Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(76)

"Hello, Belle. How are you?"

I jolted upright. "Memory Man?"

"The one and only. And actually, the name's Jean-Luc. I know, cheesy name. But both of the guys who raised me wanted me to carry a piece of them. Wait, that sounds bad. I didn't mean anything dirty, you understand. I just...Damn it! I'm babbling. Sorry. I'm just nervous. I didn't make the greatest first impression, so I'm determined to make a better second, third and so on. Is it working?"

"I don't know." Actually, the babbling was kind of cute, and it dimmed some of the anger I still harbored toward him. If I harbored any at all, that is. I just didn't know what I felt anymore. How could this charming man have meant Rome harm? "So you had two dads, huh?"

"Yeah."

I had never met anyone who'd been raised by two people of the same sex and was intrigued by the prospect. "Well, they seem to have raised you right. For the most part. You did save me the other day, after all. And I want to tell you thanks for that. You didn't have to, but you did. So thanks."

"Believe me, it was my pleasure."

"I really owe you. But I want you to know I'm really, really determined to get you to - "

"How about dinner?" he interjected before I could state my demand.

"Maybe one day." With Rome joining us, his memories our only topic of discussion. "I'm kinda in the middle of something right now. But listen. You should not have taken - "

"I know, baby. I know. That doesn't mean I'm sorry."

Baby. Rome used to call me that - and had a few times since - and the reminder had me clenching the phone so tightly the plastic creaked. "You will be. Sorry, that is." Okay, yes. I still harbored anger.

He chuckled. "There you go, being all stubborn and adorable again. So where are you? I want to see you again."

I scoured a hand down my face. Where was I? Hell, I thought, glancing around the room. All was as it had been. Cheap floral wall hangings, two twin beds with squeaky springs, each covered with floral-printed comforters. The carpet was dark brown and probably hid a multitude of stains.

"I'm surprised you didn't follow me," I said.

"After you left, I did a little cleanup. Made sure you wouldn't be bothered by the local police."

"Thank you." Sweet, stubborn man.

"You're welcome."

"Damn it. How can you be so nice? I mean, you worked for Pretty Boy - Vincent. Right? Right? "

"Not by choice," was the tight reply.

We'd suspected that. "How did he force you? Give me that much, at least."

"My dads. He abducted them, hid them and played a video of them begging for their freedom. A video of them being tortured. All he had to do was threaten to torture them again, and I would agree to his demands. I would have tried to find them, but he made sure there was no one around me who knew where they were. I would have killed him myself, but he stayed hidden until I returned and willingly put myself back in one of his cages. It wasn't until Rome freed me that I found out my dads had been dead for over a year."

How that must have hurt. How that must have torn him up.

"You were the only thing that kept me going," he said softly. "So...please. Tell me where you are." Just then I wanted to. Anything to relieve some of his inner torment. "I...I can't."

"Like I said, stubborn."

Once again, he sounded amused.

Better.

Rome's bag rested on the room's only chair, a ripped pleather recliner. Had he gone on a mission, he would have taken his stuff. Maybe he'd gone out for food. Mmm, food. My stomach rumbled.

"Belle?" Jean-Luc's voice cut through my musings.

"What? Sorry! My mind wandered."

"You do that a lot," he said with another warm chuckle. "I like that about you."

"How do you know I..." My voice tapered to a quiet, my lips stretching into a thin line. He knew because of Rome. Which I still hadn't yelled at him about, damn it.

I think he realized the direction of my thoughts, because he said, "You know how. Now where are you?"

"I'm not telling." Seriously, where was Rome? He'd want to be here, talk to M-Squared himself.

Jean-Luc gave yet another of those chuckles. "If you'd give me a chance, I bet I could convince you to tell me."

Once again I found myself wishing for a tracker on my phone. I'd just have to keep him talking, I guessed, until Rome got here. "Yeah? And just what would you do?"

"I'd tell you, but last time you told me not to talk about your passionate nature," he said huskily.

Okay. I'd walked right into that one. Was doing that a lot lately. "You're right. Don't tell me. Look, Jean-Luc, with everything you know about me, you have to realize that I value honesty and could never be with a man I couldn't trust. Right now, I don't trust you. You saved my life, yes, but you also ruined it."

There was a long pause before he vowed earnestly, "Somehow, someway, I'll earn your trust."

"There's only one way to do that, and we both know what that is."

"I've told you. I'll do anything for you - anything but that." His tone had dropped, becoming just-roused-frombed sexy. "Those memories are the only bright spot in my life. When you ran to your dad after escaping Pretty Boy, throwing yourself in the line of fire to save him...I nearly cried. The love you feel for him is a beautiful thing. Pure. Do you know how rare that is?" I glanced up at the ceiling - ew, what was that brown stain? - praying for divine guidance, softening even more when I should have stayed strong, hard. "Will you at least think about giving them back?