Stripped Defenseless (13 page)

Remembering
her self-defense class and the damage she’d caused Jarred, she shoved the palm
of her hand up toward Kade’s nose. But he caught her wrist and held it down.

She
jammed her foot as hard as she could onto his, but his boots were steel-toed.
Not to be defeated, she attempted to ram her knee toward his groin, but he
turned his hip.

Furious
she was being denied her right to defend her honor, she brought her free hand
up and slapped his face once, twice, and then a third time.

She
used all her might, and he stood there and took it.

He
wasn’t fighting back.

“Don’t,
Ava,” he said in an annoyingly calm voice as she brought her hand up again.
“Please don’t.”

“Or
what?” she yelled at him, tears stinging her eyes. She was
not
going to
cry. Not for him. Not for anyone. “What are you going to do?”

“Nothing,”
he said, his cheek reddened from her assault. “I won’t hurt you.”

“You’ve
already hurt me, you son of a bitch.” She dropped her hand at her side and
fisted it shut. “Tell me when he’ll be here!”

“I
don’t know.” He let go of her wrist, grabbed a shirt out of his drawer, and
walked back into the living room.

Ava
followed, sick about not knowing the destiny Kade and Zack had planned for her.
“I can’t believe I trusted you, that I gave myself to you so easily. You’re no
better than Zack.”

He
showed no emotion as he tugged his shirt on while making his way to the
kitchen. “I’ll make you some eggs. You have to be starving.”

She
was numb. “So we’ll wait until he walks in the door?” Sarcasm rang in her
voice. “Maybe he’ll show up in the middle of the night and kill us both.”

“He’s
not going to
touch
anyone,” Kade grumbled as he cracked an egg into a
frying pan.

Finally.
Some emotion.

“So
you think he’ll just stop by to say hello?” Ava moved up behind him. “Maybe
he’ll want a quickie for old time’s sake.”

His
body tensed. “Zack Moreno is not going to lay a finger on you. I promise you
that.”

“Do
you want to watch? Is that it?” Ava goaded him, satisfied she was finally
getting some type of response. “While he has his way with me?”

Before
she could blink, Kade turned and backed her against the refrigerator. He
grabbed her wrists and pinned her hands above her head. His body crushed hers
as he stared down at her with his piercing blue eyes.

Ava’s
heart leaped. He was stronger than anyone she’d ever come into contact with,
quicker than she had known possible. And she was his prisoner.

“You’re
not scaring me,” she said, taking a gulp. She needed a weapon.

“I’m
not trying to, Ava.” He kissed her forehead, and she squirmed under his touch.

“I
get it.
You
want to have your way with me.”

* * * * *

Kade
pulled back and attempted to gain control. The fear and resentment in her
expression was killing him. If he could only explain how he felt about her. How
it bothered him to know Zack Moreno would be close to her. That the man would
undoubtedly figure out that Kade had brought her here, and then come to finish
the job on his own.

Kade
had too many enemies and so-called friends who knew where he lived. And Moreno
was too impatient a man to waste any more time. He’d be here, all right. It was
only a matter of time.

“Oh,
wait,” she said. “You already did that. Several times. Tell me, Kade. Did Zack
pay you to fuck me? Cause I can’t imagine him letting anyone touch me unless he
had complete control over it.”

“No,
of course he doesn’t know.”

“You
bad boy. I guess you screw everyone you know.”

The
eggs were beginning to crackle in the frying pan so he grabbed a paper plate
from the cupboard. There was no point in arguing with her. He already knew he
had done her wrong.

“Sorry,”
he muttered and flipped the eggs onto the plate. “Do you want toast?”

“Toast?”

He
turned to hand her the plate and noticed her eyes were rimming with redness.
Shit. If he could cradle her up in his arms and make it all go away, he would.
But it was too late for that. She hated him and he didn’t blame her.

“I
don’t want
anything
from you, Kade.” She tossed the plate out of his
hands. It flew into the air and landed on his shirt before the eggs fell to the
floor.

This
was going to be a messy day. But he didn’t care. Whatever she needed to do to
get her aggression out...as long as she didn’t try leaving.

Not
that she had the option anyway since he’d hidden her shoes.

“Fine.”
He tore his T-shirt over his head and threw it on the counter. “You can help
yourself if you get hungry enough.” He bent down and wiped the egg mess off the
floor.

And
saw her foot swing up toward his head.

Kade
grabbed her ankle before she made contact, causing her fall to the floor.
Quickly, he moved over her, restraining her against the hard wood. She writhed
underneath him, putting up a hell of a struggle. But her attempt to battle him
off was pointless. He weighed twice as much and could easily handle any fight
she had in her.

“Goddamn
you,” she screamed into his ear with a sob in her voice. “Let me hurt you.”

“I
can’t, Ava,” he said against her cheek as he secured her wrists to the floor
and his body in between her legs. If he was injured, how would he protect her?

“Don’t
say my name,” she yelled and slammed her head against his mouth.

Fuck.
That hurt. “Baby, I’m going to have to tie you up if you don’t knock it off.”
He propped his forehead against hers. Her eyes went to his lip, which felt like
it was cracked and swelling.

A
drip of blood landed on her chin and she smirked. “I hate you.” She seethed
while her eyes welled over. One tear escaped and slid down her temple.

“I
know.” God, it felt like it was his heart that was leaking blood onto her
instead of his lip. If only things could be different. If he could have found
her outside of these messed up circumstances.

“Let
me go.” Her body grew limp under his. “Please. You’re hurting me.”

