Alex. God, what was he doing here?
The other detective stopped abruptly when he saw Donovan. "What the hell are you doing here, Donovan?"
Connor turned toward Alex. "I heard Raine was going to be competing today and thought I'd get a look at tae kwon do, adult style."
"So you came all the way to Naperville to watch her? You were at the precinct even later than me last night."
"Yeah, I heard you closed the Harrison case."
"Guy's in the county lock-up."
Raine had to admire Donovan's smooth segue and the way he'd distracted Alex. She should learn from it. He was smart. Quick. A tough opponent.
For a moment, dark emotions swirled in Alex's gaze. Then he forced himself to smile. "Came to the meet to kick the shit out of someone." His gaze moved between her and Donovan. "You're the last person I expected to see here."
"Life is full of surprises," Connor responded blandly.
Alex's gaze turned speculative, then he grinned at her. "The team's next match is Wednesday. Right, Raine?" She nodded once. Alex continued, "Want me to bring someone else from the precinct? Or does Donovan have that covered?"
"Don't be an ass, Jennings." Connor moved a little closer to the other man, and Raine could practically smell the testosterone swirling between them.
"Just asking," Alex replied with a straight face. "Don't want the place to be overrun with cops. Might freak out the girls."
"Go to hell, Jennings," Connor said.
Jennings smiled, as if he'd gotten the reaction he was aiming for. "Got a match to get ready for." He leaned closer and kissed Raine's cheek, then walked away.
What the hell was that? Alex had never kissed her before. She knew he wasn't staking a claim – they'd never dated and never would. No chemistry.
Maybe it was a warning intended for Connor. It was sweet of Alex, but she could take care of herself.
She'd been doing it since she was twelve years old.
Chapter 5
They both watched Alex walk away, then Connor turned to her. "When's your next match?"
She could lie and tell him she was finished. He might leave.
But she didn't think so. Connor Donovan was stubborn. Relentless. He'd gone to a lot of trouble to find out where she was. He wasn't going to walk away because she told him to.
She couldn't force the words out of her mouth anyway. Maybe she wanted him to stay.
She hunched her shoulders and fiddled with the belt at her waist. "I have another match in a half-hour."
If she moved, their shoulders would touch. His breath tickled her neck, and his knuckles brushed hers. Just like the other day, electricity raced up her arm. Made her legs weak. Left her breathless.
"I can't wait to see you in action." His voice was meant only for her.
She shivered all the way to her toes, so she shoved him away. "Stop crowding me. Or you'll make me lose my match." Damn it. Where was the filter between her mouth and her brain?
Donovan leaned in. "Really? You might lose your match because of me? Why is that, Raine?"
Her heart hammered against her chest and heat swept through her. She grabbed the towel from her bag. "I need to concentrate on preparing for it. Hard to do with you hanging all over me."
"I wasn't even touching you." He moved a little closer, and she thought she heard his heart pound. Or maybe that was hers. "I could, though. If you asked me to."
His low voice wrapped them in a cocoon of intimacy. In spite of herself, her blood thrummed with arousal.
"Don't hold your breath." She swiped her face with her towel and threw it into her bag with more force than necessary.
She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, just as she did before a match. To ground herself. Focus on her opponent.
Was Connor an opponent?
Yes. He was a cop. Dangerous to her. If he kept digging, sooner or later he'd figure out her connection with Peter.
Even if he did, what could he do about it? So she ran past Peter's house every night. She wasn't committing any crime.
So why did it scare her that Connor might find out?
He was a cop. She was essentially stalking Peter. It would change Connor's opinion of her.
Why did she care? She had her plan. No cop was going to derail it.
No matter how much she was attracted to him.
"Have I rattled you, Ms. Taylor?" His breath tickled her ear and made her shiver. She elbowed him away.
"No, Detective. You haven't."
"Shame." He leaned closer. "You've rattled me."
She turned to face him. "I can't imagine why."
