Page 20 of Kane's Bounty
Kane stopped a bellman. “Can we eat in the restaurant in these clothes?”
“Sí, señor. It is casual here. Would you like for me to check on a table for you?”
“Yes, please.”
A few minutes later, they were seated one level below the lobby at one of the dark tables in the outdoor restaurant. Lena barely noticed the food. She ordered some kind of fish, but she only ate because she was starving. She plucked pieces off the soft roll and popped them in her mouth while she thought about how to get to Grandmother.
“Why don’t you tell me what the problem is and we can work it out together?” Kane asked.
She looked across the table at him. His white shirt was only buttoned part of the way. The smattering of dark hair that covered his chest was visible. His bright-blue eyes devoured her as if she were his soft roll. She wanted to comb her fingers through his mussed hair and pretend they were on vacation, the same as all the other couples eating around them. But they were not on vacation. They were lovers because fate had thrust them together. The vision of them frolicking as a happy family must have been a mistake. Though she’d never heard of or seen the stones make any errors.
Lena sighed. “I don’t even know where to start.”
His smile was warm. It was the kind of look she could get lost in. Oscar had never smiled at her that way. He had been too smooth for warm looks. He used seduction and guile. Kane made no pretenses. He was exactly what she saw, rough edges and all.
When he spoke, it was low, for her ears only. “You are worried that finding your grandmother will expose her to Oscar.”
Her heart jumped. “Can you read directly from my mind? I thought you could only sense feelings.”
“Relax. I am not reading your mind. I would not invade your privacy that way. I just know I would not want to expose someone I was hiding by seeking them out. I can practically see you trying to work out the logistics as you brutalize that piece of bread.”
She felt relief, but something he said troubled her. “Then you can read minds? Really read them?”
He looked away and his expression was hard and distant. When he looked back, she saw pain in those beautiful eyes. “When I was in training, they taught us to probe minds. If you are in physical contact, it’s possible. If you have permission and the person opens their mind to you, it is very intimate. It’s possible to share something unique.”
“I’m guessing not everyone feels permission is necessary,” she said.
His jaw ticked. “If a telepath probes a mind that is closed, it is violent, painful and can destroy the victim. I consider it a type of rape.”
She could not help the shiver that ran up her spine at the idea of someone like Wade or Banta invading her mind in such a way. Then she thought about Kane. He had worshiped her with his body. What would it mean to share his thoughts? Her pussy clenched at the idea, even though her heart pounded with fear at the notion of being totally exposed.
He cleared his throat. When she met his gaze, he also looked aroused. She wondered if his thoughts were similar to hers. “I am going to have to trust you completely in order to get to my grandmother and protect her from Oscar and his people.”
“And you don’t.” He didn’t say it with anger. His voice was very matter-of-fact. They both knew it was true.
“I’m tempted to just tell you to take me in to the Boston authorities. At least Gran would be safe.”
“But you would likely end up in that body bag.” There was the anger he’d been holding.
She knew he was right. Oscar would either have her killed or he would somehow get his hands on her, and if that happened, she would kill herself. Either way, she would be zipped into one of those bags and the first vision would come to pass.
“I don’t want you dead, Lena. I’m willing to play this thing out until your trial date. Which means we have less than a week to find Grandma, figure out how to clear your name and get you to the Boston courthouse.”
“Why are you helping me?” She had to know.
“I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never wanted what we saw in the second vision. It never even occurred to me that kind of life was possible for a man like me. I’m still not convinced, but I’m willing to risk everything to find out.” His eyes sparkled in the flicker of the candles on the table.
It must have been a very sad existence as a little boy growing up the way he did. “My mother and I lived with my grandmother until Momma died a few years ago. I barely knew my father, but I had a happy childhood. I was loved very much. When you grew up in the training facility, did you have friends?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Sure. Wade was my friend for a time.”
“What happened?”
He shrugged and then laughed. He looked as if he remembered something long forgotten. “We grew up and took different paths.”
“You are both paid bounty hunters working for the same company. How are your paths different?”
“We are contractors. Some are willing to overlook what’s legal in favor of profit. Wade is one of those people. He has an odd sense of right and wrong.”
