Page 23 of Wanted
She shuffled out of the steaming bathroom and looked longingly at her phone. She’d had no contact with Reno since their last heated text conversation. Things were too edgy and complicated now. Their encounter at the strip club had changed everything. She wished they could go back to the way they’d been—not the running and chasing part, but the strangely close camaraderie. She’d never been so lonesome in her life. She’d even be happy to hear him criticize her eating habits.
She ran her finger along the edge of the decidedly low-tech flip phone. Could he still be waiting to hear from her? The rules of their relationship had changed, but was he still there?
The pang in her chest was hard to ignore. Without him, she felt stranded. He’d been her one true constant. This total isolation was beginning to make her desperate—desperate enough to consider his offer to work with her. What if he’d meant it? Her instincts screamed at her that it was a trick, but that lonely, aching part deep inside of her wanted to believe it.
He’d had his chance to arrest her, but he hadn’t.
Of course, a three-hundred-pound bouncer might have had a lot to do with that.
Ignoring everything that was telling her not to, she flipped open the phone. She’d just gotten it yesterday, so the SIM card was new. It couldn’t be traced to her. She went to her contacts and stared at the first one she’d programmed. Settling down onto the plump cushions of the easy chair that faced the television, she tried to fight the impulse to start pressing buttons.
“Looking for me?”
She jolted at the sound of a voice right behind her. Shooting out of the chair, she spun around.
“Reno!”
He was standing just inside the door to the connecting room. Her heart stopped for a split second and then took off at triple speed. Where had he come from? Had she wanted him so badly, she’d manifested him?
No, he wasn’t a figment of her imagination. He was here, all tall, dark, and delicious.
She watched as he closed the door behind him and locked it with a decisive click. The sound put her on the balls of her feet, ready to take flight. “How did you find me?” she demanded.
She’d been so careful.
“I have my ways.” He took a quick, nonchalant look around the room. “Moving up in the world, aren’t you?”
Sweat broke out on her palms. She’d been in tight jams before, but this was different. She was so unprepared. Nervously, she clutched her robe together. “I’ll scream,” she warned him.
He sighed and rubbed his hand over his ribs, as if remembering the last time she’d called for help. “That won’t work this time, sweetheart. Your manager is the person who turned you in, and you’re the one who chose a room on a nearly empty floor.”
She took a cautious step backward but bumped into the door that hid the TV. It swung open wider, banging into the side of the armoire. If anyone was in the room next door, they didn’t call out or bang on the walls like the motels to which she’d become accustomed.
His dark gaze settled on her, full of determination. She tried to back up, but the heavy armoire pressed against her back and didn’t budge. She had nowhere to go.
“Time’s up, baby,” he said softly.
Oh, no, it wasn’t.
Without warning, she charged for the bed. If she could get past it, she had a slim chance of making it to the door.
“Hey,” he called.
She jumped and managed to get one foot up on the mattress before his hand wrapped around her ankle. He gave a solid tug, and she fell forward onto the plush bed with its down-filled comforter.
“Let me go,” she cried as she flipped onto her back. She kicked wildly, and he took a cautious step backward. She lashed out again and squirmed toward the far edge of the bed. She still had a shot.
Reno saw the way she eyed the door, but he wasn’t about to let her get to it. He blocked another kick and lunged at her before she could get in position to throw another blow.
“Stop it, Dani,” he said, breathing hard. “The game’s over.”
He leveraged himself over her, using his body weight to pin her to the bed. It only infuriated her. A flurry of punches came at him, and one managed to clip him across the chin. It didn’t have much force to it, but it irritated the hell out of him. His black eye was still fading.
He grabbed her wrists and pressed them solidly to the bed. “Assaulting a federal officer? Come on, you’re better than that.”
Her next attack plan showed clearly in her eyes, and he quickly wrapped his legs around hers. “That’s it,” he growled.
He pulled her hands over her head and caught them together as he reached behind him for his cuffs. She heard the jingle of metal just before he waved the shiny links over her face.
