A Perfect Storm
Page 60
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“Was she a beauty like you?”
Good grief, how had this gotten so personal? She’d expected him to say crude stuff, to come on to her.
To be disgusting.
She hadn’t expected him to talk about her parents. She hadn’t expected him to expose the personal demons of her past.
“I don’t really know,” she lied. “We lost her a long time ago. I barely remember her.” If only that were true. She remembered her mother all too often.
It was her dad she’d like to forget.
“Grew up motherless, huh? So maybe you’re one of the wild ones, then. Is that it? Or has some lucky bastard already gentled you?”
Arizona stared at him, refusing to flinch, refusing to look away. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. But it sure felt as if he did, as if he looked at her and knew how her father had sold her, as if he could recognize the taint human trafficking had left on her soul.
Almost frozen in apprehension, Joel sat there watching the byplay. Janes stood right beside him, blocking any escape, using his presence to bully and intimidate.
And for poor Joel, that worked.
For her…yeah, she didn’t intimidate that easily. She just anticipated the moment when she’d get to knock him off his power trip.
But for now, for Joel and Quin and any other innocent person caught in this bastard’s net, she had to play it cool.
“Tame me? I don’t know what you mean.” Oh, Arizona, not coy enough. Play along. Tease. She forced a twittering laugh. “Whatever it is, it sounds naughty.”
Janes laughed, then cast a sideways look at the artist. “This one’s not for you, Joel.”
“Oh, but I wasn’t…” With them both looking at him, Joel cowered in on himself. “I wouldn’t. I swear.”
Arizona knew she had to temper her anger, but there was something about Terry Janes that rubbed her wrong, made it nearly impossible for her to play little Miss Innocent.
Understanding his level of immorality exaggerated everything about him, every look, smile, even the way he moved his hands and the tilt of his head. He could have been someone’s odd but favored uncle—instead, for many people, he’d become a living nightmare.
“Joel is fine. I appreciated his company.”
Stunned by her daring, Joel gaped at her. “No, no, I…I didn’t…”
“You’re defending him? Really?” Janes tugged at his goatee. Tone flat, infused with threat, he murmured, “Get lost, Joel. Now.”
In a near-panic, Joel started gathering up his papers. But before he’d finished, Janes hauled him out of the chair and sent him away with a shove. Papers and pencils scattered over the floor.
Mortified, Joel dropped to his knees to gather up everything.
* * *
WITH EVERY SECOND that passed, Spencer got more rigid. It was bad enough getting felt up by the woman now hoping to score with him. She thought arousal caused his growing tension. And under other circumstances, maybe, just maybe he’d have found the idea of sleeping with her a little less repugnant.
But now, this moment, he was so aware of Arizona tilting ever closer to violence that nothing and no one could divert his attention. Terry Janes’s deliberate cruelty toward the smaller man would cause Arizona to see red. He knew, because he abhorred bullying, too.
A surreptitious glance at his watch showed they had another twenty-two minutes. Not much time to come up with a solid plan to extricate her from the situation without notice.
But more than enough time for Arizona to start removing heads.
* * *
LOCKING HER TEETH against the need to lash out, Arizona made a move to help Joel.
Janes said, “Don’t.”
He spoke with such command that she paused. But she couldn’t bite back her censure. “That was cruel.”
“No, that’s life. Don’t make the mistake of encouraging him with kindness.” Leaning forward, Janes caught her hand and pulled it toward him so that she had to lean over the small round table. Now that he had her close, he didn’t have to speak loudly to be heard. “Joel is like a mongrel. If you feed him, he’ll never go away. Even with me kicking him every so often, he comes back.”
She could practically feel Joel’s trepidation as he struggled to collect his things off the floor. And she felt Janes’s intention, both sexual and controlling; he made no attempt at subtlety.
The reasons to demolish him kept adding up—especially when he reached out to finger her hair.
In a low, crooning voice, he murmured, “I bet you’re this silky and warm all over.”
Even though her skin crawled, Arizona didn’t pull away. The differences between Spencer and a scumbag like Terry Janes had never been more obvious. She should be concentrating on her next move, but instead, she thought about how Spencer made her feel. Around him, her worries lifted. He gave her respect and affection.
He gave her equality.
Such a hero.
Sure that she’d find him seething, Arizona glanced toward Spencer. He was still in the same spot, sitting in the booth.
But the a-hole now had the redhead sitting with him, all spooned up to his side, his eyes closed as she sucked on his neck, one of his hands cupped over her rear.
That son of a…
Yeah, so maybe it was for cover, but did he have to be so convincing?
So that no one would notice her anger, Arizona let her gaze slide right on past him and turned it into a “searching for an escape” type of look.
