Love & Redemption Read online

  “Pretty safe bet,” Nick said. “We’ve been watching for this kind of sale all along. When Paul told me about the bracelets, he had some pretty specific ideas about how they would work and what would happen with them.”

  Shelley drummed her free hand on the desktop. “And since Carlie didn’t have anything like that, you figure it must be something he already had in the works?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Do you think they’re going to try another assassination attempt on President Sharp?”

  “Maybe,” Nick said. “I’m more worried about the things Paul said the microchips in the bracelet could do. He talked about them hacking into computer programs anywhere and downloading information. Specifically, secret files at government facilities. This is a huge threat to national security. I’m sure our country’s enemies would pay very well for that kind of information, and apparently Paul is all about making money.”

  “I don’t even want to think about that.” Shelley shuddered. “Thank God Gavin stole the diamonds. Are they special quality or something?”

  “In order to have the microchips inside the bracelets react correctly, Jenessa says the diamonds would have to be very clear and high quality. I think it’s safe to say Paul will find another supply eventually, but this will slow him down.”

  Shelley looked at Gavin. “You just went from petty criminal to hero, my friend.”

  Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not just a criminal.”

  Shrugging, Shelley knew they had bigger problems than that. “What should we do, Nick? You have to take care of Carlie tomorrow, but what about the diamonds in the meantime?”

  “What?” Gavin jumped off the bed and walked toward her, shaking his head. “We aren’t doing anything with the diamonds. I’m waiting for my buyer to call so I can sell them and get out of town.”

  “Tell him that isn’t happening,” Nick said gruffly.

  “Tell him yourself,” she snapped. This wasn’t what her week was supposed to be like. Nick got her in the middle of a mess without even asking whether she was willing to help. He could deal with this and figure out how to convince the thief not to sell the diamonds.

  She thrust the phone at Gavin.

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk to him. I’m not changing my mind. I need that money.”

  “Fine.” Shelley crossed one leg over the other and raised the phone to her ear. “The little criminal says he doesn’t want your protection, and he’d like Paul to kill him in some tortuously awful way. We both know how sadistic S.A.T.O.’s fearless leader can be.”

  Gavin glared at her. “Give me the damn phone.”

  ***

  Gavin took a deep breath. Though he wanted to walk out and not look back, he realized no amount of money was worth his life. Shelley made it sound like he was some hardened criminal, but she really knew nothing about him.

  Except this one job, he hadn’t stolen anything since he was a street kid, stealing as a survival mechanism. After spending some time in juvenile hall, he cleaned up his act and had been a respectable member of the community for the last eleven years. Well, until Crystal ruined everything.

  He couldn’t deal with scary men with guns, especially not ones adept at torture.

  Grabbing his courage, he raised the phone. “What are you prepared to pay me for the diamonds?” It couldn’t hurt to try.

  The man on the other end laughed. “You want me to pay for stolen diamonds?”

  “It’s Nick, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Nick, I have a buyer paying me two million for these. What can you offer?”

  Nick laughed again. “How about I see how you handle yourself the next few days? I might have a position for someone with your skills on our anti-terror task force.”

  “Anti-terror?” Gavin glanced at Shelley, and a fleeting smile crossed her face before she looked away. “Who the hell are you people?”

  “Right now,” Nick answered, “we’re the people interested in you staying alive, which is more than I can say for your buyer. He’ll probably sell you out to Paul in a heartbeat.”

  Gavin bit his lip and sank onto the end of the bed. Unfortunately, Nick had a point. If these men were as ruthless as Shelley seemed to think, he was in trouble. He had no fighting skills to speak of. Street smarts, sure. Sneak into a window, climb a building, all while keeping a low profile—piece of cake. Outrun bullets...that could pose a problem.

  “If that isn’t reason enough for you,” Nick continued. “I could just have Shelley kick your ass, take the diamonds, and leave you there for Paul’s men to find.”

  Now it was Gavin’s turn to laugh. “What makes you think Shelley could kick my ass? She’s a refined, beautiful woman, and you don’t know anything about me.”

  “You can take down a karate black belt who’s also a champion shooter?” Nick asked. “By all means, keep your precious diamonds. You must not need our help.”

  “A black belt?” Gavin raised his eyebrows at Shelley.

  She waved her hand through the air. “You might be able to beat me. I had to go easier on my practices after my injury.”

  “Injury?”

  “Focus, Gavin,” Nick ordered. “My fiancée just finished making dinner, and I want off the phone. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be. Stay with Shelley for now. The two of you stick together and keep the diamonds safe.”

  The diamonds were his ticket to freedom, his chance to start over. He had no hope of finding a job because of what Crystal did. Unless... “If I do that, you’ll seriously consider giving me a job in your anti-terror thingy.”

  “Thingy? Great. We need a name for this group.”

  Shelley laughed. “Thingy? Really? You’re a dork, Gavin.”

  The criticism hurt more from Shelley than Nick. It seemed he couldn’t win with her. She was determined to see him as an idiot and a criminal. Maybe he was. Crystal certainly thought so...and played him for a fool.

