Under a Rogue Moon

Chapter 14

Chapter 14It was when he told her to drive home that Flanna lost it again.

“If Romm’s in Kesbury,” she said, twisting the keys so viciously in the ignition that the ring rattled, “home is the last place we should be. We should be finding him, not sitting on our hands or making small talk with pretty blondes. It’s probably not even natural, you know. Her roots were starting to show.”

Jason grinned, twisting sideways to face her. Though she would have chosen to avoid meeting his gaze, his adjusted position meant that his knee came up to block the gear shift, thwarting her from even putting the car into reverse yet. She had no choice but to look at him and carefully kept her wrist twisted to avoid touching his leg.

“Romm’s not here,” he said, his tone light. “The girl works at the gas station. If anybody is going to recognize a new car in the area, it’s going to be a gas attendant. She was able to tell me that he’s been in a couple times, but both times were for fill-ups. That means he’s doing a lot of driving. And since there isn’t a hotel or bed-and-breakfast in town, he has to be using Kesbury just as a base of operations.”

She frowned. “Why were you at Tesco’s, then?”

“Emma and I were still chatting when she went off shift. She asked if I wanted to tag along while she picked up a few things.”

“You do realize you can’t trust anything she said, don’t you?”

His lighthearted demeanor faltered. “Why’s that?”

“Because she was chatting you up so that you’d ask her out,” Flanna snapped. “She’d say anything to keep your attention.”

He was shaking his head before she’d finished speaking. She decided it was very annoying the way he so often started disagreeing with her before she was allowed the chance to say her piece.

“She knew that wasn’t going to happen,” Jason said. “As a source, she’s reliable.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can. I told her up front I was unavailable. She knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was going to ask her out.”

His response flummoxed her at the same time it made her stomach do flip flops. “Unavailable? What did you say to her?”

With an easy grin, Jason rested his hand over hers on the gear stick, stroking the back of her fingers with a feather touch. “That I’d met a girl back in New York who so intrigued me that I traveled halfway across the world just to find her. That we hadn’t said anything directly to each other but she was all I saw even when she wasn’t around. And that if there was a monster around hurting beautiful young women, I needed to know everything I could about him so that I could do what I can to keep her safe. So…unavailable.”

Her heart was pounding in her ears by the time he was done. As a cover story, it was brilliant. A good-looking American professing romantic notions? There was no way a small-town English girl would be able to resist.

As a confession of some sort, though, it left Flanna terrified. Was he referring to her? Was this his way of admitting to stronger feelings than just attraction? Or was it all just a story to get the information he wanted? Was all of this part of some master game she wasn’t privy to?

Her thoughts must have been visible in her face. Shaking his head, Jason let go of her hand. “You think too much,” he said, cupping his hand around the back of her neck and tugging her forward. He leaned at the same time so that by the end of his announcement, his mouth was on hers, firm, determined, kissing her with an assured hunger that banished her traitorous thoughts. She tumbled into the kiss without pause, her hands coming up to his chest to brace herself, her mind lost to anything but the fire he was stoking deep inside her. Even when he finally broke away, all she was aware of was the maelstrom winding its way through her body and emotions.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he said, though the huskiness of his voice kept it from being as light as he must have intended. “And I know what it looked like, but that’s not the kind of man I am, Flanna. Maybe I was at one point, but…those days are over. I don’t mess around because people can get hurt. People I care about. So if you see me being friendly with someone, it’s just because it’s all part of the job. Right now, the only woman I’m interested in being available for is you.”

It was the right now that dampened the effect of his words. There was no doubting his sincerity; the way he looked at her made it all too clear that he meant every word he said. But his time stamp only served to remind Flanna that this relationship they were cultivating came with an expiration date. Falling for him, more so than she already had, was going to lead to heartache when he took off in a few weeks. It was going to be up to her to keep a level head about it, appreciate the good s*x while it lasted, hope that their friendship would find feet again at some point later on down the line. If she wasn’t interested in completely losing her head, she had to pretend she didn’t see his affection in every touch or feel the spark when he stated yet again that he was interested in her. It was the only way not to get hurt.

