Better When He's Brave Read online

  “Why? What’s wrong with your place?”

  I had a small Craftsman-style house that wasn’t exactly out of the Point but it was far enough at the edge of the city that when I did sleep I did so without worrying too much about my windows getting shot out or my front door getting kicked in. It was just a place to store my stuff and crash when I got a few minutes. It absolutely wasn’t secure enough to take Reeve, with all the people that currently wanted a piece of her. She would be too isolated and alone if I left her there while I continued to hunt down Roark.

  “Nothing is wrong with my place, but I’m in the middle of a situation and I need someplace safe to hang out for a few weeks.”

  “That situation involves a certain dark haired beauty that’s back in town?”

  Goddamn, was he too smart for his own good. Well, my good, really.

  “Yeah, it does, and I don’t want to hear anything about it. The guy that torched your car, the guy that worked over Roxie, the guy that tortured the poor girl and left her here on this dock like she was trash, is not only after the Point but he’s after Reeve with a vengeance. She gave me his name and she’s willing to be the bait we use to draw him out, so I need to do what I can to keep her safe. Help me out, Race.”

  I could see him calculating the pros and cons of what I was asking him to do for me. Race didn’t do anything without weighing all of his options. He knew I was asking him to bring a verified security threat under his protected roof. He understood I was asking him to do something that Bax was going to be totally against. He grasped that I was desperate enough to plead with him to offer shelter to a woman that had not only offered his sister up as a sacrificial lamb but whose actions had led directly to him being beaten within an inch of his life. I was asking him for so much more than he had ever asked me for, and he knew it. And because he was fucking brilliant, he knew that if he agreed it would mean I would owe him huge down the line. Get-out-of-jail-free huge.

  I lived my life between very clear black and white lines but lately all the edges had blurred into so many shades of gray it was hard to see through the fog anymore. I believed in right and wrong, in good and bad. I was willing to die for those convictions, but I also wanted the good guys to win occasionally. Lately, it seemed like the way to do that was to play by the bad guys’ rules. It made everything inside of me snap and thrash around in anger but I didn’t have a choice and I could see Race knew that as well.

  “Give me a week. There isn’t availability right now, but I’ll arrange some things and find you a spot.”

  I sighed and let my head fall forward so that I was looking at my boots and the worn wood of the dock between them.

  “Do I even want to ask how you’re going to arrange a vacancy on such short notice?”

  He chuckled and it made the hairs on my arms raise up. I remembered him when he was just a lost rich kid boosting cars with Bax. He wasn’t lost anymore, and the man he had become was not one to be underestimated.

  “Probably not, but you’ll both be safe within those walls and I’ll even let you borrow Booker. He can keep an eye on your little rat when you’re off trying to save the world.”

  I snapped my head up to glare at him, but he had already turned away and was headed back toward the fancy-looking condominium complex.

  “I would think you would be a little more sympathetic to someone doing whatever they have to in order to survive, Hartman.”

  I saw his shoulders shrug and he didn’t turn around as he hollered at me, “You should remember that no good deed goes unpunished, Titus. She says she’s here to help you now, but she told Dovie the same thing right before she set her up. I want the guy that is messing with my life and with my family, and if you think she’s the way we get to him, then I want her as close as possible.”

  I didn’t have any way to contradict him because that was the same logic I was using, so I just grunted at his back as he walked away.

  Chapter 5

  Reeve

  A FEW DAYS HIDING out in Bax’s tiny apartment made me feel like I was back in WITSEC. I hadn’t seen anyone besides the pizza delivery guy. And I hadn’t heard from Titus except for the day after he ditched me here when he showed up with a handful of clothes he told me he borrowed from a neighbor and a pay-as-you-go cell phone that he shoved in my hand with a grunt. He told me only to use it in case of an emergency and then disappeared without another word. It was obvious everything about having to deal with me was grating on him, but I didn’t have a solution to that problem, so I simply took the phone and collapsed against the door after he stormed away, a cloud of anger and tension hanging thick in his wake.