  “I really will think about it,” Nick continued. “Oh, get rid of your cell phone. Shelley’s line is safe, but yours is compromised since you deal with criminals.”

  “I’m not John Dillinger or Pretty Boy Floyd,” Gavin protested, finally losing his patience. “Until two months ago, I managed a multimillion-dollar hotel and spa, and now I’m doing what I have to for survival. Don’t sit there in judgment like you’re somehow better than me.”

  “Good,” Nick said. “I like a little fight in my agents. Dealing with Shelley for any length of time, you’ll need it. She’s feisty. As for tonight, you’ll be staying with her, so don’t make her an enemy.”

  Does he mean in her room?

  Gavin glanced at the dark-haired beauty. She didn’t seem like the type who’d want to share with him. Even now, she had one long leg crossed over the other and bounced her foot up and down with impatience. He met her bright blue eyes, and she pouted her lips in a slight frown.

  “What’s he saying?” she asked.

  Gavin stood and crossed the small space between them. “I’ll let you tell her your plan,” he said into the phone and then held it out to Shelley.

  When she took it from him, Gavin headed to the bathroom. Although he didn’t really need to use it, he didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire of how angry Shelley would be. He shut the door just as she shrieked, “What?”

  He was trapped with a woman who didn’t want him around, killers now hunted him, and there was one unhappy diamond buyer who would be after his head when he didn’t show up with the goods. Gavin sure knew how to start a new life with a bang.

  Hopefully it didn’t end with one too.

  Chapter Four

  Shelley placed the strand of floss into the small wastebasket, and then stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. No makeup. Very unsexy pajama shirt—a size bigger than she used to wear because of the weight she’d gained. To top it off, her long, black hair now looked a bit frizzy after being brushed out. She definitely wasn’t prepared
to share a hotel with a man.

  Especially not with sex off limits.

  Sex was what one did with a man in a hotel. What in the world could she do with Gavin? She’d have to figure out how to confine their activities to sleep only.

  Out in the main part of the room she heard Gavin come back inside as he moved around loudly. Hopefully he got rid of his phone exactly as she instructed. She’d had him turn it off and take the battery out and then given him money for a cab to throw it in the East River. If someone tracked them through it, that should confuse the trail.

  Gavin had seemed nervous about going out where Stephen might find him, so Shelley wasn’t surprised that he returned to their room. Still, she hadn’t wanted to take any chances. So he wouldn’t be tempted to take the diamonds to his buyer, she locked them in the closet safe before retreating to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

  Bed. There was their real problem. The hotel staff hadn’t been able to switch her to a room with two beds, though they were very sorry. Yeah, right. They weren’t the ones inconvenienced by Nick’s new orders. Now Shelley had to share a bed with a thief. His hard-muscled body pressed against hers all night long.

  Not that they’d actually have to sleep close enough to touch in the king-sized bed, but Shelley had been without the company of a man for a long time. She wasn’t sure she trusted herself to stay on her own side of the bed.

  She frowned at her reflection. “I can do this. I’m changing my life.”

  Nick’s grand plan was for the two of them to stay in the hotel tonight. In the morning, she was supposed to take Gavin and the diamonds to the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. Since Jenessa was already there working with her old FBI buddies, presumably she’d be able to help once Shelley got there. Then keeping Gavin safe and getting him to Nick would be Jenessa’s problem, and Shelley could finish her vacation with a clear conscience.

  After turning off the bathroom light, she opened the door, only to step into a pitch-black room. Fear shimmied along her back. She had assumed it was Gavin moving around in the bedroom before, but she couldn’t rule out a S.A.T.O. agent having found them. And her gun was in her purse on top of the dresser. Across the room. She froze, uncertain if she should call out or not.

  “You okay, Shell?”

  Though his deep voice startled her initially, relief descended swiftly. That was definitely her thief, which was good. What was not so good—her thief’s voice came from nearby, which meant he had chosen the right side of the bed. Her side.

  “I’m fine,” she answered. “It dawned on me when I walked out here to the dark room that it might be someone other than you waiting for me.”

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I should have left a light on.”

  And asked what side of the bed I wanted. Sighing, Shelley knew that was a small concern in the face of things.

  Honestly, she felt a little hurt that he’d turned the lights off. Deep down, she’d thought Gavin would be anxious to check out her nightgown. True, she hadn’t packed anything exciting, but it was quite a shock to find he was completely uninterested. Men always wanted to see her nightgown, at least in the few seconds before they peeled it off. Yet Gavin hadn’t even wanted a peek.

  Looked like she shouldn’t have worried about a night spent in agony next to a hot guy who was off limits. Despite the way it seemed when she’d caught him looking at her in the mirror earlier, she was the only one worried about how she looked tonight or their sleeping arrangements. Her best bet was to fall asleep as quickly as possible. The sooner she rid herself of Gavin, the better off she’d be.

  “Do you need the light turned on or can you manage?” Gavin asked.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Shelley wouldn’t force him to look at her if he didn’t want to.

  Mentally reviewing the layout of the room in her head, she carefully stepped forward. With her luck, she’d stub her toes before making it to the end of the bed to climb into the other side.

