by Katie Reus
“I didn’t say that. But I’ve got to be thorough—”
They all turned at the sound of raised voices.
She stood when Ford stormed in, looking a lot different than she’d ever seen him. He looked almost afraid, but totally in battle mode. Wearing cargo pants, a T-shirt and his weapon and badge, he looked ready to charge into a war zone. She wasn’t sure why he was even there, but she didn’t care. She was just relieved to see him.
She was moving before she’d fully processed the sight of him. He was faster than her, covering the distance across the largely empty banquet room in long strides.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his gaze roaming over her even as he pulled her into a close, very proprietary hug.
“I’m fine, I swear. Just shaken up.” She held him back just as tightly, pressing her face against his chest. He felt good. Solid. She didn’t want to let go but at the sound of a throat being cleared she stepped back to find Grant watching them.
Not with anger exactly, but his expression was as hard as his voice. “You didn’t need to come down here. I just called you because you helped her last night.”
So that was how he’d known. “Well ‘her’ is right here and I’m glad you called him.” She turned in Ford’s arms. “Grant’s right though, you really didn’t have to come—”
“Yeah, I did.” Now he looked almost offended as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Something that did not go unnoticed by Grant. She figured he’d want to have ‘a talk’ with her later but she was a grown woman and she really liked Ford. And she was grateful for his presence. Just having him here made everything seem bearable. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him, making her feelings clear to them all.
The detective cleared his throat. “I still need to finish interviewing Raegan. We can do it here or down at the station but I know she wants to get out of here.”
Raegan guessed he was letting her make a statement here instead of taking her down to the police department because of his friendship and former partnership with Grant. “Here is fine with me.”
Carlito nodded once before giving Grant an almost apologetic look. “I need you to wait in the hall with everyone else.”
Next to her Ford tensed, as if waiting for the detective to say the same thing to him.
It was clear Grant wanted to argue, but after kissing her on the cheek and giving Ford a look of warning, he stalked out.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ford snapped.
Carlito just sighed. “I figured that. Come on. Let’s sit down.”
Once they were back at the table, Carlito cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you report what happened last night?” Carlito asked Ford point-blank. “Grant filled me in on everything.”
“Is this on the record?”
He sighed, leaned back in his chair. “Not if you don’t want it to be.”
“I don’t. We both know how seriously her report would have been taken.” He snorted at that, disgust in the sound. “There’s nothing anyone could have done for her last night that I’m not already doing.”
The detective raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That tomorrow morning one of her cousins is meeting with the owner of the club she was at. He’s bringing the security feeds. No warrant needed, no red tape. And you know what his reaction would have been if the cops had asked for the feeds. If possible, we’ll get the identity of the guy who drugged her.”
Well that was news to her. She shouldn’t be surprised that none of her cousins had said anything, but she was annoyed Ford hadn’t at least told her. Carlito’s expression darkened and it was clear he didn’t like that. She was sure there were a multitude of reasons he didn’t.
The detective’s jaw tightened once before he pushed out a sigh. “I get it, but I want you to make a report now,” he said, focusing on her again. “I don’t know that what happened tonight is connected to last night, but I don’t believe in coincidence. I want this on the record so later, if this goes to court, there’s a pattern of escalating behavior.”
As his words sank in, chills spread through her like slow-moving ice. “You think…that’s possible?” That the same person really wanted to hurt her enough to drug her then come after her so blatantly at a public venue a second time? She couldn’t imagine anyone that angry at her. That this might end up in court someday made a wave of nausea sweep through her. “The guy in the bathroom, the things he called me…I don’t know why.”
“What did he call you?” Ford demanded.
“Ah, a whore and a tease.” She winced as his expression darkened. The detective already knew, had put everything in his report.
Ford picked up one of her hands, linked his fingers through hers.
The detective gave her a hard look. “I think it’s better to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”
“Okay, I’ll make the report on that too. Do you mind if I tell my friend that he should just go ahead and leave?” Because she didn’t want Rhys waiting around here any longer. It was unnecessary and she felt bad. For that matter, she was going to tell her cousins to leave too. Even if she knew it wouldn’t do any good, she still had to try to get them out of here. There was no need to ruin everyone’s night.
Ford’s fingers tightened in hers slightly at the mention of her friend, but he didn’t say anything otherwise. Just let her hand go when Carlito nodded that she could take a quick break.
When he stood, she shook her head. “My cousins are in the hall and so is my uncle. And all their significant others. I’ll be fine, I promise.” She actually wanted him with her, but she didn’t want to throw it in Rhys’s face that another man was taking her home, even if they were just friends. It felt mean somehow.
As she hurried across the room she felt Ford’s heated stare on her back. As worried as she was right now, she was still inordinately pleased that Ford had shown up tonight.
Chapter 9
Tension knotted Ford’s shoulders as he waited for Raegan to finish saying goodbye to Lizzy, Mara and Belle.
