Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(56)

“Well, it was great to meet you. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Greyson said.

I returned to the couch and handed Oliver a bottle of water, looking to Greyson. “I’ll give you an update in the morning and let you know if anything’s changed from the schedule. I’m hoping to hear from Vance any second.”

“Sounds good. Have a nice night and try to get some rest.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Oliver said, shaking Greyson’s hand. “See you tomorrow.”

I saw Greyson out and locked the door behind him. Oliver swished water around his mouth, rinsing down the chalky residue left behind from the tablets he’d chewed. He tore one of the packages of pills open with his teeth and dumped the contents in his mouth.

“Better?” I asked after he gulped more water.

“Should be, in a few minutes. I hope.”

“Do you wanna get cleaned up? I’ll get some food ready, and hopefully your stomach will feel better by the time you come back down.”

“A shower sounds nice. My head’s all foggy still.”

“The bathroom is at the top of the stairs. Towels and soap are already up there.” I walked into the kitchen and opened a few of the cupboards until I found the one with all the canned goods. “There should be some clothes up in one of the bedrooms too. Just poke around and look for what you need.” I palmed some chicken noodle soup, but when he didn’t respond, I looked back. His attention was rapt on me, and he wore a mysterious grin.

“Okay, be right back.” His smile faded, and he was gone.

I took a few minutes to just be and leaned against the stove, telling myself everything was going to be all right. When I was nearly convinced, I pulled the lid off the can and located a small pot in a cabinet next to the stove. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I mixed water with the condensed soup. Vance’s name displayed on the screen.

I glanced to the ceiling and let out a huge breath. “I called you.”

“I saw. How’s it going?”

“Fine. How’re you?” I stirred the soup.

“I called Cavanaugh and the cops. Rivas got here a few minutes ago and said you called him. Thanks for that.”

“I had to. I was worried.”

“I know you were. I’m good. The paramedics are on scene, but we’re going to have some questions to answer. Cavanaugh is beyond pissed. He should be here any minute.”

“And you called Camille, right?”

“Yeah, I called her and gave her the run down. Told her you’re in a safe house for now.”

“Okay, good.” I took a deep breath in through my nose and watched the coils glow orange on the stove. “We’re going to get fired over this, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re not. I’ll take care of it. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. We didn’t have time to alert the office. If we hadn’t acted when we did, he could have been killed and that would have been far worse for the company than what happened.”

“You think Cavanaugh’s going to buy that?” Little bubbles formed around the edge of the soup as it simmered. I shut off the heat.

“Of course he is, it’s the truth… well, kind of. It’ll be fine so long as our stories match up, which they will, because like I said, it’s the truth.”

“What about the money?”

“What money? And don’t you dare explain to me what money. They don’t need to know about that. We’ll work it out later.”

“How’re the two men?”

“The guy by the table was confirmed dead at the scene and the other is still alive, but I’m not sure for how long. They had to shock him a few times before they took him away. He wasn’t lookin’ good.”

“Okay, let me—” Loud chatter in the background forced me to pull the phone away from my ear.

“Sorry, Cavanaugh’s here. Gotta go.” The call disconnected.

“Whatever it is, it smells good, like my childhood,” Oliver said.

I gasped, closing my eyes, and put my hand over my heart.

“Sorry.” The dewy scent of his shampoo began to permeate the air. “Snuck up on you, huh?”

I grabbed the pot off the stove and turned toward the table, but my breath hitched when I saw him leaning against a small wall connecting the kitchen to the living room. He’d found a shirt but had it draped over his shoulder, and small droplets of water clung to the center of his chest. The temperature inside the kitchen rose a few degrees, and the skin between my breasts beaded with sweat. “Totally fine. Just didn’t hear you come down.”

He took a couple steps toward me with a confident stride. His abs flexed and every muscle and chiseled line drew my eye. It was one thing to see his body on the big screen, but it was another to have it standing in front of me only half dressed.

Vivid thoughts seized my mind from his most recent movie. His mouth devouring his leading lady’s, his hands forcing her against the wall, his bare, undulant backside as he thrusted into her, all flashed before my eyes. The fire burning under my flesh grew hotter. As his steel eyes threatened to pierce my skin, I looked down and poured the soup into the bowls. I replaced the pot on the stove and rummaged through a drawer for a couple of spoons.

“Hope you’re not expecting too much. It’s only Campbell’s chicken noodle,” I said.