  “I usually sleep closest to the bathroom.” She didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “You could have asked whether—” Shelley stepped on something soft and her ankle twisted painfully. “Shit!”

  “Ouch!”

  Part of her brain connected Gavin’s startled exclamation to the soft flesh she’d stepped on. She struggled to turn her body while falling so she didn’t crash on top of him.

  Her right temple clipped the corner of the nightstand on her way down, and she slumped to the ground. She squeezed her eyes tightly as tears filled them. Bright stars of light flickered and after a few seconds, her head began aching. “What the hell are you doing on the floor?” Clapping her hand over her forehead tightly diminished the pounding pain, but she’d probably have a headache.

  A light turned on and a moment later Gavin’s large hands ran across her face and head. “Oh, no. Did you hit your head? I heard a thud.”

  She shoved him away and tried to sit up. “Yes, I hit my head. You’re so observant.”

  Gavin was back at her side, pulling her into a sitting position and staring anxiously into her face as he steadied her. “I really should have left a light on until you came to bed.”

  “Ya think? Great deduction, bonehead.”

  Gavin’s arms fell from her shoulders and he jerked away, staring at the bedspread.

  Shelley took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It wasn’t fair to take her frustration out on him. He didn’t shove her into the nightstand, and he hadn’t meant to ruin her night by being forced to stay here. Gavin certainly hadn’t made the no-sex rule that had her out of sorts and unsure what to do with the man in her hotel room.

  “I’m sorry, Gavin.” She leaned against the side of the bed and laid her head on the comforter. “This wasn’t your fault. It just hurts, and I’m already upset about everything that happened tonight.”

  His green eyes met hers and he shrugged. “You think this is a picnic for me?”

  He’d watched helplessly as a woman was murdered, he wasn’t getting two million dollars he’d expected to receive, and Paul’s men wanted to kill him. Shelley shook her head slightly. “The worst part of it all must be getting stuck with me.”

  “I don’t know about that.” A grin twitched across his face, eliciting a deep dimple on his right cheek. “There are perks to rooming with you.”

  “Oh?” Shelley raised her eyebrows, surprised. “Like getting stepped on and yelled at when you’re innocently trying to sleep?”

  He laughed. “Hey, what man’s going to complain about a gorgeous lady throwing herself at him?”

  “Maybe one who doesn’t want to get squashed?”

  “When the lady is you, it’d be worth it.”

  Shelley looked at the pillow on the ground next to her and the spare blanket bunched near Gavin’s feet. He had removed the suit he wore to the opera, now only clothed in black boxer briefs. He obviously had planned to sleep on the floor.

  Not wanting to torture her sex-deprived brain further with the sight of his thin but utterly masculine body, she looked at his face again. “If you aren’t opposed to being near me, why aren’t you in the bed?”

  He patted her arm softly. “I know you think I’m a criminal and a thief, and maybe that’s why you don’t like me much.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t still be a gentleman. I sleep on the floor, you get the bed. That’s the way it should work. I turned the light off so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable about me seeing your nightgown. I’m a stranger, after all.”

  Shelley pulled her legs up against her chest, knowing she flashed her lacy pink panties in the process. Gavin didn’t give any indication of noticing, and she didn’t know how to feel about that. His gentlemanly gestures made him even more interesting. Other guys never acted like that.

  She chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds before shrugging. “Usually when a man finds his way to my room, there’s only one thing he wants. Being a gentleman doesn’t have much to do with it.” And most of them didn’t stick around for morning,
let alone another date. Carlie told Shelley that was the problem. She made herself too available as a booty call, but Shelley didn’t know how else to be. It was the only thing men ever wanted.

  “I think I understand what you’re saying. Men appreciate your body, as they should. You’re a stunning woman. It wasn’t lack of interest in you, so don’t worry about that.” Gavin stood and held his hand out. “Time to get in bed.”

  In bed? A hollow pit of disappointment settled in her stomach. For a few moments, she’d actually thought Gavin might be different from other guys. That maybe he was a man who found her attractive, but didn’t just want to take advantage of her and then leave.

  She should have known better. His tone changed at the first opportunity. All men were the same.

  Putting a bright smile on her face, she forced back the bitterness. It was her fault for taunting him with kisses and teasing him all night...not to mention flashing her panties. She’d pushed the limits too far, like she always did. Now he expected her to sleep with him. She placed her hand in his, frustrated by the tingle of excitement that coursed through her upon touching him. Sex with Gavin wouldn’t be a huge sacrifice, but she would be breaking a promise to herself.

  Once she regained her feet, Gavin slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight to his side. “Your forehead has a small cut. Let me find you a bandage.”

  She shook her head, not daring to say anything. Shelley just wanted to get this over with quickly. Although she wanted it to happen, she was also disgusted with herself. She’d never be any better than the slut her father proclaimed her to be when she was fifteen.

  After Gavin had his way with her, she could go to sleep and try to forget it. Tomorrow was another day. Just like all the others, Gavin would be out of her life soon.

  His thumb gently caressed her forehead where the cut was, provoking a small amount of pain. “I think it already stopped bleeding,” he said. “You’ll probably have a bruise. Maybe I should get ice.”