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“After the police finish their investigation, we’ll know more. But from the crime scene, and the neighbors who were with her in the early part of the evening, I’d say last night.”
“So, he was in town this morning. And I left Kayla in a car by herself.”
“With a loaded gun. You were slightly busy beating the shit out of Angie’s dad. Who, by the way, ended up in the hospital with some pretty bad damage to his precious boys. He’s claiming it was an accident.” At her probing look, he added, “We get notified whenever anyone appears in the emergency room with questionable injuries. I paid him a little visit before I got the news about Agent Dale’s murder. He won’t be bothering you or Angie ever again. And he promised he’d turn over any documents she’d have need of, and he’d get his wife to sign away any rights on papers that the court draws up.” Blake closed the gap between them and gently tugged her into his arms, hugging her close.
Charli’s arms clung around his waist and her head rested on his wide shoulders. Feeling protected, like she did as a little girl perched on her daddy’s knee, she let the tears fall. Tears that wouldn’t be held in any longer.
“That poor woman.”
“She put up a fight, Charli, but in the end, I figure she gave him whatever information she had.”
“Which was nothing, right?”
“Which was that you and Alicia were in Fort Lauderdale.”
“Seriously? Shit.”
“Seriously.”
“That’s a game changer, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s closer than I ever thought he’d get.”
“What do we do now? Should we move?”
“As soon as we can get arrangements made, yes. Until then, I have a full detail posted around the house. For now, we’ll hunker down here until either we get the all-clear that they have the son of a bitch in custody, or they’ve arranged a new safe house.”
His hands gathered her face, and he stared into her soft brown eyes, shining with unshed tears. Sorrow, visible in their gorgeous depths, made them gentler than he’d ever seen them before.
Kissing her mouth, a simple touch of sympathy, he hugged her even tighter. “I need to keep you safe.”
“Me and Kayla, and now Angie. Poor girl’s caught up in this too.”
“I know. If you feel its best, we could take her to a safe house where she’d be looked after.”
Snuggling closer, ignoring warnings blaring from her brain that she was allowing him a lot more leeway than she usually let any man, Charli admitted, “Already made a similar suggestion. Her answer was a simple – no way in hell. That girl can become an iceberg when she’s not happy.”
“No doubt she’s spent most of her life in that condition. I saw her old man.”
“Yeah. If I don’t keep her with me now, she’ll be lost… her chance wasted. She needs affirmation that she matters, that someone cares. Earlier, when we were at her house, she had it. I gave it to her. We can’t take the chance that she’ll misinterpret the reason she shouldn’t stay now. The damage could be irreparable. That kid’s on the brink of doing something stupid. She’s that close to taking her own life.”
“God, Charli. She’s a good kid. See how she’s taken to Kayla, how the two of them are together?”
“I know. I’ve watched them, saw them sharing these last few hours, and it’s beautiful.” Charli told him what she’d overheard the night before. How even in her depths of despair, Angie thought to reach out to others by donating her hair and organs. And how her young body had been tortured repeatedly by an animal who didn’t give a rat’s ass about the harm or pain he caused. To his credit, Blake listened without interrupting.
After she’d finished, he questioned her, his husky tones filled with understanding. “So, you decided the Neanderthal needed a lesson, and she needed to see it. You did what I would have done in your place. The shit deserved everything he got and more. From now on, my people will be watching both her parents. They just have to step out of line, and I mean a tippy-toe over, and we’ll book them with whatever we can. In the meantime, I see what a pickle you’re in with Angie.”
“Yep. I’m taken with the girl, her guts and deep-down sweetness. Not sure how it happened, but both her and Kayla have snuck into… ahh, mattering. Now I need to keep them safe.”
Without releasing her, he arched back so he could see her eyes when asking his question. “So, you’re good about me staying?”
She tried pulling away but gave up the struggle when she sensed he needed her to stay, to answer… to relieve his worry. “I guess, as long as we make some rules – keep things between us impersonal. No more hugs and kissing. Just two cops on a job.”
“Bullshit, Charli. You know I can’t keep my hands off you. You’re like a magnet for me. There’s nothing impersonal about what I feel when I’m around you.”
Her voice steely, Charli reacted, “Buddy, it’s called lust. So quit acting like I’m a bitch in heat and back off.” She pushed away from him and stopped a foot away.
Hoping she’d get him so pissed he’d leave her alone, she made her expression reflect her hard words. God, she needed him to stop torturing her with his smell, his strength… his nearness. The last thing she wanted in her crazy, mixed-up life was a horny man who had somehow broken through her barriers left open from two teens she couldn’t resist.
