by Bess George
“He’s going to meet me here, but he’s a little grouchy about the black tie thing,” she answered with a grin.
David scowled at the mention of Bode’s name. While he grudgingly accepted their relationship, he didn’t trust it. He was still afraid she’d wind up getting hurt. “Where’s my little tomboy?”
“Oh, don’t worry. She’s here, just buried under all the glitter and shine. Let’s go join this shindig.” She linked one arm through his, the other through Bev’s, and they entered the crowded ballroom.
It took thirty minutes to make their way around the room exchanging small talk. She’d perfected the art of networking and southern charm while working for the District Attorney’s office. They were chatting with a wealthy city councilman, a prominent banker, and the Captain of Police when the toe-curling sensation she always felt around Bode drifted through her. Deep inside she knew he’d arrived.
A few minutes later a masculine hand lighted on the small of her back, and he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
He finished saying hello to everyone before excusing them from the circle. Hustling her over to a secluded corner, he faced her with a scowl.
In her heels, they were almost eye level with one another. She frowned in confusion. “What’s wrong? Did you find something on Robbins?”
“The good councilman was salivating like you were dessert. His dessert. I wanted to throw you over my shoulder and get out of here, but there’s not enough dress to cover all the important parts.”
She angled toward him and whispered up into his ear. “Don’t be grumpy. I’ll make it up to you later.”
“How late do we have to be here?” He groaned and made sad puppy dog eyes at her.
Laughing, she clasped their hands together. The dinner was ready to start, so they approached the table reserved for their group. They ate, laughed, and enjoyed the conversation flowing around them. The speakers used lots of humor to keep the audience riveted to the night’s topic. She gave a start of surprise when she noticed the time. People were standing around mingling and it would be easy to sneak out.
She breathed in Bode’s masculine scent. “Let’s go home.”
He jumped to his feet and herded her through the crowd toward the door. His arm kept her tucked close by his side while they waited for their cars. The valet arrived, and he helped settle her inside.
Pulling one of her hands to his lips, he pressed a kiss to her over-sensitive palm. He stood and her insides became a complete gooey mess. “I’ll follow you. Drive safe.” He shut the door and went to his truck.
She stopped to wait for a break in the flow of traffic before pulling out. When she glanced over her shoulder, she did a double take. Was that Robbins? She strained for a better angle but whoever had been there was gone.
A peek in her rearview mirror showed Bode’s frown. She turned in the direction of his house. Expecting Miles to jump out at any minute, she’d been on pins and needles the last few weeks. The lack of any contact or visual sightings ramped up her anticipation because she didn’t believe he’d just leave town. He came there for a reason. But the other thing she was sure of, Bode would find him.
She passed Cypress Avenue and tried to slow down as she approached the yellow light at Larkspur. The pedal went all the way to the floor. She pumped again, attempting to engage the brakes.
Her car sped into the intersection, and her eyes widened in horror as traffic zoomed toward her. A vehicle clipped the back corner of her Lexus, and the jolt snapped her body to the side. She gripped the wheel as her car spun across several lanes.
Time slowed to a crawl. A moving van smashed into her passenger door in hideous slow-motion. The impact was tremendous and flung her sideways to slam the door. When awareness returned, her car had stopped spinning.
The air bag had exploded, and its dust clogged her lungs. The seatbelt kept her pinned her in place.
Bode yanked the door open. “Oh, honey.” His voice came out a hoarse whisper. “Don’t move, baby, help is on the way.”
One of her hands pushed the deflated airbag away while the other wiped at her runny nose. It came away coated bright red. The pain increased with every movement. “Help me get out,” she whispered. Sticky blood now covered her beautiful dress.
Panting, sweat dotted her forehead. Clawing at the strap holding her down, she whimpered. “Now, Bode, I need to get out now.”
He used his arm to keep her in the car while he spoke to her in a calm tone. She wanted out, but his manner resigned her to the fact that she would be waiting for the medics.
“Didn’t you see the light?” he asked.
A snippy retort rested on the tip of her tongue, but she let it go. It would be too painful. “Of course I saw it. My brakes didn’t work. When I pressed down, they went to the floor. I don’t understand it either because I had my car checked out in Dallas right before I drove here.”
Her heart lurched at the scene surrounding her. There were several other cars involved in the accident. Broken glass and twisted metal littered the pavement. “Is anyone else hurt?”
“We don’t know yet, honey.” His handkerchief dabbed at the blood on her face.
Sirens filled the air, and she shut her eyes. Unaware of how much time passed, she jumped when a medic began to check her over.
After a preliminary exam, she insisted he help her out. Her injured nose forced her to breathe through her mouth. The medic wrapped her in a blanket and helped her sit down on the back of the EMS truck before he moved on to the next person.
