Chapter Eighteen.

Luke and I walked into the meeting room, or interrogation room as it was officially called, at the police station, and my stomach clenched. As usual, Luke showed no signs of anxiety. His jaw was set rigid with pure confidence. The walls were bare and the room was sparingly furnished, hosting only a table and three chairs. Luke and I sat down next to each other on the far end of the table and waited for Brian to be brought in. The sheriff had agreed to let us talk to him. It was the least the department could do, the sheriff had told us. After all, we had saved them a lot of police work yesterday.

We waited about five minutes before they brought him in. The moment he saw us, he rolled his eyes. He was placed in the lone chair on the opposite side of the table and the officer handcuffed his wrists to a solid metal bar bolted to the tabletop.

He spat on the floor. "What the hell do you two want?"

I couldn't look at him but Luke spoke with a clear voice and faced him straight on. "I'll get straight to the point here. Yesterday, you mentioned something about getting my stash. What did you mean by that?"

Brian started laughing. "You are so fucked and you don't even know it."

Luke leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you enlighten me a little?"

"Why the fuck should I do that? I don't give a shit about you." He slumped back in his chair and looked away as if trying to get the attention of the guard. I could see it in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, this meeting was over.

"You're not going to dismiss me that quickly. I have a proposition. Maybe you would like us to keep quiet about your assault on us the other day. It could easily add another five years' prison time to your conviction if the prosecutor knew about it. If you tell us what we want to know, the police don't have to hear about any of that."

The handcuffs clanked as Brian came to attention in his chair. The long deep look we exchanged sent a cold chill through me. This guy was pure evil. His mouth curved into an arrogant chuckle. He waited for a moment and then snorted. "Okay, what the hell. You are probably fucked anyway. If you really want to know, I'll tell you."

Luke nodded. "Go on." His voice was quiet but held an undertone of cold contempt.

"Ever since I first saw your sorry ass a few weeks ago at The Bar, I knew I had seen you before. I just couldn't pinpoint where. It wasn't until two days ago that it hit me. I was watching some boxing event on TV and I remembered. You are that kick-boxing dude that got banned from all fights last year for almost killing a guy in a bar." Brian pointed at Luke and my breath burned in my throat. I was getting that nauseous feeling again.

"Anyway, I figured that it was strange that a Kung Fu fellow like you would hang around here for so long, so I put in a call to an old cell buddy of mine. He used to help out with some fights in New York and knows everything and everybody connected to the fighting scene. He was quite interested in hearing about you. He told me everything. That you are still fighting in the underground league, but now you were looking for a lot of gambling money that had gotten stolen. A quarter of a million. So, I put two and two together and I figured you had gotten to the money and were hiding out here until it was safe to go back. That's why I followed you the other day to your little rendezvous at the bar. When I saw you, I pretended to be drunk and stupid so I could get you alone. Beat the shit out of you and your little girlfriend. Make you tell me where you stashed the money."

I flashed him a look of disdain. Pretended to be stupid? I don't think so. I felt myself sinking further and further into my chair as the reality of what he was saying hit me.

"Everything was going great, except I underestimated your speed. I know that Kung Fu mumbo jumbo is a bunch of bull. You just got fucking lucky." A nasty laugh snarled from his lips and his chiding tone made me angry.

That arrogant bastard actually believed he could take on a professional MMA fighter? He was even dumber than I thought. But worrying about Brian's lack of brain cells wasn't exactly my top priority right now. Maybe Brian's old cell buddy had told Bruno, the promoter, that Luke was here. What if he came here? The knots in my stomach twisted again, and I gripped the hard, cold arms of the metal-frame chair. I had no idea how powerful this kind of network could be, but I had seen enough gangster movies to know that we could be in serious trouble. I licked my lower lip and managed to quell the wild rantings of my imagination for the time being. A moment later, an officer came into the room to let us know our time was up. Oh, it could be...literally.

I threw a last hostile glare at Brian as the guards took him out, and while I followed Luke out to his bike, my mind raced with possible future scenarios. What if they were coming for Luke? Would we be safe or would Luke and I end up like some kind of modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, lovers on the run?

Neither of us said a word on the ride back to Luke's house. The day was sunny and bright as we rode along, a picture-perfect vacation day in Summerville, the quaint town where people came to get away from the stress of their lives. How come mine wasn't so peachy?

