Chapter 13 #2
And if this was the end, she really hoped Michael would find peace. Knowing him, he’d feel like this was somehow his fault. And it broke her heart to think of him hurting in any way.
If she ever got out of here, she would try to keep relationships her priority. Try to be okay with telling people how much she really cared about them. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to let them see the hard stuff.
But that was a big if.
Lord, I could use yet another rescue.
She adjusted her arms, her elbow accidentally banging into the side of the truck. For a second, releasing the frustration brought a smidge of warmth.
Why not? If she was gonna go out, she might as well release it all.
She pounded on the side of the truck as tears fell.
She was sick of being alone. Sick of trying so hard and yet still finding herself in scrapes and causing disasters.
She was just trying to do a job and make this world a better place.
Energy spent, she stopped pounding and curled into a ball.
“Hello?” A muffled voice sounded on the other side of the wall. Two knocks. Okay, call her crazy, but it sounded like…
“Michael? Michael, is that you?” She pounded back three times. She could barely hear through the walls of the trailer.
“Dani?”
“Yes. It’s me!”
“Hang on! I’ll get you out of there.”
Well, she certainly wasn’t going anywhere. But over the next few minutes, she could’ve sworn the air grew even more frigid. Thinner.
Finally, a clinking sound around the latch roused her again. A few seconds later, the doors at the back of the trailer swung open, and there stood Michael Martinelli like some kind of superhero. Before she could stand, he scooped her into his arms and stepped down from the trailer.
“You’re freezing.” He set her on the shop floor and pulled his own sweatshirt off. As it slipped over her head, it wrapped her up in amber scents and masculine warmth. For a moment, they held each other, and she listened to his heartbeat.
“Thank God you’re okay. I’ve been worried sick about you.” Michael’s whispered words were a little shaky but one hundred percent sincere.
“How did you—” Dani couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering. “How did you know I was here?”
“Josh said you never came home. He called me, and I started trying to track you down. I was about to leave. Actually, I did leave, but I dropped my mom’s medal when I was crawling under the door, and when I came back to look for it, I heard the noise in the back of the truck.”
“You were here in the shop and left?”
He nodded. “I don’t like thinking about what could’ve happened if I hadn’t come back, Dani. You could’ve died in there.”
Dani pulled away. “But I didn’t. Thanks to you.” She kissed him on the cheek, the prickly day’s growth of his five-o’clock shadow tickling her lips. His face was warm, so warm that her cold fingers sought solace by tracing his jaw, wrapping themselves around his neck.
He stared at her, sucked in a breath, and stilled.
“Dani?” He whispered her name, but it sounded like a roaring ocean wave beckoning her.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
She didn’t want any more scolding, she didn’t want to be pushed aside or ignored anymore. She just wanted him.
So she tugged him closer, and this time her lips met his. She hovered there, waiting to see what he would do.
Only for a second did he hesitate before meeting her question with the answer she’d hoped for. He kissed her back, and like everything Michael Martinelli did, he kissed her well and good. Perfect tenderness and passion. Heat soaked into her frozen bones, bringing back warmth and life.
This was better than any of her adolescent daydreams.
This was real. Maybe she was caught up in the moment but…what a moment. She would ride this as long as she could.
The wave of passion and heat crested, slowly softened. Michael pulled back enough to look her in the eyes.
“Wow,” he whispered. He looked a little dazed, but it was the sense of awe and wonder that brought a pang to her chest. No one had ever looked at her like that before.
“That was…”
Her breath caught, waiting to hear his next words.
Too much. Too impulsive
But Michael’s lips tilted into a soft smile as he finished with “amazing.”
It wasn’t what she’d thought he’d say, but it settled deep into her. “You’re not so bad yourself, Michael Martinelli.”
It wasn’t what she wanted to say either, but her confidence was nowhere to be found at the moment, and it was all she could come up with.
He helped her stand, holding on to her lightly. “I should get you home. A lot of people are worried about you.”
“Right. Of course.” She tucked her hair back behind her ears.
They quietly left the warehouse and walked toward the office. “So, I have a million questions,” Michael said.
“Ask away.”
“Well, the top one is, uh…” He palmed the back of his neck and glanced at her as they walked.
“What?”
“Do you kiss all your rescuers like that?” A glint of humor and more vulnerability than she’d ever seen displayed on his face made her pulse jump.
But she needed to keep this light. How impulsive was she to go from friend to passionate kisses in one moment? Her mother would be appalled. And impulsiveness was what had gotten her trapped in the first place.
“Only the handsome ones.” She winked.
Michael laughed like he always did. It echoed off the side of the building. The tightness in her shoulders relaxed.
They approached her car.
“I think we should leave your car here and get you checked out at the hospital. If you’re cleared to work, I’ll bring you back in the morning.”
There he was, still trying to rescue her. He was too good. Too wholesome and steady.
Too distracting.
She could really fall for him, and that was not part of the plan. She needed to think about what was good for him first.
“I’ll be fine.”
The sweetness of the moment evaporated, and a seriousness crept into his eyes. “How did you get trapped in there? There was a lock on the latch that I had to cut off from the outside.”
Oh, that. “I was working late and needed some expense receipts from one of the shop guys. I came out to look for them and heard voices. I get the feeling there’s more going on here than simply embezzling.”
“Did you find anything?”
“No, but I heard someone and saw the refrigerated trailer’s door open. I went to investigate it, and before I knew it, a man picked me up and threw me in. Then the door was shut and locked.”
“So you didn’t see him?”
“No. But he said, ‘Should’ve stayed out of this, sweetheart.’ He’d lowered his voice and was practically growling. I don’t know that I’d recognize his normal speech pattern.”
Michael scanned the area. “I dunno, Dani. This is pretty dangerous. Are you sure you should come back?”
“I need to close the case. There must be something happening if someone is threatened enough to do this.”
Michael’s lips thinned. “Any chance you can bring in some backup or something?”
“I’ll have to report this to the ASAC. She probably won’t let me investigate it myself, but no way will I back down now. I’m getting close. I need to finish.”
He nodded. “I get that. And you’re smart. You’ll figure it out soon. But in the meantime, be careful. And if you need help, you know who to call.”
“You’re not going to talk me out of it? Tell me it’s too dangerous? Or that I’m being too dramatic?”
He tilted his head. “Why would I do that? This is your job. If anything, I say buckle down and dig in. But I don’t want you to break your cover.
So treat it like any normal citizen would.
Report it, and I’ll come help investigate what happened tonight.
If this guy is doing anything shady, we’ll shake him up a bit, make it easier to catch him. ”
She couldn’t help but smile up at him. It was nice to have his support, his understanding, and even his encouragement. Someone who believed in her for once.
“Thanks, Michael.”
She was about to lean in and kiss him again, but his phone rang, destroying the moment.
He looked at the screen. “That’s your brother. Better get you home.”
Her brother. Right.
And what would he think about her kissing his best friend?