She glanced back. Same welcoming smile. Same bright eyes.
And the same punch hit him in the gut. Dammit. He hurried forward and offered her the gift.
As soon as she saw the package, her skin flushed. “Jonas?”
“I was gonna give it to you tonight.”
“Ain’t that sweet!” a detective’s voice rang out. Bronte, a guy he would pound later.
Her hands tightened around the box. “Thank you.” She lifted the box to her ear and give it a quick little shake.
He kissed her, fast but deep. “You can thank me after the party.” She could do anything she wanted tonight.
He sure planned to do just that.
Christie waited until she was back in her car and then she ripped open the package. When the green silk panties tumbled out—thong underwear—she wasn’t surprised.
She was turned on.
She knew just what she’d be wearing tonight for her cop.
Maybe she’d let him rip this pair off, too.
“So you’re going to meet the family, huh?” Scotty asked as they grabbed their coats at eight and got ready to head out the door.
Another day from hell. Holidays could bring out the best in people, but they could bring out the worst, too. He and Scotty had spent hours at another crime scene. A robbery gone bad. The shop owner hadn’t been the one to wind up in the body bag, though. The robber must not have expected the guy in his eighties to fight back.
He had.
Jonas yanked on his gloves. “I already know the family.” Too well, so he knew what kind of welcome he’d get when he showed up with Christie.
Because they also know me too well. Well enough to understand that he shouldn’t be with Christie. He’d always known it, too.
“Take my advice with this one,” Scotty said, his grin sliding away. “Don’t screw up.”
Jonas raised a brow.
“Seriously. This one isn’t like the others.”
Christie wasn’t like anyone else.
“We’re both gettin’ too old to spend our holidays alone.” Scotty looked out the front doors of the station. “There’s got to be more than crime scenes waiting on us. If you’re smart, you’ll take that ‘more’ that’s standing so close to you.” He inclined his head. “’Night, partner.”
A cold blast of air swept inside when Scotty left.
Jonas lifted his collar and got ready to follow his partner.
“Yo, Kirk!”
His hand hesitated in front of the doors. He glanced to the left and saw the desk sergeant waving him over. He and Carl had known each other for years.
“Hey, aren’t you friends with Daniel Tate?”
A fast nod.
“My boy Jamie is working as a security guard there.”
“I saw him the other night.” Jonas turned away from the door. There was something in Carl’s voice. “There a problem?”
“I know it’s not your beat, but, since you know the family and all”—Carl leaned over the desk—“Jamie called about an hour ago. Said there was some trouble in one of the offices.”
“What kind of trouble?” Jonas’s phone vibrated in his pocket. “Hold on, Carl.” He stepped to the side as he put the phone to his ear. “Kirk.”
“Jonas! Shit, man, I need you.” Daniel’s voice was way more tense than normal—and normal usually was tense for Daniel. “Can you come down to the company? Someone…someone broke into Christie’s office and trashed the place.”
What? Fuck. “I’m on my way.” He spun around.
“Wait!” Carl called out. “Don’t you want to know—”
“On it, Carl, thanks.” The cold air hit him in the face as he raced for his vehicle. Christie’s office. What the hell? As far as he knew, there had never been any trouble at Tate Toys.
So why was it starting now? And why was some asshole targeting Christie?
Uniforms were on the scene when Jonas arrived at Tate Toys. A cop he recognized, Officer Larry Piner, stood just outside Christie’s office doorway, questioning Daniel and jotting down fast notes.
Daniel caught sight of him. “Jonas! Man, thanks for coming so fast.” Daniel ran a hand through his hair and gestured to Christie’s office. “Can you believe this shit?”
Jonas’s gaze raked the room. Piner’s partner was inside, carefully navigating through the wreckage. Papers and files littered the floor. The computer screen was busted into about a hundred pieces. The desk was overturned. The lamp smashed.
“You sure there was no one working here today?” Officer Piner asked.
