Cuffed & Claimed

by Lori King

  Tag told him she’d changed after the death of her fiancé, who’d been killed in action in Iraq. He’d volunteered for some secret mission and had never come home. Tag said it had pretty much destroyed her. Ethan was sure seeing Tag and his friend, Mac after they came home injured hadn’t helped either.

  “Hey. Are you awake? What did you get?” Her question brought him back to the present, and he realized he’d been staring at her instead of eating.

  “Sorry. I was thinking. I got the same as you.”

  “I could tell. Thank you. This is really great. Is everything okay?” That was his Anna, she might try to be the hard business woman, but he knew she was a marshmallow on the inside.

  “It’s my pleasure, baby. Any chance to get some extra time with you is perfect. You’re always busy. I figured it was worth the shot.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just there’s always so much to do.” Score. Win one for the Ethan man. She’d finally admitted she was working too much, at least he hoped that’s what she’d meant. Maybe he was making headway.

  He watched her lips as she took a bite and wanted to pull her out of her chair and into his arms. To kiss her and feel those soft lips against his, to feel her hands holding him instead of the sandwich. Grabbing his sweet tea, he took a long drink to try to cool his rising libido. Now was definitely not the time. But later. Oh yeah, tonight would be different.

  “Aren’t you hungry?” Her big chocolate brown eyes focused on his face like she was searching for something.

  “Hell yeah. Starving.” He took a big bite, and she laughed. His eyes watered from the horseradish sauce he’d forgotten about. Damn. Way to impress the lady, asshat.

  “Are you okay?” She couldn’t hide the laughter in her voice.

  “Funny, huh? Yeah, I’m fine, just forgot about the horseradish sauce. I even asked for extra. What was I thinking?”

  “Obviously not about that.” Her giggles made him happy. She spent too much time being serious.

  “Obviously. How’s yours?”

  “Delicious as always. Dixie is amazing.”

  “Yes, she is. I hope she never decides to retire.”

  “You and me both. Willow Haven just wouldn’t be the same. Dixie’s Place has been here as long as anyone can remember.”

  “How long is the open house?”

  “Until four. Then I’ll have to go back to the office for a bit.”

  “Okay. I thought I would cook for us tonight. Your place or mine?”

  “Umm, how about yours and I’ll be over as soon as I can?”

  “No way, I’m vetoing that option. I probably shouldn’t have given you a choice. I’ll cook at your house, just give me the keys and alarm code. I know you’ll be in the office until at least seven. It’s how you are, and I’d end up getting a phone call saying you worked too late and went to bed.”

  Her eyes widened, then she arched an eyebrow. “You think you have me down, huh?”

  “You know it. I know you want to see me. I don’t know why you always have to fight it so hard.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to take them back or kick himself, or maybe both. Now was definitely not the time for this discussion, even if they needed to talk about it. They’d been dating for months. He wanted more, and she kept holding back.

  Her gaze turned frosty, and hints of gold glittered in the chocolate brown. A sure sign she was pissed off. Why couldn’t he learn to keep his mouth shut? “I’m sorry. I know it’s not the time...”

  “You’re right it’s not. We need to clean up, I’m sure I’ll have buyers here soon.” And that was that. With one comment, she closed up tighter than an oyster, and he had no one to blame but himself.

  “Anna, look…”

  “It’s okay, I get it. I do. But I have to work now.”

  “Okay. But I am sorry. I’ll have dinner ready by seven.” She was already standing and wrapping up the rest of her sandwich. At first, she didn’t answer, and he figured he was fucked, and she’d back out of their date. But after a long—too long—sip of her iced coffee, her eyes met his, and they’d softened again. Thank God. Maybe he hadn’t fucked it up totally yet.

  “What are you making? Do you want me to stop and get anything on my way over?”

  “It’s a surprise. And nope, I’ll have everything we need.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “Babe, where’s your sense of adventure?” But he already knew and wasn’t surprised when she raised an eyebrow as she took another sip.

  The sound of a car parking in front of the house ended their little interlude. But Ethan figured the way it had been going it was for the best. He needed to do some major damage control later, or he might as well flush all the progress he’d been making right down the toilet. If nothing else, Anna kept him on his toes.

  2

  It was after five by the time the last couple left. It had been a successful open house, and Anna was sure one or two couples would put in an offer before the week was out. Even though she was exhausted from being “on” all afternoon, it was a good tired, not like when she’d spent the afternoon poring over documents. In lots of ways she missed the selling and interactions, but the business was so big, it needed all of her time just to keep things running smoothly.

  She’d really hoped that Tag would decide to come on board, especially after their parents started traveling, but he’d found his purpose finally, and she was excited when they’d found the perfect property for his new rehabilitation facility or as he kept calling it his Double R—rehab ranch. It hadn’t been open for long, but he and Mac really made it special. But it also meant that she’d have to hire someone to manage the business end if she wanted to pick up her own listings again.

  With a sigh, she double-checked that everything was back to the way she’d found it and set the lockbox back on the door. As she grabbed the sign from the front lawn and headed toward her car, she noticed a guy leaning against the side of an old rusted-out green pickup truck. Their eyes met, and the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. There was something sinister about the way he was staring at her.