We walked into his house and I stood in the living room, blankly staring as Luke set down his helmet. He threw his keys on the coffee table and slumped on the couch. He seemed lost in thought, and I was still standing in the same spot when I finally broke the silence.

"Luke, what should we do?"

Luke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his bulky thighs. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and finger. "I think we should take a trip. You never got to Charleston. Let's go there for a week or so. It would be best for the safety of everybody, Emma, Michelle, and Eric. Once Bruno finds out we are gone, he would assume we have left and try to find us elsewhere. After that, we can go anywhere. Come back here or maybe even go back to New York. Try to somehow get out of this mess. But we can't stay here. It's too risky. Bruno could use Emma and Michele to get to us."

"Would he really go to all this trouble for a quarter of a million?" I asked incredulously.

Luke bored a serious gaze straight into me. "Trust me. He would go to all this trouble for a lot less than that."

"What if we gave him the money back? I still have most of it."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that. He would still want to make an example of us. If he let us get away with something like this alive, others may try to steal money from him."

I couldn't wrap my mind around that, but I trusted Luke completely.

He reached out his hand, palm up. "Come here, baby."

I moved over and took his hand. He pulled me down to the couch next to him and put his arm around my shoulder. My eyes lifted to Luke's face. I needed to see the certainty in his eyes that this could work. His face was so handsome, serene and soft with anticipation. I could look into those eyes forever. My heart fluttered and in that moment, I knew I could do this. Emotions welled up inside of me, strong like a rising tide, and I wanted to unleash it all. I wanted to fall into his arms and kiss him, revel in the warmth and protection he provided me.

I leaned my head on Luke's shoulder and he circled both arms around me. I ran my hand up his muscular arm, tracing the definition in his skin. I leaned over and kissed the bulk of his muscle where his biceps popped up, then laid my cheek on it and closed my eyes. His hand stroked my hair. "Dani, I'm glad I found you."

I giggled, and rubbed my cheek, like a cat brushing her whiskers against his solid arm. "You'll have to thank Hanna for introducing us." I snuggled into his chest and though I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was smiling. He always made me feel safe.

He played with my hair and continued, "When I told you I'd fallen for you, I really meant it. You're beautiful, warm, caring, and it just feels right being with you. If I have to be on the run with anyone, I'm glad it's with you."

He took my face in both of hands and pulled me to his lips. My heart jumped and my pulse quickened. My mouth parted, and sucked in those delectable lips, twisting into the kiss, unleashing all the emotions I had squelched before. I pulled back from the kiss, trembling, and threw my arms around his neck, burying my head in his shoulder. My long hair pooled forward, and I was glad it shielded him from seeing my tears.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay." He drew me back and held my face again, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"Okay," I squeaked. Time to suck it up. I exhaled and cleared my head.

"We will leave tomorrow morning. You should pack lightly. I'm afraid we won't be able to fit your suitcase on my motorcycle, only your backpack."

That was okay. I would just leave my stuff with Emma. I smiled and whispered to Luke, "Sounds good, baby. I'm nervous but excited."

"That's my girl," Luke said with a smile and his warm lips found mine again. My heart pounded in my chest as we rolled back onto the couch, our bodies stretched out the length of it, entwined in a passionate embrace. A week with Luke in Charleston sounded like a great vacation.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" Michele begged. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too, sweetie. Don't worry. I'll come back soon." She jumped down off her perch on the kitchen counter and threw her arms around me in a big hug.

Goodbyes were awkward for me. They always felt stiff and unnatural. During the last few weeks, I had come to know and love these beautiful people so much. Emma's crazy floral designs ended up making me feel like part of the family, even though I was a guest at her Bed and Breakfast.

Emma handed me a paper sack. "I made you lunch." Oh no-Emma's lousy home cooking. That I wouldn't miss. "Be careful what you eat down there in Miami. I hear they have mostly spicy Cuban food."

I chuckled. "I'm sure they have other food than just Cuban. Don't worry. I'll be good." I couldn't tell Emma where we really were going, in case some thug from back home came around inquiring about us.

We said our last goodbyes as the doorbell rang. I opened the door to Luke's smiling face.

"Ready?" he asked, handing me the helmet.

I nodded and slung my bulging backpack over my shoulder. I waved to Emma and Michelle on the porch and watched them go back into the house.

