Minutes ticked by slower than a hot, humid August day, giving her time to think about things she didn’t want to think about.
Like how glad she was that was Rob here with her and not Matt.
Not that she didn’t like Matt. She did. He was easy to talk to and appeared to be a great deal of fun. Matt reminded her of her brothers, and she didn’t need any more of those. Rob, on the other hand, made her feel safe and secure—that is, when he wasn’t making her feel hot and bothered. Which was strange in itself because his tall form, piercing, cold blue eyes and his keep-your-distance attitude should have made her feel quite the opposite.
Eris caught a glimpse of a shadow as it moved across the open doorway and swung her gun up. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked down the barrel of the pistol.
“Christ, I told you to stay put. I could have blown you away. What were you thinking?”
She lowered her gun. “I was worried about you and thought it would be easier to help you from over here than way over there.”
Rob holstered his gun while she put hers away. When she straightened, he was staring at her in a way that made her uncomfortable. “What?”
He blinked a couple of times. “Nothing. Why don’t you go inside and walk around. See if anything is missing but don’t touch a thing. I need to make a couple of phone calls.”
* * * * *
Thirty minutes later, Eris stood beside her kitchen table and watched as an army of police officers went through her apartment. She watched as they searched high and low for evidence of who skewered the card to her door. The powdery substance from gathering fingerprints appeared to be on every surface in the place. It would take her a week to get it all cleaned up.
Rob glanced over at her, and she watched as he ended his conversation with Olson and moved across the room to her. She didn’t like Detective Olson. He was too harsh, too crude and too opinionated for her taste. Every time she was around the detective, she wanted to bolt for the nearest exit.
“Any luck?” she asked as Rob reached her. She crossed her fingers, hoping it would help.
“Doubt it. Olson says the killer has been extremely careful not to leave any evidence. It’s not likely he got careless tonight. But they’ll take all the evidence down to the lab for processing.” Rob stood next to her, watching the scene.
“This could be a copycat. Someone trying to scare me.” They accomplished their goal, Eris thought as she moved closer to Rob.
“Maybe,” he conceded. “Except for one thing—how would a copycat know about the playing card with the yin-yang symbol on the back? That particular piece of information hasn’t been leaked to the public. Nor was it mentioned in our meeting this morning, but you knew about it.”
“Yes.” Eris wrapped her arms around herself even tighter and sidestepped one more time. This time she could feel Rob’s sleeve rub against her arm.
She knew he was correct about the yin-yang card. Everyone working the case was sworn to secrecy and she had only spoken about it with Orbit. She figured there were better odds of having six inches of snow in New Orleans in July than this being a copycat. She inched closer to Rob, and this time his arm went around her shoulder as he pulled her next to him. His hand rubbed her arm in comforting slow strokes and she enjoyed the touch more than she should have.
“Pretty boy finally showed.” Rob’s words were laced with sarcasm.
His words pulled her from her mulling. “Who?”
“Tarrington. I swear, with that boy-next-door look, I don’t see how he ever plays the tough cop.”
Eris studied Charles Tarrington’s profile. His strawberry-blond hair was slicked back from his face and his hastily tossed on jeans and t-shirt proved he’d dressed in a hurry. He was too cute for her taste but she knew women who loved that look. “Not everyone is able to intimidate a person without saying a word.”
“It should be a requirement for those in law enforcement.”
“I’m sure he’s good at his job.”
Rob snorted as if she’d said the funniest thing in the world. She was about to tell him to get off his high horse when a loud voice carried into the apartment.
“That’s my daughter’s apartment, young man. It’s going to take more than you to stop me.”
“Mother.” Eris turned her face into Rob’s shirt.
“Evelyn honey, these men are simply doing their jobs. Don’t give them a hard time.”
“Father, the voice of reason in an insane world,” Eris mumbled into Rob’s shirt, wishing she could hide.
It was difficult enough dealing with all of this, she didn’t need her parents added to the mix, but what choice did she have? She moved away from the comfort and warmth Rob was providing and reminded herself it wasn’t something she could afford to get used to. It wasn’t a dream she dared to dream.
Once before she’d thought she could have it all—love, happiness, two-point-five kids and her crazy, insane family. Instead, she’d found hurt, humiliation and estrangement from her family. She’d learned her lesson well, mended broken bridges and wouldn’t be making that mistake again.
“Wish I could avoid introducing you to my parents,” she said to Rob, who was walking behind her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re about to find out.”
* * * * *
Rob stood at the far side of the room and surveyed the group. He found himself fascinated at the way this family of seven interacted. Growing up with no siblings, he wasn’t prepared for the way they related to each other. They were loud, crude and rude, but underneath it all, they appeared to care for each other. It amazed him how they’d all immediately dropped what they were doing to come to Eris’ aid.
He watched as Caleb, the cop, broke away from the group and made his way over to him. Caleb was a couple of years older than Eris, a couple of inches shorter than Rob and had golden brown hair and stark green eyes that didn’t miss a thing.
