Sin City Temptation (Kimani Hotties), page 13
“Well...what do I have to do?” he croaked when she straddled him.
“Well.” Her hands glided down his hard chest, her lips following behind them. Kissing. Licking. Sucking. “You have to let me continue guarding this body.”
Chapter 13
“I can’t believe it has taken this long for a witness to come forward,” Gunner said, finishing his omelet that Trinity had prepared. A week after they had returned from New Orleans, Trinity had invited Maxwell over for breakfast. He called to let them know that the Las Vegas Police Department had caught a break with the poker player incidents.
“Was she able to give a description?”
Maxwell drank from his glass of juice. “Yeah, according to her, he’s a dark-skinned black guy, tall, with short hair.”
“That’s it?” Gunner asked, disappointed that there wasn’t more to go on. “That could be anyone.”
“I know. She went through loads of photos in our database, but didn’t identify anyone yet. She agreed to look through more later today.”
“So basically, you guys are back to square one,” Trinity said and squeezed Gunner’s hand.
“Basically, but she did say he walked with a limp and that she thought he was a poker player. She’d seen him at a couple of tournaments.” Maxwell leaned back in the dining room chair, rubbing his stomach.
“So what about the videotapes?” Trinity asked. “Did you guys notice anyone suspicious going in and out of the bathroom around the time of the attack?”
Maxwell shook his head. “The tapes were too fuzzy. We could see a figure leave the bathroom in a hurry around the time of the attack, but there’s no way we can do a definite ID. Our tech guys are trying to clean the tape up some. I have no doubt that we’re going to get this person.”
“Yeah, but will it be too late?” Gunner mumbled. There were three more weeks before the championship. Though he hadn’t been involved in any other incidents, he couldn’t help but wonder if someone would try to get at him again.
“Trinity, girl, you still got it. I haven’t had a good, home-cooked meal since I visited Momma in LA.” His appreciative gaze wandered around the room. “Gunner, I still can’t believe you actually have furniture in this place. It’s about damn time.”
“What?” Gunner looked at him, not believing what his friend was saying. “Man, you’ve been living in your house longer than I have and you don’t have furniture.”
“I have furniture in the rooms that count.” He smirked.
“You both should be ashamed of yourselves.” Trinity stood and started clearing the table. “It doesn’t make any sense that two grown men with big houses and money don’t have furniture.”
“So did you pick out everything?” Maxwell asked Gunner, ignoring his sister’s rant.
Gunner shook his head. “Nah, man, this is all your sister’s doing.” He glanced around the room, taking in the new chandelier, dining room table and wall art. Thanks to her, his first floor was fully furnished. He had to admit that he liked the house before, but with Trinity’s touches, it actually felt like a home.
“So, can I get you gentlemen anything else?” Trinity asked, collecting the rest of the dishes.
Gunner watched her move around the room. She had been in his home for over six weeks and he didn’t even want to think about his life going back to the way it was before she had arrived. Spending every day with her was how he envisioned spending the rest of his life.
“Gunner?” Trinity stood with her hand on his shoulder, looking at him expectantly. “Anything else?”
“Ah, nah, sweetheart, this is good.” He took in her attire. Dressed the way she was in a skintight T-shirt and yoga pants with no socks or shoes, she was a temptation he could barely pass up.
Gunner’s gaze followed her across the room until she left. If Maxwell wasn’t there, he’d be following behind her, convincing her to forgo yoga and spend the day with him trying out some new moves in his bed.
“So what’s going on between you two? What happened to the arguing or ignoring each other? You know...the usual communication style between you guys.”
Gunner shrugged. “When you spend every day with someone, you find a way to get along.” And boy, were they getting along.
Maxwell poured another cup of coffee. “Question is, just how well are you guys getting along? You haven’t been able to take your eyes off her since I arrived. And Trinity’s not a touchy-feely type of person, yet she couldn’t seem to stop touching you.”