“I’m sure.” Daniel’s hand dropped. “Everyone on this floor is off the rest of the week for the holidays. Hell, everyone but the folks in distribution are off, and they’re all down at the warehouse. We’ve only got a skeletal security staff in this building. No one else should be here.”
Just Christie’s office. Someone was sending her a message. One Jonas damn well didn’t like. “What about cameras?” he asked as anger built in his gut. “You got ’em turned on, right?”
Daniel nodded his head in agreement. “We’ve got them downstairs at the entrance, but that’s where a guard is posted. If anyone came in, he would have seen ’em.”
Not if he’d been in the john. “Get the tapes,” Jonas ordered, walking slowly into the room. “Have you called Christie?”
Silence.
He tossed a glance back over his shoulder. “You’ve called her, right?”
“No.” Daniel’s lips pressed together. “It’s so close to Christmas, and I mean, look at this place. I don’t want her coming in here and seeing this crap!” His hair stood up, probably from running his fingers through it too many times. “Christie can’t handle this stress right now, not on top of that whole mess with Charles. Hell, I just want you to find out who did this, and I want that asshole arrested!”
Jonas glanced toward the filing cabinet. Every folder had been yanked free and the contents scattered. The drawers hung open, deep and empty. He pulled out his phone.
“Are you calling in a crime scene team?” Daniel asked, and there was excitement in his voice. “Good plan, man, let’s CSI this asshole.”
Jonas just shook his head. A ring filled his ears. One. Two.
“Hello.” Her voice was soft and husky.
He took a breath. “Christie, it’s Jonas.”
“What are you doing?” Her brother’s desperate yell grated in his ears.
Jonas ignored him. “I’m not gonna be able to make that dinner tonight.” No, he’d be working this case until he figured out what the hell was going on. “There’s been a break-in.”
“But”—hesitation, confusion—“you work homicide.”
This case was different. Personal. “The break-in was at Tate Toys. It’s your office, Christie.”
“What?”
“I’m down here now with the investigating cops. I want you to come by. You’ll know if anything is missing.” He exhaled. “You can come in tomorrow and make a listing then, if you want. You don’t need to cut out on your parents—”
There was a rumble of voices in the background. Christie, spoke to someone else, then she told him, “No, I’m on my way. Mom and Dad will hold dinner a bit. Don’t worry, they’ve got plenty of guests here to keep things going.”
“Be careful, baby.” He ended the call and held the phone a moment, his gaze sweeping the office once more.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. Daniel glared at him. “You called her—”
“She had a right to know. She’s not some fragile doll that’s gonna break with a little stress.” He’d been wrong about her, and Daniel was too. All those years…she’d known. Hell, no, Christie wasn’t going to break. She’d been right when she told him she didn’t live in a castle.
Sure, she’d been sheltered. The family had cosseted her in college. He’d helped by digging into old Benjamin’s background. But Christie didn’t need them to run interference anymore. She was a grown woman. Strong,
smart, sexy.
“No.” Daniel’s eyes narrowed and his gaze seemed to shoot blue fire as he snarled, “You called my sister ‘baby.’”
Oh, shit.
“You’re sleeping with Christie?” A man’s voice shouldn’t get that high.
Jonas got ready for the punch he knew was coming. Daniel had a real killer right hook.
6
Christie hadn’t dressed for the office. She’d dressed for him. Bought the new emerald green dress to match the panties. Maybe that was overkill, but she’d been feeling sexy at the time. Good thing she’d brought her coat with her. Otherwise she’d be flashing a lot of skin as she rushed down the hallway.
Christie skidded to a halt on her two-inch heels, a very precarious halt, and she eyed the mess that was her office. “Sonofabitch.”
Daniel was there at once, reaching for her, his eyes worried, his face tense. “It’s okay, Christie, I know this is upsetting—”
“Yes, it’s upsetting.” Major understatement. “Some jerk ruined my office!” And her files. Oh, jeez, it would take forever to get those organized again. So many hours lost.
