Chapter 7
Luck was finally shining down on me. The tarp Colton
gathered from the shed was useable. I put on a pot of coffee while he broke out
the duct tape, and then I pretended not to be watching him cover my window.
I was totally watching him. I mean, who wouldn’t? When he’d
spread out the tarp, he’d bent over and good Lord in sweet, sweet heaven, that
man had a great rear end. And then when he started hanging it up, I
was witness to the amazing display of muscles rippling and straining under his
shirt.
What I would give to see that man in the buff.
During this, I did make a mental note to contact my
insurance company on Monday morning, so I wasn’t a complete fail at
prioritizing.
I walked his cup over to him, placing it on the coffee
table. Working on one corner, he glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
Since I had tried to help already and was virtually shooed
away, I sat on the couch. “I really do appreciate this.”
“It’s no problem.” He ripped off the section of the tape.
“There’re a couple of things I need to talk to you about. I was planning on
filling you in tomorrow. Maybe over some pancakes this time.”
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly and wished his words meant
more than just charming flirtatiousness. “Okay.”
“We’ve identified the victim.” He stretched the tarp down
the right side as he filled me in. “Not the most upstanding citizen, but his
record was mostly petty crimes, a few drug infractions. Looks like what went
down Friday night might have been more of a turf thing, but obviously it’s
bigger than that.”
My spine stiffened. “I figured as much. Creepy van dude gave
me that impression.”
“The man murdered worked for Isaiah Vakhrov. Have you ever
heard of him?”
“No. Should I have?”
He shook his head as he tore off another piece of tape. “Not
if you want to live a long, healthy and safe life, no. Isaiah Vakhrov pretty
much runs the city, but not from the right side of the fence, if you get what
I’m saying. His fingers are in everything. Some of his business is legit and
some of it’s not. Lot of drugs come in and out of this city because of him.”
I frowned. “So, he’s some kind of crime lord? And everyone
knows this? How is he still doing what he does?”
“Cause like I said, he’s got his hands in a lot of things,
and that means he’s got a lot of people in his pocket. He’s Teflon. Nothing
sticks.”
“Wow,” I murmured.
“Anyway, the man murdered worked for Isaiah, and one thing
every shitbag in this state and the ones touching ours knows is you don’t mess
with Isaiah’s people unless you want a target on the back of your head. Whoever
the shooters are, either aren’t the brightest or they have more balls than
brains. And whoever they work for doesn’t want that connection made,” he told
me. “Which explains what happened at the store and this. Someone ID’d you.
Could’ve been anyone hanging around the crime scene Friday night or…”
Or it could’ve been someone in the police department. Good
God, this was unreal.
“The thing is, knowing Isaiah, he’s going to find out who
pulled that trigger before us.” His laugh was without humor. “He almost always
does. And he’s going to take care of it. But what I don’t like is whoever the
punks work for coming after you.” He yanked on the tape. “They’re not going to
get close to you again.”
The way he said it almost had me convinced he could
single-handedly ensure that. I wanted to believe that, but he couldn’t be
around me twenty-four hours a day. The fear I’d been holding back pressed on
me. “Should I…should I be worried about this Isaiah?”
“Honestly?” The muscles moved along his spine. “No. But he’s
not a good guy. Don’t ever mistake him for that, but he has his own sense of
moral code and conduct. Violence against women or children is a surefire way to
get on his bad side. He will leave you alone.”
“That’s sort of comforting,” I mumbled, taking a sip of my
coffee. “Kind of.”
“Gotta say, though, you’re handling all of this like a
champ.”
I got a wee bit distracted by the way his bicep bunched and
blurted out, “I cried myself to sleep last night.”
Colton stilled.
My eyes widened. “Oh my God.” I placed my hand over my
forehead. “I cannot believe I just said that out loud.”
Lowering his hands, he let the tarp flap to the side as he
faced me. The roll of duct tape dangled from his fingers.
Warmth invaded my cheeks. “I mean, I didn’t like sob or
anything, and I don’t cry a lot. It’s just that—”
“Honey, you don’t have to explain anything. You saw some
shit last night.” Dropping the roll of tape on the arm of the chair, he walked
around the coffee table and got right in between it and me. Plucking the cup
out of my hand, he placed it beside his and sat on the corner of the table in
front of me. He was so close our knees pressed together when he leaned in,
resting his arms on his thighs. “Having an emotional reaction is expected. If
you hadn’t, I would be concerned. To be honest, I didn’t like the idea of you
being alone after seeing something like that.”
“Why?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Why do you
care?”
He tilted his head to the side. “I’m not sure what to think
about that kind of question.”
I exhaled slowly. “I mean, do you treat all your witnesses
this way? Bring them crepes in the morning and fix vandalized windows?”
Colton raised a brow. “No.”
Well, that was a blunt answer. “Then why are you doing it
now?”