Keith, Harrison and Porter were all giving him what equaled death stares from across the room, but he didn’t give a shit. They were pissed he was taking Raegan home—and probably that he was clearly interested in her—but they could get over it.
She brought out all his protective, possessive instincts and they could just deal with the fact that he was the one taking care of her. He would keep her safe.
Grant stepped back into the room and made a beeline for him. He’d been out in the hallway wrapping up with Duarte, a man Ford actually liked and had worked with on multiple occasions. He was a damn good detective, cared about finding justice and protecting the people of his city.
“So, you and my cousin?” Grant asked as he reached him, his voice low.
“I was going to tell you, and…we have our first date tomorrow night.” He didn’t know what else would happen, but he was into her. More into her than he could ever remember being with anyone. He knew he didn’t want casual. Not even close. That little voice in his head still fucked with him, told him that she was too good to be true, but he ignored it.
Grant gave him a hard, assessing look. “We’ve all noticed the way you avoided looking at her at parties. And the way you’d sneak glances when you thought no one was paying attention. Which tells me all I need to know. So this isn’t exactly a surprise, but…” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Treat her right.”
Or Grant—and likely his brothers—would kick his ass, was the implied threat.
That was a given. “I like her. A lot,” he murmured, not wanting to say more. Guys didn’t talk about shit like this and he wasn’t going to start talking about his feelings now. It was time for a subject change. “Who’s getting the security feeds, you or Porter?” He’d briefly talked to Grant about it when he’d called earlier but didn’t know all the details.
“Ivanov is coming by tomorrow. He’s personally picking up the rec
ording from the offsite company the feeds go to. He’s…not happy with his security team.”
“Good.” Though they both knew shit like this happened, even with the best security. From what Ford had seen, however, Viktor Ivanov needed to get a new team at his club. “Is he here tonight?”
“Yeah. Or he was earlier. I think he actually met Raegan but he probably doesn’t know who she is.”
“Is her friend gone?”
Grant’s lips curved up. “Yeah. Can’t believe you were okay with her coming here tonight with that fucker.”
“She’s a grown woman.” He hadn’t liked it, but it wasn’t like he and Raegan were together. Not yet anyway. But that was coming. “You think he’s got anything to do with this?” For all Ford knew the guy didn’t like being stuck in the friend zone. Maybe it was too much for him.
“Nah. And we ran the guy hard too.”
Ford didn’t doubt it, but nodded as Raegan broke away from her cousins-in-law and made her way to him and Grant. She looked beautiful and utterly exhausted.
“Can we go?” she sighed, moving to him like a magnet, wrapping her arm around his waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.
His slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He was glad she didn’t want to hide their…relationship. Or whatever they had. That had been a fear, lurking in his subconscious. That she wouldn’t want to let her cousins know about them. “If you’re ready, we can leave.”
“I’ll follow you guys to your truck,” Grant said, no room for argument in his voice.
Not that Ford planned to. He didn’t care if Grant came along. More security was always better. He just cared about getting her home. Keeping her safe.
* * *
He wiped his damp palms against his pants as he steered into his garage. Tonight had been stupid.
He had been stupid.
What the hell had he been thinking?
He hadn’t, that was the problem.
He’d seen Raegan in that hot-as-fuck dress and lost his mind. It was her fault for setting him off. She hadn’t even noticed him. At work she always said hi and was friendly. Way more friendly than she needed to be. But tonight she’d looked right through him, as if she had no idea who he was.
She’d been out with that guy he’d seen her with in the past. The rich one. After she’d been off with some other asshole this afternoon. Making out with that one like a whore for everyone to see.
From her texts and phone calls he didn’t think she was fucking the one she’d been with tonight.
But he could be wrong.
God, he’d certainly been wrong tonight.
He was still shaking as he pressed the button to close his garage door. The trembles didn’t stop when he was inside his house.
Shudders racked him.
He’d been careless, could have been caught. That was not on his agenda. Not like so many losers who ‘wanted to get caught.’ Fuck that.
He’d wanted to frighten her, to wrap his hand around her throat, to show her that he was in charge. He’d been so stupid though. Tonight had been too risky. Getting caught wasn’t something he ever wanted. It was why he didn’t send her threatening messages, contact her. It would leave a way to be traced back to him. Instead, he just watched. Waiting for the right time. He did actually write her letters, he just never sent them. Once he had her in his possession, he’d let her read them then.
She was his secret obsession. He loved watching, but he was tired of women teasing him, tired of being invisible.
He ran a hand over his erection as he shut the mudroom door behind him. He shouldn’t even want her, but he couldn’t help it. She called to him.
He still wondered if he’d worked her up in his mind, made her out to be something she wasn’t. When he’d first met her he’d thought she was sweet, innocent. Now she seemed like every other woman. Just another whore.
He didn’t bother changing, just went straight into his workout room and slammed his fist against his punching bag.