“Don’t worry about this tonight.” Daniel caught her hands and held them tight. “Just go back to our parents, relax, and—”
“Trust me, Dan, I’m really not in the mood to relax.” She was so mad her skin felt like it was burning. She craned her neck. “Where’s Jonas?”
A muscle flexed in Daniel’s jaw. “Jonas works the stiffs. We don’t need him on a vandalism case. And it’s just vandalism. I don’t think anything was taken from your office.”
Not taken. Just destroyed. “I need him.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Jonas muttered from behind her.
Daniel swore.
She whirled around and found Jonas sauntering back from her lab area. As he came closer, she noticed the redness on his jaw. “Jonas?” She hurried back into the hallway, nearly toppling only once in her shoes. “What happened?”
“Must be something about your office,” he told her, his lip curling a bit. “Makes folks want to assault cops.”
Her fingers skimmed his jaw. “What?” His words sank in and her eyes widened. “Charles? Did he come back? Did he do this?” He’d actually hit Jonas? Had he been the one to trash her office, too?
“Nah, not him, not this time.”
“It was me.” Daniel’s arm brushed hers as he came to her side. “I punched the asshole.” He glared at Jonas. “And he didn’t punch back.”
Jonas inclined his head. “Didn’t arrest you either. Guess it’s your lucky night.”
Daniel rocked forward. “You’re screwing my sister!”
Oh. Ouch. Christie slammed her hand on his chest. “No.” She kept her voice quiet and cool. A real effort, but the new and improved Christie could manage that effort. “Your sister is screwing him.” She didn’t even stutter when she tossed that out.
Daniel’s eyes bulged.
“And if you try to take a swing at him again…” Because that really pissed her off. She wasn’t sixteen. She didn’t need him fighting her battles anymore. Fighting her battles or her lovers. Hadn’t she told him that enough times? “If you swing at him again, I’ll punch you.” Her right hook was even better than his.
Daniel blinked. “Christie?” He asked like he wasn’t sure he was talking to his sister.
She kept her hand on his chest.
“I told you she could handle a little stress.” This came from Jonas.
More than a little. She’d been handling stress all her life. Try being thirteen in a room full of eighteen-year-olds—stress much?
Daniel’s gaze bored into her. “Christie, you know what he’s like.”
“He’s your best friend. He’s had your back for years. Yes, I know.” She bit out the words. “He’s strong and loyal and—”
“Not when it comes to women.” Daniel caught her hand and tried to tug her away from Jonas. She wasn’t in the mood to be tugged. “When it comes to women, he’s just like me.”
She shook her head. “You’re—”
“No commitment, Christie.”
Jonas rolled his shoulders.
“When’s the last time I brought someone home for you to meet?” Daniel pushed.
Never.
“Sex is great. Sex is fucking fantastic.” Daniel huffed out a breath. “But I’m not looking for forever right now.”
Neither is Jonas. The words hung unspoken in the air.
She took a moment to make sure her voice wouldn’t waver. “I’m not a kid who needs looking after anymore.” She licked her lips and did the hair-toss she’d seen other women do, the move that made them look like they were confident and in charge. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants.”
“Damn right.” Jonas sounded pleased, almost proud.
She ignored him. “I don’t want forever.”
Daniel’s eyes slit so much he seemed to squint.
“Men aren’t the only ones who just want—what did you call it? Fucking fantastic sex.”
Daniel’s jaw dropped.
“Jonas and I understand each other. What’s happening is between us, not you.” Christie glanced at Jonas. His eyes were on her, and his expression—well, crap, what was wrong with him? He was glaring at her.
Glaring when she was trying to stop him from getting into another fight with her brother.
“Uh, Ms. Tate?” the uniformed officer called out tentatively.
She’d forgotten about the other cops. Oh, fabulous. Had they heard everything? How fast would this little conversation get repeated at the station? No wonder Jonas looked pissed.
She cleared her throat and looked at the cop.
“Since you’re here, ma’am, we need you to do a sweep and determine if anything was taken.”