  Not anxious to see if he was going to be trouble, she unlocked the car and shoved the sign and bag into the backseat, then climbed in and locked the door. She glanced up hoping he’d be gone, and the entire thing had been her imagination, but it wasn’t. Instead, he was still staring at her. Even from across the street, she felt something menacing about him. While she watched, he flicked his cigarette and her gaze followed as it arced in the air before bouncing on the asphalt. With one last look in her direction, he climbed into his truck and pulled away.

  For a few seconds, she contemplated calling Ethan but talked herself out of it. “Don’t be silly, you’re imagining things.” She’d never seen the guy before that she could recall. Why would he be watching her? Trying to shake off the ‘willies,’ she decided not to take any chances he might follow her and turned down every side road possible on her way to the office. She even drove past the police station. After not seeing any sign of the truck, she pulled into the office parking lot.

  The office was deserted, but considering it was after six on a Saturday she wasn’t surprised. Jenny only worked until four, and most of the other agents didn’t stop at the office after their open houses. For the most part being a realtor was a lot like being self-employed, at least the way she ran the business. No micro-managing for her. She despised it, so she sure as hell wasn’t going to do it to anyone else. It was one of the first changes she’d made when she’d taken over, and morale soared.

  She stopped by Jenny’s desk to check for messages then went in to her office. Seeing the mountain of paperwork on her desk was like being doused with a bucket of ice water, after the busy afternoon with the open house. Knowing Ethan was already at her house preparing dinner sealed the deal. “Screw it. It waited this long, it can wait until Monday.” Nodding at her decision, she leaned the signs against the wall and put the bag on one of the c
hairs, locked the office and left.

  The sun was still shining, and she stopped to grab her sunglasses from her purse after locking the front door of the building. Then she noticed the truck, at least she thought it was the same truck. Was it a figment of her overactive imagination? Her mother always told her she should be an author since her imagination was always out of control. Funny she hadn’t remembered that until just then. But it really did look like the same run-down truck. It was too far away for her to get the license plate, and she hadn’t thought to check for it while at the open house.

  If it was the same truck, where was the guy? Just as she’d learned in her self-defense class, she checked her surroundings. Taking the class had been a knee-jerk reaction to losing control of everything in her life after Ryan was killed. But it was good to know, especially since she spent so much time alone, or had until she met Ethan.

  After a quick scan of the parking lot, she hurried toward her car, she slid in and locked the doors behind her. Once again she was tempted to call Ethan but felt silly especially since he was already at her house making dinner. She did decide to drive past the truck and try to read the license plate number. Better safe than sorry.

  She’d no sooner started her car when the truck peeled away from the curb where it had been parked across the street. Coincidence? She didn’t think so, and it reinforced her uneasiness. Why was he following her? For that matter, who the hell was he? She couldn’t remember ever seeing either him or the truck before. Had she just been oblivious to her surroundings? Maybe he’d been hanging around for a while? Did he know where she lived? More thankful than ever for the self-defense class she’d taken and that she’d listened to her parents and had an alarm system installed at her house. Taking a circuitous route home, she wondered whether or not to tell Ethan. She was most likely making a big deal out of nothing and needed to lay off the Tami Hoag books for a while. But it didn’t stop her from routinely checking her rearview mirror for any sign of the green truck or its creepy driver.

  Worried that he’d follow her home, she took the most out of the way route hitting every back road possible. It turned a ten-minute ride into twenty, and pretty much ensured no one had followed her. By the time she got home, she was convinced she’d probably blown the whole thing out of proportion. Just because she’d seen the truck twice in one day didn’t mean he was following her, it wasn’t like the town of Willow Haven was huge. Maybe he lived in the neighborhood, or was a guest, and they wouldn’t let him smoke inside. When she thought about it that way, it made much more sense than a complete stranger following her, especially after there was no sign of him since she’d left the office.

  As she turned in to her driveway, she saw Ethan had pulled over to the side so she could pull into the garage and used her remote to open the door. Turning off the car as the door closed behind her, she took a deep breath. It had been a long day, longer still after she’d gotten herself all worked up.

  The garage door was unlocked since Ethan was waiting for her. She pushed open the door and stepped inside the mudroom, and a mouthwatering aroma stopped her in her tracks. She inhaled again as she tried to figure out what he’d made. Until today she hadn’t even realized he could cook at all other than on the grill. But the fantastic array of scents proved otherwise.

  “Oh my God, Ethan, it smells amazing…” she said stepping through the kitchen doorway and stopping short as she saw him holding his phone to his ear.

  As soon as he saw her, his face lit up with a huge smile and held up a finger. Nodding, she pointed toward the bedroom. She might as well change out of her work clothes and let him finish his call. She hoped he wasn’t being called in for work. It hadn’t happened often, but it had happened. As much as she fought against their relationship, if she was honest with herself at least, she needed to admit that she couldn’t imagine him not in her life, even if she wasn’t ready to tell him or move on to the next level. She was sure once he found out she cared for him, he wouldn’t let up until she agreed to either move in with him or let him move in with her. And she definitely wasn’t ready for that. It was too close to what had happened with Ryan. He’d moved in when he was home on leave, and then never returned. Nope, she definitely wasn’t ready for another man to move in, but maybe she’d let him stay the night this time. That was progress, right?

