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“I’m not going to be the woman who gave birth to me, who was fine with men traipsing in and out of her bedroom, or bedroll. Hell, hotel room. Anything. I distinctly remember one day she and her man of the hour fucking at a public fountain. Can’t ever unsee that spectacular demonstration.”
“You want to though. And no, I don’t mean all the guys. I mean one. This one. Hastings Rhodes.”
Hell, simply thinking about this man got her wet. “Hasting Rhodes is bad for me.”
“Why is he bad for you? And why wouldn’t you want to climb him like a tree and take him for a spin? Or twelve?”
She waved away his question. That had been meant to be an internal thought.
“It’s not meant to be.”
“Because you think that. We’ve known each other for a while now and I have to tell you, that man brings you alive. You glow around him and he…well, he fucking strips you bare and eye fucks you every chance he gets. Others in the room or not. And lord help you if there’s a man near you.”
Yeah, she’d noticed. No matter how much she tried not to do that very thing.
She looked for her phone, after a few moments finally remembering returning it to her pocket. “I have to get going. It’s been a pleasure.”
He laughed. “You’re not getting out of here like that.” That was her warning. Paul drew her close and held on tight. “Give him a chance.” A kiss to her cheek. “Or give me one. We’d run this place and make her our bitch.”
Tears burned her eyes as she held tight. “You already do and she is your bitch.”
“I’m not saying goodbye because I refuse to believe we won’t see each other again.” He held her shoulders and looked at her. “You’re a fucking incredible woman, Violet. Thank you for everything.”
Trembling was all she could manage without allowing the dam to break. She picked up her pack and slung it over her shoulder as she exited the room, another job done and in her rear view. Before her, a new adventure.
The joy wasn’t what she wished it to be, and that bothered her.
* * * *
Hastings continued checking his phone, expecting some kind of response from the woman he couldn’t get out of his head. In sending her an address and a time, he thought for sure he’d get pushback from her.
He sat on a hard plastic chair in the hospital waiting room as they did some more testing on Evan after having pulled him back from the medically induced coma. To his right and left were other people waiting for news on their loved ones, or people who simply needed a break from the tension that happened to run rampant in hospital rooms.
“Mr. Rhodes?”
He glanced up slowly, not having been caught unawares by the cop’s tread.
“How can I help you?”
“I’m Detective Brown.”
Hastings leaned back in the chair, draping his arms over the backs of the seats on either side of him. “Congratulations.”
Brown’s lips twitched. “They said you were difficult.”
He blinked. No shifting, no looking uncertain or uncomfortable. And definitely no asking who’d said he was ‘difficult’.
The man tugged on the sleeves of his suitcoat, and Hastings realized that his old man had taught him one thing. How to identify someone who fit a suit and someone who had been put in one for some reason or another. This cop, he wasn’t comfortable in one.
“Not asking me who?”
“Don’t give a damn who said what. I do want to know why you’re bothering me?”
“I have taken over the Evan Winter case.”
Once again silence stretched between them. Until the detective cleared his throat and gestured to the chairs. “May I sit?”
“Not my seats.”
Was he being an ass? Sure, but he didn’t have it in him to be anything else. He’d tried for one woman and that woman didn’t seem to be impressed by his efforts. A woman he longed to strip bare. Lick. Suck. Nip. Bite. Fuck.
His minor taste of her hadn’t nearly been enough. Not even close.
“We’ve had someone come forward and say that Evan didn’t do drugs. So we have corroboration of what you said. You and Violet.”
Snapping his gaze to the man, he realized he viewed him as a threat. Any man around Violet was. “Miss Wentz.” Two growled words.
“Right, Miss Wentz. I was wondering if you know anyone else who may be able to help us?”
“You have someone else, why are you back to me?”
“There’s a rumor that he was protecting a woman. And there’s been a woman sitting with him a lot while he’s been here.” A pointed pause during which Hastings didn’t say a word. Brown cleared his throat again.
Hastings sat forward. “Let me make this simple for you. We don’t know anything and you better fucking stay away from Miss Wentz.”
