31. Isla

31

ISLA

“Explain to me why Kavanaugh is coming home and you’re not,” my sister snapped, waking me out of a dead sleep at two o’clock in the morning.

“What?” I grumbled, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I had finally fallen asleep around midnight, and now I was woken to her yelling at me.

“Kavanaugh messaged Bowie, asking if someone could pick him up at the airport. Which, of course, means that I need to drive since Bowie is still a gimp. Would you like to explain to me why he’s the only one being picked up?”

Sighing, I shoved my unruly curls out of my face and flipped on the nightstand light. “Because I got pissed at Kavanaugh and told him to leave.” I thought about it for a moment, then corrected myself. “Actually, I was going to leave and he decided to leave first.”

“He just left? Just like that?”

“Yeah, well, that’s sort of what you do when you’ve been lying to your girlfriend over and over again.”

She heaved a sigh over the phone. “Seriously, Isles. When are you going to get your shit together?”

“Me? He’s the one who’s lying!”

“Well, I blame you.”

“Oh, that’s lovely. Would you like to explain?” I asked testily.

“Because you picked up and hauled us off to Kansas for this guy. You didn’t even call him up first!”

That was true. But even so, I didn’t ask him to jump into my bed. He did that all on his own. “I really don’t want to listen to this at two in the morning. Can we discuss this when I get back?”

“And when will that be?”

“I don’t know. When I book a flight and come home.”

She was quiet for a minute. “You’re not staying out there, are you?”

“No. I just need a minute.”

“Well, your minute is up. Pack your bags and get home because there is no way I’m going to be in charge of two grumpy men!”

“I doubt Kavanaugh will be staying there.”

“Was it that bad?” she asked, showing the first signs of actually caring that Kavanaugh and I got into a huge fight.

“It’s…everything’s up in the air right now.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. “But you should know that I am not happy about this.”

“I get it.”

“And you will buy me Jujyfruits when you get home.”

I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see it. “Yes, I will buy them for you.”

“And you will cook the meals.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve been taking care of Bowie while you were off galavanting all over creation. It’s the least you can do for me.”

“Bowie doesn’t belong to me.”

“Bowie was hit saving my life because of your crazy ex. Need I say more?”

She was right. “Fine, all the meals you want.”

“And you’ll do my laundry.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Fine, just my whites. You know I can never get them as bright as you.”

“One load,” I stressed. “I will not be doing all your laundry.”

“Oh, and my delicates.”

“Riley—”

“And I might need you to help me with a home waxing kit.”

I flipped my blankets off and got out of bed, storming over to the bathroom to pee. “I’m about to pull down my sleep shorts and take a really long pee. Do you want to listen?”

“Where do we stand on the home waxing situation?”

“Goodbye,” I grumbled, ending the call.

That wine I drank before bed was running through me. I shouldn’t have had so much, but I couldn’t help myself. Shit was bad and I just wanted something to take off the edge. That something turned into the whole bottle. It turned out, you couldn’t actually wipe away your sorrows with alcohol. Though it had worn off, I was still just as angry as when Kavanaugh left.

My phone chimed as I came out of the bathroom. “I swear to God, I’m going to kill her if she doesn’t let this go.”

But when I looked, the text wasn’t from her. I didn’t recognize the number.

Are you awake?

I’m outside your door.

Was it Kavanaugh? Had he texted me from someone else’s phone? I wasn’t sure I could deal with him, even if he couldn’t bring himself to leave. I wanted to find a way to make this work between us, but how many times could I forgive him for hiding things from me?

Still, I padded to the hotel room door and peered through the peephole. Only, it wasn’t Kavanaugh I found waiting for me. Stepping back in surprise, I jerked the door open and stared at IKE leaning against the doorframe.

“What are you doing here?”

“Why are you awake?” he asked, sauntering inside without waiting for an invitation.

“My sister woke me up.”

He glanced around the hotel room as if he was looking for someone, then turned back to me.

“Why do you always look like you just stepped out of a magazine?”

One eyebrow shot up as he casually slid his hand into the pocket of his neatly pressed pants. “Are you checking me out, Isles?”

I bristled at the nickname that only my sister used. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” he asked, feigning disinterest as his eyes wandered over me from head to toe. I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks as he took in my braless state and my way too short shorts. This outfit was for sleeping, not greeting guests.

“My sister calls me that.”

“Then what would you prefer?” he asked, walking forward until he stood right in front of me. My breathing hitched as he lifted a hand, tugging on a curl that was dangling on the side of my face. His blue eyes flicked to mine, seeming to latch on. I felt like I was trapped with him and he refused to let me go.

Swallowing hard, I forced myself to take a step back. “Isla. That’s my name.”

His hand dropped as the curl slipped from between his fingers. Much to my relief, he turned away from me and wandered around the living area of the hotel room. “So, where’s Kavanaugh?”

“He left,” I said, shifting uncomfortably.

“Off on another mission for the senator?”

“No.” I refused to give him any further explanation. It was none of his business.

“So, your boyfriend, who loves you so much he ruined a job opportunity for you, has run off, leaving you here all alone.” He finally looked back at me, his eyes questioning if he got it right.

“Why are you here?” I asked instead of giving him an answer.

He shrugged slightly, the movement sloppy compared to the way he usually moved. His fingers slid across the back of a chair, and that’s when I saw it. His hand gripped the back of the chair as his eyes closed. His body swayed ever-so-slightly. I probably wouldn’t have noticed if not for the fact that he was always so put together.

