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“Why didn’t you ask me about the bastard in the alley?”
Dee forced her head to lift at Simon’s question. Really, she just wanted to lay there, her head pillowed on his chest, and listen to the steady beat of his heart. But maybe they needed to go ahead and have this, um, little talk.
She met his stare and her shoulders tensed a bit as she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought you’d run from me or try to stake me if you knew the truth.”
“The truth?” One eyebrow rose. “You mean the fact that you paid a killer to shoot me?—”
“I paid him to miss.”
She knew that, but… “Can’t really trust guys like that, you know. Sometimes, they’ll take your money and shoot whoever they want.”
His fingers trailed down her back and rested at the base of her spine. “That’s why I made sure I was between you and the gun, every single moment.” His jaw hardened. “You know what happened to him.”
Actually, no, she didn’t know that part. She wasn’t some kind of all-seeing, walking, talking crystal ball. All she’d had were glimpses. Snatches of conversation. Simon’s memories. The few that had filtered through the blood link. What became of Mr. Trigger Happy, she had no idea. So she just stared back at Simon and waited.
“There wasn’t a choice, Dee. He forced my hand.”
Ah, one of those stories that wasn’t going to end well.
“Frankie came after me, okay? He shot me in the back and would have killed me?—”
“Wait.” Her eyes narrowed. “Frankie?” The guy’s face flashed before her eyes. Broad features. Balding hair. “Frankie Lee?” She should have put those pieces together sooner.
“Yeah.”
She whistled and drummed her fingers on his chest. “Went big-time slumming, huh?” Word on the street was that Frankie would shoot his own mother—and, actually, had—for a quick grand.
“He came after me,” Simon repeated, his face tense. “There wasn’t a choice.”
Silence for a moment, then Dee ventured, “I’m guessing old Frankie won’t be taking any more hits.”
His palm pressed harder against her back. “I swear I didn’t pay him to kill you. I wouldn’t have done that!”
“But you didn’t even know me then. I was just a hunter to you, another?—”
“You were everything.” Rasped. His eyes blazed at her. “You still are.”
What did a woman say to that? Dee pulled away from him and reached for the sheet. She just needed to cover up. To take a second and think.
He caught her wrist. “You don’t want to hear about how I feel, do you? Too damn bad.” His thumb rubbed over her pulse point. “You know I came after you because I thought you’d take down Grim.”
And she had. A point for the good guys. Well, semi-good guys, anyway. “I know you wanted to be free. You’ve already explained?—”
“I wanted you. Want you.” Simon shook his head. “From the moment I saw you, I wanted you.”
Fair enough. She’d wanted to jump him, too. He’d tackled her. She’d instantly wanted to return the favor.
“I thought it was just lust, Dee. That I could take you, enjoy you, and walk away.”
Kind of hard not to flinch at that one. With her left hand, she jerked the sheet up to her chin. Simon held tight to her right wrist. “So you were using me for sex and death?” Grim’s death. No getting around she’d been a means to an end there. But she’d thought there might be more. He’d made her think that.
I’ll fucking love you forever.
She wanted him to say those words again.
But now Simon wasn’t exactly talking rose petals and sunsets.