She
was lying, of course, but he released her anyway and stood, grabbing a paper
towel to press against his lip.

She
rose from the ground and angrily swiped at a tear and the drip of blood on her
chin. “Where are my shoes?”

“You
can’t leave.”

“He’s
going to kill me.”

“I
won’t let him touch you. I already told you that.”

“Why
would I believe a word you say? You brought me here so you could hand me over
to him. So you could make a few bucks. Why the hell do you think he wants me?”

“I
don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” Kade could only guess. Maybe she’d angered
him by snooping in his dirty laundry. Maybe she witnessed something she
shouldn’t have. Or maybe she had info on Zack that he didn’t want shared with
the public. Zack Moreno’s boss was rising quickly on the political ladder and
any dirt on him was sure to be swept under the rug.

Whatever
the problem was, it could easily be talked out or bargained. Kade was sure of
it. Just as long as Ava’s sassy mouth didn’t get in the way.

“You
don’t even know? Are you just some bozo Zack hired off the street?”

Kade
took offense and threw the bloodied paper towel in the trash. “I don’t usually
get involved with my client’s and target’s quarrels. I pinpoint, abduct,
deliver and collect. Cut and dried.”

“Oh
really? You forgot fuck over. Is that before or after pinpoint?”

“I
didn’t know you were the target until—” He raked his hand through his hair. “I
thought Poppy was you. She had green eyes. You have blue. Zack gave me the wrong
description.”

Ava
laughed. “Of course he did. He’s colorblind. How much is he paying you to know
absolutely nothing?”

Colorblind?
Kade scowled, furious with himself for not knowing this bit of information, and
he wondered if it were true or if Ava was feeding him bullshit. “Why does he
think they’re green?”

“None
of your concern.”

“Did
you lie to him?”

“Believe
whatever you want.”

“Why
did you tell him they were green?”

She
shrugged and walked away. “I’m going to find my shoes and get the hell out of here.”

* * * * *

Six
drunken, slurring, stumbling men walked into the club, and took a table by the
stage. One of them had a G-string around his neck so Poppy assumed he was the
bachelor about to lose his freedom.

Magnolia
was on stage and already going in for the kill, hitting up the least drunk man
who was most likely the best man. And the one responsible for sending his buddy
off with a thrill.

Bachelor
parties usually paid big bucks, but Poppy had her eye on someone else.

Tall,
slicked back brown hair, brown eyes, a nice suit and jewelry that sparkled from
across the room. This guy was loaded, she could tell.

He
seemed to be scanning the room for someone or something, and Poppy decided that
someone should be her. She walked over before one of the other girls could get
their claws in him.

“Can
I help you?” she asked.

His
dark gaze swept over her. “Probably not.” He smirked. “You know a girl named
Ava?”

Of
course. Ava was stealing the show even when she was gone. What was it with that
chick? “She doesn’t work here anymore.”

“Oh?”
His eyes widened. “When did she leave?”

Poppy
made a note of the black leather case he held in his hands. A businessman of
some sort. “Just come from work?”

“Work?”

Poppy
pointed to the case.

“Yeah.
Sure. Work. So, when did she leave?”

“Yesterday,
I think.”

“Fuck,”
he mumbled. “Was she with anyone?”

“Why
do you want to know?” The suspense was killing her. What was going on? Who was
the real Ava and how deep of trouble was the girl in?

“Listen,
I haven’t got the time to stand around and chat. The view’s nice and all.” He
scoped out her body again, stopping at her bare chest. “But could you just
answer my question?”

“You
seem tense. Want a lap dance?” She needed to get more information out of him
and maybe some cash. He looked like he had a lot of both. “Come on. Ask me
anything you want while I’m getting you off.”

Feeling
confident he’d follow, Poppy turned and walked toward the backroom. And just as
she guessed, he did. She felt his presence close behind her. The strong scent
of expensive cologne gave him away.

She
pushed the door open and let him walk in first.

Usually
the client had to pay a bouncer for this type of special treatment, but Jarred
hadn’t come to work yet and none of the other bouncers really gave a damn what
she did.

 “What’s
your name, sweetheart?” He sat back on the leather sofa and set his briefcase
beside him.

“Poppy.
What’s yours?” She straddled his lap, and an instant erection poked up against
her.

“Just
call me Zack.”

Chapter Seven

Kade
sat down at his desk and lifted the rollaway panel to reveal two flat screen
computer monitors, all the while listening to Ava tear apart his bedroom. She
wasn’t going to find her shoes in there so he didn’t bother trying to stop her.
Besides, it kept her occupied. And he had work to do.

On
one screen, he was able to oversee the views from the surveillance cameras he
had set up over the only road coming up the mountain. There were three in all.
One five miles down the road, the second a quarter mile and the third was
positioned at his front door. Unless a fool wanted to hike up a steep mountain
or be dropped down by a helicopter onto his roof, no one was getting past those
cameras.

He
was ready for Zack or anyone else who attempted to trespass onto his property.

The
other computer was used for finding data or email contacts with his buddies and
his competition. Most were one in the same. With what he did for a living,
being paranoid was the only way to survive.

He
pulled up his email account. Twelve unread messages. Nine from Lucy.
Shit.

“What
is all that?” Ava asked from behind him.

Kade
swiveled his chair around to face her. Her cheeks were flushed and rosy. A
loose strand of auburn hair fell into her face. She blew it away, and Kade held
back a smile. She was adorable even when she was angry.

He
just hoped she wouldn’t stay mad. Visions of electric makeup sex with Ava came
to mind, making him uncomfortable in his jeans. Hell, a man could hope.