Bode was across the street talking with the other officers. The light above them illuminated their breath as it puffed out in the cold night air. He turned to scan the area. His stare met hers and even across the distance she felt the connection. Motioning to the others, he strode toward where she sat.
She waited for him to join her, shivers wracking her body. With a gentle touch, he smoothed the hair back from her face. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her over the blanket.
“I’ll follow you to the hospital.”
“I’m not going. My vitals are good, and nothing is wrong with me except I’ll be stiff and sore for a week.” She made sure a thin smile accompanied her glare, but it would be pointless for him to argue.
“Come on and sit in my car with the heater. The weather’s too cold for you to be sitting outside. I need to help sort this out since I was a witness. Then we’ll go home. Do you think you can answer some questions?”
She nodded as he helped her stand. He settled her inside his truck and left. An overwhelming panic caused her chest to hurt while she prayed. Please let everyone else be okay.
Steve arrived and came toward her as a wrecker service picked up her car. His shaggy blond hair and deep tan reminded her of the surfers on television, but at present, he appeared all business.
She tried humming, hoping to calm down before he reached her. He opened the door and squatted down to be level with her.
“Hey, Steve, when did you get here?”
He grinned. “I was on my way to meet an exquisite jewel when I heard there was an accident on the radio. Imagine how surprised I was to see you and Bode right in the middle of the action.”
“Yeah, surprise. Sorry we interrupted your treasure hunt,” she tried for a teasing note but grimaced when it fell flat.
“Kelsey, can you tell me what happened?”
It didn’t take her long to detail the scary experience, from leaving the hotel to ending up in a multiple car pileup.
He wrote down notes in a small notebook. When she finished, he frowned down at her. “Are you sure you didn’t see anything else?”
“What else would there be? It was just a fluke mishap.” Her voice broke on the last word.
“Calm down, Kelsey.
I’m going to send Bode over to explain.”
Her stomach lurched. What did he need to explain? What if someone had died?
By the time Bode came back toward her, she’d worked herself into a panic and on the verge of tears. When he opened the door, she started sobbing.
He wrapped his arms around her, whispering soothing words of comfort. “Honey, what’s wrong? Where are you hurt?”
She hiccupped while she tried to stop crying. “I’m . . . I’m not, but I swear it was an accident. I couldn’t stop. Please tell me no one died.”
His cop’s face didn’t tell her a thing. Which told her all that she needed to know. There was something wrong.
“Just tell me.” She hated how defeated she sounded, but she was too wrung out to put on a brave front.
“Baby, we know this wasn’t your fault.” He was silent a moment before continuing. “But it wasn’t an accident. It looks like someone may have cut your brake line.”
Bewilderment seeped into her at his words. “All this destruction was done on purpose?” She wiped away tears. “It was him wasn’t it? I knew he wouldn’t leave town without finishing what he started.”
“I’m not sure yet, but we’re going to figure this out. I’m going to stick with you like glue until we find him.” He gentled his tone. “Let’s get you home.”
He reached across to lock her seat belt and then strode around to the driver’s side. The other wrecked cars still littered the road. Numb, all she could do was stare out the window as icy fear swirled in her chest. Someone wanted her dead.
Again.
Chapter 19
Even with stealing a valet jacket, he’d been nervous when he crawled under the small Lexus. Glade focused on taking calm even breaths to settle his rioting nerves. Spur of the moment decisions made him uneasy. Tampering with Kelsey’s brakes was risky, but the opportunity to get the woman alone hadn’t panned out.
She didn’t move back to the hotel as he’d anticipated. Moving in at the community center kept her surrounded by people throughout the day. The few times she left the property was with the cop.
While he maintained surveillance on her, he observed the man from the park also waiting in the shadows. The prey was being stalked by two predators and that he couldn’t allow. She was his.
He’d taken a part-time job with the janitorial service that cleaned the police station every night. It allowed him to hear gossip. They were looking for a man named Miles Robbins in connection with the fire. A simple internet search gave him all the details about who the man was and what he might want with Kelsey.
After following her to this fancy party, he spotted the other creep hanging around. It gave him this idea to light a match under the police. Right off the bat, they would suspect Robbins as the one to tamper with her brakes. Once they arrested him, the cops would let down their guard, and it’d be easier to move around.
Regret threaded its way into his consciousness. There were times that collateral damage couldn’t be avoided. He hoped she wouldn’t get too hurt. When they exited the building, the cop’s hands were all over her. Anger replaced any lingering remorse. He was through with the guilt. He was ready for a new life, and he didn’t care what he had to do to get it.
He followed several cars behind them both. Brakes squealed as the little red car sailed through the intersection. The stench of burnt rubber permeated the air as the vehicles behind her tried to stop.