“I’ll remember that for next time,” Flanna said. She kept her tone deliberately light, even going so far as to brush a friendly kiss across his swollen lips. It was hard not to deepen it; the mere taste of him was enough to set her mouth to watering. But she pulled back with great care, waiting for him to move out of the way so that she could shift into reverse.

“The way I see it,” Jason said as she pulled out, “Romm’s found a place to hole up in the middle of nowhere. Probably something between here and Birley. That way, he can keep an eye on you and keep himself stocked with gas and food without running the chance of being noticed by someone you know.”

Flanna nodded, relieved to be back onto the safe subject of the hunt as opposed to the more volcanic topic of their so-called relationship. “I guess that means I’ll be hanging out in Kesbury until the full moon,” she said.

“We’ll be hanging out there,” he corrected. “And if we get lucky and the police actually catch him before then, we’ll be in a prime position to take him out.”

He changed the subject then, as if all their questions were now resolved. As she listened to him go on about the cost of gas in England, Flanna’s mind drifted back to Jason’s earlier assertions, to the way he’d cut her off from thinking when she’d begun to overanalyze his motivations. Part of her wanted to believe that it really could be that simple. It really could be just about a guy seeing a girl he fancied, and then single-mindedly doing what was necessary to keep that girl safe.

But life was never that simple. There were always complications. Secrets had a way of rearing their ugly heads at the most inopportune moments, driving away lovers, killing innocents, isolating those who longed for more. This was what life had taught Flanna. This was why she couldn’t fully believe.

Even though Jason made her want that more than almost anything else. Only her desire to find Romm and protect her family was greater, and even then, it was difficult to separate him from the larger picture. He was part of all of it, the reason she even knew that there was a threat in the first place. To excise his influence right now would be the same as cutting off her left hand. She needed him. For now, that would have to be a fair substitute for believing in anything more.

* * * *

The rest of the day played out as it had the previous day, though they both managed to sneak in a nap before Colin and Helen returned home. In spite of the news about the murdered girl, dinner was a more comfortable affair simply because this time, Flanna felt like she had more of the situation under her control. Romm was loose, but they were tightening their net. It would only be a matter of time before they caught him.

“Did you two have specific plans for tonight?” Colin asked as Flanna rose to begin clearing the table.

Jason was quick to join her, and even quicker to respond. “It’s time to start looking for hidey-holes,” he said. “We know where Romm isn’t. Now we need to find where Romm is.”

“Maybe you should have a word with Neil. I’d wager he could tell you if there was anything unusual spotted out and about.”

Flanna stared at her father in disbelief. Neil Carrey owned the local pub and a good portion of the surrounding countryside. His family had been in Birley since King James I, and while they were esteemed as one of the cornerstones of local society, he’d stayed true to his roots by still running the taps at the pub five nights a week. Very little happened that he wasn’t aware of, but talking to him meant going into town and risking exposure. It seemed much more dangerous than anything Colin would generally allow, let alone suggest himself.

“Well, Flanna can do that,” Jason was saying. “I can still scout around—”

“No.” Something in Colin’s tone commanded everybody’s attention. Even Helen looked startled by it. “What I mean is,” he tried again, this time a bit quieter, “I think the both of you should go into town. Spend the evening at the pub. You can always go out afterward if you learn anything useful.”

“But…the police,” Flanna stammered. “Jason’s American. I thought—”

Colin waved her silent. “Taken care of. I’ve let people know we have a visitor and that he’s American. There won’t be any impromptu visits from the police unless you two start a fight at the pub.”

The last was said with a smile, but the attempt at levity failed to dispel her confusion. “What exactly have you told people?” she asked carefully.

