His to Take (Wicked Lovers #9)(73)
Author: Shayla Black

He took her hand in his and squeezed. “No. Fate had other plans, baby girl.”

“I had what I thought was a really normal upbringing. My adoptive parents guided me and took care of me.” She teared up again and turned away. “It’s just hard to sit here and question whether any of what they said and did for me over the years was duty or love.”

Joaquin slid his cheek over her palm and turned her back to face him. “There’s no way they didn’t care about you.” He brushed his thumb over her lower lip. “You’re impossible to resist.”

Bailey’s stomach dropped out from under her. She blinked up at him, losing herself in his eyes. Her heart thudded. For a man who had barely spoken to his family in years, who’d deflected all but the most impersonal contact since puberty, he was opening himself for her.

She took in a trembling breath. “Joaquin . . .”

Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she was protesting his touch or inviting him closer. She didn’t know if he genuinely cared about her, but the hope that he did lingered in her heart, whispering to her, encouraging her to reach out for him.

Her head disagreed. Callie’s and Kata’s opinions aside, his primary interest in her was still his case. Even if he’d lost his job, this man wasn’t suddenly going to wrap his arms around her and want to spend forever with her. She was pretty sure that even a night in his bed would just prove to her that she was in over her head.

Before she could make up her mind, regret crossed his face and he backed away. The opportunity evaporated. Disappointment took its place, though she supposed keeping distance between them was for the best.

“Are you too tired to look at something?” he asked, his tone far less personal. “It’s for the case.”

Bailey hated that her hesitation might have stifled his urge to share his feelings for the first time in two decades. Even if he wasn’t invested in her, she wanted to help him end the murders so they could both move on. “Not at all.”

“Thanks.” He lifted himself away from the bed and made his way back to the dresser, then returned, paper in hand. He thrust it in her direction.

It was a sketch of a man. “Who is that?”

“Does he look familiar at all?”

Bailey studied it for a minute longer. “Maybe. If it was an actual photo, I might—”

“Like this?” He put another image in front of her, this one a four-by-six color photo of a bald man with a graying fringe around his head. A round face and flat blue eyes dominated the picture. For some reason she couldn’t fathom, the sight of him filled her with terror.

“Yes,” she breathed. Her voice shook.

“Where?” He grabbed her shoulders.

She searched her memories and came up empty-handed. “I don’t know.”

“Recently?”

Bailey thought back to all the people she’d met associated with the dance company, everyone from benefactors to building employees. Nothing. No one she remembered from her crappy waitressing job matched that face. The memory of him seemed fuzzy, distant.

“No.”

“Think about this. Focus. If you can picture his face, can you place where you might have seen him?”

She tried. He hadn’t been a teacher or neighbor or pastor. No friend or coworker of her dad’s.

But she knew she’d seen him somewhere in the past.

“I’m sorry. Who is he?”

“His name is McKeevy. Does that sound familiar?”

She’d never heard of him. “No. Should it?”

Joaquin shrugged. “He’s the top assassin for LOSS. We think he’s trying to crash Callie’s wedding this weekend.”

Bailey gasped. “And kill her. What are Sean and Thorpe going to do? They can’t let him anywhere near her. Even the sight of him made my heartbeat surge. Fear is pressing in on my chest. I associated his face with danger before you told me anything about him. They have to protect Callie.”

“They will.” He discarded the picture and the sketch on the nightstand, then clasped her shoulders. “I’ll put the picture away for now. Take a deep breath. Relax.” He waited until she’d complied. “Any chance you saw him when you were very young?”

Filtering back through her memories, she knew he hadn’t come from her recent past. “Probably. It’s the only thing that adds up.”

“But you can’t place him?” When she shook her head, Joaquin caressed her shoulders with his thumbs, a gentle comforting. “All right. Put it in the back of your head for now. Maybe something will occur to you. But don’t be scared. You’re safe with me. I’ll keep you that way.”