Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Lucy
“I know it sounds crazy,” I say with my voice all wobbly, “but I swear, Cutter chose me. He hated it there. They made him be mean but he has such a good heart. He’s a total sweetie. He didn’t deserve all that.”
I hope I’m winning this man over, but I have no idea. He’s just staring at me with those intense dark eyes. I’m not sure if he wants to throw me in jail, throw me out the door, or throw me over this desk and ravage me. His face is unreadable. His very gorgeous, very sexy unreadable face.
My pulse is racing as I desperately try to make this hot police officer see why stealing a dog was the only rational choice.
“He was cold and shaking all the time,” I say with my voice getting all high-pitched and crackly. “They never let him inside, even through the winter! And you should see how much he loves to curl up on the couch and cuddle. His cuddling game is legendary.”
Those sexy lips curl up into a half-smile. It gives me an ounce of courage to keep going. Maybe I can win him over. Maybe I can get some sort of protection here.
“Any kind, reasonable person would have done the same,” I say, squeezing my hands in and out of fists all nervous and guilty-like. “I didn’t even really steal him if you think about it.”
His eyebrow raises as he looks at me skeptically. That look on him is really freaking hot .
“Not technically,” I quickly add. “I just… opened the car door and he jumped right in. It was his choice really. I was just an innocent bystander.”
“Who cut the fence and drove the getaway car…”
I swallow hard but he’s grinning. I might have won Mr. Hot Cop over for the moment.
This man is incredibly intimidating. I must have caught him mid-workout. That would explain all the manly grunts and clanging weights coming from the room in the back. Plus, he’s wearing a tank top that his giant arms are busting out of instead of a police uniform. His biceps and shoulders are covered in sexy ink and the tattoo on his left side continues up to his thick, muscular neck. I have to keep telling myself to stop staring at this man in awe. I keep getting lost in his breathtaking eyes.
I love his size. He’s massive . I bet I don’t even come up to his big bearded chin.
And that beard—don’t even get me started. Full and neatly trimmed, like he could chop wood all morning and then take your grandma to church right after.
This man is a mountain of muscle and male authority all wrapped up in slow, deliberate movements and a stare that makes it very hard to breathe properly.
I bet his girlfriend doesn’t have to worry about goons following her around. Someone like him would twist Angelo into a pretzel for even daring to look at his girl. Man, that girl is one lucky chick. I hope she knows it.
“Okay, maybe I did steal him,” I say, finishing quietly as I look down at the ground. “But I just couldn’t leave him in that horrible place. They treated him like trash and he deserves so much better. I don’t regret a thing.”
I swallow hard as I look up. This man’s eyes sexy brown eyes are locked on me. I bet those eyes could intimidate the hardest criminals into giving full confessions. Even now, I would tell him my deepest darkest secrets if he’d only ask.
His eyes soften as mine water. He’s intimidating with all that thick tattooed muscle, but there’s a warmness to him as well. I feel that warmth wrapping around me as he watches me like I’m the only thing in the world worth paying attention to. It gives me goosebumps.
“You did the right thing,” he says in a low, deep voice.
I’m so relieved to hear him say that, I nearly leap over the desk into his arms. I just needed someone to tell me that I did the right thing. I know in my heart it was the right thing to do, but his validation still means the world to me.
“Where is he now?” he asks. “I’m Emmanuel by the way. Emmanuel Rush.”
Emmanuel . Not Officer Rush, but Emmanuel. That has to be a good sign…
“Lucy,” I say, touching the top of my chest. “And Cutter is at my neighbor’s house right now.” I pull my phone out of my back pocket. “Want to see a picture?”
We close the distance between us as I show him my phone, cycling through some photos with my thumb. I’m very aware of how close we are. Of his masculine scent. Of the warmth of his body.
God, I wish I wore something a little cuter rather than this big, faded old hoodie. How was I supposed to know the hottest police officer in the country would be working the morning shift?
“He looks like the happiest dog I’ve ever seen,” he says as I cycle through photos of the two of us enjoying the lake and the Montana mountains.