“When I asked you if you believed in second chances, I was
hoping you’d say yes.” Those thick lashes lifted. “I don’t like the way our
paths crossed again, but I’m glad they did.”
There were no words.
A playful grin appeared. “I noticed you in high school,
Abby. I thought you were pretty and smart. I liked how you were always the
first one in the class and the last one out.”
Oh my God, I was always the first one in and the last one
out.
“I liked how you were nice to everyone, even the assholes
who didn’t deserve it,” he continued, those azure eyes glimmering. “So, yeah, I
noticed you, but you had a boyfriend. You always had a boyfriend. I respected
that, but I know you noticed me.”
The warmth increasing in my cheeks had nothing to do with
embarrassment.
“You know, every couple of years, you’ve crossed my mind.
That’s the damn truth.” His eyes met mine and held. “It was always unexpected.
Never unwelcomed. Did you think of me?”
“Yes. I’ve thought of you,” I whispered.
His grin turned smug. “Hell yeah.”
Stunned by what he was admitting, it still didn’t make
sense. “I’ve seen you around town, Colton, since I moved back. At the store or
the movies.” I left out the part that he was with someone else because that was
irrelevant. “You never noticed me then.”
“Then I’m a fucking idiot if that’s true.”
I blinked and my gaze centered on his well-formed mouth.
What did his mouth feel like? Was it hard? Soft? A mixture of both? And what
did he taste like? I bet a marvelous mix of coffee and man. “Colton—”
“I should’ve noticed you. Damn, I hate the idea that I
hadn’t.” Sincerity filled his tone. “I notice you now, Abby.”
My heart started tripping all over itself. “This doesn’t
seem real.”
A chuckle rumbled out of him. “Why not?”
“Because these things don’t happen in real life,” I told
him, leaning back and needing the space before I decided to find out exactly
how his mouth felt and what he tasted like. “They don’t.”
His brows knitted together. “This is happening. It’s real
life.”
“You are not getting what I’m saying.” I drew in a deep
breath. “Extremely gorgeous men like you—”
“You think I’m extremely gorgeous?” His grin reappeared and
so did the left dimple.
I shot him a bland look. “Like you don’t know that. And see,
that’s the thing. You’re the gorgeous, confident cop and I’m not the worst
thing walking on two legs, but I’m not the type of woman who snags the interest
of a guy like you. That only happens in books.”
He stared at me for a moment and then he shook his head.
“First off, what the hell do you mean by woman like you?”
“Do I really need to spell it out for you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, yeah you do.”
Frustration rose, racing across my skin like an army of fire
ants. He couldn’t be serious. “I don’t look like the woman I saw you at the
movies with. She was a tall, thin beautiful blonde. No one in this
world would describe me as that beautiful woman with the hot guy. They
would be like, wow, he’s really with someone quite average. And I’m totally
okay with being that average chick. I know what I am, so this doesn’t make
sense. I mean, unless you’re just horny and want to get laid and you have no
other prospects at the moment, then that makes more sense, I guess.”
He opened his mouth, closed it, and then tried again. “If
I’m horny and want to get laid?”
Yeah, I sort of couldn’t believe I said that myself.
“Honey, how old do you think I am that all I’m about is
getting laid?” he asked.
“Well, I mean, I get horny and want to get laid too, and
we’re roughly the same age.” I really needed to shut up. “All I’m trying to say
is that it’s human nature.”
“Human nature?” His blue eyes brightened as he laughed under
his breath. “Can I just tell you that I’m thrilled to hear you get horny, and
honey, you want to get laid, I’m your man, but you don’t really know me, Abby.”
I was still stuck on him being my man if I wanted to get
laid, and boy, did I ever want to get laid. Hadn’t even really considered it
seriously in the last four years. No guy had sparked my attention, but right
now? An ache had already blossomed and my breath came in and out in little
shallow bursts, a reaction just to the mere idea of sleeping with him.
“And we’re going to change that,” Colton said. “You and I
are going to get to know each other in a way that’s long overdue.”
My breath caught as a tight shiver coiled. “We are?”
That half grin did crazy-insane things to me. “Oh, we are.
You know why? Because we got a second chance to do so and we aren’t going to
miss that, are we?”
I couldn’t look away. “No?”
“That’s right.” Lifting his arm, he cupped my cheek with his
hand. “Here’s an important piece of information about me. If I’m looking for
just a lay, I’m not going to bring that woman crepes in the morning or fix her
window. And I’m sure as hell not going to risk my career to just screw around
with a witness. If I’m going to take that risk, it’s going to be worth it.” His
thumb dragged under my lip, causing me to suck in a shallow breath. “And honey,
I have a good feeling, you’re worth it.”
Before I could respond, before I could say anything that
would probably ruin everything he’d just said, he slipped that hand along my
cheek, his fingers tangling in my hair as he leaned in, forcing his knee
between mine. I took a breath. My heart beat. All I saw was the blue of his
eyes.
And then Colton kissed me.