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“There’s no need to be a shit about it.” I open the passenger door but hesitate to climb inside. “Can the attitude, Gabriel.”
I say his name with venom and he glances around, making sure no one else is close enough to hear his real name.
“That’s Daddy Thor whenever we’re here. Now get in. Stop fucking around.”
I oblige without hesitation at his dark command, showing more of my hand than I should at this point and knowing it’s a bad idea. He sees how he affects me and we both know it. At least at the club there are people around and a slim barrier that keeps us from getting too close to each other. Crossing too many lines in my hunt for answers.
Alone in a car with the man…who knows what I’ll do? Or how he’ll respond?
It doesn’t matter if I trust myself or not. The door clicks closed behind me, the lock thrown before I have the seatbelt across my chest.
Tonight he’s dressed in another black-on-black ensemble, and combined with his messy hair and barely trimmed facial scruff, he’s playing his part well. Jeez. The man is delicious looking. He’s like something conjured out of a wild wet dream and designed specifically to get under my skin.
I never thought I’d be attracted to psychopaths, and definitely not ones who delight in domination. Yet here we are.
My skin grows tighter yet, hotter than a bonfire, when Gabriel pulls away from the curb and takes off down the street, giving me a delightful view of his profile. The lights turn green for him, another miracle. Neither of us speaks.
What am I doing here?Really?
If he doesn't have a lead for me and this is all just a game, then being alone with him is an even dumber idea than I thought.
I grip the seatbelt.
There’s no way out of it now.
The stubble along his jaw is a new addition, I think as I covertly study him out of the corner of my eye. He looks rougher than I remember from the last time we were this close. The collar of his coat—why is he wearing a coat with this humidity?—hides most of the tattoos on his neck from view. Those vibrant green eyes focus entirely on the road ahead and he does not release his death grip on the wheel.
The quiet unnerves me. The tension in the car thickens with each mile until my throat closes.
Too many parts of me tingle being this close to him and caged in the steel prison of the SUV. My leg threatens to bob; I slap a hand down to make sure it stays in place.
This is the closest damn thing to feeling alive that I’ve felt in a long time.Too long.
Gabriel keeps driving, and the only logical part of me left wonders if he has a destination in mind or he’s driving in circles to freak me out.
“So,” I begin, the first one to break. He won’t look at me. “Want to tell me about your most recent killing? Or should I just arrest you now? It might be fun trying to get answers out of you. Depends on how badly I want to pay you back for my concussion.”
“Shouldn’t you know better, as a detective, to not let the killer move you to a different location?” he throws back.
Oh. Shit.His voice is a ripple of pure sensation over my skin and I feel it inside. In a hidden place where no one else has wanted to dive deep enough to discover. Not even me.
My wrist flicks nervously and I hide the motion by pushing a dangling piece of hair behind my ear.
Since he refuses to look at me, I do the same, staring out the window as the sky darkens and the buildings blur together in a mass of metal and glass. “If you wanted me dead, I imagine I’d be dead already. Unless you like to play with your toys first,” I reply.
“I do. But there’s no toying with you, sweetheart.” He grimaces. “Sorry about the concussion.”
I pause to clear my throat before I say something ridiculous. “What’s this about?”
“You tell me.”
“It seems we both want something from each other. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come looking for me at the club.” I risk another glance at him. “Youwerelooking for me. Weren’t you?”
“I might say the same,” he purrs.
I needa lead on the hooker killings. Not only because I’m assigned to the case but because picking apart the information, the small clues and details left behind, distracts me from my own bullshit. The bullshit that’s as much a part of my psyche as my genetic makeup.
Not to mention the lighter.