“Nothing that isn’t true.” Rising to his feet, Colin came to stand in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Since when have I steered you wrong, lassie? Jason’s our guest. I wouldn’t put him in any more jeopardy than I would you. Everything will be fine. Trust me.”

She regarded him, noting the warmth in the blue, the hint of a smile curving his mouth. None of it masked the weight of his age, and it saddened her to think that this was one mantle he wouldn’t be able to pass along. This was a burden he would wear with quiet pride, even when time conspired against him. That was when she finally understood, and the simplicity of his needs made her eyes widen.

He didn’t want her to be alone. More importantly, he trusted and respected Jason enough to consider him a suitable partner for her. That had never happened before, not even with the casual dating she’d done as a teenager.

She searched Colin’s face. Didn’t he realize that Jason would likely leave as soon as Romm was killed?

“Are you sure?” Jason asked from behind her. “I don’t want to make things difficult for you or your family.”

Colin stepped away, breaking the spell between him and Flanna. “If I thought for a second you were a threat,” he said, “you wouldn’t be sleeping under my roof. Go.” He waved a hand toward the other room. “Enjoy yourself. You two deserve an easier night. Mum and I will see to the clean-up.”

“Sounds like the best offer I’ve had all day.” Taking the plates from her hands, Jason pulled Flanna out of the way, leading her into the lounge before she could voice any more protest. When the door slipped shut behind them, he tugged her against his hard chest and curled his arms around her waist.

“If you’d rather I didn’t go,” he said, keeping his voice low so that it couldn’t be heard in the kitchen, “I can drop you off at the pub and look around for Romm’s hideaway instead. All you have to do is say the word.”

As pleasurable as it was to feel his body against hers, she couldn’t completely relax with her father just a few feet away, her eyes casting a furtive glance toward the closed door. “Do you not want to go?” she asked.

“I’d love to go. I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

That dragged her attention back to him. “Why would I be uncomfortable?”

His mouth twitched, and he scanned her face for a long moment before answering. “You realize what he told everyone, right?”

“That you’re a guest.”

“I’d bet my right arm he said a little more than that.” When she continued to stare at him in confusion, he chuckled. “Your old man’s not blind,” Jason elaborated. “And I haven’t exactly been hiding how I feel about you. If we show up at that pub together, everybody in this town is going to know the truth, Flanna. Is that what you want?”

The world tunneled around her. Any worry about being seen by her father was eclipsed by the sudden urgency to know just what it was Jason was saying. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice unexpectedly small. “What exactly is the truth?”

Everything about him softened, and time seemed to stop as those brilliant blue eyes just drank her in. He eased his hold around her waist in order to lift a hand to her cheek, a touch so tender that it made her heart leap into her throat. Flanna turned into it instinctively, and Jason closed the scant inches separating them to brush a kiss along her tremulous jaw.

“The truth is I traveled halfway across the world to find you,” he whispered. “It started out as needing to take care of Romm, but now it’s personal. Now it’s about making sure I don’t lose you when I’ve only just got here.” His breath skimmed along the side of her neck, his mouth following so closely in its wake that the sensations overlapped, leaving her nerve endings desperate for more. “I know it terrifies you. I can see it every time you look at me. I can see you trying to explain it all away, but really, the truth is a lot simpler than what you’re trying to turn it into.”

She fought for some measure of control. “I know you’re attracted to me—” she started, but when his hand slid from her cheek to coil almost painfully in her hair, she gasped, shocks of pleasure shooting down her spine as he turned her to meet his eyes.

“It’s more than that.” He took a deep, unsteady breath as if to calm his nerves. “I want you, yes. A man would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to. But stop trying to find a reason not to believe what’s right in front of your face, Flanna. I’m saying this here and now so that there’s no more misunderstanding between us. What your father is seeing—what people down at the pub are going to see if we show up there together—is that I’m half a step away from being knockdown crazy in love with you.”