“Stamos, this is my friend Agent Scott. Tell me about the incident, please.” She had a bad feeling she already knew what he was going to say, yet foolishly held out hope it was something else . . . anything else.
“You had some company,” he began. “An older man and woman came by. They parked right in front of the door, so I saw what they were driving. It was a year-old Chrysler 300C Platinum with twenty-inch polished cast aluminum wheels, a dual-pane panoramic power sunroof, and HID headlights. It’s a nice, smooth ride,” he continued. “This one had dents and scratches all over it, like someone had taken a hammer to it or maybe had been driving when he shouldn’t . . . if you know what I mean. They ruined that beautiful car.”
Liam tried to get him back on track. “You were telling Allison about the man and woman. Who were they? Do you know?”
“Oh yes, of course. They told me they were your aunt and uncle. The woman even pulled out her driver’s license and waved it in my face to prove she had the same last name.”
Allison felt as though the wind had just been knocked out of her. They had found her. And so soon. Damn. It was inevitable that they would track her down, but she had hoped it would take them longer to figure out she had moved, and even longer to find her new address. No such luck.
“When was this?” she asked.
“They showed up around four this afternoon, maybe four thirty.” He scratched his jaw as he continued. “They were . . . difficult.”
Difficult? That was putting it mildly. “Did they make a scene?” she asked, knowing full well they did.
“Yes, ma’am, they certainly did. They wanted to wait in your apartment. I refused to let them, of course, and that was when they started shouting at me. The woman told me she had your permission. Don’t worry. I would never let anyone inside your home,” he rushed to add.
“Did they tell you what they wanted?” Liam asked.
“No, and I didn’t ask. They tried to push past me to get to the elevator. I pushed back and explained again that they couldn’t go beyond the lobby. They both became quite belligerent and as loud as a couple of broken mufflers. Your uncle threatened me, said he could get me fired. I’m pretty sure he was intoxicated.”
Of course he had been intoxicated. He usually started drinking around noon, sometimes a little before. It was just the way it was in the Trent household. Allison wished Liam wasn’t hearing about her relatives. It was embarrassing to be related to such vulgar people. She reminded herself that their behavior didn’t reflect on her, but she wasn’t very convincing. “I’m sure he was drunk or on his way there, and I’m sorry you had to deal with them. I know how difficult they can be.”
“Now that you know what they look like, don’t ever let them inside, and if they try to force their way in, call the police,” Liam ordered.
“I’ll alert the other doormen. There’re three of us in all,” he told Liam. “I lock up at ten each night, and tenants have to use their keys to get inside the front door until six in the morning.”
Great. Now outsiders were getting involved in the fiasco. The more Allison tried to avoid her aunt and uncle, the more belligerent they became. “I’m so sorry they were a bother,” she apologized.
Liam heard the mortification in Allison’s voice and immediately felt his protective instincts rising again. “You aren’t responsible,” he said, putting his arm around her.
Was he comforting her or feeling sorry for her? Allison couldn’t tell. She tried to gently shrug his arm away as she headed toward the elevator, but it didn’t budge. Instead, Liam walked into the elevator with her and pushed the button for her floor.
As the elevator ascended, Liam’s emotions and his good judgment were in a raging battle. It was killing him not to take charge of her aunt and uncle, to tell Allison he would make certain they left her alone. He could be a real badass when he needed to. Allison wouldn’t let him, though. She would think he was interfering, and in fact that was exactly what he would be doing. He knew she could handle herself. The way she stood up to Phillips had proven that she could hold her own, but knowing what she had endured growing up in that whacked-out household made him want to shield her from more heartache. She wouldn’t like that, either. So he would let her take the lead, and if he needed to get involved, he would make certain she didn’t know about it.
The elevator doors parted, and Liam deliberately slowed the pace as they approached her apartment. A strange feeling was taking over, one he didn’t know how to handle. He was always so sure of himself and could make the right call when the situation demanded, but this was different. He had set out to solve a problem for the agency. Mission accomplished, right? On to the next step. That was the way these operations worked. Then what was the reason for his reluctance to end this phase of the job?
The reason was obvious. It was Allison. Something inside him didn’t want to let go, and he was intentionally drawing out his time with her. He knew he should treat her like any other asset: thank her for her contribution, wish her well, and walk away. But she wasn’t just any asset. The memory of how good she had tasted when he’d kissed her kept gnawing at him.
At her door Allison rummaged through her purse for her house key, but she struggled to concentrate on the task. Liam was standing so close, her whole body tensed and her hands shook.
“I’m assuming I won’t be seeing you again. Since I no longer work for you, we’re pretty much done. Right? Of course we are,” she rambled on with a nod, not daring to look up. “Best of luck to you.” Best of luck? She couldn’t come up with anything better? She felt like such a nitwit.
“How come you’re in such a hurry to get rid of me?” he asked, a smile in his voice.
“I’m not. I’m just trying to keep this relationship professional. I don’t want to . . .” She could barely breathe. She knew she should get away from him as soon as possible, before she made a complete fool of herself and ripped his clothes off.
He took the key from her, unlocked the door, and followed her inside. He was waiting for her to finish her thought, and when she didn’t, he prodded, “You don’t want to what?”
She couldn’t admit her lascivious thoughts. “Never mind.”
She made the mistake of looking into his eyes. She felt like sighing. Or jumping his bones. He was such a strong, muscular man, and with his sun-streaked blond hair and clear green eyes, he was nearly irresistible. It was impossible to pretend to be immune to his charms any longer.
She had prided herself on her self-control. In fact, she had bragged about it to Liam, but what happened next was beyond her control. At least that was the lie she told herself. She leaned into him, put her hands on his shoulders, and kissed the daylights out of him. The kiss was hot, carnal, demanding a response. She poured her heart into that kiss, and if he pushed her away, she didn’t know what she would do. She wanted him to feel the passion she felt and to want her as much as she wanted him. Her mouth was open and her tongue rubbed against his. She heard him growl low in his throat and tried to get even closer to him. Being the aggressor was new to her, but she found she liked it . . . with him. She trusted him—which in her mind was a rare and beautiful thing—and that was why she could throw caution to the wind and go a little crazy.
Every argument running through Liam’s head flew out the window. Since the moment he’d met her, he’d wanted her in his arms. Who was he kidding? He wanted more than that. He wanted her in his bed, under him, writhing and begging for release. Keeping their relationship professional had been one of the hardest things he had ever done, but he knew, as long as he was in charge of her assignment, he couldn’t act on his feelings. Now, he rationalized, she no longer worked for him. He was neither her boss nor her colleague. She worked for Phillips.
He wrapped his arms around her, cupped her backside, and lifted her up until her pelvis was pressed against his. Her mouth was soft and warm, and he was ravenous for more. He knew things were getting out of hand, yet the passion was escalating so quickly he couldn’t make himself let go of her. When he finally lifted his head, he saw her face was flushed and she was breathless. His touch had done that to her, he knew, and he wondered if she was as rattled as he was. God, she was beautiful. She tried to move back into his arms, but he put his hands on her waist and wouldn’t let her move.