Gunner heard the edge in his friend’s voice. “So what? You just been sitting there analyzing our every move? Why don’t you use some of your observation skills and find the bastard who ran me down a couple of weeks ago?” Gunner’s gut twisted into a knot as he tried to rein in his anger. He and Maxwell often discussed the women they were seeing, but Gunner wasn’t ready to talk about Trinity.
Maxwell stared him down. If he had been a cartoon character, smoke would have been coming out of his ears. Anger radiated off him as his nostrils flared and he sat clenching his jaw, his chest heaving up and down.
Gunner fell back against his seat and sighed. “I care about your sister. A lot.”
“How the hell you gon’ say some crap like that to me when I know the type of player you are?”
Gunner leaned forward and gripped the table. “In all the years that you’ve known me, have you ever heard me admit to caring about a woman?” he said, his voice low and barely controlled. “Your sister means more to me than...than...” Gunner couldn’t find the words to express what Trinity meant to him “...than anyone in my life. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Even fight you.”
They stared each other in the eyes, seconds, then minutes, ticking by. They were brothers and might have had their share of arguments, but they had never raised their fists at each other. But Gunner would if he had to.
Maxwell huffed. “Hurt her, and I will beat your ass.”
Gunner sat back and smirked. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”
They both looked up when Trinity hurried into the room, panting. Fear gripped Gunner’s body at the frantic look in her eyes and how she was wringing her hands. He leaped from his seat.
“Trinity?” His arm went around her waist when it looked as if her legs would give out. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” She was not a fragile woman, so whatever happened had to be bad.
Maxwell stood on the other side of her, gripping her elbow. “Here, sit her down.”
“No. No. There’s no time.” Trinity wiggled out of their hold and swiped at a few tears that slipped through. “I have to go,” she said in a rush. “Connie just called. Lucy was in an accident and they don’t know how bad it is. I need to get to LA.” She turned to Gunner. “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t know if I’ll make it back before tomorrow night’s tournament. I’ll have someone here first thing in the morning to—”
Gunner shook his head. “Not necessary. I’m going with you.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Have you made flight arrangements yet?”
“No, but—”
“Good. I’ll take care of it.” He dialed the pilot he often used when he needed a private jet at the last minute.
“Gunner.” Trinity yanked on the front of his shirt to get his attention. “I can’t let you do that. I don’t know how long I’ll need to be there. I know how important the next couple of weeks are for you and I don’t want to be the reason you miss any events.”
“And I don’t want you traveling by yourself when you’re clearly upset.” Actually, he didn’t want her traveling alone, period. He knew she could take care of herself, but he had always been the protective type where women were concerned. And with Trinity, not only had his protective instincts kicked up a notch, but he also wanted to be the one to take care of her.
She released a heavy sigh. He knew she wanted to argue, but the worry for her friend was taking precedence. He could see it in her eyes and could tell by the way she paced in front of him. She was definitely worried.
“I don’t know, Gunner. Maybe—”
“Trinity—” Maxwell put his arm around her shoulder, forcing her to stop moving “—you’re in no condition to travel alone. Look at you. You’re shaking. If I wasn’t on duty later today, I’d go with you. It’ll make me feel better knowing that Gunner will be by your side.”
Gunner kept his gaze on Trinity while he made the arrangements. Maxwell was right. She was definitely in no condition to travel alone. He had never seen her so rattled before. She had told him all about her friends Lucy, Fred and Henry. He knew they meant the world to her.
“There’ll be two of us and we need to leave as soon as possible,” Gunner told the pilot on the phone. “Sure, I’ll hold.”
