Share
21
Related chapters
Dangerous Attraction 22
Releasing a breath, Hunter dropped into a chair by the table that matched the one in Khalia’s room, wishing he was still with her instead of here. If Tom hadn’t called, he’d be buried inside her as deep as he could go right now,absorbing more of those sweet little cries as he took her to heaven and back. He swallowed a groan at the thought and focused on the matter at hand. How the hell long was this gonna take, anyway?No yelling from the bathroom. That had to be a good sign. Unless Gage was still working up the guts to dial.While he waited he texted Tom. He’s calling now.Sighing, Hunter leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Would be real interesting to see what came of this.Gage had faced the attacking line of Taliban fighters that afternoon with barely a rise in his heart rate, yet at the prospect of this phone call, his hands and feet were cold and his heart knocked against his ribs. He scowled at his phone. Talking to Claire always made him feel like he’d swallowed a mout
Dangerous Attraction 23
When Hunter opened the door Khalia came up onto one elbow on the bed and pushed the hair out of her face. He slipped inside, flashed a smile.“Everything okay?” she asked, not fooled by the smile.“Yeah. Gage was looking into something for us. It’s all good.” He nodded at her phone on the nightstand. “You talk to your family?”“My mom. She was really upset.” Khalia was thankful her mother wasn’t involved in this side of the foundation so she hadn’t been subjected to any of this.“Understandable.”She nodded, wishing she’d taken the time to have a shower instead of just changing into her sleep shirt and yoga pants. “I texted my brother too. I told them I’d let them know when my flight is leaving.”“Eleven hundred tomorrow.”Oh. She frowned, confused by her conflicting reactions. She wanted to go home more than anything, but she couldn’t help feeling responsible for those girls and the thought of never seeing Hunter again set off a stab of pain beneath her ribs. On top of that there was
Dangerous Attraction 24
“I’ve got a better idea.”Her head snapped up when he rose suddenly and approached the bed. In the thin slice of light revealed by the open bathroom door she could see the broad silhouette of his shoulders, the shadowed planes of his face as he advanced on her. The breath backed up in her lungs as all the oxygen seemed to get sucked out of the room. She shifted around while he rounded the bed to climb on the other side and laid down facing her, head propped in one hand so their faces were less than a foot apart.Before she could ask what he was doing he reached out a hand and brushed a curl away from her cheek. “You look scared to death,” he said softly, amusement coloring his deep voice.She flushed, though he probably couldn’t tell in the dimness. “I just don’t know how to read you. I thought you’d changed your mind about…earlier.”“No, but I like catching you off guard,” he admitted. “And I bet I can help you fall asleep.”The way he said it, the words laced with such sensual heat
Dangerous Attraction 25
Oh, fuck him, this was the last thing they needed.Hunter gauged Khalia’s reaction to the news. With everything that had happened he kept waiting for her to crack under the strain, and so far she’d hung in there better than he ever could have expected. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel like this was the tipping point and he couldn’t stand the thought of watching her break. And with this new strain he was very afraid she might.Her mouth was pinched, her forehead creased with an anxious frown as she stared at her phone. She squeezed his hand so tight her fingers were white. The room was deathly silent in the wake of Tom’s announcement.“Is it Aisha?” she demanded, a quaver in her voice. “We don’t know yet,” Tom answered.A muscle jumped in her jaw, her gaze still on the phone’s screen, then she gave a sharp shake of her head. “I can’t tell anything from that picture, it’s too small. Give me my laptop.” She reached an arm toward where it lay beside the sofa Hunter had tried to sleep on
Dangerous Attraction 26
“No one here’s going to judge you for not going if that’s what you decide,” he said quietly, needing her to believe him, his conscience forcing him to give her an out. As much as he dreaded the thought of her leaving him in the morning, he hated the idea of her being in further danger. Yeah, he was good at his job, but even he couldn’t guarantee her safety if they did this. Going into Pesh blind with no immediate backup was a huge risk. And yet he still wanted the cell enough for her to do this and trust in him to watch her back. What the fuck did that say about him?“It’s my fault,” she whispered tightly, her face stricken. “They want me and now they’re threatening more innocent people to draw me out.”“It’s not your fault. And they’re not going to get you,” Hunter said fiercely, gripping her shoulder. “You think I’d let you go near wherever the meeting point is when we’ve got a confirmed threat against your life? No way.” It pissed him off that she’d even think it.“Then what are we
Dangerous Attraction 27
Khalia’s heart clattered against her ribs as Hunter finally slowed to a walk. “Stand tall and look straight ahead, like you belong here,” he whispered.God, she was having trouble catching her breath, and he wasn’t even breathing hard. It went against every instinct to do as he said instead of constantly looking around to scan for threats, but she knew he was right. Giving off that sort of nervous energy would only look suspicious and make her stand out more. Right now the only things giving her the courage to see this through were having Hunter right next to her and feeling the strength of his hand around hers. Wanting justice for her father and putting her own life on the line to see it done were two very different things.The map on her phone showed the address as being just a few blocks from where they stood. Here amongst the back alleys and quieter residential streets the night seemed hushed and ominous. The narrow street they were on was dark, lined on both sides by rundown buil
Dangerous Attraction 28
Hunter’s head snapped downward, telling her he’d heard the quiet buzz. She hesitated.“Check it.”Almost afraid to, Khalia pulled it out and looked at the screen. Incoming call from an unknown number.“Pick up.”Everything in her told her not to. Her hand shook slightly as she answered, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. “Hello?”“You were warned not to contact the police!”Her skin turned cold and clammy, a hard knot lodging in her throat at that angry male voice. “I didn’t—”“This is on your conscience.”With that chilling declaration the man on the other end stopped talking. Khalia shot a helpless look over her shoulder at Hunter when the screams started. She didn’t speak Pashto or Urdu, but even she understood the plea for mercy in the other man’s voice through the phone. His chilling screams were cut short with an angry growl, and then a wet gurgling sound filled the line, replacing everything with absolute silence.“Now his blood is on your hands,” the captor snarled.Khali
Dangerous Attraction 29
Motherfucking hell.Hunter kept a hand braced on Khalia’s back as Gage took a sharp right and floored it. He anchored her to stop her from sliding across the seat, felt her shuddering with the force of her sobs. Those heartbroken sounds cut straight through him, all the more unbearable because she was trying so hard to hold them back.Ah, shit. Just…shit. With Gage in the vehicle they had no privacy but he couldn’t take watching her hurt like this. Hunter rubbed a soothing hand over her back in a gentle circle, not knowing what to say. There was nothing he could say to make this any easier on her.At his touch she curled further into herself and turned her face away, burying it in her arms to hide from him, as though ashamed of him seeing her crying. Something sharp twisted in his chest and a burning pressure took hold of his lungs.Wedging his hip close to hers, he slid his hands beneath her shoulders and pulled her upward. She resisted, flinging one arm out and attempting to scuttle
Latest chapter