  Every night since I had taunted him into kissing me, goaded him into letting some of that rock-hard veneer he had in place slip, I felt like I was drowning in him. Admittedly my fascination with Titus King was nothing new, but now that I knew, now that I had actual experience with what it was like to be wanted by him, to be the sole focus of that inferno of hot desire, I couldn’t get around it. It chased me into sleep. It haunted me when I was awake. I tasted him. I felt him, and when I breathed in and out I could swear when my heart beat it was tapping out his name over and over again.

  I should be focused on Conner. I needed to keep my eye on the prize because only the winner of this game was making it out alive. The thought of being in a crazy man’s crosshairs was petrifying. He killed a girl just because she looked like me, for God’s sake, and he hadn’t done it cleanly or mercifully. She had suffered; Titus was brutally honest when I asked about the body that had pulled him away before things had gotten out of control at the motel. She had suffered big-time and we both knew that was nothing compared to what Conner would do when he finally caught up with me.

  There was a time before Titus when I would have just run. I was quick on my feet and knew how to make ends meet when I had to. There were plenty of no-name towns in Middle America where I could get lost and never be found again. But now that the surly detective was right in front of me, willing to believe that I had some kind of redeeming quality and was honestly willing to help him, I couldn’t do that.

  No. It was time to stand my ground and right all my wrongs in the only way I knew how. I was a trap few men could resist, one Conner had already fallen into, and once he came for me I was going to make sure he could never fool or hurt anyone ever again. A showdown was on the horizon. In the real world good didn’t triumph over evil because evil didn’t play fair. That meant only bad had a shot at taking evil down, and I was just bad enough to get the job done. I wanted Titus to keep me alive, not so I could testify but so that I could put a bullet in Conner before he put a bullet in me or anyone else in the Point. I was going to sacrifice myself for the greater good and the only part of it that made me nervous was the fact that I was lying to the handsome detective about my true intentions. He already thought I was shady and devious; once this came to light, he was bound to think I really was nothing more than a soulless killer.

  When someone pounded on the door well after the sun had gone down on the day Titus said he was coming to collect me, I automatically assumed it was going to be him. However, I had lived in the Point way too long to ever just open a door without seeing what was on the other side. When I checked the peephole it wasn’t bright blue eyes looking back at me, but instead a forest-green pair set in a face made to make women stupid with lust. It was almost like he could hear what I was thinking because before I reached for the security chain on the door, the golden god smiled at me, flashing a dimple that made my heart trip involuntarily. Race was dangerous in a totally different way from Bax, and I suddenly understood why the two of them together made an unstoppable team.

  I pulled the door open and braced an arm on the jamb so that Race would get the hint that I wasn’t inviting him inside.

  “Titus send you after me?” I hated the sting I felt at the thought of the dark-haired cop palming me off on someone else. I was supposed to be made of stronger stuff than that. I couldn’t afford to have m
y feelings hurt every time I was reminded that Titus didn’t feel about me the same way I did about him. I needed to remind myself he couldn’t feel that way. I was not a good person and Titus deserved the best.

  Race grinned at me again and I rolled my eyes. It was easy to see how he got his way with no effort. That smile alone could make someone promise him anything and everything under the sun. The boy effortlessly broadcasted good times and dirty, sexy things.

  “No. He doesn’t know I’m here and he would probably get all yelly and punchy if he did know. I’ve been connecting the dots that other people tend to miss, so I figured this is where he would stash you. No one would believe Bax would let you hide out at his place. He hates you and would be happy to hand you over to the highest bidder. Titus is working his tail off to make sure no one knows what’s going on with you right now. Bax has been all over his ass wanting information, and I think you’re smart enough to know it’s not so he can send you flowers.”

  I bit my lower lip and looked up at Race from under my lashes. “I get it. Bax is spoiling for a fight and he won’t care why I’m here or that Titus might need me for his end game.”