“Are you drunk?”

A soft huff left his lips and his body swayed again. “Possibly.”

Not that IKE wasn’t allowed to get drunk. He could do whatever he wanted. But he didn’t seem like the type to ever let alcohol interfere with his ability to look out for himself.

“Well, join the club. I had a bottle of wine earlier.” Since he was most likely drunk, I wasn’t about to kick him out. I would feel terrible if something happened to him in a strange city. Then again…

“Where are you from?”

“All over,” he sighed as he slumped onto the couch.

Since he wasn’t leaving anytime soon, I grabbed two bottles of water and brought them over to where he was sitting. I handed him a bottle, then took the other side of the couch, tucking my feet up under me.

“I know you have a house in Kansas, but it doesn’t feel like you live there.”

“That’s because I don’t,” he admitted, fumbling with the lid.

Rolling my eyes, I snatched the bottle out of his hands and opened it for him. “There.” He took it with a grateful nod. “Do you live here?”

“That would be a no.”

“Well, you’re just a wealth of information, aren’t you?”

He grinned up at me, holding his hands wide. “Ask me anything. I’m an open book.”

“Is that because you’re drunk or because you would tell me either way?”

He frowned at my words, his lips moving as he repeated them silently. “I would tell you either way. But only you.”

“Why only me?”

“Because…you’re you.”

Well, that made a load of sense. “And what does me being me have to do with anything?”

Instead of answering, he sighed heavily and shifted on the couch until he was resting his head on my thighs. Shocked, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. It didn’t really seem sexual in any way. Just…odd. Like he was looking for comfort or something.

“You smell like vanilla,” he mumbled, turning his head toward my stomach.

“Okay, this is getting a little weird,” I said, attempting to shift him.

His large hand wrapped around my stomach, holding me in place as he snuggled in further. “Stay. Wanna talk to you.”

There was this voice in my head screaming at me to get up and let him sleep it off. But then Riley was whispering in my ear This is your chance. Find out everything you can!

I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, but he did say he was an open book and he would tell me anything. “IKE, you once said I didn’t want to know what you did.”

“Mhmm.”

“Will you tell me now?”

“Will you hate me?”

“I can’t answer that unless I know.”

A long-suffering huff left his lips and he rolled until he was facing the ceiling. His eyes popped open and settled on my face. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“You warned me weeks ago, remember?”

His lips twitched in amusement. “I’m what they call a leg breaker.”

“A leg breaker,” I repeated.

He nodded. “If you don’t pay your bills, they send me to get the message across.”

“And what is that message?”

“That you only get one more chance.”

My breath hitched in my chest as I imagined him literally breaking someone’s legs for not paying. “And if they fail?”

“Then I’m sent to make sure no one finds the bodies.”

I swallowed hard, unsure what to say. “Oh.”

“They’re all bad people,” he murmured. “Can’t pay their bills, so they turn to loan sharks and mafia. Bad guys. All bad guys.”

“And they hire you.”

He nodded again. “And when I get sick of doing that…I find another job.”

“Such as?”

“I check registries.”

I didn’t understand what he was talking about, but he seemed to think it was perfectly clear.

“And then I see if they’ve been naughty or nice. Most of the time, they’ve been naughty.”

“Who?”

“And then I kill them.”

My heart rate kicked up as he admitted his darkest secrets to me. “Who do you kill?”

“Always bad people,” he murmured, his eyes growing heavy.

I wished I knew what he was talking about, but his words were slurring as he drifted off to sleep. At least I could go back to bed now. I shifted, trying to work my feet out from under my body while not jostling him too much.

I crawled out from under him and was just resting his head on the couch when his eyes flew open and his hand slipped behind my neck, pulling me toward him.

“IKE—”

His lips crashed into mine, overwhelming me with their warmth and demand. Tingles spread through my limbs and need exploded somewhere deep inside me, but this was wrong. I tugged myself back, breaking the kiss as I wiped the remnants of it from my lips.

He sat up, his eyes roaming over me hungrily. “Isla?—”

“That cannot happen again,” I snapped. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Shoving his hand through his hair, he sat up straighter, shaking his head. “Sorry, I?—”

I stepped away from him, but he surged to his feet, grabbing me by the arms and tugging me to him. “Let go of me.”

“You’re in my head,” he hissed. “All the fucking time.”

“What?”

“From the first moment they asked me to watch you, I knew it was fucking wrong.”

“IKE, what are you talking about?”

“This!” he hissed, pulling me against him again. His lips crashed down on mine and this time, he didn’t let go. I tried to push him away, tried to deny how much I liked the feel of his lips on mine, but this was wrong. I was still with Kavanaugh, and I wasn’t sure I wanted things to end.

“IKE—”

I screamed as something was shoved roughly over my head, scratching my skin. I heard IKE stumble, hitting the ground as bodies collided, but the darkness made it impossible to distinguish between what was happening and where.

“IKE!” I cried out, terrified as my heart hammered out of control.

“What about this one?”

“Take him too.”

The grip on my arms tightened as I was jerked around the room. My shin hit something hard, sending a curse spluttering from my lips. I called out again, screaming for IKE, but something hard came down on my head and things started to grow fuzzy.

I distantly heard someone calling my name, and I thought it was IKE, but as the darkness crept in, I lost my grip on reality. My body swayed and I vaguely heard someone saying Catch her.