“Right.” She sucked in what should have been a cleansing breath. It wasn’t. Christie stepped back and pointed at both Jonas and Daniel. “You two going to behave?”
Glares were her response.
“Fine.” She shifted her focus to Jonas. “Feel free to arrest him if he swings again, or if you want to punch back, we both know he’s got a glass jaw.” With that, she left them, aware that her strong front was about to shatter.
Her knees shook as she headed back toward her office. The damn heels twisted beneath her and she almost went down hard. Only a quick grab of the wall saved her, the wall and—
Jonas’s hand, catching her under her elbow.
“Sexy as hell, baby,” he breathed the words in her ear and she realized her coat had come open to reveal the green dress. His gaze dipped to her cleavage. “Sexy as hell,” he whispered again, “but those shoes could be lethal.”
He bent and ran his hand over her calf. A soft, sensual caress that had her breath catching.
He eased off her high heel. The left shoe, then the right.
Her stocking-clad feet touched the soft carpet.
“Watch your step,” he told her, and for an instant, she couldn’t move because the warning in those words was too heavy. The man wasn’t just talking about walking. So about what? Them? The attack in her office? She forced her shoulders to straighten and she pushed away from him. She grabbed the heels, clutching them too tightly, and even though she was tempted, Christie didn’t look back.
“I don’t know what kind of game Christie thinks she’s playing.” Daniel spoke only after Christie disappeared with Officer Piner. “But she’s not up to handling you.”
Jonas realized he was still staring after her. “Sometimes, I don’t think you know her well at all.” He slanted Daniel a measuring glance. Dangerous territory. He could well lose his friend over this.
She’s worth it.
“You don’t know her,” Daniel snapped right back.
Yeah, he did. “I know she’s stronger than everyone gives her credit for.” Stronger than he’d given her credit for in the beginning. That woman wouldn’t break when reality shoved its ugly face before her. No, she wasn’t goin
g to break—period.
“So what? You think that makes it okay for you to screw around with her?” Real fury vibrated in Daniel’s voice. “She’s my sister! And you’re not—”
Jonas spun around. “Save it, Daniel.” And you’re not good enough for her. Yeah, he got that picture. “This isn’t about you.” Just her.
But Daniel blazed on. “You’re not the kind of guy who’s going to settle down. Hell, until six months ago, you were a different man with every case you took! Christie isn’t like you—she wants stability. She wants a family. She wants forever.”
But she’d only asked him for a few nights. She’d told him she didn’t want forever.
Or she just didn’t want it with him.
“I told her to be careful with you.” Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. “I warned her, but she didn’t listen.”
“I’m not gonna hurt her.”
Daniel just stared back at him. Then he exhaled. “You’ve known her all these years. So long. Why now? Why’d you finally make a move now?”
Because you’re right—until six months ago, I was a different man almost every damn day. I was drowning in the crime and the hate and realized I had to get out. And when I got out…there was Christie. As perfect and tempting as she’d always been and this time… “Because she wanted me.”
“Plenty of women will screw you, you don’t have to—”
“She wanted me,” he said again. “She knew me, and she still wanted me.” Dark shadows on his soul and all. “With Christie, I wasn’t gonna be fool enough to turn away from her. Not even for the sake of our friendship. So just deal with it, asshole.”
Daniel blinked at him. “Wait, man, are you sayin’—”
“I’m saying it’s none of your business, and I’m saying the last thing you want to do”—he let the steel ripple beneath his words because he was tired of explaining himself and tired of playing the nice guy—“is get between me and Christie.”
Because nothing would keep him from her, and friendship could only stretch so far.
Silence.
“I don’t think anything is missing.” Christie sounded uncertain as she appeared once more in the hallway, with the cops at her sides. “The files”—she shrugged her shoulders—“will take me hours to sort through, so I can’t say for certain. But…I didn’t really have anything of value. The computer is still there—smashed—but there. The fax machine, the printer, all my photos—everything seems to be still inside.”
The Naughty List Page 16