Caleb stopped next to him and for a few moments surveyed the room. Rob wondered if Caleb’s family baffled him also.
Caleb cut his eyes over to Rob and held his gaze. “I know who really hired you and you should know you weren’t my first pick. But Granddad thought Titan Security would be the best for her. Guess he was right.”
The statement surprised him, but Rob kept his face and voice neutral as he responded. “I haven’t a clue as to what you’re talking about.”
Caleb grinned. “You’re good. Granddad will be glad to hear that I approve of his choice. I figured some washed-up, retired agent who couldn’t pull his weight any longer would end up watching after her. I’m pleased to see you aren’t that old.”
Rob ground his teeth. “I’m not that much older than you.”
“True enough, but you’re what…ten years older than Eris?”
Rob gave up on pretense. “I’m thirty-five. That only makes me eight years older than your sister. What does any of this have to do with protecting Eris?”
“Nothing, so long as you keep this purely business.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve seen the way you keep eyeing her.”
Rob clenched his fist. “I’ve been hired to keep an eye on her. I’m doing my job.”
“Not saying you aren’t. Now that I see how you look at her, I’m not surprised at all that Zane decked you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and wondered exactly when he’d lost the ability to hide his feelings. He’d never had this problem before—not before Eris, at least. “Does everyone know?”
“Oh yeah, the entire family.”
Caleb was smiling when Rob opened his eyes.
“I’ll understand if you want someone else watching her.” Rob didn’t move as he waited for an answer.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Rob let out the breath he’d unconsciously been holding and flexed his fingers.
The smile left Caleb’s face and his expression turned hard. “Let me explain some
thing to you though. I won’t stand by and do nothing while Eris suffers from another broken heart. If you hurt her, I’ll take it out of your hide.”
Rob took a step toward Caleb. “Who hurt her?”
Caleb looked toward Eris. “Forget I said anything. Eris will skin me alive if she even thinks I’m spilling her secrets.”
Rob opened his mouth to demand more information when he felt a hand come to rest on his forearm.
“Is there a problem here?”
Caleb flashed a big smile at his sister. “No problem, we were discussing guy things.”
Eris scowled at Caleb. “Were you being pushy?”
“Me? Never.” Caleb feigned innocence as he leaned over and brushed a kiss across Eris’ cheek. “I have to get back on patrol. See you later, Sis. Jackson.”
Eris turned to Rob. “If he was hassling you, I can make his life miserable. I’ll let Mom know that he’s really been spending his off nights at the gym, not out on dates as he’s been telling her.”
Rob couldn’t remember the last time another person had come to his defense. In fact, he wasn’t sure there was another time. “You’d do that for me?”
“In a heartbeat. I’ve already taken care of Zane for you.” Eris nodded toward the couch where Evelyn, her mother, was lecturing her oldest brother.
“What did you do?”
“Mom and Dad were finally starting to settle down and understand that I’m in no danger, especially when you’re with me. Then Zane comes in a few minutes ago and started in on me. He was telling me I should move back in with Mom and Dad or worse yet—leave the state. Well, Mom and Dad got all excited again and started agreeing with him.
“I’d had more than I could stand by that point, so I casually asked Zane who he was dating since he and Teresa had broken up.”
Eris stopped talking and Rob wondered if he’d missed something in the conversation because he was lost. “And this is getting even how?”
“Sorry, you don’t know about Zane and Teresa. I must be more tired than I thought.” Eris rubbed her forehead. “Zane and Teresa dated for over a year. Everyone assumed they would get married. Zane mentioned it to Mom and Dad two days before he broke it off with her.”
Rob looked over at Zane and almost felt pity for the guy. “You did that for me?”
Eris leaned into his side and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. He looked down into liquid green eyes and smiled. “Thanks.”
Eris smiled back. “Believe me, it was no trouble at all.”
She rested her head against his shoulder and Rob marveled at how perfect she felt next to him.
His mother required a lot of comforting and hand-holding while she was alive. He could still remember the feeling of being trapped when she’d toss her arms around his neck and cry on his shoulder and then ask him to fix whatever it was she had messed up this time.
Eris tried to stifle a yawn but failed miserably.
“I’m going to go down to my car and retrieve my gym bag before everyone is gone. It has some items in it I need. Why don’t you go take a shower and then crawl into bed? When I get back up here I’ll send your family home. It’s been a busy day for both of us.” He gently nudged her toward her room.
Eris wasn’t like other women he knew, he thought as he watched her walk away. She didn’t ask the impossible of him. In fact, she didn’t ask anything of him. That fact bothered him more than he cared to admit.
He made a point of avoiding needy women like the plague. As soon as a woman became clingy, he scraped them off and disposed of them. Eris was not the type to latch on to another and expect that person to make life easy for them.
He couldn’t remember ever being with a woman who didn’t want something from him. The only thing he figured Eris wanted was for him to be long gone, and from the looks of things, that wasn’t about to happen for a while.