  * * *

  “God dammit. Another one? Do you want me to come in?” Ethan asked his lieutenant as he heard the door open. Anna was finally home. He’d been waiting for her to call him all afternoon that she’d have to cancel, after their little “thing” over lunch. And now after getting this call, he was even happier to know she was safe.

  For most of the time, he’d been on the job in Willow Haven it had been nice and quiet, exactly what he’d wanted and needed after his five years in the Air Force. But over the last two months, there had been a rash of burglaries. All the homes had been empty, and most were for sale with the owners either away or already moved out, except one where the couple had returned early from vacation in time to see a panel van pull out of the driveway. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to identify anyone or even know if there was more than one person. Whoever was behind this been careful not to leave any evidence behind.

  He and his partner, Steele Brennan, had caught the first case, and at the time thought it was a simple B&E, or maybe the neighborhood kids getting some kicks. But they’d discovered soon enough that the robberies were well-planned—definitely not a group of bored teenagers looking for trouble. After that first one, there had been another one every weekend just like clockwork. Two months and eight, err now nine, burglaries later, and they were no closer to solving them. They had to catch a break soon. Ethan was a firm believer that everyone fucked up eventually, and they’d be there to catch them. He just hoped no one got hurt before they did.

  They’d been lucky the press hadn’t made a big deal of the break-ins, and he would bet fifty bucks it was because there was nothing exciting about the robberies. At least it made it easier for him to keep from discussing it with Anna.

  She had plenty to handle without having to worry about her staff getting robbed or worse. It was part of the reason he’d made sure to stop by the open house earlier. Not that he wanted her to think he was checking on her. Oh, fuck no—that would have caused an avalanche of crap to rain down on his head if he even implied she couldn’t take care of herself. But what if these guys miscalculated and broke into a house when someone was home? It was the only thing they had that even resembled a lead—all of the houses were for sale.

  It’s what bugged the shit out of him. How did they always know which house to hit and when? Steele thought someone was casing different neighborhoods to look for vacant properties. Ethan had a feeling there was more to it, but he’d be damned if he’d been able to figure it out yet.

  Normally he’d have been on his way to the crime scene, but the LT said CSU had it covered, and there weren’t any witnesses other than the neighbor who’d seen lights on in the empty house and called it in. So no reason to talk to them tonight since they hadn’t seen anything and had already given a statement to the officer on the scene. But his gut twisted in knots when he found out the address of the latest robbery—3232 Seashell Lane—where Anna had been all day for the open house.

  “What’s wrong?” He’d been so deep in thought about the fuckin’ case he hadn’t heard Anna come in.

  “Nothing, babe. Just the LT calling about one of my cases.”

  “Do you need to go? Can we eat first? Whatever you’re making smells amazing, and I’m starving.” She sounded surprised, but then he’d never mentioned he’d been cooking for years. It was one of the things he did when he was stressed out. But usually, he’d donate it to the homeless shelter when it was done. He hadn’t cooked for a date ever, except for the little bit of barbecuing he’d done with Anna.

  “Nope. I don’t need to go. Dinner is chicken in a white wine sauce reduction served on a bed of mushroom and garlic risott
o. I have a fresh spinach salad with crumbled bacon, red onions, grape tomatoes and blue cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette and some rolls I picked up at Dixie’s when I grabbed lunch. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make them.”

  “You made all of this? Wait, you bake bread?” Her look of surprise made him laugh and helped him shove the case into the dark corner of his mind where he’d take it out and examine it later when she was sleeping. Overnight was when he did most of his thinking. Late at night, when the world was quiet and his memories couldn’t hurt anyone.

  “Yup, I learned from my grandmother when I was really young. You don’t have to act so surprised. I’m not a Neanderthal, you know?”

  When her cheeks tinged with pink, he felt bad. He hadn’t meant to embarrass her just tease her a little.

  “I know you’re not. I’ve just never met anyone who made bread. My mother can barely boil water. If we hadn’t had a cook, I think we all would have starved growing up.”

  “Gran and mom did all the cooking. I don’t remember a time when she didn’t live with us. She passed away when I was in high school, and it was never the same at home. I think she helped keep the family together.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Anna put her hand on his lower arm and squeezed, sympathy evident in her eyes. He hadn’t thought about his family in a long time. They were all gone now, but the only one who he’d really cared about was his grandmother anyway.

  “It’s okay. I hadn’t thought about her in a while. Anyway, I’m glad you’re hungry. Want to grab the wine and meet me at the table?” he said as he pointed to the wine which he’d opened earlier so it could breathe.

  “Sure, anything to get the food to the table faster. Can I help with anything else?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is something you can do.” Before she had a chance to ask what, he’d wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her against his chest. Then he tilted her chin so he could gaze into her hazel-brown eyes, much more green than brown at that moment. “You can kiss me. I’m suffering from Anna withdrawal.”