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Lahat ng Kabanata ng UP IN FLAMES : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

80 Kabanata

21

Finally, he pulled a chair over and eyed the air- conditioning vent in the ceiling. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out a pocket knife and used it to remove the screws. “Got it,” he declared. He took out a small camera, examining it with interest. “Pretty damn sophisticated. We need to look for these in the rest of the house.” That said, he got down from the chair, dropped the camera on the floor and crunched it to pieces under his boot.It turned out there were six more cameras placed in vents all through the house. The one in her bedroom bothered her the worst, though she supposed she should count her blessings that Alaric didn’t find one in her bathroom.He destroyed every single camera. “I wonder how long this SOB has been watching you.” His voice simmered with anger.“I don’t know.” She caught herself about to chew on her fingernail, a habit she’d broken herself of years ago. “But right now, I need to figure out a place to go. I want out of here.”“Shh.” He put his finger again

22

His head tilted slightly. Through the layers of her starched and stiff clothing, she felt his stare move from the tips of her shoes to the top of her head. His lips curved up as his gaze locked with hers. “I’ll get back to you on that, Mrs Spencer.”After Alaric left, Vanessa quickly gathered up a day or two’s worth of clothing and some personal stuff. She packed it up neatly and exited the apartment after calling for a cab. Paranoia kept causing her to look over her shoulder as she waited for the cab to arrive. She ended up checking into a hotel. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and rolled her suitcase to the bed. Looking around the room, the queen-size bed with square pillows, the desk and the TV, she let out a deep sigh. She plopped down on the bed, wishing she’d had the foresight to grab a carton of ice cream from her freezer. It felt like it was going to be one of those “look at your life, look at your choices” kinds of night, and she needed chocolate to deal with that

23

From what Zack had told Alaric, as the club had expanded, he’d chosen four men to act as his lieutenants under him. Without telling Zack, one of these men had begun selling guns. When Zack learned of this, he’d been okay with it, but he’d drawn the line at getting involved in drugs.Now, BOS was one of the largest drug dealers in the country. Some of the weapons had been sold to known terrorist groups, which is why Alaric had been sent undercover. The investigation so far would be hard-pressed to directly tie Zack to anything. He had four lieutenants under him who carried out the day-to-day operations. Alaric had tons of stuff on these men, more than enough to arrest and indict them. But the police wanted the big guns, the people who provided the weapons and drugs to BOS. Since they were a huge and violent cartel, Alaric doubted they would be able to do much about them. Twice he’d refused an offer to extend his undercover work into the cartel. He had no intention of going there or dea

24

“Want me to see if I can track down some of the numbers? I got a friend who’s a friend of a player on the Falcons. And obviously I can’t do nothing else but sit behind a desk.”Alaric laughed as he pushed the list over. “Who do you know?”“Remember the Redskins cheerleader two years ago? The one who was being stalked by that parolee? Well, we’ve stayed in contact. I’m sure she can make a few calls and point us in the right direction.”Alaric shook his head. “Yeah, I bet the contact you’ve been staying in has been totally professional and doesn’t involve your cock.”“I am not talking to you about my cock.”Alaric's eyes narrowed. “Do I need to remind you of the number-one rule?”“Whatever.” Paul pushed himself up. “You don't have to. I'm engaged to a beautiful woman now. I should be the one asking you…. Do I need to remind you about the rule?”“Shut the fuck up.”Paul laughed as he ambled out of the office, closing the door behind him. Looking back at the screen, Alaric let about five

25

With that, there was a distinctive click and Alaric was gone. She slowly placed the phone back on her desk. “Who was that?” Anita asked. She debated lying, but decided not to. Might as well get it out there now. “Alaric Harper.” She replied,Anita nearly came out of her seat. “As in, the Detective…. Detective Alaric Harper, right?”She nodded as she stood. “You know he's the one in charge of Christopher's case,"“I see.” Anita stood, her green eyes twinkling. “So what were you doing talking about lunch plans with him?”The way Anita said “him” made her uneasy. She headed for the door. “He's been helping me out…You know, with the car trouble, the notes and the cameras in my apartment.”“But that doesn’t explain lunch or dinner or why your face was red through the whole call.” Anita ducked her, blocking the exit. “Are you seeing Alaric?”Vanessa laughed. “No. We’re friends.” The word sounded lame even to her ears.“Are you telling me the truth?”Her brows pinched. “Yes. I’m telling yo

