Reckless Faith

Elle wiped down the counters, a small smile playing at her lips. Over the last few days, she’d seen a lot of Jace. He came into the café in the morning. He stopped in most lunchtimes. And after work, they’d either go to his place or hers to eat and talk and watch crappy movies.

It was exactly as it used to be. Comfort. Friendship. They hadn’t kissed since that day in his old bedroom. In fact, her sexual frustration was reaching an all-time peak because she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel him press her to the mattress again, feel him touch her.

But it was her who’d put in the friendship boundary, and, other than the family dinner, he’d been really goddamn good at sticking to it.

Her cheeks flushed at the memory of how easy it was for him to bring her to climax in his old bedroom.

Argh. Stop it, Elle. You’re friends right now. And that was your choice.

“Elle?”

Her head shot up at Molly’s voice. She hadn’t noticed her returning to the counter after seeing out the last customer.

“Everything okay?” Elle asked.

“Actually, I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For hitting on Jace at the bar the other week.”

Elle’s fingers tightened around the cloth in her hand. “You don’t need to—”

“I do. I should have seen what was right in front of me. You like him, and he likes you. You have this super strong connection, and I had no business going there.”

“I didn’t tell you how I felt.”

“I know. But I still should have seen it.” Molly lifted a shoulder. “You two are good together.”

“We’re just friends.”

Molly laughed. “Nope. I am not falling for that again. He walks you in here every morning. He goes to lunch with you every day. Then he comes in here when you finish, and you do God knows what together after work. That’s not just friendship. And don’t even get me started on the way he looks at you.”

“The way he looks at me?”

Molly gave her a knowing smirk. “Okay, my shift is finished. Do you want me to help you clean up?”

Today it was just her scheduled for cleanup while Molly finished at closing time. “No, it won’t take me long. Go home. Relax.”

Molly grabbed her bag. “Easier said than done with the customers we’ve had today.”

She wasn’t wrong. They’d had some very demanding customers in the café, mostly tourists whose coffees had been too hot or too cold or not made right. One man complained his sandwich didn’t have enough mustard and demanded a refund, but of course, he’d only told them after he’d eaten three quarters of the thing. And then there was the woman who’d wanted a whole new croissant after eating half of her first one, claiming it was too hard.

“You handled them well,” Elle said with a grin.

“But I was one step away from throwing in some curses and kicking everyone out.” She pushed the door open. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Molly.”

Once the counters were clean, Elle mopped the floors. She was just putting the mop away in the small storage closet when the bell on the door rang. She smiled as she stepped back into the café, expecting to see Jace.

The smile dropped. Not Jace. Not even close.

She slipped behind the counter, nerves trickling down her spine at the sight of the bald man with the snake tattoo on the side of his head.

What was he doing here? Was he here to see her?

Discreetly, she slipped her phone from her pocket, hiding it below the counter. “Hi. We’re closed, sorry.”

He scanned her face as he moved toward her, his steps slow, almost predatory.

She tapped a few keys on her cell—only glancing down for a second to make sure she hit Jace’s number—silenced her side of the call and put it on speaker before looking up again.

He stopped opposite her. “I was in the mountains and heard people talking about the café.”

She frowned. He had a Boston accent mixed with…something else? Italian?

One side of his mouth lifted. “Any chance you could make me something? A sandwich, maybe?”

There was something about his voice that made nerves trickle into her belly. Not his words, because he wasn’t saying anything wrong or bad. He just made her feel…uneasy. Or maybe it was the way he was looking at her. So closely that she wanted to turn. Run. Get away. “I’m sorry. I’ve packed everything up.”

He pressed his hands to the counter. Hands that had more snake tattoos running down his fingers. “Come on, honey. One sandwich. It doesn’t look like there’s anyone else here for you to serve?”

Was that his not-so-subtle way of highlighting that they were alone?

She slipped her phone onto the shelf beneath the counter and inched back a step. “Everything’s been put away and cleaned. But if you come back tomorrow, I’ll make you that sandwich.”

He leaned over the counter, a smile on his face that almost looked predatory. “Darlin’, if I wanted a sandwich tomorrow, I would have come in tomorrow.”

“I’d like you to leave.”

He pulled back as if surprised by her words. “But I only just got here.”

“Now.”

Jace stepped off the skywalk. The last person had just left the walk, and he was running late to meet Elle at the café before her finish time. It wasn’t an official thing, just something he’d started doing because he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to be with her every second he could. They’d slipped into this easy routine lately, and he fucking loved it.

The only problem was, he was having a damn hard time keeping his hands off her. Every night, they’d sit together at her place or his, watch some shitty movie, and all he wanted to do was touch her. Kiss her. And yeah, sometimes he’d slip an arm around her shoulders, but so far that was it. He didn’t want to cross that line again. He wanted her to initiate it. He wanted to know that she wanted him, needed him, as much as he needed her.