His eyes were heavy-lidded, and his face was flushed. "You're a smart woman. I bet you can figure it out."
Yeah, she could. An answering rush of heat flashed through her. "Must be the rarified suburban air you're breathing."
He grinned at her and rocked back on his heels. The sexy detective was gone, replaced by the teasing man. "Not the air, Raine. Something much more fun than that."
She would not ask what he meant. Because she knew. "Did you work on Alex's case?"
The segue was awkward. His tiny smile said he knew it, too. But he let her get away with it.
"I helped with some legwork." His smile disappeared. "It was a tough case."
"Alex seemed upset this morning." Thank God. A neutral topic of conversation.
"It's always hard when it involves kids."
His expression darkened and a muscle twitched in his jaw. She wanted to reach up and soothe it. Instead, she shoved her hands into the sleeves of her jacket. "No wonder he came to the meet today. He said he needed to kick some ass."
"We all have our coping mechanisms."
She stared at him, flicked her gaze to Alex, who was sitting on the floor, staring into space. They had soul-killing jobs. "What's yours?" she blurted. She bit her lip, but she was too late. The words were out.
She shouldn't have asked. It was too personal. Too...intimate.
She needed to know him, she reminded herself. In order to anticipate him.
Right. That was the only reason.
"Cop bars," he said. "Works like a charm."
"You handle a murder by drinking?"
He sighed. "We have a beer or two. Not the point, though. We talk a little smack. Complain about our bosses or our wives or our girlfriends. Sometimes we throw a few punches." He rolled his shoulders. "Bar therapy."
"That doesn't sound like a lot of fun."
"Beats the alternative."
"Which is?"
"Sitting on the couch by yourself with a beer in your hand and too many empty bottles already in the trash."
She wanted to touch him. To comfort him. She stuck her hands behind her back and shoved them into her belt. "I guess there are worse jobs than teaching middle-school kids."
She watched him pull himself out of the introspective funk he'd fallen into. "I'll take being a cop any day." He shuddered. "Dealing with a bunch of hormonal kids all day, every day? My idea of hell."
She leaned against the wall, glad the conversation was lighter. "It's not that bad. And you were good with the girls. You didn't treat them like kids. You talked to them as equals."
"I remember my sister at that age. Hell on wheels." He smiled. "Still is."
He'd said he had a lot of siblings, and Raine wanted to ask about them. But they'd already gotten uncomfortably personal. Time to dial it down. "I need to get ready for my next match."
"Okay." He looked around the gym, where people were in various stages of preparation. "I'll get out of your way."
She nodded toward a wall where a few other spectators stood. "You can stand over there. I don't want to kick you accidentally."
One side of his mouth curled up. "Sure it would be an accident?"
"Yes. If I mean to kick you, you'll know it."
His eyes twinkled, and she was sure he was going to make some inappropriate comment. But he put ten feet between them, then leaned on the wall and watche
d. As if she were the only person in the room.
She shivered. Closed her eyes. Then turned her back on him.
She jammed her ear buds in her ears. It had been a long time since her last date. Longer than that since she'd had sex with an actual man. Of course she was wound up.
Detective Donovan was an attractive guy. He'd made it clear he was interested in her, and her body was certainly interested in him. Even knowing he could derail her mission, knowing he was dangerous to her, the combination was hard to resist.
But she forced herself to focus on her warm up. She had a schedule, and she needed to stick to it. She planned on going to a meet every weekend until she was ready. Then she'd step out from the shadows and challenge Peter.
She knew her former brother-in-law too well. He'd go after her.
And she'd protect herself.
***
Raine bowed to her final opponent, then hugged him after they stepped off the mat. "Thank you for the match, Sayhun," she said to the older man. "I'm honored to have been your opponent."
Paul Park smiled at her, his lined face softening. He looked far different from the fierce, focused man who'd defeated her moments ago. "The honor was mine, Raine. You did well. You made me work for the win." He flicked his gaze toward Connor, standing on the sidelines. "You had a reason for working hard today, hmm?"
