Mercy by HelenKay Dimon Read Free Book Online

we are.”

FIV E
    The leather chair squeaked as Becca leaned forward and stared at the sign-in on the screen. Figuring out Jarrett’s convoluted password would be impossible without an intricate computer program, a tech expert and hours to analyze.
    Not that she truly cared, whatever his current crimes, except to the extent she needed him out of jail for now. That was all. She wouldn’t let any other attachment or concern grow. She absolutely refused to worry about him. She’d wasted far too many hours on that useless task already.
    Being back in the condo, up on the third floor and locked behind a wall of security, the rush of adrenaline that had been flowing through her and fueling all those fears bubbling in her mind slowed. Jarrett walked her into the building. He didn’t reach for a weapon or call his old contacts from the streets and have her hauled away. He put her in his most private space and bossed her around, but stopped before unleashing his fury with more than words.
    An attack could still come. The waiting and quiet could be a game, and she’d mentally prepared for that possibility, but the panic that assailed her the second she stepped in the alley had disappeared. At the realization her heartbeat eased back to a normal rate.
    Jarrett had to be in control and liked to deliver each sentence with a harsh bite to his words. She’d deal with that. The whip of need she experienced around him proved to be the bigger problem. Which was why she needed to get to work and get out of there as soon as possible.
    Even knowing he wouldn’t be dumb enough to write down a password, she eased the chair back and opened the top desk drawer. The sound almost drowned out the soft click of the front door closing in the other room. Almost.
    She shot to her feet with one hand clutched on the knot holding the towel together. The other reached for the desk lamp and yanked the cord from the wall. Not much of a weapon, but something in case a trained killer, and not Jarrett, lingered out there.
    With her back to the wall, she peeked around the hall corner and spied Jarrett right by the front door. Tall, angry and frowning in her exact direction. He excelled at that sort of thing.
    With the towel clutched tight against her chest and the lamp hanging loose in her other hand, she stepped out into the open living room. “It’s you.”
    The frown deepened. “Who else would it be?”
    “I don’t know. That’s kind of the point of me having this.” She held up her makeshift weapon, letting the plug scrape against the floor.
    “I see we have some confusion.”
    “About what?” But she knew. He was a man accustomed to having his rules followed and she’d violated quite a few since he walked out the door, including the asinine no-clothing one. She wasn’t clear what he knew or how, but she guessed something tipped him off or he wouldn’t be back so soon.
    “I thought I made my expectations clear.” The anger vibrating in his voice didn’t leave much room for mystery about his mood.
    She rushed to jump in before the anger festered. “I can explain.”
    His hands remained behind his back but his gaze narrowed at her interruption. “You have either developed a hearing issue or the entire purpose of your trip here has been a ruse.”
    The man’s paranoia was running in its usually high gear. “How do you figure that?”
    “One could see this little visit of yours, along with the claims of being chased and in danger, as a second attempt at a setup.”
    The lamp touched against her thigh as she lowered it. “You had me strip. You know I didn’t bring anything in with me.”
    Tension continued to pulse off of him. “Is that a denial?”
    “It’s the reality. I’m here to help
me
, not to hurt
you
.”
    His eyebrow lifted. “You were in my bedroom, a place I specifically prohibited you from going.”
    “Wrong.”
    “Excuse me?”
    She remembered the deadly soft tone. When he spoke like that, the unbending Jarrett