Ruthless

Chapter 9

Colin gripped the steering wheel tighter as he passed another slow-moving car on the freeway. It took everything in him to keep from going twenty miles over the limit...or more.

Damn it, she wasn't supposed to touch him. This was a simple job: Get her to the city. Oversee the DNA test and get the hell out as soon as he got the cash. And, hell, if he wanted to appreciate the view of her tight shorts and the way she filled out her work t-shirt, that was all well and good.

But no fucking touching. So why was she the one who broke that rule? She hated him. He'd done everything in his power to make sure she knew which side he was playing.

Now she seemed content to stare out the window and stay quiet, which was the best he could hope for. He was still trying to get a grip on himself. Namely certain parts of himself that had been excited ever since she'd pulled him down to her. She thought she had crossed boundaries? Hell, if she only knew everything he'd wanted to do. If he'd had his way, she would've been between him and his truck faster than she even knew what was happening.

Colin clenched his jaw and took the exit to the airport. He was going to have to clear his mind before he got on the plane, and because he was going to be sitting next to Jean the entire time, he needed to do it fast.

The sooner he got laid, the better. Maybe once they got back to the city, he could get away from Jean for a few hours to visit Shannon. Last he knew, she was still single, and she was always up for a few hours of fun. Maybe that would be all he needed to take the edge off.

"Do you want to get your stuff ready? I need to turn this car in."

Jean startled as though he'd shaken her out of her thoughts. "This is a rental?"

"Well, I didn't just have a car waiting for me in Arkansas."

"I didn't realize you could rent a truck. I thought they only gave out random cars."

"That's why I paid way too much extra to get this thing. But let's be honest, anyone who doesn't drive a truck stands out like a sore thumb."

Jean smiled and shook her head.

"What?" he asked.

"You still stood out. You have this new, pristine-looking thing? People notice. Just sayin'."

He shrugged. "Well, I drew the line at banging up the rental." He brought the truck to a stop in the return lane and hopped out to pull his bag and Jean's out of the bed of the truck before he led her into the airport. It was obvious she'd never been to one before, and he kept looking at her awed expression out of the corner of his eye.

After the long process of checking his bag, with extra paperwork because his guns were inside, they made it through security pretty quick when there wasn't much of a line. Once they finally got to the gate, Colin decided the silent treatment was getting to him. "Hanging in there?" he asked.

Jean crossed to a seat next to a window, probably so she could watch the planes take off. "Just taking in the sights. I didn't realize you could check...um, you know."

She'd been quiet while he'd filled out the paperwork for the guns in his checked bag, but her wide eyes had told him she was surprised. "Yep. They have to be checked and in a hard case that only I have the combination to. But they have to be registered, of course. And I'm a rule follower."

She snorted as she settled deeper into her seat. "So does my family know I'm coming?"

"I told them I found you a week ago and was coming out to collect you. So they won't be that surprised."