what you saw.” He cut another bite of
the sandwich and she couldn’t stop staring. Who ate a grilled cheese with a
knife and fork?

When he caught her
staring, twin red flags appeared on his cheeks. “My mom’s fault,” he mumbled
the words and continued to cut and eat.

It was good to know
the iron man had flaws. She circled back to what he wanted. “Everything?”

“Everything.”

Olivia stiffened and
cut her eyes to Chloe. Luckily the munchkin was in butter heaven licking the
sides of her sandwich.

“It can wait until
later,” he added noting her quick look.

Olivia accepted that
she had no way around this and while her appetite had abandoned her, she forced
the second half of the sandwich down her throat. She remembered the money and
pulled it out, wanting to give it back to him in case it slipped her mind
again. She shoved the stack of bills at him.

Shane finished his
second sandwich and eyed the money. His gaze shifted to her and behind the
annoyance she read the passion simmering beneath the surface. Her stomach
muscles clenched and her fingers tingled remembering what it felt like to touch
him. Releasing the money and leaving it to sit on the table, she folded her
hands in her lap. It was the only way to restrain the urge to reach for him.

Slowly, his hand
came up and took the money, never turning his penetrating stare from her while
he put it in the front pocket of his jeans. He had to lift his hips a bit as he
shifted in his chair. Olivia broke the stare first and looked down as the move
provided her with a five second unobstructed view of his crotch. A crotch she’d
eagerly been riding downstairs. He shifted and the table once again blocked the
sight.

She pulled her eyes
away reluctantly and met his amused gray eyes. Her cheeks burned. After another
smoldering look, he picked up his fork and went back to his sandwich, freeing
her from the moment. Olivia swallowed thickly. Entwining her fingers and
pressing down tightly, she kept herself from reaching out to stroke the thick
masculine wrist with its visible veins roping upward. A light dusting of hair
covered his skin, the trail fading as it neared his elbow.

Olivia understood
sexual attraction. She knew it in all its forms and experienced it during her
teen years in high school. Years later as a young woman and newly married she’d
been physically attracted to Brian. His sleek physique and debonair manner
sucked her right in. She acknowledged those earlier feelings and reactions but
this was different.

Not once with her ex
had she felt the scorching heat she experienced in Shane’s arms while they were
in his basement. In fact, no man had ever touched her resulting in such an
intense response. And none of it explained why she wanted to leap across the
table and bury her hands back in his thick dark hair. She wanted his large
hands running up and down her back soothing her as he had downstairs.

Maybe she needed
sex. There hadn’t been anyone since her divorce. She just hadn’t had time to
re-enter the dating arena and her focus had been on Chloe and getting their
life together, not looking for a man. Her plans involved finding someone later
but later got pushed further and further back on her agenda. Olivia sighed. She
felt better finding a rational reason for her unusual behavior.

Her cell phone went
off in her pocket. The vibration strummed loud enough to eliminate any
possibility that Shane wouldn’t hear. His brow creased and he smirked when she
hesitated to answer. Damn him. She checked the caller ID and relaxed at the
number on the display.

“Hello.”

“Olivia, how are
you?”

Brian’s mother. Her
voice a crisp match for the woman’s no-nonsense demeanor. “I’m fine, Mrs.
O’Donnell. Thank you for asking.” Good manners dictated Olivia go through the
motions of social etiquette although she hoped Laura O’Donnell called to impart
news regarding her son.

“We spoke to Brian
earlier after the alarming message you left us over the weekend. It seems as
usual you misunderstood things again, Olivia. I thought you’d gotten over your
dramatic need to constantly pull our son’s attention toward you.”

Olivia frowned and
even pulled the phone away from her ear to peer at it closely. She placed it
back along her face, knowing Shane spotted her confusion. “I’m sorry, Mrs.
O’Donnell.”

“As well you should
be.”

The statement cut
off whatever Olivia was about to say but she forged ahead. “I’m not sure what
he’s told you but I really need you to have him cease his repeated calls to me.
I changed the number and he continued to call.”

Chloe bored after
finished her sandwich began to fiddle with Shane’s salt and pepper shakers on
the table.

Mrs. O’Donnell’s
overlong sigh was easy to decipher. “Don’t be ridiculous. He
is
Chloe’s
father. Why wouldn’t he call?”

The main problem
with Brian’s parents centered around their mistaken belief that their only
child could do no wrong. When Olivia filed for divorce, they’d blamed her and
pushed Brian to seek sole custody. Thankfully, Brian wasn’t that far gone and
didn’t pretend to want Chloe full time. He negotiated for visitation so his
voters wouldn’t view him in a bad light if he outright admitted he had no
interest in his daughter.