A driveway into a fast food parking lot was to his right, so he swerved in and parked so he could monitor and remain unnoticed. Unable to know when or how her brakes would fail, he hadn’t been able to resist following from a distance. Afraid the cop would spot a tail, his plan was to veer off after several blocks. Lucky for him, the accident occurred before he’d made his move.
The cop jumped from his truck and ran over to where her car stopped spinning. When the ambulance arrived, they helped her out of the mangled wreck. His lips curved into a satisfied smile. Good. She was okay.
Loneliness weighed so burdensome on his chest, tears welled in his eyes. I miss you, Janie. He shook his head to clear it. This obsession with Kelsey had thrown him off track and wasted time. The plan needed to remain his primary focus. Determination renewed, he cranked his car and drove in the opposite direction. One obstacle would soon become eliminated.
One to go.
Chapter 20
Kelsey didn’t utter a word all the way home, and the silence made Bode uneasy. After reaching his house, she sat in the car looking out the window. He opened her door and held out his hand to help her get down.
His hand hung in the air when she didn’t accept it. She gazed up at him, her intention clear.
Anger and frustration churned his stomach into a caldron full of furor. She was scared, but he had no intention of letting her leave. “Listen to me. I can see the wheels turning in your brain like a hamster on a wheel, but you’re not running off anywhere. We’re in this together, remember? Robbins won’t be able to get to you here.”
“You don’t think he would go to the center, do you?” She stared at him with concern.
Meeting her stare, he sighed. “I don’t want to take that chance. We’ll call Ann and warn her but if you’re not there, they should be okay. First the fire and now your car. You’re the target, honey.”
He helped her out of the truck, and they entered the house where he helped her sit down on the sofa. She tried to hide a grimace, but it was obvious she was in pain. The abuse to her body had already made her limbs stiff.
She smiled at him to lighten the mood. “So, what are the chances of wild gorilla sex?”
His laughter helped to ease muscles seized up since the accident. “You sit here while I go run you a hot bath. Then I’ll come back to get you.”
Her pale face made his heart constrict. Bloody and bruised, her beauty still managed to take his breath away. After Elaina, he’d been positive he would never let anyone into his life again. Like a flower taking root, Kelsey had wormed her way into his very soul without him realizing it.
When he returned from running her bath, the sight of her struggling to stand caused him to jump the last several steps and rush to catch her. Her knees buckled, and his arm wrapped around her waist.
“I told you I would be back to get you. Sweetheart, you need to start listening to me.” He scooped her up and carried her upstairs to the bathroom.
Afraid she would fall, he stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. They stared at their reflections in the large mirror above the vanity.
She frowned at her battered body. “This dress is a goner. No amount of dry cleaning will clean up this mess.”
He lowered his head and kissed her shoulder. “Dresses can be replaced.”
Dried blood had caked in her hair making it spike up in several places. Her run-in with the air bag had swollen her nose to double its size. She was utterly breathtaking.
He reached up and slid down the zipper on her dress. The silky material slid down her hips and fell to the floor. She remained statue–still, wearing her bra and lacy panties. The sight of her quivering lip threatened to be his downfall, so he moved her away from the mirror and led her to the big Jacuzzi tub.
The adrenaline rush would soon dissipate, and he wanted her out of the bath before she crashed. He removed her undergarments and helped her ease down into the warm water. She lay back and rested her head on a towel he’d put down for her. Her lids drifted shut when she relaxed.
He sat on the edge of the tub, his emotions still too raw for conversation. When he’d kissed her earlier the salty taste of her tears had broken his heart. The desire to get out and work this case warred with his need to be with her. Take care of her. Protect her.
After several minutes, he put his hand under her neck and lifted her up. Using a small cup, he poured
water over her sticky hair while holding her to keep water out of her face. Sitting her up a little straighter, he added a generous portion of shampoo. Making sure he remained gentle, he rinsed until not one soap bubble remained.
“Are you ready to get out? The water’s starting to get cold.”
She jumped at his soft words. He helped her stand and wrapped her in a big fluffy towel. Reaching over to the sink, he picked up the T-shirt he’d brought in for her to wear.
When dressed, he ushered her into the bedroom and tucked her between the sheets. His mind occupied with getting updated on her accident, he looked down in surprise at the tug on his shirt tail when he turned to leave.
“Nobody’s going anywhere, buddy until we get the whole gorilla sex thing settled.” She wiggled her brows and made a funny face.
He snorted and lay down beside her. Holding her tight, she rested her head on his shoulder. Peace settled inside his heart and he let out a pent-up breath. The first natural one he’d taken since seeing her car fly into oncoming traffic.
The kiss he gave her was slow and soft, a caress across her lips. One of her hands slid around the back of his neck curling into his hair. He wrapped his much larger body around her, almost covering her completely.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” she whispered.