The Longdale cop sat with his back to the others, but it was a good bet he was listening to every word. Jordan blocked out everything but the cop—nerves, fear, thoughts of Ty erased from her mind. Like a machine, she processed the threats. Hand on her gun, she waited for Bahan to signal that Warren was making his move.
Bahan slid a finger across the tabletop, mirroring Warren’s slide of the duffel bag.
The payoff was moving.
“Freeze, you’re under arrest,” Ty’s voice sounded from behind her.
She flew out of the booth.
The dirty Longdale cop swiveled, aimed his gun toward Ty.
Jordan pulled her trigger, and the dirty cop slumped to the floor. Bahan rushed Arlo and Warren. Ty jumped one of the drug dealers, wrestled him down. She heard fists connecting with bone and finally, a gunshot.
Christ, no.
What had she missed? What hadn’t she seen in her dream?
Neither Ty nor the drug dealer moved. Jordan’s world hung motionless for an eternity. She tried to go to him, wanted to rush toward their tangled limbs, but everything inside her froze. A pool of blood spilled onto the floor, and even her heart and breath seized.
Ty finally lifted his head, and the room spun.
Jordan’s slow-motion world resumed speed, sounds and movement penetrated through the deafening roar of her heartbeat. People were cuffed, and Miranda rights were given. Local and state backup burst through the doors in full force, but still, she couldn’t move.
Untangling himself from the drug dealer, Ty stood and stared down at the man lying in a pool of blood at his feet and then turned his face toward Jordan.
Bahan stepped next to her. “You okay?”
“I will be.” She forced herself to look at Bahan. “Can I take the van? I need to get out of here.”
“Now? Are you kidding? We’ve got to report and—”
She felt the dizzying rush of blood drain from her head. Bahan grabbed her arm and hustled her out the door.
Once outside, she yanked the wig from her head and bent over taking a few deep breaths. The crisp December air slapped some life back into her. “I won’t be gone long; I just need a few minutes.” She stood upright. “Can you cover for me? I still have the key to my apartment here in town. I’ll head there, wash this make-up off, pack up my clothes so that when we leave this time, I don’t ever have to look back.”
Bahan frowned. “He’ll still be here when you get back, you know. You can’t hide from McGee forever.”
“Maybe not forever, but for right now. That’s all I’m asking.”
Bahan nodded. “I can give you a little time, but be quick about it. And I need you to leave your weapon.” He picked up her hand and dropped the keys into it.
She headed across the street to the bulky, white surveillance van. She reached for the door handle and heard footsteps behind her. She didn’t turn around, but she knew by the cadence of the walk and the way her heart raced that Ty was right behind her.
“So that’s it? No ‘see you around, Ty.’ No ‘have a nice life, Ty.’ No ‘I hate your guts, Ty.’ You just walk away?”
She tried to ignore the emotion that welled up under the hurt in his voice. “They all three apply. Consider them said if it makes you feel better.” She opened the van door.
Pushing it shut, he trapped her between his arms. His chest pushed against her back, his breath streaked down her neck and lodged a thundering, vibrating drum somewhere in the vicinity of where her heart used to be.
Every muscle in her body tightened. She closed her eyes.
“Look at me, Jordan,” he said, turning her in his arms.
He was close. Too close. He put a hand under her chin and lifted her head.
She forced her eyes open. His gaze was still the most breathtaking sight she’d ever known, but looking at him hurt worse than any physical pain ever had. He was quite simply a painful reminder of what she was. Of what she would never have.
His stroked her cheek.
Damn it, she wanted to be strong, strong enough not to tilt her head and melt into his touch, but she couldn’t quite manage it.
“You saved me in there, didn’t you?” he asked. “How did you know?”
“Lucky guess.”
“No. Lucky dream,” he answered. “For me, anyhow.”
She looked everywhere but at him. “I have to...uhm, go. I have business to take care of.”
