Page 7 of Desperate Temptations

“Just remember I warned you, Jessa, and frankly this is the only way I know to keep you safe and away from Martinez. I’ll keep in touch,” he said, then walked out the door and ignored her call to come back.

****

The rest of the day she pondered what he said. What could he do worse than arrest? Gary wouldn’t go after Martinez himself, would he? She didn’t want him to get hurt because of her.

She didn’t think he’d send that guy to scare her again since it didn’t work the last time. She’d tried to call Gary after he left. He didn’t answer, so she left a message to call her back. Jessa would ask him then.

Jessa made herself a salad for dinner, sat, and picked at it as she pondered everything. She decided it didn’t matter. She would deal with whatever he threw at her. She was determined, and nothing was going to stop her.

Chapter Six

Jessa rolled her neck to relieve some of the tension and looked at the clock on the wall in her office. A few minutes left before she could go home. All week she’d been nervous. Gary’s threat, in the back of her mind every day, concerned her more than she wanted to admit. She intended to get home, get dressed in dark clothes, and be hiding by the warehouse before dark.

She had gone to the warehouse a few more times since Gary’s threat. She was determined to finish this. It was the only way she knew she’d be able to move on with her life. She never stayed more than a few hours. It was mostly anxiety getting the better of her at the thought of that man, Cain, finding her again.

Jessa turned abruptly in her chair and stood when Leona, her secretary, rushed through the door, fear radiating from her eyes.

“Ms. Walker!” She looked nervously over her shoulder, wringing her hands.

Jessa had never seen her so frazzled. This woman had always been like a machine, always controlled and pleasant. Nothing had fazed her.

Shivers of alarm ran down Jessa’s spine.

“What, Leona...?”

Leona looked back at Jessa, terror evident in the lines on her face.

“There’s a man here to see you.” She looked over her shoulder again, whispering, “I’ve never seen a man like him before, except in those fighting movies. I don’t know why he could possibly need to see you. For goodness’ sake, you’re not a criminal lawyer, and I’d bet money that man is a criminal. I don’t think I should let him back here. I want you to go out the back. I’m going to call security just in ca...”

A deep, dark, vaguely familiar voice came from the doorway.

“She’s safe with me, ma’am. Jessa and I are going to become close friends.”

Both women gasped, jerked around, and stared at the man taking up the opening of the doorway, his arms arrogantly crossed in front of his chest as he leaned against the doorjamb.

Shocked, Jessa could do nothing, frozen in place. Leona screeched, her hands fluttering frantically in front of her. Jessa would have laughed at the picture she made if she weren’t so frightened herself.

“Sir, I asked you to stay in the other room,” Leona’s voice shook.

Cain straightened, taking a threatening step into the room, his massive arms at his sides. He was big. She’d forgotten just how big. The battered jeans and black t-shirt he wore made him look even more disreputable. He looked at Jessa with a smirk on his face and one of his eyebrows cocked. She knew he was enjoying catching her off guard. But his arrogance was what made her spine straighten and her eyes narrow with pride.

Jessa laid a hand on Leona’s arm, never taking her eyes off the man.

“Leona, it’s okay. I know him.”

Leona couldn’t have looked more aghast. Her hands fluttered against her chest. Words burst from her in a high-pitched voice.

“You know him? How?”

The shriek made Jessa cringe.

Jessa crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a smirk of her own. Or what she hoped was a smirk. She didn’t think she pulled it off with her lips shaking. She patted Leona’s arm in comfort.

“It really is okay, Leona,” she assured her. “Go back to your desk, I’ll handle this.”

Leona looked undecided but then moved slowly toward the door, inching carefully around Cain. She glanced nervously back at Jessa.

“Okay, but I’m keeping the door open.”

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