Page 10 of After The Storm
Chapter Four
Roman had onlya few seconds to size up the woman in front of him before she came at him like a madwoman. As beautiful as he thought she would be from her picture, Kate Sheridan also appeared to be out of her mind.
Her arms flailed in front of her as she lunged at him, doing nothing to a man his size. Even though her face looked menacing, well sort of, the way she tried to attack him made him want to laugh.
Pushing her back, he held his arm out to keep her far enough away so he could say something to let her know she didn’t need to act like this. As he moved to calm her, she caught his jaw with her nails and scratched him clear to his neck.
Stunned, he picked her up and pinned her to the bed. She looked up at him not with rage in her eyes but fear that bothered him.
“If you promise not to take another swing at me, I’ll let you up,” he said in a sincere voice he hoped would convince her to calm down.
It had the opposite effect, though. With a nasty scowl she tried to get free, kicking her legs out at him and pushing on his hands that still held her down by the shoulders.
“I’m not going to just let you kill me, you bastard!”
He leaned down close to her face and quietly said, “I’m not here to kill you, Kate. I’m here to help you.”
For a moment, she stilled and seemed to consider what he said, but then she shook her head and returned to trying to kick her way free. “You’re holding me down. Why would someone who wants to help me do that?”
Done with being calm, he raised his voice and barked, “Because you’re acting like a banshee. Now promise me you’ll behave yourself and I’ll let you up.”
Her eyes flashed pure anger. “Behave myself? Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. You don’t even know me. Let me up!”
Roman found this woman infuriating. Twice her size, he could crush her like a bug with no effort whatsoever, but still she fought with everything she had. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her courage, though.
He let go of her and backed up a step, hoping to show her that he wasn’t there to harm her. It didn’t work. She bolted toward the door, so he stepped in front of her.
Holding her by her wrists, he shook his head. “Kate, I’m not letting you leave, so you might as well stop trying.”
Even that didn’t work. Clearly still on the defensive, she refused to listen to what he said. No matter. He had a job to do, and he had no intentions of budging from that spot until she calmed down and listened to him.
She looked up at him, visibly confused. “Why? Who are you? If you’re not here to kill me, how did you find me?”
Roman raised his right hand and smiled. “I swear on my honor I’m not here to hurt you. We really don’t have time for me to explain who I am. I just need you to trust me.”
She stopped fighting him and for a brief moment, Kate stared up at him in a way that made her look vulnerable. Something about it triggered a reaction in him he hadn’t felt in forever. Bothered by it, he let go of her hands as he looked away.
As he fought back an emotion he’d sworn he’d never feel again, she sat down on the bed. “So I’m supposed to trust you, a perfect stranger? Maybe I should know your name then.”
Turning to face her, he watched as she rubbed her wrists from where he’d tightly held her. “Roman. My name is Roman.”
“Roman what?” she asked like he just said something odd.
“Just Roman. Get your stuff. We need to get out of here.”
She scowled again and mumbled “Just Roman” but she didn’t move.
Frustrated, he said sternly, “We have to go.”
Stubbornly, she crossed her arms and stared up into his eyes. “I know nothing about you, so why would I just up and leave with you, just Roman? Like, here’s a good question. How did you find me? No one knows I’m here. Well, except the people who may be trying to kill me. So how did you find me if you’re not here to kill me?”
Roman took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. He understood her being skeptical, but wasn’t it obvious he didn’t plan on killing her since he hadn’t done it yet? He could have at any point since he walked through the door.
Pinching his nose, he groaned. “Your friend Eve told the police you’d probably come here to hide out. Someone in the New Orleans Police Department let my firm know you needed help, and I was the lucky soul who got assigned to the mission. When you went out to get the paper, I spied you from across the street. So now that I’ve brought you up to speed, let’s go.”
Kate didn’t seem happy with his explanation, though. Holding her head, she began to pace back and forth in front of him across the room.
“God, Eve! Why would you tell the cops, of all people? Do you want to see them kill me?”