Page 29 of Pay Dirt

Chapter 14

“She would have liked you, you know.” Nathan’s rested his palm on my cheek in a tender caress. His gaze softened as we sat in the grass beneath the Texas sky. He leaned in. His breath was hot against my mouth as he stared into my eyes. “Thank you for helping me.”

He pressed his lips to mine in a heated kiss making my heartbeat quicken. His lips were warm and moist, sending shivers of desire down my body to places long neglected. My body responded to his touch and eagerly responded to his kiss.

His gentle lips caressed mine until he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. Our heated breaths mingled and matched in intensity.

“Why did you stop?” I asked.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

I rested my palm around his neck and pulled him close to whisper against his lips. “You make me feel alive, and I haven’t felt that in a long time. I’m ready to explore this, whatever it is.”

Gone was the gentle kiss, replaced by something more akin to desire and demand. He covered my mouth and pulled me into his arms so, when I felt something hard against my head, it took a minute to pull out of the sexual haze I’d been heading into. I broke the kiss abruptly, leaving the warmth of his hold and his mouth.

“Give me your money,” a man growled as he yanked me to my feet, holding the gun to my head.

Nathan stared up at us, about to stand. “Stay right where you are and empty out your pockets, or she dies.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed.

There was a desperation in this man’s voice as his fingers bit punishingly into my arm. It took me only a second to realize I recognized him. The man from the bank was holding me at gunpoint.

“Here,” I said, offering my purse. “Take whatever’s in there.”

He cocked the trigger and gestured toward Nathan. “Throw it to him so he can add in his cash. I know he has money. I saw you two at the bank.”

I tossed Nathan my purse. He slowly slid his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out the cash. “I’m afraid you only get the cash; I won’t give up the badge.”

The man’s grip on me tightened at his newfound realization.

“No one has to get hurt.” Nathan showed that each of the compartments was empty but his ID. “Let her go.”

“Your phone, too, and empty out your pockets.” He gestured with the gun then pressed it harder into my temple.

Nathan held out his hand as if to still the robber’s actions. “Okay, okay.”

Nathan pulled out his phone and shoved it into my purse before pulling out the tainted hundred-dollar bill from the heist. He yanked open the evidence bag and took the bill out. The evidence bag fluttered to the ground as Nathan shoved the bill into my purse.

He tossed it at my feet. The tension in the air was thick.

“Pick it up.” The robber kept his gaze on Nathan while holding the gun to my head as I slowly bent to retrieve my purse.

“Let her go.”

The man tsked. “She’s my ticket out of here. You stay put, and no harm will come to her. If I even think that you’re following us, I’ll kill her.”

“What guarantees do we have that you’re not going to kill her anyway?” Nathan asked, slowly rising to his feet.

“If that were the case, I’d shoot you first and kill you both. Are you sure you want to test my word?”

“It’s fine,” I pleaded with Nathan. “I’m fine, Nathan. He hasn’t hurt me, and I don’t think he will.”

The man wrapped his arm around my chest and started walking us backward into the darkness of night. He called out as we moved between headstones. “Stay put, or she dies.”

I almost tripped, and he had to stop me from falling. “Sorry.”

“Don’t try anything funny,” he said as his hold on me tightened, his hand pressed hard against the crystal at my neck. We were almost at a backward run when he stopped and turned me in his arms.

---