But the boy loves you.
Slowly, Jamie’s head rose and he stared into her eyes. Saw the tears gleaming there, the regret, the need. The last time he had looked at her, her eyes, her face, had been blank, hidden by her mask.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t try to see things from your side. I, uh,” her voice trailed off and she turned her head away, biting at her lower lip. “I was hurting too much.”
Mick’s and Jamie’s voices were coming from the device and absently Jamie turned it off. “Why are you here?” he asked, his voice rough and hesitant. “If you’re only here to say you’re sorry, don’t. It isn’t necessary. You have every right to be angry, to hate me.”
“It is necessary,” she contradicted. “But it’s not the only reason.” Shoving away from the wall, she moved to stand in front of him. “Was he right? Were you telling me the truth?
“Do you love me?” she asked intently, her hands fisted at her sides, her voice trembling.
“With all my heart,” Jamie said quietly.
Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. Then, just like that, she stepped into his arms, wrapped hers around his neck, sighed and snuggled against him. And just like that, the misery that had been eating at him dissolved, and the crack in his heart disappeared.
One hand buried in the long, loose tresses of her hair, the other banded around her waist, holding her tightly against him. His head lowered and he buried his face against her shoulder. “God, Andi. I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.
Her hands soothed and stroked at his back while she said, “No. No. I love you so much it hurts. I just went a little crazy there at first.”
Raising his head just a fraction, until he could press his forehead to hers, Jamie said, “I’m sorry. I never—”
“Shh,” she whispered, pressing her fingers to his lips. “It’s over. I…I don’t trust very easily. It took me a little while to calm down. But, even if I hadn’t listened to that other side, I would have been here. It might have taken another day or two, but I would have been here.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, biting her lip. “To find out if you were really in love with me. Of course, if you had said, ‘Sorry, babe. It was just the job,’ I probably would have killed you.”
“Not being near you was doing that,” he told her, smoothing his hands down the back of her tunic. Softly, he said, “I’ve never had a problem finishing the job before. I may have had some qualms about how we had to do it, but I always did what had to be done. Until you. God, Andi. I hate what this has done to you.”
He told her about Sam, saying, “I’m sorry for that. We caused it, and I didn’t even stop to think about what it might do to you.”
Andi’s lids lowered and Jamie realized this was still hurting her. But in a rough, unsteady voice, Andi said, “I know who my friends are, Jamie. Sam wasn’t one of them, I guess. Angie, and a few others, have heard through the grapevine and they’re backing me. Most of the parents, in fact, have mentioned it in some way or other the past few days. They’re furious. Sam has been going to them, suggesting they take their kids elsewhere. Some of them, ah well, basically, they’ve told her to shove it up her ass.
“I…I can’t say it doesn’t hurt, so many people I thought I liked, that I thought liked me, turning on me that way.” Her small hands glided down the front of his shirt before settling on his hips. “But I’d rather know the truth.”
“It shouldn’t have happened.”
“But it did. And I’ll deal with it.”
He lowered his head, crushing his mouth to hers—starving, greedy. “Fuck it,” he growled, gripping her hips and lifting her. Against her lips, he whispered, “You’re going to be late to work.” Then he carried her back to his rented condo, grappling to hold her slight body and find his keys.
“Jamie, this isn’t—”
He cut her off by letting her go, burying his hands in her hair and driving his tongue into her mouth, pinning her against the door, crushing her with his weight as he pumped his cock against her soft belly. “Now, damn it,” he demanded. “I thought I was gonna lose you. Can’t go all day without you, can’t.”
He fumbled for the key as he took her mouth again and they stumbled inside. He fell to his knees in front of her, jerking her shoes off, stripping her pants away and pulling her to the floor. Shoving her thighs wide, he dove for her pussy and speared her with his tongue, shuddering as her scream rent the air around them.