“No you don’t. Any business you need to take care of is right here.” He weaved his fingers in the tangled mess of her hair and leaned his forehead against hers. “Please don’t run from me, baby.”
“What’s the point, Ty? You want me to tell you that a dream is how I knew you were in danger? And if I tell you that, will you ask me if I’m crazy again?”
“No.” He tightened his hold on her head when she attempted to pull away, forced her eyes directly to his. “Then I tell you I love you, and maybe you tell me you love me, too.”
She shook off his hands and forced him back a step. “It won’t work.”
“It does work. Better than anything has ever worked for either of us, and you damn well know it.” He swallowed hard. “I caught the kid who killed Tara, because of what you told me. You were right. About everything.” He forced in a long breath and released it slowly. “Arron Thomas. He graduated from North Cooper High last June. He was visiting his cousin when they decided to go to the same party Tara went to.”
Jordan’s breath exhaled on a whoosh. Not now, not here, she silently pleaded.
“He said he didn’t know why he did it, other than he was using drugs. He felt powerful, like he could get away with anything, but he didn’t plan to kill her. That’s what he said.” Ty’s voice broke. “There was no reason. No reason for killing my sister.”
Oh, God, she wanted to touch him, put her hand on his face, maybe run her fingers through his hair. Just one small touch to let him know she was glad they’d gotten some closure.
She simply couldn’t take it, and finally, she reached for his hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if it helps or not, but I know she loved you so much. She still loves you.” Jordan debated for a long moment, then said, “Tara was the one who saved you today. She came to me in a dream last night, showed me what was going to happen. I don’t think she ever came to me because of what happened to her. I think it was you she wanted to save the whole time.”
Ty squeezed his eyes tight, but Jordan had already seen the tears. He put his hands on her hips like he’d done so many times before and pulled her body close to his.
“I’m so sorry for not trying to understand more, for not giving you a chance to explain. I had been trying so hard for so long to figure out what happened to Tara, it just didn’t seem possible that information from a dream could suddenly solve it. But then I sat down and really put it together, everything you said... ” His voice clogged and trailed off.
Pressed so closely against him, she didn’t stand a chance in hell of thinking clearly. Or of avoiding the painful, consuming emotions. “Ty, please stop. It’s okay—”
“No, it’s not okay. It hasn’t been okay since you left. I can’t eat or sleep or function. I’ve been trying to find you. Twenty-seven phone calls, thirteen texts. You wouldn’t answer your phone. Hell, Jordan, you’re killing me here.
He crushed his lips against hers, and the need was so desperate, so raw, pushing him away never felt like an option. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and the kiss tumbled quickly from heartsick and needy to fierce in a matter of seconds. His arm squeezed more firmly around her waist and crushed her even tighter against him.
Their lips fused and tangled. He kissed her until she was senseless, dizzy, until she had to pull her head back and gasp for air.
His chest was still heaving when he eased back and studied her for a long moment. “I’ve thought about you every second of every day we’ve been apart. I understand you have dreams, bad ones. I get that you don’t understand them fully or why they appear, bu
t I’m not scared. It’ll never make me stop loving you.”
Her heart tumbled when he said that he loved her. But what kind of life could she give him?
“You think you can love someone like me.” She shook her head. “But you haven’t even seen the tip of it. How dark it is sometimes. How awful, violent, sad it can be. How it drives me to do things, to take chances that aren’t smart ones. It would never be an easy, peaceful life with me.”
“Baby, we both passed easy and peaceful a long time ago. You think I don’t love you enough to stand by you? If you’re standing here telling me you’re psychic but can’t even understand what I feel for you, you’re not nearly as good as you think you are.”
He dropped his hands. The emptiness of losing contact with him rolled across her.
“I think it’s not me who has a problem with the dreams,” he said. “It’s not me who’s too scared to accept things as they are and give us a try. It’s you. Quit hiding behind the dreams.”
