Chapter 17

Tori

Once inside the bathroom, I changed my mind and decided to take advantage of the enormous bathtub that dominated the entire wall along the windows facing the street. I figured the windows were tinted, but it felt odd undressing in front of a wall of windows. I stripped out of my wrinkled clothes and turned on the tap. The polished marble floor beneath my feet was warm to the touch. Heated floors. A girl could get used to this.

Steam poured into the room from the tub, and I breathed deeply of the perfumed air from the bath salts and essential oils I'd found on the shelf beside the tub. The water rushing from the tap made it impossible to hear what Bennett was saying on the other side of the bathroom door, but I could catch bits of his muffled voice.

He sounded agitated. Antsy.

My heart sank, and I nibbled on the corner of my lower lip. Part of me wanted to get dressed, slip out of the hotel room, and run. I'd ran before. I didn't want to do it again, but if I needed to, to stay alive, I could figure it out. I'd manage to find something better than working in a library, for fuck's sake.

But if I hit the eject button, I'd never see Bennett again.

And at the moment, that was more than I could bear to think about. He was my lifeline.

When the tub was full, I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind—at least, as far as they would go—and slipped into the heavenly water. It was deep enough that the water line just reached my chin. I sighed with relief and closed my eyes.

The rounded edge cradled my neck as I reclined back, breathing in the aromatherapy-scented salts. When my eyes fluttered open, they fell on the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I watched as the city came to life below.

Californians were a relentless bunch that worked from the crack of dawn until it was dark again. So, it wasn't surprising to find the streets filled with people preparing to embark on their morning commute.

A small coffee shop on the corner was bustling with a line out the door.

Coffee sounded good.

As I watched the activity, as though it were my own personal ant farm, I zeroed in on a blonde woman racing down the sidewalk, zig-zagging through the foot traffic like a professional. She was done up in a way that made me think she probably belonged to a law or marketing firm. Something high-powered.

She wore a pricey-looking outfit with a pair of killer heels. Her outfit probably cost more than my annual salary at Parkston's. She was pretty, with pin-straight blonde hair that fluttered behind her as she powered down the street. I briefly wondered if she was a client at the club. It was something I pondered when people-watching. If I'd learned anything from my time tending bar at the club, you never really could tell who someone was behind their bedroom door. There was no way to guess someone's kink.

The blonde moved out of my line of sight, and I locked onto another person to watch, an impatient man in the line forming outside the coffee shop. He tapped his foot and checked his watch every thirty seconds as though somehow expecting it to magically jump forward.

I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes again, shoving aside the busyness of the city below. Instead, I focused on the indulgent bath. It had been a long time since I'd had a proper bath. My walk-up had a shower stall barely large enough to properly shave my legs.

The only thing that would make it perfect was if Bennett was sitting at the opposite end, rubbing my feet and staring at me with that wicked gaze that let me know he wasn't thinking about my feet. If there was no Sanderson group of thugs. If I could just be a bartender, and Bennett could just be security. If there were no such people as Eric and Avery.

Just Tori and Bennett.

Together.

In peace.

"God, Tori, you're pathetic," I groaned to myself, forcing my eyes open to pop the fantasy bubble in my mind.

What was it about Bennett that had me acting like a lovesick teenager? Sure, he was an amazing fuck. Better than anyone I'd ever been with—male or female—but that couldn't be it. Was it his protective manner? He made me feel safe? No…I was in love with him when we'd been together in Vegas. Not that I'd ever told him.

A soft knock dragged me out of my thoughts, and before I could say anything, Bennett pushed into the bathroom, coffee cup in hand.

"Here ya go. Cream and sugar, right?"

I smiled up at him as I took the cup from him. "Perfect. Thank you."

He gave a short nod and then stepped back out of the room. Seconds later, he returned his own coffee in hand.

"I ordered eggs and toast. I wasn't sure what else you'd want, but I can call them back if you want something else. They have fruit and cereal. Pancakes. Whatever you want, baby."

My heart fluttered at the soft look in his eyes. "Toast and eggs are fine. Guess I should wrap this up."

"I can bring it in here," he offered.

I studied him momentarily, the flutter in my chest turning to a panicked beat.

"What's going on?" I pushed upright, sending the water rushing to one side of the tub. "Did you call your friend? Is that who you were talking to out there?"