26

“Hell no. I’m already itching to get back to her, so I’m sure as hell not going to spend half the night away just in case she gets sicker.”“Then you should be home.”Paul glanced at him. “Like I said, she threatened to kick my ass. You know how she gets.”Alaric laughed. Emily was a tiny thing, but he wouldn’t put it past her to make good on her threat. “You should pick her up some ginger ale and crackers.”“Yes, Mom.”Alaric flipped him off as he kicked his leg off the coffee table and leaned back. His thoughts wandered to the phone call he’d made to Vanessa earlier and a small grin pulled at his lips. He’d flustered the unflusterable and didn’t that fill him with a ridiculous amount of smugness? He really shouldn’t be messing with her, considering the situation she was in, but he just couldn’t help himself.His own phone sat like a stone on the arm of the sofa. He hadn’t expected Vanessa to call him, even if she’d said that she would. It wasn’t like her, but damn if he wasn’t secon

27

Someone wanted to scare Vanessa badly enough to send her running, something he doubted she did often, and he’d succeeded. The woman looked like her legs would give out on her at any moment. The urge to take her into his arms hit him hard. He wanted to hold her. More than that, he wanted to protect her. That sudden need went beyond his job, but he resisted. Something told him that she would most likely react like a wild animal cornered if he did pull her into an embrace.“Come on,” he said quietly. Taking her arm in a gentle grasp, he led her into the living room so she could sit.His partner's brows nearly reached his hair as he watched Alaric guide a quiet Vanessa to the edge of the couch. She tucked her hands between her knees, but he could still see them trembling.A feeling of helplessness assaulted him, a sensation he wasn’t used to at all. Alaric knew how to protect people. He made a living doing it, but so far, he’d done a piss-poor job of doing so.Turning to Paul, he curled h

28

A wry grin appeared, barely reaching her eyes. “That’s what they say.”He slid closer, using his knee to slide between hers. The position was intimate, noted by her when her eyes flew back to his. She pulled her hands again and this time he let her go, but he didn’t move away. He knew he was crowding her.“I’m sorry.” She started to rise. “I shouldn’t be bothering you with this—any of this. You only agreed to look into the names I’d given you. You're just doing your job. I can go to a hotel until, well, this blows over. I should—”“No,” he said, his muscles tensing, prepared to tackle her if necessary.She froze and her eyes widened behind her glasses. The haunted look was still there. “No?”“Right now, it’s not safe for you to go back to that hotel.” He almost smiled when her eyes widened. “And this stalker also knows where you’re staying and took it out on your apartment.”Folding her arms over her chest, she lifted her chin a fraction of an inch. “Then what am I supposed to do if I

29

A sensual thrill sent chill bumps across her skin. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her. She tried not to like the feeling that brought forth in her—the crazy rush of excitement and anticipation—but it pooled low in her belly nonetheless.“You should wear your hair down more often,” he said.Vanessa blinked slowly. “What?”“Your hair,” he repeated as he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he spread his legs. With his eyes all hot and the small grin full of lazy arrogance, he really was quite stunning. The picture of masculine beauty. “You’re an attractive woman, but with your hair down and those glasses off, you really are quite beautiful.”As his words sank in, she snorted. She knew she didn’t look like she face-planted an ugly branch, but beautiful? Yeah, that was not the case. If anything, Vanessa was exceptionally plain with her dark hair and eyes. “Beautiful? Removing my glasses and letting my hair down isn’t a drastic makeover.”“If I say you’re beautiful

30

His lips swept over hers once more as she placed her hands on his chest, prepared to push him away, but then he nipped at her lower lip. A tiny bite that brought forth a wave of tight lust that seemed to come out of nowhere. He nibbled at the corner of her lip as he pulled her against him, trapping her hands between them.Good Lord, he kissed like a man starving for a taste. Working at the tight seam of her lips, he pressed forward, demanding that she open up to him.She couldn’t help her reaction to the kiss, no matter how badly she wished she wasn’t affected by it. She wanted to remain aloof to the sensual assault, to remain in complete control of herself, but a longing rose deep inside her, spreading like wildfire.Her lips parted on a sigh, and Alaric delved inside, slowly probing the recesses of her mouth. He tasted of whiskey and something richer, deeper. The kiss deepened, and instead of pushing him away, her hands fisted in the shirt he wore, holding him in place. He kissed he

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