“Oops,” I say when one pops up of me and Cutter in bed. He’s snuggled under my arm, and I’m grinning with no makeup on, my hair a mess. I swipe past it quickly, but he notices.
“Wait—go back,” he says, grabbing my wrist.
I hesitate as I look up at him. “It’s just a selfie…”
“I want to see the happy dog,” he says, but there’s something else in his voice. Something that makes my stomach flutter.
I go back.
He stares at the photo for a long unbreathable moment. His jaw clenches slightly and he makes a sexy little grumble in the back of his throat. I’m wearing my pajama shorts and a tank top—not too revealing, but they are showing some curves. Definitely more curves than I’m showing now with this frumpy old hoodie
“Send those to me,” he says, finally releasing my wrist.
“For the case?”
His lips twitch. “Yeah, for the case. I’ll put them in your file.”
He gives me his number and I put it into my phone. I add the pajama selfie and a couple of other good ones. Me and Cutter always take the best selfies together.
I hit send with a little shiver.
I guess I have Mr. Hot Cop’s number in my phone now…
And he has mine.
“He appreciates you,” Emmanuel says. “I can tell.”
“You think?” I ask, looking up at him. He’s even taller up close. That beard is a sight to see from this angle. It might just be a landmark here in Montana. If it’s not, it should be.
“Dogs don’t fake that kind of peace,” he says with certainty in his deep voice. “He knows he’s safe with you.”
“I’m not sure if he is,” I say, feeling nervous all over again as I slide my phone back into my pocket. “That’s why I’m here. The guys I took him from came to my place last night.”
Emmanuel tenses up, but doesn’t say a word.
“They broke into my house looking for him.”
“Did they… hurt you?”
He looks so intense as he waits for my answer. He looks like he might put down his badge and go full-on vigilante if I say yes.
“They didn’t find me,” I tell him. “I was hiding at my neighbor’s house, but they’ll be back. Angelo isn’t letting this slide. I took Cutter five months ago and he’s still not over it.”
“ Five months?” he says, staring at me in shock. “You’ve been in my town for five months?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Why? Is that okay?”
“How did I not run into you before,” he says. “I would have remembered seeing you.”
And I would have remembered seeing you.
“I work a lot. Mostly nights. I’m a server at Jack Jameson’s Bar and Grill. Have you ever been?”
“Of course,” he says. “But not lately.”
I feel my cheeks blushing as I lean in. “You should. I mean… for the food . We have amazing burgers.”
Those sexy eyes are locked on me as he nods. “I’ll be there my next night off. If I can sit in your section.”
I brush my hair behind my ear, wondering if I’m reading these signs right. Maybe he doesn’t have a girlfriend after all.
Oh, come on, Lucy. There’s no way no girl has gotten her hooks into a man this sexy. Be realistic.
He straightens up as he stares me down. “I don’t know what things were like where you’re from, Lucy. But you’re in my town now. No one is going to hurt you.”
I want to believe him. It’s just… Angelo seems pretty determined to make me pay for what I took from him.
Emmanuel must sense my hesitation because he doubles down, staring at me with a fierce protectiveness that seizes my soul.
“You working tonight?” he asks.
“Yeah. I tried to take it off in case Angelo came back, but my manager wouldn’t let me switch my shift.”
“It’s okay. I’m working tonight too. I’ll watch after you.”
Relief washes through me, but it doesn’t last long. Angelo is a killer. I don’t want this man getting hurt over me.
“But, what if they come?” I whisper.
His entire expression changes. The warmth vanishes, replaced by something darker. Something meaner. The air around him seems to shift, suddenly charged with something dangerous. His eyes narrow just slightly, and then he growls, actually growls ?—
“I’m hoping they do.”
“Oh,” I whisper as I watch his jaw clenching.
A shiver runs down my spine. My mouth goes dry. Every part of me is suddenly hyper-aware—of the weight of his gaze, the warmth between us, and the way the room feels smaller with him in it.
This is what I needed.
A fierce protector like him.
I’m just not sure if I can handle someone this… manly.
Oh boy.
I’m in trouble.
Big, muscle-bound, hot cop trouble.