Bennett rubbed the back of his neck and then nodded. "He said that if you go back into WITSEC, we won't be able to talk anymore. They would need to cut you off from everything and relocate you again. I wouldn't know where."

Tears rushed to my eyes, and I held my breath to keep them from falling. "Please…Bennett…there has to be another way out of this mess. Please?—"

"Tor. Don't cry." He swooped down and knelt beside the tub. He took my hands in his and clasped them tightly. "I don't want to lose you again. We've lost too much time as it is."

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears in my eyes from falling. "Then what do we do?"

"I don't know. I need time to figure something out. Maybe we can get you an apartment in another city. Somewhere in the Midwest. Far from all this bullshit. Maybe Oklahoma City or another big city where you can have a life. I think Ryker and Everlie are still out there. And I could get you a bodyguard?—"

"Ryker? Everlie? Do you still talk to them?"

"I haven't in a while. Ever since this op came up. I haven't talked to anyone I know from before the case but you."

"Would I be safe with them?" I asked him, hoping I could at least be with my friends.

"Nope. They're probably being watched by someone in Richie's group. That's why I need to take this fucker out. Not a good idea. I can get you a bodyguard, and you can make new friends. In a safer space."

"A bodyguard?" A small giggle slipped from my lips at the image of me being followed by some six-foot lumberjack in a black suit as I did my grocery shopping or got my nails done. "Bennett…come on. That's overkill."

"I'm trying, Tori, I'm really trying."

I reached out and grasped his forearm. "I know. But you're going over the top. I'll go somewhere else and disappear, but I don't need a SWAT team crawling up my ass 24/7. All right?"

Bennett looked ready to argue, so I leaned forward over the tub"s edge and kissed him. My hand went to the side of his face and traced the rough stubble that covered the angular lines of his jaw.

"I'll be okay, Bennett. Then you can come and be with me once you're done here."

His eyes were wide. He didn't like the plan, but he wouldn't argue with me. "I'll make the arrangements."

"Thank you."

He looked like he was ready to add something, some caveat, but his phone buzzed. "Damn it. Hold on."

Bennett pushed up from the floor and took the call in the other room, closing the bathroom door behind him. I sighed and dragged myself out of the tub, wishing I could stay all day and ignore reality a little bit longer.

Instead, I wrapped myself in a thick, white hotel towel. I stopped at the door and listened. Bennett was still talking to whoever had called. His boss? What if his friend had called WITSEC and reported us? How much had Bennett told him? My heart slammed into overdrive as crazy thoughts ricocheted through my head at double-time speed.

With a deep breath, I pushed into the main room. The clock on the wall showed it was nearing seven in the morning. I was exhausted but wired at the same time. I wanted to go home and try to sleep before I had to get up and go back to work, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. My mind was racing with thoughts and questions. I wasn't sure of the timeline, but Bennett wasn't the kind of guy to wait on things. How long did I have in L.A.? A week? Two? Less?

I studied Bennett while he paced to the window, the phone pressed to his ear.

"Understood. Yes, sir."

Once I got dressed, I returned to the bathroom and tried to detangle my hair. It was frizzy from the steamy bathroom, so I raked my fingers through the loose knots and then tossed them up into a messy bun on the top of my head. Somewhat satisfied, I leaned forward and studied my reflection. A frown etched on my face. "Dang, Tori Barnes, you're a fuckin' hot mess."

"I think you're pretty damn sexy."

I whirled around at Bennett's voice and found him casually leaning against the doorway, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a sexy smirk.

It wasn't fair that men could look so hot in the morning without an ounce of effort. But, despite Bennett's statement, I knew I was a far cry from damn sexy. It would take an hour in my bathroom at home—with my entire arsenal of makeup and hair products at my disposal—to get myself even in the ballpark of half sexy.

But my argument died on my lips as I drank him in. Even after spending the night devouring every inch of him, I still couldn't stop staring at his perfectly chiseled body. The jeans clung to his hips, low enough to showcase the deep v-lines at his hips. My fingers twitched as I dragged my eyes over his washboard abs and up his sculpted chest.

So. Not. Fair.

"Tori, you keep eye-fucking me like that, and I'm not gonna be responsible for what I do to you."

I laughed and raised my eyebrows. "Oh really?"