The wall turned out
to be Tank, my knight in tattered jeans. Panicked, I begged him to pretend he
was my boyfriend. What started as a ploy to get rid of Regis, ended up as reality.
“When that job was done I requested to stay here and make this my
home base. The P.I. thing was an excellent cover. It gave me an excuse to ask a
lot of questions and not stick out in the crowd. So they set me up with a
legitimate business and let us go to it.”
That explained all the business trips, without me. The business
trips I’d been convinced were for Tank to meet someone else. “You could have
told me. I would have understood.”
“No, darlin’, I couldn’t.”
I finally voiced the fear which burned in me. “Did you leave me for
another woman?”
Did I even want to hear the answer?
Tank sat on the coffee table and leaned toward me. “No. I didn’t. When
I left and made you believe there was someone else... it cut my heart out. We
have an agent, who’s been deep undercover in a crime syndicate for over seven
years. The operative got wind my activities had spooked one paranoid pain in
the butt, so I had to disappear for a while. If Carlos had become serious about
checking me out, he’d have found you. Making it look like we split was the only
way I knew to keep you safe.”
Tank was a good actor. He’d fooled me and everyone I knew.
“Well... It so happens that my ‘ problem’ met a…premature
death in New York.” Tank chuckled at my reaction. “Not by me. He apparently was
making some extra bucks his boss didn’t know about and that was okay. But he
was using the extra dough to buy gifts and trinkets for the boss’s mistress and
that’s not okay.”
Tank reached out and took hold of my hand, kissing the Band-Aid on
my palm and then each finger individually. Between each sizzling kiss he spoke
slow and soft. “I’m back for good.”
Thirty thousand questions scrambled around my brain and it didn’t
help that all my girly parts were waking up with his kisses. As much as I
wanted—no—needed Tank to hold me tight and let nature take its natural course,
we had to square away everything that happened the last few days.
I needed answers, not sex. Liar , my libido growled, I needed
both.
I pulled my fingers from his warm grip, snatched up the empty beer
bottles and carried them into the kitchen. I turned to go back to the living
room and ran into the solid wall of his chest.
Déjà vu, just like when I met him the first time on the beach.
Big hands reached out and steadied me. My palms slid across his
muscled torso on their own accord. It would be so easy to stand on tiptoe, kiss
him and forget all the questions racing around my hormone driven mind. Sweep
them under a rug and look at them later.
I lifted my hands off his forearms. No. We were going to finish
this talk and I had to keep a clear head. Stepping back a pace, I leaned with
my back against the kitchen island. He gave me a look that promised more, but
wisely, Tank slid around to sit on a stool at the island and waited.
I rubbed my forehead, thinking about what Tank had shared. He hadn’t
left me for another woman, but he also hadn’t trusted me enough to be honest
and tell me the whole truth. It was as if I were a ribbon twisting with each
new puff of air. If it was safe for Tank to come back to me why did someone try
to kidnap me? I asked him that very question.
“I’m not sure. I think it has more to do with Harrison.” He
answered.
“Harrison? Is he part of the crime syndicate?”
“No, Harrison got in way over his head with someone we’ve
come to refer to as the ‘Big Boss.’ He tried to use his daddy’s influence to
squeeze out of it, but Big Boss wouldn’t let him go. I’ve been in contact with
Harry for a couple of months now and we finally got everything in place so he
could turn states evidence against this elusive piece of dirt.”
While Tank spoke, I began fitting the pieces together in my mind.
But my puzzle still
to be Tank, my knight in tattered jeans. Panicked, I begged him to pretend he
was my boyfriend. What started as a ploy to get rid of Regis, ended up as reality.
“When that job was done I requested to stay here and make this my
home base. The P.I. thing was an excellent cover. It gave me an excuse to ask a
lot of questions and not stick out in the crowd. So they set me up with a
legitimate business and let us go to it.”
That explained all the business trips, without me. The business
trips I’d been convinced were for Tank to meet someone else. “You could have
told me. I would have understood.”
“No, darlin’, I couldn’t.”
I finally voiced the fear which burned in me. “Did you leave me for
another woman?”
Did I even want to hear the answer?
Tank sat on the coffee table and leaned toward me. “No. I didn’t. When
I left and made you believe there was someone else... it cut my heart out. We
have an agent, who’s been deep undercover in a crime syndicate for over seven
years. The operative got wind my activities had spooked one paranoid pain in
the butt, so I had to disappear for a while. If Carlos had become serious about
checking me out, he’d have found you. Making it look like we split was the only
way I knew to keep you safe.”
Tank was a good actor. He’d fooled me and everyone I knew.
“Well... It so happens that my ‘ problem’ met a…premature
death in New York.” Tank chuckled at my reaction. “Not by me. He apparently was
making some extra bucks his boss didn’t know about and that was okay. But he
was using the extra dough to buy gifts and trinkets for the boss’s mistress and
that’s not okay.”
Tank reached out and took hold of my hand, kissing the Band-Aid on
my palm and then each finger individually. Between each sizzling kiss he spoke
slow and soft. “I’m back for good.”
Thirty thousand questions scrambled around my brain and it didn’t
help that all my girly parts were waking up with his kisses. As much as I
wanted—no—needed Tank to hold me tight and let nature take its natural course,
we had to square away everything that happened the last few days.
I needed answers, not sex. Liar , my libido growled, I needed
both.
I pulled my fingers from his warm grip, snatched up the empty beer
bottles and carried them into the kitchen. I turned to go back to the living
room and ran into the solid wall of his chest.
Déjà vu, just like when I met him the first time on the beach.
Big hands reached out and steadied me. My palms slid across his
muscled torso on their own accord. It would be so easy to stand on tiptoe, kiss
him and forget all the questions racing around my hormone driven mind. Sweep
them under a rug and look at them later.
I lifted my hands off his forearms. No. We were going to finish
this talk and I had to keep a clear head. Stepping back a pace, I leaned with
my back against the kitchen island. He gave me a look that promised more, but
wisely, Tank slid around to sit on a stool at the island and waited.
I rubbed my forehead, thinking about what Tank had shared. He hadn’t
left me for another woman, but he also hadn’t trusted me enough to be honest
and tell me the whole truth. It was as if I were a ribbon twisting with each
new puff of air. If it was safe for Tank to come back to me why did someone try
to kidnap me? I asked him that very question.
“I’m not sure. I think it has more to do with Harrison.” He
answered.
“Harrison? Is he part of the crime syndicate?”
“No, Harrison got in way over his head with someone we’ve
come to refer to as the ‘Big Boss.’ He tried to use his daddy’s influence to
squeeze out of it, but Big Boss wouldn’t let him go. I’ve been in contact with
Harry for a couple of months now and we finally got everything in place so he
could turn states evidence against this elusive piece of dirt.”
While Tank spoke, I began fitting the pieces together in my mind.
But my puzzle still
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