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It’s not like I wasn’t expecting the pushback after her flat-out refusal of security in the past. “The guys need a break. We’ll keep them on backup, but you can only work a twenty-four-seven gig for so long without burning out. It’s how our rotation works.” It’s not a lie, but comes as close to one as she’ll get from me. It might be our routine to switch out after a while, but everyone on my team knows it’s only at my request the change is being made.
Allie’s lips press together. “Why you?”
My jaw shifts with her obvious disdain. “That’s easy. I volunteered for the job.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know if that arrangement is going to work.” She doesn’t elaborate but averts her gaze and fixates on a spot by the coffee pot. First, the continued brush off, and now she wants Liam and Trent to keep the assignment. “Look at me, Allie.” I don’t realize the depth of my voice until she’s turned quickly toward me. “It will work. Trust me.”
Allie regards me from over the top of her coffee cup. “Trust? Don’t take this the wrong way, Nick, but that’s not likely to happen. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the station,” she says curtly, pulling the portable from the waistband of her scrubs. She swishes across the break room, tosses her empty coffee cup into the garbage, then sanitizes her hands under the wall dispenser while balancing the phone at her ear, and marches out the door.
She didn’t outright refuse the change in so many words, but I’d bet more than a month’s salary this isn’t the last I’ve heard about switching the security detail from the lovely Miss Allie O’Conner.
I toss the pastry bag in the garbage and wash my hands before making my way out to the perimeter of the nursing station. Chase had to pull strings to get special clearance for us to be on site to guard Allie. And only after signing form after form of patient rights and disclosure agreements did they agree. But he also assured hospital administration that we wouldn’t be disruptive, so I try to be as respectful of that agreement as possible while still doing my job.
I take up a spot near one of the corridors that allows me to observe the entire nursing station, all the exam rooms, and the elevator. Allie’s talking to a silver-haired man in a white hospital coat. I glance through the files on my phone, quickly pulling up a picture of the hospital physician staff and those with privileges to confirm it’s the neurosurgeon. My cell buzzes, and I tap the headset. “This is Marenah. We received a little intel on the organization that Darwin was running girls for, and you’re not going to like what we learned.”
Although the trafficking division Marenah leads is the newest, keeping the traffickers at bay is quickly becoming integral to the security of the families we protect and those we care about, and this one is far too personal to me. “Fill me in.”
“Scottie still has friends from his days before joining us. He was able to get his hands on some communication trails of Darwin talking to two men before he died. One of them has been linked to Alfreita’s network and the other to trafficking.”
I can feel the muscles in my neck tighten because as many people involved in the trafficking of women that we take down, more just seem to keep coming out of the woodwork. “Are you sure about that, Marenah?”
“We’re confident about the transcripts. The conversation was brief and coded, but the voice matches we have of Darwin are identical. Scottie said his contacts confirmed that the guys on the tape have been linked in conversations and meetings over the last few years to Alfreita too. There’s no doubt, Nick. We’re still learning more about this group, but none of the men who’ve been linked to this organization leaves loose ends. And Allie and Lexie are definitely loose ends by their definition.”
I stretch my neck from side to side and speak quietly. “I’m with Allie at the hospital now. Liam and Trent have been running point for a month. They’re going to switch to backup, and I’ll take point. Allie was supposed to have the weekend off but got called in last night. I’ll stay with her until her shift starts again on Monday.”
Allie finishes her conversation standing at the ledge of the nursing station while typing into a notebook. She leans over and takes a long drink from her water bottle. A couple of physicians walk past me and saunter right up to Allie at the station. My jaw tightens because one of these fuckers hasn’t learned the meaning of personal space. She slides her laptop down the ledge, widening the distance between them, and manages to continue nodding politely to whatever the slime ball has to say.
It reminds me of Lexie’s explanation for the cold shoulder I received when first meeting Allie and got caught checking her out. The hotshots in college hit on her regularly, and now she has physicians checking her out too. It’s not that I blame them, because damn, she’s every man’s wet dream with that long, dark, flowy hair, big green eyes, and that well-toned body, but still.
Mr. tall, dark, and all up in Allie’s space manages to close the gap between them again as they talk. Allie doesn’t move this time, but her body has gone entirely rigid. She finally nods, grabs her laptop, walks around the station, and sinks into her desk chair. That’s one way to get away from the dude, but if he doesn’t move on pretty soon, my jaw is going to lock into this position permanently, and he’s going to learn a few social graces the hard way.
As soon as the two guys leave, she visibly relaxes, and the sound of the nurses quietly giggling and whispering can be heard from where I stand. Allie throws her long-strapped purse across her body and grabs her water bottle. “I’m going to take off. Give me a call if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you guys on Monday.”
I give the hospital valet a call and have them bring my Range Rover around, thankful to Liam and Trent for dropping it off. The plows have cleared the roads from the remains of the storm, but another one is brewing, and the streets are already starting to turn slippery with the drizzly conditions and colder temps.
Allie walks toward me, the darkness beneath her eyes getting more pronounced as time goes by. “I need to run to the locker room and grab my coat, but then I’m ready to get out of here.”
“I’ll walk with you.” We make our way the short distance, and I take up a position outside the ladies-only facility.
She’s in and out within minutes, and we head to the elevators in silence. Something about how utterly exhausted Allie is causes my chest to catch and brings out the protective side of my dominance. It’s been this way since the day I met her and seems to have grown in the last month we’ve been apart, instead of diminishing in the slightest. But Allie’s wall has been built with precision and care over the years, and it’s going to take effort to find even the slightest crack in the protection she keeps herself surrounded in.
The valet is pulling my vehicle around, but it’s still on the far end of the street when we reach the entrance. “Let’s wait inside. Our ride is coming around the corner.” I pull out my phone and order dinner from the Asian restaurant near the girls' apartment, making a mental note to thank Trent for the inside scoop on Allie’s go-to take out favorites.
Allie’s steady gaze heats my skin, drawing my attention to her wide, unmasked green eyes, and for a brief moment, an indescribable emotion passes over her tired but beautiful features. Still, she recovers quickly, lowering her gaze and avoiding my uninvited observation, while fueling my need to find out what drives, stimulates, and feeds the myriad of emotions, including her resistance.
The valet pulls up to the entrance, and I zip my jacket. “Time to go.” I place my hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the door and to the passenger side of the vehicle to get her settled. When I get in and situated, Allie’s sitting against the seat and has her head tucked into her neck, already snuggled into her coat. She looks like she could fall asleep any minute. “Here, let’s get you buckled in.” I reach over her to get the seatbelt on the other side. My face is so close to Allie’s that I can feel the warmth of her breath on my cheek, and my cock twitches at the intimacy. The same magnetic energy, that incredible draw that has been between us since the beginning and is almost undeniable in its strength pulses between us.
She tilts her head up, exposing the creamy skin of her neck and the pulse that beats rapidly just under the skin. Her tongue runs gently and seductively over her lower lip.
“Allie.”
Chapter Five
Allie
The wayhe’s looking at me and says my name sends a shiver down the length of my spine. The desire swirling in his eyes most likely reflects my own, an emotion that’s been burning for him since the very first time I saw him. “Nick.”
He brushes my cheek with the tip of his finger, and I lean into the caress without intending to. “You’re exhausted, and when I kiss you for the first time, you’re going to be wide awake.”
