It’s not like that, Doc. Is that how he’d explain? She’s…much more than that. I like her. I could even fall—
Oh, no. No, no, no. Do not even think the L word. Because that is so not going to happen. He had a job to do, and that was all that could matter.
“JD?” she said as she used a towel to squeeze the water from her hair while he drove.
He didn’t even know where he was going.
“Are you all right?”
“Me?” He forced himself to look at her, to dredge up a smile. “Hell, yeah.” Gotta do better than that, dummy. Get a grip. He tried to unscramble his brains, back up from that cliff. “I mean, for a guy with clammy, wet shorts, that is.”
“I hear you. So where are we off to now?”
To hell in a handbasket, his grandpa would say. “I’m thinking about that. You want me to drop you at Sophie’s so you can change?” And then I can get the hell out of there, he thought, even as his mind was stuck back in that pool, still craving her. Think.
“The way things were going back there, I thought maybe…”
Her cell phone rang. Her glance darted at him, then away. She opened the glove compartment and removed it. “Hello?”
Her face brightened. “Oh, hi, Avery. What’s up? Did you get free, after all?”
JD could only hear the man’s tone faintly.
“Oh.”
But he could hear her disappointment. Vividly.
“That’s all right. Don’t worry, really. Things come up. When will you be back?”
Where could Lofton be going? Shit. He had to let Doc know. What if he was taking a powder? Could he be feeling the heat already? Had something happened that JD wasn’t aware of?
“One night. Big deal. I’ll be fine, really.”
JD wondered if Lofton could hear her lack of conviction.
“Of course. Makes sense that you’d be coming in late. Two days without your smiling face won’t kill me. It’s not like we don’t usually go months without a visit. And I can always call you if I— Oh.” Her voice fell. “Sure, that’s fine. Cell coverage isn’t good everywhere. No one gets that better than me. Reception on location is always dicey, so I understand. Just call me when you get back and have time. I can take a cab to your place, you know.” She listened again.
“My bodyguard?” She cast JD a sideways glance he couldn’t decipher. “Well, I can see if he’s available to bring me to you so you don’t have to…oh. Okay, sure. I understand. Sophie’s isn’t that far from your club.”
Even a blind man could see her disappointment that Lofton wasn’t welcoming her to his place. What the hell was he hiding there? If only JD could learn enough to justify a warrant… .
“We’ll work it out, Avery. You don’t have to take care of me. I’m a big girl.” Then she chuckled. “Okay, so you’ve been taking care of me for years, but what’s your point?” This smile was more genuine. Fond. “You have a safe trip, hear?” She disconnected the call and held the phone close to her chest, staring out the windshield.
“Problem?”
“What? Oh. No. Just my friend Avery, the one who invited me to Austin to visit. He’s designated himself my one-person entertainment committee, and he’s been religious about coming by every day to cheer me up. Now he has to make a quick business trip to look at a possible second location, and he just wanted me to know why he wouldn’t be coming by tomorrow. Not that I asked him to come every day, but…it has been nice.”
“Second location? Must be doing well. What kind of business?”
“He owns two businesses, actually, Scarlett’s, the restaurant, and a club called Danger Zone. I haven’t been there yet. Do you know it?”
“Sure do. It’s a hot spot. No wonder he’s looking to expand.” If that’s what he was really doing. “He say where?”
“Houston, he said.”
Ah. Houston. A port city. Where he could meet a shipment? Maybe this guy was more involved than they thought.
He had to get in touch with Doc. But he also had to find a reason to get away long enough to do that.
Meanwhile, Violet was watching him. He scrambled to fill the gap. “Well, hey, that sounds like a good thing for him. You’ve known him a long time?”
“Nearly half my life. He was my Sir Galahad when I moved to L.A., fresh off the turnip truck.” Her smile was both sad and fond.
“Sounds like a story.”
“He’s the best friend I ever had. He showed me the ropes and kept me from starving. When neither of us had two pennies to rub together, we shared what we had. He had faith in me when no one else did.”
Oh, man. So Lofton was truly important to her. How far would she go to exorcise her sense of indebtedness?
“He must be proud of you for all you’ve accomplished.”
A line formed between her brows. “Mostly. It’s been hard for him, though. He was an actor, too, but…he never got the breaks I did.”
“Maybe he didn’t have your talent.”
He could practically see her back arch. “Avery was talented—is, I mean. And I tried to return the favor. Once I had the leverage, I made sure he got a part in every production.”
“Ouch.”
Her head whipped around. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Sorry. None of my business.”
She sighed and slouched against the seat. “No…I know what you’re saying. He’s a proud man, and it didn’t take him long to realize I was behind the offers.” A faint smile. “We had quite a shouting match over that.” She was silent for a minute. “I meant well, but I think I broke his heart. Working on my films and getting no other offers was a nasty wake-up call. He left to come to Austin not long after. I try to tell myself he’s better off.”
“Isn’t he? I mean, it sounds like he’s a success.”
