Page 57 of In the Dead of Night

“We had sex, Sara. It was good. Damn good. But it was a mistake.”

“Where is this coming from?” she asked.

“Doesn’t matter. This is the way it’s got to be. The way I want it. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”

“You mean as you were tearing my clothes off and whispering sweet nothings in my ear?” She choked out a sound of disbelief. “Tell me where this is coming from.”

“I needed you.” Nick steeled himself against the pain in her eyes, reminded himself things were better this way. “I needed…to be close. You were here.”

Raising her hands as if to fend him off, she stepped away. “Don’t you dare denigrate what happened between us.”

“I’m being truthful.”

“You’re being a son of a bitch, and I don’t understand why.”

He latched on to the spark of anger he saw in her eyes. He wanted her angry. Wanted her to lash out. Wanted her to hate him. God knew he deserved it. It was safer for her to hate him than it was for her to love him….

“If you want to go another round I can accommodate you.”

Her eyes widened when Nick started toward her. She took a step back, but he trapped her at the counter, locked her in with both arms. He ducked his head to kiss her, but she turned her head. “Cut it out,” she snapped.

“Come on,” he whispered, hating himself.

“Nick, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but this is not you.”

“What you see is what you get.” He tried to kiss her again. “Come on…”

“Stop it.” Shoving him away, she ducked beneath his arm and fled to the guest bedroom.

Nick held his ground in the kitchen, wishing there was another way to do this. There was, of course, but he had neither the energy nor the inclination. He knew if he spent any more time with her, they would wind up in bed and he would be hopelessly lost.

No, he thought. Better to drive her away now. Make a clean break so no one got hurt. He wasn’t ready for anything more complicated. He was certainly in no frame of mind to get tangled in a relationship. She deserved better. Nick figured he could still oversee the case. He’d assign his officer to watch her and keep her safe until she left.

He found her in the guest bedroom, lugging her suitcase onto the bed. The look of hurt in her eyes just about undid him, but he didn’t go to her. “I’ll drive you to the bed-and-breakfast in town,” he said.

She yanked open the zipper. “I’ll drive myself.”

“Look, I may be a jerk, but we both know it would be silly for you to go out alone this time of morning.”

She glared at him over the top of the suitcase. “Like you care.”

More than you’ll ever know. “I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“You want to keep yourself safe.”

The words struck a note, but he didn’t let himself react. He stared at her, wondering if she had any idea how desperately he wanted to go to her.

The chirp of his cell phone interrupted. Growling, he yanked it from the clip on his belt. “Yeah.”

“Chief?” B.J.’s voice came on the line. “Call just came in about a possible 10-50F on the coast highway.”

The Cape Darkwood PD used the ten-code system. A 10-50F was a traffic accident with a possible fatality. “When?”

“Sometime last night.” The officer paused. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Chief. But the caller said there’s a red Mercedes convertible at the bottom of a ravine.”

Red Mercedes convertible.

The description echoed in his head. His mother drove a red Mercedes convertible. She would have taken the coast road back to town last night.