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“Oh. I’m sorry to bother you before your shift was over. I should’ve—”
“You should’ve done exactly what you did, Honey. If you ever need me, don’t hesitate. Understand me?”
I nodded mutely as he started the car.
This man was not like anyone I’d ever known. I wasn’t sure yet if that was a good thing or bad.
“Where to?” he asked evenly as he rested his wide wrist over the top of the wheel.
All these thoughts about his size were not helping to douse the flames of my libido, that was for damn sure.
“Do you have plans tonight?”
“Like what?”
I fingered the strap of my purse. Good thing it was leather because any other material I would’ve already rubbed off the strap. “I don’t know. Anything.” I put on my seat belt. “It’s Halloween.”
He turned on his signal and pulled into the street. “Are we dating now?”
Feeling instantly foolish, I shifted to look out the window. “I live in Tabitha’s old apartment near the police station. You can just drop me off.”
He blew out a breath. “Look, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it. I just needed a ride.”
“Why did you call me?”
I pursed my lips. “You were the first one I thought of.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, signaling again to turn off on a side street.
He didn’t circle back to return toward town. Instead, he drove on along the road deeper into the wooded area between Turnbull and Crescent Cove. Houses grew farther apart on this side of Crescent Lake. The Chief lived somewhere around here, with a house that faced the water.
Christian kept going on along the maze of curved roads that climbed higher into the hills, the twilight revealing a few glimpses of the jewel-toned fall leaves that were at their brightest just before the rains came and brought them down.
For as long as I’d lived here, I’d never been up in these hills. The houses changed from large to almost ostentatiously big, with private roads and attached tennis courts and fancy water features. All sorts of amenities that were a far cry from my parents’ cozy place in Turnbull.
“Are you one of those cops who gain people’s trust in order to secretly murder half the town and no one ever suspects? May I remind you my brothers are cops and will hunt you down?”
I was kidding. Mostly. It was dark now and I was on the verge of shivering in the front seat of his cruiser. When I tightened my cardigan around me, he cursed again and flipped on the heat before turning on a podcast. Asher Wainwright’s voice flowed out of the speaker, making me giggle.
Death and Dismemberment in a small town.
“Not easing my fears here.”
“I bet you listen to this podcast too. Most everyone in town does.”
“I will not confirm or deny.”
“Do you want my coat?”
“I’m okay. Where exactly are you going?”
He swerved into a driveway on a steep incline that seemed to go on forever. Finally he stopped the car at the end of a wraparound driveway in front of a house nestled into a copse of trees. The windows seemed to reflect moonlight from all sides, mainly because there were a hell of a lot of them.
“Here.” He turned off the ignition.
My shivers increased. “Murder lair?”