Still holding the cell to his ear, Gunner reached out and pulled Trinity close, needing to hold her for his own piece of mind. She wrapped her arms around his waist, laid her head against his chest and sighed. He placed a kiss against her temple, not believing how quickly she’d gotten into his system. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
* * *
A few hours later, Trinity pushed open Lucy’s hospital room door, with Gunner right on her heels. Considering she was the one who was supposed to be guarding him, she appreciated the way he stepped in and took control. Prior to boarding the plane, it was as if she couldn’t breathe due to worrying about Lucy. Shortly before takeoff, Connie had called to give her more details. Lucy had been hit by a car and was sporting a broken leg and a bruised hip. Trinity was thankful that her injuries weren’t any worse, but at Lucy’s age, those were bad enough.
Relief flooded through Trinity when she walked in and saw Lucy awake with pillows propped behind her. Trinity gave her a quick once-over. She looked even thinner than the last time she had seen her.
Lucy’s eyes lit up when she noticed Trinity, but her gaze went immediately to Gunner and a small smile played around her lips. Trinity tried to fight her own smile, knowing that Lucy was going to give her the business about the handsome man by her side.
“Well, what do we have here?” Lucy said. Her voice was weaker than usual, yet her gaze didn’t waiver. “I knew our girl was on assignment, but she failed to mention how handsome you are. I assume you’re her client.”
Gunner laughed and stepped forward. “Gunner Brooks, and I assume you’re Ms. Lucy.”
“Ah, so she’s been talking about me. What’d she tell you?”
“Never mind what I told him. We came to check on you.” Trinity moved closer to the bed. “I leave you alone for a couple of months, and you end up here. How do you feel?”
“I’m okay.”
“What happened? I heard you were hit by a car.”
Lucy gingerly readjusted herself on the bed. “That’s pretty much it. I left Fred and Henry for a minute, needing to walk and loosen up the old bones. I stepped off a curb and—” she shrugged “—the next thing I knew I was here. A place where I can’t afford to be.”
Trinity knew paying for the hospital stay was foremost on Lucy’s mind. “Luce, you just worry about getting better. I heard that you have a number of other health issues going on. I, for one, am glad you’re here.”
Lucy huffed. “Well, I won’t be here long. I’m checking myself out.”
“No! You’re staying right here until you’re all better!”
“Trinity,” Gunner said, a hint of warning in his tone, his hand on her shoulder. The last thing Trinity wanted to do was upset Lucy.
“I was worried sick about you,” Trinity said, her tone calmer.
“Ms. Lucy, you don’t have to worry about your hospital bill,” Gunner said. “Trinity’s not going to relax until she knows that you’re well taken care of. And I can’t relax knowing that she’s worried about you. The bill will be taken care of.”
Trinity looked up and met his gaze. She fell in love with him more and more every day, but when he did things like this... “Gunner—”
“Don’t say anything. Just sit here and catch up with your friend. I’ll take care of everything else.” He kissed her lips and then left the room.
Trinity stared after Gunner. There were times when the past couple of months felt like a fantasy. A few months ago, if anyone had told her that she’d land her fattest contract ever, be attracted to a gambler and then fall in love with the man of her dreams, she would have laughed them out of the room. Gunner was turning out to be more than she could have ever imagined.
“Ahem.” Lucy cleared her throat.
Trinity almost forgot Lucy was in the room and was slow to turn in her direction.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Well...”
Lucy laughed and reached for Trinity’s hand. “You don’t have to say anything. Even with my poor eyesight, I can see the love between you two. I’m so happy for you, Trinity. If anyone deserves the happily-ever-after, it’s you.”
And you. Trinity wanted to say, but knew that Lucy would blow her off. “I think it’s time we called your family.” When she felt Lucy begin to pull away, Trinity squeezed her hand. They had talked enough about her and Gunner. It was time she talked some sense into her friend. Trinity had agreed to go back to Vegas with Gunner at least until the end of the poker finals, but she knew she couldn’t leave Lucy without first knowing that she’d be taken care of. “You can’t continue living on the streets, Luce. Your family loves you and wants a relationship with you. Please tell me you’ll consider it. Let me call your daughter and tell her what happened.”