Her face burning, Raine said, "I always work my hardest, Sayhun."
He patted her shoulder. "Maybe a little harder when you're showing off for your young man."
Raine rolled her shoulders, hoping Connor hadn't heard the remark. "He's not my young man," she muttered.
"Then he wants to be." Paul smiled again. "He stuck around all day, watching a sport he clearly doesn't understand. I don't think he did it to learn about tae kwon do."
No, he hadn't. He'd focused on her the whole time with laser-like intensity. From another man, it would have been creepy. Instead, Connor's attention had made a closed-off place inside her unfurl, like a plant tasting the sun after a long, cold winter.
"I just met him," she said. "I barely know him."
"Then go get to know him better." He gave her a tiny nudge. "Anyone who watches tae kwon do matches all day for a woman he barely knows is worth a little effort."
"Is matchmaking part of your job description, sir?" She tried to keep it light. To make a joke of it.
"No." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "But you've always been so self-contained. This is the first time you brought anyone to a match."
"I didn't bring him," she said, knowing she sounded like a sulky child. "He just showed up."
"Then go thank him. He deserves that, at least." He touched her arm. "We only know we're alive sometimes when we take a risk."
The seventh-degree black belt headed toward the group of students from his school, and Raine stared after him. What had brought that on? The master of their dojan knew all his students, but she'd had no idea he knew them so well.
It had felt like a father giving his daughter's date his seal of approval.
"Looks like you know that guy pretty well."
She whirled to find Connor too close again. He'd been in her personal space all day. She'd lost the energy to fight it a few hours ago. "He's the owner of the school I belong to. Paul Park."
"Pretty cozy with a guy who's just beaten you."
She turned to face him. "It's not about winning or losing. I knew going in he'd beat me. You learn by fighting someone who's better than you."
"Interesting perspective. So you're not competitive?"
"I didn't say that." She'd worked hard to win her matches today. Maybe she had less rust to brush off than she'd thought. Maybe she was more ready than she'd realized to take Peter on.
"Thank you for coming today, Detective Donovan. You didn't have to waste your whole day here."
"Who said it was a waste?" He leaned closer. "I enjoyed watching you kick ass out there, Raine."
His breath tickled her neck, and lightning skittered down through her chest, her belly, and pooled between her legs. "Glad you were entertained," she managed to say. "I have to get my stuff."
She hurried away from him, desire humming beneath her skin. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She shouldn't have stood so close to him. Shouldn't have let herself inhale his scent, feel his heat, notice how his eyes were half-lidded, his pupils dilated until there was only a rim of blue left.
"I have something for you," he said behind her.
Yeah, she bet he did. She spun around. "What?"
He'd had his hands behind his back. When he lowered them, her hoodie dangled from his right hand. "Thought you might want this."
She froze, staring at the worn garment, then looked up at him. Why was he giving it back to her now? Did he know Genie was her sister? Had he figured out her plans for revenge?
"I thought you wanted this."
She snatched it out of his hand and slung it around her neck, taking comfort from the soft material. If her sister were alive, she'd have come to the meet today. Having the hoodie back was having a part of Genie here with her.
"Thank you," she said, clenching the material in her hand.
"You're welcome, Raine." His voice was low. Private. All day long, he'd made her feel as if they were the only two people in the big, drafty room.
She made the mistake of looking at him. The desire was gone from his eyes, leaving only a softness she'd never seen before. A softness that made her heart stutter.
Clearing her throat, she said, "Does this mean you're not going to arrest me?"
"I was never going to arrest you." He touched the sleeve of the hoodie that trailed down her arm. "Just kept it because I was curious. I wondered why you were in front of Northrup's house that morning. But the jacket can't talk to me, and it seemed like it meant a lot to you. So I'm giving it back."
