a tangled mess. Her clothes suffocated her and she stripped them off, dropping them to the floor as she moved toward her bed. She sat heavily, springs creaking.
Deep inside her, an old wound broke open, fresh hurt rubbing raw. For an instant she was a child left in darkness with strangers. Damn. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears eeking past. He’d humiliated her with her own reaction to him, intentionally, she knew. But somewhere during his attempt to scare her, she’d experienced something wild and raw. And so had he. Part of her admitted that, for several moments there, she’d wanted him, would have done anything to feel his strength and do exactly what he’d whispered in her ear. Another part wanted to beat him senseless, hurt him back.
Don’t trust him He’s bad, a voice said. The nuns had warned her about men like Angel. Dangerous men. Men women went after Just because they were tough and hard and without regret. He didn’t want anyone to hurt her, except him. She looked up, her eyes narrowing on nothing.
He didn’t want her to trust anyone, including him.
Just as the thought materialized, so did a wave of nausea and Calli slapped a hand over her mouth, leaping toward the bathroom. Tomorrow, she thought. She would deal with her stupidity tomorrow. She only hoped she would never see him again.
Sunlight blared through a slice between the drapes and Calli groaned, rolling to her side and covering her head with a pillow. Her mouth tasted like road dust and her brain throbbed, reminding her of last night. How could one drink make her feel this crummy?
After a few deep breaths, she slithered from the bed like the idiot she was, stopping long enough to order coffee from room service before stepping into the shower. She didn’t bother to regulate the water and suffered the ice-cold blast before making it warmer. She never wanted to leave. It was safe under the water, away from the hurt blooming slowly in her chest. Damn you, Angel.
Gradually, her headache lessened and she could actually move without making it worse. No, she decided as pain buffeted her brain. She would stay in here, because looking at herself in the mirror would only relive the memory of Angel’s heartlessness. Funny, she thought, that she could remember his passion more than his cruelty.
Gabe caught the waiter as he made to set the tray by the door. She’s in the shower, he realized instantly, hearing the running water through the paper-thin walls and half-open window. Pushing a hefty tip into the server’s palm, he took the tray and gave the teenager a leer that spoke volumes. The youth smiled and nodded, then after a moment’s hesitation, unlocked the room.
Gabe set the tray down and closed the door. He noticed her clothes scattered over the floor and collected them in a pile, trying to ignore the red stocking shaped from her leg and the memories that came with it. Tossing them onto the dresser, he wondered why the hell he was here. Sure, he could have left her car at Damien’s, let her find a way to get it back, but Gabe felt as if he’d slunk out from under a rock, like the slimy perverts he’d been protecting her from for the past four days.
Since last night, he’d focused his concern on the one drink she claimed to have had and the strange result. After discreetly taking her keys, in case she got any wild ideas during the night, he’d gone back to Damien’s after leaving her, done some checking, and linked her artificial intoxication to a drink she hadn’t bought for herself. A man of vague description had walked it over to her from the bar. It was just too suspicious for Gabe’s comfort and he felt that her admirer might have slipped her a drug.
Calli was in trouble, more than she’d ever hoped to find. And if she would quit trusting strangers, quit trying to find danger, it just might not find her. Gabe muttered a curse, hating himself for what he’d done to her, hating that he couldn’t find another way around her stubbornness to keep her safe. She was just too willing to test the limits of the wrong people. Including him.
The phone rang and instinctively he snatched it up.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing there at this hour?” Daniel O’Hara demanded.
“My job.” Gabe stared down at her keys in his hand, then clutched them in his fist. “Did you find anything else?”
“No. Does she know who you are?”
Guilt stabbed through Gabe as he glanced at the bathroom door. He dismissed it, remembering the disgusted look in her eyes when he’d talked nasty to her. “You paid for discretion.”
“Your voice says otherwise, Gabe.”
Gabe hated the fatherly warning in Daniel’s tone. “Let’s just say she won’t be trusting me or anyone else for a while.”
“It’s a sweet failing of hers.” A sigh came through the phone and Daniel’s worry with it Whether it was for himself and his company or Calli, Gabe couldn’t be sure. “She has the memo.”
Gabe groaned, plowing his fingers through his dark hair. “Great.” How was he supposed to get it? His gaze scanned the room, stopping on her purse, then a leather satchel lying on a luggage rack. “I’ll see what I can find.”
“That cat burglar experience comes in handy in your line of work, huh?”
“Shut up, Danny.”
Daniel cleared his throat.
“I’ll call if I have something to say.”
Daniel scoffed. “I’ll be old by then.”
Gabe made to hang up when Daniel’s voice caught him.
“Hey, Gabe?”
He put the phone to his ear again, noticing that the shower had stopped. “Make it quick.”
“Don’t hurt her. She’s like a daughter to me.”
Gabe closed his eyes Wonderful. Daniel might be just the owner of some dessert company, but he was one mean man when crossed. And Gabe owed him big already.
“What are you doing here, talking on my phone?” Calli demanded, tightening the sash of her robe.
His expression blank, Gabe held out the receiver. “Someone named Daniel?”
Calli’s features reddened and she grabbed the phone, turning her back on him. She could feel Angel’s gaze move over her terry-cloth robe and she pushed it higher around her neck. While in the bathroom, she’d heard muffled voices and could have sworn Angel was talking to Daniel long before she entered the room. But what would he have to say to her boss? Daniel was likely giving him the third degree, she decided, highly annoyed with both of them.
“How did you find me?” she snapped, her plan to hide out in New Mexico obviously ruined.
His laugh was soft. “Well, hello to you, too.” Calli made an apologetic sound. “It wasn’t hard. What happened to Acapulco?”
“Nothing. It’s still there, I think.” She heard him chuckle. “I just changed my mind and decided to drive.” She already knew how he’d found her. For emergency’s sake she’d left this number with her landlord and Daniel was the one who’d told her about the quaint small town. “Is there something wrong? Why did you track me down?”
There
