Page 82 of Protecting Maggie
So after the short ride to his home, she let Shawn lead her into the house and up the stairs to his room. The woman who owned the place was obviously asleep. The rental rooms were on the third floor, and Smiley followed behind.
“Don’t forget, we’re meeting with Kevlar and the rest of the team tomorrow at ten,” he reminded them.
“I know,” Shawn said.
Maggie bit her lip. Everyone had to be exhausted, and she suddenly felt guilty that she was the reason why.
“Don’t answer the phone, your door, or talk to anyone other than Preacher,” Smiley lectured her.
She nodded. “I don’t have my phone, and I’m going to crash the second my head hits the pillow. Smiley?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for staying here tonight. Roman…he’s…I’m afraid of him.” It was a huge admission, but after everything that happened, she didn’t think her terror would be a surprise to either of these men.
“He fucked up,” Smiley said with a fierce expression on his face. “He put all his cards on the table and now we all know who he really is.”
Maggie swallowed hard. She wanted to believe that, but she also had a feeling he wouldn’t go down without one hell of a fight.
“Get some sleep. We’ll figure things out tomorrow,” Smiley told her. Then he gave Shawn a chin lift and turned toward the open door in the hallway.
Shawn pressed on the small of her back, urging her toward the other door. He unlocked it, then stepped back to let her enter first.
Maggie was surprised by the room. She’d expected a normal bedroom, but this was a suite, and it was huge. A queen-size bed was against the left wall, with a small, old-fashioned table on each side in place of nightstands. There was what looked like a fairly large walk-in closet, with a dresser inside and all of Shawn’s clothes hung neatly. Across from the bed was a seating area, complete with a leather couch, an oversized chair, and a large flat-screentelevision. There were also shelves filled with books and knickknacks.
There was even a small kitchen area with a sink, a two-burner stove top, a microwave, and a refrigerator.
“Wow!” Maggie exclaimed.
“When Jane’s husband died, she realized she was lonely in this big house all by herself. So she had this floor remodeled, making the rooms big enough to basically be apartments. In my opinion, she doesn’t charge enough to rent them out, but I’m grateful I was able to get one. Come on, you need to get cleaned up.”
Maggie let Shawn lead her over to another door, and this time she wasn’t surprised at the size of the bathroom. This Jane woman had outdone herself in designing the rental spaces. The bathroom she was standing in was large. There was no bathtub, but the walk-in shower was oversized and had not only a rain showerhead on the ceiling, but also another showerhead coming out of the wall.
“I don’t have any clothes that you can put on other than mine, but I’ll call Kevlar in the morning and see if he can go by your apartment and grab some things for you, and bring them over before we need to leave to meet with the team. Is that all right?”
Maggie nodded. She hadn’t thought much about personal hygiene in the last few days, having more important things to worry about—namely, not dying. But now that she was standing in front of this amazing shower, she suddenly couldn’t wait to get clean.
She vaguely heard Shawn chuckle as he brushed pasther and opened the shower door. He reached in and turned one of the knobs, then water poured from the ceiling. “There’s a clean towel right outside the door. Take your time.”
He turned as if to leave—and panic hit Maggie like a tidal wave. She reached out and grabbed his arm in an iron grip. Her mouth was dry, her stomach churned, and she realized she was breathing with short, fast gasps.
“Maggie? What’s wrong? Shit! You’re okay. You’re safe. Slow your breathing.” Shawn turned back to her and pulled her against him. The feel of his tall, hard body against hers made the panic recede as if it had never happened.
“Shower with me?” she mumbled. It was ridiculous that at just the thought of being alone in a bathroom, she’d panicked so badly. But if she was by herself for even a second, she felt as if Roman would somehow find her again. Get a hold of her. Finish what he’d started. There was no telling where he’d send her next. Siberia? North Korea? Somewhere no one would ever find her this time.
Or he’d simply blow her brains out and bury her body six feet deep in the mountains around the city.
Shawn didn’t answer verbally, simply took a step back and began to strip.
Following his lead, Maggie quickly took off her clothes. It felt as if it had been years since they’d made love. She should’ve been embarrassed to be naked in front of this man, but she wasn’t. Not in the least. After they were both nude, he opened the shower door and stepped inside,testing the water to make sure it was perfect before holding out his hand to her.
Maggie took it and stepped into the glass enclosure. Steam from the shower fogged up the walls, and it felt as if she and Shawn were in their own little world. Showering with someone else could be awkward, but he made it feel as if they’d done this a thousand times already. He stepped into her personal space and held onto her hips, urging her under the spray. As she tilted her head back to get her hair wet, Maggie felt his gaze running down her body.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that he was frowning as he studied her torso. Looking down, she realized why he looked so unsettled. She was covered in bruises. Even had some scrapes here and there.
“I’m okay,” she told him.
“You aren’t, but I’m going to make sure you get that way,” Shawn said, then he leaned over and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. “Turn,” he ordered.
