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“Just as long as they don’t do it at the station. I don’t need extra paperwork.”
She giggles and lays her hand on my arm. “I’d take care of it for you.”
I swallow hard. Fuck, her touch sets fire to every nerve I have in my body. “Dais-”
“Make another left up here. My house is the last one on the right.”
I do as she says, but when I look around, I realize we’re not in Christmas. “I thought you lived in town?”
“No, just outside.” She snaps out quickly, and I feel her body tense at my question. Glancing around again, this is more than just outside. Lakeshore is not a friendly area. Pulling into her driveway, I take a look around. The surrounding homes are in different stages of disarray and since she’s the last house, behind her is an empty field. I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling being here.
“How long have you lived here?”
“I bought it before my interview with you.” Snapping my attention to her, she continues. “If I didn’t get that job, I planned on getting another. But I knew I wanted to be in the Christmas area. Angelina always spoke so warmly about growing up here. And I want a town like that.” She grabs her bag and hops out. I follow behind her, taking note of everything in this neighborhood. Street lights are out, no fences between the yards and it’s silent. Too silent.
“You should have spoken to Bobby Gallagher. He would have found a house for you right in town.” Following her to the front door, she opens it without a key. “You don’t lock the door?”
“The locks are broken and I haven’t gotten to the hardware store yet. I was going to go on lunch the other day with Angelina, but we ran out of time.”
I grab her forearm and spin her towards me. “You need locks that work, Daisy. If it means taking an extra ten minutes at lunch, you do that.”
She looks at my hand around her arm, then back at me. I realize I’m squeezing just a bit too tight. When I let go, she pushes through the door and walks inside. She flicks one light on. It’s dim but lets me see she’s clearly working on the inside. There are paint cans and drapes hanging to the left. Half the wall is missing in the room in front of us. She’s got dust clothes and piles of lumber to the right.
“Are you doing this work yourself?”
“I am.” She has a proud tone. “I wanted a fixer upper so I could make it my own. It will take me years to complete, but it gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing I’m doing it all on my own.”
“That’s very... admirable.”
She turns with her hands on her hips. “You don’t think women can work construction?”
I throw my hands up and laugh. “No one said that! It just takes a lot of patience to do handyman work.”
“I’ve got nothing but time, boss.”
Her lips are distracting. I’ve been watching them every time she speaks and I know she notices when she runs her tongue along the bottom plump one. I’ve got to get out of here before I do something I’m going to regret. Yet, I don’t want to leave her here alone.
“Are you sure you’re safe here?”
She rolls her eyes and turns her back on me, walking to the kitchen. “I’ve been here for a few months and haven’t had a problem,Dad.”
As if realizing what she just said, she freezes in her spot and I remain silent, my blood suddenly flowing like lava through my veins. She turns to me with a smirk, that same tempting upturn of her lips that I dream about tasting. “Are you worried about me, Chief? Are you feeling like a concernedDaddy?”
My jaw ticks and my hands clench. I walk closer to her, grabbing her chin. “ThisDaddyshould take you over my knee for talking back the way you do.” Her eyes flare. The sexual chemistry building in the room is thick. If I let myself, I could easily drown in it and take her down with me. Inhaling a deep breath, I get control of myself. “But I’m your boss, not your daddy, so I’m allowing you to come in an hour late tomorrow as long as you bring me the receipt from the hardware store, showing me the new locks.”
Her eyelids flutter and she nods.
“That’s good, Red.” I have to turn away from her, and quickly, before I throw all sense out the door with no locks. “For tonight, put a chair under the doorknob. And leave the lights on in a few rooms so people don’t think this place is vacant without your car in the driveway. I’ll send Cash to pick you up tomorrow morning.” I pause and turn back to her, pointing a finger. “And every morning until you get your car back. If I see you walking to work again, I’ll fire you.”
She outright belly laughs at me. “How does that make any sense? If you fire me, I won’t have money to get my car from the shop.”
Narrowing my eyes, “I won’t argue with you. Just be ready in the morning.” Turning away before my anger becomes an issue, I ignore her quick retort.
“I’m always ready, boss.”
Walking out the front door and climbing into my truck, I shoot a quick text to the guys on patrol tonight, telling them to add this neighborhood to the drive around.
This woman is going to be the death of me.