  “If it was up to Bax, you would end up six feet under somewhere and be nothing more than a distant memory for all of us, but he’s often shortsighted.” Race crossed his arms over his broad chest and I watched the way it pulled his henley across the stacked muscles that lived there. He wasn’t as imposing in stature as either Titus or Bax, but there was a severe elegance about him that seemed just as threatening while he considered me silently for a long moment. “I want to know what the end game is, Reeve. What happens once this guy shows up? Titus might think he can dangle you out there and still keep his eye on the prize, but I know him well enough to know that if you’re in danger then his focus will be on you and not on taking out the threat. So what’s the real reason you agreed to play this game? Keep in mind I’m not a very nice man when my friends or family are threatened. I have no problem making a call and letting Bax know exactly where his brother stashed you if you don’t want to be honest with me.”

  His eyes darkened several shades, and I bit down even harder on my lip. I didn’t answer him and I didn’t move when he took a step closer to me. He didn’t smell like the streets. He smelled good, like something expensive and fancy. It was so out of place in the hallway of this run-down complex right in the center of the inner city that it almost sent me reeling.

  Begrudgingly I told him, “I know the guy who was behind the murder of your father. I had proof of who it was, so I brought it to Titus because I want to help him stop him.”

  Those forest-colored eyes narrowed to tiny little slits and I saw his jaw clench. “Who?”

  I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like giving Race the information he was after would change the game at all. Conner wouldn’t be found until he was ready. “His name is Conner Roark. He was the fed in charge of handling all the witnesses for Novak’s RICO case.”

  I saw awareness dawn on his too pretty face. Lord Hartman might have been a top-tier bastard, but he was still Race’s dad and the fact that Conner had orchestrated his execution would not sit well with the blond Adonis. “You can’t stop a man like that with a badge and the threat of bars. The only way to take down a threat like that is with a bullet.”

  I sighed again because I agreed. I just watched him as things started to shift and move in his gaze as he put puzzle pieces together. When he thought he had it all figured out, he took a step closer to me and scowled while he demanded, “Did you come back here to set Titus up to kill Roark for you, Reeve? Are you playing with people’s lives again? Because if you are, I have to tell you it’s going to end much worse for you this time around.”

  I gulped and narrowed my eyes at him. I refused to be intimidated by anyone, even if Race and his words had a cold sweat breaking out across my skin.

  “I came back to help. That’s it. I don’t care if Conner rots behind bars or gets a slug between the eyes. He’s a lunatic. I know there are still good men and women here. Titus and Dovie, for instance. I’m trying to do the right thing.”

  “You think that’s enough?”

  I pushed off the doorjamb and crossed my arms so that I matched his pose. “No. There will never be enough, but it’s a start.”

  He lifted an eyebrow at me and narrowed his eyes just a fraction. “Well, if Titus doesn’t stop this guy for good, there are plenty of people willing to step in and finish the task. I just wondered if you were really conniving enough to know that.” He smirked at me again and now that dimple made my tummy go tight. “I think you are. I think you know that Roark has to be put down like a dog and that Titus is too moral, too focused on the right side of the law to do it, but he has enough people that care about him, that want to make sure he keeps his hands clean of the mess the rest of us muck around in, to take care of that problem for him.”

  I breathed out a heavy sigh and shifted my stance so that my hair slithered over my shoulder. It wasn’t exactly a hair toss but it was close. “Think whatever you want, Race. Conner needs to be stopped, and whether you, Bax, or Titus like it, the road leading to him goes right through me.”

  He gave a bitter-sounding laugh and lifted his hand to rub his thumb along his jawline. He looked like a big golden lion getting ready to pounce on its prey. Too bad for him I had never been on anyone’s menu. I was the hunter not the hunted.

  “You must be unbelievable in bed, Reeve. You have a good man willing to do bad things for you and a bad man hell-bent on showing you just how evil he can be.”

  I scoffed at him and lifted one of my own eyebrows in response to his taunt. “How sad for you that you’ll never know, Hartman.”