"Thank you," she said again. Maybe he'd figured it out. She'd worry about that later. Right now, she was glad to have a part of her sister with her again. She carefully unwrapped the hoodie from her neck, folded it and placed it in her bag. "It means a lot to me."
"Maybe some day you'll tell me why."
"My sister gave it to me. I already told you that."
"My sister gave me a butt-ugly sweater last Christmas. I don't carry it around with me like it was made out of spun gold."
The cop was back. Probing. Looking for a chink in her armor. She wasn't going to let him find it. "And I'm sure your sister is hurt by your lack of appreciation."
He stared at her for a long moment, as if he thought she was serious, then he grinned. "I like a woman who's quick on her feet." He tugged at her uniform jacket. "In more ways than one. Have dinner with me before we both head back to the city?"
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry." Her stomach chose that moment to rumble, and heat washed over her skin.
He laughed. "Doesn't sound like your stomach agrees. You didn't eat much today. There's a nice restaurant a few blocks away. Take a chance. Live dangerously."
It would be very dangerous to have dinner with him. To make this about more than his investigation of a prowler in front of Peter's house. But she was wired from the meet and Paul's words echoed in her head. 'You're so self-contained. We only know we're alive sometimes when we take a risk.'
"Okay," she said before she could stop herself. "Let's have dinner. It's a long drive home."
He glanced at her dobok. "You going to wear that? I'm good with it, but you might get a little chilly."
"I have clothes." She snatched her bag from the floor and headed to the rest room. "I'll be right back."
Chapter 6
Raine licked a dab of cream off the corner of her mouth as she finished the tiramisu, and every one of Connor's muscles clenched. His cock sprang to life, too, but that wasn't anything new. He'd been half-hard all day, watching Raine kick ass and take names.
He'd been surprised she'd agreed to dinner, and wondered if the old guy she'd fought in the last match had anything to do with it. He'd kept an eye
on Connor all afternoon, almost as if he was Raine's father, watching out for his daughter.
It had made Connor squirm. He wasn't a 'meet-the-family' kind of guy when it came to women he dated. He wanted fun, easy and uncomplicated and only got involved with women who felt the same way.
Raine, he was pretty sure, was in the same camp – she was too guarded to spill her guts to a lover. And she was interested in him. She'd tried to hide it, but he knew from the way her eyes darkened when she looked at him, the way she unconsciously leaned toward him, that she was as aware of him as he was of her.
He wanted to explore that connection, but the job had to come first. He needed to ask her about Northrup.
They'd talked about lots of things over dinner, but neither of them touched on the elephant in the room. He hated to break the mood, but it was time.
The waiter removed the empty dessert plate, and Raine glanced at her watch as she picked up her coffee. Connor took another sip from his own mug. "So how do you know Peter Northrup, Raine?"
Her mug hit the table. Hard. A splash of light brown liquid spilled over the top, staining the white tablecloth.
"Who's that?" Her voice was low. Harsh. As if shock had frozen her vocal cords.
"The guy whose house you've been stalking." Mia had said Northrup called a lot. Which meant Raine had been at his house before that night. He took another sip of coffee, watching her over the rim.
She stared at him, eyes wide, pupils dilated.
He waited until the silence was uncomfortable. "I talked to Northrup last night. He denied knowing who you are, but he knows all about you, doesn't he?"
"You're checking up on me?" She cupped her hands around the mug of cappuccino.
"That's my job," he said gently. "I responded to the prowler call. It's my responsibility to get the facts straight."
"You think I'm lying?" Her knuckles whitened on the coffee mug.
"I know you are, Raine. I just don't know why."
She stared into the cappuccino.
"I called one of the detectives who handled Northrup's wife's murder, but he hasn't called me back. What's he going to tell me?"
At that she lifted her head. "Is that why you came out here today? Stuck around to watch me? Asked me to dinner? So you could interrogate me?"
Trust Me (The Donovan Family Book 4) Page 5