“He is, no question. It’s just…” She shook her head. “Everything’s different now. He’s so stressed out, and even though he’s the one who invited me here to visit, he didn’t ask me to stay with him. I shouldn’t be hurt—his hours are hideous—but…” She blew out a breath. “And this can’t possibly be interesting to you, even if my reactions weren’t so…girly.”
“But you are a girl,” he pointed out. Then, to cheer her up, he waggled his eyebrows. “As I can readily attest.” It was his turn for a gusty sigh. “At least, sort of, I can. Damn tourists.”
That elicited a faint grin. “I’m a tourist, if you’ll recall.”
“Naw. You’re an international star. That means you waltz right in anywhere and fit in.” He glanced over. “Don’t be bustin’ my bubble now. You won’t, will you?”
His foolishness seemed to lift her spirits—at least, enough for her to roll her eyes. “Right. I just show up and—poof! Everybody loves me.”
“Exactly my thoughts. It’s sort of a superpower.” When she giggled like a girl, something new inside him unfurled.
No. He could not get his heart involved. Period.
And he still needed to call Doc. Pronto. “Okay, let’s test your mettle.”
She lifted one eyebrow.
“I’m going to run you back to Sophie’s so you can get out of those wet clothes. After you’ve changed, we can go to my place so I can do the same—but you have to wait on the porch long enough for me to shove laundry under the bed, throw out pizza boxes, get the place presentable. Shouldn’t take more than, oh, an hour or two.”
“That bad, huh? Bachelor pad?”
“Worse. See, I got this idea—okay, my mom had been hammering on me, and Vince was just as bad, but then Jenna started in on me, and—hell, I still don’t know how it happened, but I bought a house. Do you know how much money you’re throwing away on rent, sweetheart?” he said in a falsetto. “My mom is ruthl
ess.”
“So now you have more room to make a mess of?”
“Well, not exactly. I got a great deal because Vince found this fixer-upper. No surprise—the whole clan is completely unbalanced over the do-it-yourself deal. Vince was remodeling his house when he met Chloe, who had done much of the work on hers. Jesse and Diego have a sick level of talent at anything creative, and Jenna heads this nonprofit that helps the disadvantaged become homeowners, sort of like Habitat for Humanity. So everyone’s all ‘JD, there’s nothing to it. Here’s a hammer and some nails and a paintbrush, now get to it.’ And, yeah, I was raised on a farm, and we learned to do just about everything for ourselves, but—”
She was outright laughing now. “So how bad is it?”
“One room is almost finished.”
“I’m afraid I have to see this.”
“Oh, you should be afraid, all right. Be very afraid.”
They exchanged grins.
“Sounds perfect. I’m in,” she said.
“In over your head, Hollywood, I’m warning you.”
But not any more over her head than he was.
He turned into the drive at Sophie’s and punched in the combination for the gate. “Oh—I just remembered that I need coffee. And, okay, toilet paper. I’ll go grab some and be right back here before you finish changing.”
She was shaking her head and grinning as she emerged from his truck. She waved goodbye, and he waved back.
But he noticed as he left that she was still standing there, watching.
And when she finally turned, she seemed so fragile and small, so vulnerable.
JD rubbed one hand over his heart. What in the hell have you done, dumbass?
He couldn’t begin to formulate an answer.
Instead, he pulled out his cell and called Doc.
* * *
VIOLET WAS DOUBLY GLAD right now that her quarters were separate so she didn’t have to drag herself through any public areas looking like a drowned rat.
Though at the moment, she wasn’t sure how much she cared. Her body was still buzzing from that interlude in the water, and she wasn’t at all sorry they’d have a chance to be alone later at his place. Yes, she was a paying guest here and shouldn’t be concerned over what anyone thought of her choice of guests or whether anyone slept over in her quarters, but Sophie’s was so much more than a hotel to her already—and she did care what Sophie thought.
The MacAllister clan was a close-knit bunch, and they included friends in their definition of family. She was the interloper, and JD was well loved. Sophie and Cade would feel protective of him. JD had been asked to provide security for her as a favor to them, and they might see her as preying upon a relationship that should have been only business.
But there was absolutely nothing businesslike about the way JD made her feel. That man could kiss…oh, lordy, he could kiss. Then there was that strong, gorgeous body, those changeable, magnetic gray eyes, the sharp intellect, the humor that sent all her defensive walls tumbling…
This trip to Austin to recuperate had suddenly taken on a whole new shine, and that was pretty amazing, considering she had intended to swear off men after Barry’s betrayal. She’d come to Austin wanting only to feel safe, to find time to heal out of the public eye. Never once had she even considered meeting a man, much less getting involved with one.
But this man…JD might be called a lady-killer, but there was much more to him. He felt like someone from home, someone of the same background and values. He could be much more than a fling.
Hold on now. Half a country separated them, and they had incompatible careers, she reminded herself. And she was still raw from betrayal.
Violet unlocked the door to her suite and entered, then leaned back against the door. JD made her forget all about her real life when she was with him. Taking her to his special spot, creating a bubble around her, a lovely little time out of mind…it was easy to spin out fantasies of what could be.