  I didn’t wait for a response; instead I slammed the door in his face and secured the chain. I heard his chuckle through the door as I stomped over to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. It made me so mad at myself that my hands were shaking. I had to get my emotions in check. No one was on my side. No one trusted me or my motivations for being here, and I had to get used to that fact. I was not part of the team and I had to stop letting the constant reminders of that get to me. If I let my feelings show, I would give away what I was really planning before it was showtime, and that couldn’t happen.

  The truth of the matter was I did know that the only way to stop Conner was to put him down like a rabid dog in the street. And I also knew that wasn’t how Titus operated; in fact I was counting on his strong moral compass to keep him from crossing those kinds of lines. No, what he needed to do was keep me alive long enough, keep me safe enough that I could get close enough to Conner and take care of him myself. As far as I could tell, that was the only way to restore the karmic balance that I had set off kilter when I went looking for Novak all those years ago. When I had wanted revenge, wanted my sister’s boyfriend to pay for all the ways he had destroyed her life, I should have been brave enough, strong enough, to take care of him myself and then been properly punished. Having someone else do my dirty work was the ultimate cop-out. I wouldn’t ever be that weak or owe anyone that kind of favor again.

  Now, when judgment day rolled around, it would be Conner and me face-to-face, and he would know exactly why I was the one pulling the trigger. It was my turn to stop the madness so that men like Titus had a shot, so that Race could take the vices and addictions that were rampant here and put some kind of cage around them, so that Nassir could feed the beast without it having to cannibalize itself, so that guys like Bax actually got a break for once. I understood redemption better than anyone gave me credit for and Titus wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty at all. I already had blood on mine, so what was a little bit more?

  Conner had tricked me. He made me think he was one of the good guys. That he was one of the fighters for justice and fairness. Sure, I wanted to believe it so badly that I had ignored everything that was screaming at me, that was trying to tell me he wasn’t what he seemed. He had pulled the wool over my eyes. The only time I felt secure, ha
d felt like any other normal young woman in her early twenties without an ugly past and a questionable set of ethics, was with Connor and he had faked it all. None of that had been real.

  I jumped when the cell phone Titus had dropped off beeped with a text message. I snatched it up and called myself a few choice names when my pulse kicked at just the sight of his name in the message.

  I’ll be up to get you in 10.

  Typical Titus. No mincing words with that guy.

  I sighed and cast a rueful look down at the borrowed clothing I was wearing. I had no idea who Titus’s neighbor was, but she was much shorter than me and had a thing for bright colors and patterns, where I typically favored a more neutral palette. I cringed inwardly when I thought about how ridiculous the hot-pink short-shorts and stretchy lime-green tank top had to look. I also hadn’t seen an ounce of makeup aside from my purse stash since I got back to the Point, and so far the most flattering thing I had come up with for my hair was a ponytail.

  I was used to looking good. I was used to being able to use the way I looked to disarm others and to deflect questions I didn’t want to answer. I hadn’t had that advantage with Titus since he showed up at the motel. He was seeing me at my worst and I didn’t like that because he already had such a poor opinion of me. I wanted some kind of upper hand but that wasn’t happening, so I resigned myself to suffering his silent brooding and judgment while he moved me from point A to point B. I needed to brace for it if we were going to be spending time together, which we would be if things went according to Titus’s plan.

  I pulled on a black hoodie that had to belong to him or someone close to his size. It covered my fingertips and reached down to midthigh, well past the shorts I was currently wearing. It wasn’t much better than the garish outfit I had on underneath it, but it would do for this journey.

  I pulled open the door after his first knock and took a quick step back to avoid getting tagged in the forehead by his falling fist, which was poised to knock again. I sucked in a quick breath that I hoped he couldn’t hear as I stood frozen on the spot while his eyes roved over me. The blue was so bright it was like opening the door to the sky. His mouth pulled down on the sides and his eyebrows shot up as his gaze skimmed along the bare length of my legs under the hoodie.