Luke noticed the expression on my face as I took one long look back. He kissed me lightly on the lips and said, "Don't worry. Everything will be great."

I put on the helmet and planted my butt on the back seat of his bike. This time I had on proper protective riding boots. I had bought them with some of the money from Franco's suitcase. Just as I adjusted my chin strap, Luke's cell phone buzzed.

"Ahh, two seconds," he said, and checked the number glowing on his phone. His expression hardened when he saw the name of the caller.

"Fuck."

He put the phone to his ear. "Mr. Costello, what can I help you with?"

Oh no, that was the promoter.

Luke listened for a second then replied, "Sorry, I'll have to decline that request. You see, I'm going on a little road trip." Luke was smiling but suddenly his face froze. He turned his back to me and walked away. I strained to hear the conversation but he was out of range. Damn it, he did that on purpose. My heart started beating so fast I was afraid it would jump out of my chest.

One slow stress-filled minute ticked by and finally, Luke came back. His phone was back in his pocket. A swift shadow of anger swept across his face and it was transformed. A sudden thin chill hung on the edge of his words when he said, "Change of plans. We are going back to New York, today."

I looked at him, flushed and confused. "We can't go back yet. Bruno will find us."

Luke's eyes were cold and black as he said, "Dani...Bruno has my daughter."

Continues in Raw Temptation. Turn the page to keep reading.

Raw Temptation.

Eve Carter.

Chapter One.

Dani.

I couldn't speak, could barely breathe. The sun was shining and there was enough of a gust in the light wind to lift a wisp of my hair, but I still couldn't breathe. I blinked and stared at Luke, my head spinning with the sudden announcement. I glanced over at Luke's Harley, leaning on its kickstand, packed to the hilt with our bags. I'd been all set to go to Florida with him when he'd just completely blindsided me, and in a flash, I realized he was right. We had to go to New York instead. The thought of it made my stomach clench. I wasn't sure which was worse, the change in plans that now we were going back to the one place that wasn't safe for either of us, or that Luke had a daughter.

All right, so I didn't really know him very well, but I thought we'd put the lying behind us when he'd confessed the truth. He wasn't John Connors, a writer crossing the country on his motorcycle who just happened to bump into me in Summerville, but rather Luke "The Renegade" Romero, an underground MMA fighter sent after me by his promoter to steal back money I'd stolen from a bookie.

It wasn't like I'd been honest from the start, either. I'd told him my name was Hanna Carrington and that I was heading to Charleston to visit relatives, when the truth was that my name was Daniella Carrington, as if some little bit of truth by keeping my last name the same gave me any kind of redemption. I was just a liar on the run from the cops because I'd taken a bag of two hundred, fifty thousand dollars off of a guy who'd dropped dead in the hotel where I worked.

After Luke had helped me and my friend, Emma, rescue Emma's daughter from her bastard of an ex, I'd thought we were starting with a clean slate. No lies. We had made a plan to lay low in Florida, hide from everyone who was after us. Then just as we were about to get on the motorcycle sitting in front of Emma's bed and breakfast, Luke had gotten a call from Bruno, his promoter. I'd assumed Luke would tell me it was Bruno threatening to hunt Luke to the ends of the earth. Instead, Luke hung up and told me we had to go back to New York City because Bruno had his daughter.

"You have a daughter." For some reason it came out a statement rather than a question, like it would make his hiding the fact easier to accept. How could such a crucial piece of information about someone not come up when you first meet him? Most people are proud of their kids; they brag about how cute they are and show a million pictures. When he'd told me who he was, why hadn't he told me about her? Were there more secrets to Luke Romero than I had bargained for?

"Dani," Luke began, his deep blue eyes begging me to let him explain.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I forced myself to ask the question I had dreaded needing to ask. "Are you married?"

Luke blew out a breath and pushed his hands through his thick hair, hair that I knew was just as soft as it looked. Thoughts of being in his arms, lying together chest to chest, heart to heart, quelled my anxiety for a moment. Maybe I didn't want to know the answer. Maybe ignorance really was bliss.

Then I reminded myself that this wasn't the time to let my libido take over. The 'Hanna' part of me had gotten me into this mess in the first place.

