“I’m sorry about your friend,” he whispered.
He glanced over his shoulder for a second and then walked to the bedroom door. He left the room and I stood there, listening to the sound of the back door opening and shutting.
Everything felt wrong. Yet everything felt damn good.
I went after Wes though. I couldn’t mess around anymore. Either I was going to crack Wes a little or I was going to take Macie’s car and make another run for it. Luckily for me Macie didn’t have any real family or anything. She had come from a rough life and lucked out by sleeping with men with money to boost her own image. Even still - it was a murder and I was going to be tied to it.
That’s how Luke wanted it. So I would go running to him for help, again.
Just like the last time.
Wes stood outside and looked like the hottest dream ever. The white moonlight shined down on the back deck. His dark hair came down to his shoulders and the perfect muscles of his back were like the ripples of lake if there was a wind storm.
I took my chances and went outside.
“Wes…”
“Aton was shot,” he said. “He’s barely hanging on right now.”
“What?”
“You fucking heard me, sweetie.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Me too,” Wes said. “Me too.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“I have an idea.”
Luke. The assassin. My goddamn brother.
“Wes, I know nothing about it all,” I said. “I need you to believe that. If I knew anything, I’d tell you.”
Wes finally turned around. His eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. “Why? Why would you tell me?”
“Because…”
Why? Why, Rose?
“Exactly,” he said. “Why the fuck did you come here?”
“To catch my breath,” I said. “I have a dead woman’s car out there. And the cops are going to find her body. They’re going to look for her car. And I’m going to end up in fucking jail.”
“Can your brother kill you from there?” Wes asked, curling his lip.
“Fuck you, asshole.”
“I already fucked you, sweetie. Nice and tight, the way I like it. Now I can figure out how to save my ass.”
The anger crushed me in a heartbeat. I spit at Wes. I literally hocked and spit at him. It was not as dramatic as it looked in the movies. I barely had any spit and I could barely see it on his chest.
So I slapped him. Right across the face.
Then I turned and ran back into the cabin. I scrambled to find the keys to Macie’s car. They weren’t in my pocket where I shoved them. I was back in the bedroom. On my hands and knees, looking under the bed.
“You ready for it again?”
I looked over my shoulder, realizing my ass was stuck up in the air. “I hate you.”
Wes stepped into the room and slammed the door. “You have no reason to trust me, Rose. And I have no reason to trust you. Let’s talk about what we know. Your brother killed my brother. You brother killed someone you know. Someone shot Aton.”
“You think Luke did it,” I said.
“I don’t know what to think. I am… I’m kind of happy that you’re here. I hope you’re not fucking with me on all this.”
I found Macie’s keys under the bed and then stood up. I opened my arms. “Look at me. I have nowhere else to go, Wes. He’s ruined my life. He’s controlled me. He’s hit me. I should have never gone with you to see Aton. I should have never gone along with the marriage thing. I should have never come to this cabin the first time with you. It cost my friend her life. That was a clear message from Luke.”
“And I took a bullet for you,” Wes said. He touched his still wounded shoulder. “Don’t forget that.”
“You were going to kill me,” I said. I stepped toward Wes.
He stepped toward me, hands balled into fists again. “I was not going to fucking kill you. I came to check on you. To help you.”
“After you were part of trying to kill me.”
“I didn’t touch a thing. Other than your picture. Which kept you alive.”
“Your boss put a bomb in my car.”
We kept stepping toward each other. We were an inch apart. Oh God, I wanted to hit him again. So badly.
“My boss did not put a bomb in your car,” Wes said. “Tommy did.”
“You asshole.”
“Going to hit me again, sweetie?”
I grabbed at his face. A second later our lips were touching.
Fuck… no…
Another second later, a bullet came through the window.
~
I heard a ping and something shatter. Then Wes was on top of me. He swept his leg to mine and had me pinned on the floor. We were just an inch apart.
“Fuck,” he whispered. “Thought you didn’t have a tail?”
“I thought…”
“Doesn’t matter. Are you hurt?”
“No,” I said.
But I kind of was. I was hurt that we weren’t kissing again. I wanted to keep kissing Wes. I liked the explosion of tension. Fuck, it turned me on so much.
Wes pushed from me and stood up. I sat up and looked to the window above the bed. There was a small hole and cracks all around. The bullet had hit the wall.