Her bottom lip quivered. Her throat tightened.
“McGee,” one of Bahan’s agents called out to Ty. “Bahan wants you inside.”
“Go,” she said.
“Fuck,” Ty mumbled. “I love you. I do. I’ve never been with anyone who’s made me feel like this. I want every part of you, even the parts that dream.” His lips curved. “Especially the parts that see a gun aimed at me before I do.”
He held her head and brushed his lips against hers, so softly it stole her breath. And for the first time since she’d been a child, the universe straightened and everything was infinitely less complicated. He loved her. Even with the dreams, he loved her. Because of her dreams, he loved her.
“You. Go. Nowhere,” he said with a warning glare. He started to walk toward the diner, then turned back to her, pointing a finger. “We’re not done. Stay right here.”
“No,” she repeated as turned. “We’re not done.”
He jogged to the door of the diner.
Once again, she had to admire the sinful perfection of his ass. What were the odds of bronzing those damn blue jeans? And while she appreciated his very masculine form, she wondered why men always thought they were in charge.
She had no intentions of standing around in a parking lot, and she certainly wasn’t wasting another minute of her life on Arlo and Warren Buck.
She meant what she’d said—they weren’t done, not by a long shot. But now it was her turn to step up. Ty was right; she’d hidden behind the dreams long enough. She may not have been a genius, but she wasn’t a total idiot either. He loved her. She loved him. All the rest was just the messy details they’d have to sort through.
Plus, Ty didn’t realize he’d given her something just as meaningful as his love. He’d given her a whole new perspective. Until he pointed it out, she’d completely dismissed the fact that she’d been able to save him because of a dream.
She saved someone she loved because of her gift.
Maybe she hadn’t been able to save her family, but she saved Ty. And that, she knew, was worth every dream she’d ever lived through.
He’d made the first move, putting himself out there, risking his heart. He claimed he’d could live with the strangeness that was her life.
Now she’d risk something, too. Her sanity, for starters. Checking her watch, she calculated how much time she had. Ten minutes to get to her apartment. Thirty minutes to shower and pack a suitcase. Ten minutes for the return trip. She’d be back before Ty realized she was gone.
But just to be sure, she’d call him and let him know what she was planning. Then she decided they’d be even. Staying in Titus would be damn near as big a sacrifice as suffering through a few random dreams. At least the way she figured it, it was. But if she was going to start a life with Ty, she wasn’t going to do it in the grandma garb she was wearing. Nor would she do it in the cocktail-waitress get-ups she had at Ty’s place.
The only way she’d stay in Titus would be as Jordan Delany.
Woman. Cop. And dreamer.
Chapter 24
“Well, that’s just great.”
Jordan called Ty four times on the way back to her apartment. He wasn’t picking up. She knew it was chaos at the diner—Bahan and the other Feds were no doubt drilling him—but if he saw it was her number, why wasn’t he answering?
Maybe she needed to call Bahan, see if he could get a message to Ty. Although avoiding Bahan felt like a better plan. Not really avoiding him per se, but the next few weeks would be an endless myriad of reports, interviews, and briefings. She needed just a little time to get her head on straight. Her job had been her only concern for way too long. Tonight, Ty had to be the priority.
She was thirsty, hungry, and bone tired, but she powered through a shower and threw on jeans and a blouse. Glancing around the apartment with a surprising amount of affection, she decided she might just miss one or two of the silly roosters. As crazy as it sounded, they’d become weird little friends who had watched her and Ty fall in love.
It only took a few minutes to throw her clothes in the suitcase. She was struggling with the zipper when someone pounded on the door. Bahan had probably sent someone to check on her and hurry her back to the crime scene.
As soon as the turn of the doorknob clicked in her hand, Ty charged across the threshold like an angry bull.
“What are you doing here? I figured you’d be tied up for quite a while,” she said.