He was walking toward the café when his phone rang. His lips stretched into a smile when he saw Elle’s name on the screen.

Looked like she was thinking about him too.

He pressed the phone to his ear. “I know I’m late. Almost there.”

A muffled noise sounded, then a voice. A man’s voice.

“I was in the mountains and heard people talking about the café.”

Jace stopped. Who the fuck was that?

He glanced at his cell again to make sure it was Elle’s name he’d seen on the screen, before putting it back to his ear.

“Any chance you could make me something?”

Then he heard her voice. “I’m sorry. I’ve packed everything up.”

She sounded shaky…scared…and it made dread twist in his gut.

Fuck.

Jace dropped the phone to his side and started running. Pumping his arms and his legs, letting the wind slap him in the face. He’d always thought the café was close to the skywalk, but right now, it felt too damn far.

He forced his body to move faster, ignoring the branches slapping his arms and the loose dirt sinking under his feet. When he hit the deck of the café, his steps were loud, but he didn’t care. He pushed inside, and the air hissed from his teeth at what he saw.

Elle, looking so uneasy her face was white, inching back as the asshole started to round the counter.

The guy glanced up at him, eyes narrowing.

Jace was across the room in a second.

“What the fuck—”

The asshole’s words were cut off when Jace grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall. “Who are you?”

“Get your fucking hands off me!”

“Like hell I will. This is the second time you’ve scared my woman, and I want to know what the fuck you’re doing hanging around her. Who are you?”

The slow smile that spread across the guy’s face had fury burning in Jace’s blood. “I’m no one. Just a guy visiting your small town, looking for a sandwich.”

Yeah right. “She told you she was closed, so what the fuck are you still doing here? Or better question, why are you stepping behind the counter?”

He lifted his hands. “I’m not here for trouble, bro. I’m just hungry.”

“Bullshit.” His muscles ached to swing. Throw a fist into the asshole’s face. Maybe Elle saw it, because her soft voice sounded.

“Jace.”

He looked at Elle to see her pleading gaze. She didn’t want to see a fight, and he didn’t want to start one with her so close.

“Come on, Jace,” the guy drawled. “I didn’t do anything. Maybe you should just let me leave.”

Like hell he would. “Maybe. Or maybe I should call the authorities and tell them that the asshole driving the stolen car is here.”

The guy lifted a brow, grinning. “You looked into me?”

“No. The sheriff of this town looked into you, and I don’t think he’ll be letting you go in a hurry.”

The smile dropped from his face. Then he swung.

Jace dodged the punch easily, immediately grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm behind his back. The guy was quick, jabbing an elbow into Jace’s gut. He only eased his hold for a second, but it was enough for the guy to twist out of Jace’s grip and attempt a kick at Jace’s shin. He sidestepped the kick and was about to move forward and pin the jerk again when the guy suddenly pulled a pistol.

Elle gasped, and Jace instinctively stepped in front of her, blocking her with his body.

“Put the goddamn gun down,” Jace growled, his muscles itching to attack, but no way was he moving away from Elle.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I was stalling. I’ve already called the sheriff. He’s on his way.” It was a lie, but this asshole didn’t know that.

“All I wanted,” the guy said slowly, breaths whooshing from his chest, “was a goddamn sandwich.”

“And yet you brought a gun,” Jace seethed. “Go. Leave before the sheriff arrives and you do something that gets you serious time.”

He scowled, inching backward toward the door, keeping the gun trained on them until he stepped outside.

Even after he disappeared, neither Jace nor Elle moved. They just stood there, almost expecting him to return. Thirty long seconds passed before Jace crossed the space to the door and flipped the lock. Then he called his brother.

Eastern answered on the second ring. “Jace. Everything okay?”

“You know that asshole with the stolen car? He came to the café while Elle was alone. Scared her. He and I threw a few punches, then he pulled a pistol on me.”

“Fuck. Be there in ten.”

Even though his brother couldn’t see him, Jace nodded before hanging up and turning to look at Elle. Her eyes were wide, her complexion still pale.

“Do you think he’s gone?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know.” He closed the space between them and cupped her cheeks. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” The words came too quickly. “Are you?”

“No. I’m pissed. The guy scared you. Pulled a fucking gun while you were in the room.”

“I’m okay though.” She touched his chest before her gaze shifted to the door again. “I don’t understand what he was doing here or what he wanted.”

“He didn’t say anything before I got here?”

“No. He just kept saying he wanted a sandwich, and on about the third time of me asking him to leave, he started rounding the counter.”

A visible shudder rolled through her body, and Jace immediately wrapped her in his arms. “Thank you for calling me.”

He had no idea who the guy was or what he’d wanted, but his intentions hadn’t been friendly.