And L.A. did have a police academy, plus Violet knew the mayor personally, so she could—
Wow. So tempting to blot out the fact that any relationship between them would have to survive the harsh glare of her celebrity, the spotlight that would be turned on him, too. He’d brought a ray of hope and joy into the last two days, but how fair would it be to subject him to the nastiness of Hollywood, the gossip, the constant pressure to play a role?
He was strong and secure in himself, but what would he think of her milieu? Could he possibly understand the pressure for her to pretend constantly, to have so few places where she could be herself and not have to worry about letting anyone down?
But he did have all the makings of the man of her dreams, and his reactions to her healed a lot of the damage Barry’s infidelity had inflicted. JD gave her hope that maybe she wasn’t fatally flawed. Maybe some man could come to truly care for her…maybe even this one.
Good grief. Avery had often teased her that she should have been a writer because she was so good at spinning out fantasies from a simple statement, a faint impression.
And he was right. Here she was, worrying about JD and a future when they’d only shared a couple of hot kisses. JD wasn’t pledging his undying love or begging her to stay—he was hot for her, yes, as she was more than a little ready to take things further with him, but the most he’d offered was today and tomorrow.
Violet shoved away from the door and headed for the bedroom, stripping as she walked, rolling her eyes and laughing softly at herself.
The universe had aligned to grant her good fortune: two days with a fascinating man while Avery would not even be around to ask questions. She would leave a message for Sophie, should events proceed as her sizzling nerve endings wished, keeping her away for the night. Maybe Sophie would understand and maybe not, but Violet had to get over her too-sharp need for the approval of others.
JD was a big boy. Violet hummed deep in her throat, remembering how that applied in more than one sense. She grinned at herself in the bathroom mirror—oh, you bad girl—then stepped into the shower, singing.
* * *
JD TEXTED DOC. Lofton leaving for Houston ASAP.
His phone rang before he’d even parked at the grocery.
“Hey, Doc.”
“Leaving as in running away?” Doc asked.
“Not that I can tell. He told Violet he’d be back late tomorrow.”
“What else?”
“Only that she’s not part of it, Doc. I’d stake my life on it.”
“I guess that’s nice to know.”
“Yeah. Though it doesn’t much help our case.” But he was relieved to know his sense of her hadn’t been off. Or that he was this attracted to a monster hiding behind a beautiful facade. He realized Doc had said something. “What?”
“I asked what your plans are now.”
“I told her I was off today and tomorrow.” Though he was more reluctant than he ought to be if he really had his mind on his job, he made the offer to Doc, anyway. “She’s expecting me back any minute. Need me to…damn. That’s the problem with saying I teach at the Academy. Tough to manufacture an emergency.”
“No, we’re covered. You stay close. Even if she’s not a part of it, he checks in with her. That gives us another way to keep an eye on him.”
“Yeah, but I could be doing something more important. Like nosing around Danger Zone or helping to follow leads on the waitress.” Or on Candy. He still hadn’t been able to track her down.
“The others can handle that. You’ve got access no one else has. What’s their relationship, her and Lofton?”
“Long roots. Deep ties. Calls him her best friend. But complicated, too. They were both starving young actors, but she made it. He didn’t.”
“Anything we ca
n learn about him or his movements is information we need. You stay with her as much as you can. If I have to pull you, I will, but for now, you’re on vacation through tomorrow. I’ll get the word to Houston, and we’ll be watching that warehouse. Lofton say where he was when he called her?”
“Not that I could tell. He said he’d be back late tomorrow and would come see her the next day. He usually comes in the mornings, but from what she’s said, he just drops in. I hadn’t thought it a good idea to be around when he was, but want me to change that?”
“No. If you’re there when he shows up, we’ll deal with it, but otherwise, I agree with your take. Don’t give him a reason to become cautious.”
“Got it.” Should he tell Doc he might be spending the night with her? “Doc…things with Violet are…a little heated.”
“Romeo strikes again, huh?”
It’s not like that, he wanted to protest.
“Whatever it takes, JD,” Doc continued before he could respond.
But there was a sly amusement in Doc’s voice that JD couldn’t just slough off as he usually did. “She’s a good person, Doc. She’s not…it isn’t…” But he had to stop because he honestly didn’t know what this was. He just knew it wasn’t simply a job.
“Whatever keeps you close.” The humor was gone, and somehow he felt even worse. “That’s your assignment right now. Stay close. If she trusts you, Lofton might, too. That kind of access is everything. I gotta go now. Be safe.”
“Yeah. Always.” JD disconnected and walked inside the store, but it took him a minute to remember why he was here.
If she trusts you…
She was already starting to.
And he’d never felt more tainted by the life he led.
CHAPTER TEN
VIOLET HAD, AS PROMISED, showered and changed quickly. Her stomach was jumpy in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She glanced out the window and spotted Sophie and Skeeter.
On His Honor Page 12