Her fingers wound through his hair and she arched against him, sobbing. He bit down on her clit and jammed two fingers inside her before shoving up onto his knees and using one hand to loosen his belt and unbutton his trousers. Then he flipped her onto her hands and knees, gripped her hips and drove home, fucking her ruthlessly, hard and quick, while she whimpered and cried.
“Mine,” he rasped, as her swollen, wet tissues clutched at his cock as he withdrew. “Damn it, Andi. I thought I’d lost you.”
He pressed his thumb against her rosette and said, “Tell me. Say it. Say I haven’t lost you.” He pushed his thumb inside and listened to her wail, felt the tight clutch of her little pussy around his cock as he burrowed back inside.
“Yours,” she sobbed, shoving her ass back against him. “Damn it, Jamie, I’m here, aren’t I?”
He pushed deeper inside her ass and pounded harder as she started to convulse around his cock. Her jacket and shirt were still on. With a snarl, he released her hip and shoved the material higher, baring as much of her back as he could. He pulled his thumb from the snug glove of her ass and wrapped one arm around her waist so he could jerk her against him, her weight forcing her down heavily on his thick cock.
“Love you,” he rasped against her neck, reaching around to stroke her clit with fast, sure strokes. “I’m keeping you. I want to know I can fuck you every single day for the rest of my life.”
“Jamie, please,” she sobbed, squirming on his impaling cock.
In a quicksilver change of mood, he went from savaging to seducing, moving his mouth to nuzzle at her ear, gently, purring softly against her, “You’re so wet, so tight. Mine…” as he rolled his hips lazily, keeping her from taking the depth she wanted for climax. “I was so sure I had lost you. Tell me again. Tell me that you’re mine.”
“Yours,” she whispered. “I love you. Damn it, I love you. And it’s your fucking fault…so stop being mean…and fuck me damn it.”
“Isn’t that what I’m doing?” he teased, surging deeply inside her, pressing his fingers against her clit. His teeth bit down on her earlobe at the same time and her gasp made his heart stutter in his chest.
“Ja-mie,” she hissed brokenly, pushing back against him. “Please.” She squeezed down around him, caressing him with the tight, silken muscles of her pussy, over and over again until he groaned and slapped her ass with a rough hand.
His eyes crossed and his teeth clicked shut as the caress drew his balls up tight against his body and damned near had him coming right there. “Wench, don’t do that. It drives me insane.”
“Then we’re even. Now stop teasing me, and—oh, man…” her breath shuddered out of her as he laughed hoarsely, and stroked her hard, taking her to the floor in the same movement. “Your wish…” He proceeded to grant it, filling her with fast, hard thrusts that had her sobbing his name, that had her creaming around his cock as he reached around and circled his thumb around her clit.
Nudging her hair out of the way, he licked a trail down her neck and sank his teeth into her shoulder. Taking his hand from her clit and replacing it with hers so he could glide his hand up her hip, her side, he cupped her breast, massaging it roughly as he hunkered over her body, shafting her forcefully as the pressure and tingling in his spine increased.
He could feel the climax building in her, in the writhing of her body, in the hungry, whimpering sobs that fell from her lips as he rode her harder and harder with thrusts that had her climaxing once, then a second time
around him, before he finally pumped her full of hot sperm.
Breathing raggedly, he curled up against her and eased them both to the floor, holding her tightly against him, feeling the pounding of her heart and reveling in her nearness. As she cuddled against him, he buried his face in her hair and whispered a silent prayer.
Andi burrowed up against him, breathing rapidly, brokenly. “I’m gonna be late for work,” she whispered. “But I need a shower now.”
He slid his hand down, cupping her wet cleft, soaked with his come, her cream. “I’d rather you leave it on you,” he murmured.
She smiled sleepily. “If I want to get any work done… Maybe they can just fire me.” Then she sighed and sat up. Eyeing him, she smiled. He still had on his suit—mostly. His cock was still hard and wet from them, but he looked almost presentable.
