Page 11 of After The Storm
On one of her passes, he grabbed her, spun her around to face him, and held her in place by the shoulders. They didn’t have time for this. This woman needed to get her damn head together.
“Did you not understand me? We need to get out of here before the people who want to kill you get here.”
“I know full well what you said, but since Eve told the very people who would like to see me dead, it’s probably too late.”
“Who do you think wants to kill you?” he asked as she turned out of his hold and began pacing again.
Kate stopped and glared at him in exasperation. “The police! Aren’t you listening to me?”
“Why do you think the New Orleans police want to kill you? Nothing I was told makes that sound even remotely the case.”
She shook her head and huffed her disgust at what he said. Throwing up her hands, she snapped, “And just what were you told? Because if the cops were the ones doing the telling, that explains why you’re stalling and trying to keep me here.”
Roman felt his mouth drop open as he looked at her in shock. He was the one stalling and keeping her there? This woman was certifiable.
“Rewind a minute and you’ll see how wrong you are. I’m the one who was just trying to get you to leave here with me.”
Kate jabbed her finger toward him. “Ah-ha! See? You keep getting me to argue with you so I won’t leave. You’re trying to keep me here. Why? Is your partner running late and you need to waste time until they get here? Is that it?”
He didn’t give a damn how beautiful this woman was. She clearly had lost her mind. Roman didn’t have the patience or interest in finding out what had sent her around the bend, though. He just needed to get her the hell out of there before whoever had killed her boss and his client showed up looking for her.
Taking a step toward her, he reached out to grab her by the arm. She anticipated his movement, though, and spun away out of his hold once more. Jesus, was this woman a ballerina in her spare time?
“We don’t have time for this craziness. I don’t know what your problem is, but we have to go. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help you. You need help, whether you know it or not, Kate. I’m that help, so let’s get moving.”
She held up her hands in front of her as if to signal her surrender, and for a split second, Roman felt they were making some progress. But then she began talking again, and any progress he had hoped for evaporated into thin air.
“Whoa! You don’t make the decisions here, pal. I don’t even know who you are, just Roman. So until you give me some more details about who you are and why you’re here, I’m not going anywhere with you.”
At that moment, he had to admit he missed the teenage mooner and his psycho parents. While they had been borderline insane, he at least could figure out what their motives were and Karen, the schoolteacher, had been a true delight compared to this woman.
He tried to keep his calm and quietly asked, “What do you need me to tell you to convince you I don’t want to hurt you since it’s obviously not enough evidence that I haven’t done anything yet and I’ve been standing in this motel room for the last five minutes? You do realize you’re like half my size. I could have snapped you in half easier than a twig two seconds after I walked in here.”
A look of disgust came over her face, and as her right hip shot out, she set her hand on it in defiance. “No, you couldn’t have. I know how to defend myself, just Roman.”
The chuckle that erupted from his throat couldn’t be stifled, even if he wanted to stop it. She thought she was tough when she was anything but.
“No, you don’t. You know how to flail around like a fish on the end of a line. Anyone looking to hurt you could have had you down on that bed and under their complete control in a matter of seconds.”
Instead of frightening her, his words only made her angrier. She took a step toward him and stopped about a foot away, craning her neck to look up at him.
“I don’t know who you think I am, but no one has complete control over me, buddy. And as for me being down on that bed—”
Roman cut her off before she got too far into her rant. “Enough. If I tell you all I can about me, will you at least try to think logically so we can get the hell out of here?”
Kate opened her mouth to protest, probably hating the part where he more than insinuated that she wasn’t acting sane, but after a few moments finally said, “Fine.”
“As I told you half a dozen times already, my name is Roman. Your friend told the police that she thought you were in trouble, and someone from the New Orleans Police Department called the firm I work for, Project Artemis.”
While he spoke, Kate relaxed and seemed to listen. Roman expected her to lash out at any time, though, so he kept his guard up as he continued to explain how and why he’d come to help her.
“My entire job is to safeguard you from danger. I promise you I mean you no harm.”
Kate’s shoulders sagged and she let out a huge sigh. “Okay, just Roman. What exactly is this Project Artemis anyway? I’ve never heard of it. Are you guys like the X-Men or something?”
She didn’t mean to be cute, but he couldn’t help but smile at her question. “No, we’re not like the X-Men. We’re just men who work for two people who’ve decided to dedicate their lives to protecting women like you, women in danger. Nothing supernatural or special about that. Just good people trying to do good things for women who need our help.”
“Just men? Aren’t there any women who do your job?” she asked, narrowing her eyes to slits.