He pivoted and pinned her with a look so full of anger, her heart tripped. “Are you okay?” A pang of concern shot through her. “Did something else happen? Did someone else get hurt?”
Fury leapt off of him. He looked like a bomb seconds before detonation. “You mean before or after you took off?”
It took a couple of seconds for the meaning of his words to register, but then she got it. He hadn’t listened to his messages. He didn’t think she was coming back.
“Thought you had just enough time to pack a bag and disappear before I could catch up, didn’t you?” he said in an angry growl. “Well, think again.” He marched across the room, but marched back just as quickly. Ran his hand through his hair. “Do I need to use your own cuffs on you to lock you in place for five minutes?”
She raised a brow. As if that would ever happen. “Calm down. I tried to call you. Left a message—”
“Quiet.” The harsh bark of the word silenced her. “I’m talking, and for once in your life, you’re going to be silent and listen.”
He’d misunderstood and was going to feel like an idiot when he finally heard his messages, but still her eyes narrowed at his Neanderthal tone. “Ty, look. You don’t understand. I just wanted to get—”
“Do you know how many times I’ve tried to call you since you left?”
Yeah, she knew. He’d made it very clear earlier. Twenty-seven calls and thirteen text messages. But it seemed like maybe more of a rhetorical question, so she kept her mouth shut.
“All I asked was for you to wait for me. Just a little while until Bahan was done with me so we could talk. But you took off. Again!”
Jordan moved closer and could feel the hurt radiating from him. She’d become adept at blocking the feelings most people emitted, but with Ty, she just didn’t know how to guard against them. “Okay, I get it.” She spoke calmly, determined to set him straight. “You’re upset because I left. If you’d stop interrupting every time I open my mouth—”
“How can you not want to fight for what we have? I’m sorry for every wrong thing I said, but nothing that happened between us was so big that it can’t be fixed. I mean, come on.”
To shut him up, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled his lips firmly against hers.
He stood stiff, shocked, then his lips softened.
Her tongue eased into the familiar, glorious heat of his mouth, and she poured everything she had into that one drugging kiss.
His arms tightened around her. He groaned and shuddered. “I don’t want to lose you. I can’t,” he whispered. �
��Just can’t lose you.”
Emotions hung thick and heavy in the air, but they had changed, morphed into something less angry but more desperate. “Look,” she said, “I know you’re tired and upset, but why didn’t you listen to the messages I left for you?”
He moved his hands to her face. “Because I wasn’t about to let you run away with a simple goodbye on my phone.”
“I mean it, Ty.” She smoothed her fingers against the front of his jeans. When she felt his phone, she dug it out of his pocket and handed it to him. “Listen to your messages.”
“Damn it, Jordan. I’m tired of playing games.” Irritated, he snatched the phone from her, punched in the numbers, and held it to his ear. “Oh,” he said when the reality hit him. “You were coming back?”
She smiled and nodded.
“You were packing a suitcase so you could stay with me? In Titus?”
“Yes.”
“But you hate Titus.”
“So imagine how much I must love you.”
A deep, coiled tension seemed to rush from his body on a giant exhale. Frankly, he looked like he might pass out. “Thank God,” he whispered.
She tugged him toward the couch. “Maybe you should sit.”
He dropped down into the cushions.
Lowering herself next to him, she shifted to make sure she had his full attention. “I love you, Ty. More than you know. More than I’m comfortable with. A whole lot more than I thought it was possible for me to love someone.”
“Baby, I love you, too. It almost killed me when I thought you’d left again.” He pulled her tight and brushed his lips against hers. “I know we have to go back to the diner, but for a little while, can we please stay just like this?”
She nodded as he tugged her against his shoulder. Exhausted, they settled against the back of the big, old sofa, snugly wrapped in each other’s arms.
“You know,” Ty finally said, eyes still closed, “this thing is uglier than homemade soup, but Christ, it’s comfortable.”
Dream Huntress Page 25