She, on the other hand, was naked from the waist down, except for socks. And her jacket and shirt were wrinkled, her hair was a mess and she smelled like sex.
“Shower, Jamie,” she whispered.
He smiled and stood, righting his clothes before he lifted her. “You’ll have to do it alone. We’ll never get out of here if I come in with you,” he whispered, lowering his head and kissing her hard and fast.
Thirty minutes later, her hair woven into a wet cable down her back, they stood on the sidewalk.
Rising to her toes, she rubbed her mouth against his. “It’s getting late. We need to get in.” Pressing her mouth against his, she kissed him swiftly, curling her hands around the hard ridged muscles of his back before stepping away. Sliding him a look under her lashes, she asked, “Will you come over tonight?”
“Just like that?” he asked, reaching out to cup her cheek. “You forgive me that easily?”
Shaking her head, she said, “It’s not easy. Coming here wasn’t easy. Listening to that tape wasn’t easy. Of course, I’d like to say getting dragged into your condo and getting ravished wasn’t easy—but I didn’t get much say, and I enjoyed it too thoroughly to waste the breath saying it was wrong. No, it’s not that easy. But none of that would be as hard as living without you.” She covered his hand with hers and asked again, “Will you come over tonight?”
Tugging on her braid, his mouth curved up in a smile as he said, “As long as I’m welcome.”
She grinned at him, and turned away, hands buried in her pockets.
♥
Jamie stood there watching as she slid into her car, lifting a hand as she waved and drove away. Only once her car was out of sight did he lower himself to the curbside, heedless of the expensive trousers and the damp concrete beneath him.
He was shaking. His damned head was spinning.
Thrusting his hands through his hair, he locked them behind his neck and tried to still the trembling. Tried to calm his whirling thoughts. The relief, the release of pressure was so unexpected that Jamie felt like he was floundering.
When he heard the footsteps behind him, he knew who it was without even turning. As the rumpled slacks appeared in his line of sight, Jamie said, “I owe you one.”
“Ya know, getting old really bites,” Mick muttered as he lowered himself down next to Jamie, stretching his legs out in front of him, grunting as his stiff body protested. Mornings were getting harder and harder. Eyeing the slightly dazed expression that remained in Jamie’s eyes, Mick stifled a pleased smile and asked, “Heard from her?”
Jamie responded, “She just left.”
“On an even keel again, I hope?”
Slowly, Jamie nodded. He got to his feet, held out a hand to the older man. Once Mick finished muttering about his aching joints, Jamie rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I owe you.”
Mick shrugged. “She’s a smart girl; she would have come around eventually. But I was getting sick of that hangdog look on your face.”
Shaking his head, Jamie responded, “I don’t know that. I hurt her, bad. You didn’t see that look on her face, and I’ll never forget it. Nothing can erase that—and I didn’t have any right to try, after what I did.”
Mick turned away, pulling out a cigarette. Running it through his fingers, he absently said, “I wish I could just up and quit the way you did. Of course, you had an incentive.” Sighing, he put it in his mouth, lit it, and pocketed the lighter in an old, familiar gesture. Through a stream of smoke, Mick told him, “If I hadn’t pushed it, this may not have happened. I can’t get past that, or how miserable she looked this week. I did what I could to make up for my part. But she would have let it go on her own, eventually. And I don’t think you would have let her go as easily as you seem to think.”
It was probably one of the longest speeches the older man had ever made, voiced without a single complaint, and with sincere regret in his voice. Then, without flickering an eyelash, Mick swore under his breath and said, “Let’s get the show on the road.”
♥
Letcher was getting nervous.
There was no real reason. The evidence had been planted and already Mick had shown it to the cool-eyed young hothead who thought he was so damn smart. Jamie had read it without flickering an eyelash and had already shown it to Jeb, requesting to bring in the authorities. And as expected, as prayed for, Jeb said, “We’ll handle this on our own.”
All he had to do was get through today, and the money would be his.