"I do have a daughter, but I'm not married." He held up his left hand so I could see that he didn't have a tan line where a ring should be. Like that was all it would take to convince me he was telling the truth.

"That's a pretty feeble defense. Lots of guys won't wear a wedding ring." I knew a guy back in New York who worked as an auto mechanic. He didn't wear his ring because it might get caught on the machinery. For all I knew, guys who rode bikes didn't wear them either because of interference with their riding gloves. All I knew was I wasn't buying his story. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited. If he thought I was getting on the back of his Harley and heading up to the city where I was wanted by both the mob and the police, all without a real explanation, he was nuts.

"I was kind of wild in my younger days," he said.

That would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. If he thought he was wild then, what did he consider himself now? MMA fighter running from the mob was up there on the "wild side chart" by my definition.

"When I was eighteen, I hooked up with this woman at a bar..."

I gave him with an incredulous look.

"Yeah, I know...I had a fake ID. Anyway, Cindy was twenty-one and everything I thought I wanted in a woman. I was young and stupid and I figured as long as she loved to drink and fuck, I was sure she was perfect." He actually looked embarrassed when he said it. "We were together for about two months, and then I showed up at her apartment and caught her in bed with some asshole. I broke up with her and thought that was the end of it."

"But she was pregnant," I said.

He nodded. "At first, I didn't even believe the baby was mine, but she kept pushing and when she said she'd have a DNA test done, I agreed. No doubt about it. Lacey's mine." As he spoke, his eyes flashed with anger and pain. "And now Bruno has her."

"How do you know he wasn't just lying?" I asked. It seemed like a silly question, but I could only imagine a parent panicking if they thought some low-life like Bruno had their kid and not thinking to ask the obvious questions. Well, any parent except my mother, that is. Grandma would've been the one willing to do anything to get me back. My mother had been afflicted with the hedonistic job of being an alcoholic, which was why Grandma ended up being the one who raised me instead of my mom.

Luke's jaw tightened and he pursed his lips, as if biting back the pain before he spoke. "Because he handed her the phone," Luke said. "I talked to her."

The look on his face devastated me and I took a step forward, wrapping my arms around him. I suppose it looked silly, me with my barely average height and weight trying to hold someone like Luke as he towered over me, his muscles dwarfing me as much as his height, but I didn't care. I couldn't imagine what he was going through right now and all I wanted to do was comfort him.

"It'll be okay," I said as he slid his arms around my waist. "We'll get her back."

He pulled back enough that I looked up at him, wondering what had caused the movement. The anger in his eyes had vanished and was now replaced with a bittersweet look of sadness. "You know, Dani, I came on this crazy mission to find that money for Bruno, but I found something worth more than all the money in the world." He raised a hand and brushed his knuckles across my cheek. "I found you."

Now, I was having a hard time breathing for a new reason. A warm feeling welled up inside my chest and flooded my heart. His eyes were intense, blazing so much that I could barely look at them.

"Destiny led me right into your path that day at the bus station. When you bumped into me and I looked down into your eyes, that was it," he said. "One look and I was hooked."

His words caressed my skin, warming me more than the sun. These were the words I wanted to hear. I laid my head against his chest, listening and feeling his heart beating as mine thumped wildly in my chest. He traced his thumb along my bottom lip and it was all I could do not to dart my tongue out and lick it. This wasn't the time or place to be acting on those Hanna impulses.

"I never thought something like this...I mean, it just snuck up on me. I was caught completely off guard."

Something in the tone of his voice, or maybe the pause in his sentence, warned me to the fact that there was more bad news coming. I lifted my head off his chest, searching his face for a clue. I could see a conflict in his eyes now, dimming the passion in them. I frowned. He wasn't done, but I had a feeling whatever was coming next, I wasn't going to like it. He took a step back then, and I knew for sure I didn't want to hear what he had to say.

"You can't come with me."

I just stared at him, not believing what I was hearing. He couldn't be serious. But one look at his face told me he meant what he said. If I hadn't been standing in the middle of the sidewalk, I would've sat down.

He was going to leave me. The thought of being alone again made my chest hurt. It wasn't fair. Why did he have to come into my life, make me care, only to leave me when I needed him? I knew his daughter needed him, too, and I would never ask him to choose me over her, but I wanted to go with him. Help him. Why didn't he want that, too? Was he really okay with us being apart after how much he'd fought to be with me?