Olivia needed to
convince the older O’Donnells to reign their son back in line. “It’s not calls
about her.”

Brian fought the
divorce initially but the fact remained that he wasn’t enamored of having
someone to answer to on a regular basis about his coming and goings. The
reality of a wife was a lot less exciting than the idea. Their marriage
enhanced his media image but it wasn’t something he wanted to maintain any more
than Olivia.

Getting to her feet,
Olivia moved from the table and lowered her voice. “He’s harassing me, Mrs.
O’Donnell. You need to have him stop.”

A huff and then
silence.

“Are you there?”

“Olivia, I must
insist you stop your nonsense. Please don’t call us again with these desperate
attempts.”

Then her call was
dropped. No goodbye or anything. Olivia growled and gripped the phone tight.
Typical. They always took his side unless they witnessed with their own eyes
the stuff she complained about. Then they would pay him and matters would
settle.

Shane came up behind
her. His hands landing on her shoulders. “Problems?”

Olivia looked to
Chloe then back to him. Chloe was distracted. “It’s my ex-in-laws. When I left
them the message about all of this I really thought they’d speak with him.”
She’d counted on them speaking with Brian. “But apparently he’s given them a
totally different story and they’ve decided it’s all me or in my head.”

The hands on her
shoulders caressed and stroked distracting her from the insanity of Mr. and
Mrs. O’Donnell.

“Is this normal
behavior for them?”

His question
reminded Olivia of the shame she’d endured when Brian first introduced her to
his parents. “Yes. Unfortunately it’s very normal. My background isn’t what
they wanted for a daughter-in-law and they made sure I never forgot.”

Shane’s fingers
moved to her neck, sliding softly along her throat. His warm flesh took away
the chill left behind by Mrs. O’Donnell’s ruthless dismissal. Olivia leaned her
head to the side encouraging him to continue. Callus roughened hands were
gentle as they glided to her scalp, dug in and massaged. She nearly moaned
aloud but mindful of Chloe bit back the sound.

His head bowed close
to hers and his breath whispered against her now sensitized skin. “They’ll be
pleased when they see his background didn’t make him any better.”

Olivia shivered. His
tone contained an element of menace woven with a thread of anger. At her or for
her? “Won’t matter,” she managed. His fingers sifted through the strands only
to return to her scalp and start all over. Her nipples perked up and her lower
region dampened. “They’re blind to his flaws. I’ve forwarded a few texts in the
past but they say I made them up.”

He pressed his mouth
to her throat. Heat. Molten hot heat. She muffled a gasp standing straight and
locking her legs. A slow lick from his tongue added wetness to the sensation
followed by cool air when his hands dropped and he stepped back releasing her
hair in one motion. “Someone’s calling the house line.”

She heard the
telephone ringing from the portable unit on the kitchen counter. Were they
always to be interrupted by a phone? Chloe got up and walked over to her. “More
cartoons?” Her smile enchanted but Olivia got herself together.

“Not right now,
sweetie.” At home she didn’t let Chloe watch too much television and tried to
engage her in learning games or walks in the park as much as possible. Her
little sweetheart tried to bargain for more TV time often. Being on the run had
played havoc with their routine.

Shane spoke on the
phone, shooting looks her way. She couldn’t make out the words but there was a
lot of agreeing while he watched her. Whatever he talked about concerned her
situation. He finished his call and eyed her and Chloe, his lips pressed firmly
together.

Running a hand over
Chloe’s hair, she waited. The change was subtle but Olivia could tell that the
Shane Mitchell who’d been fondling her hair moments ago with his lips on her
neck was gone and in his place was the man she’d carjacked from the night
before.

“Brody gave us a
heads up. An officer is en route to question you about the bombing.”

Instantly, his words
brought back everything. The fire, the screaming, and the death she’d
witnessed. Her chest squeezed. “They’re coming here?”

“Yes, Brody let
Sheriff Hill know he could speak with you at my place.”

She cleared her
throat. The sheriff and an officer were coming. “Do they have any information
on the guy who did this?”

Shane grunted.
“Brody didn’t say but we’ll see after the officer arrives.”

Olivia only hoped
this didn’t connect to her problems with Brian. She refused to believe he’d
stretch that far. Yet, Shane said he had proof her ex searched for a hit man to
kill her. A hit man. Her brain struggled with the concept. If he could hire a
hit man it wouldn’t be a stretch to bomb a bus station.