That sorry bastard Mick Dole actually thought Art was going to share the money.
With a laugh, Art patted the gun in his pocket. The hell he was sharing. There was always the chance that Mick would start to feel guilty and back out, or just as bad, start talking after the fact.
Nope, Art wasn’t sharing.
And he wasn’t just retiring and leaving town. He was going to disappear off the face of the earth, and leave his sniveling bitch of a wife behind.
He’d lay low a year or so, and reappear with a new face and the cool $2.5 million he had skimmed from Jeb and various others over the past thirty years. With the investments he had made, it was now in the area of ten million and change. Oh yeah, Letcher was good at what he did. No way was he sharing.
The only things in his way were the cocky private investigator and the nurse.
No reason to be nervous.
He just had to get through the day.
♥
Andi’s palms were starting to sweat. Letcher had walked into her daycare less than three minutes before she had planned on walking out the door.
He had come to make sure she wasn’t going to bolt. The rumors were flying all over the factory. He wanted her in place to take the heat so he could clear out. Andi could read that as clearly as she could read a book.
“I just wanted to drop by, see how things were progressing. See how you were doing,” Letcher lied easily as he roamed the small play area. “You haven’t been outside the daycare much lately. We never see you in the cafeteria anymore.”
Does she know anything? Has she heard any of the rumors? She could almost hear the thoughts in his head, see the nerves in his eyes.
Of course she hasn’t heard anything. Would she be here, so quiet, if she had?
Andi dragged her gaze from his, in case he could sense her thoughts the way she was sensing his.
Her shrug was casual and her eyes were relaxed. But her palms, damn it, her palms were sweating like crazy. Tucking them in her pockets, Andi returned one lie for another. “I’ve been dieting. The cafeteria is too tempting and I’ve got to get back to competition weight.”
“Ah, yes. Your karate.”
She didn’t answer as she gathered her things from her office. “I really need to be getting home. Was there something you wanted?”
When he only made a noncommittal hum, she slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door. “You’re welcome to come down for a visit, any time at all.”
“I wouldn’t.”
His words didn’t make any sense, until she turned slowly and saw the gun in his hands.
<
br /> Mildly, Letcher said, “You know.”
She hadn’t hidden it well enough. The one time in her life it had been vital she keep a mask up, and it had fallen. Staring at the lethal little gun in his hand, she licked her suddenly dry lips. Pasting a confused look on her face, Andi stuttered out, “Know what?”
“Child, don’t play games with me. I’ve been in this game far too long. You can’t possibly win.”
Okay. So much for bluffing her way out of it. She slid back one step, then another.
“If…If I know, don’t you think others do as well?”
“What others?” he asked. Then, his eyes narrowed. “A set up. The whole time, it was a set up,” he whispered, realization dawning in his eyes. “You and McAdams.”
Shaking her head, she said, “We aren’t the only ones who know. You kill me, they’ll know where to look. I disappear, you become the main suspect.”
“I’m not going to be around for questioning, my dear.”
Arching a brow, she gave him the look she had copied from her karate instructor as she coolly said, “Embezzlement is a serious crime, but pretty white collar. Murder is a different story. They pursue murderers much more diligently than they pursue thieves. You sure you want to cross that line?”
With an evil smile, Letcher asked, “What makes you think I haven’t already?” His hand held the gun steadily focused straight on her heart.
“Is ninety thousand dollars really worth killing somebody?”
Art shrugged, his eyes amused. “I’ve done it for less.”
The fear was back. She had felt this kind of fear before, in the narrow landing of a hospital parking garage. There had been nobody that would help then. And, this late in the day, there were few around to help. Staring down the barrel of the gun, Andi’s body started to quiver.
She really, really wasn’t ready to die.
♥
Jamie glanced at his watch. Andi’s car was still out in the lot. Nearly everybody was gone now. With the holiday coming up, Jeb had closed the plant for the long weekend so there wasn’t going to be a second or third shift.
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