The impact against his knuckles loosened some of the rage building inside him, let him focus and channel his energy.
He had to get back under control. After his slipup tonight, he had to be back in command. He’d likely see her next week, get his temporary fix. He’d only gone to the event tonight to see her. After reading her texts he’d known she’d be there. One look at her was all he’d wanted. When she’d separated herself from her date, the opportunity to scare her had been too much. If she hadn’t had her stupid phone—something he would have thought of if he’d been thinking clearly—he’d have been able to do more than scare her. He could have touched her, shown her that she was his.
He slammed his fist into the punching bag again and again, imagined pummeling the man she’d been with tonight. Or the other one from the beach. Both. It didn’t matter.
They were both obstacles.
Maybe… Maybe Raegan wanted him to fight for her, to show her that he could eliminate any competition. That he was the right man for her. Women liked that shit, when guys were all alpha.
His arms were sore and sweat was pouring down his face and neck by the time he forced himself to stop punching the bag.
He was finally back under control, his head clear. And he wouldn’t be making a mistake like tonight again. He was done waiting and writing letters he never sent. Next time he went after her, he was taking her. Simple as that.
Chapter 10
Raegan wanted to tell Ford that he didn’t need to check her condo, not since she’d had her security system armed. But it would have been a fruitless effort. He was totally geared up, the energy rolling off him a little intense.
He’d point-blank told her uncle that he’d be the one taking her home and looking after her. And nobody ever told Keith Caldwell anything.
She certainly hadn’t disagreed, even if she didn’t need someone to look after her. Not in her own home.
Tonight had scared the hell out of her but she felt safe in her home. And while she didn’t necessarily feel like an obligation to him, she also didn’t want this to be a defining thing in their potential relationship.
He was older than her and likely way more experienced. She liked that. But she also didn’t want him to feel like she needed taking care of. It made things feel too unequal between them.
While he did a full-scale sweep of her place, she headed to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. She took two with a glass of red wine instead of water because yeah, it was one of those nights.
“Ugh,” she muttered to herself, hating the whole situation.
“What’s wrong?” Ford was suddenly there in her small kitchen, his expression worried.
Half smiling, she shook her head. “Nothing. Just annoyed in general.” Even thinking that the person who’d tried to attack her tonight was the same one from last night was beyond scary. She always thought stalkers left creepy messages and made heavy breathing phone calls. If someone had been harassing her, she’d have gone to the police. And her cousins. It was like this insanity had come out of the blue.
“Do you want to rest?” Ford looked unsure what to do as he stood there. As if he wished he had a specific target to fight.
“No. Look, thank you for driving me home and for coming to the event when Grant called you. That was so sweet. But don’t feel like you need to stay or anything. Or to take care of me.” She wanted that out there, wanted him to understand she didn’t want to be—
“Oh, I’m staying.”
She blinked at his matter-of-fact tone. “Excuse me?”
“On the couch, but I’m staying. Or I’ll walk you up to Porter and Lizzy’s place. You’re not going to be alone tonight.”
His bossy tone rankled her. Setting her wine glass down, she pushed away from the counter and stalked toward him. “I’m grateful for what you’ve done, but you don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Pretty sure I just did,” he answered, his gaze dropping to her mouth.
She was torn between being offended and turned on. Raegan didn’t like men to tell her what to do. She didn’t like anyone to tell her what to do. ‘A problem with authority,’ her mother had always said.
But heat pooled between her thighs at that take-charge tone of Ford’s. She certainly wasn’t going to tell him that—it would just encourage him. She placed a hand on his chest. “Ford—”
He covered her hand with his bigger, callused one and lifted it. Taking her completely by surprise, he skated his lips over her knuckles. As he did, he let out a shuddering breath. “When I got that call I was terrified for you.”
Immediately she softened, stepping even closer to him. He was such a solid presence. “I’m okay.”
“I’m still staying over.” Once again his tone was all domineering.
“You can’t do that,” she muttered.
“Do what?” He stepped closer, moving until he had her back against the counter and there was nowhere for her to go.
Even as his bossiness annoyed her, she wanted to arch into him, to rub up against him like a feline in heat. Everything about the man was sexy, and this need he seemed to have to take charge was insanely hot even if it was maddening. Clearly she should have her head examined. This type of behavior had never turned her on before. Once a guy tried to tell her what to do, she was out the door. Now, however… “Drive me crazy being all caveman.”
“I think you like it.” There was a hint of a question in his statement. His green eyes seemed darker tonight, as he looked down at her with blatant heat and hunger.
“You would think that.” Even if it was true she wasn’t going to tell him.
“If I slid my hand up your dress and cupped that pretty pussy, would I find you wet?” His voice was raspy, unsteady and there was no mistaking he was turned on, given his thick erection pressing against her.
Her mouth fell open at his words. She’d never had a man talk to her like that. The rawness, the dirtiness of the words got her even wetter. She swallowed hard. “Why don’t you find out?”