* * * * *
Eris stood in the dark doorway of her bedroom and looked across her small living area at the man who stood in front of her windows. Moonlight spilled through open shutters and sliced across his body. The contrast of the light and darker slashes reminded her of the layers to this man.
At the moment though, she was well aware of a missing layer—his clothes. Not all of them, but most of them. He stood there like a broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, lean-legged, blond Viking in running shorts. The mystery to what was hidden beneath his suit jacket was at least solved, Eris thought as she continued to gaze. She might as well enjoy the one perk this horrid case was bringing her way.
She rubbed her bare arms against the air-conditioned chill of the room. She’d awakened from a disturbing dream and started to go make herself a cup of hot tea when she’d stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of him. There was a part of her that wanted to go stand beside him and enjoy the simple pleasure of being with him.
That in itself she didn’t understand. They were so different, as different as she and her fiancé had been. When she’d ended their engagement, she made a solemn promise to herself that she would never, ever be with a man who couldn’t understand her and accept her the way she was. Three years later and the only men she’d dated were those whose talents ran along the same lines as hers. It was obvious Rob did not have any extra abilities and from his tightly closed expression whenever hers were mentioned, he obviously didn’t think highly of those who did.
Even knowing this, she couldn’t stop the desire he evoked in her body and it unnerved her. Every time she was near him it hit hard and fast. She was smarter now than she once was and knew better than to think lust was anything more than just that.
She was also stronger now and contained enough willpower to avoid temptation. With that thought in mind, she decided to return to bed. She might be strong, but she was only human—especially when temptation looked so scrumptious standing before her. She was going to have to work hard to avoid this man’s pull.
“Don’t leave.”
The words stopped her and she looked back at him. It was then she noticed him watching her reflection in the glass. She wondered how long he’d been observing her and figured, with him, it’d been since she appeared in the doorway.
He didn’t turn, didn’t say another word but continued to watch her reflection. The true-blue color of his eyes didn’t show in the window. Instead, two dark pools that held years of loneliness and hurt captured her attention. His words were a request, not an order. The decision was hers alone and she was a strong, smart woman.
She was so frigging stupid, she thought as she crossed the room and stood next to him. Despite her better judgment, she couldn’t leave him here alone. Something about the way he looked at her. It was as if he expected her to turn her back on him and had already prepared himself for the rejection that compelled her to move.
For several minutes she watched the distant lightning flash across the sky as he studied her face in the window then he turned and watched the storm. She felt sure she’d just passed some unknown test and a small seed of warmth took root deep down inside her. It was ludicrous to feel that way, she told herself, especially when he was the last man on earth she wanted to impress.
“What keeps you awake?” His deep voice barely reached her in the silence of the room.
“Dreams.” She kept the answer simple, not wanting to remember what had wakened her.
“That makes two.”
She waited for him to elaborate, but when it became obvious he wasn’t going to, she prompted him. “Two what?”
“Two things we have in common. Our choice of weapons and now it appears we both lose sleep due to dreams. If we aren’t careful we might find we have even more in common.”
She continued to look out at the storm, refusing to respond to the comment. She glanced at his reflection and noticed he was diligently studying the rainstorm. Her lips twitched and she bit the inside of them to keep from smiling. Tears formed in her eyes as a bubble of laughter built up then overflowed.
By the time she
got control of herself, her side hurt so much that she wrapped her arms over her stomach. Walking to the couch, she sat at one end, leaned back against the arm and pillows then pulled the blanket over her. Wiping the tears off her face with her hand, she looked over at Rob. “Thanks, I haven’t laughed like that in weeks.”
He turned to look at her. “You’ve got a great laugh. You should do it more often.”
“Thanks.” The compliment made her feel warm and happy.
He shrugged his large, broad shoulders. “Want to tell me about the dream?”
“No.” She pulled the blanket up over her head.
All she could hear was her own breathing, not another sound. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. Logically she knew he wouldn’t leave her, but a small part of her cringed at the thought of spending the long, quiet night alone. She buried herself deeper under the covers in an attempt to avoid reality. She closed her eyes and started to relax only seconds before the opposite end of the couch dipped and the blanket was tugged away from her face.
“Talk to me, Eris.”
“I don’t want to.” Her voice sounded small and weak even to her own ears. God, she hated that. She wasn’t either of those things and it made her feel so incompetent when she felt this way.
“Was the dream about the killings?”
“Yes.” She wouldn’t talk about it. She wouldn’t.
“Tell me.”
“Why?”
“Because sometimes our subconscious remembers things when it’s relaxed. These memories come to us in the form of dreams. There might be something there that will help solve the case.”
She chewed on her lower lip, trying to decide what to do. Rob stretched his legs out beside hers, wedging her between his warm body and the back of the couch. He covered up as he leaned back and made himself comfortable.
She was intently aware of the fact he wasn’t pushing her, that he was letting her take her time, make the decision. He’d done the same earlier, as if he knew how to make her talk. It was working.
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