Lucy closed her eyes. “I don’t know if I can face them. I feel like such a failure.”
“You are not a failure! Life has dealt you a bad hand, yet you continue to press forward. You never gave up.” When Lucy gave her a yeah, right look, Trinity clarified. “You might be homeless, but you haven’t given up on life. Despite the little that you have, you’re always giving to others and you have such a beautiful spirit. It’s time that you reconnect with your family so that they can experience just how wonderful you are.”
They talked for a while longer and Trinity wanted to do a happy dance when Lucy agreed to let Trinity contact her family. Trinity didn’t waste any time calling Lucy’s daughter, who agreed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
An hour later, Trinity stepped out of Lucy’s room, glad to see Gunner.
“Perfect timing.” Gunner pulled her into his embrace, placing a kiss against her expectant lips. “Why don’t we go grab a late lunch before we go see your friends Fred and Henry?” Assuming Lucy was okay, they were scheduled to leave LA early the next morning in order to get back in time for Gunner’s tournament.
Trinity wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. The vast array of emotions that she had experienced through the day had worn her out. She was beyond tired and longed to climb into bed and snuggle up with Gunner.
“Okay,” she finally said. Trinity dropped her arms and Gunner grabbed hold of her hand, heading for the exit. They rounded a corner and Trinity stopped in her tracks, surprised to see Connie and the man standing next to her.
“What is it?” Gunner squeezed her hand and glanced around until his gaze landed on Connie.
“Hey, sis.” Connie greeted her with a hug. Trinity had to admit that it was good seeing her best friend. Too bad she couldn’t say the same for the man that was with her.
“Trinity.”
“Ryan.” Ryan Coleman, her business manager. No, make that her former business manager, who looked as though he’d rather be anywhere than there in front of her. Trinity was sure that the lethal glint he probably saw swimming in her eyes wasn’t helping with his discomfort.
Trinity made introductions.
“Can we all go somewhere and talk?” Connie prompted, her gaze on Trinity. “You need to hear Ryan out before you leave town.”
They followed Ryan and Connie to the corner of an empty waiting room, where they sat at a small table that had four chairs. There was no excuse for what Ryan had done to her. But by the looks of him, she could tell that he’d been through something traumatic. The dark circles beneath his light brown eyes made it look as though he hadn’t slept in a while. He also appeared to have lost a considerable amount of weight. God, she hoped he wasn’t on drugs. He was too handsome and too smart to go down that road.
“First, let me say that I’m sorry,” Ryan started. He and Connie sat across from Trinity and Gunner. “I never meant to hurt you or put your company in jeopardy. You’ve been like a sister to me and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin our relationship.”
“Then why did you?” Trinity tried to keep her anger at bay, but between being tired and being mad as hell at Ryan, she couldn’t do it. “I could have lost everything, and all you have to say is sorry?”
“Trinity, just hear him out,” Connie said.
“Well, start talking, dammit!”
Gunner placed his hand on Trinity’s thigh and squeezed. She met his gaze and exhaled before returning her attention to Ryan.
Ryan stared down at his hands before lifting his gaze to meet Trinity’s. “I got into some trouble with a loan shark.”
“What?” Trinity couldn’t believe it. Anyone who knew Ryan knew that he was the most pulled-together person there was. At one time, he had been one of the most sought-after financial advisors in LA. He had dual bachelor’s degrees in finance and international business, as well as an MBA. How was it possible that he had ended up in trouble with loan sharks?
He rubbed his forehead. “I know. No one is more surprised than I am that I got myself into this mess.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “A few years ago, when I was in school to get my MBA, I ran into some financial trouble. My mother was ill. My father had just died. And I lost my financial aid due to some glitch in the system. At any rate, a friend of mine told me about this small company that loaned money—quick cash. I knew I could earn the money I needed for school, eventually, but I needed money in order to register for my classes for that following semester.”