Good grief, how had this gotten so personal? She’d expected him to say crude stuff, to come on to her.
To be disgusting.
She hadn’t expected him to talk about her parents. She hadn’t expected him to expose the personal demons of her past.
“I don’t really know,” she lied. “We lost her a long time ago. I barely remember her.” If only that were true. She remembered her mother all too often.
It was her dad she’d like to forget.
“Grew up motherless, huh? So maybe you’re one of the wild ones, then. Is that it? Or has some lucky bastard already gentled you?”
Arizona stared at him, refusing to flinch, refusing to look away. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. But it sure felt as if he did, as if he looked at her and knew how her father had sold her, as if he could recognize the taint human trafficking had left on her soul.
Almost frozen in apprehension, Joel sat there watching the byplay. Janes stood right beside him, blocking any escape, using his presence to bully and intimidate.
And for poor Joel, that worked.
For her…yeah, she didn’t intimidate that easily. She just anticipated the moment when she’d get to knock him off his power trip.
But for now, for Joel and Quin and any other innocent person caught in this bastard’s net, she had to play it cool.
“Tame me? I don’t know what you mean.” Oh, Arizona, not coy enough. Play along. Tease. She forced a twittering laugh. “Whatever it is, it sounds naughty.”
Janes laughed, then cast a sideways look at the artist. “This one’s not for you, Joel.”
“Oh, but I wasn’t…” With them both looking at him, Joel cowered in on himself. “I wouldn’t. I swear.”
Arizona knew she had to temper her anger, but there was something about Terry Janes that rubbed her wrong, made it nearly impossible for her to play little Miss Innocent.
Understanding his level of immorality exaggerated everything about him, every look, smile, even the way he moved his hands and the tilt of his head. He could have been someone’s odd but favored uncle—instead, for many people, he’d become a living nightmare.
“Joel is fine. I appreciated his company.”
Stunned by her daring, Joel gaped at her. “No, no, I…I didn’t…”
“You’re defending him? Really?” Janes tugged at his goatee. Tone flat, infused with threat, he murmured, “Get lost, Joel. Now.”
In a near-panic, Joel started gathering up his papers. But before he’d finished, Janes hauled him out of the chair and sent him away with a shove. Papers and pencils scattered over the floor.
Mortified, Joel dropped to his knees to gather up everything.
* * *
WITH EVERY SECOND that passed, Spencer got more rigid. It was bad enough getting felt up by the woman now hoping to score with him. She thought arousal caused his growing tension. And under other circumstances, maybe, just maybe he’d have found the idea of sleeping with her a little less repugnant.
But now, this moment, he was so aware of Arizona tilting ever closer to violence that nothing and no one could divert his attention. Terry Janes’s deliberate cruelty toward the smaller man would cause Arizona to see red. He knew, because he abhorred bullying, too.
A surreptitious glance at his watch showed they had another twenty-two minutes. Not much time to come up with a solid plan to extricate her from the situation without notice.
But more than enough time for Arizona to start removing heads.
* * *
LOCKING HER TEETH against the need to lash out, Arizona made a move to help Joel.
Janes said, “Don’t.”
He spoke with such command that she paused. But she couldn’t bite back her censure. “That was cruel.”
“No, that’s life. Don’t make the mistake of encouraging him with kindness.” Leaning forward, Janes caught her hand and pulled it toward him so that she had to lean over the small round table. Now that he had her close, he didn’t have to speak loudly to be heard. “Joel is like a mongrel. If you feed him, he’ll never go away. Even with me kicking him every so often, he comes back.”
She could practically feel Joel’s trepidation as he struggled to collect his things off the floor. And she felt Janes’s intention, both sexual and controlling; he made no attempt at subtlety.
The reasons to demolish him kept adding up—especially when he reached out to finger her hair.
In a low, crooning voice, he murmured, “I bet you’re this silky and warm all over.”
Even though her skin crawled, Arizona didn’t pull away. The differences between Spencer and a scumbag like Terry Janes had never been more obvious. She should be concentrating on her next move, but instead, she thought about how Spencer made her feel. Around him, her worries lifted. He gave her respect and affection.
He gave her equality.
Such a hero.
Sure that she’d find him seething, Arizona glanced toward Spencer. He was still in the same spot, sitting in the booth.
But the a-hole now had the redhead sitting with him, all spooned up to his side, his eyes closed as she sucked on his neck, one of his hands cupped over her rear.
That son of a…
Yeah, so maybe it was for cover, but did he have to be so convincing?
So that no one would notice her anger, Arizona let her gaze slide right on past him and turned it into a “searching for an escape” type of look.
